anything but. if you could answer any of that, i'll sit down and shut up like elizabeth warren. >> and now more protests all across the country with millions at risk for deportation after president trump's tough new guidelines on immigration. the white house says it's just enforcing the law. all of it as the administration sends south two of the president's closest advisers. their mission in mexico? defrost that icy relationship. why a we are talking about all of this. peter alexander and kristen welker at the white house. kerry sanders in mexico city. we'll talk about what's been a rough and tumble past few days for congressional lawmakers. they are getting quite the welcome, you could call it, from their constituents back home. demanding answers on health care to national security and more. watch. >> last i heard, these coal jobs are not coming back and now these people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor.

and they worked those coal mines and they're sick. the veterans are sick. they're not getting what they need. if you answer any of that, i'll sit down and shut up like elizabeth warren. >> spent so much money on benghazi. waste a little on trump. >> so this is a story that has been bubbling more and more over the last few days with lawmakers on recess. peter, you had the chance to go to one of these in person in rural virginia. talk me through what that was like. >> we were in blackstone, virginia, about three hours out of washington, d.c., the home district of the congressman dave bratt. he rode a wave of tea party anger several years back. this time walked into a wall of it yesterday as he visited with a lot of these individuals. some supporters, but plenty of others.

a lot of progressives in that room angry at the congressman. really upset not just about donald trump and what he's doing about it but what republicans more broadly were doing on issues they think affect their own life like obamacare. one of the real challenges for republicans is without a specific plan, without any real details to give. the frustration from them is becoming increasingly angry and it's providing a real challenge for these republicans right now in districts around the country. you showed mitch mcconnell. same for chuck grassley in iowa and elsewhere. there has been a pushback from some republicans suggesting that some of these protesters are paid. the folks we met last night even held signs up that say we are not paid protesters. they are organized, we should say. there are groups helping them. online groups, on facebook and elsewhere to help bring thyself folks together. no nonetheless, a lot of similarities to what we witnessed with the tea party. what a difference eight years makes. >> let's talk about that. the tea party was a lot of

republicans outraged against republicans. you saw some of these lawmakers move right or get primaried. the president has said these are planned protested. you are making the distinction, not paid but planned. are you seeing more liberals and progressives coming out? are these democrats in red districts or republicans who are speaking out against republicans? >> speak to what we saw last night. this was in the southernmost tip of dave bratt's district, the seventh district of the state of virginia. richmond virginia has a much bigger population but he was about an hour and a half outside it. nonetheless, tons of folks drove down, some carpooling as they told me, from richmond. a lot of them progressives and liberals to have their voices heard. frustrated this was held in such a remote place. they could only seat about 200 people. you note some important differences with the tea party. but the similarities are the energy that exists. and the energy is on the left among progressives and liberals

and democrats me broadly. the question, is this something they can maintain? how can they harness it to turn it into something politically that helps them going forward? >> that is something we will be talking about later in this hour. peter alexander in the briefing room at the white house. thank you. one of the topics you heard peter reference, not just health care, or security but immigration as well. we're looking at some new immigration heguidelines and ho they are being urged to carry them out. kristen welker is at the white house. the goal is not mass deportations. fair to characterize it that way? >> well, look, if you look at what is written, that is accurate. they aren't changing the guidelines. at the same time, the reason why it's being characterized that way is because these new rules that dhs put out yesterday which, by the way, dhs' way of saying, here's how we're going to carry out president trump's immigration policies does seem

to expand the universe of people who could be eligible and scrutinized for potential deportation. let me give you a couple of the headlines. one, there will be 10,000 new i.c.e. agents. 5,000 new border agents. this is also going to give some of those agents the ability to detain and deport people when they cross the border. it's also going to be looking at parents who pay smugglers to pring their kids across the border. those parents could be subjected to prosecution, hallie. in addition to that and the way to think about it is under the obama administration, they were really targeting criminals. those who had serious criminal records. in this instance, even if your pulled over for a traffic ticket and it's deemed you are undocumented, you could be deported. the white house is saying, this isn't mass deportation because we're not change anything of the actual laws that are in place. at the same time, there is no

