the sphere and the sweet sounds of secretary blinken to take us off the air tonight. and on that pretty fantastic note, i wish you all a fantastic night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thank you for staying up late with me. i'll see you at the end of tomorrow. end of tomorrow today was the first hearing in the house republican impeachment inquiry into president biden. and when i tell you it was not a lot of they are there, that this inquiry was so far based on paranoid vibes and conspiracy hunches, will don't take my word for it. here are the three witnesses that house republicans called today to make their case. let me say that again, these are the witnesses that house republicans cold. >> i am not here today to even suggest that there was corruption or any wrongdoing. >> in fact, i do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment. >> you mention in your oral testimony, you had written a commentary entitled, you'd go to prison for what biden did. that would you go to prison for what? hunter biden did? >> that's exactly right. i was cutting downwards, to stay within my five minutes. >> you realize, yeah, that's an important word that you left out. >> sure is an important word. far right republican members of congress spent a lot, maybe all, of their time on political stunts. but this hearing today was on a completely different level. in the words of congressman jamie raskin, if republicans had a smoking gun, or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today. but they didn't. which seems to buttress the criticism this entire inquiry is a fishing expedition. that republicans are desperate to find controversy where none, so far, exists. that alone would be a breach of the public trust, it would be a violation of why they are in office to begin with. but this saturday night, at one minute past midnight, our federal government is set to shut down. and not only are house republicans spending today putting on this impeachment circus, rather than trying to pass a budget to prevent that shut down, but nbc news confirmed today, the house oversight committee, the one in charge of this impeachment inquiry, that committee has deemed the staff of the chairman, james comer, that staff is comprised of essential workers. the house judiciary committee, which is by the way, also investigating president biden, has done the same. for the staff of its chairman, jim jordan. that means that even if the entire federal government shuts down, the hunt for impeachment outrage goes on. because in the mind of house republicans, this is the essential work. the amazing, and wonky, new site government executive combed through the most recent government shutdown contingency plans. for all of the federal agencies. to see how many federal workers would not be deemed essential if the government shutdown. they found that 93% of epa and nasa workers would be furloughed. 90% of the staff of the securities and exchange commission. 90% of the staff of the department of education. 54% of the civilian staff at the department of defense. the department of justice, homeland security, that former transportation, the list goes on and on. all of those agencies would have to tell sizable, if not downright, huge chunks of their staff to go home well republican chairman worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of a president biden scandal that, so far, does not exist. now, i have been talking about the potential government shutdown, in terms of labor. a lot, on the show. that is because, first and foremost, those millions of government workers will be the people most impacted by a shutdown. but don't forget, a government shutdown would impact all of us. i mean, do you remember the airports during the last shutdown? >> after lines like these last week, the tsa is now calling for backup. around the country, 10% of its employees called off work on sunday. compared to just 3% on the same day last year. >> air traffic controller, tyler canard, in his wife bheki, are facing mounting bills, including regular hospital care for their old tucker's immune deficiency disorder. >> were real families that need real paycheck. that my husband's working really hard for. >> 10,500 air traffic controllers watch the nation skies, but after a month without paychecks, some are joining other government workers at local food banks. and a food bank in oklahoma city, furloughed air traffic control instructor, -- came for food and to volunteer. >> i wasn't behind on my bills until the shutdown. why should i have to take out a loan for something that was not even my fault? the >> government shut down this weekend, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers, and more than 50,000 tsa officers, would be forced to work without pay. they are the real essential workers. they do not deserve this. let me bring in transportation secretary, pete buttigieg in this conversation. secretary buttigieg, thank you for joining me on a busy night and a busy week. i know there are a lot of preparations, probably underway. can you give us a sense of what the implications of a government shutdown are, on a practical level, for example, to air travelers? >> well, it's just a matter of time before chaos in congress would lead to chaos at the airports. each passing day the shutdown continued, it would become harder and harder to maintain the systems, in the processes, that keep our transportation systems running. as your story noted, and as america experienced in the last shutdown, one thing that would happen immediately, air traffic controllers stop being paid. i want people to think about the level of intensity that is associated with the job we are going to hit a tower, or facility, and make sure that 16 million aircraft a year at the end of the day, we get to where they're going safely. there's a huge amount of tension in that job. and to come to that job