← Morning Joe
Morning Joe
Government shutdown continues: Senate resumes votes on funding bill
00:43:41
Government shutdown continues: Senate resumes votes on funding bill
Loading summary
Transcript134 lines
- [00:00]
Willie Geist
Sometimes an identity threat is a ring of professional hackers, and sometimes it's an overworked accountant who forgot to encrypt their connection while sending bank details. I need a coffee and you need Lifelock. Because your info is in endless places. It only takes one mistake to expose you to identity theft. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year@lifelock.com.
- [00:28]
Ali Vitale
Specialoffer terms apply need to restock inventory, cover seasonal dips, or manage payroll. OnDeck's small business line of credit provides immediate access to fundsup to $200,000 exactly when your business needs it. With flexible draws, transparent pricing and full control over repayment, you can tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. Apply today@ondeck.com and funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic Bank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.
- [01:02]
Jonathan Lemire
Ted Cruz also weighed in to say how fun he thinks it is that.
- [01:07]
David Drucker
Only Democrats would be affected. President Trump is going to use that as an opportunity not to tell people you're furloughed for a few days, but instead to send pink slips and to get rid of left wing bureaucrats who are imposing left wing priorities that are contrary to President Trump's priorities.
- [01:27]
Jonathan Lemire
Yes, we need to get rid of people who are contrary to President Trump's priorities.
- [01:32]
David Drucker
And what are those priorities again, Ted? Let's stop attacking pedophiles. Okay, thank you. I thought that's what the prior. I think that's.
- [01:44]
Jonathan Lemire
That fits.
- [01:45]
Mika Brzezinski
That fits Stephen Colbert with a callback to Ted Cruz's slip up during a Senate hearing earlier this week. We have a lot to get to this morning, including the very latest in the government shutdown and whether today's vote in the Senate will be any different. Will it continue? That's one of many topics we're going to cover with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries when he joins us this morning. Plus, we'll dig into President Trump's apparent endorsement of Project 2025 proposals after repeatedly denying he knew anything about them during his campaign. Meanwhile, the Trump administration says the United States is in armed conflict with drug cartels. The question is, is that a legal justification for lethal? Plus, we'll get a legal analysis on a possible prison sentence for Sean Diddy Combs ahead of today's hearing. And we'll be watching the Supreme Court this morning as the justices are expected to release which cases they will hear this term. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It's Friday. It's been a long week, Willie. October 3rd, and, well, I'm not going to get my rescue cats. And congratulations on your Yankees.
- [03:03]
Willie Geist
Thank you. Very exciting, very exciting. Yankee Nation. We did it. We cleared the hurdle. I think if Cam Schlitler, the rookie pitcher who threw for eight innings, 12 strikeouts, no walks, if he wanted to run for Mayer, he could probably hop in the race right now and pull very high. He was incredible. This is a guy who started the season in aa, moved up to aaa, came up mid, was solid throughout the year, showed flashes, but never anything like this in a decisive playoff game against the Red Sox. He grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts. Family of Red Sox fans, played college baseball at Northeastern. Up there now pitching and obviously the biggest game of his life, the Yankees biggest game of the season, and was lights out. Just gave up a handful of hits. As I said, 12 strikeouts, no walks, no runs as the Yankees win the game. 4 Nothing. Jonathan Lemire, my condolences to you. But you have to concede, that was a hell of a performance by the kid.
- [04:03]
Jonathan Lemire
Yeah, I was hoping that growing up in Walpole, Massachusetts, he would be embedded Red Sox fan. Maybe he would fall back on his family heritage and just lay a couple in there for us. I mean, he put them in there, but they were at 100 miles an hour and the Red Sox couldn't hit. I mean, yes, he was fantastic. Tip your cap to him. As for the Sox, there's a lot of injuries. They kind of overachieved this year. Making the playoffs in itself was the goal. Losing to the Yankees, obviously a tough one to take. And all of their flaws were on display. Last night. The lineup featured four minor leaguers. They couldn't make the plays in the field when they needed to. All four Yankee runs came in the fourth inning in a variety of, like, blue pits and seeing eye grounders. And it would have been an indie inning, double play ball that Nate Lowe, our first baseman, booted. I mean, here's how it started. This Cody Bellinger flare that normally gets caught in Bellinger's credit. He went all the way to second base. I mean, the Yankees did just enough. They pressed the play, and the Red Sox just simply weren't up to it. I think Red Sox fans will spend this winter looking back at Game 2, a game where they had a number of chances to win that game and finish the series in two straight. Last night they just couldn't touch Slitler. And now the Yankees. Congrats to them. They go and get the Toronto Blue Jays, which should be a good series.
- [05:18]
Willie Geist
Yeah. And Mika, they tied the Yankees, the Blue Jays, for the best record in the American League. They lost the tiebreakers, so the Jays won the division. So that'll be a fun series up there. A bunch of other games to talk about. But my apologies that you won't get those rescue cats. Can't you just get them anyway? Like, did you need permission?
- [05:33]
Mika Brzezinski
I'm getting a cat named Cam Schlitler.
