ten amazing people, go to cnn heroes.com to pick the one you should be named cnn hero of the year when i host with kelly ripa, december 9th right here on cnn. i want to hand it over to chris for cuomo prime time. >> i am chris cuomo, and welcome to prime time. this is a very big night for the president of the united states. he is all in on fear and loathing. we're going to be invaded he says. women fear for their safety, he says. he must take the law into his own hands and change the asylum rules and allow the military to fire on the unarmed. here are the facts. there is no invasion. nothing he just said there has any basis in reality, except there is an emergency going on, that explainings all the trumped up talk. it's five days before the election.

what matters to the president is winning. so the proposition is this. will enough of you buy into his fear and loathing to drive turnout. will that repulsive new ad we showed you accusing democrats of plotting to help migrants kill our cops, will that work for you? many republicans are staying quiet, but not all. we have a leader, a potential presidential aspirant who has a message for you. a message that takes us back in time, but lines up with exactly where we are now. big night, tons to test. let's get after it. we saw more of trump in the theater from the absurd as the president delivered a presidential address behind a white house podium. why am i putting in quotes. it was a political rally, there were no new details, no

specifics on immigration. he was peddling more fear and loathing. listen. >> no nation can allow itself to be overwhelmed by uncontrolled masses of people rushing their border. it's not just people, it's people, it's drugs, it's human traffickers, they're throwing rocks viciously and violently. these migrants are not legitimate asylum seekers. >> this is an invasion. >> if you keep saying it, maybe you will believe it, but it ain't true. we're just five days out from the midterms and this is where the republican party is. republican governor john kasich of ohio, joins us right now. welcome back to prime time. >> thank you, sir. >> do you agree with me on the basic proposition that there is no imminent invasion? >> no, there's no imminent invasion. and frankly what we have as a situation as we approach the border, we're not going to let a bunch of people come into the

country, but people want to seek asylum, and it's the laws we have. the fact is, when someone gets to the border, and if their families were at risk of being raped, murdered or whatever, they have a right to apply. we need a whole reform of our immigration laws. the fact of the matter is, it should be handled and could be handled effectively. there was at one point an ability -- i understand, for costa rica to sort of vet these people. for some reason, that program was ended under this administration. that would have been a smart thing to do. we'll see how this goes, chris. it's all about getting people stirred up. it's about fear. it's about scaring people. i heard about a lady who says, i have a lake house in minneapolis. and the way things are going, they're going to be in my lake house. i mean, people are susceptible to fear when they're told that by the president. and look, i've said over and over again, that everybody has to calm down.

i was telling my wife earlier today, yes, i know that there are democrats that say things that are incendiary, but look, this is the president of the united states. the president of the united states has the most powerful voice, not just in america, but in the world. and what a president says matters. and when a president sets a tone of fear, is there any surprise, chris, that there was a washington post poll that shows that 69% of americans across the board, republicans, independents, democrats are fearful of our nation's future? this is not the way to work. do we have problems? of course we do. but the answer to that is, we look at them and we solve them. we don't stoke fear because stoke fear repells people. >> that's not the president's agenda. it's pretty clear that's not the president's objective. the fact that we've failed for 30, 35 years as a country to come up with a better system. i was looking at a clip the

other day of president h.w. bush running against ronald reagan, and they were having this same debate about the exact same issues, birth right citizenship came up in the debate. they didn't even resemble the democrats today. you know, president trump would write them off as mobbish thugs based on how sub missive they seemed to the situation. times have changed. and your party is dead quiet when it comes to opposing the president on this. they either say nothing, or they say it quietly. so how do you not expect your party to become exactly this? the party of fear and loathing? >> well, because, i saw today that carlos cabella from florida condemned this latest ad where they were saying democrats were looking the other way, or opening the borders so this terrible guy could come in, at least these what the chyrons

