"the sunday show" which airs sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. eastern, goes until noon. join us, it's a very good show from washington, d.c., on this early thursday morning, good night. we all know life can knock us down but in america, we never, ever, ever stay down. americans always get up. today, that's what we are doing. america is rising anew. choosing hope over fear, truth overlies and light over darkness. after 100 days of rescue and renewal, america is ready for a takeoff in my view. we are working again, dreaming again, discovering again and leading the world again. >> president biden in his first

address to a joint session of congress declares america is on the move again, rising a new, ready to stay and ready tore takeoff. senator tim scott delivers the republican rebuttal. one of only three black senators and the only black republican. a major move in the criminal investigation of trump's former attorney rudy giuliani as officials conduct a raid on his home. did they find what they were looking for? it is way too early for this. good morning and welcome to way too early. it was way past my bed time last

night. i am kasie hunt. in his first address to the joint session of congress, president biden delivered an optimistic placement of america's place in the world. >> i stand here tonight, one day shy of the 100th day in my administration. 100 days since i took the oath of office and lifted my hand off our family bible and inherited a nation, we all did that was in crisis. the worst pandemic in a century, the worts economic crisis since the depression. the worst attack on our democracy since the civil war. now after just 100 days, i can report to the nation, america is on the move again. i've often said, our strength

estimate strength is the power of our example. not just the example of our power. when i've spoken to world leaders, i've made it known. i've made it known that america is back. you know what they say, the comment i hear most of all from them? they say, we see america is back but for how long? but for how long? my fellow americans, we have to show not just that we are back but that we are back to stay and that we aren't going to go alone. [ applause ] we are going to do it by leading with our allies. >> quite the shift. the president introduced his $1.8 trillion american families plan and how he expands to pay poor that extension of health care, child care education. >> the american families plan will provide access to quality

affordable child care. [ applause ] will guarantee -- when i propose the legislation, we guarantee that low and middle income families will pay no more than 7% of their income for high-quality care for children up to the age of five. the most hard pressed working families won't have to spend a time. third, the american families plan will finally provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave and family medical leave. [ applause ] we are one of the few industrial countries in the world. no one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck and taking care of themselves or a loved one or spouse or child.

12 years is no longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world and the 21st century. that's why my american family plan guarantees four additional years of education starting as early as we can. a great university in this country conducted studies in the last 10 years and showed that adding two years of high-quality universal preschool for every two-year-old and three-year-old no matter what background they come from puts this emin position to compete all the way through 12 years. [ applause ] how do we pay for my jobs and family plan? i made it clear we can do it without increasing the deficit. let's start with what i will not do. i will not impose any tax increase on people making less

than $400,000 but it is time for corporate america and the wealthiest 1% of americans to begin to pay their fair share. just their fair share. >> and president biden stood firm in his messaging last night to get america fully vaccinated. >> everyone over the age of 16, everyone is now eligible to get vaccinated right now, right away. go get vaccinated, america. go and get the vaccination. they are available. we can't let our guard down. but tonight, i can say because of you, the american people -- our progress these past 100 days since one of the worst pandemic's in history has been one of the most logistic call

achievements this country has ever seen. >> president biden also addressed the deadly capitol riot calling the moment a test for america's democracy. >> as we gather here tonight, images of the violent mob remain in our minds. lives were put at risk, many of your lives. lives were lost. extraordinary courage was summoned. it was an existential crisis, a test of whether our democracy could survive and it did. the struggle is far from over. the question of whether a democracy will long endure is ancient, as old as our republic. still vital today. can our democracy deliver on its promise, that all are created

equal in the image of god. can our democracy deliver the most pressing needs of our people and overcome the lies, anger and hate and fears that pull us apart. the autocrats of the world are betting that we can't. i promise you they believe we are too full of anger and range. they look at the images as prove 245 the sun is setting on american democracy. but they are wrong. we have to prove them wrong and prove that democracy still works and we can deliver for our people. >> joining us now, nbc news capitol correspondent leanne caldwell. thank you for being up early with us. i'm instruct listening to that particular section of president biden's speech and i'm thinking

