>> good day to all of you. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome to all of you. we begin with breaking news. we have some new military exchanges between israel and iran on the ninth day of conflict, after u.s. diplomatic efforts have faltered. the un nuclear

watchdog says israeli strikes on this plant, you're looking at it there in iran, caused some radiological leaks, but there is no danger to the public for now. president trump has given himself two weeks to make a decision on deploying u.s. military troops to drop a 30,000 pound bunker buster on iran. while democrats are pushing for a resolution to prohibit u.s. armed forces from unauthorized hostilities in iran. >> no one in america wants us. >> to get into another. >> war in iran. republicans in the house have been saying that privately, the reluctance is they don't want to go against president trump in congress. and so they're saying, well, we don't have a war yet. >> also new today, outrage after vice president j.d. vance yesterday in an attack on democrats in los angeles, referred to the arrest of california senator alex padilla by using the name of a man serving 21 years in prison on charges of supporting al qaeda.

so here's new reaction from senator padilla. >> well, i was hoping jose padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately, i guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater. >> he knows my name. >> he knows my name. >> look, sadly, it's just an indicator of how. petty and. unserious this administration is. we've got a lot of. >> important work to. >> do, but this is how the vice president chooses to act. and that says a lot. >> and new reaction today to vance's other false claims that los angeles had been destroyed by rioting. >> well. >> first of all, the whole visit was insulting. it was a photo op. and really, he was here. >> for a fundraiser. >> but he comes in, he makes all of these, you know, statements about what is not happening in la at all and then insults the senator that he serves with. >> now. >> i imagine he's here to assert himself. >> to. >> show his formal authority, to try to sort of express himself

in a way that reinforces the frame. >> that you. >> just advanced as it relates to these authoritarian tendencies of this administration. >> to. >> inflame, not to soften the edges of the situation. >> and one week after an estimated 5 million people took to the streets for the no protests, senator bernie sanders is adding context on his fighting oligarchy tour. >> just last saturday. >> on the no kings day. millions and. >> millions of americans in every state of this country came out. and loudly and clearly they said no to oligarchy. no to authoritarianism, and picking people up off the streets.

>> we've got reporters and analysts in place there covering all these new and developing storylines for us. we're going to begin with nbc's matt bradley joining us from tel aviv. matt, welcome to you. where do things stand right now? >> yeah. well, we've just heard about some missiles that landed here in israel. actually, there was one drone in a rare misfire by the israelis that actually got through israel's very muscular anti-air defenses. now, the israelis have said that they have killed three top commanders in the iranian military in the past 24 hours, and they've also struck a nuclear facility at isfahan. now, according to the iranians, the death toll there stands at 430, with about 3500 injured. ever since israel started its attacks on iran more than a week ago. but my colleague andrea mitchell was in geneva speaking with the iranian foreign minister about the prospects for this continuing as he went into negotiations with

his european counterparts. and listen, he had some harsh words for the united states. here he is. >> can diplomacy produce a solution in two weeks? >> well, i think it's up to, you know, americans, the united states, i mean, to show their determination for. going for a negotiated solution or they have something else in their mind and they want to attack iran anyway. so they had perhaps this plan and we just they just needed negotiations, perhaps to cover it up. we don't know how we can trust them anymore. what they did was, in fact, a betrayal to

diplomacy. >> so abbas araghchi, the foreign minister of iran, is now in istanbul, where he's attending a conference at the organization for islamic cooperation. so as you can see, alex, there's a flurry of diplomacy going around the whole region as different groups, different nations try to resolve this worsening situation between israel and iran. but so far, israel has been largely absent from most of these negotiations. and we heard from president trump yesterday pointing out that israel is winning, and that might be one of the reasons why they are going to continue attacking iran and may not be reaching out for a negotiated solution to this worsening crisis. >> yeah, it is worsening. okay. we're going to move to the second part of this. thank you, matt, for that. we go now to nbc's vaughn hillyard. he's following the president in bridgewater, new jersey. so vaughn, you spoke with the president yesterday. what did he tell you about where nuclear discussions with iran stand as this conflict with israel clearly escalates?