were on the ad. it's completely and totally inappropriate. in the end we have to pick up the pieces after these campaigns. when your objective is to win -- there are ethical lines you should not cross. and i think there have been ethical lines that have been crossed. >> yeah, i don't think there are any lines -- >> somebody sent me -- >> i don't think there are any lines. >> somebody sent me -- look, chris, what is happening is wrong, it's repelling people, polarizing people, and i think another thing as well. i think that this kind of heated rhetoric isn't going to win elections. >> what if it wins in the midterms. trump's going to be even more of a hero? >> look, i have to tell you, i don't think this tactic is working. i live out here in a congressional district that is usually won overwhelmingly by republicans. you're losing -- what you're losing with this kind of rhetoric, you're losing republican suburban women, you're losing young people, you're losing independents,

because people don't want to hear this kind of talk out of our president. now, reagan and bush, these were people that could take it to the democrats, okay? but there were lines that they would not cross. and the same is true about clinton and the same is true about obama. presidents can't do this. and when we all go to school and learn about our great presidents, whether it's george washington or abraham lincoln or franklin roosevelt or ronald reagan. when you think about those people, they united the country. you can't be tearing it apart in order to win an election. >> well, he's saying -- >> pieces have to be put together afterwards. >> i'm saying this is a function -- >> it's a tactic. >> i get that, you're a governor with a lot of power. you ran for president, you could run for president again. but the leaders in their currently on the federal side, they don't say any of this. what you're saying right now. even paul ryan, the man who certainly had the moxie to call out president obama and said he wasn't speaking in a presidential fashion, he's never said that about the president of

the united states. yes, he's said he can't change the 14th amendment by himself. that's not the problem, the problem isn't his misunderstanding of executive authority. that's exactly what he criticized in obama with daca. the hypocrisy is clear. it's not clear to your leaders in your party on any level that i'm seeing. where they say, we think these lines are crossed. kasich's right, we're not going to allow it any more. he's got to stop, we're going to go talk to him. none of that is happening, this is who you are. >> i think we have to recognize the fact that there are elements on both sides that get out of control, and they say things that -- >> one side is saying if they throw rocks at you, treat it as rifles -- >> my deal is, this is the president, and you're above all other mega phones. there are some republicans who are speaking out, carlos cabella who tried to -- >> he's not in the leadership. >> well, he's not in the leadership, but he's a

republican leader. >> he is, fair point. >> he's a growing leader. and there are others. do i wish there are more people that would say, this is wrong? of course i would, i would love for them to do that. i'm not doing this because i'm interested in -- i want to make it clear to you, i say this because i am worried about what i'm hearing and what we're seeing in this country. the ratcheting up of the rhetoric, the fear that's being put out there, the things that are being said that this could be the end of our country as we know it, by many voices. not just the president, by many voices, this gets people frightened, and when you frighten people, you always take the risk that somebody, whose not in control of their emotions or has bad judgment does something crazy. >> we just saw that. >> and i don't want to see it happen any more. we're all at risk, and we expect better out of our leaders. and the rabbi at the synagogue in pittsburgh said, we've got to take hate out of our language. the leaders, the politicians

have to take hate out. because when there is a sense of hatred in that vocabularvocabul that rhetoric, it infects people, bottom line also, chris, i've said this on your show a million times, for many people, instead of getting angry, go and vote. instead of getting angry, organize your community. that's what we have to do, we can't fix all these big time leaders -- many of whom just can't get it. >> governor kasich, thank you for speaking truth to power on this show as always. >> all right, chris. god bless us, and god bless america. >> thank you, sir. we're going to break apart these really questionable claims that the president made during his white house address today. and there are many things that must be fact checks. even from someone who says he tries to tell the truth, was tonight one of the times that he was trying? could the president be breaking the law if he makes his proposed changes to u.s. asylum policy?

