mcconnell wants to be hohum. mostly on the same page as donald trump but that's going to be sorely tested. >> they're very much connected, john. my understanding in talking to republican sources is that a big reason if not the big reason, governor ducey isn't already in the senate race is because he understands the incoming he would get undoubtedly from former president donald trump because, as you said, ducey daned to stand up for the truth and the rule of law and not bend to his election lies. that's a very real dynamic. for larry hogan, it's a bit different because he's in a -- he's a very popular governor in a blue state. and more of a question about whether he wants to be a senator after being a governor for some time. if i may, very quickly, there's one line in here that manu got which is just -- first of all, this interview is fantastic. i encourage everyone to read it. mcconnell is talking to this point about having winnable candidates. he's talking about 2010 where there was a huge wave and republicans i

and, senator lindsey graham firing a warning shot at mitch mcconnell saying he will not back mcconnell as leader unless he proves he can work with former president trump. we will speak to the senator about that move. he'll be joining us live next hour, plus john cornyn, and an all-star line-up as "america reports" rolls on. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medi

mcconnell: it will be interesting to see what he has to say. reporter: one of the prerequisites of any appropriations -- bill is having bipartisan support. one of the prerequisites our viewers would like to see is pro-life provision of the hyde amendment. is that a redline for your party? sen. mcconnell: the hyde language has been boilerplate for 30 or 40 years. what i think senator shelby has said to senator lahey basic traditional -- no poison pills and parity for defense and nondefense to the extent that the democrats are willing to meet those conditions, i would think we would have a chance of getting it on this appropriation february the 18th. reporter: [indiscernible] sen. mcconnell: we talked which other all the time about these issues. the only two democrats who seem to be resistant to breaking the senate these days are senator manchin and senator sinema. all indications are that they still believe the senate is an institution that is important and doesn't need to be turned into the house or broken. >> chuck schumer and democratic leade

mcconnell's office said the senator meant to say other americans. i have to give mcconnell credit, successfully blocking voting rights and items on biden's agaenda and despite the defeat and failing to get build back better passed as one giant piece of legislation, the president is down but certainly not out. the saying this week he wants to try to pass big chunks of big back better. sounding optimistic. >> and we still face tremendous challenges, though. but together we have proven we can get big things done in this country. last year, you help laid the groundwork. this year we have to build it. the biggest weapon in our arsenal is the build back better act. nothing is going to do more to ease pressure on families. >> we'll see if he can get it done in year two. so much to discuss tonight with cnn's chief legal analyst jef jeffrey toobin. good evening. appreciate you joining us. let's talk about this politico reporting. when i read it, i said this has to be an article from the onion. this is not real but it turns out it is real. politico never rele

>> because mitch mcconnell is a loser and frankly, mitch mcconnell on the other side and schumer put in his position he would have been fighting this like you've never seen before. he would have been fighting this. >> cnn's reporter joins us now. what is your making of what the president said about mcconnell overnight and what you hear from sources what this means about the fact he views the fact mcconnell still has a lot of power in the republican party? >> reporter: mcconnell still does have quite a bit of power in the republican party, kaitlan, but also donald trump does, and he has been asking republican candidates meeting with down at mar-a-lago to come out and say if elected to the u.s. senate they would work to depose mcconnell as one of the top republican leaders in that chamber. and yet he's found very little support among republican candidates seeking donald trump's endorsement to actually go that far. so far only two republicans who are running for senate, kelly shbaqa in alaska challenging lisa murkowski and running for the seat in moissouri would not support senator mcco

the entire framework that mcconnell sets up is kind of ludicrous. i mean, what we are seeing is republicans in state after state are passing these restrictive voting laws on an entirely party line basis over the unified opposition of virtually every democratic state legislature voting. unified support from every republican, and then republicans in the congress are providing air support, this kind of ground offensive by locking arms against any efforts to restore federal voting rights oversight, including restoring the voting rights act, which every senate republican voted for the last time it was reauthorized, and now mcconnell is turning around and saying this is a partisan move by the democrats to respond, which is what is unfolding is an entirely partisan power grabby republicans in the state. >> senator mitch mcconnell voted for it in 2006 last time, the same tenants of this, they would be reauthorized again, and what about the people who are saying the republicans who are seen as more rational in that they never supported trump's election lies,