>> right. >> he suggested that. >> that two week window is still there, but the word that he used was maximum to describe the room that he is giving iran to come back to the nuclear negotiating table here. exactly what are the consequences after two weeks? it's not clear. of course, he's used that timeline in the past. but i think in this moment here, you have watched israel continue to launch its own airstrikes into iran. and the president himself just yesterday suggested to me that israel didn't have the capacity to hit some of the particular nuclear facilities, particularly those that are in some cases half a mile underground here, and that the u.s. bombs would be needed to go forward with that sort of an attack. i want to let you listen, though, to an exchange that i had with him specifically coming out of our colleague andrea mitchell's interview with the iranian foreign minister and his suggestion that the u.s, if it was serious about negotiating an end to this war, that it would call up israel and ask for

a pause of airstrikes. take a listen, mr. president. the iranian foreign minister this afternoon said if the u.s. is serious about negotiations, that you would call up israel and request that they stop their airstrikes, will you make that request? >> well, i think it's. >> very hard to make that request. >> right now. if somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. but we're ready, willing and able. and we've been speaking to iran and we'll see what happens. >> now. prime minister bibi netanyahu earlier this week suggested that israel would be able to itself without the u.s. support, take out these nuclear facilities. but that fordo nuclear site that i was mentioning there is the potential of u.s. involvement here that the president has not shut down using military might to take down a iran's nuclear weapon capabilities. at the same time, i think there's an important distinction that i also engage with the president on yesterday is that his own

director of national intelligence, the intelligence community, have stated that they do not have intelligence, that iran is actively building a nuclear weapon. and so while they have enriched high levels of uranium, especially in recent months, there has been no intelligence, despite the president's own words, that they are actively seeking to build that nuclear weapon. so there's a lot of outstanding questions, but big potential consequences. if the u.s. were to decide to strike. >> 100%, and it doesn't seem like everybody in the administration is on the same page, to your point. so we're going to try to get some answers on that. thank you. vaughn. let's bring in corey hinderstein, former deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the department of energy, now vice president at the carnegie endowment for international peace. also with me, we have retired army lieutenant general jeff twitty, former deputy commander of u.s. european command and now an msnbc military analyst. welcome to you both. corey, you've worked on nuclear nonproliferation for a long time. so first, does it surprise you? the president is

not just breaking with his own intelligence agencies, but reportedly sidelining his intelligence director and defense secretary. >> yeah. >> it is a little bit surprising. in general, i think that the president is well informed. you know, the presidency is well informed by the scope, the broad scope of the intelligence community. right now, we're really seeing a gap between descriptions of a nuclear weapons program and a nuclear weapons capability. and i think that's where there is some divide in the in the political community. certainly, iran has been increasing its nuclear weapons capability, kind of putting all the pieces in place. if they were to make that decision to go for a nuclear bomb. i think where there's a little bit more debate is have they made that decision? has there been instruction from the top that the supreme leader has instructed his experts to build a nuclear weapon? and that's

where we've seen the intelligence community be pretty consistent, that while some of the earlier steps may be increasing, the decision had not yet been made. >> interesting. i want to also ask you about your carnegie colleague. that's james acton, who says we can't bomb our way out of this, noting that iran could almost certainly reconstitute its nuclear program within about 10 or 15 years. then a week ago, we had the president appearing more interested in diplomacy. is there a strategic advantage, cary, to bombing iran at this time, or do you think a u.s. attack would motivate iran to push harder to build a nuclear weapon? that, to your point, may not necessarily have been greenlit. and i'm also curious, the role you see israel playing in all this. >> yeah, i think what james is a key point in his opinion piece, which i really reinforce, is that we sometimes hold military action to a different standard as diplomatic action. he was right to point this out. the criticism of the diplomatic solution, the joint

comprehensive plan of action that was concluded in 2015 was that it wasn't a forever solution. it just put on pause their ability to, you know, expand their nuclear capability. well, we should be asking ourselves, does military action do the same thing? is this just kicking the can down the road and in fact, reinforcing those voices of which i believe there are many within the iranian system that would say we cannot leave ourselves vulnerable to these kinds of attacks from israel, from the west, and the only guarantor we would really have is a nuclear weapon. so if there is the intention of the united states to get involved, i would hope they have an end game, and i haven't seen what that is yet. i still think that a resumption of diplomatic engagement, while no guarantee of an outcome, at least gives us a chance to see if we can pause the program again, but importantly, pause it while we have verification and monitoring on the ground. that's what we had before, and that's what we've lost. >> general twitty knows all

about endgame, sir. do you agree with this assessment? >> absolutely. we should always exhaust all. diplomatic means before we introduce our military instrument of power into combat. if you think about the risks associated with any particular operation having to do militarily with iran, we have 40,000 united states soldiers that are service members that are stationed in the region that we could put in har if we attack. we could also put ourselves in a protracted war with iran. you know, we've been there before in the middle east with iraq. we don't want to go that route again. the iranians could shut down the strait of hormuz, and that would significantly impact global economy. so there are all kind of risks that we need to make sure that we put the diplomatic effort first before we introduce

