my question is why would you abuse that power by formalizing a baseless impeachment inquiry into president joe biden? we are bringing in congressman jim clyburn for his take on the expected inquiry vote next week and more. plus, the alarm bells of authoritarianism are getting louder. donald trump's tumbling down on his desire to be a dictator, and just for one day, he says he. we will get into how president biden is responding to trump's plans for revenge and retribution. and retired army colonel eugene vindman is running for congressional seat in virginia. he was targeted by former president donald trump after playing a critical role in trump's first impeachment. why he wants to put his name on the ballot now. i am symone sanders-townsend and i have something to say. ♪ ♪ ♪ members of congress are back on the hill tomorrow for their last week before the new year. but there is only one resolution house republicans want to focus on. and one that authorizes an impeachment inquiry into president joe biden. now the house does have sole power to impeach, but the way house republicans are using this power, i think it is telling. after months of investigation, the house oversight committee has produced no evidence of wrongdoing from biden's time as vice president. only five presidents in our history have based impeachment inquiries. every modern impeachment inquiry was spurred by credible credible evidence of potential wrongdoing during their time as president. let's take a look. in trump's case, there was a detailed whistleblower report outlining a phone call in which trump asked the ukrainian president to investigate his political opponent, then private citizen joe biden. then there were efforts to restrict access to details about that call, such as verbatim transcripts. and then it alleged there were subsequent meetings in which trump diplomats advised ukrainian officials on how to meet those demands. in the case of former president bill clinton, there was a 222 page report from independent counsel kenneth starr. in that report, numerous witnesses were cited, and it even laid out 11 very specific routes for impeachment. as for richard nixon -- >> good evening. the country tonight is in the midst of what may be the most serious constitutional crisis and its history. >> the house judiciary committee began investigating nixon after the infamous saturday night massacre. you will remember that's when the nixon ordered his justice department to fire the special counsel who was probing the watergate scandal. even, that it would be more than three months before the house voted to authorize an impeachment inquiry. the resolution that passed with 410 yes votes and only for no votes. the urging of his own party and nixon was a republican, nixon resigned before the house could charge him with articles of impeachment, including obstruction of justice and abuse of power. 50 years later, republican speaker mike johnson is defending an impeachment inquiry resolution based on nothing. >> i would say we are the rule of law team. we have to be very deliberate and careful about that. i've said several times, and it's true, next to the declaration of war, i think impeachment is probably the heaviest power congress, has the house specifically under the constitution. we have to be very methodical and careful and follow the facts where they lead. the impeachment inquiry is the next necessary step because the white house is now stonewalling aren't destination. >> speaker johnson says republicans are forced to pursue this step to secure documents from the white house, but there is a famous republican who argued an impeachment inquiry has no effect on the white house's ability to challenge subpoenas. want to know his name? mike johnson. here's johnson defending then president trump's refusal to comply with subpoenas during his 2019 impeachment inquiry. >> in spite of their allegation, the democrats know president trump has a lawful cause to challenge these subpoenas because they involve direct communications between high-ranking advisers and a president. high-rankithat's very sensitive. most of these individuals, by the way, that they've subpoenaed, are not related to the ukraine matter at hand. any adverse observer would regard this as a fishing expedition, some would call it presidential harassment. >> you know where i'm from the girls refer to those as receipts. impeachment, folks, and an impeachment inquiry, it's very serious business. the bar for setting in motion a potential removal from office, it has to be sky-high in a country built on the belief that individuals could govern themselves and that the people are endowed within unalienable right, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. pursuing an impeachment based on nothing but partisanship and lies threatens the foundations of our democracy and the power of your vote. joining me now to discuss more's democratic congressman and assistant house democratic leader james clyburn. welcome to you, mr. assistant leader. i want to play for you what republican senator mitt romney of utah say about this inquiry this moment to my colleague christine wilkie. >> i don't see any evidence of that at all. i think before you begin an impeachment inquiry, you ought to have some evidence, some inclination that there is been wrongdoing. so far, there is nothing of that nature that has been provided. >> are you opposed to the impeachment inquiry? >> if i were in the house, i would vote against, it unless they were able to bring forward and evidence that suggests there were a high crime or