we fell in love >> i got along great with president putin. i liked him. he liked me. that's a good thing, not a bad thing. >> imagine the fomo from trump, the two dictators he admires and praises, and trump's not there to join the party? hmm? election interference 2.0, roger stone's plan to retake the white house even if trump loses again. good evening and happy juneteenth. i'm michael steele in for joy reid. we begin tonight with an earnest question. what on earth is wrong with the republican party? the grand state of the party was on full display when donald trump held a particularly unhinged rally where he spent 90 minutes, folks, spewing a combination of lies, vitriol, and rambling word salad. >> joe biden's formal granting mass -- he's going to formally grant a mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. >> less than four years ago our border was secure, inflation was nowhere to be seen, the world was at peace. in 2016 we won. and then we did much better here in 2020, but lots of things happened. at the end of the year we won, but by then it was too late. >> every time the marxists indict me, i do better. what's better? this or sitting on the pacific or the atlantic? which has sharks? you don't have sharks, see? that's the big advantage. >> okay, so let's just be clear. we want to clear up a few things in the process. four years ago the world was not at peace. trump did not win the state of wisconsin or the election in 2020. and he has not been indicted more times than al capone. but perhaps even more embarrassing than trump's deranged rant is his maga cronies' attempts to defend him where joe biden is the convicted felon. no, really. their words, not mine. >> i believe today it's a 1776 moment in 2024, and donald trump is the george washington of our moment. that is what i believe. >> the next time you hear the word "felon" in this election, i think the felon in this election is joe biden. what he's doing to the country is criminal. >> now, it's also notable to take note of the fact that this rally took place in wisconsin, just 30 miles outside of milwaukee. you know, the city trump called horrible last week? well, that also happens to be the location of next month's national republican convention. trump made somewhat of an attempt to make up for the mess he made by claiming he really loves milwaukee even though new reporting shows he wasn't planning on staying there for the convention in the first plats. he reportedly was going to stay 90 miles away in chicago until reporters actually pressed him on it. in an interview with a local news station, trump claimed he was, quote, always planning on staying in milwaukee. the chicago law enforcement confirmed to nbc news that secret service and local officials were, in fact, acting on plans for trump to stay at his chicago hotel as recently as monday. now, folks, having worked on conventions in the past, i can tell you straight up, it is a difficult process, and the location matters. it is about where you want to make a statement to the people that you're there for them, and that's probably why republicans chose milwaukee and wisconsin, right? because they want to win wisconsin. right? but the statement trump is sending to the people of wisconsin is very loud and clear. he'd rather be in chicago. joining me now is rick tyler, msnbc political analyst and republican strategist and maria teresa kumar, msnbc contributor. welcome to you both. good to be back at the table with you again. so, rick, we were kind of talking off camera about the fumes, the things that make you go a little nutty in the night. i want to play for you j.d. vance who was on fox news talking about how wrong he was. let's take a listen. >> you said, i'm a never trump guy, never liked him, terrible candidate, idiot if you voted for him, might be america's hitler, a-hole, nauseous. those are things people are going to come after you and will be in ads if you're chosen as the v.p. how do you react to that now? >> i didn't think he was going to be a great president, but he was a great president and it's wing of the reason i'm working so hard to make sure he makes a second term. >> clearly he's checked the idiot box. what say you, sir? >> lead poisoning. we have a problem with lead poisoning in ohio. it's rampant throughout the country. we need to get ahead of it. i don't very any other way to explain it. i wish i did. he clearly has drank the kool-aid. he's all on board. but, you know, look. i've learned -- you've probably taken this lesson in the last 30 years. his leadership is rare. it really is rare. we call these people -- >> it's rare and requires a lot. >> it requires determination, courage, and taking the country where it seemingly doesn't want to go, but it also requires a vision where you want to take the country, and trump doesn't have that vision. very few people have. i tell people all the time, i'm so tired of talking about ronald reagan. i love rob and reagan, but could we have somebody else? >> i think everybody would welcome that. >> i would love to do that. >> so we call these people across the street here leaders. they're not leaders. they're followers. they'll follow their constituents, but their constituents actually need a leader. that is the answer to donald trump and the current conundrum of the republican party. there will emerge a leader. the thing about trump that scares a lot of people are the real issues. >> there is a list he ticked off. >> both sides will deal with those issues, but the question is do you want to frighten people on immigration, on the economy, on all these things, or do you want to provide answers and solutions for a positive future? the future is always frightening. people are frightened by the future. they're frightened by ai. the way all of the economies move and with immigration, the economy has always gotten better, the country has gotten richer. jimmy carter once gave the malaise speech. he's basically saying to the american people, we have to accept a lower standard of living and reagan says no. when we think back to 1976. you remember that. >> i do, i do. >> to today. who was right? reagan was clearly right. we are more prosperous, more free, more than we could ever imagine. and the next generation wants that, but it requires a leader. >> it requires a leader changing the dynamics of the country, and we don't have that in donald trump. if you look at -- one of the reasons that i think j.d. vance is doing this and nikki haley caved