Transcripts For MSNBC All In With Chris Hayes 20240901 : vim

Hour of our supersize show on this labor day eve as we head into the holiday weekend on this last week of summer. The polls have continued to look promising across the board for vice president kamala harris. A fox news poll of key sun belt swing states that harris leading donald trump by one point in arizona, two points in georgia and nevada. She is behind i one in north carolina, within margin of error. A much better standing than joe biden's position two months ago. The jawdropping thing is the enormous gap we are seeing between the top of the ticket and the down ballot statewide races. This was true when president joe biden was the democratic nominee and a lot of people pointed to it as a reason not right enjoyed, right? but, it has remained the case even as kamala harris has improved the democrats position in the presidential race. The same fox news poll shows the democratic candidate for senate congressman ruben gallego, is running 15 points ahead of republican kari lake. A one point gap at the top of the ticket extends to 15 points down ballot. Similar picture in nevada where jacky rosen extends the one point lead to a 14 point lead over sam brown. In north carolina, donald trump's one point over harris collapses in the race for governor where democratic attorney general josh stein is running 11 points ahead of the republican lieutenant governor, mark robinson. This is not just this one poll, it has been a reliable finding in state after state and it is kind of weird when you think about it. It is striking because what it seems to say is that donald trump is, by far, the best performing republican candidate this election cycle. The guy sitting around posting qanon memes is still running seven or eight points above all these other republican candidates. You have to ask what is going on here? there are a bunch of different theories. One, and this might be rendered moot in six weeks. One possibility, which we should talk about had on, is that this is an artifact of where we are in the cycle. As we get closer to election day, voters tune in more closely, the down ballot races, not just presidential, and when they do that, the numbers converge. In the end, the polls and outcome for senate and governor will look a lot more like the ones for president. All the statewide races will be very close. Another theory is candidate quality. In a few cases, republicans are running truly terrible, unlikable candidates. Kari lake, who still won't concede her 2022 gubernatorial loss in arizona and conspiracy theorist mark robinson, who says women seeking abortions in north carolina went responsible enough. But, my theory here that i am working with its i think that donald trump like a vampire, basically, has managed to suck all the value out of the republican party brand into himself. He absorbed it all for himself and his own political benefit and has left nothing behind for anyone else. Oo party. There is the trump phenomenon and nothing else. The party has no other identity pendent rohof him, no other explanation for what it stands for or what it means as some zevni as the value of being a republican for all the other candidates on the ballot. This is true of candidates who should be able to run as basically generic republicans and have a decent reshot of winning in some states, right, where there are a lot of republicans and they are getting their butts kicked right now. The republicans running for senate in the background, real tight states, pennsylvania, al wisconsin a perfect example. David mccormick in pennsylvania. To be clear, these k guys are n great candidates. They are both wealthy carpetbaggers that have residences outside the state, they make tons of money but they are not like a total freak shows either. They are not mark robinson, they are not kari lake, they are standard rich republicans with standard rich republican positions. Guys like that have been winning senate races as long as i have been a length. In recent polls, mccormick is eight points behind pennsylvania democratic senator bob casey. Eric hovde is trailing senator tammy baldwin by seven point wisconsin. That might narrow. They are doing better than robinson and kari lake. They are very tight swing states where joe biden narrowly won. There is a deeper problem. You see it in state legislatures, in midterm elections. It is a problem for republican candidates other than donald trump not just this year, in the trump era. They have no real convincing argument for voters that they should want to be republicans and to vote for republicans not named trump. Trump has sucked up all the value of the enterprise, leaving nothing for his fellow party members down ballot. I do think it could spell disaster for republican chances of taking state houses, taking was, holding the house, even wa taking back the senate. Antijohnson is a senior advisor in the 2020 biden campaign. Also, we have chief of staff of jon freemon and deputy chief of staff to harry reid. Adam, let me start with you as a senate rtveteran both of the institution, of senate campaigns. For your take on this, like, what is going on here? why is there this enormous gap? well, i think you put your finger on one factor in your opener, which is trump has, like olivia rodrigo would say, suck the life out of the republican party like a vampire. But, i think the corollary to that is we live in a twoparty system. When one party loses, the other party gains. What you are seeing is democrats are broadly popular. In politics, you always do this thing of testing a generic democrat on the ballot. It's something we often substitute for what the outcome of congressional elections are going to be. Not to take anything away from the democratic that it's in these races in a way, you are seeing the effect of what a generic democrat performs against these republicans and a generic democrat performs very well. The democratic party is broadly popular. I think that is part of what ist generating these massive gaps in the numbers. Ap the question is, will harris's numbers converge with the senate candidates or the other way around or will they meet somewhere in the middle? that is something we have to keep a close eye on as the next four weeks progress. It is an interesting way of framing it, valencia, to not focus on what is wrong with republicans, what are they doing wrong but that it speaks to something that based about something the democrats are doing right in the print of the democratic party. I think of the amazing democratic national convention last week, you saw that the party wasn't just running against donald trump and against republicans, we actually do have an identity, an identity that encompasses a lot of people of different backgrounds and different ideologies, but believing in what a future should look like. I think that is what shows our strength. It is our diversity, it is the ability to do well in some of the states that republicans thought were always leaning red and now that they are in play. I think, to your point about the candidates not being that good, i mean, we saw this in 2022 in the midterms. We started to see the donald trump effect in that republicans lose