not all republicans are maga republicans. for years and years, i got beat up in the campaign by saying i wanted to unify the country and parties. you used to be able to do that but things have changed. the maga republicans control the republican party right now and that is self-evident. there is a lot at stake. i'm going to talk about that right now. after opposing and obstructing everything that we have tried to do in progress the last two years, that house majority leader kevin mccarthy unveiled what he calls a commitment to america. that's a thin series of policy goals with little or no detailed that he says the republicans will pursue if they regain control of congress. in the course of nearly an hour here are a few of the things we didn't hear. we didn't hear mention of the right to choose. we didn't hear mention of medicare, or social security. let's take a look at what kevin said today. he said republicans want to, preserve our constitutional freedom. that's great, i am all for that. we all are. but look at what they h

not every republican is a maga republican. that seems a little more nuanced in the idea that if the democrats are going to defy the odds and especially win these senate races and pennsylvania and wisconsin, ohio, they're going to need some republican votes to do it. >> exactly. you have biden trying to define the republican party in a way that benefits him. i can't work with the maga folks, but i can still work with everybody else. he still wants to be that guy that can sway moderate republican voters, and if you're calling the maga voters, it doesn't work. >> and it took him time to actually go after what he's calling maga republicans. and i was talking to the senator of hawaii and he says biden has long worked with these republicans and still considers some of them friends so it's difficult for had him to characterize them in this way. but he's not the first president to warn of domestic threats internally. >> what's the best role in the final nine weeks in the sense that if you listened to yesterday, you heard that, and the

i'm leaving the republican party. i'm creating my own party." >> narrator: amid the transition of power, republican leaders made a critical choice. (crowd cheering and applauding) >> the republican leadership is absolutely freaked out that if trump leaves, the party will fragment. there will be no hope for the republican party. republican leaders always had that in the back of their mind, that if trump walks away, he will bring millions of voters with him, and you can kiss the idea of a republican majorit goodbye for a long, long time. >> narrator: as trump hunkered down at himar-a-lago compound in florida, it didn't take long before he was visited by a special guest. they took a photograph. >> mccarthy says to trump, "i want your help for 2022. help me win back the majority." it was an opportunity on the table, laid out for donald trump to repair himself. >> it was like a, when somebody's in cardiac arrest, and you take the paddles, and you bring him back to life. trump's political career was in cardiac arrest. and k

democrat and republicans. again, we can pick democrats who you don't like and who are caustic and you can pick republicans -- if you had someone like bob dole and even george mcgovern, both veterans, and you can pick a lot of them right now around, there's just fewer and fewer. hopefully, at some point we get back to that. >> politics, elections have consequences. voters have decisions they make in elections. and it is unfortunate, but the fact of the matter is that our politics have become polarized. it's part of the reason why our politics has become polarized, it's because of the means and ways voters get information. we have a much more knowledgeable base of voters, not a more educated base of voters. there's a difference between knowledgeable and educated. so, what is happening, i don't mean to pick on big tech, but i will, what happens is when you go online, and you look up something, you get an article. you read that article. maybe the first time you read the article you are just reading the article. th

not every republican, not even the majority of republicans are maga republicans. not every republican embraces their extreme ideology. i know because i've been able to work with these mainstream republicans. but there is no question that the republican party today is dominated driven and intimidated by donald trump and the maga republicans. and that is a threat to this country. >> the president's speech from philadelphia's independence hall came just 68 days before the midterm elections. they are also some development today in the justice department investigation into those classified documents that were seized at mar-a-lago. lawyers for donald trump and the department of justice came face to face in a federal courtroom, arguing over trump's request for an independent third party or special master to review what was recovered. our own peter alexander has more. >> mr. trump's lawyers arguing the judge needed to help restore public confidence. by allowing more transparency into the government's actions. and dismissing the investigation into the former presidents kee

those are the extreme of republicans. yamiche: lindsay graham introduces a bill to federally ban abortions. >> the american people cannot afford another year of democrat one-party rule. yamiche: as the battle to retain control of congress heats up, next. >> this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by -- >> consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offered no contract plans and our u.s.-based team can help find one that fits you. visit consumercellular.tv. >> additional funding is provided by the ewing foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. rose herschel and andy shreve's. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again, from washington, moderator yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening and welcome. it was another busy week of news about multiple federal investigations into former president trump an