back to being in the chamber last night. one of the interesting affects of the smaller audience. it was pandemic mandated, this 200-person audience that changed the vibe in the room. it put a sharper focus on some of the more serious people in government. one of those people is liz cheney. she got a fist bump from president biden. a handshake from mitch mcconnell. you can see him there. she's in the next couple of rows here. what stood out to me, in some ways, the tone of the room was less partisan than it often is. instead of the focus being on the more outrageous characters of our politics, which has driven the last four years, it

was much more interested in people interested in seriously governing. what was your take? >> i was not in the room like you were but watching it on the screen, it was just a stark difference of the most recent state of the unions or joint addresses that we have seen. one under president trump and even going back to president obama as well where partisanship was just visceral and so in the air. last night, i don't know if it was because there were fewer people in the room or it was just after january 6, what the country has gone through and president biden addressed it so eloquently but it did have a much different feel that politics is getting back to normal. politics is more about policy and disagreements over policy and not a cult of personality.

and while liz cheney gave president biden a fist bump on his way up, she also put out a scathing statement about his speech afterwards talking about policy. so just being on capitol hill over the past couple of weeks, it finally felt more like a return where republicans and democrats were disagreeing very starkly on policy and what the direction of the country should be. i haven't felt like that. i haven't felt that sense of, you know, kind of shared focus in a very, very long time. >> it is a very, very good point. i should probably underscore the sense around cheney had a lot to do around the fact that she

voted to impeach president trump. there were fewer republicans that voted for impeachment than democrats. in my mind, that was part of that. let's talk about the issues you raise. the proposals president biden put out there are big. he wants to spend a lot of money. if they were enacted, they would make very progressive changes to how the system feels to live in the united states of america and what our social safety net looks like. what's your sense of how much of this is actually going to happen? >> this was a speech last night. of course, we've been covering the policy and how it has been unveiled over the past few weeks. seeing it laid out was a reminder of how big and how bold the president agenda is. something that even though he campaigned on some of this, that

most people didn't expect president biden to give this very all-encompassing restructuring. ops. sorry. this restructuring of america and how the economy works. republicans are betting that this is a democratic overreach. that it is going to go too far. so whatever gets passed, it is going to be very difficult. the rest of it, $4 trillion is something the country has not seen in a very long time. >> very remarkable. thank you for getting up with us. the rest of the world doesn't understand the saga that is your air pods. still ahead, a look at senator tim scott's gop rebuttal

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welcome back. in the republican rebuttal to president biden's address. republican tim scott defended america. >> hear me clearly, america is not a racist country. it is backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. it is wrong to try to use our painful past to honestly shut down debates in the president. i'm an african-american who has voted in the south my entire

life. i take voting seriously. republicans support making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. our president seems like a good man. his speech full of good words but president biden promised you a specific kind of leadership. he promised to unite a nation, to lower the temperature and govern for all americans, no matter how we voted. this was the pitch. you just heard it again. but our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes, with we need policies and progress that brings us closer together. three months in, the actions of the president and his party are pulling us further and further apart. >> his responses can be so frot but the republican party is lucky senator tim scott is there. a new president wasn't the only thing different. it was the first delivery from

the capitol since the pandemic and since the january 6th insurrection. members of the house would pass through tightened security measures. consistent with the new rules put into effect after the capitol riot but still very different than years past. they had to show prove of vaccination or a negative covid test to be in the immediate audience. let's go to bill karins for a look at the weather. weather making some headlines. we've had some tornadoes and nasty flash flooding in areas of arkansas and missouri and texas. pictures of the arkansas flash flooding from yesterday. rivers in benton county overrun their banks. no injuries or fatalities. you can see the rescuers and

first responders had their hands full there. look at that bus there. let's go to the maps. 13 million people are still under flash flooding. pouring out there in ohio valley and memphis. we had four-inch sized hail near san antonio. i've seen pictures of roofs and sky lights just smashed. a lot of cars, windshields have been smashed. as far as severe weather goes, we'll watch areas from nashville and another 39 million people in danger a busy day ahead. thank you. still ahead here, republican congress come liz cheney fights back against president trump. s back against president trump co. but with my hiv treatment,... there's not more medicines in my pill.

