told us his chief of staff john kelly called the president an idiot. plus, we're heading back to the border. a handful of people in that migrant caravan have now been let into the country. dozens of others seeking asylum. still waiting for an answer. we're going to talk about what they should expect. alberto gonzalez is here life. you do not want to miss that. we're going to get to in a few minutes. first to nbc peter alexander over at the white house. peter, this new report is not sitting pretty with president trump, he's slamming it on twitter, he's upset about the questions and he's not totally accurate on what his pushback is, is that fair to say? >> reporter: i think you're exactly riemtd. the president no surprise, teeing off as you noted on twitter. he wrielgts so disgraceful that the questions concerning the russian 1 of hunt were leaked to the immediaty, dmo no questions on collusion, he says i see you have a made up phony crime, collusion that never existed and

an investigation begun with illegally leaked information. nice! there are several of the questions do inin fact address the possibility of cooperation between the trump campaign and russian operatives and the president doesn't deny the accuracy of the questions he just vents about them getting out. his follow-up tweet that was on that screen he writes it would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened. witch hunted. remember that so-called witch hunt has resulted in duds evanss of indictments and guilty pleas by members of the president's own campaign. this morning a federal prosecutor reminds me that you can be guilty of obstruction of justice without being found guilty of any underlying crime, something his lawyers, the president's lawyers, may be advising him about right now. i should also tell you i spoke about this list of questions overnight with the harvard lawyer alan dershowitz. he's a man the president recently talked to, someone the president respects. he describes these question and

that was interesting, as deliberate soft balls, his words, designed to lure the president in effect into long and possibly incriminating responses. he says if he were advising president trump, aebd notes that he is not, that he would encourage him to skip an interview and answer the questions extensively in writing under oath with a signed affidavit, or to take this list to court effectively to try to narrow the scope of the investigation. hallie. >> peter alexander there at the white house north lawn. i'm glad we had you on because i know that conversation with alan dershowitz raised interesting questions that i want to talk about now with ken dilanian. ken, looking at the topics here and what peter's mentioning here, the firing of comey, the flynn leaving, the accuse willal of sessions and so on tell us how this jives or doesn't jive with the reporting you've been doing and whether or not these questions to you really are soft balls like dershowitz is telling peter. >> they are absolutely soft balls, hallie. they are dwhaes aquestions that

reporter or legal analyst who was following this closely could have written. . the reason for that is they were transmitted to donald trump's lawyers probably with the knowledge that they very well could be leaks. so there's almost no nonpublic information in here with one exception, that question about manafort potentially reaching out to the russians. that question aside, we don't know whether it was a garble or whether that's real evidence that mueller has. aside from that question, all these questions are based on things that are in the public domain, obvious questions. you know, what did you mean when you told lester holt you fired james comey. >> and questions could you have written? >> absolutely. what did you mean when you told lester holt you fired james comey. why were you upset with jeff sessions? >> but you have to understand each of these questions had tro two dozen followups that prosecutors have written intending to ask along with evidence, e-mails, transcripts, phone records to confront dump to either get a damaging admission out of him or catch him in a lie. >> so then is that what sticks out to you as not being in this report? because there's a lot in the

story, but it's almost like we read between the lines as to what's missing? >> what's missing is all the evidence that robert mueller's investigation has gathered that isn't public. that's miss pgts what's also missing, though, is other avenues of this information that we believe are ongoing. for example, investigation into donald trump's past business dealings, subpoenas to deutsche bank, bank records, russian business transactions. all that is missing. also any evidence of collusion that mueller may have developed, except that tantalizing thant he -- hint that he's got evidence that paul manafort or someone reached out to the russian dollars. we don't know what's behind that but that's an interesting question. >> i wanted to bring in matt miller to keep the show rolling along here. matt, to you, do you think this is a trap, these questions being put out there for the president? >> no, i don't think so. i think it was an extraordinary act of good faith by the special counsel to provide these broad questions to the president.