here's who our team is coming between them, mitch mcconnell, former trump's frenemy? all of this after governor desantis appeared on a podcast hosted by mcconnell's long-time advisers, blasting the president's decision to lock down during the pandemic. watch. >> i had pence and the cdc director down at port everglades talking about cruise ships in the second week of march. and no one was talking about shutting down the country. knowing now what i know then, if that was a threat earlier, i would have been much louder. >> i want to bring in john allen, one of the many heavy-hitters on this piece. it boils down to this senator mcconnell seems to be involved in a proxy war with desantis and trump. do i have that right? >> right. the mcconnell side will not say that's what's going on, if you look at what's going on across the country, the fight with desantis trump is having and now given an opportunity desantis to go on the podcast making shots at trump. what you seen is mitch mcconnell fighting for that establishment wing of the republican party that diminished wing of th

he'll literally sit there and be like ah, if mcconnell does that because mcconnell likes the things he likes. more on president biden's epic press conference and the supreme court delivered a major defeat to the twice impeached president and florida retiree late today rejecting his efforts to block the january 6th committee from getting the white house documents. >>> plus, the gathering storm the secretary of state is in ukraine trying to diffuse a brewing international crisis. senator chris murphy just back from the region joins me tonight and tonight's absolute worst is like a weather forecast, cold, a lot of wind and a 100% chance of snow flakes. "the reidout" continues after this. lakes. "the reidout" continues after this if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free d

what mitch mcconnell gave was a performance. this is somebody that never said donald trump was unpresidential but the reason he said this about president biden is because what he's afraid of is that if the rules are changed, he won't be able to use the power that he's used so ruthlessly over time and that if people get to vote and get access to the vote, he might never get the gavel back. is that the way you read it? >> absolutely. the senate is already rigged. it been rigged from the beginning to be sort of an affirmative action for rural people. the great people of montana and nk fk bless their hearts have the same legislative efficacy as the millions more people in our more populous states. you've got that imbalance created and on top of that, you have rules, backdoor chamber rules that have been exploited by mitch mcconnell better than any other single senator in history in the name of ensuring a super majority requirement to pass legislation and in the name of ensuring minority rule in this country. if you think about who s

truth, mcconnell saying, quote, i agree with him. nicholas, let's start with you. congress was your beat. this was not organic, if you will. senator rounds was first asked on a sunday show and he said, look, joe biden won. it's time for republicans to move on. joe biden won fair and square. since then you've seen a half dozen, rounds, mcconnell, murkowski, come out and say the same thing. partly because senator rounds is so well liked among his colleagues, but this feud with trump and mcconnell has gone on for years now. doesn't it seem mcconnell is winning for now? >> it seems that way. look at trump telling him he doesn't need to be leader anymore, he called him an old crow, and mcconnell came back with old crow was one of his favorite bourbons. at the very least, mcconnell and republicans are taking it in stride. >> i like the bourbon reference. any bourbon reference is good. let's listen to a little bit more, including what he did not know was going to be the end. >> the only way it's not going to happen again is you have to solv

mcconnell: it will be interesting to see what he has to say. reporter: one of the prerequisites of any appropriations -- bill is having bipartisan support. one of the prerequisites our viewers would like to see is pro-life provision of the hyde amendment. is that a redline for your party? sen. mcconnell: the hyde language has been boilerplate for 30 or 40 years. straditional -- no poison pills and parity for defense and nondefense to the extent that the democrats are willing to meet those conditions, i would think we would have a chance of getting it on this appropriation february the 18th. reporter: [indiscernible] sen. mcconnell: we talked which other all the time about these issues. the only two democrats who seem to be resistant to breaking the senate these days are senator manchin and senator sinema. all indications are that they still believe the senate is an institution that is important and doesn't need to be turned into the house or broken. this is an hour. [applause]

