ruhle starts us host on the 11th hour next wednesday, march 2nd. but for tonight, that is our broadcast for this tuesday, with our thanks for being with us. on behalf of all of my colleagues at the networks of nbc news goodnight nbc news goodn ight >> tonight on all in -- >> none of us should be fooled. none of us will be fooled. there is no justification. >> the u.s. takes action against russia for what the president is calling an invasion of ukraine. >> as we cut off russia's government from western financing. >> tonight, the latest on the international response to the crisis and the danger looming over ukraine. >> this is the greatest threat to security in europe since world war ii. >> then, the republican embrace of putin led by admire-in-chief, donald trump. >> so putin is now saying, it's independent, a large section of ukraine.

i said, how smart is that? >> plus, the culture war cookbook. we'll unpack risk scotts manifesto for the republican party. and, a rare conviction on federal hate crimes for the men who chased down and murdered ahmaud arbery. >> you should fight like this family. justice for him. >> all in starts now. good evening from new york, i'm alex wagner in for chris hayes. today, the president of the good evening from new york, i'm alex wagner in for chris hayes. today, the president of the united states, joe biden, called russia's actions and ukraine and invasion, while the former president of the the actions in united states and the leader of ukraine and invasion all the former president of the united states and the leader of the republican party called the the republican party called them, quote, genius. quote genius every much sums up message that pretty much sums up the situation here at home on the international crisis we will be discussing through the hour tonight.

this all comes after russian president vladimir putin formally declared to regions in eastern ukraine to be independent republics and ordered in russian troops for so peacekeeping efforts. speaking from the eastern of the white house this afternoon, president biden forcefully condemn putin's actions. >> who in the lord's name is putin thing gives him the right to declare so cold countries on territory that belongs to his neighbors? this is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community. >> the president announced what he said was the first wave of economic sanctions on russia, while promising there will be more to come if putin further escalates the situation. >> we're implementing full blocking sanctions on two large russian financial institutions. the e b and their military bank. we are implementing some sanctions on russia's sovereign debt. that means we cut off russia's government from western financing. it can no longer raise money from the west and cannot trade in its new dead on our markets are european markets either.

>> in the coming days, the u. s. will impose additional sanctions on russia's elite and their families, people who, biden said, share in putin's corrupt gains. all of this is part of a coordinated move with european allies. today, the eu agreed to impose a first round of sanctions, and british prime minister, boris johnson, said the united kingdom plans to follow suit. germany also made a significant move to punish russia to do. they halted the certification of the new 11 billion dollar russian natural gas pipeline, the nord stream 2, this runs between the two countries under the baltics sea. it's a move that is being described as one of the strongest yet to punish russia. now, with the american response to putin's invasion is not just sanctions. it will have a military component as well. the president biden was careful to describe this as purely defensive action.

>> i have authorized additional movements of u.s. forces and equipment, already stationed in europe, to strengthen our baltic allies, is tony, a latvia, and lithuania. let me be clear, these are totally defensive moves on our part. we have no intention of fighting russia. we want to send an unmistakable message though, that the united states, together with our allies, will defend every inch of nato territory, and abide by the commitments we made to nato. >> biden concluded his remarks with a frank assessment of russia's intentions while still leaving the door open for diplomacy, however distant that may seem at this hour. >> none of us should be fooled, none of us will be fooled. there is no justification for the russian assault on ukraine, it remains a severe threat in the days ahead. nonetheless, there's still time

to avert the worst-case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people if they move as suggested. the united states and our allies and partners remain open to diplomacy, if it is serious. and whatever russia does next, we are ready to respond with unity, clarity, and conviction. >> one opportunity for that diplomacy is off the table, however. secretary of state anthony blinken just called off a planned meeting with his russian counterpart, russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. >> last week, i agreed to meet russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, this, week on february 24th, to discuss our countries respective concerns about european security. but only if russia did not invade ukraine. now that we see the invasions beginning, and russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time. >> so tonight, the world is waiting to see what vladimir putin will do next. earlier today, he spoke to the russian press about his demands,

