♪ ♪ this... is a glimpse into the no-too-distant future of lincoln. ♪ ♪ it's what sanctuary could look like... feel like... sound like... even smell like. more on that soon. ♪ ♪ the best part? the prequel is pretty sweet too. ♪ ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the news continues. let's hand it over to laura coates and "cnn tonight." good evening, everyone. i'm laura coates, and this is "cnn tonight." look, a new warning from former president barack obama tonight. he says that what he calls "anything goes politics" is not

just toxic but dangerous to democracy all around the world. >> one of the easiest ways to win votes is to tap into people's growing sense of anxiety and fear and vertigo, their sense of loss, their resentment of change, and to tell them that their tradition and their values, their very identities, are under attack by outsiders. and you add it all up, and you've got a recipe for backlash and polarization and the sort of toxic slash and burn, anything goes politics that we've seen erupt just about everywhere. and it is dangerous. >> he's also got a few things to say about the new generation of leaders around the world as well. that brings us to the big question in american politics tonight. who are america's new leaders? who will they be? nancy pelosi announcing that she's stepping down from the house leadership after 20 years. some of the most familiar faces

in our politics, everyone where joe biden to donald trump to chuck schumer to mitch mcconnell, there's a theme. are you seeing it? well, they've been with us for years, decades. so, is it time for the passing of the torch? and also what sounds like a worker rebellion tonight at twitter. offices closed again. badge access suspended again. all amid an apparent mass exodus of employees saying, thanks but no thanks, elon musk ultimatum to work, quote, extremely hard core, unquote, whatever that apparently means. more to come on that in a moment. tonight here, audi cordish, also senator committee aide, and kirsten powers. i'm glad you're all here today. you know, look, every name i just mentioned, you were going back probably to your college and high school days and going,

yes, i remember when they were in office then. here we are a different time. speaker pelosi saying that she's going to pass the torch. but do we have a sense of this move to welcome a new generation of leaders? is it reactive, do you think, kirsten, to the loss of the house or just the season that she spoke of, as time being here? >> well, nancy pelosi had promised four years ago in order to secure votes to be speaker again that she would step down. so, this isn't something that she just decided to do on a whim. you know, i would say that as a very imbittered g xer, the baby boomers never really go away, and there they all are. that's on the one hand how i feel. on the other hand, nancy pelosi was an incredible speaker of the house. i find her to be almost irreplaceable. i think hakeem jefr ris is an incredibly impressive person, but we'll see if he ends up in

the job. she is a once in a generation kind of politician. >> and she will go down in history as one of the greats, if not the greatest speaker of the house. so, when you look at it that way, you say, well, it's good she stayed as long as she did. and she did mentor these people that are coming up. so, it's not like they don't know anything and they don't know what they're doing. these are people who have studied under her. you know, i think she's -- and she's also going to be around for a little while. >> right. she's still going to be in congress. but on that point, we talked about this in the past as well, the idea of the mentorship. you hear a lot of people in congress right now talking about the invaluable mentorship, either watching her from afar before they wanted to run or really in congress, probably on both sides of the aisle. she's a mystery maker in her own right. but have they done enough to cultivate an obvious heir apparent down the line? i mean, the one, two, and three are stepping down. have they done enough? >> i think that's an issue. obviously it's a big loss for

the democratic party. it's a loss for the republicans who are losing their biggest critique. one thing that i think is valid when she spent 20 years in this position, not cultivating that next generation, you've had a lot of future speakers leave the chamber. there's half a dozen i could rattle off the top of my head who are no longer there. even the fact we were up in the air until noon today as to what her plans were, i think that gives a sense of how chaotic this transition is, and how steep the learning curve is, if they try to step into her shoes. >> audi, i can't wait to hear your new podcast, "it's always out there." it's phenomenal. when you think about that, she understood the assignment and the idea of cultivating new leadership. at the same token, you remember quite well when congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez would come in and the likes of others. look, i get we need to have

