Morning Joe - Putin, Kim Jong Un attend Xi's 'Victory Day' event in Beijing

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

Putin, Kim Jong Un attend Xi's 'Victory Day' event in Beijing

I want to be very clear on this point, and I want to speak directly to the press right now. We know before anything has happened here that the Trump plan is to use any excuse to deploy armed military personnel to Chicago. If someone flings a sandwich at an ICE agent, Trump will try and go on TV and declare an emergency in Chicago. I'm imploring everyone. If and when that happens, do not. take the bait. Well, I mean, Willie, we're not really talking about subway sandwiches here. We're talking about 54 people shot over the weekend. Seven people killed. And again, nobody believes that federal troops can go into Chicago legally, constitutionally. And in fact, we had a judge say after the fact that what happened in the legal was unconstitutional. That's

said, like, if 54 people are shot in Chicago over the weekend and seven people are killed, I think the focus needs to be on protecting those residents every bit as much as it does striking out against Donald Trump's plans for Chicago. Yeah, it's just a question of the solution. No one could possibly disagree that there's a problem in Chicago when 54 people are shot, but the president did say yesterday, we're sending troops into Chicago. I didn't say when, but we're going to send troops in. It's going to be more difficult in Chicago for him because of the Constitution.

Right. But I think everyone who knows Donald Trump agrees he's going to try to find a way. And what the governor and the mayor of Chicago perhaps would be wise to discuss, as Mayor Bowser of Washington has been doing, is what can we do together here? What's the part? What's the solution to stop the killing in our city? What can we do together? Because, Miki, you know,

We've talked to people who, when they go down in the subway, and they see the National Guard there. They don't mind it. They're not saying, they're going, oh, my gosh, my rights are being violated. They're not, no, we're really glad that Kathy Hokel has the National Guard down in the subway. And people who, people want to protest that, like Kathy Hokel doing it, they can. I can tell you, people that use the subway to go to and from work and to get around the city are not. not enraged by that. All right. We'll talk more about this. That, of course, was Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker urging Chicago residents to stay calm. If President Trump makes good on

his promise to deploy National Guard troops to the city, we'll bring you the latest on that in just a moment. Also ahead, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was a crucial vote in the confirmation of RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary now says he will conduct oversight on the country's top health official. This is pathetic. The question is, what does that actually mean? And seriously, seriously. This is pathetic. Where were you? And by the way, Richard, he was asked, do you regret your vote? And he was like, no. Richard Oz is here. No. I mean, you have a doctor who knew that this guy had been like, like talking in quackery for decades. he knew what he was voting for.

He knew that this was going to be a disaster. The hell, there were people inside the Trump administration who said, yeah, before the transition going, yeah, this is the bad one. This is, yeah, this one's going to be a problem because, you know, he actually is going against generations of what doctors and scientists have said. And Bill Cassidy votes for it because he's scared because I don't know. What's he going to do? Run for governor or something?

I don't know. And now he says after eight months, that he's going to do his job and conduct oversight. Should have done his job when it was time to vote. One vote and every day and every day since. You've got eight months of evidence that we've got someone in that job who's manifestly unqualified to have that responsibility. And dangerous.

Well, and is it war? And is it war with the nation's health? The health of children. And by the way, this willy bears underlining. If you look before insanity took over, like with the COVID vaccines and anti-vaxing went from being something that hippies in San Francisco did to what politicians in boss hogs and state legislatures across the deep south started doing it was states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas

that had the highest percentage of vaccination rates and they had absolutely no religious exceptions. And that's one of the reasons why those states in the deep south, some of the poorest states in the nation, had the highest vaccination rates and the lowest incidences of these diseases that RFK Jr. obviously thinks can just, you know, be played around with. Maybe natural immunity will thin out the herd. And that'll be a better way to do it. Kill a couple of kids here, kill a couple of kids there. You know, it's probably better in the end. Measles is back. Is what RFK Jr. thinks. Measles is back in some places. As you said, a couple of children have died in large part because of the quackery that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has led this movement against vaccines.

And then he tries to have it both ways when he's getting confirmed. No, I wouldn't be against vaccines. He is. He's said it many times, and now he's showing it. And he's actually got a piece in the Wall Street Journal on the op-ed page saying, I'm here to restore trust in the CDC. when just the opposite is happening and you have these group of people who've worked at the CDC

who committed their lives to the public health who said it pains us to say this but you cannot trust the information now coming out of the CDC under this man. All right. Plus the House Oversight Committee released a batch of Jeffrey Epstein files yesterday amid pressure to share more information about the case. We'll go through what, if anything, was revealed?

