MSNBC Highlights — Sept. 11

KAMALA HARRIS ACCOMPLISHED EVERYTHING SHE NEEDED TO LAST NIGHT, SHE NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH A LOT, KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. THE VICE PRESIDENT IS KNOWN FOR BEING A POLITICIAN WHO REALLY PREPARES AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT SHE TOOK HER DEBATE PREP VERY SERIOUSLY. PHILIPPE REINES IS A FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE AND FORMER SPOKESMAN FOR HILLARY CLINTON. AND RENE PLAYED THE ROLE OF DONALD TRUMP IN CLINTON'S DEBATE PREP BACK IN 2016 THERE, HE IS IN WHAT APPEARS TO BE KIND OF LIKE A FLIP PHONE VIDEO AND COSTUME ROLE PLAYING A SCENARIO WHERE TRUMP TRIED TO HUG CLINTON AND THEN CHASED HER AROUND THE ROOM FOR SAID HUG BRIANNA REPRISED THE ROLE OF TRUMP IN KAMALA HARRIS' PREPARATIONS FOR LAST NIGHT'S DEBATE, SELF TENOR AND ALL. AND HE JOINS ME NOW, PHILIPPE, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU FIRST. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT DEBATE? I COULD WATCH IT ALL NIGHT. I MEAN, SHE PUT ON A CLINIC THERE. THERE'S REALLY, I MEAN, THERE'S NO PART OF IT YOU CAN WATCH THAT SAYS THAT'S BAD. SHE SHOULD HAVE REDONE IT. IT WAS A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE. I KNOW THE FORMER PRESIDENT IS SAYING THE SAME THING. BUT AS USUAL, ONE OF THEM IS LYING AND ONE OF THEM IS NOT WHAT, SO TELL ME, TAKE ME THROUGH THE PREP. FIRST OF ALL, WHAT WAS YOUR APPROACH IN THAT PREP TO PLAYING TRUMP? AND WHAT ARE THE KIND OF SIGNATURE THINGS HE DOES IN DEBATES THAT YOU WERE DOING? AND THEN HOW WAS THAT KIND OF GAMED OUT AND PREPARED FOR? WELL, FIRST, YOU KNOW, I MY ROLE IN IT IS THE KIND OF SEXY PART OF IT, BUT I REALLY JUST HAD TO FOCUS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, WHICH IS HIM. THERE'S A TEAM THAT HELPS THE VICE PRESIDENT THAT WAS HEADED UP BY KAREN DUNN AND ROHINI KOULA WHO, I MEAN, IT WAS AMAZING AND IT WAS A FRICTIONLESS TEAM THAT I'VE, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED WITH OTHER TEAMS AND IT WAS GREAT. THE VICE PRESIDENT HAS GREAT PEOPLE AROUND HER. I MEAN, IT WAS NOT JUST THE TWO OF THEM, BUT THEY CO RAN IT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. YOU JUST WANT THE CANDIDATE TO GET USED TO WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SEE AND HEAR AND EXPERIENCE. AND IT WAS THAT ADDED ODDITY THAT THEY NEVER MET. AND WHAT'S GREAT IS I HAD NEVER MET HER. UM, THE FIRST DAY THAT I MET HER, I SAID, MADAM VICE PRESIDENT, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU. AND THEN 20 MINUTES LATER, I WAS TELLING HER HOW SHE WAS RUINING AMERICA. DID YOU? WHAT WAS YOUR APPROACH? WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO PREPARE FOR IF YOU'RE DEBATING TRUMP, LIKE THE SORT OF GO TO MOVES, THE THINGS THAT MIGHT RATTLE SOMEONE WHO HASN'T BEEN IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THEM. WELL, I WOULD TAKE IT A STEP BACK. I MEAN, A DEBATE IN ITS IDEAL FORM IS A JOB INTERVIEW. YOU HAVE TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING FOR THE SAME POSITION WHO WANT TO PUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND THEIR BEST FOOT FORWARD. THEY WANT TO BE PROFESSIONAL, THEY WANT TO THINK ABOUT CURVEBALLS THAT MIGHT COME THEIR WAY. AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALL BEEN IN THAT SITUATION. THE SITUATION WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN IS WHEN THE OTHER CANDIDATE FOR THE JOB IS 6 FT TO YOUR LEFT. AND THEY'VE GOT A CHAINSAW AND THE ONLY WAY THAT THEY CAN WIN IS BY, YOU KNOW, BLOODING YOU UP AND THE CHALLENGE THERE IS, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS. BUT THAT WHAT SHE DID LAST NIGHT, THAT WAS SO AMAZING IS THAT SH SHE WASN'T JUST UM POINTING OUT THINGS THAT UH THAT MIGHT GET UNDER HIS SKIN. SHE WAS MAKING HER CASE, DIRECT THE CAMERA TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT HER PLANS. AND WHAT, WHAT WAS ALSO INCREDIBLY AMAZING IS THAT SHE DID SOMETHING THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS REALLY BEEN ABLE TO DO IN THE LAST YEAR, WHICH IS REMIND PEOPLE THAT THIS GUY ACTUALLY SERVED AND HAS A RECORD AND THAT RECORD IS REALLY BAD. AND YOU KNOW, YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THIS AMNESIA ISSUE IS A PROBLEM WHERE HE STARTS OUT SAYING, YOU KNOW, YOU COMPLETELY SCREWED THE BORDER. IT'S GOT TO BE, HOLD ON PAL, YOU WERE THERE FOR FOUR YEARS, YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF THE BORDER AND YOU PROMISED US A WALL AND IT'S NOT THERE. AND THAT HASN'T HAPPENED ENOUGH AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO LAY OUT THAT CASE. AND, AND THIRD, I MEAN, FROM MY OWN, IN TERMS OF ASKING ABOUT PREP, FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, WE ALL GET MAKEUP BEFORE WE'RE ON TV. AND UM THE MAKEUP ARTIST HERE SAID YOU ALREADY HAVE MAKEUP ON AND I SAID NO. AND SHE SAID, WELL, YOU'VE GOT IN YOUR FOREHEAD. I CAN'T GET IT OFF. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S SO CAKED ON THE GUY USES, YOU KNOW, LIKE PLASTER OF PARIS. BUT THE THING THAT I NOTICED OVER THE EIGHT YEARS AND BY THE WAY, I FEEL LIKE IT WAS 50 YEARS WHEN YOU SAY A FLIP PHONE, I MEAN, IF IT WASN'T BLACK AND WHITE CHRIS IS THAT HE'S REALLY, HE'S REALLY DECOMPENSATING. I MEAN, HIS LANGUAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CHOPPY. HE'S ALWAYS DIGRESSED. THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON THERE. I THINK WE ALL WATCH IT AND IT, IT'S LIKE, OH, HE ALWAYS SPEAKS LIKE THAT. HE DOES NOT, HE'S LOSING LIKE IF I LOSE TRACK OF MY THOUGHTS, I STOP FOR A SECOND WHEN HE LOSES TRACK OF HIS THOUGHTS, HE JUST GOES TO ANOTHER THOUGHT QUICKLY. SO IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANYTHING. IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE HE'S JUMPING AROUND. THAT'S NOT WHAT HE'S DOING. HE'S ALSO SEEMINGLY HE'LL GO OFF ON COVID FOR 10 MINUTES AND NOT SAY TONY FAUCI. I MEAN, FOUR YEARS AGO HE WOULD GO ON FOR FIVE MINUTES ABOUT TONY FAUCI. SO THERE'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, I'M IN THE CAMP THAT HAS ALWAYS NOTICED THAT, BUT JUST VERY NARROWLY IN TERMS OF WATCHING EVERYTHING HE HAS SAID AND DONE OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND READING EVERY WORD. THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING NOT, NOT RIGHT UP THERE. YEAH. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ONLY PLAY A LITTLE SELECTION AND ONE OF THESE SELECTIONS WHICH WE'LL PLAY IN A SECOND IS THE, IS SORT OF NOTORIOUS. THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS, THEY'RE EATING THE CATS, WHICH OF COURSE IS BOTH A, A SORT OF DISGUSTING AND RACIST SLANDERED A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND ALSO COMPLETELY INVENTED. UM, BUT THAT ANSWER CAME, HE STARTED ON THE RALLIES LIKE THAT. WE PLAYED THAT RALLIES CLIP HE GOT FROM LIKE PEOPLE GO TO MY RALLIES TO THAT AND, YOU KNOW, HE, HE, HE CANNOT FOLLOW A TRAIN OF THOUGHT. HE INTERRUPTS HIMSELF. HERE'S JUST A LITTLE SMATTERING OF WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE. SHE'S A MARXIST. EVERYBODY KNOWS SHE'S A MARXIST, HER FATHER'S A MARXIST PROFESSOR IN ECONOMICS AND HE TAUGHT HER WELL IN SPRINGFIELD, THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS, THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN, THEY'RE EATING THE CATS, THEY'RE EATING, THEY'RE EATING THE PETS OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE. SHE WAS BIG ON DEFUND THE POLICE IN MINNESOTA SHE WENT OUT, WAIT A MINUTE, I'M TALKING NOW, IF YOU DON'T MIND, PLEASE. DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR? HE WAS VERY PROUD OF THAT LAST ONE. HE REFERRED TO IT AS CUTE AND HE GAVE A LITTLE KUDOS TO HIMSELF AFTERWARDS THAT HE WAS LIKE CALLING BACK. I'M SPEAKING MOMENT IN TERMS OF THE SORT OF SET PIECES LIKE DEBATING HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS PLANNED. LIKE IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THERE WERE CERTAIN THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, HE WON'T LEAVE ALONE, JOHN MCCAIN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VERY FINE PEOPLE. THE OUTCOME OF THE JANUARY 6TH ELECTION, HIS RALLIES THAT WERE INTENTIONALLY SEATED IN HER ANSWERS TO GET HIM TO NARCISSISTIC OBSESS OVER THEM. I THINK, LOOK, YOU KNOW, SHE HAS SEEN HIM OVER THE YEARS. THE GUYS DEBATED SEVEN TIMES. THIS WAS THE SEVENTH GENERAL ELECTION HE DEBATED, I THINK 11 TIMES IN THE PRIMARIES, UH NOTABLY ZERO TIMES IN THE 2020 PRI IN 2024 PRIMARIES. AND YET HE CALLS EVERYONE OUT FOR, FOR BEING SCARED. I THINK SHE WAS ALMOST ACTING LIKE SHE WAS WATCHING IT LIKE SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WATCHING IT ON TV AND SAYING, HOLD ON, DUDE, I MEAN, WHAT ABOUT THIS? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE WAS DOING WAS CALLING OUT FACTS. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S PARTICULARLY I THINK TELLING WHEN YOU SHOW THESE CLIPS OF HIS DIGRESSIONS OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL THEM IS THAT THEY MAKE NO SENSE SO FINE. HE'S NOT RUBIK'S CUBE. HE'S NOT HARD TO FIGURE OUT HE'S JENGA. YOU KNOW, YOU JUST PUSH ONE THING AND HE FALLS APART. BUT IF YOU SAY YOUR CROWD SIZES ARE LOW AND YOU PEOPLE LEAVE, WHY WOULDN'T YOU SAY THAT? THAT'S NOT TRUE. THAT'S VERY MEAN. I'M REALLY PROUD. THEY'RE THE BIGGEST THINGS. WHAT HE ACTUALLY STARTS DOING IS A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF INSANITY. I MEAN, YOU'RE REVEALING, IT'S A SUBSET. I MEAN, WHAT HE'S SAYING HAS NEVER BEEN TRUTHFUL, IT HAS NEVER BEEN REAL. IT HAS NEVER BEEN NORMAL, BUT IT IS DECOMPENSATING. AND I THINK BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE THING ABOUT THE FROG, YOU KNOW, AND WATER, IF YOU JUST BOIL THEM SLOWLY, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING. WE'VE ALL BEEN SO KIND OF INURED TO IT THAT WE DON'T REALIZE HOW SERIOUS THIS IS. AND LOOK, I JOE BIDEN, I LOVE JOE BIDEN WHEN JOE BIDEN WAS 78 AND HE RAN FOR PRESIDENT. NO ONE THOUGHT I DON'T, I'M CONCERNED AT HOW HE LOOKS. DONALD TRUMP IS 78. YOU KNOW, IF HE WINS, WE COULD BE BACK IN THIS CONVERSATION IN TWO YEARS. DID YOU LIKE? OH, HOW DO WE, HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT HE WAS GOING TO GO OFF THE RAILS? DID YOU DO OFF THE RAILS AS HIM? YOU DO EVERYTHING. I MEAN, YOU DO. I'M THE BALL MACHINE IN MY MIND. YOU KNOW, YOU GOT A GOOD TENNIS PLAYER WHO WANTS TO GET BETTER. UM, I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE OBSESSED WITH TENNIS. THEY GET A TENNIS PRO. YOU WANT TO TEST YOUR, YOUR, YOU KNOW, BACKHAND, YOU SET THE, THE BALL MACHINE TO TEST BACKHAND. YOU WANT TO DO YOUR FOREHAND IF YOU WANT TO USE THE BALL MACHINE AS A TARGET FOR YOUR SERVE. GREAT. UM, IT'S REALLY, IT'S SIMULATION. IT'S, I THINK ANY KIND OF PREP, WHETHER IT'S CONGRESSIONAL PREP, DEPOSITION, PREP OR ANY KIND OF INTERVIEW, YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE THOUGHT THINGS THROUGH. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE SITTING AROUND SAYING, OK, HERE IS A GOOD LINE MEMORIZE. THERE'S BEEN SOME GREAT STORIES THAT I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, THAT I, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WOULD LOVE ABOUT THE BIGGEST MOMENTS IN DEBATE HISTORY HAVE BEEN THE CANDIDATES THINKING ABOUT THEM WHEN THEY'RE NOT IN PREP. YOU KNOW, UM LLOYD BENSON, THE I KNEW JOHN KENNEDY. HE, HE DIDN'T, HE ACTUALLY SNAPPED AT HIS TEAM WHEN THEY SAID DAN QUAYLE MIGHT SAY, UM THAT HE KNEW JACK KENNY. THEN LORD BENSON APPARENTLY SAID, IF YOU GUYS ARE GONNA WASTE MY TIME, I'M NOT GONNA, I'M, HE WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM, GEORGE BUSH. WHEN YOU KNOW, AL GORE CROWDED HIM, HE HAD THIS SMIRK ON HIS FACE AND BUSH HAS SAID THAT THE SMIRK ON HIS FACE WAS BECAUSE HIS TEAM HAD CROWDED HIM IN THE HOTEL ROOM. AND HE SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THEY SAID, WELL, GORE HAS SOMETIMES DONE THAT. HE'S LIKE, I DON'T CARE WHO'S DONE THAT. GET OUT OF MY FACE WITH THAT. AND THEN WHEN THE MOMENT COMES. YOU'RE LIKE, HOLY COW. I'VE HEARD THIS. PHILIPPE RES THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. I APPRECIATE IT, PETER. I TURN TO YOU FIRST BECAUSE YOU WERE AT GROUND ZERO WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN AS WELL AS THE VP DONALD TRUMP. JD VANCE. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE? KAMALA HARRIS AND DONALD TRUMP TOGETHER? THE ONLY THING SEPARATING THEM WAS LITTLE MIKE BLOOMBERG STANDING BETWEEN THEM. WHAT, 12 HOURS AFTER AN ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL DEBATE. YEAH, THERE WAS SOMETHING KIND OF SURREAL ABOUT IT. RIGHT. I MEAN, THEY HAD SPENT AN HOUR AND A HALF ON A STAGE SAVAGING EACH OTHER, UH, CALLING EACH OTHER A DISGRACE AND WEAK AND HORRIBLE AND ALL THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, INSULTING THINGS. UH, AND THEN THEY WERE THE NEXT DAY BASICALLY, AS YOU SAY, 1210 HOURS LATER, UH, STANDING UNDER THE SAME TENT AT 911. AND IT WAS, IN FACT, MIKE BLOOMBERG, WHO ACTUALLY REACHED OUT TO TOUCH PAT KAMALA HARRIS TO GET HER TO TURN AROUND TO DRAW HER IN TO SHAKE DONALD TRUMP'S HAND AND THEY DID HAVE A SEEMINGLY FRIENDLY HANDSHAKE. IN FACT, TRUMP SEEMS TO HAVE SAID SOMETHING PLEASANT TO HER, EVEN PATTED HER HAND. UH, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, GOT ALONG FINE, BUT IT'S, IT'S A REMINDER, I THINK NOT OF HOW POLITICS USED TO BE WHERE THERE USED TO BE KIND OF RESPECT ACROSS THE ISLAND. INSTEAD, I THINK IT'S A REMINDER OF HOW IMPORTANT 911 STILL IS. THE SOLEMNITY OF THIS MOMENT THAT IT FORCES POLITICIANS WHO REALLY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER VERY MUCH TO AT LEAST PRETEND THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE SAME COUNTRY, THE SAME NATION, THE SAME, UH, SOCIETY, AT LEAST FOR AN HOUR ON THERE AT SUCH HALLOW GROUND. WELL, IT IS SOMETHING THAT NEW YORKERS ARE SO PROUD OF THE WAY WE COME TOGETHER. BUT IT IS SOMETHING WHEN MIKE BLOOMBERG IS THE ONE ASKING YOU TO BE POLITE. THAT IS A RARE DAY, MICHAEL. LET'S TALK THOUGH ABOUT 911. I MEAN, A TRULY DEVASTATING DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY FOR NEW YORKERS. AND ON THAT DAY, DONALD TRUMP MADE A POINT OF SAYING THAT HIS BUILDING BECAME THE TALLEST IN NEW YORK CITY AFTER THE WORLD TRADE CENTER FELL. NOT ONLY WAS THAT A GROTESQUE THING TO SAY, IT WAS ALSO A LIE ALONG WITH THE OTHER LIE, HE TOLD THAT THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS WERE STANDING ON ROOFS OF BUILDINGS IN NEW JERSEY CELEBRATING THE ATTACKS. THAT'S WHO DONALD TRUMP WAS 23 YEARS AGO TODAY. SO WHY IS ANYONE SURPRISED THAT 23 YEARS SHY ONE DAY LATER LAST NIGHT ON THE DEBATE STAGE, HE LIED FOR 90 MINUTES STRAIGHT. THAT'S WHO HE IS. YEAH, THAT'S WHO HE IS. AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHO HE WAS 23 YEARS AGO AND THAT'S WHO HE IS TODAY. UM LOOK, DONALD TRUMP HAS NEVER BEEN SENSITIVE TO THE MOMENT. HE DOESN'T UNDERS HE DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF OF 911. HE DIDN'T PROCESS IT. BUT WHAT HE DID PROCESS WAS NOW HE HAS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN NEW YORK. THAT'S WHAT HE PROCESSED. UM, THE OTHER THING HE PROCESSED AND, YOU KNOW, WAS CONSPIRACY THEORIES THAT MUSLIMS KEEP, YOU KNOW, KEEPING WITH THIS VEIN OF ANTI MUSLIM HATRED THAT TRIED TO EMERGE ON THE HEELS OF 911, BUT FOR, UH, THE, THE GUIDANCE AND, AND, AND SOFT WORDS ACTUALLY OF, OF, UH, PRESIDENT BUSH TO REMIND US WHO WE ARE IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS. UM HE WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE AND TRIED TO PERPETUATE UH THOSE LIES ABOUT MUSLIMS STIRRING UP ANTI MUSLIM HATE AMONG WHITE PEOPLE. THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT DONALD DOES HIS MO. SO IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME THAT HE'S STANDING ON THE STAGE 23 YEARS LATER WITH A BLACK WOMAN WHO'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT PARROTING THE SAME BS AND NOR SHOULD THE REST OF US BE SURPRISED, ESPECIALLY THE MEDIA THAT'S COVERED HIM FOR 23 YEARS, ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST NINE YEARS. SO I WISH THE MEDIA WOULD STOP ACTING SURPRISED WHEN DONALD TRUMP BEHAVES A CERTAIN WAY BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN COVERING THAT FOR AS LONG AS HE'S BEEN ON THE STAGE. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF AMERICANS AS YOU LOOK AT THIS MOMENT ARE TRYING TO PULL THEMSELVES AWAY FROM THIS SORT OF, YOU KNOW, OH MY GOD. UH YOU KNOW, LOOK AT DONALD TRUMP PERFORM AGAIN. WE'RE TIRED OF IT AND, AND THERE IS A LEVEL OF EXHAUSTION THAT A LOT OF AMERICANS HAVE, WHICH IS, IT'S OPENED UP THIS MOMENT FOR KAMALA HARRIS THE WAY IT HAS. SHE JUST SAID Y'ALL GOT TO BE TIRED BY NOW BECAUSE I KNOW I AM. SO LET'S GO THIS WAY. LET'S GO FORWARD IN 2016, 1 COULD MAKE THE ARGUMENT FOR A LOT OF AMERICANS. HE WAS A NEW FACE, HE WAS A NEW VOICE. PEOPLE LIKE THE WAY HE SPOKE DIRECTLY. BUT NOW IN 2024 PEOPLE KNOW EXACTLY WHO DONALD TRUMP IS. THERE ARE NO SURPRISES BUT MOLLIE FRANK LUNTZ HAD ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE TWEETS OF THE NIGHT AND I'M JUST GOING TO SHARE IT WITH OUR AUDIENCE. IF HARRIS WANTS TO WIN, SHE NEEDS TO TRAIN HER FACE NOT TO RESPOND. IT FEEDS INTO A FEMALE STEREOTYPE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT RISKS OFFENDING UNDECIDED VOTERS. WHAT A HARE BRAINED, A HARE BRAINED IDEA YOU HAD THERE, FRANK. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, MOLLIE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YES, THIS IS A STEREOTYPE IF YOU'RE LIVING IN 1982. WELL, YOU KNOW, I DON'T LIKE TO COMMIT MEDIA ON MEDIA VIOLENCE, BUT IN THIS CASE, I DID TROLL HIM AND SAY THIS IS JUST TOTALLY MISOGYNISTIC, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS STUPID AND IT IS ALSO VERY STUPID AND IT ISN'T AND IT ISN'T WHAT HAPPENED AT ALL. THAT'S THE THING, RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT'S THE MOST INTERESTING THING WAS SHE ACTUALLY GOT THE POWER. SHE USED THE POWER. I READ TODAY, THIS SARAH LONG WALL PIECE IN THE ATLANTIC ABOUT HOW A LOT OF THESE ON THE FENCE VOTERS WERE SAYING SHE LOOKED PRESIDENTIAL AND EVEN, AND I READ SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, SORT OF ON THE FENCE VOTERS WERE SAYING THAT THEY DEPLETED WHEN SHE WAS LAUGHING. SO I DO THINK THAT IT WAS JUST SOMETHING FROM ANOTHER CENTURY AND LOOK, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THESE SORT OF HOT TAKE PUNDITRY THINGS THAT AND SOME OF THEM ARE MISOGYNISTIC AND THE IDEA THAT SHE CAN'T HAVE NORMAL FACIAL EXPRESSIONS IS ONE OF THEM. BUT MOLLIE ISN'T THIS LIKE SHE REALLY WON THE GAME OF TV. LAST NIGHT, SHE COULD HAVE HAD A LOT OF TOTALLY NORMAL OUTRAGED, FIRED UP RESPONSES, BUT SHE SHOWED INCREDIBLE DISCIPLINE, RIGHT? LIKE A SILENT ASSASSIN LETTING HIM SPIN HIMSELF LIKE A TOP. YEAH. AND SHE LOOK, SHE DID A TON OF RESEARCH. SHE DID A TON OF PREP AND YOU COULD TELL BECAUSE SHE SORT OF KNEW WHAT WOULD GET HIM AND THEN SHE STEPPED BACK AND LET HIM DO IT AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT WAS JUST A SORT OF, SHE'S BEEN VERY GOOD AT KIND OF PROVING THE DOUBTERS WRONG. HE DID PREP. IT WAS UM TULSI GABBARD AND LAURA LOOMER WHO PREPPED HIM. I'M GOING TO LEAVE THAT THERE. ALL RIGHT, PETER, WE ARE HEARING TEAM TRUMP GO ON AND ON TODAY. HOW UNFAIR IT WAS BECAUSE HE GOT FACT CHECKED WAY MORE THAN KAMALA HARRIS DID. BUT HERE'S THE THING OF COURSE HE DID. DONALD TRUMP SPENT THE ENTIRE NIGHT REPEATING WELL KNOWN LIES AND THE FACT CHECKS. THEY WERE PRETTY BASIC. RIGHT. IT'S NOT AN AGGRESSIVE FACT CHECK TO SAY, I'M SORRY, SIR. NOBODY IS EATING ANIMALS OR KILLING BABIES. YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S, IF THERE'S MORE FACT CHECKING, IT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE FACTS OR ALLEGED FACTS TO CHECK. RIGHT. AND, AND NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, HE LAID OUT A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE OBVIOUSLY COMPLETELY FALSE OR FICTIONAL. MY, ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS WHERE HE SAYS THAT EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTRY, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS WANTED ROE V WADE OVERTURNED. SO THE ABORTION ISSUE COULD GO BACK TO THE STATES THAT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT EVEN CLOSE TO TRUE. UH LAST PO I SHOW SO 60% WERE OPPOSED TO, TO OVERTURNING ROBBY WAY. BUT HE HAS SAID THIS REPEATEDLY NOW AS IF IT