"the beat" with ari melber starts right now. our top story is this democratic resurgence we're living through this week, brought to you by the voters of the united states of america. republicans are straight up reeling because voters, including in often more conservative leaning states, are rejecting this version, today's version of the republican party as measurably unpopular. as something that these voters oppose, and they oppose the policies, and i'm not talking about opinion, i'm not talking about speculation or polling. i'm just reporting for you on what we're learning from the vote this week and the party that is now dealing with what has clearly -- a brand. that fed weeks of chaos in replacing a speaker, shows the candidates running for office right now against the very creator of maga, trump, while he skipped this debate they did last night, and they were clearly still split over how to challenge him and each other against the backdrop of these new losses. all of it on display at the new debate. >> i'm sick of republicans losing in florida. >> we've become a party of losers at the end of the day. >> you're just scum. >> do you want a leader from a different generation who's going to put this country first, or do you want dick cheney in three inch heels? >> they're five inch heels and i don't wear them unless you can run in them. >> we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022, no red wave that never came. we got trounced last night in 2023. >> republicans listening to those voices, and it is true -- republicans keep losing. you heard the list there. i won't repeat it. if you go back to 2016, more voters went against donald trump as well. it was just the electoral college that got him into the white house. numerically this keeps happening. those candidates you saw there are starting to at least admit some of the losses as a fact. remember. that we'll return to that point tonight. but right now as we begin the newscast i want to be clear that even against that backdrop, some of the republicans are trying to sell a version of what is this losing trumpism in their current campaigns. while the fact is voters in ohio, kentucky, and virginia bucked maga. they voted ensure abortion access in ohio, elect a democrat in deep red kentucky. democrat got both houses of virginia. much of this democratic turnout is a backlash to maga in general and republican abortion plans specifically. the elections and then this often tense debate last night shows something that i want to reflect on with you tonight. that's why it's our top story, and depending on how you look at it, you may find some of it positive. this debate i think shows how the feature is here now. and for republicans that means dealing with the facts of their political future against these kind of consistent measurable losses, that if you do x, why will happen in response. and if you give people x, very unpopular message over and over about the very unpopular thing you want to do, then y is the response. they'll reject it repeatedly. they'll either continue down the trump path, rally around their soon to be convicted political figure at their nominee, or republicans might hear out these last pitches for a trump alternative which included some criticism. >> donald trump's a lot different guy than he was in 2016. he owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance. >> i don't think he's the right president now. i think he put us $8 trillion in debt. >> we need a president and a candidate who will actually help our base solidify and attract independent voters into our party. >> anybody who's going to be spending the next year and a half of their life focusing on keeping themselves out of jail and courtrooms cannot lead this party or this country. >> that was some of the trump criticism that was pushed by these remaining candidates last night. chris christie the only one that specifically mentioned the obvious legal problems and peril which are substantive, and political, because, well, there may be voters in ohio and other places that just turned on republicans that won't actually in the end embrace a reread -- a rerun of donald trump buck this time convicted. the electorate knows about sworn indictment, and the republican primary electorate isn't saying that, as you see here, that's having them rush to other candidates. but the general electorate could be a very different story. be the debate last night was not the most important debate in the world. there's about two months until republicans start vote. there would be a lot to go down. in fact that stakes is something -- there's one of those nights where there's no special access. if you were there it would just be a little louder. wherever you may have watched part of the it at home, on the television, or looked at phone alerts, we sat through it and reassembles and on you are desk and lower stakes is on our coverage. >> it's like watching a preseason football game. everyone's making the motions of the game. >> in that universe you can't afford to be an anti-trump person because you'll never have another day of success in republican politics. >> these five voices matter less than the voices of so many voters who rejected everything their party's offering yesterday. >> the republican primary voters weighed in, and they're not into any of these people. >> and that's why at times it did feel like five people trying to get the attention of a bunch of other people who either aren't with the republican party right now -- those are the elections -- or the maga base who are with donald trump. so those are some of the stakes. and the late-night shows can also read the room. >> there were five candidates on stage. three moderators asking questions, and two people watching at home. >> you know things have gone sideways when you're watching something thinking, god, i wish donald trump was there. >> whatever you think about trump, republican debates are meaningless without him. it's like a football game without taylor swift. >> every one of them looks