And a different kind of president. My interview with president jimmy carter, not missing a day of work even after an injury. What does he think about the push for impeachment . I think it still remains to be seen. I think it depends on what is revealed in an inquiry. And im a democrat, so i feel pretty much like the Democratic Party does. Good day, everyone, and well have the full jimmy carter interview coming up for you later in the program. Here in washington, President Trump is facing devastating new numbers, 58 of americans polled now support the houses inquiry of the president , 49 calling for mr. Trumps removal from office. The president is fighting the impeachment battle on all fronts, today having the state department block Ambassador Gordon Sondland from showing up on capitol hill, angering the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee adam schiff who moments ago issued a subpoena along with two other chairmen for sondlands testimony and documents. The failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of congress. Secretary of state mike pompeo refusing to answer a question from nbc today at the state department. Reporter mr. Secretary, why did you instruct ambassador sondland not to testify . Thanks a lot. Good morning. Joining me now, Nbcs Kristen Welker at the white house. Nbcs Geoff Bennett on capitol hill. Washington posts anne gearan and nbc political analyst rick sten dpchlt stengal, author of the information wars. First, kristen, the impeachment. Tough new numbers today for the white house, showing a major shift in the polling. Support for the inquiry and support even for going beyond the inquiry. It is notable and remarkable that support for the impeachment inquiry, andrea, now tops 50 , at 58 . As you pointed out, 49 say they support actually reducing the president from office. We know, and based on my conversations with the president s allies, had e is watching these numbers very closely. Hes concerned about the fact that theyre increasing. The backdrop to all of this is this intensifying back and forth between the white house and capitol hill with the white house just hours before sondland was set to testify essential will yessentially blocking that. The white house has signaled this, that they intend to block requests by congress for testimony, for documents, until Congress HoldsHouse Democrats hold a vote, officially open an impeachment inquiry. Theres nothing in the constitution that says that thats required. However we do know that is what has happened in the past. The bottom line, the white house using this to essentially stonewall, to delay cooperation with congress. What will the impact be . You see the back and forth escalating just today, with adam schiff issuing those subpoenas to hear from sondland eventu eventually. Were told a letter will go out from the white house to capitol hill, making this very clear, laying out their legal case for why they want the house to hold a full vote. That letter expected to go out this weekend, andrea. Rick stengal, you were undersecretary of state. You recall what happened when mike pompeo was pushing the benghazi hearings. Here is one exchange that took place during a hearing with secretary Hillary Clinton. Were you aware that our folks were meeting on the ground in benghazi, hours before the attack. I know nothing about this, congressman. I think thats deeply disturbing. I think the fact that your team was meeting im sorry. Which team is this . Your team would have been we dont know exactly it would be helpful it would be one of your state department employees, madam secretary, i dont know which one. Perhaps you can enlighten us, and we can get the records that would enable us to do so, to date we have not been able to learn that. Rick, your response . That was then, this is now . Its sadly ironic. I remember being in meetings with the secretary where he was appropriating money to answer the requests of the benghazi committee, the state department supplied tens of thousands of documents to pompeos committee. And the fact that hes blocking the release of documents from the state department is hypocritical. The same hypocrisy is in evidence where he entertained the wildest theories about Hillary Clinton and yet doesnt rebut any of the wild theories of the president of the United States. I do think that congressman schiff is right. This is a battle between branches of the government. And Congress Constitutional responsibility is to check the executive branch. And the administration, by resisting it, is obstructing justice. Geoff bennett on capitol hill, theyre not getting sondland, who is a key witness because he is the European Union ambassador, a political contributor and appointee. He had no business being involved in ukraine that we can determine because ukraine is not in the eu. So what was he doing involved in all of this, and was getting pushback from william taylor, the subsequent ambassador to ukraine after the original ambassador was pulled back presumably for objecting to the Rudy Giuliani shadow diplomacy, we dont know. We dont know if she will testify on friday, because she is still a state department officer. Do we know whether Masha Yovanovitch will show up . Andrea, democrats are moving forward as if she will appear as scheduled. But the points you make about ambassador sondland are correct. He has no prior diplomatic experience. He gave 1 million to the Trump Campaign and thats in large part how he became the u. S. Ambassador to the European Union. One of the other reasons, what sort of precipitated this subpoena, is that adam schiff says he was communicating with the state department until late last night. There