very outstanding presidential record. >> that's not the reception that trump is used to receiving. the former president was boo'd and heckled saturday at the libertarian national convention. we'll have more from that event in just a moment. plus, the latest on a bipartisan show of support for taiwan. a group of u.s. lawmakers visiting the island days after its new president took office. and we bring you a live look at arlington national cemetery in virginia, where a memorial day ceremonies will get underway in a few hours from now. good morning, welcome to msnbc's live coverage on this monday, may 27th. it is indeed memorial da thank you for being with us. we have lots of in touz bring -- news to bring you over the next couple hours. polls showing a tight race for the white house, donald trump made a pitch to libertarian voters over the weekend who were less than enthused to hear from the former president. >> without further ado, i would like to welcome to the stage, the 45th president of the united states, donald j. trump. >> much to the chagrin of the audience, the nominee for president was invited to headline the libertarian national convention held in washington on saturday. there he asked for the party's nomination. claiming to be something of a libertarian himself. but when the crowd continued to boo him, he started mocking libertarians for their single-digit performances. >> the libertarian party should nominate trump for president of the united states. [ boo'ing ] >> whoa. that's nice. that's nice. only if you want to win. only if you want to win. maybe you don't want to win. only if you want to win. if you want to lose, don't do that. keep getting your 3% every four years. >> i mean, he's not totally wrong about that, i guess. joining us now republican strategist and msnbc political analyst suzanne delfer. trump not used to booed. it's been an while since he faced an unfriendly audience y did he go to this convention and if it you're his advisers to day, are you second guessing it? >> i think because the libertarian party has seen a takeover, maybe the trump campaign was promised a friendlier crowd from the libertarians. but what they didn't realize is that these people have principles. they are, you know, they're a small party. but they are, like, dedicated. and they don't like the idea of trump's transactional way about him. you know, i think the original purpose of trump going to the convention was to stop rfk jr. from getting the nomination of the party. why? because it would put rfk jr. on about 46-48 state ballots. so that kind of ballot access can throw a monkey wrench into the campaign. you could see an rfk jr. problem. i think that was the original purpose. of course, he ended up mocking people who were booing him because that's what donald trump does. >> he's not used to criticism. his camp is saying he has done in recent days in unfriendly environments. he gave a rally in the bronx. they're not going to vote for him. now he takes it to the libertarians. you make a good point about rfk jr. these third party candidates can make a difference. how is he received? >> he kind of had a mixed review, if you will. i think that there are people more in line with rfk jr., especially when it came to vaccinations. and that's something that rfk jr. has made end roads with trump voters. so, that's the side that donald trump is trying to knock rfk jr. on being a liberal. but the folks there happen to like that side of him. but, again, they realize that he is a real liberal kind of guy. >> pulse of rfk jr. drawing from both men in the key battle grounds. you wrote a new piece for msnbc.com talking about how we're seeing former trump critics looking to 2028. nikki haley among them. walk us through what their strategy is as they prepare already for the next cycle and, frankly, who knows if trump will be on the ballot again. >> we can't rule it out. i think the strategy is to do as little as possible not to turn away trump voters. so, just enough. so nikki haley is saying, i'll endorse him because joe biden is so bad. governor john sununu has taken the same tact with it. desantis is a little nicer. he's doing some fund-raising for trump down in florida. but at the end of the day, these guys know if they want to have a viable shot at 2028, they really need to make sure they have some of the trump base onboard. >> all right. republican strategist and msnbc analyst, thank you for starting us off. we appreciate it. meanwhile, a bipartisan group of six u.s. law makers in taiwan this morning as a show of support for the country's newly elected president. the delegation is led by chairman of the house foreign affairs committee texas congressman michael mccall. it's his second trip to taiwan and joined by three house republicans and two democrats. now american leaders often travel to taiwan as a sign of the u.s. backing of taiwan's independence. now importantly, this trip also comes just days after china finished two days of, quote, punishment drills in response to what it calls taiwan's separatist acts. china used taiwan as its own territory and denounces the leadership and the president said that taiwan will be part of mainland china again in the future much will joining us now, congressional reporter for the hill. there are not things that republicans and democrats these days in washington. but one is to support taiwan. and to try to stand up to china. tell us more about the importance of this trip and the message it aims to send. >> yeah, jonathan, just right off the bat, when he talked about the bipartisanship and strong show of support for taiwan in this moment, we'll remember, it was a few weeks ago when congress overwhelmingly passed that $8 billion aid package for taiwan in the endough pacific. it is part of that broader foreign aid package that made it over the finish line with that wide bipartisan majority. now we're seeing chairman mccall lead this bipartisan delegation to taiwan. you note it's at a significant moment. after those days of drills by china, that came in the aftermath of the new president's inauguration there in taipei. so, essentially what chairman mccall down in taiwan set over in taiwan said was the importance of this trip is deterence, to show deterence to china that it should not increase its aggression. it should calm down there in the taiwan strait. that's why this bipartisan group sees this as a meaningful trip. china responded in a different way saying this is the wrong show of support by american officials. but still, mccall there leading lawmakers saying this is needed to show deterence to china. >> so, mccall