. finally, a legal update. donald trump is appealing that huge fraud judgment where he owes basically half a b, the interest is over 100k a day. trump has to pay that amount or secure a bond which requires collateral. trump's lawyers wants a bond deal that tries not to tay up too many assets. the bond is due march 25th which is the same day the criminal trial begins. that is just a coincidence. so what we're watching here is the pressures of new york cases, both criminal and the fraud civil case, affect donald trump. he can appeal, but he has to put the money down. as for the criminal trial, we'll have a lot as the days approach. thanks for watching "the beat." "the reidout" is up next. tonight on "the reidout" -- >> the mugshot, we have all seen the mugshot, and you know who embraced it more than anybody else, the black population.

it's incredible. you see black people walking around with my mugshot. >> donald trump's attempt at black outreach goes awry as he spews a litany of stereotypes including black people like him because he has a mugshot and is being discriminated against by the legal system. also tonight, trump is appealing his nine-figure civil fraud judgment which grows by more than $100,000 every day. as prosecutors in another case ask a judge to slap a gag order on the former president. plus, michigan voters will go to the polls in tomorrow's primary, where president biden faces a potentially significant protest vote over his support for israel's war in gaza. good evening, everyone. i'm michael steele in for joy tonight. we begin with the reality we have known for months that is now becoming more and more clear by the day. the republican party is the party of donald trump. just over 24 hours from now,

polls will be closing in the next primary state of michigan where it's likely that once again, the twice impeached four times indicted former president will be taking home a slate of delegates. bringing him one step closer to the republican nomination. that's what we saw over the weekend in nikki haley's home state of south carolina where trump won by 20 points, receiving just under 60% of the vote. not exactly the rover whelming victory someone who is essentially an incumbent would hope for, but still a clear sign that the party is decisively his for the taking. and it appears that many republicans even those who have up until this very moment resisted bending the knee, are accepting this reality. like, for example, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. despite the fact the senator hasn't talked to trump since before january 6th, 2021, nbc news is reporting today that top advisers to mcconnell and trump are engaging in behind the scenes, you guessed it,

conversations about a potential endorsement of the former president. then there's republican national committee chair ronna mcdaniel, who earlier today officially announced that she will be stepping down from her post after the former president all but forced her out. to no one's surprise, trump is endorsing hand-picked loyalists including his daughter-in-law to take her place. clearing the way for trump to rebrand the rnc just like he did his buildings as a real estate developer, which we all know how that turned out. much like his atlantic city casinos he's going to run the party straight into the ground. eviscerating all that's left of the once proud gop. and with it, the legacies of eisenhower, reagan, and bush. joining me now is doug jones, former democratic senator from alabama and distinguished senior fellow at the center for american progress. and tara setmayer, senior adviser to the lincoln project and former republican communications director.

welcome to you both. so tara, this is a moment. the party is now fully trump. it is based -- its base is his, its infrastructure is his, its dollars and donors are his. how does this all turn out? >> well, i would argue, michael, that the party has been his for quite some time. and you mentioned mitch mcconnell earlier in your setup, and you know, mitch mcconnell had an opportunity to vanquish trump as did many republicans after january 6th. i mean, the guy led a violent insurrection against the united states and, you know, for the first time ever in history, a peaceful transition of power was interrupted. and incited by donald trump. that wasn't enough. and mitch mcconnell at the time gave a speech of his career about donald trump and about what he did, but yet, used some constitutional argument to say, well, it should be in the courts. we shouldn't do it here.