saying he wanted ukraine to renounce its ambitions to join nato, to demilitarize, and to recognize russia sovereignty over crimea, the region that putin illegally cry -- the remarks came just minutes after the -- use military force abroad. and this evening, a ukraine, president is a lewinsky called up the military reserves, urging his people to fight for the country and their freedom. nbc news correspondent matt bradley joins us live in the east in ukrainian city of kharkiv, which is 25 miles from the russian border. matt, what has the military presence and buildup in like in your area where you are right now? >> as you mentioned, alex, we are 25 miles away from the russian border and just over the border, we are hearing from technologists, not verified by nbc news, and other analysts groups were seeing attack helicopters, the sukhoi attack jets, and we are starting to see self propelled houser's, tanks, lots of dynamic

movements just over the border. and actually, this is some of the most dynamic movements we have been seeing, along the entire rim of ukraine. it's very threatening because here in kyiv, it's one of these places, it's a russian speaking city, one of those places that vladimir putin probably feels like because it's a russian speaking place, that they will rally to did the events of moscow. that's one of the things we heard in that speech he made last night. the sort of imperialist -- new imperialist ideology he has been putting forward, this idea that ukraine is not a state in the sense of other states, that doesn't enjoy the same privileges of independence that other states do, and that actually, it was russia that made it an independent state to begin with. that's one of the things that people in this part of the

country are really bracing against. because it wasn't so long ago that vladimir putin might have been right, that there would've been a lot of sympathy here for moscow. a lot of people here are russian speakers, they have family in russia, they would've seen russia as a partner. but lately, we sort of see a major shift, linguistically as well. a lot of people here are starting to learn, russia liberally as an expression of the patriotism, and they have said, when i have been speaking to them, they are willing to fight for this country. and that is why all of that military buildup just across the border, and it is very threatening, that we haven't seen a major incursion in the city, it really is something that is bringing the country together, rather than tearing it apart which seems to be wet vladimir putin wants. again, this is something that is happening on the level of nato as well. he's actually breathed new life into that cross atlantic alliance, just as he's breathe new life into the unity of ukraine, and that's what we have been hearing from president zelenskyy, calling on to the entire country to come together and fight.

recent surveys have shown that at least a third of this country are actually willing to go out into the streets and pick up arms, and fight against a russian incursion. and even in this part of the country, which, again, is mostly a russian speaking country, russian speakers are a minority in ukraine, and vladimir putin has said something -- even genocide. but here, they feel ukrainian, i've been here for weeks and of spoken to a lot of people. they say, they are willing to fight and die for ukraine. they don't believe the lie they have been hearing from moscow. alex? >> wow, just a gross miscalculation in terms of how the russian aligned ukrainian public would react to this. matt bradley, thanks so much. please stay safe, we'll be back with you soon. >> thank you. >> after weeks of negotiations fell apart over a bipartisan sanctions bill, last, week the senate instead issued a non-resolution. warning russian president vladimir putin to seize -- senator tim kaine is a democrat

from virginia. joins me now, senator cain, as, always good to see you. especially in a quickly moving news environment like this one. can we first talk about the white house's position on all of this? biden, the president, said for the first time today that this was the beginning of an invasion. there's been a lot of analysis about the use of the word invasion. the white house was not using that language last night. do you think that reflects a more aggressive posture here? do you think something has changed over the last 24 hours? >> well, it's an invasion, alex. it's an invasion. this -- you know, recognition of these breakaway puppet states that russia has dominated since 2014. if you know anything about this luhansk and donetsk, these were thriving communities before russia decided to dominate them. now they are stalinesque, grim lands of no opportunity. so if anyone wants to know what

russia will do for you, all you have to do is look at donetsk and luhansk. that's why communities like top of it, even closer to russia, are now moving more west, moving more to ukrainian nationalism because they see russian dominance means a grim stalinist future. so it is an invasion, and not just a recognition of puppet states, but now we hear of russia moving more military assets into donbass, into donetsk into luhansk, and it is unifying ukraine, and it is is unifying ukraine, and it is unifying nato. yes, it's an invasion, it's not an aggressive posture from the biden administration. it's an acknowledgment of a reality. yes, it's an invasion, it's not an aggressive posture from the biden administration. it's an acknowledgment of a reality. my colleagues in the senate,

democratic and republican, by and large see the reality for what it is. >> we will talk about your colleagues across the aisle and the house in the later segment. i'm glad to hear that you think there's a quorum of bipartisan -- bipartisan quorum in the senate that agrees with what the white house is doing. i was wondering if there is anything, even the sanctions package that the president announced today, that surprises you. >> no, i mean, sanctioning any who have connections with the breakaway republics dominated by russia, sanctioning russian individuals, the biden administration did a great job quietly convincing germany to basically shut down advances on the north stream two pipeline. germany didn't want to do that. this was important to them. they weren't willing to do it. but the biden administration, secretary blinken and others, got germany to agree. look, if russia invades ukraine, even if we think this will help germany, we have to shut it off. this is a big, big deal

