all right, that's going to do it for us for right now. "way too early" with jonathan lemire is up next. as you know cohen is a lawyer, represented a lot of

people over the years. i'm not the only one. and wasn't very good in a lot of ways in terms of his representation. and also the things he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me. he got in trouble, he went to jail. this had nothing to do with me. when are they going to look at all the lies in the last trial. he got caught lying to them in the last trial. he got caught lying, pure lying. and when are they going to look at that? >> donald trump may have violated the gag order in his hush money trial by ranting about michael cohen yesterday who is expected to testify at some point. we'll get expert legal analysis on that and yesterday's opening statements. plus, we'll go through the newly unsealed transcripts in the classified documents case, which show a former white house staffer tried to warn the former president about the legal issues he could face. and we'll have the latest from capitol hill on foreign aid

funding passed by the house as well as threats to mike johnson's speakership from members of his own party. all right, good morning. welcome to "way too early" on this tuesday, april 23rd. i'm sam stein. i'm in for jonathan lemire. in just hours donald trump's hush money criminal trial will resume in a new york city courtroom. it follows a busy day yesterday after both sides delivered their opening statements and the prosecution's first witness was called for questioning. in their opening remarks the prosecution and defense painted two very different pictures of the former president. prosecutors describe him as having been involved in years of sordid business dealings. they called him a coconspirator in a plot to cover up sex scandals in a so-called catch and kill plan in the 2016 presidential election. and they said trump's actions amount to criminal conspiracy

and cover up by scheming with his then-lawyer michael cohen and david pecker, who's a publisher at the national enquirer at the time. the defense depicted trump as a dignified former president and family man, but above they all depicted him as innocent. they stressed no crime was committed. the prosecution then called its first witness, david pecker. a former chairman and ceo of american media incorporated, explained his publications had practiced, quote, checkbook journalism where they paid thousands of dollars for stories. the publications would also purchase stories to prevent them from being published by other outlets and then bury them. he also testified trump met with him after the 2016 election to thank him for being the campaign's, quote, eyes and ears, scooping up information that could prove harmful to trump and reporting it back to michael cohen.

pecker is expected to resume his testimony later this morning. before the testimony resumes judge merchan will hold a hearing to decide whether he's in violation of a gag order. that order prohibits trum frump attacking witnesses, jurors and other people involved in the case. prosecutors say trump has violated the gag order ten times. they want him held in contemp and fined $1,000 for each violation. judge merchan's options range from a stern warning to a modest fine to a short stint in jail. but trump did not appear to be too concerned about that yesterday. he went on a rant to reporters about the credibility of michael cohen, then he later spoke on a radio show making false claims about the jury. >> that jury was picked so fast. 95% democrats. the area is all mostly all democrat. you think of it as a, just a purely democrat area. it's a very unfair situation. >> all right.

joining us now to unpack this all msnbc justice and legal affairs analyst anthony coley. he was the top spokesman at the department of justice under merrick garland. first of all, what a pleasure it is to have you in studio. thank you for being here. appreciate it. what do you see as being the options for judge merchan here with trump? >> what we saw yesterday, sam stein, from the prosecution i think was an effort to dispel this notion this case was about hush money payments or book errors. this case was a criminal conspiracy to keep valuable information out of the hands of voters in an effort to cover it up. and the prosecution for their part, matthew, one of his super powers is able to explain complex legal matters in ways people can understand it.

as for this direct question about judge merchan, i would say that this gag order -- what we know about gag orders i think the justice department right now -- the justice system right now is under a tremendous stress test, if you will. and to pass the stress test, what judge merchan, what everyone, all the judges need to do is treat donald trump just like they would every other criminal defendant. and so one of the options you laid them out well. financial penalties, stern talking to, or incarceration. i don't know know that the first step that judge merchan is going to do is to incarcerate donald trump, but i do think what we should see here is both a stern talking to and what neil katyal offered last night is perhaps the judge should rule that he has -- donald trump has violated these gag orders and sus spend that sentence until he violates

