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00:00Leadership shake-up. The president is sending border czar Tom Holman to Minnesota and calling
00:05back his border patrol chief Greg Levino. Then the fight in Congress over DHS funding as the
00:10country moves closer to another government shutdown this week. Plus, Minnesota's most
00:16powerful business leaders call for an immediate de-escalation of tensions
00:20while the business community is finally speaking out as the 11th hour gets underway on this Monday night.
00:34Good evening once again. I am Stephanie Rule and we are now 280 days away from the midterms.
00:40It has been too long and emotional days since ICU nurse Alex Preddy was shot and killed by federal
00:47immigration agents. Another vigil was held in his honor in Minnesota tonight. As we begin to see
00:53the power behind we the people, the outrage over that shooting has forced the Trump team
00:59to dial back the rhetoric and possibly the action. President Trump spoke to both Governor
01:04Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry earlier today. According to Fry, Trump said he will pull
01:09some federal agents out of the state as early as tomorrow. On social media, the president called
01:15the phone calls, quote, very good. That is a massive change from his relentless attacks on these two men
01:21over the last few weeks. Another change. Trump says he is sending border czar Tom Holman to Minnesota
01:28and he is set to meet with Mayor Fry tomorrow. Meanwhile, Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino,
01:33the guy who has been on the scene all over the media, is expected to be removed from Minnesota
01:38as early as tomorrow, according to two officials briefed on the matter. A separate source told MSNOW that
01:44he is not just being taken out of Minnesota, he is being removed from his role as border patrol
01:49commander at large. DHS is denying that report, saying he has not been relieved from his duties.
01:55Yesterday, Bovino was on TV. They put him out facing the public, said that the victims in the
02:02situation were the federal agents, the very agents who shot and killed Alex Preddy. And we have heard
02:09a very different tone today from White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. Watch this.
02:16Secretary Noem said Alex Preddy committed an act of domestic terrorism. Stephen Miller labeled
02:21Preddy a domestic terrorist. Does the president agree with them? Look, as I've said, I have not heard
02:26the president characterize Mr. Preddy in that way. Will Stephen Miller be apologizing to the family of
02:31Alex Preddy for calling him, quote, an assassin who tried to murder federal agents despite the fact
02:36that, as you say, this is still under investigation? Look, again, this incident remains under investigation
02:41and nobody here at the White House, including the president of the United States, wants to see
02:46Americans hurt or killed and losing their lives in American streets.
02:52And the legal battles in Minnesota continue to ramp up. Today, a judge heard arguments in the
02:57state's lawsuit to force ICE to leave. She has not issued a ruling yet. But I just want to level
03:03set
03:03for a moment. I want to think again about why the administration is committing this massive surge
03:09of agents into the state of Minnesota in the first place, because this state does not have a surge or
03:17a
03:17huge population of undocumented immigrants. According to a Pew estimate in 2023, Minnesota has about 130,000
03:26undocumented immigrants. They make up about 2.2 percent of the state's population. Let's compare that.
03:33I don't know. Compared to Texas, which has over 2 million undocumented immigrants. There,
03:38they make up 6.6 percent of the population. Of course, there's another key difference between
03:44the two. Minnesota voted against Donald Trump three times, and Texas voted for Donald Trump
03:52three times. Is that a coincidence? We can decide. All right, let's get smarter. With the help of our
03:57panel this evening, Kayla Gardner joins us. MSNOW White House correspondent, Susan Glasser,
04:03staff writer for The New Yorker, and Barb McQuaid, a veteran federal prosecutor and former U.S.
04:07attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Kayla, take all of this together. Just how big of a change
04:15is this from the White House, even in the last 24 hours, right? I did a television broadcast last
04:21night, and we were looking at soundbite after soundbite of Greg Bovino, the most senior person
04:26they put out on national TV to talk about the situation. When he was done talking on TV,
04:32he was all over social media. And now, poof, he's gone.
04:38Stephanie, it has been a remarkable change of tone in the last 24 hours from the president
04:44on down, starting with the fact that MSNOW has confirmed that Greg Bovino will be or should
04:50be leaving as soon as tomorrow, along with some of the approximately 3,000 weak regions that are in
04:58Minneapolis right now. President Trump also spoke with Governor Walton. This is the first time he has
05:03done that since we've seen the escalation in protests, starting with the killing of Rene Goode.