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congresswoman liz cheney, the third highest ranking republican leader in the house is hitting back from criticism from president trump. trump said she was looking for way a way out of running. in a phone call, she said that is wishful thinking. she went on to say, it is a critical time to make sure we have the strongest person in washington fighting on behalf of our values, fighting on behalf of our energy, agriculture industry and families. you might have caught this moment as president biden entered the chamber. liz cheney greeting him with a fist bump on the house floor. quite a moment. we also saw a powerful moment as president biden called for more cancer research funding on the

disease that took his on beau's life. >> i will still never for get when we passed the cancer proposal. standing and mentioning the name of my deceased son. it meant a lot. i know nothing that is more bipartisan. let's end cancer as we know it. it is within our power. >> and, senator ted cruz who has repeatedly attacked president biden's immigration policy appeared to dose off last night when the president began to speak about migrants at the southern border. >> if we actually want to solve a problem, i've sent a bill to take a close look al it and we have to solve a problem of why people are fleeing countries

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welcome back to way too early. i'm kasie hunt. we begin this half hour from more from the president's first joint address to congress last night. he urged the congress to pass a police reform bill by the end of may which will mark one year since the death of george floyd. >> my fellow americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, to root out racism and systemic racism. and to pass the bill in george floyd's name that passed the house already. i know we are engaged in productive discussions. we need to work together to find

a consensus but let's get it done by next month by the first anniversary of george floyd's death. >> we also have legal news this morning. mostly unrelated to the president's address last night. federal investigators are seized cell phones and other devices from the manhattan home and office of rudy giuliani. the raid suggests the justice department is ramping up its investigation into giuliani's dealings with officials working to dig up information on biden. the execution of search warrants is an extraordinary action for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, yet alone a lawyer for a former president.

marking a major development into the exam ination of gooulg and some of the people at the center of mr. trump's first impeachment trial. giuliani denied any wrongdoing and said the raid was, quote, a clear example of a double standards. one for high-level democrats and republicans who are prominent supporters of and defenders of president trump. joining us now, former assistant u.s. attorney under then u.s. attorney rudy giuliani. also served as the chief of civil rights unite and the author of the book, upon the hate. thank you for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. let's talk about your former boss and what kind of charges he must be facing and the severity of what's gone on to allow these warrants to be executed?

>> you have to have probable cause to find evidence of a crime to execute a search warrant. that's the standard of a rule. when you apply it to a lawyer, that's even higher and when you apply it to the lawyer of a former president, it is higher still. they must have a very strong case and be ready to go. i assure you this went all the way up the chain. this wasn't just some decision made. this went up the chain. i'm sure they are very close to moving on an indictment of my former boss. >> what is your sense of the charges against him will look like? >> the charges are quite serious, the idea of a foreign agent not registering under the laws for foreign agents can be punished with up to five years in prison or up to $250,000 fine. these are serious crimes. before the department of justice

goes after somebody so quite well-known and connected with the former president of the united states, they make sure all the is are dotted and all the ts are crossed. i think they are very cost in the charges or they wouldn't have gotten this far. >> very interesting. stay with us for a second. i want to change gears. three georgia men have been charged with federal hate crimes in the death of ahmaud arbery. mcmichael, his son and another are charged with interference of rights. both mcmichaels have been charged with using guns. the father and son duo chased arbery with their truck. he died after being shot in that encounter on february 23, 2020.

claiming they used force and threats on his rights to use a public 12r50e9 because he was black. the three men who are white face charges in state court including murder. they have pled not guilty. a trial date has not been set in this case. how unusual is something like this in this kind of case, can you help us understand what has been brought against these men? >> i know those charges sound a little odd. the reason is, that's what creates the federal crime. murder, kidnapping, these are state crimes. when you do it across a state line, those are federal crime. or in this case, interference with federally protected rights. that becomes a federal crime. i have to tell you, this heartened back to an earlier time where states would not

enforce certain laws or investigate certain crimes so the federal government had to step in. that's what happened here. this happened a long time ago, the case languished. then they got great public attention and the feds stepped in. the penalty for a federal civil rights crime where death results is the death penalty. it just tells you the severity of this crime and of the federal investigation and what is now ready to be a prosecution. >> wow. all right. frederick lawrence, thank you very much. we appreciate your expertise this morning. thank you for getting up early with us. still ahead, german gymnasts make a bold statement trading in their leos for a full-body suit. >> and the girl using a viral name that bares her image.

