abortion actually is a means to control women's bodies, to preserve traditional gender roles, patriarchy, and it's not really about the sanctity of life. i have to say, i have always been much more sympathetic to that first view, you are well-intentioned but wrong. and i think it's partly because i was raised catholic. i have been around people my whole life, including loved ones, my beloved grandparents who went to the march for life every year. who sincerely oppose abortion. i know kinds of people who really believed in what the pope called a seamless garment opposed to wars like the iraq war, death penalty, visit people in prisons and also opposed abortion. i think that experience has made me feel a little defensive about the notion that the anti-abortion movement, which called itself the pro life movement, is actually all about controlling women and their bodies. and people in that moment really do use life as this kind of beacon. they use that word life, sanctity of, life pro-life. it's been interesting to me how effective it was, that branding, how the right took the word life and gave it this very specific partisan ideological meaning. really kind of brilliant. i mean, who could be against life. if you are pro-life, who is on the other side? everyone loves life. no one's anti life. now, over the past year, we've essentially run an experiment that tests these two theories. as the anti-abortion movement borne out of a cynical desire to control women and forced patriarchy and traditional generals, or, is it sincerely a held belief in the sanctity and holiness of this precious thing we call human life. and after nearly 800,000 covid deaths, i have to say i think we have a pretty good answer. since the very beginning of the pandemic last march, we have watch the spectacle of the conservative anti abortion movement praising life of the unborn, and in the same breath essentially shrugging their shoulders about deaths from the virus. lieutenant governor of texas dan patrick almost literally did that on tucker carlson's show last april. >> in texas we have 29 million people. we have lost 495, every life is valuable, but 500 people out of 29 million and we're lockdown. there are more important things than living, and that's saving this country from my children grandchildren, saving this country for all of us. >> that is a good pro-life slogan, there are more important things than living. we heard the same apathy about the people dying from covid from bill o'reilly. remember him? you may not remember him, but he used to be on television. he spent years promoting the so-called pro life movement when he was on tv, on fox news. >> many people who are dying both here and around the world, were on their last legs anyway, and i don't want to sound callous about that. >> you are going to get -- hold on you're going to get hammered for that. >> while i don't care, i mean a simple man is the truth. >> yeah on their last legs, who cares if they die, they are on their last legs. that is a good pro-life sentiment. that clearly is the articulation of a person who believes fundamentally in the sanctity of life. and just look at the dangerous anti vaccine nonsense just coming endlessly from the entire universe, of the christian broadcasting industrial complex. people like marcus lam, who of course preached virulently against abortion and advocated for roe v. wade to be overturned. >> the covid shot, some call it a vaccine, it's not really a vaccine. people are dying from the so-called vaccine, and we want to warn you, we want to help you and give you an alternative. you say what can we do? we can pray. we can get ivermectin and budesonide and hydroxychloroquine. >> on tuesday, marcus lam died of covid. at the age of 64. he was unvaccinated. his life was lost. a republican governor in mississippi tim reeves laid bare the thinking from some, honestly, on the religious right, this summer at a fund-raiser here's what reeves said. >> i'm often asked by some of my friends on the other side of the aisle about covid... and why does it seem like folks in mississippi and maybe in the mid south or littlest scared shall we say. >> when you believe in eternal life when, when you believe that living on this earth is but a blip on the screen you don't have to be so scared of things. that's interesting, so if you have that religious worldview, you don't think life is that important. if you die of covid, you go to heaven. remember, the abortion law from the supreme court looking to ban most abortions after 15 weeks comes from mississippi. with the support of governor tim reeves. so this is a state that is in court, in court this week, arguing, self righteously, sanctimoniously about the sanctity of life. at the same time, is basically saying the many preventable deaths from covid in that state are just a sped up reunion with the heavenly father. or look at missouri, one of the states that has a trigger law on the books. that means the state is prepared to immediately ban all abortions if mississippi wins that court case and roe is overturned. and in that same state, the republican controlled state government withheld data showing mask mandates prevented covid cases and deaths. information that could have kept more of its citizens healthy and alive. choose life. sharing that information would have been promoting life, choosing life. this hypocrisy about life, it's perhaps more clearly in these two tweets from the national committee. this one from yesterday afternoon, quote, life is precious, republicans will always stand for the sanctity of life. this came just a few hours later. no biden vaccine mandate! we ran the experiment. we tested the theories. the only thing we can conclude from all the evidence is that we've been handed a pretty definitive account of what's, at least the leadership, not everyone in this country, there's