dou doubt. this goes too far. it's going to break up families. expect there to be a robust debate about this. >> when we talk about immigration, we'll be remiss if we didn't look ahead to what we see later in the week which is this new rewritten, redone you could say executive order to replace that controversial one tied up in a legal fight now. the temporary travel ban from the president. walk us through when we might see this. what we might see. the white house is being a little cagey on the details, at least in this point. >> you and i have been trying for days to get all of the details. here's what we know so far. we expect it's going to come out by the end of the week. the language is going to be critical here because it was the language that allowed the initial executive order to be held up in the court. in terms of the language, what do we expect? we expect this new executive order to again halt travel from those seven countries that were initially targeted. those predominantly muslim countries. what will be different based on our reporting so far, we think that the language around syrian

refugees is going to be different. remember, in that initial order, it essentially called for an indefinite ban of all syrian refugees. that i am told will likely be different. it's not going to be indefinite. it's not going to be a blanket ban. we'll be looking at that language closely. our latest nbc news survey monkey poll has some new numbers out about this. 50% approve of an executive order ban ining predominantly muslim countries. but this is another hot button issue. >> kristen welker, thank you. we talk about the new enforcement guidelines, they are expected to be item number one in diplomatic meetings happening today. rex tillerson and homeland security head john kelly are heading to mexico city set to meet with mexico's president.

highw how might you describe the relationship between these two? it's complicated. kerry sanders is in mexico city. talk through the mood in mexico city where you are from the mexican government toward the u.s. right now. what are you hearing? what are you seeing? >> well, at minimum, i would call it frosty because there is a very big concern here, not only about the relationship between the two countries. of course enrique pena nieto has right now a very low rating. his approval rating is in the single digits. so it looks to many in this country as if america is pushing mexico around. and that has a lot of people here quite upset. so president trump pena nieto has to deal with his domestic audience at the same time that secretary of state rex tillerson is making his way down here for the meeting.

also at the same time, it's important to note that people here are upset about the idea that somehow the united states will be deporting people through mexico, or into mexico that are not mexican. the possibility that people from central america, from guatemala, el salvador will somehow be taken to the border and pushed into mexico, becoming mexico's problem, has folks here quite upset, too. of course, at the end of the day, look at the amount of the economy and the relationship between mexico and the united states. 80% of what is exported out of this country makes its way to the united states. the economy relies on the relationship back and forth and the mexican population in the united states, both the legal and illegal population. they send back to mexico more than $24 billion in what are known as remittances. and those $24 billion help keep this economyin ing igoing.

it's notable that $24 billion is larger than the oil economy in this country. hallie? >> kerry sanders live for us in mexico city monitoring the action there. with me on set is the ambassador james jones who served as u.s. ambassador to mexico under president bill clinton. thank you for joining us in washington. let's start overall on this trip. let's call it what it is. is it fair to characterize this as a make nice or a clean up the mess journey from the secretary of state here after we saw the mexican president call off his trip to the u.s., the foreign minister clearly upset as well? >> clearly the relationship between mexico and the united states is the worst it's been in 25 years. and a time when we have great cooperation with mexico both on economics, as well as national security, this is something that has to be mended. and i think both secretary tillerson and secretary kelly are the ones to deliver the message and to try to get it back on track. >> can they mend it or is this

just a bandaid? >> it's a process where our two countries have to get back together. over 25 years since nafta, we have cooperated in so many different things. and we've. dwped that trust and developed that relationship and then all of a sudden, mexicans and the mexican government feel like they've been totally insulted by the new administration and so it's an opportunity for us to get this back on track and to solidify both the security and the economic relationships. >> you mentioned nafta. you were the ambassador when nafta was signed. president trump has been clear the renegotiation of nafta is on the table, right? his administration has made clear they are looking for more bilateral trade relationships. nafta is now almost a quarter century old. where does it need to be revisited? what would you support from this administration as far as reconfiguring, restructuring that trade deal. >> i take issue with president trump saying it's the worst trade deal ever. it was negotiated by president bush and president reagan.