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nick's mom called the t-ball league eight times to help her shy son make some new friends. his parents shared videos of highlights, dance moves, and jimmy carlyle stealing third... almost. they sent seven texts when a new friend invited nick for a play date. but in the end, they put their phones down, and watched as nick finally felt part of the team. facts first, president trump says he's going to change the asiylum laws himself. first, that's exactly what he said president obama could not do with daca, using an executive order to get around a law as written. unlike obama, changing the asylum law would contravene international law for the treatment of potential refugees which allows people to enter a

country however they can, in a nod to the desperation of their plight. then he said something that would likely never come to pass. but it reminds us how dark the president's motives are, where migrants are concerned. american troops will have permission to open fire on unarmed migrants if they throw rocks. the main thing to look at is whether or not tonight was one of those times that the president says he tries to tell the truth. let's see. >> some people call it an invasion, it's like an invasion. they violently overrun the mexican border, you saw that two days ago. these are tough people in many cases, a lot of young men, strong men, and a lot of men that maybe we don't want in our country. >> some people call it an invasion. as we introduced to you the other night, don't be a sucker. an invasion doesn't gives you a

month's heads up. this is not what an invasion looks like, walking slowly down the road with kids in tow. as for them overrunning and badly hurting mexican soldiers, that's what he said, the president. cnn's layla santiago checked with mexican officials. here are the facts, two federal police officers were hit by rocks thrown, we believe by migrants, their injuries are not serious. however, trump said if they do that here, we should consider rocks as rifles. what does that mean? that means, you can shoot them. america more brutal than mexico? who would have ever imagined that. now, those strong young men he'd have you be scared of. they're really strong, we're not sure we want them there, because they're all weak. they're coming here to fill the more than seven million unfilled jobs in this country. he doubled down on this. listen. >> once they arrive, the

democrat party's vision is to offer them free health care, free welfare, free education, and even the right to vote. you and the hardworking taxpayers of our country will be asked to pick up the entire tab. >> fear can hit you here. facts hit you here. there are open jobs because americans can't fill them. there are more jobs than available workers. ask the employers. the same ones who commit crimes by hiring and never getting prosecuted with these illegal entrants. now, trump doesn't go after them. undocumented immigrants pump somewhere between 150 billion to $240 billion into our economy. also, about $12 billion in state and local taxes each year. some 13 billion in payroll taxes, they're also the politics. listen. >> it's only the republicans that are in unison, they want to

change them. they want to make strong borders, want to get rid of any crime because of the borders, of which there's a lot. >> republicans hold imagine orders in both houses of congress, okay? and they've got the white house, obviously. together the number of immigration bills they have passed is zero. and they are not of one mind, that happens to be part of the zero calculus, some are severe like trump. other want to work along lines with democrats, remember the gang of eight? and then there was this, it was as ugly as it was obvious. >> i don't want them in our country. and women don't want them in our country. women want security. men don't want them in our country. but the women do not want them, women want security. >> women don't want them, they want security. this speaks to two things. one, the president recognizes he has a political problem with women, and this is somewhat of an absurd attempt to connect with them.

of all the things women want from trump, starting with respect, fearing migrants is an obvious play. it's playing to the idea that women would fear attack more than men. and they must want security from these migrants because the migrants are monsters. this is where the president finishes where he started. they are rapists and murders in the main, and it has never been true. so i guess tonight was one of those times that trump just couldn't tell the truth. now, i want to hear how two trump supporters plan to counter these arguments. there's enough for the president to deal with on that side of the ball, that they have both seats at the table tonight. a double dose of maga mania. the great debate next.