05:08He's described his conversation as positive, said that him and Walton are even on the same
05:13wavelength, which is just really remarkable to hear, given the fact that they have consistently
05:17attacked both Walton and Mayor Frye, who the president also spoke with today. But I think the
05:22most notable shift is how the White House is talking about the facts and the circumstances around this
05:28shooting. They said they want to see this investigation play out, but you had DHS
05:33Secretary saying that Alex Freddie was engaging in domestic terrorism. You had White House
05:39adviser Stephen Miller saying that he was a, quote, would-be assassin. And President Trump
05:43even fed into some of these narratives that he was an agitator posting on True Social on Saturday
05:48a photo of his gun and saying, what is this about, suggesting that it was a loaded gun with full
05:54magazines. But even before the killing of Rene Goode, we have seen in polling that Americans are
05:59increasingly uncomfortable with immigration enforcement. Yes, they are happy with the fact
06:05that the border is, quote-unquote, closed, that they want to see violent criminals deported. But
06:10they are increasingly seeing the images that we've reported on our network so much of people being
06:15deported in their front yards, people being confronted in school parking lots. And the White House is
06:21certainly starting to see that. And it feels that their political acknowledgement of what is happening
06:25has started to catch up with them today. And the fact that we could be looking at another
06:29government funding shutdown yet again at the end of this week. So they are starting to take
06:33into account the political ramifications of all the images that we're seeing when it comes to
06:38immigration enforcement. Susan, you wrote a book on him. Donald Trump clearly understands political
06:44shifts. He absolutely understands vibe shifts. And we're seeing that in the last 24 hours. But
06:51assuming—but if Donald Trump were to shift, right? He went from being hugely popular on
06:56immigration and then underwater. What does that do to the actual true believers, the zealots in the
07:03administration, the Stephen Millers, the Christie Gnomes? Yeah, look, I mean, you know, you're right
07:10that this is not the first time that Donald Trump has faced enormous blowback from the American public for
07:15doing something extremely unpopular. Think back to the family separation policy that he promoted in his
07:22first term in office. When there was an enormous public outcry, Donald Trump backed away from that.
07:29And yet our reporting showed that he almost immediately regretting having done so and was
07:35repeatedly asking his advisers after having said, we're done with family separations, when they could
07:41restart it, when they could go back to this policy. And I think that's really a template that we're
07:47likely to see here. You know, it's fascinating to me to watch, you know, the White House cut loose
07:54Bovino to, you know, put stories out there that, well, maybe there'll be other changes at DHS. Oh,
08:00he had a good phone call today. This is Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, not Greg Bovino's
08:06immigration crackdown. And I think it's very important just to be clear about that. It was
08:13Donald Trump who put a post on social media saying that Minnesota's day of reckoning and retribution
08:19was coming. It was Donald Trump who ordered his Justice Department to initiate in criminal investigations
08:28investigations of the mayor of Minneapolis and the governor of Minnesota for the crime of
08:36incitement when they're giving press conferences saying, please, people be peaceful. We must protest
08:42this and be peaceful. I would also point out that it's not an issue of immigration enforcement that has
08:48caused so many of the good people of Minneapolis to rise up against Donald Trump and what's happening
08:54in their city. They have gone after the basic rights of American citizens to protest. And I'm
09:02just haunted, as I'm sure you are, Steph, by the horrible video of Alex Preddy's last moments.
09:08Remember that he was going to the defense of a woman who was having the crap beat out of her
09:15by one of these goons. This wasn't immigration enforcement. This was a mass federal agent attacking
09:23a woman who was exercising her First Amendment rights. And so it's a perversion and really an
09:29insult to people to call it immigration enforcement that's being protested in any way when they're
09:35protesting is the lawless riot, essentially, of mass federal agents that have been unloosed by Donald
09:43Trump on the city of Minneapolis.
09:46OK, well, let's say on Susan's point, yes, maybe Bavino leaves tomorrow, maybe some agents leave
09:53tomorrow, but it doesn't mean the strategy is changing. They're certainly not pulling everyone
09:56out. And think about what Susan just laid out, the president's position, how he's gone after the
10:01mayor and the governor and the state. He's been on a mission. So where does this thing really go from
10:07here beyond dealing with uncomfortable PR that they're facing right now? Do we know of any actual
10:13strategy change? I don't know that there's any actual strategy change. The president and the
10:19White House definitely still wants to pursue immigration enforcement. But what the president
10:24told Governor Walz today, according to Walz, is he said, quote, we're going to do things differently.