where they could have convicted him in the senate and we wouldn't be here now because donald trump would no longer be eligible to run for president. so you have mitch mcconnell now, which i'm not surprised, at the lincoln project, we have been saying this, all of these guys would fall in line because of political power and cowardice. and then the rnc, which has been pretty much a campaign arm of the trump campaign for several years. but their final step now is that they're doing to bring him his daughter-in-law to be the co-chair. i mean, michael, you know what it's like to run the rnc, and these are the people they're putting in charge. it's all a grift. it's because of money. they want to be able to funnel money to donald trump because of his legal bills. so the idea that the republican party is not in the image of trump until now all of a sudden, this is not a revelation. this has been going on now for several years. and every opportunity they have had to off ramp from him, they

haven't. they put their foot on the gas and embraced him. it's now become a party that's unrecognizable. a party that is okay with a twice impeached criminally indicted pro-authoritarian, malignant narcissist who has no problem wanting to tear up the constitution on day one and become a dictator. great, republicans. that's a great brand, i guess. >> a good branding moment for them, i think. it will work out, sure. doug y think, you know, to much of what tara said, you have that political storyline unfolding today. but more importantly, you also have sort of a quasi-policy story line unfolding as nbc news reporting biden and trump are holding competing trips to the u.s./mexican border on thursday. to talk border. oh, my gosh. we're actually going to talk about the border. on the one hand, it's about time. president biden really kind of

put that front and center for himself. and particularly, i think, take advantage of the opportunity that on the other hand, republicans failed to take advantage of by actually supporting a border legislation that the senate and house presumably tried to pass. what's your take on what we're looking for on thursday? >> well, you know, michael, i think so many people are making a lot of the fact that biden and trump will be there on the same day. i think it was really important that the president go to the border before the state of the union on march 7th. i think that's the more important story here. because he has now seen that the congress is not going to do anything. there was such high hopes for some border security measures, for what everybody knows is a very serious problem down at the southern border. and there was such high hopes, you had a conservative republican negotiating in good faith with a couple democrats. hammering out a very significant

bill. one of the toughest in decades. but yet, donald trump tanked it, just like he tanked one in 2018 when i was there. so the president is having to do this now. you know, look, people have criticized him for not doing more. but his hands are really tied a lot on the border, and the fact is he is an institutionalist. this is a legislative session. he's been waiting for that. he had that in his hand and now he doesn't. he has to do some things on his own and hope it will pass legal muster. >> i think that's an important story, to your point. i think you're right to have the president do this before the state of the union. really kind of sets up the story lines he would like to explore in his speech on that evening. i think there's also another story line which we'll talk about a little later on unfolding in michigan this week with this primary and the fact that you have a growing number of disaffected particularly younger voters over the policy

such as it is in the middle east with respect to israel and palestine. how do you think that piece fits into this story line as well for the president? >> you know, that is a very difficult needle for him to thread right now. he has got to support israel. that is the pro-democracy line that he's had. he's supported israel for a long time. he's also been a very strong supporter of a two-party state. that is a two-state solution. he has been really out there pushing that. i think what you're seeing publicly, you're seeing the administration moving more and more to try to figure out how to get a cease-fire, get the hostages home. what we don't see, and i hope people recognize this, you're not going to see most of what this administration is doing playing out in the news media or on social media. there is a lot that antony

blinken and the national security people are doing behind the scenes. i think they're putting more and more pressure on the netanyahu government to come to a cease-fire, to do those things necessary, get humanitarian aid, and what i'm hoping is that will happen sooner rather than later, and that as we get closer to the election, folks that are disaffected right now, and i understand that. can get that. they're going to see the difference between donald trump and joe biden. and they'll come back home. >> so tara, meanwhile, back in happy land, cpac occurred this past weekend. and as you know, from when we used to go to cpac, at the end, they would always do a straw poll. and you know, whether it's for the president, well, that's not relevant this time because everybody is in the tank for trump. but they did a vice presidential straw poll, the cpac veep straw poll shows that south dakota governor kristi noem had 15%.

vivek ramaswamy, hmm, how did he get up there? 15%. former hawaii representative tulsi gabbard at 9%. elise stefanik, who everyone thinks is an odds-on favorite at 8%. tim scott, wow, 8% after all that. and i think it's important to note that you know, a lot of folks have been talking up the whole kristi noem/trump angle. what's your take here? how do you see these sweepstakes playing out? >> well, you and i both know from our years at cpac that the straw poll isn't exactly the most scientific or reliable poll. i mean, ron paul used to win that thing all the time. so i'm going to dismiss that as anything that's serious, but i can also tell you those who know, kristi noem will never be vice president. she'll never be a pick for trump because of some of her behavior with other people in the trump circle.