carla hills did a beautiful job. and it is not the worst. in fact, i wish he would just give an example of why it's -- he thinks it's the worst. nobody has really pressed him on that. secondly it does need to be renegotiated. for example, cell phones. electronic equipment. technology was not 25 years was not in existence. that needs to be uptraded. intellectual property. and the mexicans agree it needs to be uptraded. it's not a big deal to be renegotiated. >> it's a big deal to speak out so strongly against it but it seems both sides maybe want to look at this again. what is mexico's bargaining chip in all of this? >> mexico's bargaining chip, if it really got to be a nasty situation, are a couple of things. first of all, security. mexico has been our prime partner in limiting those people who want to come into this country and do us harm. they are actually detaining and deporting more people at their

southern border primarily from central america but also all over the world than we -- than we are interdicting in our northern or southern border. so that's number one. if they decided not to cooperate, we would have thousands and thousands coming through our border. so that's one. number two is economic. we have such an integreated economy now with canada, mexico and the united states if we disrupted that, it's going to be a huge disruption to the united states economy. >> i asked kerry about the mood that he's feeling in mexico city. you've seen a lot of mexicans go online expressing deep concern about president trump. does that extend to the rest of america? does that extend to all of america? what's your sense of where mexicans, you know, citizens are in relationship to us? >> i think mostly it extends to this government, the u.s. government. because of the integration of our economies, families are intertwined in mexico and the

united states and because of the business relationships and the creation of wealth in both countries, there is a look -- mexicans look at americans as human beings and not as some fictional characters. and that i think still exists as of now. but they are terribly insulted. >> ambassador jones, thank you. we'll be talking more about this trip and our raeelationship wit mexico after the break. this immigration debate heating up, house speaker paul ryan is headed down to the border for the first time with some real serious questions over how to foot the bill for that border wall president trump wants to see. we're talking about that next with congressman ted lew of california. re growing the economy, with the help of the lowest taxes in decades, a talented workforce, and world-class innovations. like in plattsburgh, where the most advanced transportation is already en route.

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later today house speaker paul ryan is heading down to visit the u.s./mexico border as his party is still trying to figure out just how they're going to pay for this big border wall and deliver on one of president trump's biggest cam. a promicampaign promises. in the meantime, we're talking about all of this with congressman ted lieu, democrat from california. congressman, thank you for being with us. i want to start with conversations with your republican colleagues. are you hear anything kind of consensus on how to pay for this wall given that mexico has insisted it ain't going to be them? >> thank you, hallie, for your question. the republicans have a problem.

they don't know how to fund this border wall and multiple republicans have now gone on record saying they're not going to fund this stupid border wall. one of the republican members of congress in texas said this border wall is one of the most expensive, least effective ways to secure our border. that's one reason speaker ryan needs to go down and look at this because he's having problems holding his caucus together. >> i know your feelings on the border wall. when you talk about border security, you've said that's crucial. that's key to comprehensive immigration reform. >> i agree. >> if these dhs guidelines go to far, what's the democratic alternate sni alternative? >> as an immigrant myself, i find the trump administration's orders on immigration to be un-american, offensive and cruel. we're going to separate children from their parents? we're going to break apart

families under these orders. under president bush, at least we had compassionate conservatism. this is cruel conservatism. >> the president has said he wants to have a big heart and treat some of these families with heart. you don't buy that? >> absolutely not. because under these orders as they are written, you can deport parents who are here who are undocumented even if they just committed the crime of jay d j-walking. they do not show the difference. you'll spend all these federal resources on people living peaceful lives and it's a waste of federal resources and it's really quite cruel. >> congressman, immigration is one of the topics that's come up at some of these gop town halls all across the country with congress out on recess this week. health care is another. marsha blackburn, the congressman, was at a town hall last night. i want to play a couple moments

