Transcripts For MSNBCW The Last Word With Lawrence ODonnell

Independence, it is worth emphasizing that this is not Donald Trumps america. The president does sometimes try to behave like a king. He tries to behave like he owns the place. But what we are celebrating tomorrow is independence from a king. And there is no figurative or poetic sense in which this is Donald Trumps america. The picture that new polling presents is largely a country that opposes President Trump. A new quinnipiac poll tonight shows that 55 of americans disapprove of the job donald trump is doing as president. And some of that disapproval is now coming from republican senators finally, which we will get to in a moment. But theres another unique entry in this new trump poll. It is an achievement that belongs to donald trump and donald trump alone in the history of quinnipiac polls. In the history of all president ial polls. Donald trump has won the highest number of people in the history of president ial polling who say the president of the United States is a racist. In the new quinnipiac poll, 49 of voters say the president is a racist. 47 say they dont think he is. In the history of president ial polling no one is a close second to donald trump on the racist question. In fact, as far as weve been able to find in our research about polling today, theres no one in second place. Because the question has never been asked in polling about any other president. The racism of donald trump as perceived by half of the country is not what is bothering republican senators about donald trump. Some of them are making comments about the president unlike anything they have ever said. Consider the chairman of the Senate Finance committee orrin hatch. And remember that orrin hatch is the senator who said this about donald trump. Were going to keep fighting, and were going to make this the greatest presidency that weve seen not only in generation bs t maybe ever. So the only member of congress and possibly the only american not named trump who has said that donald trump could be the best president fsh is now saying something that doesnt sound like orrin hatch at all. I actually dont recognize the current trumpsupporting version of orrin hatch. The orrin hatch who i knew and saw virtually every day when i was working in the Senate Finance committee in the 1990s was one of the reasonable and sometimes cooperative and compromising republicans on the committee who helped get the committees work done, especially on matters of International Trade. And orrin hatch has always been the quintessential representative of mildmannered utah politeness in the United States is that the. So imagine my shock when i read orrin hatch saying, id like to kill em, in politico. Orrin hatch would like to kill the trump tariffs. According to politico, republican senators say they cant get the president to comprehend that his tariffs offensive could damage the american economy. And so there is a rebellion brewing among republican senators on the trump tariffs. And this could be the thing that pushes Donald Trumps disapproval rating even higher. According to the des moines register, iowas soybean farmers could lose up to 624 million in export revenue because of retaliatory tariffs on soybeans. I wiowas junior senator joni ernst said we want to support the president , my constituents want to support the president as well but they can only keep that stiff upper lip before things collapse. Were not quite at that point but its rapidly approaching. So the new definition of representing your state as a republican in the United States senate seems to be stick with donald trump until your state collapses. Joni ernst apparently has no intention of abandoning the president before the collapse of iowa. She seems to be saying she will have to see the complete collapse of the farm economy in iowa for her to abandon the president. Donald trump came in second in the Iowa Caucuses at the beginning of the president ial campaign. If he keeps up his trade war with the world, donald trump just might find a way to come in second in the Iowa Caucuses again in 2020. Leading off our discussion now, jared bernstein, senior fellow at the center for budget and policy priorities. He was a chief economist and Economic Policy adviser to Vice President biden. Also with us nurra tanneden, Hillary Clintons policy director during the 2008 president ial campaign. And john harwood is with us. Hes the editor at large for cnbc. And john harwood, i wanted to start with you because the commerce secretary said on cnbc that there is no drop in the stock market dramatic enough, theres no way any of the changes in the stock market that were seeing could possibly affect the president s commitment to his tariffs but we must stipulate that he is only the secretary of commerce, which means he like the rest of us has no idea what Donald Trumps going to do tomorrow on tariffs. Well, and donald trump may have no idea what Donald Trumps going to do tomorrow on tariffs. This is somebody who does not have a firm grasp of policy issues, of the implications of his policies. He acts on gut instinct and impulse and he has had antifree trade impulses for quite a long time. But this is deeply irrational from the standpoint of somebody whos leading a country who wants to have a strong economy, who wants to protect his constituents, who wants to get reelected because of the damage in the midwest. If he goes ahead with the National Securitylinked auto tariffs hes talking about. The agricultural midwest, iowa and other places if he sticks with this tariff war. It makes no sense economically. And its also counterproductive politically. Nevertheless, the president s doing it, and it makes you wonder is he actually acting rationally while doing this . We dont know. And nura tanden, the president s statements on trade were not very specific during the campaign. It was all about just ripping up nafta and getting rid of the transpacific partnership. Just getting rid of these agreements that are kind of large and complex agreements. But he never really said what he would do in its place. He never went around the country campaigning saying i am going to impose through tariffs what are in effect massive sales taxes on American Consumers who buy anything made outside of the United States. And he also didnt say i am going to threaten the jobs of lots of farmers and lots of manufacture manufacturers. And the reality of what were dealing with with donald trump is for some reason thats really hard to fathom hes decided to have a trade war with our closest allies, canada, europe. Hes essentially and at the same time hurting americans. And i have to just state this. His Health Care Bill went after rural white voters in places like iowa and the midwest, throughout the south. Now his trade policies are targeting farmers, lots of manufacturers throughout country, nail producers are going out of business. Its as if hes taking a wrecking ball to the lives and fortunes of the people who actually just voted for him and really testing essentially how much of a lemming theyre going to be in support of him as much as he hurts them. Jared bernstein, it seems the president has discovered that he has a power that he can use without consulting anyone. He discovered that in the pardon power to his