but this maga republican agenda, this hate-fueled agenda, this maga republican agenda that we saw incite violence on our nation's capitol has no place in our democracy. if we're not intentional in calling it out our country, which is what the president did, everything that our country is built upon is in danger. >> how has president biden bridged the divide? what has he done really to unify this country? the latest quinnipiac poll has some really remarkable numbers, 69% of both democrats and republicans believe democracy is in danger of collapse, but the republicans blame joe biden and the democrats blame donald trump. again, how has joe biden help bridge that divide? >> we saw it this summer when the president was able to work in a bipartisan way to get gun legislation passed. the president has always stood on the fact that he can work with mainstream republicans to get things done on behalf of the american people, but it's also going to take for all of us to stand up to hatred and what the president again continues to say it's this maga agenda, the president has not called out all repu

of society, and the republican senate, and republicans sentence. every republican judge knows, that a promotion to an appeals court. or to the supreme court, depends not on independent and wise judicial scholarship, but on performance in the courtroom. delivering the opinions that extremist republicans want. there have been some trump appointed judges, who have to defied republican expectation, and ruled independently and wisely in some cases. judge cannon now has to ask yourself, whether allowing a special master maybe just a look at the attorney client privileged documents would be enough to advance her career, as a republican judge? or would she have to give donald trump everything he wants in order to have any hope of ever moving up to the appeals court, or beyond. where she content with a lifetime appointment of the federal district court? and is her honor and integrity as a jurist more important to her, then trying to work our way on to the short list of republican supreme court nominees at some future point in her career. we will know judge

biden: i don't even want to get into it -- every single republican in the house and every republican in the senate voted against it. every single one. look, here this america, every single republican voted against lower infrastructure and drug crossed -- prescription drug costs. everyone voted against lowering health care costs. everyone against tax premise -- tax crisis. and against low energy cost and against good paying jobs. in the fair taxes. every single one. not every single american needs to return -- now every single american needs to return the favor and vote them out of office. [applause] pres. biden: look, every election is a choice. my dad used to say do not compare me to money compare me to the alternative. just take a look at what has happened since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. in 14 states, abortion is not available beyond six weeks of pregnancy. and most women do not even know they are pregnant. most of these states, there is no exception for rape or in cest -- another 13 could put this out between now and the election in november. just in weeks and mont

republicans want to punish them. their national ban includes a criminal penalty for doctors for up to five years of prison. that is the maga agenda. that is the bill that was introduced this week. that is what senator graham promised they would vote on if they take the house and senate. and he predicted it could become law. he said loud and clear, this man is, and i quote, what we are trying to accomplish at the federal level. he claimed he's going to and i quote, rally the public nationally. i've got some news for senator graham. democrats already talking about this issue all across the country. and the nation is already rallying for the right to an abortion. and against these republican harmful attacks. women want to control their own bodies. they do not want politicians making their healthcare decisions. republicans think they can go after my constituents rights? go after women's bodies, their future and overrule the personal medical decisions of people across the country, they've got another thing coming. hunt no

democrats favorite, republicans -- favor it, republicans, independents. we have simply not prioritized public health. we have not focused attention on the fact that food is more central to health than other things. we spend so much money on sick care, treating people for diseases once, they are sick and not nearly enough time and energy focusing on the preventative power of food. the potential is in or mess. the fact -- is enormous. we will have to see what happens as far as reaching it goes. host: let's start talking to some of our callers. mark is in salt lake city, utah. caller: i had a great idea! why don't we just buy mexico? buy venezuela? buy brazil? buy everything that is down there? i don't see why not. host: not the right subject. dixie is next in pelham, alabama. good morning, dixie. caller: i was calling about school lunchs. - one should- -- school lunches. when i was a kid, the lunches were coped. when my kids -- were cooked. when my kids went to school their lunches were fast food, and i think they are still that way. what can we do to make

