mitch mcconnell's home state of kentucky. the biggest aluminum plant of its kind built in this country in nearly 40 years. it never could have happened had the sanctions still been in place. mitch mcconnell is the one who made sure those sanctions were dropped and then deripaska's firm basically immediately wrote that $200 million check. and so, no, i am not happy that i spent my vacation on crutches and on the couch instead of on the beach. but i am glad that by virtue of the fact that i was laid up, i had the chance to read that new pentagon white paper on russia's strategy and how they operate in the gray zone, because it is, i think, helpful to see this not just from the perspective of oh, my god, what is mitch mcconnell doing? but oh, my god, what has mitch mcconnell done? what is russia trying to do here that mitch mcconnell has just allowed to happen? here's that quote again from the section of the pentagon report that's called moscow's gray zone tool kit. quote, hybrid tactics are most effective when the target entity

mcconnell doing, but oh, my god, what has mitch mcconnell done? what is russia trying to do here that mitch mcconnell has just allowed to happen? here's that quote again from the section of the pentagon report that's called "moscow's gray zone tool kit." "hybrid tactics are most effective when the target entity is deeply polarized or lacks the capacity to resist and respond effectively to russian aggression. conversely, countries that are resilient against attempts to divide their populace or apply economic coercion or yield proxy forces can better handle subconventional threats from russia." countries that are resilient against attempts to apply economic coercion will survive these kinds of attacks from russia better than countries that are not resilient in that way. well, in what way can russia with its crappy economy and its zero economic future, in what way can russia ever economically coerce us? you can understand it in terms of, like, countries on their border, former soviet union, that sort of sphere of influence they want to exert, countri

mitch mcconnell works very hard for the disastrous court decision. guess what? we are going to overturn that. brothers and sisters, let us go forward together and let us demand that mitch mcconnell have to puts, the courage legislation on the floor of the senate that would improve life for the working families of this country. senator mcconnell, and the obstructionism. let us have democracy in the senate. thank you all very much. [cheering and applause] bernie]g ♪ announcer: campaign 2020. watch our live coverage on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. c-span's washington journal live every day news and policy issues that impact you. coming up monday morning, we will talk about u.s. economy and .ampaign 2020 reporter will tax be on to talk about tax policy. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern monday morning. join the discussion. announcer: monday night on the communicators. the book kingdom of lies about the world of cybercrime. we want to understand why all of these things are happ

mitch mcconnell probably wants nothing. a, can mcconnell get there? b, can the democrats say fine, we'll take one item as opposed to the four or five or six that we would like? >> reporter: there's a couple of hypotheticals down the road

mitch mcconnell works very hard for the disastrous court decision. guess what? we are going to overturn that. brothers and sisters, let us go forward together and let us demand that mitch mcconnell have the guts, the courage to put legislation on the floor of the senate that would improve life for the working families of this country. senator mcconnell, and the obstructionism. -- senator mcconnell, end the obstructionism. let us have democracy in the senate. let us address the needs of the working class in this country. thank you all very much. [cheering and applause] [crowd chanting "bernie"] ♪ also over the weekend, former congressman joe walsh announced he is starting a primary bid against president trump, tweeting "friends, i'm in. we can't take four more years of donald trump. that's why i'm running for president. it won't be easy, but bravery is never easy. but together, we can do it. join me. join us. here is his online announcement. mr. walsh: when i first started thinking about running for president, talking to my family, close friends, people i trust

the fact that mitch mcconnell won't stand up to president trump, and others won't stand up to mitch mcconnell. they need to do the right thing in the face of more and nor gun death. >> the president spoke about rebuking white nationalism today, as you know. he did not address or really in any way withdraw obviously his past statements, some of which we've mentioned in the broadcast tonight. he also raised the spectre of video games as a driver of this. that's become more common among conservatives. take a listen. >> i look at this evil act and let's condemn it for what it is, evil. evil. and i say how long are we going to let, for example, and ignore at the federal level particularly, where they can do something about the video game industry? >> we've watched when studies have shown before what it does to individuals. when you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games. >> we must stop the gloria if i indication of violence in our society. this includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. >> your response? >> president trump