millions of people, it's leadership of the anti abortion movement has always been about. we had a once in a century pandemic, one of the biggest mass casualty events in this country's history that continues to this day. thousands dying a day, and a political movement that goes around screaming at you through bull horns -- as pro life reacted with a collective, whatever. or that was actually the best of it. many cases what they did was actively take steps in policy and rhetoric, day after day, to get more people killed. that is not hyperbole. those are just the plain facts. the perfect example is the event we mentioned yesterday, the celebration of the nomination of amy coney barrett 's supreme court last september. this was the moment that the pro life movement knew they had won. we did it. amy coney barrett, who they knew opposed abortion, was going to be the vote they needed to overturn the landmark abortion case roe v. wade. here they are, celebrating that victory for life, indoors, and enclosed space, in the midst of a pandemic, killing people left and right. and we now know that donald trump tested positive later that same day. lord knows how many people trump got sick. or if anyone actually died from covid transmission chains that started with that single reckless superspreader event. chris christie ended up in the icu. but this is the whole story in one picture. if you need a bigger refutation that this is all about life, look at these people. mingling indoors, celebrating without masks, with a man who as it turned out was definitely spreading the virus as thousands of people were dying every day. all that, as they celebrated their victory for life. what has been laid bare by living through this pandemic, the most devastating mass casualty event in our lifetime. is that the side that clock themselves on the sanctity of life, that put up choose life billboards around the country for decades -- when it came to act on that belief, to take small tangible concrete steps to band together to choose life to keep people healthy and here among the living, they didn't do it. they chose death instead. they are still choosing death now. rebecca traister, a writer for new york magazine your latest piece is titled the betrayal of roe. and she joins me now. rebecca, i think that you are probably always -- i know this -- you have always held this theory about the future of the movement. i don't want to catch everybody in this, because there are tens of millions of people with this belief. i think my upbringing had a lot to do with it. but man, it's hard, it is hard to seed any good faith, at least in the leadership of this vanguard when you look at what we've been through. >> so, for you it became clear the experiment you ran, and just walked us through very capably was around covid and the language of life. >> after former president trump was hospitalized from the -- a gets access to safe, legal, affordable abortion care in the name of life and also it kind of fetishistic moralizing around the value of fetal life, babies maternity, family, right? was also the party that was fighting tooth and nail to get welfare and snap programs against affordable housing. . i get speed leave. against subsidized child care. affordable access to all kinds of health care. all the kinds of policies that would in fact create stable, loving, thriving homes and families. and support life for the most vulnerable americans. right? so, that is where the experiment began and ended for me in terms of my realization about is this heartfelt belief in life and the sanctity of family and family values. or is it a signal ploy to gain power and actually to keep people vulnerable populations on the margin. that's where the experiment lies for me. i would also note that i watched that language at play. the morality of family being taken by an antiabortion right-wing. and i watch the democratic party seed that language and that framework. and not flight to point out that all the policies they were supposed to be supporting, and often we're not, we're actually policies that better supported thriving families. and economic and familial community security. >> it's also so clarifying in terms of -- there's something about the advocacy and behalf of the unborn that it doesn't ask anything of you. when you don't have to do anything, you just have to make sure some other people have -- are banned from an abortion. but then we got this test where is we all have to do something here. all of us have to give a little. can't go on trips. can't get together during thanksgiving. kara reception at the white house, even though it's a happy day. that's the thing you have to give up. you have to go get a shot in the arm. and it is like, literally over our dead bodies. as soon as it required a thing. as it soon is it required you've gotta pay a little bit of something, forget it. >> i think one of the things is worth pointing out -- and you differentiated between the people who are in power and tend to come from relatively elite climbs and are insulated from all kinds of vulnerability and hardship -- when it comes to this question of abortion, of course, fighting against access to abortion does require a lot from millions of people. who are -- and that families and the tolls on their family's well-being and economy on bodies. on relationships. but the people who are in power who are fighting against access to that care no nothing is required of them, because frankly, they have always and will always have access to abortion care. regardless of whether or not they win their fight to make it illegal, because those with money and means will always and have always been able to access the abortion care that they needed. so in that regard, it asks nothing from them at the top. they certainly asked a lot for the millions of people who do not have that kinds of access. >> we