impeachment inquiry into president joe biden in the final days of the year. but here's the question. to they have any evidence? then, the federal election interference case put on pause, as trump's legal team accuses jack smith of trying to steal their christmas. then, the showdown over the abortion pill now headed to the supreme court, while reproductive rights hang in the balance, as the 11th hour gets underway on this wednesday night. >> good evening once again. i'm stephanie ruhle at msnbc headquarters here in new york city. today president joe biden officially became the subject of a formal impeachment inquiry. late today, in a party line vote, or the gop-controlled house voted 221 to 212 officially approving an investigation that has been underway for months. house republicans have been focusing on the business dealings conducted by president biden's son hunter. they have accused joe biden of profiting from those deals when he was vice president, which he has repeatedly denied. tonight, after the vote, the president issued a statement that read this, in part. quote, there is a lot of work to be done. but after wasting weeks trying to find a new speaker of the house and having to expel their own members, republicans in congress are leaving for a month, instead of doing anything to help make americans lives better, they are focused on attacking the with lies. members from both sides of the aisle, including the loudest voices in favor of impeachment had this to say. >> we now think this helps us get the key witnesses that we want. there were three names -- three names, one, of course, was the president of the united states, joe biden. >> the reality is republicans are pursuing this on behalf of donald trump. this is an act of political retribution that donald trump has compelled house republicans, ordered house republicans to pursue. >> this is extremism on full display. >> just hours after the house vote, hunter biden himself appeared outside the capitol, and he was winning. house investigators were -- waiting for him to appear at a closed-door deposition. hunter, who had been served a subpoena to testify in the impeachment probe has insisted he will absolutely do it, but he wants it to be in public. >> for six years i have been the target of the unrelenting trump attack machine, shouting, where's hunter. here's my answer. i am here. let me state as clearly as i can, my father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of burisma, not in my partnership with the chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home, nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist. during my battle with addiction my parents were there for me. they literally saved my life. they help me in ways i will never be able to repay and of course they would never expect me to. and in the depth of my addiction i was extremely irresponsible with my finances. but to suggest it's ground for impeachment is beyond the absurd. it's shameless. >> hunter biden of course has been indicted on federal tax and gun charges. oversight committee james comer and judiciary committee chairman jim jordan f threatened to hold him in contempt of congress for not complying with that subpoena. pretty hypocritical given what they've done in the past. well, jim jordan specifically. with that let's get smart tonight with the help of our leadoff panel, mike memoli is here, and he has covered president biden, his family, and his inner circle of advisers for a decade. nobody knows the bidens. better than mike. and luke broadwater is here, of the new york times, and tim miller, a contributor the bulwark and communications director for jeb bush. luke, let's start with jim jordan. he's out there talking about getting witnesses. i want to understand, what kind of witnesses does he think he's going to get? and these just people who hunter biden was dealing with in the past that will clearly embarrass the president? but do nothing to prove any wrongdoing? and these investigators, what are they allowed to do? >> right. well, jim jordan has lined up about nine witnesses they want to hear over the next two months, in particular those named in the impeachment resolution that our tax investigators. these are two men that they want to question about why felony charges were not brought against hunter biden earlier. the republican theory is that there were somehow political interference to protect hunter biden. so, we have not heard from these gentlemen yet. i guess we will have to hear what they have to say. with those are the stated reasons why jim jordan wants to hear from these additional people. >> but how does this hold any water, tim? this argument that the doj is working on behalf of joe biden to protect him and his family -- hunter was charged. >> this whole thing is so ridiculous, stephanie. it is plainly absurd on its face. and -- hunter -- this is the worst deep state of all-time, if there is a deep state block to protect the bidens. they've indicted joe biden's only surviving son on very serious charges. they have not done anything with joe biden's bidding. if anything, i think a criticism of the doj and merrick garland is that they did not move fast enough to go after donald trump, after his obvious crimes we all saw with our