mitch mcconnell stopped it. mitch mcconnell is the one who's going to decide whether there's a gun control vote, and the sign i saw, jake, that he's not serious about doing this was that he let veraso get out in front, we're not doing this, the red flag law is flawed. he never would have done that without asking permission of mitch mcconnell ahead of time, so i'm not sure where the votes come that we didn't have on manchin toomey the last time. i don't know where those come from. >> i would only say that mcconnell also could let some of his right flank people come out against it for momentary political cover or because he believes at the end of the day, if anything happens, fit's goin to be carried by a narrow slice of republicans and democrats and again, the votes are tough to km -- to come by, and thune came out and was skeptical too. the shift in politics, behind the scenes and off the record, as you know, claire, not senator mccaskill, is republicans see the politics is kanchanging. they believe privately th

mitch mcconnell should have a vote. this senate, if you go back and look at history, we have the least productive senate in the history, and you can't even find time to put a vote on the floor for this. the schedule is not his enemy. he controls it. don't let him tell you it is because he is spending time protecting the american people from russian interference, because he's not doing that either. we should have a vote on that, too. i would like to see people vote against the election protection bill that donald trump and mitch mcconnell are not allowing on the floor of the senate. it's ridiculous. the least you could do would be to pass legislation or have a vote on legislation meant to protect the american people from further meddling. he has not been willing to do that either. i have to go. thank you. >> mayor pete buttigieg speaks to voters at the iowa state fair. live coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> campaign 2020, watch our live coverage of the presidential candidates on the campaign trail and ma

what you say is it's mitch mcconnell. it's not mitch mcconnell it's the fact that republicans who represent a bunch of states who these types of laws are not popular aren't voting for it. >> what i'm curious about senator santorum there are all kinds of ways to parse this and talk about the states you have a pint. when you talk about leadership is to do wlat caucus does or what the american people want. usa today released a poll. 67 person of americans want signal pills passwood background checks that the house passed. that includes a majority of republicans one could argue this is louisiana opportunity for mitch mcconnell to stand up this is what the american people want get onboard. you may not agree but that would be a profile in courage wouldn't it. >> look, i don't think those polls are worth too much. the fact of the matter is every commercial purchase in the united states of the america is subject to a background check. you have private purchases in some states or not. >> 22% of gun sales in the country are not sub

mitch mcconnell should have a vote. this senate, you go back and look at the history, we have the least productive senate in the world -- the historyin -- in the history. he cannot even find time to put a vote on the floor for this. the schedule is not his enemy. he controls it. he can put it on whenever he wants. do not let him tell you because he is spending time protecting our elections, because he is not doing that either. we should have a vote on that too. i would like to see people vote against the protection bill that donald trump and mitch mcconnell are not allowing on the floor of the senate. it is ridiculous. the least you could do would be passed legislation or have a vote on legislation that is meant to protect the american people from further meddling by the russians. and he has not been willing to do that either. i have to go. thank you. [applause] >> it is great to be here. i have 20 minutes and i want at least half of that to be conversation with you. so if people have questions, prepare and i will ask

mcconnell did, about how kentucky senator mitch mcconnell killed sanctions on a company owned by a russian oligarch who was investigated for his role in the election interference in 2016, and then that oligarch's company immediately turned around and dumped $200 million into mcconnell's home state, ever since we've had this new reporting about how exactly the state of kentucky came to be business partners with a russian aluminum company whose founder is under u.s. sanctions, and we saw the evident regret of lawmakers who didn't know their state would end up being co-owners with a sanctioned russian oligarch, we did that long piece on it last night on the show. we just followed up with one of those lawmakers who is expressing regret about her vote in kentucky to go ahead with this. but part of the reason i'm sticking with this is that there is a piece of the story that i feel like is stuck to me. which is about why russia is doing this. the part of this reporting, these revelations about what mitch mcconnell is actually doing with his control of the u.s. senate, it is like when you're a lit

mitch mcconnell. a good man, wants to do something, i feel very strongly he wants to do background checks and i do, too. >> call mitch! >> with public anxiety about gun violence and public support about legislation on the rise, democrats were prepared for some walk back on guns. reporting this quote, in a bid to keep pressure on the white house to respond to mass shootings, senate minority leader, chuck schumer, is preparing to ask president trump withdraw requests for $5 billion in border wall funding and redirect the money toward programs to reduce gun violence and white supremism extremism. the gun violence and white supremacists in this country are national security threats plain and simple and time the president and congress start