when they run donald trump type candidates. Yet, they continue to run them over and over and get their butts kicked. They are domestic and. To the point that you are making, the republican party doesn't have an identity except for donald trump. It will be really interesting to see what happened after election day. I don't think any of these senate races are going to be protectable. I do believe that the democrats have an opportunity to hold onto this slim margin and kamala harris has the ability to win. Even after that, the republican party will have a lot to contend with in order to rebuild and figure out who are they besides make america great again and trump republicans. As i think about it, for most of the time that covered politics, he said he is going li to be the generic republican. I say here is where they will be on the issues, they will want to overturn roe versus wade, they will call themselves prolife, they will be antiabortion, they will cut taxes for rich folks, they will be business is how they will print themselves and they will want to deregulate. They will believe in free markets, strong national defense. There is a litany. So much has collapsed in on itself, adam, you can't even kind of generate the generic package anymore. Maybe trump will change his mind on one of those issues tomorrow and also really loves vladimir putin and kim jongun. It is hard to generate the list anymore. That's right. One of the reasons trump is hard to beat as a candidate is that he has this idiosyncratic heterodox quality to them that is very unprincipled and makes them unpredictable. Some voters see that as he will always do the right thing. And, the republican ideology we are describing is extremely unpopular. This is why we beat calmly. Cutting social security, raising taxes on the middle class while lowering taxes on the rich people is a generally unpopular alessi press caption. Trump has the ability to scramble that into the spines. He is an x factor. I think democrats are doing a great job of driving home that this sick republican philosophy, especially powered by jobs is what trump presents and what he will make it happen when he's in office. That is another interesting idea. I do think there is a dobbs factor here, which you see, alencia johnson, the harris campaign working on this, trump coming out saying he's going to vote against the referendum that would secure abortion rights in florida for ab floridians, would overturn the really restrictive six weeks man in that state. He's going to vote against that, he opposes securing abortionrights, i do think there is a weird way, he doesn't seem as touched by the dobbs effect as generic republicans, partly because adams point about the weird idiosyncrasy like he doesn't really believe in any of this either way. It is really interesting that people still believe that he doesn't believe in these things that he says one that he's going to do the right thing, when the dobbs decision came down, he was proud of that. Which the supreme court justices he appointed. He realized it is a losing issue for republicans. I'm glad you brought this up. I was looking at some polling and how some of the senate races that are also coinciding with ballot measures around abortion, that could be in our favor in regards to democrats winning the seats or maintaining those seats as well. But, it is really interesting to see that donald trump goes wherever the wind blows wherever popularity is and the reality is being antiabortion is not popular. Rt that is the only reason that he is moderating his position on abortion care. We know that if he becomes president again, he will sign a national abortion began. The extreme evangelical right and antiabortion movement will not let him be in office without doing so. You some if you had any doubts before today, he lasted a grand total of 24 hours, not even, from giving a sort of equivocal but noncommittal answer about how he's going to vote on a ballot initiative. He couldn't stand up to that an for 24 hours. Is going to veto an abortion ban? get out of here. He just showed he's completely bowing to the spokes. That does explain a little bit of what is happening in this polling, which is that that ll brand of we are the party against abortion, has been built up by the republican party for decades and decades and decades and adheres to generic republican in a way that is very hard to run away from. That's right. That is a good case for why the trump harassment is might converge more with what you are seeing in the senate members. Trump made dobbs possible. He is the president who decided dobbs. Democrats can hang this around his neck and the way they couldn't afford. This, dobbs happened because of trump. There is no two ways about it. His answer on the florida ballot initiative underscores the fact that if he's president, there will be a national abortion ban, a republican congress would pass it and president trump would sign it. That is a big big factor going into november. There's not, when we talk about the conversion question, there's not a ton. There's this idea of cocktails at the top of the ticket and focus on the ballot lower down the ticket, you might see them right of the coattails. People vote straight ticket. There's less and less ticket splitting as we have gone on in time. There's a reverse coattails effect so a really white golf in a down ballot race, that might affect the top of the ticket. Ticket. There's way less evidence for that. There does seem like there ssnc might be some of m that going o particularly in north carolina where you have robinson, who has e had unbelievably outrageo stuff, including like talking about like a conspiracy to fool black people and making black panther and disgusting stuff. Do you think ntthat is an effec of that you basically get thesel bad candidates are lower on ther ballot affecting the topline numbers? oh my goodness, the people i've talked s,to in north carolina are embarrassed that he is on the ballot to be i do think this could be a race for us to watch for a that. I would say that with kari lake as well. As voters continue to pay attention , they will see how brash and out of this world this man is. To the point earlier about how the republican party doesn't have an identity, they will take up the identity of the republican party to someone like mark robinson and therefore think maybe i should actually show up for vice president harris and the democratic governors candidate in north carolina and see wheren that gets me because it is not this brand i don't associate with. I do think carolina, and i throw arizona in there, are two places we should watch to see sh if the grassroots bubbles up to the top. These down ballot races end up helping vice president harris. I have to say, the republican party of arizona, it is just on a run like you just haven't seen from a statewide party. They took the supersize show <\/a>on this labor day eve <\/a>as we head into the holiday weekend <\/a>on this last week of summer. The polls have continued to look promising across the board for vice president <\/a>kamala harris. A fox news poll <\/a>of key sun belt swing <\/a>states that harris leading donald trump by one point in arizona, two points in georgia and nevada.