eyes on january 6th. and so the whole deep state thing is ridiculous. there is no evidence behind it. this impeachment inquiry is a total kangaroo court pr stunt. what is different, fundamentally, about an inquiry, then what they have been doing since the minute joe biden got in there? they've been having observed absurd oversight hearings and calling witnesses and bringing people forward for years now. with nothing. they have. nothing they can't even see what this inquiry is about. they don't have high crime or misdemeanors. they're outlining. it's just total buffoonish nonsense. and troy nehls, republican congressman, when asked what he's hoping from gain from the inquiry, his response, all i can say is donald trump 2024, baby. that's all you have to. no that's always. as donald trump 2024. they have no actual substantive evidence. the inquiry is meaningless, it's just a pr stunt to make donald trump happy. >> michael, help us understand the white house strategy. because for quite some time a lot of democratic strategists have said hunter biden just needs to stay quiet and go away. obviously he is the son of president biden, jill biden, he's their son, they love him more than anything. but he needs to get himself out of the public eye. and he was out there making a public statement today. so what is with the strategy? >> well, so many things really fascinated me as we watch this day unfold, starting with what a white house source called the forceful and powerful statement from hunter biden through the debate on the house floor over this impeachment inquiry resolution and ultimately with the statement they read part of from president biden himself tonight, after it was passed, and all of which really speaks to what the white house does and the biden team sees is a political advantage in this case. there was a surprising and strong coordination in terms of talking points of house democrats on the floor as well as what we were hearing from biden's campaign, saying this was an act of political retribution, being directed by donald trump, who simply wanted to see his likely opponent in the general election next year also have an impeachment on under his belt. but i was also struck, stephanie, by the personal personal dynamic to today's events. some of the very white house officials i was hearing from today after hunter biden's statement are ones who are often reluctant to speak about this, in part because of the toll that this is taking on the family, frankly. they did see this is a strong moment for hunter biden. it's especially important in light of the timing, stephanie, because monday is a very solemn anniversary in the biden family. it's the anniversary of 51 years ago of the accident of the claimed the life of president biden's first wife, his daughter, and severely injured beau biden as well as hunter biden -- the president as well. and so seeing this play out and the strong statement statement from hunter biden is an important signal for the president, and something that i think is often lost on the part of republicans. they see this as a -- opportunity. and people -- american -- personal toll that is being played out as well. >> this is a country with countless families that have someone battling addiction. it was somewhat surprising to see hunter biden out there today talking about the life, the troubled life that he has lived. luke, i want you to hear what mike johnson said before he was speaker of the house, back in 2019, when democrats open an impeachment inquiry, of course, into donald trump. watch this. >> the founders of this country warned against a single party impeachment. you know why? you guys know why. because they feared it would bitterly and perhaps irreparably divide our nation. the founding fathers, the founders of this country warned against a single party impeachment. they said that it would be bitterly divisive, perhaps irreparably divisive for the country. the founders of this country warned us against a single party impeachment because they feared it would bitterly and perhaps irreparably divide our nation. >> i'm glad we don't do a shot every time something we hear hypocrisy on the show, because it's crazy. he was clearly on message back then against a single party impeachment. i know, luke, you've been reporting on how much trump is influencing this whole process. is he behind all of it? suddenly speaker johnson is a okay with it? >> while donald trump is wielding tremendous influence over the house republicans. he has encouraged that both publicly and privately to go forward with the impeachment inquiry, both with the personal meetings and personal phone calls, but then also with public statements urging it on. and you are hearing republicans in leadership say as much. they are saying well yes we are now going to have political impeachments, where the bar for impeachment has been lowered so low that it will now be whoever is in office, the other party, in this case the republicans, will attempt to impeach them. in some cases there openly admitting it. in other cases they are still saying that we're just following the facts in the evidence and we are not going to go forward with impeachment if the facts and evidence are there. but it seems very much from the vote today