Are Some Republicans Turning On Donald Trump After Charlottesville? | The 11th Hour

NBC NEWS HEADQUARTERS HERE IN NEW YORK.
DAY 209 OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, AND AS YOU ARE
NO DOUBT, AWARE BY NOW, OUR WORLD SUFFERED ANOTHER TERRORIST
ATTACK TODAY. IT HAPPENED ALONG A BEAUTIFUL
PEDESTRIAN MALL IN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES OF EUROPE,
BARCELONA, SPAIN. THE DEATH TOLL IS AT 13.
FULL COVERAGE LATER IN THIS HOUR, BUT FIRST, LET'S TALK
ABOUT THE ELECTION. BEFORE OUR PRESIDENTS IN THIS
AGE OF TERRORISM, ESPECIALLY AFTER WE WERE HIT SO BADLY,
REACTIONS AREN'T DIFFICULT TO COMPOSE FOR OUR PRESIDENTS.
THEY COMBINE NORMALLY, SYMPATHY, EMPATHY AND DIPLOMACY.
FOR THIS PRESIDENT THOUGH, IT HAS BEEN DIFFERENT.
HE FAMOUSLY ATTACKED THE MAYOR OF LONDON AFTER THAT CITY WAS
ATTACKED AND THEN TODAY AFTER SOME WORDS ABOUT THE TERROR IN
BARCELONA, HE SENT OUT A TWEET REFERENCING A FAKE STORY FROM A
DEBUNKED CHAIN E-MAIL THAT HAS BEEN KICKING AROUND THE INTERNET
FOR YEARS. NO MORE TRUTHFUL THAN THE CHAIN
E-MAILS FROM VISITING AFRICAN PRINCES WHO NEED MONEY.
HE STARTED HIS DAY ATTACKING TWO MEN.
NOT JUST U.S. SENATORS BOTH, BUT REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATORS, JEFF
FLAKE FROM ARIZONA, LINDSEY GRAHAM OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
THE PRESIDENT ALSO TWEETED HIS DEFENSE OF CIVIL WAR MONUMENTS,
MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN DEFACED AND TAKEN DOWN.
IT'S A SALVO IN OUR CULTURE WAR WHICH SUPPRESSED A WEEK AGO, AND
IT'S ROARING BACK INTO THE OPEN FUELED BY THE PRESIDENT'S OWN
WORDS. TODAY, HIS COUNCIL ON
INFRASTRUCTURE WAS DISSOLVED BEFORE IT WAS ASSEMBLED.
YOU WILL RECALL INFRASTRUCTURE WAS THE ISSUE TUESDAY'S TRUMP
TOWER EVENT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ALL ABOUT, BEFORE IT BECAME
KNOWN PERHAPS FOREVER AS THE DAY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT SAID WITH
TORCHES, AK-47s AND NAZI FLAGS, INCLUDED VERY FINE PEOPLE.
A NUMBER OF VERY CONCERNED AMERICANS, PERHAPS REMEMBERING
THAT REPUBLICANS WERE THE HEROES OF WATERGATE, ARE WATCHING
REPUBLICANS ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW, AFTER THESE THREE NEW
MAGAZINE COVERS CAME OUT TODAY, "THE NEW YORKER," "THE
ECONOMYIST."ST." WE ASKED WHICH MEMBERS OF THE
CABINET WILL RESIGN OVER THE PRESIDENT'S WORDS.
IT WAS WITH GREAT INTEREST TODAY THAT THE POLITICAL WORLD HEARD
WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR, THE WORDS OF TENNESSEE REPUBLICAN
SENATOR, BOB CORKER. HE IS CHAIRMAN OF THE FORMER

KNOWN AS A HARD WORKER AND HE HAD A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP
WITH DONALD TRUMP. HERE IS WHAT REPUBLICAN BOB
CORKER SAID ABOUT THE PRESIDENT TODAY BACK HOME IN TENNESSEE.
>> I DO THINK WE NEED RADICAL CHANGES.