from that. >> we have in the white house now a notorious white nationalist as a special adviser to the president of the united states. i'd like to know your thoughts on that. >> i'm wondering if you will support an independent commission to investigate president trump -- >> i want to get your reaction overall to what your colleagues are seeing at some of these town halls and the president's point that these are planned, in some cases planned protests from groups like indivisible and others, progressives and liberals coming into these red districts. >> the president is just wrong. these are organic, grassroots protests that you see from across the country. on january 21st, that their was that amazing women's march all over america. you're seeing this huge reaction to the policies of donald trump. and it's also showing up in the polling data. over the weekend -- >> there are groups, though,

right? you don't deny there are groups of more liberal activists helping to organize these protests at town halls. >> yes, there are groups that are organizing people to show up at town halls, but thyself are peop people who are constituents. they show up at town halls and give their voices to these members of congress. and you are seeing this huge reaction to donald trump's extreme and cruel policies. >> california congressman ted lieu, thank you much. we'll see you back here in washington after the recess. thank you. coming up, heading inside cpac. the annual three-day political palooza which kicks off today. last year ted cruz walked away the big straw poll winner. how do conservatives plan to move their agenda forward in the age of donald trump? we're talking about it next.

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let's get a quick look at the headlines this hour. "the washington post" is reporting the trump administration is getting ready to reverse some obama-era guidelines that would let transgender students in public schools use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identi identity. the policy is under review but at this point there are no plans for an announcement. white house spokesman sean spicer said the president is seeing this as a states rights issues not one for the federal government. malaysian police have named two new persons of interests in that mysterious airport murder of kim jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of north korea's leader. one of them is a north korean embassy official. the other is an employee of north korea's state-owned airline. police haven't revealed why they think the pair is connected to

jong-nam's death. you saw two women on surveillance video wiping jong-nam with something believed to be poisonous. they are facing a deadline just 3 1/2 hours from now to clear out their camps. it comes after the state's governor signed an evacuation order last week. all of it in the middle of concerns this encampment could end up flooded out in the spring. they say they might go to higher ground but some of them are promising to stay put. cpac, the conservative political action conference, kicks off today just outside the beltway in d.c. in national harbor, maryland. president trump, the keynote speaker friday. he skipped the event last year but was there in 2015 with tough words for republicans. >> i'm a conservative. i'm a republican, but i look at what's going on with the republicans. i'm almost more disappointed

with the republicans. they have to toughen up on everything, and most importantly, perhaps other than immigration, they have to toughen up on obamacare, which is a total lie. >> that was two years ago. let's bring in the editor for the washington examiner and also bill crystal, founder and editor at large of the weekly standard who has also addressed this conference. it's a real pleasure to have you both here. i'm so curious about your perspective on all of this. 15 cpacs in 17 years. you are a guy who knows this thing. donald trump and the conservative movement. it has been a fraught relationship to say the least. what kind of message are you expecting from him this week? >> he's going to come out and show his success in a conservative way. lots of appointments people like. conservatives like betsy devos

and pruitt at the epa. they love neil gorsuch, the supreme court nominee. he's going to lay that out and also say we need to keep fighting. you need to have an enemy. and the enemy is suppress. and the cpac crowd, it will be part of his job. to rally him against the press, and it won't be hard. >> is that the message that conservatives like you who are uneasy with president trump want to hear? >> not particularly. i'd like to hear him talk about some conservative principles like limited government and the constitution and american leadership in the world which trump may think they are old-fashioned and some of the crowd may think are old-fashioned. if you read ronald reagan's speech at cpac when he ran for president and lost in '76 he laid the ground in ways that i think are still true. maybe not quite as fashionable. if he just beats up the press and apeelss to the court, that's to some degree harmless. statesmen usually do. what reagan did is tell people they told want to hear. tell them a few truths about how important american leadership in the world is even if people are tired of it or how important