mitch mcconnell and nancy pelosi are important people. this comes down to whether the president will give a sustained push. mitch mcconnell was being very careful there not to get too far out on the ledge. there's a number of times where the president has said he's for something, he will take the lead and then right when the time comes, he backs away and leaves him exposed. i don't think he wants to put his senators out on the ledge here. >> we're seeing movement amongst republicans particularly in communities that have been impacted by this, whether it is mike turner in dayton, mike dewine, our governor in ohio, looking to actually move this ball forward in ways that we have not seep. there's a difference here. >> dana: i'm glad you brought that up. i pulled this and i was like oh, brendan buck is a perfect person to have this. robert acosta went to do some reporting on suburbs. important votes in the suburbs. he writes this in "the washington post." >> dana: you are from this very district. is that true? >> yes. this is a relatively con

those bills sit at the steps of mitch mcconnell. and if he wants to show some trust and he's interested in doing something on these magazines, high-capacity magazines, i guarantee you, nancy pelosi will be on the phone with her membership and call us all back to say hey, mitch mcconnell passed the two bills we put at his doorstep. let's get back to d.c. this week and let's keep giving him other reforms that we want to propose. i guarantee you leader pelosi would do that. and i guarantee you our house would pass those bills. but worry getting no expression, no confidence from mitch mcconnell or donald trump. donald trump should have walked up to that microphone. first, he should have been in dayton or el paso the last couple of days, giving blood, being with people, giving hugs, showing some compassion. he should have walked up to the microphone and said on monday morning we're calling the senate back. to pass these two bills. mitch mcconnell will send those to my desk. i will sign them. and by the end of the week we'll have passed s

mitch mcconnell should call the vote. we should vote on universal background checks which already passed the house. we should vote on a federal anti-gun trafficking law which i worked on and got 58 votes the last time. we should actually pass a ban on military-style assault weapons and large magazines. the reason why these shooters could kill so many people so quickly is because they were using weapons of war. we see people who are fueled boy hate hunting down other americans using weapons designed solely for the military. it's an outrage. the silence by republicans in congress, particularly in the senate, is deafening. >> have you -- are you hopeful that something is different in the aftermath of this shooting, that there is a groundswell or a movement, i'll say from the ground up maybe that you think is different, somehow different this time? are you hopeful or are you -- at this point have you given up on congress getting anything done that you want to see done when it comes to gun measures? >> i'm absolutely not givin

mcconnell is on board with this even though we've heard from mitch mcconnell's side that he hasn't actually endorsed specific legislation. do you think that anything is actually going to be done this time around? do you believe the president that really there could be movement on back gruground chec and getting legislation passed? >> i think there is a slim chance. the problem is that there's enough time between these tragedies and when congress reconvenes that once again it gets on to the back burner. i find that ironic that the president seems to be so hopeful about mitch mcconnell. remember, the house passed pretty robust background check legislation in february. >> that the white house threatened to veto. >> correct. and that legislation has been sat on by mitch mcconnell in the ensuing six months. so it's a wonderful thing if he's now ready to look at background check legislation. >> i've been asking the white house about this. now the president is saying he supports background checks. does that mean that he doesn't want to veto the house bill? so we'll have to see you had this plays o

it makes fun of mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell has had lots of nicknames, most of which are embraced with good humor. on the accusation that drugs were found on elaine chow's boat. his campaign even moved t-shirts that appeared to be dusted with cocaine and urge d his supportes to join the, quote, team mitch cartel for just $35 a pop. then there was the name grim reaper, a name which only seemed to embolden him. >> for the first time i agree with nancy pelosi. the grim reaper when it comes to the social agenda they've been drumming up at the house. >> and over three years ago when outrage ensued for mitch mcconnell refusing to allow president obama getting a hearing, stealing a democratic nomination from the president. mitch mcconnell didn't seem to feel too bad about it. >> one of my proudest moments is when i looked barack obama in the eye, and i said, mr. president, you will not fail this agency. >> but this one really seems to have gotten under his shell. >> i want to tell you about moscow mitch. moscow mitch s

