colleague, ayman mohyeldin. >> i share that, but also human kind to see something like that. >> one small step for man -- >> kind. isn't that the original. >> that was one small step for -- >> womankind and humankind. >> i'm ayman mohyeldin here at msnbc headquarters in new york. from a bombshell admission to a backtrack. the fallout inside the white house and the damage to the trump administration's defense after the acting chief of staff initially broke with the president's story on ukraine and as the pressure on the president increases, he is throwing punches in friendly territory. >> they come after me, but what they're really doing is they're coming after the republican party and what they're really, really doing is coming after and fighting you, and we never lose. >> last night's rally could hold important clues for the president's 2020 strategy.

plus, gunfire and grenades in syria, even after a u.s.-led agreement to pause the fighting was announced yesterday, president trump hailed the deal as great for the kurds, but what did turkey gain in the process? we start this hour with the growing fallout over the comments made by the president's top aide as he tries to walk back a big claim about the president and ukraine. both republicans and democrats are calling nick mulvaney's initial comments deeply damaging to the president's impeachment defense. in a rare white house briefing mulvaney acknowledged that aid was withheld from ukraine for political reasons and told reporters to, quote, get over it. watch this. >> did he also mention to me in the past the corruption related to dnc server? absolutely. no question about that. but that's it. that's why we held up the money. >> just to be clear, what you just described is a quid pro quo. it is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the democratic server happens as

well. >> we do that all the time with foreign policy, and vi news for everybody, get over it. there's going to be political influence in foreign policy. >> all right. so after that appearance, mulvaney then backtracked, blaming the media for twistsiin his very remarks. a central figure to the probe is announcing his resignation from the trump administration. we have a lot to get to. let's go straight to washington, d.c., nbc hons nichols is live at the white house and nbc's geoff bennett is live on capitol hill. hans, let me go straight to you first. a lot of people are trying to figure out what the heck is that all about? have we got any sense whatsoever as to why nick mulvaney took that position and how importantly how it went down with president trump? >> we never know precisely how it goes down with the president. he seems to be supporting his

acting chief of staff when he was asked about it. the general view from the white house is this is all in the press' head. we're misinterpreting it and in the words of the press secretary, in a tizzy about this even though when you look at what the acting chief of staff said and you can compare it to the quid pro quo, it's clear what he was trying to say. it's also clear because then they put out the clarifying statement after the facts. it's also clear to the president's legal team, jay sekulow. he said the president's legal counsel was not involved in acting chief of staff nick mulvaney's press briefing. >> what are you learning from lawmakers on the hill in terms of how these comments will factor into the impeachment probe? >> for all of this talk about a quid pro quo, to be clear, the quid is a crime, sfliet

democrats, house investigators don't have to prove the pro quo part of this in order to move forward. the law makes clear it is a crime for any person to accept anything of value from a foreign national in doeks a u.s. election. nancy pelosi says president trump admitted to that and that's why she's on firm ground related to this impeachment inquiry. to what happened yesterday in the press briefing room, adam schiff made the point that it only further justifies the reason why democrats are moving forward with impeachment in the first place. take a look at this. >> with his acknowledgment now that military aid to a military ally, an ally battling russia as we speak was held in part out of desire by the president to have ukraine investigate the dnc server or democrats of 2016,

things have just gone from very, very bad to much, much worse. >> reporter: so one of the other things chairman schiff has said is it's very apparent to him that this july 25th call between presidents trump and zelensky didn't happen in isolation. this inquiry is trying to fig yaur out what happened before the call and after. next tuesday house investigators are set to hear from bill taylor, the state department official who said in that text chain said, it would be crazy for the president to try to hold up ukraine military aid for a political ask. >> geoff, let me get your thoughts on what we heard from gordon sondland's testimony. i know you tried to doorstep him as he made his way into congress. they were grilling him yesterday. what, if anything, did they learn? >> the main takeaway, ayman, it was president trump himself who delegated rudy giuliani to run