what trump is encouraging in the way speaker johnson has coalesce the republican votes around this, that they are very much moving forward towards impeachment, probably early next year. >> okay, tim, and then you take a leap here. joe biden is not going to be impeached. so what does success for republicans look like? is it just a humiliation game? >> are you sure? i don't know. the republican house could impeach him on a party line -- >> maybe, maybe. >> i guess. for what? i don't know. they would have to come up with something. the three car payments? >> let me correct myself. based on what we have seen, what we have heard thus far, there's nothing that would say, yes, this is an impeachable offense. so assuming we stay on that trajectory, what are republicans -- i mean, kevin mccarthy did not think there was something, that there was any there there. it was a show. >> -- they could just vote to impeach him over nothing because don trump tells them to. that's a live possibility out there. i think a win for them is muddying the waters here. well, donald trump is at trial next year, having kangaroo courts of their own on capitol hill to try to make it seem like it's an even steven thing, to split a screen on the news, is it okay don trump on trial for the coup, here's hunter biden having to testify in front of james comer over his laptop. i could stay could see that is a win. any scene that kind of take away the guardrail the democrats have when it comes to rule of law, when it comes to corruption in the general election next year. that's the point of all this. so maybe they wouldn't see that is a win. >> i want to talk about the former president, because he was in iowa today talking about his federal election case. i want to share a bit of what he had to say. please listen closely. >> now they're saying let's rush it to the supreme court. rush it. rush it. they started just recently with this crap. they started just recently. they could have brought this lawsuit, brenda, three years ago, right after i left. now they're fighting like hell because they want to try to get a guilty plea from the supreme court of united states, which i can't imagine because you have presidential immunity, but strange things happen. >> here's why you can't imagine it. a guilty plea from the supreme court? luke broadwater, what in the world's donald trump even talking about? >> i don't know. that makes no sense legally or factually. obviously the supreme court doesn't accept guilty pleas. he's obviously complaining about the prosecutor's motion to have the supreme court weigh in on whether or not donald trump has immunity. the idea being that he will be clearly ruled to not have immunity from prosecution and so they can advance quickly to trial to try to prosecute his alleged crimes on january six ahead of the election. so he's complaining about that. i think he's projecting that he will lose before the supreme court, based on those comments. >> it's not factual. it's nonsensical. it's ridiculous. mike, you cover this white house. you cover joe biden. if joe biden would have said anything that sounded even remotely like a guilty plea from the supreme court, fox news would have that wall-to-wall on every show yesterday today and tomorrow saying this scene our guy has to be wheeled out the back. yet donald trump doesn't face that kind of criticism. how much does that burn the white house? >> they certainly see a double standard in how both of these men are being treated, but stephanie, also say another point which i think the white house really prides itself on understanding what especially key voting groups and with all respect to you stephanie, and you, luke, and yes, all due respect to tim here tonight, it's not what we are talking about here tonight, it's not talking about cable, news it's core issues, like the economy. there are so many differences between donald trump and joe biden, but one of the big differences over the course of the campaign is donald trump's sees great value in talking about this, he sees great political advantage in talking about how he believes the deep state his political opponents are against him. when we do see president biden out in earnest on the campaign trail, he's not gonna be talking about these things. he's gonna be talking about the dow hitting a new record today. the fact that inflation has begun to ease, the fact that his administration is in his view has done significant amount of work to lower the average cost of things like prescription drugs for the american people. that's one of the fundamental divides it speaks to the who are the target audience for both men. i think we'll see that on display in the next few months as we see the president gear up his own campaign. >> talk about were news of the day, it looks like the fed could cut rates next year. look at the stock market reaction. best day of the year. it could be booyah for bidenomics in 2024. mike memoli luke broadwater, tim miller, thank you all for being there. here. tim, i spared you asking about trump and his -- guilty in the supreme court -- holtz all proceedings until a decision is made on his appeal over. immunity. joyce vance breaks it down for what it all means. and later, abortion is back in front of our nation's