Just Vice President , and shes also just a total disaster. Shes this craven and calculating political animal, but she spends all her time having to put out fires of her own making, fires of her staffs own making. Shes just a disaster. And one of the sort of signature production things in the show, one of the things that the show does to great effect is that they use every last second of the show, during the end credits of each episode, the image on the right side of the Screen Squishes down a little bit, and they highlight in this while the credits are rolling, they highlight these campaign screwups and their various pr disasters. The end credits are like the best thing in the show. It the end credits in one show might be her ranting to her staff after a puff piece Television Interview turned out to be substantive or her awkwardly trying to connect with High School Students who are visiting the Vice President s office. If you have seen the show, you know about this excellent trickn basically that they do at the end. Heres kind of a perfect example of a veep end credit. This is her greeting people at a party at the Vice President s official residence. Es so you want to mingle . Yeah. Lets go mingle the [ bleep ]. Earnest, life boat association. Got a glass eye. I am so happy youre here. Disabled sports of america. Just had triplets. Triplets, wow, that must have hurt. Unless you had a csection. A triathlete. No hes not. Hello. N liam miller, nasa. Thats an acronym for , national aeronautics. Cr stop it. On the reverend terence clark, church of the living christ. Hes a baker. Christ is risen. Crist is risen. Hes a triathlete. Se no, hes not. Selina meyer, absolutely Iconic American Television figure from the great show veep. Now, this is a person who is not a tv character. His name is hovde. Eric hovde. Hes an actual person running for an actual United States senate seat in wisconsin. Hes trying to unseat democratic u. S. Senator Tammy Baldwin in wisconsin. And in wisconsin politics circles, right now, eric hovdes recent attempt to say the pledge of allegiance really t emphatically to make a big show out of really emphatically and like confrontationally saying the pledge of allegiance has been set to the Closing Creditsy of veep because once you see it, its impossible to not thina of it that way. Watch him try to make it through the pledge here. Im proud to be an american. I love my country. O so lets say the pledge of allegiance together. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States states of america. And to the republic for which it stands, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Amen. God bless america. Go slinger speedway. Thanks, eric. Were all so blessed to be part of the greatest country in the history of mankind, america. Is he waiting until the end of the Marching Band . The part he also belatedly realized was to put his hand on his heart. The Republican Party really desperately wants to take that senate seat in wisconsin. Again, that is the seat currently held by democratic senator Tammy Baldwin. They want that seat. They really want to unseat her. The problem is they have chosen this man as their candidate to try to do it. And he has succeeded in making National Headlines as the Republican Senate candidate forl wisconsin. Thats not necessarily an easy thing to do, but again, the problem is that hes made those headlines for things like this. Well, if youre in a nursing home, you only have five, six months life expectancy. Almost nobody in a nursing home is at a point to vote. Now, i am no political expert, but even someone who has never heard of the United States senate before could probably suss out that thats probably not a great political strategy. Yeah, old people shouldnt vote. Old people in Nursing Homes, they shouldnt be allowed most nursing home residents not at a point to vote. After that made headlines across wisconsin and indeed across the country, mr. Hovde tried to make this all go away as a news story but he did it again as if this was an episode of veep. Quote, in recent days, mr. Hovde has tried to clarify his comments. This week, he reiterated his belief that, quote, a large percentage of nursing home uo residents, quote, are not in the mental capacity to vote. And thats cleaning it up. Now, when i said old people in d Nursing Homes shouldnt be allowed to vote, everybody made that sound so bad. Led me clarify. O what i meant is a large percentage of old people in Nursing Homes shouldnt be allowed to vote. Because they dont have the e. Mental capacity for it. There, is that better . Now, i should mention, that description of the worlds most inept effort to clean up a political disaster, that account of that that i quoted from is me quoting from a national story, a New York Times story where i think the headline helps understand mr. Hovdes situatio. Even better because the headline on that story is this. Quote, lawsuit puts fresh focus on eric hovdes comments about t older voters. S what is this lawsuit, you say . Oh, turns out at the same time hes been questioning the menta capacity of nursing home residents to vote, he is also the head of a bank that is a codefendant in a california lawsuit that accuses a Senior Living facility of elder abuse,a negligence, and wrongful death. He is a codefendant in that lawsuit. His bank is a codefendant because it turns out eric hovde in addition to running for senate in wisconsin, he runs a r bank that owns a nursing home that in california has given rise to a fairly gruesome elder abuse and wrongful death lawsuit. At which point youre thinking, wow, that puts a way worse, Wayy Darker Spin on his already inexplicable repeated comments about how we shouldnt allow people in Nursing Homes to vote, because how dare they even try. But youre also thinking, wait, why did you say california . I thought he was running for y senate in wisconsin. Yes, yes, this is another problem that the local news in wisconsin has been trying to tell people about this guy from the very beginning. Back in may 2023, quote, Eric Ni Hovde may run for senate in wisconsin but hes living large in laguna beach, california. T he lives in california. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel basically running the red flag all the way up the flag pole for the Republican Party about this guy before they picked him. I mean, and the detail on it just makes it worse. E hey, look, eric hovde was named by the Orange CountyBusiness Journal as one of its 500 most influential people in Orange County in 2020. In Orange County, california. Where he lives in laguna beach, which is 2,000 miles away from wisconsin. He does run a bank. It is a utah based bank. He runs it from where he lives in laguna beach, california. Where indeed his bank is named , codefendant in a nursing home elder abuse lawsuit and he is running for senate in wisconsin where 18 of the population is over the age of 65. Hes running there by saying repeatedly that people in Nursing Homes shouldnt be allowed to vote because, hey, not like they have it together. V at most, they have six months to live. Why should they be voting . Amen, go slinger speedway. Okay, eric. Ng and i should underscore here how badly the Republican Party wants to win this senate seat away from democratic senator Tammy Baldwin. They really want to win this seat. But inexplicably, this is the guy they picked. And its not just wisconsin. This is a live dynamic right now in the Republican Party in way more places than you would think. Here for example is the a. P. Headline on The Republicans u. S. Senate candidate in pennsylvania. David mccormick is gearing up for a senate run in pennsylvania. But he lives in connecticut. That seems bad. I mean, if you think about a Pennsylvania Senate race, youll recall it wasnt that long ago that republicans lost a shot at a winnable u. S. Senate seat,. S last time around, last election cycle when they ran republican u candidate mehmet oz. T right . Hm Republicans Ran mehmet oz, dr. Oz for that seat in Ra Pennsylvania and democrats needled him relentlessly about a the fact he kind of lived in ne jersey. So whats he doing running in pennsylvania. Ia this time, theyre running a guy who lives in connecticut. He to try to maybe head off the same thing happening again, likb what happened with dr. Mehmet ap oz, they have developed a back story for their candidate this time around who lives in ei connecticut. They have decided hes going to describe himself as someone who started with nothing, who grew up on a family farm in pennsylvania. Ia did he start with nothing . Did he grow up on a family farm in pennsylvania . What do you think . Quote, mr. Mccormick has explicitly said that he grew upr on a farm. He claimed that he had, quote, started with nothing and that he, quote, didnt have anything. He and his campaign have recently described his parents as school teachers. In fact, mr. Mccormick is the son of a well regarded College President who later became re chancellor of Higher Education systems in pennsylvania and in minnesota. David mccormick largely grew up at what is now Bloomsburg University in the president s sprawling hilltop residence which students called the president s mansion. Or he started with nothing, grew up on a family farm. So in wisconsin, republicans are running a selina meyer understudy who is from california whose bank is being sued for elder abuse and says dont let people in Nursing Homes vote. Pe in pennsylvania, republicans are running a guy who lives in connecticut who grew up in a wh literal president s mansion andd said it was a family farm where he was so poor. But wait, theres more. In montana, republicans really, really want to take the u. S. Senate seat there that is currently held by Popular Democratic senator jon tester. One of the things that makes jon tester really popular in a largely rural state like montano is that senator tester is for st real a real farmer, drives the tractor and everything. Republicans have decided to run someone against senator jon tester in montana who is a person from minnesota. Who grew up in the suburbs of st. Paul. Since he has been running against jon tester, though, hes made a big deal of saying that he grew up near farmland. Turns out there was maybe farmland near the Multimillion H Dollar Lake House he grew up in in suburban st. Paul. Thats pretty much just like being a farmer. This follows another quite unusual controversy for this montana Senate Candidate in which he either dropped a loaded gun in a parking lot at Glacier National park and the gun went i off when it hit the ground and he shot himself in the arm, hoar he didnt really shoot himself in the arm by dropping a gun in the parking lot at Glacier National park, but he t nevertheless went to the hospital anyway and while he did tell a u. S. Park ranger that he dropped a gun in that parking lot and shot himself that day, he was actually lying about that to the ranger because really he was trying to conceal the secret truth that he had an unreported war wound that he didnt want anybody to know about. But whatever happened it was definitely near farmland. There was very near, you could