>> across party lines. we will be hearing more from liz cheney in her first msnbc interview with rachel maddow tonight at 9:00 p.m.eastern. it should be interesting. so you can tune in 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m. pacific to hear rachel intview liz cheney tonight. go to any of our socials and tell us what do you want to hear from liz cheney because she will be on our channel this week. that does it for us. "the reidout" is up next. tonight on "the reidout" -- >> one of the things that we see happening today is sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the united states. >> liz cheney on the danger of a second trump presidency, and there are new warnings tonight

about trump's plans, which would move the country away from democracy and into full-blown autocracy. also tonight, expelled from the house of representatives, former congressman george santos begins his revenge tour. and he's already cashing in on his infamy. we begin tonight with notes on a florida scandal. a hot mess sending shock waves through the state's republican party. the florida man in question is not donald trump for once. instead, this is a scandal involving christian ziegler, the chairman of florida's republican party. this is ziegler, a longtime party official who served as vice chairman of the state party prior to his election as chair. he is now under criminal investigation for allegations related to sexual battery, including rape according to a complaint filed with the sarasota police department. ziegler has denied the allegations. a heavily redacted report was

released thursday. as you can see, it includes mention of rape, sexual assault complaint, and sexual assault allegation. the report mentions that the alleged incident happened in sarasota, where ziegler is from. now, to give you an idea of his politics, here is ziegler last month at the republican florida freedom summit, an event that featured ziegler onstage with trump and desantis. based on the complaint released by law enforcement, the alleged incident occurred almost one month to the day prior to this summit, which was held in orlando. >> we have a state to protect and a country to save, and our job is not done until there is not one single democrat in office or thinking about running for office in the state of florida. >> ah, a state where democrats wouldn't even think to run for office. the latest example of how florida republicans have gone from opposing democrats to

opposing democracy. another thing about chris ziegler. he and his wife, bridget, are among the state's most prominent republicans. "the washington post" described them as a rising power couple in the state, second only to ron and casey desantis in their visibility and influence in state politics. now, this is where things get even messier. bridget was not named in the complaint against her husband, but in the affidavit, a written declaration made under oath, a law enforcement said that the woman who made the allegations against chris ziegler had known him for 20 years. she told the police she had agreed to a sexual encounter on october 2nd with mr. ziegler and his wife, bridget ziegler. ms. ziegler said in an interview with the authorities that she and her husband had been involved in one sexual encounter with the woman over a year ago. when the woman learned that mrs. ziegler would not be present for the october

encounter, the woman said she changed her mind and canceled with mr. ziegler. but the woman said mr. ziegler came to her apartment uninvited and sexually assaulted her. so before we unpack all of that, a little more on bridget ziegler. she has worked closely with ron desantis on a slew of draconian policies, namely anti-lgbtq legislation. here she is in 2022 standing behind governor desantis when he signed the don't say gay bill into law, at a ceremony where once again children were used as props and a clear message was sent to gay floridians that their lives do not matter. the legislation launched the presidential bid of an uncharismatic candidate who will likely not win. but the story doesn't end there. don't say gay inflamed the culture wars, serving as a pretext to the republicans' war against woke in the state. bridget ziegler always seemed to be in the center of that

crusade, from being an elected member of the sarasota county school board to getting appointed by desantis to the board that now oversees walt disney world land development. what is perhaps is the most damning position is that bridget ziegler is a co-founder of moms for liberty, the group notorious for being the largest driver of the nationwide book banning crusade. moms for liberty claims to speak for american parents by arguing that little kids can't read about mlk or ruby bridges, helping to create a climate where teachers are hiding books and anybody can censor ideas that they don't like about race, gender, and sexuality. again, bridget is not named in the complaint, and her husband has denied the allegations. but it is a window into who is leading this party, this trend in republican politics, particularly since the tea party and since accelerated with the maga movement, where a specific type of person is elevated, implementing cruel and undemocratic policies with seemingly no vetting going on.