was no indication, he says, that sondland would not appear for his scheduled deposition until they got a voicemail that was left at 12 30 a. M. Saying he would not show up as planned. One of the reasons why schiff wants to hear from him and get this evidence is because, to the point that you make, he is a key figure in this entire ukrainian gambit, according to the whistleblower complaint, according to the text documents, he facilitated meetings. He shut down one of his colleagues who raised concerns about it. And schiff says that sondland himself has evidence, has Text Messages on his personal devices that are pertinent to this ongoing investigation. And democrats want to know how President Trump used the leverage of the federal government to get the ukrainians to do his political bidding, andrea. Anne gearan, you covered the pentagon before you covered the white house. Theres a possibility he may go back to brussels, hes got a diplomatic passport and nobody is stopping him from leaving the country. Sure. Ambassador sondland came to washington in order to testify. According to his lawyer, he very much wanted to. And that is now the administrations position, gee, we wish he could have because he would exonerate the president , you know, would show there was nothing amiss here and exposed in the administrations view the political sham that they call these hearings. But gee, he cannot because of the way the chairman, and theyre going directly at schiff here, has set this up, it would be you know, it would be a circus, it would be unfair to sondland so gee, he cant do it right now. So now we move into the phase where the committees seek to compel his testimony and to compel the documents that the Committee Says he has recovered from his personal devices but turned over to the state department, not to them. Rick stengel, we hear that the president has invited erdogan of turkey to come for a working visit next month . This is one of the issues that precipitated erdogan wanting to accelerate, if you will, the incursion into turkey. Now hes get this visit. The last time he visited in mays 201 in may of 2017, his bodyguards beat up protesters on embassy row. The sad incompetency, were inviting the head of an awe autocratic country. If i could just make one point about ambassador sondland, the sad irony of all this is, remember, the protests in ukraine, in kiev, in 2013 and 2014 which ushered in this entire information war, were abouti iaviktor yanukovych. The fact is everything President Trump is doing is now driving ukraine into putins arms. Its a sad and pathetic. Rick, well have to get back to you and talk about information wars and all of that experience and your book as well. Thank you so much. So much breaking news this morning. Kristen welker, Geoff Bennett, anne gearan, rick stengel, thank you so much to all of you. Coming up, President Trump inviting the president of turkey to the white house over raging criticism whether he green lighted a turkish assault against american allies. And jimmy carter, building homes for habitat in nashville today despite a fall. Safelite s . Vo my car is more than four wheels. Its my afterwork decompression zone. So when my windshield broke. Woman what . vo . I searched for someone who really knew my car. I found the experts at safelite autoglass. Woman hi vo with their exclusive technology, they fixed my windshield. Then recalibrated the camera attached to my glass so my Safety Systems still work. Who knew that was a thing . woman safelite has service i can trust. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Gimme one minute. And ill tell you some important things to know about medicare. First, it doesnt pay for everything. Say this pizza is your part b medical expenses. This much about 80 medicare will pay for. Whats left is on you. Thats where an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company comes in. This type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. These are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement for meeting their high standards of quality and service. So call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company today and ask for your free decision guide. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. Whew call unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free decision guide. Call unitedhealthcare today thats why Xfinity Mobile lets you design your own data. You can share 1, 3, or 10 gigs of data between lines, mix in lines of unlimited, and switch it up at any time. All with millions of secure wifi hotspots and the best lte everywhere else. Its a different kind of wireless network, designed to save you money. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus, get 250 back when you buy an eligible phone. Thats simple. Easy. Awesome. Call, click, or visit a store today. President trump is now claiming he is not abandoning americas kurdish allies in syria, now facing a potential military onslaught from turkish forces. And rolling out the red carpet, as the president is now, for turkeys president erdogan, announcing today a visit by erdogan to the white house next month. He wrote this morning, turkey is a big trading partner of the United States, praising the turkish government, a nato member in good standing. Really . Nbc reported yesterday that erdogan accelerated his invasion plans when he was angered when President Trump did not arrange a meeting with him during the United Nations summit. Gail, the president clearly had this conversation with erdogan on sunday and must have signaled something. He didnt inform the troops on the ground, he didnt inform the pentagon from our reporting. Everyone