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think of it. you're an inmy of our country. you're a general with war on your mind. you're a dictator who we hate and who's against us, and that dictator has his wife, have a baby on american soil.

congratulations, your son or daughter is now an american citizen. >> dictator, general? what is he talking about? is this true? let's ask our great debaters. thank you for joining us tonight. >> what dictator, what general? whoever did that? >> what the president is referring to is birther -- not birther -- >> birth right citizenship. >> birther tourism. people coming in just for the purpose of having a child. it could be someone who's an enemy of the united states. >> it could be. but he was suggesting like it happened. have you ever heard any of that? or is it just a suggestion. he could have said godzilla or a moth? >> certainly thousands of people are coming to this country and doing this. it's a practical question. we should have a debate whether

we're going to allow that to continue because it's wrong. >> i understand the concept. you have a constitutional amendment. >> i don't know about that, i think the congress can pass something when it comes to people who come here for the express purposes of spending a short period of time in america just to have a child, i think we can do some things on that. >> you might be right, but we know that everything that juris prudence tells us is, that's not right. we'll see. it's a political argument but for the president to say, he'll do it by executive order is right up there with the general. i don't get it. >> i don't think he can do that. >> drinks on me, rick. >> i don't think it's going to go to the court. the president's going to do this and it's going to go to the courts, chris. you know it's going to be tied up. look how long the --

>> muslim ban? >> daca? >> neither one is doing what he's trying to do with the constitution. we'll see. >> well, constitution al scholas are going back and forth about this, to debate -- >> no, not really a debate. >> we'll see. >> it's not really a debate. not only am i a lawyer, i'm a lousy loyal. i'm doing this. it's not a real debate. it's not like you have equal things on both sides, it's like global warming. there are a lot on one side, there are a few on the other. >> we're going to disagree on that, too, chris. >> that's okay. >> i believe in the weather. >> it's about climate, not weather. >> are you afraid of the caravan? do you think they're going to come here and do something to you, god forbid? >> what i don't want to happen, i think we need to secure our borders and we need to know every single person that is coming in and going out of this

country. and that is actually the responsibility of the president and the congress. so it's incumbent upon them to do something about it, this is what the president campaigned on in 2015 and 2016, and he is promises made, promises kept. and he's following through on what he promised. chris, if you go back to -- >> how? >> if you go back to the spring, what did he do? he did something that no one else we've ever seen done before. he brought nancy pelosi, chuck schumer into the white house with all the democrats and republicans and said, let's fix the illegal immigration problem. what did the democrats do? they tucked and ran. they didn't want to do anything about it. >> not true. >> they don't want to deal with this issue. they want it as a political issue, they weren't going to agree with him. they don't want him to have one more victory. >> amy, not true. >> how is it not true? >> i'll tell you how. give me a second. he said, let's do it, it never happened. he never seriously tried to

bring the sides together. you'll hear it from republicans, rick knows a bunch of them. you'll hear it from democrats, i heard from both. he's put a lot more energy into demonizing, because it works for him more with the base and for the midterms, frankly. than the legislative process, he never did it in ernest. you'll hear it from lawmakers on both sides. he never put his capital behind it. i have sources, not just my feelings. >> these aren't feelings, i have sources too. he caught hell from many of us, because we don't agree with granting amnesty to millions and millions of people. >> that's more to my point. he didn't want to put capital behind it. he backed away from that effort. >> he was going to, he was following through on what he promised to do. >> he never promised i'm going to spend my time demonizing the migrants, but not really doing anything to fix the problem. he said, i'm a deal maker, i'll get it done.

have you both houses of congress. he's got nothing done. >> you need a bipartisan support to get an immigration bill done. and by the way, as you well know, in the first two years of the obama administration, they didn't need a single republican vote to pass obamacare, and they wouldn't have needed a single republican vote to pass immigration reform. they did nothing. you can blame the president but this all goes back to -- this is the reason republicans make this point over and over. the democrats don't want to fix this, because when they had the chance to do it, they didn't even bring up the issue. they think it's a political winner for them. >> i haven't seen anybody do anything with this. i was watching a debate earlier today, from 1980, with george w.w. bush and ronald reagan. they were talking about the same issue. both sides have failed on it, we just thought trump would be different. we're in the same place except for the rhetoric. we've never seen the rhetoric like this before. ronald reagan said after the fact, he made a deal to allow --

