Republican says hes happy to consider an immigration deal quote as soon as we figure out what trump actually supports. And by the way, one day away from a Government Shutdown. Good morning, its thursday, january 18th. With us we have White House Reporter for the Associated Press, jonathan lemiere. Incoming National Political reporter for nbc news, heidi pryzbila and moderator of Washington Week on pbs. Robert costa. I love what the New York Times has done today. The opinion section. Instead of the usual voices that are, i think the opinion writers are critical of trump. They have decided that they were going to open up their page to letters to the editor from Trump Supporters one year in. And i think its pretty critical. For those of us who think that donald trump has destroyed or is trying to destroy constitutional norms and has lied day in and day out. Theres a reason why people support him. And its good for us to try to continue get out of our bubble. Theres always liberals are always say, i dont care what they think. Well then you dont care whether you win in 2020 or not. You need to figure out why people are supporting this guy. In spite of the horrific behavior that he exhibits. Ill just read you one from jason peck. In holtzville, new york. I voted against Hillary Clinton more than i voted for donald trump. That said, President Trump has exceeded my wildest expectations, yes hes embarrassing and picks unnecessary fights. But he also pushed tax reform through, he has largely defeated isis in iraq. Has named a number of solid conservative judges, his prioritized american citizens over illegal immigrants, has gotten us out of several Bad International agreements, removed wasteful regulations. His reined in a number of out of control agencies and so on and so on. I love george w. Bush but he failed on policy over and over again. If it takes uting up with mr. Trumps brash ways to see things get done. Thats a deal im willing to accept. Im not sure he would have accomplished what he has so far without being an unrelenting public bully. And thats jason peck. Then theres one from steven senabria from oakdale, california. Who basically says the same thing. And it ends by saying the entrenched interests in washington which have done nothing but gladhand one another and both Political Parties are angry and afraid. Who knew all it would take to make progress was vision, chutzpah and some testosterone. Chutzpah. Thats how we say it in Southern Baptist churches. Willie, it reminds me of when you, worked on vanderbilt. As many people in new york city in 2004 thought george w. Bush was hitler, as think donald trump is hitler now. They just did. And anybody that says that they didnt has a very short memory. It was extraordinary. I have always talked about, you know all the images of george w. Bush as hitler, being sold on the streets of the upper west side. You went down to vandy, you said well wait a second. Some of my friends really like this guy and theyre not evil. So yeah . The biggest shock before donald trump becoming president , the day after the election was the morning after the 2004 election. Im talking about in new york city. People waking up and going wait, i thought we all agreed, we didnt like george w. Bush, and then he was reelected. I thought we didnt like donald trump. Its good to get out, donald trump received 63 million votes, fewer than did Hillary Clinton. But 63 million votes is nothing to thumb your nose at. And heidi, this dovetails with a were talking about here in the New York Times with what we just saw about the wall. Which is to say a lot of people i talk to who voted for trump say, i dont know if we ever thought the wall was going to be made. It was a metaphor that he was going to give us the country back and keep out people we didnt want here and focus on our country and not the outside world. There are a lot of people hanging in with him. I will say when it comes to the wall and when it comes to these images, that were all looking at about these families being torn apart, there is a segment, and not a small segment of the Republican Base that looks at that same occurrence and says you know what, crossborder crossings on the southern border are down. We are sending a message to some of these countries, and some of the people who might want to make that dangerous trek to not do so. And so it is good to maybe get out of our bubble and see that where we are seeing these heartbreaking images. There are people on the other side, who believe that this is a good thing. That donald trump is cracking down on our immigration laws and in terms of the base, itself, the tax cuts you know, theyre starting to tick up a little bit. In the survey monkey poll. Theyre still not super popular but heres what democrats are worried about, willie. Ive spoken about them within the past week or two. With obamacare, the democrats really did not have a fat walleted funder behind them to go out and sell those. President obama didnt really do a lot to go out and sell it. He wanted to move on to his next agenda items. This white house and this Republican Congress are going to make that a priority. And they have a lot of deeppocketed donors behind them to try to go out and sell those tax cuts now. Mika, we from time to time are asked by administrations, or by campaign, hey, how are we doing. A lot of people in the media are. And we always give our