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show more of you. time now for something totally different. if you have been on the internet at all in the past 20 years, you might have seen this image used in a meme. the picture of a then four-year-old girl. dubbed disaster girl. the family has struggled to make money off the wildly popular image but thanks to cryptocurrency, that's changed. she is now 21. sold the original image as an nft for $430,000. the nft is a string of computer code stored in the blockchain that allows the creator to track

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of women in their sport of gymnastics. sara voss has said it has been a year in the making. she says, quote, every time you don't feel safe, it is disstrakting you from what you want to perform. i think feeling safe and not thinking about what other people can and cannot see is quite relieving. good for you. you look like superheroes in those new suits. i love it. still ahead, we'll talk to freshman congressman after attending his first joint address in congress. although be it quite different. t voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪look at what's happened to me.♪ ♪i can't believe it myself.♪

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make no mistake. in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. the threat has evolved way beyond afghanistan. those of you in intelligence committees, defense committees,

you know well. we have to remain vigilant against the threats against the united states. terrorists stlets come from far and beyond. we won't let it determine the most lethal threat today, white supremacy's terrorism. >> that was president biden weighing in on the threat of terrorism. just two weeks after announcing u.s. troops will withdraw from afghanistan. joining us now representative ritchie torres from new york. thank you for getting up so early after a late night for you in the chamber watching president biden's address. i want to first ask you about what we just heard there. that declaration that president

biden made that he is going to fight white supremacy as terrorism. in so many ways shouldn't be a new idea. it is in fact remarkable what he said. what do you make of it? >> in my first week as a member of congress, i lived through the insurrection, which was a wakeup call about the reality of white supremist. for too long, we have been too blind as white supremeism as a form of terror. it was not defined until 2020. to hear those comments from the president shows that his priorities are in the right place. >> so congressman, the other of course, major section of the president's address was american

his american families plan here at home. one thing not in that plan is a permanent extension of the enhanced child credit. i know you have a separate bill you are pushing forward with. why not put it in the original package? >> the house is going to pass a bill that includes a permanent child tax credit. my idea would be that tax credit would be to children what social security has been to senior citizens. fdr never put an expiration date on social security? the cost of child poverty is far greater than the cost of child tax credit according to the studies, child poverty costs our country up to a trillion in

economic growth every year. in every dollar we invest will generate $8 in growth. it is not only good morals but good economics. >> take us on to the floor of the house yesterday into the chamber. i was there. i've covered these in the past. it was so, so different. what did it feel like to be there with so few others around you? did it feel like you had a chance to cross the aisle and talk to republicans in a way you might not otherwise or still feel as divided as we see when we look at votes and public comments about policy? >> keep in mind that i'm a freshman congressman, so i have no frame of reference. >> it was my first. it did feel string and distance. i was thrilled to be there. there were very few attendees in person.

only the chief justice, only two cabinet secretaries and only 200 members of congress were present. less than half of the institution. despite the strangeness of a presidential address during covid, and to witness our 21st century fdr in action. >> very interesting scene playing out on the floor last night. here's hoping by next year, we're back to the normal 1600-person crowd in that chamber. congressman ritchie torres, thank you very much for getting up early with us. we appreciate it. earlier on in the show, we asked all of you, why are you awake? frank tweeted, i'm up way too early to get my second covid shot today. >> maria e-mailed, every once in a while my mama can't sleep. she's 86 and has alzheimer's. if she's up, i'm up. i love hearing our president mention us caregivers during his excellent speech. people who are doing this,

maria, you, and so many others are just amazing. it takes so much strength. maggie posted this adorable puppy pick. i'm awake because this little nugget felt it necessary to have some cuddles. 8 week old. and dee dee e-mailed, my sweet cat came in with a mouse, now the mouse is loose in the bedroom. oh, dear, i guess that probably woke you up pretty quick! next, we'll take a look at the axios one big thing. and coming up, mayor bill de blasio will join the conversation as new york continues to make progress in the fight against covid. plus, chairman of the democratic national campaign committee, sean patrick maloney will join joe, mika, and willie to weigh in on the president's speech last night. don't go anywhere. "morning joe," just moments away. anywhere. "morning joe," just moments away the bowls are back. applebee's irresist-a-bowls all just $8.99.