something had been committed. >> congressman, are any of your republican colleagues who represent a district biden won in 2020 saying the same thing? are any of your republican colleagues who are now the house announcing that they are retiring? >> thank you very much for having me. i've not heard any of them be as -- about this as we just heard from senator romney. many of them have expressed reticence about it, but i've not say -- heard anybody say anything conclusive. i would love to say that this -- say to the speaker, you've got a three vote margin here and you have got eight or nine people in this caucus who did in fact win in districts that were chaired by biden. let's just be careful here. but i know what's going on here. they are looking for headlines and are throwing stuff up on the wall, hoping something will stick. they are blaming the man, a father, for being helpful to his son. that, to me, is just untoward. i don't know where these people are coming from. no facts, just innuendo. if you are helping your son pay for a pick up truck or whatever that truck was, how is that impeachable? >> it does not sound like a high crime and misdemeanor to me, sir. there's been a lot of reporting in the last couple weeks that a number of house republicans are saying they just need to impeach president biden so that it's a one for one, to say, look, there was an impeachment inquiry and in attempt to impeach biden just like there was an inquiry and an impeachment of donald trump. what precedent do you think this could potentially set if this impeachment inquiry is actually authorized? >> that's what i'm really concerned about, because there must be some kind of cause here. just remember, in the impeachment of donald trump, there were facts on the table and these facts were indisputable. he was impeached, maybe by a partisan vote, but the vote for conviction was bipartisan. he wasn't the two thirds necessary for -- to carry the day in the senate, but it did get republican votes. because people saw this as cause for impeachment, some side as cause for removal from office. this could set a terrible precedent. i'm just hoping succeeding congresses will not weaponize the impeachment process, but let it stay there and be used when it needs to be used, as it was with trump and -- nixon before him. all the way back to president johnson in 1860. they were stalled and he was impeached, but not convicted. they lost the next election. >> how could this affect the ability to negotiate government funding in the new year? in january, there is funding that runs out. then funding for additional agencies will run out on february 1st, i believe. >> it could very well get in the way. i think that the 19th of january, we ought to get this done by that deadline. but there is no reason for us not to do it before that. the phase we are fooling around with now, this time could be years to have good, meaningful discussions about what kind of budget we ought to be approving for the coming year or for the year in which we are in. but also, we need to do what's necessary in ukraine, in israel, and at the border. none of this stuff can get done if we don't get the discussions on them and we are not getting their. this whole -- notion about democrats not securing the border, check the record. the record indicates that we've done that when we were in charge. we will do it now while they are in charge. if we stop the foolishness and sit down and have meaningful discussion about what we need to do to fund the war in ukraine and in the israel hamas difficulty as well, as well going on at the border. >> check the record. before we came on air, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy announced he would visit washington, d.c., this week. he will meet with president biden. he's going to meet with the senate. he will also now meet with speaker mike johnson. all this comes, as you just described, republicans are now demanding a change in strategy when it comes to the border before supporting any of this foreign aid that we discussed, whether it is ukraine or even israel. you said that democrats are willing to do what needs to be done. what border policy concessions are you open to? >> anyone that we've had open discussions on. the representatives, democrats and republicans, who represent congressional district on the border of to be involved in these kit but -- the white house has made a very clear that the president is willing to sit down and find the way forward we, and once again, as i said, you check the record, you will see we've had very great deal of success at the border under obama. the democrats are against securing the border. we are against violating our constitutional, our constitution as well as ignoring humanity. >> all right. this is a democratic leader congressman james clyburn of south carolina, asking his republican colleagues to check the receipts. thank you very much for your time today, sir. >> thank you. coming up next, everyone, the alarm bells, i just feel like they keep getting louder about the authoritarian risk of a potential second donald trump presidency. trump is saying that he will only be a dictator on day one, but that is not very comforting since he's likely to be the republican nominee. how should president biden address a would-be dictator on the campaign trail? we will dig into that with my political panel next. first, my colleague jessica layton is here with today's other top news stories. jessica, what is breaking out there right now? thanks, simone. we do have breaking news to tell everyone about right