being accused of advancing critical race theory. and from the congressman who resigned after a felony indictment to the utah senator who helped trump overturn that election, how republicans get away with nonstop scandals by just flooding the zone. when all in starts now. >> good evening from washington d. c., i'm mehdi hassan in for chris hayes. nearly seven years ago, donald trump entered the race for president. he came down that gold escalator a trump tower and proceeded to defeat 16 eminently qualified candidates, including senators, governors, and even the brother and son of a president. he read them all and took over the republican party. and then his presidency was a total car crash. he led republicans to defeat in the house in 2018. and then lost the senate on the presidency in 2020, making him the first president to lose all three in a single term since herbert hoover in 1932. now, you would think that after all of that, the republican party would want to rid itself of donald j trump. they would want to kick him out of the wilderness and move on. they have not moved on. and the ex president has an even more iron grip on the party than before. you may even have more power over the republican party today sitting in exile in mar-a-lago than he did while in the oval office. in a new piece for the new york times, shame goldmacher describes it as the mar-a-lago machine. trump has a modern-day party boss. quote, inspiring fear, hoarding cash, dueling out favors and seeking to crush rivals, mr. trump is behaving not merely as a powerbroker but as something closer to the head of a 19th century political machine. a former trump advisor describes the ex presidents exile as lawyer, quote, a developing tammany situation. referring to tammany hall, the political machine that essentially controlled the new york city for nearly 200 years. goldmacher also compressed trump to tie many holes most notorious, deeply corrupt leader, boss tweed, shown in this famous cartoon saying, as long as i count the votes, what you're gonna do about it? that certainly sounds familiar. you'll remember when donald trump asked georgia secretary of state to just find him 11,780 votes to overturn joe biden's win in that crucial state. of course, raffensperger thankfully refused, so trump has since endorsed his challenger. along with many other far-right secretary of state candidates around the country who plan on doing his bidding come 2024. they plan on counting the votes for him. he is, as shane goldmacher puts it, aggressively pursuing an agenda of vengeance against republicans who are wrong them, and we're seeing more than 150 candidates nationwide, and turning the 2022 primaries to a stress test of his way. for example, last week trump issued this anti endorsement telling pennsylvanians to not vote for republican bill swayne for governor. that is in retaliation for mcswain us trump said, doing absolutely nothing as u.s. attorney general of the massive election fraud that took place and philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth. of course, there was no massive thrall frauds. but perhaps, the best demonstration of donald trump's mar-a-lago machine comes from for the parade of republicans who make the pilgrimage to palm beach because their leaders ring and begging for assistance. goldmacher paints the picture, quote, working from a large win this government of the when he was in the oval office, trump has transformed mar-a-lago's old bridal suite into a shadow gop headquarters. and the ex president has amassed more than 100 and $20 million, a war chest more than double of the republican national committee itself. which she goals out stingy and lead to candidacy king's approval. some of those candidates even pay to attend mar-a-lago fund-raisers for others, clamoring for a fleeting moment of mr. trump's attention, or better yet, a photo. one north carolina candidates for congress posted this video of her opportunity to step up to trump's makeshift mar-a-lago stage, and snap a picture. she called a, quote, an epic moment. that place of the ex presidents ego. of course, trump enjoys fluttery, and is not above rewarding sycophants. and they try to feed him information just the way he likes it. inside a state bringing humbling visual materials matters. big funds are crucial. some have used trump's favorite medium, television, even running as far away from their voters in an anthem to catch a las vegas city kind woman announced their candidacy for this ad that aired over 2000 miles away in west palm beach florida. >> i set my whole life fighting the establishment. i was the first female majority leader and nevada assembly, and one of the first electors to endorse donald j trump. and you better believe i was attacked fourth. washington post called me a gun torn calendar girl. and political magazine said that i was a lady trump, and i don't care. >> and apparently, she did get trump's attention, last month she changed her mind and moved out to the state of race strategy or, and she made her decision after talking to the ex presidents team. so it seems fair to compare donald trump to boast weeds of time in the hole, and even former president richard nixon, there is an important difference. those figures said there ear was in their own right, but donald trump is not. he should not be where he, is still leading the republican party after bringing it to a crushing defeat. and that tells you, as much as about that party, as those about trump. shane goldmacher is a national political reporter with the new york times. he profile trump's party boss turned in that latest piece of his, which is a must read. and he joins me now. shane, thanks so much for coming to the show this evening. i'll talk about some of the stuff you reveal, but first, after ask, but is ef4 must feel like in a place like mar-a-lago? kind of people