and it should come as no surprise that this is happening in florida. it may seem like these extreme republicans are taking over the country in scorched-earth fashion. but remember, this plan has been in the works for a long time. the tea party rebranded republican conservatism, giving it a new identity that was bankrolled by republican business elites and fueled by fears of a black president. it created the folks we have leading the florida republican party today, like ogt party candidate ron desantis and rick scott, who was giddily obsessed with sunsetting social security and medicare, the retiree health program that his company defrauded, earning a record federal fine before he was elected governor, and then senator. fast forward to 2023, and you cannot find a florida republican who isn't hawking maga culture war themes. so when matt gaetz, another

florida republican with a creepy history, is why mike johnson is running things on the hill. these are people who have a plan, not just for florida but for america, and the plan is bleak. joining me now is florida state representative anna eskamani and colby edmonds, reporter for "the new york times." thank you both for being here. colby edmonds, welcome to the show. i do want to start with you. i want to read to you prosecutor andrew warren, who was fired by ron desantis, mr. ziegler's friend and compatriot, and this is what he said. no wonder ziegler was such a cheerleader for my illegal suspension. he figured that state attorneys who aggressively prosecute sexual assault and corruption are a threat to his political career. for a guy who presents to champion family values, what a disgrace to all floridians. tell us more about this case, where it stands right now, where mr. ziegler stands legally in the state. >> right. so mr. ziegler has denied the

allegations against him. he said earlier he has known the alleged victim for over 20 years, and in text messages that were included in the affidavit and phone calls that were recorded, he has called the alleged victim a friend, and to her he denied the allegations. but he has seen some pushback from both democrats and republicans calling -- [ inaudible ] >> i think the gremlins have come for your wi-fi. i think we've lost colbi edmonds. we're going to get your audio together, colbi. let me hold off on you for just a moment. we're going to try to fix your audio. representative eskamani, let me go to you on this. glaad, the association that represents lgbtq folks' interests, they've talked about the fact that moms for liberty, this organization is win what they call a war on lgbtq.

i think we h v.o. of moms for liberty. they go to school boards in places like broward county, even places where they don't necessarily have a child in the school. they get up during public speaking time. they speak out against books that contain themes of race, themes on lgbt issues, anything with sexuality in it that they object to. this is a group co-founded by mrs. ziegler. your thoughts on the fact that it appears that she may have engaged in, you know, conduct that is perfectly legal, other than the rape allegations, but consensual sexual activity that would put her in the b and q category. >> first of all, joy, thanks for having me on. this is another example of republican projection. sexual freedom for me but not for thee should be the new mantra of the republican party and of moms for liberty.

i was in tallahassee this week for committee meetings. the republican party of florida is having a meltdown despite many individuals asking chris ziegler to step down, he hasn't. i do think the hypocrisy is something none of us can ignore. this is an organization, both the political party and moms for liberty, who have demonized lgbtq+ people. christian and bridget have attempted to personify this traditional christian marriage and couple, and yet here they are doing the exact opposite. look, i have no judgment on a person's expression of their sexual activity. of course the rape allegations are serious and damning. but what i find to be most frustrating is the hypocrisy of it. that you attack other people for living their lives as you live yours. >> you know, ron desantis has put himself forward, he and case

sy desantis. they seem like this perfect ultra christian couple although i heard at an event he had to be presented with a bible because he didn't actually own one. they have pushed this culture war thing to the max. anything that isn't about -- that isn't, you know, upholding and uplifting white christianity is essentially illegal in the state. it's illegal to make white folks feel uncomfortable. it's illegal to have books that have themes that have lgbtq themes in them or themes about ration. he said that learning african american history has no educational value. he's been an extremist on this. has there been any talk inside of the republican party that maybe they were sold a bill of goods by him and his friends? he has empowered mrs. ziegler, and he's got her in charge of what disney can do. >> well, that's such a great question, joy. it reminds me of a few other examples too, whether it's joel greenberg, former tax collector from seminole county, that's also been charged with not just fraud and other criminal acts

but sexual interact with those under the age of 18, essentially rape. you also, of course, have congressman matt gaetz, with one controversy after another. here we are now with christian ziegler. i think so much of what we see come out of the republican party of florida is not authentic. it's manufactured. it's an attempt to appeal to a particular base of voters while demonizing others. i do think as we see governor desantis flail on a national stage, it's a reality check for a lot of republicans where they have subscribed to this extremism because they thought it would benefit them. now they're seeing not just themselves but also people they looked up to as leaders fall from game. and i think it's another example of how everyday people, they don't want the rhetoric. they don't want the hypocrisy. they want solutions. and as florida democrats, we're committed to staying focused to do that. >> yeah, it's been a real commitment to theater, to the bit. there are pictures of christian ziegler, matt gaetz, and ron