<\/a> She is behind i one in north carolina, within margin of error. A much better standing than joe biden's position two months ago. The jawdropping thing <\/a>is the enormous gap we are seeing between the top of the ticket and the down ballot statewide races. This was true when president joe biden <\/a>was the democratic nominee and a lot of people pointed to it as a reason not right enjoyed, right? but, it has remained the case even as kamala harris has improved the democrats position in the presidential race. The same fox news poll <\/a>shows the democratic candidate for senate congressman ruben gallego,<\/a> is running 15 points ahead of republican kari lake. A one point gap <\/a>at the top of the ticket extends to 15 points down ballot. Similar picture in nevada where jacky rosen <\/a>extends the one point lead <\/a>to a 14 point lead <\/a>over sam brown.<\/a> In north carolina, donald trump's one point over harris collapses in the race for governor where democratic attorney general josh stein <\/a>is running 11 points ahead of the republican lieutenant governor,<\/a> mark robinson. This is not just this one poll, it has been a reliable finding in state after state and it is kind of weird when you think about it. It is striking because what it seems to say is that donald trump is, by far, the best performing republican candidate this election cycle.<\/a> The guy sitting around posting qanon memes <\/a>is still running seven or eight points above all these other republican candidates. You have to ask what is going on here? there are a bunch of different theories. One, and this might be rendered moot in six weeks. One possibility, which we should talk about had on, is that this is an artifact of where we are in the cycle. As we get closer to election day, voters tune in more closely, the down ballot races,<\/a> not just presidential, and when they do that, the numbers converge. In the end,<\/a> the polls and outcome for senate and governor <\/a>will look a lot more like the ones for president. All the statewide races will be very close. Another theory is candidate quality.<\/a> In a few cases, republicans are running truly terrible, unlikable candidates. Kari lake,<\/a> who still won't concede her 2022 gubernatorial loss in arizona and conspiracy <\/a>theorist mark robinson, who says women seeking abortions in north carolina <\/a>went responsible enough. But, my theory here that i am working with its i think that donald trump like a vampire, basically, has managed to suck all the value out of the republican party brand <\/a>into himself. He absorbed it all for himself and his own political benefit and has left nothing behind for anyone else.<\/a> Oo party.<\/a> There is the trump phenomenon and nothing <\/a>else. The party has no other identity pendent rohof <\/a>him, no other explanation for what it stands for or what it means as some zevni as the value of being a republican for all the other candidates on the ballot. This is true of candidates who should be able to run as basically generic republicans and have a decent reshot of winning in some states, right, where there are a lot of republicans and they are getting their butts kicked right now. The republicans running for senate in the background, real tight states, pennsylvania, al wisconsin <\/a>a perfect example. David mccormick <\/a>in pennsylvania. To be clear, these k guys are n great candidates. They are both wealthy carpetbaggers that have residences outside the state, they make tons of money but they are not like a total freak shows <\/a>either. They are not mark robinson, they are not kari lake, they are standard rich republicans with standard rich republican positions. Guys like that have been winning senate races as long as i have been a length. In recent polls, mccormick is eight points behind pennsylvania democratic senator bob casey.<\/a> Eric hovde <\/a>is trailing senator tammy baldwin <\/a>by seven point wisconsin.<\/a> That might narrow. They are doing better than robinson and kari lake. They are very tight swing states <\/a>where joe biden <\/a>narrowly won. There is a deeper problem. You see it in state legislatures,<\/a> in midterm elections. It is a problem for republican candidates other than donald trump not just this year, in the trump era.<\/a> They have no real convincing argument <\/a>for voters that they should want to be republicans and to vote for republicans not named trump. Trump has sucked up all the value of the enterprise, leaving nothing for his fellow party members <\/a>down ballot. I do think it could spell disaster for republican chances of taking state houses,<\/a> taking was, holding the house, even wa taking back the senate. Antijohnson is a senior advisor in the 2020 biden campaign.<\/a> Also, we have chief of staff <\/a>of jon freemon <\/a>and deputy chief of staff <\/a>to harry reid.<\/a> Adam, let me start with you as a senate rtveteran <\/a>both of the institution, of senate campaigns. For your take on this, like, what is going on here? why is there this enormous gap? well, i think you put your finger on one factor in your opener, which is trump has, like olivia rodrigo <\/a>would say, suck the life out of the republican party like a vampire. But, i think the corollary to that is we live in a twoparty system.<\/a> When one party loses, the other party gains.<\/a> What you are seeing is democrats are broadly popular. In politics, you always do this thing of testing a generic democrat on the ballot. It's something we often substitute for what the outcome of congressional elections are going to be. Not to take anything away from the democratic that it's in these races in a way, you are seeing the effect of what a generic democrat performs against these republicans and a generic democrat performs very well. The democratic party is broadly popular. I think that is part of what ist generating these massive gaps in the numbers. Ap the question is, will harris's numbers converge with the senate candidates or the other way around or will they meet somewhere in the middle? that is something we have to keep a close eye on as the next four weeks progress.<\/a> It is an interesting way of framing it, valencia, to not focus on what is wrong with republicans, what are they doing wrong but that it speaks to something that based about something the democrats are doing right in the print of the democratic party. I think of the amazing democratic national convention <\/a>last week, you saw that the party wasn't just running against donald trump and against republicans, we actually do have an identity, an identity that encompasses a lot of people of different backgrounds and different ideologies, but believing in what a future should look like. I think that is what shows our strength. It is our diversity, it is the ability to do well in some of the states that republicans thought were always leaning red and now that they are in play. I think, to your point about the candidates not being that good, i mean, we saw this in 2022 in the midterms. We started to see the donald trump effect <\/a>in that republicans lose when they run donald trump type <\/a>candidates. Yet, they continue to run them over and over and get their butts kicked. They are domestic and. To the point that you are making, the republican party doesn't have an identity except for donald trump. It will be really interesting to see what happened after election day.