politicsnation. tonight's lead, insecurity. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> right now, with liz then three weeks remaining in 2023, nation's security commitments hang in the balance. after senate republicans this week blocked a spending package that tucker's israel and ukraine aid with hopes of border security. the clock is running out to get something passed and then an election looms. and last, not republicans in georgia just gutted another congressional district led by a black democrat ahead of 2024. the democrat, georgia congresswoman lucy mcbath joins me shortly with reaction this week to what happened to her district and washington. just days after a mask shooting in las vegas. a kind of gun violence she spent more than a decade protesting against. we'll discuss that. later, i'm joined by the eldest loving daughter of the late, great nelson mandela. here in studio. her new biography on her father looking at his human rights outcome from an internet angle. i'll ask her what she ate make of current politics, ten years after his death and where she sees that nelson mandela legacy going into the future. don't miss it. a couple of minutes ago, university of pennsylvania president liz magill has resigned amid criticism she and other presidents had received for their testimony of antisemitism on campus. i'll have much more to say about that later on in the show. but joining me now, congresswoman lucy mcbath, democrat of georgia. congresswoman, for, us thank you for joining us. and before we get into what's happening in georgia with this new voting map, yesterday the texas supreme court post at lower court ruling granting and abortion to a woman who's on child has a fatal condition and is unlikely to survive once born. the mother is already about 20 weeks pregnant. your reaction please as abortion becomes more and more of a political issue ahead of the general election? >> most certainly, i did see that story on television. it was absolutely heartbroken over the first and foremost, that woman had to make those kinds of decisions and choices. i don't want to ever think anyone can truly understand how painful it is to make those kinds of decisions, i myself have had several miscarriages and a stillborn. so it's always difficult and i always think those decisions should be made between that mother, her loved ones and her health care providers. so i think increasingly with that breakdown of row across the country, we are going to be tasked, our doctors and our judges, will be tasked with these kinds of positions far more frequently. and i still firmly believe that a woman should have the right to choose what's best for her body, should the cases like this happening all around the company that we haven't even heard of yet. >> yesterday, your state passed new congressional map, efctively a race in your district. after a federal court ordered the state to add another majority black district, that republicans did side by dismantling your majority nonwhite destroyed in order to maintain their 95 advantage in the state congressional delegation. you vowed to fight it. democrat-backed groups have as well. i remind my audience, this is not the first time georgia republicans have targeted you, congresswoman. what do you want to say about this? >> well, thank you, reverend al. because as you say it, just this past week, that gia pate controlled state little thatcher here in georgia once again approved maps with one goal in mind. just to remove me from congress. this is that legislature that gerrymandered me two years ago in the last election. and after a federal court actually struck down, road against these maps, georgia pumpkins are using this as another opportunity to try and for me out of congress. but the fact of the matter is, i will do and say exactly as i always have. i refused to allow a few of the extremist republicans and our georgia state legislature to determine might work and congress is done. i will let the people decide. i'm a mom on a mission and there is a lot of work yet to be done and i'm going back to washington. >> now, talking about mom on a mission, president biden met privately yesterday with members of the university of nevada at las vegas community, after this week's mass shooting on the school's campus that left three people dead. congresswoman, you and i met first, you were grieving the loss of your son jordan davis who was shot and killed during an argument over loud music. and i felt he was targeted. that was 11 years ago. and in 2023, it just set a 17 year record for killings. mass killings, in fact, in that u.s. according to the associated press. watching this week's shooting, as a mother, a gun control advocate and activist, and a member of congress, what needs to happen, congresswoman? >> well, reverend al, so much more needs to happen. as i will say, there has been a great deal of good work that has been done in these last 11 years that i've been in this fight. as of now, you know, president biden did by executive order create the office of gun violence prevention, that is working very closely across the nation with our state legislatures. organizations and community organizations on the ground that are doing gonna violence prevention. and also a lot of good work. we've passed red flag laurels, which was of course might work. with background checks in congress as well, in the house. but so much more work needs to be done. but the fact that we passed the bipartisan safer communities law, which was the most comprehensive gun safety legislation that's been passed in this country for 30 years shows we are on the right track. over and over again, americans have been -- as they've been surveyed, there is rustic we have to do something about this extremist culture that we're living in. i truly believe that keeping guns out of the hands of people who absolutely should not have been's number one. that's key. a lot of people that are, for whatever reasons, and crisis. and we need to be able to identify those people. gavlan bluff the ability -- to be able to identify these people that are in crisis. and make sure they don't have access to guns. also, individuals that have been considered domestic abusers. and safe storage is critically important for our children. the number way children are dying