the military. >> general, i want to focus on one particular action, and that would be relative to what the new york times is reporting that trump is seriously considering sending american aircraft to help refuel israeli combat jets, and then, of course, to bomb iran's deep underground nuclear site at fordo. and that would be with this 30,000 pound bunker buster, of which the united states is the only one that's able to do that and has the capability. so what is involved in this kind of military action? what would that look like? >> yeah, very complex operation. of course. we've been studying fordo now for years. used to be an old military base. now it's transitioned into a nuclear facility. we have a lot of intelligence. we know it's in the mountains. we know it's heavily fortified. we know that the nuclear facility is about 300ft below ground. so it's going to take probably the b-2

bomber. that would be the main effort here, supported by us fighter jets, supported by awacs capability that gives command and control in the air and supported by exquisite intelligence. we would have to do a quick strike making a battle damage assessment strike again. it may take a couple of strikes. the good thing about it is there's air superiority. the israelis have taken out most of the iran's air defense capabilities, but i would not be looking for regime change. if we want to make sure we get in and out. you strike, make the battle damage assessment. you don't have to necessarily get 300ft if you can close the entry and exit ways in some type of permanent way, then i would call that success and then move out. now the difficult part.

>> is can i just. >> ask you strike. >> and that okay, you anticipate a question because what is the guarantee that it's a one and done operation, that there is not further military back and forth that draws the united states into something that many people don't want it to be drawn into. i mean, how can you guarantee that the mentality, is it just the point you made that the united states has done some refueling? perhaps, but israel has done a pretty successful job of eliminating iran's ability to strike from the air. right. except for drones and things like that and missiles. is that the only guarantee you would have that this wouldn't go any further? >> so you can't guarantee anything in combat? i've spent a lot of time in combat and nothing is guaranteed. and it's just like mike tyson says, you know, you strike first and be prepared for the next punch and you may get knocked out. and so we would go in there with a full

suite of combat capability. remember, we also have have the uss nimitz in the med with other strike capabilities that we can bring to the table as well. so this thing could escalate because you never know if we go in there and then we open up a hornet's nest, then you have to be prepared. and so the centcom commander, general eric kurilla, he's got some plans on the table that if they strike hard, then we can strike even harder. >> we should note there are about 40,000 troops, along with naval, army and air bases scattered in this region. final word to you, corey. what is your biggest fear about what comes next that may lead to more down the road? >> well, i think there are two specific actions that would cause me real concern. one is we saw a few days ago a mistaken report that israel had attacked the bushehr nuclear power plant,

the new nuclear and radiological risk of most of the sites that they've been targeting is quite low because these are, in the end, kind of industrial sites. they're not really nuclear sites in the sense of having that really highly radioactive material on site. bushehr is different. so if israel were to on purpose or by some mistake, hit the bushehr nuclear power plants, that could be extremely dangerous for the region. the other thing i worry about, frankly, is just the idea that this is driving iran to the decision we don't want them to take, and i think that we need to take it very seriously, that while we are never going to like the outcome of a civil nuclear program in iran, a civil program under a strong monitoring is going to be more safe than a militarized nuclear weapons program. >> okay. corey hinderstein and army lieutenant general jeff tweedy, want to thank you very much for getting us started on this very serious topic. i'm sure we'll see you all again.

and for all of you, just moments ago, we got a look at newark airport. and that is where mahmoud khalil, of course, the columbia university graduate student has just arrived. he will be speaking with the media. we'll be back in 90s and bring you that. >> work. >> play. >> blink. >> relief. >> work. >> play blink relief. in a jurassic world... >> play blink relief. >> the only. every jeep vehicle is jurassic rated. experience open air freedom for all... unsurpassed towing, no matter what it is... or a third row to fit in all the adventure. jeep. jurassic world rebirth. right now with employee pricing plus, purchase and get an average of $7,000 below msrp on select 2025 grand cherokee gas models in stock.

