Former GOP representative Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski interview newsmakers, politicians and pundits about the issues of the day. Elections . When were picking whos going to be running the house and the senate . I think right track wrong track is a very important indicator. That and theres often polling numbers of, does this guy or this person, this Candidate Fight for people like you . Those are the type of polls i find a little more credible. Astonishing to me is that it can be down at 35 when the economy on its surface and in its aggregate numbers is doing so well. Id ask an expert like John Heilemann or somebody, have you ever seen right track being 35 when unemployment is below 4 . And since i think the economic numbers wont always be as good, this could really tumble down if theres if there starts to be any blips in the economy. Especially from this continued china trade dispute, which could, you know, start bringing down the economy a little bit. So, joe, since walter invited me to comment, i will. That 35 number will be familiar to you because ive heard you mention it over the course of the last 18 months. The number, look at all polling weve all the polling weve looked at since donald trump has been in office, and had you to ask, whats the honest assessment what the trump core base is. Youd say, as you have many times about 35 . Were looking at right track wrong track walter says is often useful in polling. But weve learned it often essentially tracks not the Approval Rating of the president but tracks where the president s base is at. No matter what else is going on, those are the people that think the countrys on the right track because theyre with the president. 35 , the trump base. Those people. They dont care about the russia probe. They dont care about whats
going on in north korea. They dont particularly care about nato or anything that donald trump is doing or what we say in the media. They think, no matter what theyre with donald trump and if donald trump is in office theyre on the right track. The question i have, can you ever chip away at Donald Trumps pure base . All sorts of things have happened and that 35 is like chiselled in marble. You know, i dont a lot of times democrats dont like me to bring it up, but there was about, you know, 33 , 35 , 38 that would have said anything about george w. Bush from 2001 to 2009. So i think that third, you know, maybe that 33 , that 35 is set hard and will be set hard, but elise jordan when you look at the people that are going to be getting out and voting. Like i always talk about the women we had reports were standing in the rain in northern
virginia, or black voters across whats called the black belt in alabama during that special election. You look at the crosstabs there, its probably much lower for the people who are the most likely to vote this fall. The people that are most motivated by what has happened. Plo motivated in a negative sense since donald trump was elected in 2017. Im fascinated. Women voters across the country, was there vote a protest vote against Hillary Clinton or are they actually going to turn out and be motivated by donald trump and the way hes governing . As of now my bet is they arent. Weve seen that in a lot of the special elections and certainly in these suburban districts, but you look at especially what happened in alabama, too, and black women in alabama really saved the day with that election. So women across the country,
its going to be interesting to see how they actually come out and vote. If theyre motivated to do so. Catkaty, let me get to anoth part of the poll. The president always claims he hires the best people, and that he would hire the best people if elected president , but with four exadvisers indicted, three of those pleading guilty, his former Campaign Chairman on trial right now, a former aide in open revolt, monmouth posed this question in its latest survey. Does donald trump hire the best people . Here we actually cracked that lower third with 30 saying, yes, but a majority 58 said no. On a serious note here, katy, when we get lets move beyond this fall, and if donald trump decides to run for reelection,
and actually, count me as one of the few people who dont believe he will, but if donald trump does decide to run for reelection, thats when americans take a serious look at whoever is sitting in the oval office, and they ask does he or she have the Leadership Qualities that we need to run america . And part of Donald Trumps schtick was, ive run this big business. Ive run you know, this, that and a the other that was his big schtick. I know how to run things. I hire the best people. This actually is a good peek into, lets just say, a preview of 2020 and the type of attacks that donald trump would face if he did seek reelection. Well, look, donald trump has lost 5 of that 35 on that question of whether he hires the best people because of all the drama in the white house and comings and going in the white house, and repeatedly when you ask trump supporter over the course of the last year and a half what are the things you dont like the way the president