delight, which seems to be what he likes most about pardons, as well as possibly signaling future criminal defendants who are friends of his that they might be getting pardons. But he found the loophole in american trade law in section 232 that allows the president to impose tariffs only, only as a matter of National Security. And none of the tariffs that the president has imposed or announced his intention to impose actually involve National Security. And so at a certain point the republicans in the senate who have always objected to this kind of thing are finally beginning to find their voices, but their voices at this point seem to be whispering 37. Yeah, i agree with you. Canada is not a security threat. Neither is the european union. And in fact, if anything, the president seems to embrace leaders who are threats and go after ones who arent. The senate has long folded. Conservatives and republicans. In the face of trumpian chaos. Even when it comes to matters of the wellbeing of their own constituents. You know, we used to say in washington follow the money. Well, follow the soybeans right now because a lot of farmers incomes are at stake. Donald trump said he doesnt like all those german cars on the street. Thats what motivated his potential auto tariffs. Well, do you know where the biggest bmw factory is in the world . Its in spartanburg, south carolina. And by the way, American Auto producers ford, chrysler, gm, uniformly oppose auto tariffs. Why . You think it would help their competitiveness . Because every single car on the road now including the ones that american producers build have lots of foreign imports. And if their price on every one of them goes up 20 thats going to be a cost theyre going to have to pass on to consumers. Its chaotic, destructive policy that is not going to help people whove been hurt by strayed. People who really need help, by the way. Its going to hurt them. And lawrence go ahead, john. I was just going to say it may be that President Trump in this situation cares more about trying to exert his personal dominance over another leader than he does about the fate of his own constituents and their economic wellbeing. He loves to engage on a personal basis. He makes decisions based on how he feels about someone personally. Weve seen with Justin Trudeau that he has tried to in effect say im bigger than you. Hes done the same thing with angela merkel. Theresa may. He may be trying to use this power that he possesses uniquely with a justification even if its bogus to try to assert that he can dominate them. Go ahead, neera. I would just quickly add whats crazy about this situation is donald trump himself is basically hurting soybean manufacturers, soybean farmers, manufacturers throughout this country, lots of people, lots of americans who are struggling to get by, while at the same time basically doing ads for chinas zte, which is just you know, ive never heard or seen anything like it where an american president is hurting American Companies and workers and basically helping a chinese company. The one thing and jared go ahead. Sought one thing i would add is that we actually have a pretty goodlooking Macro Economy right now. The Unemployment Rate is low. Growth rates are pretty stable. And the best thing i can say about the trump contribution to the economy is he hasnt screwed it up yet. But he seems to be trying pretty hard to do so. John, i was going to point out, im glad neera brought up zte because zte is the only issue that anyone in washington has looked at and said there are some National Security concerns with that. Most of china trade involves absolutely no security concerns whatsoever. And so the trump tariffs are illegal by our own definition because they do not meet the National Security standard. They do violate the World Trade Organizations own definitions of correct use of tariffs. But there has been astonishing support for this seizure, this president ial seizure of congressional power, astonishing support from democrats. Chuck schumer actually said in regards to the china tariffs President Trump is right on target. That was Chuck Schumers reaction to it. And last week when some republicans were trying to get an amendment going on the agriculture bill to restrict the president s power to increase tariffs through this loophole, sherrod brown, democrat, stood up and opposed and blocked that amendment. That was an amendment to limit Donald Trumps illegal use of president ial power. And that illegal use of president ial power was supported on the senate floor by democrats. Well, look, a lot of people want to get tough with china. And china is the legitimate bad actor in International Trade that we have big grievances with. Their theft of intellectual property. The restrictions they place on American Investment in china. And thats what makes the zte case that you mentioned so striking. Its a real National Security case. Hes gone the other way. And because of the other extraordinary feature of trumps presidency, that is, he continues to make money as president with his businesses although hes not managing them, overseas. And so the chinese governments lending 500 million to a trump project in indonesia. Dozens of trademarks have been granted to donald trump and Ivanka Trump Business initiatives in china. Is that why hes supporting zte . Its difficult to figure that out. Nobody really knows the answer. But its certainly something that goes didiametrically against the National Security interests of the United States when he is erroneously citing them in other areas. If the zblsh neera, i want to go ahead. I just want to get your political reaction to democrats on the senate floor like sherrod brown, also chuck schumer, sporting the president in what is clearly an illegal use of the National Security loophole in trade law and supporting President Trump in a seizure of what is supposed to be senate and congressional power. Look, i think anyone who supports Donald Trumps illegal use of the rules, the things hes doing to basically affirm his agenda at the expense of real National Security threats like zte itself, you know, democrats should not do that. And i appreciate, in a lot of parts of the country trade is a hard issue. And john harwood is absolutely right. Trade with china is a much more legitimate issue than a phony trade war with canada or europe. And when the president has a phony trade war and has phony National Security reasons for a trade war with our closest allies, democrats should stand up to that. I think whats also really important is you know, we have to ensure that we at some point get some Investigatory Power because at this point we have a president who has a trade policy that hurts americans and helps his own pocketbook. And that we have at least reasons to ask questions about that. And because the republicans wont do any investigations, americans dont really know at the end of the day whether the zte deal or other things trump is doing is actually helping himself at the expense of voters. Jared bernstein, the American Government has done very well in the World Trade Organization when it comes to trade disputes. It wins almost all of them. And its always prosecuting these trade disputes against countries that are violating the rules. Now the United States of america is violating the rules