republicans. they have the freedom caucus, very conservative and i know there are some that have had objections. kevin mccarthy said they brought people all sides within the republican party to contribute to this. but they have to make sure they stay coalesce, which is why the rest of explanation and not a ton of details. there is not a specific piece of legislation drafted and crafted for and this is what a vote for. they can hold all the g.o.p. caucus together because that is important too. >> john: you also have to gain control before you draft legislation. >> right, there's that. >> john: chuck schumer said republicans are rolling out a new agenda but we know the maga g.o.p.'s extreme agenda nationwide abortion ban. medicare, social security on the chopping block raising taxes on the american families. what he said is lindsey graham's plan for a fan of abortion after 15 weeks which is going nowhere. and elements of scott's plan which is going nowhere. are voters going to buy that? >> here is a

the end of the day, he is a republican and he talks like a republican, and he is republican. but he disagreed with trump on that one key area, the election. he could have made himself more appealing to democrats and independents. think it was a smart move for him and for democracy as well. host: we have jimbo in bakersfield. could you comment on the congressional district between the incumbent in the state simply men, who voted to impeach trump and made the district more democratic? guest: i'm glad you brought that up. this is one of the races we're going to be watching right now. there are 10 house republicans who voted to her -- two impeach trump. eight of them are not coming back. four of them retired, four of them are primary. because of the house primer, he was able to defeat a more maga -aligned republican. he is not guaranteed that street -- that see right now because of how that redistricting was drawn. they've been trying to get him for years to run and that see right now. i think he is the underdog in that race and we could very well have one republican who voted tw

look at the republican conference, i'm a part of, it's made up of a whole host of good republicans in government and they're winning, they're wanting districts that they weren't supposed to win. and we're going to get more of those governing republican when we have this rate, a lot of water democrats that are going to fall prey to the way that's coming in november of this year. look, i know that this is a hypothetical. and i'm hoping after the next election, you're going to be out in washington to hang out with as we both talk about these issues. but what is revenge are going to look like in the house. what do you think is on, you know, whether it's kevin mccarthy or steve police or other potential future speakers? if the republicans do, when the house of representatives is revenge, are going to be high on their roster or is delivering to the american people and getting things done going to be high on their roster. well, that's going to depend upon who's discussing what is considered a revenge and what is considered just living up to the problems that we make. so will republicans give

that's the extreme magaca republicans. one wants to lower inflation, one party wants to lower inflation and help families make ends meet. to tackle the generational challenges we face. and that's passed major legislation to that effect. now law. thehe other party apparently was to eliminate o women's autonomy over their own bodies. here's how you know republicans are dangerously out of touch. months after women hadho their freedom of choice taken away by the maga supreme court, a nationwide abortion ban was actually attempt to seem more mainstream, can you believe it, to see more mainstream? heaven help us. heaven help us. shows just how extreme they are. the core problem is far from being mainstream, a large portion of the republican party harbors truly extreme views on a women's right to choose. in a few months since the dobbs decision, republican state legislatures and plays like indiana and south carolina and others have either introduce or enacted new abortion restrictions with alarmingly few exceptions of rape or inc

i can't turn on any radio station saying republicans are kr, republicans -- are this, republicans are that. i think this polarization started with a.m. radio and still goes on now, unfortunately. host: well, john, you touched on the media earlier. not specifically radio. what are your thoughts on what the caller said? guest: well, you know, i think the advent of conservative talk radio was one very significant sort of landmark in the longer -- yeah, it has been a multi-decade journey, really. it didn't start with 2016, as i said earlier. it sort of -- it's come to a certain culmination point now. but certainly the advent of conservative talk radio help polarize the larger discourse. look, there's ups and downs on that because many conservatives will tell you even during the glory days of walter cronkite -- we think of the three major broadcast networks and so forth, but many in conservative america even felt at that time they didn't have major voices sort of in american media that were truly representing the conservative point of view. the idea that the mainstream media is biased to t