shutting off the pipeline. i think when we return to congress next week, we are all in our states this week, you will see a congressional resolve on sanctions. we are resolved on the sanctions package, but it should contain. there was disagreement about what should trigger it. democrats said, don't initiate sanctions unless you can tell there's certain invasion. republicans wanted to initiate sanctions before an invasion. but that an invasion would trigger punishing sanctions and the u.s. should work together with our allies to make sure we are all on the same page, that's all decided upon. i think you will see us act in a bipartisan way when it comes to it. >> i just -- i have ptsd about people in the senate telling me that things are going to be handled in a bipartisan fashion, work in lockstep with the goals of the white house. this package has fallen apart before. you just said it was not the

substance but really the trigger that was this thing that sort of paused the whole thing to fall apart. you already see the beginnings of polite to-ization around what is happening in ukraine. president trump's comments today calling putin's moves genius probably haven't helped anything. you are really convinced that next week, when you guys are back in session, republicans are going to play ball with democrats and effectively work to further the biden foreign policy agenda, the national security agenda? >> yes i think, there will be some who will follow donald trump. donald trump calling putin's move a genius move, a savvy move, you, know he couldn't get a nobel prize so maybe he's trying now for the order of lenin. or even better, finally, a trump tower in moscow. but we will put our republican colleagues on the board and see whether they're vladimir putin

accusers or they're standing up for the western democracies. i believe that enough republicans will stand against vladimir putin's aggression. that we will be able to coalesce around those sanctions package. again, i think democrats and republicans agree over what the package should be. the question was which should trigger it. there is no disputing now that the russian recognition of donetsk and luhansk and moving in military assets in ukraine, the trigger has been passed in western democracies. >> time will tell. senator tim kaine, may the wind be at your back. thank you as always for your time and efforts. >> good evening, alex. >> still to come, as republicans try to blame president biden for russian military aggression, trump is praising his old pal, vladimir putin. that's next. >> so putin is now saying, it's independent, a large section of ukraine. i said, how smart is that?

and he's gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. that strongest piece forced -- we could use that on our southern border. do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients

that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular

whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. >> donald trump has never been

shy about his admiration for vladimir putin that was on full display in a radio interview today where trump lavished

praise on putin for his strategy in ukraine. >> i went in yesterday and it was a television screen, and i said, this is genius. putin declares a big portion of the ukraine -- of ukraine. putin declares it as independent. oh, that's wonderful. so putin is now saying, it's independent, a large section of ukraine. i said, how smart is that? and he's gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. that's the strongest peace force -- we could use that on our southern border. by the way, this would have never happened with us. had i've been in office, not even think-able. this would never have happened. and you know where the response was from biden? there was no response. they didn't have one for that. no, it's very sad. very sad. >> that is the former president of the united states praising the russian president for seizing ukrainian territory and calling that genius, while also

bashing president biden for not being tough enough on vladimir putin. that's incoherent biden bashing is now fodder for trump's groupies in the white house. >> i know president biden said that he was going to put an end to nord stream 2 if there was an invasion. so i want to hear him say this is an invasion and i am going to put an end to nord stream 2. >> why would we engage ourselves in a border dispute thousands of miles away, in eastern europe, when we cannot control our own southern border? >> it's just a total display of american weakness. we can't allow that to happen. >> we need to stay the heck out of it. i heard biden and even some senators threatened economics sanctions. i wouldn't even get into an economic war with russia either. because we import a lot of stuff from russia. >> we do? trump's special blend of relentless criticism of biden and relentless appreciation of

putin it has not been shared throughout the halls of congress and among the republican base. a recent yahoo news poll found that one in six republicans and gop-leaning independents now say that putin is a stronger leader than joe biden. devoun jolie's abrupt former republican congressman from florida, he's left the republican party and now tears of bipartisan movement to fix american government. and sahil kapur is an international correspondent, he wrote about trump's praise today. sahil, let me start with you, how was trump's unwavering support for vladimir putin manifesting itself in the republican house caucus? >> alex, it's really sparked a debate in the party writ large and you saw that in the two quadrants. in washington, most republicans, not all of them, but most of them are sticking with the traditional foreign policy kind of hawkish playbook when something like this happens, blame the democratic president, column, week say a lack of aggressive action invites this kind of behavior.