it again. so it puts the onus, the burden on donald trump. >> and neil katyal suggested specifically you're going to go to jail and put that as a sort of warning what could happen potentially. opening statements yesterday. what did you make of prosecution's decision to start with david pecker but also its opening remarks? >> yeah, so david pecker in particular, this is a guy who many people don't realize in the summer of 2015 he and donald trump and michael cohen got together at trump tower to hatch this scheme. this is a broad criminal conspiracy that the -- that donald trump and others took to keep this information out of the hands of voters. and so it's not just bookkeeping. it is not just hush money payments. so i think it made a lot of sense for the prosecution to lead off with this. many people suggest that michael cohen is going to be the lead

witness. i actually think it may be david pecker because he was present at this meeting, and he's a central character throughout. and he doesn't have the baggage michael cohen has. >> i want to quickly touch on the baggage issue because these witnesses regardless of what they testify, they do come with some baggage. obviously david pecker associated would the national enquirer not necessarily the most reputable journest. michael cohen has admitted he has misled in prior testimony. what are the risks the prosecution runs with starting with people who have these aassociations? >> listen, i think i'm not a lawyer but prosecutors tell me in an ideal world all of the witnesses could be nuns or librarians. that's nut the world in which -- >> not in this trial. >> not at all, right? one of the things, what they have in this trial is first-hand evidence from people. they've got a series of canceled checks from donald trump many of which were written -- made out

while he was sitting in the oval office. there's audio recording that we're going to see, first-hand information. donald trump's voice. so the prosecution has a lot of things on its side. >> anthony, stay with me for the next story. concerns another legal case against donald trump. newly unsealed transcripts reveal that a high level trump white house staffer warned him that he could be indicted if he didn't return the classified documents that he took with him when leaving office. yesterday nearly 400 pages of investigative documents were partially unsealed by judge aileen cannon. among them fbi interviews with someone known only as person 16 who, quote, had free access to trump and the oval office was and was regularly briefed on national security matters. this person told agents as president trump never issued a standing order to declassify all documents as he now claims to have done. and the first time person 16 even heard of such an order was

in 2022 after the documents had already been seized from trump's florida home. person 16 also told the fbi that they met with trump multiple times after he left the white house. and in november of 2021 warned him, quote, whatever you have, give everything back, don't give them a noble reason to indict you because they will. trump allegedly gave person 16 the impression he would return the documents, which he did not, before their conversation was interrupted by, quote, a mar-a-lago club member and a much younger woman who wanted a picture with trump. anthony, are you person 16? >> i am not. >> i had to get that out of the way. all right, what do you make of the newly unsealed transcripts? is this going to hurt trump's argument the documents he took awere personal? >> i'll start by saying the government typically wins 99%,

95% of these cases. it's because of first-hand testimony from person 16. this is the last thing that as defense counsel you want to see, but it also provides some insight in why -- what their legal strategy is. they're not trying to win this case in the courtroom. they're trying to prevent it from even starting because this evidence from person 16, from -- from the security footage, from the text message, it is so clear, it is so overwhelming. donald trump has such an uphill battle in the courtroom, that's why e he doesn't want this case to start. >> msnbc justice and legal affairs analyst anthony coley, thank you so much. still ahead colleges and universities across the country are struggling to contain pro-palestinian protests on campus. we'll show you what some democratic lawmakers had to say during a visit to columbia

university yesterday. plus president biden is heading to florida today. we'll have a preview of that trip and how he plans to put the spotlight on abortion rights. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. a check on sports and weather when we come right back shingles. the rash can feel like an intense burning sensation, and last for weeks. shingles could make it hard to be there for your loved ones. over 50? the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside you. don't wait. ask your doctor about shingles. [stomach growling] it's nothing... sounds like something.

