>> potentially the first commercial mission to go back to the surface of the moon. first mission from u.s. soil in nearly 50 years. very very exciting. a new beginning of a new commercial era on the circus. the begins of routine access. it's going to carry 60 nations to the surface of the moon. it's going to open things up and make a whole new world possible for access and deliveries to the senate. >> it's a crucial moment for united launch alliances, jointly owned by boeing and lockheed martin. customers include the u.s. government and amazon, and we're going to be watching early monday morning from the florida space coast. chris. >> morgan brennan, thank you, and that's going to do it for us this hour. join us for a special edition of "chris jansing reports," one week to iowa: our top political correspondents and analysts will join me monday, 2:00 p.m.

eastern here on msnbc. our coverage continues right now with "katy tur reports" ♪♪ good to be with you. i'm katy tur. tomorrow marks the three-year anniversary of the january 6th. in just a few minutes, president biden will give his first 2024 campaign speech marking that day, and warning americans the threat of that day still hangs over them. but what was the threat of that day? because in the years since january 6th, 2021, perceptions among some, especially republicans, have shifted. that trump wasn't responsible, that the fbi was really behind it, that it was no big deal or not that big of a deal. here's the thing, even in the best of circumstances, memory is fallible, time warps and shades it and in the world we live in, bad actors and disinformation

corrupt it. let's go back for a moment to those moments to what they were really like in realtime. here's a small portion of our broadcast on that day as the capitol was breached. >> we're getting a report from our producer inside the house chamber. she says it's chaos right now. this is hailey talbot inside the house chambers, glass has been broken to the gallery door. there are guns drawn from the capitol police towards the door. i have been texting with congressman dan kildee inside the house. i asked if he was okay. he said he's okay now. i'm trying to get more information about what might have happened there. that is an unbelievable and disturbing site coming out of our capitol building. >> let me bring in hailey talbot, one of our producers in the capitol right now.

tell us what you're hearing and seeing on the inside? >> hi, chuck. thank you so much. i'm with five other reporters right now, and congressman reuben's office. protesters have breached the capitol. we started to get masks out from under, gas masks out from under our seat. some of the other reports think they heard about three gunshots, and we are holding our masks. members are holding their masks. we're all trying to stay calm and comfort each other. some members from down on the house floor started getting evacuated. i was with tv reporters and then some other members around on the top third floor of the house floor, and we were together to get under our chairs. we were all sheltering, a few members praying over the members, and reporters that were all shelters. as we were doing this, we

started hearing loud bangs just on the doors, on the glass doors off the floor, and while these bangs were happening, they started barricading the door. they actually broke the glass, the protesters. which was alarming members, and capitol police were sheltering with us. that was probably one of the most intense moments. after ten minutes of barricading the door, they mansioned to get us out off the third floor. while we headed down the stairs to get out of the ware, there were protesters all laying on their fronts laying on the ground. >> you could hear the shakiness of our voices on that day, seeing what was coming to pass in front of us. it was terrifying, and it was so momentous. joining us now from blue bell, pennsylvania, mike memoli, in

sioux center, iowa, vaughn hillyard, and msnbc political contributor, eugene daniels. you probably remember the fear you felt. it's one of the moments we're in right now where that fear three years on isn't felt wi everybody. and it's even easy for people like us, me in particular, and think was it really that big of a deal. going back and seeing the images on that day, the broadcast in those moments remind us that it was very scary. tell me about what the president is trying to do today to remind voters of that. people who may not have been paying close attention. >> that's right, katy, and the view of the president and his senior advisers is that january 6th was a searing moment. in american history that the 2024 election will be a referendum on it. it's interesting to think about where i was on january 6th covering president-elect joe biden who was supposed to give

remarks on the economy that day, in wilmington, honestly, pivoted those remarks to talk about the events of the day, and that's sort of what we're seeing in the bidden campaign at this point. largely focused on an economic imagine. today, turning its focus to january 6th, and the evolution, especially from republicans and how they have thought about, talked about january 6th is something that president biden is going to be hitting head on in his remarks. he's going to be talking about republican senators on that day, called it embarrassing and humiliating. the president will go on to note that the maga voices who know the truth because of politics, because of fear, and because of money have changed the way that they're talking about it. he'll say they have abandoned the truth, abandoned democracy, and he's going to challenge the american people about whether they agree with him that democracy is still a sacred cause worth fighting for. there's polling that shows that