Nothing new was revealed. We'll also dig into nothing. Republican Senator Joni Ernst to Iowa, announcing she will not seek re-election next year and what it could mean for the midterms. We're also going to look at Maine, some really interesting things happening up there in the race against Susan Collins. It'll be very interesting to see if Susan Collins will continue to fight on through next year. This challenge looks like it's going to be something. Also, a decades-long

streak at the U.S. Open will continue after American Taylor Fritz was eliminated last night but there's still hope on the women's side. Really? You won the U.S. Open and I think the French Open in 99. Thank you for remembering. I think you're going to have to go back. I think he was inspired by my

master's win in 87. The year after Nicholas. That was not Larry Rice. That was me. It's amazing what AI-generated stuff can do right now. But this is really, we come from the land of Stan Smith. Joe. Wait, is he, is he an Australian?

Is he American? Is he American, right? We come from the land of Jimmy Connors. There we go. We come from the land of McEnroe. We come from Arthur Ash. We come from the land of Arthur Ash. There are stadiums named after one of the great American tennis players of all time. Why are the men? Where are the men? Where of all the good men gone?

why can't we who sang that where of all the flower where you're going no we're of all the good men gone or something i don't know it's an 80s song or 90s our team's working i don't know working on that guys and i don't want to hear it going to break let's well why not tumble or something but what happened to him right yeah what's happened a little riled up here okay what's happened to american tennis willie it's an incredible thing that andy roddick is the last american two of us

won the U.S. Open. That was in 2003. We're from the land of Pete Sampras. So we went from the era of Connors and McEnroe to the era of Agassie and Sampras. We're from the land of Agassi. We had great players. And by the way, Andy Roddick was a great player. What happened is he ran into the era of Jochovich, who's still here, Federer and Nadal, and they just dominated for 20 years.

So hopefully now we can start a new era of men. It's the post-American world, obviously. We are in the post-American world. Larry, but it's basically tennis was the four-rank of the post-American world. You know, people have been talking about for some time, Richard, the downfall of the United States. My fourth grade teacher

talked about it. I've never bought it. But in tennis, it's looking that way. It's the Europeans have won eight of the last 11 rider cups. Golf as well. That changes in a couple of weeks, Richard. We'll see. We'll see. We're counting on it. At Beth Page Black. Back page, yeah. In USA, I'm proud

to be an American. Really, what do we got off the top of the show? The top of the show. deep into the show. Do we want to talk baseball? No, why do we get at nine minutes in? We've got time. We've got time. All right, let's start in China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping showcased his country's military force with the leaders of Russia and North Korea by his side. Fighter jets, tanks, thousands of troops marching across Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Really, I think he does protest too much. I see these things as a sign of weakness. I really do. Look at our military hardware.

We haven't fought a war in like a generation, but we know how to dance down the streets. I said Trump's. And Washington is a sign of weakness. If you got it, you don't have to show it. You don't have to show it. That's right. This was one of China's most elaborate military parades

ever featuring some of the country's weaponry, hypersonic missiles and drones all on display. The leaders of 26 countries attended the event, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un. The United States had no representative there. The Washington Post notes the parade highlights she's desire for China to be seen as a formidable military adversary for the United States and one that is building a coalition of world leaders who can help him challenge Western global leadership. In a speech to thousands of spectators, she claimed the world is facing a choice between peace or war with Putin at his side.

Ironically. Peace or war. Now look at our weapons. I'm so uncomfortable right now. Like launching the first invasion in Europe since Vladimir Putin launched the last, since Vladimir Putin launched the last. I know how you're saying this with a smile, but go ahead. I mean, come on. And Kim Jong threatened South Korea every day across his border. She adding the Chinese people, quote, firmly stand on the right side of history. President Trump weighed in on the parade as it got underway, writing on true social, quote, Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un as you conspire against the United States of America.

They're upon the same way as he congratulated. Is he not? There's a twist. Following the event, Putin and Kim held their own meeting in which Putin thanked the North Korean leader for providing soldiers to fight in the war with Ukraine. This is straight out of Austin powers, except, of course, the stakes are a little higher. Let's go to Beijing, where we find NBC News International Course,

Janice Mackie Frere. Janice, what's it been like there today? Rich in optics, a lot of symbolism with this display of ambition as Xi Jinping seeks to stoke national pride here, but also show that China's clout is growing. Some of the PLA's most advanced weapons were on display. We saw new hypersonic anti-ship missiles, underwater drones. What's being built is the world's most powerful laser. The event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but there is this effort here to reshape the post-war narrative around China's contributions.

But as you were saying, just as significant for Xi, all of the leaders who came to watch, Russia, North Korea, Iran, nearly two dozen, mostly authoritarian countries. Kim Jong-un grabbing the spotlight as soon as that armored train rolled into town. He brought his daughter as well, seen as a potential successor. and immediately thanks Xi for his hospitality. Vladimir Putin has been here for days after handholding with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a summit, going for a car ride, embracing Xi. All of this getting attention in Washington. As you mentioned, President Trump posting to truth social just as the parade was getting underway.

