it's the very soul of america. >> that's president joe biden marking memorial day at arlington national cemetery with a somber message about freedom and democracy. we'll have much more of his speech in just a moment. meanwhile, donald trump marked the holiday with angry posts on social media lashing out at the judges in his legal cases. the day comes as his hush money trial resumes today in new york with closing arguments. we'll bring you a preview of what to expect. plus, the latest fallout from israel's air strike that led to deaths of dozens of displaced palestinians in rafah. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this tuesday, may 28th. happy birthday. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. in just hours closing arguments are scheduled to begin in donald trump's hush many criminal trial in a new york city courtroom with the case resuming after a long memorial daybreak. the defense will go first with trump attorney todd blanche expected to spend several hours on his summation argument. his goal -- explain why the government has not met its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that trump not only falsified business records but also had an intent to defraud that included, quote, an the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof. the prosecution will follow blanche likely reminding jurors that they can trust the financial paperwork they've seen and the witnesses that they've heard from. the arguments could take up most of the day, and testimony from former trump attorney and fixer michael cohen is expected to be heavily featured by both sides. once finished, there will be no rebuttals. judge juan merchan will then give the jury its instructions, which is expected to last about an hour. that will likely happen tomorrow morning if court's in session. wednesdays as you'll recall have been an off day throughout the trial. after the jury charge is complete, the feat of the former president will then be in the hands of the jury as they begin deliberations. ahead of today's proceedings, former president trump spent most of the memorial holiday yesterday lashing out on his social media platform, claiming the court has been weaponized against him, and launching preemptive attacks against judge merchan as well as manhattan d.a. alvin bragg. joining us now msnbc legal contributor and the host of msnbc' the katie phang show, katie phang. katie, good morning. thank you for starting us off today. >> sure. >> it is a big day. so let's get your -- let's start with your expectations on what we're going to hear from both sides in the closing arguments. >> so in new york, as you know, defense goes first, which is unusual. because in many jurisdictions we have what's called the sandwich. the prosecution goes, then the defense, and then the prosecution. in the defense in new york the defense goes first and the prosecution goes last, which is great because if you're a prosecutor you can listen to the defense's closing and maybe pivot a little bit if you didn't anticipate it. knowing the prosecution i think they're going to anticipate the arguments. in the defense's case as you noted the burden is always going to be on the prosecution to prove something beyond and to exclusion of beyond a reasonable doubt. because the documents that have been admitted into evidence, they don't help you if you're the defense. on the flip side if you're the prosecution, you can note that you can believe the witnesses but you can lean more into the value of the documentary evidence. the accounts statement, that michael cohen bank account that was opened solely for the purpose to wire money to keith davidson, the lawyer for stormy daniels, the prosecution has really nailed home for the jury why that is so important. and the defense took no time during cross-examination to really address that. i think the biggest kind of open question is how much does either side lean into the absence of allen weisselberg. no one ever called him as a witness. my humble opinion is that the defense actually looks bad they didn't call allen weisselberg. why? because they actually put on a case. they had no obligation to do anything, but they put on a paralegal and put in a very bad witness involved costello, i think the jury is asking what happened to allen weisselberg and why didn't he come onto corroborate trump's side of the story? >> we should note the prosecution will go last. if you have to identify a couple of key points the prosecution has to make what would they be? >> it would be the documents speak for themselves, that the actual account statements, the e-mails, the text messages, things like that as you'll recall, jonathan, bob costello had those really damning e-mails by between him and his law partner, for example, where he said we've got to get michael cohen on the right page but we can't make it look like we're acting on the instructions of rudy giuliani and donald trump. it's so long ago, it's not like these things are made up now they'd be able to help the prosecution. there's this reliability that comes from things that were created at the time like those bank account statements that actually lends itself to the prosecution saying i'm going to hit home on these particular issues. >> we're on the precipice of a truly remarkable moment where a former president of the united states is going to be judged by a jury of his peers. before we get there, the judge does have his jury instructions. for those not legal experts what does that mean and why is it so important? >> when you go to the jury trial, the jurors are the finders of fact. they're going to look at the witness and say credible, not credible, tell the truth or not. it's the judge who provides the law because as you note a lot of jurors aren't lawyers. but as you know we've got two lawyers on the jury right now. how much say do the lawyers have on the jury? of course it's a completely black box experience when you're sitting on a jury. it's confidential. the only time we may know what's going on is if a note gets passed to the judge. if these 12 jurors, and you know what's interesting, we never had to lean into an alternate. we had 12 jurors and "sticks" alternates when they go into a jury