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among my patients i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity and gum gives us a dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. welcome back. joining us now with a look at axios a.m., editor in chief for axios, nicholas johnston. good morning. what's the axios one thing today? >> today's one big thing is here

comes the reopening boom. we'll get our first look at economic data this morning when we get a first look at economic gdp growth. it's expected to be blockbuster. that heralds what could be a really remarkable year of economic growth in the united states, when you have the combination of vaccines pushing covid cases down, trillions of dollars in government spending, a federal reserve that's ready to let the party continue. we could see economic growth this year of more than 5 or 6% compared to some bank forecasts. that's what hasn't been seen in less than 30 years. this could be a very transformative year for the u.s. economy. the reason why it matters here, this kind of big-time economic growth is really what's required to wipe away all the business losses, unemployment gains that occurred during the pandemic. and we're looking at more data to come. retail sales are forecast to eclipse pre-pandemic levels, when those numbers come out in the coming days. we're also looking at housing starts bouncing back very strongly from a decline earlier in the year.

so overall, there's a lot of economic graphs that just go up and to the right. >> up and to the right. i've got to say, i think everyone is eager for that to happen. the other thing you're looking at, though, is the flip side in this particular case, good for something to go down to the right, and that's coronavirus infections. are they leveling off, as states are trying to reopen? >> even better than leveling off. they've been flat for a number of weeks. we haven't talked about our famous covid map in a while. the good news today, the map is looking great. covid cases are down across the united states. 16%. almost all states, only four are going up. it looks like finally the vaccination push is beginning to take hold, we have seen in the previous weeks, some noticeable increases in some states and overall in the country, cases were flat. and we were very worried that we were hitting a new plateau. really not making any progress against the pandemic. well, the latest data now shows that we are, and that factors

right back into that economic story, as thesis cases continue to decline, states reopen, more states are comfortable doing things out in public. concerts resume, sporting events resume, travel begins to spike. >> it really underscores the nature of the optimism that we saw from the president's speech last night. so, nick, what's your sense -- i mean, we got some clarification in terms of some of president biden's proposals here. he is, of course, proposing to rate taxes on the wealthy. and that has been very popular when you tell people that he wants to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for this, people say, okay, yeah, we like that. do you think that there's any shift possible because of what you just outlined? the fact that there could be this rebound that could make people a little more concerned about spending the trillions of dollars that biden has put out there. >> that's always a question. the economy begins to improve. the pushback against economies.

do you raise taxes into an economy that's growing in economic growth. and there's a very strong economic split on the hill. republicans are notoriously, historically very opposed to any kind of increases in taxes. no matter where they are and the president is looking to pay for this entire new package of trillions in spending, not just raising on taxes, on people making more than 400,000 a year, as well as on corporations. not a lot of movement on republicans on that. can they assemble enough democrats to get it throughout without using the filibuster, which gets it to 51. so a lot of complicated budget rules. i think there's still a lot to be said for what happens with the remaining trillions of dollars that president biden wants to spend, but what has already been spent, what has already in the system has already been juicing economic growth. that's why we're already forecasting a blockbuster year for the u.s. >> nicholas johnston, thank you so much for being with us this morning. we really appreciate it. and i just have to say, sitting in the balcony last night, watching the state of the -- this joint address to congress,

i was so struck by the fact that we were focused on people who are seriously trying to govern. we were focused on policy disagreements and differences. we were not focused on the distractions, the celebrities in our politics that have driven so much of the last four years. and here's hoping that those serious people can get together and make some progress for all of us. thank you all so much for getting up way too early for us on this thursday morning. don't go anywhere. "morning joe" starts right now. >> the tone of the address was significantly different from a year ago. and the sergeant at arms had some fun with it. >> ladies and gentlemen, i am relieved to announce after four years of bat [ bleep ] lunacy, a calm, reasonable president of the united states,

hall-a-[ bleep ]-luja. >> haas how it got started with a bang. >> we must have gotten a different feed. >> i didn't see that, but good morning. >> must have been on peacock. >> we were there, watching on peacock. >> willie should actually try to not show -- >> i know, i agree. i agree. >> good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, april 29th, we are bright-eyed this morning, along with joe, willie, and me, we have white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire. columnist and associate editor of "washington post," david ignatius joins us, and former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst, steve rattner. what did you think of the president's address last night, joe? >> well, it was sweeping, it was optimistic. it was very progressive. very ambitious agenda that i think a lot of people on the left are going to like and others are going to be concerned with the price tag. myself and maybe