was blindsided by what took place. Late yesterday the state department at the white house, they started walking things back, saying oh, no, there was no green light to erdogan. There is certainly reaction in the region. The syrian kurds certainly feel like theyre being abandoned. There is definitely reaction in the region. If you go back to what the president has said he wanted, which is to keep u. S. Troops safe, this really is a by, with, and through local Partner Force that has done the job it set out to do. Isis at one point held a territory the size of britain. If you look at who died to get rid of the caliphate, it was syrians. It was these u. S. Backed forces. Every gold star family is a tragedy. But you had more than 10,000 of the u. S. Backed forces, these syrians, who gave their childrens lives and took bullets for the United States in this isis fight. If your goal is to keep u. S. Troops safe, which a lot of the discussion is about now, then lets look at a by, with, and through that has done its job and a policy that has worked. Youve been to some of these camps, youve seen the way isis is trying to recruit in fact among the prisoners now being held in al hol and other places in syria. Weve seen the isis flag being raised. There is an acti ivive resurgen. It is much easier to kill a terrorist than it is to kill an ideology. I was there in the camps in may. There are a lot of people who just want to go home and a number of women who are both isis wives and members who deeply believe that the caliphate will rise again and are planning for that. What you see now are u. S. Backed forces who are caring for more than 60,000 families of the very people theyve been fighting twins 2014 and who will have to leave caring for those families to take care of their own families if turkey launches an incursion and puts their own homes at risk. Jake sullivan, you know the situation, the negotiations with erdogan over the years. The president today is describing erdogan as a great nato ally and great trading partner. First of all, is he a great nate kn nato ally . Because hes been buying soviet weapons and violating all sorts of nato agreements. But erdogans crackdowns on the free press, and his treatment of syrian kurds. This is all of a piece with Donald Trumps love affair with dictators, strong men who violate the human rights of those around them. Erdogan fits into that category. Like kim jongun, like xi jinping, like Vladimir Putin, he makes Donald Trumps good list. Every time President Trump talks to erdogan, he comes out of that conversation with an erratic move on Foreign Policy that hurts our friends and, as gayle was saying, makes it more likely that isis will arise again. Sitting there today, u. S. Forces in the region dont know what their commander in chief is doing because essentially whats happening is hes getting on the phone with another of his strong men authoritarian buddies and doing some kind of deal that goes beyond anything those of us watching from the outside can understand. And the last time that erdogan was in washington, 15 of his security of his bodyguards were indicted, jake, and weve yet to see any kind of action. We wonder whether in november he comes, hell bring those same people. And what were they indicted for . Kicking, punching, beating up Peaceful Protesters outside the Turkish Embassy in wash. You could literally see on camera erdogans goons going after Peaceful Protesters exercising their rights in the United States. President trump seems to be treating that the same way they treat the excesses and abuses of so many other dictators around the world. And people are watching this. Our enemies are watching this to see the ways in which america is turning its back on its values and our friends are watching to see how were turning our back on our close friend and partner, the kurds, who have carried the load of the fight against isis over the course of the past two years. Jake, gayle, thank you so much. Coming up, former president jimmy carter, resilient, still building homes for habitat after a fall and a black eye over the weekend. Ill talk to him about his passion for volunteerism and the impeachment inquiry. Humira patients, you inspire us. The way you triumph over adversity. And live your lives. Thats why we redesigned humira. We wanted to make the experience better for you. Now theres less pain immediately following injection. Weve reduced the size of the needle and removed the citrate buffers. And it has the same effectiveness you know and trust. Humira citratefree is here. A little change can make a big difference. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Ask your doctor about humira citratefree. Heres to you. Let me tell you something, i wouldnt be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. Learn how homeowners are strategically using a reverse Mortgage Loan to cover expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve your portfolio and so much more. A reverse Mortgage Loan isnt some kind of trick to take your home. Its a loan, like any other. Big difference is how you pay it back. Find out how reverse mortgages really work with aags free, noobligation reverse mortgage guide. With a reverse mortgage, you can pay whatever you can, when it works for you, or, you can wait, and pay it off in one lump sum when you leave your home. Discover the option thats best for you. Call today and find out more. Im proud to be a part of aag, i trust em, i think you can too. In a rare split with the president , republicans are now joining democrats in slamming President Trumps Foreign Policy decision, criticizing his signals to turkeys president that the u. S. Might