Eight. But at the end of the day they had no plan. They had no plan, and larry, this could stretch out another two or three weeks. This is unfortunate, and, you know, im ashamed were in this position. Hopefully well find someone who can get 217 votes soon. Thats House OversightCommittee Chairman joemz comer with a candid assessment of his party and its dysfunctional search for a new speaker. Well get the latest from capitol hill just ahead. Plus, well go through all of the new developments out of the middle east including the negotiations to free more hostages after hamas released two elderly women yesterday. And also ahead, Donald Trumps latest down right deranged comments from the campaign trail, comparing himself to Nelson Mandela and fantasizing about punching President Biden in the face. Good morning, and welcome to Way Too Early on this tuesday, october 24th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. Hamas has released two more civilians being held hostage in gaza. Two elderly women were freed yesterday. They were handed over to Israeli Defense forces custody, taken to the hospital, and then reunited with their families. The womens husbands who are both in their 80s are still being held captive. They were kip nped from their homes when hamas first attacked on october 7th. The Military Wing of hamas said they made the decision to release these two women due to humanitarian reasons. This is the second hostage release since the war began. An American Mother and daughter were freed late friday. Still israeli officials believe that more than 200 people remain captive in gaza. Hamas, qatar, egypt, and israel have been negotiating a proposal to release a larger group of hostages in exchange for a steady flow of humanitarian aid to the area. Thats according to three officials familiar with talks telling the wall street journal. Hamas, however, is demanding that israel allow Fuel Deliveries into gaza, but israel fears the Terrorist Group may divert that supply for military purposes. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration is advising israel to delay a Ground Invasion of gaza to allow for more time for Hostage Negotiations as well as for some humanitarian aid to reach there. Thats according to four u. S. Officials. However, the officials stress the United States is not dictating operations for the Israeli Defense forces. Yet, the pentagon has sent a threestar marine general and other officers to help the israeliwise the challenge of potentially mighting an urban war. This comes as Senior Administration officials tell the times the white house is concerned the white house lacks achievable military objectives in gaza and that thaidf are not yet ready to launch a Ground Invasion with a plan that can work. Now, this comes as more aid reached the gaza strip yesterday as the third envoy of supplies entered the rafah crossing bringing food, water, and medicine. An official for the u. N. s Palestinian Refugee agency told the Associated Press about 20 trucks dropped off supplies. So far, 54 trucks in total have entered the territory to drop off aid since saturday. A drop in the bucket, though, advocates believe to whats needed. President biden spoke again with Prime Minister netanyahu yesterday. And the leaders affirm there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance in gaza, according to the white house readout of the call. However, reuters reports that fuel, indeed, not being allowed in this aid shipment and the u. N. Is warning that reserves are set to run out within the next two days. Joining us now from tel aviv, israel, nbc news Senior Correspondent jay gray. Jay, great to see you. In the last couple of days the idf has really escalated their air strikes in gaza. In fact, a short time ago they posted online they struck over 400 targets in the past 24 hours. Is this a suggestion these air strikes are a prelude to an imminent Ground Operation . Reporter jonathan, it would certainly seem that way. Theyre calling what happened in the last 24 hours a wide scale operation hitting rocket installations, antitank areas as well, tunnels, staging areas, command centers, israels Defense Minister saying they are preparing for a multilateral operation, air, ground, and sea. We know theyve continued today reorganize troops along the border with gaza as well as the Equipment Tanks and digging units there. And it would appear despite the white house asking for them to delay matters, that they are at least preparing to move tanks into gaza at some point. So, jay, yesterday nfc strategic coordinator john kirby says the United States is taking steps to make sure its postured appropriately in the region amid mounting concern of risk of a regional spillover as well as fears expressed by the pentagon that assets in the region could soon be at harms way. Tell us the strategy here how the u. S. Is trying to prepare. Reporter yeah, and theres no question that theres been a buildup especially along the border with lebanon, youve seen Israeli Forces trading in skirmishes with hezbollah fighters there. And we know theres been attacks on a u. S. Base in iraq and other issues within the region, so theres a real fear of escalation. The u. S. Responding to that by building up its Military Presence here. Two u. S. Carrier strike groups are in the region with all the ships that includes. A hundred war planes, jet fighters are in the region as well. They have brought in High Altitude fad and Patriot Missile battalions. 