when we can for our choices, and we don't have the threat and in cases two in say arm on people that are running or holding political office. we should not be where we are, and we should not be in a position that paul pelosi shows us and whatever else we learn about the attack on paparazzi it is incumbent on politicians regardless of the party to condemn anything that resembles political violence. it's okay to disagree and argue, the campaign and rally, they demonstrate, but it should all be done legally and safety. on another note, today we mourn the death of dr. reverend calvin to third, the longtime senior pastor of the senior baptist church in harlem new york. he passed away yesterday. the reverend was a major pillar in the harlem community and is irreplaceable. he was a dominant faith and

academic for decades. we knew each other for more than 40 years. why we did not always agree, we always came back together. over the last two years, he and i were closely as co-chairs of the national campaign to have the black community fight covid. he was on politics nations of november 2020. -- we booked as late as a couple of weeks ago about this work and he was still fighting cancer all the way through, he kept fighting. we have the community on health conditions, housing and economic conditions, he will be tremendously missed. that does it for me, thank you for watching, i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5 pm eastern for another live hour of politicsnation. american voices with alicia menendez starts right now on msnbc. methank you as always, reference sharpton. hello everyone, i'm alicia

mendez. we begin to saturday in san francisco where federal and local investigators are piecing together the motive behind friday's brutal attack on paul pelosi. the husband is the speaker of the house nancy pelosi. police said that the fight the attacker as 42-year-old david the puppy, law enforcement officials tell nbc news investigators are combing through his social media posts, including several block posts. nbc news reports, quote post of anti establishment ideas to more recent post that espouse positions typically associated with far-right extremism. there's no question that this is an act political violence. the attack on the family at the speaker the house. what is still unclear at this point is what motivated that attack. officials are still investigating that this afternoon. president biden condemned the attack. >> it looks like he will recover fully but also, we don't know for certain but it looks like this was intended for nancy.

he kept asking, where is nancy, where is nancy? the generic point i want to make is that it's one thing to contend the violence. but you can't condemn the violence unless you condemn the people who continue to argue the election was not real, that it's being stolen, all the monarchy that is being put out there to undermine democracy. >> new reporting from politico reads, quote, the attack comes in the final two weeks of a tense midterm election with both republicans and democrats have vilified their opponents and campaign ads. democrats say it's that rhetoric, the gop demonization a pelosi in decades of ads that have escalated threats against her and her family. joining me now from san francisco, nbc news is scott cohn. scott, where does the investigation stand at this hour and what more can you tell us about paul pelosi's recovery? >> alicia, we did not get any

official updates on paul pelosi's condition, as you heard a moment ago from president biden. he is expected to make a full recovery after going through surgery yesterday for a fractured skull and serious injuries to his arm and hand. nancy pelosi, the speaker rushed back to san francisco, flew across country and went straight to the hospital to be with her husband as we await further word. as for the investigation, it is wide ranging. the san francisco police, the district attorney, capitol police and fbi. a lot have been focusing on the alleged attacker david depape and his social media postings which were just a potpourri of hate and conspiracy theories. officials are not yet saying what his motive was, the district attorney here in san francisco bill jenkins telling nbc news that is important to get this right. . >> we want to flush out exactly

what his motives and intentions were and i think for all of us, when you have something that was not random take place where he was intentionally targeting that home, of the speaker, the alarms us all. i think for all of us, it's certainly a wake up call that we have gone too far in this country as far as political discourse is concerned. >> david depape has been booked on a raft of felony charges, including attempted murder, assault of a deadly weapon, elder abuse and the list goes on. he is expected to be in court on tuesday. we expect that the actual specifics of the charges could be unveiled on monday. alicia? >> scott cohn for us in san francisco, scott, thank you. i would take it to wisconsin, where former president obama is on the stump rolling for voters ahead of the midterms. let's take a listen. >> tony evers and your next united states senator, mandela