abandon its kurdish allies fighting isis in northern syria. Their opposition in sharp contrast to the way theyve lined up behind President Trump over the ukraine controversy which is of course the center of the impeachment inquiry. Why the difference . Joining me now, michael steel, former spokesman for House Speaker john boehner, and eugene scott, Washington Post political reporter. Welcome, all. Not to put you on the spot but your fellow republicans are acting a little schizophrenic when it comes to President Trump. Yes. When it comes to protecting the kurds, i think there is a long history of republican support for our allies there. There is also a real palpable fear that this sort of action could be followed by widelyways to widelytelevised images of an awful massacre. Ukraine is more core to his own political legitimacy and is therefore a nogo zone in terms of criticism. You could also argue that what he did with ukraine and empowering Vladimir Putin is equally a threat to u. S. Foreign upon and standing abroad, joe. No question about it. When it comes to turkey, its rewarding another strong man, apparently. Even the threat that the president has posed, if anything does happen that he doesnt like, that hell destroy their economy, known believes that. Right. So it really is a mixedup time for all of us here in washington. What is the direction of our country right now . I will say, and give the gop credit here, they have been willing to stand up to defend who have been our great allies in this whole conflict. To defeat the caliphate of isis, these men and women sacrificed their lives. This is totally irresponsible. Of course we all remember Lindsey Graham and several others saying well never do business with Mohammed Bin Salman of saudi arabia again after the Khashoggi Killing and that lasted until the president embraced mbs at the g20 and now hes back on the world stage. Eugene, what is the threat now to the president . Because the Washington Posts poll today shows a real spike in support for not only the impeachment inquiry but even for those within a year and a half of another election, a year plus, not even a year and a half, even removal from office if washingtrranted. There is a real concern that the white house should have regarding how americans as a whole and people in his party feel about his relationship with ukraine, his involvement in that situation, and some other factors and individuals in the white house as well. He is not behaving in a way that someone who did not do something concerning would behave. And i think that is raising alarms for many voters including those who have been a little supportive of him. Now, we do know that republicans who are in his space are largely behind him. Thats not that surprising. But its those swing voters that he really has to lean on and hope will come back to him in 2020 that are looking at him differently and he should be concerned about that. I think the strategy is that he can win a base election if he so tars his opponent and with 125 million just this last quarter he can buy a lot of tar. In those swing districts House Republicans are most concerned with, impeachment remains unpopular. Those 31 democrats representing districts that the president won in 2016 could face real political blowback for voting for impeachment. Joe crowley, nancy pelosi could be right in the first of instance that the house leadership, the house control could be endangered by impeachment. I think were really in uncharted territory in many respects. But andrea what i go back to and i say again and again, probably to my family right now, the president is making what is illegal and unconstitutional normal. And that has me incredibly scared right now. What will it take for my Republican Former colleagues, fellow americans, to really get a backbone . And maybe this action will show in terms of showing strength and unity. I pray and hope that happens sooner rather than later. Michael steel, congressman joe crowley, eugene scott from the Washington Post, thank you all. Coming up, diplomatic disunity. One veteran ambassador explaining why he resigned from the Foreign Service because of the president s policies. And former president jimmy carter back with us to talk about his philanthropic work for habitat with humanity and the state of the white house, ahead. G electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. She said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. Go pro with oralb. Oralbs gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. For cleaner teeth and healthier gums. And unlike sonicare, oralb is the First Electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. What an amazing clean ill only use an oralb oralb. Brush like a pro. At humana, we believe your healthcare should evolve with you. And part of that evolution means choosing the right medicare plan for you. Humana can help. With original medicare, youre covered for hospital stays and Doctor Office visits, but youll have to pay a deductible for each. A Medicare Supplement plan can cover your deductibles and coinsurance, but you may pay higher premiums and still not get Prescription Drug coverage. But with an allinone humana Medicare Advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d Prescription Drug benefits. You get all this coverage for as low as a 0 monthly plan premium in many areas. And humana has a Large Network of doctors and hospitals, so call or go online today. Find out if your doctor is part of the Humana Network and get your free decision guide. Discover how an allinone humana Medicare Advantage plan could save you money. There is no obligation, so call or go online right now. What