2,000 marines already in the region, 2,000 more forces in the u. S. Have been placed on standby ready to deploy. And we know, jonathan, that Special Forces are in the region as well. At this point what were being told by the bentgon is that they are here for an advisory role. Jay gray, thank you very much. Joining us now middle east for The Economist who appears for us live in jerusalem. Greg, good to see you. Lets talk first of all about this imminent invasion. We were thinking it was coming for a weeks now. Theres been perhaps some delays. The United States urging netanyahus government to allow more aid to come in, to allow more potentially hostages to be released. Whats your reporting telling you to as to when this might happen and when israel thinks theyll finally go in . We still dont know an answer to when. I think everyone would have expected if not 360,000 reservists on the border within days of the Massacre October 7th everyone expected this would move ahead quickly. I think were getting to a point now there are military questions around how long you can keep these reservists at high mobile, how long they can have an impact on the economy. The army says theyll have a few more days of air strikes for time to deploy Ground Forces and theyre saying essentially were ready to go and whats holding this up is opposition from the political establishment or disagreements within the political establishment in israel. In terms of what to expect, thats something the army has been talking through. And as you said they brought in a threestar American General to help consult as well. I think the big concern for the army is this network of Tunnels Hamas has dug inside of gaza as a command and control center for the group. And there are huge concerns having to do prolonged tunnel work there in weeks if not months for locations that havent been mapped and not surveilled. You make a great point about as much as theres preach for patience from washington, theres only so long you can keep those reservists at the ready. Youve got good new reporting about the aftermath of what happened october 7th and how it has changed or not changed israels potential relationships with saudi arabia or the uae. Saudi arabia was in the midst of trying to normalize relations with israel before this attack. Tell us about what happens next. Well, i think those Normalization Talks are derailed for the moment, but theyre not completely over. I do think when the war ends, saudi arabia and israel will go back to normalization. I think it will be quieter than it was before. Weve had this unusually public effort throughout the year to broker this threeyear deal in which the americans might offer a defense pack to saudi arabia, the saudis, but it was never entirely clear what israel was meant to give as this part of the bargain. We heard the Saudi Crown Prince in an interview last month who said he wants the measures to ease the lives of palestinians. Not the full end to an occupation, not the creation of a palestinian state, not just gestures to make the occupation much less miserable. I think saudi arabia and probably the Biden Administration would expect israel to give more in part of a normalization deal. But, again, i dont think those talkserize off the table at this point. I think theyre just on hold until this war is over. Give us a sense right now as to Prime Ministers netanyahus grip on power. Obviously his government has come under intense scrutiny for Terrorist Failures that led to the Terror Attacks on october 7th. We know hes no favorite of President Bidens despite the strong words the president has for israels cause. What do you think here is his political future . I think theres two issues for netanyahu. The shortterm issue is theres huge infighting going on within his government. His Defense Minister is someone he tried to fire back in march, theyre now working together and theyre having disagreements. And then theres a longterm question what happens after this war. I think most israelis are not going to forgive this government for this huge intelligence failure. More likely than not its an election hes going to lose. All right, really good stuff this morning from middle east correspondent for The EconomistGregg Calstrom who appeared live for us in jerusalem. Well talk to you again soon. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, Donald Trumps former fixer gets a chance to face his former boss in court today. Well go through that legal case. Plus, a bizarre and terrifying story of an Alaska Aerolines pilot who is accused of trying to take down a plane while he was a passenger on that flight. Those stories and a check on weather and sports when we come right back. D sports when we com right back remember the things you loved. Before asthma got in the way . Fasenra is an addon treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. Its designed to target and remove them and helps prevent asthma attacks. Fasenra is not for sudden Breathing Problems or other eosinophilic conditions. Allergic reactions may occur. Dont stop your Asthma Treatments without talking with your doctor. Tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. Headache and sore throat may occur. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Get back to better breathing. Ask your doctor about fasenra. A mystery jessie loves playing detective. But the real mystery was her irritated skin. So, we switched to tide pods free gentle. It cleans better, and doesnt leave behind irritating residues. And its gentle on her skin. Tide free gentle is epa safer choice certified. Its got to be tide. Nice footwork. Tide free gentle is epa safer choice certified. Man, youre lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. Now you can stream all your games like its nothing. Yes [ cheers ] yeah woho running up and down that field looks tough. Its a pitch. Get way more into what youre into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. Welcome back. Well have more on the war in the middle east as well as the search for a new speaker later in the show. We turn now to the mornings other top headlines. Former trump fixer Michael Cohen is set to take the stand today as a key witness in the New York Civil Fraud Trial against the trump organization. And former President Trump is also expected to be in court for the highly anticipated testimony, which was originally scheduled for last week, but was delayed after cohen cited an unspecified health issue. Cohen has said this will be the first time seeing trump in five years. New York Attorney general Letitia James lawsuit argues the Trump Administration inflated trumps net worth by billions of dollars for years. The judge has already ruled trump org committed fraud. It includes claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records. Now, trump has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to eventually testify in the trial. Meanwhile, senator bob menendez pleaded not guilty to a new charge, conspiring to act as a Foreign Agent while serving in congress. According to the new federal indictment, menendez is accused of providing sensitive u. S. Government information and other actions that secretly aided the government of egypt. Menendez was arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court yesterday. His codefendants including his wife, were also included in the new charges and they pleaded not guilty last week. Menendez released a statement after his Arraignment Reading in rt this. Anyone whonows my record knows this latest charge is as outrageous as it is absurd. He added, i have done nothing wrong and once all the facts are presented, will be found innocent. Last Month Menendez and his wife also pleaded not guilty to corruption charges that accused the couple of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars as bribes from three new jersey businessmen. More than 30 democrats in congress have are called for menendez to resign. The new jersey senator has resisted those calls to this point and continues to insist he is innocent of all the charges. A Commercial Pilot is in jail this morning accused of trying to take down an Alaska Airlines plane he was flying on as a passenger. That pilot now faces 83 counts of attempted murder. Nbc news correspondent tom costello has more. Reporter held in an oregon jail 44yearold Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson booked on 167 charges including 83 potential counts of attempted murder. The fbi and local Police Allege emerson was offduty riding in the Cockpit Seat Flying on horizon air to San Francisco sunday night when he tried to pull the engine Fire Suppression controls to shutdown the engines at cruising altitude. The pilot and copilot stopped and subdued emcern, removed him from the cockpit, then diverted. With 83 people onboard its definitely frightening that someone is struggling like that up in the cockpit. Reporter Law Enforcement sources do not believe theres any connection to terrorism or the events in the middle east. The faa issued an alert to all airlines for crews to maintain vigilance and situational awareness. Other recent cases of pilots attempting or succeeding in crashing planes include china east last year, german wings, egypt air, and possibly Malaysia Airlines 370 still missing. In 2017 a maintenance air worker took a jet on an joyride before crashing and killing himself. Now prosecutors must determine the motivations of his actions. That was nbcs tom costello reporting. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, well turn to sports and another great day of playoff baseball. Weve got a game seven tonight. Well have the highlights from both of yesterdays games includesing the elimination of the reining champs. Plus one of the top teams stumbles on monday night football. Thats all ahead. Stumbles on mot football thats all ahead emergenc crystals. Theres challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. When better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for Special Olympics athletes with developmental needs. Thousands of Bank Of America employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. It felt good. It felt like i could take on the whole world. sean i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro it jason od. Sean do you mean this one the one with titanium . Switch to verizon, and get iphone 15 pro on them. sean wow vo get iphone15 pro, apple tv 4k and 6 months of apple one. All three on us. Only on verizon. Grounder to second. The rangers have won. The Texas Rangers are going to the world series after blowing out the Houston Astros 114 in game seven of the American League championship series last night. Garcia homered for a fourth consecutive Game Hitting Two Last Night for his fifth and sixth of the playoffs. He drove in five more runs to set a record for an rbi in a postseason 15. It will not surprise you garcia earned mvp for the series that saw the road team win every game for just the second time ever. The astros were on the wrong end of the other time that happened dropping all four home games when they lost the 2019 world series to the washington nationals. The astros defending champions are out, most of the country is happy about