not everyone feels january 6th was a day that shouldn't be repeated again. especially of course republican voters. to try to double down on this argument that this is a winning argument for democrats, for the president in 2024, about to be introduced by justin douglas. he won a surprise victory in a race for county commission, in a republican-leaning county. it gave democrats on the commission a majority for the first time since the civil war. the biden campaign wants to rely, this issue, election integrity itself has been and will continue being a winning issue. >> there's been a lot of criticism of the president among some who they he hasn't hit this forcely enough, reminding voters of the threat that donald trump poses. taking them back to 2021 or back to 2020 when voters rejected donald trump and rejected the chaos of his presidency.

is the campaign hearing this? this is the first attempt to mitigate that. is there anything going forward after this? >> yeah, they are hearing it. they disagree that the president hasn't been doing it. it's obvious that the president has shifted in the way that he approaches attacking donald trump. not just talking about maga influences in the party but talking about donald trump. part of this was, you know, them trying not to get too far ahead of their skis and letting the primary play out a little bit. we assume that it's going to shake out to a trump biden rematch. they want to be cognizant that that could not happen. you have seen them tie trump and haley and desantis together. memoli is right. the president is going to

continue to hit. this is going to last this entire year. something i think is interesting. one senior campaign official told me earlier this week that valley forge and charleston, should be seen as a one-two punch of what this election is about to them. one, democracy and freedom, and trying to get hate out of the country. that's something we're going to keep hearing, and do that and sow your own accomplishments. they have quite a bit ahead of them, and folking on january 6th, focusing on the threat they feel like donald trump faces in trying to get at the whitewashing that has happened over the last few years. thinking about my colleagues that were in the capitol that day. there's a frustration about the whitewashing that has happened

over all the years. this is something the president is going to try to get at. he knows the feeling is out there in the american public. >> it was clearly violent when you go back and look at the images. donald trump has not been running away from january 6th. on the contrary, he has been embracing it, trying to whitewash it, rewrite it, call the people who were there that day patriots, to say that they were peaceful that they love our country, and to say that they were the ones who were wronged by the capitol police even, the ones convicted of rioting, of storming the capitol, of breaching it, of fighting with cops. he's even said he would consider, you know, maybe too strong. he would pardon them, saying that the justice system has targeted them, been unfair to them. how is that playing among voters? >> donald trump has made those who engaged in the actions that

day, martyred, suggesting that he would pardon them. i was on the west front lawn of the capitol that day in the hours the attack unfolded and despite me so often trying to rationalize with his supporters about the events that transpired the day i witnessed with my own eyes, they are still riddled with conspiracy theories about the events of that day. "the washington post" pulled this week, it showed 25% of americans, katy, believe the fbi instigated the capitol attack, and when you're looking at the republican electorate specifically, just 30% believe that it is false, that the fbi instigated the attack. again, 30% here. it's hard to stay on top of the conspiracy theories that evolve around january 6th. at the heart of it, katy, is the propagation fueled by donald trump that the democrats were behind the attack that day, nancy pelosi did not allow for national guard soldiers to be there that day.

there is unfounded, it is unfounded, there's no evidence of that at all. when you talk to the voters, talk to republican voters, by and large, katy, a great share of them believe that the fbi had infiltrated the crowd that day and worked with the capitol police to open the doors of the capitol, to take down the barriers, encourage people to storm the capitol, all in an effort to arrest their fellow, in their words, patriots, and also make them and trump supporters look bad. and to make donald trump his pathway to the presidency again all the more harder. it is so difficult to try to understand the reality trump supporters are in about the events of january 6th that day, and match that with the reality that i and so many others lived and bared witness to that day. ron desantis and nikki haley have pushed back against the

events that unfolded that day, with an electorate that have sympathies for those attacked that day, and also believe conspiracy theories that it was others, including democrats and the fbi that were a part of the ruse to simply undermine the trump movement. >> vaughn, you were there that day, you saw it happen with your own eyes. just some numbers for our audience, 1,265 defendants have been charged in nearly all 50 states and the district of columbia for january 6th. 452 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. 123 of them have been charged with using a deadly or deadly weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. 140 police officers were assaulted that day. 140 police officers were assaulted on that day. joining us now, former lead investigator for the house january 6th select committee tim heaphy. it's good to have you.