10:29Exactly what that looks like still remains to be seen. But we are seeing this huge political
10:35shift in this moment. And Walz has said that he has continued to be in touch with Chief of Staff
10:41Susie Wiles in recent days. So it seems that the president started to believe some of what Walz
10:46has described as them cooperating with federal enforcement, which will sort of seem to be a
10:52surprise to the president today. But the president and the White House has continued to talk about
10:57Minnesota in this frame of also bringing up the allegations of fraud and involving child care
11:04payments. So they have very much tried to bring these two issues, two very separate issues,
11:09into one and described it all as a way to enforce the law, the law and order in Minnesota and
11:18Minneapolis. So from the White House's perspective, this is an all out effort to enforce the law when
11:23it comes to Minnesota. Blur the lines and confuse the crowd. Barb, let's get legal here, because
11:29today we heard a federal judge question both sides in Minnesota's push to get the feds out. Can you
11:38say that the state of Minnesota has filed a lawsuit asking a court to order ICE to leave the state
11:44of
11:44Minnesota, that it is creating havoc and chaos in the city? They've alleged some violations under the
11:50law. One is the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. That is the amendment that says all rights not
11:57allocated to the federal government are reserved to the states. And typically that includes general
12:02policing powers. And so although ICE has the authority to enforce immigration law, when they're doing
12:08things like stopping people from videotaping or, you know, hassling people who are just driving in
12:15areas they're permitted to drive, that really goes beyond the scope of their duties. The other
12:20allegation in the complaint is violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which does provide a cause
12:26of action when a federal agency engages in arbitrary federal action. And they've argued for that here.
12:34The court did express, I think, some skepticism today as to whether she has the authority to oust ICE
12:40altogether. Certainly each of these entities, the federal government and the state of Minnesota,
12:46are independent sovereigns. They each have the right to enforce the laws within their jurisdiction.
12:52And because Minnesota is within the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has jurisdiction
12:58to enforce immigration law, I don't think she's going to oust them altogether. But I do think that
13:04we may see some rule changes here. I think a big part of what's going on, in my view, is
13:08not so much
13:09what the federal government is doing. They have the obligation to enforce immigration laws. It is how
13:15they are doing it. Rather than targeted enforcement of priority people who are offenders, they're just
13:22going after everybody door to door on the streets. And it seems like brutality is part of the game here.
13:29Perhaps this shift that we've seen from the Trump administration today maybe indicates that they are
13:35going to change the how they are doing this. All right, Barb, then let me ask you about something else
13:40the
13:40government is doing. Now there's this lawsuit over preserving evidence from the Preddie shooting.
13:46Have you ever seen a state take the federal government to court to protect evidence?
13:54Never, because it's never been necessary. You know, Steph, from time to time when I was U.S. Attorney,
14:00we had police-involved shootings. And state authorities and federal authorities would get on the phone
14:05immediately to begin coordinating. Let's make sure everybody has access to the evidence. That's
14:11because federal agents are investigating different crimes from state officials. Each has separate laws,
14:19separate elements, and so they're going to be looking to ask witnesses different questions,
14:24but they're all going to want things like access to body camera footage, ballistics evidence from a weapon,
14:33autopsy reports. All of those things are going to need to be shared. The idea that federal agents here
14:39have withheld that evidence from the state is absolutely unheard of and is a violation of the
14:44sovereign rights of the state of Minnesota. Susan, Chris Maddell, this is a name people might not
14:51necessarily be familiar with, but he did something today that counts. This is the lawyer for the agent who
14:58shot and killed Renee Good. He dropped out as a Republican candidate for Minnesota governor after
15:03the Freddie shooting. And I want to share what he told the Wall Street Journal. I want to make sure
15:08I get the quote right. I cannot look my daughters in the eye and say I'm running as a Republican
15:14when
15:15they are pulling over Hispanics and Asians because of the color of their skin and what they look like.
15:21I did not sign up for that. That is enormous to me. Is this administration underestimating
15:29just how massively unpopular these ICE tactics are? We're about a million miles away
15:35from closing the border, which is what people voted for. Well, I think that's the most important
15:41point, Steph. This is not immigration enforcement. Again, I keep coming back to that. It's almost an
15:47Orwellian term in the context of what's actually been playing out on the streets, not only of
15:52Minneapolis, but of many other major American cities. When American citizens are being stopped
16:00for, quote, citizenship tax, or any person, by the way, that's just not—it's what I encountered
16:05in Russia. That was the only place where I ever had to walk down the street and carry my passport
16:12with me
16:12and understand that if I look differently from what the police officers wanted, that they had
16:19basically complete impunity, arbitrary exercise of power. And I think that's why you're seeing this
16:26visceral response from so many people. It transcends the realm of partisan politics, which is the lens
16:33that we've been looking at so many of these events of the Trump years in. And it enters the culture.
