Transcripts For MSNBC Alex Wagner Tonight 20240913

Wednesday night. Alex Wagner Tonight begins theres no Play Book how to react on stage when the person to your right is talking about the consumption of cats and dogs and Gender Reassignment Surgery on illegal immigrants in prison. I dont know how i would react. Lets hope that doesnt happen again. Pp yeah, me too. Thank you, my friend. Last Nights Debate was full of important and defining moments. Almost every second of that debate showed an unbelievable contrast between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. E so much so choosing just one moment to focus on is almost impossible. But if you hadal to pick one moment to show an undecided voter it might be it might be this i question to Donald Trumpn Thep issue of Health Care nine years after you first started running, do you have a plan, and can you tell us what it is . Obamacare was lousy Health Care. Always was. Its not very good today. So just Yes Or No, you still do not have a plan . I have concepts of a plan. Concepts of a plan. Its kind of like when you ask a high School Student if they started their Book Report T and they tell you, they have an idea how theyre going to write it. A difference between a high en Schooler And Donald trump is, of course, Donald Trump has beenp attacking the affordable Care Act for nearly a decade now, but he still has no idea what he wants to o replace it with, a decade later. That alone is really something especially when you consider the Double Standard that has existed and still exists for these two candidates heading into last Nights Debate. For weeks these have been the headlines Written Aboutth Vice President harris. Harris campaign heavy on buzz, light on policy. Kamala harris has good vibes, time for some good policies. Kamala Harris Campaign is light on policy, but thats helped her transform the race. Now, the reality is that since she entered the race, i dont know, about five minutes ago Kamala Harris has laid out a series of Policy Proposals in speeches and on her website. Economic policies on Housing And Price gouging, Health Care policies onea restoring Reproductivest Freedom and lowering drug prices. Family policies on affordable child care. So if that is the definition of light on policy, then the Trump Campaign is i dont know, what is less than zero . The Policy Page of the Trump Website lists a series of vague campaign promises, which are not policies like End Inflation and seal the border with Noection Explanation how trump plans to accomplish any of plit. In fact, the only detailed Proposal Trump allies have put forward is project 2025 and trump spent most of his campaign running away from that. Here he was Last Night. I have nothing to do with project 2025. Thats out there. I havent read it. Im not going to read it. Going into this debate the onus was on Kamala Harris to deliver specifics even though Donald Trump has spent much of this campaign just talking about sharks and the late great Hannibal Lector who was never actually alive to begin with. As it turned out Last Night, Donald Trump did not have the luxury of just glossing over what he might actually do if he becomes president again, and that led to a series of very revealing moments like this question on abortion. Would you veto a national Abortion Ban . Well, i wont have to. Well, if i could get a Yes Or No becausef your Running Mate, j. D. Vance, said you would veto it if it comes to your desk. Well, i didnt discuss it with j. D. In all fairness. Trump just refused to say whether he would vetod a natiol Abortion Ban, a question he had to know was coming in this debate. It was the samengn thing on Fon Policy like when trump was asked this question about which side he supports in Theou War on ukraine. I want to ask you a very simple question tonight. Do you wantue ukraine to win Th War . I want the war to stop. I want to save lives. Just to clarify the question, do you believe its in the u. S. Best interest for ukraine to win this. S war, Yes Or No . I think its in the Best Interest to get this war finished and just get it done. By contrast Vice President harris spent the night on one Hand Baiting trump and letting people know where she stands on key issues. Here she is explaining her position on abortion. I absolutely support bs reinstating the protections of roe v. Wade. And as you rightly mentioned nowhere in america is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for p an abortion. That is not happening. Its i insulting to the women o america. And understand what has been happening under Donald Trumps Abortion Bans. Couples who pray and dream of having Ao Family are being dend ivf treatments. What is happening in our country . Here was harris responding Ta Trump on ukraine while also making a direct appeal to critical Swing State voters. If Donald Trump were president , putin would be sitting in kyiv right now. And why dont you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania Ho quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch. The choice between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could not have been clearer, and now there question is did last nigh have any impact on the voters who are going to decide this election, and especially those of them who said going into Thit Debate that they wanted to hear more h specifics from Kamala Harris . This debate may be the first and last time voters see these two