barnes. [applause] that is why i am here. you don't have to wait for november 8th to cast their ballot. you can vote early in person through november 5th here in milwaukee, or you can vote at your polling place at november 8th. if you're not sure about how and where and all that. go to i will vote.com, find out what is supposed to do and make a plan. make a plan, because you don't want to sleep to the election. and what you are doing the, help your friends and family make a plan. take them with you if you go to vote. if you vote in person, take them with you on election day because this election requires every single one of us to do

our part. it's that important now, i think it's fair to say to this country, and i am not sure it's different in wisconsin and waukee, discuss gun to sometimes the past few years. we have been through some stuff. more just now coming out of a historic pandemic that wrecked havoc on families, schools and businesses and communities everybody was impacted. michelle is good, but she was impacted. she was. michelle talked about this publicly, even for folks who obviously were in so many ways advantage, in terms of not having to worry about paying rent, food and stuff, but emotionally, it was hard for everybody.

some folks are more impacted than others. people lost loved ones, nurses, teachers, essential workers, many folks who actually do work, they were really affected and more at risk. the pandemic also highlighted and in some cases made worse problems that we have been struggling with for years. an economy that too often works for those at the very top but not for everyone else. communities where too many kids are out of school, and then they end up being out of work, and then they are out of hope. sometimes, that leaves them to violence and despair. and then there was a shift, and this is a long term trend, but

we saw it get worse, of a breakdown of basic civility, basic neighbor linus and know where did you see it more than in our politics were suddenly you have politicians doing their best deliberately to stir up division, to make us angry and afraid of each other. just for their own advantage. all of this was amped up, hyped up, 24/7 on cable and then on social media. it finds that it is profitable to promote controversy and conflict instead of facts and truth. you got that? okay -- and we're still seeing the aftermath of that. i want to take a moment to say a prayer for a friend of mine, mr. paul pelosi, 82 years old

attack. somebody breaks into his house, looking for his wife, the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. he beats him with a hammer. doctors fortunately believe that he will be okay, and we'll let the investigators do their jobs, but i think one thing is clear, this habit that we have seen completely contrary to what tony was talking about, that this habit of saying the worst about of the people, demonizing people, that creates a dangerous climate. and if elected officials don't do more explicitly to reject this kind of over the top crazy rhetoric, if they keep on ignoring it or tacitly supporting it or in some cases,

encouraging it, if they're telling supporters, you have to stand outside polling places aren't with guns and dressed in tactical gear, that's the kind of thing that ends up getting people hurt. and just a significantly, it violates the basic spirit of who we are supposed to be as a democracy. so i get why people are anxious. i understand why you might be worried about the course of the country. i understand why you might want to tune out, just watch football or hgtv. or the great british baking show, which is a cute show.

national parks, that's a good show, but i am here to tell you that tuning out, milwaukee, is not an option. just moping is not an option. the only way to make this economy fair, make it work for everybody, is if we all fight for it. the only way to make our democracy stronger is if we nurture it and work for it, and that starts with electing people who know it, who see you, who care about you, who know what you are going through. and you did that two years ago when you set joe biden to the white house. he's fighting for you every day. he's got your back. he's doing everything he can to put more money into your pockets, to make history safer,

to bring more good paying jobs here to wisconsin. you did it when you elected tony ever as governor. >> [applause] >> you did it when you sent gwen moore and tammy ball went to washington to fight for you. and now you've got to do it again. because, here's the thing, wisconsin, there are a lot of issues at stake in this country, but the most basic question, the fundamental issue, you should be asking yourself right now is, who will fight for you? who cares about you? that's the choice in this election. all the other stuff is surface stuff, it's destruction. anybody can run a tv ad. these days, they can say anything. nobody is fact-checking anything. but in your gut, you should

have a sense of who cares about you. who's going to fight for working people who are struggling to pay the bills? listen, glenn was talking about it, i heard a backstage. inflation is a real problem right now, and by the way, it's not just here in america, it's worldwide. it's one of the legacies of the pandemic. it threw off supply and demand. folks who are in the auto industry for example, you suddenly couldn't get spare parts. people wanted to buy cars, there were not enough cars. all this stuff has created inflation. it's put pressure on prices. and then on top of that, you have a war in ukraine, and that sense gas prices through the roof. look, whatever the reasons, when gas prices go up, one grocery prices go up, that takes a bite out of people's paychecks. that hurts. but the question you should be

asking is, who is going to do something about it? the republicans are having a field day running ads talking about it, but what is their actual solution to it. i will tell you, they want to cut social security and medicare and then give some more tax breaks to the wealthy. and the reason i know that, that's their answer to everything. when inflation is low, what do you want to do? cut taxes. when unemployment is high, let's cut taxes on the wealthy. that's gonna solve that. i was joking. if there was an asteroid headed towards earth -- it's going to land in, like, two weeks.

