criminal charges against trump. that is how you think when you are in a cult. >> that is how you think when you're in a cult. >> well put. >> you know, we hear about situational ethics, in the case of republicans, it's situational patriotism. they love the justice department when their opponents are being prosecuted. they love american democracy when their -- when their candidates win. but if they lose elections, suddenly, they hate american democracy and they think it's corrupt. if donald trump is convicted of crimes, of felonies 34 times, suddenly they hate the justice system. but if it goes the other way for them, situationally, it's okay. such hypocrisy. >> so is it biden's justice department being weaponized by biden or is it not? >> yeah. this lays bare everything we've been saying on this show for many, many years now about the hypocrisy. i mean, when you look at the disappointment, frankly, for many republicans about the outcome of this trial, they wanted to be able to say that there is a two-tiered system of justice, that the justice department is out to get joe biden. when, in fact, this jury came back very swiftly, by the way, with a conviction on three counts against the son of the president of the united states. and consider the different responses from these two men. after donald trump was convicted of 34 felony counts, he went crazy, of course. his supporters went crazy. they are coming after him. joe biden personally sent his goons to send donald trump to jail, on and on and on, the system is rigged. we're a third world country. yesterday, president biden put out a statement after his own son was convicted and may go to jail, saying, my son, i'm proud of my son, i don't like the outcome here, but i respect the outcome and we'll work through this as a family. there is the difference. >> there it is! >> and what a stark difference in every way. in every way. you go back to 2000 when al gore had every right to be angry at the outcome of the election. and what did you have al gore doing? conceding. you go back to 1960 and the nixon folks. they knew, in their mind, that illinois had been stolen. richard nixon decided in 1960, he wasn't going to tear america apart. he was going to accept the outcome. now, of course, pat buchanan, when we asked him, willie, why didn't you complain more about illinois, because historians say that it looks like kennedy stole illinois, he said, because we stole kentucky, joe! >> oh, my gosh! >> so maybe there were some shenanigans going on there. but the bigger point is that after the election, after these deeply personal fights, where people and families give everything they have, these politicians in the past have become statesmen. al gore's finest moment. if you looked at his career, i was just blown away by his concession speech. it was extraordinarily moving and said what a lot of people said, if that guy -- >> i know. >> had run -- if we had seen more of that, he would have won the election in 2000, but here, it's all situational. with trump supporters and unfortunately a contaminated republican party, especially in the house, if trump wins elections, then democracy is fine. if trump loses elections, then american democracy is broken. if trump is convicted, then the rule of law is corrupted and we're no better than castro's cuba. if hunter biden is convicted, yeah, well, the justice system works. >> host people with basic values know that's wrong. >> they all know it's wrong. >> still ahead on "morning joe," we're going to be obviously going way deeper into the hunter biden verdict. we'll also break down new poll numbers that show who voters in key battleground states say they believe is best to handle the economy ahead of the november election. >> willie, on this front, we've been hearing for over a year now, willie, that somehow, there was this huge gap on the economies and voters would just never trust joe biden. some polls are starting to show, that massive gap is narrowing quickly, and it's almost like in this -- a lot of economists, a lot of political people have come on our show and say, you know, the economy's a leading indicator here. american consumers will catch up, probably, by summertime. well, it's summer, and they're catching up. it's almost a dead tie in this latest poll on who you trust more in the economy. >> yeah, donald trump was enjoying a wide gap, and some people thought that this would be, despite all the economic data that shows how strong our economy is leading the world, the most resilient post-covid economy in the world, had almost conceded that issue to donald trump. but this new polling shows, as you say, that american perhaps are now feeling that inflation, while very stubborn, does continue to stick down too slowly, but it does continue to tick down. and all the other data including unemployment and growth and the dow jones and all of these other metrics by which we measure our economy are moving in the right direction. and hopefully, people are feeling that in their lives. and perhaps joe biden will benefit from that. it appears he is, anyway, if you look at the growth over the last couple of numbers. >> mika, look at the numbers, it's 3.5 margin of error. you look at the numbers there, it's practically a tie. >> yep. also ahead, we're going to show you how the sinclair broadcast group seems to be working hard to push dubious claims about biden's mental fitness for office to millions of eamericans. they just keep harping on it and perhaps don't realize that that place right into the biden team's hands. we'll talk about that. >> and willie, just going back to yesterday, "the washington post" wrote about on social media, but now you have an entire news network that runs local stations across america, feeding lies -- and they are lies! deliberate lies -- sinclair is feeding deliberate lies to their viewers. if you really think that joe biden is out of is it, you know what, you know, take it straight on with your viewers. but they're deliberately lying and spreading misinformation. it appears from these reports. >> we talk about fox news and some of the other networks at the national level, but it's important to watch closely what people are getting in their living rooms at home on the local news. and there is a group that mika just referenced, a sinclair group, that is literally writing a script for the anchors of certain affiliates, not all, to read, with an agenda. and we're going to play this clip that a reporter has put together of all of them, literally saying the exact same thing about joe biden. it's pretty chilling. >> along with joe, willie and