Morning Joe - Morning Joe 11/29/22

Episode Date: November 29, 2022

The Morning Joe panel discusses the latest in World Cup news, Mike Pence denouncing Trump's dinner with a Holocaust denier and the latest in China's lockdown protests.

Mr. Trump tried distancing himself, posting on social media that West called me to have dinner, expressed no anti-Semitism, and claimed, I didn't know Nick Fuentes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, in Trump's defense. I mean, how would he know that the guy Kanye rolls with could be a white supremacist? I mean, I get what he's saying. He's like, I just wanted to have dinner with this anti-Semite. I didn't know he was going to bring a friend. Late night takes on Donald Trump's crazy dinner at Mar-a-Lago as more Republicans speak out against the former president's meeting with a white nationalist.

And by the way, Donald Trump, yeah, he said he didn't know who David Duke was. He was lying. He didn't know who Proud Boys were. He was lying. He didn't know who the Proud Boys were. He was lying. He didn't know what QAnon was. He's lying. He's probably lying about this. Oh, yeah. Neo-Nazi.

But regardless, how many days has it been? He still refuses to condemn him. He still refuses to say that he disagrees with his philosophy, because as we heard reports yesterday, he doesn't want to offend the white nationalists and the neo-Nazis in his own base. And as Georgia breaks its single day record for early voting, there is new reporting this morning that Donald Trump will not visit the state ahead of next week's Senate runoff. We'll have the latest from Georgia. We'll also get a live report from Beijing amid the rare protests in China over the country's draconian COVID lockdowns and how the protests are affecting the global economy. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe.

It is Tuesday, November 29th. Good to have you all with us, along with Joe, Willie and me. We have U.S. special correspondent for BBC News, Katty Kay, and the host of Way Too Early, White House peer chief at Politico, Jonathan Lemire. So, Willie, here we have in The Wall Street Journal the words that a lot of soccer fans are thinking about this morning, football fans. Today, it is win or go home at the World Cup for Team USA. It is, Joe. It's on all the newspapers here in New York, too. This is the back page of the New York Post. It says, weight of the world. The Daily News going a step further.

The end of the world. Meaning if the USA loses today, it's the end of their run in the World Cup. But there's, of course, a lot more than soccer in the background here. Team USA's fate at the World Cup, resting on a must-win match against Iran this afternoon. A draw or a loss today eliminates the American team after the Americans tied both Wales and England. Let's go right to Qatar. That's where we find NBC News correspondent Megan Fitzgerald in Doha. Megan, what's it like there today ahead of this big game?

Guys, a lot of fans are excited. They're pumped up. They're ready to go. Look, as you mentioned, there's a lot going on here. This is a major game to see today. We don't have Megan's audio. Megan, we'll get back to you in just a second. But, Joe, you are the massive soccer fan on this panel. We've all been watching this tournament, not just for the soccer, but all

the protests in the background, everything that's going on, particularly with Iran, the players a couple of games ago, not singing along to the national anthem in a huge act of courage, given what's going on in their home country and what may await them when they get home after doing that. What is at stake today beyond soccer? Well, again, the eyes of the world are obviously going to be on this match for a lot of different reasons. But you talk about Iran. My God, it's just it's been at the center, obviously, of news over the past month or so with the growing protests there. And you are right. The players refused to sing the national anthem in the first match.

It was obviously a very courageous move, very dangerous move for them. But just as, Jonathan, as you just talk about the game of football, the game of soccer, the Rainies are a very good team. Perhaps a distraction's gotten their way in their 6-2 opening loss to England, but this is a good squad. They know exactly who they are. Anybody who thinks Team USA is going to roll over them is going to be sadly mistaken. This should be quite a fascinating match. Yeah, and the Iranians, of course, defeated Wales in their second game, while the U.S. only managed a draw with the Welsh squad.

This will be a tight match. Both teams still alive to head to the knockout round with a win. And it's pretty simple. There's no loss. Obviously, it knocks the U.S. out, but so does a draw. It's not a question of goal differential either. It's simply win and you're in. The stakes are high, obviously. Relations between these two countries, not exactly warm right now and have not been for a very long time. We can ask Jimmy Carter about that. And certainly, Willie, we also know that there's

reports that the Iranians, if they were caught not singing the national anthem, there's some reporting out there that their families back home would be threatened. So there's a lot at stake here beyond even what we're going to see on the pitch. They've been put on notice. We've got Megan Fitzgerald's audio back. She's in Doha, Qatar. I'll let you pick it up, Megan.

