i didn t sap lock her up. remind us what actually happened. not quite true. quickly to tim s point, i m just a journalist out there watching and listening and trying to talking to voters. talking to voters. i don t know if this will be good for him or not. watching their strategy right now, they are very much leaning into this idea of him as a political prisoner, as a victim of this system they clearly think can gain some sort of advantage. in the context of talking about trump and jail time he was asked about hillary clinton. he absolutely said lock her up. let s just go back to the tape. lock her up. lock her up. lock her up. for what she s done, they should lock her up. it s disgraceful. so crooked hillary wait. you should lock her up, i ll
a doctor. i m watching folks come around the corner as we try to get ourselves in position and our cameraman will walk down the hallway with so we can see dr. fauci and ask those questions. one of the things we ve seen is committee hearings tend to devolve into some of the moments we saw here, chris. we did see him actually walking out of the hearing room. we re going to come back to you the very second we see that maybe he s come your way. tim, i may have to interrupt you. let me ask you. here we are, more than four years since the pandemic began and republicans and democrats are still having the same fights. what s the political advantage at this point? ron desantis is going to say he thinks he did the right thing. greg abbott is going to say he did the right thing, two republican governors in red states. but is there a 2024 advantage to this?
in the courtroom today is her grandson in law who married naomi biden at the white house a few years ago and kathleen was part of that event. it will be difficult for the family to have to see these family discussions which they do like to keep private to the extent they can, borne out in a public way with reporters like sarah and i in the courtroom. the family has talked about how they rally around each other. that s certainly what they re saying. that s at the root of the concern of how the president will process all this, during the last campaign he ll ever run for public office. big picture outside the courtroom, tim, and you re a communications expert. is sometimes the best messaging little or no messaging at all? are both sides well served to say little or nothing about this and let the system play out? i don t know.
that he has shown as one of his main political calling cards. tim, i want to read exactly the other portion of the president s statement tonight that deals with that specifically, quote, hunter s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. a lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean. so do you think republicans might enter this at their own peril? i do. i think we see it in focus groups, too. people get uncomfortable with attacks on hunter over particularly related to his struggle with drug abuse. that s true in republican focus groups. i think a lot of times these republicans, you get very kind of internet, get into your maga media echo chamber where
describing the trial starting today as a, quote, excruciating personal ordeal for president biden. his statement out this morning reading in part, i am the president, but i am also a dad. as the president, i don t and won t comment on pending federal cases, but as a dad, i have boundless love for my son, confidence in him and respect for his strength. joining me from outside the courthouse in wilmington. also with me tim miller host of the bulwark podcast and also an msnbc analyst. i want to read how the washington post framed the challenge. they write, facing a situation unlike any president before him biden who at 81 is the patriarch of a large and growing family will have to navigate the trial as president, candidate and father. so putting the personal aspect of this aside for a moment, how difficult could it be for him as a president and a candidate for