but out on the road and the rest of the republican party, it's a very different sort of situation. we see candidates for election who are running for the senate in 2022, j. d. vance in ohio, for instance, it is the says he doesn't care what happens in ukraine. a lot of this is driven by this growing sense -- this growing attitude in maga media that is echoing president trump sympathies for vladimir putin. his attitude that the united states should not get involved in this, his questioning of u. s. alliances and the idea that united states needs to stand by allies, and its commitments to nato miss considered -- withdrawing from nato in the past and is a growing sense of this attitude in the republican party that the united states should part back from that. which is at least somewhat what is driving this. and in needs to be an indicator of where the parties are, the campaign trail is --

it's a leading indicator. the maga movement tends to be an engine of where the republican parties headed down the road. so this playbook -- this book has yet to be fully written, and i think we are seeing it evolve in realtime, how republicans are struggling with how to message this. >> if you listen to what is being sent out in the country and how republicans are answering polls, 60% of them think that putin is a better leader than biden. it seems like the right hand is not speaking to left-hand. on one hand, you have republicans in washington saying we should be doing more, we should be pressing putin harder. and then we have grassroots, mockup radio say, forget about ukraine, biden's wrong, we have to focus on the southern border. does anybody, and will anybody in the party, ask republicans to resolve this incoherence? it logically makes no sense. >> i think they should, and not only resolve their incoherence but challenge their patriotism, alex. the world is -- the west is on the brink of a war of watch they don't know

what to do about. there is very little avenue to engage in resistance against vladimir putin in this moment. and insteps, donald trump who kind of overturns the apple cart a little bit, and i believe represents a security threat to western interest, and then you see a congress that is interested in enabling him, and a party that is interested in enabling him. i think the most telling thing if we frame this in an era where there might be a european war, recognize that only donald trump spoke today. but didn't, obama didn't, jimmy carter didn't, bill clinton didn't do it. trump saw some kind of political vengeance today, unlike past presidents, and you saw republican congress willing to enable him. and past heroes, congress, regardless of democratic or republican, but only ask one question, what resources does the united states need to

impress sent the interests of the west and confront this move a vladimir putin? that is a sober approach to governing and democracy that is absent in today's republican party, as exemplified, not just by donald trump, but by his republican followers on capitol hill. >> yeah, to that end, republican house leadership today released a statement, kevin mccarthy, sadly, president biden consistently chose appeasement and his tough talk on russia was never followed by strong action. lethal laid was slow walked, anti-air and anti-ship capabilities where never directly provided, preinvasion sanctions proportionate to the aggression putin had already committed were never imposed, and sanctions on nord stream 2 were waived. okay, first, remember when trump withheld weapons from ukraine and got impeached over this? the amnesia is staggering. but also, i wonder, sahil, i believe all the details on the -- the north stream two pipeline being halted, do you think this piece is kevin mccarthy, or biden feels like opinion right

now, we're gonna give it back to him in whatever way we can? >> the best of it was certainly -- republicans have constantly -- house republican leaders and particular, have seen biden as an easy target here. now, it's unclear -- i, mean there are nuanced criticisms of the u.s.'s actions overall going back many years with nato expansion. but that is not what is happening here. i think republican leaders are seeing an opportunity to criticize biden and it's the oldest playbook in the republican political arsenal. it goes all the way back to 9/11, maybe even before, dating back to the 90s where they criticize the democratic president are not doing enough, for not being aggressive enough. but it's also, you, know it's not exactly consistent with the de facto leader of the republican party who is simultaneously saying that putin was effective here, he is savvy, this was kind of a genius move. oh, by the, way if our president, it would never have happened. so republicans are primarily trying to do is drive a

political message that, in part, this is president biden's fault. they are of course running a coup against him in the 2022 elections. they're trying to take by congress. by the, way after published that story, i heard unsolicited from the white house, which was happy to pylon former president trump arguing that nobody has less credibility than him when it comes to russia and ukraine. as you pointed, out the fact that trump apparently tried to blackmail ukraine in and inaction that ultimately got him impeached, with had something to do with the former president himself. so, yes the republicans know how to play this politically. >> i remember the impeachment trial even if they don't. i also remember the time you used to stand by an american president when you are talking about foreign adversaries. it's a new day, david jolly and sahil kapur, thank you for your time. next, saving the country by saying the pledge of allegiance. one republicans unhinged 11 point plan to rescue america. and steve schmidt on why it is

and so far the party's actual agenda. that's just ahead. just ahead.

