i was not part of the decision- making process that led to today. i do not want to exaggerate my role. i'm a peripheral figure. we have become friends. we share, i think, that sounds pretentious. he has a view of the country with which i agree. about the fact that a democracy has a soul because it's a human and not a clinical undertaking. our character matters. every one of us. will talk about that in a second about the process. i want to say something to point you just made. made. speech in a second, the process. i want to talk about it! you just made. not only is president biden an exemplar of lyrical grace and chris, i would argue that this is a hugely important exemplar for all of us as citizens, in this moment, in this hectic hour, of putting a larger cause

above our immediate desires. that is very counterintuitive. it is very countercultural. it has been since the third n chapter of genesis, right? there was a piece of fruit, we were told not to take it, we wanted it, we took it. and thus began history. giving is really really hard, and taking is really really fun. but, democracies only work if we manage to give just enough that everybody wants to stay in the stadium, in the arena, and keep working together. pick your metaphor. and so, what he has modeled for us, what he has given us, is an example of someone who respectsm reality, who respects fate, as he says, i am a great respecter of fate, and who understands that as flawed and imperfect as we all are, we are given a chance to do the right thing. if we can take it, then the

life of the country rises. the right life of the country he comes better, nobler, becomes more whole, and we don't have to do it all the time. right? i am not asking for everybody ev to be john lewis. what we are asking -- what i think we have to ask for ourselves is, maybe 51% of the time can we try to to do the he right thing? and so, to me, that is the vision of history, the philosophy of history unfolding. there might be some more strongly ideological people. i am not a democrat or a republican, i have voted for presidents of both countries parties, at this point, george w. bush -- well, anyway. i think we are at a place where

we should all take a deep breath, we should all recognize the sacrifice of this man, not for nostalgia or sentiment, you know, i don't want to cue the kettle drums are the violins, but a real man did a real thing today. and i am not a great man. i am not. . joe biden proved today that he is a great man. because what great men do is, they make tough decisions that y other people cannot. and i think that is good enough for one day. >> presidential historian and pulitzerst prize-winning authorg john meacham. i value talking to you anytime i can, but particularly tonight. thank you so much. ca >> thanks, rachel. it is not just after 8:00 p.m. on the east coast, 5:00 p.m. in vice president harris's home state of california, with only four months until the

presidential election, president joe biden has droppedi his re-election bid and endorsed vice president kamala harris for the democratic nomination for president. in the hours since that announcement, there has been a steady stream or a flood of endorsements for vice president harris, endorsements of her from democratic organizations, democratic members of congress, democratic governors, democratic attorneys general several democratic governors who had, themselves, been considered possible contenders for eethe presidential nominati should president biden make this decision including roy cooper, gavin newsom and josh shapiro, in just the last few minutes, pennsylvania's bob nu casey became the latest democratic senator to endorse kamala harris for her presidential bid. i don't know if i've ever seen a group of people coalesce as quickly around anything as we are seeing today, democrats coalesce around kamala harris's candidacy in the last two he hours. democratic fundraising groups are saying this might be the largest single day of fundraising in the history of the democratic party.

as a likely presidential candidate, she says, quote, i am running to be president of the united states. i am honored to have the presidents endorsement, and my intention is to earn and win this nomination in the coming days as i hit the campaign trail to meet with americans and layout the choice in front of voters in the fall. i cannot imagine two more starkly different visions for where we want our country to go. we can choose the dark pass of project 20/25 with less freedom and more division, or we can iv choose to pull together and do the work for the people. she says that these are not ordinary times and this will not be an ordinary election, no but this is our america, and i need you with me in this fight. she says, i have to ask, will you pitch in your first $20

today to elect me as president t of the united states and defeat donald trump. together, she says, i know thata we can win this election and save democracy. she signs it, kamala echarris. again, there may be some process or proto-process, something that happens within ce the democratic party, but the coalescence around kamala al harris as the nominee of the party feels, to me, both inevitable, now, once president biden made his decision, but also unstoppable. joy, over to you. >> thank you very much, rachel. i will add that i love, i have two little pieces of news to add to what you were just saying, i have now been texting with some delegates from south carolina and florida, they did have their zoom calls tonight as scheduled and in both cases, the party chairs as well as biden campaign people were in,