is handling the white house is the drama. Trump himself feeds into that when he criticizes his own choices when he talks repeatedly about Jeff Sessions, somebody not the best person for that job. Who hired him for that job . Donald trump. He undermines his own message that he hires the best people, and you combine that with the fact we know that there are a raft of people who dont actually want to go into the white house, were donald trump to run for a second term or were the call to be made to them because its too toxic and they fear for their own reputations. People thinking, not surprising, this is not the smoothest administration weve seen in the white house. And walter, youre heading back to louisiana, Hurricane Season and all pretty soon. When you head back there, when i head back to my home state of florida, i will talk to a lot of people who say, i dont like how he tweets. The Business Leaders in louisiana depend a lot on trade. When the amount of soybeans going through the Port Of New Orleans is down 30 or the companies in Louisiana Cant Import Aluminum and steel to make the products theyre doing, theres uncertainty among donald trump among Business Leaders in places like new orleans. On the other hand, in a lot of rural louisiana, theres just a Deep Contempt for anybody who would speak ill of donald trump and they are really still very strongly in your face that donald trump is setting this country right. Yeah. And ive got to tell you from my read thats not 33 of americans. Thats closer to 40 of americans who still will say, hey, things are going well, and it still is a Binary Choice for so many americans. So many people i talk to, say,
best friend of fellow billionaires. So at some point, does that sink in with workingclass voters who support donald trump, or are they with him to the bitter end . Well, he was a Billionaire Populist in 2016, and it was something that actually really resonated with that base. Certainly much more so than Hillary Clinton who had more of a background from the working class. At least in terms of her own family. So, know, i think it comes down to what weve been talking about so far which is, doesnt he want in that base to do the things that havent gone well and end up resonating with them . So far the polls show, and the enthusiasm that we see out on the trail shows that is not happening. Elise, you see it in mississippi with your friends and family in mississippi. I see it in florida there are still people that are with donald trump, even if its not in their best financial
interest to be with donald trump. And im talking about health care. Some of the people who are actually the most vulnerable when it comes to health care. Who are the people that receive the least benefit from tax cuts that donald trump bragged to his Billionaire Friends at maralago the day he signed the bill. Hey, i just made you guys a lot more rich. Some of the people that are most vulturable are also the most hardcore members of that trump tribe. Ive seen the most concern among female Trump Supporters about the president and particularly his child separation policy. You saw some movement there, deep concern among women who were were upset by the images, the horrifying recordings we heard of these children on the border. So thats something that i feel would be a more effecti iive message for democrats to focus on the cruelty and incompetency
of the Trump Administration executing policies with a President Tweeting erratically about, you know, be it National Security, be It Security Clearances to omarosa and calling her disparaging names. So the level of incompetency, the perception of incompetence and immaturity on behalf of the Trump Administration, particularly starting absolutely at the top with donald trump is something i do think has a potential to persuade women not all that enthusiastic about donald trump to begin with. And we have evidence of that actually from the past, and ive told the story before and weve got somebody from mississippi and louisiana here who will understand exactly what im talking about. After katrina, george w. Bushs administrations response, the federal governments response, was so slow that people from the community, people from our churches, we organized care ava
taking bake water, diapers, sun screen to the gulf coast of mississippi and parts of louisiana, and everybody driving over there were bush supporters. I will tell you it was especially women who were working there that were asking the questions, where wheres the government . Wheres the administration . And i saw more than one or two bush Bumper Stickers being torn off the back of minivans that were driving water over there day in and day out. I think the Border Separation Policy is going to have the same impact, just like you said, elyse, on a lot of women voters who are republicans, who are conservatives, who support the donald trump, who may not go out and vote for somebody that would want nancy pelosi to be speaker of the house, but they may just stay home this fall. Well see. Still ahead on morning joe, were going to hear more from jeff mason on the heels of his wideranging interview with the president including the president saying he has the power to run bob muellers investigation. Plus, new reporting says you can add another name to the list of people from whom President Trump is considered revoking their Security Clearance. And that person is President Obama. Well tell you, who will reportedly get President Trump to back away from that really wise move. First, bill karins with a check on the forecast. Looks like it will be rough tomorrow in the northeast . Thunderstorms rolling through, joe, today and tomorrow depending where youre located. Also hurricane that could possibly have a direct impact in hawaii. More on that in a second. First things first, stop that causes all the problems is right in the middle of ohio valley sending heavy rain and bands of thunderstorms into the great lakes. Spotty showers in Northern Virginia. This is the area of concern