<\/a> I don't think any of these senate races are going to be protectable. I do believe that the democrats have an opportunity to hold onto this slim margin and kamala harris has the ability to win. Even after that, the republican party will have a lot to contend with in order to rebuild and figure out who are they besides make america great again <\/a>and trump republicans. As i think about it, for most of the time that covered politics, he said he is going li to be the generic republican. I say here is where they will be on the issues,<\/a> they will want to overturn roe versus wade,<\/a> they will call themselves prolife, they will be antiabortion, they will cut taxes for rich folks, they will be business is how they will print themselves and they will want to deregulate. They will believe in free markets, strong national defense. There is a litany. So much has collapsed in on itself, adam, you can't even kind of generate the generic package anymore. Maybe trump will change his mind on one of those issues tomorrow <\/a>and also really loves vladimir putin <\/a>and kim jongun. It is hard to generate the list anymore. That's right. One of the reasons trump <\/a>is hard to beat as a candidate is that he has this idiosyncratic heterodox quality to them that is very unprincipled and makes them unpredictable. Some voters see that as he will always do the right thing.<\/a> And, the republican ideology we are describing is extremely unpopular. This is why we beat calmly. Cutting social security,<\/a> raising taxes on the middle class while lowering taxes on the rich people is a generally unpopular alessi press caption.<\/a> Trump has the ability to scramble that into the spines. He is an x factor.<\/a> I think democrats are doing a great job of driving home that this sick republican philosophy, especially powered by jobs is what trump presents and what he will make it happen when he's in office. That is another interesting idea. I do think there is a dobbs factor <\/a>here, which you see, alencia johnson, the harris campaign working <\/a>on this, trump coming out saying he's going to vote against the referendum that would secure abortion rights <\/a>in florida for ab floridians,<\/a> would overturn the really restrictive six weeks man <\/a>in that state. He's going to vote against that, he opposes securing abortionrights, i do think there is a weird way, he doesn't seem as touched by the dobbs effect <\/a>as generic republicans, partly because adams point <\/a>about the weird idiosyncrasy like he doesn't really believe in any of this either way. It is really interesting that people still believe that he doesn't believe in these things that he says one that he's going to do the right thing, when the dobbs decision <\/a>came down, he was proud of that. Which the supreme court <\/a>justices he appointed. He realized it is a losing issue for republicans. I'm glad you brought this up. I was looking at some polling and how some of the senate races that are also coinciding with ballot measures <\/a>around abortion, that could be in our favor in regards to democrats winning the seats or maintaining those seats as well. But, it is really interesting to see that donald trump goes wherever the wind blows wherever popularity is and the reality is being antiabortion is not popular. Rt that is the only reason that he is moderating his position on abortion care.<\/a> We know that if he becomes president again, he will sign a national abortion began. The extreme evangelical right and antiabortion movement <\/a>will not let him be in office without doing so. You some if you had any doubts before today, he lasted a grand total <\/a>of 24 hours, not even, from giving a sort of equivocal but noncommittal answer about how he's going to vote on a ballot initiative. He couldn't stand up to that an for 24 hours. Is going to veto an abortion ban? get out of here. He just showed he's completely bowing to the spokes. That does explain a little bit of what is happening in this polling, which is that that ll brand of we are the party against abortion, has been built up by the republican party for decades and decades and decades and adheres to generic republican in a way that is very hard to run away from. That's right. That is a good case for why the trump harassment <\/a>is might converge more with what you are seeing in the senate members. Trump made dobbs <\/a>possible. He is the president who decided dobbs. Democrats can hang this around his neck and the way they couldn't afford. This, dobbs happened because of trump. There is no two ways about it. His answer on the florida ballot initiative <\/a>underscores the fact that if he's president, there will be a national abortion ban, a republican congress would pass it and president trump <\/a>would sign it. That is a big big factor going into november. There's not, when we talk about the conversion question,<\/a> there's not a ton. There's this idea of cocktails at the top of the ticket and focus <\/a>on the ballot lower down the ticket, you might see them right of the coattails. People vote straight ticket. There's less and less ticket splitting <\/a>as we have gone on in time. There's a reverse coattails effect <\/a>so a really white golf in a down ballot race, that might affect the top of the ticket. Ticket. There's way less evidence for that. There does seem like there ssnc might be some of m that going o particularly in north carolina <\/a>where you have robinson, who has e had unbelievably outrageo stuff, including like talking about like a conspiracy to fool black people and making black panther <\/a>and disgusting stuff. Do you think ntthat is an effec of that you basically get thesel bad candidates are lower on ther ballot affecting the topline numbers? oh my goodness,<\/a> the people i've talked s,<\/a>to in north carolina <\/a>are embarrassed that he is on the ballot to be i do think this could be a race for us to watch for a that. I would say that with kari lake as well. As voters continue to pay attention , they will see how brash and out of this world <\/a>this man is. To the point earlier about how the republican party doesn't have an identity, they will take up the identity of the republican party to someone like mark robinson and therefore think maybe i should actually show up for vice president <\/a>harris and the democratic governors candidate <\/a>in north carolina <\/a>and see wheren that gets me because it is not this brand i don't associate with. I do think carolina,<\/a> and i throw arizona in there, are two places we should watch to see sh if the grassroots bubbles up to the top. These down ballot races <\/a>end up helping vice president <\/a>harris. I have to say, the republican party of arizona, it is just on a run like you just haven't seen from a statewide party. They took the barry goldwater,<\/a> john mccain state <\/a><\/a>dominated by republicans for decades. In a closely divided state and have just destroyed the party. Just absolutely destroyed the whole thing. It is really a olwild thing to watch. Alencia johnson,<\/a> thank you so much. Thank you. Up next,<\/a> an area podcast <\/a>or moonlighting in the senate confronts a scary reality. I have no other way to ask this but directly. Is donald trump becoming a drag on republicans? i don't think so at all. : all right is a democratic challenger nipping <\/a>at the heels of ted cruz <\/a>and he joins me next. Me next. Shortness of breath, fatigue, or lightheadedness, can come and go. But if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. If you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. Making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk.<\/a> This is no time to wait. (bell ringing) someone needs to customize and save hundreds with liberty mutual! (inaudible sounds) (elevator doors opening) wait, there's an elevator? only pay for what you need. liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. i am, i cried [ laughing ] i am, said i and i am lost and i can't punch buggy red.<\/a> even say why i am, i said here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo <\/a>comes with a builtn engine,<\/a> like google, but it's r and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browsel but it blocks cookies and creepy ads that follow youa and other companies.<\/a> And there's no catch. It's fre. We make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today.<\/a> You know, you know, in the nfl, we had a term for guys like donald trump, and my opponent, ted cruz. You know the type. Talk a big game,<\/a> only care about themselves. You don't want to be stuck with them at a barbecue. The truth is, america has never been about me. As president obama <\/a>said, the single most powerful word in our democracy is the word we. We the people.<\/a> We shall overcome. Yes we can. Congressman colin allred <\/a>is campaigning to unseat republican senator and full time podcast host <\/a>ted cruz and become the first democrat to represent texas in the senate since 1993. Is not a reliable polling in texas statewide races because republicans win fairly handily but a poll conducted earlier in the summer showed colin allred trailing i just three points with a crucial 7% undecided. Given how apparently close the race is, democrats are hoping to combine dislike of donald trump and his longtime defender ted cruz <\/a>to propel colin allred. How the undecided 7% breaks in november could be the difference between another term of senator ted cruz or senator <\/a>colin allred. Joining me now is texas, husband colin <\/a>allred. Congressman, it is good to have you. Thanks for having me, chris, i appreciate it. Let's start with meat and potatoes here. We were just talking about senate:, battleground states polling.<\/a> What, when you go to voters in texas, what are the top three things you say you sent me to the u. S. Senate and i will do this, this, this, vote to the spring on the opposite side of ted cruz? in texas, we are experiencing what a total ban on abortion looks like. The reality is, it is horrific. We are telling these stories and unfortunately there are so many texas women who have so many different stories. What we are talking about is i am a fourth generation texan.<\/a> I was raised in dallas by a single law. There is one thing i know about us, we believe in freedom. We have to restore this freedom to 30 million <\/a>americans, 30 million <\/a>texans who have been living under the boot heel <\/a>of this. This is ted cruz <\/a>is abortion ban.<\/a> You have to think about the discussion about the border. My grandfather was a customs officer <\/a>in the tip of texas. We have a senator who when we have a bipartisan effort to try to address the border, to bring billions of dollars to our state, he takes it down because he thought it would be bad politics. That is saying he's more important than texas. We have to make sure that here in texas, as we continue to grow our economy, it is working for everybody. I was raised by a single law who is a public school teacher.<\/a> We don't pay our teachers enough. We have a senator who only wants to cut taxes for the rich while trying to go after medicare and social security and not do anything to help working families.<\/a> The contrasts are enormous and texans know it. On that border build,<\/a> to be clear, you would vote for the bipartisan border bill <\/a>that had been negotiated between republicans and democrats that donald trump had come out to oppose because he thought it would essentially help joe biden <\/a>, who was the nominee at the time? you would vote for the bill? i jumped all over it. I put a statement saying this is what we have to do. Chris, i want folks at home to understand that this was, no state would have benefited more than texas. This would address what we are seeing at the southern border. There is an assignment crisis.<\/a> With more resources, more money for technology, more immigration judges,<\/a> more border patrol agents <\/a>and for ted cruz <\/a>to take it down is saying my election or what i think is politically good for me is more important than what is good for texas and that is not acceptable to texans. Let me give you an argument i've heard from folks when you step back, talking about of the border. Texas is the biggest border state.<\/a> Over the last 10 to 20 years, we have increased border enforcement <\/a>tremendous amount, literally by orders of magnitude, in terms of cbp personnel,<\/a> the amount of money that goes into the budget for it, sending more equipment, spending more money. Somehow that doesn't seem to be fixing the problem. Maybe we are working on the wrong lever and every time our response to what is happening, which is desperate people summing up wanting to start a new life, wanting to escape whatever persecution they may be expanding, sometimes just trying to come here for economic opportunity, the sort of ted cruz <\/a>voted against that spending. In the shortterm, we had a massive increase, especially last year, a record number <\/a>in december of 2023.<\/a> You have to have a response to that, a policy response.<\/a> That response has to have resources. You have to address in the short term the asylum situation <\/a>at the southern border. These folks are coming here and claiming asylum. 90% of them will be rejected. It's going to take five, six, 78 years for that rejecting to come. We can fix that. We can make the asylum system work <\/a><\/a>better. In the mediumterm, we have to have a comprehensive reform to the immigration system. Having a broken legal immigration system <\/a>contributes to the illegal immigration. In the longer term, we have to work to stabilize some of the countries in our own hemisphere where so many of these cops are coming from. I worked on the foreign affairs committee <\/a>trying to help with hate, we see what is happening in venezuela. We have work to do in the northern tribal countries. You remember how columbia was in the 90s, it took a couple tickets to get them in a better place where columbia is more stable and a culture getting country on the world stage.