better than mitch mcconnell did, one year ago. what is the state of the criminal case against donald trump, tonight and ryan reilly, will join us next. n us next. when a cough tries to steal dad's punchlines, he takes robitussin naturals powered by 100% drug-free ingredients. are you gonna leaf me hanging? soothe your cough naturally. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. ♪ ♪ just two pills for all day pain relief. aleve it, and see what's possible. and also try alevex topical pain relief. how did panera come up with the idea to combine their famous mac and cheese with their iconic grilled cheese? by saying yes. yes to new inventions! yes to clean and fresh ingredients! and yes to living life to the flavor-fullest. panera. live your yes. now $1 delivery. dove 0% is different. we left aluminum out and put 48 ho

mcconnell's criticism, biden said, quote: i like membership mcconnell. he's a friend. a vote on the filibuster could come between now and monday. bret? >> bret: chad pergram live on the hill. thanks. we are going to bring in our panel early tonight. guy benson, host of the guy benson show on fox radio. susan page, washington bureau chief at "u.s.a. today" and former education secretary bill bennett. bill, you heard senator mcconnell's speech and reaction to president biden's speech. your thoughts? >> shock, i think. that's what a lot of people are experiencing. the joe biden i knew and i knew him pretty well, he was the charming of the committee that confirmed me as the first drug czar. and this is not the joe biden that i knew what's the right movie invasion of the body snatchers manchurian candidate? i don't think anybody has explained what happened to joe biden. but to start to call your opposition jefferson davis to talk about segregationist not only does joe biden have his own problem in a regard given his history, but these are awful things to say and mcconnell w

how profoundly unpresidential. >> mcconnell also said he did not recognize the man behind the podium. we'll speak to senator tammy duckworth about that, next. >>> and some north carolina voters are trying to block congressman madison hawthorne from running for re-election because of his role on january 6th. we'll explain their plan. what's g going on? where's regina? hi, i'i'm ladonna. i invest in invesco qqq, a fund that gives me access to thehe nasdaq-100 innovation, like real time cgi. okay... yeah... oh. don't worry i got it! become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq it's beautiful out here. it sure is. and i earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase with chase freedom unlimited. that means that i earn 5% on our rental car, i earn 5% on our cabin. i mean, c'mon! hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! i'm scared. in a good way. i'm lying. let's get inside. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. (announcer) carvana's had a lot of firsts. 100% online car buying. car vending machines. and now, pu

mcconnell did open the door to this process. he was open to it. looked like something that needed to be dealt with. i know he thinks the threshhold the law gives, essentially one senator and one congressman can give a wave of false hope and set off in this case a crisis under the confines of this law. and so i think my sense is that if something is going to happen, it's going to be done in a bipartisan way. the real question here, like the infrastructure bill, the real question is will chuck schumer allow this chunk of it as you suggested to go without the other things. this should not be linked to what the democrats want to do on other elections. this is its own issue. it deserves to be looked at, and i think there's openness to that as long as it's not linked to the other stuff that republicans simply just don't agree with. >> david, republicans, as we were talking about, were quick to call out trump right after the attack. this is what kevin mccarthy sound like a year ago this month. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack

talking about mitch mcconnell. sparking outrage after making comments that make it seem like he thinks african-americans are somehow different from the rest of the people in this country. stay with us. (vo) you can be well-dressed. you can be well-mannered. (man) oh, no, no, after you. wahoooo! (vo) you can be well-groomed. or even well-spoken. (man) ooooooo. (vo) but there's just something about being well-adventured. (vo) adventure has a new look. discover more in the all-new subaru forester wilderness. love. it's what makes subaru, subaru. psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn'

mcconnell cannot do that. but it's no secret democrats have been begging breyer to give up his seat on the high court, essentially in a panic that mcconnell would block in the justice. conservatives had a 6-3 majority on the court, and it will stay that way even after breyer is replaced, which is a remarkable turn of events considering this. democrats have won the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. of course we have the electoral college system, which is how trump, who lost the popular vote in 2016, got three picks on the supreme court. now, a hard right supreme court appears poised to turn back the clock to the 1970s. it's like americans voted for the west wing and instead got "that '70s show." this has created the scenario where the minority views on major hot button issues could carry the day for a generation. and that brings me something justice sonia sotomayor warned last year, that overturning roe vs. wade would create a stench in washington. >> will this institution surv

