Brooklyn, how we doing . Im the host and Creative Director of Msnbc Live, and we are so excited to welcome you to our very first and sold out fan focused event. Thank you this is where you get to meet and greet your favorite msnbc personalities live and in person , and i can let you guys in on a little secret. Steve cormacks khakis are just as glorious in real life. Over the course of the day, jen psaki, joy reed, and so many others will give you their take on the state of this wild and crazy election. Are you enjoying it so far . Its only september all right, lets get this kicked off. You may have seen them reporting from the dnc. They are going to tell you what it was like to be there in that electric atmosphere, but first, they are going to dig into what is at stake in november. Please welcome to the stage the host of the reidout , joy reid, and the host of alex tonight, Alex Wagner thank you. I want to do that. Youve got to get the filthy. So smart. Hello thank you all for coming how amazing is this . Amazing. Thank you, brooklyn. So, we are just going to jump right in, because really what we are doing right now is we are recreating what happened at the democratic national convention. With your potato chips, unfortunately. And no table, even if we had the chips. The chips would have no seat. May be in our bodies. Thats where they belong. Can we just talk really quick about how much fun we had . We had too much fun. Listen, at a point i actually did worry, i felt bad for everybody in New York, because who he was at the convention . Was anybody at the convention . It was more amazing than i thought, than anybody thought it was going to be, and we got to be there and soak in the magic with my longtime friends, one of my favorite people in the world, and also at msnbc. And we headed endless supply of fried snacks. And then Kamala Harris got the nomination, so what could be better than that . And the thing that is so interesting is we have had a journey. I mean, one of the first shows that i used to go on on a regular basis, and one of the first people who let me fill in for her was miss Alex Wagner. So we do go back away. We have seen a lot of elections come and go. Rank this one in terms of the intensity of the vibes and the feelings around it. So, listen, i think this one holds even more weight, because when Barack Obama was running he was not running against Donald Trump. So there is the Trump Factor of it all, which is us standing on the precipice of end times, and then there is kind of the candidacy that Barack Obama represented, and one that Kamala Harris represents, in a way. Not in a way, certainly. Which is the trajectory of american society and culture, and what it means for us to be, whether we are trending towards a more inclusive, more diverse society. And i think in the Post Obama Trump years, i think a lot of People Question was Barack Obama, did he come too soon . Was he an aberration . Was it just eight years of us glimpsing prematurely into a future that was a long way off . And Donald Trump seemed to be such a repudiation of the moral arc of the universe being long, but bending towards justice. And the Harris Candidacy i think represents an affirmation that the path that Obama Sort of opened up for the country it might actually be its destiny. And so, you know, it is not just a democrat might save the country from Donald Trump. It is a democrat who could meaningfully move the ball forward and finally shatter that last glass ceiling. So, it is exponentially, the levels of import, the stakes are so incredibly high. And i think that has given rise to a joy that is really powerful. And its interesting, because if you think about the trajectory that happen. In 2008, you had this incredible thing that was happened, a country that was born a series of slave colonies elects its first black president. A remarkable achievement. And four years later he is re elected. And seeing these sort of inexorable path toward the woman being president , and that got interrupted by Donald Trump. And that was sort of the shock to the system that then produces The End of Roe V wade. It produces The End of a right that for a lot of women was unthinkable, a right they would never lose. And that is part of the context of now another woman stepping forward, getting the nomination, and it is remarkable , the question of whether the country was what President Obama represented, or whether it is what trump represented is a really live question for a lot of people, and increasingly there is a sense that maybe trump is the aberration. And i think that is an important thing. Maybe. We will see how it goes. And if that happens, one of the people who will deserve the most credit is an elder white man named Joe Biden. Right . And by the way, i have to fill this in. Because you were there, in the Spin Room, on the night of the debate. I sure was. The debate the kicked all this off. And so, at the time, what people were doing in the Spin Room would say no, its going to be fine. They were spinning as hard as they could. They made the ducks floating on the water, and their legs are powering fearlessly. The ducks were taking a day off. I remember talking to Gavin Newsom. All the republicans