<\/a> We can do that with some of our other neighbors here who are driving so much of this migration. You have to come after it from every single element. Final question for you, on the eve of football season,<\/a> are you a cowboys fan? now you are running statewide you have to be both cowboys and texans? i grew up a huge cowboys fan <\/a>because they were incredibly good when i was a kid. Then i played against the cowboys. It is hard to be a fan when you are playing against somebody. Now i root for when i like what i see in terms of what they are playing and the defense they are playing as a former linebacker. I want the cowboys to do better. I want them to do well. People are in a better mood in dallas in particular when the cowboys are doing well. I'm sure that's the case. Texans will be fun this year. Colin allred, running against ted cruz <\/a>in texas, thanks so much. Thanks, chris. Still ahead, we've seen black women and white dudes, comics and swift fans, now republican voters for kamala harris. We are talking focus groups,<\/a> next. Next. With wegovy, i lost 35 pounds. And some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. Wegovy helps you lose weight and keep it off. I'm reducing my risk. Wegovy is the only fdaapproved weightmanagement medicine <\/a>that's proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known heart disease <\/a>and with either obesity or overweight. 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And i'm lowering my cv risk.<\/a> That's the power of we. check your cost and coverage <\/a>before talking to your health care professional <\/a>about wegovy. Have you ever thought of getting a walkin tub for you or someone you love? now is a great time to take a look at getting a safe step walkin tub. With safe step's standard heated seat and new fast fill faucet,<\/a> you can enjoy a nice warm bath <\/a>up to 20% faster! and the convenient touch pad control <\/a>is right at your fingertips. Each tub comes standard with a dual hydrotherapy system.<\/a> The ten water jets <\/a>can help increase mobility,<\/a> relieve pain,<\/a> boost energy,<\/a> and improve sleep. While the microsoothe advanced air therapy system oxygenates <\/a>and softens skin. Safe step <\/a>walkin tubs are built to maximize safety. So you can stay in your home and enjoy the comforts of bathing again. So call now for more information and a free no obligation consultation.<\/a> The election the election will come down to a small group of undecided voters in seven states, basically, people who tend not to be diehard partisans <\/a>and a key part of president joe biden's 2020 victory was convincing enough conservative republican voters to cross party lines to support them in states like georgia and arizona, a strategy the harris walz <\/a>campaign is trying to emulate. The democratic convention featured many republicans backing harris and trying to create a commission structure <\/a>for their fellow party members <\/a>to do the same. I'm not leftwing. But, i believe our leaders should bring out the best in us, not the worst. That is why i am voting for kamala harris. She's tough, she's going to tackle inflation. Trump will make it worse. I'm voting for kamala harris because she will make us proud to be an american again. Kyle sweetser <\/a>is a twotime trump from alabama, publicly backed harris at the dnc. Robert mike <\/a>is a trump photo from pennsylvania. They joined a group trump <\/a>voters against trump. They join me now. Good to have you both. Welcome to the program. Thinks for having us. Kyle, let me start with you. If i'm not mistaken, you live in alabama, which is a conservative place. Trump will win thereby 20 points or something like that. You are a twotime trump photo. I guess i tend to think people that went back the second time, 16, 20, walked in. Not you, what changed your mind? i voted for trump in 2016. I thought he was a good candidate, i thought people especially down here, we were not well represented. In 2018, we had the steel tariffs and the started to affect product so i got to see the firsthand effects of those, before anyone else, the inflation started than. In 2020, after all the things trump <\/a>said, i was holding my nose to vote for him to be to the democrats, that kind of thing. And so i just assumed he was going to go away. I assumed it was over with, especially after january 6th. In 2022, when i started paying closer attention to geopolitics and what was going on in the world, he started to look at trump's record, especially on foreign policy <\/a>and the things that he said and his coddling of dictators and enemies of the united states and i started to look really closely at his record and he's a disaster. Robert, you were a trump folder <\/a>in pennsylvania in 2016 and did vote for president joe biden <\/a>in 2020, is that right i voted for biden. Like kyle said, i held my nose and voted for biden because i couldn't bring myself to vote for trump. The reason i am involved with republican voters against trump and on billboards and writing up is because i think i am trying to atone for voting for trump in 2016 to make up for my mistake. There are some people i think who would maybe sort of go from trump and to vote for biden. Maybe they come back in the fold or not. You are now devoted. What was it for you that pride you away from trump? initially from his first term, i began to see the problems right away with the undermining of the press, undermining of the constitution,<\/a> in particular, the rule of law.<\/a> The checks and balances that hold our government together. I r looked like we were headed toward a disaster just in his first term. Then came, and i couldn't afford for him after that but then came the loss of 2020, where he began, he created the big lie. He instigated an insurrection. I thought, how can he possibly even run in 2024, much less how people could support him. I am appalled as i watch the republican party i had been involved with for 44 years, not just as a filter but i have run for office as a republican, i've helped hispanic outreach all over the state of pennsylvania <\/a>going back to bush cheney <\/a>in 2004, helping senator rick santorum <\/a>with hispanic outreach. The republican state committee doing hispanic outreach.<\/a> To see what the republican party has been reduced to i trump turns my and it appalls me. I could never vote for him again and i worked very hard to try to make as many people as i can aware of the problems we are facing here. It is not an issue, it is the problem of the destruction of our form of government is what i fear. Too many people think oh, it's just a normal race between democrats and republicans and i have to go with issues like immigration, inflation, israel, abortion, we can fix, we can get by with bad policy. We can survive, as liz cheney <\/a>said. Can't survive the undermining and trampling of the constitution. That is the basis of what i believe in now. It so interesting to listen to you gentlemen. I think there is a tyrant and tight conventional wisdom that voters, the real voters don't care about things like foreign policy <\/a>or democracy, they care about kitchen table <\/a>issues. Here you are talking about foreignpolicy, robert talking about democracy.