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Morning Joe
Morning Joe 1/24/25
00:58:40
Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon clears a key hurdle in the Senate
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Political Commentator
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Political Commentator
Trump has he's issued a number of executive orders. Some of them are awful, some are just blatantly unconstitutional.
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But one of them, I have to admit, I'm a little bit excited about. Lastly, sir, we have an executive order ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That's a big one, huh?
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A lot of people are waiting for this.
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Prolonged for years, for decade.
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And everything will be revealed.
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Ten bucks says we're gonna find out Joe Biden killed jfk.
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Morning Joe Host
All right. Good morning and welcome to Morning joe. It is Friday. Anybody happy about that? Anyone? Anyone? Raise your hand for Lamir Justin.
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Political Commentator
Yes. Well, Here we go.
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Morning Joe Host
January 24th. We have a lot to get to this morning, including Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary, which cleared a key hurdle yesterday. We'll look at where support stands for the former FOX News host ahead of an expected final vote today in the Senate. Plus, President Trump delivers the first international speech of his new term. We'll have the key moments from his address to business and political leaders. Also ahead, we'll bring you the very latest on the wildfire still burning in Southern California as the president says he will get a firsthand look at the devastation. Former Trump administration official is losing his security detail despite threats from foreign groups. We'll talk about that. Along with Joe Willey and me, we have the co host of our fourth hour, Jonathan Lemire. He's a contributing writer at the Atlantic covering the White House and national politics. Managing editor at the Bulwark Sam Stein, White House reporter for the Washington Post, Jackie Alemany and the host of Way Too Early, Ali Vitale is with us. So, Joe, it's a busy Friday.
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Political Commentator
We have a huge Friday. And you know, because Sam Stein's here and he's fascinated by this Blake Lively story we're going to be covering in the 7:00 hour. Finally, we have Pablo. We have coming on in 30 minutes. We've got a lot of stuff going on today. I do want to start, though, with what you read off the top, the news off the top. The Wall Street Journal has written about it where they talk about some X TR officials losing security. This is what they say in their editorial on the Wall Street Journal editorial page today, a Murdoch paper. Trump leaves ex aides unprotected. The possibility of falling out of President Trump's good graces is an occupational hazard for good people who serve in his administration. But this looks like a new low. Mr. Trump reportedly has ordered an end to security protection for three former advisers who are living under the threat of assassination by Iran. Pray it won't happen. But what if one of them now gets attacked? If Iran commits violence against any of these men, Mr. Trump won't be able to escape responsibility. Also, what is Secretary of State Marco Rubio supposed to think about the boss's refusal to protect his predecessor? It's a Wall Street Journal editorial page. Obviously, really a lot of people talking about this. But again, these men are under threat of death by Iran because they were the ones that helped carry out the attack on Soleimani back when they were serving for none other than Donald Trump.
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Yeah, I mean, that's exactly the point, which is they are under threat because of the orders they received from Donald Trump, because of the policies of the Trump administration. And now for petty reasons, some grievance that Donald Trump has, you have to dig deep to remember what it is he's pulling. According to all this reporting, security for not just Mike Pompeo, but others, John Bolton we talked about a couple days ago. But one of the top aides to Mike Pompeo also having his security pulled, somebody who was at his side for all of these decisions. So when Donald Trump promised retribution during the campaign, it turns out he meant it. When he promised to empty the jails of January 6 convicts, it turns out he meant it. So we're learning in this very first week, these first few days of the Trump administration, if people didn't already to take seriously his threats, well, you know.
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Meek, and what's so fascinating about this list is, of course, people have seen that John Bolton has been critical of Donald Trump. Mike Pompeo, not so much, though, but Brian Hook, what's so fascinating about Brian Hook is, and so many people in Washington are asking the question why he's a guy who, you know, kept his head down, a professional, and professional who's an envoy to Iran and didn't get out there attacking anybody, stayed non political. So it is deeply perplexing to a lot of people why his security clearance got pulled. And of course, obviously disturbing that the others two did win. Again, like President Trump, they are under direct threat from the Iranian government.
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Morning Joe Host
Yeah. To our top story now. President Trump's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency was confirmed on a bipartisan basis yesterday. John Radcliffe, Trump's former Director of National Intelligence and a former Republican congressman from Texas, was confirmed 74 to 25, with 21 Democrats voting in favor of his nomination. He was sworn into office shortly after the vote. Meanwhile, the final Senate vote on Pete Hegseth's nomination as Defense Secretary is expected to be held tonight. After he narrowly cleared a required procedural vote yesterday, senators voted to move forward with his nomination. Two Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, sided with Democrats in voting against Hegseth. Senator Murkowski announced her opposition ahead of the vote, writing in a statement, quote, the leader of the Department of Defense must demonstrate and model the standards of behavior and character we expect of all service members. And Mr. Hegseth's nomination to the role poses significant concerns that I cannot overlook. Senator Susan Collins also explained her decision in a statement noting Hegseth's changing position on women in combat roles. Quote, he and I had a candid conversation in December about his past statements and apparently evolving views. I am not convinced that his position on women serving in combat roles. Now Republicans can only afford to lose one more vote if that occurs. Vice President J.D. vance would have to vote in favor to break the tie and confirm HEGSETH. Senator Mitch McConnell chose to advance Hegseth to a final vote, but has not signaled he is not sold on his. But he has signaled that he's not sold on his nomination. And Senator Thom Tillis told reporters yesterday he was still looking into allegations that Hegseth denies.
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Political Commentator
I'll be voting in favor of closure today.
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I'm still examining the record.
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You know, what I've, what I'm trying.
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To explain to everyone, and I don't know, some people are getting it, is.
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I go through extensive due diligence.
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Morning Joe Host
If people want to reach out to.
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Political Commentator
Me and want to talk about their account.
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Morning Joe Host
I do it.
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Political Commentator
I have talked to numerous people. I've spent hours on the phone. I have yet to find I see these accounts. I've yet to find one instance of a firsthand account with cooperation to support the allegations. If I find that, then it would influence my vote.