>> as republican set out to reclaim control of congress that's false and anti minority leader mitch mcconnell has been careful not to put forward an agenda. instead, mcconnell has kept his cards close to his chest, offering only a bag, i'll let you know when we take congress back. but today, florida senator rick scott who leads the republican -- he released his own agenda. boy, is it something. the 11 point plan to rescue america is a steaming hot buffet of conservative red meat. it begins with this doomsday screen about the militant left. among the things the left plan to change or destroy our, american history, patriotism, border security, the nuclear family, gender, traditional morality, capitalism, fiscal responsibility, opportunity, rugged individualism, judeo-christian values, descend, free speech, color blindness, law enforcement, religious liberty, parental involvement in public schools, and private ownership of firearms. wow.

that is a lot. and yet it goes on. scott proposes 11 policy pillars, ones that offer some insight as to the soul of the modern-day gop, it like this one where scott proposes to raise taxes on the poor. scott declares that quote, all american should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. wow. that is a lot. and yet it goes on. scott proposes 11 policy pillars, ones that offer some insight as to the soul of the modern-day gop, it like this one where scott proposes to raise taxes on the poor. scott declares that quote, all american should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. explaining, currently over half of americans pay no income tax. and just who will process an audit all of those new taxes? it is really anyone's guess, since rick scott also promises republicans will immediately cut the irs funding and workforce by 50%. elsewhere in his 11 point plan, senator scott remains committed to donald trump's big lie, dedicating an entire section two elections, with the demand

that quote, ballots can only be submitted to a polling location by a voter or the post office. no ballots that show up after election day will be counted, ever. it is unclear if scott understands how this would affect american service members, many of them voting republicans, or diplomats working overseas. an inconvenient detail. and then there is scott's declaration, that men are men, women are women, and unborn babies are babies. we believe in science. apparently scott believes so much and signs that he goes on to say, men and women are biologically different because he, as a god, created them. to that and he offers a federal policy to reaffirm this religiously scientific view of the american family. even though many single moms heroically do the job of raising a family, as my mom often had to, children need and deserve both parents and government should not be shy about saying so. just how punitive scott intense the

government to be when it comes to working moms, that two remains unclear. coming up i will talk to steve schmidt about senator rick scott's plan for america, and what it says for the republican party in the year 2022. 022. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. >> florida republican senator

rick scott just released an 11-point plan to rescue america, presumably on behalf of the whole republican party ahead of this false election. and it reads like a laundry list of republican grievances with a tax on things like legal voting, teaching american history, and the lgbtq community. given that republicans have the trends of midterm elections on their side, scotts document offers real insight into how the party is thinking about this country, and what they might do if they regain power. a former republican strategist, and cofounder of the lincoln project joins me now. always good to see you. let's just talk about this plan. mitch

mcconnell, a wise creature of politics, has if nothing else and trustingly not released any kind of plans for the country. but rick scott has taken it upon himself to do so. this document which is really, it is a doozy, did republicans win with this stuff? do democrats win with this stuff? >> look, we live in a very, very serious moment. the world is at the edge of war with the largest invasion of europe since the end of the second world war, perhaps imminent. and this document, such as it is, is just a laundry list of grievances, and nonsense that has no chance of being made into actual public policy. there is no rigor behind it. it was written by some ideological 23, or 24 year old, did a couple of drafts, and there you go out to the american people. it is not a blueprint for anything other than to titillate fox news viewers, and two pickle there grievance zones. on the other end of the evening, -- >> but steve, you know, i understand where you are coming happening. it is not without a foot in reality if you will, and i guess i wonder, is this not actually shaping the republican party? >> i think that we have a real life autocratic movement in this country. we saw the events of january six,

there is no rigor behind it. it was written by some ideological 23, or 24 year old, did a couple of drafts, and there you go out to the american people. it is not a blueprint for anything other than to titillate fox news viewers, and two pickle there grievance zones. on the other end of the evening, -- >> but steve, you know, i understand where you are coming from. but at the same time this is stuff that is being turned into legislation at the state level. the don't say gay bill, the school board fights over teaching american history, you know, the efforts of election fraud reform. as crock pot as it may sound when it is in black and white, it is actually happening. it is not without a foot in reality if you will, and i guess i wonder, is this not actually shaping the