urging full support for vice ur president kamala harris. in one case, one of the people from florida said that was pretty much the zoom. it was not about anything else other than obviously a lot of bv praise for president biden, andr a lot of support for vice president harris, and the florida delegation, one of the quotes i got outset as one of the largest and most important delegations, they want to show a full support for her. that is kind of the vibe that i am seeing from two important states in the history of at president biden, obviously south carolina and florida. is that i want to bring in the great lawrence o'donnell, our friend and colleague, the cause i want to start by getting a reaction,ng where were you when you heard about president bideno stepping away from the race, and what to do you make of that, and his flex, to say, i am going to name my own successor and i would like it i to be my vice president? >> i was on a boat in massachusetts, very far from shore, without any self- service, when i finally got

cell service, we tried to somehow make the wind blow even stronger, to get me to this landline i have managed to get to, to be able to talk about this. i am coming to you now knowing less about this than most of the people in our audience. the first person that i heard talk about this, publicly, was john meacham, in these last 15 minutes. i have to say, that was the best possible first conversation i could hear about it, between rachel and john meacham. one thing that i would add, that i know john meacham knows, and we all know, and we all w, know it as soon as i say it, is that this would be, for almost every other politician i have ev ever known, the worst day of that politicians life.

this is not the worst day of joe biden's life. this is down the list, this is someone whose wife was killed, young wife killed with his child at the same time, and then his son who survived that horrible incident later died, way too young. and so, joe biden has had a much more difficult things to process, much more difficult things to get through, and much more difficult things to get mo the biden family, including grandchildren through. he has managed to do that, and he is now doing everything that you possibly can to get the country through this, something that we have never seen before. there is no model for it, there is nothing close to it. the lyndon johnson case isn't close to this. and he is trying to find as much political stability as the democratic party can find in

this situation, by immediately endorsing kamala harris, and you can see just how supportive the democratic party is, as well as not just kamala harris at this moment but joe biden's judgment about this, and his dg judgment in choosing her, four o years ago. it has been validated in what you have seen so far. as i listened to and read about this imagined scenario, coming into play for the democrats to find a nominee is a situation that will occur. one of the things is a situation i have found from the thinking of the people who would be around half a dozen prominent highly electable democrats who would rush to seek this nomination was the fact that no one proposing these ideas bothered to check with any of them, any of the candidates they were dreaming

about articles they were writing or things they were saying on television, and even when governor witmer said i won't do it, people continued to just plow along as if she would try to take that nomination herself period and so, it is not surprising to me that we do not have another democratic candidate for president didn't president tonight, other than kamala harris,ha who is both joe biden choice, and as the reporting is coming in, the choice of so many democrats who are rushing y forward to say so, including importantly, colleagues who she has worked with closely in the t united states senate. the people who know her in government, and federal government the best. joe biden is someone who i am sure, i know feres chaos in a situation like this, and he has done everything that he possibly could to stabilize the

ship, as he tries to engineer what he would like to see as the way this party changes captains of that ship. and so, he was actually working today as both party leader, and at a very highly functioning presidential level to make this welcome for kamala harris that you are reporting on tonight work the way that it has worked so far. >> you know, listen, it got so silly that people were floating michelle obama, who, i don't know what that lady has to do to get people to understand g that she is not going to run for president. yeah, the fanciful thinking was pretty far out there. but i wanted to talk a little bit more about this president, because you know, joe biden occupies this really unique space in american history. he was both the youngest united states senator, and the oldest president. this is , somebody who, as a

longtime politician, his history and politics dates back to the early 1970s, took a backseat to the first black president of the united states. he stepped into be his vice nt president, to be his second banana, you could say. as you said, he has experienced, tremendous tragedy on a level that most of us cannot fathom, just as a human being, and has had to live that in public since he was 29 years old. there is a lot in his life that is sort of apocryphal and shakespearean. is the senate judiciary chair leader when clarence thomas came in, but also the president who nominated the first black woman to be on the united states supreme court. he has kind of done all of those things. you know, so he now has done this thing that we have seen speaker pelosi do, pass the ea torch to a new generation and sort of clip the wings of our gerontocracy in the united states house, now he has done