Yeah, guys, you're absolutely right. You just talked about how this is such a crucial game for Team USA. But then you think about the mental game as well. There's so much going on off the pitch that they're wrapped up in as well. I mean, the U.S. Soccer Federation, for example, just the other day, removing the Islamic Republic emblem from the Iranian flag from the team's social media accounts. And the Iranians not happy about that. Taking to Twitter, calling on FIFA to suspend Team USA for 10 games,

to kick them out of the World Cup. Then, of course, yesterday we saw this press conference, this really hotly contested press conference between Team captain Tyler Adams and the head coach of Team USA being grilled by these members of the Iranian state media, so much so that the coach even apologized for the actions of the U.S. Soccer Federation, even though the team and the coach said they knew nothing about those actions. And then, of course, we saw the team captain being grilled about discrimination in the United States and how he can play for the U.S. under, you know, the fact that there's,

you know, challenges in the U.S. with black Americans. And so, you know, these players are now dealing with a lot, just focusing on the game, but also the politics of it all. We had an opportunity to catch up with a Georgetown professor who actually studies the World Cup and the intersection of politics. I want you to listen to a little bit of our conversation. How significant is it that we are seeing politics collide with sport in this World Cup? I think we should not expect from the 22 players on the pitch to restore the nuclear deal. That's the job of the government. But what the players can do, they can compete with each other hard but fair and can send a strong signal for a good understanding

between the people of the two countries. We are living in an age of athlete activism. The times of shut up and dribble are over. We have now athletes who express their political views. Could we see the Iranian team jailed because of what they did on the field? Unfortunately, in Iran, everything is possible. What the Iranian players did was very brave. They are risking their own lives, they are risking the lives of their families in Iran. But it clearly shows that they have sympathy and solidarity with the protesters. Yeah, so that last question that I asked Dr. Reich there, I mean, he was referring to the

fact that we saw the Iranian national team at their first game not singing the national anthem. When they took the field just the other day, they they did sing some of them looking begrudgingly um so all eyes are going to be on this game tonight a lot at stake here for both sides and yeah you know the thing is that for people to to get a sort of a feel about how intense this rivalry is, or at least how intense the Iranians are feeling about this. You talk about that press conference yesterday and the anger from the Iranian, I guess it's Iranian state media going after the coaches, but then attacking our captain, Tyler Adams. And first of all, going, you mispronounced our country's name.

Yeah. How disrespectful of you and how could you play? How can you play for a team where there's so much racism in your country and that, again, the hypocrisy coming from Iran. But I was blown away by by Tyler Adams response. What a captain. I mean, first of all, he said, well, first of all, I'm very sorry for mispronouncing. You know, he said Iran instead of Iran. But secondly, I thought it was fascinating. He said, I've been all around the world and I've seen there's racism all around the world. But what I love about the United States is we continue to work on it. We continue to try to get better. And I thought the grace under fire was extraordinary. But I did take note the anger and the hostility towards the Iranians for him even mispronouncing the name of their

country, not saying Iran instead of Iran. I thought it was very revealing. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I mean, you hit the nail on the head. I mean, the way in which we saw our team captain responding with such class, with such composure. I mean, we're talking about kids in their 20s. I mean, these are young men, of course. But the composure that he showed, even under fire, even under what seemed to be some frustration, we could at least call it that from the Iranian state media there. Really just grilling them. And the fact that he said, look, as you mentioned, I've traveled all over the world. I've seen discrimination all over the world.

But here in America, we're conscious of that. And there is an effort to try and improve and get better. We're talking about other issues aside from the game. Now this young man has to rally up his team and hit the field today and really try and deliver a win with all of these things circulating. So, you know, you really have to give it to Team USA because they have a lot going on right now as they try and focus on what they came to Qatar for, which is just try and win a World Cup title. All right. NBC's Megan Fitzgerald, live from Doha, Qatar. Thank you so much. We greatly appreciate it.

And have fun there, at least during the game, if you can. So, Katty K., not word association here. We're going to do year association. I'm just going to name a random year. And you, you tell me what comes to mind. Oh, I wouldn't want to play this game. What are you doing? 1966. 1966, Caddy.

I see she knows. Yeah, so we're not going there again, right? I mean, the state of that game that we played against the USA the other day, it didn't look so good for the England team. I'm hoping you've just spoken about one great rivalry today, which is USA Iran match. But you completely forgot to mention the England Wales match, which where I come from is almost as big a rivalry that is happening at the same time to see who comes out of group one. The Prince of Wales actually asked who he was supporting in this, which might be a little awkward given that he is the Prince of Wales, but clearly English.

And I have to admit that he was clearly English. No, I thought you guys looked great over the weekend on Friday. It's a younger, fitter team than the English team. And the Doha weather is tough on teams that don't have stamina. By that 90th minute, they are dripping with sweat. So I'm not sure this is going to be. I don't know. I should be. I should be a good American optimist and say, yes, this is the year that England is going to win the World Cup again.