=m mitch mcconnell isx#p(uup&lyxd doing withñr his control of the u.s. senate, it's likeçó when you're a little kid and you're supergluing something and you stick your fingers together by r accident, that's what's luence politics across europe or at least change political outcomes. is that a fair summary of this part of your work and the reason "time" was quoting you on this story? >> absolutely, rachel. i think to take a step back and connect some dots with some of the things you talked about last night, since the 2016 election we've had so much conversation about russian interference in democracies, russian efforts to undermine democracies, we know the russian government as proxies uses a range of tools. we've talked a lot about social media influence operations. we've talked a lot about cyber attacks. but one of the things in the u.s. we haven't been talking enough about is russia's use of economic coercion and maligned financial influence, which are two other really key parts of the tool kit that we have seen the russian government using across the

>> so i know mitch mcconnell pretty well. one of the things i know about mitch mcconnell, he's not big on political theatrics, he's big on trying to get an outcome. if we have legislation that has broad bipartisan support that the president is willing to sign, i think mitch mcconnell would be very open. having a failed vote on party lines, that's probably much less interesting to senator mcconnell. >> you don't have that broad support yet, but you are hoping you might with the president's backing? >> i am hopeful. i think there's a different atmosphere now. i think there are republicans who are taking a second look at this idea of broadening background checks. the president is clearly engaged and interested in. he's not made a commitment to me to support a particular piece of legislation, but he certainly is interested. so these are new dynamics. i want to run with this and see if we can get to the consensus we need. >> senator pat toomey from the great state of pennsylvania, always good to have you sir, thank you very much.

mitch mcconnell is thoroughly convinced it would have been the same result. i don't think so but he has set in motion a really extraordinary chain of eventss so a lot going on that night. so much going on. this is why things happen. i am sitting there right before 6:00, this now famous email from the majority leader's office, antonin scalia died, we need to appreciate his service. we also need to recognize the democrats are not going to be able to focus a seat. so close to the election we need to let the people decide who will fill the supreme court seat. it is february, obama is leaving january 20th the next year. it is not like the moving vans are in the circle of the white house. this night is extraordinary. everything that went on explains how this played out. mcconnell is down there, there is a republican primary debate that night in south carolina and this is a huge thing that drove everyone's decision-making. as he's weighing his choices on how to do this mcconnell talks to josh holmes, his chief of staff, super sharp political operative runs a private

mitch mcconnell, kevin, nancy. i spoke with nancy pelosi yesterday. i spoke with chuck schumer yesterday. there's a lot of goodwill about this issue. [ inaudible question ] >> i don't think so, no, no. i think we have a lot of support. i mean, i'm very fortunate in the republican party, i'm at 94% approval rating. so that helps. but i have a great relationship with the republican senators and i really think they're looking for me to make -- give them a signal. and we're going to have great support and i think we'll have the support from the democrats also. [ inaudible question ] >> no, no, i never said what i'm saying now. what i said there, you had tremendous opposition from many people on both sides. i see a better feeling right now toward getting something meaningful done. and we did do things after parkland. but it wasn't to the same level that i'm talking about now. we did do the fix nicks and various other things, so we did do a lot of work after parkland. but i think now a chance to do something really much more meaningful. having to do, as you

mitch mcconnell needs to do his. theuld like to introduce assistant professor of surgery and chief of the division of acute care surgery at johns hopkins hospital. violence,ictim of gun he spends his time as a researcher and advocate for the goal of reducing gun violence in america. he sees the wounds these bullets make every day. he brings together health care providers to advocate for solutions to gun violence. ofserves on the board directors for the brady campaign. good morning. the majority leader for his leadership and the rest of his team for being here today. just as afore you not survivor of gun violence or a brady board member. i am a trauma surgeon. as one of many health care professionals, we are front and center in taking care of these patients day in and day out. this, overtake about the next decade, over one million americans will be shot. that doesn't even begin to tell the impact it has on society. fathers, sisters, and brothers are devastated after this. honest, theing mainstream media covers this is

moscow mitch merch, targeting mitch mcconnell, say niet to mitch. on offer, we don't think it's real fur. we don't have an answer from the kentucky demes. this was a turn around time. it started last week after mcconnell blocked plans to try to protect american elections from russian interference. he called them the biggest ally in the quest to infiltrate america's elections against. washington columnist went further, mitch mcconnell is a russian asset. claiming the kentucky republican is arguably more than any other american doing vladimir putin's bidding. mcconnell's home state, demtz are bielg on with the moscow mitch meme and that phrase got a boost on television and social media. mitch mcconnell is not a russian asset. he's even backed a foreign policy critical of putin, at least back in the day until trump came along. and that is the issue. mcconnell is enraged over these attacks taking it to the senate floor to blast it as modern day mccarthyism and some senate reporters who cover this closely say it was fiery by mcconnell standards. but any