remind us of what you were able to find in your investigation into january 6th. >> we found no evidence of the kind of thing you were just discussing with vaughn, absolutely zero evidence what so far that the fbi or any governmental actor was in cahoots with the capitol police and opening doors, instigating the attack. quite the contrary. what we found documented over the course of our hearings and in our ample report was a multipronged effort to prevent the transfer of power, disrupt the joint session. it began well in advance even of the election and had many different manifestations and ultimately culminated in launching this angry mob at the building in the joint session. there's absolutely zero evidence to support the crazy conspiracy theories that you were just discussing with vaughn.

>> donald trump says he wasn't responsible, what did you find? >> he and his coconspirators were responsible. he was the approximate cause of the riot. you have to plug it into the broader complex, which involves trying to coopt the justice department to talk action with respect to the election without basis, and fact and luck, pressure on state officials to take steps without any evidence of voting fraud. pressure on the vice president to do things inconsistent with his constitutional duty, and then the very strong rhetoric stoking the anger at the joint session with this straight up misinformation on election fraud which launches the angry mob. again, we did find and recommended that there was criminal conduct in the former president and his coconspirator's actions before and on january 6th. >> colorado and maine say that he can not be on the ballot that he participated in or gave aid and comfort to insurrectionists

and that disqualifies him from being president, from elected office. as you investigated, do you think it is fair to say that he participated in insurrection? >> yes, i think the strong factual predicate for the colorado court's finding was the select committee report. i believe the trial judge in that case actually relied upon facts that were found by the select committee as part of the evidentiary showing that the former president engaged in insurrection. legally what that means is a harder question, and one the supreme court will wrestle with. in terms of the factual foundation, katy, everything we learned over the course of our investigation does support that finding of insurrection. >> it was certainly a crazy day. in the investigation as well, as you were looking at all of the evidence in front of you, can you tell us what stood out the

most to you about those moments? whether it could happen again? donald trump wants to be president again. i know you're not going to get into the politics. as you investigated what happened that day, do you have an idea of what he might do or somebody like that might do as president? >> people often ask, what was the biggest surprise over the course of the investigation. my answer is how close it came to the opposite outcome but for a handful of principled people doing the right thing. this could have succeeded, the insurrection and the prevention in the transfer of power could have worked. democracy, katy, comes down to people. people doing the right thing, acting in conformity with their oath and their constitutional duty. now, if there's a new administration and the criteria for appointment to those same positions is loyalty as opposed to character, integrity or

adherence to the constitution, i worry without the same people in place, you could have a different outcome. what's notable is nearly all of our witnesses were trump supporters, republicans who served in the administration who were appointed by the former president, members of his family, members of his campaign staff. this was far from a narrative perpetuated by democrats or partisans, the raw material of our findings, came from republicans. people inside the house, inside the white house as the insurrection unfolded and that again speaks a lot to their credibility, and the credibility of the select committee's findings. >> we are waiting on president biden to give his campaign speech about the threats to democracy in a few minutes. we'll go there when he talks the stage. coming up, next week donald trump will have a hearing on presidential immunity in d.c. federal courts. what he says he will be doing that day. donald trump that is. don't go anywhere. ld trump thats don't go anywhere.

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we are still waiting for president biden to take the stage. we'll go there when it begins on tuesday of next week, donald trump is going to be in a d.c. courtroom. he will be there in person, according to three people familiar with those plans. he's there to argue or to have argued that he is immune from prosecution. joining us now, nbc news senior politics reporter, jonathan allen and msnbc legal analyst, lisa rubin. i'm going to ask you first. what is going to happen on tuesday? what is this hearing? >> the hearing is an appeal of the decision that judge tanya chutkan issued last month in which he said donald trump is not entitled to an immunity-based defense in the federal election interference case. essentially he's saying he's immune from prosecution because he was president when this happened. he's also immune, according to him, because the senate didn't convict him after the house