it as president. what does that mean for his legacy, in your view? >> well, it is fascinating for me, because i got to know joe biden in the 1990s, in the united states senate, when i was working there. there were giants in the senate in those days. daniel patrick moynihan, teddy kennedy, bill bradley, bob dole on the republican side, and joe biden was one of the good solid, serious players, but he didn't think he was one of the giants of the senate. the senate didn't think he was one of the giants, but the difference between senator biden , and the rest of those people that i've mentioned, is that senator biden was still growing, and he grew to be a true giant in terms of senate history, the number of senators who have gone on to the presidency, the vice presidency first, and that was something that was not apparent if you knew and worked with him in the prime of his

and career when he was at his most effective, when the democrats had a strong majority in the senate, but he is obviously the guy who never stopped growing. there is one thing i would like to address, because i know people ask about it all the time, very last minute for him to decide not to take the nomination. why didn't he make this decision sooner? the answer to that, you have to understand that a presidential campaign is a four year enterprise. a minimum three year enterprise if you want to rush it. he had to make this decision about running again, in his first year as president. that is when he had to make the decision. and he seemed absolutely strong enough to do it at that time and if he had made the decision not to run in his first year as president, he would have a

responsibility to his party, toe tell them that, so that they could prepare for a primary season not involving an incumbent president. if he had made that announcement, he would have accomplished exactly nothing, as president of the united states but he never would have been able to get joe manchin's vote for anything, he never would have been able to create this remarkable legislative record, that he has tecreated against all odds, with the tightest vote counts we have ever seen on an agenda that big, and so, the choice would have been announcing first year, i'm not running for re- election, m accomplishing exact zero, and then having democrats produce a nominee to run after a four year period of a democratic president doing nothing.cr >> it is an excellent, interesting information we always get from you, hopefully we didn't destroy your boat trip

, so you can get back out on the boat and the wind will sail well for you. thank you, my friend. much appreciated. let me get back to the panel, here. rachel, i do want to throw this back to the panel. i do think that there is this wrenching process we are seeing, a kind of rolling back of our gerontocracy. you know, you are seeing it happen, you did see it happen d in the house, where pelosi passed the torch to hakeem jeffries. it is a much more wrenching process we are seeing for the white house, but i see it fascinating to see the democrats really create the opportunity for something very new. you know, we are one of the countries that does not have a woman president, but we are ma talking about a woman of color, united states senator who wouldt theoretically be the first woman president, which is very exciting, very new. what you make of this way that president biden has ultimately opened the door to create this

very new change in generation. >> yeah. you think about -- i mean, you have been right on in terms of talking about the different superlatives that you can pe attach to joe biden, demographically. being the youngest senator, one of the youngest senators ever when he gets to the united states senate, being the oldest president ever, but then also as vice president, to the nation's first african-american president. you have him ably serving as im barack obama's vice president, not only helping him get no elected but helping him govern, being loyal and supportive and effective in his own way as is vice president, creating what was a phenomenally successful presidency, of the first black president, then he chooses not only a woman, but a woman of color to be his vice presidential running mate, and in deciding today that he is to not going to stay in this re- election bid, instead, he is ec going to endorse her. we are in a situation where joe

biden, this octogenarian white guy from delaware -- from scranton by way of delaware, is going to be the man who delivers america the first african-american president and the first woman president and the first woman of color president. joe biden will have played an absolutely instrumental unique personal role in breaking all of those glass ceilings. you do that, not because you are always putting yourself first, but because you are making good decisions, you are trusted, you are a good wing man, you are a good team player, an excellent leader, and you're not afraid to bring other people along with you. he and it is just -- i mean, the legacy of joe biden, here, and still more time left in this term in office, but he is going to get kamala harris elected g president of the united states, and he is going to save the country from donald trump, not

once, but twice. and, that is going to be the legacy of joe biden, in terms of what his country needed from him, and what he gave. it is just a -- i really am -- i know we have been on the air for an hour already talking about this, but i am still just stunned by what he has done. >> i agree. oh, go ahead. >> as i was listening to lawrence talk, and because i wr worked for him for 1 1/2 years, i was thinking as we all have been, about the moments that we interacted with him and the time that we spent with him, one of the things that is so interested in his legacy and nd his career, he spent so many decades building up to the moment where he became the president. i remember, when i started working with him, i did not work on the campaign, i did not know him well, i was nervous that i would not be able to get to know him well. and he is this very down to