it's been sitting on mitch mcconnell's doorstep. he would have to convince the republican leadership in the senate and mitch mcconnell to push that bill forward. you know, you can always be hopeful. there are some republicans that have signaled support for this bill but it's long overdue. so there's that. of course i've always supported comprehensive immigration reform but any time we try to move close to anything, including the dreamers, the president pulled back and republican senators pull back. he would really have to be serious about this and i've just not seen that from him in the past. >> so you wouldn't trust it if he came out today in 90 minutes and said i'm for universal background checks. >> i use anything to try to get things moving. if that's what he says and then mitch mcconnell says, yes, let's go, we're opening the senate tomorrow. let's get to work on it. we've got a good bill that two a rated nra senators proposed in the past. let's bring that up. or we've got the house bill, better yet, they just passed, let's bri

now, mitch mcconnell needs to do his. i would like to introduce the assistant professor of surgery and director of emergency general surgery and chief of the division of acute care surgery at johns hopkins hospital. once the victim of gun violence, he spends his time as a clinician and researcher and advocate for the goal of reducing gun violence in america. he sees the wounds these bullets make every day. he brings together health care providers to advocate for solutions to gun violence. he also serves on the board of directors for the brady campaign. doctor? dr. sakran: good morning. let me thank the majority leader for his leadership and the rest of his team for being here today. i stand before you not just as a survivor of gun violence or a brady board member, but as a trauma surgeon. as one of many health care professionals, we are front and center in taking care of these patients day in and day out. and make no mistake about this, over the next decade, over one million americans will be shot. and that doesn't even b

but also popular among the mitch mcconnell's opponents because it appears to be driving mitch mcconnell so crazy. last week mcconnell blocked for the umpteenth time legislation aimed at protecting american elections from russian interference. democratic senators cried foul and "washington post" published a piece titled mitch mcconnell is a russian asset which argued that he is arguably more than any other american doing russian president vladimir putin's bidding. then the moscow mitch trended on social media and clearly getting under his normally tough shell. >> earlier this week mitch mcconnell mcconnell took to the floor to decry russian election interference. which is his own body warns it's ongoing. he fired up the krp cameras to angrily denounce calling him moscow mitch. he even decried the relentless twitter mockery as modern--day mccarthyism. reporters cover the senate closely called the speech pretty fiery at least for mitch mcconnell. but mcconnell's pique on the issue is showing and get going from all directions on this one. not just in the home state. where democrats hope to

why because i know that what you say mitch mcconnell hears and sometimes, sometimes mitch mcconnell speaks. so scott, what you wrote last night is you cannot legislate the crazy and evil out of humanity, but you can damn sure let the american people know that political leaders of goodwill exist in our polarizing world and they will set all of this scar tissue aside to reassure a nation asking itself what is wrong with us. and then you wrote you would be in favor of universal background checks of some kind and perhaps a ban on high capacity magazines like the hundred round drums used in the shootings in dayton. my question to you is do you see movement now? can i read what you wrote last night as movement in this discussion? will republicans and the majority leader perhaps be willing to pass legislation on universal background checks and bans on high capacity magazines? >> well, thanks for having me on this morning, john, and yes, i do think there's going to be movement. i think the majority leader put out a statement late yesterday afternoon indicating that he directed his committee chairs

meanwhile, senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, has declined to call the senate back. while the president sai that mcconnell is totally on board, mcconnell's spokes man said he has not endorsed any legislation. >> i don't want to engage in finger pointing or making a point. what's happened after every one of these shootings is there's been a temptation to engage inl politi discourse rather than actually passing something. robert: joining me to tonight, nancy cordes, chief congressional correspondent for cbs news, pierre thomas, chief justice correspondent for abc news. amna nawaz, national corresndent for the "pbs newshour," and josh dawsey, white house reporter onr "the washinost." nancy, you're on capitol hill talking to lawmakers and their advisers, what is mitch mcconnell's position right now? what is the kentucky senator going to do? nancy: it's a great question and i think a lot of democrats and republicans still don't know. hehe has said he wants to get

