of "chris jansing reports," let's get right to it. ♪ at this hour, it may be days before we see the full indictment against donald trump, but we are getting some new details. roughly 30 counts against the former president for document related fraud. his own attorney says trump was shocked by the indictment, but they're already planning legal challenges to stop this case before it gets to court. we'll go live to mar-a-lago with the latest president biden not answering any questions about his predecessor while touring tornado damage in mississippi. can the white house stay above the fray the latest on trump's efforts to channel republican outrage in to cash one republican senator specifically calling on supporters to donate to trump's cause. our nbc news reporters are following all the latest developments

i want to go straight to nbc's garrett haake outside the d.a.'s office what's the latest? >> reporter: 50 some-odd charges, we know they deal with document fraud and we probably won't see them until they're unsealed on tuesday. we expect the former president to be arraigned in the courthouse over my shoulder. he'll go through a process like any defendant in new york city he'll be finger printed, he'll have his mug shot and a dna sample taken the difference, he'll do all of it under the protection of his secret service detail. we just had a chance to walk through the courthouse a little while ago, the courtroom on the 15th floor where mr. trump is expected to be arraigned, closed off from the public, will be until next week. that's part of the security precautions being put in place downtown theorhere and across t city in advance of the possibility of protests. as of now, there's nothing that's been specifically

organized, no specific threats on the city's radar. i think pivoting into the political challenges the former president faces as he deals with these legal challenges, nbc news has learned within the last hour, the week following his arraignment here in new york city, mr. trump will have to be back in the city for a deposition in a different case in which he is being sued. i think it speaks to the challenge it faces him as a candidate now, having to navigate these legal challenges that continue to arise the indictment here, the pressing investigations in georgia, and back in washington, d.c., and, oh, by the way, trying to be a candidate for president while being constantly dragged back and forth for depositions, and now for the first time ever, an arraignment. >> running for president, oh, by the way, that's where we are, garrett haake, thank you for that meantime, nbc's sam brock is down in florida near mar-a-lago. what do we know about anything about the conversations happening inside team trump right now?

>> reporter: we learned a lot more this morning, and it's an interesting juxtaposition behind me at mar-a-lago there's been very little movement told. we did hear from justice tacopina on the "today" show talking about the fact that there's under no circumstances going to be a plea deal, he says talk about a legal strategy that is still coming to light he did not provide a lot of details. we found out as imgarrett mentioned a second ago, the fact that the indictments have not been unsealed yet, trump's attorney doesn't know the specifics at this point. we know that the former president has been firing up social media posts throughout the course of the last 12 to 14 hours, from witch hunt to persecution to pointing out the judge for the arraignment and the fact that there's a parallel there. it's the same judge that oversaw the trial of allen weisselberg, the former cfo of trump organization who was convicted of tax fraud, so he was definitely sure to point that out, too what's strange about being here right now is just sort of a sigh

of relief in a sense we have seen what the anarchy can be, specifically at the space in mar-a-lago. it was last august when you had the feds go into mar-a-lago and seize hundreds of confidential documents and there were just people teaming everywhere, chris. in fact many of my colleagues were not able to complete their reports because there was so much tension with the protesters today looks nothing like that. there's probably eight to ten people we saw on the bridge that connects to mar-a-lago overnight. there was a couple of dozen until police shut it down at 11:00. whether that's because the process has been so elongated and the president said he was going to be facing indictments ten days ago and that didn't come to pass or there's not the level of fervent of support. according to trump's attorneys, he's arranging for a surrender earlier next week. the confines of that being defined. whatever it is, the scene here is calm and maybe that's not what we were thinking when the muse broke last night.

>> that's for sure sam brock, thank you so much let's go to capitol hill where we're learning that the former president has been privately reaching out to his republican allies as they publicly rally around him julie tsirkin is there what can you tell us about that, julie? >> reporter: it's not surprising at all that the former president has been lobbying calls to his allies up here he did this most recently during kevin mccarthy's speakership battle it's not shocking that he's giving his allies calls at random times of the day about random things. in this case, it's significant that he called up allies, including congressman matt gaetz and senator lindsey graham about this case in the wake of his indictment last night and this morning. take a listen to what senator graham had to say on fox news last night watch. >> this is legal voodoo. you've got a misdemeanor that's been made a felony nobody in the history of new york city has ever been prosecuted under this theory except for donald j. trump