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endless possibilities for people to thrive. visit feedingamerica.org/actnow after calling for the social media app tiktok to be banned while president, donald trump has reversed his position on the matter. in a truth social post yesterday trump wrote in part, quote, just so everyone knows, especially young people, crooked joe biden is responsible for banning tiktok. he is the one pushing it to close and doing it to help his friends over at facebook become richer and more dominant. over the weekend the house passed a bipartisan measure that would force tiktok's parent company to divest from the chinese government within a year or face removal from the u.s. app store. president joe biden has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. back in 2020 trump himself

accused tiktok of spying on its american users and even issued an executive order to ban the app, which was later blocked in federal court. turning now to columbia university, which is offering hybrid classes allowing students to attend remotely until the end of the semester. that is in light of recent protests over the war in gaza that has led to an increase in anti-semitic incidents. last week more than 100 heme were arrested after occupying a space on campus for more than 30 hours. the university's president said tensions had been, quote, exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with columbia. the president is now facing criticism for her handling of the situation. several lawmakers say she's not doing enough to protect jewish students. some have even called for her resignation. meanwhile, the pro-palestinian student protesters argue the university's decision to call the police encroaches on their

right to free speech. even faculty members joined in on the protest yesterday. several democratic lawmakers also visited columbia's campus in support of its jewish students. >> they know and you know deep down if this was any minority group, this wouldn't be happening. it wouldn't have gotten this far, but because it's jews, we fall into this weird category. oh, we're not protected. that's why anti-semitism is on the rise. that's what the failures were in committee with those presidents, and that's the failure that's happening here today. >> we're also seeing demonstrations at other college campuses across the country. dozens of people were arrested at pro-palestinian protests at new york university and at yale university in connecticut. at yale police arrested at least 60 people yesterday including 47 students. officers were called to nyu last night after the school said that

protesters breached barricades and behaved in a quote, disorderly, disruptive and antagonizing manner. the university said it warned the crown to leave before police arrived. president biden also commented on the protests yesterday saying he condemns anti-semitic incidents but also, quote, condemns those who don't understand what's going on with the palestinians. still ahead we'll have the highlights from a thrilling night in the nba playoffs with two games decided in the final seconds. plus the manager of the new york yankees got tossed from yesterday's game because of a fan. it truly did happen. we'll show you what happened next on "way too early." next on "way too early." ahhh!'! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. times may change, but somethings remain timeless. i've been using dove beauty bar more than 25 years. dove is 1/4 moisturizing cream.

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the nuggets have won! >> that was nasty. jamal murray's buzzer beater caps a 20-point comeback win for the nuggets lifting denver to 101-99 win over the los angeles lakers and a two game advantage in their first round western conference playoff series. you see a very upset lebron james there. the sear oznow shifts to los angeles for game three wednesday night. wow, what a shot. hard to beat that. and yet in the eastern conference a frantic final minute at madison square garden last night has the new york knicks leading the 76ers two games to one. knicks gave uman 8-point advantage in the fourth quarter trailed by 5 with 30 seconds left in regulation, but then back-to-back three pointers put new york back on top, and they hung onto beat the sixers 104-101. lots of controversy on this one, but it was unbelievable. look at that game second block

right there. game three thursday in philadelphia. meanwhile, there's other series. the cleveland cavaliers will also take a two-game series lead on the road after defeating the orlando magic 286 in came two last night. the quest for lard stanley's cup in a pair of first round nhl playoff openers in the western conference. in dallas the vegas golden knights move one win closer to repeat title beating the top seeded stars 4-3. game two tomorrow night. up in edmonton zack scored three goals, conor mcdavid at five assists and the oilers won the opener 7-4. game two is tomorrow in edmonton. meanwhile in north carolina two goals scored in my opinion seconds apart in the third period, wow, helped the hurricanes turn a three-score

deficit against the islanders last night into a two-game lead in their first round eastern conference series. new york will try to crawl out of the 2-0 hole and game three on long island on thursday. in boston the toronto maple leaves got even against the bruins last night with a 3-2 victory. that series is now tied one game apiece. turning now to my favorite sports story of the day, major league baseball and the monday matinee at yankees stadium saw the manager ejected five pitches into the game. unreal. it started when the lead off batter was clearly -- but the yankees thought he swung at the ball before a warning from the home plate umpire. >> you saw him making that call. >> you're not yelling at me. i did what i'm supposed to do to eject. you've got anything else to say

