we'll get an update on the current state of the virus amid a rise in hospitalizations across the united states. good morning, and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, september 6th. i'm jonathan lemire, and thanks for starting your day with us. and we'll begin this morning with the stiffest punishment handed down so far for anyone involved in the january 6th capitol attack. enrique tarrio, the former national chairman of the proud boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison following his conviction on a seditious conspiracy charge for playing a central role in the 2021 insurrection. his sentence is the longest so far, surpassing the 18 years given to oath keeper's founder stewart rhodes. now, prosecutors had sought a 33-year term for tarrio. wearing an orange jumpsuit, an emotional tarrio offered apologies to law enforcement and washington, d.c. residents for his involvement. he asked the judge to show mercy and vowed that he is done with politics. the judge timothy kelly said tarrio mobilized a group of 200 men amped up for the battle and circling the capitol. adding, quote, mr. tarrio was the ultmal leader, the ultimate person who organized and was motivated by revolutionary zeal. i don't have any indication he is remorseful for the actual things he was convicted of. tarrio's lawyers sought leniency, arguing their client was a, quote, misguided patriot who wasn't even at the capitol that day but in a baltimore hotel room watching the events unfold. here he is the night before the attack in a garage meeting with leaders of the oath keepers. tarrio was arrested about 48 hours before the attack because of his actions at a previous pro-trump event in washington. his sentence follows those of four other proud boys who received substantial prison terms though all far below what prosecutors originally wanted. so far about 1,100 people have been charged in connection with the capitol attack, and more than 300 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. we go to georgia now on another legal matter where every single codefendant in the fulton county election interference case has now waived their arraignment appearance and has pleaded not guilty. the 19 codefendants were originally scheduled to be arraigned today, but that is no longer necessary. there will, however, be a separate hearing this afternoon to consider the requests of two defendants, kenneth chesebro and sidney powell, who are looking to sever their cases from the rest. a judge says he'll ask the state to estimate how long a trial for the whole group could take and how many witnesses they may call. both defendants have also requested a speedy trial and trying to move up their potential court dates. only chesebro has confirmed his trial to begin on october 23rd. several other codefendants are also requesting a separate trial. john eastman's attorneys argue they won't have enough time to prepare for an october trial date. david shafer's team is also looking to break off from the speedy trial group. meanwhile, chesebro's lawyers are looking to dismiss his rico charges all together citing the supremacy clause of the constitution. they argue that most of the charges against him apply to federal law and not georgia state law. this case of course being tried in state court. joining us now former assistant u.s. attorney for the district of columbia, glenn kirschner. he's also an nbc news and msnbc legal analyst. we're so grateful he's with us this morning to help us get through these headlines. glenn, good to see you. so let's start with enrique tarrio, the former proud boys leader who was given the longest january 6th sentence yet but still well below what prosecutors asked for. what's your analysis of this? why do you think the judge lowered the amount of time that tarrio will spend in prison? >> you know, jonathan, i will say i'm not only a former federal prosecutor, i'm an old army guy. and the way i read some of these sentences that are well-below, sometimes half of what the prosecutors are asking for, i think in part it's a recognition that there is somebody far more culpable above the field officers, the enrique tarrios leader of the proud boys, the eladminister elmer student rhodes. he says tarrio was the ultimate leader. he wasn't. the ultimate leader was donald trump. the field officers, the oath keepers, the proud boys and others did their nefarious best to stop the certification of joe biden's win, but they're just not the ultimate leaders. donald trump was in a very real sense sitting in a bunker on january 6th, the very well-appointed bunker, the dining room off the oval office. he was monitoring the field battle on tv. and when he saw a turn in the events with mike pence not having the courage to do what was necessary to keep donald trump in power, donald trump, the ultimate general, gave the order. he said he didn't have the courage to keep me in the oval office. there was one unmistakable message sent by that tweet. get him. and the field officers endeavored to do that. donald trump is the ultimate leader, and if enrique tarrio deserves 22 years in prison, donald trump deserves far more. >> 22 years, of course, still a substantial sentence. so let's turn to that man you deemed the ultimate leader, donald trump, and another one of the legal matters he faces which is georgia. and several of his codefendants there in fulton county are looking to separate their trials from the pack. two parter for you. do you think that will help them, and do you think that slows the whole process down which could be to trump's benefit? >> you know, almost every codefendant trial conspiracy case, rico case, defendants try to sort of peel away from the pack. they want a separate trial. why? because they don't want what we call presidential spill over. if you're a lesser player, for