Morning Joe - Manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooter focuses on video of man fleeing rooftop

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

Manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooter focuses on video of man fleeing rooftop

I know you can't say too much here, but is it your understanding that this individual may be close by or still in Utah? We have no idea. We're exploring leads for individuals out of state and individuals that live close by. We literally have persons of interest, tips coming in on the tip line that are spanning far and wide. All right. The commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety with a pretty blunt answer last night, answer yesterday. as the search continues for the suspect who shot and killed Charlie Kirk on Wednesday afternoon. NBC's Tom Winter will join us in just a moment with the latest in the investigation. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Friday, September 12th.

With us, we have the co-host of our fourth hour, staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, and Willie, still no arrest in the Kirk assassination and a lot of misinformation. flying around. Yeah, we're two days out now and still no arrest, not encouraging when you hear the head of public safety there saying we have no idea, whether this person is in state or out of state. There is an ID, some video anyway, that they're hoping they can help to make an ID. And as you say, there's a lot of bad information flying around. That manhunt still underway this morning for the gunman who killed prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk, authorities now urging the public to help identify the shooter, releasing new photos and video of the suspect last night,

offering a reward up to $100,000 for information leading to the ID and arrest of the shooter. Utah Governor Spencer Cox spoke about the search for the suspect during a news conference last night. We also continue to implore the public to support this investigation and come forward with any information. We are truly hopeful that this video and new photos will lead to. to even more tips. We are processing. We have an incredible team, a state and federal team working together to process those tips. We are going out in tandem to interview any potential person of interest or suspects, but we need, again, we need as much help as we can possibly get. There is a tremendous amount of disinformation. We are tracking our team, the state team,

and I'm sure the federal team as well. What we're seeing is our adversaries want violence. China, we have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those, to turn off those streams, and to spend a little more time with our families. And some of that bad information was coming, though, from trusted news sources here in the United States. NBC news correspondent Steve Patterson is in Utah with details. Steve.

Guys, good morning. The latest came late last night, another joint press conference with the FBI with officials from the state of Utah, including Utah Department of Public Safety, detailing a little bit more of the investigative material that they have, including more video. This time we have video from the suspected shooter, the person of interest, hopping off of that roof. Obviously, they talked about a timeline a little bit earlier. the person of interest entering a staircase into that building, creating a vantage point from about 175 yards away, firing that fatal shot and then hopping off the roof.

Well, they finally showed, of course, evidence of that happening. And then hopping down off of the roof where he created these handprints and boot prints. We didn't know where they came from originally. Now we know that was from him actually leaving the scene of the roof, then heading into a wooded area where he apparently dumped that single-action rifle in the woods. there. Meanwhile, you know, obviously, authorities talking a little bit more about what they have,

including 7,000 leads. That's the word that we got from the presser, which would be the largest amount of leads and tips that they've had since the Boston bombing. It's according to state officials. And then 200 reviews, interviews conducted with people on the ground as well. So obviously, the information is moving. The investigation is vibrant. They have material that they are working with, but still no suspect in custody at this time. And you can tell that they continue to rely on the public for help because they released another series of photos last night as well, so key, so pert into the information that anybody that might know this person gets in contact with the FBI. They're not afraid to ask for help at this point this deep into the investigation.

We'll send it back to you. All right. Let's bring in NBC News, National Law Enforcement and Intelligence Correspondent, Tom Winter. So a lot of unanswered. questions, Tom, but what do we know so far? And what's, what stands out to you? I think the clearest thing that we know this morning is that investigators are clearly relying upon the public's help. To your point, Mika, there are a lot of questions this morning. We continue to have the questions as to motive, who this person is, obviously, where they could be hearing some very blunt answers from Bo Mason, the Utah Department of Public Safety to our colleague earlier, this idea that, look, they're not sure where this person is at this