prosecutors don't usually do that they might tell you topics but not specific questions. i think this was an act of good faith because ease trying to afford a tough end to this investigation. one is if the president doesn't come to an interview, i send him a grand jury subpoena and maybe have to litigate that in corporate. the other is concluding this investigation, wrapping up his findings and maybe writing a report to congress that doesn't reflect the president's side of the story. so i think what we see here from the special counsel is going really above and beyond his duty showing a lot of transparency, showing, you know, the exact questions, some of the exact questions he wants to ask the president in a good-faith effort to try to get him to sit down and do an interview. >> you don't think in any way this is meant to sort of lull the president into some kind of false security some of his allies seem to be alluding to? >> no. i think it would be a mistake for the president to have a false sense of security going into an interview. as ken pointed out, these are the questions you could have written -- these are the questions the president's attorneys could have written themselves. there's a very different thing

read a question like what did you say -- what did you mean when you said this to lester holt? which is something everyone knows about. and what did you mean when you said the following to reince priebus in the oval office, only mueller would know that. >> so that is one of the questions, what are you talking about when you were in this interview with lester holt and you mentioned james comey. let's remind people what exactly that interaction was given that it is clearly significant now almost, by the way, one year to the day later. watch. >> i was going to fire comey. knowing there was no good time do it. and, in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story, it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. >> so, matt, given that question about that interview, given the other questions that you're seeing in this times report, what does that say to you about where bob mueller is going? >> look, he's trying to get to the president's state of mind when he took -- when he took a

series of extraordinary actions. firing jim comey, asking comey to back off the flynn investigation, constantly pressuring jeff sessions and having other inappropriate interactions with the justice department. is there some innocent explanation for why he did that? it's hard to imagine what it might be. but he's giving the president the opportunity to provide. or, was it a corrupt act by the president to try to obstruct justice? >> what's the incentive for somebody to share this information with the reporter? >> it's a great question. with any leak you look and wonder was this strategic or incompetence? if you look at the series of leaks from the trump legal team or people close to the president, you can hushlly land on the side of incomp fence the there's not much of a strategic reason for them to share these questions with the public pit suspect it was someone for whatever reason the trump legal team shared these with too wide a circle and they found their way into the pages of the "new york times." >> always a pleasure to have you on. i want to go to another headline relate to the russia investigation, something just

confirmed by nbc news. this is about robert mueller's boss. deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. i want to bring in msnbc's garrett hake who's on capitol hill. it's my understanding and correctmy if i'm wrong that you have your hands on some documents related to rosenstein. tell us about it. >> reporter: yeah. i have a one-page outline of what would be impeachment articles against deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. this would be something that would theoretically be fired by house conservative, froim caucus members. this is between the house conservatives and the justice department. some of these folks like meadows have complained for a long time that they think rosenstein is slow walking requests of theirs tho produce doomts documents, text message, information as to how the department of justice opened its fisa warrant applications, and they see this threat of impeachment articles as a way to potentially

introduce that from him. this is highly unlikely to move forward in any serious way in a house of representatives still controlled by paul ryan or one of the future that might be controlled by democrats. however, it does escalate the threat a little bit, and it feeds into this feedback loop of house conservatives, the president's twitter, fox news, sort of this renewable cycle of outrage here at the justice department from folks who are very much more closely allied with the president than with the house leadership who they would need to secure the port from were this a serious threat to go after the deputy ag. >> before i let you go, this is kind of a twik question because i know congress is out on recess but is there any represent action that you've seen online about the "new york times" reporting about these questions for the president? apparently that the tweshl counsel's putting together or is it quiet? >> reporter: it's relatively quiet. had is one of those instances where members of the senate are probably very happy to be at home in their districts and not up here having to take questions

about this from me today. >> well, put your feet up, my friend. thank you, garrett hake over on capitol hill. we want to get to the nbc exclusive that we told you about a couple minutes ago at the top of the show. it's about white house chief of staff john kelly. eight current and forther white house officials say that at times kelly is casting himself as saving the country from disaster and has repeatedly insulted his boss president trump referring to the commander and chief as an idiot. some people say he this expect kelly to leave by july, but other say this might be anybody's guess. with us now is my colleague cara lee, the lead by line on that story. and also washington correspondent from the "new york times" and nbc fribtor charlie savage. carol, good to have you onset. >> thanks for having me. >> the story hars been in the either for 12, 16 hours now, right in what does it go from here today? we know the president is fair to say, ticked off about it. what happens inside the west