lest we forget focused nearly every senate republican nearly every senate republican party voted patient national abortion bands in 2020, in 2018, 2015. one of these about specific consent of colette handpiece the nationwide ban again yesterday, said quote these pieces of legislation will continue to be advanced until they pass. how do we know republicans up at a national c abortion ban on the floor if they control the senate? not only because technically i'm committed to doing it, they have done it before. three times and they will do it again if they get the majority. in america beware.s america beware. the truth is hard to grasp. republicans did not care about leaving abortion in the hands of the state. no way. do not care that a majority of americans supported row and support abortion rights. republicans care about deep doubt is the mid-18th of choice, across america. and they are already at work right now on legislation as we heard yesterday that will take us down that terrible, terrible path. while comments might be at the american people are not going to be fooled by republicans a

popular among republicans. 13% of republicans want a total ban on abortion. 70% of republicans -- sorry. >> one abortions, but with restrictions. want restrictive abortions. >> no, i was going on a different issue. but you can go down -- >> you lose your train of thought, i do it all the. time [laughs] i hate it when that happens. >> a majority of republicans oppose book bans. i'm majority of republicans think talk about race and learning about race and school is a good thing. majorities of republicans are not where today's maga republicans are going. and all the things they keep talking about, which begs the question, what the heck are they thinking? >> is it -- rain. >> no don, i call it covid. >> i forget what i'm talk about all the time. >> it's covid thought. >> no, i just forgot what i was going to say. [laughs] >> it is having fun, it's totally okay. but listen, alice says everybody talks about, you know, what trump is doing. but they are not talk about is the accomplishments, i talk to larry summers a little later, about what the current president is doing. and what he's trying

they push through a republican plan anyway -- and push through a republican plan anyway. they will still redo the districting the way they've done it, still gerrymander. i'd like the idea of frank's choice voting. -- ranked choice voting. >> maybe you should define that. >> you go into the polls with three or four candidates running and you rank them 1, 2, 3, 4. if somebody doesn't get 50%, they look at the choices and keep going until somebody hits. >> and divide up the lower number. >> we did it in the new york city mayors race. it was fascinating. it changes the way you campaign. as a practitioner, my first campaign i ran was 1976. every campaign, you do contrast advertising, but the way the most voters make decisions, differences between candidates. when you have ranked choice voting, people who do not like a single candidate may not give that candidate their second or third choice, and so it encourages campaigns to be more positive. the less negative you are in a more positive you are on a campaign, the less polarizing the campaign is, and the less polarizing voters

very widely believed by a majority of republicans response to trump's big line republicans across the west pushed from changes to voting laws in election administration. that democrats sees the threat to the very foundation of american freedom majority rule. georgia has been at the forefront of the republican f. 2021. the republican legislature passed espy 2 o 2 so called the election integrity. the new georgia project voting rights that has registered more than 500000 voters. since 2014 is dealing with fall out from the legislation. we're monitoring about 200 pulling locations. and in his new anti voter, anti democratic environment, it is extraordinarily important that we have eyes and ears on as many calling locations as possible. and to fo, to c e o new georgia project during elections last me to finalize, congressional and state candidates. she and her team is busy helping people. navigate hurdles presented by the new voting laws are over 50 changes to georgia's law that we have seen because the senate bill 2 o 2, they want to get rid of absentees albany, and we're still seeing lo

it's not just republicans. republicans are like 34%. democrats are 20%. my favorite group, npr listeners .4% of npr listeners set may be time to take up arms against the government. these are ridiculous numbers. and i think it just, it's just another measure that our democracy is facing a real challenge right now. >> we just watched on january 6th people take up arms against the government. this is not hypothetical. we watched people come i never thought i would see it in my lifetime storm the united states capital, desecrate the building. i mean, people died. and so it's very real and very scary. i would agree with neil that it's not just, i mean, i don't think political parties necessary is driving this. i do think they contribute. it is the 24/7 cycle that has to create conflict and has to create shock value or they get tuned out. also social media which is no regulations at all about information and disinformation and misinformation. they are notan accountable. i do believe that is a piece of this puzzle that regulators are going to have to look at ve