you're gone, okay? >> wow. >> we're not going to need a break down of that one. we got a very clear. there you go. harris saying hold on a second, i didn't say a word. >> i can't even pick a prompter i'm laughing too hard in this. the umpire tossing him after hearing clearly objections from the dugout. unreal. boone not saying anything rushed out onto the field in an mated protest insisting a fan sitting behind the dugout was the culprit, which it was. the umpire later told reporters he thought it came from a new york bench. sure, boss. oakland would need just one big swing in the ninth to beat the

new york yankees 2-0. what a travesty. tough to see. all right, now for the weather. and for that let's go to meteorologist michelle grossman for the forecast. michelle, what is going on out there? >> hi there, sam. great to see you. really uneventful as we go throughout the day. freeze warnings, frost warnings, 40 million people impacted from the carolinas, appalachians. into new england we have a freeze warning. that is in that hot pink color. we're going to see that tonight and also the next night. temperatures right above freezing new york city. 34 degrees right at the freezing mark. and also looking at 40s pittsburgh and also d.c. we're going to keep it on the cool side today. april temperatures in a lot of spots we're looking at right around the normal temperatures in pittsburgh, a little bit above at 69. new york city right around the average, 63 but still below. 73 in raw lay and charleston looking at 73. cold tomorrow the great lakes and also parts of the ohio

valley. well below normal this of year. and only into the 40s in chicago. also watching a front that's coming through that's bringing the chance for showers, even some thunder showers. throughout portions of of the great lakes from missouri all the way to maine, we could see some heavy downpours, could even see some hail with any of these storms. also in the southern plains could see some in portions of of north western texas. sam, overall we are quiet but watching a few things in terms of those showers. back to you. >> nothing wrong with a little chill, yut i got to be honest. michelle grossman, really appreciate it. still ahead we'll take a look what former president trump is saying about house speaker mike johnson with calls for his ouster over ukraine aid. "way too early" is back in just a moment. r ukraine aid. "way too early" is back in just a moment you're looking for in a pad, that is always discreet. look at how it absorbs all the liquid. oh my gosh! and locking it right on in. look at that! totally absorbed. i got to get some always discreet. ah, these bills are crazy. she

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all right, welcome back to "way too early." it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm sam stein in for jonathan lemire. on capitol hill today the senate is expected to begin procedural votes on the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by theous on saturday. according to punch bowl news senate leaders aric looing to speed up final passage of the package which includes aid to ukraine, israel and taiwan. final vote is expected before tomorrow night. the vast majority of the senate democrats and roughly half of the gop conference is expected to vote in support of the package. meanwhile, former president donald trump is defending house speaker mike johnson who is

facing threats of a possible ouster after pushing ukraine aid through the house. here's what the former president said yesterday in a radio interview. >> well, look, we have a majority of one, okay? so it's not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do. i think he's a very good person. you know, he stood very strongly with me on what i saidthat nato has to pay up. i think he's a very good man. i think he's trying very hard. >> all right, joining us now national politics reporter for the hill, julia manchester. julia, thank you so much for joining us. i think donald trump is right there. it's hard as a majority leader of one. are you surprised trump was defending him? on the foreign aid package that passed the house, how soon do we expect the senate to pick it up? >> in terms of donald trump defending mike johnson, look, i think it might be eyebrow raising to some in that he was defending legislation or mike

johnson pushing legislation that would give more foreign aid to ukraine. we understand that donald trump has been very skeptical, sometimes outright against more aid going to ukraine. but donald trump right now is being politically tactful. he knows like you said mike johnson is a one-person majority. doesn't have much room for leeway, and there's the argument to be made going into this election, republicans in the house face more of an uphill battle with their re-election bids. you have mike johnson, for example, going down to texas to campaign for tony gonzalez. he's facing a very difficult primary runoff next week. so you're seeing republicans i think trying to unify in the face of that -- you know, that minority opposition within the party. now, in terms of the senate aid package i assume this will be brought up very quickly as soon as possible because we know there's been a lot of pressure to get that aid to ukraine. at the same time, though, there will be some push back similar to what we saw in the house. we know that ohio senator jd