example, a fake elector, you probably don't want to be at defense council table with donald trump and mark meadows and sidney powell, rudy giuliani, john eastman, jeffrey clark, and some of the others. so it's not at all surprising they're beginning to try to peel away. there'll be really interesting to see what the judge does because there's a strong preference, jonathan, for joint trials when defendants are joined together in one indictment. so judge mcafee will have to decide how many defendants should go to trial in october. because as you mentioned chesebro has already made a speedy trial demand, so he has to go to trial in october. and how many will be able to convince the judge that they really do need more time to prepare, so even if they don't have a strong legal basis for a severance because motions to sever are rarely granted, they have a practical basis to be tried separately, a de facto severance and, you know, go to trial later. i suspect we may see two batches of defendants here, not one joint trial. >> terrific insight as ozfrom former assistant u.s. attorney for the district of columbia, glenn kirschner, who i'm certain we'll be speaking to again very soon. thank you, glenn. one more headline now new york attorney general letitia james is asking the state supreme court to sanction former president trump, his sons eric and don jr., as well as their lawyers. according to newly filed court records, james wants to impose the sanctions because trump's attorneys continue to raise what she calls the same frivolous legal arguments in fighting her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit. james argues that, quote, sophisticated defense counsel should have known better than to rehash previously rejected arguments. and she is calling for the court to impose a $20,000 fine. while trump's legal team has pushed to have the case dismissed, a trial is set to begin there in early october. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll bring you the latest on senate minority leader mitch mcconnell's condition after the capitol's attending physician put out a letter about mcconnell's health. plus, the united states issues a new warning to north korea amid an expected meeting between kim jong-un and russia's vladimir putin later this month. those stories, a check on sports and weather and the morning's other headlines when we come right back. r headlines when we e right back the citi custom cash® card a different kind of card that automatically adjusts to your spending earn 5% cash back on your top eligible spend category up to $500 spent each billing cycle learn more at citi.com/customcash (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) so our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) it's not just a network. it's enterprise intelligence. (vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. want a smarter way to mop? introducing the new swiffer powermop. an all-in-one cleaning tool with a 360-degree swivel head that goes places a regular mop just can't. mop smarter with the new swiffer powermop. welcome back. with the senate's summer recess now over, minority leader mitch mcconnell is looking to quiet concerns about his health. on capitol hill yesterday the kentucky republican spoke on camera for the first time since he suffered an apparent medical episode last week. in his home state the 81-year-old mcconnell froze for nearly 30 seconds while taking questions from reporters. that, of course, followed a similar incident on capitol hill back in late july. yesterday mcconnell briefly addressed the situation. >> at one particular moment of my time back home has received its fair share of attention in the press over the past week, but i assure you august was a busy and productive month for me and my staff back in the commonwealth. >> mcconnell's office also released a letter from the capitol's attendsing physician yesterday who wrote that after examining the senator he found, quote, no evidence of a seizure disorder, a stroke, or a movement disorder such as parkinson's disease. many of mcconnell's republican colleagues also expressed confidence in his ability to do his job, although the junior senator from mcconnell's own state expressed real skepticism about the physician's all-clear. >> it looks like a focal neurological event. that doesn't mean it's incapacitating, doesn't mean he can't serve, but it means somebody ought to wake up and say, wow, this looks like a seizure. >> the reality is we may expect mitch mcconnell will check out for 20 seconds a day, but the other 86,380 seconds of the day he does a pretty darn good job. >> the doctor said that no stroke, no impairment there. that's good. i heard him on the floor just a little while ago. sounds good to me. >> he seemed fine today, so obviously the all-clear he got from dr. moynihan was pretty encouraging. >> we should note senator paul is a doctor himself and behind the scenes there's considerable concern among republicans about mcconnell's health. we turn now overseas, and amid the ongoing war in ukraine the biden administration is warning north korea against providing russia with any military support. at a briefing yesterday white house national security advisor jake sullivan said discussions about a potential arms deal between moscow and pyeongyang are advancing. >> what i can say is this. providing weapons to russia for use on the battlefield to attack grain silos and the heating infrastructure of major cities as we head into winter to try to conquer territory that belongs to another sovereign nation is not going to reflect well on north korea. and they will pay a price for this in the international community. >> that new warning comes amid speculation that north korean leader kim jong-un may travel to russia later this month for a meeting with russian president vladimir