point. What they were able to discover over in the overnight hours, and during the day yesterday is the path of this individual. You're looking at them coming up the stairwell. They referenced this video that they have in these still images that we're getting here overnight and into this morning going up to the roof. So this is on his way up to the roof. Now we have the video after he fires the shot. He's running across right there. And then he's going to be jumping down in just a second. Whether or not he's injured after that or not is unclear. TMZ put out a video of him limping through a neighborhood appears to show him limping through a neighborhood. But it's not clear whether it was that or maybe he had the rifle on his pants leg. So all a lot of questions here

this morning. What we don't get from this video is another clear shot of his face. So this individual has a hat on. They have sunglasses on. That makes it a little bit more difficult. The shirt is fairly unique. You're looking at one of the images right there passed around by the FBI yesterday. So basically, they really need the public's help to try to identify this person. There's a lot of technical things that they can do behind the scenes, but those things take time. It's a challenge for them right now, and the palm print, potentially really helpful. But if they don't have a nexus to that palm print before, if this was an illegal gun sale, a person-to-person gun sale, there's not any sort of a fingerprint match for anybody.

It could be hard here. These cases do take a while and remind everybody, Luigi Mangione, New York City, four or five days there, a couple of days for the Boston Marathon bombers. Those were investigations had equal scrutiny. So, Tom, reset for us in terms of what we know about the evidence that's been recovered. There's a lot of stories flying around yesterday about something that was found. There was ideology attached to it later. Media outlets sort of backed away from that, although it's been seized upon on the right.

So tell us about that. But also just the fact that this guy is still large, that clearly a lot of planning went into this. He knew what he was doing. He knew how to get out. Is that give us any sort of clues, if you will, as to whether this guy was, like, trained to do this? Like, how much of his stage operation? What we actually know about this individual right now is very limited. We do have some additional details on the gun.

Bolt action rifle, that's an update from yesterday morning when we were talking about this. So that's going to be a rifle that at this range, approximately 200 yards, somebody could be quite accurate with that. That is not a distance for that rifle. That is a particular challenge for somebody who knew. they were doing. But based on some of the video we started to see emerge from the crime scene yesterday and some of the still images that were released, it does appear that this individual certainly had a very good sense of where to set up. And the fact that Kirk was covered by a tent and the fact that this was an elevated position, they really needed to know the angle to be able to

fire under that tent from farther away. And remember, Kirk was down lower. He was kind of in, it's like a little bit of an amphitheater there, as we saw from the initial video when this shooting happened. So we don't have a lot of details about this person's background. Did they have any sort of prior training, any sort of military service? All question that law enforcement is asking, but the fact that they knew exactly where to go. We see the still images here from the stairwell and then runs from the scene, escapes in a way that would not have been near where police were. Police are going to be, they had six officers at this event. Police are going to be rushing to the scene to help out Kirk, number one, but two, try to find this person, was able to leave kind of

the back, undetected, and then walk through the neighborhood where, according to law enforcement, they do have a video canvas from the neighborhood where they are able to kind of track this person as he starts to leave where he goes from there, as you've heard, is an open question. The statistic that they have, that there is as much digital evidence as they had in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation, Kevin Swindon, who is the now retired special agent, ran the analysis of that and kind of set that whole program up. because the FBI put the phone number out when the Boston Marathon bombing first happened. The phones weren't really ringing.

And then they realized that their email system was choked with tips digitally online. And I remember Swindon, we interviewed him, walking us through exactly where these images came from in showing us some of the key images from the crowd, not captured by press cameras, not captured by video cameras or surveillance cameras, that really helped them start to key in on the individuals we now know as the Sarnia brothers. So they're looking for that. Billy. So Tom, we've become so accustomed because our law enforcement is so good and the technology is so strong to people being apprehended quickly because of cameras and all the things that you've been laid out. So just curious what it looks like now as we come up on 48 hours, a few hours from now. What does that tell you about where they are in the investigation? And I'm also curious about how many resources are being brought to bear here. Obviously, a high profile assassination from someone loved by millions of people, but also someone who was a close friend of the president who clearly

is applying downward pressure to get someone apprehended in this case. I'm not sure at this stage. Well, first off, let me back up. The FBI has an evidence response team. The Utah Department of Public Safety has a robust law enforcement operation. They have procedures and plans in place. So as much as everybody would like him to be captured yesterday, the idea that they can go through the 7,000 leads, all of this digital evidence and do it, do it in a quick fashion. The worst thing you want to do is skip over something, to miss something that you already have in your possession. So there are procedures, there are plans in place, it's all very well laid out for them.