that. The Texas Rangers who have only been in two previous world series and have never won one now await the winner of the nlcs. And well find out tonight who theyre going to play because the diamondbacks and phillies will also play a Decisive Game seven after philadelphias first loss add Citizens Bank park in seven whole Playoff Games this year. Tommy fam and provided with an early lead hitting backtoback home rups in the second inning while starter and with the biggest bats going a combined 0 for 9 with four strikeouts. Game seven tonight in philadelphia 8 07 p. M. First pitch. Its going to be worth it. Quick look now at the nfl and Minnesota Vikings hosted the San Francisco 49ers on monday night football. To minneapolis we go. Vikings quarterback kirk cousins connected with Receiver Jordan Adenson for a pair of touch downs in the first half. That 20 yarder to get the quarter started, and then this to put minnesota up 9 before the break. The 49ers were stifled by a pair of interceptions thrown by the qb in the third quarter. Vikings hold on for a 2217 victory. 49ers now on a two game losing sfreek for just the second time the last couple of seasons and they lead the Kansas City Chiefs and philadelphia eagles. And lastly the nba regular season tips off tonight. Basketball is back. The Denver Nuggets will begin their Title Defense hosting the Los Angeles Lakers while the phoenix suns will travel to visit the golden state warriors. Time now for the weather. And lets go to meteorologist Michelle Grossman for the forecast. I know the forecast will be high anxiety for game seven. I truly do not know whats going to happen. Last night was terrible. What do you think is going to happen . It could go either way, right . Y yeah, game 70s are inherent toss ups. I will pick the phillies. Theyre at home. I think theyre the better team. I think the bats wake up. Okay. I hope so. Well see. But weather wise were watching a lot today. We have a lot going on. We have a frosty start in the north east. We have temperatures just about freezing in many spots. Warm in the middle of the country, summerlike, and also watching a cold front bringing in the chance for flooding in the southern plains. And on the backside were looking at snow. Could see up to 2 feet of snow in some spots and montana and idaho into portions of of the high plains and rockies. 34 Million People impacted by frost and freeze alerts. Where you see the pink thats a frost and freeze advisory. Lots of 40s on the map as well. And heres that rain were watching. That cold front bringing the chance for Flooding Rains in portion of the southern plains. Jonathan . All right, Michelle Grossman, thank you. And good luck tonight. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, the race for the speaker of the house continues. And continues and continues and continues. Well tell you about the latest candidate to drop out and the next steps for republican lawmakers as they desperately try to find a speaker. Well be right back with that. B. Welcome back to Way Too Early. It is 5 30 a. M. On the east can he say, 2 30 out west on this tuesday morning. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. Just hours from now House Republicans will hold an internal vote for who they want to be their next speaker nominee three weeks to the day that Kevin Mccarthy was ousted from the position. Now, this mornings vote comes after a Candidate Forum was held last night in which nine republicans vying for the speakership were given the opportunity to answer questions from fellow lawmakers. Following that forum, republican congressman of pennsylvania dropped out, so that leaves eight candidates still in the running. Six of those eight voted today overturn the 2020 president ial Election Results. Only Congressman Tom Emer and austin scott did not do that. But those two men did sign onto a brief that supported a texas lawsuit that would have invalidated the Election Results in four key states. Heres what happens next. At 9 00 a. M. Eastern the internal Secret Ballot Vote will begin. Once one of the remaining eight earns a simple majority in the room, that person will become the speaker designate. After that, a vote on the house floor could happen at any time with 217 votes needed to win the gavel. Republican congressman mike flood of nebraska said all eight candidates signed his unity pledge, which is a promise to support whomever the conference nominates, once there is a floor vote for speaker. Other republican lawmakers have refused to sign that pledge. There is no guarantee well get a speaker today. Joining us now to help us make sense of it all capitol Hill Reporter for bloomberg. Maive, great to see you this morning. As you talk to lawmakers there, is there a favorite in the room . I would say that the frontrunner is probably seen as Congressman Tom Emer right now. Hes the majority whip, so thats a pretty high up leadership and weve already gone down the dias in terms of other leadership positions. Theres really no other consensus candidate. Everyone has gotten different endorsements going on. Lets assume even if it takes hours eventually theyll settle on someone with a simple majority. Is there any optimism that later when we go to a full floor vote that someone will get the 217 . First of all, do we think that vote takes place at all and do we think anyone can hit that magic number . There are a number of congressmen last night who said we should expect a floor vote. Theres a lot of pessimism. It only takes four or five people to unravel this whole thing. For the past two jim