putin. we also learned overnight that secretary of state antony blinken has traveled to kyiv to meet with key ukrainian officials including president volodymyr zelenskyy. this marks blinken's fourth visit to ukraine since the war began. according to a senior state department official, blinken is expected to announce more than a billion dollars in new funding for ukraine. still ahead here on "way too early," a former major league baseball mvp is on a historic tear. we'll show you his absolutely huge night at the plate. plus an update from the u.s. open where an american pull off a big upset late last night. that's all straight ahead. ght. that's all straight ahead. businesses need 5g solutions today. that's why they choose t-mobile for business. mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies on t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what america's largest 5g network can do for your business. listen, your deodorant just has to work. i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later, i still smell fresh. secret works! ohhh yesss. ♪♪ age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv two for two with two home runs. >> and now he sends one to center field. could it be four in a row, four in a row for altuve. >> jose altuve is on a historic heater right now. the astros second baseman hit three home runs in the first three innings of last night's game. that comes after his two home run performance on monday including one he hit in the top of the ninth in that game, which then makes him the first player since 1961 to homer in four consecutive innings. how about that? jose altuve and the astros dominate the rangers 14-1, and they have now moved into sole position of first place in the al west. that felt inevitable. let's stay with baseball and a major milestone last night in the bronx. >> john cole standing on the doorstep of 400. he'd become the tenth yankee and 58th player in history with that many. >> fly ball. deep left field. there it goes. see ya. his 400th career home run and gives the yankees a 3-1 lead. >> john carlos, a stantonian home run. >> stantonian. he hit his 400th career home run. he's the fourth fastest player by number of games played to reach that mark in baseball history. his two run shot broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth and the yankees would go onto win over the tigers. here they come. staying in the american league east the tampa bay rays would need extra innings to defeat the red sox last night, but don't worry they did it. brandon, walk it off. with that three run blast to right field just inside the foul pole, a pretty devastating defeat for the sox. jordan westbering hit a chopper that would get a runner in the top of the tenth. and then the orioles leader struck out two batters with a runner on third to complete baltimore's 44th comeback win of the season. let's move onto the u.s. open where an incredible run for an unseated american continues at flushing meadows. >> ben shelten is onto the semifinals after upsetting francis tiafo, the tenth ranked player in the world. it's the first slam semifinal for the 20-year-old who only turned pro last year. shelten is the youngest american man to reach the open semis since michael chang did it back in 1992. he'll now face world number 2iovack djokovic. the guy's a lot of fun. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman, a fellow tennis fan. and she's here with the weather. >> i think i'm going to steal shelten's answer there. i get the forecast right, i'm going to hang up the phone. >> playing with confidence. >> we're talking still summer-like conditions across much of the country. the north east especially and parts of the southern plains continue to see these temperatures well above normal for this time of year. we're going to eventually talking triple digit temperatures as we continue through at least the next day or so. we'll be watching for these conditions to stick with us here as we get into at least the next couple of days. jonathan, these are record temperatures. 100 degrees across washington, d.c. today. we'll continue to see these conditions lasting for a while here as we get through at least -- at least saturday and sunday that's when we're going to start to see things kind of calm down. there's the records ewe see today. we move to the southern plains, triple digits across texas. cooler air settling in into parts of the midwest and that will leave us seasonable. the cold weather doesn't make it into the north east. by friday we'll start to see conditions remaining unsettled but not quite as warm, and they'll start to get a little more seasonable. that cold front, though, is going to be a key player with what happens with tropical storm lee. 65 miles per hour, expected to stay north of the leeward islands, but we could see rough surf, potentially and down the line category 4 storm is what we're expecting. the good news is a lot of the models kind of agree this system will take a northerly turn, jonathan, as it gets down the line. it'll bear watching here. we're in peak season after all. >> we'll keep an eye on that heat. even when we commute to work it was beastly weather. still ahead here on "way too early," president biden wears a mask for the first time in months after the first lady tested positive for covid earlier this week. we'll talk to a medical expert about the current rise in cases even before we enter the autumn and winter. "way too early" is coming right back. back ight? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp...little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. he's the best. make every wash count! little help, please. rsv is in for a surprise. meet arexvy. ( ♪♪ ) the first fda-approved rsv vaccine. arexvy is used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. ( ♪♪ ) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. rsv can be serious. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. rsv? make it arexvy. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. welcome back to "way too early" as we come up on 5:30 a.m. on the east coast, which means 2:30 a.m. out west. i'm jonathan lemire, and thanks for being with us. following the first lady's positive test result for covid-19, president joe biden donned a mask yesterday for the first time in several months. wearing it to the medal of honor ceremony at the white house, before then removing it for the actual presentation. the white house said the president tested negative earlier in the day. "the new york times" reporting that as of august 26th, the u.s. daily average of hospitalizations for covid exceeded 3,900. that's a 29% jump compared to two weeks prior. the white house says the president will keep testing were he, of course, to test positive in the next day or so. that would likely prevent him from traveling to the g20 in italy and he's supposed to leave tomorrow. joining us now nbc news medical contributor dr. ven gupta. great to see you again. there's an uptick in this virus, certainly anecdotally more people getting sick and also this recent rise in hospitalizations. what do you think accounts for it? >> jonathan, good morning. what we know is covid continues to shape shift, that it continues to mutate. and with each mutation we don't necessarily talk about it the way we did a year ago, but it's becoming more transmissible, potentially becoming a little bit more dangerous especially to those that are unvaccinated. we know, jonathan, pockets of vulnerability remain across the country. these islands of the unvaccinated who have never gotten a shot, 30% of american adults have never gotten a shot. many more have not boosted. so as we enter into the winter months with an evermore transmissible version of this virus relative to 2020, we had these pockets of vulnerability that should concern those local health systems. >> so it certainly would suggest then that cases would continue to rise as the weather gets colder, so tell us what we should expect and what's the latest in terms of a booster? when would it be available? >> well, you know, there's a few things here shaping the situation now into our fourth winter living with covid. treatments are heavily underutilized in addition to what we said about booster shots, covid variants continue to become more transmissible. also a lot of research around long covid. don't understand how to best treat it, who might be at risk. so a lot of known unknown there in terms of what we can do. i say this firmly that even in the absence of state mandates, hospital institutions need to mask up again. there should be mandatory masking at least in hospital institutions. that's where high-risk people tend to go and really tend to stay overnight. hospital institutions too ed to go there asap as a proactive measure. boosting, in answer to your earlier question here covid flu updated shots are going to be available towards the end of this month. for all your viewers out there you can get both at the exact same time. if you're medically higher risk, jonathan, 60 years of age or older or have a medical comor didty, you can get the max vene newly available right now. and space out that covid shot a few weeks later. you can get this at the same exact time, end of the month. if you are medically high risk the last thing i'd encourage is have a plan to get a treatment if you need it. >> i'm certain we'll be speaking more and more about covid in the months ahead, but right now i want to turn to a different matter. the cdc is alerting doctors of a rise in severe rsv cases among children particularly in florida and georgia. such regional increases tend to predict the beginning of rsv season nationally. the cdc said it expects the virus will spread in the northern and western parts of the country over the next two to three months. a majority of recent rsv hospitalizations in august were in babies less than a year old. rsv is linked to an average of 80,000 hospitalizations and up to 300 deaths every year. so dr. gupta, what do you think here of this rsv rise, and combining it with this uptick in covid we were just discussing, how worried are you about the american hospital system right now? >> i would say when it comes to kids very vulnerable to rsv, spiking in september, as we enter september it's concerning. i'm very worried about children's hospital capacity. because, jonathan, there's about 10% of the icu beds children need relative to adults. there's far less capacity for kids. rsv we know is back with resurgence, but here's the silver lining. there's now vaccines you can give expecting moms. we know that six month window from birth to six months, very vulnerable window for infants. now moms can get protected. there's also treatments in the pipes. so there are ways to help defray deaths and hospitalizations amongst the youngest. >> an important medical update, and we'll have more in the days and months ahead. thank you as always. coming up here on "way too early," we're going to switch to business news. a big headline this morning, rising oil prices. the spike has the markets in the red before the bell. cnbc joins us with insight on that next. ext. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv my father didn't know his dad. with ancestry i dug and dug until i found some information. birth certificate. wow. and then you add it to the tree. it's like you discover a new family member. discover even more at ancestry.com i'm not just accomplished. i am accomplishing. so i'm doing all i can to help lower my risk of breaking a bone. for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture taking calcium and vitamin d may not be enough. adding prolia® is proven to help strengthen bones and reduce spine fracture risk by 68% with 1 shot every 6 months. do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it, or take xgeva®. serious allergic reactions like low blood pressure, trouble breathing, throat tightness, face, lip or tongue swelling, rash, itching or hives have happened. tell your doctor about dental problems as severe jaw bone problems may happen with prolia®, or about pain in your hip, groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. talk to your doctor before stopping, skipping, or delaying prolia®, as spine and other fractures have occurred. serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections which could need hospitalization, skin problems, and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain have occurred. i have so much more to accomplish. talk to your doctor about prolia®. ♪ did you know 80% of women are struggling with hair damage? dryness and frizz that keeps coming back, could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. you need pantene's miracle rescue deep conditioner. it's filled with pro-vitamins to help hair lock in moisture, visibly repairing six months of damage in just one use, with no weigh-down. guaranteed, or your money back. for hair that looks healthy and stays healthy. if you know, you know it's pantene. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv time now for business, and for that let's bring in cnbc's arabile gumede who joins us live from london. arabile, good morning. investors looking ahead to another busy day of economic data as well as some earnings reports. how's the market shaping up in the morning's first hours? >> yeah, so pretty much we're looking at a down day particularly across europe thus far. right, you take a look at that and that's really bound to be the oil story coming out of saudi arabia as well as russia that we'll unpack a little bit later. there's a bit of interest of that out in asia and the market is fair bit mixed then when one looks what's happening there, property stocks making headlines there. we'll unpack that one. it does look like the u.s. will fall back and won't necessarily see too much by way of gains because of all that news flow. we do have quite a few fed speakers actually today, so they may have something to say with the way the markets are looking out. for now, though we are fairly negative across inboard and that's the anticipation for most of the day. >> oil prices, major headline here they jumped yesterday after an announcement by saudi arabia and russia. arabile, tell us about it. >> yeah, so both countries have actually decided to extend what is their price cuts then in the -- of course being the biggest suppliers of oil particularly in that opec region. 1 million barrels of oil per day being cut, which had been originally cut from the month of august or so anyway. now that will continue until at least the end of the year. it means saudi arabia will only bring about 9 million barrels of oil per day. that's going to be their cycle production thus far. it is something they'll continue to look at and see whether the market needs it. we saw brent crude oil actually hit $90 a barrel. could $100 a barrel be in the offing then after continuing to choke the market as much as they're doing right now? that certainly could be something that happens in the not so distant future. >> and one more for you, arabile. shares of chinese property stocks surged with one soaring by more than 70%. there's been a lot of discussion on this topic of late. what caused this particular dramatic rise? >> yeah, so let's remember if we take a quick step back then, we had property prices fall quite significantly particularly during covid-19. we saw interest rates drop off quite considerably. the likes of china and evergrande has been that news story. evergrande didn't trade for 18 months, and that impacted quite significantly. last month china evergrande came back to the market and initially fell off. what has happened is the loan repayments that needed to be paid back by a lot of the property stocks out in asia were the key question mark. would they be able to repay some of those loan repayments? well, another big company property developer out in asia, country garden, actually didn't miss its debt payment, and in fact was able to pay $22.5 million worth of their debt repayment. so that picked up a lot of the prices out in asia. as you said the likes of evergrande moving up 70 if not 80% at some stage in the market. country garden up 20% as well so far. a big boost for property developers out in asia. >> a lot of interesting headlines this morning from cnbc's arabile gumede who joins us live as always from london. thank you, arabile. still ahead here on "way too early," are republican voters really concerned about donald trump's criminal charges? what new polling shows about their views on whether or not he should be disqualified from the presidency. we'll be right back with that. i. (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) so our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) it's not just a network. it's enterprise intelligence. (vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv ♪oh♪ ♪then you take me by the hand♪ ♪i feel better again♪ ♪oh i feel better now♪ with the freestyle libre 2 system, know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us mmm, popcorn. (alternate voice) denture disaster, darling! we need poligrip before crispy popcorn. (regular voice) let's fix this. (alternate voice) poligrip power hold + seal gives our strongest hold and 5x food seal. if your mouth could talk, it would ask for... poligrip. he refused to give up, refused to leave a fellow american behind, refused to put his own life above the lives of others in need. when duty called, larry did everything -- did everything