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Well, you know, that that is fascinating what Tom Till has said. We we've heard that several, several whistleblower reports were actually blocked by Republicans. So those people that made those complaints couldn't come forward with it. It'd be interesting to see if Thom Tillis has tried to reach out to those. So first of all, with with the Ratcliffe vote, another fairly bipartisan vote like Marco Rubio and like several others that are going through and I like we suspect the treasury secretary nominee will also breeze through. But but on Pete Hegseth you have of course, Mitch McConnell and we just heard there Thom Tillis. I still am wondering about two people have we heard yet from Senator Young, who again is committed his life to strengthening the United States military and certainly understands that Pete Hegseth is not qualified, regardless of these allegations, to be secretary of defense at this stage of his life. And also if we heard Anything from Dave McCormick, a West Point grad who's not up for reelection for six years and certainly understands as well as anybody on Capitol Hill that Pete Hegseth is not up to the challenges of serving in the Pentagon. John?
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Yeah.
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Pandora Ad Voice
So a few things here. First of all, on Ratcliffe, much like Rubio, the bipartisan support, there are some Democrats who have signaled they don't necessarily agree with all of his his beliefs, but they think he is qualified for the role and therefore he is going to he was confirmed without much in the way of opposition. Hegseth is a different matter. There are big questions here, some late breaking revelations in these last few days. You know, former family members stepping forward, more witness accounts coming forward, some with names attached, which for some Republicans, deeply important. And we now have as Thom Tillis suggested these last 24 hours, he wants he yes, he moved to advance, but now has these last few moments here to do some last minute investigating and perhaps soul searching. We heard from Collins and Murkowski, two senators. Their opposition was expected and both delivered pretty strong statements as to why they couldn't support this candidate. So the question is, is there one more that would force the vice president to break a tie or perhaps two more. Senator Young has suggested he will support Pete Hegseth that to answer one of the questions so we will see if anything changes in the last 24 hours in these final 24 hours. I've also been told there are some Republicans who have misgivings about Hegseth but might be saving their no vote for Tulsi Gabbard, thinking they can only do one for fear of really alienating President Trump. And they think Gabbard even less qualified than Hegseth. So, Ali, let's go to you. You obviously cover the Hill each and every day. What's the latest you've heard here about Hegseth's moment? Could there be a late breaking no vote or two that could jeopardize his nomination when the vote's taken this evening?
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Political Commentator
Well, these are the four names that we've been talking about for the entirety of the Hegseth nominating fight. It's always been Murkowski, Collins, McConnell and of course, Thom Tillis. But what I hear in that Thom Tillis statement is that he might be pointing to the pitfalls of the background check process. And certainly all of us here have talked about that, how it's not been a wholehearted and far reaching process with clear, glaring gaps. But what Tillis is saying there is he's leaving himself an out for if and when he does end up voting to confirm Hegseth. The lack of first person accounts is what he's looking for and has yet to find. But there are probably reasons for that, including but not limited to something that our team reported late last night, which is that there was a non disparagement clause in Hegseth's second divorce and that might prevent his second wife from coming out and talking about the pieces of their marriage that have been alleged. This idea that she was fearing for herself, for her safety, that there might have been threats of abuse. That's something that our team had reported on. And so there could be explanations for why Tillis has not yet been able to find a first person account. But what I see in that statement is not someone who is looking for the way to lay the groundwork to getting to know he's also a 2026 senator up for reelection. We know primary challenges have been a key threat over the course of this process and that's certainly something that's not far from mind for folks on the Hill either.
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So you know Sam Stein. Yeah. Todd Young said last week that he was going to support Pete Hegseth in this vote last night. We should point out to Senator Dave McCormick, the new incoming senator. He's here now. Incoming senator from Pennsylvania, who is also A combat veteran, he voted to move forward to the final vote, but also has signaled his support for Pete Hegseth. So do you see anything derailing Hegseth's confirmation at this point? And if not, where are, as John pointed out, where are Republicans looking? Because six days from now you have the confirmation hearings for both Tulsi Gabbard and Cash Patel. Are some Republicans holding their no votes perhaps for one of those two nominees?
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Well, first of all, when do we get to Blake Lively? Like, that's why. That's why he's close.
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Keep your powder dry.
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Simmer down.
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I was asked to talk about one thing this morning on the Hegseth nomination. I think this is not performative because obviously there are two Republican senators who have come out in opposition to it. But when you seelike Ali said, when you see Thom Tillis statement, it's clear to me that what he's saying in essence is I'm open minded, but I haven't seen anything yet that will dissuade me from voting for it. And we got hints yesterday that the expectation is a very narrow vote, potentially a 50, 50 vote, but that Hegseth will be confirmed ultimately. And notable here. Look, obviously there's a ton of scandal around this. This has been an incredibly messy confirmation process. But I thought Colin's statement was the most notable one, which is, I don't believe you. In essence, I don't believe your conversions that you say you've had on women in combat are real. And it gets to the fundamental issue with Hegseth that wasn't, in essence, you know, convincing enough for all Republicans, which is that he's not really, compared to anyone else for this post, qualified for it. He just doesn't have the qualifications for it. That got overshadowed by some of the more salacious allegations against him, which in a way actually allowed Republicans to get over that. The other qualification issue. Now, Willie, as to your other point, like what does this mean for other nominations? I've been talking to Republicans on the Hill. The biggest one that they think is at risk would be Tulsi Gabbards. She's not had the confirmation hearing meetings with senators that have gone well like the others have. In fact, some of the senators have left those meetings saying they still have questions that they need to answer. I was in a briefing with one Republican member of Congress who went through all of the controversial ones, Hegseth, RFK junior Patel, and they were pretty bullish on all of them. And then it got to Gabbard and it's like you know, she still has work to do. But I also talked to aand. I'll shut up after this. But I also talked to a lobbyist, a Republican lobbyist on the Hill who said the issue here is that if any of these nominees go down, it hurts John Thune. And John Thune has to deliver these nominees for Trump. And the establishment Republicans want Thune to remain Senate Majority Leader. So they have that other calculation that they have to consider when making this vote.
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Morning Joe Host
Okay, we'll be following that today. Joe?