has been consistent on the need for these sort of international funding. let's get to the divide in the republican party. the gop held up that mass you have supplemental bill because they didn't want aid to ukraine. about it that slowed down aid to israel and slowed down aid to taiwan and into the endopacific region. we know that china has been watching u.s. response to ukraine and seeing us waffle here because of republicans and backing up kyiv. they think, well, maybe the same will happen if we make a move on taiwan. talk to us about the hypocrisy. >> they came out with a request for foreign aid which, of course, included funding for israel, for taiwan and for ukraine. around august/september of last year. as you correctly noted, it stalled for months. finally that foreign aid package getting over the finish line in april. the main concern there, the main disagreement among republicans really was with the aid for ukraine. we, of course, had a growing isolationist america first wing of the republican party that has sort of ridden on the coattails of former president trump who was against sending this additional aid to kyiv. the aid for taiwan and for israel wasn't exactly part of the conversations and the disagreements because democrats and senate leaders particularly had been so insistent on the foreign aid priorities moving together as one package. because of that, because of those very sharp disagreement that's you and i discussed for months very deeply, because the disagreements over ukraine, you're right. the aid for taiwan was slowed down. whether or not china saw that as an opening remains to be seen. that aid that, $8 billion did get over the finish line. the biden administration and a hot of democrats and even some republicans wanted this to move in august/september. it didn't until april. >> before i let you go, give us an update on where things stand at home with the congress. speaker johnson fought off the laidest challenge. tell us about his -- latest challenge. tell us about his standing and what if any legislation may take on as the body prepares to shift into campaign mode. >> johnson appears pretty safe right now. as we saw a few weeks ago, congresswoman marjorie tailor green joined by a small -- taylor green moved to force a vote on his ouster which failed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan fashion. the house voting, again, overwhelming to table that motion to vacate. now it seems like he's safe. it's for a few reasons, a, there is no must-pass legislation on the table until fall. that means johnson will be on a glad path until then. there is no trigger for what could anger conservatives to have them force a vote on johnson's ouster. stay tuned. government funding can get very contentious when due tend of september. and then in terms of legislation that we could see come on the floor in the coming weeks and months, one thing that i'm waiting for is say bill to sanction the international criminal court, the icc after they filed arrest warrants for benjamin netanyahu, had is defense minister and leaders of hamas. there has been bipartisan overwhelming outrage at the icc's move particularly against netanyahu. i spoke to chairman mccall last week who said he's working with democratic counterparts in the house and also democratic and republican counterparts in the senate to craft a bill that would sanction icc officials involved with this decision to request arrest warrants for netanyahu and others. he said he wants to have a markup on this legislation on june 3rd which is the first day congress is back in session after this memorial day recess. so, jonathan, stay tuned. a lot of lawmakers are hoping to cast a vote in favor of sanctioning the icc after that very controversial decision. >> all right. we'll be keeping an eye out on all of that. we appreciate your joining us this morning. congressional reporter for the hill, thank you again. next up here, we'll bring you the latest from the middle east. officials in gaza blame israel for an air strike that killed dozens of civilians at a tent camp for displaced palestinians. we'll bring you a live report from tel aviv. we weigh on that and honoring the importance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. we'll be right back on this memorial day. k on this memorial day i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein! those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. -ugh. -here, i'll take that. woo hoo! ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar, 25 vitamins and minerals. and a new fiber blend with a prebiotic. (♪♪) today, at america's beverage companies,... ...our bottles might still look the same... ...but they can be remade in a whole new way. thanks to you... we're getting bottles back... and we've developed a way to make new ones from 100% recycled plastic. new bottles - made using no new plastic. you'll be seeing more of these bottles in more places. and when we get more of them back... ...we can use less new plastic. see how our bottles are made to be remade. why choose a sleep number smart bed? can it keep me warm when i'm cold? ...we can use less new plastic. wait, no, i'm always hot. sleep number does that. can i make my side softer? i like my side firmer. sleep number does that. can it help us sleep better and better? please? sleep number does that. 94 percent of smart sleepers report better sleep. now, save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, free home delivery when you add any base. shop now at sleepnumber.com welcome back, we turn to the middle east. the gaza health ministry says 45 people were killed last night by an israeli air strike on a tent compound in the southern gaza city. the new york timings reports they set the operation targeted hamas compound and that it used precise munitions in the strike which it said killed two hamas leaders. it was horrifying video emerging from the scene that include women and children killed. meanwhile, cia director bill burns was in paris over the weekend in an effort to resume the stalled cease-fire talks. "the times" spoke to three officials briefed on the process who said diplomats are hoping to restart negotiations between israel and hamas in the next week. very little movement has occurred there. joining us now, nbc news international correspondent raf sanchez. will what is the very latest? >> after a weekend of the intense talks involving a cia director, they believe the cease-fire negotiations could resume as early as this week. but for now, the fighting rages on from gaza despite an order for israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the