Perhaps imagining that image there of the leaders watching the parade unfold from the balcony above that iconic Mao portrait in Tiananmen Square. We were there among hundreds of foreign media waiting to get that image as Xi, Putin, and Kim together. And right as the parade was going to start, we were informed that we weren't allowed to film it. We could certainly take pictures of all of the military hardware that was on parade in front of us on Chang'an Avenue,

but we could not turn the cameras in the direction of Xi Jinping and those leaders on the balcony. And that was one small example of the security precautions and restrictions that were being rolled out for this event. Roads were closed. There was a six-square-mile area around the square that had been in total lockdown for the past couple of days. Entire neighborhoods where people, if they have a window that happens to look out onto the parade route, they're forbidden to look out the window. They have to stay at home, and they were encouraged to watch it on television.

All of this for a 70-minute show by Xi Jinping, but one that obviously carried very high stakes for him. All right, NBC's Janice Mackie Freyer reporting live from Beijing following the optics there. Thank you so much. They showed Willie the world's largest laser. Today, Kim Jong-un will show sharks with lasers on their heads. It's right out of the movie. It's right out of the movie. Let's bring it right now, Staff Rider, at the Atlantic Ann Applebaum.

And, you know, I occasionally have people asking me to write books, right? I'm going to use your publisher next time because I've got to say the little party that they threw in Beijing to launch the paperback version of Autocracy E. The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. I mean, it's pretty good, because that's marketing. That is marketing, man. Hats off to you. But it also seems, given what we just reported, that we're a long way from the ambitions of an outcome in Alaska.

How would you describe what we're seeing now on the world stage and what is going on with the world order? What we're seeing is what I wrote about in my book, which is that the world's autocracies, regardless of their ideologies or their geography or their backgrounds, are beginning to make common cause. And the thing that they are consolidating around is their dislike of us. And by us, I mean people who use the language of rule of law, people who talk about transparency, people who talk about accountability, about human rights,

all of those things are dangerous for them. Those are things that appeal to their own oppositions. And so they're working harder than ever to fight back. You know, we aren't powerless. The United States is also part of a huge international coalition, if it wants to be, of countries who believe in rights and who believe in the rule of law, and we're able to fight back. But at the moment, they're demonstrating their consolidation, as you say.

You know, Richard, a couple of things. First of all, it's important for people to keep a perspective on things. The United States and the EU, along with Japan, Australia, our allies, probably have a combined GDP of around 65, 70 billion, trillion dollars a year. China has 2025, Russia, a GDP smaller than the size of Texas. Don't even forget about California. California has twice the GDP of Russia. And North Korea, they can't even keep their lights turned on at night. So you look at that, you also look at our military. Our military, obviously. We've seen how weak Russia's military is. But that said, Anne's book, which I read

when it first came out, predicted all of this. She talked about how they don't care. The Soviet Union used to care what people would think of them. They would go into the United Nations and lie every day because they thought they had to to save political face. Now, as Anne says, if you run Belarus, you can oppress, you know, everybody there doesn't matter. There will be no revolution that will bring down the power because they'll get help from all the other autocrats across the globe. And isn't that exactly what we're seeing playing out right now in Beijing? I think that's half the story that they are there for one another. What's the other story? Part of the story. We're making it easy on them.

And referred to the fact that we have this great network of alliances. You know, you made the point that we represent two-thirds of the world economy. But what are we doing? We alienate India. So India shows up at this confab. We had one of the building blocks of American foreign policy, which was to bring India closer to us to put pressure on China, so much of that.

We put tariffs against many of our allies. We've introduced great uncertainty into whether we're actually there for them. So you're saying if we're united together, shoulder to shoulder with our allies, and there's nothing these countries can do, but if we divide, you're not even saying divide, divide, we fall. Both internationally, if we divide and also domestically, the consensus about America's

role in the world. So, you know, where are we, you know, we talk on the show all the time about Ukraine. Why aren't we doing more there? Vladimir Putin shows up here in China, and he gets all these people wrapping their arms around them, including, by the way, the Chinese who have been helping him consistently, why aren't we doing more to pressure him in terms of putting sanctions on him or giving more help to Ukraine? Why aren't we doing more for Taiwan?

So yes, half the story is what they're doing. To have the half of the story, the story we can control is why aren't we doing more to help ourselves and to strengthen ourselves? And why aren't Trump's words and intentions President Trump's being heated by Vladimir Putin? But what was what happened in Alaska that was so destructive that we've ended up here with everything Trump said he was going to do to try and, to help Ukraine and end this war, it seems worse. I think the question also, Willie, is now with the Senate back in, will those Republican voices watching this, watching these autocrats, Autocracy Inc. gather to plan our destruction,

will the United States Senate finally step up and pass that sanctions bill that I think 80, 85% of the Senate supports. And what pressure can they apply to President Trump? The two weeks, he said, you have two weeks Vladimir Putin to reach a deal. The two weeks are up. They're up. Where's the deal? And, Ann, if you look at what happened in Anchorage with the rolling out of the red carpet

for Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump thought perhaps that flattery could win him some type of a peace deal, he even talked about a bilateral meeting that he now concedes will not happen between Zelensky and Putin. And so what is the message, as you watch these images this morning, of Putin standing shoulder to shoulder with Xi and Kim Jong-un, what is the message they hope President Trump receives? So Putin has made his choice. He's made it clear that he feels more comfortable with those group of other autocrats who are indeed helping him win the war. The North Koreans are providing soldiers and weapons. Chinese are providing components and spare parts for the Russian defense industry.