institutional knowledge in congress. that's important to know the ropes. but it can be a hindrance and an invill to have a notion of look, we know we have to be here, we know how it works as opposed to blowing it up from inside and saying here's how it should look. what do you see from this new generation of leaders? >> i want to come from a slightly different angle. first of all, i think president obama was gen x. the reason i bring that up is because you started with him, right? and under his sort of terms in office, there was not necessarily a new generation of politicians who rose in his style. and in fact you saw i think upwards of 1,000 seats being lost by democrats in state houses across the country. that sounds minor, but this is about the pipeline. and then when it comes to pelosi, she herself says, power has to be taken. it is not given to you. people have talked about steny hoyer being next. steny hoyer didn't step aside because she seemed like a nice girl from baltimore.

she fought her way in and she took it. and the reason why no one has come up since is because no one else has accomplished what she could do with the same superpowers that she has, so to speak. and these are powers every lawmaker has, but they don't have them in equal measure. can you fund raise? are you a legislative whiz? or are you a really good show pony? and i think that pelosi is really good at getting in front of the cameras, taking the fight to people. we know she's a super fund-raiser, and she absolutely has proven 20 years of legislative wizardry. >> speaking of the camera, look at this screen. she's in front of how many different -- or behind how many different presidents. there's one of her tearing up the speech at one point at the state of the union, which is an iconic moment for a variety of reasons. there is the idea of what president obama had to stay. we're talking about the idea of a new generation. here's what he had to say earlier today at the obama

foundation democracy forum about the idea of new leadership. listen. >> renewing our democratic culture will take decades and not years. and that is why the ideas of a 61-year-old ex-president are less relevant than the ideas and insights of a new generation of leaders who are better attune to the changes that are taking place around the world. and by the way, we'll be ones that carry democracy's torch into the future. >> now, kirsten, if i was a cynic, i would say, if he's saying 61-year-old former president is problematic, we've got an incumbent president who's got a couple more years than that. is he referencing that in a subtle way, or is this a matter of saying, look, more broadly, i'm not the one to talk about the future when i've got maybe excellent alternatives for the future in front of me. >> i think it's more likely the latter of what you said.

i just want to say that gen x did try to claim obama, but he's technically a baby boomer. we tried, trust me. so, i think that he is talking more. and i also want to say, even when people are saying, some people need to step aside, everybody needs to step aside, right? so, that's the issue. i don't like the kind of ageism of even around joe biden, which is, oh, he's too old. look, if you have an issue with joe biden, make an issue with joe biden. his issue is not the age. so, you have to -- and same thing with pelosi. for ten years people have been saying she's too old. and then she was one of the only people who can handle donald trump, right? so, it's not that there can be no people that are older. it's just i think what president obama's saying is we do need to cultivate younger people who have fresher perspectives and different perspectives and start to bring up a new generation rather than being like, oh, remember barack obama. we love barack obama every time he comes on. it's like, he can't always be

that person. >> it doesn't just seem to be an esoteric discussion about why you need fresh blood, though, or why you need fresh faces. young voters carried the day of these elections. so, the idea of trying to have fresh leaders or newer, younger voices, isn't it a reflection of the fact that younger voters were the ones to say, excuse me, we've got a lot of power and we're going to wield it. >> ten days into what is now the 2024 election cycle whrks we seem to be on a collision course between the same people that ran 2020, and i think in light of young voters that did turn out, i think that's particularly striking. having president obama come in and remind us that it could be time to turn the page, i think that's particularly on the republican side. trying to figure out how do we move beyond donald trump, or can we move beyond donald trump? and it is that next generation of gen x republicans who would be waiting in the wings potentially. >> this gen x baby boomer thing is a big issue. >> it's a thing.