came out, stephen miller, matt gaetz, all the trump people, and nobody wanted to talk to them. Then Gavin Newsom came out and Jasmine Crockett came out, and everyone was like lets talk to the democrats and see how they are feeling after that. The panic that set in in the first 10 minutes of that debate was unlike anything ive ever witnessed. You know this, our phones were blowing up and there was this huge question, so many questions about biden, about the party, about the country. And what has unfolded in the course of the last eight weeks, six weeks, i have no sense of time anymore. Maybe a few days. Maybe two years. It is been 2000 years. But just to talk about the Joe Biden of it all, this man, who will be seen, potentially, as the fulcrum around two black president s. Two black president s he is there and provides a very important role for Obamas Candidacy and his presidency, and then as president himself in the wake of the covered disaster and economic calamity that was largely the fault of Donald Trump. And then potentially does something that No One has ever done, other than george washington, to see the power and to make sure that the line of succession is clear and final. I mean, the extraordinary acts will never be forgotten. Absolutely. And the thing about it is, i have likened him to a character in game of thrones, who faced Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful woman, other than Kamala Harris, ever in american history. The most successful and powerful speaker, i would argue, ever in history. Most successful speaker. And somebody who, it is not as if she was the only person. I mean, across the democratic party there was this incredible anxiety. She was just willing to say it out loud on television. So it is not as if she was orchestrating everything that happened, but she was willing to put herself out there, because of her power and because of the esteem she holds in the party. And she said this is what needs to happen. And it was not just her, i think it is really important to say that it is not just her. But when President Biden says all right, i am going to accede to the wishes of my party, but i will do the thing that, to me, confers the most power. I am going to name my successor. I am doing this on my terms, and i name this person as my successor. That is a power move. Its also, i think we just have to contrast the two parties in this moment. As you say, is Nancy Pelosi leading the charge. And i think, insofar as you have to lead the charge, its going to be a difficult position. But doing it in the most respectful way, i think, you can try to do such a thing. The democratic firmament, managing the troops, having to go public sometimes, democratic voters making their wishes known, and when Kamala Harris steps in, rallying around this person with an enthusiasm and a Joy And Electricity that none of us could have predicted. It is a party, and i say this after cheney announced, the party, you want to see what a high functioning, inclusive, Well Oiled Machine looks like, look at the democratic party. 100 . That was one of the things that was so remarkable about the convention. You saw republicans, former members of the Trump Administration walking around, getting level over the place. You saw adam kinsinger, people who ideologically disagree, it shows that you have one political party that everyone is included. Everyone is invited. Its prodemocracy. Alex and Joys Conversation continues after the break. Still to come, jen psaki, ari melber, andrew weissman, stephanie ruhle, Lawrence Odonnell, and of course, Rachel Maddow. shaaaaake. What you think kai . Looks like hes chasing that Ice Cream truck. Ice cream he got his Iphone 16 Pro. The first Iphone Built for apple intelligence. Cuzs holding it up like a baby lion. Homie takes those tmobile savings and calls it a day. Respect. Now at tmobile. Com, get the new Iphone 16 Pro on us. And families can save 20 every month versus the other big guys. [introspective music] recipes. Recipes written by hand and lost to time. Are now being analyzed and restored using the power of Dell Ai. Limu emu doug. And if we win, we get to tell you how Liberty Mutual Customizes Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Isnt that what you just did . Service stand back im going to show ya, how doug and limu roll, yeah you know you got to live it, if you want to win. [bump] Time Out only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. Still have symptoms from moderate to severe Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns Disease after a Tnf Blocker like Humira Or Remicade . Put them in check with rinvoq. Rinvoq works differently and its a oncedaily pill. When symptoms tried to take control, i got rapid relief with rinvoq. Check. When flares tried to slow me down, i got lasting Steroidfree Remission with rinvoq. Check. And when my doctor saw damage, rinvoq helped visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. Check. Rapid symptom relief. Lasting, Steroidfree Remission. And visibly reduced damage. Check, check and check. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. 