republican party? >> i think that we have a real life autocratic movement in this country. we saw the events of january six, we have seen the apologies for it, the lies, the conspiracy is, of the republican party to become an organized conspiracy to take power. we have republican leaders, the former secretary of state, the former president, cheering on the russian autocrat vladimir putin. wherever we look, we see republican elected officials serving as russian useful idiots. this moment in time is a profoundly dangerous one. and it is clearly before us. republican party is talking about banning books, republican activists in some places are burning books, misinformation about a vaccine, and a pandemic, and a life saving vaccine, it has killed upwards of 1 million people in this country, so look. does this 11 point plan evidence something that was not clearly evident before? i do not think so. the reality is,

and i think the democratic party needs to do some soul searching here, is you have a radical extremist party that is engaged in violence, that is quite clear about its efforts to say to gay americans, to other americans that you are less than. and this party is winning. this party is on track to take control of the house of representatives, this party is on track to possibly be in charge of the united states senate. this party is not faithful to american democracy, it has proven that over and over. we have an enormous problem in the country. it is not that we need more evidence to understand it, it is that we need to face and understand these last five years, and understand clearly what is ahead by just listening to what it is that the people that are involved in the conspiracy to and this party is on track to take control of the house of representatives, this party is on track to possibly be in charge of the united states senate. this party is not faithful to american democracy, it has proven that over and over. we have an enormous problem in the country. it is not that we need more evidence to understand it, it is that we need to face and understand these last five years, and

understand clearly what is ahead by just listening to what it is that the people that are involved in the conspiracy to and democracy are telling us what they want to do. >> i mean, you are warning us of what may be ahead. i do wonder, there is part of it that i think is very interesting in rick scott's plan, republicans will ensure the government will never again ask american citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color on any government forms. now, a lot of the disclosure of recent ethnicity helps us understand who we are, and it allocates funding for certain underserved communities. but i think it reflects this desire on the part of republicans to blind themselves, and the country to demographic change. when we talk about the future of the republican party, i wonder, they are making their home on an iceberg that is melting. how long can you be the party that

wants to pretend that people of color do not exist, and -- in numbers alone in this country? how is this a blueprint for the future? >> well alex, i think that one of the things that you have to look at is, you know this, is the increase in blackmail vote share for trump between the 16, and the 20 election. the foul line in american politics is whether you have a college degree or not. we have an increasing cost disposition about the shaping american politics. this is at the core where we see it trump's highest demography. -- to a lot of different groups. but the economic populism, the

grievance, it's not aimed strictly at white people. its audience isn't just a white audience. so this movement that we see out there is dangerous, it is metastasizing, and we will see what comes of it. but look, his 11 point plan is not going to become law, but the malice and tensions that are behind it, we should pay attention to it. >> well, that is what we are trying to do tonight. steve schmidt, it is always a pleasure to speak with you my friend. thank you for your time. tonight, the man who killed ahmaud arbery are found guilty again, this time on federal hate crime charges. my interview with ben crump, the family's attorney about the historic verdict, right after this. >> what the doj did today? it wasn't because what they wanted to do, they were made to do what they did today.

>> on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month.

no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. on february 23rd, 2020, exactly

two years ago tomorrow, 25-year-old ahmaud arbery went for a run in near his home in georgia. he jogged into the satilla shores neighborhood, he was targeted and chased by three white men. travis mcmichael, his father gregory, and their neighbor, william bryan. brian was filming as the man hunted arbery down in their trucks, cornered him, and confronted him with a shotgun. as he tried to run away, travis mcmichael shot him three times. all three men were charged and convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison. allegations of racism did not play a large role in that criminal case, but it was the main focus of the separate federal hate crimes trial against the three men.

and it is worth knowing how rare federal hate crimes actually are. the department of chose status declined to prosecute 82% of hate crime suspects from 2005 to 2019. that's in part because it is very difficult to secure a hate crime conviction. prosecutors need to prove not just that the defendant committed a hate crime, but that they did so with bigoted or intolerant intent. that is what federal prosecutors had to prove in the case against the mcmichaels and bryan. these three white men, who chased down and murdered a young black man, had a demonstrable history of racist beliefs. over the course of the eight -day trial, the jury saw plenty of evidence that these three men frequently used racial slurs and openly races comes to shock their friends and colleagues. as nbc news reports, the prosecution noted that travis mcmichael once texted a friend saying he loved his job because zero black people were working