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Political Commentator
Yeah. I've just got to say, first of all, you have people that have again, served in the military. You have Dave McCormick, who Willie just said is going to support Dave McCormick knows. He knows Pete Hegseth is not qualified to run the Pentagon. He knows that. So. And he's not up for six years. So that's fascinating. You say the same thing for Todd Young. He knows Pete Hegseth is not qualified. So you look at these votes and some of them are just, again, just absolutely baffling that they say, well, well, you know, we can't vote against two people, so we're going to let this guy with a thousand different questions about him and who's not qualified to run it, we're going to let him run the most important bureaucracy in the world, and he's going to be in the, like, nuclear line of succession here. And I don't, I don't know. I guess I'm too naive. I don't understand that, that line of thinking.
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Morning Joe Host
Yeah, well, we're going to follow this as it, a lot of it could happen today, at least late into the day. In other news, House Speaker Mike Johnson is denying a Washington Post report that claims an aide to Johnson advised Republicans last year to not reach out to former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for their January 6 Capitol riot investigation because of sexually explicit texts to lawmakers sent to her. NBC News has not seen the document the Washington Post story cites and has not been able to independently verify the reporting. This comes as Speaker Johnson is launching a new select committee to investigate the attack and the Democratic Party's probe into it.
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Political Commentator
There's no reason to issue a subpoena.
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Morning Joe Host
Because Cassidy Hutchinson was volunteering to dispute.
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Political Commentator
And come presumably because she wanted to try to sell more books. It didn't make sense to give her any more attention. She'd already testified. There's all these allegations that somebody on my staff was communicating with somebody else on staff. I don't, I'm not privy to all my staff's conversations. But that didn't have anything to do with me.
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So it's a question about nothing.
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Morning Joe Host
So, Jackie, this is your reporting. So this involves texts that were sent to her and if revealed, it would be damaging to Republican lawmakers. What were these texts? Yeah, Mika.
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Political Commentator
Well, I want to be clear. We haven't actually reviewed the alleged text message, the purported text messages that members approached an aide in Mike Johnson's house about warning her that if elevated by Cassidy Hutchinson potentially through a subpoena and through discovery, that these text messages could potentially be made public and provide embarrassing fodder and information about members of Congress that that would be unnecess. Throughout the past year, obviously, Cassidy Hutchinson has been a central target of the counter effort to investigate the January 6th investigation and essentially re report the report completed by the House Select Committee that investigated it and finished their report in 2022 that was led by Liz Cheney. They've accused Liz Cheney of witness tampering with regards to Cassidy Hutchinson as a part of sort of recruiting her to be a part of their investigation, but notably did not subpoena her or her in to testify under oath. Now, Cassidy Hutchinson's lawyer provided a statement for us saying that Hutchinson has willingly cooperated with the investigation and that a subpoena wouldn't be necessary. But there are people who are involved with the probe who told the Post that that was a source of contention and disagreement and that Mike Johnson also was against bringing Cassidy in and elevating her story, though he did not echo the sentiments about there being sexually explicit text mess messages and concern about that. Instead, as you just heard, what he said was he was worried about embarrassing, unnecessary information being raised and elevated again by Hutchinson providing a platform for her.
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Morning Joe Host
I just have to understand you're talking about grown men, Republican lawmakers sending butt.
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Political Commentator
That's a very good question. But again, we have not actually reviewed any of these purported text messages or seen them. Just know that members raised concerns to Mike Johnson's office about the potential release of whatever these texts may be. But we do know that they were purported to be sexually explicit and highly inappropriate enough for an aide to raise concerns and communicate that to the staff of the lawmaker Barry Loudermilk, who was conducting the investigation.
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Morning Joe Host
And Speaker Johnson denies it. Guests will follow this. Thank you, Jackie. Stay with us. Still ahead on MORNING Joe, the latest from Los Angeles where multiple wildfires are burning right now. Crews are gaining ground on one fast moving blaze as some much needed rain is being forecast this weekend. Also ahead, when it comes to the southern border, Republicans are making it clear Democrats won't be part of the conversation when it comes to passing President Trump's immigration priorities. We'll dig into that. Morning Joe is back in 90 seconds.
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Political Commentator
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- [23:41]
Morning Joe Host
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Morning Joe Host
Time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. President Donald Trump ordering the government to declassify records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. It's unclear when exactly the documents will be made public. While most historians doubt the files will offer any groundbreaking information, Trump told reporters yesterday, quote, everything will be revealed. New data shows a new record number of people are making just the minimum payments on their credit cards. More consumers are also falling into delinquency as the average interest rates have soared. According to the Fed, average credit card rates are about 50% higher than three years ago. By one measure, it would take 22 years and cost 18 grand in interest to pay off $10,000. And the new York Post is reporting on a study that shows smartphones are making teenagers more aggressive, detached from reality, and even causing them to hallucinate. According to one psychologist quoted in the piece, screen time essentially acts as a toxin that stunts both brain development and social development. A staggering 37% of 13 year olds reported experiencing aggression. The researchers also warned the phones are making kids withdraw from society. And Willie, as I toss to you, it's especially kids who have their phones all night long and they're just scrolling and up all night. Hi, Joe.
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Political Commentator
Yeah, I'm Joe. The other guy's Willie. We'll go to him in a second. But we did worry about this, though. I mean, and we saw it firsthand when prep school phenom Sam Stein came on set right as smartphones were coming in. And with all these things that you were talking about little Sam went through when he was in prep school. And I think, oh, look at him right now. See, look at that.
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Morning Joe Host
Willie, that unfortunately, is the truth. Sam's doing a very good imitation of today's teenager.
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Political Commentator
He's still doing it. You know, Willie, I actually, I saw a doctor. That's just fascinating. I saw a doctor and I'm sure you may have seen the clip, too, saying that she would rather her teenager smoke cigarettes than be addicted to a smartphone. Because if they only smoke cigarettes, like for a couple of years in their teens, their body could actually heal itself. But unfortunately, so much of the wiring for the brain goes on between 13 and 18, 19, 20 that she's very worried that the neurological defects stay with the children even as they move beyond the teenage years. Willie?