in a grander, more open way than we have ever seen any other country do. When other countries try to violate the rules, they try to do it secretly. Here is the president of the United States doing it publicly. What does that do to americas position in the World Trade Organization Going Forward . Well, i think it makes it obviously extremely difficult for us to argue for a rulesbased system of international trading. And its that very system that trumps chaos is throwing a wrench into. And by the way, as ive tried to stress in earlier comments, there are definitely americans who have been hurt by the fact weve run large trade deficits for many years. And donald trump connected with those people during the campaign. They voted for him. Now hes hurting them. When it comes to the wto, however, looking tough, disobeying, dismissing the wto for donald trump is a feature, not a bug. He used the wto as an anarchic organization that has no relevance in his kind of make it up as you go along trade regime. And so i think what the problem ends up being at the end of the day is that italianly everybody thought he was just bloviating, im talking about our trading partners, then they started to talk about retaliation. Now theyre moving into a mode of really fighting back tough. So i think the problem of retaliation of these measures is enough to really shave some Significant Growth off the u. S. Economy if we keep going down the same path were going down. We really havent seen that yet. But if donald trump gets his way with a trade war of the magnitude that i fear hes seeking were all going to feel it in our pocketbooks. Thatll have to be the end of the first round. Jared bernstein, neera tanden, john harwood, really appreciate it. And coming up once again, we are learning news about the president of the United States from the russian government before we learn it from the white house. Nbc news has what white house sources have said is the complete short list of candidates to be the next Supreme Court nominee. vo why are Donald Trumps<\/a> america. The president does sometimes try to behave like a king. He tries to behave like he owns the place. But what we are celebrating tomorrow is independence from a king. And there is no figurative or poetic sense in which this is Donald Trumps<\/a> america. The picture that new polling presents is largely a country that opposes President Trump<\/a>. A new quinnipiac poll tonight shows that 55 of americans disapprove of the job donald trump is doing as president. And some of that disapproval is now coming from republican senators finally, which we will get to in a moment. But theres another unique entry in this new trump poll. It is an achievement that belongs to donald trump and donald trump alone in the history of quinnipiac polls. In the history of all president ial polls. Donald trump has won the highest number of people in the history of president ial polling who say the president of the United States<\/a> is a racist. In the new quinnipiac poll, 49 of voters say the president is a racist. 47 say they dont think he is. In the history of president ial polling no one is a close second to donald trump on the racist question. In fact, as far as weve been able to find in our research about polling today, theres no one in second place. Because the question has never been asked in polling about any other president. The racism of donald trump as perceived by half of the country is not what is bothering republican senators about donald trump. Some of them are making comments about the president unlike anything they have ever said. Consider the chairman of the Senate Finance<\/a> committee orrin hatch. And remember that orrin hatch is the senator who said this about donald trump. Were going to keep fighting, and were going to make this the greatest presidency that weve seen not only in generation bs t maybe ever. So the only member of congress and possibly the only american not named trump who has said that donald trump could be the best president fsh is now saying something that doesnt sound like orrin hatch at all. I actually dont recognize the current trumpsupporting version of orrin hatch. The orrin hatch who i knew and saw virtually every day when i was working in the Senate Finance<\/a> committee in the 1990s was one of the reasonable and sometimes cooperative and compromising republicans on the committee who helped get the committees work done, especially on matters of International Trade<\/a>. And orrin hatch has always been the quintessential representative of mildmannered utah politeness in the United States<\/a> is that the. So imagine my shock when i read orrin hatch saying, id like to kill em, in politico. Orrin hatch would like to kill the trump tariffs. According to politico, republican senators say they cant get the president to comprehend that his tariffs offensive could damage the american economy. And so there is a rebellion brewing among republican senators on the trump tariffs. And this could be the thing that pushes Donald Trumps<\/a> disapproval rating even higher. According to the des moines register, iowas soybean farmers could lose up to 624 million in export revenue because of retaliatory tariffs on soybeans. I wiowas junior senator joni ernst said we want to support the president , my constituents want to support the president as well but they can only keep that stiff upper lip before things collapse. Were not quite at that point but its rapidly approaching. So the new definition of representing your state as a republican in the United States<\/a> senate seems to be stick with donald trump until your state collapses. Joni ernst apparently has no intention of abandoning the president before the collapse of iowa. She seems to be saying she will have to see the complete collapse of the farm economy in iowa for her to abandon the president. Donald trump came in second in the Iowa Caucuses<\/a> at the beginning of the president ial campaign. If he keeps up his trade war with the world, donald trump just might find a way to come in second in the Iowa Caucuses<\/a> again in 2020. Leading off our discussion now, jared bernstein, senior fellow at the center for budget and policy priorities. He was a chief economist and Economic Policy<\/a> adviser to Vice President<\/a> biden. Also with us nurra tanneden, Hillary Clintons<\/a> policy director during the 2008 president ial campaign. And john harwood is with us. Hes the editor at large for cnbc. And john harwood, i wanted to start with you because the commerce secretary said on cnbc that there is no drop in the stock market dramatic enough, theres no way any of the changes in the stock market that were seeing could possibly affect the president s commitment to his tariffs but we must stipulate that he is only the secretary of commerce, which means he like the rest of us has no idea what Donald Trumps<\/a> going to do tomorrow on tariffs. Well, and donald trump may have no idea what Donald Trumps<\/a> going to do tomorrow on tariffs. This is somebody who does not have a firm grasp of policy issues, of the implications of his policies. He acts on gut instinct and impulse and he has had antifree trade impulses for quite a long time. But this is deeply irrational from the standpoint of somebody whos leading a country who wants to have a strong economy, who