Yes. And of course, Willie, 1966, the last year that England brought the World Cup home and the pressure is mounted through the years. We'll see what happens. I will say, though, Caddy's right. A lot of cramping, especially from those teams from Northern Europe. Like who would have ever foreseen that if you held a World Cup in Doha, that you would have cramping problems in like nine or ten minutes added to each match. And that's after they moved it out of summer. The World Cup is supposed to be in summer, so all the teams can be together and not be in their professional teams. But it was going to

be 110 or 115 during the game. So they moved it to the fall, ostensibly, theoretically, to avoid all the cramping and all the problems we've seen. So we'll focus on the action in the field. But boy, there's a lot to talk about off the field with this World Cup in Qatar. Well, and Willie, I mean, you talked about it and Alex just got in my ear, but we ought to talk about the cramping that we have to, the hamstring problems, four hours a day in the morning show. I mean, there's a rough training regimen we go through every morning. I eat those marathon gels while we go through it.

Just to get one here, you get one here. We have water stations right on the side of the set. It's a long haul. Because it's so difficult. I just splash it in my face sometimes at break and just make it slash me and we just keep going. Time for politics now here at home. A growing number of Republicans are speaking out against Donald Trump's dinner with a white nationalist, including his former vice president. Now, in a rare interview yesterday, Mike Pence denounced-Semite and a Holocaust denier a seat

at the table. And I think he should apologize for it and he should denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric without qualification. I think the president demonstrated profoundly poor judgment in giving those individuals a seat at the table. So that was actually a full-throated, robust response to it, where he's calling on the former president to apologize for what he's done. It's very different than saying, yeah, maybe I would have done something different or I

wouldn't have done that and kind of hemming and hawing out of it. That was Mike Pence is lining up. Well, I mean, he's doing what he should be doing. Should have been, some would say. But we don't we don't again. I know they played just as I am. Mike's walking down to the front and the invitation. We're just going to accept him. He was his vice president. Not going to ask just, but we're glad. Really? Okay. We're glad that you're not glad that he didn't.

I'm glad, but I. Yeah, but he did it. Okay. Right. He did it. He did it. He did it. Mark that down. One step forward, right?

One step forward. And he did it, Willie. How are you doing? I'm good. Okay. He did it without qualification. He said Trump should apologize without qualification. And at least in that clip we heard, there wasn't any qualifying.

There wasn't any hedging, anything like that. So, I mean, it's a good it's funny. I mean, we can't do shows for like 80 weeks going. People must say this. People must say that. And then they say, yeah, but he said it. It's a positive step forward. Of course, we've talked every day at nauseam about what these people have not done over the past six years.

And for good reason. But it's happening. Let's celebrate that Mike Pence said he needed to apologize without qualification. He did say it, and he's not alone in saying it. We are also together not saying that the Republican Party is completely turning its back on Donald Trump. We've been through too much. We know better. But in this moment, they are saying it now with that caveat, we can say that,

yes, this is an easy one, right, that Donald Trump sat down with a Holocaust denier and a white supremacist. That should be an easy thing to condemn. And Mike Pence did say later in that interview, he doesn't believe Donald Trump is an anti-Semite, partially because his grandchildren are Jewish. Trump also facing backlash, as I said, though, from Republicans in the Senate, along with Mike Pence. Here's some of their responses when asked by reporters about the former president's dinner with the white supremacist and Holocaust denier. The meeting was bad. He shouldn't have done it. But again, you know, there's a double standard about

this kind of stuff. And I don't think it would matter in terms of his political future. But I do believe we need to watch who we meet with. I wouldn't want to have dinner with either one of those guys or I wouldn't meet with either one of those guys. You make the most of that you want to. He surely would disavow any of that stuff. Most would. How he took a meeting, I don't know. There's no room in the Republican Party for white supremacist anti-Semitism, so it's wrong. I think it's ridiculous that he had that meeting. Just, it's ridiculous.