advice, remember to barack obama, the advice was you have to do more theater. But to those close to barack obama. You have to do more theater, you cant just assume everybody is going to figure things out. I like how you said it on the air. I said it on the air and then i said it to them off the air. Was insistent about it. Saying hes just, you know, hes assuming way too much of the American People. Donald trump, heidi talks about the border. Right . Holy cow, shes right. Under Donald Trumps america, there were fewer border crossings but wait, hold on. That was going on with barack obama. For years. But barack obama didnt want to admit it. Because, he had, barack obama had a really tough immigration policy. But he didnt want it go out and provoke hispanic americans. But that was the case. The economy doing well. Barack obama, saying i have the greatest economy, ever, i, me, my, my, but donald trump is pushing that. There is also just the fact that were going to be upset, jonathan, by when the president talks about the media as being enemies of the people. Im, im going to get really upset. And im going to know that this is what tyrants do when theyre trying to move towards being autocrats. People out there, you know, where ive lived my whole life, are kind of like, eh, im taking my kid to little league. Theyre busy working. It sends chills up my spine when the president questions the legitimacy of federal judges. That rule against him. When he tries to denigrate the American Court system, which has been what basically separates our Constitutional Republic from every other Constitutional Republic in the world, that independence . That frightens me. A guy who is working his ass off or a woman who is trying to make enough money to send their kids to college . They dont have time to be frightened by that they want to know, theyve got two kids, theyre having trouble making their mortgage payment. Are they going to be able to send their kid to college . This president is going to be the showman, hes going to be the salesman. Hes going to make the pitches of what hes accomplished. We know that every night on twitter. We see it every day, hes going to be outside pittsburgh talking about the benefits of the tax cut. He is someone that, youre right. That his supporters, you know, they believe he is a disruptor. They believe he is some sort of connection with them. Youre seeing that in the times letters today in the oped page. The idea that these are folks with daytoday concerns, this is what the president believes, that he is speaking to them. They think while things are bad for me, the government has worked against me. The media doesnt understand me. He has put his finger on that and believes theres some sort of connection. So yes, there is absolutely moments where it feels like he is challenging really important american institutions. The fake news awards were last night. Yet another example where the president has i believe we were ripped off, mika. We didnt get an award. We deserve one. To that point, bob costa, i think isnt that why any other presidency, the porn star story would be frontpage headlines. Which it has been. But it hasnt resonated. Theres this porn star that apparently Trump Lawyers paid off, what, a year after he married melania. Do you know what im even talking about . Its not interesting for some reason its not even passing the smell test as news. Whats going on . And is it part of what jonathan is talking about . Where he sort of desensitized the entire ecosystem. With unbelievable behavior and accusations of the news being fake. Well on that particular point, more reporting needs to be done. The president s conduct for any president is always something thats under scrutiny. It doesnt seem to be here. Bob, it would have destroyed any other president. Im going to see if one trump supporter in this group here even in a week. And this does go to evangelicals. Who were so judgmental about bill clinton and his behavior. And you heard it from preachers day in and day out. How can we live in a country that blah blah blah. Evangelical leaders. You know, Jerry Falwell. Im sure Jerry Falwell junior at the time. Now these evangelical leaders and so many of the people that worship at evangelical churches are totally fine with it. When you look at the Republican Party we have to stop being surprised that President Trump broke it as a candidate, now he owns it. And he continues to show how he owns it. In the way he deals with congress and different officials within the Republican Party. You dont see any kind of exodus in the gop among all these different controversies as they pop up. They continue to trot along, trying to achieve their different agenda items. That shows the president s conduct, his behavior, his statements are not driving this Republican Party apart that could have a real cost for them in the midterm elections if some of these suburban voters say issues of temperament and judgment do matter. Its not just the policy gains being made by the republicans. Theres going to be a hell of a hangover for the conservative movement, for the Republican Party and for evangelical leaders. After they finish selling their soul to this guy. But mika, you know, remember last night, i said, hey, you know, i just kind of getting this feeling, i said to her, i said if history is any guide, democrats are going to win huge in 2018. And donald