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who has been detained by the trump administration for about 104 days there in jena, louisiana, he is out. of course, reminding all of you. he is the columbia university student. he was the first palestinian campus protester to be detained by the trump administration. he also was denied the opportunity to attend his graduation from columbia or witness his son's birth back in april. we're going to be playing in just a moment when he takes to a podium some of his comments on his newly found freedom. but joining me now, we have massachusetts congressman jake auchincloss. he, of course, a former marine and now the marine corps reserves he serves and also is a frequent guest to us, which we're very grateful for. congressman, thank you. let's talk about khalil and what we expect him to say, how he must feel. but mostly just minutes after he was released, the trump administration filed that notice of appeal. so big picture your thoughts on his detention for expressing his political views, whether or not you agree with

him and now his release. >> alex, good afternoon. thanks for. >> having me back on. you had mentioned there are many who quote, love and appreciate mahmoud khalil. i am not one of them. >> i think his. >> pro-hamas agitation on campus created an unsuitable learning environment for jewish students. i profoundly disagree with his worldview. and yet in this country, even hateful speech is politically protected. and so. >> to that end, congressman, stay with me, and i appreciate very much your perspective, but let's take a listen to what he's saying, since we do have that now. and i'll talk to you on the other side, here it is. >> everybody. >> far from over. >> the genocide is still happening in gaza. israel is still waging a war against palestinian across palestine. the u.s. government is funding this genocide, and columbia university is investing in this genocide. this is why i was

protesting. this is why i will continue to protest with every one of you, not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, i would still speak up for palestine. i'm again. i just want to go back and just continue the work that i was already doing. advocating for palestinian rights, a speech that should actually be celebrated than rather than punished as this administration wants to do. but we'll take a few questions. >> you said that the. trump administration, they wanted. >> to keep him. what is your message to. >> just the fact that i am here? it's a message. the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-palestine voices has had

failed now. so this is the message my existence is a message. the palestinian resistance is a message to. do you. >> still ask. >> the question. >> how does it feel to be free? >> to be honest, i'm i'm still trying to just comprehend that. of course, it feels great. when i was on the inside, i was free, just i was locked up. the fact that they put me in that place, that that didn't mean that i was not free. i continued to advocate for palestinians, for the immigrants who are left behind in that facility, that 1200 men who all of them are incredible men who the trump administration are trying to portray as whether criminals or just like illegals as, as, as they say. and as i said yesterday, whether you are a

citizen, an immigrant, anyone on this land, you're not illegal. that doesn't make you less of a human. and this is what the administration is trying to do to dehumanize me, dehumanize the immigrants, dehumanize anyone who actually does not agree with what the. >> but who. >> can you speak to? excuse me, excuse me. we're not going to do any more questions today. come tomorrow to the press conference. do you still believe in the promise of america? excuse me please, no more questions today. but we do have one more speaker, and you can come tomorrow to the press conference where there will be time for many, many more questions. but because of the security here, we have to go. thank you. >> thank you everyone. >> first of all, first and foremost, i speak on behalf of so many people across this country, across the state of new york, but also across so many communities in the united

welcoming home to be here and to be invited with his wife and his newborn son. my colleague was in prison for 104 days by this administration. >> by the trump. >> administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because mahmoud khalil is an advocate for palestinian human rights, he has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech. this was a form his detention by ice being taken from his home, as well as as other advocates. miss ozturk in in boston, massachusetts, ripped off of the street being taken is wrong. it is illegal. it is a violation of his first amendment rights. it is an affront to every american,

and we will not allow and we will continue to resist the politicization and the continued political persecution that ice is engaged in. and so we welcome mahmoud home. we will continue to support. i also want to thank the incredible work of the aclu and many other advocacy organizations, the lawyers and organizers on the ground who have supported his family. and i have to, of course, thank my staff and office marine, who has done so much incredible work as well. >> all right, congressman, i don't want to keep you waiting any further. as we're listening to your colleague, congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez of new york, speaking, she was flanked. she was flanking mahmoud khalil during his comments, which we take to have been made on pretty much two tracks, the first issue being the prospect of picking up people deporting immigrants. he mentioned that, but also the

issue of gaza and the associated first amendment rights. you have made clear that you oppose mahmoud khalil in the way he went about his protests and demonstrations on the campus at columbia university. but pick up from that and addressing both of these issues. first, let's talk about the first amendment rights within the issue of gaza. >> the first amendment doesn't stop when it comes to foreign policy. people have expansive latitude for political speech, so long as it does not persistently target one class of americans or create an unsuitable learning environment. on campus in columbia failed both tests, and mr. khalil was part of creating that environment. i'd also note, alex, i find it interesting that in his remarks he has vicious words for the united states. he has vicious words for israel, and he says nothing about hamas, nothing about the terrorist organization that has immiserated the palestinian people that strangled toddlers