earth style and nature about him where i would go into the d oval office to talk to him about things and he would just say, pull up a chair, sit next to the resolute desk. i remember one time early on, the first couple of weeks that i was there, i went and i said sir, i want to go back and be able to tell the press how the weight of what you are sitting with is sitting on your shoulders, how you are adjusting? we were a couple of weeks in, the country was incredibly divided, and he said, i don't e know if you should tell the press this, but i feel very comfortable with the weight of the job. i have been here before, i have been in the oval office, i have been in the situation room. i was the chairman of the foreign relations committee, chairman of the judiciary e, committee. you know what? i can't find aimy socks. it's a funny story, right? but what it tells you about joe biden, and what it told me, when i was reflecting on it is that he is very comfortable with the

responsibilities of the job. we saw that over and over again when he did things no one thought he could do. but he wasn't comfortable with the pomp and circumstance of it because ultimately he is joe biden from scranton, pennsylvania. that's who he is. and that always struck me as one of the reasons why he could keep that level of empathy that he had and connection to people while still sitting behind the l resolute desk, making the decisions that he made. >> i was going to jump in on the politics of this. we spent nine years covering, i think at one point looks like donald trump's takeover of the republican party, but he was only able to do it because it had rotted from the inside out. i think that what we have covered, we have felt the animosity and the sheer terror, and the disdain, and it hurts, right? it stings. we have watched a lot of the animosity and disdain for the donor class and elected republicans. what nancy pelosi did, it

wasn't just an act of political expediency, it was what needed to be done to save the democracy, and we don't know all of the acts that happened behind the scenes, but the contrast of the party, it rotates around the universal principlehe of preserving the democracyse, is extraordinary. is the single most defining contrast between the two parties, as voters tune in, rt those voters who are paying attention 24/7 like all of us but there is only one party in the country that can say they will represent democracy even if it means making a different decision about who will lead the democracy. there is only one l party that can tolerate the frustration and confidence to go about such a public, high-stakes process, like persuading, or pleading with and incumbent president, a

successful one who was close enough to make an argument that he should stay in and lead the n party. it is the sign of a healthy party, versus one that has rotted from the inside. there is an incumbent nominee, i guess we would call him? and almost permanent incumbency in vegas, trump is just sort of in residence as the guy of the party, he picked a bouncer to run with, a guy who will push off anyone else and sort of be the protector for project 2025. is a party that has rotted from the inside out and imploded. there was pain and anger caused by what the pre-democracy party , if you are in that coalition from the inside. >> there has been so much uc consternation about the fight in the democratic party, but

also the media coverage of the fight. you have talked about all ovof that, and we know that people have strong feelings on both sides, people wanted some stuff done in private and some stuff done in public. throughout as difficult as it ro was on the democratic side what you are describing is correct. it was a good faith fight. it was a good faith effort to try to do the right thing by the country. it was a disagreement about how to do the right thing, but not that the right thing shouldn't be done. yeah. anyway, i endorse. speaking of endorsements, we have had a bunch more endorsements for the presidential campaign of kamalas harris. governors, there are now six democratic governors who have endorsed kamala harris's presidential bid. california governor gavin newsom, pennsylvania governor josh shapiro, the lvgovernor of colorado, north carolina, the governor of maine, and now new york governor kathy hochul. in the united states senate,

here is an important one. and arizona senator, mark kelly. he is particularly important, because he is seen anin many wa as a potential -- an important part of the future of the democratic party he is also mo potentially a running mate for kamala harris, mark kelly, arizona senator says, quote, i z couldn't be more confident that kamala harris is the right person to defeat donald trump and we will do everything we l can to elect the president of the united states. we also have an endorsement from alexandra ocasio-cortez, the progressive firebrand, incredible talented lightning rod ivyoung congresswoman from new york, alexandra ocasio- cortez saying, quote, kamala harris will be the next president of the united states. i pledge my full support to ensure her victory in november, now more than ever. as the country unites to defeat donald trump and american democracy, let's get to work. we have a new endorsement of

kamala harris, from brian shots, the progressive u.s. senator from hawaii, he has also endorsed turnout, and, just moments ago, within the last five minutes, an n endorsement from elizabeth warren, the progressive senator from the great state of massachusetts. we are going to be speaking with senator elizabeth warren in na just a moment, as we are seeing the floodgates open in terms of the democratic harty, throwing the full weight of its influence and its money, behind the candidacy of kamala harris. back to you. >> joining us now, our conversation with alex padilla of california, he also endorsedf kamala harris, the vice president earlier this afternoon. back in 2020 you all may 20 remember governor gavin newsom tapped him to fill the senate seat vacated by vice president harris. senator, thank you so much for joining us this evening.