having a sort of bipartisan commitment to the norms and procedures of liberal democracy is even if the people in the crowd want just red meat. >> to play devil's advocate, this is a crowd for a statesman-like speech on the importance of bipartisanship in government given that it's cpac. isn't that the message you are sending? >> that's why tim is there. that's why he's been there 15 of the last 17 years. he gives the red meat. the president should come in and be -- he can be plenty conservative, plenty argumentative and combative. but part of being president is educating your followers as well as simply catering to their applause line. giving them applause lines they'll like. interesting if trump can rise to the occasion a little bit. >> i think bill is completely right. bill, i agree. a leader leads. a leader takes his people. if they're out there for the red meat, lays out an argument. gives causes. gives all sorts of -- makes them

understand conservatism better and this is what you see when guys like mike lee have spoken there and reagan and some people in the bush era. they actually led. i don't think trump is going to lay out those conservative ideas. >> one of the most interesting stories of the we, o the last couple of weeks are these town halls coming up in republican districts around the country because this is something that republicans are now going to come back to washington after having spent a week with fracnky angry constituents. are republicans going to be able to stay strong, tim, to kind of be able to bat back some of these real loud concerns they are hearing from the constituents when they get back to d.c. and start enacting some of the president's agenda? >> i see the republicans as they're definitely shaken. the thing that gets the congressman more than anything is when their constituents are acting. >> when they are getting yelled at to their face. >> they already have cold feet on obamacare. terrified about what's going to

happen and that's where they are vulnerable and going to be shaking. a bunch of liberals shouting at you about one thing or another where you may have no agreement with them. but they are already terrified about what will happen if they repeal obamacare. this makes them more afraid. >> bill, pull back. give me the 30,000-foot angle here. you are -- were among the loudest voices in the run-up to the election against president trump. how do you see the conservative movement playing out over the next year, two years, prior to the midterms under this president? >> it's awfully hard to tell, obviously. reality matters. congress matters. we have republican president and republican congress. the end of the day, people can yell at these congressmen at town halls and cheer for trump at a rally but will they pass legislation that repeels and replaces obamacare. will they reform the tax code and advance actual conservative ideas? that's really the test. >> tim carney and bill crystal, i know you'll both be watching very closely. appreciate it. up next, we're talking about

that border wall with mexico. is it the best weapon on the war in drug trafficking. jacob soboroff got on the road and headed to the border to find out. he's joining n ining us next wi new report. the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem

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using the same smart cooking techniques you do. you own a grill? smartmade frozen meals. it's like you made it. and you did... n't. just within the last couple of minutes at the state department, secretary of state rex tillerson said hello to australia's foreign minister julie bishop. this is before he heads down to the white house to meet with president trump and also before he then gets on a plane and heads to mexico city.

busy day for the secretary of state. we're monitoring what's going on with him. we are also watching very closely what's happening with our relationship with mexico. more drugs are getting smuggled into the u.s. lately. that's meant moroverdoses all across the country. president trump has promised to stop that illegal drug flow and jacob soboroff has a closer look at how he plans to do it. jacob joining me live from new york. you spent some time down south at the border. >> as you know, the president has said he's going to build this great border wall to stop this overdosed crisis going on in the united states. the reality is a bit different than that. the wall cannot and does not stop most of the drugs coming into this country as i found out. take a look. >> this is the san ysidro port of entry. the busiest land border crossing in the world. every single day 50,000 vehicles, around 20,000 pedestrians and untold loads of narcotics make their way to the other side. >> what's the biggest threat coming through these borders. >> it's everything.