mitch mcconnell's campaign locks off twitter for sharing this protest video. how the senate majority leader and the rest of the gop are taking the tech giants head on. that is just a little cute as to what is coming up, he talked his way into the nfl try outs and is a preseason star. the incredible play one in a hopeful added to his improbable journey. "fox and friends first" starts right now. ♪ bill: hall and oates to get you started, you are watching "fox and friends first" on this friday morning. thank you for starting your day with us. happening right now a manhunt intensifying for a gunman who shot and killed two people in the middle of rush hour. the shooter slammed into another car in houston before he got out of his truck with another person and opened fire. >> witnesses say was a long rifle. it was a gun similar to an ar 15. heather: a large trash bag filled with marijuana was found in the suspect's van. a motive is not yet known. a former firefighter stop the potential mass shooting at a walmart. police say a man showed up in a bullet proof vest, l

and mitch mcconnell has -- senator mitch mcconnell has basically implied they're not going to come back. this is an emergency that needs attending this month while they're on recess, and maybe they'll take it up when they get back, but maybe not. so i'm just wondering what your message is to him and to the republicans in the senate? >> you know, i think the decision to put that on recess, i think right now it's failing our country. i think it's extremely necessary this is taken into action, and it's definitely an emergency session that's needed to be happening. i don't know why action hasn't been taken thus far. i don't know why it's taken 251 mass shootings now this year for people to start waking up and see that maybe now we need to take this into action and maybe now we should call this into action. but even then he's still pushing it off to september because we can wait a little bit. but i don't think we can wait. i think it needs to happen now. i think the longer we wait he thinks people will forget. who knows, we could wake up tomorrow and another thing could be happening. >> and

so mitch mcconnell is unamused about all the pressure on him right now. and this weekend he is slated to appear at the fancy farm picnic a legendary annual kentucky political event. where politicians roast rivals what kind of reception awaits him in kentucky joining us is joe sanka at insider louisville. thanks for being here tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> what is awaiting mitch mcconnell when he gets to the fun fair. >> well, a fancy farm is a very unique little place in western kentucky. and it's kind of a cross between cross fire and pro wrestling where you have -- you have each candidate roasting each other. but mainly you have partisans on both sides screaming and jeerg at the candidates and yelling insults at them and heckling to the point you can barely hear the candidates. >> it used to be unique in the trump era now it's normal. >> democrats claim moscow mitch was coined in kentucky. can you explain? >> so moscow mitch, democrats are really excited about think. they think it has legs not only because they broke the online fund raiser record

come on, mitch mcconnell, where are your guts? >>> welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. this is a special edition of "new day." alisyn is off. i'm john berman in el paso. erica hill joins me this morning from washington. so, a day that was supposed to be about grieving instead became a lot about grievance. the esen

mitch mcconnell needs to take it to the floor. >> absolutely. >> i'm with you. mcconnell, do your job. bring it to a vote. thank you, congresswoman val demings, who knows her stuff. thank you, kris brown for coming on the show. >> thank you. >> stay with msnbc tonight for a special report on this weekend's deadly mass shootings. brian williams, rachel maddow, nicolle wallace. "nation in crisis: terror in america" tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. >>> up next, what needs to be done versus what can be done of the epidemic of young white men unleashing terror in america. is this white nationalism with guns? you're watching "hardball." atcha "three-ring fender bender." (clown 1) sorry about that... (clown 2) apologies. (clown 1) ...didn't mean it. (clown 3) whoops. (stilts) sorry! (clowns) we're sorry! (scary) hey, we're sorry! [man screams] [scary screams] (burke) quite the circus. but we covered it. at farmers, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutr

we checked with mitch mcconnell's office. his office made it clear that the majority leader has not endorsed any specific gun legislation yet. anything that restricts access to guns and gun rights, whether it's expanded background checks, a federal assault weapons ban, federal licensing programs like a lot of the 2020 democratic candidates have announced is going to run into a lot of resistance. obviously among republicans on capitol hill. even some of these conservative democrats who represent these rural areas, rural states, they are a diminishing number in the congress and house democrats have -- particularly -- still this is a difficult issue to move forward on no matter who is in charge. >> thanks to both of you, appreciate it. >>> we'll be right back. ♪ sport drumming starts [ referee whistle sounds ] [ cheering ] when you need the fuel to be your nephew's number one fan. holiday inn express. we're there. so you can be too. there are three words when you live with migraine... "i am here." aim to say that more with aim