me, we have jonathan lemire, katty kay, and mike barnicle. we begin with what comes next for hunter biden, after a jury yesterday found him guilty on all three felony charges on his federal gun trial. the president's son had pleaded not guilty to the three counts tied to lying on a federal gun application about his drug use. sources inside the defense room tell nbc news that following the verdict, hunter biden thanked everyone there by name, hugged them, and tried to raise their spirits. he later issued this public statement. quote, i am more grateful today for the love and support that i experienced this last week from melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than i am disappointed by the outcome. recovery is possible by the grace of god and i am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time. special counsel david weiss spoke briefly to reporters following the verdict. >> no one in this country is above the law. everyone must be accountable for their actions, even this defendant. however, hunter biden should be no more accountable than any other citizen convicted of this same conduct. the prosecution has been and will continue to be committed to this principle and to the principles of federal prosecution in carrying out its responsibilities. >> hunter biden and his attorney have said they plan to appeal this verdict. as i mentioned, president biden issued a statement reacting to the verdict in his son's gun trial. it reads in part, i will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as hunter considers an appeal. jill and i will always be there for hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. nothing will ever change that, end quote. last week, the president said very clearly, he will not pardon his son. president biden also had an emotional reunion with hunter late yesterday. the two hugged on the tarmac after the president changed his schedule and flew to delaware following an event in washington, joe. >> yeah, i just wonder, the prosecutor said that hunter biden shouldn't be treated differently than anybody else. so why was he? because he was. if his last name was smith, these charges would have never been brought. if his last name was jones, they would have never blown up the plea deal that they had already done, that the judge respected. i mean, you know, again, i'm a big believer -- it went to the jury and i believe in the system. and we'll always believe in the system, but he doesn't need to come out and lie and say that hunter biden's being treated like everybody else, because hunter president biden is there because of his last name, end of story. and a lot of trump people can say the same thing about what happened in manhattan with alvin bragg, but in this case, biden was there because of his last name and nothing else. >> and by the way, some republicans have said the same, joe. senator lindsey graham said this last week, you even had some very pro-trump republican members of congress, again, disappointed by this outcome, because they wanted to show a two-tiered system of justice, saying that this trial had always been kind of silly, that it was a distraction from more serious things to look at with hunter biden. they're saying that now, after the fact. let's bring in former litigator and msnbc legal correspondent, lisa rubin. lisa, good morning. what's your reaction to the verdict in delaware? >> my reaction, willie, is that this is the parmatic, "both/and" situation. you can find that the jury's decision is just. that hunter biden knowingly applied for a firearm understanding that he had been an addict and that addiction is a continuing state, it doesn't start and stop, that once an addict, always an addict, and at the same time, as joe said, you cannot only find this situation to be totally tragic, but believe that it never should have happened in the first place. that the plea deal that was engineered between the u.s. attorney's office and between hunter biden's then lawyers was one that should have been honored. and it fell apart principally for two reasons. it fell apart first because the prosecutors wouldn't commit themselves to saying that the plea deal fully resolved all possible investigations against hunter biden, including those under the foreign agent registration act, stemming from his work in ukraine. but the other reason it fell apart is because the judge who oversaw this trial bristled at the idea that she should have to supervise the question of whether hunter would be in compliance with the diversion agreement that was set up to handle the gun charges. and the reason that that deal was struck in the way that it was, is an unspoken reason, and i'll tell you what it is. it's because the prosecutors here and hunter biden's lawyers feared that because the diversion agreement was two years in duration, in a possible future department of justice, controlled by trump and/or another republican who was retributive against hunter biden, that that person would have an excuse to say, hunter biden was out of compliance, that he deserved to be thrown in prison. they didn't want a future republican doj to have control over that decision. and therefore, in the plea agreement, they engineered it so that the judge would oversee that determination. when they presented the plea deal to her last july, she said, why should i be in control that? that's not my decision to make. what she didn't understand, what no one could say to her on the record is, we're doing it this way because we fear retribution against mr. biden if it's not set up this way, your honor. >> lisa, could you speak to the jury, what happened yesterday at a jury trial. the son of the president of the united states of america is on trial in delaware. his neighbors, delaware residents are sitting in judgment of him. 12 ordinary people, citizens, sitting in judgment on the son of the president. the president doesn't interfere in this case. the president announces that he will not pardon his son. hunter knows that he lied on the application. that's why he's there. at the end of the day, do you think ordinary americans give enough thought to how this system is a miracle, a gift to this country, a gift to democracy, the jury system, and the way it works. it worked in new york and it worked in wilmington. >> and most of the time, mike, it does work. i wish they would give more thought to the miracle that is our jury system. it's endemic to the democracy that many of us believe is teetering on the brink right now. this is a testament to what is unshakable by our democracy. i was struck by the three jurors who came