so that will disqualify her off the top. again, this is one of those celebrity contests where it's like, oh, who was there, who was top of mind? oh, yeah, we like kristi noem. it's not happening with her. now, elise stefanik on the other hand does have a greater chance because she has been an absolute sycophant and she has decided to completely sell her soul to remake herself into a trumplican in ways that are hard to imagine that someone could be such a polar opposite of what they used to be when they first came into congress. elise stefanik is a perfect example of that, of someone who sold everything out for political ambition, to the point where she's defending donald trump and his comments calling january 6th defendants and prisoners political prisoners. it's really pretty obnoxious and outrageous how low she's gone. but i mean, she's just par for the course. the fact that -- i have to go back to the mitch mcconnell thing for a second.

the fact that mitch mcconnell, seriously, michael, that mitch mcconnell would even be considering endorsing donald trump after everything that trump has done to him as well, i mean, calling his wife all kinds of ethnic slurs, calling him a piece of crap, according to maggie haberman's book, making fun of him and his age. saying all of these disparaging things about him, and mitch mcconnell can't stand donald trump. he knows that he is someone who isn't a serious person. but he's willing to do this, which is like if mcconnell comes out and endorsing trump, what that does is once again, it opens up the others in the senate and other donors to say that donald trump is someone we can still support, despite everything he's done. i mean, the day mcconnell endorsing trump, you might as well write the obituary for the republican party because it's dead and buried from any image and likeness in which you and i the party we joined or the party reagan was the leader or the party that bill buckley said

we're supposed to be as conservatives, that party is dead and gone. because my god, could you be any more of a coward, mitch mcconnell? you're in a position to actually say no, we cannot allow someone like this to be the president of the united states again. but because of political expediency, he's willing to do it. it's really quite pathetic. >> well, we're not short on drama in the republican party at this point. >> that's why i left it, my friend. one of many reasons. >> the next episode is the gop turns coming soon. doug jones and tara setmayer, thank you both. up next on "the reidout," trump is unsurprisingly using plain old racism and stereotypes to claim he has the vote of the black people. and yes, he said actually, i quote, the black people. "the reidout" continues after this. this type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪

i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®.

salonpas lidocaine flex. a super thin, flexible patch with maximum otc strength lidocaine that contours to the body

to relieve pain right where it hurts. and did we mention, it really, really sticks? salonpas, it's good medicine. (♪♪) some people just know that the best rate for you is a rate based on you, with allstate. because you know that just because it fits in the cupholder doesn't make it 'to-go'. and you know how to brake, without breaking everything. and you're definitely not doing -okay, i don't even know what this is, but you're definitely not doing that. with allstate you're connected to a rate based on you. (♪♪)

on friday, donald trump spoke at the black conservative federation annual gala ahead of south carolina's republican primary. and this was his pitch to black people. >> i got indicted a second time, and a third time, and a fourth time. and a lot of people said that's why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. and they actually viewed me as i'm being discriminated against.

it's been pretty amazing. i'm being indicted for you, the american people. i'm being indicted for you, the black population. >> oh, and if that weren't enough, he had to add this. >> the mugshot, we have all seen the mugshot. and you know who embraced it more than anybody else. the black population. it's incredible. you see black people walking around with my mugshot. >> is he indulging his own brand of racism as stereotypes? absolutely, he is, but he's also echoing right-wing commentators who seem to base everything they know about black people on early '90s rap videos. in august, dinesh d'souza tweeted, think tupac shakur, ultimate gangsta. around the same time, the commentator who said last week trump's tacky gold shoes would appeal to black people had a similar thought. >> one black lady i spoke with