this influence campaign as a means of ukrainians dig up or manufacture damaging information about the bidens. this notion that rudy giuliani was freelancing it according to sondland was not the case at all. a lot of this testimony was self-absolving. one of the things that sondland says is he was disappointed by president trump's direction for him to work with giuliani, but that he thought it was the only way. sondland thought working with giuliani was the only way to change president trump's mind. this echoes what house investigators have heard from current and former state department officials as they go about trying to build the public case against president trump. >> lanchans, let me circle back you. today is the day rick perry and mick mulvaney were supposed to hand over documents in their impeachment inquiry. a, do we know if they'll meet that deadline? and b, what do we know about rick perry's resignation and what may have played into that

decision? >> the first part, i'd unlikely. rick perry was asked about this earlier today. he said his general counsel is still looking at it. the line from the white house is consistent, they go back to the nine-page letter, that they will not be complying with any requests for documents until there's some sort of more formal process. i think for mulvaney the answer is clear. perry held out the possibility he may do it. we've seen divergent views. the defense department decided not to comply. the state department, certain officials are honoring those subpoenas into's unclear what the rest of the national security council will do. right now i believe those are depositions and not subpoenas, timorry son and alex vin man, who nfc officials we could learn about next week. we have this moment from per ry on how mick mulvaney did.

>> i think he was straight up with what he said. >> straight up how? >> people trying to connect doubts, when the facts -- by basically saying that there was no quid pro quo in the sense of what those folks out there would like for it to be, we're going to give you this money unless you go investigate joe biden and his son. i never heard that said anywhere, any time, in any conversation. >> reporter: just a quick note. it's a lot easier for the white house to ask officials not to testify when they're still officials and still employed by the administration. >> hans nichols at the white house, jevgs thank you. let's bring in melanie sa known nah, a congressional reporter for politico. let me begin with you, barrett. how legally damaging is what we've laid out for mick mulvaney, both his initial comments, attempt to walk it back by blaming it on the

media's interpretation despite the fact it was live and recorded and to some extent what rick perry said, his comments were straight up. >> i don't think this was a good legal strategy to the extent this was a strategy at all. it's not a defense to come out and say, yes, we did the crime, but we did it for okay purposes, we didn't think it was for a corrupt reason. witnesses are there to provide facts, not to answer that ultimate conclusion of was this corruption or was it okay. if anything, i think this was probably a political strategy and one we've seen repeated both from the president and members of his staff which is to the extent there are bad facts, to kind of own them, draw the sting out of them. so they can say we're not hiding from anything, we're being transparent, we're telling you about all these negative things that the media is trying to focus on and there's nothing wrong with it. >> to that point, even the president's personal law was distancing himself from

mulvaney's comments. at one point mick mulvaney tried to hide behind there was a way to allow that to be used as cover. the justice department of justice saying it doesn't exist. >> some investigation that the aid had to be withheld in order to get this critical piece of information to help the investigation, presumably the justice department would, a, have knowledge of it and, b, would have been included in these type of discussions. to the extent the justice department is distancing themselves from it is significant. >> pretty incredible to see. melody, president trump and higgs allies have been claiming for weeks that there is no quid pro quo. we went back and found a few of those moments. watch. >> contrast that with the president's -- transcript of the president's phone call with president zelensky, there was no quid pro quo, no pressure. >> we do know there was definitely no quid pro quo.

it came out over and over. it was asked probably 20 different times and we know for a fact that in this expert witness' testimony -- >> i think that was good because a lot of what the democrats had been raising, alleging an illegal quid pro quo was not, in fact, backed up by the transcript. >> they zee see in the call there was no quid pro quo. with rudy, rudy was speakieekin corruption. >> you have mick mulvaney saying absolutely there was, get over it. do you think that admission of a quid pro quo will result in a rebuke of the president from the republicans or some of the republicans at least that we just played there for you, or do you think they would be even more reluctant now to politically defend him publicly? >> look, i think it's definitely blowing up their messaging strategy. they put all their eggs in the

no quid pro quo basket. it's back to square one the republicans. so far what i've gotten is a mix of i didn't see the comments or mulvaney has already walked them back or i want to wait and see and get all the facts before i comment and get a decision on impeachment. republicans can't cover their eyes and ears forever. at some point they're going to be asked to go on the record and support this. this is a huge problem for the white house to no longer be able to say there was no quid pro quo. what you will likely see is them saying something along the lines of what mulvaney said in the white house press briefing, yes, maybe there was this arrangement, there was nothing wrong with it, nothing illegal. essentially what you'll see is republicans for the most part moving the goal post. still at the end of the day, even though republicans are privately very concerned with some of these allegations, politically it's just not wise for them to come out against the president when their base and their district and their