again, you endorsed the vice president quite quickly after this announcement was made, you have been talking a lot this in evening about the many things that she brings to this race, her background as a prosecutor, the way that she talks about abortion rights, the time she served alongside president biden, but you know her pretty well, so i wanted to ask you, what don't people know about her? who is vice president harris, pl that the american public knows i but is really going to get to know even better? >> right, get to be with you. yes, this is pretty much a no- brainer for me, having worked with vice president harris for a long time, she was a district attorney in san francisco, so we often compared notes on a number of local government issues. i knew her in the senate when she was attorney general and in the van i was working as

secretary of state when she was working with the u.s. senate, we worked during the 2016 election on election security issues, we had a good friendship and working d relationship with her, and continued to take the country by storm. she is thoughtful, she is substances, and all politics is local, right? in california, you cannot succeed at higher levels of office, for people wondering if she has what it takes to unite our party, reach out to more than just base democrats to win in november, she has done it time and again here in california and she will do it throughout the country over the next 107 days. getting ready for the next question to let you know -- or to tell all the viewers how much i appreciate president biden's leadership, not just today or le

the last 2 1/2 years, but over decades, having a chance to thank him, and a key message for us to amplify is with six months less than in office, and he will make each and every one can't. >> no doubt about that. he spoke with president biden, e have you spoken with vice president harris today, as well? >> i sure have. a day like this, we played some phone tag, but we connected the most recently, about 48 minutes ago in the virtual waiting room before the show, we have a lot of work to do, i told her i was more than happy to become legally onboard. before that phone call, and we continue to reach out, not just to colleagues in the senate, and with other members of the labor and advocacy organizations who know what is at stake. a lot of energy today, and you're saying that just the

endorsement and the fundraising, and what have you, but a lot of the folks who have been making phone calls and saw the republican convention last weekend were reminded of the stakes of november does not go our way, everyone doubling down on our sweat equity to make sure that we elect kamala harris is the next president of the united states, but to ride that momentum, that energy, into maintaining a democratic majority in the united states jo senate and we are getting a majority in the house of representatives, the energy is out there such that it is not a surprise that donald trump is hemming and hawing about whether he is going to be there for the next debate. he is scared of kamala harris. >> that will be quite a debate, senator. i look forward to talking with you about that in the future and it is great to

hear about the grassroots excitement out there, we are seeing it in the money as well, thank you so much for joining us, tonight. back to you, rachel. >> vice president kamala harris tonight became the instant front-runner for the democratic party presidential nomination, d and, likely an instant front- runner for the presidency. nt the fundraising is already in gear, reportedly more than a $30 million raised in less thans half a day, less than a quarter of the day, the endorsements are pouring in for her from democrats at every level of elected office. the reverend al sharpton will join us in just a moment, a very well-connected man in democratic politics right now, really looking forward to hear what reverend al has to say and what he has learned over the course of this day. we will also be joined by the very influential congressman from maryland, jamie raskin. we have got lots to get to tonight and the news is still just flooding in. stay with us. stay with us.

welcome back to our special coverage on an msnbc. it is not every night for any duct tape and a sharpie to keep up with the news, but here we are. look at this. this is from senator -- of the presidential campaign of kamala harris. nicole, over to you. >> i am so glad to bring to our

conversation the reverend al sharpton, you are one of the people i have wanted to talk to on and off television about what has been going on behind the scenes, and i wonder, i know you're close to the president and close to a lot of people, his opinion matters a lot to him, what is your understanding of what happened in the last 48 hours? >> my understanding is that president biden did was absolutely noble. he made a decision that he felt was best for the country, and that he made a decision that he wanted to see what he was standing for and fighting for, and would continue. i remember january of 2020, martin luther king holiday, we had him speaking at a washington, d.c. breakfast. he came in the room, as we were preparing to bring him out, and he said, you know, i am thinking about running for