with their bare hands, that launched this war on october 7th. i think it demonstrates the blinders that he has about this conflict. and again, he has full first amendment rights to be wrong about this issue. but make no make no mistake, he is wrong. >> and yeah, and certainly that can be interpreted that way. what about the prospect of picking up immigrants and deporting them? he touched on that. he understands about being picked up, though he wasn't necessarily an immigrant the way so many are being picked up, say, in los angeles right now, and being rounded up by ice agents. >> there are 12 million individuals in the united states that are without documentation, and the administration has said as its goal, deporting 3000 every single day. now, even if you accept that premise of 3000, which is probably not feasible, that means that only about one in every three undocumented individuals could be deported over the course of this term, which obviously means, alex, that the administration should

be prioritizing who they're deporting. if you are a threat to public safety, if you are law breaking, you should be out of here. focus on the jails. but instead, this administration has been picking up people trying to get jobs at home depots. they're picking up a constituent of mine who was carpooling to volleyball practice and honors student and member of the high school band. so they have to prioritize those who are threats to law and order. >> let me also pivot here and speak about the topic i was addressing in the block before you came on here. relative to iran. u.s. involvement. during wednesday's senate armed services committee hearing, senator jacky rosen had a pretty contentious exchange with defense secretary pete hegseth. it was about the firing of the general, heading both the nsa and u.s. cyber command. let's take a listen together. here's that. >> general dismissal with laura. loomer prior to his removal. >> i don't discuss who. i talk about anything with, but ultimately this is my decision.

and he serves at the pleasure of the president, and that's why he's no longer there. >> so do you believe it's appropriate for any social media personality to influence personnel decisions in your department? >> yes or no? >> i believe your time is up, senator. >> oh, it is not up to you to tell. >> me. >> when. >> my time is up. >> i mean, come on. laura loomer, of course, the influential right wing, far, far right activist and conspiracy theorist who reportedly played a role in president trump's april firing of several national security officials there. loomer says she's now taking names of republicans who disagree with the president over iran. she's going to give the names to him. look, heads got dodged. answering the senator's question, i'm curious your reaction. >> pete hegseth is not there for competence. he's there for loyalty. and the president has clearly excised him from his inner circle of national security decision making and is surrounding himself with with people whom he trusts more and who have more credible

experience and expertise. that's probably a good thing for the country, but it's a bad thing that the president has installed somebody who's just on the jv team in such a position of importance. >> can i ask you very quickly, even though i know i'm out of time, given your experience, you were at 29 palms, correct. that is the marine base from which those 700 marines have gone into los angeles. you are vehemently opposed to marines conducting the kind of activities that they're doing right now in assisting things. you say that marines are trained for warfare. expand upon that a little bit. why you think it's dangerous to put them in the position they're they're in now and that it's unfair? >> the president's deployment of those 700 marines is not just illegal in violation of posse comitatus. it's not just unnecessary. it's also deeply unfair to those 700 marines, alex. probably about 550 of those marines are 25 years old or younger. these are kids, and these are kids who have enlisted to sweat and bleed in defense of their country. they are trained to be warfighters to locate,

close with and destroy the enemy. and they do train in military operations on urban terrain. they clear buildings out with fire and maneuver, and they level entire city blocks. that is not crowd control. they do not have the tactics, tactics, excuse me, or training for crowd control. and putting them in this situation is terrible for their esprit de corps, and it's terrible for their military readiness. >> all right. congressman jake, thank you so much for staying with us through that live event. and good to see you as always. last week's historic and nationwide know king's protest was just the first chapter of resistance. the next one is already being written. we've got already being written. we've got those for more than a decade, farxiga has been trusted again and again, and again. (crowd chanting) far-xi-ga, far-xi-ga (crowd cont.) far-xi-ga, far-xi-ga ask your doctor about farxiga. (organ chimes mnemonic) prilosec knows, for a fire... one fire extinguisher beats 10 buckets of water, and for zero heartburn 1 prilosec a day... beats taking up to 10 antacids a day.

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forty's going to be my year. makes you say wow, i do have cleavage. find your fit at wear pepper com. >> i'm a. >> war monger. >> because i think. >> that these seventh. >> century primitive. >> barbarians with 21st century technology should. >> be removed. >> i think the president is doing absolutely the right. >> thing to keep. >> america safe.