mitch mcconnell, what is the holdup? people dying and these weapons need to get off the streets. >> erica, i want to read from susan rice a top obama official, of course with, national security pedigree and also one of the highest ranking women of color in a recent administration. the headline is quite clear. when the president is a bigot, the poison spreads. she writes when the president of the united states reveals himself to be an unabashed bigot attacking minorities in his own country, america's ability to stand against human rights abuses is thwarted in ways lasting and immeasurable. erika? >> absolutely. what he has done at this point i think we have already seen he has has an impact in just his own policies, an impact on millions of people in the united states and at the border and even in mexico there's a lot of people who are homeless because of his own policy of the mpp or the return to mep co. his positions have created chaos and pain for the community. words also matter. and what he has been saying about us n

and mitch mcconnell better understand that. we're going to apply as much pressure as humanly possible. jim, i can't tell you how sick we are about this. this is happening in too many communities. it's happening in dayton and el paso and all of this other stuff, and we're sitting around here waiting for mitch mcconnell to get his marching orders from donald trump, who's causing white nationalist its s to go a shooting people of color in the united states. i mean, give me a break. come on, mitch mcconnell. where are your guts? you're supposed to be from kentucky. everybody i know from kentucky got guts, okay? so gdo something because the american people are fed up with you. we're fed up with you stonewalling everything. people are dying on the streets just a couple hours from your house. and you're sitting there doing nothing. call the senate back into session. get people moving. you can maybe move some republicans on this because of the tragedies. and you're going to do nothing and we're going to be sitting here again a few week

mitch mcconnell is under enormous pressure to do something on gun legislation. a lot of democrats want him to reconvene the senate. they're off until mid-september. what's he going to do? >> i would like to think he's feeling the pressure. democrats have made him essentially the bogeyman number one saying he's the one that's leading to the inaction on this in the congress and certainly the nation is still reeling from this horrible tragedy. i think that's why we saw, in part, mcconnell's office say he's taking this serious. his statement seemed to indicate more than he typically does that the senate will act in some way saying the senate stands prepared to act. we have seen this pressure before, intensify on him. we've seen this putter out before. i don't think anyone on the hill is holding their breath. >> he needs cover from the president. if the president were to tell him to do something, he would do it. >> i'm not so convinced. he won't do anything without the president's commitment. there's no doubt you are right. >> the president took the initiative, we ne

i want to play you the sound from mitch mcconnell. again, these are words i haven't heard from him before. listen. >> this has also been some discussion about background checks. a lot of support for that and a bipartisan bill in the senate from the republican and democrat. those are two items that will be front and center as we see what we can come together and pass. >> background checks, joe, front and center. not what we've heard from him in the past. new words. as a democrat, do you find that encouraging? are the words enough? >> actually not really, john. i listened very carefully to what he said. acknowledging it is front and center is the obvious. he didn't say he'd bring the senate back or commit to bringing something to the floor. he could have easily said that. he knows there are many republicans in cycle for reelection. he was giving them a little space and protection there. but he's made no new commitme s commitments. there aren't enough republicans to vote for them. realizing the political peril. >> you also can't take int

nightth, e 11th hour just getting underway. >>> moscow mitch, that being mitch mcconnell. moscow mitch blocks two bills. moscow mitch keeps killing any bill that will protect american democracy. moscow mitch is aiding and abetting vladimir putin's ongoing attempts to subvert american democracy. moscow mitch won't even let the senate take a vote on it. that is unamerican. >> that just this past friday left such a mark that it's now possible to say this, if indeed the u.s. senate passes bipartisan legislation to protect and harden our defenses against the russians, it may be thanks to former florida republican congressman and current msnbc morning joe host joe scarborough. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is not happy to have this new nickname. he has to be reelected in kentucky first if he wants to stay majority leader yet he has blocked legislation critics say would stop the kind of interference russia carried out hence the moscow mitch nickname. it got air time last night in the democratic debate. >> mitch mcconnell is the one that lets him off the hook they -- his

[cheers and applause] and we ask mitch mcconnell to demand these poor workers get paid. so like i said the other day in paradise california which some of you remember that horrific fire that killed 86 people and what i have said and all over the country or if it is caused by human activity and climate change causes the devastating harm of our country as well. and i agree with those five things we have a short period of time to transform the energy system away from fossil fuels to sustainable and efficient energy. [applause] so as we transition away from fossil fuels we will not abandon communities relying on fossil fuels. we will create millions of jobs to modernize the grid and other sustainable energies that our country but then high-speed internet and broadband services to every country in america on --dash every state in the and also to form unions without the corporate ceos. [cheers and applause] and as some of you may know i have sweeping climate change legislation but the bottom line is that the future of our country and our planet we have got to act and act now.