THE PRESIDENT HAS NOT YET -- HAS IN THE YET BEEN ABLE TO
DEMONSTRATE THE STABILITY, NOR SOME OF THE COMPETENCE THAT HE
NEEDS TO DEMONSTRATE IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
HE ALSO RECENTLY HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED THAT HE UNDERSTANDS
THE CHARACTER OF THIS NATION. HE HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED THAT HE
UNDERSTANDS WHAT HAS MADE THIS NATION GREAT AND WHAT IT IS
TODAY. >> CORKER WAS NOT ALONE.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR TIM SCOTT OF SOUTH CAROLINA CALLED ON TRUMP
TO ACT WITH MORAL AUTHORITY. >> I AM NOT GOING TO DEFEND THE
INDEFENSIBLE. I'M NOT HERE TO DO THAT.
I'M HERE TO BE CLEAR AND CONCISE AND SUS SINGT.
HIS COMMENTS ON MONDAY ARE STRONG, AND THE COMMENTS ON
TUESDAY ERASED THE STRENGTH. WHAT WE WANT FROM OUR PRESIDENT
IS THE MORAL AUTHORITY. THAT WAS COMPROMISED WHEN
TUESDAY HAPPENS. THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
>> ON THOSE NOTES, LET'S BRING IN OUR LEADOFF PANEL.
OUR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER FOR "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL," OUR
HOST OF "MSNBC LIVE," KATY TUR, WHO COVERED THE ENTIRETY OF THE
TRUMP CAMPAIGN, AND ALSO RETURNING IS OUR MSNBC
CONTRIBUTOR, JASON JOHNSON. SO ELI, WE'LL BEGIN WITH YOU.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN THESE TWO REPUBLICAN SENATORS, TENNESSEE,
SOUTH CAROLINA, SAID WHAT THEY SAID TODAY?
>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF A DAM IS FULLY BREAKING HERE, BUT IT'S
DEFINITELY A RATCHETING UP OF THE RHETORIC COMING AT THIS
WHITE HOUSE FROM REPUBLICANS, AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO
REPUBLICAN SENATORS AND THEIR STAFFS ON CAPITOL HILL THIS
WEEK, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CONVERSATIONS ARE, AND A LOT
OF THEM HAVE SAID THIS DOES FEEL DIFFERENT.
WHEN SENATOR CORKER SAID THAT RECENTLY HIS COMMENTS DON'T
REFLECT HE UNDERSTANDS THE CHARACTER OF THE NATION, I MEAN,
YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE BEING HONEST, DONALD TRUMP'S CHARACTER
WAS ON DISPLAY THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN, BUT THERE IS A CHANGE
IN HIS COMMENTS POST-CHARLOTTESVILLE THAT HAS
BROUGHT SOME OF HIS BELIEFS INTO STARKER RELIEF FOR SOME OF THE
SENATORS AND LAWMAKERS ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE, AND YOU GET THE
SENSE THERE'S A GREATER AWARENESS EVEN IF THE PRESIDENT
IS INDIFFERENT TO HISTORY. THEY ARE NOT.
THEY KNOW THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE HISTORY WILL
REMEMBER WHERE THEY STOOD, AND SO THEY ARE COMING OUT WITH MUCH
STRONGER LANGUAGE. SENATOR CORKER HAS TRIED
THROUGHOUT THE FIRST SIX, SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS PRESIDENCY, TO
TRY TO COACH DONALD TRUMP, TO TRY TO BRING HIM ALONG HOPING
THAT MAYBE HE WOULD LEARN THE WAYS OF WASHINGTON, AND SO THERE
MAY BE SOME OF THAT ALSO IN THE SCOLDING THAT HE DELIVERED
TODAY, BUT REALLY, I THINK A LOT OF THE SENATORS ARE STEPPING
BACK FROM THIS, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS A
FUNDAMENTAL MOMENT TO BASICALLY PICK A SIDE AND SAY WHETHER OR
NOT THEY ASCRIBE TO THE ASPIRATIONAL VALUES THIS COUNTRY
WAS FOUNDED ON OR NOT, AND I THINK YOU CAN SEE WHICH SIDE
MOST OF THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS STAND ON.