impeached him, and as a result, he says he can't be prosecuted. this is a three-judge panel of a federal appeal's court that will hear trump's appeal of that. as you noted, trump is promising to be there in person. >> john, why is he going to be there? >> great question, katy. i talked to folks in trump's orbit yesterday. none of them were offering the why. here is a little bit of a surmising based on what we've seen from president donald trump in the past. he doesn't usually pass up big opportunities to take up a news cycle. i think he wants to go and show the judges as he sits there as a former president of the united states, a unique situation that he, you know, that he is paying attention to this. and, you know, i think the likelihood is that he will walk out of there and make the argument that he has all along that this is a political case. we're hearing joe biden in a few

minutes, we're going to hear him talk about january 6th and donald trump, and why he shouldn't be president again, and trump is going to say after the hearing next week that he is the victim, as he has been all along, the victim of a political witch hunt by joe biden to deny him the presidency. >> donald trump doesn't get on the air for campaign speeches and rallies any longer. he doesn't break into fox news all that much any longer, and does enjoy quite a few cameras outside of the courthouse as we saw in his civil trial here in new york. one case he showed up to quite a bit, and used that platform outside to talk about the political witch hunt, as you were just mentioning, john. lisa. once this appellate court rules on the case of immunity, if they say he is not immune, i imagine it's going to get appealed to the supreme court. what happens then? >> i think the supreme court will take the case. this is also the case in which jack smith tried to escalate the case to the supreme court directly. he failed in that. as far as we can tell, all

justices rejected that. at least there was no justice who said they would have heard the case immediately. it was a joint statement from the court. a one sentence. we are not going to take this now. it looks like they would like to have the benefit of further argument and briefing before the d.c. circuit, and then a reasoned opinion from this court. therefore, i think you can expect this case will reach the supreme court. on what time line and how quickly is the name of the game. that's the $100 million question right now. everyone wants to know because whether or not this trial happens before the election is largely dependent on that answer. >> we're waiting for them to introduce president biden, in fact, they actually have just introduced them. we're going to take a break from this conversation, and we're going to dive into blue bell, pennsylvania. that is where president biden is giving a speech on the threats to democracy. it's his opening campaign speech for 2024. let's go there.

>> thank you, thank you, thank you. [ applause ] thank you. >>. [ chanting four more years ] >> thank you. please, thank you very much. today, the topic of my speech today is deadly serious. and i think it need to remain at the outset of this campaign. in the winter of 1777, it was harsh and cold as the continental army marched to valley forge. general george washington knew he faced the most daunting of tasks, to fight and win a war against the most powerful empire

that existed in the world at the time. his message was clear, liberty, not conquest, freedom, not domination. national independence, not individual glory. america made a vow, never again would we bow down to a king. months ahead would be incredibly difficult. but general washington knew something in his bones, something about the spirit of the troops he was leading. something about the soul of the nation. he was struggling to be born. in his general order, he predicted and i quote, with one heart, and one mind, with fortitude and with patience, they would overcome every difficulty of the troops he was leading, and they did.

he did. this army that lacked blankets, and clothes and food. this army whose march left bloody, barefoot prints in the snow, this rag tag army made up of ordinary people, their mission, george washington declared, was nothing less than a sacred cause. that was the phrase he used, a sacred cause. freedom, liberty, democracy. american democracy. i just visited the grounds of valley forge, i've been there a number of times, from the time i was a boy scout years ago. you know, it's a very site that i think every american should visit. it tells the stories of the pain and suffering and true patriotism it took to make america. today we gather in a new year, some 246 years later, just one

day before january 6th, a day forever served by our memory, it was on that day that we nearly lost america, lost it all. today we're here to answer the most important of questions, is democracy still america's sacred cause? i mean it. this is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical, whether democracy is still america's sacred cause is the most urgent question of tour im, and it's what the 2024 election is all about. the choice is clear. donald trump's campaign is about him. not america. not you. donald trump's campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. he's willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. our campaign is different. for me and kamala, our campaign is about america, it's about you. it's about every age and