wing with john kelly and the rest of the staff? >> i think it it's different in the sense that this is out in the open and particular lit idiot comment which is getting the most attention. you know, things were so strange based on our reporting that it adds to the strain but it was shaping up to be an unsustainable situation. president and john kelly based on our reporting are just there's a lot of tension there, there's a lot of distrust and they seem to have really tired of each other. and similarly with the staff, they've gotten -- it's kelly's ways have worn a little bit thin on the staff in terms of not just, you know rrtd way he talks about the president and his -- the way he casts himself as somebody who they're lucky to have him, that he's saving the country. but also just in this sense that he has this public image of being this very organized person

who's bringing order to chaos and, you know, aides will say that he's actually not that organized and he's inkris discrete and disorganize and sometimes he makes bad problems worse. >> i'm not going to put on you the spot, carol, but alexey and charlie, what does it mean that everybody's will to talk about this? >> i think every is fett fed up and john kelly is perhaps not the disciplinarian or the straight shooter that he's painting himself to be. kelly tries to blow everything up and that's not keeping i nings line in the white house. he is adding to the chaos as much, if not more at times than the president is doing himself. >> this also isn't the first time that hag has come out because, carol, you broke the story that someone has insilted the president, i think back to rex tillerson and the moran comment that he pushed back on but outride right denied in the sour inskult list. people who work for the

president mere who have gone after or said comments that have been reported out, reported remarks here, if you notice when you look at this none of them work for donald trump anymore except for john kelly. >> yes. and, look, it's remarkable in the sense that the chief of staff is usually -- is a very -- it's arguably one of the most difficult jobs in washington tour the white house chief staff and it's very stressful. and under this president particularly so. and -- but usually you don't see people saying these things out in the open, that's what's so unusual. you might think them in your head or to your friend or spouse but you're not talking about them in front of other staff. >> john kelly is kind of publicly himself puft probably remember when he was out there speaking i think just recently and he was making a joke. it was clear that he was joke, right? but here's what he said. >> the last thing i wanted to do is walk away from one of the great honors of my life, being the secretary of homeland security. but did i something wrong and god punished me, i guess.

>> so, charlie, john kelly is kidding there, right? cheerily he's laughing. >> kidding, not kidding. >> kid, not kidding. >> obviously i won't ask who your sources are but i think question all assume these are sources that want president trump to fire john kelly. he made a lot of enemies when he came in and cut off access to trump, stop people from wandering into the oval office to chat up the president randomly all the time. the fact that people are trying to put this word out, which by the way, he denies unlike tillerson. >> here's the statement. he says i spend more time with the president than anyone else. we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. i think that word candid is interesting. he knows where i stand and he and i both know this story is, quote, total bs. >> the larger picture is after a very chaotic opening months in the white house, unbelievably chaotic, kelly did come in and to reorganize things and discipline things and became part of this narrative that there were these generals who

were around trump controlling the commander and chief and thinking in mcmaster and kelly and mattis, it fell apart with mcmaster and intentions for a while with kelly. but trump hates being managed, hates even more the image that he is this whooild chichild whoe managed. mattis rrtd third prong, seems to be totally immune from that so far. >> carol, i know had you an early morning and then a late night so i'm glad you're able to join us. after the break were we're keeping a close eye on that migrant caravan that's at the board they're morning. dozens of people waiting for their shot at a new life in the u.s. we'll talk about who's made it through, who's still stuck and why. plus, our interview with the former attorney general after the break. most familiar companies, but we make more than our name suggests. we're an organic tea company. a premium juice company. a coconut water company. we've got drinks for long days. for birthdays. for turning over new leaves.

and we make them for every moment in every corner of the country. we are the coca-cola company, and we're proud to offer so much more. it was always our singular focus, a distinct determination. to do whatever it takes, use every possible resource. to fight cancer. and never lose sight of the patients we're fighting for. our cancer treatment specialists share

the same vision. experts from all over the world, working closely together to deliver truly personalized cancer care. specialists focused on treating cancer. using advanced technologies. and more precise treatments than before. working as hard as we can- doing all that we can- for everyone who walks through our doors. this is cancer treatment centers of america. and these are the specialists we're proud to call our own. treating cancer isn't one thing we do. it's the only thing we do. expert medicine works here. learn more at cancercenter.com cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now.