- [05:35]
Jonathan Lemire
No, don't do that.
- [05:36]
Mika Brzezinski
Okay, so just Cam.
- [05:38]
Willie Geist
Just Cam.
- [05:38]
Mika Brzezinski
No, it's going to be Crochet and Masa. It's going to be two. I'm bummed. But congratulations.
- [05:45]
Willie Geist
Thank you.
- [05:46]
Mika Brzezinski
Also with us. Thanks, amica.
- [05:47]
Jonathan Lemire
Me, too.
- [05:48]
Mika Brzezinski
I know it's bad. Did you stay up? You're crazy.
- [05:50]
Jonathan Lemire
I stayed up.
- [05:51]
Willie Geist
Watch with.
- [05:52]
Jonathan Lemire
Watch with the boy. We didn't go. Didn't go to the stadium, but wanted to watch with my kids last night. And, you know, we all went to bed very soon.
- [05:59]
Mika Brzezinski
That hurts. Also with us, MSNBC senior White House correspondent Vaughn Hilliard, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and MSNBC political analyst Eugene Robinson, senior writer for the Dispatch and columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, David Drucker, MSNBC Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitale. She is host of Way Too early and so Happy Today for a Different Reason. And managing editor at the Bulwarks, Sam Stein is with us. Great to have you all today as we look at day three of the government shutdown and there is still no sign of a resolution as Republicans and Democrats continue to trade accusations as to who is to blame. Votes on a funding bill are scheduled to resume in the Senate this afternoon following a break yesterday. But if those votes fail again, no votes are expected over the weekend, which would extend the shutdown at least until Monday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Democrats will have another chance today to vote to reopen the government and that negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are not going to accomplish a lot.
- [07:07]
David Drucker
I think what, you know, government agencies ought to be doing is the job and the work, and that's what I try to stay focused on. There is a blame game that goes on every time there's a government shutdown. I don't think that's constructive. I don't think it's about who wins and who loses. I think the people that lose in this are the American people and probably most specifically federal workers. So I'm all about getting the. Getting it back open Again, I think shutdowns are nobody wins. And I think, honestly, for the most part, they're stupid. We really shouldn't be shutting the government down, and it shouldn't be taken hostage to do other policy things that are totally unrelated to funding the government.
- [07:45]
Mika Brzezinski
Okay, so let's talk about policy. Thune also defended the Trump administration's plans for a permanent federal layoffs due to the shutdown, as well as revoking billions in federal funding for projects in blue states. He said none of those things would happen if Democrats helped reopen the government and warned Democrats are, quote, playing with fire. Schumer responded yesterday suggesting Americans were turning against Republicans, writing in part, americans blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, and the longer they drag it out, the deeper the pain, and that blame will grow. Ali Vitali. It didn't stop Taylor Swift from dropping an album. I take it that's why you're happy today. Yeah. But I do want to ask about this blame game, because I see messaging that is extremely loud and effective from Republicans and in many cases, not true. How does this come down to policy? How do Democrats play that messaging game with the truth if these lies are out there? And secondly, this is the Republican bill. I mean, maybe at this point, in order to prevent people from being fired, the Democrats, what are their options at this point?
- [09:11]
Ali Vitale
Those are all the considerations. And I can tell you, listening to the life of a showgirl is very different than covering the show that we are seeing on Capitol Hill, because Leader Thune is actually right. There is nothing good about a government shutdown. And using it as a consistent leverage point only underscores people's lack of faith in our governing institutions, especially Congress. But let me just chart for you the way that this is gonna go, because I think it actually says a lot about where we are in the process. So the Senate's gonna come back in town today. They're gonna do another round of votes on this clean continuing resolution, which is the Republican plan, as well as the Democratic continuing resolution, which includes their health care priorities. Both are gonna fail. Then they're gonna leave town for the weekend. Everyone kind of comes back to town Monday afternoon and they try to try again that the weekend is going to let any steam out of the pot. In fact, I think there are some moderate Democrats who are just going harder at a press for a bipartisan deal on something like Affordable Care act subsidies, which. You ask about the policy considerations here, Mika. There are many Democrats, including Senator Jean Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, who's a moderate Democrat. She's retiring. She went directly on Fox News yesterday morning, speaking on the president's favorite news network about the benefits of doing a deal on the Affordable Care act. For people who have backed Trump and Republicans most recently in the 2024 election. Millions of Americans who are in Trump states, who are in Trump districts would benefit from this kind of a deal because it would prevent their premiums from spiking early next year with their health care costs. Of course, that's true for Democratic voters too, and it really shouldn't be a consideration. But the politics of this is so intertwined with the policy that her going on that network and making that pitch only shows the way that moderate Democrats are digging in on this strategy, hoping that there can be some kind of a deal. Whether or not that's the off ramp, I guess we're at going to, we're going to continue to see, I think the way we've seen the Trump administration, Republicans like Russ vote at the Office of Management and Budget pulling out funding for projects in New York or energy projects that are in states that Kamala Harris happened to win in 2024, that kind of pressure campaign is pretty unprecedented. The way that we've seen agencies communicating about this shutdown likely violates some rules about partizan speech through taxpayer funded entities. But I think the concern with that kind of pressure campaign, even though it works for the MAGA base, doesn't exactly help Republicans bring Democrats to the negotiat negotiating table, which may be the off ramp that we need here.