earlier today here in new orleans said trump is a gangsta. and that means he has cred. >> that probably never happened. but it doesn't help when black republicans like congressman byron donalds are doing the stereotyping for them. worse, creating a false equivalency between the prosecution of trump's criminality and the ongoing treatment of african americans within the criminal justice system. sorry, byron. it's just not the same. >> this is political persecution from the department of justice and from radical d.a.s throughout our country. this is something similar that black people had to deal with with the justice system themselves. >> joining me now is clay kane, serious xm host and author of the grift, the downward spiral of black republicans. a pleasure having you. you know, thinking about this, i didn't know where to start in this conversation because there is a lot that is so insulting.

but i'll start with this. reaction by biden/harris cochair cedric mitch minute saying donald trump saying black people will support him is ironic. nikki haley, quote, it's disgusting but that's what happens when he goes off the teleprompter. does it work? does what he's doing work? because there are lot of folks out there talking all the black voters moving his way, black men especially are, you know, amping up for trump. what is your take and read on why this effort by trump and the reaction to it by african americans? >> i don't think it works for black voters. i think black voters are much smarter than this, than what the polls may see and so on. one thing that's important to point out is there is no discrimination there. if anybody in my hometown of west philadelphia did what trump

did, they would be behind bars. that's a clear distinction that trump, the gop, byron donalds, black republicans don't seem to make. i don't think any of us can relate to with all due respect a rich white guy from queens who has more felony counts than i could possibly imagine anybody in my neighborhood having. but the other part of it is that someone like byron donalds or the black republicans in the room, the black conservatives in the room, who clapped for that, who cheered for that. it is literally a page from my book, the grift. it is a personification, the reason why they did that, because they know they have to toe the line. they would make someone like arthur fletcher who i know you knew, the father of affirmative action, colin powell, back to jackie robinson roll in their graves. it is disgraceful from trump and the people who enable him. >> how do you see the response to this more broadly? you talk about the african american republicans in the

room. but then more broadly, what does that say about where we are politically and culturally that you have a presidential candidate that can feel, yeah, i can getimpunity. you had the president at a rally in an overwhelmingly white town of dimondale in michigan, in the last presidential cycle when he was quoted saying to black folks, you're living in poverty. let's play what the president said to black voters in 2016. >> you're living in poverty. your schools are no good. your have no jobs. 58% of your youth is unemployed. what the hell do you have to lose? >> a lot. because why the hell do you stereotype black people? i mean, you know, you're living -- not all of us live in poverty. in fact, some states there are more white people in poverty than black people. he goes into a largely white

community to spew the stereotypes. what is the power there that he's trying to garner? does it enrage white folks, does it enable them? what is the dynamic we should be looking for when he does that, and how do you clap back against it? >> you know, it's a really important point because it's not just trump. trump is not happening in a vacuum. i call it southern strategy 2.0 tactics. using otherism to be quite frank to try to gain the white conservative republican base. and it's beautiful that nikki haley called him out, sure, but this is the same person who could not say the civil war was about slavery. the other presidential candidate, ron desantis, saying there's personal benefits to slavery. even governors across the country like governor tate reeves in mississippi, making april confederate heritage month. this is embedded in the republican party, and i think about will hurd, a black republican, who said the gop

must deal with the racism in their party, not only from the politicians but the base. why does this resonate with the base? this should turn off the base. can you imagine if joe biden said more people can relate to me, more black folks can relate to me because my son was indicted? that would be an international story. you would have every black republican and every white conservative saying it was egregious. so why does this resonate with the base? i think it's a long time in the making. southern strategy, welfare queen narrative, welly horton ad. the birther movement. the gop has to make a decision what kind of base they're going to appeal to. >> well, i think we have a good sense of what that is right now. so i guess the question is, what do you see happening writ large in the black community to sort of clarify for america as we watch the pushback against critical race theory, pushback on the teaching of black history, a lot of that.