mr. elliot, what's your wiwifi?ssword? wifi's ordinary. basic. do i look basic? nope! which is why i have xfinity xfi. it's super fast and you can control every device in the house. [ child offscreen ] hey! let's basement. and thanks to these xfi pods, the signal reaches down here, too. so sophie, i have an xfi password, and it's "daditude". simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome.

right now this morning more than 100 migrants are waiting at the board border to see if they're going to be able to apply for asylum in the united states. so far, eight of them have been allowed in for asylum processing. a change from what we showed you 24 hours on this show. miguel is just over the boarder in tijuana, mexico. he is joining us live. are we expect anyone else to be let in today? what do you know? what have you heard? >> reporter: well, we still don't know at this hour. we were surprised by those eight. many of people here began to

spontaneously erupt into cheers when those eight migrants were able to present themselves for a sigh lum. we don't have any idea, cut custom and border patrol won't tell us if they more will be allowed in today. it's suspected that many of these families that more would be allowed go inside. we do expect many people tell us experts say that all 150 of these families at some point will be able to present their cases for asylum, but that certainly does not mean they'd be admitted inside the u.s. we're told the chances of actually getting asylum and getting residents in the u.s. is very, very difficult. you have a better chance of being denied or simply detained for months, even years at a time. as a matter of fact, we spoke to one immigration attorney. here's what she told us about the road so many of these families face ahead. >> it's incredibly challenging to prove a case for asylum particularly if you don't have access to police reports that you may have filed in your country zrournt access to witnesses to what happened to

you. >> reporter: so despite those challenges, as you can see out here many of these families still remain hunkered down. they all spent the night here overnight in cold conditions. some of them now have tarps and tents, but it is cold out here and they say they won't leave anytime soon. they are committed to their cause here. they say they have traveled for four weeks from central america, many of them traveling 3,000 miles in trech chacherous condi. this is all part of their process in presenting themselves for asylum. the families say they're not determined even by the rhetoric used by president trump saying that these families will not be welcomed into the united states. they remain resolute and say they will present themselves to border patrol, they will surrender and ask for asylum in the u.s. >> i want to bring in now alberto gonzalez, former attorney general and counsel for george w. bush. dean at the belmont college of law and author of the book "true, faith, and alegion juns".

thank you very much for coming on the show today. let me start with what we've been reporting down from the border. do you believe the president's response has been appropriate? >> i fully understand that the migrants are psych better life and as a father with young children i would probably do the same thing. but we do believe in lawful migration. and that's what is occurring on our southern border today. people are presenting their case for asylum and like they did in ellis island, for example, a century ago. and it's part of the notion that we are a nation of laws and that's what's occurring today. the individual stories are heartbreak, quite frankly, and i understand that they've committed themselves to this journey and committed to wait to see what happens and they're hopeful. if they can present appropriate evidence of persecution in their

home countries, there's an avenue for them to achieve asylum in this country. it's just a matter of going through the process. >> let me get to that idea of lawfulness, because in covering the white house that is something that comes up again and again. you know the president has tweeted this this migrant caravan he says that is openly defying our border shows how weak and ineffective u.s. immigration laws are. do you believe that these folks seeking asylum today, these migrants are openly defying our border? >> well, respectfully, i disagree with the president. for them, this is not open defiance of our laws. open defiance of, you know, anything we stand for. they are simply seeking a better life and they're going through the lawful process. obviously in order to begin that process we have to present themselves and that's what they're doing. and so they're are millions of people that have sought coming into this country in a lawful manner and that's what's occurring currently on our southern boarder. >> you had mentioned that you believe some of these migrants are coming to seek a better life.

they've been persecuted, threat wednesday violence in their home country, they're coming to get a better life for themselves and their famsly. based on the public comments you've heard from president trump, do you think he believes the same thing? that these are people seeking a better life? >> you know, i can't speak for the president. i can't look into his heart. i think the president might be wise to be more reflective about the conditions that individuals around the world find themselves in. america is the beacon of hope, a beacon of opportunity. and all they're doing, many are simply seeking a better life. on the other hand, we are a nation of laws and the president does have an obligation 10 to sure th -- to ensure that we are not admitting people that want to commit terrorists asks and that's a very important function of this president. >> i want to ask you about the other big headline of the day, the special counsel's reported questions for the president. some of these come out. some of them relate to somebody who now has your old job,