<\/a> Let me come back to you,<\/a> kyle. Interesting imagine that. A lot of times, again, the conventional wisdom is people don't really care that much about it. What specifically was there something where you started to be like this is not right? i started to pay attention to trump and basically his orbit and the things they say. It was startling how they were pushing the same talking points <\/a>as russia. I started to look back at trump's record trying to come after freedom of speech <\/a>and tie it into funding in 2020. All of those things. I don't think people understand that a lot of these things affect the prices that we have now that involves inflation. It is just wild that there's not enough effort to educate voters on how important foreign policy <\/a>is, how important trade policy <\/a>is and, really, how trump himself has completely thrown out conservative economic and trade policy. He's not fiscally responsible. If you look at current rates for the current federal budget that he proposed is five times what the democrats opposed. That is insane. He had the single biggest year rate <\/a>of murder in 2020. He's not a law and order <\/a>president. That point about tariffs he's proposing at a minimum a 10% sales tax <\/a>on every imported good in the country, but it's underappreciated. Robert, last question to you in the little bit of time we have. I know how you feel about trump. You were a republican. There is a crucial down ballot race interested, dave mccormick is running against the incumbent democratic senator, what is your feeling about that race? well, for me, if you have been endorsed by or endorsed trump, you are tainted with the same problem that has taken over the entire republican party. It's only a very few republicans left and they include liz cheney, larry hogan,<\/a> adam kinzinger.<\/a> Everybody else,<\/a> if you have been endorsed, just to see nikki haley <\/a>endorsed trump, that made me sick. Dave mccormick <\/a>is tainted in my view as well. The only way to fix the republican party is to burn it down to the ground and start over. Anybody who has endorsed or is supporting him or in any way affiliated with trump, we have to start over. It's like a mattress with bedbugs. You think you can spray it with insecticide, you think but you have to burn it and throw it out and start over. That is how i feel about anybody who has been endorsed by or endorses or supports or stands on the same stage with trump. Time for a new mattress. Kyle sweetser <\/a>and robert nix.<\/a> Thank you both, gentlemen. Still ahead, trump and the republican parties attempt <\/a>to rewrite its own recent history on everything from january 6th <\/a>two what just happened in arlington national cemetery.<\/a> That is next. Side effects,<\/a> including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract <\/a>or genital yeast infections,<\/a> and low blood sugar. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop taking farxiga <\/a>and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. farxiga we really don't want people to think of feeding food <\/a>like ours is spoiling their dogs. Good, real food <\/a>is simple. 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I recommend pronamel active shield because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. I think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients. Try pronamel mouthwash.<\/a> When migraine strikes ubrelvy is another option. It quickly eliminates migraine pain.<\/a> Do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. Allergic reactions to ubrelvy can happen. Most common side effects were nausea and sleepiness.<\/a> Ask about ubrelvy the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine.<\/a><\/a> Pete g. <\/a>Writes, the anytime, anywhere my tween wants a new phone. How do i not break the bank? we gotcha, pete. Xfinity mobile <\/a>was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. So you get high speeds for low prices. Better than getting low speeds for high prices. Right, bruce? jealous? yeah, look at that. Honestly, someone get a helmet on this guy. Get a free unlimited line for a year when you buy one unlimited line. Plus, get up to $800 off google pixel <\/a>9 phones. Switch today! () behind every splenda product <\/a>is a mission. Helping millions of people reduce sugar from their diets. Now try a sweetener grown by u. S. Farmers. Introducing zerocalorie splenda stevia.<\/a> At splenda stevia farms,<\/a> our plants are sweetened by sunshine. Experience how great splenda stevia can be. Grown on our farm, enjoyed at your table. () donald trump, donald trump, no stranger to working reality to his needs, desires, or own delusions. The fallout from the recent arlington cemetery altercation,<\/a> another example of that. When trump gets caught transgressing or they get caught lying, they commit to the position and think think through sheer will and repetition, they will change reality. At least people's perception of the events so they can avoid account ability <\/a>for their actions. Even this week, trump insisted to tv personality dr. <\/a>Phil he should have one california if not for voter fraud.<\/a> In the real world, he lost by more than 5 million <\/a>votes. That you've got there on your screen, not a close election, not the result of voter fraud.<\/a> That kind of casual disregard for anything real is the thesis behind the new book by rachel maddow producer,<\/a> steve bunin,<\/a> a guy i've been reading for over a decade called the history of truth, democracy, reality, and republican war on the recent past, and it examines republicans attempt <\/a>to rewrite anything inconvenient in their quest for power. He joins me now. Steve, great to have you. Congratulations on the book. Give me the central thesis unifying idea here. The thesis is republicans have had a systemic attack on recent history and they've been trying to bully our memories into submission as part of an effort to rewrite recent history to benefit the public in politics. As far as they are concerned, events from january 6th <\/a>to the trump russia scandal <\/a>to the federal response on covid19, there's instances are such a dramatic failure for them they feel it is necessary to rewrite recent history and the effect of that are dramatic. Affect everything from legislation to elections, to even democracy itself because when you think about it, democracy rests on a foundation of shared knowledge.<\/a> When that knowledge is corrupted on purpose, by partisans, the corrosive effects are dramatic. There's two things you just gave their that strike, stand out to me. One has been very successful and one with more mixed success. The first is covid19, where i do think, partly because of the trauma and fatigue mother <\/a>has been a remarkably successful rewriting of that whole year, partly like everyone has forgotten portions of it. Tell me about that, that aspect. Sure, when i look back at 2020, i think of disaster. I think a failure, i think of donald trump and his administration catastrophically dealing with the most serious public health crisis <\/a>in a generation or more. What we saw was a white house <\/a>that sidelined experts, that promoted crack theories,<\/a> that politicized agencies and failed in every possible way. Yet, right now, we see donald trump on the campaign trail <\/a>routinely whining he's not given enough credit for his successes in dealing with covid 19.