now. former president donald trump just announcing minutes ago that he will no longer be testifying tomorrow in his civil fraud trial here in new york. he said that on his social media platform, adding he's already testified and has nothing more to say. he was expected to be one of the final witnesses in the 250 million dollar trial that has now lasted two months. other news now, tennessee governor bill lee has declared a state of emergency after multiple tornadoes slammed the national area and other areas surrounding it, causing catastrophic damage, destroying homes and flipping entire trailers. six people died, including at least one young child. dozens more were injured, including 13 people who were hurt when a church collapsed. more than 40,000 people are still without power right now. israel has stepped up its offensive in southern gaza and warned people to evacuate the city center of khan younis. this comes after the u.s. approves $106 million in emergency arms sales to israel. conditions, meanwhile, in the palestinian enclave, are rapidly collapsing. nearly 2 million palestinians have been displaced in gaza since the start of the fighting in october. that is according to a u.n. agency. i'm jessica layton. we have more simone coming up for you right after this break. 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because i want a wall. i want a wall. i want to drill, drill, drill have. >> so there is that. he would use the office to go after political rivals. but don't worry, y'all, he would only be a dictator for one day. here to discuss is democratic strategist and former senior biden administration official, adrian allred. the president and ceo of mainstream partnership, sarah chamberlain. i don't know why i put it s h on the front of your name. i want to start with you. i am quite disturbed by donald trump's remarks. he was speaking in front of a group of republicans last night. this is -- one could argue that he is trolling everybody. i think that history shows us that we should take donald trump for his word. >> i think he is letting the people know. he is maybe looking to be a dictator. he certainly wants to get things done on the first day, which means close the border and start drilling for gas. on those things, he would be a dictator. he likes to play. whether we like it or not, he does like to play into these different words and throw them out there. we will have to see. we have to see if he can get elected. >> adrian, do you think that folks should be taking seriously with the former president has been saying? >> absolutely. i was on hillary clinton's campaign in 2016, president biden's campaign in 2020. you have to take this guy seriously. also, simone, he's delivering the playbook on what he will do in day one. how he will quote unquote govern if you have to call it that. as president, he's telling us what he has to do. obviously, elections are with consequences. this campaign hasn't really heated up yet. we will see where the contrast is between the parent republican nominee donald trump, and obviously president biden as a democratic nominee late next year. at the end of the day, voters are going to want somebody who has an aspirational view of the presidency. certainly president biden, donald trump comes at this very negatively. i don't think that that is something that especially is going to swing independent voters. and ultimately decide this election. that's not what they're looking for. >> i want to play for you all would former republican congresswoman liz cheney had to say. she was a january 6th committee member. she is talking about taking donald trump's threats seriously. take a listen to this. we, as americans, and as voters, citizens need to commit to do. it is not to become numb to that. what he says is so outrageous that it could be very easy for his allies to say to the rest of us, come on, you know that that is not true. with the lesson of donald trump over the last several years has taught us is that we have to take him seriously. we have to take him literally. he has shown us what he is willing to do. >> sarah, she also said that the united states is sleepwalking into a dodic teter ship. sometimes i wonder if americans really understand. we use words like authoritarianism, dictatorship, fascism, if they really understand what that means when people say that. do you -- you, know some of the things that donald trump's team has said is that they are looking for people who are going to be loyal to him. is not going to be the folks around him, kind of keeping the train on the track as much as possible. are republicans -- are republicans that are mainstream partnership republicans, are they concerned about this? >> they are concerned about it. 17 of them live in biden districts. they are concerned. if they just kind of ignore have the stuff to donald trump says, good or bad, i'm not saying that they should be. they are kind of like, that is just trump saying that again. i will tell you from the point that we've done in this partnership, women to women, people don't understand what a dictator is. that is a huge -- believe it or not, that is disturbing. they don't really get what is happening. they also believe that that would never happen in the united states. >> look, this is why it is fundamental. adrian, i want to talk a little bit about the biden campaign here. we know that he will be the democratic nominee. politico has a new report out about democrats concerns over the biden campaign is being slow to beef up its operation in battleground states. a few weeks ago, i