that's happening under the watchful high of mitch mcconnell. i'll have a lot more to say about how mcconnell's words are too little, too late, coming up in my hold on segment. the big question, though, is what happens if our midterm elections later this year are thrown into chaos has gop candidates simply act like trump and refuse to admit defeat. the warning lights are blinking red that this could happen. right now the trump-owned party, as i like to call it, is executing a strategy to seize control of the t.o.p. from the bottom up and reshape america's elections. it's been doubbed the precinct strategy, and guess who's the svengali driving this hostile takeover. >> we're tacking action, and that action is we're taking over school boards. we're taking over the republican party from the precinct committee strategy. we're taking over all the elections. we're going to take over the election apparatus. american citizens that are volunteering, they are now going to volunteer to go to become a precinct committeeman. they're going to swvolunteer to b

phillip, has this strategy worked for mcconnell in the past? >> yeah, i think one of the things that mcconnell and his party have going for him, and people remember trump had no second term agenda when running in 2020, and neither did the republican, they just said whatever trump wants to do is their agenda. the republicans are enabled in not doing things by being the party that can say, no, we don't want to do that. so it's always easier to do nothing than it is to do something. mitch mcconnell understands if he gets out ahead of this and refuses to outline any sort of policy agenda, then he can't be held accountable for it. it's the same reason people find new candidates appealing, if you don't say what it is you're going to do, nobody is going to vote against you because of it. because the republican party is focused on culture war stuff, it seems like it will work. >> cultural wars do end up taking up a lot of oxygen in the room. juanita, if the republicans are avowedly running on nothing, what does that mean for democrats and their message

mcconnell cannot do that. but it's no secret democrats have been begging breyer to give up his seat on the high court, essentially in a panic that mcconnell would block another democratic president from celebing a justice. conservatives had a 6-3 majority on the court, and it will stay that way even after breyer is replaced, which is a remarkable turn of events considering this. democrats have won the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. of course we have the electoral college system, which is how trump, who lost the popular vote in 2016, got three picks on the supreme court. now, a hard right supreme court appears poised to turn back the clock to the 1970s. it's like americans voted for "the west wing" and instead got "that '70s show." this has created the scenario where the minority views on major hot button issues could carry the day for a generation. and that brings me something justice sonia sotomayor warned last year, that overturning roe vs. wade would create a stench in w

but mcconnell went much, much further. i think the filibuster should be one in which rather than the 60 votes mattering, if you want to stop something, then 40 votes will matter and you have to be on the floor with 40 votes. you have to be on the floor casting 40 votes in order to get something done. but you know, if i might just say quickly, as a senator, i could just call the cloak room and say, i'm opposed to senate bill "x," and all of a sudden that cloak room understands they're going to object to anything on that issue for me, that's a filibuster. that's just nuts, just crazy. that's not what the filibuster is supposed to be about. if you've got 40 people that want to stop something, they have to come to the floor of the senate. that's the way it ought to be, come to the floor of the senate and find a way to stop it. but they have to be there in person and they have to continue that debate. if not, then things go forward. >> any advice to president biden on how to do this, on how to try to sort of salve this wound? >

it's not clear who would challenge mcconnell. he's not interested in giving it up, but the are relationship with donald trump, the two men haven't talked in more than a year. that could remain problem battic with donald trump still the leader of the republican party. >> thank you all. we're going to come back in a moment. but first, just moments ago, the white house press secretary announcing president biden will have a news conference this coming wednesday at 4:00 p.m. that's on the eve of the first anniversary of his swearing in. and what's unusual is this will be only his second solo domestic white house news conference of his presidency. the last one was nine months ago in march of 2021. >>> coming up, the supreme court knocking down the biden administration's vaccine mandate for private employers. more than 100 workers as omicron continues to spread. this is msnbc. to spread. to spread. this is msnbc. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check