have about a minute left and when asked a big question. so, what is the next step here? i think people feel it raged rightly and frustrated and maybe a little bit -- everyone waiting what's gonna happen in the court. how do you think about activating proactively in this next phase? next phase >> i think is digging in for a very long fight. i think it is forcing the central itty of all kinds of these issues. right? abortion and the kinds of issues and policies that i was talking about earlier. i think it requires making people we left on the margins central to the fight. and i think it requires digging in understanding there's not a quick fix to this at this. point there were all kinds of ways where the left could extrapolate strategize differently and perhaps all this off and been smarter. but that didn't happen. we are now in for a fight that is going to extend well beyond our lifetimes. but that doesn't mean we're allowed to not participate in it. we have to put our heads down and get ready for something that is going to be generations to undo. and we have to commit to that battle, knowing that there is not going to be any quick satisfaction. >> rebecca traced her, happy hanukkah, it's great to see you. thank you very much. after former president trump was hospitalized from the coronavirus, and remember a lot of explanations about the exact time alum of events. do you remember this bizarre exchange during a town hall with savannah gutherie? >> did you take a test on the day of the debate. >> you asked the doctor they'll give you a perfect answer. they take a test and i'll even go about my business. >> so did you take a test on the day of the debate, i guess is the bottom line? >> i probably did and i took a test the day befor,. and the day before i was always in great shape. >> i mean, clearly raises some red flags at the time. but now thanks to donald trump 's former chief of staff, we know why, it was a cover-up. kind of explains everything. but then now, mark meadows is trying to walk back. donald trump's former chief of staff is coming out with a don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ new vicks vapostick. strong soothing vapors... help comfort your loved ones. and start celebrating today. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess just soothing comfort. try new vicks vapostick. wondering what actually goes into your multi-vitamin? at new chapter its innovation organic ingredients and fermentation. fermentation? yes, formulated to help your body really truly absorb the natural goodness. new chapter. wellness well done [♪♪] powerful skincare ingredients come dermatologist-recommended, and there's a brand that offers them at an affordable price. try olay skincare. olay regenerist, with 99% pure niacinamide provides 5 times the hydrating power of a prestige cream; while olay collagen peptide visibly firms and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and olay retinol 24 brightens and smooths the skin while you sleep. for dermatologist-recommended ingredients >> mark meadows has a problem. at an affordable price, try olay skincare. donald trump's chief askap is coming up with a new book and he generated early bus to juice sales, to make that money. so like any good tell-all, he included information the public did not previously know, that is the promise when you get that advance. in the book meadows reportedly admits that donald trump first tested positive for covid nearly a week before he publicly disclosed his diagnosis. meadows then claims, trump got a second test which came back negative. it is a little unclear about how that happened. let's put that aside for a second. that second negative test as why they pretended like nothing was wrong, one positive, one negative, let's go with a negative. that was the latter one. and they let the president hold mask-less events. including the first debate with then candidate joe biden. here's the problem, donald trump was not happy with this revelation. so he put out a statement calling the meadows book fake news. and then mark meadows re-tweeted donald trump's statement, calling it fake news. and then he went on tv, to make sure the boss saw it. i want to start off with the covid story, the media is going nuts with the story. i believe the president says it is fake news. but what is the story here. >> while the president is right. it is fake news. if you actually read the book, the contacts of it, that story outlines a false positive. >> yeah a false, positive my book is fake news. and that is because he understands the game he is playing here. first of all, let's take it -- here president falsely testing positive for the debate is not exactly the kind of shopping revelation that sells books. more importantly, the false positive timeline makes no sense. according to the book, trump first put tested positive on september 26th. as his advisor chris christie now admits, six of the seven people doing debate prep with trump over the next few days indoors without masks, subsequently posted positive as well. and when trump finally did announce his diagnosis in the middle of the night on october 2nd, he was hospitalized later that day. it usually takes about seven days to get hospitalized from the onset of symptoms. it means he had already been sick. but again, just take my word for, in his own fake news book, meadows describes what's sounds like asymptomatic president. as the guardian reports, quote, on debate is september 29th, trump looked slightly better and emphasis on slightly. his face for the most part romain it's light bronze hue, and the gravel in his voice was gone, the dark circles in his eyes had deepened. as we walk into the venue at around 5:00 in the evening, i could tell he was moving more slowly than usual, he walked like he was carrying a little extra weight on his back. maybe because his lungs weren't