what should we be doing as a black community now to clarify for america what these stereotypes are and why they need to stop them? >> i think we have to remember that there has been a war in our history for a very long time. it just didn't start, just didn't happen in this moment. trump made those comments on web dubois's birthday. that's his birthday. he made it on february 23rd. when we think about the black community and the black voting bloc, the most important voting bloc is the nonvoter. so i want to say to folks out there, especially if you're a black person, a nonvoter, you feel disengaged and like you don't care, the answer isn't to disengage. it's to engage even more. if you don't do politics, politics will do you. we have had this conversation before. it really is about the long game. you're not going to get what you want in one year, in one term. think of the long game. i think of philly, detroit, atlanta. i think that this man shows us

who he is. i think we're going to get that in 2024. i have faith in us. >> all we're going to get it, all right. i have faith in us too. clay, it's good to see you again. up next, breaking news today in two legal cases against donald trump. manhattan d.a. alvin bragg has requested a partial gag order ahead of next months's hush money criminal case. citing the former president's history of inflammatory remarks against witnesses, lawyers, and court staff. and trump has appealed the nearly half billion dollar civil fraud judgment against him. the longer he delays, the more his penalty increases. that's coming up next. ♪ upbeat music ♪ asthma. it can make you miss out on those epic hikes with friends. step back out there, with fasenra. fasenra is an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra helps prevent asthma attacks. most patients did not have an attack in the first year. fasenra is proven to help you breathe better

so you can get back to doing day-to-day activities. and fasenra helps lower the use of oral steroids. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. get back to better breathing. get back to what you've missed. ask your doctor about fasenra, the only asthma treatment taken once every 8 weeks. if you can't afford your medication astrazeneca may be able to help.

shingles. some describe it as pulsing electric shocks or sharp, stabbing pains. ♪♪ this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. a pain so intense, you could miss out on family time. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles.

"overflowing with ideas and energy." that's the san francisco chronicle endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. porter is "easily the most impressive candidate." "known for her grilling of corporate executives." with "deep policy knowledge." katie porter's housing plan has "bipartisan-friendly ideas to bring homebuilding costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. the economy is simply not working for millions of hard working families. with democrat katie porter. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate.

i'm adam schiff and i approve this message. as expected, donald trump has now filed notice of an appeal in his new york city fraud case which resulted in a whopping $454 million judgment against him. in the filing, trump's attorney said they want an appeals court to determine whether judge arthur engoron committed errors of law and or fact in whether he abused his discretion and/or acted in excess of his jurisdiction. missing from today's filing is any indication that trump has put up the cash or posted a bond in order to stay the enforcement of the judgment won by new york attorney general letitia james. that is something james has made sure to remind trump of each day, noting that the judgment

continues to grow by a whopping $114,000 a day because of the interest. and in other trump legal news out of new york, manhattan district attorney alvin bragg is seeking a gag order on trump ahead of his hush money trial scheduled to begin next months. citing his long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about people involved in his legal cases. joining me is mary mccord, former acting assistant attorney general for national security and cohost of the prosecuting donald trump podcast. mary, so good to see you. seems like it was just a few days ago. >> it was. >> let's start with the latest news which is pretty interesting with the headline screaming out the trial starting next months, manhattan d.a. asks judge for a gag order where the manhattan district attorney's office has asked for a narrowly tailored gag order to bar trump from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses. talk to us about what this

particular effort is all about. >> i think one of the things that the district attorney did that i think was really smart is he basically came and said look, we're asking for the same type of limited restrictions on public statements that mr. trump can make consistent with the exact same order that the d.c. circuit affirmed and ordered in the d.c. case involving january 6th. because you know, in that case, judge tanya chutkan in the district court had issued a limited gag order. he had appealed that. the d.c. circuit limited a little more than what judge chutkan had done. and you know, alvin bragg thought, hey, i'm going to go in and ask for the same thing. this is already made it up to one court of appeals, not my court of appeals but another highly respected federal court of appeals. i think that was a smart move on his part. it's about not making statements or directing others to make statements about known or foreseeable witnesses that could