. >> in terms of congress, we have some reporting a person close to mitch mcconnell, he's serious to have bipartisan legislation to address gun violence. that there's a conference call on monday. but one thing that did not come up in that conference call was calling the senate back. and part of the reason was he didn't feel there was support from the president for the background check bill. how do you feel about that? >> well, that's good news. and i hope that the president does support that. and they do call the congress back. because that's what people in the united states want. that's what we hear. that politicians need to catch up with the people. >> do you think mitch mcconnell is hearing that message? >> i hope so. i hope so. i know we at moms demand action are working. we're trying to get that action to him. our leaders in kentucky are working on him and putting as much pressure as we can. >> are you feeling some progress? >> yes. i think we are. i mean, this is -- you know, when you see governor dewine and when you see representative turner change their minds and, you know, a

the president and mitch mcconnell. mcconnell i think will test the waters of the republican caucus to see who's willing to advance this. but he's going to wait for president trump to see if president trump will put himself out there. and really fight the fight. with others in the caucus. i don't see mcconnell doing that himself. >> and joe, president trump has flip-flopped on this. after parkland he said he believed in it. then he denied after he talked to the rks in ra. now he says behind closed doors he believes in it. who knows who will be the last person to talk to him. it's hard to trust what president trump says he believes about background checks. because we haven't seen action. while i'm on the topic, let me just pull up the ten deadlyist mass shootings in u.s. history. the list is shock because sometimes there's so many that you forget about virginia tech. or you forget -- i mean, they're just so all horrible. when you see them on the screen, it comes flooding back to you, all the pain and torture we all felt

there could be movement or daylight from mitch mcconnell here? >> well, i think it is an indication of broad bipartisan support. i think the house bill is what i prefer that's already passed the house. all we need to do is take up the bill and pass it. if they want a couple of hours of debate, fine. if they can't say they will meet this week or early next week, he should set a date certain on a whole range of measures and then just start voting. there's no guarantee that a measure will pass. but we have to vote on this urgent national problem. >> you mentioned the idea of a national conversation that led at the highest office in the land, the oval office from president trump. how in your view can the president condemn racism. >> the job of president is to lead and to admit when you made a mistake. one of the constructive things he could do in terms of dollars, don't cut to 3 million. the office of community partnerships in the department of home land security, which is designed to push back against this hate, designed to build coalitions against

mitch mcconnell blocked votes in the united states senate that would have made it impossible for the trump administration to remove some sanctions on russia and russian oligarchs. and then after the trump administration was then allowed to remove those sanctions they did remove the sanctions, and one of those russian oligarchs made a major investment in an aluminum plant to be built in mitch mcconnell's state of kentucky in a region of kentucky desperate for the jobs that the trump administration has not yet delivered. the "washington post's" reporting on this is now going to make it impossible for mitch mcconnell to shake the nickname moscow mitch given to him by msnbc's joe scarborough. if mitch mcconnell used his senate position to fight to lift sanctions on russia so that russians could invest in kentucky so that mitch mcconnell could then tell voters in his re-election campaign that he helped bring those russian-financed aluminum plant jobs to kentucky, then that would be a much more corrupt act than mere self-enrichment. joining our discussion now is michael bennett, democratic

the president can decide to tell mitch mcconnell to bring the senate back into session and mitch mcconnell would have no choice but to do that. right now he's on the phone talking to gun rights leaders, people in the nra, various leaders in congress including mcconnell, including leaders on the democratic side. he talked to nancy pelosi and chuck schumer recently so he's having a lot of conversations but there's no sense yet the president is going to lead on this issue, that he's actually going to push mcconnell to do exactly what he wants because it seems the president is trying to figure out where he is on this issue, whether or not his base will abandon him if he pushes for any kind of gun control. if the president decides he wants any background check bill to pass, he's the only one that can make that happen. we know mitch mcconnell has leaned on things notice past, but things on the floor, it's happened in the past. the president knows he has the power but it's not clear he's ready to use that yet. >> on that note, we do have some breaking news. there's some breaking tweets on this su