when republicans -- attack democrats democrats rally and when democrats attack republicans the republicans rally. you do not see that at election time, but throughout a legislative session and all points of time during the cycle. i look at numbers, we cannot keep track of. march are the length -- an election year. generally, we have a large number of undecided, republicans would not decide who with a vote for. this was two decades ago. if you pull in an election year, republican candidates are winning 90% and democrat or when getting a percentage democratic. there are no other side or in the mall. it is that polarization that has that intensified over the past 20 years as a result of not just campaigns, but there is nobody in congress who is crossing party lines. >> i am more of a practitioner than pollster. i cannot have the data lens that neil has. i go back to mount personal experience. my father and father-in-law were in politics. we got married in 1974, and they did not know each other. frankly gary and i were worried about that. one was very liberal democrat into the other was conser

republican -- utah republican congressman burgess owens. congressman, you look at that speech, and it was rageful, he was trying to instill fear in the american people. this red backdrop. what was your takeaway on the speech? >> very dark. and let me help you understand, americans out there, they are afraid of the brand make america great again. they hate that brand because it works. so so let me tell you what that really means for those of us who love our country. it means simply an economy that's strong, a nation that's safe and government that's accountable and a future that's free. that is what the american people want. that's what america looks like. and let me tell you something, sean, i'm excited about this is across the board. i have a pac that's americans, it's blacks, it's hispanics, women, business owners, veterans, those of us who in the past might not have sat at the table but have always had this dream, this vision, that once we bring our communities back, we'll bring our country back. we're the people, we're the communities t

they're working with republicans. you'll have to ask a lot of the republican senators where they're at. our plan, our hope is to bring it up and have it voted on very soon. we're still negotiating where it'll start. it's very simple and you want to protect the rights to see to vote for more democratic senators and you want to keep the -- you want to have a nationwide abortion ban. vote for maga republicans. plain and simple. last one. my view is that maggie hasson has done a great job and no matter who wins the primary, she'll win the election in november. thank you, everybody. sorry, we have to hurry. >> the senate returns at 2:15 eastern to continue working on judicial nominations. early today, south carolina republican senator lindsey graham introduced legislation to ban abortion after 15 weeks nationwide and held a news conference on capitol hill on that bill and took questions from reporters. >>

which republicans? the republicans attending the rally last night, yes, that's exactly what they wanted to hear. my colleague was in the crowd last night. the dispatches from the line outdoors and the mood in the arena were strongly for that messages, fo r candidates like doug mastriano, marjorie taylor greene to the movement. but outside of that rally room when you are looking at statewide level races or swing districts, no, it's absolutely not what the leadership or individual candidates want to hear and that's the main tension point inside the republican party and why you see joe biden using the phrase maga republicans to try to split the republican party. there's a real concern that not just the rhetoric and putting trump back into the center focus of the discussion, making it a referendum on the past president versus the current one, not just that but some of the candidates themselves, some of their stumbles, positions, lack of experience, could in the end come back and boomerang and hurt the repub

republicans -- maga republicans. pres. biden: they brutally attacked law enforcement. they see their failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections. they tried everything last time, to nullify the votes of 81 million people. this time, they are determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people. that is why, conservative have called trump an extreme -- and maga republicans a clear danger to our democracy. i want to say as clearly as we can that we are not powerless in the face of these threats. we are not bystanders in this ongoing threat to democracy. there are far more americans, far more americans from every background to reject the extreme ideology. and people, it is within our power. it is within our hands to stop the assault on american democracy. i believe america is at an inflection point. determining the shape of everything that is to come after. now america must choose to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future, or obse

most recently the current republican dave reeves. and under her new unified republican control. there is just no earthly way that mississippi can plausibly describe it as quote, promoting and supporting life. the state has the highest covid death rate per capita in the country. and in turn, it has the lowest life expectancy in the country at just about 72 years. mississippi also has the highest infant mortality rate in the entire country. mississippi has the most gun deaths per capita of any state in the entire country. mississippi is also the poorest state in the nation. and to be perfectly clear here, none of this is an indictment of the great people who live in that state. rather, the abject negligence of the republicans who have been running it for so long. case in point, much of jackson mississippi, the state's capital, does not currently have drinkable water. you may have seen the story. jackson residents have been told that they have to boil their water. this is in the united states of america. in the year 2022. they have to boil their water before it is portable since ju