And that's all I'm going to say about it. Just crazy. I think it's disgusting to invite people like that to meet with a former president of the United States. I think there's has been clear that there's no bottom to the degree to which President Trump will degrade himself and the nation. John, you can almost hear it in the voices of those senators. I do not want to answer questions about Donald Trump for the next two or six years. You can see the exhaustion on their faces. That said, if he becomes the nominee, it may be another story. We also see the beginnings of a beard on Mitt Romney's face, which we both were taken aback by when we saw it. But setting

that aside, yes, these are the senators, some of whom Romney in particular, in blood occasionally, would speak out against Trump, even when Trump was in office. Lindsey Graham's a different story. Some of even Trump's allies are saying, look, this is a bridge too far. But as we know, this is a layup. And this is also, we'll see how fleeting this is. Is this just the latest Trump controversy that was supplanted by another Trump controversy in a matter of days? And we all move on. But I think the larger point is the word exhaustion. There are a lot of Republicans who are just tired of Trump. They recognize, look, we're not saying they're turning the page on this. We've done that too many times. We all know that no one should bury Trump as the head of the political future until he, the head of the political party that is the

Republican Party, until he actually is gone. But right now there is a sense of like he's just the past and he is exhausting. And more Republicans are suggesting we're tired of talking about 2020. We're tired of being swept up in whatever nonsense he creates out of Mar-a-Lago. The question will be, does a DeSantis or another leading Republican figure who's taking him on in 2024, maybe that's Mike Pence, although I don't think many see him as a serious contender for the Republican nominee, do they fully break with him and rally supporters to finally leave Trump? So far, they haven't. Polls suggest Trump's still the guy.

But this is clearly wearing on the leaders of the party, if no one else. Well, again, just having to constantly be answering questions about Donald Trump. Of course, some people say, oh, you people in the media. No, no, don't try the anti anti Trump ism BS on us. When the guy sits down with a neo-Nazi who says that Jews that died in the Holocaust, who compared him to like burnt cookies and he said just extraordinarily heinous things about not not only Jews, but so many other Americans. But I thought it was interesting. There was a sliding scale there.

You could almost hear Lindsey Graham going, yeah, I wouldn't meet with him, it's bad, but... All right, so that was not unequivocal. I certainly give you that. Some of the others seemed tepid. It's interesting, Rick Scott was fairly straightforward there. Joni Ernst, Kenny Kaye, tough. Joni was really tough. Senator Ernst, very tough.

Calling it ridiculous. Disgusting. Disgusting. Mitt Romney, also very harsh about it. And what's interesting is that we are hearing Republican senators being critical of Donald Trump. Sort of feeds into what we've been saying here for quite some time. There are three parties. There's the Democratic Party. There's the Republican Senate Party. And there's a Republican House Party. Interesting, not surprising, unfortunately,

and sad and pathetic that we haven't heard Kevin McCarthy. We haven't heard other leaders of the House Republicans come out and criticize Donald Trump. Why? Because they don't get to become speaker unless certain people who have spoken, actually spoken to white nationalist conventions with this guy there, introducing them, I think, without their support. So Kevin McCarthy thinks his support depends on having white nationalists and supporters of neo-Nazis voting for him for Speaker of the House. Where does that put the House Republican Party in 2023? Yeah, I mean, it certainly is not the party of Mitt Romney and Joni Ernst, is it? They were

very clear in their condemnation, and you probably wouldn't find them in the party of Mitt Romney and Joni Ernst, is it? They were very clear in their condemnation, and you probably wouldn't find them in the House of Representatives. I mean, you've got some moderate Republicans in the House of Representatives. They're just not the ones with the loudest megaphones, and they're not the people who, at the moment, Kevin McCarthy feels he needs to win over if he's going to get that speakership. Although, to be honest, that speakership is going to be such a hell of a job. Lord knows why he might even want it, because if he's going to be have to be continuously in hock to Marjorie Taylor,

June Green and Matt Gaetz and the others in that wing and Jim Jordan and the others in that wing in the very Trumpian wing of his party, his job is going to be both a nightmare and almost impossible to do. So he may rethink those years of craving that job because I just don't I don't quite see what's in it for him beyond pure ambition. No, clearly, he knows which way the votes lie and the votes don't lie with the moderates of the party at the moment. I mean, it's a very it is a very different Republican Party, although I would say, yes, we've heard these senators come out. But as Mika said, it's pretty clear. I mean, this was you know, this was a pretty clear moment for condemnation. And Lindsey Graham slightly, oh, well, somebody on the staff should get fired moment.

But what he said was was not exactly a massive repudiation of Donald Trump's own choices. No. All right. Let's get to a few of the other headlines we're following this morning. President Biden is urging Congress to approve a labor deal that would avert what he called a potentially crippling national rail shutdown. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi immediately announced she will call a vote this week. The tentative agreement would provide a 24 percent pay raise for rail workers and improved health care benefits. If the deal is not approved, unions representing freight railway workers could strike as early as next week. For the first time in almost 10 years, Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales will be visiting the U.S. The royal couple will travel to Boston tomorrow to attend the second annual

Earthshot Prize Award Ceremony, organization founded by William to help entrepreneurs with solutions to climate change and environmental issues. According to the Royal Household, William and Kate will be limiting their visit to the Boston area from tomorrow to Friday. Hey, Willie, can you make sure, you've got him right there, can you make sure Lemire doesn't go home? We can't have Lemire back up in Boston. Keep him here.