>> no, we have to make decisions to put america first. >> the american people have been brainwashed. >> into into. >> believing that america has to engage in these foreign wars. >> well, that's just a taste of the rift growing in president trump's maga coalition, as he weighs possible us strikes on iran. the new york times describes the split as, quote, trump's original base and the isolationism that animated it, or the republicans who back whatever action he takes in the moment. joining me now, megan hayes, former special assistant to president biden, and maura gillespie, founder of blue stack strategies and advisor to former house speaker john boehner. good to see you both again. so, megan, was this rift inevitable because trump in the campaign, i mean, he repeatedly promoted america first. how did trump supporters interpret that? >> sure. >> i mean, of course it was inevitable, right? because when you don't stand for anything, you stand for nothing. and so he just listens to who's ever in the room. last, most presidents

have a national security advisor and have a national security council. but he decided to get rid of those things. so now he gets to listen to fox news and to other different outlets and podcasters, give opinions and make decisions for our national security and for what's best for the rest of the world, which is just i mean, of course it was inevitable and we all saw it coming, but we just never thought it would happen. >> so, maura, than which of these two factions is trump listening to it at this point? >> well, based on. >> his twitter account. >> or his. >> truth social account. >> it's whoever. >> will give him. >> the. nobel peace prize. i mean, he seems. >> very hell. >> bent on. >> making sure that he. gets credit for whatever he thinks is his. >> diplomatic efforts here. but he. >> also a lot of. >> this. >> unfortunately, comes down to. >> ego, and the president wants. >> to make sure that he is appearing to. >> be the strongest. >> man in the room and gets the ways that. he gets things done the way that he wants to get them done. so if he feels that iran is not coming to the table, which they have not, then he is faced with this choice and making these threats. but to megan's point, i think when

you're for nothing, you're actually ends up being for everything. so all options to him are constantly on the table. and that's a problem because it is based on whoever he's speaking to last. but you know, you're already hearing the maga base that are such diehard loyalists saying, you know, he's not intervention. it's not intervention. if he just helps assist with a few bombs, it's not intervention. if so, they're already making excuses for it to keep with their isolationist viewpoints. whereas i don't think trump ever was an isolationist. it's a really an opportunist mentality. >> and let me tell you, intervention. i mean, that'll be interpreted by the person on whom we may be intervening. i mean, my goodness. okay, flip side question to you, megan, because bill kristol argues this is for the bulwark that the promise of america first is dead if it ever really existed at all. and he writes, quote, the fact is, for all the talk about re globalists, the experience of the trump administration is one of intervening repeatedly in global affairs. is kristol right? and is it clear this is the flip side to the question i asked

you. is it clear how trump defines america first? >> well, i agree with laura here. sort of on the last question. it works with it. he he is for whatever is best for donald trump and whatever is going to make him the most. so he intervenes on things because he wants to be seen as a dictator. he looks to putin as someone who is he respects greatly. so of course he was going to intervene with ukraine and russia. he's been intervening on all sorts of things, like nato and different issues since he became president again. and he, he but he only cares about what's best for him and what's going to make him the most money. so it's not america first, it's trump first. >> so then there's a far right activist, laura loomer, who's threatened to expose maga supporters who criticized trump's policy on iran. and despite collecting social media posts and then delivering them to the president, she has also unleashed an expletive filled tirade on social media, ranting against tucker carlson for speaking out against potential military action against iran. is she someone to be taken seriously, given the access she

has to the president, and that she may have drilled into certainly a large group of maga mentality? >> listen, i'm all for when someone calls out tucker carlson for truly being an opportunist in terms of foreign propaganda and being paid and bought by people like russia, vladimir putin invite him there to go grocery shop. we'll never forget that video. and so i'm all for that, but i'm not going to sit here and pretend as though laura loomer has some sort of voice in the republican party or in politics in general. she's a conspiracy theorist who has spread dangerous ideas and dangerous theories that impact real families. you know, her 911 conspiracy theories are damaging. and so the republican party at large is not going to take her seriously. however, the problem is, is that donald trump seems to have already done so. you mentioned nsa and the cyber command general. we still don't have a general there. and so that poses a threat to us as a nation. but for republicans at large, i do think that behind the scenes, they've been able to convince president trump about

the important role america has and that it is putting america first by making sure that we continue to lead on the world stage. and so there is definitely some nuances going on. i don't, and i hope that laura loomer is not part of those, because i just don't see her to be a serious person that we should be even having conversations about, quite frankly. >> okay, i've gotten the clue i'm going to move on. so, megan, democrats have gotten a jolt of energy from the no kings protests. so what's next? i mean, organizer ezra levin spoke to my colleague chris hayes about just that. let's take a listen. >> to recognize congress isn't the only actor in this game. we launched earlier this week, something we've called 1 billion rising, which is an effort to train up people all around the country on how. >> they can. >> focus on their universities, their media institutions, their businesses, the law firms in their communities and use organized people power to push those institutions to uphold democracy. >> so there's also another protest that's planned in just a few weeks. will this be