co are still backing the president overwhelmingly. that is what you hear a lot from republicans on capitol hill. >> berit, i want to get your thoughts on how strong the democratic's case is. they've got 12 issued subpoenas since the impeachment investigation began, about 40 hours of testimony. we have some of that on the screen. this week alone fiona hill, george kent, gordon sondland, michael mckinley interesting behind closed doors. being told rudy giuliani ran a shadow shakedown in ukraine and was given a role on ukraine policy, learned state department officials were sidelined. you've got pick rememberry, gordon sondland and kurt volker appointed to oversee the ukraine policy, calling themselves the three amigos. and former national security adviser john bolton was so disturbed by what he called a drug deal and giuliani referred

to as a hand grenade in all this. when you look at the initial weeks of this and all the information coming out from people at the center of this, how strong is the case that democrats have for impeachment? >> if you start from the central premise of all of this which was that whistle-blower complaint, what we've seen in the last few vehicles is really each witness and every document that at least we heard about, that we've got attorney reporting about has crop rated those initial statements by the whistle-blower. it doesn't seem we've seen anything yet that's tried to discredit the things the whistle-blower says. each of these is sort of an additional piece of this larger mow san josic. >> tried to discredit him. >> of course. what you've had is this steady stream of career people without political aspiration, without some sort of a political into to their testimony coming in and providing testimony that only backs up things that the whistle-blower had written about in the first instance. so it seems that the democrats are really putting together a strong case. i don't think any one witness

will be the single thing that blows everything open. it's all little pieces of the puzzle here coming together. at least from what we've been saying, it seems like they're presenting a strong case right now. >> melanie, to that point, next week will be a busy one for vaiters, set to hear depositions from six different officials. are lawmakers say who they want to hear from the most in this investigation going forward from the names that are there? >> there are a couple of people that popped up that aren't on the list. they want to hear from john bolton, former national security adviser who reportedly was at odds with mick mulvanemulvaney, didn't want to be involved with, quote, the drug deal can in regards to ukraine. they also want to hear from mick mulvaney. him going up in the press room briefing raises the question as to whether or not he's given up his executive privilege claim. there's still other depositions coming forward. when you talk to democrats on

capitol hill, they say they're somewhat surprised by how eager people have been able to come in and talk to them. so who knows who else is going to pop up, but there are a bunch of deadlines, a bunch more witnesses, this impeachment inquiry is moving full steam ahead. >> melanie and berit, thank you for your analysis on all that. fighting ravaging syria's border even after the u.s. and turkey agreed to halt the violence. up next, a live report from the ground where our nbc crews have heard gunfire and grenades throughout the morning. james mattis hurling a few zingers at the expense of his own boss, after the president called him the world's most overrated general. here is how mattis hit back at dinner last night. >> i'm not just an overrated general, i am the greatest, the world's most overrated. >> i would tell you, too, i'm honored to be considered that by

donald trump because he also called meryl streep an overrated actress. so i guess i'm the meryl streep of generals. frankly, that sounds pretty good to me. to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems.

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intense fighting can be heard in parts of northern syria this morning despite an announced agreement between the united states and turkey to temporarily press pause on the military operation taking place

there. the five-day halt in fighting. nbc's aaron mclaughlin is along the turkish side of the border with syria for us. erin, we're getting a reality check of what is playing out on the ground. today was to be to be the first day of that pause of military operations. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: at the moment, ayman, there's an intense dust storm happening here. i don't know if you can see the wind t rain and the dust we're experiencing right now. other than that, pretty quiet. just a mile behind me is the kurdish city abutting the syrian/turkey border. earlier this morning it was a different situation. we saw heavy clashes, grenades, automatic gunfire and mortar fire. we also heard later in the day from turkish president erdogan who said that was

disinformation, that there were no clashes, that that was all speculative. i want to play for you a bit of what we saw at the border this morning. take a listen. [ gunfire ]. >> reporter: meanwhile, the spokesperson for the kurds, the sdf is saying that there's air strikes and artillery fire continuing in this area throughout the day. we have seen neither of those things, but both sides of this conflict at the moment are stretching the truth. >> we're going to get you some shelter as that storm worsens. thank you for the update. let's bring in ambassador ryan crocker. he is now the diplomat in residence at princeton university. ambassador, great to have you with us. you've spent many years in the region. you certainly know it better than most.