vance has been skeptical of more aid to ukraine. so expect more debate there in the upper chamber. >> you know, one thing donald trump did comment on with respect to the package was the provision that would force the sale of tic tiktok or investiture within a year. i believe he has his finger on the pulse here and says, well, there's a lot of young voters on this app, they'll be upset if it cloes down. i wonder if his sendments contradicted there from an earlier sentiment he held, where they shared by members on the hill? >> i think they're shared by maybe some members of the hill, but it's an interesting position he's taking. you're absolutely right. there are gen-z voters very much against the sale or ban of

tiktok. you have republicans and democrats coming together to say that tiktok represents in a way a national security threat from china. they say it's not that we're banning this, we're fighting off a national security threat that is coming in the form of this. so i think he has his finger on the pulse, but at the same time there are members of his party that would maybe go against that. >> you have new reporting on pro-israel groups. they're getting involved in democratic primaries. tell us what's going on, why now, and what we can expect from these groups. >> yeah, so we have major democratic primaries in particular against incumbents jamal bowman in new york, cory bush in missouri. you have groups like the democratic group for israel getting involved in primaries and endorsing their pro-israel primary challengers. now, both of these groups say, look, it's difficult to oust an incumbent but we believe right now the pro-israel community as well as the jewish community in many of these senses are

galvanized enough to potentially oust what these groups say are anti-israel members, and it's coming at a time when we see, you know, these widespread campus protests that are -- colleges are having trouble containing on these campuses, so it's very volatile. it's coming ahead of a primary, and i think we'll see in the primaries how big of an issue this would be in the general election. >> fascinating stuff. national politics reporter for the hill, julia manchester, thank you very much. and still ahead, we'll go live to cnbc for an early look what's driving the day on wall street. plus, federal regulators are trying to block a merger between two premium handbag makers. we'll tell you about the concern officials are now raising and what this could mean for the industry. that's coming up next on "way too early".

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charlotte reave live from london. stock futures little changed this morning after the s&p 500 snapped a six-day losing streak. what's driving the market? >> good morning, sam. indeed u.s. futures are flat after kind of a positive session yesterday as tech shares rebounded and tensions in the middle east eased sending crude prices lower. but today, again, all eyes on the earning season and the big one today is tesla reporting after the bell. today tesla is expected to report its lowest gross profit margin in more than six years after a messy week for the car maker with news of layoffs, further price cuts and the recall of its cyber truck due to a pedal issue. >> the federal trade commission has filed a lawsuit to block the merger of two premium handbag makers. can you tell us what actually prompted this move? >> it's a rare anti-trust challenge against a high end fashion group merger. the federal trade commission

said the merger between tapistry and capri could deprive american consumers of the benefit of the two luxury groups having head to head competition and could impact prices and innovation between the brands of the two luxury groups that includes versace, michael khors and kate spade. it said in a statement there's no question it's procompetitive and the ftc fundamentally misunderstands the marketplace. they made an offer for capri to be able to compete with some of the big competitors. >> that's some high end anti-trust. let'sbri in down a level to a

different type of anti-trust. super market chains kroger and albertsons have agreed to sell more of their stores in an effort to quell the federal government's concerns about their proposed merger. tell us about the revised deal and why now? >> indeed sticking to mergers and competition concerns you were saying kroger and albertsons now to sell 166 more grocery stores than previously announced. in 2022 kroger announced it would buy albertsons but the ftc sued to block the merger saying the deal could push grocery prices up for american consumers. and they would sell about 549 stores iptotal in hope to get the regulatory approval. >> cnbc's charlotte reed live from london, thank you very much. and still ahead president biden is about to secure more aid for ukraine. that's not enough for inwar torn