background that occupied this country. it's about the future we're going to continue to build together. and our campaign is about preserving and strengthening our american democracy. three years ago tomorrow, we saw with our own eyes the violent mob storm the united states capitol. it was almost in disbelief as you first turned on the television. for the first time in our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power in america. first time. smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police. outside gallows were erected as a maga crowd chanted, hang mike pence. inside, they hunts for speaker pelosi. the house was chanting as they marched through and smashed windows. where's nancy. over 140 police officers were

injured. jill and i attended the funeral of police officers who died as a result of the events of that day. and because of donald trump's lies, they died because these lies brought a mob to washington. he promised it would be wild, and it was. he told the crowd to fight like hell, and all hell was unleashed. he promised he would right them, right them. everything they did, he would be side by side with them. and then as usual, he left the dirty work to others. he retreated to the white house. as america was attacked from within, donald trump watched on tv in the private small dining room off the oval office. the entire nation watched in horror, the whole world watched in disbelief, and trump did nothing. members of his staff, members of

his family, republican leaders who were under attack at that very moment pled with him, act. call off the mob. imagine had he gone out and said stop. and still, trump did nothing. it was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in american history. an attempt to overturn a free and fair election by force and violence, a record 81 million people voted for my candidacy, and to end his presidency. trump lost the popular vote by 7 million. trump's claims about the 2020 election never could stand up in court. trump lost 60 court cases, 60. trump lost the republican-controlled states. trump lost before a trump appointed judge. and then judges. and trump lost before the united states supreme court.

all of them lost. trump lost recount after recount after recount, and state after state. but in desperation and weakness, trump and his maga followers went after election officials who ensured your power of the citizens would be heard. these public servants had their lives forever ended by attacks and death threats for doing their jobs. in atlanta, georgia, a brave black mother and her daughter, ruby freeman and shaye moss were doing their jobs as election workers, until donald trump and his maga followers threatened them, forcing them from their homes, and unleashing racist vitriol on them. trump's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, who was just hit with a $148 million judgment for cruelty and defamation that he

inflicted against them. other state and local elected officials across the country faced similar personal attacks. in addition, fox news agreed to pay a record $787 million for the lies they told about voter fraud. let's be clear about the 2020 election. trump exhausted every legal avenue available to him to overturn the election. every one. but the legal path just took trump back to the truth. that i had won the election and he was a loser [ cheering and applause ] well, knowing how his mind works now, he had one act left. one desperate act available to him.

the violence of january 6th. 1,200 people have been charged with their assault on the capitol. nearly 900 of them have been convicted or pled guilty. collectively to date, they have been sentenced to more than 840 years in prison. instead of calling criminals, he's called an insurrectionist patriots, they're patriots. and me promised to pardon them if he returns to office. trump said there was a lot of love on january the 6th. the rest of the nation including law enforcement saw a lot of hate and violence. one capitol police officer called it a medieval battle.

that same officer was called vile racist names. he said he was more afraid in the capitol of the united states of america, and the chambers than when he was fighting as a soldier in the war in iraq. said he was more afraid inside the halls of congress than fighting the war in iraq. trying to rewrite the facts of january 6th, trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election. but we knew the truth because we saw it with our own eyes. it wasn't like a story being told. it was on television repeatedly. we saw it with our own eyes. trump's mob wasn't a peaceful protest. it was a violent assault. they were insurrectionists, not patriots. they weren't there to uphold the constitution. they were there to destroy the

constitution. trump won't do what an american president must do. he refuses to denounce political violence. so hear me clearly. i'll say what donald trump won't. political violence is never ever acceptable in the united states political system, never, never, never. it has no place in a democracy, none. can't be pro insurrectionist and pro american. trump and his maga supporters, not only embrace political violence, but they laugh about it. at his rally, he jokes about an intruder, whipped up by the big trump lie, taking a hammer to paul pelosi's skull, and echoing the same words used on january 6th, where's nancy, and he thinks that's funny. he laughed about it. what a sick --