smell it nearby in the vicinity. Can i tell you, theres another one. Michigan, Michigan Republicans are thrilled that democratic t u. S. Senator Debbie Stabenow isd retiring in that state. They would love to take that senate seat in michigan. And so cue the headlines out of michigan. Quote, Michigan Republican candidate caught living in florida. This is about republican michigan Senate Candidate mike rogers. His name is mike rogers. This confluence of where he lives and his name led the michigan advance to build the perfect headline for this storyv which is, quote, where is mr. Rogers neighborhood . Mike rogers, again, wants to be the senator from michigan, but he does appear to be registered to vote in florida at his very nice house in cape coral, florida. Where he is registered with the Republican Party of florida, Re Voter Status active. Where is mr. Rogers neighborhood indeed. And in arizona, the senate seat there is another one that republicans would absolutely love to pick up with Kyrsten Sinema retiring. P The RepublicansSenate Candidate in arizona, kari lake, she does appear to live in arizona, which is a big plus for this crop of Republican Senate candidates. Kind of a notable distinction, but in the case of arizona, you need more than that because this, for example, is the new ad that the Democratic SenateCampaign Committee just put out on kari lake as a Senate Candidate in arizona. And the issue of Abortion Righta in that state. Im incredibly thrilled that were going to have a great law thats already on the books. I believe its arf133603. It will prohibit abortion in arizona, paving the way and It Setting Course for other states to follow. This law passed the Arizona Supreme Court said this is the law of arizona, but unfortunately, the people running our state have said were not going to enforce it, so its really political theater. P we dont have that law as much as many of us wish we did. Shes not enforcing the law. We dont have that. The only people who can enforce that law are sheriffs. And we need to start asking the sheriffs. S i havent changed, actually, no. Kari lake is the Republican Partys best idea of who they should run for the United Statee senate seat that they really want to take this year in arizona. Hi but i mean, clock the context, the specifics that she was offering there in that clip. She wants individual sheriffs in arizona to start enforcing the n states 1864 abortion ban. Sheriffs and Sheriff Deputies get out there, get to it. Get out on the streets. Find out whos pregnant. S we want the sheriffs enforcing this. Watch when you cross county lines. Theres a lot going on in the Republican Party right now. And i know that the partys president ial nominee, their mosa recent former president , donald trump, i know he sucks up all the oxygen in the room and for obvious reason he gets all the coverage, all the commentary, but note what is going on in the Republican Party in the trump era apart from him. I mean, just look at arizona for a second. Arizona, theyre not only T Running Kari Lake for senate. This weekend, Arizona Republicans just chose their states representatives to the national Republican Party. You know how its called the li rnc, the Republican National t committee. It is actually a committee. Every state sends two people to be part of the committee that se makes up the rnc, that makes up the national Republican Party. Every state gets two choices. On this weekend, Arizona Republicans picked their two choices. They decided their two choices would be this person, who was literally expelled from the State Legislature recently after only being there for about three months. Heres how that was described in the Arizona Republic. Quote, she was expelled from the republican controlled house just three months into her term. This after she staged an all day live streamed legislative hearing at which her witnesses talked about the many ways in which our elections were supposedly stolen. R the highlight was a scottsdale insurance salesman Making Preponderance free accusations they all accepted bribes from the sinaloa drug cartel. The House Ethics Committee unanimously concluded the statei legislator not only knew what that Insurance Agent was likely to say during that hearing but that the legislature actually took steps to hide the details from house leadership. Then she lied about it to the ea ethics panel. D now shes a top ranking official in the Republican Party. Just one of arizonas two ubiz representatives to the Republican National committee chosen this weekend by the arizona Republican Party. But remember, they get to pick two. The second representative they chose to represent their state at the rnc is this person, who was a very special variety of Arizona Republican state senator. Heres how Laurie Roberts at the Arizona Republic describes him today. Quote, meet jake hoffman, arizonas new Republican NationalCommittee Man. This Queen Creek Republican Burst Into Public View in 2020 when he ran an Internet Troll n farm paying teenagers to post conservative Talking Points and baseless Conspiracy Theories on social media aimed at getting then President Donald Trump reelected. The Washington Post in September 2020 exposed hoffman0 rally forge, a Digital Marketing firm where his job was to pay teenagers, some of them minors, to set up fake personas and E Blanket Social Media with thousands of nearly identical posts aimed at undermining d confidence in the validity of the election and downplaying the impact of covid19. In other words, jake hoffman ds wanted to fool you into thinking these