neil, there was a case laid out there of sorts by mitch mcconnell. you have liz cheney tonight with the breaking news that the committee is examining the possibility of criminal conduct in what donald trump did and did not do on january 6th. >> exactly. so, you know, lawrence, i read a piece in the atlantic today which basically started with those two mcconnell quotes that you laid out. and i think liz cheney is absolutely right. she didn't refer to the statute by name, but it's 18 usc 1812 and it forbids a conspiracy or decision to try and obstruct an official proceeding. at this point it's very clear that there needs to be an investigation into higher ups, not just trump but the others around him like bannon and jeffrey clark and john eastman and, yes, congress has been looking at this but we don't know yet whether the justice department is. that's my concern. merrick garland gave a great speech yesterday talking about how nobody is above the law, but there's still no sign that there is an official law enforcement criminal investigation against the

and so what else did mitch mcconnell say in. >> reporter: mcconnell is concerned about nominating unele unelectable candidates in hisvu and a fight that between trump and mcconnell ultimately would lead to divisive primaries in which an unel eelectableunelect emerge. mcconnell says he has not seen that play out. and that he and the former president despite their public differences are on the same page in some key senate races in nevada and georgia. there is a difference in the alaskan senate race. trump is going after murkowski, but whoever emerges there will most certainly be a republican. and there are also concerns in missouri. mcconnell told me that he is watching that closely as a number of republicans are nervous about the former governor there given concerns about his past. but trump himself has stayed neutral in that race. and at the same time, mcconnell is concerned about some of the rhetoric that some of the republican candidates have been voicing. namely embracing the lie that donald trump won the election. trump has essentially wielded that conspiracy over potential candidat

and we need to talk about mitch mcconnell today. mitch mcconnell tried to clean up his comments about black and american voters. have a listen. >> well, inadvertently i admitted a word, and for that, we are standing here for 45 minutes. this outrageous mischaracterization of my record as a result of leaving one word out, inadvertently today, which i've just now supplied to you, is deeply offensive. the admitted word it was all. that's all folks. sorry. >> so here is the thing about mitch mcconnell, if you have covered him. or paid attention to him long enough. he is very careful with his words. he does not say things that he does not want to hear you say. he always so said at the same press conference that it was hurtful. so we know that he is offended. congressman, your response? >> i was not surprised at all by his comments. i mean wet he said, is what black peoples feel every single day. and not just mitch mcconnell, many of my colleagues carry him bear it -- and you see it revealed in how they legislate, and how they engage with

i actually like mitch mcconnell. we like one another, he has one straightforward objective make sure there is nothing that i do that makes me. >> despite having not reached out to republicans willing to compromise on other white house priorities like senator mitt romney on voting rights. >> i was trying to make sure we got everybody on the same page in my party on this score. and i didn't call many republicans at all. >> president highlighted three things that he is going to do dimple in 2022 the first being going out of washington into america to highlight the things that he has accomplished. it's part of a broader strategy, we have heard, to take the spotlight off of the democratic infighting that has stalled his agenda and shake this image that he is approaching the presidency more like the consensus seeking senator he was for 36 years than a commander-in-chief getting things done. the second thing he said he will do seek more outside input. he referenced his tore yarns and academics. he said he will be very invol

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that's mitch mcconnell's mind-set. but for black and brown voters it has always been more difficult to register to vote and to cast a ballot. their concerns are not misplaced. they live it, we live it, and we know which party is making it harder to register and cast a ballot and which party is making it easier to intimidate voters and discount their ballots. the right to vote and to have your vote counted is so fundamental in america and so important that two dozen protesters including democratic congressman jamal bowman were willing to get arrested to keep up the fight. joining us now is democratic congressman jamal bowman of new york. he also serves on the civil rights and human services subcommittee, part of the education and labor committee. congressman, thank you for coming to the "last word." you were arrested yesterday along with more than two dozen people. tell us about what happened. >> yes, so there had been protesters at the capitol, at the senate throughout the week beginning on tuesday. and there were prot