you know the players. it seems that turkey has achieved its goal. in fact, hear is what senator mitt romney said on the senate floor just yesterday. >> the decision to abandon the kurds violates one of our most sacred duties. it strikes at american honor. what we have done to the kurds will stand as a bloodstain in the annuls of american history. was there no chance for diplomacy? are we so inept that turkey forced the hand of the united states of america? turkey? >> sir, let me pose that question to you. are we so weak and inept that turkey forced the hand of the united states in this? >> we are in no way weak. this administration has certainly proved its utter ineptitude. we have gone from a bad situation to what i think is a real crisis, a crisis of our interest and a crisis, quite frankly, of our moral values.

we are abandoning an ally that is under fire from a country with whom we have an alliance. that would not have happened had it not happened for the president's very ill advised comments that we're out of here, do what you want. >> let me play for you, sir, president trump at a rally last night. he touted the turkey deal, as you can expect he would. here is part of what he had to say. >> it was unconventional what i did. i said they're going to have to fight a little while. sometimes you have to let them fight a little while. sometimes you have to let them fight, like two kids in a lot. you've got to let them fight and then you pull them apart. >> two kids in a lot, you've got to let them fight and pull them am part. what's your reaction to the way the president characterizes what is happening between the turks and the kurds. it seems a lot more serious than two kids fighting in a lot. >> i think those comments demonstrate his ineptitude and his indifference.

people are fighting and dying out there, and most of the dying is being done by the kurds who were our allieds throughout the fight against the islamic state. they paid dearly to help us defeat isis. now they're paying the price in blood because the presidencies it basically as a school yard brawl. it's anything but. the violence will stop when the turks have everything they want. if they don't have everything they want, they're going to continue action until they get it. we're not going to be pulling anybody apart. in effect, we created this crisis, we created this conflict that we're watching right now, again, by the president's completely ill advised statement that we are leaving. this has had a huge impact on our forces, by the way. some of our very top troops have been out in that region for fighting this campaign against isis with the kurds by their sides. they had to be evacuated,

basically, they had to pull out so fast it looked like a retreat, a route, leaving our allies to face the consequences. it is, frankly, not american. >> retired admiral william mcraven, oversaw the osama bin laden raid just wrote, and the headline is quite jarring "our republic is under attack from the president." he writes, if we don't care about our values, if we don't care about duty and honor, if we don't help the weak and stand up against oppression and injustice. what will happen to the kurds, the afghans, the syrians who we also tried to arm and defend at one point and the millions of people under the boot of tear any are left abandoned by their failing states. if our promises are meaningless, how will our allies ever trust us again? is there anyone in the administration who can make this

case to the president or is he simply tone deaf on thissish yoo u? >> first, let me say there is no greater patriot and no one who has done more for this country in tough fights than bill mcraven. as for the president, look, there are lots of smart people in the state department, in the department of defense. you have an entire foreign service that knows how the world works. the president doesn't care. he has his own little universe inside his head, and he will simply say and do whatever he wants without regard to consequences. look, ayman, this is very serious stuff. i know we're in a great froth on the whole impeachment thing. look, if a president could be impeached for dereliction of duty and indifference to america's national security, he'd be a prime candidate. >> let me get your final thoughts on one tling as someone who served in previous

administrations. president trump has been very critical in past administrations, particularly the obama administration and the way they handled the syrian civil war at its onset. essentially, i know you served in that region under four presidents. could what's happening now, could that have been prevented if other administrations took definitive actions to stabilize syria? could any administration have solved what we're seeing now between the turks and the kurds? >> i think the obama administration has a lot to answer for with respect to syria, the famous red line incident, the absence of any pushback against the russians as they proceeded to kill tens of thousands of syrian civilians. that was then. this is now. sadly, president trump seems to be following the obama playbook, stand back, disengage, doesn't matter if our friends and allies get killed. it's not us. so the mistakes that president obama made have been compounded