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Yeah, I mean, it's not even a debate anymore. Books have been written, studies have been done. They've been terrible. You can look at social anxiety, depression, suicide rates among teenagers since the advent of the smartphone and social media. It's all right there in the data. And you're right. A lot of us have noticed how aggressive Sam Stein has become. He froths at the mouth.
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Morning Joe Host
It's horrible.
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Political Commentator
Ever since the. Ever since the iPhone came out, he is. He's a different guy. And a lot of us are scared of him, quite frankly. We keep him at a safe. Keep him at a safe distance.
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I gotta. I gotta read up.
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Why do you think he's in a box right now, man? I mean, yeah, we keep him in a box. I went to a baseball game with him at Fenway a few years ago, and, I mean, he was just climbing over the seats, taking people's nachos, like, get me the phone. Getting drinks. You can't go out with him. The smartphone is completely changing. Interesting.
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Absolutely. Sam, go ahead. Sam, go ahead.
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Well, I just feel like I'm being maligned here, you know? How are you supposed to keep on your Blake Lively news if you don't have your smartphone on you at all times? You gotta. You gotta check on your feeds here.
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Sam, we're gonna get your Blake Lively coverage in just a moment, but that is very.
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I have not been following the Blake Lively thing at all. I just want to be clear. I don't know how. Don't come to me for it, please. It's going to be embarrassing.
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All right, all right, Tim, Just chill, man. Chill. But, yeah, that is a huge story. As the parent of two teenagers, the phone. The phone story is the story of our time for sure. All right, let's get to the fires again now in Southern California, crews working to get several of them under control this morning. Some much needed rain is expected over the weekend, but that is prompting concerns now about possible mudslides. NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz has the latest.
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Morning Joe Host
Relentless Santa Ana wind sparking multiple new fires across Southern California, forcing firefighters into what seems like a volatile game of whack a mole. From Ventura county to San Diego to Los Angeles, a brush fire ignited near the famous Getty center, closing in on one of the city's busiest highways and prompting evacuation warnings. In Bel Air. I can see it spreading in both directions. Crews knocking it down while also waging a massive air and ground attack to get a handle on the Hughes fire in north LA county, which forced 30, 30,000 people from their homes.
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Political Commentator
We were able to get A lot of personnel and equipment on scene in a relatively short amount of time.
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Morning Joe Host
Across Southern California, 10 million people facing dangerous fire conditions with up to 70 mile per hour winds. But rain now in the forecast after months of bone dry conditions. Rain, is it a good thing or a bad thing?
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Political Commentator
Right now, what's predicted looks like a good thing because it's not a lot. But we're not taking any chances.
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Morning Joe Host
The rain is also bringing concerns about mudslides with unstable land and the burn scars and all this toxic debris. Crews clearing debris, installing concrete barriers and giving out sandbags to shore up vulnerable areas.
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Political Commentator
If the rain does pound for a significant period of time, there will be a slide.
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Morning Joe Host
Despite a city on edge. Multiple schools near Altadena reopening for the first time since the Eaton fire. Some of my best friends might have lost their homes. Only no one whose house burned to the ground.
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Political Commentator
So that was a sad thing.
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Now the baby.
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Morning Joe Host
An attempt to return to normalcy as the fire threat looms large.
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Political Commentator
Liz Kreutz reporting from Los Angeles county there. Jonathan Lemire. President Trump will travel to the fire zone later today, but that'll be after he visits North Carolina, which is still devastated by the flooding that happened after Hurricane Helene. Tens of billions of dollars of damage, more than 100 people died. He's been very critical. He was during the campaign of the federal response there in North Carolina. So a long and busy day for the president today.
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Pandora Ad Voice
Yeah, he's heading to both disaster sites first, as you say, western North Carolina, Hurricane Helene. He's going to tour the damaged areas, promise some sort of federal help, and then he heads out to California and look for presidents. These trips to disaster zones are usually moments to unify, to say we'll set aside politics and just work together to help the Republicans and Democrats alike here on the ground who have suffered in his first term.
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Political Commentator
First term.
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Pandora Ad Voice
Donald Trump didn't often do that. He politicized a lot of these events. He certainly did during this past campaign as well. We will have to see what happens today. One note of note, he is inviting Congressman Schiff, who he is deeply critical of, to join him for touring the California disaster zone. Schiff, of course, represents that state. The Senator Schiff, I should say, newly elevated. And then Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, who of course is another political foe of Donald Trump, is going to meet him at the airport when he arrives in California. So we'll have to see what tone all of these men take here. If past his prologue, Trump could make it political. We'll see. And Then, as a final note, he then heads to Las Vegas tomorrow for just one week into his term, already holding his first rally.
- [33:24]
Political Commentator
Yeah, and Senator Schiff, by the way, will be our guest here in a couple of hours on Morning Joe. President Trump will be greeted at the airport in Asheville, North Carolina, at the first stop by the new Democratic governor of North Carolina, Josh Stein. So it'll be interesting to watch all the dynamics there. Coming up, we'll take a quick break from news and politics and talk to our friend Pablo Torre to preview championship weekend in the NFL playoffs. Pablo next on Morning Joe.
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Morning Joe Host
Foreign.
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Political Commentator
Hey everybody, it's Rob Lowe here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday, so subscribe, please and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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TaxAct knows filing taxes can be confusing.
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So we have live experts on hand who can help answer any questions you may have. Have questions like can I claim my.
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SUV is my home office? If I answer work emails in my car? If I adopted 12 dogs this year, can I list them as dependents and am I doing this right or am I doing this very, very wrong? Our experts have the answers to those questions and many others.
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Tax Act? Let's get them over with.
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- [36:19]
Morning Joe Host
Past the hour. American Madison Keys will play in a Grand Slam final for the second time in her career after her runner up finish at the U.S. open. Keys has earned another swing at a major, rallying from a set down yesterday to upset second seeded IGA Svadek and advance to the Australian Open final. Keys will meet two time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the title match tomorrow night. On the men's side, Alexander Zverev got a free pass through the semis after Novak Djokovic retired midway through the match with an injury. Zverev had just secured an 81 minute first set in a tie break when Djokovic, who was playing with a muscle tear in his left leg, conceded the contest and confirmed Zverev's spot in Sunday's finals. Zverev will take on top ranked Italian Jannik Sinner who advanced this morning after eliminating American Ben Shelton in straight sets. So Joe, I love the Polish IGA Svadek. I like her.