>> no, no. i think you're making an assumption there about what that youth vote was about. we're going to know more soon. it could have very easily been that in the areas where you saw that increased youth vote, it was about a right potentially being taken away. that conversation and abortion. also about the election denialism. the perception of that, that that was something being taken from them, rather than saying, we have so much faith in the institution. yea government. we were also seeing the introduction of the first gen z candidates. but just one thing i want to put out there -- and this is my own weird theory -- the last decade has seen a lot of leaderless movements from this generation. starting with occupy wall street, black lives matter, these are movements that on purpose were diffuse and were about sharing the spotlight and sharing the leadership, which is great. it doesn't mean, though, you necessarily produce a john lewis or something like that because that movement was hierarchical, right? and patriarchal, as we know. and so i think that we're

expecting the old rules to apply to a different generation. and what they like about an aoc, et cetera, is obviously her ability to communicate with them on their level. but i think even she is not going to say, i'm the leader of this, i'm the voice of this generation, because that's just not going to fly with them. so, i'm not sure you're going to see people crop up the same way as a pelosi-era politician would, where you are so excited -- your dad's a democratic mayor, and you shake hands with jfk in your ka till i don't know dress or whatever. it's, to me, a very different moment. >> a very visual black and white photo. >> it is. it is. >> i'm doing this in my mind. the polaroid is shaking in my head and coming into frame in that. it's a point well taken. the idea that whether that's even transferable into politics. >> that same photo would have to be you protesting in pelosi's office to have the same impact. look at me. i was there. you know? >> also i think some of the biggest fans of bernie sanders were young people, right?

so, they're not always necessarily going to go with the person who's younger. they're going to go with the person who's talking about the things that they care about. and so in fact, you know, a lot of the people who were more skeptical of bernie sanders for older people. older people tend to be more skeptical because they're like, wait, i'm your age -- >> i can't remember where my -- >> how are you flying around the country, right? so, whereas the young people are really looking for people who are speaking about things they care about, which are a lot different than what you'll hear from a lot of main stream democrats. >> what is that radical thing about representative republics? what are we talking about? we're coming right back in a in a moment and we're going to hear more from former president obama saying, tonight, quote, we're going to have to figure out how to live together or we will destroy each other. i almost tried to imitate his cadence. i don't know why that happened. we'll tell you what he's s sayi next.

all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work helping them achieve financial freedom. we're proud to serve people everywhere, in investing for the retirement they envision. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to.

♪ ♪ it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. where do we even start our house search?

the house whisperer! this house says start with deep search filters on realtor.com. and all the missing socks, are behind the dryer. realtor.com. to each their home. can a button work wonders in the bedroom? no, no! not the fun button, the other button. sorry. marcia has sleep apnea and her struggles with cpap had me sleeping in the guest room. now she's got inspire. it's a sleep apnea treatment that works inside her body with the click of a remote. no mask. no hose. just sleep. now i'm back. and we're back. ♪ ♪ inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com

the biggest thing is you notice election deniers don't deny their own election. funny how that works. how many of them actually believe that some of the nonsense that circulates versus those who think it's convenient or it's a way to own the libs or it's a way to send a message or align themselves with trump. that's hard to say. but what is important is that because of some really concerted efforts in a lot of important states, some of the most egregious, prominent, and potentially dangerous election deniers, they got thumped. they got beat. >> well, that was the former president obama on "the daily

show" tonight. how much are we going to miss trevor noah in that spot? i'll move on. president biden made the fight for democracy central to the midterm message. tonight the man he served with, former president barack obama, is warning the fight for democracy is far from over and making it clear it's not just a republicans versus democrats problem. and we're going to talk all about it with audi cordish and kirsten powers as well. he made the comment about there being a concerted effort on the trail. he was part of that concerted effort. he had a lot ott skin in this game in terms of when he was campaigning for people. he had 8-3 scorecard record for people he was campaigning for and talking about. those were really good numbers in terms of being there. one thing that's fascinating, liam, look, when president biden went out for his closing message, to talk about democracy in peril, people thought, do you want to talk about the economy,