showed their other than the candidates looking for attention? >> it's a developed its own political economy. its own political gravity. you have republican candidates from across the country coming to seek meetings with him. and if they don't have a meeting to go to fund-raisers for others, they want to try again and get that show. they want them to get the moment. they're at least the other candidates from three other states that same night who posted pictures or had a moment with trump, or said that they were there. you've got donors from across the country who are coming. who have homes in palm beach area, or just are trying to stay in touch with the president. you have political operatives very much the center of the republican party's power right now in south florida. again, despite the fact that trump is out of the white house, and that he lost power in 2020 despite his efforts to say otherwise. >> shane, as with every member of the trump family, i have to ask, follow the money, and was the money going, do we know where is the money trump's going? you say is doubled the money of rnc, and you say he's stingy. quote, his snowboard goes no further than an email and a 5000 dollar check. >> yes, so far, he has not spent much of the many. he raised a lot of the money in the aftermath of the 2020 election, telling supporters that there was fraud, and we need the money to fight the fraud. but he backed much of his money to his future endeavors and suspended on these legal fights that they mostly lost in 2020. so you sitting on this huge war chest and heading into the 2022 midterms. he's endorsed as you said, more than hundred and 40 candidates across the country. and he is beginning to spend a little bit more. he's investing in the georgia governor's race where his prefer handpicked candidate is behind in the polls and running against one of the top people on that bench. governor brian kemp who served to fide the 2020 election, despite much opposition from trump. and trump has been author ever since. so that's where he's gonna dip in a little bit into the money. but again, mostly, this money is going to fund his future political and diverse, and for trump, having the money is power. one of the powers he has is not just popular among republican voters, it's that the party is raising money when he's doubling the money of the party cell phone is set the front raising emails. they sent it with his name. his name is the one raising so much money for republicans. >> so, shane, how is the tension between trump and republican party leaders in d. c., in particular playing out? you report that is enduring put polarity with the base fry and some of them, like house leader kevin mccarthy who was, quote, trying to keep mr. trump on the sidelines and some primaries. mccarthy made a pilgrimage to mar-a-lago to take a picture as well. >> the relationship to mccarthy and trump is fairly different than mcconnell and trump. the senate republican leader. mcconnell has brokered withdrawn very clearly, and trump is attacking him publicly by name. mccarthy has kept trump closer. one of the reasons is, he doesn't have the same hole that mcconnell does. so, presuming the balloons can win the majority of his fall, which is to says they have a big of an issue, kevin mccarthy needs to keep almost all the republicans to become the next speaker. and to do that, he's gonna be some pro trump republicans who may not necessarily be pro mccarthy republicans. and so, please give the former president close. he said multiple times, he's trying to keep him out of races where he may be entering the house. but look, they try to do the best they can. john brings an enormous energy from the base of the republican party. but he continues in private polls, and private focus groups to turn off the kind of like him setting mid tier voters and swing them to trump. and that's the hopes that democrats have in 2022, the things -- they can scare democrats into thinking that trump and trump or prisoners could be coming back into power. >> yes, remind those swing voters they mention that the republican party is now a personality cult. shingle knocker, thank you for reporting. as donald trump maintains inexplicably his grip on the republican party, his foot soldiers are falling asleep. republican senator rick scott, also the chairman of the republican national senatorial committee recently released ordinary magazine calls and ultra maga agenda for the midterm elections. it's 11 point plan that reads like a trumpian fever dream. scott introduces his proposal on this letter to americans writing, quote, the militant left no controls the entire federal government, the news media, academia, hollywood, and most corporate boardrooms, but they want more. they're redefining american silencing their opponents. he goes on to the some of the things they plan to change or destroy, including american history, patriotism, border security, the nuclear, family, traditional miley, capitalism. his ideas are perhaps even wilder than his words, he proposes getting virus by 50%, while requiring a minimum income tax on all americans. he also recommends that all federal legislation expire in five years, even social security, medicare, medicaid, and the affordable care act. the plan is so out there, it could actually backfire on republicans and help democrats. in fact, the democratic senatorial campaign recently field tested scott's plan with swing state voters and found strong aversion to the tax increase language as well as the idea of sun setting all federally funded programs in five years. democrats are preparing to use that to their advantage and what process to be a tough battle in the midterms to keep hold of the house and the senate. carlos camilo is a former republican congressman from florida which she represents the states 26 congressional district from 2015 