- [37:30]
Political Commentator
It was an incredible tiebreaker. It was a 10 point tiebreaker and IGA was ahead through most of the tiebreaker and so incredible ending there. And Djokovic of course. It's always fun watching part of the interruption and hearing the back and forth on Wilbur calling Djokovic the goat and they saying if he won this time he definitely would be the goat. Not so in this case. Willie the Wall Street Journal has a headline the Buffalo Bills have Achieves problem. The solution weighs 1,909 pounds. And they talk about their massive offensive line and how the Bills use the jumbo package. They use six linemen instead of five and it's worked this year the Bills, the Wall Street Journal records, have averaged the most yards per down and also scored the most touchdowns. So I do think if there's a year, as I said a couple of weeks ago when Pablo said no, no, don't do it, I think if there's a year that Josh Allen of these Bills can stop the Chiefs, this is the year we'll see.
- [38:40]
They got to go on the road again. They did beat the Chiefs. The only team to beat the Chiefs this season beat them earlier this season. But but it's a different gear for these Chiefs when they get to the playoffs. But this is clearly a more flawed Chiefs team that has been in past years had so many narrow victories, lucky bounces, bad calls, you could argue last week go in their favor. We'll see if they get lucky again this weekend. So the finalists for the NFL MVP were Josh Allen right now, Joe Burrow Jared Goff, Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley, lone running back in the group, finalists for the mvp. That announcement came yesterday. But just two of those star players are still in contention for the Lombardi Trophy, set to play in conference championships this weekend. The Eagles will count on Barkley heavily Sunday to carry them through the NFC title game against division rival the Washington Commanders. Sunday night in the afc, Allen and the Bills head out on the road to Arrowhead where they will try to stop the two time defending champion Chiefs from booking a third straight trip to the super bowl as they seek a three peat. Joining us now, the host of Pablo Torre finds out on Meadowlark Media and a NBC contributor, Pablo Torre. Pablo, good to see you.
- [39:53]
Morning Joe Host
Good morning.
- [39:54]
Political Commentator
All right, viewers guide for the weekend. What are you going to be watching?
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Monday.com Ad Voice
Yeah, I mean, let's start in chronological order. I mean, the Commander's Eagles thing, we'll start there because they're going to give us that first. The Commanders are in an interesting position, like an NCAA tournament position to me. They have obviously the hottest team right now, but also they have the best player right now when it comes to just look at the this matchup. Compare every position group the Eagles have at every other position than quarterback, an advantage, but at the most important one, it's the rookie having the greatest rookie season I think in NFL history. And so for me, as much as the Eagles have all that, Willie, I'm, I'm, I'm leaning Commanders here. I really am.
- [40:41]
Political Commentator
You know, the thing is it's so hard to say how a rookie and how an up and coming team is going to perform as the stakes get higher every week. And of course when you're at the NFC championship game, that's as high as it gets. I've been thinking that too this week, that it's certainly a possibility because like the Chiefs, the Eagles at times have won ugly, have just sort of, you know, they ground their opponents out. If Jaden Daniels is hot, if he takes it to the next level, this is going to be, yeah, a really fascinating game. Either side could win. But I'm with you. Daniels could do it.
- [41:21]
Yeah.
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Monday.com Ad Voice
Oh, look, Jalen hurts to your guy, right? Alabama's own Jalen hurts.
- [41:26]
Political Commentator
Right.
- [41:27]
Monday.com Ad Voice
He's been struggling and he's been hurting and that has been an issue. So the defense of the Eagles, to be clear, probably the best in the league at every position, certainly running back. They have Saquon Barkley aforementioned. We've talked about him all year. But beyond that, it's like, can Jaden Daniels be the guy where you strap a heart rate monitor to him and you're like, this guy shows signs of calmness in live fire. And that's what we've seen. And I just think when you're, when you're at a two minute drill scenario, you want the guy who's most calm and the guy I trust the most right now is Jayden Daniels. And I like that scenario stuff.
- [42:05]
Political Commentator
Yeah, yeah.
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Pandora Ad Voice
Certainly we have seen Cinderella playoff runs before Pablo sort of end when, when the they face a tough defense, the Eagles, great defense, they can run the ball.
- [42:14]
Monday.com Ad Voice
They're really good.
- [42:15]
Pandora Ad Voice
They're home. But Daniels is special and it's also a division game. They won't be scared of Philip.
- [42:19]
Monday.com Ad Voice
NFC east tends to be messy historically.
- [42:21]
Pandora Ad Voice
Yeah. So let's turn now to the, the marquee matchup, the 6:30 game on Sunday. It is, it is Bills at Chiefs. The Bills, as Willie said, beat the Chiefs in the during the regular season. But The Chiefs are undefeated 30 against them in the playoffs. You know that they will have home field advantage. That is a tough, tough. My heart is with the Bills. I think a lot of America is ready for something different. They'd love to see Josh Allen and that long suffering fan base back in the Super Bowl. Man, it's tough to bet against the Chiefs.
- [42:46]
Monday.com Ad Voice
Yeah, look, comeuppance is overdue. A revolution is brewing against Kansas City. Claire McCaskill of course, is trying to suppress that revolution at every turn.
- [42:54]
Pandora Ad Voice
She's running.
- [42:55]
Morning Joe Host
She's not here to defend herself, but.
- [42:57]
Monday.com Ad Voice
I can feel her. I can feel her presence.
- [42:59]
Morning Joe Host
I bet you can.
- [43:00]
Monday.com Ad Voice
Look, I love the movie Amadeus and I bring that up, I bring that up, Mika, to bring you in. But also, but also because when I see Mahomes and I see Josh Allen, I'm reminded of Mozart and Salieri, respectively.
- [43:15]
Morning Joe Host
It was a good movie.