>> TO PARAPHRASE THE LYRICS FROM JUST ABOUT ANY BLUES SONG, HE
HAS BEEN DOWN BEFORE. YOU NAME THE NUMBER OF
INSTANCES, WE SAW "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD," AND I LIKE MY HEROES
NOT TO GET CAPTURED AND THE STAR FAMILY.
>> FIGHTING WITH THE POPE. IT GOES ON AND ON.

>> THE LIST GOES ON AND ON, AND I WENT BACK, AND THE FIRST TIME
HE TALKED ABOUT GENERAL PER SHING, THERE WAS NO MORE RADICAL
ISLAMIC TERROR FOR 35 YEARS. SO THE LAST -- THE FIRST TIME HE
SAID THAT WAS IN NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, THE
DAY BEFORE THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY, WHICH HE WENT ON TO
WIN. HE TALKED ABOUT THIS STORY, THIS
INTERNET HOAX. WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT
LATER. >> WE MIGHT HAVE --
>> WE MIGHT HAVE IT. >> VIDEO.
WE DO. LET'S HEAR HIM.
>> SURE. >> FEBRUARY OF 2016.
>> FEBRUARY 19. >> YOU WERE THERE.
LET'S LISTEN TO DONALD TRUMP. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
>> EARLY IN THE CENTURY, LAST CENTURY, GENERAL PER SHING,
ROUGH GUY, AND THEY HAD A TERRORISM PROBLEM, AND THERE'S A
WHOLE THING WITH SWINE AND ANIMALS AND PIGS AND YOU KNOW
THE STORY. OKAY?
THEY DON'T LIKE THAT, AND THEY WERE HAVING A TREMENDOUS PROBLEM
WITH TERRORISM, AND BY THE WAY, THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN READ
IN THE HISTORY BOOKS. NOT A LOT OF THEM, BECAUSE THEY
DON'T LIKE TEACHING YOU THIS. HE TOOK 50 BULLETS AND HE DIPPED
THEM IN PIG'S BLOOD AND HE HAD HIS MEN LOAD HIS RIFLES, AND HE
LINED UP THE 50 PEOPLE AND THEY SHOT 49 OF THOSE PEOPLE, AND THE
50th PERSON, HE SAID, YOU GO BACK TO YOUR PEOPLE AND YOU TELL
THEM WHAT HAPPENED. AND FOR 25 YEARS THERE WASN'T A
PROBLEM, OKAY? >> LET'S TAKE A LOOK WHAT MAGGIE
HABERMAN OF "THE NEW YORK TIMES" TWEETED IN RESPONSE TO THAT.
THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS TELLING THE PUBLIC TO LOOK UP
THIS MYTH. FOR THOSE WONDERING ABOUT THE
QUOTE, SWINE, THEY DON'T LIKE THAT.
IT'S BELIEVED HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE DIETARY LAWS OF ISLAM
FORBIDDING PORK. YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT THE STORY.
>> LET'S -- HE SAID 35 YEARS IN THE TWEET TODAY.
IT SAID 25 YEARS IN THAT. THAT NOT WITHSTANDING.
THIS IS AN INTERNET HOAX AND A MYTH THAT WAS PASSED ALONG VIA
E-MAIL CHAIN THAT HE WAS TOUTING IN SOUTH CAROLINA AMONG MILITARY
FAMILIES AND THE SAME SPEECH WHERE HE WAS SAYING
WATERBOARDING DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH.
AROUND THE TIME HE WAS CALLING TED CRUZ A WORD HE USED TO SAY
HE GRABBED WOMEN BY BECAUSE HE DIDN'T ADVOCATE WATERBOARDING,
AND HE WAS FIGHTING WITH THE POPE, AND YET HE WON SOUTH
CAROLINA BY A WIDE MARGIN AND I WONDERED AT THE TIME, AND I
TWEETED A NOTE THAT I HAD FROM THAT MOMENT.