not even the majority republicans are maga republicans. not every republican embraces her extreme ideology. i know, because i've been able to work with the mainstream republicans. mike: houser public a leader kevin mccarthy said the president insulted millions of trump voters president biden saying he's only blasting the extremist roots time now for sunday group, usa today white house correspondent francesca chambers. former state department spokesperson fox news contributor marie harf. former chief of staff vice president mike pence, and host of a media buzz howie kurtz. welcome to all of you. so, how would the president gave a feisty speech in prime time for the bride who did he reach? >> eat reaches base is billed as a white house event nonpolitical even after the speech so i had officials assisting it was nonpolitical but is blatantly partisan packing -- attacking trump by name i lost track of him at times he attacked maga republicans. at the same time donald trump is out there talking about for example fasting abiding as the enemy of

it seems a republican sabotaged frankly. i think republican should do better in the polls than they are, look at what happened to the country since joe biden became president our border is wide open, crime is through the roof we have a failing public school system inflation is out of control. i live in a suburb of houston when you talk to the people who i live near they are very concerned about these issues. the problem that republicans have allowed the democrats to hijack the narrative and shift all of the focus to donald trump in maga republicans being a threat to democracy and that is what the headlines are about right now. republicans win elections when they run on issues they cannot let the democrats distractible donald trump and the so-called threats to democracy. unfortunately, the democrats have the mainstream media on their side, they have that going for them, republicans need to stay focused on the issues that the voters actually care about. gerry: briefly donald trump has been back in the news, very much the focus

the end of the day, he is a republican and he talks like a republican, and he is republican. but he disagreed with trump on that one key area, the election. he could have made himself more appealing to democrats and independents. think it was a smart move for him and for democracy as well. host: we have jimbo in bakersfield. could you comment on the congressional district between the incumbent in the state simply men, who voted to impeach trump and made the district more democratic? guest: i'm glad you brought that up. this is one of the races we're going to be watching right now. there are 10 house republicans who voted to her -- two impeach trump. eight of them are not coming back. four of them retired, four of them are primary. because of the house primer, he was able to defeat a more maga -aligned republican. he is not guaranteed that street -- that see right now because of how that redistricting was drawn. they've been trying to get him for years to run and that see right now. i think he is the underdog in that race and we could very well have one republican who voted tw

republican donors are nervous. the campaign committee has a major cash crunch right now and they're relying on this outside group called the leadership fund. they have $169 million ad blitz planned between now, this week, really starting yesterday, and the election day to bombard the airwave and is try to recover lost ground for these republican candidates. it goes across eight states. they've had to move some reservations around, some of the stuff was booked earlier, they're canceling some ad buys for a short period of time in arizona. even they have had to recalibrate. republicans had expected to be in a commanding position by this point on labor day. and it's not looking like a sure thing at all. in fact, right now if you ask most analysts you would probably rather be the democrats than the republicans. there's still time to recover this. but those recriminations are already beginning which is not a great sign for republicans. there's already finger-pointing, some of them say it's rick scott's fault, some of the

as to say there is a different brand of republicanism inside the republican party. that's what biden is trying to get to and give independents and republicans a permission structure to split the ticket. vote democratic or stay home. that's what he's doing in states like ohio, states like pennsylvania, states like wisconsin. what he's saying is, hey, centrist voters or center-right voters or republican voters who don't want to be a part of the last six years you don't have to be. will it work? what's the right way to calibrate it? this speech, the third time in pennsylvania a week part, there's a handful, like three states, this message is super potentially going to matter and it will decide control of the senate and will decide -- >> the governor's race potentially. >> that and the abortion message will be joe biden and the democratic party's counter argument to inflation or the perception of economic woes. and this is him beginning to test that. >> the counter argument, also, folks looking at their pocketbooks, i may cross the aisle or i'm an independent and i may

republicans. not every republican embraces their extreme ideology. i know, because i have been able to work with these mainstream republicans. but, there is no question, the republican party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by donald trump, and the maga republicans. that is a threat to this country. these are hard things. i am an american president. not a president of red america, or blue america. but of all america. now, i believe it is my duty to level with you, to tell the truth, no matter how difficult, no matter how painful. but here, in my view, is what is true. they do not respect the constitution. they do not believe in the rule of law. they do not recognize the will of the people. they refused to accept the results of a free election, and are working, right now, as i speak, and state, after state but inciting elections in america, two pointers, and cronies, and empower election designers, and undermine democracy itself. maga forces are determined to take this country backwards.