working because they were being invaded by virus. is that, quote, from the book also fake news, mark? >> finally as maggie here is points out on twitter. this is insane. but the second negative test on the 26th appears to have been an antibody test. that test coming back negative, means nothing. it does not mean that trump did not have covid, it just means he was not producing antibodies at that point. taking the antibody test when you first got covid is meaningless. so all of the evidence points to trump having covid knowing he had covid, and spending a week spreading it around while covering it up, and refusing to admit he is sick. meadows is willing to undercut his own book to pretend that is not true. michelle sender had a front row seat leading up to trump's hospitalization, as well as the rest of his candidacy as the white house correspondent for pbs news our, also anchor for washington week on pbs and joins me now. i mean, i know you were there covering this at the time. i have to imagine for the folks who covered this, this reporting makes a lot of things that didn't make sense seem very very sketchy, make some sense. >> absolutely, and it's also in some ways this gut feeling of not being surprised. this was a president who was downplaying the virus saying he was going to disappear, we have course downplayed how sick he got. he never told people he got vaccinated. so this in some ways goes hand in hand with the former ways president trump approach the virus from the very first days to the last day he was an office. the other thing to know is that when you look at the timeline, as you said, this timeline simply does not make sense. yes maybe it was a false positive, or he was positive and when you look at the rest of the week, there was a rose garden event that i distinctively remember, former president trump was speaking at one -- and everyone else that was at the rose garden, all the other officials were at a separate elector. that is very very rare, that is not the way things are done. of course the debate is the next day on tuesday. i think this is really crucial. then he went to a fund-raiser in minnesota. then he goes to new jersey and -- that's a lot of people who are being exposed to the president. i should tell you, having a front row to the trump presidency during that time, a lot of those reporters we were going to urgent care and saying hey we may have had close contact. when they asked us who we were having close contact with? we had to say the president of the united states. >> yeah, and so remarkable, there is also the fact that -- we were all covering it. they just were so sketchy about when he last tested negative. this is a very simple question. when did you last test negative? it was always like i get tested all the time. here is mcenany, on october 4th trying to evade the simple question. take a listen. >> you tested on tuesday and he tested on thursday? >> yeah i'm not going to give you a detail of the time stamp of every time the president has tested. he's tested regularly. the first positive test he received was after his return from bedminster. i get not going to give a detailed readout of his testing, but safe to say his first positive test was upon return, or at least after -- . >> that is a lie. we now know that is a lie. that clip there, is a lie. but at the time, it was so clear that -- i'm not going to give you a back and forth about when he tested. it really seemed like the squirrelly-ness around this was hard to ignore. >> it is. it was very hard to ignore. when i watch, that and i watch it live there, it reminds me of all the different times that she lied from the podium, from the white house lawn, from the stake out location where she is in that clip. it really just underscores that this was an administration that never was honest with the american people. they never played a straight with answering about questions about the presidents diagnosis. it goes back to in some ways in realtime understood the president was not being very clear. the administration was not being very clear about how the president got covid. i remember also asking -- where do you think the president got covid? who do you think he got it? from never got answers to those questions. of course they're critical questions because he's the president of the united states and you would think they would be able to tell you here is where he got exposed. but they never wanted to be clear about that either. >> that's the crazy thing about. this there is a sort of remarkably reckless narcissistic selfish just about doing this. -- me indoors and masked with the surviving members the following service members, surviving families of fallen service members. there is also that. but also your job is to protect the president when you work in the white house, and you really failed to do that. they couldn't -- everyone here kind of got lucky in the end about the way the dice came back on this. but it could have been much much worse. >> it could have been much much worse, but we have to also remember there were reports the secret service agents were getting sick. they are the people who had to be as close to the president as possible. so there are all these people are round the president, around a number of pressed people in the office all got sick. stephen miller gothic. so many people that were walking around the white house making fun of reporters like me who had masks on, we're looking like astronauts in the white house because i was covered. all the different protections. they were making fun of us. and then they were exposing people, people trying to in some ways keep the president safe not only from the virus, but any other dangers, those people got sick. so while it's true that this could have been a lot worse, i think what happened was a downplaying of the virus that led to a lot of people being sick, people who i've interviewed, people who told me the lost family members because the president downplayed the virus. then you also have the idea that destruction side the white house, a white house that itself became a superspreader area. that is too remarkable to me when i think back to those days. >> michelle tender. thank you so much. >> coming up, president biden announces free at home test as part of the white house's new efforts to battle certain coronavirus rates this winter. i'll talk to a man whose work side by side with the president in the pandemic response after this. >> also, continuing to give me advice on the developments as they occur. i've seen more of dr. fauci that i have my wife. look, who's president, fauci? but all kidding aside, i sincerely mean it. sincerely mean it. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. >> there are some days on the so, i started listening to audible about two years ago. a friend of mine recommended a book to me, and i got hooked really fast. and then it kind of just became a lifestyle after that. i've found new authors. i've found new interests. i've found all of these wonderful things. audible has all the entertainment you love. text listen37 to 500500 to get thirty days free. i like thrillers, true crime podcasts, news podcasts... science fiction, space dramas... a lot of classics. i listen almost exclusively to the audible originals. i also think it's pretty special that they get audiobooks that aren't released anywhere else. my friends listen to audible as well. i'll recommend a lot of things to them, especially the new sandman series. you can find things that will take you to new worlds. audible is a great escape. go anywhere you want. endless entertainment and education and content. for the best audio entertainmet and storytelling, text listen37 to 500500 to get thirty days free. show where we have a big interview lined up. like the one about to hold with doctor anthony fauci. it just feels like there is an and the launch of topics to get through. there's the new winter guidance at the white house looking to blunt another potentially catastrophic -- unknown questions about the omicron variant, which has the entire global public health world on edge. there is the new revelation that former president trump first tested positive for covid nearly a week earlier than he led on. the aforementioned doctor anthony fauci is the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases as well as a chief medical adviser of president joe biden, and he joins me now. doctor fauci, great to have you. first i want to start on that, as someone who worked in that white house, who is trying to send messages to the public about the best way to deal with the pandemic? >> just your reaction to what appears to be confirmed in the reporting that the president caught a positive test, a week before letting all of us know, and then just doing a ton of events with people. >> well, that is something that obviously should not have been done, chris, but that goes beyond just the president or any other individual. it is just a very broad applicable to anybody public health practice, that when you are positive, that you need to quarantine yourself, and secluded your self so that you do not infect anybody else. that is just a general rule, it doesn't matter really who you are. >> i want to play for you something else, i know that you want to talk about omicron, and i want to talk about omicron, and the winter, but i feel like i'm talking to you and you have become this character in the imagination of tens of millions of people in this country. they think you are -- you represent some tyrannical plot to keep the boot of covid restrictions on the neck of a free people. laura logan who has some streaming show somewhere had this to say about you in this comparison. i want to play for you, because i want to give you a chance to respond for yourself, and then we will move on. take a listen. >> there is no justification for putting people out of their jobs or forcing vaccine mandates for a disease that ultimately is very treatable. it is cheap to treat. medicines are available all over the world. and it has death rates that compare very much to seasonal flu. and so, in that moment, what you see on, doctor fauci, this is why people say to me, he doesn't represent science to them, he represents joseph mengele. doctor joseph mengele, the nazi doctor who did experiments on jews during the second world war and in the concentration camps. i'm talking about people all across the world who are saying this. >> i just wonder, how do you respond to that? >> well, chris, i think the response to so many people across the country in the world are responding to that absolutely preposterous and disgusting comparison that she made. it is an insult to all of the people who suffered and died under the nazi regime in the concentration camps. it is unconscionable what she said. forget about the fact that she was being totally slanderous to me, as usual, had no idea what she was talking about. saying that it is as benign as flu, when did ever influenza ever kill 770,000 americans? not only is she being slanderous, and disrespectful to so many people who were killed in the concentration camps by dr. mengele, but she absolutely has no idea what she is talking about. she is completely incorrect in everything she says. when i find striking, chris, is how she gets no discipline whatsoever from the fox network. how they can let her say that, with no comment and no disciplinary action. i am astounded by that. >> there is a lot of concern right now about omicron. i want to get to that, but first i want to talk about, let's say omicron doesn't exist and we are still dealing with delta. we are still getting a lot of people thicken getting hospitalized. we are seeing cases and hospitalizations going