They bring in agents from other squads or other parts of the FBI, same with other parts of law enforcement agencies. They surge the resources into this from a person perspective to be able to go through this information as fast as possible. But as we learn from the Luigi Mangione investigation and investigation into the death of the United Healthcare CEO, those things take time. And sometimes you're behind where the person is versus the tips that you're getting. People might be calling in information right now that might have this individual's name, but you have to go through each one methodically so you don't skip over somebody that eventually could be your suspect. It takes a while,

and I know it sounds frustrating. So Tom, we know that FBI director Cash Patel now there, on-scene to help personally respond to this. Is it, as each hour goes by, you know, what are, traditionally anyway, law enforcement, what do they tell you about just how vital it is to find a suspect, make it rest early? How much harder does it get the longer it takes, the colder the trail gets? Yeah, it potentially gets harder. However, then the scrutiny and the attention from the public also rises. I mean, we're at that stage right now, where everybody's kind of like, where is he? Who is this person? Do I know this person? And so for now, as long as the public's attention is focused on it, they've got a pretty good

chance. And I think that's the reason why they're putting out these images kind of a little bit more consistently now, trying to update as they get more information because they want this to remain in the public sphere. It's the best way they can to capture. Look, Luigi Manjuna was captured in Pennsylvania, Naltuna, Pennsylvania, and was spotted by a McDonald's worker who had the wherewithal to try to recognize this guy, called police, and was local police that said, you know, can you take your mask down? So it's going to require potentially that type of work. On the other hand, they might get lucky with a cell phone.

They might get lucky with a ping. And we have an arrest that way, too. It's just a bit of a toss-up at the moment. We'll be following this NBC's Tom Winter. Thank you so much for your reporting. And still I had a morning, Joe. Our conversation on the assassination of Charlie Kirk will continue with a look at the rise in political violence in America and the safety.

concerns lawmakers are now raising. Plus a trove of new emails are shedding light on Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with Galane Maxwell. We'll dig into that and the impact this could have on the Trump administration as it continues to face backlash for its handling of the case. And a reminder, the Morning Joe podcast is available each weekday. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. For a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning, all 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, including the United States, signed on to a statement yesterday, condemning the Israeli strike on Qatar. It follows an emergency meeting at the UN after the Israeli military bombed a residential compound in Doha, targeting senior Hamas officials.

yesterday's joint statement was a rare display of unity regarding issues around Israel. Jonathan Lemire, you almost never see this, which is the United States stepping out of its support, its shoulder to shoulder support of Israel in the case. Obviously, President Trump was not happy with the attack from Israel in that residential compound, targeting Hamas officials in Doha, and we saw it show up at the UN yesterday. Yeah, the U.S. usually either objects or abstains from something like that at the the UN, but it's reflective of how angry President Trump is about what happened the other day. This is, I believe, the seventh different country that Israel has launched an attack in since

October 7th, while part of it's conducting its war against Hamas and other militant groups in the region. But the president in particular finds this one unhelpful. Like it was, in fact, there was going to be negotiations in Doha at behest of Trump, Steve Whitkoff, and the United States team saying, look, let's get to the table again. Let's make this happen. Let's try to get a deal. and instead, these negotiators were there and the attacks occur.