sir, because that seems to be what the polls are doing. and then what happened? the election seemed to be that democracy not only was on the ballot, but election denialism was on that ballot as well. and now you have president obama saying it's still an issue. why do you think that is that he's making these cases even a week after the elections? >> well, i think when you have an outcome like they did, beating all expectations, doing better than historically they had business doing, everything you did there is validated. at some level i think coming through and hitting on those themes that worked makes a lot of sense, particularly, as i said, we're in this 2024 presidential cycle as a practical matter. and the former president just announced two days ago. so, it's not a coincidence that even as prominent election deniers are conceding their elections, the biggest election denier of them all has entered in the ring. so, i think that can't be a coincidence that obama's hitting those themes now.

>> i want to expand beyond the here and now in this particular country because his statements today outside "the daily show," the former president spoke about this is not falling on a conserve o conserve or a liberal or republican and democrat theme. listen to this. >> the threat to democracy doesn't always run along a conservative, liberal, left/right axis. this has nothing to do with traditional partisan lines or policy preferences. what we're seeing, what's being challenged, are the foundational principles of democracy itself. the notion that all citizens have a right to freely participate in selecting who governs them. the notion that votes will be counted and the party that gets more votes wins. that losers concede, that power is transferred peacefully, that the winners don't abuse the machinery of government to

punish losers and entrench themselves and make it impossible for other parties to compete in future elections. >> i mean, that axis he talks about, audi, he's speaking more broadly from a higher perspective so to speak. what do you make of the argument? >> i mean, to be honest, it feels a tiny bit late. it feels like he's maybe just woken up to coming out and talking about this. when 2016 came and went, there was a discussion globally about the rise of populism and nativist movements, not just here in the u.s. but in other parts of the world. and over the last few years, people have talked about authoritarian rule, here often in context of who trump was sort of pals with, so to speak. and i get the sense that maybe obama held back after he left office, like he needed a little bit of a rest. and then later on with biden, he wanted to stay out of the way a

little bit. but as a result he kind of wasn't there at the forefront to kind of land these punches. and maybe this was a wakeup call. maybe 20 -- maybe this election was an opportunity for him to come back, so to speak. anyone else jump in, but it just feels like, you know -- >> i want to play this and i want you to respond to this, kyrsten because we've talked about in the past as well. he was on the campaign trail, which is countered, measured, talking about this from an esoteric perspective. he went after people on the campaign trail. listen to this. >> let's say you're at the airport and you see mr. walker. you say, hey, there's herschel walker, hiceisman winner. let's have him fly the plane. you probably wouldn't say that. listen, it's easy to joke about dr. oz and all these quack remedies he's pushed on tv. if somebody's willing to pedal snake oil to make a buck, then

he's probably willing to sell snake oil to get elected. if you were trying to create in a lab a wacky republican politician, it would look a lot like this guy, mr. masters. if kari lake is your governor, we know what she'll be focused on because donald trump told us. he said, if somebody asks kari, how's your family, she says, the election was rigged and stolen. >> so, kirsten, do you see attention between today's obama talking about how to live together or destroy each other, and him recognizing really the reality of what the candidates were like? >> i think its both/and. i think you can do both things. i think you can be very, very clear about people who are dangerous. and it's certainly reasonable to say these people were dangerous in terms of democracy. and to do your best to turn out

voters. and you can pull the lens back and you can talk about the broader issue. now, he hasn't, you know -- i don't know. i don't read and watch everything that barack obama does. but i do know in his book, "a promised land," he did use a very similar line in the book as to what he said about, you know, we're going to either learn to live together or we're going to perish. and making the point that the world watches, that the world is looking at the united states because we are the biggest democracy that has people from every creed, from every race, from every ethnicity living in this experiment. and is it going to work, right? so, it's not just a democracy with a bunch of people who have been there for a long time. it's a democracy that's brought together all these different people, all these different beliefs, and can we make it work? and it's now an open question. and i don't think it was an open question for a lot of people in the past. and he made it very clear it was