by president trump, following the same playbook. >> former ambassador ryan crocker, thank you very much for your time and analysis on this. president trump on the attack last night in front of a friendly audience. how his rally in dallas could be a preview of what is to come in 2020 as the gop tries to keep the train on the tracks in the state of texas. rice. ready to upgrade. moving in. moving on up. or making big moves. deliveries ship free and come with a 100-night free trial. no matter your budget. or your sleep style. we have quality options for everyone. so search and shop. save and snooze. and rest easy, knowing that we've got your back. literally. that's what you get, when you've got wayfair. so shop now.

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he has impeachment hanging over his head. administration officials distancing themselves from him. he's taking political fire over syria. under the weight of it all, president trump came out swinging at his rally in texas, his third rally in a week. who is the whistle-blower? we have to know. is the whistle-blower a spy? >> that crazy nancy. she is crazy! and shifty schiff? how about this guy. where are those emails, hillary? they may find those 33,000 emails. every major democratic running for president wants to abolish all production of oil and natural gas. i think they want to go to

windmills. >> joining me now char lie sykes editor add large of the ball work and jeremy peters from "the new york times." both are msnbc contributors. charley, let me begin with you. you tweeted about the barrage of headlines that are impacting the president. it's a list we're all familiar with. the president's comments about it, on and on and on. with all of this, he continues to go to these rallies and lash out against some of his political rivals. explain the dynamic of what is happening. >> there's no secrets about trump world. this is exactly what you're going to see in 2020. he's going to be defiant. he's in sort of the, yeah, i did it, so what mode. get over it, mode. counting on his base to stick with him. look, privately a lot of republicans that i've talked to

are appalled, they're nervous, but they're counting on the democrats to nominate somebody like elizabeth warren who will be a foil for the president and basically say no matter how awful i am, look what the democrats are going to do. so you're going to be seeing a lot more of that, as well as that message that they're not coming after me, they're coming after you. that's at the heart of the trump playbook. >> the fact he's held three in a week, what does that tell you about where his mind is right now? >> i think he's a lot more comfortable being out there with the adoring crowd than in the white house where he's under siege, where you have this tsunami of opposition coming. it's been a terrible week for him. you can argue yesterday was one of the worst weeks of his presidency. you're starting to see admirable writing op-ed pieces in "the new york times," republicans being more willing to speak out against him. you're seeing house republicans

voting against his syria policy and you're seeing that wall that he had created, the stonewalling against impeachment beginning to crack. what he's doing is going out on the road. what you just played is donald trump playing the greatest hits over and over again. so far his base is eating it up. >> i've lost how many times we've seen on this network and others, this is the worst week of his presidency. it seems like every other week qualifies for that. jeremy you reported on how president trump is trying to convey non-shah lance. what political benefits do you think he gains from going to these rallies and what do they give him? >> well, on a personal level, it's cathartic, he enjoys unburdening himself and lashing out at his opponents. watching these rallies is like watching a televised therapy session for the president. he loves it.

he's it up. he always has. i think what it does for him politically, though, is pretty interesting. it's what charlie said when he was alluding to this us-versus-them politics. by bonding himself to his base like he has, saying no, they're not coming after me, the president, they're coming after you the trump supporter, that really is at the core of his strength with his base and why we haven't seen the base peel away from him yet. it's pretty remarkable. when i talk to republicans, they continuously tell me how surprised they are that he has been able to hold on to that as steadily as he has. that's why what you just said, ayman, every other week we seem to say this is the worst week of his presidency, that's why i wouldn't venture a guess as to whether or not impeachment ultimately damages him or results in his conviction in the senate and removal from office.