Now, it's not clear who was killed. It seems like the lead Hamas negotiators even survived this attack, but certainly some were killed and some Qatari citizens as well, Mika. So there's real anger from the Middle League. Qataris have suggested perhaps they won't mediate anymore, which would be a setback to the, of course, any potential for a peace process. And we don't know yet if President Trump, beyond what we saw at the UN yesterday, will there be real repercussions in terms of changing U.S. policy towards Israel?

At least so far, that's not the case. But as advisors told me this week, his patience with Nanyahu has completely warned them. Then there's this. Russia and Belarus are carrying out joint military drills today just two days after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace. The Kremlin claims the drills are not aimed against any country. Still, as Reuters reports, this week's drone incident over Poland was seen in the West as an alarm call for NATO and a test of its responses. That makes sense, doesn't it?

Yeah, both of these incidents. Poland and now what we saw yesterday, does feel like Russia testing NATO. What kind of response will we get if we do expand this conflict, even to a degree beyond the Ukrainian borders? Obviously, lots of objections from Europe. The U.S. hasn't had much to say about it yet. That worries some over there in the continent. I can imagine. And for the first time, there are more children around the world who are obese compared to the number who are underweight. That's according to a new report on child nutrition from UNICEF. One in 10 children now has obesity and one in five is overweight. The share of underweight children meanwhile has dropped over the past two decades. Willie. Yesterday, a number of historically black colleges

and universities, locked down campuses, canceled classes, or ordered students to shelter in place after receiving credible threats of violence. Many of the precautionary measures no longer in effect this morning, the schools did not provide details, but all said they are working with local law enforcement. Alabama State University, Clark Atlanta College, and Virginia State University were among those affected. The FBI calling the incidents a hoax, citing no information to indicate a credible threat. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement on the threats, calling them despicable and yet another indication that the explosion of hateful extremism is out of control, Mika. Meanwhile, the assassination of Charlie Kirk is sending

shockwaves through Capitol Hill with members on both sides of the aisle expressing fear for their own safety. A handful of lawmakers say they are beefing up their own security, moving public events indoors or canceling them altogether. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York postponed two public events in North Carolina, citing outdated security protocols. Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who is running for governor, has canceled all outdoor and public events and said she will now carry a firearm at all times. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's been getting calls from members' concerns since the shooting and has assured lawmakers that his office is undertaking a, quote, very thorough review of the existing options

and looking into how to enhance security to ensure members' safety. U.S. Capitol Police say it is on track to work through 14,000 threat assessment cases involving members by the end of the year up from 9,000 last year. Let's go to the host of way too early MSNBC Senior Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitale. So, Allie, let's talk a little bit more about the climate on Capitol Hill and what's being done to deal with it because this is a problem that does not appear to be going away. A problem that doesn't appear to be going away. And you cited some of the Capitol Police threat numbers that they are dealing with. If you were to plot it out even before, just over the course of the last 10 years, it's basically a straight upward line of an increase.

in threats made to members of Congress. Capital Police has been dealing with this for a while, but of course you think about, and I was having conversations with members around this earlier this summer when those horrific shootings happened in Minnesota of Democratic lawmakers at the state level there, people were scared then. They are scared now. We had Congressman Jared Moskowitz tell a group of reporters on Capitol Hill yesterday. People are scared to death. I had one Democratic member on my show just this morning, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, who referenced the fact that People are really freaked out. They are anxious.

We've seen a range of member reactions from just anger and frustration to people near tears saying that something needs to be done, specifically around their security, but then also in the climate writ large. And so when it comes to security, I think that for people to understand, when you hear Speaker Mike Johnson say that they're doing some kind of expedited enhanced assessment of what it looks like for members to have security on Capitol Hill, there's basically a certain amount of money that's allotted to each member off. for security. The thinking being that if they want to use that money for that, they can and it's there. But oftentimes for some of these members who are more high profile, they need more than what that number can allow. And in some other places, it's a question of, okay, are they just having it when they're in Washington? Is it more beneficial if they have it when they're at home? So this is something that they're thinking about not just for lawmakers themselves, and Congressman Deluzio made this point with me this morning. He's not just thinking about his