if you want in the republican caucus, and you said, what do you want to do? well, we need a tax break for the wealthy. that's gonna help. i am only barely exaggerating. that is where, all there is economic policy, the only one. and it's been their only one for the last 20 years! i mean, it may be nice, if every problem you had, you just had one answer to. those of you who are young, you're still in school, you go into a math exam, every answer is just number eight, just right eight. you get an a. but that's not how the world works. they don't have a plan. that is why, democrats actually have plans, to take on drug companies to lower prices, to get the oil industry to clean

up, to pass laws to make housing more affordable, to make sure big corporations that are already getting tax breaks, great jobs here in wisconsin, instead of overseas! that's the choice in this election. that's what this is about. [applause] >> i know you guys must be sick of these television ads. look, let's talk about another one. there's a lot of talk about crime right now. the folks in milwaukee don't have any idea. listen, -- oh, yeah. violent crimes going up over the last seven years, not just the last two, by the way. they act like the other guy, he wasn't president when all of this stuff was happening. it's gone up in conservative and rural areas, not just in the city.

so, who will fight to keep you and your family safe? is it going to be a republican politicians who want to flood our streets with organs? who actually voted against more resources for police departments, or is it leaders like tammy baldwin, and gwen mole, who worked with president biden to pass the first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. that's the choice in this election. that's when what is at stake right now. a little fight for your freedoms? who will fight for your freedoms? is that republican politicians and judges who think they should get to decide when you start a family, or how many children you should have, or who you marry, or who you love? or is the democratic leaders who believe that the freedom to

make these most intimate, personal decisions belong to every american, not politicians, mostly men, sitting somewhere in washington. that is the choice in this race. that's why you have to decide. and you have got to decide who's got a fight to make our political process or our democracy work for you. look, you can watch the news, read what they say, these republican politicians have promised, they are on record, if they get control of congress, they will spend the next two years investigating president biden and their political opponents. that's all they want to do. they see it as payback. and some of them said they -- have already got prepared that they're gonna impeach biden, that they're not sure what for

-- [laughs] but apparently, that is a side point. and you are laughing except they've actually said that. they have literally said, we are not sure what the theory is, but we are gonna come up with one. now, how is that going to help you pay your bills? how is that gonna help your kids find a good job and career? how is that gonna help wisconsin compete -- or, do you stand a better chance with president biden and democratic leaders, who have worked together, sometimes with republicans where possible, to pass the infrastructure bill that creates new jobs. to make house care and prescription drugs more affordable. to make the single largest ever investment in fighting climate change. that is the choice in this

election! [applause] you have got a choice between folks who will say anything and do anything, to get power, and leaders who share our values. who are decent, good people, who are inspired by mr. rogers. [applause] leaders -- -- leaders who want to help make your lives better and move this country forward. and, look, let me be clear, because i've been out here campaigning for the last few days. this hasn't always been a partisan thing. my favorite president was a guy from my home state of illinois, he helped find their publican

party, abraham lincoln. it used to be there where gop members who championed progress and civil rights and rule of law. folks who were with me in the 2008 election, you remember? we talked about bringing people together and spoke to all people regardless of the party, about how we can move the country forward. so, that is my instinct. . i am not somebody who believes that all -- that some party label defines us. but i have to speak the truth. which is these days it is just about every republican politician seems obsessed with just two things, own the libs, hey, let's own the libs. and getting donald trump's approval. that is their agenda.