Those are the people who help him win the war. the war. And the United States, you know, in lots of ways that we don't see, you know, in terms of funding for foreign broadcasting and funding Russian language broadcasting, in terms of help for Ukrainian military, in terms of, you know, in terms of relations with their allies, looks to the Russians like it's moving back. And unless we reverse that view, unless we are able to put pressure on them, then they'll take us seriously again. Yeah, I just, I was watching a picture, and T.J. if you can put it up again, I was watching a picture of she and Putin walking next to each. And I'm sitting there thinking, does the United States really want these autocrats to determine the outcome of Ukraine? And by determining the outcome of Ukraine and determining the outcome of Eastern Europe, and possibly Central Europe, because, as you know, all too well, Vladimir Putin didn't stop

in Georgia. He didn't stop in Ukraine. He didn't stop in Crimea. He's not going to stop in Ukraine this time. He'll go into Poland. He'll go in, you know, to Lithuania, to Latvia, to Estonia. Like, what are the stakes at hand if we as a nation don't do anything to push back against these autocrats? So Putin has actually himself said anywhere where there has ever been a Russian soldier is potentially Russia. And I have to tell you, that's not just Eastern Europe. That includes Berlin. And if you go back to, which of course Putin remembers he was a Soviet official in Berlin,

KGB officer in Berlin in the 1980s. Of course, if you go back even farther, there were once Russians in Paris. So, you know, this is somebody who has limitless ambition. You know, he will go as far as he's allowed to go. His economy is weak. His army is not what it was meant to be. He's still stuck in the Doniatsk, which he was meant to have conquered three years ago. But he retains those ambitions.

And if he is allowed to win, if he's allowed to take territory, he will then launch further attacks. As long as he can, as long as he's allowed to do it, he will. And the one thing that can stop him is the thing we've just been discussing that Richard Haas was talking about. the alliance of democracies, American, Asian, European, international. We are able to stop him if we want to. Step Friday for the Atlantic and Applebaum, thank you. And if you want to understand what's going on right now. That's the book.

This is the book to read, Autocracy, Inc. It explains how all the dots connect. And again, Ann, kudos to your publisher. We did not see lasers on sharks, but we saw everything. Get that for your Truman book. Short of that. Now, this is amazing. The book's out in paperback now.

Thank you, Ann, very much. And still ahead on Morning, Joe. A federal judge rules the Trump administration violated the law when it deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles. We're going to dig into that decision and the impact this could have on other cities as the president threatens to send in more troops to crack down on crime. Plus, we'll bring you the latest on the backlash. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing amid the upheaval at the CDC and how he's defending his decision. And a reminder that the Morning Joe podcast is available each weekday featuring our full conversations and analysis. You can listen wherever you get your podcast.

After the war, 47. 47. All right. You're watching. A couple kids. We'll be right back. They didn't even know what a podcast was when we pitched it. Oh, yeah, no. Half past the hour, everybody.

Let's bring in the co-host of our fourth hour of morning Joe staff writer at the Atlantic. Jonathan Lemire, MSNBC contributor, Mike Barnacle, just walked in and showed up here. Yes, yeah. I don't know. Jack it was in the back of the chair. He said, oh, I think that's mine. Senior writer for the dispatch and a columnist for Bloomberg opinion, David Drucker joins us as well.

He was actually scheduled. He was scheduled. You know, Willie, we usually talk about the AL East all the time, even when everybody's below 500. But this year, we actually, we woke up in September, and there's actually a playoff race going. Yankees and Sox both one last night. Still both two and a half back tied for the first spot in the wild card.