WAS TRUE AND SOMEHOW IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE UH DAUNTED WHEN PEOPLE DO FACT CHECK HIM. AND AS YOU RIGHTLY SAY, THE EATING DOGS UH EPISODE I THINK IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL REMEMBER MOST ABOUT LAST NIGHT IF, IF NOT JUST BECAUSE IT WASN'T TRUE, BUT BECAUSE IT SEEMS SO FARCICAL AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ABSURD TO BRING IT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT YOU KNOW, LOOK, THE MODERATORS GOT UH CRITICIZED THE LAST TIME AROUND WHEN TRUMP UH FACED OFF JOE BIDEN FOR NOT DOING MORE REAL TIME FACT CHECKING. I'M SYMPATHETIC. IT'S REALLY HARD TO DO THAT IN THE MOMENT. IF YOU STOP EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE THAT A POLITICIAN SAYS AND PARTICULARLY A POLITICIAN LIKE DONALD TRUMP AND SAYS, WAIT A SECOND. THERE'S FULLER CONTEXT HERE. THIS ISN'T QUITE RIGHT. HERE'S SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T SAY. UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, THERE'S A BALANCE TO BE HAD BETWEEN A, ALLOWING A DEBATE TO GO FORWARD AND ALLOWING THE OTHER PERSON IN THE DEBATE TO CHALLENGE, UH, YOU KNOW, FACTUAL MIS ASSERTIONS AND NOT ALLOWING, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE FALSEHOODS TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, PUT ON YOUR AIR AND THAT'S A TOUGH BALANCE FOR ANY MODERATES TO TAKE. I THINK, UH I THINK THE MODERATES LAST NIGHT DID A GOOD JOB IF DONALD TRUMP IS GOING, IF ANYBODY IS GOING TO BE MAD ABOUT THE DONALD TRUMP REPEATING THESE DOG STORIES, HE SHOULD BE MAD AT FOX NEWS AND JD VANCE FOR FEEDING HIM THIS PUPPY CHOW. HE SAID IT RIGHT ON TV. HE LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING HIS FAVORITE TV PERSONALITIES, MICHAEL. DO YOU THINK AT THE END OF THE NIGHT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, ANY VOTES WERE CHANGED LAST NIGHT? BECAUSE BEFORE THE DEBATE, WE TALKED ALL ABOUT THE UNDECIDED VOTERS WHO SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT HER. THEY HADN'T SEEN HER LAST NIGHT AND LAST NIGHT SHE PUT ON A SHOW AND SO DID HE, YEAH, GENERALLY I WOULD SAY PROBABLY JUST A LITTLE BIT AT THE MARGINS, MAYBE, PERHAPS AROUND THE CORNER OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SAID, OH, YEAH, I THINK I'M GONNA VOTE DIFFERENTLY. UM, THAT WAS NOT THIS DEBATE. I THINK THIS DEBATE DID HAVE MORE THAN A MARGINAL IMPACT ON VOTERS. I THINK IT WAS APPARENT IN SOME OF THE, UH, OVERNIGHT, UM, REACTION AND RESPONSES, UH, FROM FOCUS GROUPS AS WELL AS SPOT POLLS THAT WERE TAKEN, UH, WHEN YOU'RE SHOWING 60 PLUS PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WATCHING THE DEBATE SAID THAT, UH, SHE KAMALA HARRIS WON. YEAH. AND WHEN A LOT OF THOSE VOTERS ARE, YOU KNOW, UH SORT OF UNDECIDED UH CENTER, RIGHT, UH INDEPENDENT UH VOTERS UM WHO HAVE LARGELY BEEN ON THE FENCE BECAUSE OF THEIR HESITATION AROUND JOE BIDEN. UM AND NOW FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE ENGAGED IN, IN LEANING INTO THIS CONVERSATION FOR, FOR THE PRESIDENCY. YEAH, I THINK IT DID AND I THINK SHE ACQUITTED HERSELF AS A PRESIDENT SHOULD. AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE GOING INTO THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS VERY INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW SHE WOULD MANAGE WAS HER PROSECUTORIAL INSTINCTS UP AGAINST HER PRESIDENTIAL MANTLE. AND SHE WAS ABLE TO HOLD THAT PRESIDENTIAL MANTLE IN FRONT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHILE SHE SPANKED THAT BEHIND A LITTLE BIT ALONG THE WAY UH AS A PROSECUTOR. UH AND, AND I, AND I, AND I APPRECIATED THAT. I APPRECIATED THAT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE NEEDED TO DO. AND I THINK A LOT OF VOTERS RESPONDED TO THAT. I, I, I THINK PETER IN HIS REPORTING AND OTHERS, YOU KNOW, COULD PROBABLY SENSE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS, NOT TO PUT PETER ON THE SPOT, BUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS DEBATE AS OPPOSED TO SOME OF THE OTHERS UM THAT THE VOTERS WERE RECEIVING THIS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN THEY HAD BUSH V GORE OR, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST BIDEN AND, AND TRUMP DEBATE KAMALA HARRIS AT THE DEBATE TAKING CONTROL THE VISUALS, THE ATMOSPHERE. IT ALL SHOWED TRUMP UPSET AND UNMOORED. HE WAS INACCURATE, SOMETIMES UNHINGED AND THE COLLECTIVE RESULT, WHICH IS WHERE WE START THE PROGRAM TONIGHT IS A DISPLAY WHERE HARRIS PUT TRUMP ON DEFENSE. THAT'S THE WASHINGTON POST HEADLINE. THE REALITY WAS PALPABLE. THE SPLIT SCREENS THAT OFTEN CONTRASTED TRUMP'S HONESTLY SEETHING ANGER WITH HARRIS'S MORE COMPOSED APPROACH, THE SMILES, HER REJOINDER, NO CANDIDATE WANTS TO BE ON DEFENSE IN A DEBATE, BUT ESPECIALLY NOT TRUMP, A POLITICIAN WHO STAKED HIS WHOLE CAREER ON HIS SUPPOSED VERSION OF DOMINANCE OF GOING ON OFFENSE. THAT'S MORE ABOUT WHAT TRUMP IS ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLOWERS, WHAT THEY SAY THEY LIKE ABOUT HIM THAN ANY PARTICULAR POLICY OR PROMISE. SO THIS WAS UNCOMFORTABLE TURF FOR HIM AND PEOPLE SAW IT LIVE. WE CAN TELL YOU TONIGHT, 67 MILLION PEOPLE WATCHING A HIGHER NUMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, THAN THE BIDEN TRUMP DEBATE. WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT MATTERS BECAUSE IT REACHED SO MANY MORE VOTERS THAN ANY OTHER POLITICAL EVENT THIS YEAR. MORE THAN THE CONVENTIONS OR PRESIDENT BIDEN'S BIG ADDRESS ANNOUNCING HIS EXIT. AND WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY. WE'RE SEEING IS BEING BURNED INTO THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION. THE IDEA THE VIEW, THE CONCLUSION THAT HARRIS WON AND WINNING BILLS MOMENTUM AND PEOPLE FAMOUSLY DITCH LOSERS ONE DAY OUT. I CAN SHOW YOU THE TRUMP LOSS IS ON TIMES COVER BRANDING HIM IN TROUBLE. THE REVIEWS HAVE BEEN ROLLING IN AND BROAD. MAINSTREAM COVERAGE HAS BASICALLY SAID HARRIS BESTED TRUMP AND HE WAS OFF BALANCE AND OUT OF CONTROL. PICK YOUR ADJECTIVE. I WOULD GO WITH FIERY TO BEGIN. YOU HAD ONE CANDIDATE THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNHINGED JUST COMPLETELY OFF HIS ROCKER. KAMALA HARRIS PITCHED A SHUTOUT. I SPOKE WITH ONE REPUBLICAN WHO CALLED FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WILD AND UNCONTROLLED VICE PRESIDENT, HARRIS HAD A PLAN. SHE STUCK TO HER PLAN. CLEARLY, VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS KICK SOME BUTT. I'VE NEVER SEEN A STARKER CONTRAST IN PRESENTATION FROM TWO CANDIDATES IN ANY DEBATE IN ANY TYPE OF CONTEST IN ANY POLITICAL RACE. THAT'S THE INTERPRETATION. HERE'S WHAT THEY WERE INTERPRETING. DONALD TRUMP WAS FIRED BY 81 MILLION PEOPLE. PEOPLE START LEAVING HIS RALLIES EARLY OUT OF EXHAUSTION AND BOREDOM. PEOPLE DON'T LEAVE MY RALLIES. WE HAVE THE BIGGEST RALLIES, THE MOST INCREDIBLE RALLIES IN THE HISTORY OF POLITICS. THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS, THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN THE PEOPLE ON TELEVISION. MY DOG WAS TAKEN AND USED FOR FOOD. SPRINGFIELD CITY MANAGER SAYS THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF THAT VICE PRESIDENT. THEY SAY YOU'RE A DISGRACE. YOU ARE A DISGRACE. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT HE ADMIRES DICTATORS. VIKTOR ORBAN, ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED MEN. THEY CALL HIM A STRONG MAN. I KNOW PUTIN VERY WELL, A DICTATOR WHO WOULD EAT YOU FOR LUNCH. ARE YOU NOW ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU LOST IN 2020? ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AT ALL? I KNOW WE LOST BY A WHISKER THAT WAS SAID SARCASTICALLY. I DIDN'T DETECT THE SARCASM CLEARLY. HE IS HAVING A VERY DIFFICULT TIME PROCESSING THAT. HARRIS SET THE TONE FROM THE START IN A MOMENT. THAT MIGHT BE IN THE HISTORY BOOKS. WE'LL SHOW YOU, TRUMP WAS GOING STRAIGHT FOR HIS LECTERN APPARENTLY TRYING TO AVOID THE TRADITIONAL HANDSHAKE THAT STARTS IT. AND YOU SEE SHE CROSSED OVER INTO HIS AREA, FORCING HIM INTO THE HANDSHAKE. SHE DID THAT AND TRUMP FOUND HIMSELF IN DEFENSIVE CROUCH ACROSS MUCH OF THE NIGHT AS THE TIMES REPORTS RELITIGATING HIS RECORD RATHER THAN PICKING APART HARRIS'S AND YOU MIGHT SEE THAT COVERAGE AND HAVE WATCHED THE DEBATE AND THOUGHT, YEAH, OF COURSE. AND HE HAS A LOT TO DEFEND. BUT REMEMBER THAT'S NOT AUTOMATIC, HARRIS IS STILL IN THE INCUMBENT ADMINISTRATION AND TRUMP HAS PREVIOUSLY TURNED MANY DEBATES AND OTHER TV MOMENTS INTO ATTACKS ON HIS RIVALS. IT IS A FUNCTION OF HOW SHE PERFORMED AND PERHAPS ALSO WHERE WE ARE NOW HAVING DEALT WITH TRUMP FOR SO LONG THAT HE WASN'T ABLE TO PULL OFF THOSE TRICKS LAST NIGHT, EVEN AS HE DID STEAL OR TAKE MORE OF THE TALK TIME, THAT SAME THEME OF DEFENSE WAS BLASTED IN HEADLINES IN SWING STATES. HERE'S NEVADA'S LAS VEGAS. SO YOU CAN SEE HARRIS PUTS TRUMP ON THE DEFENSE. NATIONAL PAPERS REPORTED THE SAME HARRIS KNOCKING HIM OFF COURSE TRUMP IN THE SPOTLIGHT IN THE WORST WAY. NOW THOSE ARE REPORTS AND ACCOUNTS. THERE WERE ALSO OTHER INDICATIONS ABOUT TRUMP'S POOR PERFORMANCE FROM HIM. IN CONTRAST TO THE BIDEN DEBATE, WHICH WE ALL LIVED THROUGH RECENTLY, DONALD TRUMP GOT OFF THE STAGE AND BEGAN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE ABC MODERATORS COMPLAINING THE NETWORK SHOULD HAVE ITS WHOLE LICENSE REVOKED, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SAY WHEN YOU ARE WINNING, IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WON OR DID VERY WELL, YOU WOULD WANT TO BUCK UP THE DEBATE, NOT DISCREDITED. AND THEN THERE'S THE ODD BUT VERY AMERICANA TRADITION OF THE SPIN ROOMS. WE'VE SHOWN YOU HERE SOME FILE FOOTAGE FROM BACK IN THE DAY. I'M SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE CUSTOM, THE CAMPAIGN STAFF AND THE ALLIES GO INTO THESE SO CALLED SPIN ROOMS AND YOU SAY YOUR SIDE WON NO MATTER WHAT. IT'S KIND OF AN ODD TRADITION. WELL, TRUMP WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST DEBATE PARTICIPANT TO EVER DROP IN ON ONE OF THOSE SPIN ROOMS HIMSELF BACK IN 2016, BUT HE HADN'T DONE IT SINCE THEN UNTIL LAST NIGHT. POST REPORTING, DONALD TRUMP SHOWED UP IN THE SPIN ROOM AFTER THE DEBATE, A RARITY, AN OBVIOUS SIGN OF HIS NEED TO TRY TO MAKE THE CASE TO REPORTERS THAT HE HAD FAILED TO MAKE ON THE DEBATE STAGE. YOU CAN SEE TRUMP IN LAST NIGHT'S SPIN ROOM AGAIN, THIS IS UNUSUAL HASN'T HAPPENED IN A LONG TIME. AND THAT SAME POST ARTICLE AS YOU LOOK AT THIS VISUAL, I'LL TELL YOU SAID TRUMP MAY HAVE RECOGNIZED HE FELL SHORT AND HE TRIED TO BASICALLY TELL A MUCH SMALLER AUDIENCE IN THAT ROOM, SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT A MUCH LARGER AUDIENCE JUST SAW ON THE STAGE THAT HE WAS ON DEFENSE THAT HE LOST THE NIGHT. NOW, TRUMP'S AIDES, THEY DID THE SPINNING AND SOME OF HIS ALLIES WOULD ALSO SPIN AGAIN. SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY PAID TO SAY HE WON. BUT I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING HERE, EVEN HIS OWN ALLIES CONCEDING IT WAS A BAD NIGHT FOR TRUMP. SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM SAID AS MUCH CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATORS WHO MIGHT HAVE A BIT MORE DAYLIGHT BETWEEN THEIR CAREERS AND THE FUTURE OF TRUMPISM WENT FURTHER. THESE ARE DAMNING STATEMENTS YOU'RE ABOUT TO HEAR, I'LL SHOW THEM TO YOU IN A SECOND. THE BIG PICTURE, THE CONSENSUS IS NOT ONLY THAT HARRIS WON THE DEBATE BUT THAT SHE WON IT AT THIS CRITICAL TIME. THAT'S THE BEST THING A CANDIDATE CAN AIM FOR IN ANY DEBATE. AND SOME YEARS WE KNOW THERE ARE MANY AND THEY ALL HAPPEN. BUT WHEN YOU WIN THE ONLY DEBATE SCHEDULED RIGHT NOW BETWEEN TODAY AND THE REST OF THE ELECTION, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A CRUCIAL EDGE, HER ALLIES THOUGH, AT THE SAME TIME, AMIDST ALL OF THIS ARE REITERATING THAT NOTHING LAST NIGHT TELLS YOU WHO WILL WIN THE ELECTION. NOW, AS FOR THE VIDEO, I PROMISED YOU, WE'VE GOT THESE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS FROM FOX TO VOTER PANELS ADMITTING CONCEDING, SAYING TRUMP HAD A BAD NIGHT OR LOST FOX'S SISTER PUBLICATION. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL PUBLISHED A PIECE TODAY SAYING HARRIS CLEARLY WON THE DEBATE. AND NOW I WANT TO BRING YOU A LITTLE BEAT VIDEO SPECIAL. WE'VE PULLED TOGETHER IF YOU WERE WATCHING ON THIS CHANNEL OR ANY OTHER SINGLE CHANNEL, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE SEEN THIS, BUT WE'VE MADE IT FOR YOU. SOME OF THE REPUBLICAN AND CONSERVATIVE VOICES THAT HAVE BEEN CONCEDING HOW BADLY TRUMP DID MUCH OF THIS PRESENTED TO FOX AND CONSERVATIVE VIEWERS MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. TRUMP HAD A BAD NIGHT. WHOEVER DID DEBATE PREP FOR DONALD TRUMP SHOULD BE FIRED. THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH HER NIGHT. YOU'RE SAYING SHE HAD A GOOD NIGHT. I'M SAYING SHE CERTAINLY DID TALK ABOUT MIGRANTS EATING DOGS AND CATS. I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE WOULD DO. HE WAS AWFUL TONIGHT. SHE ON THE OTHER HAND WAS VERY WELL PREPARED. HE WAS TERRIBLE TONIGHT, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP DID TAKE A LOT OF THE BAIT THAT SHE THREW OUT. HE TOOK ALL THE BAIT AND NONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES SHE PIVOTED BETTER. HE ROSE TO THE BAIT REPEATEDLY WHEN SHE BAITED HIM. SHE BAITED A FORMER PRESIDENT UNITED STATES TO CHASE EVERY RABBIT DOWN EVERY HOLE. HE WAS CHILDISH. HE WAS CREEPY. HE WAS CRINGY AND WE HEARD SO MANY OF THE OLD GRIEVANCES THAT WE HAD LONG THOUGHT THAT TRUMP HAD LEARNED WERE NOT WINNERS POLITICALLY. HE WAS WHOLLY UNPREPARED. VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS WAS CLEARLY WELL PREPARED, PRACTICED ON THE OFFENSIVE MUCH OF THE NIGHT HE WENT