desantis all palling around. these are his friends. these are the people that sort of represent what he would present to us as a country. let's not leave out tim scott, who's company defrauded medicaid to the tune of the largest fine in history. i do believe we have colbi back. has the republican party writ large -- is there an attempt to sort of push him out of the way because, you know, there are other sort of scandaly folks in the party that they haven't pushed aside. has there been attempts to distance themselves from mr. ziegler? he is the head of the party. >> my reporting didn't go to invest into that specific area. however, governor ron desantis did call for mr. ziegler to resign last week after a debate. so there's definitely been contention among both democrats and republicans. >> and let's talk about mrs. ziegler. she is not named in the

complaint, but the complainant in this case -- and this is a rape allegation. it is an allegation at this point. there's been no adjudication of the case. how does the woman in question describe her relationship with mrs. ziegler? >> so her relationship with mrs. ziegler isn't explicitly defined in the affidavit, but mrs. ziegler did talk to authorities once the investigation began, and she did confirm that the three of them had encountered a three-way sexual encounter once over a year ago. but the most information regarding the woman's relationship to the zieglers is they have known each other for about 20 years. >> i'll end with you, representative eskamani because people who -- you know, they can do whatever they want. they're consenting adults. again, the rape allegation is not part of the do what you want obviously. but ron desantis has made people who are lgbtq feel afraid in the

state of florida to the point where organizations like equality florida have put a warning on lgbtq folks who visit the state. the naacp has done the same. i just am sort of floored by the fact that the person running the republican party in the state, whose life has been empowered by this governor, could be so hypocritical, and i wonder if any of your colleagues have come to you and said, we know it's all an act. >> i wish there was that kind of spine here in the state legislature. but i think at this point, individuals in the republican caucus are still kissing that ring, if you will, and kind of going along to get along, to see if desantis somehow makes it through this republican presidential bid. i do want to also add that if folks haven't heard the 911 call regarding this allegation, i encourage you to because it's

sort of painful to listen to, but also highlights the kind of harm that christian ziegler has caused to this woman. and it's a harm that he is causing to so many floridians with his policies and the policies of this extreme republican party that doesn't have any values, that's just flooded with hypocrisy and really individuals should not be following these leaders because they're not bringing us to the direction of collective prosperity. >> i will note that the person at the head of their party, donald trump, has something like 26 allegations ranging from sexual abuse to rape, and he was found civilly liable for sexual abuse in the state of new york. florida state representative anna eskamani, and colbi edmonds. up next on "the reidout," critics raise fresh concerns about donald trump's authoritarian tendencies and the dangerous ways they would manifest themselves in a potential second presidency. "the reidout" continues after this.

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do you believe if donald trump were elected next year, that he would try to stay in office beyond a second term? that he would never leave office? >> there's no question. >> do you think he would try and stay in power forever? >> absolutely. he's already done it once. and he was stopped thankfully and for the good of the nation and the republic. but he said he will do it again. he's expressed no remorse for

what he did. you cannot count on a house of representatives led by somebody like mike johnson to stop this president. you can't count on a senate of josh hawleys and mike lees to stop donald trump. >> with only 13 weeks left until super tuesday, when donald trump is expected to lock up the republican presidential nomination and with polls showing him with a 50-50 chance of reclaiming the white house, republican former congresswoman liz cheney is not alone in sounding the alarm about wha she says is a nation sleepwalking into dictatorship. in a "washington post" op-ed, robert kagan describes how a trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable should he win the presidency next ar. kagan writes if trump does win the election, heil immediately become the most powerful person ever to hold that office. not only will wield the awese powers of the american executiv he will do so with the fewest constraints of any ent, fewer even than in his own first term. "the new york times" expands on at warning, writing, forces

that somewhat contained his autocratic tendencies in his first term, staff members w saw their job as sometimes restraining him, a few congressional republicans ep cally willing to criticize or oppose him, judges in federal courts, including the supreme court, who sometim ruled against him would all be weaker. as a result, trump and his advisers, more extreme policy plans and ideas for a second term would have a greater prospect of becoming reality. and further blaring the siren about what could lie ahead in just over a year, "the atlantic" just launched a special issue devoted entirely to the threat that a second trump presidency pose american democracy and its lasting effects. the atlantic's david frum writes, a second trump ency, however, is the kind of shock that would overwhelm all other issues. it would mark the turn onto a dark path, one of these rips betwee before and after that a society can never reverse.