And we were just talking, the rates are quietly. creeping up. They might make a run for the wild. A great coach, Mike. A great organization. The raise also, they always have our number. But yeah, you don't know what's going to happen. One of the best managers in baseball. One of the best managers. He's great. Okay. So back to the news if we made. Wait, he just cut Mike off. Why have they gotten down here? I mean, wait. Was Mike just getting started? Jonathan, you jump in here. And Roman Anthony, we won a crazy game last night. I mean, great win for the socks. Yeah. R.A. Scarac, a rare officer. day. He got shelled, but the socks. Blue Elite came back one. Great victory. However,

we need a prayer circle here. Willie, feel free. Richard, feel free to join in. Roman Anthony, our phenom pulled some sort of oblique injury. Going to miss time, maybe a few weeks, Mike. We'll find out today. He's going for an MRI. Ten days. Okay. Let's hope it's all. See, there you go. Mike, I asked you this question. Back in the 70s, I mean, we had this happen with Kossis, of course, Judge and would happen every other year. Like, guys get hurt swinging. the bat too hard. Now, would a guy

in 1974 swing the bat too hard, grab his side, go to the dug and go, you know what, I need to take a couple weeks? One of the most vicious left-handed swings you're ever going to see was Kyle Estremski. How many time did you ask? I swung too hard. I didn't sit out a couple weeks. The lack of trainers and medical personnel back

then, they'd play through everything. They would play through everything. But Willie was right earlier when he was talking about the huge money involved now. I'll give that to the mirror. That was a Lemire points. Yeah, I made that point. That's okay, Willey, They stole in Valour. This is a Marxist analysis. Man, what a tension here.

A lot of tension. Also, and we've talked about this before, Willie. I think they over, I think they over-trained. I really do. You know, guys in the off-season, you know, back in the 70s, you know, drink beer and eat pizzas in the off-season. I'm telling me, these guys over-train, and I think, you know, the torque and everything when they're swinging that back.

There's a lesson in that, you've got to lay off a little bit, with the weights, Joe. I know. I'm trying, you know. We're old school. We're old school. We're old school. We're like a Stravsky and Mickey Mantle. Yeah, you get that. There's a picture. That's ready. I'll tell you why. That team jacks. Well, we have that. We, we have that on. Len Dawson. It's, yeah. You can't underline enough. That's at half time of the Super Bowl. He's ripping a lung dart. During the Super Bowl. Yeah. It's so good. That photo always ready. There it is. You know, Jim Kramer has his five buttons.

T.J. has five pictures, right? One, you know, the troops going on, well, the one of his troops going on, Omaha Beach, has that one ready to go all the time when we're talking about Val. But always says that Lynn Dawson, one of one of his five. I don't know why. Cigarette and a fresca at the time of the Super Bowl. Okay. Now, speaking of health,

it's not going to have dogs. That's a good side of it. That's a nice. Terrific. That's broke. Good job. Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is pushing back one day after a group of former CDC leaders

said he is endangering every American's health. But the only reason why they said that is because he's endangering every American's help. But go ahead. It would be, it's hard to laugh, but we've got to laugh because it's ridiculous and painful. We never have to laugh. Oh, we're laughing. And an opinion piece of the Wall Street, journal titled, We're Restoring Public Trust to the CDC.

Kennedy didn't tell the truth. I'm not reading what he said. All right. So who do we have? David Drucker. So yesterday we had Bill Cassidy come out and go, well, I don't really regret my vote. But, well, you want to play it too? You want to play it? TJ, do you have that one along with Lynn Dawson?

Already. Press the button. Do you trust RFK Jr.? You know, people are going to try and make this something more than it is. I'm not presupposing anyone is right or wrong. I am saying we've got to get to the truth because there's serious allegations. And so that will take radical transparency to quote the president, to quote the secretary. So I'm not presupposing someone's right or wrong.

I just never got to figure it out. At this point, how do you feel about your vote for RFK? Do you regret it at all? You know, I don't mean to insult. But that's really nothing to do with this. What? It has everything to do with this. He's there.

What? And he's attacking 50, 60, 70 years of science because of your vote, Bill Cassidy, MD. So, so please, David Drucker, tell us what kind of pushback is RFK Jr. going to get from Republicans in the Senate? It's going to get any pushback at all? Why don't you guys always give me the hard questions? Well, because you always answer, no, no, no, they're not, actually. But I thought maybe one time, maybe one time they will.

Look, there's always the moment at which things change. But when you look at President Trump's 90 plus percent approval rating with Republican voters in most of the polling, in some Gallup polling I just looked at, and you look at how he came back into office with this coalition that included a lot of voters that wanted RFK Jr. to do exactly what he's doing, which is exactly what he said he would do and anybody who believed the confirmation hearings wanted to believe it and didn't pay attention to what the man believed and said he wanted to do, they do not want to get out in front of President Trump. Now, when you look at that true social post, I guess, in the last 48 hours or so, or at some point in the last couple days where he talks about wanting the drug companies to prove that his successful operation, Warp Speed, was in fact successful, which was an odd turn of phrase, I guess.