DOWN A FEW CAT AND DOG HOLES RATHER THAN RABBIT HOLES TONIGHT. I GUESS THERE ARE AVENUES WORSE THAN RABBIT HOLES AND EVEN VIEWERS WHO WENT TO HEAR SOME ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX ENDED UP HEARING THAT AND WE BEGIN TONIGHT WITH 55 DAYS TO GO UNTIL ELECTION DAY WITH EARLY VOTING STARTING EVEN SOONER. AND LAST NIGHT, VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS DELIVERED A MASTER CLASS IN HOW TO STICK THE LANDING IN A DEBATE. IT ALL STARTED IN THOSE FIRST FEW SECONDS WITH THAT POWER MOVE AND SHAKE AND HARRIS INTRODUCING HERSELF TO TRUMP PERHAPS BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE TWO HAVE BEEN FACE TO FACE OR MAYBE SO SHE COULD, YOU KNOW, LET HIM HEAR THE PROPER WAY TO PRONOUNCE HER NAME AND FROM THEN ON, SHE KEPT LAYING THE BAIT AND TRUMP JUST KEPT FALLING FOR IT. WHAT YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE IS THAT PEOPLE START LEAVING HIS RALLIES EARLY OUT OF EXHAUSTION AND BOREDOM. THE FIRST TIME WE RESPONDED TO THE RALLIES, SHE SAID PEOPLE START LEAVING, PEOPLE DON'T GO TO HER RALLIES. THERE'S NO REASON TO GO AND THE PEOPLE THAT DO GO, SHE'S BUSSING THEM IN AND PAYING THEM TO BE THERE AND THEN SHOWING THEM IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. SO SHE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THAT. PEOPLE DON'T LEAVE MY RALLIES. WE HAVE THE BIGGEST RALLIES, THE MOST INCREDIBLE RALLIES IN THE HISTORY OF POLITICS. WORLD LEADERS ARE LAUGHING AT DONALD TRUMP. I HAVE TALKED WITH MILITARY LEADERS, SOME OF WHOM WORK WITH YOU AND THEY SAY YOU'RE A DISGRACE. LET ME JUST SAY ABOUT WORLD LEADERS, VIKTOR ORBAN, ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED MEN. THEY CALL HIM A STRONG MAN. DONALD TRUMP WAS FIRED BY 81 MILLION PEOPLE. SO LET'S BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT. AND CLEARLY HE IS HAVING A VERY DIFFICULT TIME PROCESSING THAT. YOU TALK ABOUT A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE GOT 14 MILLION VOTES AND THEY THREW HIM OUT OF OFFICE AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE SECRET. HE HATES HER, HE CAN'T STAND HER. AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH HOW IT WENT ALL NIGHT WITH TRUMP STUCK ON THE ROPES, UNABLE TO REGAIN HIS FOOTING. AND AS I SAID LAST NIGHT, TRUMP GOT DESTROYED IN THIS DEBATE FOR ONE MAIN REASON, NOT BECAUSE THE DEBATE WAS RIGGED AS TRUMP HAS ALREADY CLAIMED OR BECAUSE THE MODERATORS WERE MEAN TO HIM. IT WAS BECAUSE HE CANNOT CONTROL HIS OWN MIND. HIS PERFORMANCE WAS SO BAD THAT EVEN HIS PALS ON FOX HAD TO ADMIT IT, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. TRUMP HAD A BAD NIGHT. I DON'T THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE WATCHING AND THINKING ANY OF THESE PEOPLE WON. THIS WAS, THIS WAS ROUGH. HE TOOK ALL THE BAIT AND NONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES. DID DONALD TRUMP MISS A FEW OPPORTUNITIES? ABSOLUTELY, TRUMP'S OWN LAPDOG. SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM TOLD THE BULWARK STEVE TIM MILLER, THAT TRUMP'S PERFORMANCE WAS A DISASTER AND THAT HIS DEBATE TEAM SHOULD BE FIRED. SURE, LINDSAY, NOT TRUMP'S FAULT AT ALL. IT WAS THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM. THE FACT THAT IT WAS A POOR NIGHT FOR DONALD MUST NOT HAVE BEEN LOST ON HIM BECAUSE HOW ELSE DO YOU EXPLAIN HIM RUNNING TO THE SPIN ROOM LAST NIGHT AFTER THE DEBATE ENDED THE LAST 24 HOURS HAS ALL BEEN ABOUT SPIN FOR THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO TRY AND PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG AND POINT THE FINGERS EVERYWHERE ELSE. ANYWHERE ELSE. IN FACT, THIS MORNING, TRUMP BASELESS SUGGESTED, OK, THAT VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS WAS GIVEN THE QUESTIONS BEFOREHAND, THEY HAD A RIG SHOW WITH SOMEBODY THAT MAYBE EVEN HAD THE ANSWERS. I MEAN, I'LL BE HONEST, I WATCHED HER TALK AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, SHE SEEMS AWFULLY FAMILIAR WITH THE QUESTIONS AND YOU GET PRETTY GOOD AT THAT STUFF AFTER A WHILE. YEAH. MHM. NO, NO, DONALD. MM MM. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT'S CALLED? IT'S CALLED BEING PREPARED. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD, I DON'T KNOW, THINK ABOUT THAT FOR NEXT TIME, MAYBE GIVE IT A SHOT. JOINING ME NOW IS JELANI COBB, DEAN OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MS NBC CONTRIBUTOR OLIVIA TROY, MEMBER OF REPUBLICANS FOR HARRIS AND FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE HUGO LOWELL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR THE GUARDIAN AND TOMMY VIETOR, CO HOSTS OF POD SAVE AMERICA AND POD SAVE THE WORLD AND CO AUTHOR OF DEMOCRACY. OR ELSE HOW TO SAVE AMERICA IN 10 EASY STEPS. I'M GLAD THEY'RE EASY. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET TO THAT. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT BOOK AT SOME POINT, TOM, BECAUSE WE'RE LIKE, WE GOTTA SAVE DEMOCRACY AND IF IT'S 10 STEPS, I'M WITH IT. BUT I WANT TO COME TO THE TABLE FIRST. UM, I WANNA FIRST GET YOU. UM, AS THE, UH, THE HEAD OF THE COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM, I LOVE REMINDING PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE THE BOSS OF THE COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM, WHICH IS PRETTY AWESOME. HOW THE DEBATE WENT, DAVID MUIR AND LINDSEY DAVIS. HOW DID THEY DO IN YOUR VIEW? OH, I THOUGHT THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST MODERATED DEBATES I'VE EVER SEEN. I AGREE. YOU KNOW, THEY WERE CONSISTENT. THEY WERE PROFESSIONAL. YES. AND, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE NARRATIVES HAS BEEN AROUND HOW FREQUENTLY DONALD TRUMP TOOK THE BAIT FROM KAMALA HARRIS. I THINK ONE OF THE LESSER DISCUSSED THINGS IS THE FACT THAT THE MODERATORS NEVER TOOK ANY BAIT, RIGHT? THAT THEY CONTINUED WHEN HE DEFLECTED, THEY WOULD FOLLOW UP, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE FAILED TO DO OFTEN WITH DONALD TRUMP, YOU KNOW, HE WILL GIVE A NON ANSWER AND THEY'LL JUST MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION. THEY DIDN'T DO THAT. THEY DID A JUDICIOUS AMOUNT OF FACT CHECKING. SO IT WASN'T INTRUSIVE AND THEY WERE LIKE A REFEREE IN A BOXING MATCH WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU THERE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS ADHERING TO THE RULES AND THEN YOU'RE INVISIBLE. YES. IT WAS JUST A BANNER EXAMPLE OF HOW AN EVENT LIKE THAT SHOULD BE MODERATED. ABSOLUTELY. AND I MEAN, THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS GET AN ANSWER TO THEIR QUESTIONS. LET ME JUST PLAY THIS, THIS IS THE LITTLE MASH OF TRUMP REFUSING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. WOULD YOU VETO A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN IF IT? WELL, I WON'T HAVE TO. BUT IF I COULD JUST GET A YES OR NO, BECAUSE YOU'RE RUNNING MATE, JD VANCE HAS SAID THAT YOU WOULD VETO IF IT DID COME TO YOUR DESK. WELL, I DIDN'T DISCUSS IT WITH JD IN ALL FAIRNESS JUST TO CLARIFY IN THE QUESTION. DO YOU BELIEVE IT'S IN THE US BEST INTERESTS FOR UKRAINE TO WIN THIS WAR? I THINK IT'S THE US BEST INTEREST TO GET THIS WAR FINISHED AND JUST GET IT DONE NINE YEARS AFTER YOU FIRST STARTED RUNNING. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN? AND CAN YOU TELL US WHAT IT IS? OBAMACARE WAS LOUSY. HEALTH CARE ALWAYS WAS, IT'S NOT VERY GOOD TODAY. SO, JUST A YES OR NO. YOU STILL DO NOT HAVE A PLAN. I HAVE CONCEPTS OF A PLAN. AND EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS, THEY WERE PERSISTENT, IN FACT CHECKING WHEN HE SAID SOMETHING BIZARRE. RIGHT. AND EVEN WHEN THEY DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER YOU KNOW, IT WAS OBVIOUS TO THE VIEWING PUBLIC THAT HE HAD NOT ANSWERED. RIGHT. YES. IT WAS JUST TO SAY, OK, THIS GUY IS NOT GOING TO, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, RIGHT. LET ME PLAY ANOTHER CLIP. OLIVIA, YOU WERE THERE, YOU WERE IN THE ROOM. THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BEST ANSWERS I THINK FROM VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS. IT WAS A REALLY STRONG ANSWER AND IT WAS ABOUT THE ABORTION QUESTION AFTER DONALD TRUMP LIED AS LAWRENCE O'DONNELL POINTED HIS BIGGEST LIE OF SAYING THAT ALL OF AMERICA DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS INDEPENDENTS, EVERYBODY WANTED ABORTION RETURNED TO THE STATES. HERE WAS WHAT? HERE WAS VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS' RESPONSE. ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO ABANDON THEIR FAITH OR DEEPLY HELD BELIEFS TO AGREE THE GOVERNMENT AND DONALD TRUMP CERTAINLY SHOULD NOT BE TELLING A WOMAN WHAT TO DO WITH HER BODY. I HAVE TALKED WITH WOMEN AROUND OUR COUNTRY. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WANTED PREGNANT WOMEN WHO WANT TO CARRY A PREGNANCY TO TERM, SUFFERING FROM A MISCARRIAGE BEING DENIED CARE IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM BECAUSE THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ARE AFRAID THEY MIGHT GO TO JAIL AND SHE'S BLEEDING OUT IN A CAR IN THE PARKING LOT. SHE DIDN'T WANT THAT. HER HUSBAND DIDN'T WANT THAT. A 12 OR 13 YEAR OLD SURVIVOR OF INCEST BEING FORCED TO CARRY A PREGNANCY TO TERM. THEY DON'T WANT THAT. OLIVIA, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS IS GOING TO HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN THIS ELECTION IS TO MOVE OVER AS MANY SUBURBAN WHITE WOMEN VOTERS AS SHE CAN. HOW EFFECTIVE WAS THAT ANSWER? AND HER OVERALL PERFORMANCE IN YOUR VIEW IN TRYING TO DO THAT INCLUDING REPUBLICAN AND INDEPENDENT WOMEN. I THINK IT WAS INCREDIBLY IMPACTFUL AND I'LL TELL YOU THIS, LIKE WATCHING HER ON THAT DEBATE STAGE AS SHE SPOKE ABOUT THE SITUATION AND THE ISSUE IN THAT WAY, I THINK RESONATES WITH AMERICAN PEOPLE, AMERICAN FAMILIES AND FEMALE VOTERS. AND I'LL TELL YOU, I'M GLAD THAT SHE SPOKE ABOUT FAITH AND UH THE WAY SHE DELIVERED THIS ON THAT STAGE BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN HER ENGAGE REPUBLICAN WOMEN VOTERS IN MICHIGAN. I'VE SEEN HER DO THIS IN PERSON WHERE SHE TALKS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND IT IS SO INCREDIBLY IMPACTFUL THE WAY SHE DOES IT BECAUSE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE SHE IS MEETING THEM THERE, CONSERVATIVE WOMEN, SHE'S MEETING THEM HALFWAY AND TALKING ABOUT IT THE WAY WE DO, RIGHT? AS A, AS PEOPLE, THE WAY WE TALK TO EACH OTHER, THE WAY WE TALK TO OUR FRIENDS. AND I'LL TELL YOU, I WAS IN ARIZONA LAST WEEK MEETING WITH REPUBLICAN WOMEN VOTERS ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. AND I WAS THERE WITH HADLEY DUVALL AND JUST HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS, ONE ON ONE WITH SOME OF THESE WOMEN. THERE WAS A LOT OF EMOTION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY. AND I THINK THE WAY THAT KAMALA HARRIS DELIVERED THAT LAST NIGHT REALLY RESONATES BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WOMEN ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW. YEAH. AND, AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT SHE HAS TO DO BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, GET EVEN A SMALL PERCENTAGE, A SMALL MOVEMENT OF WHITE WOMEN VOTERS TO GET CLOSER TO 5050 IS REALLY THE BALLGAME, HUGO. YOU'VE REPORTED TO US BEFORE THAT THE TRUMP STRATEGY WAS BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, PUT YOUR TWO FINGERS IN YOUR EARS AND PRAY THAT HE DOES WELL IN THE DEBATE. WELL, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. HE DIDN'T DO WELL IN THE DEBATE. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING NOW? YES, LOOK, IT'S A UNIVERSAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT IT WAS A BAD NIGHT LAST NIGHT. THEY WON'T SAY IT PUBLICLY, OF COURSE. BUT PRIVATELY, MULTIPLE PEOPLE ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WERE TELLING ME THROUGH THE NIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, HE SOUNDED OFF, HE SOUNDED BAD, HE SOUNDED RATTLED AND THAT BASICALLY HE COULDN'T SHAKE HIS ANGER. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS ONE TRUMP AIDE THAT I TEXT AND IT REALLY KIND OF SUMMED IT UP FOR ME, WHICH WAS THEM SAYING, YOU KNOW, WELL, TONIGHT WAS, WILL THEY BENEFIT US LIKE NO, IT WILL NOT, IT WILL NOT BENEFIT US. THIS WILL NOT CONVINCE ANY UNDECIDED VOTERS TO COME TO OUR SIDE. THIS WILL NOT CONVINCE ANY INDEPENDENTS TO COME TO OUR SIDE. AND THERE WAS SUCH A CLOSE OR MISSED OPPORTUNITY. AND THE ONE THING THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WAS REALLY KIND OF UPSET ABOUT AND KIND OF DISAPPOINTED ABOUT WAS THEY HAD PREPPED SO MANY IMMIGRATION RELATED RESPONSES AND TRUMP ULTIMATELY DELIVERED NONE OF THEM. HE GOT KIND OF, AS YOU POINTED OUT, HE GOT SIDETRACKED AND KIND OF OBSESSED WITH THIS WHOLE HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS EATING PETS THING. AND THEY HAD PREPPED AN OUTCOME FOR THAT. AND AS THE DEBATE PREP WENT, WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO WAS TO SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE STORY THAT'S BEEN COMING OUT OF SPRINGFIELD AND THEN PIVOT ATTACKING HARRIS ON THE EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ON CRIME. INSTEAD, HE GOT BOGGED DOWN ON THIS. HE GOT BAITED BY HARRIS REPEATEDLY COULDN'T LET IT GO AND THEN ENDED UP ARGUING WITH THE MODERATORS AND THE NUMBER OF FACE PLANT EMOJIS THAT I GOT FROM TRUMP AIDES LAST NIGHT. I CAN'T DESCRIBE TO YOU A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. EVERYONE THINKS THAT WAS MAYBE THEY JUST SHOULD HAVE SAT IN FRONT OF HIM AND SAID THE WORD CROWD SIZE 400 TIMES UNTIL HE GOT OVER IT THAT MAYBE HE COULD, YOU KNOW, GET NUMB TO IT BECAUSE THE MINUTE SHE SAID CROWD SIZE, THAT WAS THE END OF HIS MENTAL STABILITY. DONALD TRUMP'S LIES ABOUT FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS ARE HAVING AN IMPACT. NEARLY ONE IN SIX ELECTION WORKERS RECEIVED THREATS OF VIOLENCE AFTER THE 2020 ELECTION ACCORDING TO THE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE. JOINING ME NOW IS MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE JOCELYN BENSON WHO TESTIFIED TODAY BEFORE CONGRESS ABOUT THE THREATS AHEAD OF THIS NOVEMBER'S ELECTION SECRETARY BENSON. IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU. I, YOU KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DANGEROUS THINGS. DONALD TRUMP HAS SAID IN RECENT DAYS AND WEEKS AND YEARS. BUT HIS LIES LAST NIGHT ABOUT ILLEGAL UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS COMING IN AND A CONCERTED EFFORT TO GET THEM TO VOTE FRAUDULENTLY. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD HIM SAY THAT? OH, WELL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME, ALEX. IT WAS REALLY KIND OF A GUT PUNCH BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE. I MEAN, ONLY US CITIZENS CAN VOTE IN OUR ELECTIONS. BUT WHAT THIS TYPE OF RHETORIC IS DESIGNED TO DO IS ONE, YOU KNOW, CREATE FEAR AND STOKE FEAR OBVIOUSLY IN DIVISION. BUT SECONDLY, ALSO START TO PLANT SEEDS OF DOUBT IN THE MINDS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS THAT OUR ELECTIONS ARE ANYTHING OTHER THAN SECURE AND ACCURATE, WHICH THEY ARE. AND THEN ALSO TO REALLY SET THE STAGE TO POTENTIALLY TRY TO CHALLENGE AND OVERTURN LEGITIMATE, FAIR AND ACCURATE ELECTION RESULTS. SHOULD HE BE UNHAPPY WITH THEM COME NOVEMBER? SO IT WAS REALLY A HARBINGER OF WHAT COULD COME AND WHAT'S TO COME IN THE WEEKS AHEAD. AND REALLY IN MY VIEW, A SIGNAL THAT WE'VE ALL GOT TO BUCKLE UP AND TRY TO RISE ABOVE THE NOISE AND FOCUS ON THE FACTS, WHICH IS THAT ONLY US CITIZENS CAN VOTE IN OUR ELECTIONS. YES AND HARDLY, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT PARALLEL, HE'S BEEN SAYING STUFF IN RECENT DAYS THAT SHOULD BE RINGING EVERYBODY'S ALARM. THERE IS THIS TRUE SOCIAL POST HE MADE ON THE SEVENTH OF SEPTEMBER THAT SAID THAT THERE WAS RAMPANT CHEATING IN THE 2020 ELECTION AND THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO CHEATED WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW INCLUDING ELECTION OFFICIALS. I MEAN, THE THREATS HERE ARE TWO FOLD RIGHT? THERE ARE THE THREATS AGAINST THE DOCUMENTED MIGRANTS WHICH IS PART OF HIS IMMIGRATION PORTFOLIO. THERE IS THE THREAT, THE THREATS TO THOSE WHO CARRY OUT THE ELECTIONS, ELECTION WORKERS AND THOSE WHO CERTIFY THEM. ELECTIONS OFFICIALS FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT. HOW MUCH OF A CHILLING EFFECT IS THIS HAVING ON THE RECRUITMENT OF PEOPLE TO WORK THE POLLS AND ALSO THOSE WHO ARE TASKED WITH, YOU KNOW, CERTIFYING THE ELECTIONS AND MAKING SURE STATE ELECTIONS ARE RUN SMOOTHLY. YES. WELL, ESSENTIALLY HAVING TWO EFFECTS. ONE, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE THROWING UP THEIR HANDS AND SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S NOT WORTH IT. I WANT TO STAY HOME AND THIS ISN'T SOMETHING WHERE I WANT TO PUT MY FAMILY'S LIFE IN JEOPARDY SIMPLY TO JUST PROTECT OUR ELECTION RESULTS. BUT ACTUALLY THE VAST MAJORITY OF ELECTION OFFICIALS IN MICHIGAN AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE SEEN THIS ALSO AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DOUBLE DOWN ON OUR COMMITMENT TO BEING PROFESSIONAL PARTISAN AND ENSURING TRANSPARENT AND SECURE ELECTIONS CONTINUE TO BE THE RULE OF THE LAND. AND SO WE'VE ALSO SEEN AN INCREDIBLE EMBOLDENING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS WHO YES, THESE ARE THREATS AND THESE ARE THREATS DESIGNED TO INTIMIDATE US OUT OF DOING OUR DUTY AND OUR JOBS AS ELECTION OFFICIALS. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF US HAVE STEPPED INTO THE FRAY KNOWING THAT AFTER 2020 THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SIGNING UP FOR AND WE'RE READY, WE'RE READY TO STAND GUARD AND REFUSE TO BE INTIMIDATED. WE WON'T BACK DOWN AND WE WILL PROTECT EVERY VOICE, EVERY VOTE REGARDLESS OF HOW THAT VOTE IS CAST OR WHO IT'S CAST FOR. BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY AND FRANKLY BELIEVE ANYONE RUNNING FOR OFFICE IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD SIMILARLY BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH AND THE FACTS AND OUR ELECTION OFFICIALS AND STAND WITH THEM INSTEAD OF THREATENING THEM, YOU KNOW, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU PERSONALLY HAVE FACED AND ARE FACING YOUR HOUSE HAS BEEN SWATTED. YOU HAVE RECEIVED DEATH THREATS. THERE IS A MICHIGAN LAWMAKER WHO HAS SAID YOU DEFINITIVELY WILL BE PROSECUTED IF DONALD TRUMP WINS AGAIN IN 2024. I MEAN, THAT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF TENACITY AND RESILIENCE THAT'S DEMANDED OF YOU AND ANYONE ELSE IN YOUR POSITION. AND I LIKE, HOW DO YOU GRAPPLE WITH THAT? I MEAN, BECAUSE OF COURSE, IT'S NOT JUST YOU, IT'S ALSO YOUR FAMILY AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. YES, I MEAN, IT IS ALARMING AND IT IS CHILLING. I MEAN, FRANKLY, TO JUST KNOW THAT THESE POWERFUL INDIVIDUALS WITH GREAT MEGAPHONES, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD USE THAT PLATFORM, HIS AMBITIONS TO TRY TO THREATEN US FOR SIMPLY JUST DOING OUR JOBS. AND TO KNOW ALSO, YOU KNOW, I STARTED MY CAREER INVESTIGATING EXTREMIST GROUPS AND EXTREME LEADERS. AND WE KNOW THAT THAT FALSE VITRIOLIC VIOLENT RHETORIC AND DOES RESULT IN THREATS AND VIOLENCE OR WORSE AGAINST THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE TARGETS. AND SO WE REALIZE THE CHALLENGING MOMENT THAT WE'RE IN. BUT WE ALSO REALIZE OUR RESPONSIBILITY, THESE THREATS ARE ULTIMATELY NOT THREATS TO US. THEY'RE THREATS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THEY'RE THREATS TO THE WILL OF THE VOTERS AND OUR DEMOCRACY ITSELF. AND I'M PROUD TO STAND IN THE BREACH EVERY DAY. AND I KNOW MY COLLEAGUES ARE AS WELL BECAUSE WE EMBRACE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT THAT BASIC PROMISE OF FAIR ELECTIONS FOR OUR COUNTRY. AND WE CONTINUE TO DEFEND THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE THIS FALL. AND SO THAT'S REALLY OUR MESSAGE TO THE PRESIDENT. YOU CAN COME AT US WITH ALL THE THREATS YOU WANT. AND YES, IT DOES CREATE A HARROWING ENVIRONMENT FOR US TO WORK THROUGH. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE WILL NOT BE DETERRED FROM DOING OUR JOB WITH PRIDE TO PROTECT THE VOICE AND VOTES OF EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS COUNTRY, MAN. JUST A PROFILE IN COURAGE, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE JOCELYN BENSON. THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN DEMOCRACY. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT AS WELL.