republicans are ruling the republican party right now. we have seen president biden's approval rating ticking up recently. he's at 43% approval, the highest since march and now has democrats with a three-point lead over the gop. what are the lessons learned for the democratic party? what is behind their momentum? >> they're really fighting history right now at this point. to something gloria said, democrats are hopeful the dobbs decision and the fact a number of voters, the base is animated. we're seeing higher registration among women in key states. they are hoping that could potentially defy the odds particularly in the senate. in the house a lot of democrats i talked to aren't exactly hopeful and in the white house aren't exactly hopeful they can hold on to the senate because again that would be really in defines of history. the last time the party in power in the white house gained seats in the house when it was a midterm election was in 1998 when bill clinton was president. a lot of democrats aren't really expecting to keep the house

we were hoping to pick up some republican allies, reasonable republicans along the way. and that is what we did. we said to ourselves, quite frankly, we have to fight until hell freezes over, and we have to scrap on skates and fight on ice. we are able to hold a coalition together, and keep a total ban from going into place. now, we do not have a good bill. there is a six-week ban that was in place once roe was overturned by dobbs. a six-week ban that had in past prior gone into place. that bill is currently joined by how art state supreme court, because we have a right to privacy in the state constitution. >> so, we are scratching our heads up here in new york. what do you think lindsey graham is up to, and why? >> well, you know, when lindsey graham had john mccain at his elf's dog, and had somebody to follow who was reasonable, we all thought lindsey was a reasonable guy, all about policy. but we found out he is all about power. and now that he's president trump's anomie, he has sort of gone off the rails. >> i want to share a portion of the floor speech from a republ

trump and the maga republicans. and that is a threat to this country. for a long time, we have told ourselves that american democracy is guaranteed. but it is not. we have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it, each and every one of us -- this comes as his approval rating is on the rise. 40% of americans approve of the job he is doing, a level not seen since september of last year. and his party seems to be seeing a boost as well. the same poll found registered voters give a slight edge to the democratic party when asked, who they would want to see win control of the house come november. although the party in power normally braces for losses and a midterm year, democrats have seen some unexpected election victories, including alaska. the momentum on their side -- one progressive congressman seems to think so. last month, representative ro khanna of california -- he met with local officials, factory voters -- to talk about how to rebuild -- perhaps, just perhaps, say the democratic party in the midwest in the pro

if you're a republican, it's a good place to be because he's very popular among republicans. emerson college — not exactly, you know, a right—wing polling firm — has trump up in pennsylvania and some of the swing states. so, this election coming up in 80 days, they want to make it about trump, republicans want to make it about a failed presidency of biden, and we'll see where it shakes out. but no, the truth of the matter is that president trump and the republican party is seen as successful on issues that matter to the country, to conservatism, the court, the border, strong national security, so he's in good standing with republicans. crosstalk. i'm going to stop you, if i may, because it seems to me politics isn'tjust about polling, it's notjust about appealing to your core base and activists. you're right. that's where i was headed. it really is about also showing respect for principles, for institutions, and for the democracy that you live under. and right now, it really looks as though there are very serious questions about whether donald trump is respecting the la

my book is a history of the nature of the republican party and a critical analysis of how the republican party, the gop, for seven decades has also encouraged and exploited extremism, racism, bigotry, paranoia, and conspiracy theory as you see now with qanon. and note that i start the book in the mccarthy period when joe mccarthy senator, republican senator, gave speeches and claim that there was a secret cabal of democratic officials and elites who wanted to destroy america from within. and this included george c. marshall, the secretary of defense at the time under president harry as truman. and it was not that their policies were wrong, that they were soft on the soviets and economies, it was that they were actively promoting a plan to destroy america so the soviet union could take it over once a collapsed. and if you fast forward, you know, through the tea party and other things up to now that is essentially qanon without the baby eating and sexual trafficking charges of that qanon has added to the conspiracy. so, the republican party back in the 50s lionized mccarthy. half of the se