It's possible that the president himself is concerned about a broad backlash for something that has always been successful and never been messed with. by any president, no matter how much they thought the government was rigged or the economy was rigged. But I think until the president gets there, I don't expect Republicans in the U.S. Senate, never mind the House, to do any sort of pushback about this publicly. I think what we can look for, because this will happen actually quite often, look for whether or not Republicans in Congress are privately urging the president to do something about this. One thing I will say is that one of the reasons I think we often don't see a lot of pushback from voters, except voters that you would expect to be upset about something like this,

is that all politicians like to throw around the term rigged. It's not just Republicans, it's Democrats. I'm not blaming anybody here, but there's this broad belief that everything's rigged and nothing's trustworthy. And so what we see from voters is they tend to trust the president when it's the president that they support and distrust the politicians saying things if they don't like those politicians as opposed to looking at issues more broadly and saying, yeah, I like you, but you're wrong on this. I like you, but you're wrong on that. Yeah, you know, it's so interesting. Nobody trusted science willing during COVID.

And I had relatives and friends who didn't trust science, didn't trust science, didn't trust science. Then one of their friends died of COVID. And then they trusted science, and they went and got the vaccine, you know. And again, historically, we've talked about Operation Warp Speed, whether Donald Trump wants to take it or not. You know, it's one of the great scientific achievements over the past 50 years, saved tens of millions of lives. We opened economies across the globe. And he's, you know, it's got an HHS secretary

that's basically engaging in witchcraft. And you have Bill Cassidy going, well, I don't know who, I'm not saying anybody's right. I'm not saying anybody's wrong. He's a doctor, and he knows he's lying to the camera. He's staring straight into the camera, and he knows he's lying, because he knows that RFK Jr.,

is wrong. But maybe he's scared of his voters instead of scared for the children who are going to suffer because of this guy. You see fear in that clip. You see fear of Donald Trump. You see fear of Donald Trump's supporters. Bill Cassidy is a celebrated doctor from Louisiana. He's a gastroenterologist. He's like a legend at LSU. During Katrina, he set up all these mobile makeshift care facilities to help people in those times. He is a real doctor and a good doctor. And he clearly, clearly knows better, and he's still knowing everything he knew about RFK Jr. voted for him, and he's still trying to have it both ways as he talks about it. So, I mean, John, I mean, you've covered Donald Trump very closely here in his relationship with the Republican Party.

It's obvious that they know Donald Trump likes him, doesn't want to, likes RFK Jr, doesn't want to admit a mistake, likes the fact that he's a Kennedy, there's a lot that goes into this, doesn't want to cross that sort of conspiratorial element of his own base. And so you get people like Bill Cassidy and other Republicans who clearly know better and would tell you so privately still supporting this guy who's doing what he's doing at the CDC. Yeah, it's the latest verse of a very tired song. It's just it's Republicans being terrified at Donald Trump and they won't cross them. I mean, yes, you have Senator Murkowski saying she's, quote, not pleased. That's about as far as any Republicans willing to go.

We saw Cassidy and you just listed his medical credentials. Children are getting measles again. Yep. I'm not pleased. Not pleased. Not pleased. consequences that are real life, that even Trump supporters and members of the MAGA movement, at some point, they're going to see and feel these consequences.

Bill Cassidy knows that they're going to be sick. But it will be a tragedy. We don't want that to happen. I know. Don't run from medical science. I mean, the past 50 years, 60 years, but that's what even Cassidy's doing. Dr. Cassidy took an oath to first do no harm. Supporting RFK Jr. does harm. And it's not going to change. The president is enamored with Kennedy. We saw you at a prime speaking slot at the cabinet meeting last week.

He loves the idea that a Kennedy supports him. He loves the idea that a Kennedy works for him. He's there. And now there's some talk in that as true social post, David mentioned about like, well, we'll talk to doctors, see what they say. Well, that deck is probably going to be stacked. Doctors who agree with Robert Kennedy, Jr. Are the ones who are going to talk about whether the vaccine...

I think they're going to be hard. Is vaccine or hard to find them? Unless maybe you talk to Rand Paul. The amazing thing, I think, to a lot of people, especially people who talk politics a lot, is that what you just refer it to, I mean, the project that helped develop and provide the vaccine, the COVID vaccine, was under Donald Trump's administration. The fact that he can't grasp... And by the way, Mike, people said it was going to take a decade.

It took like five months. Yeah, five months like that. Again, an incredible achievement. A literal lifesaver. And now we're not talking about the economy or the national defense. We're talking about people's lives. And it's not just the, it's not just the potential of obstructing COVID vaccines from being distributed. It's vaccines in general.

Right. That's how crazy Bobby Kennedy Jr. is. All right. Vaccines in general. By the way, as Ferris Bueller said, Life comes at you pretty fast. So if you don't stop and look around, it's going to pass you by. Well, we were talking.

There was a Kennedy quote from another Kennedy that I saw liked and want to read to you. It's just been too much chaos. It's a goat rodeo. Can somebody write that down? I need my latte. Somebody write this down for me. It's a goat rodeo over there. We need to restore that confidence.