[ laughter ] >> my god i think it's despicable, seriously, not just a president but any person to say that. to say it to the whole world listening. when i was overseas. anyway, trump's assault on democracy isn't just part of his past, it's what he's promising for the future. he's being straightforward. he's not hiding the ball. his first rally for the 2024 campaign opened with a choir of january 6th insurrectionists singing from prison on a cell phone. while images of the january 6th riot played on a big screen behind him at his rally. can you believe that. this is like something out of a fairy tale. bad fairy tale. trump began his 2024 campaign by

glorifying the failed violent insurrection on our capitol. the guy who claims law and order, sews lawlessness and disorder. trump's not concerned about your future, i promise you. trump is now promising a full scale campaign of revenge and retribution, his words. for some years to come. they were his words, not mine. he went on to say he'd be a dictator on day one. i mean, if i were writing a book of fiction, i said an american president said that, and not in jest. he called in, i quote, this is a quote, the termination of all the rules, regulation, and articles, even though found in the u.s. constitution should be terminated if it fits his will.

it's really kind of hard to believe. even found in the constitution, he could terminate? he's threatened the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff with the death penalty. says he should be put to death because the chairman put his oath to the constitution ahead of his personal loyalty to trump. this coming from a president who called when he visited a cemetery, called dead soldiers suckers and losers. remember that. sometimes i'm really happy the irish in me can't be seen. it was right around the time i

was at beau's grave. how dare he. who in god's name does he think he is. when former aides, trump plans to invoke the insurrection act, which would allow him to deploy u.s. military forces on the streets of america. he said it. he calls those who oppose him vermin. he talks about the blood of america as being poisoned, echoing the same exact language used in nazi germany. he proudly posts on social media the words that best describe his 2024 campaign, quote, revenge, quote, power, and quote, dictatorship. there's no confusion about who

trump is, what he intends to do. i place my hand on our family bible. and i swore an oath on the very same steps of the capitol just 14 days after the attack on january 6th. as i looked out over the capitol city whose streets were lined with national guards to prevent another attack, i saw an american that had been pushed to the brink, an america that had been pushed to the brink. but i felt enormous pride, not in winning, i felt enormous pride in america, because american democracy had been tested. american democracy had held together. and when trump had seen weakness in our democracy and continued to talk about it, i saw strength, your strength. it's not hyperbole, your strength. your integrity.

america's strength and integrity. ordinary citizens, state election officials. the american judicial system had put the constitution first. sometimes at their peril. at their peril. because of them, because of you, the will of the people prevailed. not the anger of the mob or the appetites of one man. when the attack on january 6th happened, there was no doubt about the truth. at the time, even republican members of congress and fox news commentators publicly and privately condemned the attack, as one republican senator said trump's behavior was embarrassing and humiliating for the country. but now that same senator and those same people have changed

their tune. as time has gone on, politics, fear, money, all have intervened and now these maga voices who know the truth about trump on january 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy. they made their choice. now the rest of us, democrats, independents, mainstream republicans, we have to make our choice. i know mine. and i believe i know america's. we'll defend the truth. not give into the big lie. we'll embrace the constitution and the declaration, not abandon it. we'll honor the sacred cause of democracy, not walk away from it. today i make this sacred pledge to you, the defense protection and preservation of american democracy will remain as it has been the central cause of my

presidency. [ applause ] america, as we begin this election year, we must be clear, democracy is on the ballot. your freedom is on the ballot. we'll be voting on many issues, on the freedom to vote and have your vote counted, and the freedom of choice. the freedom to have a fair shot. the freedom from fear, and we'll debate and disagree. would you tell democracy no progress is impossible. think about it. the alternative democracy is dictatorship. the rule of one, not the rule of we the people. that's what the soldiers of

valley forge understood un, and we have to understand it as well. we have been blessed so long. with a strong, stable democracy. it's easy to forget why so many before us miss their lives and strengthen democracy. what our lives would be without it. democracy means having the freedom to speak your mind. to be who you are. to be who you want to be. democracy is about being able to bring about peaceful change. democracy. democracy is how we open the doors of opportunity, wider and wider with each successive generation, notwithstanding our mistakes. if democracy falls, we'll lose that freedom. we'll lose the power of we the people who shape our destiny. if you doubt me, look around the world. travel with me as i meet with other heads of state throughout

the world. look at the authoritarian leaders and dictators he says he admires. i won't go through them all, it would take too long. remember what he calls love letter exchanges between he and the dictator of north korea. those women and men in the audience that ever fought for the american military, ever believe you'd hear a president say something like that? admiration for putin. i could go on. and look at what these autocrats are doing to limit freedom in their countries. freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to assemble. women's rights, lgbtq rights, people going to jail. so much more. it's true, the push and pull of american history is not a fairy