- [43:16]
Monday.com Ad Voice
Salieri just for people. Not only a great character in a great movie, a good if not great composer in his own right. The issue as much as they are four and four, by the way, Joe Alan and Mahomes are four and four head to head career Salieri. Josh Allen is 03 in the postseason. And so this is the thing we talk about in sports. When the spotlight turns up, when the heat gets turned up, who becomes better and who becomes worse. And when you're going up against Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, maybe we should stop pretending that they're the same guy. And I love Josh Allen. I do. It's just really hard to bet against, to get against Mozart. Yes, yes.
- [44:04]
Political Commentator
Yeah, it is. But we'll see what happens. I mean, you know, rivalries are one sided until they're not. Of course. We saw what the Red Sox did to the Yankees and that, yeah, that changed everything. Just thank you for the opening there. I want to quickly go around and I want to ask everybody the MVP choice. And Willie, let's start with you. I mean, you know, I understand you want to make the vote vote before the playoffs are over. You know, there, no doubt about it, the MVP for the regular season was Lamar Jackson. I, I love Lamar. But, but how do you name somebody an MVP that can't ever take their team to the promised land? It's supposed to be most valuable player. The person who take, I mean, if, if we're just going by season, I mean, Joe Burrow could get it. I mean nobody was hotter than him the second half of the season. But you know, if Josh, if Allen takes his team to the super bowl, it's going to be kind of strange having Lamar Jackson once again who had the best season regular season, Lamar winning the MVP again. I just think they need to push the voting back because it does matter how you play in December and January.
- [45:26]
Yeah, but the MVP awards never really been the most valuable player. It's been the best player. And Lamar Jackson clearly had the best year and he would never because he's a classy and good teammate. But he might be playing this weekend if not for a couple of terrible dropped passes by his always reliable tight end. So I think Lamar is probably the easy pick here. And I would say it doesn't go to running backs much anymore. But Saquon Barkley had an absolutely incredible year. And as a Giants fan, I can't root for the Eagles exactly. But I am rooting for him. So if they won, I'd be very, very happy for Saquon Barkley because he's a great guy and a phenomenal and he deserves it.
- [46:07]
And by the way, if you're talking about a most valuable player who's, who's, you know, sort of the WAR equivalent in baseball. I mean, the guy that's made the biggest difference, Sam Stein. It's hard not to say that it is Barkley. I mean, he gave the Eagles a jolt and it gave him. Wait, have you been on your phone like all year on Blake Leiby or do you. Have you actually followed the NFL? Can you answer this question?
- [46:34]
I have, I have, I have.
- [46:36]
Okay.
- [46:38]
My mvp. Your mvp, Daniel Jones. Man, what a year. Oh my God, no. My Giants are terrible. Obviously I have an affinity a Love for Saquon. Like Willie, I am so happy for the year he's had and it's remarkable to see all that talent unlocked. And frankly, I do think it's a little bit weird that we just overlook running backs at this point in time. So I would actually cast my vote for him, but this is ultimately impossible. This is.
- [47:09]
Right.
- [47:09]
I'm assuming this is a regular season award. So unfortunately, you know, because obviously the playoff heroics in our mind, in our estimation, they matter. They should. And they're the ultimate arbiter of like how successful you are for your team. But this is a regular season award, so I'm with you that it's going to end up with Lamar.
- [47:27]
Okay. Keep the Brady Box Bunch up. Alex says we have to go, but I'm going to go around very quickly. MVP Jonathan Lamar or who?
- [47:35]
Pandora Ad Voice
I think it's going to be Josh Allen. Because I think it's a narrative award. I think he's going to win.
- [47:40]
Political Commentator
It is. It is a narrative award. It shouldn't be Ally. Who, who, who's the MVP this year?
- [47:44]
I'm with my fellow suffering Giants fan, Saquan Barkley. M. You talk about know your value. That is a guy who knew his value. Oh my God. Giants fans are going to be crying over that. Especially with the mvp.
- [47:56]
Yeah, he should be. Jackie, you're mvp.
- [48:00]
I. I wish I could play along with this and tell you that I just googled who the MVP should be.
- [48:07]
Someone on her phone.
- [48:09]
Unlike Sam, I didn't rush to figure it out on chat.
- [48:13]
Pandora Ad Voice
GPT.
- [48:14]
Political Commentator
I will just go with Alex as a fellow New Yorker.
- [48:17]
Monday.com Ad Voice
Yeah, look, none of us should collapse onto fainting couches if it's Saquon or Lamar or Josh Allen, all of them are deserving. Honestly, parody in the contest. Just announce it before the postseason. It's a regular season award. Give it to him before it looks dumb that you gave it to the guy who just choked in the playoffs even though he's a three time mvp. It's Lamar Jackson. It will be Lamar Jackson.
- [48:37]
Morning Joe Host
Okay. Host of Pablo Torre finds out on Meadowlark Media. Pablo Torre. Thank you. By the way, Pablo Amica, your answer? Yes. I'm with Ali Vitale.
- [48:45]
Political Commentator
Your answer for mvp.
- [48:47]
Morning Joe Host
I'm with Ali Vitale. Okay. By the way, Pablo mentioned Amadeus and the man who won the Academy Award for playing Salieri. F. Murray Abraham will be our guest on Morning Joe on Monday.
- [48:59]
Pandora Ad Voice
Whoa.
- [49:01]
Monday.com Ad Voice
I call him F. Me and F hang out all the time.
- [49:04]
Morning Joe Host
Synergy. Still ahead, we'll speak with former U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel on President Trump's return to the White House and how leaders overseas view his comeback. Plus, Senator Adam Schiff will join the conversation with his concerns surrounding newly confirmed CIA director John Radcliffe. Also ahead, we'll show you my sit down interview with Academy Award winning actress Michelle yo where we discuss Joe's historic, lengthy career in Hollywood. Morning Joe will be right back.
- [49:47]
Political Commentator
Welcome back to Morning Joe, a beautiful shot of Capitol chili capitol at 6:54am in the morning. Hey, Lemaire, I got a question for what do you what do you think Micah has against Marie Abraham?
- [50:03]
Morning Joe Host
What? What did I do?
- [50:05]
Pandora Ad Voice
Well, you said F. Murray Abraham and he is Joe is invoking the Ted 2 joke that involved F. Scott Fitzgerald, which led to the characters misunderstood that F was the initial, the first name and thought that it was someone insulting that character Micah. So this I know you're a big movie buff.