legalize everyone that was in this country. he was promised all these things and they never happened. republicans have learned from that, you can't say, we're going to give everybody amnesty and fix the problem going-forward, it never gets fixed. that's the suspicion, and that's why -- >> doing nothing isn't a remedy either, and that's where we're at about. >> donald trump put a deal on the table. people thought it wasn't enough. donald trump put a deal on the table, that i don't know if any conservative would have put on the table or would have been enthusiastic about supporting. you can say it wasn't far enough for the democrats or even moderate republicans. it was further than any conservative had gone so far. >> he would be putting a lot more energy into that process, than going from rally to rally around the country just to stir up fear and loathing. he said something tonight none of us has ever heard before from a president of the united states much. if they throw rocks, treat them

as rifles. we both know what that means, okay? there's no code involved. i cannot believe that either of you would agree with that assessment. >> i do not. >> amy? >> i'm just saying for the record, i do not. >> then call him out and say don't do that to us. >> i just did. >> don't make me pull that out of you. >> you asked -- >> could you imagine if barack obama said that? could you imagine? >> you're right, he shouldn't have said that. >> it's not just about being right or wrong. wrong is, i can change the asylum laws by executive order. that's just wrong, it doesn't work like that. i get, but it's not going to happen. the idea of mexico paying for the wall, you're right, they're not going to pay for it. rocks as rifles, that is to put hate in people's hearts. this is to remind people these people are not worth the same

decency we would give to people in iraq and afghanistan. >> no, it's to discourage people from coming here. they threw rocks, attacked them. they tore down fences. >> two cops were hurt. >> one cop is too much, chris. >> to shoot them? to shoot them? >> let me finish what i'm saying. the president said that trying to discourage. remember the story of david and goliath, it was a stone. remember on september 11th, what was the weapon they used to fly those airplanes into the buildings? box cutters. the point is, there are rules of engagement that the military follows. and -- >> throwing rocks doesn't get you shot by the u.s. military. they have honor and integrity -- >> when have you ever known our military to go shoot people up. >> when the commander in chief says that's what i want, but they have a chain of command -- >> no, you tell me when that's happened. >> a box cutter wasn't what caused 9/11.

it was airplanes. >> i'm a former flight attendant. it was box cutters that were used to -- so they could get into the cockpit. the bottom line is, there are rules of engagement that have to be followed, and just because the president goes out and says something doesn't mean that the military's going to go and start shooting people up at the border. >> he's the commander in chief. >> that's absurd. >> why should he say it? you're saying it's david and goliath, rick, that's why we have to worry about the rocks. >> i understand the point, the president is trying to do everything he can to discourage people from coming to the border. but that was not an effective way to do it. we're not going to bring anybody in, and we're going to have a different process that's going to take longer. there's lots of things he can do to discourage people from coming. we've seen an explosion of the number of people coming from honduras and gauts muatemala an salvador. >> the number of entries has

been going down. >> that's because mexicans have -- >> but it's still low -- >> you know what -- >> let me finish this point -- >> it's an invasion. >> the aren't number of mexicans are going down, when a mexican comes across the border, you can immediately send them back, and you can't with everyone else. >> i get that it needs to be better, but the idea that it's a nation national emergency. we know that's not the majority of people that get into this country. there are overstays that are a problem. address that if you're so worried about security. >> at this point you said yourself a few minutes ago, that congress has done nothing. neither party. >> he was supposed to be different. trump was supposed to make deals. >> at what point is somebody going to stand up and say no more. i mean, seriously, barack obama didn't. >> are you going to stand up and say that? you're going to justify saying rocks as rifles. >> i'm not justifying -- >> they don't even have slingshots. >> chris, come on, you know

what, this is the thing, if these people were truly seeking asylum, why are they not accepting the asylum mexico had for them. >> many did not. and they continue on this march. >> if you don't think they deserve it, that's what you do. >> don't support the victory -- >> you don't treat them like they're animals. >> if they go to the ports of entry that he won't have this problem. >> sometimes they do, sometimes they're on the run, you deal with it either way. we'll play out the law and see what happens. >> follow the law. >> but david and goliath, that's not working with me. the president actually suggested today, what i was just saying, all right? and there was none of this, don't forget what happened with david and goliath, there was none of that. that's not a legitimate basis of concern when migrants come to the fence. and yet he said, treat rocks as rifles. oh, he didn't mean it. highs the commander in chief.