we're going live to the capitol right now and a ssenate gop lea, mitch mcconnell. >> yesterday he called millions of americans his domestic enemies. two and a half months ago, the president called on americans to join forces, stop the shouting. lower the temperature. but yesterday he shouted that if you disagree with him, you're george wallace. george wallace. if you don't pass the laws he wants, you're bull conner. and if you oppose giving democrats untrammelled one-party control of the country, well, you're jefferson davis. 12 months ago, this president said disagreement must not lead to disunion. ah, but yesterday he invoked a bloody disunion of the civil war -- the civil war -- to demonize americans who disagree with him, he compared a vast majority of senators to literal traitors. how profoundly, profoundly unpresidential. look, i've known, liked and personally respected joe biden for many years. i did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday. american voters did not give president biden a mandate for very much. he got a tied senate, negative coattails in the house, the narrowe

well, thank you senator mcconnell. the leaders too close to sort of central or eastern europe type thing but this has been this is truly an honor. i'm not gonna go on long. you all have have had a long day and you know i convinced i tell my clerks often. i'm tired of talking about me so they should talk about me and and i think they have been talking about me. so oh my goodness this it is. so embarrassing. i just the i i but i have to thank you all. i thank you for being here this evening. i know you have other things to do. i thank jen mascot whose idea this was and is simply delightful and as well as the grace center. sure, there's a ton of hard work involved in this in details. and convincing people to participate but i also thank heritage foundation for hosting this and all the work that they've done to make this all possible. and of course, i'd like to thank senator mcconnell for not only the work he has done that. that don spoke of but just being the gentleman he is and the courage that he has shown. over the yea

he wants to oust mcconnell. he and mcconnell have been on frosty no-speaking terms on january 6. i don't know why my phone is ringing, pardon me. when mcconnell decided to criticize the now former president for the january 6 riots. since then trump has been trying to recruit various republican senate candidates to run, and if they get elected, to not vote for mcconnell as senate republican leader. now, his post is probably pretty secure as republican leader, as the majority leader or the minority leader, but if enough republicans decide to oust him, it's going to be a pain for mcconnell in his leadership race or just in managing the senate. >> can i ask a question about louisiana which caught my eye, and i know caught yours today. there is a man named gary chambers running in the senate in louisiana, i believe against senator kennedy. in the ad is looks like he's smoking a blunt, he's smoking marijuana. and he's talking about how many people get arrested for marijuana for these low-level crimes, these low amounts of marijuana, and he's using that as a way to introduce himself to

that's happening under the watchful eye of senate leader mich mcconnell. the big question, though, is what happens if our mid-term elections later this year are thrown into chaos as gop candidates simply act like trump and refuse to admit defeat? the warning lights are blinking red this could happen. it's been dubbed the precinct strategy, and guess who's the senegaly driving this hostile take over? >> we're taking action, and that action we're taking over school boards, we're taking over the republican party precinct, we're taking over all the elections. we're going to take over the election apparatus. american citizens that are volunteering, they are going to volunteer to become a precinct committeeman, volunteer to become an election official, take over the secretaries of state. we're going to take this back village by village, precinct by precinct. >> we're going to take over the election apparatus, take over all the elections. the battle cry from insurrection brave heart steve bannon. bannon who appears to have as many political lives as he does shirt

we know mitch mcconnell is a racist. mitch mcconnell has said a lot of really ridiculous things in the past. what jumped out at me he said in those same breaths was that nothing actually is wrong with the elections. also he then went on to say not only are black people voting everybody is voting and voter turnout at an all-time high since 1900. this is what mitch mcconnell admitted to. he also went on to say that, you know, if we don't have any problem here, like i don't understand what the democrats are so mad about. end of the day, he thinks the democrats are just mad and trying to set up the elections in a way they are federalized. next thing that jumped out for me. because here is what they don't want to talk about. what would happen if we actually had national rules for voting that were consistent and the same across states? you know what would happen? white people, republicans, wouldn't be able to gain the system, change the rules, and rig elections. that is what they really want to do. seems to me it makes sense w