Candidates Debate Side by side in a national forum. So what do they think . You sure youre going to vote for trump . Raise your hand. If i was going to vote now Id Vote for trump. Harris, if you had to vote today, raiseu your hand. And you just want to know more, bonnie . I want to know more. And nicole is not going to vote for either. Who do you think won more votes Show Of Hands for President Trump . Two, four, but definitive two Over D there. What about Vice President harris . More a hands. Is there anything you heard here that you thought, oh, yeah, i can go for that policy, i can stand with that candidate . Not really. To n Me Kamala had a better debate. I favor her more than dawn uld. Im still not not sure. Not 100 . Joining me now george conway, Attorney And Staff writer for the atlantic, Tim Alberta whose latest piece is titled why Mike Lee folded. Were going to get into the Republican Party and the fold. George, let me start with you. Just your first impressions about this debate and the degree to which you think it shapes the closing dynamics in the days of this election. I think were going to keep seeing clips of Donald Trump saying the absurd things that he was saying yesterday. Theres soyi much he does that just a wallh of words, a Rando Water Fall of just verbiage that that there were so many things in there that he said just completely absurd, not just the cats and people eating cats in ohio allegedly. I mean he said that he was a leader in fertilization. What is that . What is he even talking about lk there . It was just the montages that i think people are going to put together, the campaign are going to put together, other people are going to put together about all the foolish things and the exaggerated things, and the apocalyptic things he was saying. The more he was pressured, the more he talked about its the End Ofut World if im not elect and this would happen. And the exaggeration is making him look silly. And if you stack them all together, and i think thats what people are going to go remember, its going to be brutal for him. I do wonder, tim, you know, its not just, of course, trump going to have to answer for some of thee things he said Last Night, whether thats potentially siding with Vladimir Putin in the war in ukraine, maybe enacting a national Abortion Ban, i mean this is stuff that any republican on a ticket in november is going to have to talk about. And your Magnum Opus in the atlantic talks about concessions thatbo formerly skeptical membe of the party have made in order to gain Power And Relevance within todaysan trumpowned go. I sort of wonder as you tell the story of Mike Lee, how you think that Story Changes or doesnt change based on a performance like then one Last Night from Donald Trump, and, you know, just how difficult it is for those republicans who still have a Conscience But Havent disavowed trump. Well, alex, its interestinga i spent the day talking with a number of people close to trump, close to the campaign, and, you know, the way they sort of play this off as well, were sort of back to where we were a year ago, which is that this is a coin flip, and its going to come down to 100,000 voters spread across maybe 12 counties in three or four states, and thats that. But if you compare that to where the Trump Campaign was three months ago, which they were pretty comfortably closing in on p20, 325 electoral votes, and democrats down thele ballot in michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, arizona, elsewhere were in serious trouble. This feels like an entirely new campaign. It feels like a tale of two campaigns in many ways. Its interesting when we were Ir Milwaukee this summer it felt like this was the Highwater Mark for trump, for the Republican Party. They were on Cruise Control and Cloud Nine feeling this was turning into a Wave Election for them. You felt this unity. It was a party for the first timest really in a decade felt entirely coalesced around donalo trump, it was all maga all the time. And whats interesting is that now when youre dealing with this sort of reset that were seeing specific To Not just Last Night but specific to id say the lasto two or three week of the campaign with numbers leveling out and Trump Campaign showing t signs of fatigue here some of those f same republican who feltme really good a couplef weeks ago and all onboard, they are not anymore. You can hear it in their voice, and you can sense they recognize even if trumps numbers dont suffer much or dont even suffer at all look, were live in a very polarized electorate and as bad as he was Last Night, thats because of trumps perceived strengths and weaknesses being baked into the minds of voters. That is the fear among a lot of republicans that trumps numbers are going toat remain pretty stable no matter what, but among moderates and independents that they suffer when he has a performance like the one he had Last Night. It seems to me Kamala Harris was trying to embarrass trump not just for the benefit of democrats to rile them up and get them to the polls but also embarrass him in thee eyes of moderate voters and maybe even moderate republicans. Jonathan writes in the bull brk the degree to which he was lazar focused on the issues that resonate with those old Guard Republican centrists, harris talked about her support for family formation, which is a conservative talking point, her recognition of the Importancekif Smallre businesses, key