even if the harm is contained, it can never be fully undone. ashe harm of january 6, 2021, can never be undone. the schemesnd plots of i second trump term would be defeated to, but a president can attempt a coup and if stopped, return to office again. david, it is good to see you. please say more about what a second term would portend for us. >> look, human imagination has problems of limits. we all know that the past was different from the future, but we all assume the future is going to be the same as the present. when we look ahead, we never imagine things being very different from the way we are now even though we know things used to be different from the way they are now. this is the exercise i tried to do in this piece. i wrote a piece in january 2017 when trump was first elected,

talking about his authoritarian tendencies. this is when we were being told it's going to be fine. he's a little weird, but he's basically okay. i said, no, he's going to try to build an authoritarian regime and probably try not to leave office. what i'm worried as we go into this cycle, i don't think people appreciate how much chaos there is going to be, that the government is going to break down. donald trump will come to office, if he does, at the center of four criminal prosecutions. his top priority, his number one, is to be to shut down the american justice system because if he doesn't, he probably goes to prison. so he has to find some way, fire the prosecutors, stop the department of justice. by the way, that's what richard nixon lost his job for in 1974, or pardon himself, or try to, or give the military illegal orders, or one of those things. he's going to have no hairy potter cheat coat that allows him to say, okay, everybody be quiet. the system will resist. the military will start questioning orders from the president. people will go into the streets.

the fcc will continue to regulate, you know, communications. the passport office will work. but we're not going to have a presidency. we're just going to have a breakdown at the center of the american government. >> right. i think because americans sort of take for granted that we are somehow exceptions, so we can't have a maduro because we're not venezuela. oh, but, yes, you can because when i was thinking about talking with you earlier, i was like, how do actually elections happen, right? the process is just sort of begun every two years. local administrative offices begin doing the things that cause elections to happen. what if they don't? what if maga people say, we're not going to? what if mike johnson says, why should any of us run for re-election? i'm speaker now. we won't just do elections. the mechanisms that make elections happen, someone has to start those mechanisms. what if they don't do it? what if trump is maduro or is bibi netanyahu and says, i'm about to get prosecuted. let me take over the supreme

court. it happens in countries that have had elections. that's how it happens. that's how it starts. >> or that it doesn't work. supposing you're a senior office in the military. you probably get orders all the time you disagree with, you think are stupid. but you understand that civilians have the right to issue the orders. before the order is issued, you can argue with it or express doubts or leak to the press if you're really upset. but you have sworn an oath not to the president but to the constitution. and you have a military code that says you can't follow an illegal order. how do you know which orders are legal and which aren't? what we're going to have is a kind of brain seizure at the center of the military when trump tries to order them to suppress protests in the cities. what do we do? we're going to have just a series through the government of places where people don't obey the president or some people do and others don't. you know, during the depression, as terrible as that was, there was no question that the president was in command. the president gave orders, and the orders were the law, and you

had to follow them. you might like them. you might not. we could be in a situation where the presidency just melts down under the weight of a president using the presidency to protect himself from his crimes. >> this was donald trump saying to guard the vote. take a listen. >> the most important part of what's coming up is to guard the vote, and you should go into detroit, and you should go into philadelphia, and you should go into some of these places, atlanta, and you should go into some of these places, and we got to watch those votes when they come in. >> david frum, donald trump controls a virtual army, a maga cult of people who are, for the most part, armed to the teeth. so he has a ready-made, multi-million person militia, and i'm not sure the other side really understands that. so given that's who he is and what he controls, why do you suppose liz cheney today, when she was on the "today" show, couldn't guarantee that to stop