south of the strip. and last night, a new and deadly strike in the city of rafa. >> reporter: overnight, fire and horror in rafa. an israeli air strike setting tents and cars aflame. fire crews in hamas-run gaza say 40 people were killed, many of them women and children. one of the deadliest bombings in rafa of the entire war. the red crescent said it happened in a designated safe zone. but israel says the strike killed two senior hamas expanders responsible for attacks in the occupied west bank. adding, it is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire ignited, several civilians in the area were harmed. the incident is under review. the u.n.'s highest court has ordered israel to halt the rafa offensive but has no power to enforce the ruling. israel giving no sign it will comply. saying hostages are held in rafa. >> we will not stop fighting for their freedom. >> reporter: on sunday, hamas fired rockets towards central israel for the first time in four months. with sirens blaring in tel aviv, the rockets came from rafa. further up the coast, new questions about the safety of u.s. service personnel after four small army boats broke their moorings in heavy seas, wash up in israel and gaza. the ships were delivering aid through an american-built temporary pier. they said that no injuries have been reported and the pier remains fully functional. but three u.s. personnel did suffer non-combat injuries last week, the pentagon says, one seriously wounded. and, jonathan, you may be able to hear the winds howling here in southern israel. that's what caused those small ships to bust out of their moorings. if you look behind me, you can see this is actually one of those smaller military vessels that washed up on the beach here in israel. there are two more about 20 miles south in gaza. and way off in the distance is a larger military ship. that's keeping overwatch here as this recovery effort continues. central command was able to get one of these boats off the beach here in israel earlier. they're hoping to get this one off sometime today. jonathan? >> thank you live from israel. let's now bring in former supreme court allied commander of nato, four-star admiral. good to see you, admiral. feel free to weigh in your expertise on the challenges we're seeing at that pier. also, let's discuss that strike in rafa that, you know, we can't always take gaza's health ministry at their word. but there was video circulating last night that shows a lot of children wounded and killed in those strikes and in the fire that followed. you do ask this repeatedly warninging israel about a massive offense in rafa. how do you think the reaction will be to this? >> it will be perceived as indefensible around the world. and that is a manifestation in the way in which israel continues to simply lose the information here. it have long-term repercussions for israel. its ability to interact in the international community. its trading partners. indeed, its military partners. so, this kind of video, you know this well, jonathan, stays and stays and stays. and, so, it's a very bad day for the israeli defense forces. because no matter what the objectives and how precisely they want to use force to go after hamas, i support their right to do that given the attacks against them, this kind of video undercuts those arguments and merely strengthens the case of those who are going to criticize israel. >> we'll be following the latest cease-fire talks as they unfold this week. admiral, we discussed taiwan in our last block. i know you spent time in that part of the world. what is your assessment to the threat that taiwan faces coming after these aggressive military drills. >> hey, let me start with the congress of the united states. how often do you good et to say these words, congress did a good job? and by the way, it's not just in the taiwan aid package. at the end of the day, the ukraine aid package was passed by 75% votes in both the house and the senate. truly bipartisan. same here in taiwan. the threat is very real. i know newly inaugurated president pretty well. i met him in taiwan before the pandemic times and have stayed in touch with his administration. and they correctly perceive china encircling and pushing and tightening a kind of noose around them. so, a good moment for the congress to step up in a bipartisan group of lawmakers right alongside that $8 billion. final thought, jonathan, taiwan is a rich country athat can afford to buy their own weapons. and over time, i think we're going to see them do exactly that as they seek to deter china from making a military push against them. >> admiral, lastly, it is memorial day and we're so grateful for the service of you and others. we would like to hear your reflections on this sacred day. >> let me start with the fact that on veterans day in the fall, we celebrate people like me who are veterans, all of us. but today is the day for those specifically who have fallen. who have died in the service of their country. and on a day like this, i think back to young lieutenant commander and first sailor who died under my command in desert shield, desert storm. i think of the 1700 letters of condolence i wrote to those killed in action in afghanistan when i was supreme allied commander of nato. i think of every one of them on these days. i hope that all across america as we enjoy, rightfully, a day of freedom to go to the beach, to go to the pool, to have a great barbecue, to be with neighbors and friends, spare a moment to raise a glass for those who gave, as lincoln said, the last full measure. you know, at the end of the star spangled banner, jonathan, it says, the land of the free and the home of the brave. that's correct. but it's really the land of the free because of the brave. that's what memorial day is all about. >> we'll take those words with us as we go out through this day. we're so grateful for them. retired admiral, thank you for being with us this morning. >> thanks, jonathan. we want to bring you one more international story before we go to break. more than 2,000 people have been buried alive in a massive landslide in a village and work camp on friday in new begin yi. -- new guinea. 670 people are confirmed dead. that number could greatly increase. the main highway to the area is blocked and the ground remains unstable. very much complicating rescue efforts there. up next here, we'll get a preview of what to expect from donald trump's hush money trial as closing arguments are set to begin tomorrow. plus, we'll dig into "the new york times" report about trump's post verdic