I think he's afraid I might heckle the Royals after I came out so strongly for the USA-England game last week. I think he's afraid I might heckle the Royals after my. I came out so strongly for USA, the USA England game last week. I think that's the concern. But no, I'll be here, Joe. Don't worry. It'll be fine. All right. Good.

One more. One more news story here. Hawaii. That would be like season seven of the crown. The Lumiere incident. You know, by the way, are you guys crown fan? Katie, are you a fan of the crown? I am actually.

You know, I didn't love that. Have you a fan of The Crown? I am, actually. You know, I didn't love that. Have you watched the last season? I loved the early seasons. I loved Claire Foy and the early portrayals. I found the last season kind of grim. I mean, it's basically about failed marriages all around. And, you know, the Queen's sort of difficult marriage at that moment. Diana and Charles.

I mean, I felt like voyeuristic, and I didn't really want to watch it, to be honest. You know, I'm a huge fan of The Crown. And like you loved the early seasons. Well, loved all the seasons. This season was a very difficult season to get through. It was. Yeah, I mean, and but, you know, the thing is, is, it really does show how much the queen went through in the 90s, kept her head down. It's pretty remarkable at the end of that very grim season as they're moving towards the death of Diana to think, wow, okay, so everything seemed to be blowing up in their personal lives then. But, Katty, you think about, you know, how she said goodbye to the world, you know, a couple of months ago.

It is incredible. It's great. I was in one other thing really quickly that just reminds me so much was just made up in this season of the crown when you go back and fact check like there was never the time story there was never the queen victoria fact i mean the poll that they took which supposedly showed she was unpopular you go back and see the actual times poll she had like a 90 approval rating rating. They made up so much. I don't mind a little, you know, fiction, a little artistic license. But, man, they went overboard this season.

Yeah, I mean, there's actually been quite an outcry in the UK over that. And some you've had some quite important figures, John Major, for example, speaking out and saying, hold on a second. That meeting I was reported to have had with Prince Charles, that just didn't happen. That conversation about should the queen abdicate and should he take over just didn't happen reportedly. And so they didn't just make up some of the little stuff. I think they went further than they have in the other scenes in making up some of the big stuff. And now you've had people speaking out. Dame Helen Mirren, for example, who played the queen famously saying, look, this is too much, that they actually have misrepresented the relationship between Prince Charles

and his mother and his wanting to get her out of the way so he could become king. And the prime minister. And Willie, of course, it was jarring to us that Dame Judi Dench said the same thing about the crown that she said about Morning Joe for years. Oh, no. That it is fictionalized drama. I mean, that hurt when I heard it, but that's what I expected. I mean, sometimes.

That's what she said about the crown. We catastrophize. But, yeah, she said that about the crown. And they should have a disclaimer. I don't want to get on the wrong side of Dame Judy Dent, right? No, don't. Well, you gave that disclaimer on the eve of the midterms where you said, everything we just said is wrong.

And I think that'll be on our headstone. Well done. You were right. All right. Hawaii's Manaloa. No, no, no. I was actually wrong when I said everything we said was wrong because what we said ended up not being wrong,

but ended up really being right. There was no red wave. Correct. Okay. How are you doing this morning? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Everything all right?

Yes. One more story for you this block. You want to tell everybody what you did before the show? And then we're going to go to break. No. Do you want me to? I think you should. This isn't changed.

We've been doing this show for 15 years. No, I don't. And Mika, Mika, Willie, she's started a new routine now. Yeah. I've decided to work out before the show. Oh, I used to try that. I don't know why this is interesting. It's too early.

Look at Caddy. Wakes up Caddy. She wakes up at three in the morning. Oh, my God. And she has this program where she runs full steam on a treadmill for an hour. I'm sitting there cheering her on. You know, I'm doing my morning routine. I've got a martini and old fashioned actually. I'm smoking a cigarette and you know, some hash browns from McDonald's. I'm saying you go girl, but she won like

three in the morning. It's just nice when the show is over to not have to still work out. Does anyone get that? In my way too early days, I try that just to try to get through the day. And I'd wake up at 3, and it lasted about a week. And I decided the hour of the sleep was more valuable than the exercise in the morning. But you're stronger than I am, so I bet you'll stay with it. She is strong. Well, we'll see.

Okay. Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's largest volcano, is erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years. The eruption began late yesterday on the Big Island. No, there wasn't. And residents have been warned to be on alert. The lava is currently not a threat to any nearby communities. Authorities have opened shelters on the island as a precaution. We'll be watching that. And still ahead on Morning Joe, we'll go live to Beijing for the latest on the growing unrest amid severe COVID restrictions.