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president biden and ukrainian president zelenskyy spoke on the phone yesterday for the first time since the house passed the foreign aid bill. you may recall president biden assured ukraine's leader the u.s. would quickly announce new security packages to meet ukraine's air defense and battlefield needs as soon as the foreign aid bill lands at his desk. that's according the white house. on social media zelenskyy thanked president biden and also house speaker mike johnson and minority leader hakeem jeffries. in his post zelenskyy also praised the repo decision which allows to confiscate millions of dollar sitting in russian banks and transfer them to ukraine.

laura, this is the focus of your latest piece. tell us more about the weapons we can expect going over to ukraine as part of this announcement. >> the pentagon is working right now on crafting his first weapons package that will be send since march, as soon as the president signs legislation. the package will be quite a bit larger than normal. it's going to include armored vehicles which we have sent before and potentially some older humvies and armored personnel carriers as well. it's going to be larger than normal. for context the package we sent in march was $300 million, and that was the only one we sent since december since we ran out of funding. so these weapons are prepositioned already many of them throughout europe. so the artillery rounds could be there in days on the battlefield. some of the other weapons may take up to weeks before they get

there, but the -- the the intent of this is to move quickly so that the ukrainians can start gaining momentum. >> what is the biggest need or most under need i should say for ukrainians? >> it's definitely the artillery. ukrainian soldiers on the front lines have been running out of weapons since december which is the last time we sent a big package of u.s. weapons. and russia has been pushing back on some of that territory. air defense is a big need right now only to protect ukrainian troops on the ground over there but also ukrainian cities. it's really an urgent critical need right now. some of these vehicles are going to help as well but it's really the artillery and air defense a critical need. >> another defense is reportedly the u.s. will be sending military advisers to kyiv to do what specifically? go over battlefield logistics? what are the actual specific purposes for sending military advisers there? >> primarily these military

advisers -- and i do want to emphasize they're not going to be in a combat role. they are u.s. troops but focusing on advising ukraine military on battle tactics as well as logistics and maintenance of weapons. now, there's probably going to be about 16 going over in total in several phases, and it doesn't seem like a huge number, but it is a significant increase from the onies and the twosies we've had at the embassy before, and of course the worry is escalation and having u.s. troops on the ground and ukraine potentially coming into contact with russian forces. >> this is all for all intents and purposes probably going to be the last package of aid ukraine gets. how does that impact both the weapons we send there, the advice we give ukrainians in terms of the use of weapons and potentially a diplomatic end game with russia, which at some

point will be the end of the war? >> well, since this is going to be potentially the last aid package, i think ukrainians are going to have to think really carefully about how they use those weapons and what they want to do next in terms of their strategy. the ukrainians did not have much success last year during the counter offensive. they really didn't gain much territory, so i think the aim right now is really to hold the line. and we know we've sent some long-range missiles, potentially long-range missiles could be part of this package as well. maybe they'll use those strategically to hit inside russian lines and potentially make gains there. i don't think this changes too much on the battlefield right now in terms of their gains. it just makes those goals easier to get to. >> all right, pentagon reporter much for coming in. really appreciate it. up next, we will preview president biden's visit to florida where an abortion ban is expected to go into effect very soon. coming up on "morning joe," the key takeaways from opening statements in donald trump's

hush money trial as the judge overseeing the case is set to weigh in on whether trump should be held in contempt for repeatedly violating a gag order. also ahead, democratic senator michael bennett of colorado will join the conversation ahead of the vote on a major aid package for ukraine. "morning joe" is just moments away. and risk-reward analysi, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley anthony: this making you uncomfortable? or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. good. when you've got type 2 diabetes like me, you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack or worse

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president bidn travels to florida today to deliver remarks highlighting efforts by democrats to protect abortion access. the president will forcefully advocate for reproductive freedom and call out donald trump's abortion bans, as he has been doing since roe was overturned, according to a spokesperson. the biden campaign has been emphasizing what it sees as a potential path to victory in the state that was captured by trump in both 2016 and in 2020. biden says it comes days before a six-week abortion ban in the state takes effect. president biden has opened a 5-point lead over donald trump according to the latest poll.