to 2018, he joins me now. you know florida, you know rick scott, what is you playing out here? is this part of a bid to replace mcconnell or run, what's going on? >> it's clear that they did not fed this proposal with other republican senators because senator mcconnell added the press conference very obviously and visibly distance themselves from the scott proposal. and i think one of the main reasons is that, as republicans have made gains with working class voters in recent elections, a part of this plan would, you have to assume, raise taxes on a lot of working class voters when they're talking about a minimum tax that every single person would pay. so, this was senator scott's plan, and it looked like he was freelancing, not representing all senate republicans. and senator mcconnell has created a lot of space between himself and this proposal. >> but, does mitch mcconnell, i mean he threw cold war on his plans. he said he decides what goes on on the senate agenda. have a listen, actually. >> we were fortunate enough to have the majority next year. i'll be with the majority leader. i'll decide and consultation with my members what's to put on the floor. we will not have, as part of our agenda, though a bill that raises taxes on half the american people. and sunsets, social security, and medicare will in five years. >> but does mitch mcconnell still control the agenda? you have donald trump openly attacking him as old crow. a republican senate candidates who are going to be much more loyal to trump if they win the j. d. vance. does he still have that iron fist that he always had? >> i really do think so, mehdi it is remarkable. mitch mcconnell is one of the few republicans who has publicly attacked trump, publicly criticize trump. and he is still in full control of this conference. there are a few handful members who will still maybe vote for someone else. but mcconnell is still fully in control in a lot of these races. mcconnell candidates might actually beat trump candidates and some races. there are supporting the same candidate. mitch mcconnell, i think, is still the hope for a lot of republicans that would like to see the party turn to a more traditional situation on policy, and move away from what you called this personality where everything seems to revolve around donald trump. mcconnell's trying to change that. that battles playing out, but something that donald trump has not been able to do is significantly reduce the grip on the senate republican conference. >> just on the issue of the return, you said return, which makes me think, return to what? because i do wonder, what is a say about the republican of the party. you are proud of that they allowed this carnival barker to take it over and remake and his own image so firmly. >> well that's right, mehdi. people just bent the knee. they gave up. they don't bother them that trump was out there lying, tricking people, doing everything they could for self preservation. all the stuff they're doing at mar-a-lago, which was detailed so effectively in that piece, and the new york times, this is not about the republican party. donald trump just does not care about the republican party. he cares about the republican party as long as they owned subsidiary of the trump administration, those guys trying to make it. although if the republican party says going another, way don trump was disavow and will lift a finger for a single person. >> hundred percent. hundred percent. if you were to run for the nomination and not when it, can you imagine when he would do, or how many toys you throughout that crowd? carlos curbelo thank you so much for your time. i appreciated. right now, the republican party has nothing to sell to voters other than youngkin scary month looks out of schools and screaming critical race theory, which will tell you all about later tonight. but have no plans for the economy, they're no solutions for inflation. they're effectively leaving wide open goals for the democrats going into the midterms. the question is, will democrats do anything about it? will they go on offense? a lot democratic congresswoman ruben gallego after a short break. ter a shor break. it's time for migraine prevention delivered differently, through an iv infusion. it's time for vyepti - a preventive treatment for migraine in adults. vyepti is designed to start working fast, and to last with a 30-minute iv infusion, 4 times a year delivering 100% of the medication directly into your bloodstream. the power of a vyepti infusion can help to reduce monthly migraine days. some had fewer migraine days with the very first treatment. don't take if allergic to vyepti. common side effects are allergic reactions, stuffy nose, and scratchy throat. allergic reactions include rash, swelling, trouble breathing, hives, and redness of the face. choose to infuse with migraine prevention delivered differently. talk to a neurologist or migraine specialist about vyepti. learn how you could save. 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(soft music) ♪ right now there are a whole bunch of layups that democrats are not taking in schools across the country republicans are banning books acknowledge racism, and the acknowledgment of the existence of lgbtq people. the party lissie meter, -- calling his invasion of ukraine, quote, genius. despite the repeated cracks on democrats for inflation, high gas prices, republicans have failed to offer a way to tackle those problems. at the state level, they are also consumed with ridiculous cultural vendettas like banning trans gendered children from playing sports. republicans have no plan for childcare, or, wages or the climate, their agenda is not popular according to the polls. and yet, democrats now trail them in the polls. so could it be because democrats are not going on the attack enough? congressman ruben gallego is a