spoke with quinten folks, who is the deputy campaign manager for the biden campaign. i asked him about this. he told me that they will be ramping up their leadership teams in the states come the new year. do you think that the democrats that are anonymously signing these articles making the bed or sounding the alarm on something that is real? >> we love to wet the bed as democrats. all the way, all the time. one thing is that you can't compare the infrastructure of the 2024 biden campaign to 2020. he is the president of the united states. he has an infrastructure. the dnc is so much more robust in 2016. they were down to its studs. now there is a strong feel of collaboration in many key states, in fact every key state that will decide this election. the dnc has had in place for a long time. the dnc and biden campaign are effectively one and the same. they are indifferent buckets, but i think effectively, they're all working together. infrastructure has been invested in the states for a very long time. of course, in the past few years. that is why i get a little annoyed sometimes when people try to compare what presidential campaigns at this time in the cycle four years ago was, the amount of staff they might have had on the board. this is a different deal. he is the incumbent. he has the infrastructure. obviously, the white house isn't the campaign. you can't underestimate the fact that the power, the pulpit that the president has, defected he is out there every day talking about what he's doing for the american people. and then also that very much comes into play when you're looking at the overall infrastructure for what we need to do at this stage of the game going into this election. >> can i jump in there? it is great that he does all that, but he has done some messaging. the messaging is failing. >> i disagree, respectfully. >> totally, that's what's keeping republicans in the game here. there's no messaging. you have an economy that looks like it is doing well, that people believe it is not doing well. he's not out there convincing the american people why he should be elected again. i think that is his biggest issue. >> listen, there is a lot of white noise going on right now. i think that once more, americans are focused on the election next year. the message that president biden -- and i worked for gina raimondo, for one year, they are talking about what they are doing for the american people all the time. it's just not always breaking through. as we get into the campaign cycle, it will be worked in more. >> the question, is when and how the connect, will it do so enough in time for 2024? we are going to see. we will be back. thank you very much, adrian elrod, so great conversation. we appreciate you guys. one thing that will also affect 2024 is abortion. coming up next, abortion has been a political loser for a number of republicans across the country since roe v. wade was overturned. but why are so many republicans legislators leaning into those demands? i don't know. whatever the reason is, we will look at how the biden campaign plans to tie donald trump directly to republicans ongoing war on women's bodies. don't go away. we are going to learn something. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's comeback season. marlo thomas: my father founded saint jude children's research hospital because he believed no child should die in the dawn of life. in 1984, a patient named stacy arrived, and it began her family's touching story that is still going on today. vicki: childhood cancer, it's just hard. stacey passed on christmas day of 1986. there is no pain like losing a child, but saint jude gave us more years to love on her each day. marlo thomas: you can join the battle to save lives. for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the lifesaving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future. jessica: i remember as a child, walking the halls of saint jude, and watching my sister fight for her life. we never imagined that we would come back. and then my son charlie was diagnosed with ewing's sarcoma. vicki: i'm thinking, we already had a catastrophic disease in our family. not my grandson too. marlo thomas: st. jude has helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when it opened to 80% today. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support. jessica: for anybody that would give, the money is going towards research, and you are the reason my child is here today. charlie: i was declared-- this will be two years cancer free. but there's thousands and thousands of kids who need help. saint jude, how many lives they do save is just so many. marlo thomas: charlie's progress warms my heart, but memories of little angels like stacy are why we need your help. please become a saint jude partner in hope right now. [music playing] i am so, so said for cade cox and the experience she is going through. i went through the exact same experience myself. if we can just help people to understand, even if you think that you're never going to confront the need for an abortion, you or somebody that you love very likely will. it is important that we protect this right in every state across this country, and the national election coming up next cycle is going to be such an important part of making sure that we can do that. >> that is former texas state senator wendy davis explaining why we should all care about what is happening in our own state. kate cox is waiting for the texas supreme court to allow her to terminate a non viable pregnancy. it is risking not only her future