up. forget about omicron. we have a fire to put out now. it is the same basic tools, get a booster, get vaccinated, masks and indoor spaces. the big thing today was the free testing. but it is not free. it is reimbursable by the insurance company, and i wonder if you think, is that enough to get these tests out in people's hands so they can use them regularly? >> you know, i think so, chris. it is a good start. the president made that announcement as part of his five-part plan to address what we will be facing this winter. one of them that we've spoken about and will happen is to really flood the system with tests, including free tests. and in fact what people are not aware of is that there is an investment of billions of dollars to make anywhere from 200 million, to 500 million tests available per month. so we really want to flood the system with testing and make it free. that is exactly what the goal is. >> i just want to say personally, i'm lucky enough to have the resources to pay the $10 per test. we can get them. my family and i have used them, when i had a cold on monday i use them, we used a bunch this week to make sure to test and test again. this is not covid. we are not exposing people. negative after negative after negative. but they should be essential tool in the tool kit for folks this winter, to when in doubt, test. if they can get their hands on those tests. right? >> i totally agree with you, chris. and that is what i have been saying actually for quite a while now. i use the terminology flooding the system with tests. we can do just what you said. you can test frequently, not only to just alleviate concern that you might have, but actually to pick up the possibility that you might be positive which would get you to quarantine yourself and protect those around you from getting infected. it is critical to the program that we are doing, which is one of the reasons why one of the five pillars of the president's program that hand ounce today at the nih, my place at the nih, is testing. clearly a very important public program. >> quickly, final question here, i know we don't know enough about omicron to say anything definitive in one way or the other. we need more data. what is the timeline for knowing? like when can i have you back on the program, or anyone back on the program, and say like okay, here is our read on this, is it three days, ten days, three weeks, what is your sense of that? >> my estimate, chris, is that it will probably be about two weeks. three weeks that the most. but probably about two weeks. right now, you're going to see cases cropping up throughout the country. we should be prepared as an american public, not to panic with that because literally every day will hear another state or another city has cases. understanding the level of transmissibility, the evasion of protextion or not from the vaccine, and the severity of the disease. we're going to get that information not only here as we get more cases, but from places like south africa which has a lot of cases thus far. we are in very very close contact with our south african colleagues. >> yeah, and shout out to the public health officials in south africa who first identified the strain, and they have been doing very important work on this. doctor anthony fauci, thank you very much. >> good to be with you, chris, thank you for having me. >> coming up the trump era immigration policy that is going back into effect all thanks to one trump appointed judge, i will explain next. plus the humiliating lengths one senate candidate will go -- to please a republican party's chief narcissist. why it's back firing just ahead. us ahead. ...and dry, cracked skin. new gold bond advanced healing ointment. restore healthy skin, with no sticky feeling. gold bond. champion your skin. [♪♪] did you know, you no longer need to visit a dermatologist with no sticky feeling. to get access to top skincare ingredients? introducing dermageek featuring top dermatologist recommended ingredients and 0% fillers. dermageek's new detoxifying facial serum contains twice the amount of beta hydroxy acid. it delivers two times more exfoliation for brighter skin, with dermatologist tested levels of hydration. get top derm-ingredients at a fraction of the price. try the new dermageek skincare lineup, with a money-back guarantee. ♪ ♪ 'tis the season to break tradition in a cadillac. don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ today, the big headline went like this. biden administration to restart trump era remain-in-mexico policy. that got a lot of attention as it should, because the trump administration's remain-in-mexico program was a stain on american immigration policy was a moral stain on policy. it didn't attract quite the same level attention as child separation, but there's an argument to be made that it was every as bitch on multi thing. it basically meant people with asylum claims were not allowed to actually enter the united states to pursue their claim, and instead ended up in what essentially became refugee camps on the mexican side of the border, where they were constantly preyed upon by kidnappers, drug gangs, and human traffickers. according to interviews conducted by human rights watch in november 2019 and january 2020, parents said that while waiting in mexico, they or their children were beaten, harassed, sexually assaulted, or abducted. some said mexican police had harassed or extorted money from them. most that they were constantly fearful and easily identify those targets for violence. trump's remain-in-mexico policy also amounted to a suspension of the asylum rights and showing u.s. law joe biden campaigned on reversing it got into office and delivered on that promise, which is why today's headline was a little misleading. it was not joe biden, or homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas, or anyone