president, because this guy, trump, what he did in charlottesville was disgraceful, and that was what was really the impetus for them getting into the race late. he did not do very well in iowa or new hampshire, and i was there in south carolina, the day that jim clyburn was going to endorse him we just had a breakfast meeting with all the candidates, it was the day after the debate, and clyburn said, i'm going to endorse joe biden and turned the whole thing around. so i was there, close with vice president kamala harris, she has covered funerals and things with me, i was in brooklyn at the church, we were getting ready to have a service to celebrate the 90th birthday of former congressman townes, townsend i met when i was 17,

and when i was pulling up to the church, i heard the news about president biden withdrawing, who i talked to last monday, and when i got out, hakeem jeffries was there, i've known him 20 years, but i couldn't help but think about, from 72 through now, shirley must be smiling tonight, and it was a guy named joe biden that helped make a black president, who has now opened the door for a black woman to possibly become president, and put a black woman on the supreme court, but not just black, but for those that were denied, and those that were marginalized, and to come at a time where we have seen women's right to choose, affirmative action, voting rights, all immeasurably harmed by this supreme court, it couldn't be more appropriate, than for joe biden to go out with his head held high, and

fighting for these things, to make sure that we return, we are talking about a battle between which way this country is going to go, we are going to protect the rights one in the generation ahead of us or are we going back to the days of pre-1940 and other under the fagade of make america great again and i think that this is going to be something historic. it couldn't happen without a great man like joe biden. >> you and i were sitting next to each other on wednesday, during his speech, and his first line was, you know what i think of when i think of a whack job, vice president of the united states. he had that sort of great opening line, one that has even more meaning after what he did today and his endorsement of vice president kamala harris. people cover politicians like it is static, and politicians,

it is dynamic, right? especially the job of vice president where she was really treated with a lack of respect at the beginning of the vice presidency, she has always been an immensely talented campaigner, a lot of her speeches have happened while i have been on the air the last three weeks, she is electric on the campaign trail and i wonder what your recent conversations are like for her, she seems to move rather seamlessly into this spot, just as most likely the democratic presidential nominee but soon i would guess she would be the front-runner for president. >> she has always been underestimated, but she always took fire with balance. she has never been rattled but i've known her since she was the da in san francisco, through being elected attorney general through the senate race to vice president, each time, they said she couldn't win, and she kept

fighting, and she never lost her dignity. i was just with her a week before last, we spent a couple of days at the essence music festival in new orleans, and she went out there on the night that young people were watching hip-hop, 60,000 people in the superdome and turned it around, that is the kind of person that she is. as i said, she came to memphis, she spoke at the funeral before i did the eulogy, she came to buffalo, she has been in the trenches, and donald trump does not think this is going to be a tough race, he is underestimating it. he will have to come with more than slogans. he is going to have to come trying to dismiss her, all of that will not work. this woman is prepared, and this woman is someone who is used to fighting, and you know, i used to like boxing matches because it was a boxing match, i would say that it is the prosecutor against the felon.

who do you choose, america? the prosecutor or the felon? >> it writes itself. it is really amazing. the reverend al sharpton, it is great that we get to talk to you today, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> i hope somebody is making t- shirts with that on it, because those would sell like hot cakes right now that is clear. joining us now is congressman jamie raskin, thank you so much. we have had many conversations about democracy and this presidential race right here in the studio. i want to talk to you about vice president harris, but i want to start first, because you are a historian of sorts and he had a beautifully written statement about joe biden, were you called him one of the handful of truly great presidents in american history and a patriot beyond measure. i want to ask you to reflect on this moment of history and his decision to step down. >> the first thing that i thought about was president biden's amazing speech that he gave in january, i think january 5th of this year, when

he went to valley forge and he gave a speech in a pennsylvania town, and in it, he talked about george washington and it really struck me, he talked about how washington resigned his commission as the commander in chief of the continental army, establishing the principle of civilian control over the military, which is a point people often make. he went on to make a point that i have never seen anyone make before petit said, president washington also could have been president in perpetuity, because of how much he was loved and adored in the country but he also felt it was important to leave the office of the presidency, to establish the principle of civilian succession, but also, i think president biden was telling us that great leaders make space in a room for great leaders. great leaders nurture great leaders, and you can see this outpouring of love and affection for president biden, and he will be the heart and