do you look for when you trade . I want free access to research. Yep, td ameritrades got that. Free access to every platform. Yeah, that too. I want to know what im paying upfront. Yes, absolutely. Everything you want. One low price. Td ameritrade. So chantix can help its you quit slow turkey. Cold turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or lifethreatening allergic and skin reactions. Decrease alcohol use. Use caution driving or operating machinery. Tell your doctor if youve had Mental Health problems. The most common side effect is nausea. Talk to your doctor about chantix. Hi. Maria ramirez mom maria Maria Ramirez. Mcdonalds is committing 150 Million Dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs. Prof Maria Ramirez mom and dad Maria Ramirez to help more employees achieve their dreams. Members of americas diplomatic core, current and former, are raising flags about what they say as a crisis in the state department. Secretary of state mike pompeo is a powerful ally of the president s. Unlike rex tillerson, he has access to the oval office, but at what cost . Our guest stepped down from the state department in august. Ambassador, welcome. Estonias foreign minister is at the state Department Today meeting with mike pompeo and a shouted question from our own producer there, abigail williams, he responded with no response, on the fact that ambassador sondland is not being allowed to testify despite the fact that last night they were saying he would show up. How do you feel about them blocking ambassadors from appearing before official inquiries . First of all, i would just like to say that a nonpartisan, nonpolitical diplomatic corps is essential to the National Security of the United States. This is a really terrible situation where career Foreign Service officers like ambassador yovanovitch and george kent are being put between a rock and a hard place, having to choose between instruction theyre getting from secretary poimpeo and from their constitutional duty to answer questions from the legislative branch. And i dont see mr. Pompeo sticking up for the Career Service the way that we would expect him to do. Mr. Sondland hes a direct line into the white house. Im sure hes getting very high quality legal advice. But what he was doing was not really within the character of diplomacy as i know it, because it seems his activities were more designed to further the Reelection Campaign of candidate donald trump than they were anything to do with his position as u. S. Ambassador to the European Union which of course is within the chain of command of the department of state. And in fact, in terms of u. S. Foreign policy, take the ukraine phone call out of this for a moment. In terms of u. S. Foreign policy, its the policy, it has been the policy of the United States that ukraine should be part of the eu eventually, not part of the russia orbit. That was the policy. But ambassador sondland apparently was appointed to carry out the president s wishes who is so hostile to the eu and hostile to nato and other multilateral organizations. Right, which is one of the reasons that im no longer the u. S. Ambassador to estonia, because it is our allies and our partners, and the transatlantic relationship that weve built over many, many decades that is at the backbone of the power and influence that the United States is able to leverage in the world to accomplish all of the good things that we are about and what our diplomacy is designed to achieve. Something like mr. Sondlands role tracks with the unpredictability and the thats been introduced into diplomacy under this administration, and really unpredictability and diplomacy dont go together very well. Ambassador james mehlville, thanks for weighing in. Thank you for your service, we very much appreciate it. And coming up, power of the president. Two days after a fall that caused serious injuries, 95yearold former president jimmy carter is back at work, building homes for habitat for humanity in nashville, tennessee. He talked about me about that and about the troefrgcontrovers washington. All of that next. In washington all of that next no one more bite kraft. For the win win. Former president jimmy carter is building homes with habitat for humanity in nashville today after falling at his home over the weekend ending up with 14 stitches in his forehead and a black eye. Nothing keeps jimmy carter down. President carter turned 95 last week, becoming the first u. S. President to reach that milestone. A bit earlier i spoke with him and the ceo for habitat for humanity. President carter, it is wonderful to see you. A pleasure, thank you. How did you have the resilience and strength, and why, to be showing up for habitat after falling and injuring yourself . You got 14 stitches. Well, i always put habitat first when i possibly can. We havent missed a habit weekend in 36 years so i didnt want to miss this one. This has been special for us. Tell me what is so special for you about habitat. Your commitment is legendary. Why does it matter so much to you . I think this is the best way i can put my Christian Faith into actual practice. Jesus christ was a carpenter, as a matter of fact. Im sure he swung a hammer a lot. So when we have a Christian Faith, we have to figure out some way, wealthy people and folks that have everything like i do, to reach out to our brothers and this is an easy way to do it. Its a difficult chasm to cross between the rich world and the poor world. And habitat makes it easier for us. Jonathan, you as the ceo of habitat have watched the president there today and this week in nationshville. Youre building 21 homes. Why is swimjimmy carters prese