be about their participation in the case, also directing him not to make statements about attorneys within the d.a.'s office, court staff, their families that would be intended to or directing others to that would be intended to interfere with the case. or making public statements about jurors. that's the thing he added on that was not part of the d.c. circuit. >> which is important because i have been saying for a long time, a lot of what trump's drama is about is trying to influence the potential jury pool that would have to judge him. the other thing that was interesting about the gag order was describing threats to his office. the district attorney's office has also received hundreds of threats in the wake of and connected to defendant's public attacks. the office also responded to terroristic mailings twice around the time of the defendant's indictment in the matter. there's serious concerns about not just what, you know, barring trump from making noise about people and just saying running

his mouth. but also about potential threats that result from all of that. >> absolutely. these are cases, each one of these, we don't have to speculate about what trump might do because in each case, here in alvin bragg's case as well as the civil cases in new york, the criminal cases in d.c. and georgia, and even florida, judges have actually been threatened. white powder sent to their offices. real things have already happened. so there's been serious real consequences. as we know from jack smith's case in the district of columbia, he also indicated how much money they have had to spend on security. millions of dollar on security for the prosecutors and their team. the fbi has indicated in other instances what it's spending on security. these are very, very serious matters. and you know, some of these threats have involved death threats. there have been people prosecuted for making threats against judges in mr. trump's cases. it's not something where there's speculation here.

there is an actual track record. >> and this is an important one to take note of. i want to shift gears a little bit because there's so many trump cases out here. special counsel jack smith responded to trump's selective prosecution discovery request. noting there has never been a case in american history in which a former official has engaged in conduct remotely similar to trump's. the defendants have not identified anyone who has engaged in a remotely similar suite of willful and deceitful criminal conduct and not been prosecuted. nor could they. this case is different from trump's filing request in the case be dismissed over the same selective prosecution claim. talk to about the difference and what's happening here with the special counsel. >> so special counsel, you know, he had to respond to a selective prosecution claim up in d.c. he responded to that, you know, in motions up there and now trump has filed essentially the same type of motion down in the mar-a-lago case.

and i will note that one of the things that alvin bragg filed also today was a motion asking the judge there not to allow him to make a selective prosecution claim in front of the jury. this is a repeat strategy of trump. i'm being persecuted. i'm being prosecuted purely for political purposes. what jack smith is doing is calling him out, saying you can't make a selective prosecution claim to show that you're treated different from other similarly situated because there is no one else similarly situated. >> except -- >> you. >> you, because you're the one doing the crime. so where do we go next? what's the next big thing we should expect? we have 30 seconds left. >> so, there will be a hearing in mar-a-lago on friday. this is where i think it's really widely anticipated that judge cannon will decide whether she's putting off the may 20th trial date. and we are still every day

waiting for the u.s. supreme court to tell us whether they're going to take up the immunity case. >> the supreme court. mary mccord, thank you for being here. up next, a startling new warning from former trump officials on the absolute security threat he poses if he wins in november. we'll be right back. i still love to surf, snowboard, and, of course, skate. so, i take qunol magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. qunol's extra strength, high absorption magnesium helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol, the brand i trust.

i'm an active mom, but when i laughed, lifted or exercised, bladder leaks were holding me back from doing the things i loved. until, i found a bladder specialist that offered me bulkamid - a life-changing and fda approved non-drug solution for my condition called stress incontinence it really works, and the relief can last for years. take the next step at findrealrelief.com to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary. move beyond the leaks.