no, no, don't boo. vote! nobody can hear you boo outside this auditorium, but they will hear you vote! [applause] -- but this current prop of republican politicians, they're not interested in solving problems. they are interested in making you angry, and then, finding somebody to blame. and their hope, that will distract from the fact that they don't have any answers of their own. that is their obsession. that is their formula. that is their answer to everything. now, i can tell you what, tony ever's as obsessed with. he's obsessed with growing wisconsin's economy, making sure every child gets a good education in this state? [applause] you heard him

mention that his opponent wants to make it easier for people to sue public school districts. his opponent called proposals to increase adjudication funding the definition of insanity. really? i mean, have you been on the internet? people are out there saying they were ruled by giant lizards. . you can't and that elvis is alive. you can think of anything crazier. they're investing more no schools than our children. let me tell you, if that is crazy, and then tony is a good crazy. because he's a lifelong educator, and as governor, he's worked with the leaders from both parties to invest more in public education then wisconsin has an almost two decades. [applause] he beat all

republican bills that try to make it harder to vote. he beat all the bills that will make it easier to carry concealed weapons. i can tell you where mandela barnes priorities lie, as your senator, he won't go off on some wacky conspiracy. you don't see him try to make you afraid of everybody, just so you can grab power. he's gonna work to bring manufacturing jobs to wisconsin, and help small businesses, and help family firms compete against huge million corporations. that is his agenda. i want to say something here. i know that there are some folks, maybe not in this auditorium, but elsewhere in

wisconsin, who think, and i know his answer running this way, but just because mandela's name is mandela -- just because he is a democrat with a funny name, he must not be like you. he must not share your values. i mean, we have seen this. and it sounds pretty familiar, does it? it sounds mandela is ready to get up that ticket. get ready! [applause] -- remember, in the good old days, remember when that was the craziest thing people said. think about that.

like, that one, where everybody is alike, that is some crazy stuff. now, that doesn't even make it to the top ten list of crazy. but the truth is, i just talked to mandela's parents. they were in the voting line. this is a son of a third shift worker, and the public school teacher. he is one of milwaukee's poor neighborhoods. he worked as an organizer, served as a state legislator. now lieutenant governor, he's fought every step of the way to make sure wisconsonites have opportunity to get ahead just like he did. he believes in the american dream. if that is not a true blood of wisconsin, american, i don't know what is! come on! [applause] --

and then, there is mandela's opponent. oh -- don't boo. don't waste your vocal cords booing. vote! you've got the idea, that's right. so, ron johnson, as your senator, and now, remember, the question is, who's going to fight for you? remember that, right? who is on your side? who cares about you? who's thinking about two? ron johnson, as a senator, helped give millions of dollars in tax deductions to some of the biggest donors that funded his campaign. and after he voted for a tax blend that allows people to write off the costs of private

-- i've been trying to get this thing since i was president. if you can get that, then you don't need a tax break. but, no, he fought for this. and then, his adult children bought, not one, not too, but three private planes, because apparently, carpooling was not an option. now -- i mean, you need three. meanwhile, senator johnson voted to raise the retirement age to 70. he supported a plan that would put social benefits, social security and medicare on the chopping block every single year. each year you'd have to vote to renew this thing. i mean, think about that,

because washington works so well, you want your social security and medicare reliant on congress every year. he's called social security ponzi scheme. he said that, it's gandy that the left is giving it away. the point is, some of you here are on social security. some of your parents are on social security. some of your grandparents are on social security. you know why they had social security? because they work for it. they worked hard jobs for it. worked hard jobs for it they have chapped hands for it. they have long hours and sore backs, and bad knees, to get that social security. and if ron johnson does not understand that, if he

understands giving tax breaks for live it private planes more than he understands making sure that syrians who worked all their lives are able to retire with dignity and respect, he's not the person who is thinking about you, and knows you, and sees you, and he should not be your senator for wisconsin! [applause] -- >> i mean, the message he is sending is pretty clear. if you don't relate to his campaign, you get a deal. if you are not, you're not lucky, you are on your own. so, when you see ads implying that mandela is somehow dangerous and different, ask yourself, who knows more about your life? this millionaire who stopped priority seems to be looking