they tried to destroy kavanaugh because she wanted to keep the supreme court open they're trying to destroy donald trump because they fear him at the ballot box you need to help this man. they're trying to drain him dry. he spent more money on lawyers than most people spend on a campaign. >> reporter: the president has been fundraising off the indictment, back when he first teased it on his truth social account. he's asking for allies for help in the wake of this, and to spin the narrative, this could be helpful for him. on the flip side you have a lot of republicans we haven't heard from top republicans, minority leader mitch mcconnell who has a publicly tense relationship with mr. trump, and also those republicans who voted to convict him in the second impeachment trial after january 6th. we haven't heard from senator cassidy, senator romney, senator collins, senator murkowski to name a few, and their offices tell us they're not planning to

speak out anytime soon at least until they see the documents and what the charges are. >> julie tsirkin, thank you for that. this morning, the president told reporters he had no comment on the former president's indictment nbc's ron allen is on the ground in rolling fork, mississippi, where the president is touring storm damage ron, president biden is expected to speak soon there. what are we expecting to hear? >> reporter: yeah, nothing about the indictment of president trump, former president trump, and the press secretary underscored that on the flight down here to the press aboard the plane saying no comment again and pointing out that the white house heard about the indictment, just like everybody else, through the media. in other words, we had nothing to do with it is essentially the message they are putting out there. here, in mississippi, the president is expected to say, as he did when he was asked earlier that the most important thing here is that we've got to get people a reason to hope, especially those who have lost their lives, families have lost their lives. we are expecting him to be here

any moment now that's why there are people lining the street here in this devastated neighborhood. he's expected to make more remarks. he has met with first responders, volunteers, salvation army representatives, local and state officials as well, again, trying to reassure this community that the federal government is here and that to use his words again, we're not going anywhere there are some 300 federal officials already here on the ground who have been here all week, and the other thing the president is going to announce today is that the government, the federal government is going to cover the cost of the emergency response, the emergency recovery for the next 30 days, which is an enormous amount, which includes removing debris, paying first responders overtime, that sort of thing, and they're going to open more fema centers on the ground here in the half dozen or so counties that have been affected by the tornado. and, again, we expect mr. biden to be in this neighborhood at any moment it's devastated, frustrated to

see the damage, and he obviously appears to be quite moved by all of this in his earlier comments to the public here behind closed doors and in the sessions with local officials, so, again, he should be here any moment, and we'll see what he has to say. >> ron allen, thank you so much. we appreciate it we've got much more ahead on the indictment of donald trump, including what's being done to prepare for the former president to come to new york city to face criminal charges plus, what about the other investigations, including the special counsel in d.c. and the grand jury in georgia,ow h new york's indictment could maybe make an impact on those cases. you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity for people living with h-i-v, keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill,

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well, tuesday's arraignment is the first in a litany of legal fights filling donald trump's calendar, the civil suit of defamation and sexual assault, in georgia, a special

grand jury looking into the alleged election interference, and the special council in washington investigating january 6th and the classified documents found at mar-a-lago. here to break it all down, nbc's laura jarrett. "washington post" national reporter and msnbc contributor, carol leonnig and former federal prosecutor paul butler, also an msnbc legal analyst. so, you know, i guess when we look at the calendar and we talk about the presidential calendar, could all of these be come to go a head between now and election day 2024 >> absolutely. the case in new york, we haven't seen the indictment yet but we know the president is going to fight this we know his lawyers are saying there's no plea deal here. they're going to try to fight this they're going to try to get it tossed out if they can't get it tossed out right away they're going to keep it caught up in motion practice in court it's not going to trial anytime soon we could see this into 2024, and another one that's not on the list, the new york attorney general has a suit against him,

and he's set to come to new york the week of april 10th in that suit to sit for a deposition, that one having to do with alleged financial crimes related to how he was overstating his assets in relation to. any number of legal challenges. >> the news of him coming back to new york after the indictment we just broke in the last hour in the meantime, carol, you have reported extensively on the classified documents found at trump's mar-a-lago residence where does that stand? is there any time line there >> you know, it's such an important question you asked at the start, are all of these coming to a head at the same time, and i think that there is a real political clock that the justice department has to consider it's not a partisan clock, but the clock is that one of the people at the heart of the two january 6th and mar-a-lago investigations by special counsel jack smith is a candidate for president, and so any decisions about what that conduct, whether it was criminal, whether charges should or should not be brought, feels