in this country is because they have x to unsecured firearms. so there is not one piece of legislation that changes all of the culture. there will be many for years to come. but we really are on the right track. >> and you've being a driving force behind that. and when i say activist, i know what i mean. i first remember meeting you at an airplane. you are a flight attendant, and you, say reverend al, what are you going to do about my son, jordan davis? and the whole trip you were signing up to deal with that situation and look at all the things you have driven. as you say, and activist mom. let me bring this up to you. congress is running out of time to pass a military aid bill before christmas. senate republicans this week rejected a package with eight to ukraine and israel, and 20 billion dollars for border security. what can you tell us about where these negotiations stand at this point, to your knowledge? >> well, reverend al, the american people sent us to washington to serve their needs. and the best way we can do that is to make sure there's a bipartisan pathway forward for government funding. there are so many essential services and programs that the american people are really depending on, they rely upon. and so we can allow there to be a lapse in any of these services, or any of this funding that our allies around the country are depending on. i will, cytokine -- democrats have been behind our leadership the entire time as they've been working on these negotiations. but we do need that republicans. we need the majority of them to join us and come to the table. and to help us and serving our constituents and avoid these kinds of shutdowns and lapses and funding. republicans just need to stop playing politics with that livelihood of the american people and the allies around that world that are depending upon us. >> congresswoman, lucy mcbath, thank you for joining us this evening. joining me now is my political panel. former democrat maryland congresswoman donna edwards, and former republican congressman from pennsylvania charlie dent. donna, president biden and the first lady our fund in southern california this weekend. the administration got some positive news out of fridays better than expected jobs report. yet, this week nbc news reported battleground democrats have largely avoided talking about bidenomics. and the biden campaign has shifted to discussing the threat of maganomics. is there a better life for the president and his party to -- two voters? >> i think there is a white, reverend al. frankly, i think the economy is showing improvement. not only were those job numbers that came out, but also inflation numbers came out that are lower and we are seeing an uptick in consumer confidence. so i think all of these things, over a period of the next several months, really bode well for the president. and often think that would run away from, i don't know about bottlenecks, but i certainly would not run away from that kind of economic games this president has. and i think democrats are going to make the mistake didn't that as well. it reminds me of when democrats tried to run away from the affordable care act. that was a big mistake, they ran away from the president. it never worked. people know there are democrats and that need to be celebrating what they've accomplished and look ahead to what more needs to be done. that's what the american people want to say. they want to see a path to the future, recognizing that coming out of covid we've kind of had a rocky path. >> charlie, the republican front runner donald trump will be addressing the new york young republicans gallup tonight, staying in new york city to testify in his civil fraud trial. i believe, monday. trump has been trying to climb his attendance at the trial has been preventing him from campaigning in iowa, even though his court appearances have been mostly optional and civil trials, he doesn't have to be there. in fact, he's been in mar-a-lago when he could have been in iowa. but is this a case of trump trying to lower expectations for the first gop caucus, now just five weeks away? >> i'm not so sure he's trying to lower expectations, but as you just, said he has -- hit does not have to attend this civil trial in new york. i think he'll use the trial as a launching pad for the campaign, saying i'm a vector, import me. and he's going to play the grievance. karate eckley does campaign, and my perspective, at this trial appearance. he could easily be in iowa if he wanted to be. it's clear he's choosing not to be there. he's a political advantage and criticizing this trial. >> don, assisting with trump. the former president has given an opportunity -- was given an opportunity on fox news this week to calm voters concerns about what a second term might look like. instead, he said he would only be a dictator on day one. apparently talk about border policies and drilling for oil. what do you make of trump's comments? should they be taken seriously? >> well, you know, donald trump never plays in nuance. so when he says something, we should actually believe him. i mean, there have been multiple times in the past where donald trump has said one thing and then lo and behold it plays out in his actual policy making. so, yes. i think that we should believe him. i think what trump will be even more -- what troubles me even more is none of that republican candidates who were looking to topple trump sought that need to actually go after him on that point. he gives them thunder every single day, and tight at want to go after. him so he's donald trump. and open field to just say anything he wants and those to qatar comments, i, mean i don't know about you, reverend al, but i believe. him >> charlie, let's talk about those other republican presidential candidates. most often are campaigning in iowa after participating in the final debate of 2023 on winds that night. the hawkeye state is especially crucial to ron desantis, who is banking on his ability to connect with a evangelical and conservative voters. what is your sense of who has that momentum and do you expect that iowa results to have a major impact on that race? charlie, then don't i want your view on this. >> sure, look. i think if you look at this race right now, at least among that non-trump candidates, nikki