with the added stress of coming from household where your family doesn't know where next paycheck is gonna come from is unthinkable. in terms of, well, i guess is not unthinkable anymore, this congress and extreme republicans in the house conference seem to be willing to let it happen yet again. or force it to happen, really. but it's certainly unacceptable. another thing that would happen, immediately, we would have to halt bringing on new air traffic controllers. now, if you've been following any of what's been going on an air travel, in the last couple of years, you know that we have a shortfall that has built up over many years, that we finally turned around and are getting in the right direction, in other words, high rate of pace that is beginning to get better and not worse. that would also stop. people at the air traffic control academy in oklahoma would be sent home. even a shutdown lasting a few days, we'd be feeling the effects into next year, in terms of the disruptions to our pipeline. those are just a couple examples from aviation alone. across transportation, and across this country, a shut down like this is something that we can't afford. there's no good time for a shutdown, right now, when we finally see air travel delays go and cancellations get back to normal territory, cancellations this year, actually below what they were pre-pandemic, and we're fighting to get them even lower than that. this is the exact wrong time to reverse that progress, with a politically motivated republican shut down. >> yeah, i think it seems like, you know, republicans at least, maybe framing this mentally as just bureaucratic inconvenience. hearing you talk about it, this is the safety of people traveling throughout the united states. whether it's the faa, which is facing a double government shutdown, because there's a deadline to renew the law that basically establishes the agency. the tsa, which was very vulnerable, those workers were very vulnerable in the last shutdown. not having enough tsa agents to make sure that flights are safe. i mean, there are real practical safety implications for the decision to shut down the government. and yet, i would like to get your thoughts on the decision of oversight chair james comer to deem his staff to be essential workers, to keep up the impeachment wrote you well house republicans dither and refused to make a deal that could prevent a government shutdown. what does that tell you about the priorities of the republican party at present? >> it's insane. here we are, something like 50 hours from them shutting down the funds that we used to pay air traffic controllers, who make sure that 16 million flights a year take off and land safely. and they're busy with shutdowns, they're busy with impeachment, they're even know what for. they didn't have one. this is their idea of how to spend their time? sometimes i'm watching the stuff go on, i just think to myself, do they understand that this is not a game. this is not a show. this is not practice. this is the actual legislative body that actually governs the real military and government of the most powerful nation on earth. like, this is not an exercise. there it. they're the only congress we've got. and you've got it dominated now by a group of fringe republicans. who are preventing speaker mccarthy from being able to invest his time in delivering the deal that he actually made. remember, the speaker of the house in the president of the united states, already made a deal over how to handle this spending, precisely designed to head off the situation, they made that deal earlier this summer. now, the speaker can't seem to follow through in the. because of these fringe republicans. by the way, also, some of the same republicans in the house, in those committee rooms, who tried to politicize some of the problems they're now making worse. last week, i was up on capitol hill, i was testifying in the house transportation infrastructure committee. several of the house republicans there tried to attack the administration over the east palestine derailment in ohio. making no mention of the fact that they are demanding cuts to railroad safety inspections. and are threatening the government shutdown in order to get their way. there were representatives who tried to politicize staffing shortfalls in air traffic control. one, in particular, white on tv this morning, saying that he's gonna keep taking his paycheck, he doesn't think of himself as wealthy, even though he's actually millionaire. but he didn't think there would be a lot of sympathy for federal workers, like the air traffic controllers, who are about to get go without pay. because of their actions. he's somebody else who voted to cut air traffic control early this year. in the so-called limit save grow act that speaker mccarthy moved to the house. it is absolutely upside down in terms of any sense of priorities. we need that to be working on keeping americans safe. and keeping american transportation systems and the rest of our government running. yet, they're devoting their time and attention, we are not busy fighting each other in the shutdown drama, to impeachment inquiries over, they can even say what. >> you know, you noted the cuts house republicans are demanding to railroad inspection. it would lead to 11,000 fewer miles of railtrack inspected by the department of transportation next year. that's what house republicans want as a part of all these negotiations. i do have to ask you, because the biden administration seems to draw a line between kevin mccarthy and the maga win of the caucus. yet, on his face, i understand that distinction. but kevin mccarthy is a tool of the mega right-wing at this point. the reason there is not a deal, the reason the government may shut down, because kevin mccarthy won't make a deal with democrats. if kevin mccarthy makes a deal with democrats, kevin mccarthy