to answer. and because of that he rewrote the fate of four families for generations to come. that's valor. that's valor. that's our nation at its very best, and that's why it's now my great honor to ask lieutenant colonel to read your medal of honor citation. >> that was president joe biden yesterday presenting the medal of honor to a veteran of the vietnam war. 81-year-old army captain larry taylor was honored for his heroic actions back in 1968. then a first lieutenant army pilot, taylor risked his life to extract surrounded comrades by helicopter. a moving, moving ceremony. of course, america faced deep divisions during the vietnam era. and today the united states is also working through a new set of pressures stemming from the rise of partisan politic and internal threats to democracy itself. joining us now to talk about that is the author and nbc news presidential historian michael beschloss. michael, so good to see you this morning. >> same here. >> let's talk about this. we so often are consumed rightly with the day to day of our politics, but let's take a step back and put this era, this remarkably, divided, partisan at times era, put that in perspective for us on the american landscape. >> look what happened yesterday. captain taylor got the medal, and sometimes we need reminders, many of us, that huge numbers of americans over centuries have risked and given their lives on battlefields and also domestically in the civil rights movement protesting other infringements on our rights to save this democracy. this didn't come for free, and we had some very close calls -- the revolutionary war, the war of 1812, civil war, and also world war ii just to name a few. if you all that history we have to remember how precious our voting rights are and our democracy is and our system. and any effort to even slightly infringe on those rights such as we saw on the sixth of january 2021, we should be outraged. >> but it's clear that a large portion of the country simply isn't because we've got new polling just out in the last day or so that shows the republican party continues to support someone accused of trying to overthrow this nation's very democracy. you're someone, of course, who has studied many presidential scandals of the past. what does it tell you right now about the state of the country so much of the gop is still completely in the thrall of donald j. trump? >> well, they are a cult at the moment. they are in denial. and i think this is the way i would look at it, jonathan, and i usually don't look at things through rose-colored glasses, but i think two centuries of american history give us this optimism. you know you use the word accused. yes, donald trump and the coconspirators have been accused of doing those things, but on the big issues those trials have not been held. let's say that the trials are held before voters choose in a presidential election a year from this november, what will donald trump be accused of and possibly convicted or at least big evidence shown he may have been guilty of? in georgia stealing voting rights of american citizens that were so hard-won. you know, even the civil rights of the 1960s did so much to open up georgia and other areas of the united states and in a federal trial show that on january 6th he may have been the leader of a conspiracy to take away our democracy, to stop what congress was doing, to stop the orderly transfer of power. we could have lost our democracy and even physically our leaders that day if this plan presumably led by donald trump had succeeded. so i prefer to think over two centuries of american history show that americans have wisdom once they get the facts, and i think a year from now americans will be reacting very differently. >> so, michael, lastly and briefly, you use the word cult to describe trump and his followers. certainly there is a fever right now this this nation. what is your sense as to when that will break? could it be next year were he to lose the election again or will this stay with us beyond donald trump himself? >> i think the trump fever, if you and i are defining this as devotion to one person no matter, you know, what criminal offenses it is proven in court that he has done, you know, that's a cult. at the same time, if donald trump, let's say, were to pull out or be defeated next year you've still got a republican party which compared to ten years ago is much more radical, much more prone to conspiracy theories, much more angry, those things will not go away. >> an important conversation, one we will keep having in the weeks and months ahead. author and nbc news presidential historian michael beschloss, thank you as always. up next on "way too early," lawmakers are back on capitol hill today to try to prevent a government shutdown while republicans look into an impeachment inquiry on joe biden. enrique tarrio given the stiffest punishment yet for his role in the january 6th capitol attack. why the federal judge handed down the most severe penalty and the message he sent to others. gloria johnson, one of the tennessee three lawmakers who republicans sought to expel from office, she'll join the conversation. see her first interview on msnbc since she announced that she's now running for the united states senate. "morning joe" is just a few moments away with all of that. g solutions today. that's why they choose t-mobile for business. mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies on t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what america's largest 5g network can do for your business. mr. clean magic eraser powers through tough messes. so it makes it look like i spent hours cleaning, and you know i didn't. it makes my running shoe look like new! it's amazing. it's so good. it makes it look like i have magical powers. magic eraser and sheets make cleaning look easy. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv since my citi custom cash® card automatically adjusts to earn me more cash back in my top eligible category... suddenly life's feeling a little more automatic. like doors opening wherever i go... [sound of airplane overhead] even the ground is moving for me! y'all seeing this? wild! and i don't even have to activate anything. oooooohhh... automatic sashimi! earn cash back that automatically adjusts to how you spend with the citi custom cash® card. [mind blown explosion noise] welcome back. to capitol hill and congress has a little over three weeks to agree on a deal to fund the government and, therefore, thwart a government shutdown. both senate majority leader chuck schumer and minority leader mitch mcconnell addressed the road ahead yesterday. >> when the house returns next week, i hope house republicans, i implore house republicans to recognize that time is short to keep the government open and that the only way, the only way we will finish the appropriations process is through bipartisanship. the idea of both parties working together, not one party particularly governed by 30 or 40 members filling out a wish list they know can't pass. >> this month, of course, congress needs to address our nation's most pressing needs with timely appropriations and we need to keep the lights on come october 1st. the senate reconvenes with our work cut out for us and a deadline fast approaching. i hope each of our colleagues has returned ready to do their part. >> joining us now, congressional reporter for "the hill," and we've seen this many, many times. mitch mcconnell, i republican is trying to send a clear message to his colleagues, hey, we don't want a government shutdown. politics of this have been bad in the past but there are many members to kevin mccarthy's right who want just that. give us the state of play. >> yeah, look, jonathan, you hit it there. the senate is pretty united this this funding battle right now. the appropriations bills have been marked up in line with that debt limit deal that they struck over the summer and advanced out of committee on a bipartisan basis starkly different from the house where these funding measures were marked up at far lower levels than set in the debt limit deal and policy riders that are conservative policy riders that won't fly with democrats. the senate is way more aligned that will cause problems for when we're down the road and have to deal with appropriations bills and come to some sort of consensus but when you talk in the short term leaders have recognized a continuing resolution will be needed. congress has less than four weeks to come to some sort of consensus on that and it's not very clear how they will come to the table and agree to something to keep the lights on and as you mentioned, some house conservatives are okay with a government shutdown so i think mitch mcconnell put it lightly when he said congress has its work set out for them in the next month. >> white house bracing for one as well, speaking of mcconnell, his team released a statement from his -- the capitol hill physician regarding these freezing episodes. republicans and democrats alike behind the scenes expressing real worry about whether mcconnell can continue in his role. what's the latest you're hearing? >> it's not just behind the scenes. we saw when senators came back that some of them were expressing concerns in public. you saw from josh hawley and rand paul who i will note are known to not be mcconnell's biggest fans but they all expressed concerns. you saw josh hawley say if you're concerned about president biden's age, i don't know how you can't be concerned about mitch mcconnell and rand paul, a doctor saying that what he saw in the public eye during those two freeze-ups is not what he calls dehydration but thinks there is a neurological issue there. but nonetheless, mitch mcconnell is getting the support by and large from senators in the republican conference. there were leaders that some of his close allies that reached out, we seen saw rick scott who staged the leadership challenge against him last year come out and say he thinks that mcconnell will come back to the senate and continue to serve. but behind the scenes it could be a different story, right, today will be the first time since the august recess that senators will meet behind closed doors for their policy lunch and then afterwards it is expected that there will be that weekly press conference where we will likely see mcconnell answer questions, so a lot of questions swirling around a lot of speculation but mitch mcconnell saying he's up for the job. >> a lot of eyes will be on that mcconnell news conference that is in front of reporters twice with episodes happening. the house comes back. how quickly do you think they'll move on deciding about an impeachment inquiry? >> that's a key question. kevin mccarthy said he thinks the house could launch an inquiry as soon as september when the house reconvenes. as you mentioned that is just next week. the problem is, it doesn't appear he has the vote, right? there are a number of moderate republicans who are expressing concern with voting to open an impeachment inquiry. don bacon, mike lawler, both of whom represent districts president biden won back in 2020, how quickly he'll be able to open it, mccarthy, will depend on the vote count which i'm sure he's whipping behind. >> congressional reporter for the hill michael schnell, thank you. thanks for getting up "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. good morning, and welcome to "morning joe." it is wednesday, september 6th. we've got a lot to get to this morning. the longest prison sentence yet for someone involved in the capitol is tack goes to a man who wasn't even there that day. we'll have expert legal analysis on that p