out for his which plans, friends. or a guy from a working class family, who understands what wisconsin eyes are going through each and every day, and wants to make your lives better, who is that knows what it's like to work hard with his hands -- t' like to work hard wiwho was moms like to work hard as a teacher. don't fall for it, wisconsin. you deserve better. you deserve a senator like mandela barnes. [applause] say through the surface of things. just go a little deep. i love you too. [applause] -- you also deserve somebody who's gonna stand up for a woman's right to make her own health care decision. [applause] --

now, abortion has been controversial since i have been around. and i genuinely believe that there are good people of conscience who may differ with me on this issue. but we should all agree that women, everywhere, should be able to control what happens with their own bodies. and it should not be controversial to say that the most personal of health care decisions, the most profound of personal choices should be made by a woman and her doctor, and not by a bunch of, mostly male politicians, sitting in a state capitol, or sitting in washington, and don't know nothing about -- and that's why, and that's why i went to the supreme court,

striking roe v. wade, it was a wake up call for young people, especially young women, who maybe took row for granted. it was a reminder that a politicized court can reinterpret will settled constitutional rights. we can go backwards, not just, if republicans take back the house and senate, we could be one presidential election away from a nationwide ban on access to abortion. and that might just be the beginning. you know, i talked, i taught constitutional law for decades. if a court does not believe in a zone of privacy that allows each of us to make certain decisions without the government interfering, like it's not their business, and other freedoms that we take for granted are at risk. and justice clarence thomas already said, what he wrote in that dobbs opinion. if there is no right to privacy, then same-sex marriage could be

at risk. the same idea of a right to privacy was the basis for saying that states could ban interracial marriage. there's no actual right to marriage written down in the constitution. just like there is no right to contraception in the constitution, so almost every republican in the house of representatives has already voted against it right to use contraception. now, you think about that. if they take that power, there is no guarantee that that won't be next. now, here in wisconsin, governor even his opponent once to ban abortion with no exceptions. according to him, and i'm quoting here, it's not unreasonable for the government to force weight victims to give birth.

don't boo, vote. support a criminal abortion ban, passed more than 70 years before women get the right to vote. that could put doctors and jail for trying to save a patient's life because a lot of times, people don't think about, there are people who want to bring a child to term. then, something goes wrong, and if you don't have exceptions, and doctors are being criminalized, they're not trying to deal with those situations. they don't know what to do in some cases. and you won't have a lot of people who you can deal with. the good news is, if you vote for tony, that is not gonna happen. two days after the supreme court heard arguments in the case that would overturn roe versus wade. he beat five republican votes

that would eliminate access to abortion. as long as tony avers's governor, he'll do whatever it takes to make sure that women have power to make their own health care decision and that's how it should be. how it should be so, all of these issues are at stake. >> [speaking spanish] >> all these issues, if that is not worth 15 minutes of your time, i do not know what is. but if you do need another reason to vote, consider the fact that democracy is also on the ballot. >> yeah! >> you know, i mentioned earlier, things have changed, in terms of our political

discourse. and i have to admit, it wears on me. sometimes, it feels, the idea of going out on the campaign trail feels a little bit harder, and not because i'm older and a little gray or. back when i was first running for office, people did not agree with me on everything. i would go, and i was driving myself. i'm my own driver. and by the way, we used maps. you know, like paper maps, you never knew how to fold them back up. so they're sitting there in the passenger seat, and i would be driving around. and we'd go out in the rural areas, farm country. and there weren't a lot of folks named barack or who looked like me. and a lot of these were predominantly conservative republican areas. and i would stop by a town hall, talk to, you know, somebody.