room only the 12 go in, none of the six alternates. they're going to be listening to the jury instructions that judge merchan reads to them because the law is going to be explained to them when he reads them the jury instructions. >> a significant day and of course we'll have coverage all day long here on msnbc. msnbc contributor katie phang, thank you very much and we'll be following your analysis throughout the week. meanwhile, president biden as his rival for the presidency prepares for court, the current president spent memorial day at arlington national cemetery yesterday where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a symbolic grave for all the american service members whose remains were never found or identified. president biden gave remarks on the importance of democracy and honoring america's fallen heroes. he even touched on his own personal tragedy, discussing his grief over the loss of his son, beau. take a listen. >> our democracy is more than just a system of government, it's the very soul of america. it's how we've been able to constantly adapt through the centuries. it's why we've always emerged from every challenge stronger than when we went in, and it's how we come together as one nation united. and just as our fallen heroes have kept the ultimate faith of our country and our democracy, we must keep faith with tem. i know how hard it can be to reopen that black hole in the middle of your chest, bringing you back to the exact moment you got that phone call, heard that knock on the door, or held the hand when the last breath was taken. i know it hurts. the hurt is still real, still raw. this week marks nine years since i lost my son beau. our losses are not the same. he didn't perish in the battlefield. he was a cancer victim from the consequence of being in the army in iraq for years next to a burn pit. living and working like too many beside that toxic burn pit. and as it is for so many of you, the pain of his loss is with me every day as it is with you. still sharp, still clear, but so is the pride i feel in his service as if i can still hear him saying it's my duty, dad, it's my duty. duty, that was the code my son lived by and the creed all of you live by. >> meanwhile, former president trump, the presumptive gop nominee, marked memorial day a bit differently by blasting the various legal proceedings against him on his fledgling social media site. in a memorial day morning post trump wrote in part this. "happy memorial day to all including the human scum that is working so hard to destroy our once great country and to the radical left trump hating federal judge in new york." the rambling post references his defamation suit loss to writer e. jean carroll who accused him of sexual assault. trump continues to deny those claims. he also called out the judge in his new york city civil fraud trial saying the new york city wacko judge who fined me almost over $5 million under appeal for doing nothing wrong. the post did not mention america's fallen heroes or the true meaning of the holiday. still ahead here on "way too early," republican senator tim scott gives yet another vague answer when asked whether he'll certify the 2024 election results. plus a former member of the trump administration says he'll be voting for joe biden this november. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. sports and weather when we come right back (restaurant noise) [announcer] introducing allison's plaque psoriasis. she thinks her flaky gray patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. allison! over here! otezla can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. ♪♪ [announcer] with clearer skin girls' day out is a good day out. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. centrum! it's scientifically formulated to help you take charge of your health. centrum gives every body a healthy foundation. supporting your - oops - energy, immunity and metabolism. and yours too! you did it! plus try centrum silver, now clinically proven to support memory in older adults. it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's from gillettelabs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face... gamechanga! ...while the flexdisc contours to it. so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. the best a man can get is gillettelabs. a slow network is no network for business. for t that's why moreette choose comcast business. and now, we're introducing ultimate speed for business —our fastest plans yet. we're up to 12 times faster than verizon, at&t, and t-mobile. and existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds... at no additional cost. it's ultimate speed for ultimate business. don't miss out on our fastest speed plans yet! switch to comcast business and get started for $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. call today! there were two guys. [car unlocking and door opening] both guys drove to work. neither guy wore their seat belt. one guy got a ticket. one guy didn't. both guys drove home from work. one guy wore his seat belt. one guy didn't. sfx: [tires screeching, crashing sounds, sirens] one guy made it home. one guy didn't. welcome back. former president trump says that he will deport students who participate in pro-palestinian protests where he to be elected this fall. according to "the washington post" trump made this promise in a private meeting with donors back on may 14th after a supporter complained about the protesters. trump pledged to throw these pro-palestinian demonstrators out of the country, calling them part of a radical revolution that he vowed to defeat. trump also reportedly praised the nypd for clearing columbia university's campus. meanwhile, republican senator tim scott was asked again on sunday about accepting the results of the 2024 presidential election. you'll recall that earlier this month the possible vp pick for trump dodged the question several times during an appearance on "meet the press." this time he was less evasive. >> a lot of republicans have been refusing to commit to accepting the election results in 2024. you haven't done so yet, so let me ask you it this way. you will be a sitting united states senator in january of 2025. will you