trump is going to play off of that and get reelected in 2020. Because hes sitting at 37, 38, 39 . He really should be at 25 . Given, given everything, given his behavior. Given his racist outbursts. But hes not. And his numbers at 37, 38, 39 , not really any lower than they were six months, three months before he got, two months before he got elected president of the United States. No, and its something that Everybody Needs to watch. I think we, we in the bubble of the bigger cities on the east coast, may see Something Big happening. But just like the conversation we just had, to start off the show i dont think people are, are taking a measure so closely. Theyre looking at their lives. Gallup is taking a measure of how the Global Community views america under President Trump and the numbers are significant. Germany has replaced the United States as the toprated global power in the world. The u. S. Is now on nearly even footing with china. And barely more popular than russia. And obamas last year in office for example, the u. S. Led germany by seven points, china by 17 points and russia by 22. Median approval of American Leadership across 134 countries, and areas, stands at a new low, willie, of 30 . And willie, this matters because the next terror attack, we need allies. The next terror attack, we need people stepping in the gap and defending us, supporting us. Theyre not going to do that. That number is a reflection of Donald Trumps rhetoric. But also of his policy of withdrawing from tpp, threatening to withdraw from nafta, his constant criticism of u. N. , nato, International Organizations and his americafirst explicit policy that were going to focus on us, not you. Im not surprised to see those numbers. But theres a cost to that as you say. Were going to have to lean on those countries in a time of crisis. We dont know what that crisis is. But there will be one, you can guarantee in the next three years. Willie, you remember this well because we went through it day in, day out. Donald trumps Approval Rating, even through the general election campaign, was at 34, 35, 36 , 37 . So for those of us, looking at even at 36, 37, 38 thinking hes going to get his. No, thats about where he was before. His Approval Rating isnt much different than it was on inauguration day. His disapproval numbers are a little higher. I think its all reflected in the letters you just read which is trump voters are able to ignore what they view as rhetoric. As him talking trash or instigating or inflaming. And focus on the fact that they believe the economy is doing better. That isis has been beaten up. All the things that judge gorsuch is on the Supreme Court. Those are solid, concrete things they can point to as achievements from President Trump in their eyes. They believe Everything Else is just noise. Think the challenge every day for us is what we were, we when we did the katie couric podcast. Understanding that the media is in many ways, biased towards this guy. Because it is hard to separate out concerns, about his autocratic ways. Its kind of like i said to some republican contributors. I said how much are you willing to sacrifice of this countrys constitutional norms and our Democratic Values for a 5 cut in the corporate gains tax . And i just dont know i do know. The dow being at 26,000 is not worth having a president who is racist. Im not sure everyone feels that way. I know they dont. That is the challenge. How do you say hey, the gdp went up. 2 over the third quarter. And then in other news, donald trump hanging out with porn stars and making racist comments that insult the entire you know continent of africa . Its a balance and its a real challenge for, i think for news outlets. I think getting more direct news. Tomorrow theyre going to be hearing from trump vote who are are now disillusioned. It was a great conversation, a lot of news to cover, still ahead on morning joe which part of the president s interview with reuters should we tackle first . Where he blasted a bipartisan plan on immigration after pledging to sign whatever lawmakers came up with . Where he promised to spend five days a week on the campaign trail . Or where he suggested he could solve the north korea crisis because he aced the cognitive test during his physical exam. This cognitive test showed him a picture of a lion, a rhino and a giraffe, and a pig. He got the pig right. He did. Thats really good. So yeah, hes, hes the smartest president ever. Because he can do what a 5yearold can do. Thats great. Were going to talk with a report another sat down with the president in the oval office. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Hes a nascar champion whos faced thousands of drivers. Shes a worldclass swimmer whos stared down the best in her sport. But for both of them, the most challenging opponent was. Pe blood clots in my lung. It was really scary. A dvt in my leg. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. My doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Xarelto® is a latestgeneration blood thinner. Thats proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. In clinical studies, almost 98 of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. Heres how xarelto works. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least six bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective. 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