soul of our party for a long time to come, but you are also seeing this electrifying effect in our party, and even outside of the democratic party about him passing the torch, and how different from that is the autocratic dictatorial roadshow that we saw over the last several days in the cult around donald trump. it is a completely different culture and completely different picture. >> so uplifting. i can tell you from my college text chain. before you came on, we were talking about how much incoming you have had from people in your district, from friends and colleagues, and i know that you have endorsed vice president harris, i want to ask about that, but also, why you are so excited about her as the nominee? >> she is going to be a fantastic leader and representative of the democratic cause. because of democracy and freedom. she made her career as a prosecutor for the local and state level, and as reverend

sharpton was saying, it will be a prosecutor against a convicted felon. she prosecuted people who committed sex offenses. donald trump committed sex offenses. she prosecuted people who committed financial crimes. donald trump committed sex crimes but he is a convicted felon. she is a prosecutor on behalf of democracy, freedom, and the common good. what do they have on their side? they have added jd vance, who america has discovered has no convictions at all, but donald trump has 34 convictions, so maybe they will share some of them with jd vance. he has convictions to spare. >> i love this contrast. there is t-shirts coming. tell me a little bit about the incoming reaction that you have been getting. he said your phone has been blowing up? >> it has been explicit. everyone has been on hold for the last few weeks, everybody wants to give money to the harris for president campaign.

everyone wants to come out and volunteer. we have this program called democracy summer with more than 1000 young people in 45 states across the country, people started texting me saying, is it too late for our daughter or our son to get into the campaign, so we will try to figure out a way to make more room and now everybody wants to go to the democratic convention, and i would use this as an opportunity to announce that i have no floor passes and no hotel rooms when i can get you invited to all the great parties with governor westmore. >> i was talking a bit at the beginning of our special about the process but there has to be a process, because i didn't mean to freak people out, the dnc will have to have a process to officially make kamala harris the nominee. i think it will be quick, it will happen long before the convention, but at the outflow of endorsements, here, is overwhelming. just the number of people, do you see anyone jumping in? >> nobody has mentioned it to

me and it wouldn't make any sense, the consensus seems overwhelming, but of course, technically, anybody could run and decide to try to run, but president biden, who we love and respect and revere has said his choice is kamala harris, and we know kamala harris, and she is going to be an extremely powerful candidate. she will chase trump and vance up and down the country from coast to coast on abortion rights for women, birth control and ivf on voting rights and democracy, they don't know what is coming. and, the entire democratic party is going to be out there. it is an all hands on deck moment for the last couple of weeks, republicans have been trying to say, the democrats are in disarray, we saw disarray when they tried to pick a republic and speaker, over more than a week with 15 ballots and they were all engaged in division and character assassination. that is not the democratic party. we have discussion, we listen

to each other, we are a family, and we can have disagreements, but we come back together. you are going to see 1000% unity and focus for kamala harris. i am addicting that. >> definitely feels that way, congressman raskin, always loved talking to you. back to you, joy. >> thank you so much. i want to bring in latosha brown, latosha, thank you for being here. we talked the other day as the democratic party was in a different place, where there was still this kind of escalating campaign from donors and members, for president biden to step down now that has happened, from an organizers point of view, because one thing that really stood out to me and a lot of civil rights organizations, they said wait a minute, the group doesn't seem to be at this table deciding this decision were the people with the turnout votes. that is why i was so excited to talk to you the other day on my show. how are you processing, and how is your organization processing this news that president biden

will not be the nominee and that he has now endorsed vice president harris? >> i have literally gotten phone calls nonstop. i do want to lift up the integrity and character and courage that president biden had, and you know, part of what we are getting called up with elections around personalities because of who we have, trump on the other side, and the millions of people in this country who are not rooting for the democratic ticket or the biden/harris ticket, there voting for policy. so if there is anybody who knows that policy, it is vice president harris. and i think it is -- i have had so many people over the last hour call and say how do i sign up? what do i need to do? tell me what i need to do. at the time, i think it is actually really great in three things. there is a level of incitement, i think the party did need a sense of energy and excitement, and i am very excited of the phone calls that i have gotten from groups on the ground doing