like that decision needs to be made before the end of this year the closest case that the justice department or i should say the justice department was the closest in terms of bringing to bear the evidence to possibly bring a charge on mar-a-lago and the classified records case. this was one where we have reported extensively about how donald trump got a subpoena early last year, and appeared to defy it. there is evidence that suggests he tried to conceal additional records at his part-time residence in palm beach, after getting a subpoena in a criminal investigation, and that his lawyers either, as a tool of donald trump or perhaps unwittingly, then swore, essentially, to the justice department that all of those records had been turned over if the evidence stacks up and if the evidence is compelling, the

prosecutors could charge donald trump with obstruction in a criminal investigation while he is not a sitting president. that was something that really stuck bob mueller. he found copious evidence of donald trump obstructing a criminal investigation but concluded that he could not charge him or accuse him of those crimes because he was then the current president. that's no longer the case for donald trump >> paul, have you ever been on a legal team where somebody had so much going on with potential criminal implications at once? >> not this many investigations, chris. but it's actually not uncommon for a person to be charged with different crimes in multiple jurisdictions. there's no legal requirement that prosecutors and judges in those jurisdictions consult on issues like the timing of the trial and scheduling of hearings, but sometimes they do.

so just because trump is charged first in manhattan doesn't mean that that's the place where the first trial will take place. if it turns out that he's indicted in other places, brad and the judge might think that it's better if a federal case goes first, or even if the georgia case goes first. >> do you think the decision to indict takes the pressure off of other investigators, you know, maybe they didn't want to be first? >> it's funny. i was thinking about that. i think it absolutely does again, it doesn't matter in terms of law, but i'm sure that fani willis and jack smith might not mind the heat being focused on d.a. alvin bragg. timing, as we've heard, is a big concern, if there are charges, the sooner, the better because the 2024 election, if

the charges are brought like the year before the election, that won't raise even more concern about political prosecutions >> carol, this morning, about, i think, was nine hours after learning of his indictment, trump posted to his social account, where is hunter are you hearing anything about whether this might amp up activity against hunter biden by trump supporters if so, would it just be political or could it veer into even legal complications for him? >> well, i hope i'm understanding your question right, chris the justice department has a revered and properly earned reputation for many many decades of not letting anybody's attacks affect how they proceed in a case there is a u.s. attorney in wilmington who has been weighing whether or not the facts in the case of his investigation of hunter biden's application, that

appears to have been fraudulent for a gun permit and his income tax filings, whether those were also inaccurate or intentionally inaccurate, and that case remains uncharged at this point, and a decision, as far as we are aware has not yet been made, and i think that one of the interesting things about donald trump is he often accuses people of weaponizing the justice department to come at him, but actually, it was donald trump's presidency that marked sort of the most painful period for the department of justice. a real veering away from the tradition in which trying to punish critics, silence enemies and protect your own patrons was not anything the justice department would countenance, and they have been trying to return to that place ever since he left office >> not surprisingly, carol understood my question

perfectly. we're almost out of time, laura, but if you look at all of the cases against donald trump right now, is there one for you that looks like it puts him in the most peril or we should say, we don't know, really, what's going on. >> can i answer that question on tuesday? can i answer the question after we see the affidavit i would say that the special counsel's investigation is quite serious. it's a federal crime and has to do with undermining democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. that one obviously is quite serious. >> laura jarrett, carol leonnig, paul butler, thank you so much. what we know about the judge in this case and the tricky, complicated decisions he'll have to make about it you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc

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where he is right now, virtually decimated. we're going to continue to follow the president's trip there and any comments he might make you see the podium set up for him. in new york city, the nypd is on guard for potential unrest, saying that officers are ready to deploy at a moment's notice city officials say law enforcement has been planning and coordinating intensively for donald trump's indictment. top brass ordered every single member of the police department, that's 55,000 of them, to show up in full uniform today earlier, nbc news spotted police presence outside manhattan criminal court there are barriers and police officers set up outside trump tower on fifth avenue as well. where a handful of protesters advocating for and against the former president has been. you know, d.a. alvin bragg isn't the only one on the hot seat we are learning more about the judge who will preside over the case he'll have some sure to be disputed decisions to make from

jury selection to cameras in the court. now, he is familiar with donald trump, recently presiding over the successful tax fraud prosecution of the trump organization and its former cfo, allen weisselberg. joining me now, former manhattan district attorney, daniel horowitz, and criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos in studio with me daniel, you know this judge personally, what are your expectations for how he will handle the case? >> he's a very very experienced judge. he's been on the bench for a long time. he sat in manhattan and in manhattan, you encounter defendants of every stripe he's very experienced, and he had a bit of a preview about what he might be in store for during the weisselberg, the trump organization trial last year so he's there, he's even handed. he is generally mild tempered, but he's somebody who is going to rule the courtroom with an

iron fist while wearing a linen glove. and to the extent that we've heard questions about what happens in the courtroom and the kinds of things that i think people might be fearful of, i think one of the things you have to realize is he's a very very experienced judge. and i think to the extent that there are things that -- whether the lawyers or the former president tries, they'll learn very quickly that in his courtroom, judge merchan is the king in terms of the motions he has, he's thoughtful, he's deliberative and he will give each side, he will give both the prosecution and the defense a fair opportunity to present their case, whether that's in motions, motions to dismiss, or motions for discovery or at a trial. he's really very well suited, i think, to hear this particular matter, and it's not, again, just simply because he had an experience handling the trump

organization trial last fall it's just -- it's a combination of all of his experiences, his characteristics, you know, and his personality. >> do you think he is a judge who would stop the former president from threatening the prosecutor or putting anything out there that could be viewed as trying to influence a jury? >> i think that judge merchan is going to do what he needs to do to control order in his courtroom, and i think that depending on, look, we've heard a over the last several days all sorts of hypotheticals about what could happen and what would happen i think for judge merchan, he wants to run a fair courtroom, he wants to make sure that each side, including the president, who is now a criminal defendant has a right to have a fair trial within the limits of what that means. and if there's a jury, he's going to make sure the jury is protected, courtroom personnel are protected, prosecutors are protected, defense lawyers are

protected, so i think you just have to see how this plays out again, what i was trying to say at the outset is this has been happening. you know, there are many many criminal cases that are brought every day with a variety, with an entire range, as i said defendants of every stripe people who are violent, people who are prone to act out, this is a judge who's seen this before now, i understand this is the first time anybody will have a former president sitting in the dock in a criminal case, but this is not judge merchan's first rodeo with challenging defendants i think he's going to do what he needs to do to keep control in the room. >> he brought up a fair trial and president trump said on his social media site today that he can not get a fair trial in new york you are in new york courts all the time, can he >> yeah, i am, but i haven't been before judge merchan yet. i think he sets on fridays in

mental health court. what seems to be a normal friday and the name becomes the most googled name of all judges ever, and he's right there in the spotlight, but as daniel said, he's been there before now, can trump get a fair trial in new york county yes, he can. but i will say this, that if you were to pick a jury that would be not inclined to favor trump, it would be in this county right here i wouldn't be surprised if the defense does anything in the world they can and i don't think it will necessarily be successful to get this case even 50 miles outside of new york city in some other county. it's not going to happen but that would be ideal for trump. he's not going to have the best jury pool here for him. >> is there a defense against it that says there isn't anywhere that people don't know or have an opinion about donald trump, let's not kid ourselves? >> you're thinking like a lawyer where on earth could you venue this case that somebody has not heard of donald trump?

you could send it to africa. you could send it to europe. everybody knows who donald trump is, and everybody's formed an opinion, and i know we're a ways off from jury selection, but imagine the challenges of trying to seat a jury that obviously everyone's heard of trump. that's not really the standard t the standard may be more difficult, given what you know about donald trump, can you set that aside and sit on this jury fair and impartially, that jury selection process will take up a lot of everybody's time. it will be fascinating to watch. >> as someone who lived in manhattan and has gone through the process, although i was never selected, i don't know how they ever seat a jury sometimes. and you know, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, we haven't found out if there's going to be a trial or jury selection, but do you think the judge would allow cameras in the court? >> i think he's going to allow still cameras. i don't think he's going to allow, you know, video cameras for live feeds it's not uncommon in a high

profile case to let photographers in and that would be my prediction, and i actually think that that's what the d.a.'s office is expecting as well. >> daniel horowitz, danny cevallos, thank you both so much appreciate it. we have breaking news on the toxic train derailment in ohio the justice department is now suing norfolk southern the government says it's seeking to hold the company accountable for unlawfully polluting the nation's waterways and to ensure it pays the full cost of the environmental clean up the detailment in february as you probably know forced thousands of people in east palestine to evacuate. many residents are very concerned still about their long-term health impact. former president trump's indictment isn't stopping both sides from fundraising, hin fac, it appears to be giving a boost for a critical fundraising deadline we'll explain that you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc e right home insurance coverage,