a very open question to him. >> the way you describe it is almost like america has this perfect instagram filter of democracy they want the rest of the world to look at and say, hey, this is aspirational. he's pointing out through the kinks in that particular chain. i wonder if you look at this as you're talking about the 2024 election, and we all are already. how is this going to translate? and does this actually get followed by republicans as well? >> you know, i think we're sorting that out on the republican side right now. what does that future look like? what do we want it to look like? are we just going to be along for the ride with donald trump and just sit in the back and keep our hands and feet inside the vehicle? and i think there are more and more people waking up to the fact that you actually have to stand up and do something. you can't just expect that he's going to fade away. and so i think that's what republicans are grappling with internally right now. and the battle lines are being drawn. and i think there are obviously people who could stand to be the

alternatives. and how they proceed, i think, will determine how republicans head into tour. >> a lot at stake. the identity crisis is continuing to be here. also there is a developing story tonight. you heard of twitter? yeah. the offices have closed again and the employee access has been suspended, again. and employees now are staging a mass exodus. so, what in the world is going on at twitter now? we'll try to explain next.

all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're investing for our clients in the projects that power our economy. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive.

hi! need new glasses? get more from your benefits at visionworks! how can you see me squinting? i can't! i'm just telling everyone! hey! use your vision benefits before they expire. visionworks. see the difference. research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual!!! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

these days, our households depend on the internet more and more. families grow, houses get smarter, and our demands on the internet increase. that's why we just boosted speeds for over 20 million xfinity customers, on us. so you get more of the speed you need for day and night streaming. more speed you need when you're work from homeing. and more speed you need as your family keeps growing. check in on your current speed through the xfinity app today.

turmoil spreading tonight at twitter, where there appears to be some kind of a mass exodus of workers, who are rejecting elon musk's ultimatum to work extremely hard core, which he defined simply as long hours at high intensity. but how many hours and how

highly intent? what does that mean? no one knows, but a lot of employees apparently didn't care to wait to find out. and they just said, good-bye. cnn's senior media reporter oliver darcy is here with more. oliver, there's a lot happening it seems every other day at twitter. a mass exodus now appears to be underway. and they're rejecting that 5:00 p.m. deadline of today, that ultimatum. and now i hear they're closing their office buildings. why? what are you hearing from inside twitter? >> yeah, it really feels like twitter the taking its last gasp here. if you look on twitter right now, the top trend worldwide is rip twitter. that's because scores of employees have seemingly resigned from twitter, rejected elon musk's ultimatum. let's take viewers back. musk, earlier this week, gave twitters workers, the people who are remaining after the mass layoffs earlier this month. he gave them a choice, work

quote, unquote hard core, or leave the company with three months severance. it seems like a large amount of people have decided to leave the company. they don't want to work hard core. that's thrown the future of this platform into utter chaos. i've been talking to people all day. one former executive who recently exited told me that with all these departures, it's going to be hard just to keep the lights on over there. so, now with all these departures, the people remaining, the management, has suspended badge access into twitter's afss presumably because they're afraid that will employees who are technically no longer employed at twitter could potentially sabotage things. i'll read you the statement or the email they sent to staffers. it says, effective immediately, we are temporarily closing our office buildings and all badge access will be suspended. offices will reopen on monday, november 21st. it goes on to say, we look forward to working with you on twitter's future. as you can see, just mass

disarray has gripped this company here. >> you say this and talk about the lights coming on, i think to myself, what about security? who's guarding the hen house? who ensures it operates and functions in any meaningful way. there's the moment you're talking about hard core intensity. he seemed to soften his stance on getting rid of remote work. just the latest back track in his plans. i wonder how this whiplash is really landing and affecting people who are still at twitter, still employed, maybe waiting until monday to figure out if their badge will work again. >> everyone is confused. that's the short answer. and i was told earlier today that management was really worried that they weren't going to be able to retain talent. they were really -- i think it was becoming clear that a lot of employees were actually just going to leave twitter altogether. some sources told me they were scrambling to get people to say. elon musk seemed to realize that.