And so far, I don't see where Senator Kennedy has done that. Okay. Secretary Kennedy has done that. So there you have, there you have, David, Secretary Kennedy, getting undermined by Senator Kennedy talking about a goat rodeo. So maybe there is, maybe Hope Springs Eternal, maybe the goat rodeo will be corralled by a few Republicans in the Senate. It's very possible. Again, I'd look for those private conversations versus too much in public. I'd also, you know, remind everybody, Senator Cassidy isn't the only Republican doctor on the hill, right? I mean, John Barras of the Republican Whip is an orthopedic surgeon by trade. There are doctors in the Republican conference in the House, a dentist or two.

I mean, there are plenty of voices that could speak up that can make this argument to the president. But just again, to get back to why we're here, why is it that Donald Trump has basically rebuked one of the biggest success? of his first term and second term, for that matter, something that even if you want to argue that the vaccines weren't perfect, gave Americans and people worldwide the confidence to get out of their house and get the economy and this world back on track, it's because his own voters turned on it. And he is a politician, like everybody else in Congress, and who do they fear the most? They fear voters. And that is why Republicans and the president turn their back on such a major proven success.

You know, if you get power, sometimes you've got to use it, and sometimes you've got to stand up to your own base. This seems like it would be a really good time to do that. Richard Haas, I'm skeptical. You say a two-state solution is still possible in Israel, between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Tell us what we're going. Willie and I usually get our advanced copies of foreign affairs,

and we read it on the way to the dog track. But you go ahead and tell us what we're going to be seeing tomorrow. Well, it came out today, actually. Two separate issues. One, whether it's going to happen. The other is whether it's good. It's on life support. And the reason I wrote this for Foreign Affairs is I actually think it's either we have to

start moving that direction or it's going to disappear. Will it ever exist with Netanyahu's prime minister? No. But what's really the question now is whether the United States interviews, Who's more popular in Israel than Benjamin Netanyahu? A guy named Donald Trump because of what he's done for Israel in his first term since the attacks on Iran. Donald Trump has enormous political capital in Israel, plus probably 40% or so of the Israeli people. You see him out in the streets, protesting Gaza, protesting what's happening to democracy.

So there's something to work with there. Why would Donald Trump get involved? Because Donald Trump wants to be a peacemaker. And this is a chance where he could actually make a historical difference. And what we don't know is calling for a Palestinian state anytime soon. What you need to do is start the process. You need to prevent, for example, Israeli expansion of settlements, which are going to kill the idea once and for all, just the other day new ones.

Also, guess what? If Israel wants to get out of Gaza, to get out of jail ticket is going to be some political process because that's the only way to get an Arab stabilization force in there. So something needs to be done. And if Donald Trump wants to be a historical figure in the Middle East, this is his chance. to be it, Joe. But just the opposite is what Netanyahu's doing right now. I'm getting out of Gaza. He's saying we're going into Gaza City now. We're going to clean this all out. So what is the hope? Are you looking beyond Netanyahu, whenever that may be? Netanyahu's doing it, in part because

you've got an American ambassador in Israel who's saying, do it, and Donald Trump isn't saying anything. You've got the head of the Israeli defense forces saying, don't go into Gaza City. Israel is a divided country over this. This is in some ways, is exposed the biggest fault line in Israel. If Donald Trump weighs in, it will affect the Israeli debate. And that this is the moment to do it. And what worries me, I think we're getting close to the now or never point. And if you don't begin this process now, I think it kills it once and for all. And what does that mean? What is Israel going to do with five million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? What's that going to mean for a Jewish democratic state? What is that going to mean for Israel's relationship with the rest of the

Israel is becoming a pariah. I worry about that. I hate the idea that Israel is going to permanently isolate itself from the West. That to me is really, really dangerous, and that's what I see happening. What does Israel do about the fact that they have established by their military behavior within Gaza an entirely new generation of people who will hate Israel till the day they die? They're now maybe 12, 13, 14, 14, 15 years of age, and they will hate Israel until the day they die. True. It's one of the reasons that the idea that you can eliminate Hamas militarily is a nonsensical idea.

Remember the old Don Rumsfeld Snowflake? How do we know when we kill terrorists and we shut off a cruise missile and we don't create more terrorists than we're killing? That is what Israel is doing in Gaza. So you're right. You've got to change that dynamic. The only way to do it, and we've talked about this in the show before, to create a different political dynamic and basically say, here's a way Palestinians can get some of what they want. You open up a political door. At the same time, you say there's no, you know, you've got to live in peace with Israel and so forth. You've got to create an alternative to Hamas. Right now, there is zero alternative to Hamas. I'm not saying this is likely to happen.

All I'm saying is not just Palestinians, but Israel will be an enormous loser if history goes on and what little chance there is for a two-state solution disappears. Richard Haas, thank you very much. His new piece for Foreign Affairs is available to read online. right now. And coming up on Morning, Joe, we'll take a look at some of the other stories, making headlines this morning, including another major online service that is ready to crack down on password sharing. We're back in 90 seconds. Willie, look at that shot. T.J.'s up in the helicopter right now. Is that not a pilot? He is a pilot. Beautiful September shot at that stuff.