in the biden administration, or the democratic party who wanted to do this. no, it was a young right-wing federal society districts judge, that guy right there named matthew kacsmaryk. remember that name. oh yeah he was appointed by donald trump. and in an act of some of the most breathtaking judicial activism i have seen in my lifetime, that judge, told the newly elected government had to restart a program it had ended with another sovereign nation. that is not just legislating from the bench, that is american foreign policy from the bench. this district has ordered the u.s. to engage in foreign policy because he wanted it to. the order was appealed all the way to the supreme court, lo and behold the republican justices they're left in place, and one of their late night single page orders. and so now here we are. if you saw this news today, you saw those on the right taking a victory lap saying things to the effect of oh biden is doing the same thing as trump, people on the left criticizing democrats doing the same thing as. trump just being very clear here, this is an important policy put in place by donald trump advocated by the republican party pursuing a lawsuit by two right-wing attorneys generals in texas. and missouri. a policy that was restarted by right wing federalist aside the charge, means decision -- we on the supreme court. that is who is causing this immense human suffering right now. and this was always the plan, the reason they focused on judges was so that trumpism and all his cruelty would outlive donald trump. (kate) this holiday, verizon has the deal that gets better and better and better. get iphone 13 pro, on us, when you trade in your old or damaged phone. here, the phone everyone wants, on america's most reliable network. better? (guy) better. (kate) that's not all. the new iphone, and up to 7 entertainment subscriptions for your family. like apple music, apple arcade, and more. better? (family) betttterrrrrr. (kate) not done. the new iphone, the entertainment, and up to $1,000 when you switch. (carolers) [singing] betttttter. (kate) this year, holiday better, with verizon. because everyone deserves better. facing expensive vitamin c creams with dull results? olay brightens it up with new olay vitamin c. gives you two times brighter skin. hydrates better than the $400 cream. want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support the emergency broadband benefit program. for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. crazy to have a narcissistic sociopath through lost the last election running an entire political party. but that is how it is right now for republicans, and so they will fall all over themselves to lick ex president trump's boots. when particularly pathetic example of this who is jd vance for the republican senator in ohio. he is the author of hillbilly elegy, which later became a big movie. in order to win, vance is now giving one of the most quenching pro foremost as i have ever seen of what he thinks trump voters want. all of this from -- its capital firm in hollywood -- and yale law pedigree, and so exposing vance as a fraud is very easy to do. which is exactly what the right wing group did in this ad. >> j. d. vance, in his own words. >> i'm a never trump guy. i never liked him. as someone who doesn't like trump, i might have to hold my nose and vote for hilary clinton. i didn't vote for trump because i can't stomach trump, he is obnoxious, and being outrageous. >> on twitter vance called trump, quote, apprehensible, an idiot, and vance loves mitt romney. i'm a never trump guy. that is the real j. d. vance. >> the group that paid for that ad, that criticizes fans for not being in love with trump. -- his name is josh mandel. and since trump has yet to endorse the race, mandel is also working hard to win the primary, so much so he attended an offense last night at mar-a-lago where he was photographed by progressive activists laurin windsor. you know who hated the ohio center at the most and complain to the club for growth about it? donald trump. because even if he had exposed j. d. vance as a fraud, he is still someone saying mean stuff about trump, and that stings. >> i'm a never trump guy, i never liked him, as somebody who doesn't like trump, i didn't vote for trump because i can't stomach trump, i think that he is obnoxious, and outrageous >> love that replay there. according to politico last month, trump called the -- to complain about the ads and ask them to take them down. if people see the ad, it will be bad for him in ohio. ahead of the group responded they would respond to the matter. they reportedly sent his political team in memo showing the ad blitz had no bearing on his standing in ohio. the group continued airing the 1 million dollar tv ad yesterday, they put in another $500,000 behind the effort. that ohio senate race is just a little window of what it's like to run a republican party right now. and ben mathis-lilley is a senior who has been tracking the ohio senate race. his most recent piece is titled, a guy with the crazy path ohio republican senate primary and its most recent crazy pants debate. you know what is so strange here is, even when you are running in a primary where you have a smaller group of voters. the idea is to appeal to a bunch of different people, but this has now been inverted where the entire race as one person. it's like interviewing for a job for one person as opposed to going out and persuading people to like you. >> yeah, that is the strange thing about it. i was just looking at the twitter feed about josh mandel 's twitter feed. and it's entirely about whatever issue of the last five minutes. might appeal to donald trump. not really about ohio at all. not really about the national scene in the united states even. it's just, you know, about steve bannon, getting steve bannon out of legal