we're looking at everyone. we're looking at illegal narcotics, heroin, fentanyl. >> reporter: in the san diego sector, seizures of heroin have tripled and meth seizures have more than quadrupled. overdoses have been skyrocketing. that's one of your agents that stands out here. specialized to look for suspicious activity? >> yes. what he's looking at right now is the spare tire. a spare tire here, look for any tampering, any anomalies. once he sees something he'll then initiate contact with this driver. >> talk to the driver? >> how are you doing? >> the dea says most narcotics sup entering the u.s. are driven in. metropolitan areas with legal border crossings like mexicali,

juarez and san ysidro. one thing all these places have in common? they are all areas with a border wall. >> what we're looking at right now is this vehicle was pulled into secondary screening at san ysidro. and it got a positive hit from the cane, from the dog. it appears that in the dash is some sort of narcotics hidden in the vehicle. they'll tear this car ark part to see what's inside. >> they are tearing apart stuff in the engine area. if you look inside here in the passenger seat where the dog got a hit for narcotics, they've pulled out the glove compartment but nothing yet. looks like they found what they're looking for. they started to pull out these dags of, i guess we don't know what they are yet. one, two, three, four, five of them so far. six, seven, eight. just keeps coming. >> i'm just looking at how many packages you have here. it looks like three deep. he's cutting through these

packages with just a knife. looks like he's getting a little sample of whatever the drug is on the knife and he puts it on some kind of scanner? >> he'll take a sample out of the package and put it on testing equipment. the testing equipment will then give us a reading of potent yelly what that drug is. >> you know what you've got there? >> yes. >> what? >> methamphetamine. >> is that a normal load? >> for us, hard narcotics, particularly heroin and methamphetamine, the packages are getting smaller. the number have increased because the packaging is smaller in order to put them in deeper concealment. >> is this all you'll get today? >> no, this wouldn't be all we get today. so i would say we could get up to another five, six loads today and that wouldn't be abnormal for us. >> why if your a cartel do you want to send drugs like this through a legal port of entry where you can cross with your passport? >> on a yearly basis we'll deal with 75 million travelers coming

across the border. drug smugglers feel there are opportunities to mix in with the general population who are vastly compliant with what the laws are. >> they think they can sneak it by you? >> right. >> but ultimately -- >> right. >> ultimately, look at all those drugs. unlike nta and the legal goods that come from mexico to the united states, we don't know how many drugs are coming across the border but overdoses are up, seizures are up and from the border patrol, that it's not just the wall that's going to stop those drugs. it's the federal agents that staff that port of entry 24/7. that is where the majority of drugs are coming through. >> jacob soboroff, thank you for that report, pal. up next, digging deeper into the nbc news/survey monkey poll numbers out today, including new numbers on how divided americans really are when it comes to president trump's immigration policy. guess where we're going? the big board, baby. that's coming up next. knowing where you stand has never been easier.

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and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now - and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. i am totally blind. i lost my sight in afghanistan. if you're totally blind, you may also be struggling with non-24. calling 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. we are taking another look on this new polling giving us a snapshot to president trump. his job approval rating there. i'm joined by our polling guru, nbc news senior political editor mark murray. we saw the headline, approval/disapproval. what does this is a to you? >> this says to me this is what we've seen other polling. gallop yesterday had him at 42%. pew in the high 30s last week.

this seems to be about kind of where the action is and historically, we've never seen a president with these kind of numbers at this stage of presidential -- >> what about congress? >> the numbers are still pretty bad. not as bad as we saw the tail end of the obama era. they'd probably take some of these numbers as opposed to a couple years ago. this really strikes me. you have about 70% of the population that is either angry or dissatisfied at the way the federal government is working. a lot of dissatisfaction out there. and then you do have people that want congress to find compromise rather than stand on principles. so they do want these democrats or republicans to come together. >> they are mad and they want to figure out a bipartisan solution. how about issues? what's the most important thing for people right now? >> jobs and the economy. that shouldn't surprise anyone. and health care and immigration are other big issues as well. and then you have a situation where this -- people feel like this country is divided. 8 in 10 americans think this is a country that's divided rather