attorney general jeff sessions for example asking the president he reportedly what he thought and did regarding the recusal of attorney general session, what efforts he went through get him to try to change his mind. i'd like to see what you make of these questions. what does this signal to you about the special counsel investigation? >> first of rarl don't knall, if they represent verbatim kus questions from the office. i don't know the source of these questions. the topics covered by these questions, to me, are not surprising. they fall in the general area of possible obstruction of justice, possible financial crimes, possible cooperation with the russian government, cooperation between members of the trump campaign and the russian government. so the topics themselves don't really surprise me. >> okay. >> i would be surprised knowing robert mueller as i do, i would be surprise if this information was leaked by the mueller team. so, again, i don't know the source of these questions. >> more broadly, if president

bush talked about you the way that president trump refers to his attorney general where are what would you have done? >> well, i had the kind of relationship with bres president bush where i could simply go to the oval office and ask him do you want me to resign? because if you do i will. because the attorney general serves at the pleasure of the president and if the president no longer has pleasure in your service then from my perspective the honorable thing to do is to leave. but we have to understand there's a special relationship that we perhaps don't appreciate between the president and jeff sessions. and, you know, we've seen this criticism now for months. >> sure. >> and yet sessions replains in office. it's simply maybe the way that this president deals with this attorney general. i will say there's a danger because the constant criticism of the leadership of the department of justice does hurt the morale of the kreerp individuals that work there day in and day out for the american people. that i am concerned about. >> i got ten seconds left but i wonder if you worry that the

comments broadly erode common trust in the doj, if that's concerning to you? >> that is kerk to me. i think there needs to be care in the department of justice, the work of the department of justice is characterized. >> thank you very much for coming on the show. plenty to talk about today. appreciate you joining us. after the break we want to talk bay brutal primary race ending its last week in indiana where the three gop senate candidates are not shying away from slinging mud but they're a whole lot more civil when this comes to president trump. we head there to find out why to see how voters are taking it all in. that's next. you ok there, kurt? we're about to move. karate helps... relieve some of the house-buying... stress. at least you don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. call geico. geico... helps with... homeowners insurance? rok from slinging mud but they're a rok

♪ south l.a. is very medically underserved. when the old hospital closed people in the community lived with untreated health problems for years. so, with the county's help we built a new hospital from the ground up and having citi as an early investor worked as a signal to others to invest. with citi's help we built a wonderful maternity ward and we were able to purchase an mri machine. we've made it possible for the people who live here to lead healthier lives and that's invaluable. ♪

we are back now way look at your morning's headlines. ed it, president trump is giving himself another 30 days to work his deal-making magic. again, delaying new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports for key allies. he's backing off for now as his team tries to get foreign leaders to make some concessions. they had been set to go into effect today against the eu, mexico, and canada. also, a historic decision from australia. they're ruling that the number three official in catholic church must stand trial on several charges of sexual abuse. cardinal george pell is the most senior roman catholic official to be charged with crimes.

pell has denied the allegations and is pleading not guilty. and this morning, teachers in arizona are walking out yet again. it's the story we'll be covering right here on this show. this is them from 24 hours ago chanting their slogan red for ed. today marks day four of the strike. teachers are promising they will keep walk out as they look at a proposal from the governor. they have kept the state's 1 million kids out of school since last thursday. in one week indiana will decide which republican will go up against democratic senator joe donnelly who's considered one of the most endangered senate democrats this year. local race, big national implan occasions. according to nbc news, the three-way republican primary is shaping up to be a fire squad. we caught up with one of the republicans trying to run against senator donnelly. she's with us now. it's great to have you on the show. it's your first time on as a

reporter. walk us through what you found in indiana. >> reporter: we did catch up with mike who is one of the people taking on john o'donnelly in november. he's running as one of the businessmen outside of politics who's trying to bring that outsider knowledge into the white house. he is saying he will put the president up for a nobel peace prize and he uses praise frays like crooked hillary and witch hunt. so all that sounds familiar to us. as much as that sounds like a 2016 campaign reframe maybe rehashing past, it's a good pitch to republican indiana voters. >> shelby, county, indiana is trump country. >> if you're a democrat in this county you don't admit it. >> reporter: republicans are focussed on joe donnelly. >> how important is it to you guys that whoever the republican nominee is votes with trump?