might stop by the local paper and you sit down, maybe it's a diner over a piece of a pie and coffee, and they didn't agree with me on everything. but you know? we could have a nice conversation. and we could talk about the things that we had in common, our hopes for our kids, you know, problems we were seeing with farm prices. you could have a conversation about health care and ailing mom, and over the course of the conversation, maybe we have to learn from each other. and you persuade each other a little bit. and then, folks did not vote for me just because i had that conversation, but you felt that you can make a connection. and that's why i ended up getting a bunch of republican votes. and then, after i won for the presidency, my opponent, john mccain, i think he did, graciously conceded, got on stage, wished me luck for the

good and the sake of the country. that was the basic foundation of our democracy. that is how it worked. some sense of mutual respect. we can disagree without being disagreeable. and that is a true risk right now. and listen, you know, you may not hear this at democratic rallies, democrats aren't all perfect. i was not perfect as president. i am the first one to admit it. politicians, just like all of us, can make mistakes. even with the best of intentions. but for the most part, just about unanimously, democrats still abide by the basic norms

and rules of how the democracy is supposed to work. like, in 2016, when my successor won, and i wasn't feeling good. but i stayed up to three in the morning until in was finally decided, and then i i had to call them and say congratulations. because that is how democracy is supposed to work. and we ensured a peaceful transition of power. now -- [applause] -- today, with just a few notable exceptions, and i would give credit to some greatest republicans who probably lost their seats because they believed in the rules. but the vast majority of the republican politicians, because

we actually believe it, or because they are scared to say otherwise, they are not even pretending that the rules apply anymore. they are literally just making stuff up. they are literally just making stuff up mondale's opponent has done more than just about anybody in congress, to spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. i, mean he has a gold medal and that event. he said the attacks on law enforcement, at the capitol on january 6th were by and large, quote, peaceful protests. although i do -- he did say that the rioters, quote, taught us all how to use flagpoles as weapons. now, if that is the lesson you take away from a violent insurrection storming the capital, i don't know what to

tell you. but i do know, you probably shouldn't be serving as wisconsin's representatives to the u.s. senate. because that's not how our democracy is supposed to work. i mean, if that -- if that doesn't illicit uniform outrage, what will? what does it take? tony, tony's opponent said if he is elected governor, he will dissolve the bipartisan elections commission. he basically just once, i guess, to be able to decide on his own how elections turned out or not. he even said, he's open to signing able to overturn the results of the last election. and to see the obvious, if somebody is openly obsessed with changing the last election,

he probably should not be in charge of overseeing this one coming up. you have got a republican, you have got republicans in the wisconsin state legislature, trying to give themselves power to do whatever they want. here in wisconsin, already, the map is so gerrymandered. they only have to win 44% of the vote to get a majority of the assembly. now, think about that. think about any other thing you do in life where 44% are on one side, 56% on the other, and the 44 wins. it doesn't make sense. that is correct. and if they pick up a few more seats in both chambers, they'll be able to force through extreme unpopular laws, on everything from guns, to education, to abortion. and there won't be anything democrats can do about it.

but right now, the only person standing in their way is tony evers. [applause] and let me say this -- i know tony is low-key, he's got a little bit more of a clark man vibe then a superman vibe. but don't let the glasses fool you, because tony is tough. he is single-handedly keeping republicans from driving the car off the road. he might be democracies best hope in wisconsin. that is one more reason he deserves your fellow! your vote! [applause] -- so, i get that democracy, right now, today, democracy might not seem like a top priority, especially because people have

other things to worry about, they are worried about gas bills, food bills. they are worried about their paychecks. they are worried about their kids. i get that. i understand why, when you don't see enough progress on some issues that matter to you or your family, you might just say, i don't have time to think about something so abstract like democracy. but you know what? we've seen throughout history of what happens when we lose democracy. happens when wwe can see it rigw throughout the world in other countries where the government tells you what books you can read, and what books you can't read. they would question your loyalty, if you don't warship the way they want you to worship. countries that put dissidents and reporters in jail. countries where it really doesn't matter who you vote for because the game really is fixed, and people will do anything to keep the power

they've got, and where corruption is rampant because there absolutely no accountability. i've seen it. i deal with -- when i was president, i dealt with countries like that all the time. and once that goes away, once self government goes away, it is hard to get it back. >> yeah! >> it is dangerous, and people get hurt, and it could have real life consequences. and that is why generations of americans, my grandfather in world war ii, folks in every generation, have fought and died for the idea of self government. that is why folks marched down in selma, and some folks died to make sure that the rule of warfare. that's why, our women suffrage

is marched and fought so that they could be included in self government, so that we can set up rules that were fair to give everybody a voice! rules that we teach our kids when they are little about being honest and about being fair. rules about how we should make decisions if we are in a group. everybody gets a say. everybody takes a turn. everybody raises their head. if you don't get your way, you don't draw a tantrum in the sandbox. you don't pick up your ball and go home. we teach our kids this stuff. we tell our kids, you know, you get over it. you try to do better next time. i mean, i lost my first election for congress.