him, she would do the simple thing of voting for joe biden? because she wouldn't say that. she said she'll do what has to be done. does that hesitancy in your view embolden those people, including their leader? >> well, she has got her own thinking process. she's been a person of tremendous courage and integrity. i don't think anybody should be second-guessing liz cheney for any reason. but when donald trump says those things, i don't think he understands the chaos that he's unleashing because on election day 2024, donald trump will not be president. so if he sends goons into chicago and into detroit, even if they are armed, look, there are 400 million weapons in this country. a lot of people are armed. you start this, you're not going to get people obeying. you're going to get violence, chaos on all sides. that's the risk i fear most. >> we should all fear it. we should think about it. but i would love to know if liz cheney is prepared to vote for biden to stop him. i personally would love to know that. we're out of time. thank you very much. coming up, civilians are

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israel's continuing its assault on gaza, moving south into areas where people who already fled the north have sought shelter.

israel dropped leaflets calling for mass evacuations from kahn yoonis, the largest city in the southern end of the gaza strip. the warnings, however, leave gazans no real options. if they stay, they could be targeted. and if they flee, they head to smaller slivers of the gaza strip where they could also be targeted. the gaza chief of the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees tweeted, another wave of displacements is under way, and the humanitarian situation worsens by the hour. he added, even in rafah, where people are being forced to flee, the sound of air strikes punctuate the day. people are pleading for advice on where to find safety. we have nothing to tell them. 2 million people, most of the territory's population, are crowded into the 90 square miles that make up south and central gaza, where israel's ground offensive is expanding. their only escape is to other parts of that area as both israel and neighboring egypt have refused to accept any refugees. the bombing campaign has left thousands of people, including children, to rummage through rubble to look for their loved ones. the health ministry in hamas-run

gaza said that the death toll in the territory since october 7th has surpassed 15,890 people. 70% of them women and children, with more than 42,000 wounded. the ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. this as israel is under mounting pressure from the united states. over the weekend, vice president kamala harris, who visited the region this weekend, said that the u.s. would not allow the forced relocation of palestinians out of gaza or the occupied west bank, though it's not clear how they would s it. on saturday, u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin delivered histrongest remarks to date abt israel needing to protect civilians in gaza, calling them the center ogravity, and warning about the risks of deaths but radicalization. he also sai he had pushed israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and to prevent violence by settlers in the west bank.

netanyahu's right-wing government seemed uninterested. joining me now is ayman mohyeldin. good to see you. let me let you listen to a little bit of lloyd austin and kamala harris because their tone has definitely shifted. take a listen. >> you see, in this kind of a fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population. and if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a technical victory with a strategic defeat. >> as israel defends itself, it matters how. the united states is unequivocal. international humanitarian law must be respected. too many innocent palestinians have been killed. frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from gaza are devastating. >> is there reporting on what caused that shift? >> i think the reality is, joy, that the highest levels of american government are seeing the same images you and i are

seeing. they probably have intelligence that surpasses anything that we even know about what is actually happening on the ground inside gaza as well as the actual deliberation by the israeli government and the decision-making by the israeli government. look, the point that you highlighted in those two sound bites from both the vice president and the secretary of defense are very telling for a few reasons. one, the secretary of defense makes very clear it's not only a moral responsibility for israel to protect civilians. it's a strategic imperative. and he also said in that sound bite that you can actually have a tactical victory. that means you could actually possibly destroy hamas. but if you move the center of gravity, the civilian population further into the hands of the enemy, meaning you generate more sympathy for hamas among the civilian population by what you are doing, you have strategically lost. and it's very clear now for people who have been following this from the very beginning that there now is daylight between the american administration and the

government of netanyahu in terms of how this war is being conducted because if you remember early on, john kirby at the white house said there are no red lines. then you had deputy national security john finer come out. now you have two high ranking u.s. officials say what they are seeing on the ground right now is more or less unacceptable and that it's a strategic -- it's a strategic loss for israel if it continues down this road of punishing the civilians, which we all see are bearing the brunt of this operation and this war. >> yeah. let me just actually play for a moment something that hasn't changed. lindsey graham. >> well, tell us how to do it differently. yeah, what is too many people dying in world war ii after pearl harbor? did the american public worry about how many people were dying to destroy tokyo and berlin? >> i won't even make you respond to it. i just wanted the american people to hear the way their