not every republican, not even the majority of republicans are maga republicans. not every republican embraces their extreme ideology. i know because i've been able to work with these mainstream republicans. but there's no question that the republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by donald trump and the maga republicans. and that is a threat to this country. these are hard things, but i'm an american president, not a president of red america or blue america, but of all america. and i believe it's my duty, my duty to level with you to tell the truth, no matter how difficult, no matter how painful. and here in my view is what is true. maga republicans do not respect the constitution. they do not believe in the rule of law. they do not recognize the will of the people. they refuse to accept the results of a free election. and they're working right now as i speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in america to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself. maga forces are determined to take th

by the way, not all republicans are maga republicans. i want to make that clear. for years and years, i got beat up in the campaign by saying that i wanted to unify the country and unify the parties. you used to be able to do that. but things have changed a whole bunch. the maga republicans control the republican party right now, and that's self-evident of. there's a lot at stake here. i'm going to talk a little bit about that now. earlier today after opposing and obstructing everything we tried to do to stop progress for the last two years, the house minority leader kevin mccarthy went to pennsylvania and unveiled what he calls a commitment to america. that's a thin series of policy goals with little or no detail that he says republicans are going to pursue if they regain control of the congress. and the course of nearly an hour, here's a few of the things we didn't hear. we didn't hear him mention the right to choose. we didn't hear him mention medicare or social security. so let's take a look at what kevin said today. he said republicans want to preserve our co

we are republicans. and he's talking about republicans. >> he made a distinction about republicans. listen, i hate doing this because it makes me seem like it's political, but if you're gonna come on and distort the truth, he did not say all republicans. he is not talking about the 75, all of the 75 million people or 70 something million people who voted for donald trump. and it is plain as day. he went out of his way to say i am going to make it very clear. and even when he gave the speech, earlier in the week, he talked about a maga philosophy. as semi fascism, of maga philosophy. he did not say republicans were fascists. so why are we playing this word game and pretending that the president did and said something that he actually didn't say? i cannot let that stand, alice. he did not say that. >> don, as a republican, i'm telling you what republicans heard. >> how exactly did he attack all republicans? where did he say all republicans are maga, or all republicans are fascist? or i'll republicans are b

and that republicans are okay with that. and that it's something very dangerous place for us to be as individuals and as a country. >> congresswoman, i'm still struck but not surprised about the cruelty in the name of politics that we saw this week. to republican governor seeking reelection, florida's rhonda sanchez and greg abbott of texas, transported dozens of migrants from their respective states to washington and massachusetts martha's vineyard, in the case of desantis says that he intends to escalate the relocations and may ultimately collaborate with abbott. you said on the house overland security, where does the agency come down on this? >> well, i think the agency recognizes that the route of what is happening with both our, with immigration and with these what these two governors are doing. you call it transporting, some people refer to it as trafficking. we need to see our agencies, federal agencies, to look at it for what it is. and to use the resources to you ensure that these two governors that have so little r

this you go back to november 2021 republicans plus three. march of this year republicans plus five. today democrats plus three. most of our democratic strategists would tell you they need to get that above five. you get that above five, above six, you get toward seven, then maybe they can even hold the house. but in that position right there democrats feel much better about potentially keeping the senate, doing well in governor's races and maybe either somehow keeping the house or at least not getting wiped out. >> at least stemming their losses a little bit. now, i think you can see those numbers also help explain the president's performance. he seems to be sort of newly reinv reinvigorated. and these themes that he's hitting that you were just discussing, they're things that he truly really believes that really animate him. and that's great ground for any politician to be on, right? and he feels like he can make those arguments in a way that's actually going to help his party at the polls. and i think all of those things combined together really have energized democrats. obviously