isn't speaker of the house anymore. is the statesman like thing to do, if you are kevin mccarthy, to basically throw yourself on your sword, understand you won't be speaker anymore, and keep the government open? >> well, you know, i can't tell kevin mccarthy what to do. he's not gonna call me for advice. i know, he's the speaker of the house of the united states house of representatives for the whole country. and he has a responsibility, and the congress has responsibility, to take care of the whole country. that is also the leader of the house republicans, which means i guess, he owns everything that comes out of that conference in the caucus. that seems to be at war with itself. the rest of our imperfect government system is pretty much ready to go here. the president ready to go. the senate, even on a rather bipartisan basis, has made it, clear they're ready to act. house democrats are ready to go, it's really just down to whether house republicans and, first of all, can make peace with each other, and make peace with their leader, kevin mccarthy. and then get right with the rest of the country. we're running out of time. we have hours. hours left, before the effects start to happen. and you mention this, i don't get too technical, imagine this double where me that could be coming for the faa, because we're also running the faa on a five-year authorization. we are in year five out of five. and there's only a couple days left for that authorization, too if both of those laps, because of the chaos in the house republican conference right now, that means that some of these effect won't be easily reversible. some of the funds that will be lost that would ordinarily come into our fund that we use for improving fiscal infrastructure at airports in making safety improvements, we don't get that back. it's not even clear that some workers impacted we get there back pay. which thankfully, would have been to many of the other workers affected by shut down automatically. but out in this case. this is just no way to run the most powerful country on earth. they've got to come to their senses, they've got to get to work, they've got to do one of the most fundamental jobs the united states congress, which is to fund the government. >> yeah. as you remind us, it's not a rehearsal, it's not an improv group, is not a puppet show. is the actual congress they need, they need to do their jobs. also, p. s., republicans fly to. transportation secretary, pete buttigieg, sir, so good have you on the program. good luck in the hours ahead. thanks for time tonight. >> thank you. thank you having me. >> we have more to come tonight, up next, the first hearing in the republican effort to impeach president biden goes nowhere. and that is according to fellow republicans. plus, president biden is ringing the alarm a bill, we'll have more on this just ahead. there's something dangerous happening in america. there's an extremist movement. it does not show the basic beliefs of our democracy. beliefs of our democracy i learned i can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why i switched to dovato. dovato is a complete hiv treatment for some adults. no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines to help keep you undetectable than dovato. detect this: most hiv pills contain 3 or 4 medicines. dovato is as effective with just 2. if you have hepatitis b, don't stop dovato without talking to your doctor. don't take dovato if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking dofetilide. this can cause serious or life-threatening side effects. if you have a rash or allergic reaction symptoms, stop dovato and get medical help right away. serious or life-threatening lactic acid buildup and liver problems can occur. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. dovato may harm an unborn baby. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. detect this: i stay undetectable with fewer medicines. ask your doctor about switching to dovato. sleep more deeply. and wake up rejuvenated. with purple's new mattresses fall asleep 20% faster have less aches and pains and sleep uninterrupted. visit purple.com or a store near you. since my citi custom cash® card automatically adjusts to earn me more cash back in my top eligible category... suddenly life's feeling a little more automatic. like doors opening wherever i go... 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[mind blown explosion noise] inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. he's right, you know. so, there's a lot we can say is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp...little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. he's the best. make every wash count! little help, please. about the first house republican-led hearing today, which was part of their impeachment inquiry into president biden. but maybe just this one time, let's have fox news do it for us. >> all, right for the better part of six hours, i had been following these hearings. an hour of my fox business show earlier today. i don't know what was achieved over these last six plus hours. welcome, everybody, i'm neil caputo. i want to put in perspective here though. we are gonna legally go through all the details. james comer, the oversight committee chairman, said that there would be presented a mountain of evidence against mr. biden. he was referring to president biden. but none of the expert witnesses today presented, yet, any proof for impeachment. to be clear, this was not about impeachment. this was about launching an impeachment inquiry. but it is worth pointing out, none of the witnesses today were fact witnesses. that means, none of them were involved in the investigation into the alleged activities in the first place. what's more, none of the witnesses testified today of direct knowledge of what republicans have been claiming about joe biden. in other words, the