with th republican constituency, toxic tax cuts, china and russia, unwavering commitment to israel, talked about being a gun owner. You know, The List goes on. I thought that was pretty targeted messaging. Do you think it resonates, gorge . T yeah, i think it does becae i think the only substantive argument when trump makes it is that somehow Kamala Harris is too i liberal for the country. Thats the only substantive argument he has, and try to bring in immigration or taxes and things like that. And she attacked right to the center, and she basically took the same thing that happened in the convention where they basically took over the flag. Donald trump spends all his time trashing on america, not offering a vision for the future. Its a very negative and dystopian view of Thend Country and she is speaking positively about the country and not about the government but about the people in theve country, about E Ability of people who maybe with a little help from the government or little less interference from the government being ablece to accomplish thin for themselves and for their families and small businesses and so on. This is this Classic American president ial politics that its normal, and thats the contrast that she was trying to and successfully drew with Donald Trump. And then d shes saying and to watch the other guys rallies where Hell Talks about Hannibal Lector, and of course he goes off and chases the rabbit. It was beautiful, though, the transitions she made back and forth between putting together a positive vision, introducing herself to the public, that havent focused on her, and then contrasting herself and giving him the Side Eye was so powerful. She didnt overdo it. She just looked at this man the way we all look at him, like, what is his fricken problem, whats he talking about . But she did it in such a controlled fashion. It was the Split Screen i think at the end of the day that destroyed trump, not just the words that he used and the words she used because we know what they weve heard them say a lot of these things before, but the Split Screen, and thats actually what Hurt Biden last time. The Split Screen is he had a blank look on his face. I agree with both of you guys a, that was a Master Class in Debating Onma the part of kamal harris, and at the same time who knows if it actually moves the people it needs to move. We played that sound from undecided voters because its a mixed bag of maybe im still for trump, or i think im for harris. And theresk so much indecisio you have to wonder is the reluctance to vote for harris when you see such a contrast because ofuc her policy, or is something deeper and more personal like the fact that she is a woman or that is a mixed Race Woman of color . Is it something cultural, is it something personal that she herself cant actually manage, that she cant message, no ad will mfix, no debate will fix, but its a decision these voters will have to come to on their own . Look, its hard to say. I think the one thing that we have to recognize is that theon fundamentals of this campaign largely remain unchanged despite everything else in this campaign being turned on its head, right . Weve had an assassination attempt. Weve had anna incumbent presidt pushed out of the way and his Vice President elevated to the top of the ticket in a historic sort of intraparty maneuver. When you look at the polling from eight months ago, six months ago to today, most of the core concerns voters have remain pretty much unchanged. And so if voters were punishing Joe W biden for the perception being weak on the economy, if they were punishing Joe Biden for the perception of being weak on immigration and crime, if they were punishing Joe Biden for the idea geopolitics is a mess and the country is burning all around us, it sort of makes sense some of those same concerns and criticisms would translate to the Vice President. Clearly not all of them have, but i live inid the midwest, in battleground state. I travel constantly to wisconsin, toan p. A. , Talking T People in michigan. Also when you talk to party officials on both sides what you pick up is that shes an improvement from biden just in the fact shes younger, shes teleogenic, articulate, she can put a sentence together. But shes still such an unknown, alex. I think one debate doesnt necessarily address that. Its not toss minimize the issu youre raising because theyre real and resonate with voters to some degree. Iso also think she campaigned a Joe Bidens Vice President during the covid election where the campaign was sort of under wrap. She never really had a true introduction to the american people. And then the beginning of her term as Vice President was pretty rocky and then they sort of reeled her back in. Really this is someone doing the Hard Workom of introducing hersf to a lot of voters. And i think the good news for democrats To N the degree shes become better known, her favorables have gone up. But i think the Bad News for democrats is that this is still a very condensed window in which theyrens trying to make that introduction. And at the end of the day what were seeing from some voters is, look, we cant stand Donald Trump, hes repellent, and yet i think hes going to be of on these two or three core issues i care about. Right. Economic policy and im not sure what the other one is. Thank you very much for your time tonight. Appreciate it. We have a lot more to get to tonight. Of