senator from south carolina sounds. 972 magazine, an independent online nonprofit, theyd a source has told their reporters that a senior intelligence officer in israel told officers after october 7 tt the goal was to kill as many hamas operatives as possible for which the criteria around harming palestinian civilians was significantly relaxed, meaning they were willing to accept a higher death toll of women and children. talk about that just for a little bit because if that's the goal, they're meeting it. they're killing a lot of women and children. is there any reporting on how many people from hamas they've actually killed? >> so this is a really important piece of journalism, and there have been many coming out through this war. this one i think is extremely important. over the weekend, i had a chance to interview the author of this, who talked about the reporting here. and it's very important to emphasize, as you said, that based on multiple sources,

people inside the israeli security and intelligence establishment as well as outside, those who had served previously, the calculation has been made to not just simply target individual hamas members, but to create a shock factor among the civilian population with the aim that the civilian population will somehow turn against hamas. and in doing so, he goes on to describe how israel has been using artificial intelligence to ramp up and accelerate the targeting of what he calls power targets. these are civilian infrastructure targets, including residential buildings, infrastructure, hospitals, and such, all with the aim of creating fear and shock. but it is going beyond that because as is reported in the article, nothing israel targets inside the gaza strip is by accident. everything is intentional. so as he said in the piece, when a 13-year-old or a 3-year-old palestinian girl is killed, it is because somebody in the israeli military has calculated her death to be valuable for whatever the stated objective is. so as a result of that, right

now it doesn't seem that out of the -- we don't know the breakdown of combatants versus civilians, but based on women and children alone, 70% is at least women and children. and compare that to what israel estimates to be the number of hamas fighters killed, somewhere in the low thousands, maybe 2,000 to 3,000. that's by their own estimates so far, including maybe three or four dozen high-ranking hamas officials. >> and the u.n. has said children are paying the greatest price of all. ayman mohyeldin, thank you for the excellent reporting. still ahead, george santos tries to cash in on his humiliating expulsion from congress and vows revenge on fellow republicans who voted for his ouster. back in a second.

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if the house wants to start different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future. >> since becoming only the sixth person to be expelled from the u.s. house of representatives, george anthony santos has been talking a good game to back up that threat. he's taken the george santos revenge tour to social media, threatening to file ethics complaints against his former colleagues. of course he'd now be filing those complaints as a private citizen. sad. his targets include three fellow

new york republicans. her spokesperson wouldn't respond to the quote, scorned and known serial liar. santos claims michael lawler is engaged in money laundering through his campaign. lawler's spokesperson called santos' attack a badge of honor. santos says congressman nick lolo ta was a no show at his board of elections job while attending law school. a spokesperson said santos is mad lolo ta has three actual degrees while george lied about having one. san toesz is also taking aim at new jersey's rob menendez, son of senator bob menendez, asking the ethics committee to look into whether the younger menendez had any knowledge of his father's alleged criminal conduct. a spokesperson noted they would not be responding to his botox fueled fits of rage. okay. funny line. but santos' allegations might actually be worth some follow-up by journalists.

i mean doesn't it take a crook to know a crook? meanwhile, getting rid of the least serious republican in a conference full of clowns won't do much to get them to do actual work. house speaker mike johnson says they are inching closer and closer to having the votes to open an impeachment inquiry into president biden, apparently for having lunch with his own son since they still have no evidence he did much else. but just because the house said good riddance to the george santos hot mess express doesn't mean you've seen the last of him. he'll be getting the veep treatment. the executive producer behind that show is working on a film adaptation of a new book about the new york fabulous. and santos has already launched his next career now that he's lost his $174,000 congressional salary. he's selling videos on cameo, where for the low, low price of $200 you too have have a personalized greeting from cultural icon junior anthony santos. when we come back, we'll show you that he just might be that