donald trump has battled intelligence agencies. he has compromised and

politicized them too. it will only get worse if he's elected president again. that's according to 18 former officials of trump's own administration who told politico that trump is likely to use a second presidency to overhaul the nation's spy agencies. trump who already tried to revamp intelligence agencies during his first term is likely to reup those plans and push even harder to replace people perceived as hostile to his political agenda with inexperienced loyalists. joining me now is john brennan, former cia director and msnbc senior national security analyst. mr. director, good to see you again. you know, there's a lot that i don't think people really appreciate about this side of the election equation. that they do indeed have a consequences and particularly with respect to our nation's national security. so what does it say to you when 18 members from the security and

intelligence community from the previous administration come out and lay out such a stark warning about the former president running for the presidency again? >> well, michael, i think that's the most significant aspect of this. these are individuals with established conservative credentials. who have worked for many decades over multiple administrations. and they worked directly for mr. trump. and they saw him up close and personal in terms of what he did to try to exploit the position of the office of the presidency to manipulate the intelligence and law enforcement system. and their stark warnings i think are real warning shot to the american public that if trump is to be re-elected, he in fact will use all of the powers of the presidency to reorganize these institutions, to make them putty in his hands so that he can use the intelligence and law enforcement agencies to be able to go after his enemies and also to not follow through with their

obligations under the law to carry out their faithful duties. >> it says a lot that we're at this point, this inflection point where you have national security officials, our global partners and allies, all expressing this general concern. meanwhile, you have the republican establishment, leadership, and its putative nominee leaning more towards putin, toward authoritarian regimes. how do you see our european allies in particular rebalancing the scales as folks seriously anticipate a trump return to the white house? >> well, i think a lot of the officials in europe are aghast at the prospect that donald trump might return to the white house. for the past 75 years, european nations have relied on the united states to be the ultimate security garen tour, to be faithful to its nato obligations in terms of defending nato

against adversaries, and given mr. trump's fawning attitude toward mr. putin and his rather solicitous comments, it raises questions in the minds of many not just politicians in europe and members of the government but also the european citizens. that the united states is no longer the bulwark against russian expansionism. therefore, it is something that europeans are looking at very closely, in terms of our election and doing what they can in fact to try to hedge against the possible return of what essentially is an authoritarian leader. what donald trump is doing is basically taken out of the authoritarians play book. control some media outlets so he can get the word out to his follows. discredit the government, the judicial system, and also then to use the intelligence and security and law enforcement services as his tools in order to go after his enemies and continue to solidify his hold on the institutions of governance.

very worrying for so many people, not just in europe but also around the world. >> and you have that as a backdrop and you also have, you know, the murder, the killing of alexei navalny. we heard today reports that his body has been returned to his mother. but there's also an interesting story that is out talking about a potential prisoner swap. alexei navalny was set to be part of a prisoner swap before he died. claims ally that the swap would allegedly seen navalny and two u.s. citizens freed by russia. what do you make of that? this story now that behind the scenes, navalny was being prepared as part of a prisoner swap, but then suddenly passed away? >> yeah, there's still a lot we don't know about what happened to alexei navalny. but it's clear he was apparently

healthy just a day before he was found dead in his prison cell, and therefore, it's clear that mr. putin, who takes ruthless measures against anybody he either fears or seeks revenge against, saw alexei navalny as a threat. whether or not it was part of these negotiations terms or what was ongoing and wanted to find an easy exit out of the negotiations because once navalny was dead, they ended, but it's quite clear i think to everybody that vladimir putin is responsible for the death of alexei navalny. and his now widow, yulia, is going to carry on navalny's cause, which many, many russians both inside of russia and outside really believe is so critically important in order to end with the rule of mr. putin that honestly has led to the death of so many russians over the course of so many years. >> a quick answer. do you think this is something she can do from outside russia?