- [11:31]
Mika Brzezinski
Right.
- [11:32]
Willie Geist
David Drucker, we've heard Speaker Johnson say a couple of times this week there's nothing to negotiate here. Not only we're not negotiating, I don't see anything to talk about. And he's there kind of appear as Republicans, John Thune, the president of course, obviously, and his team, happy to watch Democrats flounder a little bit here. So what breaks this fever if anything? Is there anything to talk about? Is anyone talking?
- [11:56]
David Drucker
Yeah, your, your guess is as good as mine. But, but look, Willie, we have a playbook to look back on. We know how this stuff goes, right? Any, anytime one party instigates the shutdown, the party with more votes just sits around and says this is what you caused and we're not going to play your game. And we're ha, we're content to sit here unless the polling changes. And the polling never does change. And wait until you come to your senses. Right. I mean I remember 12 was it 12 years ago now 12 years ago this fall we were, I don't know this day four maybe of the Obamacare shutdown. And President Obama was like, this is ridiculous. We're not going to let you hold government spending hostage and negotiate so that it proves that this tactic works. And Democrats waited and they waited patiently and they waited and they waited. And finally, House Republicans who caused this thing, they caved. And I think Republicans, looking at the playbook that has worked so well against them so many times, are content to sit there and just wait until Democrats finally throw their hands up in the air and cave. And let's recall, even though there are policy disagreements and debates going on, what shutdowns quickly become about is power. I have more votes than you, even if I sort of need your votes. And I'm not going to bend the knee to your minority votes because otherwise it's going to make me look weak. And right now, you know, where Democrats are is that I think their party and their base and their activist base. And a lot of Democrats who are understandably upset with how President Trump is doing things, they want this fight. They always wanted this fight, whether it was about Obamacare subsidies or not. And they haven't given up on having the fight. And that's sort of the conflict that the Democrats find themselves in internally.
- [13:55]
Willie Geist
And you hear Republicans saying we can't let the opposing party use a government shutdown as leverage for their policy priorities. So let's talk about what's going to happen now as this rolls along. President Trump appears now to be openly embracing the Conservative Blueprint Project 2025. Remember that? From last year amid the government shutdown, despite distancing himself from that during the 2024 campaign. In a social media post, the president announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, Russell Vogt, identifying him as of Project 2025 fame, to discuss agency cuts amid the shutdown. Vogt told House Republicans on a conference call this week mass firings at the federal level would happen, in addition to hundreds of thousands of government workers who are typically furloughed during a shutdown. Those comments come after Trump spent much of last year, of course, denouncing Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's massive proposed overhaul of federal government Dr. By many of Trump's longtime allies and now administration officials. Back during the campaign, Trump repeatedly insisted he didn't know anything about the blueprint, that he'd never read it, that he had no idea who was behind it.
- [15:06]
David Drucker
I have nothing to do with Project 2025 that's out there.
- [15:10]
Jonathan Lemire
I haven't read it.
- [15:11]
David Drucker
I don't want to Read it purposely. I'm not going to read it. This was a group of people that got together, they came up with some ideas, I guess, some good, some bad, but it makes no difference. I have nothing to do.
- [15:21]
Willie Geist
President went so far as to call that plan seriously extreme, said he was conceived by people on the severe right his term. When asked about Trump's reversal, a White House spokesperson told the Associated Press, Democrats are desperate to talk about anything aside from their decision to hurt the American people by shutting down the government. So Vaughn Hilliard, you've been reporting on this. You can talk about Donald Trump. I don't think anyone believed last year during the campaign he didn't know what Project 2025 is. We've put that to the side for a minute. What is he meeting with Russell Vote about? What are these? It looks like they're going to target, as they say, left Democrats, people in the government actually using politics to decide who gets fired or at least furloughed.
- [16:05]
Jonathan Lemire
Right, Willie?
- [16:05]
David Drucker
Number one, he denied it repeatedly.
- [16:07]
Jonathan Lemire
But back in 2022, I remember listening very clearly.
- [16:11]
David Drucker
I was sitting in my car in.
- [16:12]
Jonathan Lemire
Ohio watching a live feed of Donald Trump at a Heritage foundation event in.
- [16:16]
David Drucker
Florida talking about how they would be the ones to build this blueprint for.
- [16:20]
Jonathan Lemire
What a Trump 2.0 administration would look like. So all those denials, they were flat out falsehoods from the very get go. And he was speaking to people like Russell Vogt, the Heritage Foundation.
- [16:30]
David Drucker
These were folks here over the course of the last decade, J.D.
- [16:34]
Jonathan Lemire
Vance.
- [16:34]
David Drucker
Right.
- [16:35]
Jonathan Lemire
Jeffrey Clark, who have articulated this magavision of what the executive branch should look like for the last decade.