Plus, we'll take a look at how those protests across China and other global factors like Russia are impacting the price of oil. CNBC's Brian Sullivan joins us to break it all down. Also ahead, there is a new legal fight in Arizona after one county failed to certify the state's 2022 midterm results. These people are such dopes. They don't understand. That's a county, Cary Lake, one. So if they don't certify the results, then the shadow gets even more.

The shadow Katie Hobbs gets even more of the victory. Yeah. Kerry Lake lost to the shadow. OK. And minority leader Kevin McCarthy issues a new warning to Republicans as he struggles to secure enough votes to become the next speaker of the House. We'll have the latest on that rift within the GOP. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. All right. It's 35 past the hour. Beautiful shot of the sun coming up over New York City. We've been following the protests across China because of the strict COVID policies.

And joining us now from Beijing, NBC News foreign correspondent Janice Mackey-Frayer. Good to have you back with us, Janice. So, Janice, The Times this morning was talking about how China's government is prepared for protests. I did a little bit of research this morning and actually saw they doubled their budget over the past decade for internal security. And right now, some reports suggest they spend more money on internal security than they do on national defense. So what what what's this going to look like? Do you expect Chinese authorities to clamp down a pretty, pretty tough in the coming days and weeks? Well, there's no secret that national security is a priority here. Even at the 20th Congress in October, when Xi Jinping was giving his speech, he mentioned security 73 times,

I think it was, over the course of the time that he was speaking. There is a massive security apparatus that's been established here. At the same time, over the past 10 years of Xi Jinping, there has been a tightening over other controls on the Internet, bans on human rights groups. The censorship has been ramped up. So what we're seeing is the potential for a national movement here with these protests happening simultaneously in multiple cities across the country, these people rallying around a single cause. But at the same time, there is not the expectation that organizers are going to be able to organize. They are trying to use coded messages on social media, trying to evade the censors and also using other techniques.

But the problem now is that there are police everywhere. You go to any of the sites of the protests over the past few days and streets that have been filled with people chanting are now filled with barriers. And they're all under guard. Police fanned out today in several cities across the country and they are visibly clamping down. In Shanghai, they were even checking people's mobile phones, looking for images or messaging apps that could connect a person to the protests. And there was a lot of talk about that on social media today among people who are interested in joining these protests,

saying that they were deleting photos and chat histories so they could avoid detention. So certainly the leadership here has the potential to crack down in a very serious way. Whether they actually do that remains to be seen. It's unclear at this point whether the protests are going to have their moment. There's just there's the will on the part of the leadership to snuff them out. And Xi Jinping, certainly in quelling the protests, isn't going to walk back on his COVID policy.

It's his signature policy. And he has said very firmly and very publicly that China is sticking to it. And there are just so many challenges, obviously, for Xi. Many of them of his own making. I was really struck that a Hong Kong court ruled in favor of a media tycoon that China had arrested. The reach of the controls has been quite staggering. During the Hong Kong protests, when we were there and covering the protests, there was all of the talk about how Beijing was going to crack down. And people were expecting, you know, the SWAT teams to go through the streets.

And they were there, but they weren't doing the crackdown. The crackdown was happening here. It was happening through legal controls, through laws. And so if we put that in the context of how these protests are now being mounted here, they're going to run into a lot of obstacles, a lot of barriers. It is really unclear whether they will last, but there certainly has been an extraordinary effort on the part of these people over the last 72 hours. All right. NBC's Janice McEfrayer, thank you very much for your reporting on this this morning, Willie. So oil prices do appear to be rebounding a little bit this morning after falling to an 11 month low yesterday amid those protests in China and also developments out of

Europe. Joining us now, CNBC senior national correspondent Brian Sullivan. Sully, great to see you. Let's start in China. It's been a while. It's been a while in person since the before times, since the before. Welcome to the way over there. How are you? Good to see you, man. So let's talk about the link between the oil prices falling to an 11-month low yesterday and what Janice was just talking about, the COVID lockdowns in China. Well, I want to put it into perspective. Here's a text I got from a friend of mine who lives outside of Shanghai. This was basically today, overnight.

Everyone in my neighborhood just went into lockdown. The building next to ours was taken to government quarantine facilities, taken to government quarantine facilities. The whole building. The whole building. Everybody lives there. That is from that was a text last night from a friend of mine in Shanghai. China uses about 15 percent of the world's oil. So when you think about their economy completely coming, not to a halt, they're driving around.