highest court for the first time since it overruled roe v. wade. the case that will decide access to a commonly used abortion pill. the 11th hour just getting underway on a really important wednesday night. ian will find the true meaning of the holiday sweater. i will? because he went to michaels and got everything he needed to make a one of a kind crewneck you could never get off the rack. turn ideas into i-did-its. ♪ (holiday music) ♪ >> the federal case against ♪ if there's pain when you try to poo ♪ ♪ and going sometimes feels like you ♪ ♪ pushed through a pineapple or two ♪ ♪ colace is the brand you need ♪ ♪ to soften stools, we're all agreed ♪ ♪ #2 should be easy to do ♪ trust colace to soften stools with no stimulants for comfortable relief. donald trump for interfering with the 2020 election is now officially on pause. we need to find out why. judge tanya chutkan has halted all proceedings in the case until there is a resolution to trump's appeal arguing he had presidential immunity. jack smith is asked jack the supreme court to hear that appeal quickly. that request led to more name-calling, surprise, surprise, the trump's legal team, but it's not the kind of names you would expect in a filing they compare jack smith to the grinch who stole christmas. arguing that signing off on his schedule would make trump's attorneys and support staff work around the clock through the holidays. well, welcome to what it's like for the rest of us. with me tonight to discuss, former u.s. attorney and my dear friend joyce vance, who spent 25 years as a federal prosecutor. joyce, i don't understand this. judge chutkan, why would you put a pause on the proceedings? even if we're waiting for the supreme court, there's a lot that needs to get done. and what is, it may 4th? that's around the corner. >> so there is a lot to get done, and she's going to stick to her trial schedule. but stephanie, the decision she made to stay the case is one that she was forced to make my the law. the reasoning is a little bit down in the legal weeds, but it goes something like this. trump has filed a motion that would dismiss the indictment against him if he is successful, and given that that's the stakes for the appeal, the law says he shouldn't be subjected to any additional burdens of litigation while that appeal is ongoing. so it's a temporary pause. it's a pause so that if he wins on the issue involving immunity, than he hasn't been prejudiced in any way. but here is the spoiler alert. he's immunity issue, his arguments not frivolous but it's also not a winner. i think the courts won't have any trouble dispensing with it. every court that has looked at some aspect of this question of whether his four years in the presidency shielded trump from civil or criminal immunity for his misconduct has found against him, i don't think the supreme court will come out any differently on this one. >> the fact that judge chutkan is following the letter of the law, and it honestly seems like where it's a coin toss she does rule almost in favor of trump throughout this process. is she making it increasingly difficult for him to say she's prejudiced against him and try to repeal? >> she certainly not showing any prejudice against him. and you are right, she is going consistently with the letter of the law. we know from her background that she has, i don't think in an inappropriate way, she has a pro defense bias. that's the part of the law that she came out of. and that does play very well here, because it means that when she issues a ruling like the one she did in the immunity decision that is now on appeal, it's very well reasoned. she considers trump's argument, she considers jack smith's argument, and she rules straight down the line. >> so put aside the grinch argument. is the whole game for trump's lawyers really to just keep trying to delay? because that really is his best defense? >> it absolutely is a delay game. and here is how we now know that and there could no longer be any question, not that there was, but now any possibility of that it's removed. trump has filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him on immunity grounds. and now today we see him in front of the court of appeals saying, but wait a second, don't rule on my motion too fast. no need to expedite it. let's take our time here. and of course in a criminal defendant who was under indictment who has a serious motion to dismiss the charges against him wants to see that motion ruled upon as quickly as possible. yes, this is a delay game, even trump understands that his immunity motion is a loser. >> meanwhile, the supreme court is going to hear a case that could have big implications on this trump trial, but also the prosecution of hundreds of people for their actions on january 6th. can you explain this to us? >> right, so this is the charge the doj has brought against many of the rioters on january 6th, but also jack smith as indicted trump on a couple of counts on this regard. it's this notion that on january 6th there was an obstruction of an official proceeding, the january 6th certification of the electoral college result. the argument goes something like this. the law that doj is using in this regard isn't meant to get protests on an event like