i did not say -- wow, the election was rigged. i didn't say, let's go storm the capitol. and that's what i mean when i say democracy is at stake in this election. and that's why it's not enough to elect democrats like mandela barnes and tony evers, you need to elect people up and down the ballot, because it is getting close. that could make all the difference. and guess what? the good news, i know some of this has been a little dark, but here is the good news, you get to make a difference. >> yes! >> your vote will make a difference. that is why republicans are working so hard to stop you, and that's why you can't let them. you know, we joke in my house that -- between me and michelle,

michelle can be the glass half empty person sometimes. and i am more of the glass full guy, i am the hope and change guy. so i'm usually a little more optimistic at the table, and sometimes, when she gets down about the state of the country and the world, she's been watching a little too much news. i tell her, honey, everything is going to be okay. and i believe it will. but i also know things won't be okay on their own. we have to fight for it. we have to work for it. not just on election day, but every day in between, that is why this election matters, wisconsin. and i know these are tough times, but we have been through tough times before. the important thing is to

resist the temptation just to turn inward and see politics as a zero sum game, where rules are made to be broken, and the only way for people like us to win is for people like them to lose. to sink in a cynicism, you know. even in our darkest points, and i would remind michelle, and i would tell my children, this country has seen darker moments before. underneath it all, i believe we've had more in common than our politics and politicians suggest, even when times are tough, i believe what unites us can be stronger than what divides us. there's always been certain

about is that bind us together a citizens, no matter who we are, or where we come from, or what we look like, or who we love, we think about our kids, and we think about working hard, and we think about being honest, and being fair, homespun values. and it doesn't matter whether you are on the farm somewhere, or you are in the inner city, people have a sense of that. it doesn't matter what your last name is. that is the promise of america. that is who we, at least, want to be. and in this election, you have a chance to do that, to make america live up to what we hope it can be. you have a chance to vote for leaders like gwen moore. you have a chance to vote for george karl.

you have a chance to vote for sara rodriguez. you've got a chance to vote for the great indecent governor like tony evers. you've got a chance to vote for an outstanding young man who would work hard for you, mandela barnes! you've got a chance to vote for this whole ticket, that will fight for a big, inclusive, hopeful america that we believe in. and america where we might not fix all our problems altogether, but where we can make things better. and better is worth fighting for. so, if you are anxious, if you are frustrated, don't complain. >> vote! >> don't tune out. >> vote! >> don't get bamboozled. >> vote! >> don't fall for that okey

dokey. >> vote! >> vote, get off your couch and -- >> vote! >> put down your phones for a minute and -- >> vote! >> vote for this hold wisconsin democratic ticket, tell other folks to do the same, because if enough of us make our voices heard, things will be better! and we will build a country that is more fair, and more just, and more equal, and more free. let's go do this, wisconsin. thank you, milwaukee. i love. yeah -- let's get to where. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> you've been listening to former president obama speaking life in milwaukee, stumping for democrats in a final pitch to get voters out. less than ten days now until election day, but as obama made clear, the election, it is already happening. early voting is happening right

now. the former president is spending the past 45 minutes or so, asking voters to look into themselves before going into the polls, challenging voters to ask themselves, who has really got your back? watching along with us, democratic strategists xochitl hinojosa, and cecile richards, she is the co-chair of american bridge 21st century and the former president of planned parenthood. thank you both very much for sticking with me. i want to tell you what i saw coming out of those remarks from the former president, and then i want to get responses from both of you. so, xochitl, i thought it was sort of remarkable that you had the former president doing something that you and i we people know well, this idea of getting inside the circle. saying, i understand why you may be anxious. i understand why you may want to write this off. here is why you cannot, before pivoting to all of the attacks we've heard republicans launched against democratic candidates. talking specifically here about wisconsin, but these are

