We talked about everything under the sun, and I was left with the impression that this is an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person, but above all, authentic.

A U.S. ambassador gives his impressions of Brittany Griner after helping bring home the WNBA star who was locked up for 10 months in Russia.

It comes as President Trump admits he rejected a deal to release another American who is wrongfully imprisoned by the Kremlin.

Plus, what we're learning this morning about a phone call

between President Biden and the President of Ukraine last night. Also, it had the latest from Capitol

Hill as lawmakers have just five days to find a deal to prevent a government shutdown. Good morning.

And welcome to morning, Joe. It is Monday, December 12th. With us,

we have former White House Press Secretary, now an MSNBC host, Jen Saki, the president of the

Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas, author and NBC News presidential historian Michael

Beschloss, and the host of way too early White House Bureau Chief at Politico,

Jonathan Lemerick.

Richard Haas, we're so sorry, but we do have to start with what happened yesterday with the

giants.

I guess I should ask you what happened with the giants yesterday.

Joe, we don't have to start there, just to be honest. It was, wow, they weren't even

in the same zip code yesterday. You had probably the best team in the NFL against a team that

had been playing way, way over its head, and somehow the truth came out. It was ugly.

It was, could we, like, move on to, like, any war story or something?

He doesn't even want to talk about it.

This was really up.

I don't think, I don't think so.

I think the fact that Jalen Hertz has just really become the surprise breakout story this year.

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