I SAID THESE WINS ARE GIVING HIM A FREE PASS TO TAKE HIS RHETORIC
AND BEHAVIOR EVEN FURTHER IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
REMEMBER THIS IS FEBRUARY OF 2016.
A LOT MORE HAPPENED AFTER THAT, AND WHY DID HE FEEL LIKE HE HAD
A FREE PASS? BECAUSE MANY OF HIS VOTERS
DECIDED THEY WANTED TO VOTE FOR HIM LONG BEFORE THAT, AND THEY
WERE NOT GOING TO BE SWAYED BY ANYTHING THAT HE SAID ON THE
STAGE, ANYTHING THAT THEY SAW ON THE NEWS, AND MUCH OF WHAT YOU
ARE SEEING, HOW HE IS OPERATING NOW IS THIS BELIEF THAT MY
VOTERS AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE NO MATTER WHAT I DO.
THEY HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THAT THEY LIKE ME, AND I CAN SAY
WHATEVER I WANT. I CAN SHOOT SOMEONE ON 5th
AVENUE AND NO ONE WILL HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT.
WE DON'T KNOW THIS, BECAUSE THERE'S NO ELECTION COMING UP,
WHETHER THAT'S TRUE. THE POLLS AT THE TIME SHOWED HIM
DOWN, AND THE POLLS NOW SHOW HIM WITH DISMAL RATINGS, BUT WILL
THAT CHANGE, AND IS IT, IN STEVE BANNON'S WORDS, THE AMERICAN
PROSPECT A GOOD THING FOR LIBERALS AND DEMOCRATS TO COME
OUT AND START TALKING ABOUT RACE AND IDENTITY POLITICS AND DOES
THAT ALLOW THEM TO HIT ON THIS ECONOMIC MESSAGE?
IT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE SAW IT
WORK FOR HIM. >> YES.
SO JASON, WE HAVE SAT AROUND THIS TABLE AND TALKED ABOUT TWO
MAJOR STORIES FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
AND LOOKING AT THEM, I HAVE THE FOLLOWING TAKEAWAYS.
KIM JONG-UN CRAVES VALIDATION, AND THE HATERS, THE NEO-NAZIS,
THE KKK, SUPREMACISTS, CRAVE VALIDATION.
THEY HAVE BOTH RECEIVED IT. THINGS ARE ESCALATED NOW.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS PRESIDENT'S ABILITY TO

>> I DON'T THINK HE HAS THAT ABILITY.
I DON'T THINK HE IS INTERESTED IN IT.
I THINK PRESIDENT TRUMP THINKS THAT FIGHTING SOMEHOW MAKES HIM
TOUGHER, AVOIDING CONFLICTS IS NOT WHAT HE DOES.
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO REST SOMEWHAT EASILY TONIGHT THINKING
THAT STEVE BANNON AND MEMBERS OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF AREN'T
GOING TO GET US INTO A NUCLEAR CONFLICT WITH NORTH KOREA, BUT
THE PRESIDENT HAS GIVEN AID AND COMFORT TO TERRORISTS AND WHITE
NATIONALISTS. HE HAS TOLD THEM THEY ARE ON
EQUAL GROUND WITH PROTESTERS, AND DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU
WANT TO DO, AND THAT WILL CREATE AN ESCALATION THE LIKES OF WHICH
NO ONE IN THIS COUNTRY REMEMBERS.
IF WE THOUGHT 20 YEARS AGO, OKLAHOMA CITY WAS BAD, WHAT ARE
WHITE NATIONALISTS GOING TO DO NOW?
I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE TWO SENATORS IN PARTICULAR.
