Brendan buck, thank you, as always. Thank you so you for getting up Way Too Early on this thursday morning. Morning joe starts right now. Thank you. May i finish. You cant be on both sides. Gentlemen, youll have your turn. One of the challenges listen up. Can we focus on the issues that matter . We know in china, Everybody Knows that. If i may focus on Holding Joe Biden accountable. I agree with ron desantis. Everybody is speaking at the same time. If you couldnt understand any of that, you were not alone. The republican candidates on stage at the Ronald Reagan president ial library last night, mostly focused on attacking each other rather than the frontrunner in the polls, donald trump. Talking over each other a lot. Trump was, instead, on stage by himself in michigan speaking to a crowd of mostly nonUnion Auto Workers, and criticizing the strike against detroits big three. Thats a tight shot there. Meanwhile, in washington, it appears the farright republicans in the house are ready to shut down the government over one key funding item. Well tell you what that is just ahead. Yeah, so, willie, the debate last night, were going to get to it and play more of the clips, but just, overall a mess. I had one republican leader, one contributor, everything after another, after another, just they were texting and calling all saying the same thing. What a mess. What an embarrassment. What a disaster. It was. It was a lot of what we just showed in that clip. Talking over each other. The moderators having lost control of things. Some very cringey, awkward moments. Nikki haley, if you wanted to pick somebody, she had several adult moments. But, for the most part, youre watching and thinking, wow, this is, as some people put it, the kids table where theyre fighting for second place, as donald trump sits comfortably at home. You watch that and ask yourself, why would donald trump ever participate in that debate, with the lead he has . Why would he step into that fight . I think a lot of people, the analysis youre going through the usual motions of a debate, like, who won . Who lost . What should we expect tonight . I guess the only question is, does any of it really matter . Some things could change, of course. We have four major federal indictments, 91 Felony Charges against the president. I guess some people are trying to hang around long enough to see if that impacts donald trump, but it is hard to say anybody won last night. Did anybody stand out . I dont know. We all watched, and i guess you could say nikki haley did pretty well. Chris christie, again, the only one going after donald trump. Hell be on our show again this morning. I did note that one thing didnt come up, the former president United States called, effectively, suggested, i should say, for the execution of General Milley. That didnt come up at the debate. Id be curious to hear what the candidates think about that. Yeah, didnt come up, wasnt asked. But thats really par for the course. Well, thats what molly jongfast was talking about yesterday. The media has to cover the stories that are news. Right. And the fact that that wasnt asked, or the massive fraud liability that went down yesterday, i mean, this is one universe versus another that actually lives on facts. These candidates werent asked about anything. Will, the fact yeah, you had the milley, basically invitation to assassinate. You had donald trump looking like he was going to get shut down from doing business in the state of new york. And you had donald trump also saying that he was going to shut down nbc and comcast. Jonathan lemire, that is something that those two really extreme things that he put on truth social were what the Wall Street JournalEditorial Page correctly brought to attention and said, guys, gals, if we keep going in this direction, this guy, who just said these things, is going to be your nominee. Step right over you all. If hes your nominee, theres a reason why the people in biden world think theyre going to win. You look on the stage, everybody yelling at each other last night and i do think that nikki haley probably stood out among the best but its so split up. Its just like 2016. Theyre splitting themselves up. You know, 5 here, 7 there, 9 there. For people who say it doesnt make a difference whether its split or not, there were theres cbs ugov poll that im sure youre aware of. I dont know if everybody watching is. But in the early states, iowa and New Hampshire, in both states, you have about 75 of the voters who say theyre open to voting for somebody other than donald trump. That theyre looking. A lot chunk of them, about a third in each of those states, are saying they will not vote for donald trump. So there is an opportunity. Last night was another blown chance to get those People United to find somebody that can actually be the guy who says the chairman of the joint chiefs needs to be assassinated. It was messy, sloppy. A lot of major topics were not addressed. Vivek ramaswamy thanked someone last night for speaking while he was interrupted. Thats what it was. Everyone was shouting at the other, and it was hard at times even to hear what anyone was saying last night. Certainly, there was no real breakthrough moment. There were cringing moments and bad oneliners which we can get to later. To your point about the polls, there is this appetite, seemingly, to have someone else step forward to be the turn alternative. For a long time, it was perceived to be Governor Ron Desantis of florida. His campaign has been in a free fall. There was nothing last night he didnt fair poorly, but there was nothing to suggest