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right now, groups on the left and right are not wasting time immediately fundraising in the hours following the news of donald trump's indictment. this is just some of the flurry of messages from both sides hoping to convert fear and outrage into campaign dollars. but of course number one in the fundraising realm is donald trump himself already out with t-shirts overnight with the date of the indictment on it. and as "the new york times" points out, quote, the hustle for cash was made more urgent by a quirk of timing because today marks the deadline for the first quarter of fundraising i want to bring in former ohio governor john kasich who took on former trump in 2016, he's an msnbc political analyst. so we spoke last week. you told me that no matter what an indictment is going to hurt trump. well, it's probably helping his fundraising. but otherwise do you stand by that >> well, chris, i think, you

know, in the short run, we're going to see a rally around him, and i happen to know because i got information on some focus groups that have occurred in the last couple, you know, really in the last 24 hours. and there are people rallying to him. but i think that's short term. longer term, and you know, we don't even know what the charges are yet. let me just say to you, chris, that first of all, i have fought trump for a long time, but i'm sad that this has happened i don't ever want bad things to happen to anybody. but this is where we are and i see that people are trying to jump to conclusions about this before we even know what the facts are, which i think is a big mistake. the other thing that concerns me a great deal is think about all the institutions, chris, that have been undermined in this country, the justice department, undermi un

undermined, the congress legitimacy, under minded, effectiveness undermined, and now there's an attack on the judiciary. and i'm tremendously concerned about the fact that we have a judicial system created by the founders, grand juries prosecutors, judges, trials, you know, this is not the time to continue to push to tear this country apart, and people say, well, it's all political well, let's let it play out. let's look at the charges. let's figure out if there's been consistent in terms of what they've done in new york is there other cases that we can compare this to. but, you know, people fundraising right away off this, on all sides, sad isn't it it's sad is what it is >> i mean, i think a lot of people did go on television, and they said what you said, this is a sad day in america, but then they fund raised or they went on to criticize so, look, you've been around the political realm a very long

time i don't know how much you can tell us about what these focus groups found, but were they done in the aftermath of the reporting of the indictment? what is it that keeps people so loyal to donald trump do you think at this point in time? is there anything in the focus groups >> well, no. and i just have scant information, really nothing of any depth, other than the fact that there's basically a rally around him i think a lot of republicans think that this is political prosecution. you know, why didn't they go after hillary? i mean, sometimes what they forget is they did put the heat on bill clinton. bill clinton made a deal with prosecutors, he gave up his law license, and you know, as a result of his testimony before, you know, i guess federal agents, but, you know, the fact of the matter is our judicial system is not perfect. but where else would you want to go in this world you know, they just arrested in

somebody in russia how would you like to be in that system i would just plead with people, realize that what we have set up by the founders. there's flaws in it. we're just all human beings, of course it's flawed but the basis of this, the system of justice works, and we can't continue to undermine every system in this country or america will come apart, and that's what i am so concerned about. let's see what the charges are let's see what happens give the man his due he's innocent until proven guilty, but, you know, just casting casting aspersions on the whole system is not constructive and doesn't help our country. >> former governor john kasich, always appreciate having you on the program. appreciate that. for democrats, what's the message, i want to bring in robert gibbs, former president obama's white house secretary in his first term and msnbc political analyst, you know, joe biden not surprisingly when he

was heading to mississippi was asked about this and he said no comment. is that right or is it playing it too safe? and what about other democrats what do you say? >> chris, i think the president was right to no comment. he shouldn't want to turn himself into a pundit. he's a president we want a commander in chief, not a commentator in chief i think that's one of the reasons joe biden occupies the white house now, and not donald trump. i think for democrats writ large, i think it's important to emphasize one of the bedrock values of our country is the rule of law and that that no person, regardless of who they are or the office they hold or once held is above that rule of law. that's important i also think as governor kasich said, this is a process that's going to wind itself through the court system you know, donald trump, like everybody else, is innocent until they are proven guilty