electoral college certification. the law was written for very different purposes, and it shouldn't be applied here. it's an issue a first impression for the supreme court, ultimately, to decide. >> joyce, you are so helpful on so many topics. we're not going to let you leave just yet. fortunately for us, joyce is sticking around. coming up -- tennessee's abortion ban. we're bringing on a woman for whom the ban put her life at risk. how is she responding? she's running for office to change that law. -- phillips joins us when the 11th hour continues. ur continues be there for your loved ones. shingles could also lead to serious complications that can last for years. if you're over 50, the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside you. and as you age, your risk of developing shingles increases. don't wait. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles today. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. 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because for many people the first time we heard of this drug was after roe was overturned. we saw some states governors stockpile the drug. >> right, more than 50% of abortions in the united states are medication abortions, and mifepristone is one of two drugs that is essential for that procedure and it had been approved by the fda many years ago, and that initial approval is not in question in the argument that the supreme court will hear. what is in question is the condition under which it can be prescribed. for instance, there's been discussion of whether telemedicine can be used and whether the woman actually has to be present in a doctor's office when it is administered. all conditions that are an effort to make it more difficult to obtain this form of an abortion. so the original case stuff stephanie came out of a one judge division in a federal district court in texas. the litigants manufactured standing a group of doctors who have very tangential connections to the procedure went to one judge who they knew had an anti-abortion agenda. doj is pursuing this appeal, hoping that they can relax these onerous conditions, because when the supreme court reversed roe v. wade in the dobbs case it said the conditions surrounding abortions availability and legality should be up to each state. but instead of having state-by-state procedures here, we have one judge in taxes texas who has in essence rendered medication abortion inaccessible for women across the country, virtually from the point in time when they were no they were pregnant going forward. and that is what the court will have to decide. was serious when it said that this was up to every state or will one judge decide for all of us? >> allie, i see you shaking your head because you know firsthand what happens with these bands. you are forced to leave the state of tallassee and as we get to to get medical care. because the abortion ban in tennessee. is that why you're running? >> it's in part why i'm running. going through that experience was traumatic in itself. but there are many reasons for my decision to run. i have a six-year-old daughter who goes to public schools here in tennessee, and right now our governor, bill lee, is proposing a school voucher program, which is going to take funds away from a our public schools. on top of that my six-year-old is scared when she goes to school because she does these active shooter drills. so there are many things that kind of pileup together. but it truly was not being able to get health care when my life was on the line. that kind of catapulted me into this political world. >> what is it stake here? when you hear about what the supreme court would be ruling on, lots of people who live in states like mine often don't pay attention to the bands because they say it's not gonna happen in my state. but when a supreme court gets involved, should we know? allie? >> when the supreme court gets involved it's a scary situation, because the supreme court is pretty much the sole reason why why we're in the situation where. we -- are in. they overturned roe v. wade, put it back in the hands of the states. like we were just saying, is this going to be a decision that's left to the states, or are we banning a nationwide? so for women in these southern states, a lot of women are terrified to even try to get pregnant, much less go through with the entire pregnancy or feel like they're comfortable or safe enough. doctors can't even say the word abortion without fear of being prosecuted or losing their medical license. it's not normal -- [silence] >> allie, i think we just lost your audio. joyce, some of the largest the loudest antiabortion voices have gone silent since kate cox 's case has gone public. i want to share a bit with. you take a listen. >> i'm not a state official, so i'm not going to comment on what state officials are doing. >> do you have any comment on that? >> just call our press -- >> do you agree with attorney general's actions and what he did? >> just call our press office. >> i -- can answer. is anything like to say right? >> -- >> joyce, this is very telling. john cornyn, ted cruz, these men have not been shy about their views in the past. the fact that two such significant members of the republican party, elected