>> very important. i think that's why we got get rid of donnelly. >> wee got to beat him, as far as i'm concerned. >> that's a message gop hopefuls hear loud and clear. messer. >> they want conservative leaders. >> to todd rokita. >> fake news, deep state crooked hillary clinton. >> the mueller witch hunt. >> the tramp campaign asked him to take down lawn signs that made it look like the president endorsed him. meanwhile, mike brawn is running as the political outsider touting his success in business and take the establishment by surprise. >> you can pick out the business guy in this lineup? >> but back in shelbiville, the chairman sees it differently. >> it's almost become comical because they're all just like i love him so much, i love him so much, i love him so much. so it's like who loves him the most? >> reporter: voters here still embrace the trump agenda. >> we should have a fundraiser across the country and everybody thinks we should all give 20

bucks, we could probably -- >> even tariffs that could threaten indiana farmers. >> i have a farm, i understand that that could impact it. but i think in the long run things will balance out. >> and if they it doesn't they want a senator who would back hooshers over trump. >> not lock step with the president, do what's right for indiana. >> reporter: and of course what's happening in indiana is something that we're seeing across other states where democrats are playing defense in states that went big for trump in 2016. west virginia, missouri, north dakota, places like that. what plays out here could be a nice story for the nation at large as we get closer to the primaries. this morning, new comments from the israeli prime minister aimed at president trump to try to get him to scrap the nuclear deal well iran. we're lining up what happens if the u.s. does pull out. and a counterintuitive argument about how it might affect negotiations with north korea.

do you want $4.95 commissions for stocks, $0.50 options contracts? $1.50 futures contracts? what about a dedicated service team of trading specialists? did you say yes? good, then it's time for power e*trade. the platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. looks like we have a couple seconds left. let's do some card twirling twirling cards e*trade. the original place to invest online.

and it's time to get outside. pack in even more adventure with audible. with the largest selection of audiobooks. audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. or discover magic when you hit the open road. with the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. and for just $14.95 a month you get a credit,

good for any audiobook. if you don't like it exchange it any time. no questions asked. you can also roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. so take audible with you this summer... on the road... on the trail... or to the beach. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. no matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. text summer17 to 500500 to start listening today.

woman: i stay active by staying in rhythm. and to keep up this pace, i drink boost optimum. boost optimum with 5 in 1 advanced nutrition helps support muscle, energy, bone, normal immune function, and vision. boost optimum. be up for life. this regime, the preemnet tariffs regime of our time in which, you know, it's death to america, death to israel, this regime had a secret nuclear weapons program and they're trying a very bad deal to get a nuclear arsenal. >> that's prime minister benn t

netanyahu making that case net again that oorg arguing iran is still a threat. arguing they should scrap the deal. president trump is now under a deadline. he has to make a decision by the end of next week. we're being joined from our london bureau this morning. what are you hearing from iranian officials about the latest charges now from israel's prime minister? >> reporter: well, worn out, useless and shameful allegations are how tehran are describing the claim of a see crete nuclear program calling netanyahu an fain muss liar who has been exposed as childish and ridiculous. they said the move by netanyahu was a stount influence the president, president trump's decision on whether the u.s. should stick to the nuclear deal calling netanyahu the who he who can't stop crying wolf. they were a rehash of old allegations already dealt with by the international atomic energy agency.

they referred to a report themselves from 2015 which it found some activity in 2003 relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices, but also it said the same report had no credible indications of activities in iran relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices after 2009. now, israel has said it's going hand over these massive pages of documents and cds to the agencies and we'll have to see if there's a smoking gun there. but it remains to be seen. now, iran's defense minister who's a former revolutionary guard leader fired back in morning warning israel to stop playing dangerous games. otherwise they get a strong and unpredictable response from iran that they'll regret. but these accusations the president and the secretary of state are looking for to justify exiting the deal. i can tell you hardline element from iran are starting to push for some sort of retaliation on israel for the attacks they

carried out on syria making this a very, very volatile situation between these two arch enemies. the slightest miscalculation could lead to things sparking off and the stakes are very high if they do spark off. hallie. >> alli, thank you. i'm joined by middle east policy expert and former direct for for iran, afghanistan affairs in the security council and leachedy mckinley and charlie savage "the new york times." i want to know what you make of these claims, the latest ones from netanyahu, and the way he went about doing it. speaking in english, doing, you know, usedinging visual aides. is he clearly amg his message at one person in the oval office. >> he is. and i think american public opinion more broadly to support trump, which as he goes into the midterm elections in november to solidify his base, get them excited that he's doing the right thing in their view on north korea, iran. all his campaign proms he's keeping.