effective? is it all building toward something real and influential? >> i think that the movement here in general is a good one. i think that the democratic party has been looking for leadership, and i think that everyone just needed to turn inward. and we are the only our leaders of our party. congress has not provided a path for that, for people to do that. but these protests have and people like indivisible and ezra organization, they've given people a platform to show and to express their feelings and to show that they really do care about democracy. and they're not just going to stand in line behind donald trump, regardless if that's whatever he throws at them next. so i do think these things are really helpful. and also all politics is local. these are organizing in different communities, small towns, big cities. and that's really important. the democratic party has either overperformed or won in 30 of 33 down ballot races since the presidential election. that's an incredible statistic that we're not talking about for democrats actually do have a lot of power, and they're in down ballot races and in their communities. >> so, mara, with the vast

number of protesters, we've seen. >> 5. >> million, at least nationwide, is opposition to trump. now, crossing party lines. are saying, hey, this isn't what i voted for. and is there an opportunity to seize? >> i mean, these protests have been peaceful. the ones that have been peaceful have been really powerful and impactful. and you're seeing an incredible turnout. now the question becomes, can they keep the momentum going? can they build upon that by expanding to independents or disenfranchized republicans who are disappointed about what's happening in the trump white house, and can they keep it going until 2026? right. so that becomes the question about how they plan for the future and how to keep the momentum going. i will say that i think that focusing on the ice raids that are upsetting communities, both from republicans and democrats across this country, is an effective message. what won't be effective is what congresswoman aoc just did was pushing khaleel's message. mohammed khalil, that's not a message that's going to resonate with the american

people. it's actually it goes back to what republicans won on in 2024. is the arrogance of khalil's message there, because he's here as a privilege to be in this country. and when that feels, when people feel like it's being taken advantage of, which i think that that interview just showed when he was talking with aoc there, that's going to be a negative on democrats if they push that kind of message. so focusing on the peaceful protest is going to be their best bet. >> okay, megan gillepsie, i'm enjoying our conversations. i hope i see you guys next weekend. thank you. there is danger in the air and it might be headed your way. (man) what if all i do for my type 2 diabetes isn't enough? or what if... (vo) once-weekly mounjaro could help? mounjaro helps your body regulate blood sugar. and can help you eat less food. plus 3 out of 4 people reached an a1c of less than 7%. and people lost up to 25 pounds.

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>> it is officially summer and it is bringing the heat right now. more than 140 million americans are under severe heat

alerts, as a record setting heat wave is spreading from the central states to the midwest and eastern u.s. this weekend. in the midwest, residents are picking up the pieces after being hit with several tornadoes as the northeast recovers from severe storms that brought damaging winds and hails. nbc's adrian broaddus is in chicago for us. out in it, i see a little bit of a breeze, so i'm hoping that helps. but let's get a sense of the expectations for weather there this weekend. adrian. >> hey there alex. >> extreme shock throughout the weekend. you might have just noticed a bit of shock or terror on my face right there. the breeze. >> picked up one of these shade umbrellas and narrowly. missed a woman who was right behind our camera. i can tell you all is well, but even with that little bit of breeze, it almost feels like a warm blow dryer because it is so hot. and it's not just chicago. we are talking about millions of americans, at least 142 million people across the

country, from colorado to maine, under some sort of extreme heat alert through next week. so denver, new york, philly and chicago here where we are, temperatures here in chicago specifically could top 100 degrees. and in other parts of the country, we're looking at temps that will be at least 10 to 20 degrees above normal. what does this mean? when you factor in the humidity, it feels closer to 105 degrees. now, meteorologists say this first heat wave of the year is especially dangerous, and many of you may be wondering why. first thing to keep in mind is their duration. three days of this extreme heat that is dangerous for folks, and there's going to be a lack of overnight cooldown. so we're not really getting that relief overnight. and quite frankly, because this is the first heat wave of the season, our bodies aren't used to it quite yet. behind me, you may hear the kids splashing around in the pool getting a little bit of relief. but here in chicago, authorities are

raising the alarm. take a listen. >> i just. >> want to make sure that. >> every chicagoan. >> understands the danger of this moment, and particularly when we have extreme heat. you know, chicago knows. >> better than. >> any other city in america. >> the danger of. extreme weather. >> particularly extreme heat. in fact, we are one. >> month away. from the. 30 year anniversary. >> of the. >> 1995 heat wave. the deadliest heat wave in american history. we lost more than 700 chicagoans. >> and that was chicago's mayor, brandon johnson, talking about that heat wave back in 1995 that killed hundreds of people. and because of it, the city changed some of its policies and procedures. and they now have cooling centers for you to find a little bit of relief. alex. >> that's an awful memory. all right. adrian brought us. thank you so much. the trump promise