He's a tricky track record, but he's up safely today. It's about nine minutes before the top of the hour, live with the Capitol as the sun comes up over Washington, D.C. Where Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, as formally announced, she will not be seeking re-election next year. Ernst has held the seat since 2014 and won her last election by more than six. six points. She said in a video posted to social media that she wanted to step away to spend more time with her family. Her retirement announcement opens up a seat in a key state that could potentially lead to a competitive race as both parties battle for control of the Senate. Meanwhile,

thousands of people packed an arena in Portland, Maine on Monday for Senator Bernie Sanders and his nationwide fighting oligarchy tour. Sanders publicly endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Senator of Maine Susan Collins. Platner, a marine veteran, an oyster farmer, just launched his campaign two weeks ago. Take a look. Symbolic opposition does not reopen hospitals. Weak condemnations do not bring back Roe v. Wade.

Selling out the same working class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable. A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying for the role of United States Senator. Senator Susan Collins seemingly getting a pretty big challenge there. And David Drucker, Joni Ernst retiring, what more do we know about that? She came in real hot, going to make him squeal. Remembered that commercial? Yeah. And was seen as sort of a star in the Republican Party.

She really was. And, you know, it'll be interesting to find out if there's something deeper here. There was a point early in the president's transition where she had some issues with Pete Hegseth eventually back down. Yeah. What happened with that? Do we know any backstory reporting about just, you know, her vote ultimately and how she got there? I don't know that there's anything more to know, other than she had concerns. The newly re-elected president had issues with her and wanted that vote. His supporters came down hard on her, and she acquiesced, not unlike Senator Cassidy with the RFK vote,

RFK-Juneer vote. You know, I think the question is that can Democrats make this see competitive now that it is open? I think it's going to be tough because of where Iowa is politically in the Trump era, a very red state. In 2020, Joni Ernst managed to win rather easily. And so did Donald Trump, even though it looked initially like Iowa was once again competitive. But I think this is a case, too, where you have a Reagan-era Republican who has decided that you just have to do too much bobbing and weaving. at a time when the party is controlled by populist forces, and it may not be worth the effort.

Yeah. You know, Jonathan, there was reporting on the Hill after the exit vote that Johnny Ernst was complaining to others that she and her family were threatened. Yeah, that's what I was getting to. Yeah, that she and her family were threatened, and she changed her vote. I'm not saying that's why she changed her vote,

but that was that was part of the mix, something that deeply disturbed her. Yeah, I think that was part of why she changed your vote and part of why she doesn't want to run again. That was a, I'm told by people on the Hill, that was a pretty harrowing experience for her. She's concerned of what other things could be dug up, what other harassment she and her family may face. And also it would be, you know, she'd certainly be the favorite this time around. But, you know, she's also had a few major significant faux paws about the big beautiful bill. And we're going to die. So this would be a hard.

on the campaign. Right. This would be a harder slog this time around as well. And we should also note back to Maine, it's certainly not a done deal, but there are rumors that the governor, Governor Mills, may also jump into that race. So that could be a highly competitive seat. Yeah, you know, Susan Collins is one of the few people back in 2020. She won the state by nine and Joe Biden won the state by nine. That doesn't happen anymore. And things have certainly changed a great deal over the past six years. So I think, I think this is what usually happens when you're moving toward a wave election, Mike, I'm not going to say this is a wave election, but as you move towards 1980s or, you know, 1994s, you know, one of the reasons why, you know,

I won probably was because the guy who had been there for 16 years before me, he saw what was coming in 1994 and said, I don't want any part of that. We, of course, saw that in 2008. I wonder if we may see that again in 2026, where there are just some Republicans who say, I'm just not going to go through this and just to get swept away in a way. I think you're right in pointing that out. And why are so many people walking away, both Republicans and Democrats, walking away from running for re-election, I would submit that the intensity of national politics in this country has changed dramatically and drastically over the last eight to nine years. I have no way of referencing an earlier period of time when intensity is such it is now, but it is now

people see that don't want to run or don't want to run for re-election. All right. Senior writer for the dispatch, David Drucker, thank you very much. His latest piece for the dispatch on how Democrats are confronting divisions over cultural issues is available to read online right now. And still ahead on morning jail. We'll take a closer look at how President Trump's mass deportation efforts are impacting families. MSNBC's Jacob Soberop spoke to a high school student who was recently, sent back to Guatemala. He joins us with that interview. And as we head to break, one week from

today next Wednesday, September 10th, Joe and I will appear at the 92nd Street Y here in New York City. We're going to speak with Ed Luce of the Financial Times about the state of the world. His very timely biography of my father, former National Security Advisor Spignav Prisinski. There are just a few more days left. Get tickets 92.w.org slash events. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back.