i think netanyahu is very much in sync with trumpet just had secretary of state pompeo there, i believe they're very much in sync. the allegations are nothing new so it doesn't give them any new ammunition but it helps build public opinion. >> here's the president's response himself in the rose garden and was specifically asked about this almost minutes after netanyahu spoke. >> that doesn't mean i wouldn't negotiate a new agreement, we'll see what happens. but i think if anything what's happening today is and what's happened over the last little while and what we've learned has really shown that i've been 100% right. >> what happens if he does scrap the deal? is it realistic that iranese going to renegotiate to have that expectation? >> it's politically incorrect in washington today, but i've had a lot of experience negotiating with the iranians. i negotiated with them after 9/11. they will negotiate on anything and they sprt they've proven so.

the current president row hahny was their lead negotiator in 2003 to 2005 on the nuclear program when they were really deceived by the united states and we pulled out of those negotiations. these guys are not new to if the they've been negotiating for a while. for them it's a core national security interest to have some sort of better relationship with the west. not to be best friends, but some better relationship. their neighborhood is extremely dangerous. not only al qaeda and isis but saudi arabia are real threats to them. so for iranians as they stian incident now from almost 20 years, they can actually negotiate particularly with europeans and get the united states to calm down. >> you have a counterinta wative to ask you about but i want to get this this idea of the fact that netanyahu is making claims, he's staying they have h a robust nuclear program. >> that's not in dispute. what was in piss dispute is what the white house sent out at 7:23

yesterday a statement that said iran has a robust clandestine nuclear weapons program. that's a big "d." then 9 clock last night on the phone being directed to this new updated white house statement correction, had a robust, one letter with a significant difference. i was told it was a clerical error, it was a typo, alexey and charlie. it says a couple of things, there's a lack of a rigorous security process or something that's worse which is that they are politicizing information by being deliberately misleading with facts to sort of bolster their decision prematurely to pull out of the iran deal. >> there's actually a bigger political story which is fascinating. on april 12th during his confirmation hearing then pompeo testified that we don't need congress, you don't need to worry about the administration nixing the iran deal because iran wasn'tration for weapons

before then and we don't think they have nuclear weapon after. all of a sudden he goes to israel, he comes back, the talking points have changed. now they have to worry about this nuclear program of the iranians. it's not really just a typo here. it's real political chaos. >> charlie quick final thoughts. >> all this is playing out against the backdrop of these negotiations with north korea. the fact that the united states may pull out of this deal based perhaps on misunderstandings or false representations of what's in it, what's some of the clips you didn't show from yesterday was describing the view in totally false terms. building a weapon, i don't see why north korea would say this is a negotiating partner that we can strike a deal with. >> i want to get to more on this. we're out of time. thank you for coming on set. charlie and alexey hang out because after the break senator john mccain in his very first excerpts from his new memoir. we'll talk about his latest comments about the commander and cheever and what he's saying now about his own future on capitol hill. to launch thousands of attacks.

luckily security analysts and watson are on his side. spotting threats faster and protecting his data with the most securely encrypted main frame in the world. it's a smart way to eat lunch in peace. sweet, oblivious peace.

i've got a nice long life ahead. it's a smart way to eat lunch in peace. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital

that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel - and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now - and down the road.

i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. woman: i stay active by staying in rhythm. and to keep up this pace, i drink boost optimum. boost optimum with 5 in 1 advanced nutrition helps support muscle, energy, bone, normal immune function, and vision. boost optimum. be up for life. so today senator john mccain in the middle of a battle with brain cancer is making clear how he feels about trump in excerpts released from his new book. we are joined from the senator's home state of arizona by joe. john mccain has never been a guy

that's been shy about speaking his mind, particularly when it comes to the man sitting in the oval office. right? >> reporter: yeah. that's right. that's one of the reasons why they call him the maverick. the long-time senator is definitely not holding back in his new back. in an excerpt published monday, he slams president trump and opened up about his future on the hill as he battles brain cancer. this morning senator john mccain seasons mincing words on trump. writing the restless wave about the president. he's declined to distinguish the actions of our government from the crimes of despotic ones. the appearance of toughness or the -- >> the 86-year-old prisoner of war and one time nominee for president is battling stage 4 brain cancer. he reveals his current term is his last. if i hadn't admitted that to