YOU HAVE TIM SCOTT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
WE KNOW WHAT TERRORISM LOOKS LIKE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
I LOST A FRIEND WHEN DYLANN ROOF WENT IN AND SHOT PEOPLE, AND
THAT'S THE FUTURE WE'LL HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY IF WE DON'T HAVE A
PRESIDENT WHO HAS THE MORAL CLARITY TO SAY THAT WHITE
NATIONALISM AND TERRORISM DOESN'T PLAY A PART IN THIS
COUNTRY'S FUTURE. >> IS IT ME, OR DOES IT SEEM TO
UNLEASH TALK AND UNLEASH THOUGHTS THAT AT WORST, WERE
SUPPRESSED, BUT AT BEST WERE MOOT?
MOST PEOPLE WERE THINKING WE WERE BEYOND THAT.
>> I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS ELEMENT IN THIS COUNTRY,
AND THIS IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT, AND I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS ALL
ALONG. YOU THINK ABOUT ISIS, RIGHT?
THEY HAVE KILLED MORE MUSLIMS THAN WHITE CHRISTIANS.
WHEN YOU HAVE DOMESTIC TERRORISTS -- THE WHITE
NATIONALISTS, THEY WANT TO KILL WHITE PEOPLE FIRST.
THEY WANT TO KILL ALL THE WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA STANDING IN
THE WAY OF GETTING THEM THIS STATE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT PEOPLE WHO WILL ATTACK THE MAJORITY POPULATION
IN THIS COUNTRY, AND UNTIL WE RECOGNIZE THAT ONLY BY WORKING
TOGETHER, NOT JUST BLACK AND BROWN AND TAN PEOPLES BUT BY
REALIZING THIS IS A DANGEROUS NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE, NONE OF
US ARE SAFE, AND A LOT OF US DON'T REALIZE THAT.
>> OUR ASSUMPTION ABOUT THIS PRESIDENT AND ALL PRESIDENTS,
THAT OLD PHRASE, DON'T YOU HAVE PEOPLE FOR THAT?
THERE'S SOME STRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY NOW UNDER A JUST
RETIRED FOUR-STAR GENERAL AROUND THINGS LIKE STAFF MEETINGS AND
OVAL OFFICE FLOW. WHEN THE PRESIDENT TWEETS OUT
THIS WORTHLESS E-MAIL CHAIN, A MYTH, A HOAX, I THINK IT'S FAIR
TO ASK THE QUESTION, IS THERE SOME STRUCTURE AROUND THIS GUY?
>> WELL, THERE MAY BE A BETTER OR TIGHTER STRUCTURE AROUND HIM
NOW WITH JOHN KELLY AS CHIEF OF STAFF THAN THERE WAS WITH REINCE
PRIEBUS. THE REPORTING I HAVE DONE TELLS
ME THERE IS MORE OF A CLOSED DOOR POLICY TO THE OFFICE.
AIDES CAN'T JUST MILL ABOUT AND SLIP THINGS UNDER THE
PRESIDENT'S DESK, BUT AS WE HAVE SEEN THIS WEEK, JOHN KELLY,
UNLESS HE IS ATTACHED TO THE PRESIDENT AT ALL TIMES, CANNOT
CONTROL EVERYTHING HE HAS TWEETED, THE CONTROVERSIAL
THINGS HE HAS ALREADY PICKED UP OFF THE INTERNET THAT ARE LODGED
IN HIS BRAIN LIKE THE THING ABOUT THE GENERAL HE TWEETED
AGAIN SORT OF REFLEXIVELY THIS AFTERNOON, JUST SHORTLY AFTER
NEWS OF THIS TERROR ATTACK AS IT WAS BREAKING.
IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO CONTROL A 71-YEAR-OLD GUY WHO
HAS HIS THOUGHTS AND HABITS
ENGRAINED IN HIM, AND STEVE BANNON MAY BE A PROBLEM, AND
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE HE DOESN'T FULLY TRUST,
BUT EVEN IF HE CHOKES OFF THEIR ACCESS TO THE PRESIDENT, HOW
MUCH CAN HE

Are Some Republicans Turning On Donald Trump After Charlottesville? | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

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