all the traps Kamala Harris set for Donald Trump, there is one thatld could decide the election. Im going to talk about that Coming Up. But first did you hear . Yo there was a lot of winning Last Night. Donald trump won so much, according to Donald Trump, that he got tired of winning. The only problem he Cant Debate Kamala Harris ever again. Ill talk to Senator Elizabeth Warren about that Coming Up next. Senator Elizabeth Warren about that Coming Up next nexium 24hr prevents Heartburn Acid before it begins. Get Allday And Allnight Heartburn Acid prevention with just one pill a day. Choose acid prevention. Choose nexium. Clogged gutters can cause big problems fast. Until now. Call 833leaffilter Today for your free gutter inspection. Ive had terrible Flooding Problems on my porch. Now i understand why. Right now leaffilter is offering a free inspection, on your schedule. 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When you winner you dont necessarily have to do it a second time. So well see. Multiple instant polls show harris won the debate by a large margin including this one that shows her beating 63 to 30 . Even 30 of trump supporters said harris won the night, a figure Donald Trump may not be all that familiar with. Joining me now is massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Im eager to hear just your initial reaction to what transpired on that Debate Stage Last Night. I know you were watching. What did you think . Kamala harris will be president of the united states. Thats what we saw Last Night. She strutted out on that stage like a president , like a leader. She took his hand, she owned Donald Trump from literally the first seconds of the debate. And she did everything but snap a leash on and walk that old dog around the stage. But what you really saw was Kamala Harris as president. Shes the one i watched her as she did this and i thought, boy, im ready for her to take on republican crazies in congress. Im ready for her to stand up and really lean in on the Wall Street ceos who think they can run everything. Im ready for her to take on Vladimir Putin and to take on kim jongun. I mean, thats thats what she showed. She showed that kind of Strength And Presence that wasnt forced. It wasnt like i need to look like this. Its that it came from within. She was strong, she was composed. She was president ial. I wonder because you guys were senate colleagues. I was reminded almost prosecutorial lines of questioning during Senate Confirmation hearings, and i kind of wonder if you saw flashes of that, the Kamala Harris you worked with in the Senate On Stage Last Night and whether thats kind of the new Play Book for dealing with Donald Trump. I did. And its something that actually ive known kamala for 14 years now. Its something i actually watched when she would get into it back when she was Attorney General for california. And you may remember its after the financial crash, and here she is trying to help the families that these banks have cheated, and now the banks are trying to take away their homes. And i watched her as we went through some of these negotiations, i was trying to setup the cfpb at the same time. She gets a calmness and a focus, and its it shows she knows what shes doing, shes wellprepared. And most of all, she knows who shes fighting for. I thought that was a big contrast Last Night. Donald trump, once again, all about Donald Trump. Kamala harris was all about your family, all about whats happening to americas working families, to americas middle class. Whats happening to women who are now, what, one in three in america lives in a state that effectively bans abortion. One in three live in a state where when they walk into a hospital in the middle of a miscarriage are examined, doctor knows what needs to be done, but says, sorry, youre not close enough to death yet for me to give you the medical care you need. Go out to the Parking Lot and hemorrhage for a few more hours. Doctors in these states are afraid of being criminally prosecuted. You see Kamala Harris as the person who will lead us and say this is not the america we want to be, and this is not the america we will be. There is exactly one way to protect our daughters and our grand daughters going forward, and that is a federal law to put roe v. Wade in place, and thats what Kamala Harris is going to sign into law. Thats the kind of thing we saw Last Night, that leadership that she is strong, she is determined, and she will fight for us. And she knows how to trigger Donald Trump better than anybody else in american politics. You know, thats the part we have to remember. 55 days, we have to approach this with joy, with entertainment, passing around the memes, having a good time, but doing the work for 55 days. And that means volunteering and knocking on doors and texting, and making sure that your cousins have all registered to vote and that everyone has a plan to vote, and we early vote wherever is possible. Weve got 55 days to deliver this. We have the right candidate at the right moment. Its up to the rest of us now, lets do the work. Senator Elizabeth Warren, thanks so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Still ahead tonight, Donald Trumps great service his words, not mine his great service to the american public in overturning roe v. Wade. Talking about that Coming Up next. V. Wade talking about that Coming Up next have you ever considered getting a walkin tub . Well, look no further Safe Steps best offer, just got better now, when you purchase your brand new Safe Step walkin tub, youll receive a free Shower Package. Yes, a free Shower Package and if you call today, youll also receive 15 off your entire order. Now you can enjoy the best of both worlds the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower. Allinone Product Call now to receive a free Shower Package Plus 15 off your brand new Safe Step walkin tub. You didnt start a business just to keep the lights on. Lucky for you, shopify built the just onetapping, ridiculously fastacting, skyhigh sales stacking champion of checkouts. Businesses that want to win, win with shopify. During last Nights Debate when Donald Trump was asked about his role in overturning roe v. Wade, trump essentially told america, youre welcome. I did a great service doing it. It took courage to do it, and the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. Weve gotten what everybody wanted, democrats, republicans, and everybody else. And every legal scholar wanted it to be brought back into the states. Heres how Vice President harris responded to that. You want to talk about this is what people wanted . Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to Term Suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care . They dont want that. Joining me now is mini timaraju. Thank you for joining me tonight. Amanda becker is a reporter for the 19th, and she tweeted Yesterday Night Google Analytics Email that she received showed abortion was the top searched issue in every single state other than ohio where trump said theyre eating cats and dogs during the debate. That to me said the Abortion Thing resonated in last Nights Debate. I mean, yeah. Look, trump took a completely straightforward question and turned it into a completely unhinged rant. I tried to go back and to watch it over and over again to try to understand what he was saying, and lets be candid, it was very hard to understand what he was saying. What i thought was really smart of the Vice President she was able to sort of dissect, this is the misinformation, this is the hate. This is where you dont show compassion, and let me shame you, and let me talk directly to the american people. And thats when you see Google Analytics and im so glad amanda tweeted it, we know this issue is salient. The new york times just wrote a report based on their polling that women 40 and under its becoming the top issue over the economy, and its trending across all demographics. So youre seeing the analytics, seeing the data, seeing the polling. The important thing that needed to happen Last Night is Kamala Harris needed To Nail him on this, and she needed to draw the contrast, and she did it. She did something and i totally agree with Jessica Falenti on this, best Abortion Journalist in the country. She made this point. She said harris did something that would have been unthinkable two years ago, she reclaimed Family Values on abortion. When harris spoke about the real people impacted by these laws, it wasnt just a refusal to frame trump around the conversation but a reminder we as democrats are the ones protecting american families. Its been a long time, maybe message never that you could frame the issue of choice with Family Values. And i thought she did it mastterfully. A full ten minutes on abortion and she brought those stories to the national stage, and this is something its an untold story about Kamala Harris. Since the Dobbs Decision she spent the last two years traveling this country, meeting with these women, meeting with their doctors, the first Vice President to visit a planned parenthood, you know, digging in deep with state and local legislators and Attorneys General to figure this out, rolling up her sleeves, and it all paid off Last Night. Ive got to ask because were looking at this polling. The day after the Debate Question is is it going to make a difference, what happens now . Were talking about undecided voters. Simon rosenberg, the democratic strategist, yes these polls are tight, but the difference is dobbs. The difference is the fact roe v. Wade was overturned. That changed the dynamics of the 2022 midterms. The midterm has consistently overvalued progressive votes, undervalued. When you look at the state of pennsylvania where theres like, you know, Donald Trump was behind Joe Biden by 4. 3 points in 2020, he and Kamala Harris were Neck And Neck this year, right . Do you think abortion is the Difference Maker for democrats who are nervous about this Election Cycle being already much tighter than 2020 . Look, even when Joe Biden was atop the ticket we were saying abortion was going to be the Difference Maker. We did research that showed voters were very frustrated with Joe Biden particularly on the middle east. We were able to motivate them and move them on abortion. That included 18 to 35yearolds and women. Whats interesting our Friend Tom Banyard who works a lot with simon has been tracking Voter Registration numbers and has been talking about a surge in Voter Registration data with women but particularly younger women and women of color. Were seeing record numbers in these battleground states, so i think the issue gets more salient the longer these bans are in place. With Kamala Harris you have an authenticity but a renewed energy around it, and you have a shrinking of the Believability Gap in what democrats can do about it. And