jordan and steve scalise, that didnt happen. What sort of role is donald trump playing in all this . His team was quick to point out yesterday he heard from of these speaker candidates including tom emer who trump has been critical of in the past. Are republicans listening to him there in the build behind you . A number of lawmakers told us theyve spoken to trump over the weekend. He does not have not the greatest relationship with emer which some people thought could derail emers candidacy, but as of now trump has been taking a back seat on this whole thing saying the house needs to work on itself. Lastly, what is the level of frustration . We played sound from congressman comer at the top of the show basically suggesting this process has been an embarrassment for his party. We know tensions are high behind closed doors and someone even tried to take a swing at matt gaetz the other day. And theres a lot of business that needs to be done, israel, ukraine, the government could shutdown in a few weeks. Is the Republican Party at a Breaking Point right now . Theres a lot of frustration with the republicans who were not among the eight who voted to oust mccarthy. Among those eight thats a very small group compare today the entire republican conference. And at large the republican conference really supported Kevin Mccarthy as speaker. So there is definitely a sense of frustration, and theres a sense that because of the Government Shutdown in less than a month, they need to get back on track because one of the chambers of congress is not functioning and theres a real situation we head into a shutdown in late november. All right, busy day ahead of you. We appreciate you starting with us. Capitol Hill Reporter for bloomberg, thank you again. Still ahead, well get the latest Business Headlines from our friends at cnbc. And well take a look at the markets, which are moving higher this morning as investors await Earnings Reports from major tech players. Plus, have you noticed that your orange juice has gotten expensive . Well get insight on behind whats that price hike and why costs are not expected to drop anytime soon. Thats all just ahead on Way Too Early. Ats all just ahead too early bye, bye cough. Later Chest Congestion. Hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours not coughing . Hashtag still not coughing . mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from Chest Congestion and any type of cough, day or night. Mucinex dm. Its comeback season. Trelegy for copd. Birds flyin high, you know how i feel. Breeze driftin on. [coughing]. By, you know how i feel. If youre tired of staring down your copd,. Its a new dawn, its a new day. Stop settling. And im feelin good. Start a new day with trelegy. No oncedaily Copd Medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. With three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flareups. 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Futures are slightly up this morning as investors are eyeing Earnings Reports from several big tech companies. Those are expected this week. Whats the early outlook today . John, good morning. Great to see you, too. Well, yes, as you said u. S. Futures are green so seems as though investors are positioning them positively ahead of the big tech earnings today. Weve got microsoft and alphabet up first, and investors are saying these results could have a major impact on the Market Narrative even more so than the data we have recently. Were going to hear from visa, cocacola, texas instruments, and general motors. Well get some pretty good insight into the strength of earnings later today, and all this comes after a choppy session on wall street yesterday which saw most stocks end lower with the exception of the Tech Heavy Nasdaq which actually finished higher again in the lead up of the Big Tech Earnings Due to come through next week. Bitcoin surged jumping 4,000 in just four hours. That took me by surprise because i forgot bitcoin was a thing. What prompted this spike do you think . I find myself in the same position. We really havent talked much about bitcoin lately here at cnbc here at the news channel. It has breached the 34,000 mark, its highest levels since may of last year. It seems as though the move higher is driven by optimism and we could soon see the first Bitcoin Etf Approved by regulators in the etf, and etf is being portrayed as a safer option because investors wont be given direct expoegs door the underlying asset, but instead just exposure to the etf. Theyll not have to own crypto currencies directly. None of them have been approved yet, but theres optimism this could happen soon and that could reinvigorate the crypto market. Here on Way Too Early we care about Morning Routines since none of us get any sleep, and many of course say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but new data suggests its getting mor tensive. Tell us about the latest Morning Staple getting pricier, and is it going to change in. Its orange juice, john. And for you i would call it a middle of the night staple i would think. But prices are climbing. Theyre actually at record highs. If youve been shopping at the Grocery Store recently youll know a gallon of orange juice costs on average 9. 