trouble. attacking lebron james, it's really focused. and that is exactly what vance has done as well. he jumped in by getting upset about dr. seuss if you remember that. and that is what's really -- the competition is between these guys. >> yeah and it's broader than that, right, this is sort of a trump primary it's a real thing and it means that you are not running for office from the voters, in some ways theres like fundamentally like offensive to my small d democratic sensibilities. which is the whole point of electoral democracy is the answer to the voters, they don't answer to one person up there, thats like royalty. yet that is exactly the -- here. >> yeah, and i mean that speaks to exactly what vance is doing. you referred to in the intro. vance doesn't seem to have much personal involvement, or personal stake in any of the issues he is talking about now. he has never really had -- public career and never talked about this kind of stuff. very aggressive cultural -- but it is clear that he sees this as a one person audition. so that is why he is doing, he has made the choice that he wants to win this race and how he is going to do it. so -- it's kind of absurd how little in need the -- actually involves ohio the state of ohio, you know, the most important things that happen happened in mar-a-lago as you alluded to. >> yeah and the only time -- ohio they fight with each other's to slam ohio lebron james, started a school and brought the championship to the cleveland cavaliers, that is the only ohio level commentary you get from them. >> absolutely, it's just slam --, it's to slam on anthony gonzales who was a respected republican congressman from ohio because he voted to impeach donald trump after january 6th. that is -- the debate that i watched from a couple weeks ago another big slamming -- senator who won a reelection in ohio by fairly wide margin. it's really the degree to which ohio republican politics has gone 180 just in the last few years is remarkable. >> yeah snd we see it in other places too. so this is stacey abrams getting into -- stacey abrams gaining into the race in georgia. and bryan can't of course the incumbent governor who narrowly defeated her in 2018 is going to be a rematch. here is trump yesterday on that, single-handedly which is not true, without much of a candidate in 2018 -- again it will be hard to do with brian kemp because the maga base will not vote for him after what he did with respect to election integrity in two horribly run elections for president in the two senate seats. but some good republicans will run, and some good republican will get my endorsment, and some good republican will win. here theres not even an active primary, he is just declaring there should be one, because brian kemp was insufficiently motivated to pull off the coup. >> yeah, exactly. and i think that gets to something that is bizarre about this, georgia is the place that saw donald trump have the most destructive effect on its party electoral chances. you know in the senate race you could've argued that he lost the senate races for republicans, and he's now going back to trying to do it again. >> the only reason there is, after that election day in november, it seemed wildly improbable -- everyone said we are headed towards a mitch mcconnell senate a democratic house with a narrow majority and a joe biden presidency and then donald trump went to work on georgia, spinning up lies and then we got the trifecta. now here he has added again, and there is nothing they can do about it in the republican party. >> yeah, i mean you know, we saw what mitch mcconnell tried to do. we saw why, you know, the critics in the party try to do with anthony gonzales, with the impeachment. but it did not reach that tipping point to push him out of power. now they are back to the same thing. i think something that is kind of remarkable about the next election is, it's a perfect experiment and how much economic circumstances and the natural tendency for political backlash against the president's party -- you know as a historical factors and midterms can be affected by one person's extreme unpopularity. that is donald trump, he is doing his best to do this political science experiment. >> ben mathis-lilley, thank you. that is all in for this thursday night, the rachel maddow show starts right now. good evening, rachel. >> good evening, chris, my friend, much appreciated. i wish i mean as the eva friday. tonight we are going to be joined by the person who is most likely to be the first female governor of the state of georgia. the first black female governor of any state in the country. the stacey abrams, she is already a national political figure, somebody who -- the democratic party has already tasked with giving a response to a state of the union during the trump years. she has already credit as the organizer of the political talent who more than anybody else is responsible for having turned georgia blue. stacey abrams has just announced that she is officially in the running to become the next governor of georgia. that again would make georgia. that again would mak that, again, would make her the first female governor of georgia, the first black woman ever elected governor of a u.s.e state. stacey abrams will be joining us here live for an exclusive interview tonight. i am really looking forward to that conversation. if you've been watching the news unfold over the course of s the day today, it's been a little bit like watching a snowball running downhill, getting bigger and bigger and bigger. when we went to bed last night, there was one known case of the omicron variant in the united states. a person in california who had recently traveled to south africa. south africa is where the variant is thought to have originated or at least where it was first detected. public health experts and officials like dr. anthony