democrat from arizona, and he joins me now. congressman, thanks for coming on the show tonight. you are a marine corps veteran, you know all about strategy, when it comes to the midterms, what is the democratic strategy to win this fight and hold on to the house? is there one, because i don't see? >> well, i think there needs to be one. i do agree that it has been slow to come. but you are correct, the best tragedy is an offensive strategy because republicans do not have any ideas. this is nothing new, republicans have always been running out of divisiveness. that is how they win an election, by essentially getting people to be mad at each other, or dissuaded from even voting. that's why have been in republican wave years, is there democrats are discouraged from coming out to vote because we don't do anything. we have some great successes with the american rescue plan, we basically, you know, [inaudible] the country from poverty and a recession, we have rescued ukraine out of the groups of an autocrat that republicans, many months ago were cheering on by the way, including their leader donald trump. and we are now moving on to the face where we do two more things, number one, protect american democracy in terms of what we are going to do, and a number two, protecting our -- american paycheck. how do we do that we go back to what we know works, child tax credit, child care subsidies, increased minimum wage, protect health care act. the thing that make people lives easier, and our counter inflationary. but you have to go on the offense, we have to remind the voters that republicans are a party of nothing. right? this is why they are screaming and trying to distract us with people's genitals instead of focusing on people's paychecks. >> but the reality is, congressman, you and i both know that the screaming often works. that is how they often win elections, and republicans will always fight the culture wars. democrats always want to run away from them. i have a question for you, why not fight the culture wars and when them, on abortion, on book banning, on teaching history, the public is on your side? >> well i certainly think that our arguments are always going to be better because they are based on rationality instead of fear, if you look at the republican -- platforms in general. my platform saying but my party says a lot about you especially when it comes to how you say it. very clearly power whispers, weakness screams. the republican party has to scream because their platform is so weak. but we are right on this, we should not be abandoning these poor transgender kids that are being bullied when there is only two or three of them playing sports and some of the states. at least you have some governors -- showing some real courage, we should be standing up for women 's right to choose, and a family's right to choose and not some government bureaucrat telling a woman when she should or shouldn't be having kids. we certainly know that book banning is not something that is proper in this country. and for a party always can talking about cancel culture, there is nothing bigger than canceling books especially some of the books to know are very popular to kill a mockingbird and other books such as that. so, you know, i think it is one we push back on the culture issues where we know we are correct, melissa remind at the end of the day everything is to distract, republicans have no plan to make your life better. if anything, all they want to do is distract you so they can get taxes where the big corporate buddies, and at the end of the day regulations that do not protect you. that is what they are going to end up giving if they get elected. >> so congressman, you and i agree they don't have any economic common plan, this is why the scream about culture war issues. the problem is when they say democrats are pro peter files, and so is the supreme court justice, and you have democrats quoted thing including your colleague -- saying we are going to deal with us stuff, we will focus on kitchen table issues. it sounds nice, but when you look at the kitchen table issues, you weren't able to lower prescription drug costs, or improve childcare, or raise the minimum wage. -- but i'm saying even on the kitchen table issues. >> well the kitchen table issues are -- but you have to fight back, the republican party in oh, policy ridiculous. you have matt gates who is paying for under age sex with girls. >> allegedly. >> you have a speaker of the house who is basically removed his -- photos from the speaker gallery because he did molest young boys. >> yes, he did. >> this is the party if there's any target right now, that should be talked about. and lastly, the fact they are using that to attack our lgbtq community, this is clearly homophobic. instead of saying they are coming out with their homophobia, they have to use cryptic words. at least be straight up with what you are doing. i think it is ridiculous they're using this to create more anxious against lgbtq people who have the highest suicide rate in the country. that is just said. >> well said congressman, i think you are the first democrat, maybe i missed it on tv to bring out -- a convicted child molester house speaker for the republican party. it's amazing the republicans don't talk more about it. congressman, thank you for your time, i appreciate. it >> there's tons, more so -- >> we would need a whole hour with you to go through the list. >> absolutely. >> thank you for your time tonight. >> >> thank you. >> when we return, after failing to take kyiv, russia began withering its forces to the east and now president zelenskyy says russia launched a new attack. the latest from ukraine after the short break. russian forces of starter than ♪ es el mes de la camioneta chevy. y es momento de añadir los accesorios ideales a tu chevy. hazla más audaz. hazla más