>> it's going to be challenging but there are individuals inside of russia. even inside the russian establishment, the russian establishment. i think there are individuals who for some reason -- really are upset with this role. so usually i think has the credentials and the name that i think will help to galvanize some people in opposition to mr. putin. all right, former cia director john brennan, thank you very much. up next, a live report from michigan where tomorrow's democratic primary could be a bellwether for what progressives really feel about president biden's handling of the war in gaza. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪

- "best thing i've ever done." that's what freddie told me. - it was the best thing i've ever done, and- - really? - yes, without a doubt! - i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. - great people. different people, that's for sure, and all of them had different reasons for getting a reverse mortgage, but you know what, they all felt the same about two things: they all loved their home,

and they all wanted to stay in that home. and they all wanted to stay in that home. - [announcer] if you're 62 or older and own your home, you could access your equity to improve your lifestyle. a reverse mortgage loan eliminates your monthly mortgage payments and puts tax-free cash in your pocket. call the number on your screen. - why don't you call aag... and find out what a reverse mortgage can mean for you? - [announcer] call right now to receive your free no-obligation info kit. call the number on your screen.

i'm scared -- just because of no idea which one i would pick, but you know i don't feel comfortable picking joe biden. but also, i don't feel comfortable picking trump either. i think there are two out of touch, and i think at this point it's just a passing match. there are not, i don't know, i don't think either of them or the right people to be running the country right now. presidential race hits to michigan tomorrow, which is holding its primary for both democrats and republicans. polls will close at eight pm, 24 hours from now. abc shaquille brewster joins us from grand rapids where he's been talking to voters there as part of an msnbc series called the deciders.

jack, what are people deciding, my friend? first, i'll start with why we talk -- come to ken county. it's one of the swing counties, or at least has been despite its historical record as being a reliably republican county. we saw back in 2016, donald trump win by just three percentage points and then 2020, joe biden flipped this county and also flip the state of michigan. so we've been talking with folks here about that likely general election matchup that we are seeing between the two front runners. the men who have only won the contest that have been voted on up to this point in this primary process, that's joe biden and donald trump, and you get a big sense of dissatisfaction. one thing that we're also noting is that dissatisfaction is what nikki haley is trying to play up and play on as she decides to stay in the race. i was that a press event with her earlier today and she used the fact that voters aren't happy with their options, but the two front runners in this

race. almost as a rational for her to stay in this race. how voters are hearing that, that really remains to be seen. that's something we will definitely be watching as they head to the polls tomorrow, michael. nick he's trying to get people to vote for her. salma was joe biden, apparently. there was some serious efforts underway to get voters to vote uncommitted. what are you finding there? that's one of the main storylines here in this state. when we, for much of this process, we've been focusing on the action and activity on the republican side. here you have a group called listen in michigan, it's a grassroots organization. they called themselves low budget, last minute organization that has been trying to get young americans were dissatisfied with president biden's reaction and the handling of the israel- hamas war to, instead of voted for joe biden on the ballot, to vote uncommitted. there's actually a word on the ballot that is uncommitted. i spoke to a leader of that

group earlier today and they are saying that their goal is to have about 10,000 people vote uncommitted to show how many people in biden's face are not satisfied with his handling of that situation overseas. the contacts that you're seeing here, and it's clear that the biden campaign is at least watching this play out. the context here, and officials are pointing out is that, it was about 20,000 people who voted uncommitted back in 2020. and back in 2012 when there wasn't this organized effort. gabe gutierrez is a colleague i spoke to governor richard butler today and she said that she can expect to see a sizable amount of people voted in protest, to support and committed. that would be something that many people are watching to see how big that support is, especially considering they didn't have much money around them. this is really a group of volunteers, a vocal group of volunteers that have come out

and they're trying to get democrats to vote against biden and vote for not a specific candidate, but to say that they are uncommitted tomorrow. on the other side you have the michigan republican party that is in complete and utter disarray with the primary on tuesday, but that -- oh, got. [laughter] and then two caucuses on saturday. [inaudible] that's just going to be a mess, right? that's really confusing and a mess. yeah, yeah. it's a confusing thing and a mess. let's talk about the fact that there is a primary tomorrow but most of the delegates, the mess futurity of delegates on the republican side will be at the conventions, julian conventions that will take place on saturday. thank, you shaquille brewster, good luck up there. that's tonight's read out. joy rate returns tonight inside with jen psaki starts right now. tonight inside with jen psaki starts right now.