wants to protect his constituents, who wants to get reelected because of the damage in the midwest. If he goes ahead with the National Security<\/a>linked auto tariffs hes talking about. The agricultural midwest, iowa and other places if he sticks with this tariff war. It makes no sense economically. And its also counterproductive politically. Nevertheless, the president s doing it, and it makes you wonder is he actually acting rationally while doing this . We dont know. And nura tanden, the president s statements on trade were not very specific during the campaign. It was all about just ripping up nafta and getting rid of the transpacific partnership. Just getting rid of these agreements that are kind of large and complex agreements. But he never really said what he would do in its place. He never went around the country campaigning saying i am going to impose through tariffs what are in effect massive sales taxes on American Consumers<\/a> who buy anything made outside of the United States<\/a>. And he also didnt say i am going to threaten the jobs of lots of farmers and lots of manufacture manufacturers. And the reality of what were dealing with with donald trump is for some reason thats really hard to fathom hes decided to have a trade war with our closest allies, canada, europe. Hes essentially and at the same time hurting americans. And i have to just state this. His Health Care Bill<\/a> went after rural white voters in places like iowa and the midwest, throughout the south. Now his trade policies are targeting farmers, lots of manufacturers throughout country, nail producers are going out of business. Its as if hes taking a wrecking ball to the lives and fortunes of the people who actually just voted for him and really testing essentially how much of a lemming theyre going to be in support of him as much as he hurts them. Jared bernstein, it seems the president has discovered that he has a power that he can use without consulting anyone. He discovered that in the pardon power to his delight, which seems to be what he likes most about pardons, as well as possibly signaling future criminal defendants who are friends of his that they might be getting pardons. But he found the loophole in american trade law in section 232 that allows the president to impose tariffs only, only as a matter of National Security<\/a>. And none of the tariffs that the president has imposed or announced his intention to impose actually involve National Security<\/a>. And so at a certain point the republicans in the senate who have always objected to this kind of thing are finally beginning to find their voices, but their voices at this point seem to be whispering 37. Yeah, i agree with you. Canada is not a security threat. Neither is the european union. And in fact, if anything, the president seems to embrace leaders who are threats and go after ones who arent. The senate has long folded. Conservatives and republicans. In the face of trumpian chaos. Even when it comes to matters of the wellbeing of their own constituents. You know, we used to say in washington follow the money. Well, follow the soybeans right now because a lot of farmers incomes are at stake. Donald trump said he doesnt like all those german cars on the street. Thats what motivated his potential auto tariffs. Well, do you know where the biggest bmw factory is in the world . Its in spartanburg, south carolina. And by the way, American Auto<\/a> producers ford, chrysler, gm, uniformly oppose auto tariffs. Why . You think it would help their competitiveness . Because every single car on the road now including the ones that american producers build have lots of foreign imports. And if their price on every one of them goes up 20 thats going to be a cost theyre going to have to pass on to consumers. Its chaotic, destructive policy that is not going to help people whove been hurt by strayed. People who really need help, by the way. Its going to hurt them. And lawrence go ahead, john. I was just going to say it may be that President Trump<\/a> in this situation cares more about trying to exert his personal dominance over another leader than he does about the fate of his own constituents and their economic wellbeing. He loves to engage on a personal basis. He makes decisions based on how he feels about someone personally. Weve seen with Justin Trudeau<\/a> that he has tried to in effect say im bigger than you. Hes done the same thing with angela merkel. Theresa may. He may be trying to use this power that he possesses uniquely with a justification even if its bogus to try to assert that he can dominate them. Go ahead, neera. I would just quickly add whats crazy about this situation is donald trump himself is basically hurting soybean manufacturers, soybean farmers, manufacturers throughout this country, lots of people, lots of americans who are struggling to get by, while at the same time basically doing ads for chinas zte, which is just you know, ive never heard or seen anything like it where an american president is hurting American Companies<\/a> and workers and basically helping a chinese company. The one thing and jared go ahead. Sought one thing i would add is that we actually have a pretty goodlooking Macro Economy<\/a> right now. The Unemployment Rate<\/a> is low. Growth rates are pretty stable. And the best thing i can say about the trump contribution to the economy is he hasnt screwed it up yet. But he seems to be trying pretty hard to do so. John, i was going to point out, im glad neera brought up zte because zte is the only issue that anyone in washington has looked at and said there are some National Security<\/a> concerns with that. Most of china trade involves absolutely no security concerns whatsoever. And so the trump tariffs are illegal by our own definition because they do not meet the National Security<\/a> standard. They do violate the World Trade Organization<\/a>s own definitions of correct use of tariffs. But there has been astonishing support for this seizure, this president ial seizure of congressional power, astonishing support from democrats. Chuck schumer actually said in regards to the china tariffs President Trump<\/a> is right on target. That was Chuck Schumers<\/a> reaction to it. And last week when some republicans were trying to get an amendment going on the agriculture bill to restrict the president s power to increase tariffs through this loophole, sherrod brown, democrat, stood up and opposed and blocked that amendment. That was an amendment to limit Donald Trumps<\/a> illegal use of president ial power. And that illegal use of president ial power was supported on the senate floor by democrats. Well, look, a lot of people want to get tough with china. And china is the legitimate bad actor in International Trade<\/a> that we have big grievances with. Their theft of intellectual property. The restrictions they place on American Investment<\/a> in china. And thats what makes the zte case that you mentioned so striking. Its a real National Security<\/a> case. Hes gone the other way. And because of the other extraordinary feature of trumps presidency, that is, he continues to make money as president with his businesses although hes not managing them, overseas. And so the chinese governments lending 500 million to a trump project in indonesia. Dozens of trademarks have