i will just point this out, though, when richard nixon finally resigned in august of 1974, almost a year had passed from the time that -- a little more than a year passed from the time the white house taping system was revealed in congressional hearings. so it took a year for republicans to come around and finally say to him, okay, you've lost our support. so these things do take time if they happen at all. >> charlie, new polling from pew that found 54% of americans now back impeachment. that number grows rapidly almost week by week. pew has also found while majorities of republicans across all age categories disapprove of the impeachment inquiry, there's surprisingly more support among young republicans. at one point i guess my question for you is, does the polling start to affect how republican lawmakers look at this inquiry? >> yes, but as jeremy points out, it does take some time.

there's a long lifetime, and so far what republicans will tell you is their base is still sticking with donald trump. going back to this message where he says they're not coming after me, they're coming after you. but you know what, it's not the voters who betrayed the kurds and caved in to the kurks. it's not the voters lining their own pockets with the self-dealing g7. it's not the voters who tried to collude with ukrainians to dig up political dirt. you wonder if this drip, drip, drip, this very understandable story, does it begin to erode some of that support. you're seeing rumblings in the evangelical christian base which has been the most unmovable part of the trump base, very concerned about what's going on with syria and christians. younger voters are looking at all this and having a different reaction. it's going to -- it will take some time. i think that's something democrats need to keep in mind, that this needs to marinate.

i know there's a lot of emphasis on moving ahead. you need to constantly keep putting that information out and moving those numbers. >> charlie sykes, jeremy peters, thank you both for your time. as alarm grows over the deal the u.s. made with turkey to pause the fighting on the syrian border, i'll speak with a lawmaker over the president's approach to this crisis. jane fonda and sam waterson are taking part in a rally for the green new deal. she is reportedly vowing to hold weekly protests in our nation's capital.

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applebee's new pasta and grill combos. choose from up to 12 combinations starting at $9.99. our two big stories today, the walkback on ukraine and the pause of the fighting in syria. both small square to the oversight committee. i want to bring in dina tight tus, a democratic from nevada. thank you very much for your time this morning. you said earlier in the week the president's decision to abandon the kurds in syria created a crisis in the region. do you have any confidence that the so-called deal brokered yesterday by vice president pence's delegation will help end that crisis? >> it might provide a little temporary respite. we're already hearing the turks are violating what they call a

pause and not a cease-fire. i'm very worried. there are no plans for the future. what's going to happen to the kurds that have been displaced not to mention those families that suffered loss of life? what's going to happen to all the isis prisoners who are on the run. no telling where they'll end up. what happens to our national security and our image internationally as people think we're not an ally who can be trusted. >> with all the points that you just articulated about concerns, a bipartisan majority in the house wednesday voted to rebutte the president over his decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria. what else can congress do to try to address some of the issues you just laid out? >> i would point out that was a very bipartisan vote. a large majority of republicans joined democrats in that condemnation of the president's action. we are right now drafting a bill to continue to put stricter

restrictions and sanctions on turkey. we will come with that bill next week. >> i want to turn to impeachment for a moment. the administration, as you know very well, still stonewalling, refusing to comply with the subpoenas. what is your next step in getting the documents and testimony and really getting to the bottom of what it is that you want? >> well, every time they refuse to comply or don't send somebody to testify or don't provide documents, that is just one more piece of evidence in the obstruction of justice case. remember it was nixon who had the obstruction of justice as one of the charges in his impeachment. really at this point, the president's own words on television, mulvaney's words in the press conference yesterday, the information that we've seen publicly with the emails from the state department, all of that i think is evidence enough. this is just putting the icing on the cake. >> are you guys up against the clock, meaning those leading the inquiry, in the sense that, if the president continues to stonewall the subpoenas, this

goes into the courts and gets bogged down in legal proceedings, that you lose some of the public momentum, the public support you have and there is no appetite for an impeachment inquiry? >> i don't think we're looking to litigate all this because, you're right, it will take a long time. i don't think the speaker will be pushed by mcconnell's schedule saying i want this wrapped up and over by christmas. we're being very deliberative, bringing in more witnesses to depose next week. we're getting the fast but we'll move on this. >> let's talk about mick mulvaney. according to the headlines in "the new york times" and washington post, his comments made things into disarray. how did it affect your questions for the administration in the ongoing impeachment inquiry? what did he say that you want to know more about or you think crossed the line for you? >> well, i chair the subcommittee that oversees public buildings.