candidates include robert kennedy jr., cornell west, and jill stein. biden earns 43% of support from registered voters while trump sits at 38%. it's within the margin of error, but it is up from the two-point lead biden held in a poll taken earlier this month. joining us now, white house reporter for "the wall street journal," ken thomas. ken, let's talk about the last time reproductive rights were on the ballot, 2012. barack obama won the state. obviously, things have changed dramatically since then, both in florida and the law around reproductive rights. tell me, what is the biden campaign hoping to accomplish by this swing through florida? do they realistically think it is in play, or do they want to make a broader sell? >> the six-week ban is going into effect next week, so the campaign felt it was important to have the president on the ground talking about, not just florida, but some of the other states where we've seen

restrictions. this will be his first major speech on abortion since january, his first time really talking extensively about the situation in arizona. i think, you know, this is probably less about winning florida and more about driving a message. you know, there are also restrictions in georgia and north carolina, the southeast will be effectively restricted now. i think the biden campaign wants to, you know, deliver that message, but they also see a path, i think, in florida, as it is a long shot, but they need to keep as many roads to 270 as possible. >> right. it's a long shot. the state has drifted to the right in recent years. what does the path look like? is it running on reproductive rights? do you have to engage with hispanics? how do you flip a state like that? >> it is driving turnout. they feel this initiative on abortion will help drive that. there's also another ballot initiative they're working on to legalize recreational marijuana.

that could also drive younger voters to the polls. you know, i think it is going to be a really difficult path in florida, but i think they feel like, if they can just get a strong turnout. the other part of it is putting trump on defense. this is his home state. he is going to have to cast a vote on this initiative on abortion. >> right. >> it could put him in an uncomfortable position. >> one thing he has not done, trump that is, is actually state what he'd do on that initiative. he's called for states rights. he has avoided weighing in on the issue. biden is doing all this, and trump is stuck in a courtroom in new york city. we've not seen much from biden by way of talking about the trial. in fact, what we see today is what their plan is. they're going to stay on the things they want to stay on. >> this is one of the cases where you show opposed to tell. they're trying to have the president out there doing, you know, events around the country, looking like he is doing the job

at the white house, while, at the same time, trump is stuck in a courtroom for four days a week. i through they feel like if you can show, you know, make the point of showing the president doing his work, that presents the contrast, presents the choice for the american people. >> what's the mood among the team now? we referenced the maris poll, but you also have reporting about some big wins biden has gotten in the past week, both not just on the foreign aid on the hill, which had been stuck for months in congress but now is on the brink of passage, but a car plant in the south unionized, a year ago, it would have felt unthinkable. >> the white house felt they got two significant wins within a matter of 24 hours last weekend. you had this uaw situation where they were able to successfully unionize a plant in tennessee. you know, they've struggled to do so for years. the white house feels like

that's a direct result of the president getting involved last fall in the strike, taking a side, supporting the uaw in their strike against the big three, and they got a successful outcome in that contract negotiation. as a result, they now have momentum within that union to go down south and unionize. also, just on ukraine, i mean, this has been something the president has been, you know, fighting for for six months now. you know, he gave a major address from the oval office last october, you know, on why this was so important. they feel in both cases, this is just something where the president has been sort of diligently working hard to, you know, make the case for these issues, and they finally had a breakthrough. it shows the american people they can deliver. >> quickly, we talked about the constituencies he's reached out to, trying to bring back the coalition. abortion rights, borders, union workers.

people care about foreign aid. yesterday, we did an event on earth day, environmental. there is an immense amount of unrest over what's happening in gaza. what we saw yesterday was the president almost qualified the issue over the weekend, saying he condemned anti-semitic issues. he also condemned those who don't understand what is going on in palestine. is he worried about backlash? >> i think he's trying to thread the needle here. it is a difficult issue. i thought it was notable at that event that he had bernie sanders, aoc with him. >> basically, on his left and right the entire time. >> it's a way of validating him. >> white house reporter for "the wall street journal," ken thomas, thank you so much. appreciate it, ken. thank you for getting up "way too early" with us. it was way too early. "morning joe" starts right now. that jury was picked so fast. 95% democrats. the area is mostly all democra