- [16:42]
David Drucker
And right now they are in power.
- [16:43]
Jonathan Lemire
And in the position to be able to do that. And Donald Trump is their vessel. The man who is essentially effectively running and making the decisions of the federal government is OMB Director Russ Vote. You heard directly from Speaker Johnson yesterday. Be very specific in saying that it was now Russ Vote who would have a subjective view on the priorities of the federal government, the admin's priorities, and make sure that those are the ones that are funded.
- [17:11]
David Drucker
That Vote has to decide which services are essential and not. It's Russ Vogt who is deciding which federal government employees are essential workers right now.
- [17:20]
Jonathan Lemire
And he's arguing that some of those.
- [17:22]
David Drucker
Essential workers are those that are going.
- [17:24]
Jonathan Lemire
To have the ability to go through.
- [17:26]
David Drucker
The process of firing other federal workers.
- [17:29]
Jonathan Lemire
Which is caught up in litigation.
- [17:31]
David Drucker
But this comes down to the whole.
- [17:32]
Jonathan Lemire
Argument that Donald Trump and his cabinet are making that the executive branch is.
- [17:37]
David Drucker
Run by one man and that is Donald Trump.
- [17:40]
Jonathan Lemire
And he can go and cut USAID funding. He can go right.
- [17:43]
David Drucker
And fire workers at his own will.
- [17:46]
Jonathan Lemire
He can go through these things. And he doesn't need the approval of any agency. Yeah, there's some questions about the legality of this, but the White House has put forth the same idea about it's akin to his powers in foreign policy. He can kind of do what he wants. And we well know that President Trump doesn't always like it when a staffer suddenly is elevated and gets in the spotlight. But I'm told, and I wrote on the shutdown for this morning, is the idea that he likes the idea of Russ Vogt playing the bad cop here, that he is wielding the hatchet and is looming Sam Stein as someone who could go through with these mass layoffs. They haven't committed to it just yet, but it's remarkable just how politicized this shutdown already is. Votes already, first of all, we should note, has canceled or frozen up to $25 billion in projects, clean energy, transportation and the like. None of them. None of them in states that Trump won in last year's election. We have Trump himself saying that the vote may get rid of a lot of things that we, quote, didn't want and they'd be Democrat things. And also remember the Hatch act was a quaint thing people cared about some years ago. It's supposed to prevent government employees using government resources to do political things. Every government agency website, whether it's Department of Justice or HUD or any of them, all have banners that say something along the lines of like, we can't help you right now because of the Democrat shutdown. And when we ask the White House about it, they send the triggers an out of office reply in their email and it does the exact same thing saying we can't get talk to you right now because the Democrats shut this thing down.
- [19:19]
Mika Brzezinski
Yeah.
- [19:19]
Jonathan Lemire
I mean, there's no doubt that they want to make Democrats feel some political pain for this. Right. I mean, they're obviously targeting and they're not even hiding it. They're obviously targeting Democratic priorities. They're going after Democratic states. These out of office replies are like, like both churlish and very partisan and probably illegal. And they don't really care. The idea here for them is that if you can just make Democrats feel enough pain, ostensibly that those Democrats will pave. And I don't know if that's necessarily the smartest way to go about this. Right. If anything, you can, you can make the case that Democrats will probably you know, double down and say, no, we're not going to give in. And part of the problem here is not just the way that vote is acting right now, but it's the way that he's been acting in the months preceding now.
- [20:06]
David Drucker
There are.
- [20:07]
Jonathan Lemire
There have been government funding deals that this administration has reneged on. They've used rescissions to say, you know what, this, this agreement that Congress has struck on government funding levels, we don't like it, and so we're going to undo parts of it with a simple majority vote. If you were in a negotiation and you and the other party said, sure, we'll do a deal, but we have the right to go back on it, I mean, what. What is the incentive to do a negotiation? And then finally, I'll just say as a strategic matter. And again, I actually think the White House probably is in the upper hands here because I think, as David points out, they can just sort of wait out Democrats. But as a strategic matter, when the economy is not doing particularly well, when the job market is not doing particularly well, I'm not totally convinced that firing thousands of more workers and withholding tens of billions of dollars in federal funding for more projects is the smartest move. If anything, it's going to hurt the economy, it's going to hurt the standing of the president, and you're going to get ownership of the bad things that emanate from a shutdown when you do that. So I know these guys are acting extremely tough, and they probably will work because the numbers are on their side, but they are grabbing ownership of this shutdown the more that they let Rus Fat basically dictate what the consequences are.