tail. every stride forward in america is met with ferocious backlash for those who fear progress, and those who exploit fear for their own personal gain. from those who traffic in lies, toll for power and profit. for those who are driven by grievance and grift, consumed by conspiracy and victim hood, from those who seek to bury history and ban books. ever think you would be in a political event, talking about book banning in a presidential election? the choice and contest between those forces, those competing forces between solidarity and division is perennial, but this time it's so different. you can't have a contest. you can't have a contest if you see politics as an all-out war instead of a peaceful way to resolve our differences.

all out war is what trump wants. that's why he doesn't understand the most fundamental truth about this country. unlike other nations on earth, america is not built on ethnicity, religion, geography, we're the only nation in the history of the world built on an idea. not hyperbole, built on an idea. we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal. it's an idea declared in the declaration, created in a way that refute everybody's equal and should be treated equal throughout their lives. we've never fully lived up to that. we have a long way to go. we have never walked away from the idea. we have never walked away from it before. and i promise you, i will not let donald trump and the maga republicans force us to walk

away now. [ applause ] we're living in an era where a determined minority is doing everything in its power to try to destroy our democracy for their own agenda. the american people know it, and they're standing bravely in the breach. remember after 2020, january 6th insurrection to undo the election in which more americans had voted than any other in american history. america saw the threat posed to the country. and they voted them out. in 2022, historic midterm election, in state after state, election after election, the election deniers were defeated. now in 2024, trump is the denier in chief, the election denier in chief. once again he's saying he won't honor the results of the election if he loses. trump says he doesn't

understand. he still doesn't understand the basic truth is you can't love your country only when you win. [ applause ] you can't love your country only when you win. i'll keep my commitment to be president for all of america, whether you voted for me or not. i've done it for the last three years and i'll continue to do it. together we can keep proving that america is still a country that believes in decency, dignity, honesty, honor, truth. we still believe that no one, not even the president is above the law. we still believe. the vast majority of us believe everyone deserves a fair shot at making it. we're a nation that gives hate

no safe harbor. i tell you from my experience working with leaders around the world. and i mean this sincerely, not a joke. that america is still viewed as the beacon of democracy for the world. i can't tell you how many world leaders, and i know all of them, virtually all of them, grab my arm in private and say, he can't win. tell me. no, my country will be at risk. think of how many countries you know that are on the edge, imagine. we still believe in we the people, and that includes all of us, not some of us. let me close in the cold winter of 1777, george washington and his american troops at valley forge waged a battle on behalf of a revolutionary idea that everyday people like where i come from

and the vast majority of you, not a dictator, but everyday people can govern themselves without a king or a dictator. in fact, in the rotunda of the capitol, there's a giant painting of general george washington, not president washington, and he is resigning his commission as commander in chief of the continental army. a european king said at the time after he won the revolution, how is the time for him to declare his kingship. but instead, the mob that attacked the capitol, waving trump flags and confederate flags, stormed right past that portrait, and it gave them no pause, but it should have. the artist to paint that portrait memorialized it because he said it was one of the highest moral lessons ever give on the world, end of quote.

george washington was at the height of his power, having just defeated the most powerful empire on earth. could have held on to the power as long as he wanted. he could have made himself not a future president but a future monarch, in effect. and by the way, when he got elected president, he could have stayed for two, three, four, five terms until he died. but that wasn't the american idea valley forge he fought for. in america, democratic leaders with a small "d," don't hold on to power relentlessly. they return power to the people and they do it willingly because that's the deal. you do your duty. you serve your country. and ours is a country worthy of

service, as many republican presidents and democratic presidents have shown over the years. we're not perfect. but at our best, we face the good, the bad, the truth of who we are. we look in the mirror and ultimately never pretend we're something we're not. that's what great nations do, and we're a great nation. it's the greatest nation on the face of the earth. we really are. [ applause ] that's the america i see in our future. we get up, we carry on, we never bow, we never bend, we speak of possibilities not carnage. we're not weighed down by grievances. we don't foster fear.