were real people spontaneously expressing deeply held conservative beliefs instead of what they were, a group of kids he was paying to deceive you. The post cast doubt on the integrity of mailin ballots and saying joe biden is being controlled by Behind The Scenes individuals who want to take america down the dangerous path toward socialism. Quote, its the kind of thing you might expect to come out of russia. Instead, it came out of phoenix. Or more specifically, jake hoffmans secret cell of paid teenage trolls. That troll farm in phoenix was l exposed in september of 2020. The same gentleman went on in December Of 2020 to be one of the fake electors from arizona for trump. He in fact is one of the fake electors who was just criminally indicted in arizona for his alleged role in the scheme. He was indicted last week, and named Republican NationalCommittee Man for the state of arizona just days later. Not like they didnt know he had been indicted. They knew he was indicted and then they picked him afterwards. There are at least 53 people who have now been criminally charged with participating in the effort to keep trump in power after he lost reelection in 2020. Ti and im not talking about the people who physically attacked congress to try to intimidate and physically stop congress tr from certifying the vote count on january 6th. You can hive all of those hundreds of people off. There are still at least 53 Republican Party officials and lawyers and activists who are facing Felony Criminal counts other than donald trump himself. And this is sort of this is me making my case to you. I think it is an underappreciated part of the politics of the Republican Party in the trump era. I think it is an underappreciated part of s politics in our country right now as trump is trying to return to the presidency again. That not only is he in the dock facing Felony Criminal charges as he tries to return to the white house. S but also in the dock are the chair or former chair of the state republican parties in r arizona, and michigan, and georgia, and nevada, and serving republican Elected Officials int all of those states, and theyre all swing states. Trump adviser Peter Navarro is in jail right now. T today, the u. S. Supreme court again rejected another request from him to get out of prison. Hes currently serving time in prison for refusing to testify about his role in trumps efforts to overthrow the government. Ve trump attorney jeff clark learned today in his disbarmentj proceedings in california, the Disciplinary Council for the Bar Association is arguing to the is court there is no sanction other than disbarment that is suitable for jeff clark given what he did. Quote, it would be inconsistent with our duty to the disciplinary system and to the profession to even suggest that a sanction other than disbarment should be contemplated. By attempting to violate the rules of professional conduct, jeffrey clark, quote, betrayed those oaths and in doing so his country. Lawyers who betray their country must be disbarred. And i know that the former president himself, former president and republican president ial nominee, i know him being on trial for multiple felonies is an amazing and unprecedented and frankly astonishing spectacle. But stick a pin in that idea of astonishing. Because the crime he is alleged to have quarterbacked, to try to keep himself in power despite losing reelection, that crime is now a sprawling nationwide scandal that has resulted in dozens of republican officials, in almost all of the swing states, being criminally charged and in all of the prominent lawyers involved in that effort, either being criminally charged or having their law licenses put at risk or both. Yes, trump himself will be back in court tomorrow, and theres stuff to know about that. Or were going to get to that no tonight. G but no matter what happens to him and his own felony cases and in his own political trajectory, do not lose sight of what is happening to the Republican Party while they have been drafting off him in the lead. Because it is an astonishing story on its own. And if all that is not enough, i might have Something Else that tops all of it. Even if mr. Veep back there flubbing the pledge of allegiance at the top of his lungs in wisconsin, i might hav something that tops even that. Co and that story we have for you next. Stay with us. Ahhh with flonase, allergies dont have to be scary. Spraying Flonase Daily gives you long lasting nondrowsy relief. Flonase all good. Also, try our Allergy Headache and nighttime pills. So the governor of the great State Of Washington is jay inslee. A democrat, hes currently serving his third term as washington governor. The people of the state have elected him governor three times. Each time by a wider margin than the last time. In 2020, jay inslee walloped his republican challenger by more than 13 points. But even though he might very well have been able to win a fourth term as governor, jay inslee decided it was time to step aside. Hes not running again, which means this years race for governor of Washington State, its wide open. It may be The Republicans best shot in years to win that office. And so Washington State republicans have just gathered for their state Party Convention to endorse their candidates for state office including governor. How did that go . Disorder and disarray. Thats why gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert says he no longer wants an endorsement from the gop. We will not be endorsing a governor at this convention. As you can hear, boos rang out at the Gop