this work that are really excited about the possibility of continuing on to support this policy, 14 million people along with the support of vice president kamala harris as a nominee for the ticket. you know, the second thing is that i think people know right now, the important thing is to coalesce, hunker down and do the work because we don't need any confusion. i think this is the best time, when we are thinking about the timing, this is the best time. i am often saying, this is the year to want it. abortion, reproductive rights reproductive justice, is on the ticket. young people need to be reinvigorated. all of those things they care about and are concerned about, that is something i think vice president kamala harris is very real. this is a moment that i'm hearing from people that we work with on the ground, they are super excited about the possibility for this shot at energy, and then many people

have said, vice president harris is a prosecutor, we want to see the prosecutor go against the criminal. i think this is a really historic moment in this nation. >> to stick there for a moment, because we are seeing the post dobbs the world is very different, right? i think when vice president harris initially ran for president we were in a different world where people were taking for granted that roe versus wade would be the law of the land forever. we are now in a complete different world. so, in terms of organizing, you now have women running for the united states senate against rick spots scott in florida, you have a woman, gloria johnson who is one of the tennessee three running against marsha blackburn who is against abortion rights, you have gotten now this momentum on this issue that has even worked in places like kansas but you have got abortion referenda in multiple states. does having a woman nominee for president, does that fundamentally change the way the organizing looks? i'm talking about the organizing on college campuses across racial divides and across even some of the party

divides, we even had a group that was supportive of nikki haley coming on to support kamala harris for president. >> absolutely. i think this is a game changer. i think that we are seeing a realignment of the landscape. i think that what we are seeing often times when we are looking at politics in america we are looking at the politics of the past but if you look at the republican ticket, you look at trump and vance, they are symbolic of america's past, and america that i think is long gone. you have this racist trump, you are leading with this i eat of white national bravado, that in itself is supposed to be the symbol of america, i think vice president kamala harris represents the current america, the new america, this is the new america, a coalition of black and white people, and the aapi community, and latino community and when you talk about women and men and the lgbtq community, i think she is a candidate who literally represents a swath of america

and will be able to bring that coalition together. i also believe that because she has been working in the administer ration and people have been supportive, we're talking about policies that support working and middle- class people, she has that advantage. any time that we needed a woman to lead the ticket it would be now against the ticket that is openly misogynist, it ticket that is openly anti-women's rights. >> let me tell you something, the a.k.a.'s are on fire right now, we heard from lake, also saying she would be the first person from hbcu to be president, so you are seeing all these new communities that are never usually at the table and conversation. some friends from the indian american community, very excited because she is there, too, latasha brown it will be a very interesting year, thank you so much, i appreciate you

being here. let me send it back to rachel. i am telling you, if you know any a.k.a.'s, you will hear from them in the next 24 hours, they are very excited. >> they are not a shy group at the best of times, you know what i am saying? not hiding the light under a bushel. there has been news breaking while we have been discussing, one of the things we started talking about at the top was the process, and what needs to happen in order for the torch to be passed, from president biden to vice president harris, as the next nominee of the democratic party, a lot has happened on that front just since we have been on the air, it is now three state parties, north carolina south carolina, and tennessee, where the state democratic parties are now officially pledging all their delegates to vice president harris. again, north carolina, south carolina, and tennessee, pledging their delegates to kamala harris.

we know that there was a meeting, a phone call of all the state democratic party chairs that happened earlier this evening, we will be speaking with tennessee party chair, both to talk about that overall meeting, but also the decision in tennessee, that all the delegates are now being moved to harris. there is also very interesting reporting, the national finance chair of the biden victory fund, the big one, that is the joint fundraising committee, the biden for president campaign and the dnc and state democratic parties, the national finance chair for the biden victory fund tells nbc news that after a day of talking with democrats, quote, i believe that there will be enough pledges for kamala harris to be the nominee by the end of business on wednesday. wednesday of this week. we are also getting new reports from nbc, two sources familiar with the matters of the plan is still to expect a virtual rollcall within the next two

weeks so that the nomination will be settled, before the convention starts in a few weeks. all right, we will take the quickest breaks, senator elizabeth warren will join us on the other side, it is a busy night, lots still happening. stay with us. ay with us.