16:39It
16:39enters people's core sense of what it means to be in the United States of America. And that's where
16:45I think repeatedly we've seen several times that there's this highly partisan atmosphere here in
16:51Washington. And so you see these members of Congress and senators who are in lockstep with Trump,
16:57no matter what he does. Even if he flip-flops on them, then they'll flip-flop with him. But out
17:02in the
17:02states a number of times, I'm thinking about the state legislators in Indiana who refused to go along
17:10with Donald Trump's redistricting plan, I'm thinking about this example. And there are others of people
17:17who live in communities in America saying, like, this is just not American. It's not a matter of
17:24partisan politics. And, you know, when I talk to European officials, people in other parts of the world,
17:31that's the part that has hit them like a kick in the stomach, Steph, is this sense, as people had
17:37during the World Economic Forum last week, that Donald Trump is trespassing what it means to be
17:44American, which, by the way, means something to a lot of people all over the world, not just
17:48inside this country. And it's not just political leaders around the world or here. Now we're seeing
17:54private citizens. We're seeing public figures, many of whom have avoided talking about politics,
17:59suddenly speaking up. Today, it caught my eye. Martha Stewart spoke out. She said things need
18:05to change swiftly. And she did it because her 14-year-old granddaughter said, you're a public figure,
18:12and it's inexcusable of you not to. And so Martha did. Ladies, thank you for starting us off tonight.
18:20When we return, business leaders have largely stayed on the sidelines during the tensions in Minnesota,
18:25but now dozens of CEOs are breaking their silence. And later in the hour, how Trump is facing yet
18:31another government shutdown on his watch after the killing of Alex Freddie. The 11th hour just
18:36getting underway. I know I say it often, but this one is a very serious Monday news night.
18:48The Senate and the White House are now confronting the most serious political crisis of Trump's second
18:53term. Alex Freddie's killing and the administration's initial response drew criticism and outrage from
18:58Capitol Hill and not just from Democrats. Now, some Republicans are questioning federal immigration
19:04tactics and openly calling for investigations. This all comes just days ahead of a possible government
19:10shutdown. With Friday's funding deadline looming, several state Democrats plan to make a stand
19:15against Trump's immigration crackdown. They are refusing to take up appropriations bills
19:20if it includes DHS funding. Here now to discuss Michael Schnell, MSNOW congressional reporter,
19:25and Mark McKinnon, former advisor to both George W. Bush and John McCain. Okay, Michael,
19:30you report that Republicans have been disturbed and deeply concerned in the wake of the killing of
19:35both Renee Good and Alex Freddie. We're seeing it. They're making public statements. Some of them
19:40are doing TV. What are you hearing today in the Senate? Because it's getting louder.
19:46Yes, Steph, what's been most fascinating about this Republican pushback in the midst,
19:51in the wake of the death of Alex Freddie, is it's not what we call the usual suspects, right? It's
19:55not
19:55the anti-Trump Republicans who time and time again criticize moves by President Trump, people like Lisa
20:00Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Tom Tillis. And I'll note they are the loudest critics with the strongest
20:05language. But the number of Republicans who are criticizing this and pushing back is far larger.
20:11We're seeing a number of Republicans who are closely aligned with President Trump. Some
20:15chairmen also are calling for CBP and ICE officials to come before these Republican-led committees to
20:21testify in the wake of Alex Freddie's death. And it's just so fascinating because in the past,
20:27we've always seen so many of these MAGA, Trump-aligned Republicans defend the president and not go as
20:33far as to criticize or push back on any controversial actions from the White House. We're kind of seeing
20:39that dam break this time around with, again, an expansion beyond just those usual folks we see
20:45push back on President Trump. Mark, we're even hearing from the likes of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
20:51He has said it's time to, quote, recalibrate the administration's immigration tactics.
20:56How far do you actually think Senate Republicans are going to go when it comes to pushing
21:01accountability from his DHS? We know that many, many, many are afraid to break ranks, but
21:07call me naive. I don't know. This time feels different.