he'll have to stay in court. prosecutors will have to stay in court. we'll learn more in the next few days about the indictment itself i don't think quite frankly for democrats you have to put a lot of spin on the ball. a lot of people that aren't following politics are hearing a few things about their former president, one, that he has been indicted two that he's been indicted and the allegations are hush money to a porn star that in and of itself for democrats is a pretty good news cycle. i don't think you have to put a whole lot of spin on the ball. we've seen it with donald trump time and time again. his actions tend to strengthen his position with his political base, which likely is happening right now. we have seen that in public polling. the governor mentioned around focus groups but when it comes to swing voters and voters that decide elections, they're turned off by this and think this is largely disqualifying. >> when you look at somebody like sherrod brown or joe

manchin, people who are in competitive races, look like they're going to be competitive races, anybody running statewide in a purple state or a purple district and you're running for congress is it best just to stay away from it, let the system play out >> you know, again, i would emphasize the importance of the rule of law. the importance of somebody having their day incourt the great thing about our country and system is the outcome isn't going to be decided by who yells the loudest. it's going to be decided by a jury of the indict's peers, based on the evidence that they hear and that's what we want america to be. that's what we hope for, and i think for those particularly in pur purple states. that are far more issues that people are concerned about in their daily lives, and i would not spend a lot of time talking about something that's going to take care of itself, and spend more time talking about the issues that people are concerned about on a day-to-day basis, even as i said, it's important

to understand and be respectful of the rule of law >> in addition to your press secretary, many people know you are a senior adviser to obama's 2012 reelection campaign, is there a conversation, do you think, going on in biden world, we were talking earlier about how if you're a republican, frankly, even though you might look at it as negative news, all the oxygen is being sucked up, right, by donald trump, by this indictment he's going to come back to testify or to give a deposition in another case. there are still other, you know, cases that are out there so if you're joe biden, does that affect your timing? >> no, i don't think so. the pictures you see of joe biden today are on the ground in mississippi, serving the horrific damage from the tornados that killed people earlier in the week. and that's the kind of picture we want to see of our president, focus on the job at hand, focus on what's important in people's

lives. making sure that government is a helping hand as people rebuild and try to get their lives back together that's the best thing that joe biden and the white house can do i have no doubt that they're thinking about what the politics of this means. a and, chris, i continue to be stunned, republican after republican after republican following the lead of donald tr trump, rallying around donald trump. i'm perplexed. >> even when they're running against him. >> yeah, i don't understand how you beat donald trump for the nomination if you're rallying around him it's the most vexing political thing i have seen. at one point, are you going to decide, wait a minute, i've heard enough, i don't think he should be president? to me, it's baffling as a political strategy. >> sometimes in politics, robert gibbs, there just are no answers. thank you so much, it's always good to have you on the program. why our democracy is in uncharted territory and what history can teach us about what

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him on, and he's always there for his constituents and he's been a great partner of mine and the governor is right, i tried him earlier but he was already on the road, i couldn't get him right away, and to let him know that i made it clear we'll do everything, everything that's legally within my power to do to be of assistance to the people in this community and mayor walker, i know it's been especially hard for you since you're not only the mayor, but you're also, and i mean it sin sincerely, the funeral director. it's been tough. you've had to prepare people to be buried who you were with, know well. and thanks to sharky county officials and local officials o responders and community members who worked around the clock to rescue survivors and get people to safety.