forward yesterday and talked to members of the media, and one in particular who essentially said to our katy tur yesterday who said, i believe this case should have been prosecuted, i believe the charges should have been brought, i believe he is guilty of these charges, and yet i believe jail time is completely inappropriate, not only because of how the charges were brought aabout, because of the underlying facts, this is a person who's brought his life around, he's married, he has a young son, he's earning a living, and the circumstances that led to the charges in the first place. let's remember, hunter biden owned a gun for 11 days. and the reason that the gun was recovered is that his sister-in-law, hailey biden, was so fearful that he might use the gun to harm himself, that unthinking, she took the gun and deposited it in a trash can outside a wilmington grocer. that struck a chord with that particular jury. i believe this case should have been brought, i believe he was guilty, and yet, i can see it as the tragedy that it is. >> president biden learned of the verdict while he was at the white house preparing for, ironically enough, a speech on gun safety. he then changed plans, made an unscheduled trip back to wilmington, delaware. he embraced his son on the tarmac, as you can see there. the family spent last night in wilmington and then the president will fly this morning to italy and the g-7. and i have reporting that in recent weeks ahead of the trial, president biden made the point, joed, that you did, saying that if he weren't running for re-election, he believed that hunter would have gotten that plea deal, that plea deal that fell apart last summer at the last moment. that plea deal, which would have kept hunter biden out of prison. and now, we shall see, but he could face a lengthy prison time, possibly, depending what the judge decides. and in terms of the fallout going forward, first and foremost, this is a personal toll on president biden. we know how close he is to his son. he texts and calls him each and every day, aides worry about that, both on this overseas trip and as sentencing is approaching. as far as the politics, which we'll dive into later, campaign aides both for biden and trump don't think this will change the trajectory of the race, but they do suspect that it will be a flashpoint come their first debate, where donald trump may make some very personal, ugly attacks at president biden. and we should expect president biden to stay, you know, some aides want him to flash a temper there and say, look, i'm a father, this is my son, this is inappropriate, thinking that could resonate with voter, that that would be a very real, human response. and the biden campaign, they'll continue using nomenclature like "convicted felon" to describe donald trump, they won't back away that, because donald trump is on the ballot, hunter biden is on the. >> let's be very clear about this, in the debate, i've heard a lot of people talking about this concern. mike barnicle, if i'm joe biden and i'm on the debate stage with donald trump and he starts talking about hunter biden as some sort of retort against his own 34 felonies, i would stop, i would turn, look around the stage and say, excuse me, hold on. hold on. i don't see hunter biden up here. hold on, donald, let me check -- >> maybe he's -- >> i don't see eric over there. wait, wait, eric's not here, so, i'm not running against eric. i'm running against you, donald. and you're not running against hunter biden or the ghost of hunter biden, who's not here, you're running against me. and up here, the two people that are going to run this country for the next four years, of the two of us, only one has been convicted of a felony! and you've been convicted of 34 felonies, donald! so let's leave our kids out of this. let's leave our family out of this. you don't want me to start talking about what you and your kids and your in-laws did in your name to get rich off of your back during the presidency. boom. that's it. >> saudi arabia. >> ends it. end it. and you know what, he should take any crap from trump and he needs to be ready. because donald trump has 34 felony convictions. joe biden, none. those are the two people on stage. and he shouldn't -- biden's people should double down right now and go harder at trump than ever before on the fact that he's a convicted felon. well, if that happens, if it occurs during the course of that debate in two weeks, that donald trump does say something about hunter biden, in addition to saying what you just said, it might be best if he reprised joseph mccarthy, the lawyer, mr. welch, in the mccarthy hearings, turning to joe mccarthy and saying, have you no sense of decency, sir? and in this case, he could turn to donald trump and say, not only have you no sense of decency, sir, but you realize that the office of the president of the united states is not built around a thirst for revenge, it's not built around a thirst for going after every opponent who said something negative in your perception about you, during your presidency or during your life today. it's not about that. it's about the country. it's about not damaging the country, with the kind of language and behavior that you have exhibited nearly every day of your adult life. >> yeah. that's true. while the trump campaign decried the former president's guilty verdict, they were quick to call hunter biden's conviction a distraction from joe biden's alleged crimes. meanwhile on the hill, most republicans touted the party line, that there is two-tiered system of justice in this country. joining us now, nbc news capitol hill correspondent, ali vitali. ali, what are we hearing from republicans now? >> it's exactly that, mika. and it's what we expected. we've been asking republicans, especially those in the house, consistently throughout the hunter biden trial, what they think about this and if it assuages any concerns that they have, unfounded as they may be, about a two-tiered system of justice. listen to what they said. you'll find this does not assuage them. watch. >> well, first, let's remember, this was joe biden's corrupt doj that tried to negotiate a sweetheart plea deal with outside immunity unrelated to this case. >> there are two tiers of justice, and again, they wanted to let him off of everything. >> do you think that the department of justice is still weaponized against conservatives, even though we see this verdict here today? >> absolutely. when they tell school moms they're domestic terrorists because they don't like what's being taught in their classroom and other things, we