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a free quote. that's 1-866-965-2479. >> 52 passed with the breaking news, the israeli air force unleashing a new round of airstrikes on military infrastructures in southwest iran. this after iranian strikes which forced millions of israelis into bomb shelters early this morning. yesterday, president trump weighed in on whether de-escalation between the two countries is even possible. >> i will say this it's. very hard to stop when you look at it. israel is doing well in terms of war. and i think you would say that iran is doing less well. it's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop. >> let's bring in shelby talcott, white house correspondent for semafor. welcome, my friend. so you report that trump is getting divergent guidance from a party that is split over iran. so as the president is weighing whether to get involved in this conflict, shelby, who is serving as his main advisors. and what

are they telling him? >> right. we hear, of course. >> you know. >> the core. >> cabinet of jd. >> vance and. >> tulsi gabbard even was seen at the white house earlier this week. some officials, top officials from the pentagon. but he's also fielding calls from people like lindsey graham and from steve bannon. and what we're hearing is wildly different things. >> you have. >> the steve bannon's of the republican party who don't want us to get more directly involved. you have lindsey graham's of the party who want us to get more directly involved. that same sort of split is happening within his cabinet as well. and then there are also a whole host of issues that the president is weighing. he is weighing the fact that, you know, a pentagon official tells me that we have low critical munitions. and so the question is, if we strike against iran, how will that affect our already low supply of critical munitions? there's questions over whether the device that we would use to destroy the nuclear program

would be effective. there's questions over whether iran would retaliate against our troops in the middle east. and so the president is hearing all of this over the past few days, and i anticipate he's going to continue weighing that. he has a situation room meeting tonight and tomorrow night. >> let's focus on steve bannon, because on thursday, the far right podcaster and former trump senior adviser had lunch with the president at the white house. then hours later, the administration announced trump's plan to make a decision about iran in two weeks. bannon has spoken out a number of times against authorizing military action in iran. to your point. so how much did he influence the timing of trump's statement? >> i think it's very notable that he had lunch with the president. and the white house says that this lunch was sort of scheduled a few weeks ago. steve bannon got the flu. they had to reschedule. so good timing for steve bannon to be able to come in amid all of this iran thing and presumably have a, you know, an hour and a half, two hour

long lunch with the president where he was able to directly talk to him and give his opinion. and i think it is it cannot be understated that the president's comments came after this lunch with steve bannon. certainly. >> you know, you mentioned tulsi gabbard. we are getting mixed messages, though, from the president and his chief intel officer there about iran's nuclear capabilities. under oath, gabbard testified, iran is not building a nuclear weapon. but when asked about her assessment yesterday, trump said he didn't care what gabbard said. she's wrong. why is there so much confusion within the trump administration? and who does have the accurate information? >> i think that's the ultimate question. you have one side saying one thing, the other side saying the other. you know, i think the president is hedging more on the idea that iran has been sort of developing this for years, and if they wanted to, they would be able to pretty quickly develop a nuclear weapon so that he has the opportunity to, if he decides to strike. and so that is, again, what the

opposite of what we heard from tulsi gabbard a few weeks ago. and it is causing contention within sort of the cabinet. and there are folks who argue that tulsi gabbard is on the outs. there are other folks who i've talked to who said, no, this is the normal sort of push back and forth between cabinet officials and everything's fine. and i think only time will tell in terms of answering that question. >> okay, shelby talcott, many thanks as always. two weeks, the lead negotiator of the 2015 iran deal weighs in on the president's window. plus, how close iran might actually be to making a nuclear weapon. plus, congressman robert garcia of california weighs in on the situation with ice in los situation with ice in los angeles at the amy: where's james? there he is. st. jude, it's love. there's james. it's been home away from home. hi. my son james, he's being treated for a high-risk neuroblastoma. i want him to have a chance to grow up. i mean, just to think that he was born with cancer shattered me.

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made. >> for me. it fits like. >> an. absolute dream. >> find your fit at wear pepper comm. >> at the top of the hour. good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome to alex