- [21:22]
Willie Geist
Well, you know, Sam, I mean, that's interesting, and I think that's fair, probably. Right. It does seem like the White House and Republicans, they certainly have the power, right, to conduct this however they want. Now, I would argue this looks like a pretty serious overplay of their hand to say, okay, now we're going to fire thousands and thousands of workers. And there are some numbers that came out yesterday that suggest a different story. My old newspaper, the Washington Post, did a poll. They did a poll. Who are you blaming for this shutdown? And 47% of respondents said Republicans and 30% said Democrats. That's a big difference. Now, that's counterintuitive. That's not the way these shutdowns have worked before. But you can look at the history of government shutdowns, and if you look at it as a set of data points, you could come up with two interpretations. One one is that the party that's out of power, that's sort of causing the shutdown always gets blamed. And the other way you can look at it is that Republicans always get blamed because they're the anti government party. And when the government shut down, Republicans get the blame because they don't like the government in the first place. Now, again, that's just a hypothesis at this point. But, but Ali, did anybody notice that poll? Did anybody notice those numbers? And did it. One thing I have not seen, for example, is a graph in stories, a paragraph in stories saying, you know, Republicans said their private polling says just the opposite. But I haven't seen that paragraph and.
- [23:07]
Ali Vitale
I don't know if they have it yet. Right. Because it's so early. We're on day three of this shutdown. I think both sides are just kind of going off vibes at this point. This point. But I do think that the more polls you see like that, the more that each side is going to have to reconsider what's going on here. And there's still more yet to be seen of what the actual fallout and impact is here. We've done partial government shutdowns in recent years. We have not done a full government shutdown since that 2013 one that David Drucker was talking about. And I think that means that people haven't felt the full pain of a full shutdown in a long time. And we don't yet know what the impact is, though early signs show Republican bravado might have a very soft foundation.
- [23:46]
Mika Brzezinski
Sounds like a lot of people's jobs are at stake as this gets fought over. Ali Vitale, Vaughn Hilliard, thank you both. Sam Stein, thank you as well. And still ahead on Morning joe, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us to discuss the ongoing government shutdown and the next steps for Democrats. Plus, we'll have the latest on air travel over Germany after planes were grounded due to drone sightings in Munich. And a reminder that the the Morning Joe podcast is available each weekday featuring our full conversations and analysis. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. You're watching Morning joe. We'll be right back.
- [24:34]
Ali Vitale
The bottom line is, even as the Trump administration tries to end abortion access funding and shut down health centers, Planned Parenthood continues its vit without flinching. The assault on reproductive health is strategic and persistent. And who gets hurt the most? Women, people of color, rural communities, folks with low incomes, the people who already face the biggest barriers to care. If you believe everyone deserves to control their own body and future. Donate now@plannedparenthood.org defend sometimes an identity threat.
- [25:05]
Willie Geist
Is a ring of professional hackers, and sometimes it's an overworked accountant who forgot to encrypt their connection while sending bank details. I need a coffee and you need Lifelock. Because your info is in endless places. It only takes one mistake to expose you to identity theft. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year@lifelock.com specialoffer terms apply.
- [25:34]
Ali Vitale
Need to restock inventory, cover seasonal dips or manage payroll? OnDeck's small business line of credit provides immediate access to funds up to $200,000 exactly when your business needs it. With flexible draw, transparent pricing and full control over repayment, you can tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. Apply today@ondeck.com and funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic. Bank on Deck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.
- [26:05]
Willie Geist
This morning we're learning new about the attack in front of a synagogue in northern England that left two people dead and three others injured on the holiest day of the Jewish year. NBC News foreign correspondent Raf Sanchez has more from Manchester.
- [26:22]
David Drucker
A scene of terror at a synagogue. Police confronting the attacker. They've shot him, but he's still alive and they fear he has a bomb.
- [26:31]
Jonathan Lemire
On his jacket mate.
- [26:33]
David Drucker
When he tries to get up, officers.
- [26:35]
Jonathan Lemire
Open fire, the violence shattering the reflective.
- [26:39]
David Drucker
Calm of Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.
- [26:42]
Jonathan Lemire
A vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews.
- [26:50]
David Drucker
Police say two men from Manchester's Jewish community were killed, three others seriously injured, and saying they believe the attacker was Jihad al Shami, a 35 year old British citizen of Syrian descent.
- [27:04]
Willie Geist
This is as close as police will.
- [27:05]
David Drucker
Let us go, but they say the attacker arrived at the synagogue at the end of this street at around 9:30 31:00am, first ramming his car into worshippers.
- [27:14]
Willie Geist
And then jumping out, attacking them with a bladed weapon. I heard bang, bang and then we heard the helicopters.
- [27:19]
Jonathan Lemire
We heard a siren.
- [27:20]
David Drucker
Locals say it was mainly children and elderly people inside the synagogue during the attack. Police praising the community, including the rabbi, for blocking the doors and keeping the killer out. Deploying a robot to search his body for bombs, finding none.
- [27:36]
Jonathan Lemire
He was wearing about his body a vest which had the appearance of an explosive device.
- [27:43]
David Drucker
King Charles saying he is Deeply shocked and saddened, especially on such a significant.
- [27:48]
Jonathan Lemire
Day for the Jewish community.
- [27:50]
David Drucker
Josh Simons is a member of parliament and part of that community.
- [27:54]
Jonathan Lemire
Everybody in this community will be holding.
- [27:57]
Willie Geist
Their children tonight that that little bit closer. And how is this community feeling tonight?
- [28:02]
Jonathan Lemire
Frightened, scared, hurt, doing?