haley is clearly ascending. ron desantis is descending. ron -- ramaswamy is a wild man and a grifter and he's been largely discredited. and chris christie is trying to fight a good fight, trying to explain to anyone who was, this is about donald trump. it's not a battle for second place, second place is last place. but iowa. if desantis were to finish second in iowa -- he's struggling in new hampshire, we are highly and christy are doing well, and also in south carolina. i think desantis's campaign might be on last support right now. but right now, highly, she's trying to catch a real bolt of lightning here. she and christy will be the candidates who can breakthrough -- >> donna? >> yeah, i mean, look. i agree. first of all, if you take a look at these debates, they all seem to be battling for second place. none of them seems to want to take on donald trump. but i think that's really unfortunate, other than chris christie, because very little critique of the front runner. and at this point, with donald trump leading by 40 and 45% in some of these polls, it's hard to see how any of them, who are not willing to go after the big guy, are going to overtake him. and, you know, that means if there is -- i think there has been some leading out in the field, clearly, with these debate. and we will see some more of. that but this is the field we have. and i don't see any of them overtaken don't trump. >> donna edwards and charlie dent, thank you both for being with us. coming up in tonight's gotcha, a word of warning for ambitious republicans hoping to hitch their wagons to donald trump. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's top news stories. richard? >> thanks, reverend, and got some of it to you. breaking, news you pin president liz magill resigning as head of the university. magill it's one of the ivy league president criticized for their testament across the, speak about antisemitism on campus. magill will remain a tenured law school faculty member. approximately 13 million people at risk for extreme weather, including severe thunderstorms from the mississippi valley to the atlantic coast. some hotspots running memphis, nashville, birmingham -- rain and wills winds will diminish aphrodite. and japanese baseball sensation -- is a los angeles dodger. reports the three-time voltaren for the ndp agreeing to attend your 700 million dollar deal. that is the biggest contract in mlb history. more politicsnation with reverend al sharpton after this break. er thi break. e proud of. give the gift of family heritage with ancestry. whenever you're hungry, there's a deal on the subway app. buy one footlong, get one 50% off in the subway app today. now that's a deal worth celebrating. man, what are you doing?! get it before it's gone on the subway app. ♪♪ ever notice how stiff clothes get it before it's gone on the subway app. can feel rough on your skin? 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[honk honk] surprise!! shop for everyone on your list with american made products at weathertech.com... the power goes out, and we still have wifi to do our homework. shoand that's a good thing?ist great in my book. who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up. plus, now through december 31st, eligible xfinity rewards members can get 25% off this week, kevin mccarthy a storm ready wifi device. announced he would be leaving congress at the end of the year. i can say i was disappointed by the news. the former speaker and i don't agree on almost anything. still, i was stunned but the rapid collapse of his political career. the california congressman spent much of his adult life trying to become speaker. in just ten months, that dream turned into a complete nightmare. if you ask me, the problem started in january of 2021, when mccarthy took his fateful trip to mar-a-lago as the first high-ranking republican to reconcile with trump after january 6th. just three weeks earlier, trump and mccarthy were at each other 's throats while maga supporters were storming the capital. now they were smiling and shaking hands. in a recent book, congresswoman liz cheney said, mccarthy was telling colleagues he was worried trump was depressed and not 18. but if you ask me, the trip headless to do with trump's appetite and more to talk with mccarthy's hungry for power. he hoped loyalty to trump would pave his way and pave his path to the speakership. but when the time came, trump could barely beat bothered to lift a finger to help him. trump only endorsed mccarthy after he had already lost multiple rounds of votes. and less than a year later, when mccarthy tweeted booted out, again trump was nowhere to be found. the story is a familiar one for and pushing republicans. paul ryan also thought he could work with trump as speaker, and ended up retiring from congress at age 48. mike pence hoped to beat trump's ear apparent, as he was the phone and vice president. until trump supporters ended up colin for his execution. in 2024, we'll surely sort -- see a whole new crop of republicans who try and hitch their wagon to trump. i would urge all of them to consider the stories of kevin mccarthy, paul ryan, mike pence and others who hoped trump would bring them fame and fortune. and in the end, found out he is only interested in helping himself. i gotcha. it i gotcha it we're travelling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. ooh, take this exit. how's the heart? i feel like it's good. you feel like it's good? how do you know when it's time to check in on your heart? how do you know? let me show you something. it looks like a credit card, but it is the kardiamobile card. that is a medical-grade ekg. want to see how it works? yeah. put both thumbs on there. that is your heart coming from the kardiamobile card. wow! with kardiamobile card, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile card is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. and it's the only personal ekg that's fda-cleared to detect normal heart rhythm, bradycardia and tachycardia. how much do you think that costs? probably $500. $99. oh, really? you could carry that in your wallet. of course you could carry it in your wallet, right? yes, yes. kardiamobile card is just $79 during our holiday sale, that's a $20 savings. get kardiamobile card for yoursel