- [50:21]
Political Commentator
You you rarely.
- [50:22]
Morning Joe Host
Did I say something wrong?
- [50:23]
Pandora Ad Voice
No, you didn't at all.
- [50:24]
Morning Joe Host
Are you sure?
- [50:25]
Political Commentator
Yes.
- [50:25]
Pandora Ad Voice
This is now you.
- [50:25]
Political Commentator
Now you didn't. Now you didn't. Not you will show you Ted too impacting my confidence.
- [50:33]
Pandora Ad Voice
No.
- [50:34]
Political Commentator
Seth MacFarlane's movie and Mark Wahlberg's. And many people say if you like name the top three movies of all time, you got to put Citizen Kane, Godfather 2 and Ted 2, which again, a lot of people, Willie Dunn. A lot of people say it's remarkable that Ted 2:2 actually like the Godfather series may have been better than Ted1, especially when they started talking about F. Scott's Fitzgerald.
- [51:04]
They just keep getting better. Mark Wahlberg at his peak and Seth. Wow, wow. Mila Kunis. You can go down the list. The cast there, mika Highly recommend Ted2, which you will hate.
- [51:18]
Morning Joe Host
All right.
- [51:19]
Political Commentator
Well, I will despise it. You will despise it. Kind of like. So Mika and I we compared notes on Wedding Crashers and Mika said that she left after 15 minutes.
- [51:31]
Morning Joe Host
I did.
- [51:33]
Political Commentator
I actually was almost taken out of the theater at one point because I was laughing so hard when Will Ferrell appeared on the stairs and they said, sir, you're gonna need to need to stop laughing so loudly. You're disturbing everybody else. So yeah, you may not like Ted 1 or 2, but we'll see this week.
- [51:52]
Morning Joe Host
Do you remember when I told Bradley Cooper about that because he came on the show and I was like that was the worst. And he was good about it. I think he might have agreed deep inside. Oh, was it the Hangover?
- [52:03]
Political Commentator
Yeah, that was.
- [52:04]
Pandora Ad Voice
Yeah.
- [52:05]
Morning Joe Host
Alex.
- [52:05]
Political Commentator
Also a great movie.
- [52:06]
Now.
- [52:07]
Now you were. No, now you actually I Think you insulted Wedding Crashers as well again.
- [52:16]
Morning Joe Host
I did.
- [52:17]
Political Commentator
That's easily one of the top five movies of our time. Right. I don't know where you balance it between the other guys and semi Pro, but it's in there. All right. All right, Mika.
- [52:27]
Morning Joe Host
I think back to move forward. Okay. Former congressman and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has spent the last three years in Japan as US Ambassador during President Biden's term. And he has returned stateside to a new reality in America. Donald Trump is back in the White House and Republicans are in full power across both chambers of Congress. Democrats are still unsure of what message they need to unify the party. And Rahm Emanuel joins us now. It's great to have you back on the show, Mr. Ambassador. And I'm looking at some comments you made to Financial Times Magazine. You can't be lethargic against this guy. I think everyone is getting their sea legs and trying to figure out how to move forward here. Watching these nominations go through, watching Republicans as they respond to Donald Trump's pardons of the January 6th rioters. And what advice would you give moving forward?
- [53:31]
Political Commentator
Yeah, well, first of all, you're not going to win it just on the first effort. I mean, what I would focus on is the long term, which is not just this first week. And while I would oppose these nominations for a series of reasons, the three issues I would focus on, number one, the secretary treasurer and the testimony in front of the Finance Committee said he was against the minimum wage in the very week in which CEOs are getting pay hikes, 30, 40%, he's against the minimum wage and hasn't been raised in two decades. So that actually three decades. So that is where I would go first and foremost and hit second that the Republicans are talking about cutting health care subsidies for middle class working class families to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy. And third, well, Ronald, while Donald Trump obviously talked about fighting inflation, a tariff war with Canada, all the energy, not all, but the bulk of the energy, oil and gas for the United States, for the Midwest and Rocky Mountains comes from Canada. You're going to see it at the pump immediately go right to the economics, go right to the core issues. I do think as it relates to a number of these nominations, I would fight them on the. If you want to fight them, I don't think you have to fight every one of them, but where you have clear stance. Like I think the idea of the secretary of defense, an alcoholic and a person with drinking problems and other types of Character and judgment issues should be nowhere close to advising the president on nuclear issues. You got 12 nuclear aircraft carriers, 30 plus nuclear submarines. This person clearly is not qualified to be in the situation. Remain advised. But on the core fundamentals against the minimum wage while CEOs pay is going up, that picture of all those CEOs is going to hurt the president in the long term. Cutting health care benefits for working and middle class families to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy and making sure that gas prices in the Midwest jump. Remember, you got Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania in the Midwest. That is where a lot of oil and gas from Canada comes to the United States. You're going to see it at the pump with Donald Trump's tariff war.
- [55:34]
Pandora Ad Voice
Yeah, we'll see the vote.
- [55:35]
Political Commentator
That's where I would go.
- [55:36]
Pandora Ad Voice
We'll see the vote for Pete Hexath later tonight. We should note he, of course, has denied the allegation that he is an alcoholic. He says he would stop drinking if confirmed.
- [55:43]
Political Commentator
Mr. Ambassador, you know, you know one thing here. I don't agree with Donald Trump. I admire the fact that he has never had a drink in that area. But once you have a drinking problem, you always have a drinking problem. And that job is not stress free. I have been in this situation. You are two seats, the Secretary of Defense down from the President of the United States. You have a million plus men and women under your command. That person should be nowhere close to advising the president given what he's shown when he was just running a small veterans operation. He could handle the stress. You know, the stress of a secretary of defense is in the Situation Room, live or die, boots on the ground or not. Nowhere. And every senator knows it. Yeah.