than united. when it comes to immiation, president trump has been pushing very hard onome o his executive actions. how are people feeling about those? >> let's walk you through those. a majority oppose the building a border wall, which is one of donald trump's most signature items that he wants to do. but you do have 50%, a majority that approve of his travel ban. >> this is interesting because of how split it is. it's not obviously 50/50 but it's close. >> when things are divided, it's almost along those lines where it becomes such a party where so many democrats disapprove, so many republicans actually end up approving. how concerned are you that the united states will be engaged in a major war the next four years? two-thirds of the country say they are very worried or somewhat worried about that. >> i can predict if i had to what the president might say about this which is the numbers were wrong in the run-up to the election. why should anybody believe these numbers now? >> this isn't an election poll. this isn't trying to tell you

who is going to win. this is interviewing 11,000 adults to get their gauge on all these different issues and whether you approve of the president, whether you like a particular policy. it's not trying to actually find a secret sauce and tell you who is ahead. >> this is trying to get the pulse of the people. coming up next, a quick programming note. tonight 10:00 eastern, don't miss this two-hour live special. brian williams, rachel maddow, chris matthews all in the chair looking at the first month of the trump presidency. 10:00 eastern here on msnbc. and right now on msnbc, we're talking about these voters heading to town halls across the country. listen. >> i am on obamacare. if it wasn't for obamacare, we wouldn't be able to afford insurance. >> we wl talk about the message tse folks want washington to hear and much more with our favorite feuding

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we've been showing you these rough and tumble town halls in republican districts all across the country this hour with the presiden accusing those angry crowds in a tweet of being planned out by liberal activists. as you heard, these folks are asking about everything from, you know, the future of health care to investigations into russia's interference in the

election. so is any of this going to make any difference on what gets done in washington? that is the central question. and to answer it now, the woodhouse brothers, dallas woodhouse, director of the north carolina republican party, and brad woodhouse, president of the progressive group americans united for change. dallas, you are up first, pal. it's not just protesters at these things. here's one supporter of virginia congressman david bratt and the congressman himself. watch. >> i was impressed with the way dave handled himself with the ignorance of people out here in the crowd. i thought he did a great job on what he was saying. i think he answered the questions well. >> i tried to explain, right, the two-year transition path and those kind of things so we can work on getting the anxiety level so we can have more civil discourse. you just hear the anxiety is real and people want real solutions and so we're going to have to pay attention to that. >> the anxiety is real, he says,

dallas. what do you think? are these town halls going to change decision-making on capitol hill? >> well, i think there's a good, strong healthy debate going on in america right now. and i think people's concerns about the change, the repeal of obamacare, of course, has already affected the political discourse in a way. that's why you're seeing republicans take it very seriously that they need to try to take care of people that have benefited from obamacare. at the same time, they have to address the very destructive nature, destruction of the health care markets, and that's why eventually we'll have a solid repeal and replace plan that's put together and signed by president trump. so i think while there is a lot of vitriol out there, there's also a lot of strong, healthy debate going on. >> brad? >> look, seven years they've said they were going to come with a plan to replace obamacare. seven years. going into the 2010 midterms.