he softened his stance on remote work. he said earlier today -- where is it? i had it here. regarding remote work, all that is required for approval is that your manager take responsibility for ensuring you are making an excellent contribution. he went on to explain that, basically people could work remotely if management had okayed it. and recently, i think you're even seeing musk digest some of this news. he just tweeted moments ago about how you turn a large fortune into a small one. and there it is on screen. how do you make a small fortune in social media, start out with a large one. really kind of putting into context what's happened to his $44 billion purchase of the company. >> wow, you forgot to add that the end of that discussion about remote work. the idea of hey, by the way, if any of the employers were supposed to essentially cosine that you are working if they're not working, if they're not

truthful, god bye as well. it's not even coded in that sense. a lot of chaos happening there. >> we'll see how long twitter stays up. >> i won't hold my breath. all i'll say about that. thank you. nice seeing you. >> thank you. look, as parents, we're passionate about what our kids are learning in school. but next how culture wars in the classroom impacted the midterms.

when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke,

and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older... with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq... as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there, with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq. and learn how abbvie could help you save. [holiday music] ♪ for people who love their vehicles, there is only one name on their holiday list... weathertech... laser measured floorliners that fit perfectly in the front and rear... seat protector to guard against spills and messes... cargoliner, bumpstep, and no drill mudflaps to protect the exterior... and cupfone keeps phones secure and handy... [honk honk] surprise!! shop for everyone on your list with american made products at weathertech.com...

there are schools all over the country echoing with the cries for parents' rights getting louder and louder for the last few years, if you haven't noticed. and it's becoming a big focus of the midterms, at least it was. whether it's fights over covid protocols or arguments over teaching about race and lgbtq plus issues, the chaos has become, well, part of the national conversation. and it's continuing. for . >> calm down. calm down. we know who you are. we know who you are. you can leave but we can find you. >> you will never be allowed in public again.

>> are and i'm going to come for everybody that comes at my kid with this stupid, ridiculous mandate. >> to hate others because of their skin color. and you're forcing them to lie about other kids gender. i am disgusted by your bigotry and your depravity. [ crowd chanting ] >> okay. right here. look right here. so, as you can see, fists are now flying. all of this on live television. fists are flying. >> wow. every time i see that -- well, a audi cordish has been looking into this on her brand-new podcast called "the assignment." >> we can't focus on just the presidential election anymore. what happens on the local level is the most important and

protects our children. are there a lot of informed voters out there? yes. are there not. absolutely. to some extent, to make it a more partisan race, it helps those that are low information voters make a decision based upon what they believe. >> audie, this podcast is phenomenal. it taps into an issue people have been talking a lot about. the idea of parental rights under this big umbrella term, it exploded. how consequential was this notion in the midterms? >> i don't think we can know that for sure or yet. the reason i wanted to focus on it was because of those videos we saw. what happened to those people? how did they channel that energy afterwards? and it turns out that a movement that started because of covid policies ramped up because of crt and flipped over because of lgbtq rights has now become a movement with pacs that pour money into local races. there's a group called 1776. there's a group called moms for

liberty, which has more than 200 chapters around the country. and ron desantis has made education a very specific part of his anti-woke agenda, which means he is now backing candidates. you can sign a pledge, say ron desantis backs me, and you can draw on his political halo, so to speak, as you're reaching out to candidates. so, i think what we wanted to do is just kind of live with those people for a minute, talk to them about how they got activated and what they want to do with the power they have now because school boards do have tremendous power at the local level. >> thinking of that issue, look at places like virginia, right, where you have governor glenn youngkin who really tapped into it during covid-19. you talk about the idea how it evolved from that. there's actually a change that's happening in their proposed new education standards. i want to show people on the screen what this looks like. for example, the old version in term of racism, this is one of the areas you're talking about. the omd version talked about racism, prejudice,