later today. Roughly 16 Million People at risk of severe storms today. Wind damage and isolated Flash Flooding of greatest concern. Notice d. C. Is not in the yellow. In the green for a margins risk. Storms may not be as concentrated for washington, d. C. , richmond and norfolk. Wou watch out pittsburgh, cleveland, erie. And friends in hawaii, looking like a serious threat. Hurricane up to 150 mileperhour winds of lane. The forecast track overnight shifted closer to the Hawaiian Islands and now were looking at eve be the cone of uncertainty including the Big Island Of Hawaii and including oahu and honolulu. Weaker by the time it got there possibly a category 3 or 2 near in about 48 to 72 hours near the western half of the Big Island Of Hawaii. Again, nice weather out there today. Good weather in the northeast. Also hot in texas, but beautiful Oklahoma City into areas of the central plains. Of course, more updates on Hurricane Lane as we get closer
later in the week to see if hawaiis actually going to take a big hit. Close calls the last couple years and missed. This one, though is looking very, very iffy. New york city one of the spots that dodges showers and thunderstorms late tonight. More the overnight hours and early tomorrow morning avoiding any Severe Weather. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Oh, milk. Another breakfast, another dilemma. Am i willing to pay the price for loving you . Youll make my morning,
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when did brian move back in . Brians back . He doesnt get my room. Hes only going to be here for like a week. Like a month, tops. Oh boy. Wifi fast enough for the whole family is simple, easy, awesome. In many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40s. Now to that reuters interview in which the president said that he could personally take over the probe into russian interference in the 2016 election. An investigation in which several of his own former aides have been charged. The president said the administration was a smooth Running Machine except in that world and ive decided to stay out. Now, i dont have to stay out. I can go in and i could do whatever. I could run it, if i want, but i
decided to stay out the president said. Im totally allowed to be involved in i wanted to be. So far i havent chosen to be involved. Ill stay out. The president also expressed doubt about the findings of u. S. Intelligence saying the probably played right into the russians. If it was russia, they played right into russians hands. Jeff, you interviewed the president. What was your takeaway . Well, that was certainly one of the more interesting parts of the interview. We covered a lot of ground but in that particular piece, the fact that he portrayed it as a choice whether or not to be involved in Mueller Probe and could run it was really interesting and the fact that just in that you showed the clip right there on the screen kind of in the clause of the sentence talking about russia, inserted a little bit of doubt whether or not they were responsible for meddling of the election in 2016 shows it is
still an issue he is not convinced about. Despite every single entell chief that he hired and he hires only the best people, every one of them said it was russia. Amazing how months after the helsinki summit and all of the fuss and criticism the president got after that having to row back his own comments publicly, which he hated doing about whether he thought it was russia or not and then here he is again in this reuters Interview Saying, perhaps it wasnt russia after all. He just doesnt seem able to bring himself conclusively to say, it was russia, end of story, given this opportunity he rose back on it again. You know, i was surprised also to hear him say that he might take the opportunity to revoke mum
muellers Security Clearance. Hadnt thought about it but didnt rule out that possibility. And a question for you, walter. Yes. Ive been reading this story that will be released this morning from microsoft in which brad smith, General Counsel there and others releasing a report saying microsoft discovered all sorts of russian fake accounts, fake sites that are there right now to hack the midterms. If the president of the United States keeps sort of half defending russia and saying, well, were not even theyre they did it, is the government doing things that will try to protect us against russia hacking the midterms . Or will we have to just rely on private corporations like microsoft . Good question. Comes down between his advisers, what they say and what the president himself says. His advisers came out into the
white house Briefing Room several weeks sayiago saying ru remained a threat and remained a threat in 2018 and started detailing all of the things the Trump Administration is doing t