There's still there's still some some activity there, but there's very little intra-China travel. There's very little travel to China. When you have the world's second biggest economy in the scenes we're seeing on TV, it's a humanitarian disaster first, but there's a massive economic angle to this. I guess the weird side of it is that oil prices have come down. So, you know, we get lower gas prices. But look at the suffering there. It's just it's tough. So let's talk about Europe and how the war in Russia plays into all this and sort of growing tension between Europe and the U.S. over trying to cap the price of Russian energy,

which is going to provide a little bit of a tense backdrop to the Macron-Biden meeting this week in the White House. It is getting very tense with Europe. Politico had a story the other day, and they're citing unnamed sources, which I never like. But, you know, people don't want to go on the record saying that many in Europe are now accusing the White House of war profiteering. Now, the White House is accusing U.S. oil and gas companies of war profiteering. And now Europe is getting mad at our strategy because we're selling them so much natural gas and some other things that there is going to be some

tension at these meetings. Now, what people don't realize is about the same amount of Russian oil is still flowing into Europe. We think, oh, they're not buying any Russian oil. They are. They're doing it through trading firms, companies that buy the oil and then resell it. As of Monday, December 5th, we're going to see these full sanctions kick in. And they're talking about a price cap. It's very confusing. It's two separate things. Sanctions, price cap. Europe can't agree on the price. Here's the thing. The White House wants Russian oil to keep flowing around the world. They don't want to cut off all supplies because then our prices would soar. But we want it at a price point where Putin doesn't make any money. And Poland wants it really tight and other countries don't.

So it's this huge game of energy chess. And I think this I think you're right. This Macron Biden visit could be a little tense. We'll see, because Europe's got a real energy crisis all winter. At the same time, going into winter with oil prices dropping, you know, from one hundred twenty five hundred thirty down to seventy five eighty, hopefully provides a little bit of relief for consumers there. But also, what does that do to Russia's economy, considering how dependent they are on high oil prices, not only to fight their war, but to run their country? Yeah, oil, they are a petro state, Joe. I mean, that's the bottom line.

They don't make a lot of money on natural gas. Oil is where the money is. They've been having to sell their oil at about a $15 to $20 per barrel discount compared to the rest of the world, depending on the numbers that you look at. Could be as low as $10, could be as high as $20. So their money has been cut down, but it has not been cut off. And right now, we've got the full sanctions kicking in on Monday that prevents most Russian oil from being directly sold into Europe. The price cap is designed to keep oil flowing to countries like India, China and others that are still buying Russian oil that are not part of the sanctions. But yet the price would be so low that, OK, you get the oil to flow. But if you cut the number too much,

Joe, Vladimir Putin says, you know what, we'll just take the oil off the market. And the White House here is really worried. Yeah, we want to starve Putin of revenue, but we also don't want to send oil to one hundred and twenty five dollars a barrel because they take a couple million barrels off the market because they can't make any money. So they say the heck with it. So that's this delicate dance. Oh, and by the way, OPEC meets on Sunday in Vienna, Austria. I'll be there. And I'm just going to tell you, there's a really good chance they're likely to cut oil production again. Wow. I'd say they will. But there's a good shot. We will be there on Sunday meeting. Thank you, OPEC. They're the best. OK. And speaking of the meeting between

President Biden and Emmanuel Macron, we're going to be having the French ambassador to the U.S. on Morning Joe in the next hour. So we'll be talking a lot about that. Among other things. Yes, exactly. That's it. Yeah. We're going to also be talking about something like that. And the French CNBC's Brian Sullivan. Thank you. And no, thank you for the questions. Some questions about Brian Sullivan. OK, we can do that.

To actually speak French. We'll see. I think the answer is no. That's more like Canadian French. That is OK. Coming up. Canadian French. Yes.

Terrible. Horrible French. Terrible. Really? What was what? How did it offend your sensibilities? My mother and I, our ears were hurt. You tell them to stop speaking as Canadian French to you? Yeah, it was like messy Canadian French.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with Canadian French, but bad Canadian, Polish Canadian French. Think about that. Yeah, well, you know, actually, Jonathan Lear knows this. I played at my college. What do people think I can speak French? What do they got against me? Alternative band was called Messy Canadian French. So my grandmother on my mother's side was a translator.

Yeah. During World War II, she spoke 11 languages and she taught me French, real French. Really? Yes. Okay, so you and your grandmother would look down at your father. We did not like the sound of it. That's 12 more than I speak. Yeah, so you and your grandmother would look down at your father. We did not like this out of it. That's 12 more than I speak. Yeah, she was amazing.

Coming up, it's been nine months. I took Latin. That's good. For like an eighth grade, for like 15 minutes. That's all I got. It's been nine months since Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine. And with the war dragging on, it appears he's losing support at home. NBC's Keir Simmons joins us with more on that.