its helped by Donald Trump going through a list of states that have had Abortion Referenda on their ballots ohio, kansas. A little too liberal for him in ohio. Just reminding people these are issues going to be decided at the state level. Thats occurring and will be occurring this november, too. Ten states. He kept talking about how we dont need grs for this, shes not going to get congress the this. They plan to get a national Abortion Ban through without congress. I thought it was a huge slipup for him. He was basically admitting on national television, yes, im excited i did this, and by the way i dont need congress and she doesnt need congress. Were going to do this by enforcing the comstock act. So it was a big tell for us. Insofar as you could decipher i watched it five times. Thats your job, my friend. Mini, great to hear your perspective on all this. Coming up, theyre eating the dogs, theyre eating the cats. Actually theyre not. Thats next. The cats actually theyre not thats next. In springfield eating the dogs, the people that came in, theyre eating the cats. Maybe Donald Trumps most offensive and also disgusting lie Last Night was about haitian immigrants in the town of springfield, ohio. I just want to clarify erhere, you bring up springfield, ohio, and Abc News did reach out to the City Manager there. He told us there had been no credible reports of Spchk Claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community. Well, ive seen people on television. Let me say here. People on television say my dog was taken and used for food, so maybe he said that and maybe thats a good thing to say for a City Manager. Im not taking this from television. Im taking it from the City Manager. A dog was eaten by people who went there. The City Manager said theres no evidence. Well find out. The Claims Trump is making about springfield, ohio, are provably false. But he and his Running Mate ohio senator j. D. Vance, theres a particularly pernicious aspect to these one. These are real people that they are lying about. The child that j. D. Vance claims was murdered by a haitian immigrant, we blurred the photos here but the gist is that the Trump Campaign is using the accidental death of an 11yearold in a Car Accident to try and claim that haitian immigrants are killers. Heres the father of that 11yearold speaking to the springfield City Council yesterday. I wish that my son, aidan clark, was killed by a 60yearold white man. I bet you never thought anyone would ever say something so blunt, but if that guy killed my 11yearold son, the incessant group of hate spewing people would leave us alone. We have to get up here and beg them to stop. Using aidan as a political tool is to say the least reprehensible for any political purpose. And speaking of morally bankrupt, politicians bernie moreno, chip roy, j. D. Vance, and Donald Trump, theyve spoken my Sons Name and used his death for political gain. This needs to stop now. There is a massive disconnect between the story that Trump And Vance are telling about springfield and whats happening in springfield in reality. The truth is that for Decades Springfield was a city in decline. Manufacturing plants shuttered, It Population plummeted, so the city tried to attract new businesses and workers. That effort worked. New jobs and cheap rent attracted thousands of new workers including thousands of haitian immigrants. And to be certain a large influx of people comes with real challenges both for the immigrants and the city that welcomes them, but by most accounts the influx of haitians to springfield has been a pretty positive thing. The haitians that i know these haitians right here in this middle row, my people ive known for five years, four years going on, theyre beautiful wonderful people, theyre engineers, highly educated people that own businesses. My colleague, yamiche alcindor, sat down with the president of the haitian community center today, and heres how he described how that community is feeling right now. Theyre scared for their lives. Some of them even yesterday i got a Phone Call asking me if he has to leave because hes scared for his life. And then theres the assertion that these immigrants are here illegally, which is flatly not true. But there is a big, Dark Reason why Donald Trump and j. D. Vance are pushing that specific lie, and it has to do with our elections. Im going to discuss whats going on there with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Coming Up next. Coming u. ] is your dog telling you they may have allergic itch . Apoquel is the 1 treatment for allergic itch. That veterinarians have trusted for over 15 Million dogs. And it starts working in just 4 hours do not use in dogs with serious infections. May cause worsening of existing parasitic skin infestations. Or preexisting cancers. And serious infections. New neoplasias have been observed. Do not use in dogs less than 12 months old. Ask your vet for apoquel. Now available in a tasty chewable. Lets say youre deep in a show or a game or the game. Ask your vet for apoquel. On a train, at home, at work. Okay, maybe not at work. Point is at xfinity. Were constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. Thats what i do. Is that Love Island . Our elections are bad, and a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, theyre trying to get them to vote. They cant even speak english. They dont even know what country theyre in practically, and