- [28:05]
David Drucker
There has been a surge of anti Semitic violence in both Europe and the US since the start of the Gaza war, including this firebombing attack in Colorado.
- [28:13]
Jonathan Lemire
In June which killed an 82 year old woman.
- [28:16]
David Drucker
And synagogues across the US on high alert after Yom Kippur. The day of atonement turned into another day of tragedy.
- [28:25]
Mika Brzezinski
NBC's Raf Sanchez with that report. And of course this comes amid an uptick in anti Semitic attacks attacks since the October 7th attack in Israel. President Trump and this happening also by the way, has informed Congress that he has decided the United States is in armed conflict with drug cartels. It is a move that drastically changes the country's posture toward these groups and expands the military's ability to target them. The decision was announced in a confidential notice sent to Congress. It states that drug cartels are now considered non state armed group and have been designated as terrorist organizations, placing them in the same legal category as Al Qaeda and isis. The United States has hit at least three boats in recent weeks that President Trump said were carrying drug trafficking gang members. This comes as NBC News reported last week that the administration is weighing possible strikes inside Venezuela. Jonathan Lemire, what more are you hearing about this? I think this is causing a little bit of a debate about the legality blowing up these boats.
- [29:36]
Jonathan Lemire
There is and members of Congress were finally briefed on this this week and we're told the DoD's arguments to justify this were met with some skepticism. This seems like an overreach, perhaps an overly expansive definition of what the President can do here. Now the White House as always points to Article 2 power saying the President has the ability to wage war in a, you know, without congressional approval in a limited means for self defense. The White House is claiming that these drug boats and the fentanyl on them, even though there's real skepticism as to how much fentanyl is actually there, they haven't proven it yet. And fentanyl doesn't usually come from Venezuela. Whether that's actually a national security issue or not, is that really in self defense? That seems to be the heart of this. David Drucker but the White House, they like how this is going. We know there are people, there are real hawks on Venezuela in the administration that that includes the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, that includes Stephen Miller. They feel like this is a ripe political issue. And we know these warships, there's some looming near Venezuela. And White House officials to us are not ruling out an escalation of strikes, potentially even within that country's borders.
- [30:45]
David Drucker
Yeah, look, I think there are two separate issues here, Jonathan. Right. One is that the policy of trying to respond to the drug cartels in a more forceful manner. And I think, I mean, if you were to talk to Americans across the country, regardless of politics, you know, there'd probably be some level of exhaustion after decades of trying to fight off drug traffickers and all of the crime and personal human devastation that comes with the drug scourge in the United States. Right. And so an administration that says, listen, we're not going to take this anymore. We're going to take the fight to these cartels and we're going to do something about this. As a general policy matter, it's probably going to be very well received. As we've been discussing the constitutional issue of what any administration, not just the Trump administration, but what any administration is allowed to do without congressional approval is a completely different matter. And I think what was curious here, what was very interesting about how the administration is framing this, is that the President has determined that we're in a war with the cartels. Right. And that's very interesting because Congress has the power to declare war. They're the only ones that can declare war. We don't do that really anymore. And that's understood by everybody. But usually after initial, quick, quick moves by an administration with the military, Congress is informed. And if it's going to be an ongoing operation, Right. Congress usually gives some sort of sign off. Right. An authorization for the use of force, use of military force, something like that. But, you know, as we've seen since Trump's second term began, Congress has been happy, or at least Republicans in Congress have been happy to shed power and give it to the executive branch. They don't really sign off on spending anymore. Makes us wonder, you know, whether this government shutdown, how you end up solving it when the president doesn't really need congressional approval to spend money or not spend money, and do they need any congressional participation to use force on an ongoing basis or not when Congress isn't going to object?
- [33:04]
Mika Brzezinski
All right, David Drucker. Coming up, we're going to dig into Apple. Apple removing an app after criticism from the Trump administration, as well as an administration official claiming ICE agents will have a presence at the Super Bowl. Morning Joe will be right back.
- [33:44]
Willie Geist
Sometimes an identity threat is a ring of professional hackers, and sometimes it's an overworked accountant who forgot to encrypt their connection while sending bank details. I need a coffee and you need Lifelock. Because your info is in endless places. It only takes one mistake to expose you to identity theft. Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year@lifelock.com.
- [34:12]
Ali Vitale
Specialoffer terms apply need to restock inventory, cover seasonal dips, or manage payroll? OnDeck's small business line of credit provides immediate access to funds up to $200,000 exactly when your business needs it. With flexible draws, transparent pricing and full control over repayment, you can tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. Apply today@ondeck.com and funds could available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by On Deck or Celtic Bank. On Deck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amount subject to lender approval.
- [34:45]
Jonathan Lemire
MSNBC presents the chart topping original podcast the Best People with Nicole Wallace. This week she sits down with comedian and actress Rosie o'. Donnell.
- [34:56]
Mika Brzezinski
We all try to make our way.
- [34:58]
Jonathan Lemire
In this world by being a good and honest person, and that's the tenants that I live by. The Best People with Nicole Wallace listen now.
- [35:07]
Willie Geist
For early access and free listening and.