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goodbye congress queens -- i lied about everything in my life -- ♪ ♪ ♪ and i took a tragic fall ♪ ♪ ♪ they crawled out of the woodwork ♪ ♪ ♪ they whispered here was my donations for botox ♪ ♪ ♪ and i said it was fillers [bleep] ♪ ♪ ♪ that was the brilliant bowen yang dragging the newest former member of congress, when george anthony devolder santos over at saturday night live, just one of the many dramatic interpretations that has the

fabulist calling himself an icon. joining me now president of the conference of the civil of human rights. and columnist for the washington post. [laughter] i'm sorry. i am obsessed with bowen yang. i'm sorry -- he is so funny that i can't even. i can't. [laughter] let me let you have it first, because you are funny, too. what do you make of the fact that this guy said he's an icon, and now we can see bowen yang -- >> how can you argue with him, i mean, for once, george santos is telling the truth. he is an icon. we all know him. and i can say now that he's gone from congress and we kind of love him because he took this whole house of lies and he basically became the actual embodiment of it. and now, he is cashing in with videos on cameo.

he's even doing one for senator john fetterman to try and help take out bob menendez. but he is a delightful scoundrel. it was not at all delightful when he was in the house. but now, can we just enjoy george santos? >> yes, we can! maya, my question, though, with all of these things that he is doing, you know, doing a standup thing, there's a book about him, he gets santos on saturday night live. can he make money of all of these crimes? is there a lot in new york that says if he earns any money, all of his notoriety means that he has to pay that money for the people he defrauded? isn't there a lot like that? >> first of all, let's just say, remember, he hasn't been convicted of anything yet. so, there is nothing he can't do to earn money that is lawful, i think, the most interesting one about the cameo is that he's actually trying to make money lawfully now which is

probably the first time, when we read the timeline of his exploits. i mean, he is a serial, serial grifter. and this is actually at least factually accurate. so, i will just say, though, what is not entertaining in any way is the fact that it is true, as bowen yang was sinking, is that he may have lost his background voters. and that's actually not funny particularly when you lie about being a child of a holocaust survivor, and you literally tell people you are someone you are not, and ask for their votes. it's pretty despicable. >> and also drifting off of 9/11, it's pretty gross what he did, absolutely. but, i mean, isn't he that different, dana? is he worse than trump? is he worse than matt gates? let us play this -- i mean, all of them, is he worse than any of them. here's matt gaetz who said it was stupid to kick him out. >> we have a four vote majority, right? now, he kicked out george

santos, we have a three-vote majority. we have a bunch of these octogenarians in the conference, and if any of them were to cross the rainbow bridge, we would be in a situation where we can literally lose the majority because we were so eager to throw santos out before even been convicted. it is not in accordance with the president, due process. and it is just tactically freaking stupid. >> that guy was so lucky that his friend is the only one that went down for the teen sex trafficking. but anyway, is he writing, is he right about the tactical part, because mike johnson is asked acting as expert speaker and his majority is teeny teeny tiny? >> look, we know how successful they've been with a four-vote majority. so, yes, they're gonna be 25% less with that three-vote majority. let's face it, they already couldn't run the place. it's not as if things are actually going to change here. and, you know, yes, i think age

was honest about the politics of it. but matt gaetz taking on the ethics committee, okay. he has, the justice department decided not to press charges. but of course, the ethics committee is still looking into his financial irregularities and sexual irregularities, shall we say. so, he had a lot of interest in defending santos there. and, you know, santos is now going out, trying to take down as many new york republicans as he can. i think he might have oversold it and it, but not quite santos level transgressions. he's got a few items, and it's certainly more than the republicans have come up with against joe biden. so, it's probable -- >> 1000% more, it's like 100,000% more. let's play for everyone to enjoy, here is the cameo that was brought by fetterman to troll bob menendez. >> hey, bobby. look, i don't think i need to tell you, but these people that want to make you get in trouble

and want to kick you out and make you run away, you make them put up or shut up! you stand your ground, sir, and don't get bogged down by all the haters out there! stay strong, merry christmas! >> i will buy a cameo too, but he has to do -- that's the only thing that i want to see santos, i want him to do that. maya wiley and dana milbank, thank you. i'm sorry, we're out of time. but thank you vote very much. cameo, the man needs money, help him -- bowen yang, please come on this show! that is tonight's reidout. inside with jen psaki starts now. come on, bowen. come on, bowen ♪ ♪ ♪ so, tonight, we are going to spend a lot of time talking about donald trump's increasingly authoritarian rhetoric and his increasingly authoritarian plans for a second term. congressman adam schiff is standing by for a conversation

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