that did not sit well with senator mcconnell. watch. >> yesterday, he shouted that if you disagree with him, you're george wallace. george wallace? if you tonight pass the laws he wants, you're bull connor. he compared -- listen to this -- a bipartisan majority of senators to literal traitors. how profoundly unpresidential. look, i've known, liked and personally respected joe biden for many years. i did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday. >> martha: strong words there from senator mcconnell. senators thune and tim scott hear with their reaction. let's begin with senator thune, the number 2 ranking republican. senator, good to have you with us today. i think i'm going to remind everybody, the comments that senator mcconnell was referring to yesterday from president biden. let's take a look. >> i ask every elected official in america, how do you want to be remembered? do you want to be on the side of dr. king or george wallace? you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abra

think mcconnell likes the hand he has right now. he action kwee yes, sired on the debt celling because he wants the democrats to be focused. of course, when you're the republican party, you have to turn the election into a referendum, not a choice. joe biden himself often uses the term "don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." that is the most -- how do things change, andrea, between now and voting in november. one is the big thing is the big thing. we're in a pandemic. as things improve and the pandemic improves, biden will imimprovement you have to build scale back better with popular parts that you passed and you go out and sell those. just as importantly as saying what you did, say what the republicans opposed. then i think there will be a lot of republicans get nominated in the house number all of them, but a lot of them, who are going to be extreme weirdos. they're not going to be the glenn youngkins of the world. i think what we have to understand here, there's no message, there's no precedent that's

well, thank you senator mcconnell. the leaders too close to sort of central or eastern europe type thing but this has been this is truly an honor. i'm not gonna go on long. you all have have had a long day and you know i convinced i tell my clerks often. i'm tired of talking about me so they should talk about me and and i think they have been talking about me. so oh my goodness this it is. so embarrassing. i just the i but i have to thank you all. i thank you for being here this evening. i know you have other things to do. i thank jen mascot whose idea this was and is simply delightful and as well as the grace center. sure, there's a ton of hard work involved in this in details. and convincing people to participate but i also thank heritage foundation for hosting this and all the work that they've done to make this all possible. and of course, i'd like to thank senator mcconnell for not only the work he has done that that don spoke of but just being the gentleman he is and the courage that he has shown. over the years

methodical, on message, mitch mcconnell. he wrote in his memoir five years ago the long game you can start too late but you can never start too early. and tonight you heard him start early on the fall election. inflation and the southern border. inflation and the open southern border and drilling down on, of course, minor incursion. he probably also knows about the new poll this morning, the nbc poll that when asked are you a supporter of the republican party or a supporter of donald trump? 56 percent said the g.o.p., 36 percent said donald trump. now, he avoided twice. you pressed him twice on the former president. he is not looking for a fight with mar-a-lago but neither is he going to yield his leadership position and he had two big wins last night. big enough wins that lindsey graham who had thrown a couple of darts at him earlier in the week was praising him on twitter last night. so good week for the leader. good message to you. >> we have methodical. >> bret: mollie, the former president is going to be on sean hannity

a lot of this has been bottlenecked by mitch mcconnell. it is a state legislative body. we talked about the state of georgia where you have local election officials that are not partisan. they are being targeted by individuals doing their job and they have low protections. we have a member that has served for years as an election administrator that has been threatened. and we have another person wanting to leave their home. for mitch mcconnell to make this about the president and not deal with the fact that it has been shown over and over -- we have to move beyond the posture we are currently seeing. and we need to put forward voting rights protections and make sure election officials are not being targeted and harassed. host: we are continuing to talk about the voting rights debate. democrats, republicans, independents, numbers are on your screen. you can also text us (202) 748-8003. you can also go to our facebook page or post on twitter using @cspanwj. some of the georgia voting laws that democrats and you have been criticizing. here is what he had to say. >> the chal

we did have that statement by mike rounds. >> because mitch mcconnell is a loser and frankly, mitch mcconnell, if he were on the other side and if schumer were put in his position, he would have been fighting this like you've never seen before. he would have been fighting this. >> well, let's go to cnn reporter gabby orr for more. we should note that later on in that interview the president hung up on steve inskeep. back to the point he was making, is trump going to back off from criticizing mcconnell or is this what he's going to continue to do going forward? >> bianna, i think the posture we have seen from former president trump toward mcconnell so far is here to stay. he has been increasingly hostile toward the senate minority leader and calling on republican candidates who are running for the senate to declare that they would not vote to re-elect mitch mcconnell as majority or minority leader if they made it to the u.s. senate in november. of course, what we have seen play out is that very few republican candidates have actually made such a declaration. even as they continue to seek donal