with him using the and word. in another incident, commenting on an online video of a black man lighting a firecracker stuffed in his nose, he messaged friends saying, it be cooler if it blew the head off the man, using the and word. as for gregory mcmichael, he was reported to have said, quote, those blacks are all nothing but trouble. in response to the 2015 death of a civil rights activist. and bryan was reportedly enraged to learn just days before the shooting that his daughter was dating a black man, using a slur to describe him. the prosecutors successfully made their case. they cleared the high bar of proving intent. and today, a jury of eight white people, three black people and one husband person, convicted all three men of federal hate crimes. after the verdict, the attorney for arbery's family, benjamin crump, said that no one had been convicted of a hate crime in the state of georgia team ever. >> this is the first time in

the state of georgia's history where there has been a conviction for a federal hate crime. and you all did that. you all did that! win >> that's right! >> ben crump is the attorney for the family of emory arbery. he joins me now. ben, let's just talk about your reaction to this verdict. on one hand, it shouldn't be surprising at all that they secured a conviction, on the other hand, as you point out, it was incredibly surprising to get this outcome, especially in the state of georgia. how have you process what happened today? >> it was historic, alex, in every sense of the word because we have to remember we are in the deep south. you think about how many times people have been killed, in the state of georgia, and they have been racial -- but there was no federal hate

crime verdict ever until, as wanda cooper jones said, 22, to 2022. she called it super tuesday because it was so significant, you finally have a hate crime conviction that we pray will set a new precedent to have more of these cases brought, where we know that race is a motivating factor. >> ben, i think a lot of people followed the first trial. we saw a lot of the footage of it. we saw a lot of the coverage of it. but we did not know what really was transpiring behind closed wall of the court today. and i read this accounting of what happened inside the courtroom as the verdict was read. this is from the washington post. the jury foreman, a black man from dublin, georgia, was visibly crying as u.s. district judge lisa got b would ask each juror to affirm their votes in

the brunswick, georgia courtroom. the man's voice caught as he said, yes, and tears ran on to his face mask. i also heard accounts the prosecutors were crying. can you just tell us what it was like inside the courtroom at this moment in history as you call it? >> it was very emotional, alex. because remember, they had a human being that was haunted down like a dog. he was lynched by a lynch mob for jogging while black. not in 1940, or 1950. but this was 2020, during our lifetime, during our day. so when you think about the fact that ahmaud arbery didn't do anything wrong, when you hear the 9-1-1 operator ask travis mcmichael, what is he doing, and his response, alex, is, he's a black man running in our neighborhood. that was his crime. that was why they hunted him down and shut him with a shotgun, leaving a hole in his

back the size of a teacup saucer. and to finally have the two years of fighting, where his mother, father, and family, to get this measure of justice. this historic the measure of justice, it was overwhelmingly emotional. people -- people were just so happy. finally, justice for ahmaud arbery. >> i think it was justice beyond ahmaud arbery because of the nature of these hate crimes trials. it's a rare occurrence, right, that the federal government is moving for it on the hate crimes charged. and that it succeeded. it felt bitter then this one case, right. and i think that you sense the weight in history. it bears mentioning that this was never supposed to happen. the justice department has secured a plea deal with the defendants. and it was ahmaud arbery's

family that really insisted that the sort of generating force and getting this to trial. can you talk a little bit about that and what it was like for the family fighting, not just the injustice of society, the slaughter of their child, but the justice department and not wanting to have a plea deal, wanting to see this trial -- wanting to see this go to trial? >> absolutely. they wanted to have them have the most punishment possible. and the fact that law the, prosecutors were concerned that it's so difficult to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, what's the intent in their mind was. so they were concerned about that. but it was wanda and marcus who said, it doesn't matter. we want our day in court. we don't want them to have any measure of leniency. and they got that today. so it is a historic date for

them, it's a historic day for georgia, it's a historic day for america, alex. >> it is indeed. ben crump, thank you so much for everything. >> thank you. >> that is all in on this tuesday night, the rachel maddow show starts now. maddow show starts now tuesday inside, "the rachel maddow show" with ali velshi starts now good evening, ali. >> a few hours ago, someone tweeted that what donald trump was genius, a smart thing, you tweeted earlier, you said if trump is re-elected in 2024, canada better watch out. i thought of that as a canadian, it's like going in and grabbing a place. they speak the same language, they seem to want you, but they don't want you as the boss >> donald trump called the