jill and i are here to show our support. unfortunately i've been to too many sites like this over the last two years around the country. i've been with the fema director the better part of 12 to 15. i always see the same thing in america. when the neighborhood is in trouble, the whole neighborhood comes to help. walking down the street here, being told by people the reason we were able to get through it -- one family told me, when finally the roof came off the house, it came back down and all of a sudden it was quiet before i knew it, the red cross was out front. they talked about the neighbors that helped. folk folks, i know there's a lot of pain it's hard to believe this

community will be rebuilt and built back better than it was before the resilience of this community has been remarkable. i just want you to know you're not alone. the american people will be with you. they'll help you through it, and so will i. multiple tornados tore through mississippi, alabama and tennessee. the most powerful came through rolling fork it stayed here just a little over three minutes imagine -- i mean, i know those who have been through it know. three minutes, in three minutes this neighborhood was basically gone stores, everything, gone the most powerful part of the tornado came through rolling fork it stayed here and had the effect -- it was so devastating that unless you physically saw

it, it was hard to believe 13 lives lost. i met a number of the families earlier today, jill and i. 300 homes and businesses nothing more than piles of twisted materials mixed with personal items that mattered so much. teddy bears, family albums, clothes, dishes, basic necessities of life, all gone. people still looking for that picture of grandma or that wedding ring or the memento that meant so much to them. some of this dysfunction and destruction you're seeing here is going to take years to recover and rebuild. we're starting now when i spoke to the governor he said he needed most, a federal disaster declaration sunday i signed that major disaster declaration which gave

you more access to more federal resources. with that federal declaration, it covers overtime for emergency responders, covers the cost of removing debris. we're authorizing cash grants for people who lost their homes, whether they owned or rent to pay for things not covered by insurance, like temporary housing, home repairs, to replace lost personal property like furniture and appliances and vehicles you know, after talking to benny and your governor, today i authorized the federal government to cover 100% of the costs for removing debris and emergency measures involved in keeping up here, like keeping shelters up and running and paying for overtime for everyone, 100% of the costs, not for the state, but for us for 30 days then after that, we're not

leaving either in the midst of all you're dealing with, i know it's overwhelming you have to figure out how we can help, what you need. that's why right now we have 300 federal personnel on the ground, including fema, disaster survivor assistance teams to assure a well coordinated response to get you the assistance you need. walking through damaged neighborhoods, we'll find people in need. knocking on doors and people are trying to find out wherever in that house was or is we're we're trying to make it as easy as possible. on monday there will be four fema disaster centers in counties you'll be able to walk in, explain your circumstance, let people know what you need and learn how to get help as quickly

as possible. you can't hear me? were you talking to somebody else i'm sorry. look, you know, you can apply for as assistance for fema online or call 1-800-621-3362. 1-800-621-3362 already 1,700 people, 1,700 people, have signed up for help. in addition, the department of agriculture is making sure families qualify for supplemental assistance nutrition, snap program, they can use these benefits for meals in grocery stores, convenience stores, dollar stores.

you can use that snap money to get what you need. the secretary of housing and urban development is here and at the fema administrator we're bringing every element of the federal government together to meet immediate needs. the department of agriculture is identifying temporary housing, reimbursing farmers for lost crops and livestock. the small business administration is here helping businesses get low interest loans to recover and rebuild if you don't have insurance or you're under insured, fema can help you replacing property, cars, appliances i know how important the post office is. it's how most people get their

prescriptions. we're working to make sure you get access the national postal service is going to set up temporary post offices on the grounds of the present post office that is not usable i want to note that some of these communities are again facing threat of severe weather in just one week if you looked at the weather forecast -- fema and other personnel are here on the ground ready to support local officials. i want to urge everyone to listen to local officials and be prepared to take shelter you have to go through this together again if this happens let me close with this message to the people of rolling fork, silver city and carlton and other communities that have been hit, we're not just here for today. i'm determined we'll leave

nothing behind we'll get it done for you. that's why i'm here, why your congressmen are here, why the governor is here we're focused on helping you rebuild your lives long term this is your community. this is where you built your lives. we'll make sure you can stay righthere. there's nothing we can do to heal the hole in your heart left by the 13 people who have passed, many i met their families melissa price, lonnie price, doris harris, david moore, phyllis maxy, darryl purvis, linda herman, april johnson, yvette herman and wendy kelly. as i told some of the survivors,

we've had experienced, but they're not the same losing someone suddenly is devastating, absolutely devastating. i've heard incredible stories about the spirit of these families and the resilience and your bravery the town of rolling fork will be back and we'll be with you every step of the way. what did i say i said rolling stone i got my mind going here we'll be back and we'll be with you every step of the way. god bless you all and god bless our first responders thank you. >> president biden in rolling fork, mississippi, touring the damage from that mile-wide tornado that blew through that town about six days ago, leaving 26 people dead, that tornado, across mississippi and alabama