way this was built up, whether smoke, there would be fire. again, i'm not a lawyer. i don't to be talking to some darn smart ones in a moment. but whether it's smoke, today, we just got a lot more smoke. >> joining me now, democratic congressman, adam schiff of california. he was, of course, the lead prosecutor in donald trump's first impeachment trial. congressman schiff, it's great to see you. when you've lost fox news, who do you have left? the fact is, the goings on today seem like, is debacle the right word? i'm not sure. what, in your, mind you happen today? what road is going down for republicans? >> i think it was a complete debacle. you know, it will pardon the expression, it wasn't asked backwards impeachment proceedings. historically, what congress has done when i believe the president was engaged in wrongdoing, it might rise to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor, to other investigation. what you've done investigation, and believe there's a sound basis, then you start an impeachment inquiry. and at the end of that, you bring in the experts to evaluate the evidence you presented, and put them in constitutional context. well, today, republicans did it in exactly the opposite direction. they started with experts who had no evidence to evaluate. i'm not surprised that the fox news watching crowd was frustrated by this. but this has been the case all along. this has been an impeachment in search of a reason for being. jamie raskin had it exactly right, it was a seinfeld of impeachments. impeachment about nothing. it's also such a stark juxtaposition of this merit -less impeachment inquiry, taking place, wasting time, while we're just a couple days away from a shutdown of the federal government. which is what they should be focused on. and if i can, alex, i just want to respond to the question you asked earlier, what should kevin mccarthy do? you know, he gave his word to joe biden when they reached that budget deal, to revert a default on our debt. he should tell us republican conference, they gave the president my word, i gave it to him on behalf of our conference. and i'm gonna honor my word, and i'm putting up this bipartisan bill, and i want you to vote for it. i'm gonna vote for it. if you remove, may remove. i'm gonna keep my word. that is not appear to be the approach of kevin mccarthy. and its service members were gonna go out without paychecks, who are gonna suffer. federal firefighters are gonna suffer. it's travelers at airports we're gonna suffer. it's parents with kids it head start, who are gonna lose childcare, they're gonna suffer. because kevin mccarthy won't keep his word. and neither will the republican conference. >> can i ask you on that front, if kevin mccarthy does what, is i think, most people assume, is the right thing here. which is to prevent a government shutdown, it almost certainly means he loses his speakership. what is the view on someone else holding the speaker's gavel, from the point of view of the democratic caucus? is the devil you know, which is to say, pardon expression, kevin mccarthy, is that better than whoever republicans come up with next for speaker? keep in mind, you guys could also pursue a motion to vacate and get him out of the speaker 's chair, but nobody's done that so far. >> you know, i would rather have someone of their word, someone you could trust and make a deal with, someone whose word meant something. or stood for something. or believed in something. then a speaker who has none of those qualities. a speaker with one of those qualities, as we are seeing, can't govern. so, you know, i don't know that speaker mccarthy would lose his speakership over doing the right thing. i know he's afraid of that. what he has going for them, for him, they don't seem to have much of an alternative. after all, the rebels in their conference aren't really interested in governing. they're just interested in tearing down. but they don't have anyone else to step up to that position. so, he may stay in that position, but frankly, i would choose, if it were up to me, but it's not, having republican speaker that's more affective, even though they be more effective, because they could help govern. and they could, ideally, work with us across the aisle to govern. in the senate, a bipartisan proposal to keep the government funded got 77 votes to advance. they've been able to do it in the senate. we should do it in the house. >> what is your expectation here about how this, what are the next 72 hours, 96 hours, look like? the republican seem intent on continuing the impeachment inquiries. they've deemed the staff of those inquiries essential workers. and a deal is so far, nowhere to be seen. so, what should we expect happens in the halls of congress? >> well, first of, all there's nothing less essential than the people that are working on this bogus impeachment inquiry. but, you know, where is this gonna all end up? i think it's gonna end up in a train wreck. in fact, i was talking to one of the republicans on the little tram after votes, the first session of votes today. i asked him, how does this? and his answer was, i can't tell you, but not will. sadly, it's gonna end not well for the country. i think, because, at this point, they're likely to shut down. i do think that they will come to embrace the cer. they will try to get some face saving device to at least claim some kind of a win. but it's the country that's gonna lose. it's the only question, at this, point probably, how long people are going to be suffering before the republicans decide the pressure is too much. and they need to put something forward that can pass in the house and senate. >> congressman adam schiff, you are welcome to use the phrase asked backwards anytime to describe moment like this. i appreciate you. and thank you for making the time tonight. >> thank you. >> still to come this evening, one