own safety. He's also thinking about the safety of his staff. What happens in campaign offices. So all of this is very much in the ether. It's urgent. It's important. But unfortunately, it's also not new. Yeah, security concerns obviously very valid at this moment. I'll note, Congressman Mace, not helping matters when she blames Democrats in the media for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, when, of course, we don't even know who the suspect is or what any sort of motive was. Allie, there's certainly other flashpoints, other tension there on the Hill. Talk to us about what we've seen here. The nuclear option has been invoked in terms of the Republicans trying to get through President Trump's.

traditional nominations and the like, it is walk us through what we're seeing there and what's a very tense time. Yeah, it's actually been a really busy week in Congress. And I think this is once again where it comes into view that there are really powerful political issues that Congress is grappling with, things that do make people have visceral reactions if they're political watchers from either side of the aisle. It's everything from the upcoming government shutdown to, of course, the looming Jeffrey Epstein files and the transparency over that. And then the Senate just in the last 24 hours doing a thing where they call going nuclear, but effectively changing the ways that we confirm batches of nominees for various

positions, positions like ambassadorships. Typically, they're confirmed one by one, but in this instance now, they're going to be confirmed in batches. And I think what's important is this just gives more power to the majority party. So in this instance, it's going to be Republicans who have the ability, if they see a nominee in a batch of nominees that's being confirmed or considered on the floor, Republicans can raise concerns or a flag on a nominee. But Democrats, will no longer have that ability. And look, the big thing in Congress, whenever you go nuclear, and both parties have done this, changing the process at various times for various kinds of nominees. But the thing to remember is the reason that they try not to do this is because the shoe will

eventually be on the other partisan foot. And so for now, Republicans making this an easier glide path for them with President Trump's nominations. We know that the president has been frustrated at the pace of things on Capitol Hill when it comes to getting his administration in order. this will ease that. But again, it's a big change that just kind of lessens the bipartisan action in the way that Congress actually functions. Yeah, and Ali, stay with us. You mentioned the Epstein files coming up. New reporting from Bloomberg is giving us more insight on the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Galane Maxwell. One of the co-authors of that report joins us next on Morning Joe. News from across the pond because the U.K. ambassador to the U.S. has been fired over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Those English are so funny.

They call an elevator a lift, a truck, a lorry. to Jeffrey Epstein, a fireable offense. The guy in question. Stephen Colbert last night. Newly uncovered emails are shedding more light on Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with his convicted accomplice, Galane Maxwell. NBC's Hallie Jackson has details. New insight into the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Galane Maxwell

from a trove of purported emails. more than 18,000 published by Bloomberg News, which suggests Maxwell and Epstein were closer in many respects than either publicly admitted. In her July interview with the Deputy Attorney General, Maxwell, Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, recounts asking Epstein about the initial investigation into him. He said, not to worry he didn't say, didn't share.

I wasn't part of it at all. The Bloomberg report suggests she counseled Epstein after that. At one point, asked her advice on what charged to negotiate in his 2008 plea agreement. I suppose lewd and lascivious conduct, she responded. NBC News has not independently obtained or verified the emails. Bloomberg says they were authenticated using cryptographic and metadata analysis and corroboration with external sources. The outlet says one email included a detailed spreadsheet of 2000 gifts and payments like, quote, lingerie and chocolates, some for teenage girls who later lodged

sexual abuse complaints. Except for three minor instances, Bloomberg says the emails do not otherwise mention President Trump, who has said his relationship with Epstein ended in the early 2000s, the White House, calling it, in part, stupid fake news. Maxwell's attorney has not responded to NBC's request for comment. And for the first time, Revelations Maxwell and Epstein were going through a fertility treatment together, according to Bloomberg, years after she said they broke up. In 2005, Bloomberg says Maxwell emailed Epstein, detailed. instructions on a sperm donation, adding, you can do the sample at home. All right, NBC's Halle Jackson with that report, joining us now one of the co-authors of the