important to you . The president and mrs. Carter have put habitat on the map and have been such an inspiration for me and so many others. This is the 14th year ive had the privilege of building alongside the president and mrs. Carter. Its their example of faith and service in action, it goes far beyond the 21 families who are going to buy the homes were building this week. It really is bringing a spotlight on the need for safe, decent, and affordable housing. Theyve changed forever the way people thought about postpresidency. Now 22 Million People have new or improved homes and you can see the ripples from the countries and cities where theyve volunteered. Your volunteerism, especially for habitat, not only because of all the other things youve done, river blindness in africa, so many projects, jimmy carter, you and Rosslyn Carter and the carter center, talk to me about your postpresidency and what you think the Service Record of former president s should be. Well, i would say that our years since the white house have been more gratifying and more fulfilling, and i would say in many ways more challenging even than being in the white house. And weve been able to reach out to people that were really in need, which is something that a president doesnt have a chance to do personally. So weve dealt with millions of people, particularly in africa, latin america, and asia as well. One of the things that we can do now, weve trained 36,000 nurses in ethiopa, and we can go into eati ethiopa and help cure an eye disease, glaucoma, and we can treat 10 Million People. Thats as many people as live in georgia. So its a gratifying thing for us to do. Mr. President , ive known you a long time, weve known each other, ive seen you all over the world. Youre working with a black eye, youve had 14 stitches, youve had brain cancer, a broken hip, im told other issues over the years. How do you do it . You turned 95 a couple of weeks ago. What is your secret . Well, the secret is the inspiration i get from habitat. Im not exaggerating on that. Weve been doing it for a long time. Weve had ups and downs on occasion, but weve always been able to put habitat first, at least for a week or so at a time. And so no matter what kind of challenges we face, we go sometimes overseas, sometimes to very difficult places in the United States, and the volunteers that go with us, particularly here in nashville, has been very gratifying to us because we have about 5,000 volunteers here today working with us on these habitat houses. Were not only building 21 houses this year but we also have raised enough money to finish 59 houses this next year. So, you know, my name is rosalyns name makes it possible for people to give a lot of money to our cause in which we believe and encourages them to believe in too. So were able to help habitat a lot more than just an average worker just because weve been in the white house and survived the white house years. Its been a very happy thing for us. What i said yesterday in the press conference was, we always get more out of habitat than we put into it. Speaking of surviving the white house, as you just mentioned, you recently said, i hope theres an age limit on running for president. You said, you know, if i were just 80 years old, if i was 15 years younger, i dont believe that i could undertake the duties that i experienced whenivwhen ivi was president. Explain, because we have three candidates, one is 70, elizabeth warren, and of course Bernie Sanders is 78, just had a heart attack, joe biden is 76. Why do you think 80 is too old to be president . I dont think they are too old. I didnt refer to anybody in specific terms. But i think if i was already 80 and was in the white house, i dont think i would have a flexible enough mind or attitude to deal with the multiple issues a president has to confront. Harry trumans sign on the door, the buck stops here, and with anybody at a lower level, governors and so forth, who wound up in the white house, the president needs a lot of judgment and flexibility, a lot of ability to look at two sides of an issue, to come out with the best solution. So i just dont think if i were 80 years old i could still do the job. You famously said im not criticizing anybody thats running now, of course. Understood. You famously said back in the day, you know, ill never lie to you when you were running for president. Were now for the third time in American History having an impeachment inquiry. What are your thoughts about whether that is a good thing or a bad thing . I think it still remains to be seen. Depending on whats revealed in an inquiry. Im a democrat so i feel pretty much like the Democratic Party does, as you probably know. But i think we still need to ascertain the facts from the very thorough im very glad that the speaker of the house has ordained that the investigation go forward. And then decide i guess with the whole house voting on it whether or not to proceed with the actual impeachment of the president , which is done in congress as you know and house of representatives. And then the senate i think is very unlikely to confirm and to actually remove President Trump from office. But if facts reveal increasing number of things that he has actually done, then of course impeachment is possible and removal from office is possible. And did you think that the white house and state department are right to be blocking people from testifying, preventing the facts from coming out . No. I think that is a departure from custom and departure from what the American People expect and i think that is one of the main things that americans are now considering, the fact that the white house is trying