myself before this summer, the cancer diagnose acts as ungentle persuasion. i can speak my mind without fearing the consequences much, and i can vote my conscious without worry. but he also expresses concern about the divided state of politics. republicans and democrats can be good neighbors, loving parents, loyal americans, decent human beings. i don't remember another time in my life when so many americans considered someone's partisan affiliation of test of whether that person was entitled to their respect. mccain has been recovering at home in arizona after intestinal surgery last month and undergoing physical therapy related to hiss cancer. on monday his wife tweeted that former vice president joe biden visited the family over the weekend. a day after a cryptic tweet by mccain's own son-in-law. john hugged me tonight. he asked me to take care of meghan, i said i would. it was written in a now deleted

tweet. the family is facing his declining health as he looks to leave behind a legacy of leadership. he writes the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. i hate very much to leave it. spoke my hero robert jordan in for whom the bell tolls and i do too. i hate to leave it, but i don't have a complaint, not one. it's been quite a ride. >> reporter: in light of mccain's comments about the president, we did reach out to the white house for comment. but did not hear back. mccain's memoir is scheduled to be released on may 22nd. >> joe live for us in phoenix this morning. thank you. alexi and charlie are back with me. it's interesting to look at what will likely be some of the final words john mccain is talking about. his life and legacy. he talks about civility and says if you don't like the way politics are or how divisive this is, what are you doing? are you voting and showing up

for primaries? if you don't like the tone, show up. >> right. there's an interesting pew research study last week that showed for the first time in 8 years democratic voters are less willing to have elected officials who compromise with republicans. only 49 % of them compared to 70% in july. it shows what mccain is talking at of having people come together and not use politics as a way to respect or not respect someone. >> it's a sad moment, that deleted tweet from his son-in-law makes pretty clear that a lion of the senate, regardless of parties, is not going to be with us forever. and i -- just for viewers at home within washington, there's a quiet conversation happening about when if he does have to step down at some point for health reasons, what does that mean for the 2018 elections. as i understand it, republicans who control the state of arizona legislatively governor's house and the supreme court think that the laws is a little ambiguous.

when can someone be appointed and there has to be a special election. they think if someone is appointed before the end of this month, that person would have to stand for special election this cycle which republicans don't want to do. past june, they can stay until 2020. >> charlie, alexi, thank you for being on. boo we'll be right back with today's big picture. ♪ ♪ (baby crying) ♪ ♪ don't juggle your home life and work life without it.

♪ ♪ and don't forget who you're really working for without it. ♪ ♪ funding to help grow your business... ♪ ♪ another way we have your back. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it.

we're back with today's big picture. today it's a big deal for

everybody on our show today. it's from a friend of "morning joe." a senior producer there named jack. that's jack. and that's the producer for this show, theresa, as jack was asking her to spend the rest of their lives together. the two met five years ago today in an office that is now home to late night with seth meyers. appropriate that he asked her to marry him back at that very same spot earlier this morning, today. jack tell us he loves her with all his heart and thanks henry at late night for helping to pull off the perfect surprise. miller hawkings with "morning joe" is the photographer here. we love you guys. we're so excited. here's another shot. the two of them literally went back to work. not eve an joke. this is them at the elevator as she came back to finish her segments for this show and he went back for his. he hope you pop some bottles. >> wait a minute. >> that's the story of this

place. >> they went back to work? >> they went back to work. you can't say take the morning off. theresa is sitting at her desk. we have champagne at her desk. >> yes, you can say take the morning off. are you kidding me? >> give her the rest of the week off. i approve. i'm good with it. >> thank you for that. that was a great way to kick off the show. much appreciated. >> thank you. >> welcome to cable news. congratulations. now, could you wrap up your segment because we have a show to do? >> see you, hallie. >> bye, guys. good morning. we're here for the day. >> it is tuesday, may first. let's get started. the major twist in the russia investigation. this morning we're getting a look at the reported list of wide ranging questions the special counsel robert mueller wants to ask trump. >> "the new york times" releasing dozens of questions it says mueller