report, senior legal reporter for Bloomberg News, Ava, Benny Morrison, Ava, great work here. A lot of interesting details coming out in these emails, but what's the big takeaway that they reveal? These emails really shed new light on the partnership between Galane Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Over the years, we've only heard a few times in her own words, Maxwell described the relationship with Epstein. She said she was a one-time girlfriend, but mainly a property manager who faded from his life in the early 2000s. That was a critical period for Epstein because he was facing child sexual abuse allegations in Florida. She said she wasn't in the loop about those negotiations he was having with prosecutors.

These emails and our reporting show that he did in fact keep her in the loop. He asked her what charge she would prefer that he plead guilty to while he was locked in these negotiations with prosecutors. It also shows that she helped distribute more than $1.8 million in gifts to victims, to young women, to politically connected figures and business associates as well. It also reveals a new closeness that we didn't previously know existed between the parents. They were discussing a shared fertility procedure, including in the lead-up to him reporting to prison. And she was trying to have his baby.

We can only go on what we've seen in the emails, but they're discussing the instructions to a fertility procedure and him fulfilling he's part of that arrangement. So Maxwell, obviously, very much a figure back in the news, just had this interview with Deputy Attorney General of Todd Blanche a few weeks ago, then was transferred to a much more milder prison in Texas. What does, what do these emails tell us about her and her credibility in terms of what we've learned that she's told investigators? They have long been questions around her credibility, and these emails certainly add to those questions. It raises doubts about the truthfulness of some of her recent statements, particularly around those negotiations in Florida in the mid-2000s.

She told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July that Epstein told her not to worry about it, that she wasn't really part of what was going on. But the email seemed to suggest that he turned to her for advice, and she was involved in some of the strategy behind that. Also, talk to us about every time we hear anything new Epstein-related, there's always a hankering for, well, are there names there, in terms of new people in the mix? Did we find any of that there?

Or confirmation. As I've tossed my pen across, the desk. There's some names that come up in the inbox that we know already had associations with Jeffrey Epstein. So in particular, we know that Galane Maxwell helped organize visits to his private island in the Caribbean by tech billioners. And that there were, she was attempts to organize seats on board his private jet as well. For example, there was an email where she, is trying to organize a visit by Google co-founder, Sergei Brin, to Little St. James in late 2000. Interesting.

We have our Capitol Hill correspondent standing by in Washington, Ali Vitale, and she has a question. Allie. Hey, thank you for doing this reporting. I think that this is obviously a live ball issue on Capitol Hill as the Oversight Committee is looking into various new avenues that they might pursue. How might this factor into that ongoing investigation? to me, the first thing that I think of, and I wonder your take, is the way that this once again calls into question

Ghislaine Maxwell's credibility. It was already something that was openly questioned by the Speaker of the House, but I think that it could add pressure to lawmakers who need to ask Todd Blanche, for example, why would you go do a two-day deposition with someone who obviously hasn't been perfectly truthful throughout the time that she's been in the legal hot seat over her dealings and relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?

So talk about both Maxwell's credibility, and then the way that this might factor into these ongoing investigations? It certainly adds to the questions around her credibility. It was very unusual for the Deputy Attorney General to sit down for this two-day interview with Maxwell. But she had offered to tell him whatever she knew about the EFSI investigation, what she didn't know,

and her attorney had said publicly around the time that they would welcome any relief from the Trump administration, whether that looks like a pardon or a commutation. We don't know. In terms of the ongoing investigation, and the calls for release around more files. We've had a steady drip of information over the past few years about Epstein,

and this is just another piece of the puzzle. And it certainly increases interest in seeing what other information there is out there about the Epstein case. We should note that the U.S. the U.K. ambassador of the U.S. lost his job, was fired, in part because of connections to Epstein

and covered by those at Bloomberg. There you go. Great reporting. the new report is available online right now and senior legal reporter for Bloomberg News, Ava, Benny Morrison. Thank you very much. Come back. We'd love to continue following your coverage. And the host of Way Too Early, MSNBC, Senior Capital Hill Correspondent, Alley Vitale. Thank you as well. And still ahead on morning, Joe, we're going to dig into new data on inflation and how it could impact the Fed's next move on interest rates. Also ahead, Brazil's former president is headed to prison.