- [35:09]
Jonathan Lemire
Bonus content, subscribe to MSNBC Premium on.
- [35:12]
Mika Brzezinski
Apple Podcasts 37 past the app's App Store has removed an application that helped warn users about nearby ICE agent activity. The app, IceBlock, allowed users to report sightings of ICE agents within a five mile radius. It did not share personal information about the agen, but was removed based on, quote, information from law enforcement about safety risks, according to the company. Meanwhile, a top adviser to President Trump says ICE agents will be at next year's super bowl in California after music superstar Bad Bunny was announced to be the halftime show performer. NBC News White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez reports.
- [36:04]
Ali Vitale
He'S one of the biggest pop.
- [36:05]
Jonathan Lemire
Stars in the world with the most.
- [36:07]
David Drucker
Streams on Spotify for three straight years.
- [36:11]
Jonathan Lemire
Bad Bunny is facing mounting MAGA backlash.
- [36:14]
David Drucker
It's so shameful that they've decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much.
- [36:20]
Jonathan Lemire
Bad Bunny was just selected to perform at the super bowl halftime show, but.
- [36:24]
Willie Geist
He'S been an outspoken critic of President.
- [36:26]
Jonathan Lemire
Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration recently, revealing why he opted not to tour the continental U.S. saying, quote, ice could be outside my concert. Now President Trump's Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski is suggesting there will be immigration agents at the Super Bowl. Will ICE have enforcement at the super.
- [36:46]
Willie Geist
Bowl for the Bad Bunny super bowl halftime show?
- [36:49]
David Drucker
Benny, there is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the super bowl and nowhere else.
- [36:56]
Jonathan Lemire
We will find you. A DHS spokesperson tells NBC News. ICE always supports the highest security events.
- [37:03]
Willie Geist
The 31 year old, who's a U.S. citizen, recently wrapped up a sold out.
- [37:08]
Jonathan Lemire
Residency in his native Puerto Rico. As he told Tom this summer, this was much more than just a concert. What did it mean to you? Everything.
- [37:16]
Willie Geist
This is a dream come true.
- [37:19]
Jonathan Lemire
It would not be the first time a Super. Super bowl performance sparked political controversy. In 2020, Jennifer Lopez featured kids in cages seen as a protest of the Trump administration's immigration policies. Two years later, Eminem took a knee.
- [37:35]
Willie Geist
NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reporting there. Gene Robinson putting aside the performative outrage and everybody getting whipped up about a guy who's going to perform for 12 minutes at halftime of the super bowl and the snowflakery that goes along with all that. There's also this idea that there have been these safe havens over this last decade or so, free of politics, generally speaking, entertainment, sports, things like that, where we all get together and cheer together regardless of who you support politically. And now sort of the long arm of the government even reaching into the Super Bowl. Yeah, no one is safe. No place is safe from politics these days or for political showmanship from, I mean, how many illegal aliens are they going to catch at the super bowl where it's just ridiculous. But they're probably not going to like Bad Bunny's show at the super bowl because he's very political, he's from Puerto Rico and he has a lot to say and I predict he's going to say it. And so that'll be another big controversy when it, when it happens. You know, ultimately the question about immigration is the same question it's always been. We need comprehensive immigration reform. Everybody knows how to do that. Nobody's willing to do that. And so we'll just argue about it and do sort of demonstrative things that actually don't get us anywhere.
- [39:03]
Jonathan Lemire
We should note Bad Bunny also hosting SNL this weekend for its season premiere. David Drucker, you know, he, he is political. I actually was mildly surprised in an era where so many big corporations seem to be bending the knee to the White House that the NFL would go with Bad Bunny to host a Super bowl halftime show this year. But to Gene's and Willie's point just now, this is just performative outrage. It's, there's, you know, but we're going to see it also next year at the World cup sites. The administration has said they're going to have Ice age agents there as well. And they're injecting politics into what should be just a celebration of sport and culture.
- [39:43]
David Drucker
Yeah, look, I mean, I think we've seen this on both sides, frankly, and I hate to both sides this thing, but sometimes it's warranted. Here we're seeing it in particular with the Trump administration and with his supporters. And you know, I think most Americans, if, if you were to travel the country and talk to them and I mean, most Americans would say, yeah, I don't know if I like this performer or that performer, but you know, who really cares? Is their music good? It's a football game, it's a halftime show, and I don't really care as long as their music is good. My biggest complaint is, are you any good if I'm going to have to sit there and listen to you for 30 minutes with a microphone? But I think this is part and parcel of our hyper politicized culture right now where everybody has to pick a side and pick a team politically instead of when it comes to the game and comment on something and then be outraged about it. And it doesn't help when our nation's top political leaders engage in this because it foments it. But it is something that has been going on for quite some time. And look, I, I, you know, I'm a Lakers fan and when the Lakers play the Celtics, I wouldn't mind if law enforcement just rounds up the Celtics and gets rid of them for me, especially because, especially because the Lakers need the help these days. And I'll take what I can get. But I think when it comes to politics, it would be nice if we could go home from work, watch a game and, and not have this in because it's not good for everybody, is my point. It's really not good.