trabajadora. hazla tuya. find new posibilidades. find new roads. clientes muy bien calificados pueden obtener 0% de financiamiento en la mayoría de camionetas chevy. además, ahora en el mes de la camioneta, obtén un bono para accesorios de mil dólares para la compra de una camioneta chevy nueva con accesorios. find new roads en tu concesionario chevy. fans have to take full control of the donbas region in southeastern ukraine, according to ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. in a speech, the president announced a large part of the russian force has now focus on the roughly 300 mile frontline. earlier today, on the other side of the country, a russian missile attack on the city of lviv killed at least seven people and injured 11 others according to the mayor. the attack was the first civilian deaths in a city that, until now, was largely spared. nbc news correspondent alicia rosy described seeing the strike firsthand. >> i've never seen a cruise muscle and they are myself. this is the first time. so when i flew over our heads, it was so big, i thought it was an airplane. and then men informed us, this is a cruise missile. this is very disconcerting, a loud whistling sound when it flies over your head, and then a massive thump. we immediately realize there, this is in a very crowded residential area. back in the center of lviv. >> this is a member of the ukrainian parliament, and the picture of alaska's party. she joins me in the dark due to curfew. thanks for joining us. what's going on in the east of the country right now, how things changed today? >> well, i would say that the history is being written in our eyes right now, because it is night in ukraine. in the territory of east and the south, russian troops are trying to break the resistance of our army. so, all the prayers in every house in ukraine goes to our army who is defending not only our lives, but the state. the possibility to be ukrainian in this world. right now, three hotspots would be mariupol, nicola, which is on the south, and mykolaiv stop the russians from going further and stick odessa, the port city on the black sea. and also in the kharkiv region. we have the constant air raids on all of the territory of ukraine. you've seen what a cruise missile can do in lviv. lviv is in western ukraine, which is rather peaceful, but russians are trying to terrorize the whole country and the whole nation. so no one can feel safe. >> russian troops give the ukrainian troops defending mariupol a that line to surrender, and they ignored it. how much longer can these ukrainian troops there holdout without being re-supplied? what happens of mariupol false? >> i think they are one of the bravest soldiers and men in the world. those who defend mariupol. but also, we want russians to let civilians leave variable. because right now, and this moment, more than 1000 civilians, children, women, are in the basements of a factory as well. and they cannot leave because the city is gone. it's completely ruined. and the russians will not give the green corridor to them. we are asking all the political leaders to help with that, but russians did not have any moral standards or red lines. our troops will stand there as long as they can. i think it's not just a military target, mariupol, but also a symbolic target. because it's been 54 days, and this completely russian -speaking city is not surrendering. >> president zelenskyy told jake top of cnn an interview over the weekend that he wanted president biden to visit kyiv. take a listen. >> do you want president biden to come here? >> yes. >> are there plans for him to come? >> i think he will. i think you will. it's his decision, of course, and about the safety situation, it depends. but i think, he's the president of the united states, and that's why he should come here to see. >> how do you expect a trip to kyiv from the united states president would be received by most ukrainians? >> you've seen how it was received by the prime minister johnson, of great britain. it was a great, a very powerful signal. and we do understand all the security issues. we understand that. but i think the the leader of the free world should be a place where democracy is being defended, at this very moment. but frankly speaking, all of the ukrainians would say that, give us weapons, arm us, and we will be thankful for that, as well. >> and, one last question. a darker topic. wasn't zones he was also asked about this a doctors concerned that putin may use tactical nuclear weapons. how worried are you about that? >> russians killed so many people already. thousands of people. they crossed every red line. i can't say it will stop us from defending the country. we will not stand on our knees begging not to use the chemical weapon or the nuclear weapon. in ukraine vocabulary, you do not have the words, impossible anymore. so, we will defend our country no matter what. but, we will need more support from our partners to do that. and that's why we're asking for artillery and systems to take them out. because putin needs to be punched in his nose, in his teeth. and he needs to feel this from the civilized world. >> the word impossible doesn't exist in ukraine anymore, well said. thank you so much for your time, and please do stay safe. still ahead, the right-wing obsession with book binding richie's new levels of upside. now they're finding critical race theory bogeyman in math textbooks. i kid you not, that story next. betes. his underhand sky serve? on fire. with the once-daily pill, jardiance. jardiance not only lowers a1c... it goes beyond to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease. and jardiance may help you lose some weight. jardiance may cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital yeast or urinary tract infections. a rare life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and don't take it if you're on dialysis. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. a once-daily pill that goes beyond lowering a1c? on it with jardiance. ask your doctor about jardiance. >> tim morrison was a fourth year english teacher in missouri, as part of her curriculum she talked about dear martin a novel about systemic racism seeing through the eyes of a black teenager. part of morrison's lesson plan included a work sheet on racial privilege for her children to fill out, which prompted students to mark true or untrue for statements like if a traffic oppose me over, i can be sure i haven't been singled out because of my race. i have never been told i sound or act white. it was that work she in particular that made her one of the latest targets of the american rights historical war on education. moisten so she was called into a meeting with the school's principal who accused her of teaching the republican bogeyman, critical race theory. morrison said, quote, it's not critical race theory, i don't know a critical race theory is because i didn't go to law school, and we didn't cover in grad school. this isn't it. but her justifications did not matter, the damage had already been done. she was forced to resume -- that the future at the school was uncertain. late last month, behind closed doors, the school board voted not to renew her contract for the next school year. they didn't try to push some phony excuse either, they were happy to admit why. when morrison asked why her contract was not renewed, she was told, quote your decision to incorporate the war she associated with the novelty or martin due to the content and subject matter. and this ridiculous right-wing cancel culture, shall we call, it is not just happening in greenfield, missouri, it is happening all over the country. in florida, the state education department rejected more than 50 matt textbooks for reasons including, you guessed, it promoted critical race theory. matt, not history, not literature, they say matt books are pushing crt. maybe there are slipping graduate level discussions of systemic racism in quadratic equations, but i doubt it. the state has not said which specific mathematical problems that found objectionable, big surprise there. and while many of these fights are taking place in schools, republicans are not stopping there. now they are coming for your local library as well. as the washington post reports, one library network in texas has been overrun by white christian conservatives. they stack the library with a bunch of like-minded -- some of who do not even own library cards themselves. they cause meetings to the public, they started purging books that don't conform to the reactionary worldview. one librarian was, yes you guessed, it fired last month for refusing to comply. >> they had librarian at the kingsland library in -- county says when she didn't remove certain books from her shelves, the county removed her. >> the books in my library, were not taken off the shelves, we did not move them, i told my boss that is censorship. >> last year the county close to three libraries for three days, so they could go through and remove books from the shelves, just like that. the listening clues a sex education book for kids going through puberty, just a book on systemic racism and pulitzer -winning prize -- and a children's book called freddy this farting snowman, that is gone to. this is censorship, plain and simple. removing public access to books that do not confirmed to a right-wing kristen fundamentalist view of the world, well, it is censorship. what did freddy do to them? look, the hypocrisy here is brazen, republicans love to complain about cancel culture but they know i have a problem with it. they just want to be the ones doing the counseling. is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor start an anti-diarrheal and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you're nursing, pregnant or plan to be. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. the big story >> on friday the big story was that republican senator of utah was texting trump white house chief of staff mark meadows soon after donald trump lost the 2020 election, and it began what became his new coup attempt. lee sent meadows messages like this one, if a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slate delegates there could be a path. >> -- republican plot to steal the election was more widespread than we. and involved sitting senators, not just ted cruz and josh hawley. but this week, that story is gone. nobody is talking about it anymore. but it is not just mike lee who has disappeared from our headlines, donald trump jr. texting meadows a strategy to overturn the election, and ginni thomas the wife of supreme court clarence thomas to overturn the election as mark meadows himself being investigated for possible voter fraud, there's trump's son in law church kushner getting what looks like a two billion dollar kickback from the saudis. -- north carolina accusing his congressional colleagues of attending coke fueled orgies, and never taking the accusation back. those republican members of congress marjorie taylor greene and paul gosar of -- holocaust deniers. not even a slap on the wrist from their party leadership. the republican congressman -- of nebraska resigning after being convicted of lying to the fbi about foreign money given to his campaign fund. i mean look, this is an almost endless list. i could go on, and, on and on. and all of these stories happened really recently in recent weeks. each of them is a huge scandal, and at all times will dominate the news for weeks. but these are not normal times, and so, these republicans just get away with it. joining me now to discuss is -- contributing writer to the atlantic magazine, and the author of their way what newsletter. molly, thanks