we don't walk around as victims. we take charge of our destiny. we get our job done with the help of the people we find in america, who find their place in the changing world and dream and build a future that not only they but all people deserve a shot at. we don't believe, none of you believe america is failing. we know america's winning. that's american patriotism. it's not winning because of joe biden. it's winning. it's the first national election since the january 6th insurrection placed a dagger in american democracy. since that moment, we all know who donald trump is. the question we have to answer is, who are we? that's what's at stake. who are we?

as you talk to your family and friends, cast your ballots, the power is in your hands. after all we've been through in our history from independence to civil war to two world wars to a pandemic to insurrection, i refuse to believe that in 2024 we americans would choose to walk away from what's made us the greatest nation in the history of the world -- freedom, liberty, democracy still a sacred cause. and there's no country in the world better positioned to lead the world than america. that's why i've said it many times, that's why i've never been more optimistic about our future, and i've been doing this a hell of a long time, just to remember who we are. with patience and fortitude, one heart. we are the united states of america, for god's sakes. i mean it.

there is nothing -- i believe with every fiber there is nothing beyond our capacity if we act together and decently with one another. nothing, nothing, nothing. i mean it. we're the only nation in the world that's come out of every crisis stronger than when he went into that crisis. that was true yesterday. it is true today. and i guarantee you it will be true tomorrow. god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. thank you. end? >> president biden giving his first campaign speech of 2024 focusing on the threat to democracy, that threat he says has a name, and it is donald trump. he went through the long list of actions that donald trump took while in office, and that he says were anti-democratic. the stuff he's done after office, saying that he would be

a dictator, at least on day one of his presidency to sean hannity, talking about how president biden called the soldiers buried in the american cemetery in france suckers and losers. got emotional when he mentioned that, saying he was visiting his son beau's grave, who was a soldier. how dare he, he says, how dare he, regarding trump, calling soldiers suckers and losers. the thing that stood out to me, though, really in all of this, is this idea that our democracy, our politics is not an all-out war situation. it's not a winners and losers situation. it should be a peaceful way to resolve our differences. that's the goal of democracy. that's the goal the founders laid out 250-odd years ago. that's what president washington was doing when he first gave up power after the war, and then when he gave up power again, two

terms into his presidency, when he could have hung on for so much longer, the president underscoring the bravery and the nobility it took for president washington to let go of power, and comparing that with what trump tried to do on january 6th, 2021. back with us is mike memoli. mike, did he accomplish what he set out to do? >> reporter: well, i think the campaign certainly views this as an important moment, katy. i have to say as someone who's followed joe biden for 15 years, i think i heard the words donald trump more in this 20-minute speech than we heard on camera from this president in all of 2023 and maybe for all of his term in office so far. you mentioned the laundry list of daily trump outrages that have been in the news, that have been -- many of the questions we have posed to president biden,

trying to get his responses to them on a daily basis. on a regular basis, the president has chosen not to. he's tried to focus over the last seven months on issues like the economy. but the biggest strategic difference in the way that the biden team views this election and views politics is that you can't get into a fight. you know this, katy, perhaps as well as anybody, with donald trump on a daily basis, without sacrificing your ability to set your own agenda. so this does represent what the campaign says is not a shift but a sharpening of the message that, as joe biden said, president biden will be the voting issue of 2024. will we protect our democracy, will we secure our democracy moving forward. it was even notable how he called donald trump a loser, katy, in talking about multiple times his own victory. and i think this is the beginning of what we can expect to hear more of in the weeks and months ahead. >> we have no time left.

but punch bowl's jake sherman, if this was haley in the lead, desantis in the lead, president biden would not have a chance to make a speech like this. what would he be talking a snkt. >> presumably the economy, which ripped today with another great jobs report and some of the accomplishments he's had in the last four years, which democrats consistently say why aren't we selling these accomplishments more, talking about what has been a pretty successful four years in their estimation. i think he'd be talking about that, and i think some people would wonder why he didn't talk about that because democrats feel as though they've put together a pretty good resume over the last 3 1/2 years of the biden administration. >> jobs report is out today, exceeded expectations. jake sherman, thank you very much. that is going to do it for me. "deadline: white house" starts right now. hi, everyone. it is 4:00 here in