like they're complaining to the manager at a starbucks. >> so, that's some of the mood and it may sound petty and jokes connect. it was off key for republicans to spend weeks to fill one job to run their own speakership and house, the one part of the government they control. and people heard about that, too. there is a larger, messy, chaotic kind of ineffect chul pettiness that's haunting the party. that pettiness is clearly a contrast to the voters' real lives and how they see through it, how liberty and freedom are real concerns for women and people around the nation, not just talking points with that abortion backla. it's also bipartisan. "new york times" has a report that this is the issue that sways republicans to democrat. there are real stakes against a messy process. there are things that can matter here. this is what i told you i want to return to tonight. i want to you notice how some of the candidates didn't double down against these voters' positions this week and for the past months about abortion. some tried to do a pivot while others continued with the usual rhetoric. >> let's find consensus. we don't need to divide america over this issue anymore. >> we're better off when everybody counts. we're better off when we can promote a culture of live. >> i trust the people of this country. state by state to make the call for themselves. >> sexual responsibility for men. >> i'm 100% pro-life. i have a 100% pro-life voting record. i would certainly as president of the united states have a 15-week national limit. >> so there was a spread of views on this fundamental issue, but i would observe if we're looking at objectively what's happening, there was movement. you have to test whether that movement was real or some kind of pr political scam. james carville republicans lie so much about abortion that when they move it doesn't matter. but here's the point i'm making for you tonight. that movement is where the country is, towards the prochase side, towards the side that says supreme court can't overturn 50 years of precedent and republicans can't lie and get away with it. that movement shows some candidates are listening to the opposition, and that, while you might say low bar, is a shift from the denialism that greeted their past losses, led by donald trump, who literally denies elections to the point of potentially a criminal level. the courts will decide, but remember, states were counting in 2020 and trump was already lying about his loss, claiming he won. election denialism. even when the republicans are further problems after he left office, the red wave that fizzle, it was a lot of blame. there was talk about trump. there was a lot less acceptance of the idea that against all kinds of other precedent and trends, the voters rejected that trump maga version of republicans. let me tell you something else in all fairness -- i'm not talking about which party you prefer i'm talking about how politics works. it is, when it functions, a competition to get your set of ideas somewhere in a palatable place for the voters. and then if you're close enough, the other things can make a difference, like whether you're charismatic, have good ideas. if your core option is so out of step with the voters as vivek himself was saying when he listed off all those losing years, you won't get near being able to win. the fact that the trump wing of the party embraced denialism has hurt the party's ability to get anywhere near competitive. if you're watching this and want a healthy democracy, that's a bad thing. if you're watching and want republicans to keep losing elections you're hoping they keep making this mistake. the republican party under trump's election denialism has been lying to itself, and that doesn't work, which brings us to an iconic and true lesson from "scarface." >> number two, don't get high on your own supply. >> that's right, lesson number two, don't get high on your own supply. of course, not everybody follows the rules. >> don't get high on your own supply. you could be dealing, you could be lying, you could be giving into others, but when you start dealing to yourself, when you and your own team are getting high, losing your sense of reality, losing your sobriety, politically and otherwise, well, you really played yourself. trump pushed the party into spending years high on its own supply, demanding it, making it a kind of litmus test that future candidates running in related elections had to get high on his supply and pretend he didn't lose. how about changing? that's what we're going to get into tonight. this could be an important thing. and there are those on the stage last night and in the, shall we call it the product distribution center of this scarface part of the party, who are starting to worry they have been too high on a very bad supply for too long. >> here we are two years after the dobbs decision and republicans have no idea how to message it. >> the issue of abortion is one that republicans either have to get straight on or they're going to lose on it. >> as we have seen, once again, the predominant issue across the board was abortion. people don't want restrictions. >> again, it's time to recognize that the suburbs are increasingly left-leaning on the cultural issues. plus, the democrats are able to outraise, outspend, and better frame these issues than republicans. >> those are folks standing up and saying, hey, this has been a narrative, a lie, a high claim about a bunch of stuff of donald trump's losses with a bunch of people getting high together and tell themselves stories that aren't true that are hurting themselves. you're starting to see warnings come out against the backdrop of the debate with actual candidates in the republican party reminding republican voter what is they did was unpopular. they're the party of, quote, losers, their words, and it's time for a change. is anyone listening? could there be change? maya wylie and chai komanduri are here when we're back in just 60 seconds. econds and you can help take control of your symptoms - with vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar treats depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults. proven, full-spectrum relief for all bipolar 1 symptoms. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. sleepiness and stomach issues are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. we've become a party of losers at the end of the day. >> i'm sick of republicans losing. >> we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022 new york red wave that never came. we got trounced last night in 2023. >> it's all true. election denialism may be on the way out. we are joined by a former mayoral candidate in new york, maya wylie and former obama veteran chai komanduri. chai, do you think that the era of getting high on your own election denialism is giving way to something else for republicans? >> yeah, i think it very much is. i think if you think about it as a political force at the ballot box, the anti-choice movement appears to be dead. now, they could be like the ghost in "the sixth sense", where they don't know they're dead, but take into consideration that in deep red states like kentucky, kansas, and ohio, you've seen defeats at the ballot box. purple states like pennsylvania and wisconsin, you've seen defeats in special elections. democrats have a tremendous streak of victories in special elections. glenn youngkin tried to trim back the anti-choice position with that 15-week limit that. did not work. and now you're seeing donald trump say, i frankly don't care about abortion. you can add democracy and ethics to other things donald trump doesn't care about. >> you're seeing the gop front-runner now who is by some measures 50 points ahead of the nearest competitor abandoning completely the issue that has defined republican politics for over 30 to 40 years. >> hmm. maya? >> i certainly agree. i will add that we saw this coming in the midterms. it's not only abortion, though. we saw it in the ballot initiatives where even in kentucky, why are we surprised beshear won election when we already saw in the '22 midterms kentuckians beat back the effort to have a constitutional provision that said no abortion in the state? beat it back. no surprise he won on that. if you look at virginia, ohio, one of the things you see when you get, and one of the things we've seen in our polling at the leadership conference, people are concerned about democracy writ large. they're not voting on a single issue. they're highly motivate on abortioning because they're highly motivated by civil rights. in virginia, we saw gun violence as an issue about ballot. in kentucky, one of the things that beshear has been very good on is talking about schools and education. it's not only a single issue. it really is about democracy, and we're seeing very, very high numbers of motivating particularly voters of color, on issues of both protecting democracy but also show up for schools, making sure people can get a good education. if you add to that that in the midterms -- in the midterms we saw states with ballot initiatives like arizona refusing a ballot initiative to make even more stringent voter i.d. laws. that was because people even in purple states actually cared about democracy. so i would argue democracy is on the ballot. abortion is a civil right and it is very much central to the way people are seeing that. and whenever you hear anyone talk about culture wars, what you should be hearing is the attack on civil rights. and that's why we can fight the culture wars because we have the majority of the folks that are in favor of a rights rich country. >> yeah. well, and chai, i'm curious, because you have been around campaigns, it is a funny thing, it's supposed to be people looking at facts and numbers, but all this group think and narrative kicks in. we showed tony montanya and michelle pfeiffer. the lesson is, don't get high on your own supply, and she has to remind him, you're doing what you told me not to do. vivek reminded them, we keep losing elections. that's almost not allowed to be said in some of these politicized right-wing forums. >> there's another line from "scarface" that reminds me a lot of vivek, where tony says, i'm always honest, even when i lie. >> ooh, good one. >> i think on the one hand, vivek was being honest about the election losses, what he was lying about was the reason, which was donald trump, somebody who he claims is the greatest president of the 21st century, somebody who he very much a admires, whom he has modelled himself after, whose election lies he constantly repeats -- i think all of those things are true simultaneously for republicans where they understand that they're losing but don't know what to do about it and don't know how to talk about it. >> hmm. superinteresting when you put it like that. we're juggling a lot. i want to thank chai and maya and tell folks what's coming up. we have new comments from chairman durbin on the clarence thomas scandal. that's new tonight. also prosecutors going after trump in more than one case. we've got a preview for the first time of what jack smith wants to do at trial. andrew weissman is here. stay with us. eissman is here. stay with us my active psoriatic arthritis can make me feel like i'm losing my rhythm. with skyrizi to treat my skin and joints, i'm getting into my groove. ♪(uplifting music)♪ along with significantly clearer skin... skyrizi helps me move with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. and is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. skyrizi attaches to and reduces a source of excess inflammation that can lead to skin and joint symptoms. with skyrizi 90% clearer skin and less joint pain are possible. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. thanks to skyrizi, there's nothing like clearer skin and better movement... and that means everything. ♪nothing is everything♪ now's the time to ask your doctor about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? 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