our next guest served in iraq. he knows what happens when you put a lot of troops on the border. he knows the stress and strain. he knows the money, he knows the concerns. he knows the situation. we're going to have a good conversation, next. ♪ ♪

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this is america. throw a rock and it might as well be a rifle. >> when they throw rocks like they did at the mexico military and police. i say, consider it a rifle. >> he's talking about the migrants. that was the president's message. look, we've seen what's happening with the migrants. we know there's a potential for conflict. what do we do about it, and what's the right way to think about it. founder and ceo of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. thank you so much.

perfect gift to the audience, you know the military, the pollic it -- politics. obama/bush national guard, they called him up, work with the gver ins. that's the mandate from the president, what does that mean by the way, coming from the commander in chief. >> it means he's turning it up. when you do it with the military, it's a totally different level. we're sending america's sons and daughters into a dangerous political situation. i was in iraq for a crazy political situation that felt like a shark tank. i had rocks thrown at me. you don't unload your clip when a kid throws a rock at you. when they are hit, sometimes they don't fight back, they don't shoot back, it can escalate the situation or put more people at risk. it's a failure to understand what our military is designed for, how our military operates.

and how we've put them in bad situations for the last decade and a half. this is the last thing they need. they don't need to get riot gear and get down to the border. >> just in case, because sometimes what he says, he actually tries to do. is there anyway that that kind of directive becomes a rule of engagement? >> no, it shouldn't. our troops are professionals. i think most americans don't trust politicians. i do trust our troops, and they've held the line and are incredible professionals. even when they're put in the most difficult situations imaginable. they're not going to commit war crimes. i think we also have to ask what kind of situation are we putting them in. >> these are americas sons and daughters. if one of our sons and daughters dies, it could be an accident. what is it for. i think that's what the president owes the american people. it's got to be worth it, and that hasn't been communicated to anybody. this doesn't look like a military strategy, it looks like

a political strategy. if it's not, prove it. they're going to do their job, follow orders. that's what every troop is going to do, the american people have to hold the politicians accountable. >> the audience knows you a little bit, you've been on here, in a lot of different places on cnn. you understand the nature of politics the most. when you see this group coming, it's an invasion. people say it's an invasion. they're about to invade, does anything you have gleaned about what's going on, speak to invasion? >> no, it doesn't look like a threat to me. i don't think it looks like a threat to the pentagon. >> what if they come here and don't go through the port of entry. >> i don't see that as an imminent threat for my family. i think the american people don't generally feel threatened here either. both parties have sounded off on that. they feel threatened about other things. we're here in new york city, i was worried about a pipe bomb. that was an imminent threat that seemed like it needed a forceful response and protection. that's the reality. i think we have to ground

politicians in reality. especially when we're a week out from an election. and two weeks out for veterans day. sometimes it was necessary, sometimes it wasn't. you have to ask, is this worth losing a man or a woman's life. somebody's son or daughter. if it's not, you shouldn't do it, that's simple, that should be straightforward. >> what's your sense about whether or not the fear and loathing is working. >> is it going to drive out people because they have a fear invested by the president of the united states, that the monster, the boogy man is coming. >> fear motivates people from a political standpoint. we've seen that from all parties as long as history goes on. >> i will tell you something people are forgetting, the veterans vote, the troops votes. they're very pragmatic, they're increasingly nonpartisan. >> how does sending 15,000 sit with them? >> i don't think they love it. they're so overextended. that's another part of this, every time you ask them to do one more thing, you're wearing them out. we've been wearing them out over and over again.