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And shes reinventing downtown to make our City Vibrant again. Shes building 82,000 new homes and helping first time homebuyers, just like us. And londons Hiring Hundreds of police officers, and arresting drug dealers. San francisco has been through difficult times, but our hard work is paying off. Working together, were building a better future for the city we all love. Ad paid for by reelect mayor London Breed 2024. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics. Org. We are back with Duane Reade and Alex Wagner at the beautiful Brooklyn Academy of music. Heres the rest of their conversation. We got to talk about Kamala Harris, yall. She has stepped of the moment, and basically, right, people want to question what her background is. Basically she is alex plus me. Youre welcome. She is asian and black. Just look at the stage, get it in your mind. Caribbean american. Are moms noticed. Are moms noticed. The guy and these people, we dont care if she is guyanese. Mom was like she is asian, too. Dont forget that on your television show. And the jamaicans, my godmother, they are out of control. Dont start with the jamaicans. Out of control. The thing is, she is a polyglot human being. She is what america is. Because this is how you build america. It is the immigrants that come in, right, and they come in and they become part of this country. She has stepped up and stepped into this moment in a way that i think a lot of people failed to anticipate, because they werent covering her and werent paying attention to her. And as two people who actually did cover her and pay attention to her, it was not surprising. But lets talk about how she stepped into it. And i to say, first of all, can we have an agreement the campaigns dont need to be two years long . Give it to me. Three months and done. Nobody needs it. Nobody needs two years of it. I think certainly the media is a huge part of this. It is also, Kamala Harris has grown. She is able to define herself, she is able to speak with confidence, she is able to laugh and be joyful in a way that is exhilarating for, and ive said this before, for women who have watched other women have to sacrifice so much of themselves to be national figures. God, it is just a thrill to watch someone out there who looks like she is having fun. Who looks like she is relishing this, not solely because of duty, but because she wants to be there. And goes and talks to people on the campaign trail, and enjoys it. And that is something that i think, her ability to conduct herself with both Confidence And Ease is something that has really come to the forefront in the course of the last four years. And i think it is experience in washington, is denigrated as you are now a swamp creature. The reality is, you can learn some things on the job and maybe having someone who has learned a couple of things is a good prerequisite for being president. She would be one of the most experienced figures ever to take office if she were to win the White House. But also, we got to talk about her running mate. Because your first big decision as a president ial candidate is to choose your partner, and President Obama made a really, right . Youve got a choose your buddy. You got to choose your rug dog. Resident obama chose Joe Biden. In many ways he was one of the most effective Vice President s ever. He gave them amma demographically, what they needed. He gave the experience of washington, he made a very smart choice. Lets talk about coach walz. First of all, he knows how to order a donut. Which, i think, maybe should be one of the prerequisites going forward. Maybe just some grasp of humanity. I dont know. If you guys have not seen the Jd Vance in the Donut Shop video, it is actually, people texted me. We played it on Alex Wagner tonight, and people were mad at me. They were like why did you subject that to me . It is worse than a cringe. It is almost as painful as him being on the podcast with the gentleman who said boy, its a good thing you had that indian motherinlaw is in any year kids. Yeah, when Jd Vance starts talking about Ovulation And Menopause i turn it down. But i will say, one of the wonderful things, there are so many wonderful things about being at the convention. But you can tell what the mood of the convention speaker, the main speaker is going to be when you bring out these long signs. Like thank you, joe, or We Heart Joe was the sign the first night. And wednesday when walz was going to speak they brought out signs that said coach walz. And the walz big heads. I was like oh, this is going to be like a pep rally. Because he is the governor of minnesota. They couldve said governor walz, congressman walz, but it was coach walz. Then you could hear marching bands, and it was like oh, we are turning this into homecoming. 100 . And by the way, when i tell you i think the Minnesota Delegation was still in the arena. They werent leaving. We were literally leaving, people were cleaning around them, and they were like no. We are here. We are happy, and we are like everyone is gone and they were like we dont care no music playing. They didnt care they are still there there aint no party like a walz party. And we have to talk very briefly about the other side. Because it is been a challenging few w