fertility, but also her life. this is yet another example of why as long as judges, lawmakers, and politicians get to make those in-depth -- we are all at risk. as long as abortion banare effective in states across the country, we wilcases like this one or even worse. a pregnant womain kentucky filed a lawsuit demanding abortion. i can't even believe that we are filing lawsuits to demand abortions noways the ap report says she is seeking class action status to include other kentuckians wh are or wil be compressing pregnant and want to have an abortion. meanwhile, in missouri, lawmakers are trying to allow a total state abortion ban further, proposing a law that would allow women who have abortions to be charged with homicide. even though it has not become law, legislation like that could have a chilling effect on women and their doctors when it comes to women's rights like cisions about her own body. the guttmacher institute says th one in five patients now avel at a state for abortion care in 2023. a survey of 500 medical students by the journal of medical ethics found that more than 76% of third and fourth year medical students would likely choose a residency program based on abortion access. all of this is scary. it is dangerous, it is real, it is very costly for women. it is also politically unpopular. according to an npr poll, 61% of americans say they mostly support abortion rights. in a 2023 election, it was a winning issue for the second general election in a row, which might explain why some 2024 republican senate candidates have actually started to soft and their stance on abortion. in a few key states like arizona, nevada, and florida, -- to enshrine abortion protections in their states constitution. much like ohio did in november, and kansas did last year. in the 2024 race for the white house, biden campaign is reportedly going to explicitly tie former president trump to all of these extreme abortion bans. that reporting from nbc's kelly o'donnell. the texas case, to say that kim paxton, the state attorney general there was endorsed by donald trump. and so they want to link trump in every way to the change in peoples lives with respect to abortion. >> yes, they must explain who is responsible for this change in peoples lives. they cannot just assume that people know. elections matter, and folks, unless the right leaders are in place to protect reproductive care in many states, women will continue to have to go to court to beg for the medical care they need, the medical care did they deserve. to beg for their dignity, and we know how that can go. just ask kate cox. vote. coming up next, y'all, with retirement creating several open policies up for grabs in 2024, democrats actually have a shot of retaking the house next year. i will be joined next by somebody who is on the ballot in virginia to help democrats with that mission. eugene vindman running to replace abigail sandberg, are now running for governor. if the name vindman sounds familiar, he also played a major role in the first impeachment of donald trump. what drove him to jump into this race, after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ no you tell me why i can't get rid of this odor? 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[ting] ♪♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. we are weeks away from the start of a presidential election year, and the stakes couldn't be higher. especially when it comes to control of congress. all of 435 members of the house of representatives are up for reelection. with republicans holding a majority and it is slimmer than ever for this congress. every single race matters. including the one in virginia as a battleground southern district. the current officeholder, democratic congresswoman abigail spanberger recently announced the she would not be running for reelection. instead, she announced a run for virginia governor in 2025. it ia decision with potential consequences before, you know, before spanberger one in 2018 republicans actually had the seat until 1971. the political report has moved the race for virginia from likely to lean democrat. one candidate says he is the one to keep the seat blue. you might remember former u.s. army colonel eugene vindman it for his role in donald trump's first impeachment. as a deputy legal adviser for the white house national security council, colonel vindman helped flag the now infamous 2019 phone call between president trump and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. the rest, including the role of his twin brother alexander vindman, you can read about in the history books. former u.s. army colonel eugene vindman joins us now. thank, you sir, thank you for coming in. why did you decide to run for office? >> first of all, happy birthday, symone. i love this country. democracy is at stake. 