we're looking into the emoluments issue with the old post offices, now the trump hotel. i think mulvaney admitted the president held up the aid in return for political favors. that's unconstitutional, illegal and certainly immoral. he said it two or three times, and he had an opportunity to walk it back there in the press conference and he didn't do it. he just changed his tune after they realized that that wasn't going to fly. >> he was very clear about it, get over it, were his exact words. nevada congresswoman dina tight tus, appreciate your time. >> thank you. as mark zuckerberg gets ready to face lawmakers on the hill, his plans for facebook and 2020 are catching plenty of heat. first, a sea of protest signs as thousands of teachers and supporters took over the streets of downtown chicago yesterday and their classrooms remain empty right now as they continue to strike for a second straight day, demandings a 15% pay hike over the next three years and more support staff in every

school in this city. it is one of the first big tests for chicago mayor lori lightfoot who says her city can't afford it. day 23.

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lfall right. as 2020 approaches, lawmakers from both parties are united in their suspicions about big tech's role in our elections. facebook ceo mark zuckerberg will testify before the house financial services committee next week. his testimony comes as he just laid out his plan for facebook's policy on political ads. jo ling kent joins us, jo ling, great to have you with us. what does this say about mark zuckerberg's testimony on capitol hill? >> ayman, critics say zuckerberg doesn't fully understand the ability and his magnitude of his platform, almost 2.5 billion people use facebook on a monthly basis. what he put forward at georgetown university yesterday has both republicans and democrats firing back. listen to this.

mark zuckerberg doubling down on facebook's controversial decision not to fact check facebook ads from political candidates. >> we think people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying. >> r orchestrated event at georgetown university. zuckerberg used teleprompters to give a 35-minute speech on freedom of expression, revealing for the first time how close he came to banning political ads entirely. >> i've considered whether we should stop allowing them altogether. from a business perspective, the controversy is certainly not worth the very small part of our business that they make up. >> reporter: last month president trump's campaign stirring up controversy for using the platform to share misinformation on hunter biden and ukraine through a campaign ad. now the campaign striking back on zuckerberg's speech, saying his choice to cloak facebook's policy in a feigned concern for

free expression demonstrates how unprepared his company is for this unique moment in our country's history. twitter lid up with this critique from martin luther king's daughter bernice king. i would like to help facebook better understand the challenges mlk faced from disinformation campaigns launched by politicians. these campaigns created an atmosphere for his assassination. the war of words comes as republicans rail against facebook for allegedly censoring conservative views. zuckerberg saying this to dana perino on fox news. >> kamala harris said she thinks twitter should shut down president trump's account. do you think that's a ridiculous idea? >> in a democracy i don't think we want private companies sensoring politicians in the news. >> reporter: mark zuckerberg will be going back to capitol hill. he's slated to talk about libra,

the cryptocurrency platform he's trying to launch and so many companies, including paypal, have fled that platform already before it's even started. but beyond that, we expect to hear a lot more on what has happened here, why he gave that speech. the real philosophies behind it. and you can expect this time it's going to be a major grilling on privacy, safety, and of course now free speech, ayman. >> i can imagine all these things will be brought up. nbc's jo ling kent, thank you very much. at 1:00 eastern, facebook's vice president of global affairs will join my colleague stephanie ruhle right here on msnbc, you don't want to miss that. first, major clashes in syria this morning after the president characterizes the violence as "two kids fighting." brett mcgurk will be on with my colleague andrea mitchell, coming up next. lleaguane drea m, coming up next ere's a big diffee between ordinary... and the best. which egg tastes more farm-fresh and delicious?

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juul took $12.8 billion from big tobacco. markets e-cigarettes with kid friendly flavors and uses nicotine to addict them. 5 million kids use e-cigarettes. juul is "following big tobacco's playbook." and now, juul is pushing prop c to overturn e-cigarette protections. vote no on juul. no on big tobacco. no on prop c. welcome back, everyone. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. >> thank you, ayman. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," "get over it." the acting white house chief of staff upends the president's repeated denial of a quid pro quo. >> i have news for everybody. get over it. there's going to be a political influence in foreign policy. giving away the store. the vice president ann