they then came out of that midterms and had 50, 60, 70 votes to repeal obamacare. what you are running into right now is that republicans and conservatives became intelectually bankrupt during the obama years. they opposed and obstruct. they can't blame their grief anymore on obama and to have solid health care that are being protected from being thrown off health care because of pre-existing conditions. their children are taken care of. and republicans don't have a plan seven years in. that's why this anger you're seeing at town halls is real. some of it may be organized. i'll tell you what, though. i didn't think that some of it looked organized. these were passionate people really concerned about the future of their health care. >> two months into it, we're expected to completely fix the destruction of the health care market -- >> dallas, that is the -- >> a lot of people -- >> hold on, brad, you got to

talk. >> let dallas talk. >> we will get it, but we are determined to try to get it right, not just get it like president obama did. >> dallas, you -- >> and millions of americans who have health care insurance has gone down the tubes in the last seven years. so we're going to -- >> dallas, this is why -- >> i know you only care about getting it right and wanting to win. >> this is why you and republicans are intellectually bankrupt. you had seven years to do this but all you did was oppose everything that president obama put forward. he brought a moderate recovery plan forward that a lot of libels didn't like. you wouldn't wk with him. he brought forward a republican health care plan, passed by a republican governor in massachusetts, proposed by republican lawmakers and here in washington. they wouldn't work with him on it. you can't kick around obama anymore. you have to come forward with ideas. you're seven years later, dallas. seven years late. >> wait a second, dallas. i want to play off what your

brother is saying and what we heard from tim carney earlier in this show. these essentially town halls, the flash point is the issue of the health care law. you aren't expected to come up with a plan two months into an administration, but what kind of plan can republicans put forward to satisfy those angry constituents and how soon do they have to do it, dallas, if it's not out already? what's the timeline here? >> well, i think that we need to fix the health care issue and pass something by the end of the year, the start of next year. we have to get it right. we have to make smure there's a transition period. we have to empower patience. we have to empower people who are paying for health care insurance. what brad and the democrats want is for them to say this is the health care plan you have to have. you take it. you enjoy it. we are going to decide. we want patients to decide. we want them to decide how much health insurance is what they need. we want them to have a variety

of options. we want them to be able to buy insurance for any state in the union that they choose. and that's the direction we're going. and we will get it right. >> the reason that people like my brother and other republicans are struggling with this issue is they don't have idea any idea what to do with the millions of people that have health care now that didn't have it before. a republican congressman was on another network today and said there's no way a republican plan is going to take care of people who have gotten health care under obamacare. >> so what is the strategy for democrats? is it just a sit back and watch it burn andutsn the laps of republicans? >> pretty much. >> i think it iso fight le hell. it is to make sure that they do not repeal obamacare without a replacement that takes care of people who have gained health care, whose children have gained health care, who have gotten life-saving treatments. but republicans can't balance that. they want to say that they want to protect those people. but they don't have a plan because they're not willing to

spen the money. they aren't willing to use subsidies or adopt the best practices in obamacare because it was passed by president obama of all people. >> that's not the reason. look. we have health care companies collapsing out of the markets. they are leaving the marketplace because this is a fundamentally bad -- >> that's a bold-faced lie. that's a republican talking point. it's not -- >> it's a talking point because it's true. i know that you and the democrats want to deny reality, but you can't just give away health care and expect the insurance companies to continue to lose money and try to force plans that people don't want down their throat. that is not what we're going to do. that is what you did. we're going to do it different. >> you just heard dallas here, we're taking your hiealth care away. >> we're not going to take your health care away. we're going to give people options. no options under obamacare. and the options are going away. the options have been going away.

>> it's been a pleasure to have you. next time you're on, dallas, brad, we'll give you ten minutes for the show so that we can really have time to talk about this. thank you both. thank you for watching this hour. my colleague ali velshi is picking it up in new york city. >> you're kidding me. you're ending that conversation? dallas, i'll give you ten minutes right now. that was fantastic. the woodhouse brothers. right now -- have a great afternoon, hallie. right now on msnbc, fierce debate at republican town halls across the country. the party struggling to define its legislative agenda. the gop is balancing pressure from voters with pressure to carry out the president's plan. andouth of the border, a new diplomatic push. secretary of state rex tillerson and homeland security secretary john kelly going to mexico city on a two-day visit. are they going to be able to smooth things over with the mexican president? we'll be live in mexico city. and in just a few hours, the army corps of engineers is set to shut down the protest camp at