especially when it's a quick spin up that they weren't preparing for. they're not preparing for riot gear, they're preparing for deployment overseas. is this worth compromising what we're doing in afghanistan, iraq, syria, and other parts around the world. >> p.j., you get the military, the politics. thank you very much. democrats you don't see them going toe too toe with trump right now. why? it's a legitimate question. he's throwing out a lot of red meat, a lot of falsehoods, and they're not firing back, they're not making it their hill to live or die on. until, perhaps, today. is oprah the one who might rescue the democrats? next. you get a car, you get a car. onn destinations around the world! like new orleans! from cooking classes, to airboat tours,, tripadvisor makes it easy to find and book amazing things to do.

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the governor's race in georgia got some starpower today. oprah was out knocking on doors on behalf of stacey abrams. i'm laughing because imagine this woman when she knocks on the door and she expects somebody with a flyer and it's oprah. she also took some shots at trump in her speech. >> it's so much noise and crazy talk. all the vitriole in the ads, they're designed to confuse and confound you with fear. they're not designed for people with discernment. women, people, we have discernment. >> what would be our would-be counter puncher in chief have to say. >> oprah liked me very much. i've always liked oprah. you know, oprah's good. >> all right, he's gone kind of both ways. remember when somebody was

thinking she might run and he changed his tune a little bit. oprah, is she the anti-dote? >> i don't really think she was talking about trump, i think she stayed away from trump on purpose. i think she's talking specifically about political ads and the current climate. >> it sounded like she was talking about trump. >> it did, i watched the speech, i wasn't watching it, because i was dealing with some things, and everyone is texting me. oh, my gosh, you watch oprah, oprah, oprah. and you get a vote! and you get a vote! and you get a vote! i tell you what, oprah would be the first one to tell you this. oprah won't be the one who puts stacey abrams over the edge. it is the unknown people, especially those unknown women, many of them women of color who are fighting behind the scenes and knocking on doors that oprah is motivating right now who are going to get stacey abrams if

she wins comes tuesday night. >> i think i love the spirit of oprah's speech today, who is an independent. she's sick of political parties. don't -- i own my own mind and my own vote, and don't tell me who to vote for. i vote -- by the way, i just voted. i did it, because we're going to be tuesday night in d.c. i sent in my ballot yesterday. i think oprah can help, but it's going to be the people behind the scenes who actually -- those people who are working -- >> i think that's very true. at the end of the day, can somebody spark what is in your head and heart? and make you act or make yourself want to act? she did have something that i haven't seen from democrats right now. i don't care what she was talking about, how she was couching it, whether she was playing it aggressive or safe. she was coming with equal passion. but not with equal animous. >> it is genius. it's a lesson in how one should

conduct themselves all the time. but especially if you're in the political arena. the way she conducted herself was fantastic. oprah's a pro. >> yeah. >> she knows how to handle herself. what i liked about it is she said, nobody called me to come here. i called her, i sought her out. which i thought spoke volumes about the kind of person stacey abrams is. by the way, we're going to be talking about that. but we'll also talk about how the president used the oval office today, how he tricked the media and the american public. how he is pulling a bamboozle on the american public. and we're also going to talk about steve king. we have someone who reports on steve king. could be in trouble for -- well, he's in trouble for his party, own party now, and some racist statements that he's made recently. >> all right, d-lemon, appreciate it. >> see you in a couple minutes, mr. cuomo. i hope you didn't eat too much candy today. you're looking a little chunky today. i know you like sugar. >> all true. all true. you win again. i'm going to do something a little different tonight. the closing is the most powerful

one that you will have heard on this show. it's not my words. but it is somebody who is going to describe what's going on right now better than i ever could, and it is scary because they are talking about a time long ago. there is a truth you may not want to hear. because you are going to have a responsibility that you don't think you have right now. next. ♪ daddy, mommy's on the phone! ♪ hi! how are you guys? at&t proudly offers wireless and tv discounts to military, veterans, first responders and their families. visit att.com/hero.