21:12Well, the Abbott move really caught my attention. This is the first time I've ever seen him do
21:17anything in any way that wasn't just 100 percent affirmative of anything and everything the
21:23administration has been doing. You know, this just feels like a moment, Stephanie, where the
21:27hammer of authoritarianism has met the anvil of democracy that just there's just something
21:33different here that's happening. And you mentioned it in your segment. You talked about Martha Stewart,
21:39Glenn Close speaking up. She said for the first time in a long time, people like her,
21:43my daughters are speaking up, getting on social media. I got a hard time on social media yesterday
21:48for posting something about the Broncos and the FC championship game. Like, how could I talk about
21:54football and be so tone deaf at a time like this? It's just something different. I mean,
22:00the pendulum just swung too far on this and you can really feel that it's cracked the ice. And so
22:05when
22:05you see people like Greg Abbott in Texas thawing on this, then you know something's really afoot.
22:12So I wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point. Well, Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has
22:18been critical of Trump in the past, he actually wrote to top immigration officials and he is now
22:23demanding that they testify on February 12th. Some Senate Democrats are calling for DHS Secretary
22:29Noem to be impeached. And of course, there's this possible government shutdown come Friday.
22:35Michael, what's most likely going to actually happen?
22:40Yeah, well, I think the first thing we have to tackle is that government funding deadline,
22:43because it's Friday at midnight. And right now the current posture is we're hearing from
22:48the majority of Senate Democrats, including leader Chuck Schumer,
22:51who say they're not going to accept or vote to advance any funding package that includes
22:56additional dollars for the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate this week was always scheduled
23:00to consider this six bill package of government funding. It makes up more than four
23:05forfeits of the federal government spending. And that includes money for DHS.
23:10The Senate Democrats are saying that unless you strip out the DHS portion,
23:13we are not going to vote to advance this legislation. As we know, Steph, anything to advance in the
23:19Senate requires 60 votes, which means you'll need at least seven Senate Democrats to get on board.
23:24In the wake of this hardline posture from Senate Democrats, we've heard from top
23:28Senate Republicans who say we're not changing the way we're going about this.
23:31They're going to force Senate Democrats to block this. I have no inclination of why
23:36they wouldn't go through with that, which means we truly could be on the path to a government
23:40shutdown come Friday. If any changes were to be made to that six bill package, even if Republicans
23:45decide that they want to strip out the DHS funding, the House would have to come back into session this
23:50week to put a final stamp of approval on any new piece of legislation. It's a real quagmire here for
23:56the Senate. And it comes because Democrats are saying that they've had enough after seeing the
24:01second officer involved shooting in Minneapolis, the death of Alex Petty. They don't want to give
24:06one more cent to DHS. This was an idea that a number of Senate Democrats had raised in recent weeks,
24:11but it hadn't gained traction. For example, Senator Chris Murphy was very big on blocking DHS funding.
24:16Then there was a complete vibe shift on Saturday after the death of Alex Petty. Now this idea of
24:22not giving more money to DHS is widespread and almost unanimous, and we're going to see it go
24:27into play this week. Mark, what do you think of this possible move? No rational person likes or wants
24:32to shut down, but Democrats don't have many levers. They don't. And I'm skeptical, particularly because
24:41this is on an issue that there's a lot of PTSD about voting against anything that has to do with
24:47just
24:47sort of security funding. And Democrats are wary about that. But on the other hand,
24:52I just think we're in a unique moment. And I think that Democrats feel a rare wind at their backs
24:59on this issue. They haven't felt that wind in a long time. And I think that they feel like that
25:05got
25:05momentum on it. So I think that they could push it to the limit. Well, we'll be here till midnight,
25:13Friday night, no matter what happens. Thank you both for joining me tonight. I appreciate it.
25:17When we return for the first time since the turmoil began, some, just some of Minnesota's
25:23most recognizable businesses are stepping out of the shadows. Their desperate plea for deescalation
25:30after the break. Time now for Money Power Politics. And business leaders are beginning,
25:40I'm going to say beginning, to speak out after the killing of Alex Preddy, the second fatal shooting
25:46by federal immigration agents. More than 60 Minnesota-based businesses, including Target,
25:50Best Buy, UnitedHealth, signed an open letter calling for, quote, immediate deescalation of tensions
25:56for state, local, and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.