is they realize the republican party is the trump party. but there's also an opportunity for so many folks exiting congress as we speak who say, you know what? i'm not democratic, i'm not republican, but i'm an independent. how much more powerful would it be if they switched caps and said i'm an independent party. at the end of the day, the number one party are independents who lean -- they're democrating leaning republican. instead of cowering to someone who promises to bring us back to the dark ages, and he says it out loud every single day. >> you both raise a very important and i think a central piece here, and it is leadership. and where you've had in the past republicans like reagan and bush lead on an issue like immigration, which was difficult for them to do given the context of what was happening in the country and in the congress, and yet, still, they were able to put something out there, you have the biden administration now a little bit stuck on that issue, but having now cleaved off some space for a different conversation, particularly after republicans failed yesterday again to lean on it when they had the bill, how do democrats take exactly what rick is talking about in terms of that leadership, that important characteristic, and have that to use the term trump the age question and the other issues that people are raising about joe biden? >> so technically -- i mean you can sit back and say both of them are old, right? but the difference between, i would say, biden and donald trump is that this is where experience of how to govern matters. when trump was in office, we never had infrastructure. that bill kept coming and was never resolved, but everything else did. he made us anxious. he didn't know how to cope with the pandemic. you could make the list. what biden did was take a broken system and gutted institutions and because of how he understand how congress worked, he was able to employ an incredible group of individuals to fix things and he'll continue. regardless of what happens in november, biden will have one of the most monumental pieces of legislation -- not one but several across the board. the largest executive orders since daca. but then you can take the c.h.i.p.s. act and i.r.a. every one would have been equivalent. he has three at minimum. >> rick, the leadership piece for me still sticks in my craw particularly given when you have the chance to make the move and you don't make it. mitt romney is a good example recently where despite all else he goes to capitol hill, birthday singing kumbaya with donald trump. let's take a listen on cnn. >> i didn't go there to support president trump. i was going there to listen to what he was going to do as president. it's a matter of personal character. i draw a line and say when someone has been actually found to have been sexually assaulting, that's something i just won't cross over in the person i would want to have as president of the united states. >> so if you're going to a meeting with someone who has been found to have sexually assaulted someone, who's now been convicted 34 times of crimes, what plan do you think they're going to do as president, and why at that point do you even care? >> yeah. he dug himself deeper. >> right. >> while explaining why he -- >> i said that out loud. >> -- went -- >> -- he should have explained why he wasn't there. >> i wanted to see why -- the judge called the rape the rape. and i wanted to see the rapist. >> he's been open with interviews on what he plans on doing. there's no question donald trump wants to make sure america is a democracy only on paper and that he's centralizing power and those on his side are the ones that are going to have the best access to contracts, the best access to policy and power. >> what about the gop? >> i'll make a prediction. the go president obama is going to suffer an enormous collapse whether trump wins or loses, and the reason is if you look at the senate races right now, there's no kaitz tails. there's negative coat tails. the key races to win the senate are all in the negative with the exception of jim jordan in west virginia. but in maryland, a democratic state, you have larry hogan, former governor, who is god-like there, and if they win the senate, it will be because of larry hogan who's decidedly not maga, but what will happen, i don't see how we save the house. i don't think we'll get the house. so donald trump just brings losing, losing, losing, losing, and so if he loses, then the republican party will finally have to say how much more -- >> how much more of this can we do? >> you think his losing will break the fear? >> it will have to. the second part is if he becomes president, we'll be in constitutional crisis because he will not hire competent people, loyal people. it will collapse the party. >> rick tyler and maria, thank you both. coming up on the readout, we're going to talk about roger stone here next on "the reidout." next on "the rei reidout. (vo) in three seconds, this couple will share a perfect moment. (woman) is that? oh wow! but we got to sell our houses! (vo) well, almost perfect. don't worry. just sell directly to opendoor. (woman) yes! (vo) close in a matter of days. when life's doors open, we'll handle the house. if you have chronic kidney disease you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with farxiga. because there are places you'd like to be. farxiga can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ chewy, a citi client, uses citi's financial expertise to help drive its growth and keep its supply chain moving, so more pet parents can get everything they need... right when they need it. keeping more pets, and families, happy. ♪♪ for the love of moving our clients forward. for the love of progress. norman, bad news... foi never graduateding ofrom med school.rd. what? -but the good news is... xfinity mobile just got even better! now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. i gotta get this deal... i know... faster wifi and savings? ...i don't want to miss that. that's amazing doc. mobile savings are calling. visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. doc? decide on the basis of overwhelming evidence of fraud to send electors to the electoral college who accurately reflect the president's legitimate victory in their state, which was illegally denied him through fraud. we must be prepared to lobby our republican legislatures. >> is that was longtime republican strategist and trump ally roger