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the president of the united states is attempting something no other president has in modern history. he's trying to start a mass movement based on fear and loathing of a minority group. now, he says that's not true, that he's just trying to keep us safe and make the system better. but don't be a sucker. he doesn't need to demonize migrants to do that. those walking across illegally are the smallest part of our illegal entrance. if he really just wanted to make us safe, he would prosecute those in big business that do the mass hiring and he would use his storied dealmaking skills to

get congress to change the system. he has gotten nowhere despite having both houses of congress. that's because what he really wants are votes and popularity with a minority of the country. and he has found a well-worn way to do it. fear and loathing with a common enemy. his methods are vulgar. his objectives are obvious and ugly. but he is not the key to the movement. you are. those who decide to follow and those who decide to oppose. if you think that hate is empowering, you're wrong. and if you think love will simply overwhelm, you're missing a major step. both situations were explained in perfect detail by the famed thomas merton. he wrote about exactly what is going on here. frighteningly exact. now, he was writing about what power nationalism in world war ii held. but his words will make a better case than i ever could for what

each of you needs to decide right now. this is thomas merton from the chapter "christianity and totalitarianism" in "disputed questions." a mass movement readily exploits the discontent and frustration of large segments of the population, which for some reason? reason or other, cannot face the responsibility of being persons and standing on their own feet. but give these persons a movement to join, a cause to defend, and they will go to any extreme, stop at no crime, intoxicated as they are by the slogans that give them a pseudoreligious sense of transcending their own limitations. the member of a mass movement afraid of his own isolation and his own weakness as an individual cannot face the task of discovering within himself the spiritual power and integrity which can be called forth only by love.

instead of this he seeks a movement that will protect his weakness with a wall of anonymity and justify his acts by the sanction of collective glory and power. all the better if this is done out of hatred, for hatred is always easier and less subtle than love. it does not have to respect reality, as love does. it does not have to take account of individual cases. its solutions are simple and easy. it makes its decisions by a simple glance at a face, a colored skin, a uniform. it identifies an enemy by an accent, an unfamiliar turn of speech, an appeal to concepts that are difficult to understand. here is something unfamiliar. this is not ours. this must be brought into line

or destroyed. it is against this temptation most of you will that the christian," is what merton says, but this applies to anyone who opposes a malignant movement. "that person must labor with inexhaustible patience and love, often in silence, perhaps in repeated failure, seeking tirelessly to restore wherever he can and first of all in himself the capacity of love and understanding which makes man the living image of god." man, that is deep and it is so spot on that it scares me. someone reminded me of this passage today. my father first taught me this many, many years ago. look, it's easy to give into hate. that is the easy way. and it is harder to fight it. but both choices stem from an immutable truth. this is not about trump. certainly not about safety nor any trumped up invasion.

it is about what each of you decide about yourself and what you want to be about. these are not my words, but man, i do own the sentiment, and it is food for thought for me and i hope it is for you as well. thank you for watching tonight. "cnn tonight" with don lemon starts right now. >> i love that you talk about your dad. you call him pop. we just talked about him at dinner the other night. and that story you shared about him and his favorite dessert, which is -- which was? >> apple pie. >> apple pie. he couldn't -- chris said he couldn't pass it up in a restaurant for dessert or if he passed a deli that had apple pie towards the end. you don't mind me saying that, do you? >> not at all. >> he would point and say he wanted apple pie. and you'd say pop, you just had apple pie not long ago. and he'd go so what? >> i never won an argument with him, even when he couldn't argue. but i tell you what, he introduced me to thomas merton many, many years ago. thomas merton wrote this collection of essays in 1960