of these things is not like the other. president biden issuing a stark warning about the fate of democracy. and republican presidential candidates arguing about curtains. plus, some of trump's children may be called to the stand in a trial that is set to get underway next week. we'll have more on that, just ahead. so i can keep working my magic. just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. aleve. who do you take it for? what causes a curve down there? can it be treated? stop typing, and start talking. it could be a medical condition called peyronie's disease, or pd. and it could be treated without surgery. find a specialized urologist who can diagnose pd and build a treatment plan with you. visit makeapdplan.com today. hi, i'm jason. i've lost 228 pounds on golo. ♪ and build a treatment plan with you. i don't ever want to go back to wearing a 4xl shirt or not being able to climb up stairs without taking a break. so i'm committed to golo for life. >> today, an appeals court what do we always say, son? liberty mutual customizes your car insurance... so you only pay for what you need. that's my boy. ♪ stay off the freeways! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ rejected donald trump's request to delay his new york civil fraud trial. so now that trial will begin in just a few days, on monday. the judge in that case road earlier this week that trump and his codefendants committed fraud, but the trial is still on to determine damages and other matters. now we have the names of potential witnesses, who could be called to the stand as part of the trial. they are trump's children, don junior, eric, and ivanka. his former lawyer, michael cohen. his former see if oh -- and the man himself, donald j trump. while new york attorney general letitia james has of the three names on her list of potential witnesses, trump's list as a lot longer at 128 names. plus any witness on the prosecutions list. so a lot of people on the defense, potentially. that might want to talk to. could take a really long time. seems to be maybe the point. to that end, in the federal criminal case over trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election, trump's lawyers have met for initial two months to file pretrial motions. two more months. and trump's other federal criminal case about classified documents in mar-a-lago, special counsel jack smith has accused trump's lawyers of, quote, intentionally derailing the beginning of the trial. joining me now is christie greenberg, former deputy chief of the southern district of new york's criminal division and msnbc legal analyst --. all right, ladies. it's not even subtle, the strategy here, which seems to be delay. but kristie, people who didn't pay attention to the docket this week, earlier, which is doesn't yesterday, trump lost the effort to have judge chutkan recuse herself. and literally as soon as she announced that, i think it was hours later, trump's lawyers asked for two additional months to file pre-trial motions. it is literally, they have a deck of delay currents, that was not gonna work, maybe this one will. the question is, can this actually push this off significantly? >> the one interesting thing in their filing before judge chutkan's, they say we're asking you some of the troutdale. us as can for some additional time on the periphery of motions. i think she may grant some kind of compromise. maybe they'll give him 60 days, but if she were to give him 30 days that doesn't necessarily movie trout it and it allows for her to preserve the record on appeal that i can't say there's an effective assistance of counsel, that they didn't have enough time. this indictment came down august 1st. now we're talking a little over two months to file pretrial motions. that is a quick schedule on any criminal case. so to give a little bit more time, maybe not the full 60, it little bit more time to preserve the schedule, preserve the right to appeal, i think she will try to find some compromise. >> is it reasonable to assume you can bake in several more weeks for pretrial motions and not move the pre trial date? it's march 6th, right? >> it is march six. it depends on what happens after the disposition of those motions. they are saying, now, we are not asking you, judge, to move the trotted because the wholesale effort to get her to move that trial date was truly -- but to i think this incremental -- is definitely toward the end? absolutely. because a pro trump motion they intend to file, essentially telegraphed their primarily on legal and constitutional issues. not than you have to do, for, example of what they expect to find and discovery. that haven't been said, to i think they'll try and push it and push it and push it? absolutely. that seems to be the plight. >> i will also say, kristie, what did you make of a list of potentially 128 witnesses that trump's defense wants to call in his new york civil case? >> there is no way they're putting on 128 witnesses. remember, donald trump sued this judge two weeks ago. and he just called him deranged and a post a day or so ago. so it's a bench trial, not a jury trial. this is a trial before this judge. so i don't think he or any of his children are going to be different witnesses at this trial. i do think he'll call some witnesses. he'll call witnesses to just continue to put forth these defenses, which at least to this one course of action -- are completely irrelevant. these arguments, okay, even if these statements were false, it's subjective, evaluations are subjective, they were materially false statements -- he'll bring in people to talk about the real estate business being shady and these kinds of, this is just business and how it's done. he'll call witnesses i think to just have a general defense without getting specific into the facts, but this will actually go to the examples that james is putting forward. they're