that his slide is going to stop. There is chatter among republican donors right now that maybe nikki haley could be that person, in part, because in headtohead polls and were early but in headtohead polling, she fairs the best against President Biden. Maybe shed be that choice, and shes done pretty well in the debates. Id argue better in the first one than last night, but she is the adult in the room. The question is, with trumps lead so big, are republican donors really going to throw their money at haley right now if potentially its a waste . Thats the choice. Do we see some of the candidates drop out potentially to give haley a chance to be the alternative . At least right now, no one is. No one is. The more the candidates stay in, the more divided it gets, the better, of course, it is for donald trump. Yeah, and elise jordan, as far as lines of the night go, ive got to say, nikki haley, borrowing from Happy Gilmore, was a great move, after viveks answer, basically uses the line, every time you talk, i feel a little more dumb. You are awarded no points, and may god have mercy on your soul. Thats basically what she did. Lets give her props at least for, you know, borrowing from happy gilmer. Governor haley had the best sense of reading the room, actually speaking and following the flow of where the arguments were going, arguing questions, than any other candidate on stage. I think thats where some of the other candidates just really fell flat, because they stuck to their rehearsed lines and the moment might not have been there, the timing was off. Some of the more uncomfortable exchanges, i just i really hope that mike pences line about his wife was not preplanned, just because it was awkward, just didnt need to know about his life with his wife. To say, that was a bit of a distraction. But, you know, nikki haley really emerged somewhat the winner of a very weak night overall. Would it be in the Republican Partys best sense to coalesce around one candidate, for donors to coalesce around one candidate . Yes. Will it happen . I doubt the common sense will take hold. More troubling, neither the candidates nor anybody in the room addressed the elephants in the room. Heres the moment with nikki haley and Vivek Ramaswamy in a an exchange when the businessman was asked about having a tiktok account. Then i want to get to charlie on the other side of this. Take a look. So the answer is, i have a radical idea for the Republican Party. We need to win elections. And part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of Young Americans where they are. When i get to office, ive been very clear, kids under the age of social under the age of 16 should not be using addictive social media. Were only going to ever get to declaring independence from china, which i favor, if we actually win. This is infuriating. Tiktok is one of the most dangerous Social Media Apps we could have. What youve got, honestly, every time i hear you, i feel a little dumber for what you say. Because i cant believe they hear youve got a tiktok situation. What theyre doing is 150 Million People are on tiktok. That means they can get your contacts, your financial information, your emails, they can get your let me say knows exactly what theyre doing. What ill say, youve helped china make medicines in china, not america. Excuse me. You want kids to get on social media thats dangerous for all of us. You were in business with the chinese who gave hunter biden 5 million. We cant trust you. You have to love viveks logic. Ill ban the moonshine when im president of the United States, but ill drink this moonshine here because ill relate better with the kids. Passing around moonshine for everybody. How can you say, im going to ban tiktok, the commies behind it, and then say, ill win by using tiktok. It doesnt work. Doesnt work. Charlie, my bigger concern about the whole thing is why nobody asked or spoke about the Republican Frontrunner talking about assassinating General Milley. Like, how does that get avoided by everybody in the room . Yeah, how was that not the first question . Well, they didnt talk about his felonies, didnt talk about fraud, any of these things. Look, i mean, you know, where do i go to get the two hours of my life back . That was an absurd farce. It was a nonevent, but it was also completely pointless. I think you put your finger on it. You have this debate, this president ial debate. Donald trump is sitting back, hes not there, and nobody laid a glove on him. They continued to go through the motions. Unless we want to engage in fan fiction, i think the reality is, that debate did not mean anything. Its not going to change anything. The republican field is very, very unlikely to coalesce around anyone other than donald trump. I think that that has to settle in as the moment. You know, the larger picture is they should have asked about General Milley. At some point, you would think that republicans are looking at that, this incredible clown show, this chaotic mess up there, and saying, this is the best that we can do. Were not going to address the fact that we are this far away from nominating somebody who has 90 felonies, who is calling for the Death Penalty for his political enemies and critics, shutting down the media, and somebody who is, you know, on a daily basis, decompensating on social media. So here we are. You know, to the point this feels a lot like 2016, im already having the ptsd flashbacks, except this is the lower, dumber version. By the way, joe, i think that quote is from Billy Madison. Yes, it is. Billy madison. You are right. Billy madison quote, one of my