Convention after the partys vice chair announced they will not be endorsing a candidate for governor. Went that well, huh . This being a Republican State Convention in the age of republican politics under donald trump, the event of course ended up driven by infighting and factional disputes and dysfunction. Delegates ultimately didnt decide to endorse the trumpiest sort of most extreme candidate, but the other candidate says hell still run in the summers republican primary. All of that chaos was what got all the headlines last weekend. Then once all the gubernatorial nominee hub bub died down, something slightly nuttier than that happened. The assembled delegates decided they would craft their Party Platform for this year after dealing with the gubernatorial nomination. They decided they would add something new to their platform. They decided that as the Washington StateRepublican Party, they would this year take a stand against democracy. And i do not mean this as a metaphor. Im not performing political analysis. Im literally describing what they literally did. We do not want to be a democracy. Originally congressmen were elected by a direct democracy. Senators were elected by their State Legislatures, and president s are elected by the electoral college. We are devolving into a democracy because now congressmen and senators are elected by the same pool. A direct democracy, and with the National Popular vote coming, were going to be electing our president by a direct democracy too. Bad idea. Bad idea. We are devolving into a democracy we do not want to be a democracy. Okay. As danny at the Seattle Times reported, delegates of the Washington StateRepublican Convention then stood up one by one to argue that the u. S. Should repeal the 17th Amendment which allows us to vote for our United States senators, after that resolution passed, they went bigger. They voted to put this language into their platform, quote, we encourage republicans to substitute the words republic and republicanism where previously they have used the word democracy. Every time the word democracy is used favorably, it serves to promote the principles of the democratic party, the principles of which we ardently oppose. Quote, we oppose legislation which makes our nation more democratic in nature. We oppose legislation which makes our nation more democratic in nature. So say Washington State republicans. Officially in writing in their Party Platform. Whats going on here . Joining us now is jerry cornfield, a politics reporter with the Washington State standard. He was at the Republican Convention in spokane. I appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Looking in from the outside, from a national perspective, im describing what jumped out at me from the coverage of the convention. I know you have been covering politics in your state for a long time. You were there in person. What struck you . What do you think is most important about what happened there . Well, i think what happened there was through the platform, we know platforms wont elect the next governor, or any of the statewide officials, but it did say that republicans seem to be a Little Out Of Touch with the electorate in this state. Maybe thats an understatement. Theres no republicans in statewide office. There hasnt been a republican governor since mt. St. Helen blew in the 80s and this go around, they decided not to endorse a sitting republican because he voted to impeach the former president. I think the resolution reflected the passions of those on the floor, not sure it represented the passions or even the thoughts of most washingtonians, even most in the Republican Party. I was going to ask you the difference about who is in the room, an activist in the washington Republican Party right now and the sort of median Republican Party voter in washington. Whats the makeup of the delegates . What was the atmosphere like at the convention and how many folks is this that are making these decisions . Well, theres 1800 people were there, and easily twothirds were align themselves with We The People or America First. You didnt hear donald trump mentioned a lot. You heard America First mentioned a bit. And so, i mean, with 70 of them endorsed the candidate that you mentioned before, the conservative candidate, they didnt endorse the former congressman, Dave Reichert, a former sheriff. So i mean, they represent the grassroots in washington, but the question is will they be there if their candidates dont win in the primary in august. I think thats really the big question for republicans in Washington State. Democrats are on the verge, theyre confident they can get to a super majority and control in the house and the senate and the State Legislature. And so they start writing and talking about these things in their platform, it just is going to scare off voters and in the middle, the independents who might like some of their ideas, theyre going to wonder if they elect people, if theyre going to carry out any part of that platform. Taking an overt antidemocracy stance kind of with an Exclamation Point is among other things going to get you National Headlines. Interesting, they had one line left in that resolution which says they oppose all efforts to use American Military might to spread democracy around the world, which you know, were hearing that folks dont want americas military to be the Police Person of the world. And so its interesting they would put that in the same resolution. America first indeed. Jerry cornfield of the Washington State standard, i really appreciate you being here. Thank you. Thank you. All right, we have much more to come. Stay with us. Business. Its not a ninetofive proposition. Its all day and into the night. Its all the things that keep this world turning. The gotos that keep us going. The places we cheer. And check in. They all choose the advanced Network Solutions and round the Clock Partnership from Comcast Business. See why Comcast Business powers more Small Businesses than anyone else. Get started for 49. 