mitch mcconnell. yeah, joe biden's saying what republicans said a year ago. >> they won't say again. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. see blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. >>> u.s. army veteran and congressman jason crowe of colorado, he served two tours in afghanistan as part of the joint special operation task force and he's here today, one year after the attack on the capitol on january 6th. >> thank you congressman for being here. it's one of those dates at least

here's the president today responding to mcconnell's criticism saying, i like mitch mcconnell. he's a friend, which may be the most joe biden thing that he could say, but just think about how much things have changed since the last time voting rights were before the senate. okay, so this is our facts first part. this was back in 2016, the senate voted 98 to 0 to reauthorize the voting rights act. 19 -- 2006, the senate voted 98-0 to reauthorize the voting rights act, not so long ago. every single senator voting in favor including mitch mcconnell, richard shelby, susan collins, james inhofe john thune, john cornyn, lindsey graham, chuck grassley, richard burr and lisa murkowski. i will say it again, every single senator voting in favor of voting rights protection, the last time to reauthorize the voting rights act in 2006. mitch mcconnell, richard shelby, susan collins, james inhofe, john thune, john cornyn, lindsey graham, chuck grassley, richard burr, lisa murkowski. what is so different now? t-r-u-m-p, f-e-a-r, the big l-i-e? what is so different now? voting rights protection

but this is not the first time that leader mcconnell has received backlash. when he opines on issues of race and racial inequality in america, this is the response that he often meets. when i asked him about reparations about slavery in 2018, he invoked former president barack obama. people were outraged with that. they had a contentious relationship. and saying, essentially president obama was, but he did not say that. and when i asked him about the filibuster, he said the filibuster has no racial history, none at all. that prompted a spokesperson from his office to again clean that up again. he was saying, he was talking about the origins of the filibuster. but i think this episode reveals that someone like mcconnell who typically chooses his words very carefully, he's going to have to take a special attention, when he does so in the future. because there is a lot of anger there, i think. and that was on full display this week. >> a lot of cleanup, especially as his party, at least through states, has tried to pass legislation that could suppress voters and

leader mitch mcconnell today blasting the president's voting rights speech in atlanta. watch. >> incorrect and beneath his office. >> just ahead, we're talking with one of the senators leading the charge to change those senate rules. >>> also coming up, yes, inflation nation. with inflation the highest it's been since the go-gos were on top of the music charts, that was a long time ago, gang. our financial expert has more on what this whole thing means for your money. >>> we'll also take you behind the scenes of that npr interview with former president trump. we're talking about being pushed about his election fraud lies. >>> i'm hallie jackson. good to be with you here this afternoon. kelly o'donnell, garrett haake and maryanne levine. kelly, talk us through as we wait for the white house briefing to begin, maybe a little delayed. next steps the president is trying to take including the meeting with senate democrats tomorrow. >> pretty old school strategy. work the phones. go see them in person and try to persuade using kind of the playbook we've seen joe biden use bef

minor leader mitch mcconnell railed today against president biden's speech in georgia. the president was pushing for the senate to change its filibuster rules to pass voting rights legislation. compared lawmakers to segregationists. just for viewers, i want to play some of what mcconnell said, and then ask you to respond. >> to demonize americans who disagree with them -- he compared -- listen to this -- a bipartisan majority of senators to literal traitors. how profoundly, profoundly un-presidential? the president's rant -- rant -- yesterday was incoherent, incorrect, and beneath his office. >> what do you make of that? i mean, given his silence during the trump administration. >> i tell you -- i tell you what is beneath one's office. and that is, to have senators like mcconnell -- apologists for republican governors and legislatures all over this country who are, with surgical precision, trying to suppress the vote, coming up with extreme gerrymandering. working on legislation, which will take away the rights of independent election officials and given to partisan rep