incredibly strong -- appraisals and he has his own values, which are hundreds of millions of dollars inflated. this is not wiggle room area. this is blatant fraud. >> is there a chance donald trump takes the stand? his name on both the prosecution and the defense list. >> i think there is, only because, today i can the defense witness list with prosecution witness list. and they are entirely overlapping, except for probably three or four names on the new york attorney generals witness list that aren't on that list. trump appears on both. that indicates to me, the attorney general obtains to kill him and he has at least -- in his public that means, i will testify, i will not take the fifth. proof is in the pudding. we'll see how that goes next week after opening statements from both sides. but i think there is a possibility that the attorney general fully intends to call donald trump and all four of his adult children. >> there is some peril and being deposed, as part of a civil trial. because that can be used in other states. >> absolutely. and his trial testimony. anything he is under oath will be used against him, potentially. so his criminal defense attorneys and all of his criminal cases are going to be strongly advising him to not testify. anytime he opens his mouth, it's just lie after lie after a lie. and i don't think he's going to be able to credibly show that he didn't have any attempt to defraud. when he says, oh, here are these lists of properties that were and my statements -- it's just a list for me. that's what he said in the deposition. he defies logic. so i don't think him getting on the stand is going to do him any favors. he may do it, but i think his attorneys will strongly advise him not to. >> does that reality, what you say in other areas may come back to bite you and a criminal trial, criminal cases, is that what undercurrents trump's decision not to seek a removal of his georgia case to federal court? he's basically saying, i'm going to keep the fani willis indictment in georgia. i'm not, not in georgia, and the state court. i'm not going to try to move it to federal court. is that because it would be too perilous to try and get that moved to federal court? >> that's one reason. but the payoff is also not that great, comparable to what has already achieved. with can chance perot and sidney powell barreling towards a speedy trial on october 23rd, that's a trial that the fulton county as office has said's critic to take four months, excluding choice election. he's essentially already achieved much of the delay he already wants without having to remove it to federal court. and, yes, if you move to federal court, maybe you get a more favorable jury pool. what trump really wants here is to be able to move that fulton go to trial past the election, and have the delay inherent in what's happening and fulton county, plus his other criminal trial dates, that's highly likely, especially if the trails expected to take several months. >> we still don't know when donald trump will have a hearing in the trial, right? it's still unknown, which bucket of defendants he will be in. if he's with any other defendants in georgia. it's all legal filings, all the time here in my hour of television at msnbc. christie greenberg, lisa reuben, thanks for helping me to explain what's going on. still ahead this evening, while republicans fought each other in washington and on the debate stage, president biden sounds the alarm about republicans. that's next. looking for a smarter way to mop? introducing the new swiffer powermop. an all-in-one cleaning tool that gives you a mop and bucket clean in half the time. our new cleaning pad has hundreds of scrubbing strips- that absorb and lock dirt away, ( ♪♪ ) and it has a 360-degree swivel head- that goes places a regular mop just can't. so, you can clean your home faster than ever. don't mop harder, mop smarter, with the new swiffer powermop. meet the portable blender we can barely keep in stock. blendjet 2 gives you ice-crushing, big blender power on-the-go. so you can blend up a mouthwatering smoothie, protein shake, or latte wherever you are! recharge quickly with any usb port. best of all, it even cleans itself! just blend water with a drop of soap. what are you waiting for? 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[mind blown explosion noise] why choose between a longer life or quality of life? you deserve both. and with kisqali, a treatment for people with metastatic breast cancer, you can have both. kisqali is a pill that, when taken with an aromatase inhibitor is the only treatment of its kind shown to both help people live longer and improve or preserve quality of life. because you shouldn't have to sacrifice one for the other. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. avoid grapefruit during treatment. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. live longer and live well. ask about kisqali, and long live you. >> if you have been keeping, count the first one was on the anniversary of january 6th and gettysburg, 2022. they second, just over a year ago and independence hall, philadelphia. the third, right before last year's midterm elections at union station in washington, d.c.. and today, in arizona, president biden did it again. he impart americans to save democracy from the fourth time, at an announcement at a library honoring the late republican senator john mccain. for addresses in two years on the importance of american democracy and its greatest threat, extremists in the republican party. when has a president ever had to address the health of our democracy this much in such a short period of time? joining me now is someone who may know a thing or two about. that michael beschloss, nbc news presidential historian. michael, it is so good to have you here tonight to give context to this bizarre and unsettling moment we fought ourselves in. but