national attacks. we are talking through why we are seeing the inflation number that we are seeing, putting that into a global context. also, talking about crime, and how crime has actually been an issue for the past seven years, not just for the past two years in rural areas, as much as that is happening in urban areas, before pivoting to some of these existential threats. what is happening with a woman's right to choose? what is happening to the very state of democracy? and then, xochitl, the thing that makes this peak barack obama saying, i know this all sounded very depressing, but i want you to remember what i am hopeful about, and that is the fact that you can do something about this, you can vote. we xochitl, you have been watching along with me. what stood out to you from those remarks? >> that's absolutely right. he would head and tackle the issues that voters care about. whether it's crime, inflation, gas prices. he also talked about women's reproductive rights. these are all issues that are on mine for many voters. and he did so. he had a rebuttal to each and

every one of that. i think in all of these features, where there he was in wisconsin, michigan, in georgia yesterday, he was the opportunity to talk about how each of these candidates, democratic candidates in these states, are well equipped, to tackle these issues. and he went through each of their opponents and talked about why they are not, how they don't have the best interest of american voters, how they are looking out for the ultra wealthy, how they will not tackle the issue of inflation or gas prices or reproductive rights. and many of them are spreading conspiracy theories. and so, i think, you know, president biden, obama is a very effective surrogate. i'd like to see him on the campaign trail more. he was extremely articulate in exactly how democrats should make their case and have the midterms tackling the issues that republicans are hitting us on, but also, you know, tackling the issues and saying, what is at stake? and you know what? it's very different between him and let's say, former president trump, is that he has this

message to vote. and this is what obama does best. he talks about the importance of voting, and how we all need to get out and get our family members out to vote. so, i think that he is effective. i love seeing him on the campaign trail. he excited me, and i'm sure excited many voters. >> so still, it also struck me that he talked about governor tony evers, and reminded us that what we often think of, abortion access, access to reproductive care as a federal issue, governors like evers are the final line of defense, vetoing down some pieces of legislation that may come to their desk. >> absolutely, alicia. i mean, i think what we all know, since the dobbs decision, is that your ability to make your own decisions about pregnancy, 100% depend on who your governor is. as i think president obama and others have said, that is only until of course republicans, if they should regain control of congress, or the house of representatives, the senate, believe me, they will pass a

national abortions back. but right now, tony evers is the only thing standing between women and losing all of the rights in the state of wisconsin. the same could be said, you know, in the other states that he's traveling. certainly, the state of michigan, with gretchen whitmer's critical reelection. josh shapiro in pennsylvania, all of these states are on the knife's edge. these are very, very competitive states. and i just have to say, of course, hearing the president tonight, just, you know, it kind of brings tears to your eyes, because here was a president, a former president, a leader in this party, talking about a hopeful, inclusive america, that what ties us together is so much greater than what divides us. what a refreshing change from what we hear from the republicans, who seem to be completely focused on dividing this country even further. and that's what we needed to hear tonight. that's what we needed to hear in this election that voting matters, that the country's best days are still ahead of

us. and no one can deliver that message like president barack obama. >> xochitl hinojosa, and cecile richards, thank you both so much for staying with us, we're watching this speech, for offering your analysis. all right, i want to turn to the biggest news this saturday, the violent attack against house speaker nancy pelosi's husband, paul pelosi, and the rising threat of political violence. speaker's office says her husband is expected to make a full recovery after an intruder attacked him with a hammer inside their san francisco home. when officers arrived early friday morning, police say that shooter told him he was, quote, waiting for nancy. why law enforcement is working to piece together a motive for this attack, we are also in the early stages of investigating whether certain online accounts prompted the suspect. nbc news, quote, he appeared to operate a website in which he wrote a white variety of posts stretching all matters a modern conspiracy thinking, aliens, chose people, communism, vaccines, voter fraud, and many other