to stonewall and not provide adequate information on which to base a good case to be made either for or against President Trump. So i think that that in itself is going to be another evidence, another item of evidence, that can be used against him if he continues to stonewall and prevent the evidence to be putted for to the house of representatives. And the senate to consider. And finally any advice for President Trump going through this . My advice to him would be to tell the truth i think for a change and also to cut back on his twitter feeds and give the house of representatives and also the senate and i say the general public the evidence that we need to form a case either for or against him. Well, president jimmy carter, rosalynn carter, jonathan, thanks to you. Our tribute to of course habitat for humanity. And thanks for joining us. Radit joining us, it is a great honor. It is a very fine book and what habitat really is. Thanks for having us on. And our best to mrs. Carter. Thank you, ill tell her. And coming up, equal rights, the Supreme Court hearing an historic case on lgbtq rights in the workplace. Pete williams will join us next from the high court. Pain happens. Aleve it. With aleve pm. The only one to combine a safe sleep aid. And the 12hour pain relieving strength of aleve. So. Magic mornings happen. Theres a better choice. Aleve pm. Woi felt completely helpless. Hed online. My entire career and business were in jeopardy. I called reputation defender. Vo take control of your online reputation. Get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender. Com. Find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. Woman they were able to restore my good name. Vo visit reputationdefender. Com or call 18778668555. Hey allergy muddlers. Achoo . Do your sneezes turn heads . Try zyrtec. It starts working hard at hour one. And works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. Zyrtec muddle no more. The final horn doesnt have to mbecause with Nhl Center Ice on xfinity you get up to 40 outofmarket games per week. And with the allnew xfinity sports zone, you get everything nhl all in one place, even notifications about your favorite teams. Watch every barn burner, barreling check, and all the top shelf action. Plus get instant access to your teams with the power of your voice. Thats simple, easy, awesome. Say Nhl Center Ice into your voice remote to check out a free preview. Dont miss out. Welcome back. The Supreme Court this morning heard arguments on what could be the most pivotal issues of this new term. Lgbtq workplace rights. Nearly four years after the High Court Rule that had same sex couples had the right to get married and decades after the 1964 civil rights act, this would be title 7ovii, they are preparing to decide whether it is legal to fire someone on their Sexual Orientation. Pete williams is joining us. This does go back to 1964 and whether gay rights should be covered. Reporter title vii made it illegal to discriminate on race, national origin, religion and sex. And the e question now is does that also include transgender status. And arguing for a man who was fired in georgia after he joined a guy Softball Team says yes, this is sex discrimination because he was fired as being a manda dating other men whereas woman dating other men would not have been fired. So that is the basis of the argument saying yes title vii does cover Sexual Orientation. The Trump Administration says no it didnoesnt, that when congr passed the act 55 years ago, Sexual Orientation was not on anyones mind and a majority of the court seemed to agree with that, but Ruth Bader Ginsburg said also that nobody was thinking that it covered Sexual Harassment and ultimately the court said it did. So the best hope for the people to get the Supreme Court to rule this way, and that is that reading of the law, a reading of title 7onstrict reading, just reading the words would include Sexual Orientation and it may surprise you to know that the best hope for that side of the case may be neil gorsuch because the court seemed pretty evenly decided between liberals and conservatives but Justice Gorsuch seemed to be open to the idea thattextual reading of the law could extend to Sexual Orientation and transgender status. Three cases here today for two hours ever argument on the second day of the Supreme Courts term. And pete, so interesting. You bring up Justice Gorsuch because of course he is on the more conservative wing of the court now. A lot can transpire along the way. But from the companies you could infer some open mindness there. Reporter a previous ruling says a man can sue for Sexual Harassment even those he was harassed by other men on an allmen oil rig. And the justice who wrote that case said that may not be what congress had in mind, but he is treated differently than a woman in his situation, and that justice who wrote that was antonin scalia. Fascinating. Youre in for quite a ride this term. Pete, thank you so much from the Supreme Court. That does it for this edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Our thanks to jimmy carter and habitat. And remember follow us on line on facebook and twitter. And here are ali velshi and recei step f stefan any ruhle. Hello, everybody. There is news that Ambassador Gordon Sondland who was supposed to testify today whom the 2rud said will not be testifying has been found to have been exchanging texts and encrypted texts on whatsapp which by the way may be in violation of how they are supposed to do it, between the special envoy kurt volker and the boaambassador to ukraine. This is according to two congressional sources and another person with knowledge. Lets