26:02I'm going to go out on a limb that's bland at best. That letter was posted on the Minnesota
26:07Chamber of Commerce site. Joining me now to discuss former Wall Street banker turned journalist,
26:12my friend Bill Cohen. He's a founding partner of Puck and David Gura, correspondent for Bloomberg and
26:16host of the Big Take podcast. All right, David, yes, I'm glad that we are now hearing from business
26:23leaders. But that is after thousands and thousands of extraordinary, ordinary Americans, people of
26:31Minnesota, have stood out in the cold for weeks now. So yes, 60 of these companies said,
26:38please, let's deescalate. And they said that, what, 20 hours after some of the even bigger CEOs,
26:44I'm looking at you, Tim Cook, were at the White House Saturday night for a movie screening of Melania's
26:50documentary hours after Alex Preddy was killed. I think you're right, Steph, to highlight the
26:56blandness of this statement. We should talk about the way in which it's come together, how it's being
27:00presented here. They're doing it under the cover or the aegis of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
27:06So these companies don't apparently feel like they can come out individually, give a statement that
27:10might be more specific, might speak more specifically about what's happened in Minnesota,
27:15yes, over the last week, but over the last few months. And I think it's a marked contrast to what
27:20we saw certainly back in 2020, after the killing of George Floyd, you had companies that did come
27:24out in that way, companies in Minnesota, I think of Target as a big one. And I think it speaks
27:29to the
27:29moment that we're in right now, there has been an extreme level of caution among executives,
27:35an extreme level of caution that's kind of been enabled or encouraged by this administration.
27:38We've talked a number of times just about the perils of speaking out and what retribution or
27:44retaliation you might get from the White House in this moment. So I think there are a lot of
27:47executives who have become happily accustomed to that in this environment. Why speak out if it's
27:52going to lead to something bad, if it's going to invite blowback on a company? And again, this
27:58environment, the one that we're in right now is really encouraging them to stay silent more than speak out.
28:02And I get that, Bill. It's a very tricky needle to thread. Just look at last week.
28:06Jamie Dimon, who is hardly a woke CEO, was rightfully critical of immigration policy policies,
28:15was honest about the way tariffs work. And Trump turns around and slaps him and JP Morgan with a
28:23$5 billion lawsuit. However, we're talking about speaking out after the second American citizen
28:32was killed in the last three weeks. And the American people are saying this doesn't work for us.
28:39I get that they don't want to get on the wrong side of the president. But what about getting on
28:43the wrong side of the American people and justice and decency and humanity?
28:52Well, Stephanie, let's agree. It's long overdue that we are hearing from the CEOs,
29:00even if they've done it by collective action, even though they've done it sort of in a nameless,
29:06faceless way by posting it on a Chamber of Commerce website. But it is long, long overdue
29:14for CEOs, important people, people who have the wherewithal and the power to stand up to this
29:22president and his behavior, which is beyond the pale at this point. It's long overdue that they're doing
29:28this. And thank goodness that they are. And maybe this will start something, Stephanie, that is long
29:34overdue and that needs to happen, that more CEOs, CEOs on Wall Street will begin to speak out. CEOs,
29:43people who are hedge funds, multi-billionaires who have the money and the wherewithal to stand up to
29:48this guy will begin to do that. And by the way, on the Jamie Dimon front, Stephanie, and I'm sure
29:54you
29:54watch this closely as I did in Davos, he got he gets slapped with this $5 billion lawsuit,
30:00even though he was extremely careful with what he said in Davos and basically didn't say anything
30:07except, I don't like terrorists. What more do you want me to say? So he should have been more forceful
30:13in Davos and he wasn't. But nevertheless, he still got slapped with this lawsuit. So I do take David's
30:20point. It's a good one that everybody is running scared. So let's just give a little credit to these
30:2660 CEOs who've joined together however meekly on this website and let it be known how they really
30:33feel. Hopefully this will be a tidal wave of others doing the same thing. You know I care about your
30:39health. Do not hold your breath, Bill, waiting around for hedge fund managers. When Bill Ackman in the
30:44last 24 hours tried to point the finger, why is this happening in Minnesota? Why? Because there's
30:50a surge of agents being sent there while there's not a surge of migrants moving there. At least not
30:56compared to states like Texas and Florida that resoundingly vote for Donald Trump. All right,
31:02new topic. The president is headed to Iowa tomorrow for a speech on the economy. This state, of course,
31:07borders Minnesota where the immigration crackdowns are happening. And it's coming right after a New York
31:12Times poll is showing that many Americans believe that a middle class lifestyle is out of reach.