been granted to donald trump and Ivanka Trump Business<\/a> initiatives in china. Is that why hes supporting zte . Its difficult to figure that out. Nobody really knows the answer. But its certainly something that goes didiametrically against the National Security<\/a> interests of the United States<\/a> when he is erroneously citing them in other areas. If the zblsh neera, i want to go ahead. I just want to get your political reaction to democrats on the senate floor like sherrod brown, also chuck schumer, sporting the president in what is clearly an illegal use of the National Security<\/a> loophole in trade law and supporting President Trump<\/a> in a seizure of what is supposed to be senate and congressional power. Look, i think anyone who supports Donald Trumps<\/a> illegal use of the rules, the things hes doing to basically affirm his agenda at the expense of real National Security<\/a> threats like zte itself, you know, democrats should not do that. And i appreciate, in a lot of parts of the country trade is a hard issue. And john harwood is absolutely right. Trade with china is a much more legitimate issue than a phony trade war with canada or europe. And when the president has a phony trade war and has phony National Security<\/a> reasons for a trade war with our closest allies, democrats should stand up to that. I think whats also really important is you know, we have to ensure that we at some point get some Investigatory Power<\/a> because at this point we have a president who has a trade policy that hurts americans and helps his own pocketbook. And that we have at least reasons to ask questions about that. And because the republicans wont do any investigations, americans dont really know at the end of the day whether the zte deal or other things trump is doing is actually helping himself at the expense of voters. Jared bernstein, the American Government<\/a> has done very well in the World Trade Organization<\/a> when it comes to trade disputes. It wins almost all of them. And its always prosecuting these trade disputes against countries that are violating the rules. Now the United States<\/a> of america is violating the rules in a grander, more open way than we have ever seen any other country do. When other countries try to violate the rules, they try to do it secretly. Here is the president of the United States<\/a> doing it publicly. What does that do to americas position in the World Trade Organization<\/a> Going Forward<\/a> . Well, i think it makes it obviously extremely difficult for us to argue for a rulesbased system of international trading. And its that very system that trumps chaos is throwing a wrench into. And by the way, as ive tried to stress in earlier comments, there are definitely americans who have been hurt by the fact weve run large trade deficits for many years. And donald trump connected with those people during the campaign. They voted for him. Now hes hurting them. When it comes to the wto, however, looking tough, disobeying, dismissing the wto for donald trump is a feature, not a bug. He used the wto as an anarchic organization that has no relevance in his kind of make it up as you go along trade regime. And so i think what the problem ends up being at the end of the day is that italianly everybody thought he was just bloviating, im talking about our trading partners, then they started to talk about retaliation. Now theyre moving into a mode of really fighting back tough. So i think the problem of retaliation of these measures is enough to really shave some Significant Growth<\/a> off the u. S. Economy if we keep going down the same path were going down. We really havent seen that yet. But if donald trump gets his way with a trade war of the magnitude that i fear hes seeking were all going to feel it in our pocketbooks. Thatll have to be the end of the first round. Jared bernstein, neera tanden, john harwood, really appreciate it. And coming up once again, we are learning news about the president of the United States<\/a> from the russian government before we learn it from the white house. Nbc news has what white house sources have said is the complete short list of candidates to be the next Supreme Court<\/a> nominee. vo why are Subaru Outback<\/a> owners always smiling . Because theyve chosen the industry leader. Subaru outback holds its value better than any other vehicle in its class, according to alg. Better than rav4. Better than grand cherokee. Better than edge. Make every adventure a happy one with Subaru Outback<\/a>. Get 0 apr financing on the 2018 Subaru Outback<\/a>. A bipartisan report released by the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee confirms the find findings of the u. S. Intelligence community which stated in january of 2017 that russia definitely meddled in the 2016 president ial election and that russia definitely wanted to hurt the candidacy of Hillary Clinton<\/a> and help the candidacy of donald trump. Specifically, the unclassified report released by republican richard burr and democrat mark warner of the Intelligence Committee<\/a> says that the committees assessment showed that moscow sought to denigrate secretary clinton and putin and the russian government developed a clear preference for trump. The report today also says that the Committee Heard<\/a> consistently that analysts were under no politically motivated pressure to reach any conclusions. And the committee has seen additional examples of russias attempts to sow discord, undermine democratic institutions, and interfere in u. S. Elections and those of our allies. The kremlin said today that it is possible that russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a> and President Trump<\/a> will meet one on one with no staff present except translators at the beginning of their summit meeting in helsinki on july 16th. And so once again americans are learning about the plans of the president of the United States<\/a> from the russian government instead of from the white house. Joining our discussion now malcolm nance, msnbc contributor on intelligence analyst. Author of the book the plot to destroy democracy how putin and his spies are ellen farkas. Former deputy secretary of defense. Shes an msnbc National Security<\/a> analyst. Malcolm, i want to start with you on the issue of the possibility of the president sitting down one on one plus translators with Vladimir Putin<\/a>. Its absolutely fascinatinfa. You know, earlier today on twitter asha rangappa, the former fbi officer, made a joke he was going in to meet his handler, was going to discuss any concerns he has, any counterintelligence contacts he has, his surveillance detection routines, anything that a handled asset would want to report in to his boss. And at this point im really starting to wonder because why would he go off the record in a private meeting with Vladimir Putin<\/a> at a time he has been u under the gun for more than two years in the belief he has conspired with russia to rig a u. S. Election and may possibly have involved himself in other nefarious activities and he just decides hes going to go prove it. Evelyn farkas, it is an astonishing thing to watch. With any other politician who is suspected of anything in this direction, that politician would go out of his or her way to be much stiffer and more formal and more