officials, are basically silent on this one situation that is getting huge national attention, what does that tell you? >> this issue is toxic for republicans. stephanie, i remember the night that railways was reversed -- we talked about, it and i think the best image was -- chasing a car and they finally caught it. when they caught the car it did not turn out to be full of the excitement and all of the good things they hope for. instead, it was very toxic, even at the inception and -- the impact of taking roll away but meant that women's lives were at risk and would be put into difficult situations where they couldn't access lifesaving medical care. now we are seeing that come to pass in texas and other places and i think the -- nothing they can say at this point in time and women have become an active political force and we are going to continue that into the coming year and the coming election and the situation with kate cox in texas has only made it worse for republicans because it's made the truth so blatantly clear, that these decisions about abortion in effect deny women medical care when needed to save their lives and their fertility. >> allie, you faced off against antiabortion activists all the time. conservative strategist like kellyanne conway are now telling republicans to embrace contraception as a winning issue. avoid abortion, embrace contraception. what does that even mean? >> nobody really knows at this point. they know that abortion is one of the top concerns and topics for the 2024 election. so they know that if they're not on board with some type of reproductive health care, they're not going to keep their seats. so they are rewording their sentences and how they go about abortion access. former president trump had said something along the lines of how he would be okay with a 15-week ban whereas before he said he would ban it completely from the beginning. so they're going back and forth because they know it's a winning issue and they want to be on the winning side. but we as democrats, we are seeing past it. we know they are completely full of it. we need voters to understand who they're voting for and make sure they do their research and not just listen to what is being said now but what was said before. >> word smith-ing your way to a win. that's not policy. allie phillips, joyce vance, thank you so much for being here with this really important issue. that people need to pay attention to. when we come back, no proof, no problem. despite having no evidence of wrongdoing, or house republicans voted to move forward with the biden impeachment inquiry. but could that come back to bite them later? 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>> well, we will have two -- that will be part of the investigation. >> and that is where we are when it comes to house republicans pushing an impeachment inquiry into president biden. some have openly admitted they have no evidence, but they support the inquiry so they can find some. here to discuss, ron filipkowski, his first visit to the 11th hour. he's a -- midas touch editor in chief and former federal prosecutor. and if you don't, he is a must follow on the twitter machine. if you're still going to be on twitter, that's gotta follow. juanita tolliver is here, msnbc political analyst and host of crooked medias what a day podcast. ron, i don't even understand what your day comprises of because you are an animal, following republicans, everything they say, everything they do. you are like a fact checking beast. >> [laughter] >> you actually posted that nancy mace clip on twitter today, that's how i saw it. she's saying, well, we haven't seen anything yet. but that's what we're going to find out. yet tonight, after the vote, gop leadership released a statement that read that evidentiary record is impossible to ignore. what are they even talking about? >> [laughter] well, you are right. i've been pretty heavily immersed in the right-wing ecosystem. and part of that has been watching rudy giuliani's podcast for several years. >> god bless you. >> oh, god. [laughter] >> so i'm pretty familiar with all of them, all the hunter biden laptop stuff, because i've been watching rudy presented for a few years now on his podcast. the problem is is what they're missing and what they promised, what james comer promised over and over again in interviews in 2022 is that he had five to $10 million in bribes from foreign governments paid directly to joe biden. and they've never been able to come up with that. and they've never been able to show that connection. the only thing he's been able to come up with so far is, you know, a couple -- a 40,000-dollar check and then some car payment checks. and that's about it. and the other problem is, what was just alluded to right there, they cannot ever show any policy, anything that joe biden actually did that benefited a hunter or any of his business partners. >> juanita, every house republican is now on the record voting for an impeachment inquiry in to president biden. it's kind of what kevin mccarthy was shielding them from. because now they got to go back home, right, especially those who are in districts where joe biden won. how is that going to play for them? >> it's not going to land, stephanie. like, this