<\/a> There were no successes in his response to covid19. We know why he's doing this. We know he's doing this because if he's held accountable for the catastrophic failures of 2020, he would never be able to win an election and republicans would be out of office for years to come. They feel it is necessary to tell us don't believe your lying eyes, don't believe your lying years, don't believe what you remember we are going to replace those memories with a counter narrative <\/a>into the new version of reality, republicans and the white house <\/a>were a great success when it came to covid19. Even going so far, we did this with a lot about were you better off, or you better off than you were four years ago? yes, of course i'm better off than when we were stuck inside her home walking down groceries and going to sit shiva on zoom.<\/a> The other example is january 6th. That is met with mixed success. What it has been successful in is if you think about the concentric circles, the hard core base <\/a>and out to normal republicans to people in the middle, to everyone, it does seem like it has been effective with the hardcore race but maybe it stopped there. What is your feeling about what they've done with january 6th? i look back at january 6th, we see what republicans have done, it, they change the mind constantly about who the villain is. They blame antifa, then the fbi. The entire story too late now the terminals are the good guys. We have to look at them as hostages and victims, they deserve pardons, they deserve our money. Really, we watch republicans rewrite the story. That is traffic dramatically in which reality has no meaning whatsoever. I think it is true that there is polling that suggests the republican base has fallen for this. At the same time, you see trump on the campaign trail <\/a>appealing to the entire electorate, no, i'm going to pardon these folks, i'm going to host fundraisers for them at mara lago and i'm going to treat them as if they are heroes. There's a reason that people use the term to the big lie <\/a>a phrase used by one of hitler's chief propagandists <\/a>to describe the approach of a fascist warping of truth. And, the sort of connection to other traditions of authoritarianism. Do you see this is fundamental? politicians in democratic republics do stuff similar to this all the time. They try to spin the truth or change.<\/a> Where does this fall on the spectrum to you? to me, we are dealing with a qualitatively different thing than we've seen in generations because it is not just one politician lying. It is a systemic approach to rewriting history and doing some with a great deal of partners. Authoritarians have been trying to rewrite history as long as there have been as oracle records but they didn't have fox news and conservative radio and rightwing websites. The partnership is unique. Steve benen,<\/a> who i've been reading and learning from for 15 years at this point, thank you so much. Steve's new book is titled ministry of truth,<\/a> democracy, reality and republicans war <\/a>on the recent past. It is available now. We will be right back. Ack. Making zeromigraine days possible. It's the only pill of its kind that blocks cgrp and is approved to prevent migraine of any frequency. To help give you that forgetyouget migraine feeling.<\/a> Don't take if allergic to qulipta. Most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and sleepiness. Learn how abbvie could help you save. Qulipta. The forgetyouget migraine medicine.<\/a><\/a> Incoming dishes. ahhh! duck! dawn powerwash flies through 99% of grease and grime in half the time. Yeah, it absorbs grease five times faster. Even replaces multiple cleaning products.<\/a> Ooh, those suds got game. Dawn powerwash. The better grease getter.<\/a> Have you ever thought of getting a walkin tub dawn powerwash.<\/a> For you or someone you love? now is a great time to take a look at getting a safe step walkin tub. With safe step's standard heated seat and new fast fill faucet,<\/a> you can enjoy a nice warm bath <\/a>up to 20% faster! and the convenient touch pad control <\/a>is right at your fingertips. Each tub comes standard with a dual hydrotherapy system.<\/a> The ten water jets <\/a>can help increase mobility,<\/a> relieve pain,<\/a> boost energy,<\/a> and improve sleep. While the microsoothe advanced air therapy system oxygenates <\/a>and softens skin. Safe step <\/a>walkin tubs are built to maximize safety. So you can stay in your home and enjoy the comforts of bathing again. So call now for more information and a free no obligation consultation.<\/a> I still love to surf, snowboard, and, of course, skate. So, i take qunol magnesium <\/a>to support my muscle and bone health.<\/a> Qunol's extra strength, high absorption magnesium <\/a>helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. Qunol, the brand i trust. Here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo <\/a>comes with a builtn engine,<\/a> like google, but it's r and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browsel but it blocks cookies and creepy ads that follow youa and other companies.<\/a> And there's no catch. It's fre. We make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today.<\/a> In just over a in just over a week, me, rachel maddow, joy reid <\/a>and a bunch of your favorite msnbc host <\/a>to send him home borough of brooklyn <\/a>for msnbc live democracy <\/a>2024. Cs there and i will be interviewing a very special guest of the election on the role the supreme court <\/a>could play in the election, my favorite constitutional <\/a>scholar who also happens to be my beloved wife, kate shaw.<\/a> There are only a few tickets left for this event. Scan the qr code <\/a>on your screen and i will see you in person one week from tomorrow. Also, check out the latest episode of my podcast, why is this happening? it is really a fun one about the electric atmosphere at the dnc last week and i got to sit down with alex wagner,<\/a> who spent all week on the floor of the convention. We talked about the significance of the kamala harris nomination <\/a>and why it's a petal moment for this country. Liberals and democrats were on the back foot in this really feels like wait a second. If the chart showing all the residence has barack obama <\/a>than donald trump then kamala harris, we are living at the point when everything changes that infect the democratic, liberal tribes the ascended one <\/a>in the america we thought we knew is actually the one we do know, like this actually is who we are as a country. What is so surprising about the convention in the context of that, it was not just celebrating the sort of a sentence of kamala harris on the ticket. It was sort of reclaiming the country for democrats in saying this is ours and it was no longer we have to apologize for the way we think about the world and our priorities. They are the values of a broad section of the country, if not the outright majority. It was such an interesting conversation. Find it again with another qr code. Or look for the regular podcast. That's it for this week. Have a great holiday weekend. 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