for attempting to overthrow an election he lost. We'll bring you those details. And we'll show you Aaron Judge's historic performance last night in the Bronx, tying a Yankees legend. Morning Joe, we'll be right back. from the eight to the outside wide open touchdown Tucker craft part of a career night for Tucker craft the South Dakota state Jackrabbit six catches 124 yards and that touchdown the green bay packers now two and oh winning last night 2718 over the Washington commanders thanks to a dominant defensive performance as well green bay gets another impressive win at home over team that made

the playoffs last year after beating the Detroit Lions just five days ago. Last year, the Packers went 0 and 6 against playoff teams. Jonathan Lemire, this narrative had set in that the Packers were pretty good last year, but they couldn't beat any good teams. Well, they're kind of putting that to rest in the span of about five days so far this year. Yeah, they've been really impressive to this point. Jordan Love that many people think could take a leap this year and really elevate himself into that top tier or maybe second tier of NFL quarterbacks.

The biggest difference is this Packers' defense is excellent. They're fast. They cover a ton of ground. And that was even before they added Mike to Parsons. And now, look, it's a home team always has an advantage on a Thursday night. It's the short week. But they were great last night. Commander's a little shaky to start.

And, yeah, Detroit, Detroit, you know, they beat Detroit last week. And now Green Bay 2 and O. They were some people's NFC Super Bowl pick. I'll just note this one. And it was one of them. And now, I'd say right, it's early, but they in Philly. come out of the gate strongest in that conference. Yeah, they looked really good last night.

Michael Parsons says he loves this atmosphere at Lambo. He's looking pretty comfortable there already. In baseball, President Trump attended last night's Yankees game commemorating the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Before the first pitch, the president stopped by the Yankee Clubhouse, shaking hands, posing for photos here with Aaron Judge. He gave a little pep talk in the locker room, saying he used to be the team's good luck charm back when he was a regular

at games with the late owner George Steinbrenner. Inside the stadium, the president sat behind newly installed bulletproof glass alongside Yankees President Randy Levine and owner Hal Steinbrenner. President met with a mix of booze and cheers, as presidents often are, every time he appeared on the JumboTron. As for the game, Aaron Judge put on another show last night. going back green, lefting up, see ya. Home run number 45 for Judge. You've done it 18 times as a home run as your first hit. High drive, left center field, green back, track, wall, see ya.

Another home run for Judge. That is not a replay. That is a second home run in Aaron Judge's first two at bats, giving him 361 career home runs and tying. him with Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio for fourth all time on the franchise list. It was the 45th multi-homer game of judge's career. Yankees win 9-3. They needed that one after getting smoked in the first two games of the series.

New York now heads to Boston for that big three-game series with the Red Sox that begins tonight. So Jonathan Lemire couldn't have drawn this up any better. We're effectively tied. We're a half game up only because we played one less game than the Red Sox. same number of wins, two weeks left in the season, kind of tied there at the top of the All-Star. If the season ended today, we'd play each other in that wildcard game.

This is going to be a great weekend in Boston. I'll keep an eye on my phone relayed for President Trump's true social post, taking credit for Aaron Judge's two home runs last night. No question. No word if Trump, a Yankee fan also had some sharp words for Anthony Volpe in the clubhouse beforehand, the struggling shortstop. But you're right, this is what you want. It's mid-September.

it is Yankees Red Sox at Fenway. The Sox have, look, let's be clear, have done well against the Yankees so far this year. They've won eight of ten. And the Red Sox have their best three pitchers lined up. G. Alito tonight, Bayot tomorrow, crochet on Sunday. But Willie, the issue is we come, our offense comes limping in. Our superstar rookie, Roman Anthony, he's out.