99 a month plus ask how to get up to an 800 prepaid card. Dont wait call today. So january 22, theres speculation he is facing criminal charges so he says in january 22, quote, i hope were going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had. Then a few months later, that fall, he said if he was indicted, the United States would face, quote, problems the likes of which perhaps we have never seen. Then, march 2023, hes indeed preparing to be indicted in new york and he sounds the clarion call. This is it. All capital letters. Quote, protest, take our nation back. Its time. We just cant allow this anymore. We must save america. Protest, protest, protest. Says it three times with three Exclamation Points. When trump was indeed then indicted when he was indeed then arraigned these were all the people who came out to protest, protest, protest in favor of him. This was the biggest crowd hes had from any of these things. This was it, probably not enough to take the country back, certainly not with three Exclamation Points. But that was the biggest he ever got. Two months later another indictment. This time in the classified documents case in florida. Again, he demanded that his supporters rally for him in person. Quote, all caps, see you in miami on tuesday. Local Law Enforcement prepared for crowds of up to 50,000 people after he said that. The actual crowd was closer to 500 people. Not 50,000 people. Then last week, ahead of Opening Statements in his new york Criminal Trial, trump tried cranking the handle again. 72 hours until all hell breaks loose. If we fail to have a massive out pouring of peaceful patriotic support right here, all hell will break loose. All hell did not break loose. It was Rudy Giulianis adult son and a smattering of other people, and that was it. Trump has actually tried claiming that big throngs of people have been showing up to protest and show their support for him in new york, or at least that people have showed up trying to protest, but he says police have been keeping them away. He tried claiming on social media the area outside the court was completely closed down. He said, quote, thousands of people were turned away from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan by Steel Stanchions and police. And again, its not true. People are not police are not turning people away. There are no Steel Stanchions blocking his supporters from turning up and Walking Around them. You can walk right up there. But by thursday, the third day of testimony in the trial this past week, it was just this one dude named gary. That was kind of it. And so because hes not just been predicting protests on his behalf, he has been commanding his followers to protest for him, it is a little humiliating for trump that this is happening. That he cant seem to summon a crowd. Its also just an Interesting Data point as to whether or not trump can command an angry mob at this point in his political trajectory or are those days behind him . Think the other way that this functions though is that an important reminder that hes not getting what he wants in terms of daily stimulation. Hes not getting crowds of people lining the streets or standing outside the Courtroom Chanting for him. Nobody is out there for him. The courtroom where his trial is taking place is old and dingy. It kind of smells weird. So starting tomorrow, hes heading into another week of long detailed testimony. We can expect hell be disappointed, angry, and perhaps delusional about the reasons there are not people outside protesting for him. Inside the trial, if past is prologue, hes likely to be bored and unhappy while not receiving the response and adoration he expects. Maggie haberman at the New York Times puts it this way. Quote, it is hard to recall any other time trump has been forced to be bored for so long. Quote, the shared sense among many of his advisers is that the process may damage him as much as a guilty verdict. The process they believe is its own punishment. If the process is the punishment here, what should we expect from what the next few days are likely to be like, with likely no more protesters and testimony we can sort of see coming around the corner that seems like it might be more boring than anything thats yet happened. How much worse is this about to get for him . And can he pull the rip cord to get out of it . Thats next. man mm, hey, honey. Looks like my todo list grew. Paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance, hm. I have a few minutes. I can do that now. Oh, that fast . Remember that Colonial Penn ad . I called and i got information. They sent the simple form i need to apply. All i do is fill it out and send it back. Well, that sounds too easy man give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. They dont ask about your health . man no health questions. Physical exam . Dont need one. Its Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. If youre between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if youre not in the best health. Options start at 9. 