favorites of all time. Damn good. It was Billy Madison, delivered by the great jim downey, Legendary Snl writer playing the principal in the scene. Well all be on youtube in a minute watching it in the next break. So none of the candidates last night, as we said, were asked about Donald Trumps suggestion, the outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general mark milley, a fourstar general who spent his life in the military, deserves to be executed for treason, for communicating with his chinese counterpart at the end of the trump administration, to let them know the Nuclear Arsenal was secure. General milley, though, was asked about it in an interview for 60 minutes. President trump recently said that your dealings with china were so egregious, that in times gone by, the punishment would have been death. Thats right, he said that. Thats correct. He is suggesting that you be punished by death. The former Commander In Chief to his former top military adviser. Look, im a soldier. Ive been faithful and loyal to the constitution of the United States for 44. 5 years. My family and i have sacrificed greatly for this country. My mother and father before them. You know, as much as these comments are directed at me, it is also directed at the institution of the military. Theres 2. 1 million of us in uniform. The American People can take it to the bank that all of us, every single one of us, Private To General, were loyal to that constitution and will never turn our back on it No Matter What. No matter what the threats, no matter the humiliation, No Matter What. If we are willing to die for that document, if we are willing to deploy, to combat, willing to lose an arm, a leg, an eye, to protect and support and defend the document, for the American People, were willing to live for it, too. Im not commenting directly on those things, but this military, this soldier, me, will never turn my back on that constitution. For the record, was there anything inappropriate or treasonous about the calls you made to china . Absolutely not, zero, none. It almost seems odd to ask this question because the former Commander In Chief seems to be calling for your execution. Are you worried about your safety . Ive got adequate safety precautions. I wish those comments had not been made, but they were. Well take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family. Joe, thats a pretty extraordinary exchange, to see Four Star General mark milley sitting there in his dress with the bars, his four stars, saying, you can say whatever you want, talk, post on your social media site, call for me to be executed, but i and everybody i serve with, and the millions of americans who serve, are going to continue to defend the constitution. Thats our job. Thats all noise. Ill take care of my safety. Keep going with this. Were not going to change what we do. Yeah, i mean, its so discouraging. Donald trump has sent that signal out. Its just will like the Wall Street JournalEditorial Page yesterday said, and many others have said yesterday, that hes sending the message out. Certainly, it is possible that some crank is going to follow through on that. Its the same thing that he said about Mitch Mcconnell. Its the same thing he said about, well, about me. Its the same thing he said about so many people. It does it is changing General Milleys life right now, that he is going to need security around the clock for quite some time. Because donald trump knows exactly what hes doing. Thats why he starts talking about somebody being executed. When Mitch Mcconnell, its death wish in all caps. Its a message. Yet, yet, charlie sykes, nobody at Fox News Last Night Thought that was worthy of a question to ask, even if their partners at the Wall Street Journal did that morning. Nobody thought it necessary to ask about banning nbc news once donald trump became president of the United States. Again, if he got elected again. Nobody thought about any of that. Liable for fraud. Nobody thought about asking something that was on the front page of all the newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal yesterday morning, which is, donald trump is probably going to be stopped from doing business in New York State because he acted in such a fraudulent way in overvaluing his properties for bank loans. Those were all i mean, those things were all teed up. It was a choice. Im not really sure how those questions couldnt have been asked. More to the point, i think its just absolute insanity that the people that are running against donald trump didnt bring it up on stage. Couldnt i mean, those i mean, at some point, youre going to have somebody smart enough to find another lane and challenge this guy, or theyre just going to meekly keep, like, sort of, like quizlings, following behind him. We have Chris Christie on today. We can ask him. They do absolutely nothing. This is our life for The Last Seven, eight years, isnt it . The Wall Street Journal editorial, i think, is worth spending a moment on, that they were shocked, shocked to discover that all of this going on. It is interesting, some of the anti antitrumps are going, by the way, this is appalling. Do you understand this guy is completely crazy, deranged, and were about to renominate him . How did we get here . Exactly the kind of thing youre describing, denial, avoidance, rationalization. Going into this alternative reality, where these things did not exist. They dont exist for that audience. You know, he didnt say, you know, that mark milley should be executed. You know, a federal judge shutting the business down doesnt even register. The