31:20David, what is at stake for the president tomorrow? What is he going, what is he likely going to say
31:25in Iowa? What can he say, whether it's about the economy or the state of the country?
31:30Well, this is a moment when his advisors clearly want him to talk about this issue of affordability that
31:35he is described as a canard a number of times. He doesn't seem to recognize it as being one that's
31:41truly resonant with a lot of Americans. And you look at that New York Times-Siena College poll,
31:46what stands out to me is, again, evidence of this huge disconnect between the haves and have-nots
31:50in this country, especially when you look at generational, well, generational kind of optimism
31:55about the economy. There was so much pessimism in the results of this survey. So look, this is another
32:00opportunity for the president to go and try to make his case for what he's done and what he intends
32:04to do going forward here. But he's had numerous opportunities to do this. We were talking about
32:09Davos just a few minutes ago. That was speech that he gave there was supposed to be a speech about
32:12housing policy. Yes, a victory lap as he rounded the first year of his second term, but also a
32:19moment to talk about domestic policies. And he seemingly avoided talking about it altogether. So
32:24I'll be listening, of course, to what he has to say here. But it seems like from this polling and
32:28others, the salient issue going into the midterms is going to be this one of sort of,
32:31who has opportunities in this country? We're not talking about abstract issues here. We're
32:36talking about people who feel pessimistic about housing and education and health care,
32:41the fundamental things in all of our lives, feeling as though they're unattainable right now,
32:45feeling as though achieving a middle-class status in this country is something that is
32:49going to be fewer and far between. And that should be devastating, not just for this president and
32:53for the Republican Party, but for everybody here looking at those data, seeing how grim the situation
32:57is used to be when it comes to sentiment. Bill, I only have 30 seconds left.
33:01Honestly, what is he going to say in Iowa? Hope you guys like the farm aid bill I had to
33:05put out
33:05there because you're getting it in the ear because of the tariffs I implemented?
33:10Stephanie, I wouldn't want to be Donald Trump going to Iowa and trying to sell his economic
33:15policies that he's implemented in the last year. They're disastrous. These tariffs have hurt the
33:21American people in their pocketbooks day after day after day. He boasts about all the swelling
33:28coffers that these tariffs have brought in. But let's face it, it's coming out of the
33:33pocketbooks of the American people. It's a very tough case for him to try to make. I wouldn't
33:37want to do it if I were him. He can't be shamed, of course, so he's just going to blither
33:43away and
33:44he won't even notice probably that people aren't happy. But, you know, good luck to him. Good luck
33:50trying to make this case.
33:52Well, he'll notice the honest, credible news coverage when he speaks. Gentlemen,
33:57thank you for joining me tonight. We return after the killing of Alex Freddie. The president
34:01and officials in his administration have been changing their tune on Americans' right
34:06to bear arms. And guns rights activists are taking notice. We're going to hear from one of them
34:12right after the break. Gun rights advocates are taking issue with some Trump administration
34:22officials over the killing of Alex Freddie. Watch this. I don't know of any peaceful protester
34:30that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign. We respect that Second Amendment
34:36right. But those rights don't those rights don't count when you riot and assault, delay,
34:44obstruct and impede law enforcement officers. No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest
34:50with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines. That is not a peaceful protest.
34:58For fact's sake, Alex Freddie was a licensed gun owner with a permit to carry. Video footage also
35:06appears to show Freddie was disarmed before he was killed. And as the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus
35:13pointed out in response to FBI Director Cash Patel, quote, there is no prohibition on a permit
35:18holder carrying a firearm loaded with multiple magazines at a protest or rally in Minnesota.
35:25Rob Doerr joins me now. He's a senior vice president of government affairs at the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
35:32Rob, facts like this are hugely important to organizations like yours, which quickly get
35:38politicized. What has been your reaction to how the administration has characterized what happened
35:44on Saturday, particularly the suggestion that he was wrong to have been armed at a protest,
35:50that that that is illegal? Well, it just fundamentally inverts the purpose of the Second Amendment.
35:57People don't need to pick between their First Amendment rights and their Second Amendment rights.
36:02There have been numerous rallies here in Minnesota and all over the country and protests. You know,
36:09I think of some COVID era mandates and mask mandate protests that happened here that people were armed
36:15at. And I didn't hear a peep from these people about this, you know, phantom law that prohibits this.
36:23The president and his administration have fiercely supported Second Amendment rights in the past.
36:29Why do you think they're making these comments now? It cannot be helpful to groups like yours.