distant in relations with russia or whatever country was in question. Right, lawrence. I mean, any other president or politician for that matter, and granted, okay, he wasnt a politician until recently, but nevertheless, would do Everything Possible<\/a> to remove any shadow of any doubt that there was something nefarious going on. I have to say, im also further concerned because what im hearing not only from the administration is actually confirmation that there is going to be a oneonone meeting but that theres a lot of consternation, a lot of worry inside our government. I mean, that to me is shocking. And people just feel like they cant resign because of their concern but theyre watching some kind of train wreck, some kind of really bad movie unfold except that its reality. So i dont understand why this is happening. Last time donald trump met with Vladimir Putin<\/a> on the sidelines of a bigger summit, he actually had a meeting with only one interpreter, the russian interpreter. So if that happens again, thats even worse. But okay, having interpreters is good if at least we have the u. S. Interpreter because there will be something of a record in that case. But the optics are bad. It doesnt make sense from a policy perspective. Its just more than unfortunate. And this news comes to us on the same day that the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee report, and this is the full committee. This is all eight republicans and all seven democrats, the Committee Says<\/a> this. The committee concurs with intelligence and open source assessments that this influence campaign was approved by president putin. And so the committee is saying Vladimir Putin<\/a> did this. And now donald trump is saying that hes going to have a oneonone meeting with Vladimir Putin<\/a> within the context of all of that lets listen to what former cia director John Mclaughlin<\/a> said about this today. The president is an intelligence recruiters dream. Hes totally transparent with his tweets and his public comments. His frustrations, his desires, his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities are all hanging out there. And putin of course is a trained kgb intelligence operator. Malcolm nance, you know that any screenwriter or fiction writer would try to make this more subtle. They wouldnt actually have the russian president be a former kgb intelligence operator talking to the most ignorant president of the United States<\/a> in history. Yeah. You would think, that right . But this is like a really bad version of the old Kevin Costner<\/a> movie no way out where in that private meeting is donald trump going to just suddenly blurt out that he speaks russian . Doubtful. But for the most part i really think that John Mclaughlin<\/a> today put it perfectly. And i have a whole chapter on why donald trump is a russians dream. Its not just that they may have motivated him to see the world their way. They framed the world for him. And every time that he had contact with them they created that perception bubble, that entire world view that he now espouses. Breakup and dissolution of nato in a slow roll. I think he really believes that. Getting rid of all world trade, you know, and breaking up the Atlantic Alliance<\/a> in europe. He has bought into that. Crimea belonging to russia. He has bought into that. He is you know, i said this today in the same interview with John Mclaughlin<\/a>. When he goes to this nato conference, who will he represent . Will he represent the United States<\/a> or will he represent moscow . Or donald trump. Maria bartiromo did a recent interview with the president where she got a lot of criticism for not doing any followups. She did ask some good questions. Heres an example of her good question and just an extraordinary nonanswer by the president of the United States<\/a>. Lets listen to this. Are you going to mention the meddling when you meet with russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a> on july 16th . Id like to see some answers as to why we didnt take the server, why the fbi didnt take the server from the dnc. And evelyn farkas, that was his complete answer to are you going to mention the russian meddling in our election when you speak to Vladimir Putin<\/a>. He said id like to see some answers as to why we didnt take the server, why the fbi didnt take the server from the dnc. I mean, lawrence, this isnt the first time i think ive said to you i want to tear my hair out. Because hes doing his typical deflection. Im going to talk about Hillary Clinton<\/a> now. Nobody cares about Hillary Clinton<\/a> anymore and servers and emails and whatever. But thats the first thing he grasps for. You know, i have to say just a thing about that report that came out today. I think its very useful that the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee came out clearly on the record saying we believe our own intelligence, we looked through it ourselves in a bipartisan fashion. Whats disturbing to me about it is that it came out today on a friday well, it feels like a friday, but right before a holiday. And it should have come out before those senators made the decision to go over to moscow, you know, which you mentioned earlier on the program. I think its unfortunate because it seems to me that they could agree on the message but theres something wrong with the politics of releasing this report. I dont think the president could have made it any more clear to Maria Bartiromo<\/a> that he has absolutely no intention of mentioning election meddling to Vladimir Putin<\/a>. Evelyn farkas, malcolm nance, thank you both for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it. Thanks, lawrence. And when we come back, nbc news has what white house sources are telling them is the complete short list of candidates to be the next trump Supreme Court<\/a> nominee. Thats the height of mount everest. Because each day she chooses to take the stairs. At work, at home, even on the escalator. That can be hard on her lower body, so now she does it with dr. Scholls orthotics, clinically proven to relieve and prevent foot, knee or lower back pain, by reducing the shock and stress that travel up her body with every step she takes. So keep on climbing, sarah. Youre killing it. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. Ive been maki theres a gillette for 20 ye i bet im the first blade maker youve ever met. Theres a lot of innovation that goes into making our thinnest longest lasting blades on the market. Precision machinery and highquality materials from around the world. Nobody else even comes close. Its about delivering a more comfortable shave every time. Invented in boston, made and sold around the world. Order now at gilletteondemand. Com. Gillette. The best a man can get. I we worked with pg eof to save energy because wenie. Wanted to help the school. They would put these signs on the door to let the teacher know you didnt cut off the light. The teachers, they would call us the energy patrol. So they would be like, here they come, turn off your lights those three young ladies were teaching the whole school about energy efficiency. We actually saved 50,000. And thats just one school, two semesters, three girls. Together, were building a better california. Here is one of the frontrunners for the next Supreme Court<\/a> nomination testifying at her last confirmation hearing for a federal judgeship. Im being considered for a position on the court of appeals and there would be no opportunity to be a no vote on roe. And as i said to the committee, i would faithfully apply all Supreme Court<\/a> precedent. But on the Supreme Court<\/a> she would be in a position to overturn roe versus wade. That was judge amy coney barrett, who yesterday met with President Trump<\/a> to discuss the Supreme Court<\/a> vacancy. The president also met with three other federal Appeals Court<\/a> judges yesterday who are candidates for the next Supreme Court<\/a> nomination. Brett kavanaugh, raymond kethledge, and amull thapar. The president spoke to three nominees today. The assistant press secretary did not say who those people are. But nbc news is reporting that the president s list of nominees include federal Appeals Court<\/a> judges joan larsen and Thomas Hardiman<\/a> and utah republican senator pike lee. Today senator lees spokesperson confirmed a report that the president interviewed senator lee yesterday over the phone about the Supreme Court<\/a> opening while the white house said the two men spoke by phone but did not call it an interview. Back with us for this part of the discussion john harwood and neera tanden. Neera, your reaction to what we know about the president s list so far. Yeah, i mean, everyone on this list is pretty much a hard right jurist. Each one of them would threaten roe v. Wade. Each one of them would likely overturn the Affordable Care<\/a> act. You know, theres a lot of gamesmanship happening amongst conservatives essentially trying to figure out whether we can have a hard right Supreme Court<\/a> justice or an insane right Supreme Court<\/a> justice. And you know, i think the American People<\/a> when they look at these justices and or judges and how they rule theyll recognize these people are all far outside the mainstream of pr the American People<\/a> are and where the senate should be. I think we can probably agree that the phone call to mike lee was just being nice to mike lee. I dont think youre going to pick someone for the Supreme Court<\/a> if you dont even invite them over to the house. But mike lee is a member of the judiciary committee. Hed be part of the confirmation process. So perhaps President Trump<\/a> simply wanted to elevate mike lees standing back home in utah. But john harwood, we have an nbc news poll showing that 61 want roe versus wade to be upheld, only 31 want it to be overturned. And that would seem to indicate that thats where the democrats should be putting the pressure as this confirmation process unfolds. Right. And you know, all of these nominees as neera indicated are people who ideologically are at odds with the majority of the American People<\/a>. Thats why i think the stakes for the individual candidates are big. The stakes for different factions of the conservative movement, Mitch Mcconnells<\/a> got a candidate, bill bennetts got a candidate. There are various ones and each faction will fly speck the records of the others. But for the rest of the country, people outside that group, these choices are all pretty much the same. They have been selected for their fealty to conservative judicial positions and one bedrock, the bedrock, conservative judicial positions is that roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Is it possible that one of these people will get on the court and later decide, well, given the public opposition that 60 figure you cited maybe we dont go that far, maybe we nick at it rather than frontally try to repeal it . But these people are all coming from one particular direction, and that is where democrats will have their most ability to make hay but i dont think they can stop it because i think republicans are going to have the votes. Neera tanden, im looking at joan larsen as the one who seems to make the most sense within the white house. Theyre trying to hold on to two republican senators, Lisa Murkowski<\/a> and susan collins, the only two pro choice republicans in the senate. It seems to me nominating a woman would help there. And joan larsen last year, just last year, when she was confirmed to the Appeals Court<\/a>, she got 60 votes. She got 8 democrats to vote for her. 8 democrats. And so she would be the one who just in terms of the past confirmation vote performance is probably the strongest, safest one on this list in the senate. I would say that this is a very different decision. A lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court<\/a>, on a court that cannot theres no check on this court. Once it decides it decides. And i think the truth is that senator collins and senator murkowski are hoping that these hearings are kabuki theater in which people say just bland statements about supporting precedent and they wont rule and theyre able to skate by this nomination process. Sxumtly a hard right conservative goes on the court and we could use roe in two years time in 18 states in the country. And i think the only thing thats going to stop that kabuki theater and that game is for the American People<\/a> to do what they did during health care and really hold people accountable. Susan collins could be a United States<\/a> senator when her when the person she votes for, if she votes for a Trump Nominee<\/a> from this list, that she could be there when roe is overturned. And i think the usual statements of oh, do you support precedent or some bland statements about not deciding cases should be unacceptable. Our rights are at stake. Given the overwhelming support for roe, they have to affirm their support for roe as precedent in the law of the land today, that they will not overturn. Or susan collins, if she votes for this person or Lisa Murkowski<\/a> or they vote for these potential nominees, have to say they are no longer pro choice. Neera tanden and john harwood, thank you both very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it. And coming up, a federal judge another federal judge, this is a third federal judge whos entered this situation, has ordered the trump situation to reunite parents and children at the border. This federal judge says that the Trump Administration<\/a> is violating its own rules at the border. Burning, of diabetic nerve pain these feet. Made waves in high school. And built a career in construction. But i couldnt bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. So i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. Now i have less diabetic nerve pain. Ask your doctor about lyrica. I receive travel rewards. Going new places. oh going out for a bite. Going anytime. Rewarded learn more at theexplorercard. Com you shouldnt be rushed into booking a hotel. With expedias addon advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. Addon advantage. Only when you book with expedia. Tonight, a family of three is being held in a trump cage. A father, a mother, and a baby named jesus. Here they are in their trump cage. It is on the grounds of an Episcopal Church<\/a> in indianapolis. The churchs dean and rector, reverend steven carlson, was asked how long he would keep the family who christians call the holy family in that cage. Reverend carlson said, how long are we going to keep detaining families indefinitely. Reverend