95 a month, 35 cents a day. Once insured, your rate will never increase. A Lifetime Rate Lock guarantees it. Keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. As long as you pay your premiums, its yours to keep. Call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. Theres no obligation, and youll receive a free Beneficiary Planner just for calling. The Criminal Trial of republican president ial presumptive nominee donald trump resumes tomorrow. Court should start at 9 30 eastern sharp. The former president will once again be forced to sit in silence in a most unglamorous old courtroom trying to stay focused and engaged for a whole days proceedings. Just to have to do it again and again and again and again and again in coming weeks. And i have to tell you, i have kind of a wild take on this. And it is this. If i were trump, i would plead guilty. I would try to plead it on down to a single count if i could. Pay the fines, take the business punishment or whatever, do the five minutes of jail time, call yourself a martyr for it, raise a lot of money. Youll have Secret Service in there, youll be fine. If you did that, you could make this thing come to an end. You could shorten this process. You could get out of that courtroom and get back on the campaign trail. You could avoid the punishment of having to show up for court every day. This is likely the only one of his trials happening before election day. If he gets sxout campaigns and runs the campaign he wants to, hell be president in november. Hell be president elect as of november and then all the trials will go away anyway. I know its a wild take, but if he doesnt pull that rip cord, if he doesnt change his plea to guilty, if he sticks it out in trial, this is going to be another six weeks more. How much worse is this going to get for him . Joining us now is msnbc Legal Correspondent lisa reuben. Shes been following every step of the trial from inside the courtroom. Great to see you. Thanks for having me. I know we disagree on this and you understand these things more than me. Tell me why trump should not plead guilty or why hes unlikely to plead guilty . Part of that is it necessitate the parts of the prosecutors and their permission. I dont see the d. Aflts Office Allowing Trump to plead down from 34 Felony Counts to one. If he were to plead guilty, judge merchan would want to sentence him immediately. I would not see a situation where he would agree to delay the sentencing and trump would want that to happen because thee are felonies that are punishable not just by a few months but from two to four years in jail for each count. So if he even if he is found guilty in this trial, he can still count on the likelihood that his sentencing could be delayed until after the election, and presumably obviated once hes elected if he does in fact succeed in his reelection effort. If he sticks with the trial, the prospect he can appeal his sentence would allow him theoretically to be able to stay that verdict and stay the sentencing through the duration of his appeal. If he pleads guilty on the other hand he loses control of that timing. Lisa, in terms of the process being the punishment for him, we have both been in court. We have seen the way hes reacting physically to the strains of these long days in court. What are you expecting, what are you going to be watching for in terms of what its like in the courtroom for this next week, say the next week or two . What kind of testimony are we going to be looking forward to . Is this going to be something thats even more egregiously tiring for him . I think it could be because if past is prologue, rachel, the last two witnesses we have seen post david pecker were primarily there to help admit documents for the prosecution. It is not the most scintillating testimony to listen to, to say it mildly. And that means for former president trump, the ability to stay awake and engaged may be even more challenged than its been. Its one thing to remain at attention when everybody is talking about you and about Salacious Gossipy Pulpy details like david pecker had to offer. Its another thing when somebody is going through the minutia of bank records. So if we continue to see testimony primarily with the goal of admitting documents the prosecutors need to connect the dots, count on donald trump to have a hard time staying engaged and to return to that big stack of papers hes been carrying with him, which i think are mostly cherry picked articles that say good things about him to hold his attention. A little stack of dopamine for him. Lisa rubin, i know youll be back in the courtroom tomorrow. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Well be right back. Stay with us. R having me. Well be right back stay with us good to go off the grid. Good to go nonstop. With cabenuva, theres no pausing for daily hiv pills. For adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, longacting Hiv Treatment you can get every other month. Its two injections from a healthcare provider. Just 6 times a year. Dont receive cabenuva if youre allergic to its ingredients or if youre taking certain medicines which may interact with cabenuva. 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Very excited about that. Its going to stream on peacock as well. Also, if you do want to see me live this weekend there are a few tickets left for an event im doing for my book prequel this Saturday Night in kingston, new york. All the tickets online msnbc. Com prequel. A few tickets left for saturday may 4th. Way too early with Jonathan Lemire is up next. Protests on the campus of Columbia University escalate overnight now with