36:35They're starting to walk it back a little bit. But I think the initial intent was to try to seed
36:43a narrative that Alex Preddy somehow deserved what happened to him and that, you know, he was
36:50somehow acting unlawfully. Therefore, the use of against the use of force against him was justified.
36:56Your organization has called for a full and transparent investigation by both state and federal
37:01authorities. But Minnesota officials are already saying they're being shutting. They are being shut
37:07out from receiving evidence gathered. Do you feel confident that will happen?
37:13Uh, I hope so. Just in the federal court today, my paralegal was there attending.
37:19Uh, uh, they had a hearing about preserving the evidence and the government is the federal government
37:25is even fighting against the state's order to preserve the evidence pending some sort of future
37:31access. So I hope it happens. It's something that should happen, but I'm skeptical.
37:36What do you want us to know tonight?
37:41It's pretty, there's a narrative that's coming out about numerous things that are,
37:45that are illegal, that are just false. You can carry the, uh, the firearm that Alex
37:49Preddy carried is perfectly legal in Minnesota with additional magazines. You don't have to have
37:54your ID on you or your permit on you. And that's not a crime. It's a fix it ticket that
37:59gets dismissed
38:00once you present it. Uh, there's nothing illegal about carrying at a protest or carrying at a rally.
38:06You can carry openly or concealed. Uh, there is, uh, there is misinformation coming about, uh,
38:11the law. And subsequently people are feeling like they're a chilling effect on their second
38:17amendment rights based on the narrative that's being put out there.
38:20Then what is your message to Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, Greg Bovino, President Trump? What is your
38:27message to them tonight? Uh, just tell the truth, tell the truth about Minnesota law,
38:33tell the truth about what's going on, uh, here and tell the truth that Alex Preddy did not, uh,
38:39at any point, uh, threaten officers with his firearm or produce evidence that he did. Uh,
38:45the narrative was put out there that he was, uh, seeking to massacre officers, that he brandished
38:49this firearm that's being refuted by every single piece of evidence that we see, uh, in the wake of
38:54this tragedy. Has this administration lost the trust of you and your organization after this?
39:00Uh, there's been numerous times over his two terms that we have been less than confident about,
39:07uh, about his fealty to the second amendment. We're a single issue, nonpartisan organization.
39:12So we owe no loyalty to any party. All we care about is making sure that the rights of our
39:18members
39:18and the law abiding Minnesotans are protected. Well, we're a one issue show. We like to give our
39:24audience the truth. Thank you for giving it to us tonight. I appreciate you joining us.
39:28My pleasure. When we come back, you're going to have to take a long, deep breath
39:32because friends and dear family have described Alex Preddy as kind, caring, and someone who wanted
39:39to make a difference in the world. He certainly did. Their message in their own words on how you can
39:46carry out his legacy right after the break.
39:54The last thing before we go tonight, remembering Alex Preddy. Friends and colleagues have been paying
39:59tribute to the ICU nurse killed by federal immigration agents Saturday. Mary Turner,
40:05a fellow ICU nurse and president of National Nurses United, visited the site of Alex's death yesterday and
40:11spoke about his work as a caregiver. He was a VA nurse, an ICU nurse
40:19that cared for our most venerated patients, our veterans. And that day, he was just doing like
40:29what every nurse does care for the patients and care for the people. And that's what he was doing
40:37when he was murdered. Alex's final nursing student at the VA hospital, Jessica Hauser,
40:43shared her memories of him. Here's just some of the beautiful words she posted on social media.
40:49Quote, I want his family to know his legacy lives on. I'm a better nurse because of the wisdom and
40:56skills he instilled in me. I carry his light with me into every room, letting it guide and steady my
41:02hands as I heal and care for others in need. She continues, please honor my friend by standing up
41:09for peace, preferably with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of candy in your
41:14pocket,
41:15just as he would. He would remind you that caring for others is hard work and we must do whatever
41:21it takes to get through the long shifts. Step outside with your dog, breathe in the world,
41:27hike or bike as he loved to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments with nature.
41:33Stand up for justice and speak with those whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with
41:39strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of adversity. A truly beautiful tribute and
41:49a reminder that we must all do our part to carry on Alex's legacy of love and true compassion. And
41:58on
41:58that very beautiful and very sad note, I wish you a very safe night. From all of us here at
42:05MSNOW,
42:05thank you for staying up late with me. I'm grateful every night. I'll see you at the end of tomorrow.
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