- [56:27]
Pandora Ad Voice
And the two Republicans. Yeah. Mr. Bass. Right. The two Republican senators who voiced opposition to his nomination. Both did cite character issues as part of why they couldn't support him. Let's. You were, of course, ambassador to Japan until just very recently. Let's turn. Yeah, let's turn to that part of the world right now because we know, Donald, President Trump has threatened tariffs against China in recent, you know, coming up in a few days. At the same time, he's talked to Xi Jinping. He wants to have a visit to China soon. It has been reported there's also been. What is your level of concern about some of the Democratic rollback we've seen in that area? And do you think that Trump foreign policy will be robust enough to the area that former President Biden said that relationship, US And China is by far the most important of the next century.
- [57:16]
Political Commentator
Well, I have a fundamental principle about the Indo Pacific. It is a home game for China. It's an away game for the United States. And I hate using sports metaphors on big national security issues. But to understand this and our allies, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, India, Australia, New Zealand, they level the playing field for the United States. You can't be a credible deterrent force from Long Beach, California, in the Indo Pacific, and you can't fight your adversaries and fight your allies. You got to pick. I happen to think our allies are tremendous resources for the United States. One of the things that China hates most is when the United States, Japan, and Korea under President Biden aligned correctly. Philippines, Japan, the United States align correctly. Now, to their credit, I'll call it out. One of the first meetings Secretary of State Rubio called for was the quad, which is India, Australia, Japan, and the United States, showing China, our allies stand with us. The isolated party in the Indo Pacific is China, based on their actions, economic coercion. Wolf Warrior. You sit there and all of a sudden level up with your adversary. Your allies are going to have real questions about your staying power. And so we are strong, stronger when China sees a united front. We are weaker when they see divisions with our own allies. And my concern with President Trump is not that he has affinity for autocrats. Stylistically, he actually sees the world like they do. He sees Russia. You want Ukraine, you want Eastern Europe. That's your area of sphere of influence. China, independently, Pacific. He sees that with this whole move on Greenland and Panama, that these are spheres of influence. He has a strategic alignment with them that is fundamentally against America's interest. We have allies which are a multiplier of force and deterrence and the credibility of our deterrence. And my concern is not what everybody else in Washington writes, which is this idea. Oh, has stylistic affinity. No, he is strategically aligned with them. And his comments about Xi, his comments about Putin as friends, is actually running down our allies weakens the credibility of America's deterrence. You want to stop wars, as he says, and I take his word seriously. You do it with allies aligned with you, and they're ready to be aligned with America's leadership.
- [59:39]
Ambassador, good morning. Let's talk a little domestic politics. As you know, many progressives, many Democrats, are dejected about what happened in the election. They fully expected that they would move forward with a President Kamala Harris. But now we're four more years of Donald Trump. He won all the swing states, some of them by very narrow margins. You've been at the center of Democratic politics for so long now, as a congressman, as a chief of staff inside the Oval Office, what is your message to Democrats about not just how to handle Donald Trump, but how to get back on the horse and look ahead to the midterms, which really get underway about a year from now in terms of campaigning?
- [60:15]
Well, there's a, there's a long thing to unpack, so I'm not sure we're going to be able to do it just here. But I would say one, you focus on Donald Trump. That's opportunities to kind of create a narrative. But two, focus on the American people, not just Donald Trump. And I think that one of the mistakes for the party was that they became brain dead over the years because 20 years ago there was demographics as destiny. Don't worry, the demographics are going to work for the Democratic Party. And intellectually, policy, policy wise, we became brain dead. And I think the mistake to make is all we're going to do is focus on Donald Trump, which is where he wants you to focus and not focus on the American people. That's number one. Number two on a, your recruitment is going to be very important. The profile, the story of the candidates like we did in 06, like in 08, like 2018, their backgrounds in targeted districts have to tell the story of that district, not what the national Democrats, Democrats want. And third and foremost, look, we're going to have, when we talk about kitchen table issues, we've got to stop thinking that they're just economic, although those are important. They're also about schools, about public safety, about what's going on in the neighborhood. We had two Democrats get elected president and re elected since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Clinton and President Obama. President Clinton ran on 100,000 community police officers. We became identified, identified with defund the police. One of those worked both policy wise and politically. President Obama was criticized for being the deporter in chief. And then there are a lot of other Democrats who talked about free health care at the border if you cross the border illegally. One of those have worked politically and be the right policy. We have to be where the American people are at their kitchen table, not where we want them to be, but where they are and talk to them. And the fact is, on a whole slew of issues, just take President Clinton's election at for 20 years there was a campaign against law and order by Richard Nixon, welfare queens by Ronald Reagan, Willie Horton by George Bush. It was Bill Clinton's message on a slew of issues from crime to immigration to welfare reform to drug policy that got right with the American people so they could hear the rest of what we're talking about. We can't ignore a set of issues because it makes us uncomfortable. That makes the American people uncomfortable. If they get right on how they live their lives, how they want to raise their kids, how they want to see what goes on in their communities and in their cities, then we're going to be okay. And I'll give you a classic example. I think this idea on what President Trump is talking about, raiding schools and places of worship on immigration is as stupid as the Democrats closing schools and places of worship during COVID And they are going to make a massive mistake of going after immigrants in schools, hospitals and places of worship. And that's where Democrats can stand up and say, look, you got a criminal background out of here. Schools, hospitals, places of worship. That's as crazy as what we did during COVID And we advocated and it was very clear within six months that it was a wrong policy as it relates to public health and achieving educational goals. Here is there are places to stand and also understand what happens on how people live their lives, not how we want them to live their lives, but how they actually live their lives, and that we're in touch with it from a value system. They can then hear everything else we have to talk about. Former US Can I weigh in on.
- [63:48]
Oh, yeah.
- [63:48]
Can I weigh in on one other subject?
- [63:50]
Morning Joe Host
Yeah, go ahead.
- [63:51]
Political Commentator
On the MVP and the mvp, it's between Lamar and Josh, down to those two. That's where it is. I know you're. I think every guest here forward should be asked these fundamental questions. Well, it is my two choices and I have some other choices on the movie.
- [64:06]
Morning Joe Host
All right. And we'll have you weigh in on Blake Lively when you come back. Next, former US Might leave that to another family member. Yeah, wrong one. Rahm Emanuel, thank you very much.
- [64:17]
Political Commentator
The last thing you want to hear.
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