19 this month. Theres a few factors for it. One, citrus grows have faced whats called greening disease. Theyve also been suffering from harsh weather and high labor costs are putting pressure on farmers, which is in effect leading to less production. So orange juice prices, they are hitting the wall hard. That is a tough one for so many watching this morning probably with their cup of expensive orange juice in their hand. Cnbcs Julianna Tatelbaum live from london, thank you for joining us as always. Still ahead here, donald trump is back on the campaign trail. He was in New Hampshire yesterday, and well bring you his comments on the israelhamas war, The Travel Ban hes promising to implement if elected and a lot of stuff that was nuts. Well be back with that. Stuff was nuts well be back with that. And move toward relief after the first dose. With injections every two months. Stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and Lung Inflammation can occur. Feel unstoppable. Ask your doctor how lasting remission can start with stelara®. Janssen can help you exp cost support options. Today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it. Centrum silver is now clinically shown to support Cognitive Health in older adults. 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Were dealing with stupid people. Dealing with stupid people. He funded hamas, hezbollah abroad. Well, he launched a war at patriotic citizens at home. You know what id do with him id hit him right in that fake nose. That fake nose. Youd have plastic lying all over the floor. On day one i would immediately restore and expand the trump travel ban. I will implement strong ideological screening of all immigrants. If you hate america, if you want to abolish israel, if you dont like our religion, then we dont want you in our country, and you are not getting in. Right . Joining us now Moynihan Public Scholar Fellow at new york college. Great to see you. We should note virtually everything donald trump said there is not true. And hes the first person to take credit that the u. S. , also the United States is us. Well leave that aside. What matters is more serious things is the fact he was proposing to test incoming migrants for their religious preferences. That of course flies in the face of the foundsing documents of this nation. Speak to us if you will about the moral and ethical implications of such a proposal. Good morning, john. I just i think we need to slow down the analysis sometimes because the former president is saying such dangerous rhetoric and you hear people screaming in the audience who are in support of this, but hes all over the map with his with his campaign stumping, but its everything from immigration to flat out lies that you and your colleagues have to now note to really creating this Us Versus Them, and thats america versus the world. Its donald trump and his supporters versus Everyone Else who doesnt believe in what he believes. And were seeing someone who is facing, what, 91 counts across several states. So the desperation and the vitreal to essentially do what he tried today Do On January 6th and he was pretty successful in that endeavor to really gin up in his base so that things dont go his way, they see him as the victim. He compared himself to Nelson Mandela and being attacked as anywhere from joe biden to black women across the board when you think about tish james in atlanta. I cant stress enough the undercurrent and overt racism and sexism and xenophobia and antiimmigrant and antisemicism movement he spews. And its so dangerous to think he is the frontrunner for the Republican Party, and shame on the Republican Party for letting him get this far yet agone. In 2016 he seemed to strike a cord with some voters particularly White Working Class voters with his Us Versus Them rhetoric. It seems this time around hes hit on this slightly different idea, they are coming after me, they could come after you next. Do you think thats tell me why you think pretty significan of republican voters, and do you think it has any Crossover Appeal for a general election . It does, jonathan. Because in your previous segment, when you talk about the price of orange juice, thats real. People go to the polls for pocketbook issues. We always have as americans. If you can keep it somewhat vague, this is why you see donald trump Making Inroads With Latinos and asianamericans and a small sector of black men. Black women seem to be immune to whatever it is he is selling. If you can keep it relatively vague, a lot of people, lets be honest, they do feel nervous about their financial prospects. They are feeling pinched when they go to the gas station or Grocery Store. If he says, well, you dont have because of them, theyre taking, right . Its the Negative Ethos of america that has always been here, that weve worked tirelessly over several hundred years to sort of erode, hes excavating the worst of our values to pit us against each other. History has told us, any time weve progressed as a country, it is because weve pulled together, not because we fought one another over essentially scraps. If we want to talk about Us Versus Them, think of the tax breaks donald trump gave his friends and family members. We need to think of the financial ways he assists, sort of the top 1 and not the people who are at his rallies. Sadly, they dont see that. Its much easier to say, its immigrants or people of color taking from them, opposed to donald trump and his party. Yeah, and it seems staggering, in one speech alone, the number of things to shock and to horrify and, yet, every poll shows that he and President Biden are neck and neck, you know, with a year or so to go until election day. Were going to be talking about this a lot in the months ahead. Public scholar fellow, city college of new york, christina greer, great to see you, as always, my friend. Thanks, john. Up next on Way Too Early, Secretary Blinken is set to meet with chinas diplomat amid tension with the nations. Coming up on morning joe, well have the latest out of israel as hamas sets two more hostages free. Where negotiations stand for the rest, and what the terror group is demanding. Plus, u. S. Capitol Police Officer harry dunn will join us with his new book that reveals new details of his experience on january 6th as well as its aftermath. Morning joe just a few moments away. My name is Josh Sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. I was 5. 