for coming on. why don't the stories that i just mentioned, especially the ones for republicans trying to overturn our democracy mike lee, ginni thomas, mike lee, why don't they are more staying power in our -- ? >> i want how much of the mainstream media is worried about bias, the truth has a democratic bias. we have seen research about, that right. the idea that a lot of republicans, one of the reasons why they are leaving the debate is because they don't like the fact checking. so i wonder how much of this as mainstream media's anxiety about looking partisan, especially the right are so committed to making mainstream media very worried. i definitely think the argument that people don't care about that is wrong, the media's job is to make the people care about things. that is what they do. and certainly, democrats could push harder and have more hearings and -- >> yes, definitely the democrats could do more to make people care, to force the media coverage. we will come back to that in a moment. i just wonder also, in addition to the both sides, journalists working the rafts successfully as it goes. there is this problem we have to be honest and open about, which is the sheer volume of all this corruption and seeming criminality. former trump advisor steve bannon said -- the media and the way to deal with him is to flood the zone with excrement. it has worked hasn't it, the stone flooded by the gop on an epic level? >> absolutely has worked. i think people have trouble keeping track, i think there are so many text messages now, mike lee stuff is a big deal. i was pretty shocked by the republican senator from texas who was texting with -- >> chip roy, the congressman. >> yeah, chip roy, but i was even more shocked by these mike lee text because i had read some stuff about it, but i was super surprised and how he was involved, and trying to get sydney powell involved. sydney powell's thought of as pretty -- and he was the one who was pushing sydney powell and trump. so these text messages are pretty disturbing. and also, he is up for reelection, mike lee is up for reelection in 2022. >> so, molly, what do you think is the solution to this lack of coverage, this inability to stay focused on these gop stories of corruption and scandal? as i said, part of me thinks democrats need to go on the attack more, because if democrats didn't move on from mike lee or jenny thompson and kept talking about them and be much harder for the media to move on. >> right, that is for sure. you see that, republicans and benghazi, when hillary clinton was -- they held endless hearings about benghazi. so 100 percent i think of the super important that democrats hold hearings that they are going to have to -- they are the one party that is interested in keeping democracy going, republicans have -- against democracy. they are committed to just getting power at any cost. and democrats have to be the ones who hold the hearings, who say this is not okay, the president son was texting with his chief of staff about fake electorate and you see these text messages, there is clearly a coordination because the ceo -- we saw those messages from don jr., chip roy, mike lee, they are all basically saying the same plan. so i think it is very important that democrats hold hearings, push the media to cover this, and talk about it. if they don't talk about, it no one -- >> exactly, and i just find as you mentioned, holding hearings, the democrats control the house for where a few more months if that. and where is the investigation into jared kushner, elizabeth warren, -- she would like to see a congressional investigation. they need to get on with. you mentioned benghazi, i mean multiple hearings, multiple committees, here we have the 16 committee over a year after 16, still no televised hearings. if we ever get to those hearings, do you think they could change things in the public imagination, or no? >> i think they could. i think that narrative as one of the few things that could really fire autocracy. when you have a narrative, when you have people talking, even if a lot of these trump people want to participate, remember they are bad faith actors, but even if you have an empty chair and you have a narrative and you read the tax, there is space for that but democrats and also the two republicans on the 16 committee need to make sure that is heard and to have those hearings in primetime so people can see them with their own eyes and hear the tax and hear them read. i think there is really a chancellor. democrats have to try because they are the last thing stopping us from being a trump hockey. >> yes, well said, the pressing, but important animal said. molly, thank you for your time in analysis, we appreciate it. that is all in on this monday night. the rachel maddow show starts now. good evening rachel. so good to have you back on tv. >> thank, you it is both good to be, back and a little intimidating coming on after you when you just covered 40 stories and 14 minutes. >> we tried, we tried to keep people on their toes. >> well done, my friend. thank you. and thank you at-home for joining. us this hour and applebaum is just back from kyiv, from kyiv interviewed the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy in person. president zelenskyy tonight, announcing that russian forces have begun the massive attack that has been expected for a couple of weeks now, targeting eastern ukraine, targeting the donbas, we will speak with ann apple balm coming up in a few minutes. we will be talking tonight about a federal judge striking down the mask rule, the mask mandate on airline transportation and public transportation, an usual ruling from a judge in an unusual place to be making that kind of ruling but it effectively means that the mask rule for public transportation and domestic airline flights is off, is no longer in effect,s