2024, i am a product of the american dream. i want to make sure that i safeguard that dream for my family, for my kids, and for other americans including in virginia. >> virginia, i don't know if they're at risk for a blue state, probably one of the last purple states left in america. as a republican governor in the state, what is your message to republican voters who might be upset about you flagging that phone call between president trump and president zelenskyy which led to the impeachment proceedings for the first impeachment? >> i obviously, the come off in virginia seven is a purple district. i have to maximize my appeal to all of the voters. i do stand by my actions, 100%. with the president did was wrong, in my opinion it was criminal. i would do the same today, even though it cost me my military career. i had a duty, an obligation as a attorney working at the white house, and as an officer in the army to report the presidents misconduct. i would do that every day. >> according to the congressional research service, 14% of the potential constituents are actually employed by the federal government. we could potentially be facing another shutdown in january. this congress can't vote on anything. they were -- how would you say to the constituency, or potential constituents who are concerned about the dysfunction in congress? what would you do if elected to ensure they can work with johnson? >> this is a concern in my family. my wife is a department army civilian. a number of my neighbors are department of defense and federal government employees. the dysfunction in the federal government is a real problem. the consequences extend much beyond the shutdowns. our credit rating was reduced a few weeks ago because of the dysfunction in congress. taking back the house, holding virginia seven, abigail spanberger's district. taking back the house. it is critical. virginia seven is a frontline district. my message is that we have had enough of the chaos, and we need to bring back reason and rationality in the government. i've spoken to a number of voters in recent weeks and everybody wants governments that work. there is a role for government, people recognize that there is a role for government. ultimately, beyond everything, else they want a government that works. to me, as somebody that has worked for the white house, worked in the film room, i understand how to make it work. i can reach across the aisle and i speak to people, democrats, republicans, independents, and we speak to voters like they are people. >> if you were a member of congress this week, would you be voting to authorize an impeachment inquiry into president biden? >> absolutely not. i think it's ridiculous. i think that a number of actions that congress has taken our ridiculous. there is no evidence supporting the impeachment. i know, i was involved in the first impeachment from -- as a whistleblower. there was concrete evidence, in evidence that the president had committed misconduct. there is no such evidence in this, case it's ridiculous. it's another symptom of hyper partisan politics. it's disgusting. >> what about aid to ukraine? aid to israel, i think that it's widespread support for that within the united states congress. even if you look at the gallup poll last month, 46% of americans say that the united states is doing too much for ukraine. that is an 11-point jump in just four months. you were a ukrainian immigrant yourself. what are you saying to voters in a district the you like to represent? we need to focus more on what is happening here in virginia, at home, not so much as what is happening around the world. >> first of, all we are the greatest nation on the planet. we are the largest economy, we have the strongest military. we can walk and chew gum at the same time. we take care of our issues in the united states. and also pay attention to those hotspots around the world that affect us deeply. as somebody with a national security background, i understand how we are interrelated in this world. how russia attacking ukraine last year caused gas prices to spike, which is why in woodbridge, dale city, stafford county, people pay more at the pump. those prices are starting to come down, i think by great policies for this administration. the same thing happened with inflation for food. there is a great deal of grain that came off of the market. grain prices spiked throughout the world. we pay more at the grocery store. understanding those relationships, understanding why there is a case to be made to support our allies. it is not only about values, which i think is 100% true. that is why, as you mentioned, 41% thought that we were spending too much. to me, that means 59% think that we are doing about right, -- >> come on, colonel vindman. you better have the nus.[laught] all right. you know what? i thank you very much for coming in today. virginia seven is one of the races to watch next year. we will be watching, it's just over the bridge. i used to work in woodbridge for a state wrap. to come and, and we'd love to be seeing you. >> we'll come watch. >> colonel vindman, thank you for coming. it appreciate your time. thank, you folks. coming, up it is an extraordinarily dangerous time to live in israel. coming up next, i am joined in studio by an american woman that lives in tel aviv and is planning to go back despite the risk. we'll talk about why she thinks it is so important for her return. and the divisions that the israel hamas war has caused among young people right here in the united states. stick around, folks. k around, folks. and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. only on verizon. 