carlsons interpretation of the Christian Symbolism<\/a> of the holy family is that every family is holy. They were a homeless family with nowhere to stay, reverend carlson said about jesus, mary and joseph. He said, i think our faith tells us where we need to be. Were turning away from the values that should be guiding us. The point of a religious icon is to move our hearts. If at first people are upset by it, that might just be god trying to move their hearts. I hope their hearts soften. After a break well discuss yet another federal judges ruling against the Trump Administration<\/a> on the southern border. This new ruling says the Trump Administration<\/a> is violating its own policy. Maria tracy kumar will join our discussion. I love you, basement guest bathroom. Your privacy makes you my number 1 place to go number 2. I love you, but sometimes you stink. Febreze air effects doesnt just mask, it cleans away odors. Because the things you love the most can stink. And try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up to 30 days. Breathe happy with febreze. This is not a screensaver. Game. This is the destruction of a cancer cell by the bodys own immune system, thanks to medicine that didnt exist until now. And today can save your life. Federal District Court<\/a> judge in washington, d. C. Last night ordered the trump government to immediately release or grant hearings to more than a thousand Asylum Seekers<\/a> who have been jailed, some of them for years, without being granted the due process of having their own cases reviewed individually. The Washington Post<\/a> reports u. S. District judge james e. Boasberg said that i. C. E. Ignored its own policy, stating that asylum applicants who establish a credible fear of persecution in their native country must be granted a Court Hearing<\/a> within seven days or be released. He granted a preliminary injunction preventing the government from carrying out blanket detentions. Joining us is maria teresa kumar. Maria, this goes to the problem that Asylum Seekers<\/a> have been finding. Theyve been treated as criminals, essentially, by the trump government when they arrive. What the judge hit the nail on the head with, with the Trump Administration<\/a> policy breaking the law, when i was in mccowan a week ago, we were finding reports were the Border Patrol<\/a> were literally on bridges that crossed from mexico into the United States<\/a>, telling Asylum Seekers<\/a> that america was full, that they had to turn back. That by International Law<\/a> is breaking it. And unfortunately the Trump Administration<\/a> is being able to demonstrate that not only do they not care about Asylum Seekers<\/a> but theyre willing to throw the book at individuals who are fleeing some of the most devastating situations. The fact today that the judge ruled against what trump is doing not only demonstrates on a litany of issues when it comes to how trump is treating immigrants and those seeking asylum from the most vulnerable but also demonstrates that even how he is treating families that are currently being separated is really in the gray area of law. And maria teresa, as we discussed at the beginning of the show, a new quinnipiac poll shows 49 of American Voters<\/a> think that the president is racist. That same quinnipiac poll says that only 39 approve of the president S Immigration<\/a> policy. 58 disapprove of it. Those two pieces of the poll, i think, are related. Absolutely. I think that we are demonstrating with the Trump Administration<\/a> is he wants to single out what type of immigrant should be coming to this country, whether theyre seeking asylum or otherwise. If you recall last year he basically said he only wanted immigrants from norway. And he since has conducted policies that demonstrate to that point. If we take away the way hes currently treating families seeking asylum and look at what hes doing internally at taking away temporary protective status from individuals from haiti, from honduras, from sudan, hes also taking away visas from entrepreneurs from south asia. You have a clear sentiment of who he believes americans should be. That ship has sailed. If you look at the generation of kids right now in kindergarten, my kids are 4 and 5 years old, they represent the majority america, the america that is inclusive, diverse. It is what we have been seeing in the marches from the moment they started protesting his ascension into the white house, from the womens march to more recently, on saturday, families coming together saying stop the separation. These are americans, regardless of political stripe, saying that the currency that trump is trying to propagate in the United States<\/a> of what americans should look like will not only be not tolerated but is the antithesis of what americans are. Tomorrow were celebrating our american values, the fact that were a nation of immigrants. Donald trump has a difficult time swallowing that. Maria teresa kumar, thank you for joining us once again here on the last word. Tonights last word is next. Ing. Even a cactus calamity. man 1 i read that the saguaro can live to be two hundred years old. woman how old do you think that one is . man 1 my guess would be, about. man 2 id say about two hundred. man 1 yeah. burke gives houseplant a whole new meaning. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum crisp leaves of lettuce. Freshly made dressing. Clean food that looks this good. Delivered to your desk. Now delivering to home or office. Panera. Food as it should be. And we got to know the friends of our friends. R the friends. And we found others just like us. And just like that we felt a little less alone. But then something happened. We had to deal with spam, fake news, and data misuse. Thats going to change. From now on, facebook will do more to keep you safe and protect your privacy. Because when this place does what it was built for, then we all get a little closer. After you have celebrated your independence tomorrow, you can join us here at the last word at 10 00 as usual for our july 4th special program. Well be joined by joy reid and professor Michael Eric Dyson<\/a> who will discuss his new book, what truth sounds like, an Important Message<\/a> for our time. And tom arnold, who spent some time chatting with michael cohen. Hell tell us what he thinks happened to his exwife rosea e roseanne, who used to be a liberal. Well also discuss with david hog the shooting at Marjory Stoneman<\/a> douglas high school. Thats all tomorrow night on the last word at 10 00 p. M. The 11th hour with Brian Williams<\/a> starts right now. Tonight, the Senate Intel Committee<\/a> announces it backs the intelligence community, finding russia did in fact meddle in the 2016 u. S. Elections with Vladimir Putin<\/a>s approval. And russia had a clear preference for donald trump. Also the president tonight promised a home run for his Supreme Court<\/a> pick as we learned seven top contenders have now met or spoken w","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia803104.us.archive.org\/9\/items\/MSNBCW_20180704_020000_The_Last_Word_With_Lawrence_ODonnell\/MSNBCW_20180704_020000_The_Last_Word_With_Lawrence_ODonnell.thumbs\/MSNBCW_20180704_020000_The_Last_Word_With_Lawrence_ODonnell_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240617T12:35:10+00:00"}