stone on november 5th, 2020, two days after the presidential election, after votes had been cast but before the race had been called. what you heard is stone laying out the plan for how republicans were going to attempt to steal that election, pushing the fake electors' plot. now stone is back and giving up the playbook once again on how they're going to give it another try during this year's le lecz. it comes in a secret recording from progressive activist and documentaryian lauren windsor. this one is from a catholic event in march at mar-a-lago where stone was the keynote speaker. >> we're working on it. lawyers, judges, technology. what stapps them from just like voter fraud? like ballot har vefting? >> in some states it'll be easier to stop. in other places, it won't. but at least this time when they do it, you'll have a place to stop it. we should be seeing in a half dozen places. i mean we're finally -- >> and there it is. they're going to try and get the judges in on the game, and while trump lost over 60 lawsuits since the last election, they've learned a lot since that time, and they know now how best to utilize the more than 200 judges trump put in place like little ticking time bombs to aid in their efforts. now, that's not to say each of those appointed judges would be willing to do trump's bidding, but when you look at what is going on in trump's classified documents case in florida with with trump-appointed aileen cannon, there's a question of who else may be there. he says they should be perfectly league and part of any security ballotingest. he has claimed in the past his efforts in the 2020 election were legal too. this leads to another question, which is what will democrats do now that they know the plan and it's out there. joining me now is a former member of the january 6th select committee. congressman, it's such a pleasure to see you. there's so much i would love to get. when they tell you what they're going to do, you should believe them too. so knowing what we know now and have learned, how do democrats create the necessary levels of engagement to push back, further expose, and defeat these efforts to use our judicial system to steal the election? >> michael, you're absolutely right. they've shown ud us. they'd tried once before. stone is saying we'll succeed in overturning the election if we lose, and i think we're in a more dangerous, fraught position in this upcoming election than the last one because the republican party tragically has consolidated around the big lie and the big liar, and they have had time essentially to put in place different electors as well as different laws at the state level to try to disenfranchise voters on the frond end, but also that they can tap should they lose the election. they're going to run it this time. the very best we can do to try to thwart the effort to overturn the election is make sure the election is not close. the other things we could employ if we had to appeal through the courts, for example, we can't trust the supreme court, and so the only remedy we really have aside from informing the election torate, the voters, that e're running the same playbook, folks, that everything they run the day after is somehow fraudulent, knowing that absentee votes are sometimes different voters, that is, it may be one demographic vote that votes on election day and another that votes by absentee ballot, they're going to run the same false playbook, and we need to inform people about it and turn people out so this election isn't close. >> you have lara trump who was at turning point usa's action detroit convention, and she had this to say about the message they want to put out on the street. >> we're also sending a loud and clear message out there to anyone who wants to cheat the election, we'll track you down and prosecute you to the full extent of the law. >> i would say that's a little bit of projection, ball of that could be applied to what they're planning to do. they've already made a big deal about amassing over 100,000 people who will be poll watchers, which is nothing more than just voter intimidation at various polling places. what are you hearing and seeing coming out of the ranks of the democratic party across the country, creating the coalitions and the efforts to also safeguard against what is clearly a stated effort to catch cheating by republicans but instead really claiming democrats are the ones doing the cheating? >> well, that statement you just played was very rich considering that with their whole fake elector plot, this is exactly what they were trying to do, defraud voters of their legitimately cast ballots. but in terms of what the democratic party is hearing, doing, we're very concerned they're going to try to suppress the vote in many ways with these voter suppression laws but also suppress it with having people intimidate others at the polling places and putting out messages that essentially try to discourage people. you know, we've seen in california and certainly in other parts of the country as well efforts in particular to discourage voters of color from going to the polling place through intimidation and scare tactics. we want to make sure we push back against that, that we have legitimate efforts at voter protection, and so, you know, we're thinking of marshalling expert electors and volunteers to make sure that kind of intimidation is not going on. in the states where they have purged voter rolls that were making it 45rder to vote, get people reregistered, we're taking this as serious as a heart attack because at the end of the day, michael, as you've often pointed out, this is going to be close and it closes down to who turns out. it also comes down to whether they succeed in validating the legitimate votes of people. >> just real quickly before we let you go, congressman, in your race for the united states senate, there are races like yours around the country in blue and red states. what concerns you right now as we are four months out about our election process and what the american people believe or think about it? >> well, i'm actually quite optimistic. as you were discussing earlier on the show, our senate candidates, the democratic senate candidates are running ahead in each of these elections. we do have to run the table to hold onto the senate, but i think we're going to run the table. you know, we've got the best candidates in these states, and on the other side of the aisle, a lot of the maga people who won