Will you're a bray you, out. Sox have struggled to score runs. How are you feeling about this weekend? Yankees, they'll get freed going tomorrow. Their pitching looks okay, too. Yeah, I was going to say, You miss Radon, who's been great this year, but we do have freed going tomorrow. Look good last night.

Had won the previous big series. They took it from the Astros, but the first two games of the Tiger series were just horrendous. We outscored 23 to 3. Look a little shaky. We needed that little boost last night. So feeling pretty good. But, I mean, this is a hinge series. If one of us gets swept here, it kind of makes the last two weeks tough on both of us.

Yeah, I think Blue Jays might be out of reach. Well, I mean, three games, I guess, is their lead, three and a half games with two weeks or so to play. But really, it's going to come down, Tamika, to the Red Sox Yankees. It looks like they're going to play in the first round of the playoffs. And the question is it will be a best of three series. And whoever finishes with a better record will get that series at home. That's a big deal. That's a big deal.

All right. Coming up, the South Koreans detained in an ice raid in Georgia are back in Seoul this morning. But it came after a lengthy delay. We'll explain why, plus we'll turn back to the search for the suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk. We'll go live to Utah for the very latest. That's next on Morning Joe. More than 300 South Korean nationals detained in last week's immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia have now returned home, a chartered Korean air jet carrying the workers landed near Seoul earlier this morning.

after being delayed for more than a day. A South Korean foreign ministry officials said the holdup was due to President Trump ordering a pause to check whether the workers wanted to remain in the U.S. Only one chose to stay. The president of South Korea called the entire ordeal extremely bewildering and warned it could discourage companies from investing in American manufacturing and force them to reconsider whether doing business in the U.S. is worth the risk. A fair question, Jonathan Lemire.

Very much so. The Trump administration policy here is scattershot and contradictory. We've heard, of course, the numbers they have goals they have set in terms of deportations and not just those at the border, not just those of criminal records. We have seen them look at places of work, including this Hyundai plant in Georgia. And it was met with fierce criticism from South Korea. And there does seem to be with President Trump intervening, a growing recognition that his immigration policies are hurting the economy. Andrew Ross Sorkins told us that a few times this week.

We've had those conversations. There's growing sense that these workers are leaving. There aren't going to be those replaced in, particularly jobs like this, which require skills and training. You know, they can't just be acquired overnight. It's a worry. And I think that if I'm hearing from the West Wing, more and more concern about some of the underlying economic data.

Yeah, between that and the tariffs. Yeah. Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced yesterday to 27 years in prison hours after being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power despite losing the 2022 election. The 70-year-old is the first former president in the country's history to be convicted for attacking democracy. The ruling will likely escalate tensions with the United States and Brazil. President Trump had called the case a witch hunt, and in retaliation, hit Brazil with tariff hikes. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media that the court had unjustly ruled, adding the United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.

Jonathan Lemire, well, first of all, what are their threats based on? What do they plan to do to push back against? what they're calling a witch hunt. Well, there's certainly parallels to Bolsonaro's efforts to overturn that election to what we saw here after the 2020 election. Difference being here in the United States, it was only the sort of low level, the rioters at January 6th who faced criminal charges, although many of them have now been pardoned.

None of the elected officials did. In Brazil's case, Bolsonaro did so, and now has been convicted. But Trump is an ally of Bolsonaro's. He and some of the people, some of Trump's political strategists have gone to work for Bolsonaro as well in Brazil. So there's definitely an overlap there. And we have seen Trump put together what can only be described as retaliatory tariffs. Basically, we're going to hit Brazil in their economy because we don't like what you're doing to our political friend, which is a new place.

We've never seen that before in terms of U.S. economic policy. And in light of what happened yesterday, though nothing official from the White House yet, it wouldn't be a surprise if they were to ramp those up. Right.