6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet. Once alexandra called me to let me know that Bank Of America had approved my loan. It was important to me. 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The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. I chose arexvy. Rsv . Make it arexvy. Welcome back. This week, chinas top diplomat will visit washington, d. C. , amid tensions over the South China Sea and israel. Chinese foreign minister wang yi with meet with Secretary Of State antony blinken, as well as National Security adviser jake sullivan. The trip is expected to focus largely on discussing a possible meeting between president s joe biden and xi jinping along the sidelines of a summit in San Francisco next month. Joining us now, White House Reporter for the washington post, tyler pager. Tyler, good to see you. President biden and xi jinping have not met in person for nearly a year. They met on the sidelines of the g20 last november in bali, indonesia. Tensions have really skyrocketed since then. But there has been an increase in diplomacy in recent weeks. How hopeful is the white house that the events of this week could lead to that Summit Happening in San Francisco . Yeah, good morning, jonathan. Thanks for having me. I think thats exactly right. In conversation ive had with white house officials, theyve been optimistic an inperson meeting between the two president s is likely for next month in San Francisco on the sidelines of the summit there. I think this is part of a pattern were seeing of increased engagement between american and chinese officials. Obviously, Secretary Of State tony blinken made the trip to china. This is, you know, the reciprocal visit of that trip, and there is optimism this will continue, the two countries on a path to increased engagement, culminating, hopefully for u. S. Officials, as they say in the inperson meeting between biden and xi. Tyler, you were part of the press pool that traveled on Air Force One with President Biden to israel last week. He has been having conversations with Prime Minister netanyahu since. They spoke again yesterday. Give us a sense of the messaging from biden and also other Senior Administration officials to israel about the state and timing of a possible Ground Invasion. Yeah, u. S. Officials both on the record and in private conversations have tried to make clear, they are saying that biden and other Senior Administration officials are not prescribing what israel should do in response to the hamas attacks but, rather, asking what they say are tough questions about israels plans. Whether that means what they would do in gaza or what would happen after a potential Ground Invasion. These conversations have been ongoing for days, and the white house made clear that they are not saying exactly, you can or cannot do this, but, rather, asking questions about it. Its clear that u. S. Officials have been trying to get israel to delay any sort of Ground Invasion as they continue to work with partners, particularly the qataris in trying to get more hostages out. We saw success yesterday with two more hostages released. Obviously, theres many more still in gaza that u. S. Officials and their partners and allies are trying to get out. Whether thats success or not remains to be seen, but it is clear the u. S. Is putting pressure on israel to delay any sort of invasion until they see more progress on that front. Lastly, ttyler, in the building behind you in a few hour, well have a closed door meeting between republicans to try to nominate the new candidate for house speaker. Give us a sense of how the white house is viewing this group of eight, six of whom voted against certifying the president s win. Yeah, look, i dont think theres a lot of optimism in the white house that they are going to have the best relationship with whoever emerges from this protracted speaker fight. You know, i think there is hope that they can get this massive aid package that the president outlined last week through. Particularly, i think theres hope that if it gets through the senate, itll increase pressure on the house. Ultimately, what the white house wants at this point is just some speaker, so that some of the business of the house can get started. Again, i really dont think theres a lot of hope this is going to be a very productive relationship between the white house and whoever emerges as the next house speaker. Actually, one more. Give us a sense between the president and the Senate Minority leader mcconnell. Over the weekend, we heard his health is now fine and he is up for the job. Hes become an important ally here. What is the line of dialogue as they push this ukraine and israel funding through . Look, they are very happy to see Mitch Mcconnell out on the sunday shows, making an impassioned case for this aid package. Obviously, they need the republicans in the house to vote for this more so than, necessarily, a bunch of senate republicans, though they want to show that this is a bipartisan effort