entire pr stunt is chatham for the gop voter base, it's chum for trump and the supporters he holds in his hands. the republicans don't want to lose. but the reality is when you are running in a district that biden won in 2020 by a wide margin, this is not the move. this is not something that you can sell at home. and i hope that in 2024 in the lead up to the election, we just continuously see democrats running back this footage of the reality that republicans don't have anything to go home to celebrate, don't have anything to go home and show their supporters. because this vote was happening, all my mind kept going to is, like, oh, they absolutely not only have no regard for facts or the truth or evidence, but they have no desire to govern. they have no desire to deliver anything for voters, whether that's lowering prices, whether that's figuring out how to fund the government, or providing aid to ukraine, or what about a gun violence prevention bill and assault weapons bans, steph? there's so many things that the american public wants that republicans have no desire to pick up and do. and i appreciate the democrats are already hitting the drum on this dysfunctional republicans narrative, because that is the message that needs to transcend to voters, no matter where they are. because what comes with republicans is more makeup platforms and pr stunts and nothing of substance. >> well, the american people want and deserve the truth. so we've got to help get it to them. >> new topic, i want to share a bit about ron desantis said last night at a cnn town hall. >> what biden wants to do with the green new deal, what they're doing in california, they want to increase demand for electrical, like by forcing electric vehicles, which i oppose. but at the same time, their knee capping reliable energy, oil, gas, and the like. >> for facts sake, president biden is in a way kneecap-ing reliable energy. in fact, u.s. oil production has hit record levels recently. so ron, how do democrats make sure voters are hearing the truth about these false claims that republicans are making? >> they repeat these things over and over again. i mean, we saw it with the gas stoves. >> oh, god. >> any sort of energy initiative -- we've seen it with evs. donald trump talks all the time, he said that the democrats want to take away your cars. they want to shut down all the auto plants. they want to send all the ev jobs over to china. he says that stuff all the time. so anytime they are talking about innovation, being more efficient, coming up with more efficient products, they are scaring people. they are making people think we are going to take away what you have now. and so, i think the important thing is when they start to demagogue, you've got to get out there you've got to get the facts and say no, these things are mandates, nothing is being taken away. a lot of these things are advisory guidelines that are being put out. that's all they are. but they are fearmongering with them. >> juanita, let's talk about the economy, because republicans really pray upon the fact that people don't feel good about it, life is expensive. but that storyline is running out for them. today, the fed announced they are holding rates steady. they can cut them three times next year, which will be a huge win for bidenomics. and the dow was pushed to an all-time high. how are republicans going to play this if the economy keeps moving in a better and better way, which all signs point to the fact that it could be. >> i mean, stephanie, i don't think the republicans have any qualms about continuing to lie to the american people, right? [laughter] i feel like that's going to be the move they make. but let's be real, with these numbers, with this data that's coming out, with the projections by the fed, that is the economic rebuttal that the biden administration has been looking for for the past two years, right. it's about creating the conditions that people can feel that impact in their pockets. and we know that all the legislation and all the investment that have come from the biden administration and democrats in congress have been laying the groundwork for that. so for it to come to fruition now in a tangible way that impacts how people are looking at their bank accounts and what they're spending and what they're feeling, that is a massive thing for the biden campaign. and you better believe that democrats are going to tout that every single day, because that's something that's going to stick with the voters as they prepare to head to the polls in 2024. how are they feeling? it answers the question of what have you done for me lately or how you improve my life in a major way. so i don't think that this announcement for this projection from the fed could've come at a better time. it just about what people can feel next year. >> a nice 401(k) christmas present when people look at today. ron, thank you for joining us for the very first time. i hope you come back soon. and juanita, always great to see you, and i love the christmas tree. coming up, he turned his dramatic deadpan into comedic gold. we are going to remember the extraordinary life and legacy of a very special actor when we come back. 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