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. ♪♪ [stomach growling] it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. since the start of the israel-hamas war, demonstrators across the country have taken to the streets. some of them have been showing their support for military action in gaza, and efforts to return the hostages after the october 7th attack by hamas. others have been calling for a cease-fire. civilian deaths keep rising among the palestinian people. the war is now on its second month, and today, we have a unique opportunity to speak with someone who we first introduced you to early on in this conflict. joining me here on set, eliahna. she is originally from maryland, and had been living in tel aviv for the last two years. she is here because she is visiting her family. it is so great -- and happy birthday, my sagittarius sister. first, about thank you for being so willing to come and talk. it cannot be easy. you are in tel aviv on october 7th, and to my understanding you knew people that were at the festival. >> yes, i knew a lot of people. by the time that i had gone for the day, people were hiding in bomb shelters, hiding in the woods even hiding under the dead bodies of their friends until they knew it was okay to come out and get arrived from the hospital. >> how has life changed in tel aviv since the war began? >> tel aviv before was a lively city. it was loud and vibrant. now people are walking around and scared. people have one headphone in instead of two. the restaurants have come into factories where there packaging meals for the soldiers coming -- the community has come together, even just one day after the war when i was afraid to go outside of my own home. hundreds of people gathered to gather blood, had no place to be a center for terrorist attacks. we do know how many people had gone through the border. it was a very scary place to be. we had so many people coming in to donate blood, we ran out of bags in the hospitals throughout the city. >> folks really banded together. you live in tel aviv, but went to school here. from maryland. all right, oh maryland. i'm sure the you had an opportunity to see some of the coverage that has happened about what is happening on college campuses across the country. this discourse, there is also been a rise in antisemitic incidents. and also islamophobic incidents. what do you think about what is happening? what are your friends saying who are still here in the states? >> it is scary to see. we have jewish friends in the city where they are on the walls, free palestine. it's such a misinformed statement. they are free from hamas. they need to have a government that cares about them. they have bombshell just for the people, the iron dome system put in by the government to protect the people. whereas in gaza, they don't have any of these things. the bomb shelters are used exclusively for hamas died down in the. and use them to hide their weapons. it is just very misinformed. it is hard to see people think they're advocating for human rights well also chanting for the genocide of the jewish people. the holocaust was not that long ago. my grandpa is the only survivor of the entire family from the holocaust. i can't believe this is happening in my lifetime. it scares me. >> it is very scary. i'm struck by you as you talk about how the palestinian people need to be free from hamas. it's terror, not just on israelis, but also palestinians. i think there is a lack of understanding. folks willing to talk about the humanity of their people. what happened to people in israel should never have happened. what is happening to innocent palestinian civilians should not be happening. isn't the room for us to talk about the humanity of both people? >> i can guarantee, you no israeli is celebrating the death of palestinians. a long time ago when there was a terrorist attack about a year ago, long before the war. my friends had something that stuck with me. in israel, we are crying for two reasons. one because we lost our brother, a friend, a father, a community member. the second time because this kind of thing is happening. meanwhile over in gaza, they are celebrating twice, once because diggs killed you, and second because they're celebrating the death of somebody who did. it it's sickening to think about as jews. we value life. to hear about a mother celebrating the death of her own son, i can't believe people are supporting this. >> it's always so important to underscore that hamas is not the palestinian people. >> my heart breaks for them to. i don't want to see the death of everybody. >> what a difficult time. thank you for coming. eliana, it to see, you and happy birthday. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. we will be right back. we're going to tell you about a very special guest coming up in the next hour. don't go away. g up i the next hour. don't go away. don't go away. (♪♪) honey... honey... dayquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu symptom relief with a honey-licious taste. because life doesn't stop for a cold. dayquil honey, the daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, honey-licious, power through your day, medicine. thank you so much for watching symone on this sunday. i'm symone sanders-townsend. for more of our show, behind the scenes video you won't find anywhere else. find us an instrument, the state formerly known as twitter, and -- the reverend al sharpton is next. he's got the legendary actor and comedian kenan thompson on the show today, who by the, way has actually played the reverend on saturday night live. take a look at this. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> okay, welcome to politicsnation. now all over the country, there are protests. for the first time in my life, everybody agrees with me. folks that have been fighting with me, inviting me places. this must be what it feels like to be beyoncé. reverend, how do you think that keenan did? i know this is going to be a great interview. i can't wait to watch. well, i have known keenan since he started. the longest staffer, or stage person on snl. we're going to talk a lot about the things, including him itating me. i will enjoy it. we are really doing it because we