vote to certify the election no matter who wins? >> well, certainly we expect a fair and honest election, and as a result of that expectation we will certify the election and certify president donald trump as the 47th president. >> more rulickilousness. meanwhile former trump communications director anthony scaramucci says he's willing to work with president biden in order to keep donald trump out of the white house. in a new interview with the london times scaramucci said in part this, i'm going to vote for biden, i'm going to advocate for biden, i'm going to raise money for biden. i've given money to the campaign and i'll work for biden. i'm a patriot first, partisan second. he told the paper he believes about 40 disenchanted members of the trump administration including former vice president mike pence but excluding the generals will eventually volunteer to help the binden came pain or at least to publicly denounce trump. scaramucci also said he believes the biden campaign has been reluctant to approach former trump officials for fear of upsetting the progressive left. things are changing and now it's, quote, all hands on deck. >> next up we'll turn to sports with highlights from the boston celtics' sweep of the indiana pacers. they'll be advancing to the nba finals. plus we'll remember a legend on and off the court, nba hall of famer bill walker who died yesterday at the age of 71. we'll be right back with that. f1 we'll be right back with that. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley power e*trade's easy to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans can help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. pulls back, lost the ball, got it back, corner three. bang, derek white from down town. celtics by three. >> derek white's tie breaking three pointer with just 43 seconds to play helps the boston celtics sweep their way into the nba finals. for the third time in four games the cels rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to defeat the indiana pacers. jalen brown led all scores with 29 points last night, jason tatum added 26. boston beats 105-102. the celtics have now won seven straight playoffs improving to 6-0 on the road as they advance for the second time in three years. boston will play for its 18th title in franchise history against either the dallas mavericks or minnesota timberwolves. those teams meet tonight in dallas for game 4. the mavs can sweep a contest of their own heading into the conference they're up three games, go celtics. but we do have some sad news to report this morning out of the basketball world. hall of famer and broadcaster bill walton has died. standing at 7 feet tall he was a two time champion at ucla and three time national player of the year. drafted number one overall by the portland trail blazers in 1974 his career was disrupted by chronic foot injuries but included two titles one year apart. one while he was mvp with portland and other as sixth man of the year for the boston celtics. inducted into the hall of fame in 1983 walton overcame a stutter to go onto a illustrious and beloved career as an nba broadcaster. he won an emmy and eventually named one of the top 50 sportscasters of all-time by the american sportscasters association. as "the new york times" put it, walton brought an idyo syncratic style to his commentary which combined his over the top enthusiasm for basketball with weird flights of fancy and music and science lessons. he was so he could speak for an entire game without letting his partner speak. walton is survived by his wife and four sons. he was 71 years old. our thoughts to his family. >> we turn now to the playoff action in the nhl. in edmonton the dallas stars have skated away with an advantage in the finals. jason complete said his hat trick midway through the third period. stars were down early and come back to beat edmonton. game four tomorrow night in alberta. an early exit what might be a farewell swing of the french open for champion rafael nadalch he nadal lost in the opening round of the tournament for the first time in this career. falling in four sets. after the defeat nadal said there was a big percentage this was his last french open but he still plans to return to compete in the olympics later this summer. finally, one highlight to show you out of major league baseball. this one from the stands in oracle park twrsh san francisco, where a fan snagged a foul ball while holding a baby. the one-handed catch preceded the giants' 8-4 win over the phillies. that's a great grab. time now for the weather, and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. angie, yesterday in the north east those storms that rolled through were something else. how's it looking today? >> we of course no surprise more storms in the forecast this time for the middle of the country. it was quite active over the weekend and folks getting back to work might have some travel trouble in a few spots. thunderstorm watches and couple of warnings prompted for parts of oklahoma and texas, so we'll watch those through the morning hours. big picture look most of that rainout of the picture, but still a couple of showers lingering for new england and parts of the southeast. as the day goes on, it's the middle of the country we'll watch for the strongest of the storms. we do have afternoon storms centered across parts of the great lakes. for tomorrow we'll see some of these start to pop up in parts of the plains and of course parts of the south, we'll see some heavy rain to be expected for that region. here's the severe weather threat today san angelo, austin, where we'll have the greatest concern to see some those storms the wind gusts but also have potential for large hail over 2 inches and the threat for tornado is low but isn't zero. so we'll still be watching for that. the winds, though, they could get up to hurricane force. dallas, waco, as far south as laredo included in that area. on top of that as if that wasn't enough we also have the chance to see some heavy rain leaving us with a flash flood risk today. this is for parts of this afternoon. notice waco, some of the same spots we'll see that slow moving storm system work through, we'll see the greatest chance