Plus, it is the home stretch for Herschel Walker's campaign in the Georgia Senate runoff election. It's getting close. He's trying to jump over that bermed wire fence. He's getting there to get to the cows. He sees those three other cows. Yeah. Now's the time, baby.

Are they pregnant? Take the jump. Something's going on. Something's going on. So you know something's going on there. Something is definitely going on. But a big name in the GOP is staying away from that race. Who is it and why? And Will Smith gives his first

late night interview since the slap scene around the world. We'll show you what he had to say about that night ahead on Morning Joe. Live picture as the sun comes up over the White House, 651 in the morning here on the East Coast as the war in Ukraine rages on, there are increasing signs the commitment to the effort inside Russia is wavering. More on that, we're joined now by NBC News

Chief International Correspondent, Keir Simmons. Keir, good morning. Good morning. It's an incredibly mixed picture in Moscow. You see still restaurants and cafes full of people, the streets busy. In some ways ways you wouldn't notice any difference. But then if you scratch beneath the surface and you talk to particularly

young people, what you find is deep concern, deep despondency and a feeling that they can't do anything to change things. The Ukraine conflict is tearing at the fabric of Russian society. In Moscow, we sat down with five students who didn't want to show their faces so they could speak freely. I think the majority of my generation wants this to end and we want to live in peace. While it's impossible to measure overall support for the conflict, these students say many friends are despondent, families divided. I'm really sorry for the entire younger generation because the amount of struggles they have to face will be just incredible. The attitude towards Russians is basically ruined.

You have arguments with people, do you? Yes, all of the time, especially with my family. Divisions visible even on state TV. Here, a hardline talk show host fights with a lawmaker over whether the Ukraine campaign is justified, unheard of just a few months ago. But Russia's former deputy foreign minister tells me those around President Putin think there's no turning back now. As many people in Russia are saying, the defeat of Russia, the defeat of Putin means the crash of the whole system. The students we spoke to also fear for Russia's future. If we don't have the Internet, we become like North Korea.

Volodymyrovich Putin. With protesters purged, they too believe President Putin will begin 2023 with a firm grip on power. I want you to put up your hand, put up your hand. If you believe anytime soon people will go into the streets in huge numbers to try and change things, it's not going to happen. Not one of them put their hands up. So that tells you something, doesn't it? Listen, when I was in Russia at the beginning of the invasion, there was a wave of unequivocal support on Russian television.

That isn't the case now. Now you see open criticism. That doesn't mean that what we're looking at, if you like, is the overthrow of President Putin. His network is extraordinary. Many of the people running the different agencies have known him for decades in different guises in the FSB in St. Petersburg. So you can't underestimate his strength, his ability to continue. And yet at the same time, there are these rumblings and these criticisms, even if they're said quietly like that. What's your sense, Kira, of the story Russians are being told by their own media, the state media? We have eyes on Ukraine. We know what's happening there. It seems the people of Russia, though they do have access to the Internet and they can find the right information, are being told a narrative that this is a righteous campaign to take back land that belongs to them. They are being told

that. And then there is the criticism. I think one aspect of Russia that you can never forget is you're talking about 11 time zones. It's an enormous landmass. And so there is inevitably the difference between views within a city like Moscow and views in regions, you know, hours and hours and hours away just in time from a city like Moscow. So there are those differences. And that, in a sense, is one of the issues that President Putin has to manage, because there will be families in other parts of Russia saying, well, why are our boys, why are our husbands having to go to Ukraine somewhere so far away from us? So many of them not coming home. NBC's Keir Simmons with another great report out of Russia. Thanks, Keir. Good to see you. Guys? we've been saying it for years. The problem with Russia is that it's become the government has just become so tied to Vladimir Putin that even the thought of anyone replacing him is just not crossed anyone's mind. We don't know how that looks. We don't know what comes after Putin

for a country that has more nuclear weapons than any other country in that looks. We don't know what comes after Putin for a country that has more nuclear weapons than any other country in the world. We certainly know what things look like before Putin. And yes, they are absolutely horrific now. But, you know, throughout much of the 90s, there was political, military, social anarchy in Russia. So it's everywhere you look, there's danger. Yeah, he's been very deliberate about not having a succession plan. He didn't want that. He made himself president again in order for there not to be a succession plan. And and we don't know what it would look like for him personally to lose. And we don't know what it would look like for Russia with all of its nuclear weapons to lose in Ukraine either. So the question has to be, you know,

if we get rid of Putin, if they get out of Ukraine, all of which are big ifs, then what happens within Russia? And is that a Russia that would ever be more friendly to the West than the one that we have at the moment?