- [41:24]
Mika Brzezinski
Well, my takeaway from watching this, just play out this segment and listening to some of the sound that we played is, I mean, it is really jarring and disturbing to see. And I'm going to continue to be jarred by this and not become a nord to it. But it is jarring and disturbing to see somebody from Department of Homeland Security reveling in the policy that has been in place. It is their policy. I have to respect that. But the coarseness and the cruelty of reveling in a policy to hear these people from Homeland Security saying, we will come and find you. We will track you down. We will run you down. And relishing the concept of plotting migrants off the street and throwing them into cars and loving that and just enjoying talking about it and enjoying engaging in the threats of it all. That is not what I think where Americans want to be. I hope that bears out at the polls and in the voting booths, but it is hard to watch. I don't know anybody who, who would support enjoying that act. Whether it's the policy or not is really, really sad and cruel and painful for these people. David Drucker and Eugene Robinson, thank you both very much. We appreciate your being on. Have a great weekend. So still ahead on Morning Joe, we're going to go through the other elimination games in the M MLB playoffs as the postseason moves now to the divisional series. Plus, we'll talk to Alec Vitale about what she says was the biggest story overnight. A little lightness is always needed. Morning Joe is back in a moment.
- [43:47]
Willie Geist
Playing over that beautiful shot on a Friday morning of the National Mall in Washington is a cut from Taylor Swift's new album, the Life of a Showgirl. Yeah, it's out. The Grammy winner's 12th studio album, released at midnight just a few hours ago, features a dozen new songs with some lyrics appearing to refer to her fiance, Travis Kelce. As you might expect, Taylor took to social media shortly after the release, writing, I can't tell you how proud I am to share this with you. An album that just feels so right. Swifty's spending the last few weeks trying to decipher any Easter eggs or clues Swift might have dropped about the album. Fans expected to visit movie theaters this weekend as well for a theatrical release party that includes a music video premiere. Ali Vitale, you are our resident Swifty. Oh, my gosh. What is all that stuff? Tell us about that in just a second.
- [44:40]
Mika Brzezinski
Oh, my gosh. I need that.
- [44:41]
Willie Geist
What in the world? Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Are you ready?
- [44:46]
Ali Vitale
That is fantastic behavior. Right? Is like my amazing team here knew how excited I was about this album. I came in, there are streamers entering the studio. It says the life of a showgirl. And they even put me on this poster next to the queen mastermind, Taylor Swift herself. I never thought I needed to see myself in showgirl gear, but like, is this my new career pivot?
- [45:12]
Mika Brzezinski
Okay, looks good.
- [45:14]
Willie Geist
That's your new headshot. That's your new headshot Alley professional headshot. And I love the Cupcakes in front of you. So I trust you've listened to the album front to back already. I'm reading about a diss track for Charli xcx, perhaps. There's a lot going on in this album. Tell us about it.
- [45:30]
Ali Vitale
Look, we thought that this was going to be boppy dancey, very similar to her 1989 and Reputation albums. There was also a question of if we were going to get any Reputation Vault tracks, because you guys know she's been doing this. As she was rerecording many of her old albums, we were also getting new songs from that era. So far, we don't have any of those, though. The Swifties are clowning around on social media, questioning if there's going to be some kind of extra release. But for now, we know that we have the life of a showgirl. And yes, there are some potential diss tracks of Charlie xcx. There's a little bit of bad blood, to borrow another Swift phrase between those two. But then we've also got some slight that are, I think my personal favorite Opalite, which is supposed to be about Travis Kelce. And he teased the fact that his favorite Taylor album is her 1989 album. Those producers now on this album back with Taylor Swift. So I imagine Travis Kelce has a lot of new bops that he loves as well. I'm listening through. I love it all. And frankly, like, we cover so much news that is heavy. That this excuse for levity right now, I am very, very grateful for it. I think many of us are. So I think that's one of the reasons why we did go all out this in orange on my show. People came wearing orange and blue, which are, of course, the colors for this album. So it was nice to have an excuse to have a little bit of fun. We went like, all out here.
- [46:49]
Willie Geist
Yeah, you really did, Ally. We're all wearing our colors. I got my Yankee tie on, which is now very boring. In contrast to your Taylor Swift get up right there. Also, Taylor's gonna be at 30 Rock a bunch next week. She's got the full hour of Seth Meyer. She's doing Fallon. So she's got a big rollout plan. Plan coming. Ali Vitale, really showing off the range this morning. Fluent in the government shutdown at the top of the show. And now here we are, equally fluent in Taylor Swift. Congratulations, really, to you this morning. Thanks so much. All right, we'll be right back with more Morning Joe. Sometimes an identity threat is a ring of professional hackers, and sometimes it's an overworked accountant who forgot to encrypt their connection while sending bank details. I need a coffee.
- [47:52]
Jonathan Lemire
And you need Lifelock.
- [47:54]
Willie Geist
Because your info is in endless places. It only takes one mistake to expose you to identity theft. Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year@lifelock.com special offer terms apply.