is there a historical and look for a president warning the republic of its imminent demise so often in his first term in office? >> let's remember how significant this really is. we go all the way back through american history, we've never had what we have right now, which is a prospect of an election next year between two major parties, to major presidential nominees, one who loves democracy and want to preserve it, and that's the guy you heard today, and another who said he wants to tear it apart, he wants to destroy institutions like the pentagon and the justice department and free and fair elections and bring about a presidential dip it or ship of retribution and violence. and the way this false and history, alex, another way of looking at it is, sometimes when a president claims it moment in history that lets us really see a period very clearly. joe biden did today, he framed this almost apocalyptic struggle, we're going to see and the next 13 months. and that's sort of like 1860, abraham lincoln said, we can't live in a country have's life and have free. 80 years later, 1940, franklin roosevelt, while running for reelection said, we americans may have to save the world from hitler, and here we are a little over 80 more years later, 2023, this first time in history joe biden is saying, either come with me and protect democracy, or elect my opponents who wants to tear it all down. and gotten us what's gonna happen next. >> those will shock you into being alarms, if you aren't already, the idea that these are, the analog's speech is given and an era of the civil war and world war ii, what does that say about what next remembering? i also wonder, to that end, michael, is there a precedent for the two parties being so, i won't say even diametrically opposed, but existing and parallel universes. right? you watched the republican presidential debate, and he things they're argument about and the warnings being issued from the president of this country, the democratic party, it's not even apples to oranges. it's like apples to lamb chops. there is no commonality, and i wonder if that's ever happened before, as you see it in american politics? >> we have never, ever seen anything like this before. when, alex, have we seen a candidate for president, donald trump in this case, who is also an ex president, talking about the possible execution of his chairman of the joint chiefs of staff? or talking about being in a world where people will be locked up. or talking about destroying the civil service? so that he can do whatever he wants. or, if congress vote for something, trump has said, he will not necessarily use the money congress voted. that dictatorship, not the democracy our constitution suggests. we've never had anything like this. i was thinking, alex, nonsense if into. too richard nixon ran against george mccarthy. that was considered to be sort of -- nixon called it the clearest choice and the century. compared to what we're facing right now, those were two peas in a pod. >> yeah, and my dad worked on that campaign. he had some friends -- and he knew nixon. they do look at peace and a pod, compared to what we're talking about today. michael, when we talk about what a speech can do, in terms of stirring the body politic into action, i think what has premature up that people will listen to president biden's speech and do something about what he's saying. that seems farfetched, given where we are. but historically, have speakers been able to move people into action, and parties specifically? >> shortly. have lincoln's speech, speeches had an effect on what followed in the early 18 60s. sharon, they did. franklin roosevelt was bright color just running for reelection and a country that didn't want another more like world war i. but he said, let's build our defense because we may have to defend the world of freedom. that was unpopular, haven't now done that, we would have been -- that's what a president does at a moment in history like this. he doesn't say, the issue is some peripheral to the kind that you just showed us that was in the republican debate last night, like curtains and the residents of the u. n. ambassador. look at that, and compare that to what chauvin was saying today. this is what's at stake. we could lose our country in 14 months. and rather than saying there are at issues more important, joe biden is doing what lincoln did, and i'm not suggesting his lincoln or franklin roosevelt, but saying, let's not hear ourselves. -- most important, you young people paid a vote, because this is the world you are going to have to listen. >> michael beschloss, always wise. thank you so much for your perspective tonight. >> thank you, alex. >> that is our show for this evening. now it's time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. >> good evening, alex. congressman maxwell frost joining us tonight. it was hard to pick a best moment in the crazy house hearing today. but my favorite was the youngest member of the house of representatives teaching, in effect, the speaker of the house how he supposed to do his job. that was one of the great highlights for me. >> well, i am eager to hear what maxwell frost has to say about the debacle that unfolded on capitol hill. >> and, alex, i can only say i was sorry not to be able to do debate analysis last night on this network, because i was working here at ten pm, with a faithful audience, who did not watch the debate and waited until 11 for rachel's analysis of it. but i saw enough of it to know that nikki haley stole her a big line from a dear friend of mine, jim doughty. we're going to see it later, in this hour, who delivered that line better. jim doughty in the original, or nikki haley last night and the steal. we will show you both. >> who wore it better? the republican presidential debate edition. i can't wait. >> thank you, alex. >> have a good show. >> thank you.