these people are trying to get them to vote, and thats why theyre allowing them to come into our country. Donald trumps lies about fraudulent elections are having an impact. Nearly one in six Election Workers received threats of violence after the 2020 election and according to Brennen Center for justice. Joining me now is Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson who testified today before congress about the threats ahead of this novembers election. Secretary benson, its great to see you. Theres been a lot of dangerous things Donald Trump has said in recent days and weeks and years, but his lies Last Night about legal undocumented migrants coming in and a concerted effort to get them to vote fraudulentry, what was your reaction when you heard him say that . It was a Gut Punch because its not true. Only u. S. Citizens can vote in our elections, but what this type of rhetoric is designed to do is, one, create fear and stoke fear obviously and division. But secondly, also start to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of our american citizens our elections are anything other than secure and accurate, which they are. And also to set the stage to potentially try and challenge and overturn legitimate, fair, and accurate Election Results should they be unhappy with them come november. Its a Har Binger of whats to come and what could come in the weeks ahead and a Signal Weve all got to buckle up and try to rise above the Noise And Focus on the facts, which is only u. S. Citizens can vote in our elections. Yeah, and its hardly, you know, without parallel. Hes been saying stuff in repeat days that should be ringing everybodys alarm. Theres this truth social post he made on the 7th Of September that said there was rampant cheating and individuals who cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law including Election Officials. The threats here are two fold, right . The threats against the undocumented migrants which is part of his immigration portfolio. There is the threats to those who carry out the elections, Election Workers, and those who certify them, Election Officials. From your Vantage Point how much of the the Chilling Effect is this having on the recruitment of people to work the polls and also those who were tasked with, you know, certifying the elections and making sure State Elections are run smoothly . Its interestingly having two effects. One, there are people who are throwing up their hands and saying you know what . Its not worth it, i want to stay home, and this is not something where i want to put my Familys Life in jeopardy simply to just protect our Election Results. But actually the vast majority of Election Officials in michigan and across the country have seen this also as an opportunity to double down on our commitment to being professional, bipartisan, and ensuring transparent elections continue to be the role of the land. And weve also seen an incredible emboldening of Election Officials these are threats, and these are threats designed to intimidate us out of doing our duty and jobs as Election Officials. A vast majority of us have stepped into the fray knowing that after 2020 this is what were signing up for, and were ready. Were ready to stand guard and refuse to be intimidated. We will protect every voice and every vote regardless of who that vote is cast for because we believe in democracy and frankly believe anyone running for office in this country should similarly believe in the truth and the facts and our Election Officials and stand with them. For people who dont understand what you personally have faced and are facing, your house has been swatted. You have received death threats, theres a michigan lawmaker who said you definitively will be prosecuted if Donald Trump wins again in 2024. Thats an extraordinary amount of Tenacity And Resilience thats demanded of you and anyone else in your position. How do you grapple with that . Of course its not just you but its your family and people around you. It is alarming and chilling, frankly, to just know these powerful individuals with great megaphones, the former president of the united states, would use that platform and his ambitions to try to threaten us for simply just doing our jobs. And to know also i started my career investigating Extremist Groups and extreme leaders, and we know that false vitrolic, violent rhetoric often does result in threats and violence and worse against the people who are the targets. And so we realize the challenge in the moment were in, but we also realize our responsibility. These threats are ultimately not threats to us but threats to the american people. Theyre threats to the will of the voters and our democracy itself. And im proud to stay every day and i know my colleagues are as well because we embrace our responsibility to protect fair elections for our country, and well continue to defend the results of the elections whatever they may be this fall, and so thats really our message to the president. You can come at us with all the threats you want. And yes, it does create a harrowing environment to work through, but at the same time well protect The Voice and votes of every person in this country. Michigan secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, thanks for your time tonight as well. Thanks for having me, alex. That is our show for this evening. Way too early with Jonathan Lemire is Coming Up next. I would do nbc. I