discrimination, antagonism, a variety of other issues. the new version would have no mention of these issues. in terms of climate, for example, a different education standard. they would have using information resources and other visuals to identify information about location, climate, et cetera where impacted. and new version talks something very different. you have a bit of a bleaching -- i hate to call it sanitizing -- because it suggests these topics must be removed. >> bleaching is a great word actually. >> yeah, what do you think about it? >> watching this video of this white man screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs and the right thinks this is totally normal behavior makes me think there was a viral video about a black college student screaming at somebody, and the right thought it was the most heinous thing they had ever seen in their lives, right? and now these adults, right, parents, are screaming and yelling and threatening people.

something is very wrong with that. now, if you're upset, you have a right -- you know, you have a right to be upset about things. you have a right to have a perspective about things. you don't have a right to do that and you don't have a right to be intimidating and scaring the people who are working on the school boards. so, what it sound lieks is there are people that are trying to have their political views recognized in what's being taught to children. >> they argue that already political views are being taught to their children, and that's why they think they're a counterbalance to that. >> yeah, except i don't think it's -- it's not a political view. it's not a political view that there is climate change. there's not a political view. so, i don't -- there are some things that i think when i was reading about it where i was like, this is on the line. i can kind of see where they're coming from. but there's some of the stuff where it's like, look, my parents were educators. they were professors. and they had a lot of issues with the things i was taught at school. they never make things like this.

>> what's your thought? >> i think what we just witnessed is that's the fever pitch. you mentioned this midterm. i'm a virginia voter, a virginia public school parent. that was the -- and there was a moment where terry mcauliffe stepped in by saying parents didn't have, touched this nerve. i think this is all downstream from the fact during covid when people were at home helping teach their kids or at least alongside their kids, zooming, people got a peek into the education system, into the curriculum, in ways that were completely unfamiliar. and i think that led to concerns and led to further scrutiny and a level of paranoia that have really character triedsed our politics. >> sounds like a podcast we've got to listen to. of course it is called "the assignment," everyone. cannot wait. we'll talk more about these. stick around. a different issue. she wanted to wear braids.

who am i talking about? the former first lady of the united states, michelle obama. but she says america wasn't ready for her natural black hair. her explanation after this. financial l freedom. we're investing for our clients inin the projects that power our economy. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. if you have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure... ...you're a target for chronic kidney disease. they're the top two causes of ckd. so you can have it annot know it. to find out, check the kidney numbers from your lab tests. ♪far-xi-ga♪ if you have chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help slow its progression. farxiga can cause serious side effects including dehydration,

urinary tract or genital yeast infections in women and men, and low blood sugar. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may lead to death. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. and don't take it if you are on dialysis. take aim at ckd by asking your doctor for your kidney numbers and how farxiga can help. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪far-xi-ga♪

research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual!!! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ ♪ mercedes-benz is turning electric... completely... on its head.

bringing legendary design... and state-of-the-art technology... to a fully-electric suv. the all-new, all-electric eqb from mercedes-benz. can we even afford this house? maybe jacob can finally get a job. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to see homes in your budget. you're staying in school, jacob! realtor.com. to each their home. you go by lots of titles. veteran, dad, hair stylist. so adding a student title might feel daunting. national university is here to support all your titles. national university. supporting the whole you.

michelle obama opening up this week about a dilemma many black women face, whether or not to wear natural hairstyles. the former first lady revealing she considered wearing braids while living in the white house, but after some thought decided against it, saying that americans weren't, quote, ready for her natural hair. instead she kept her hair straight as the country adjusted, she said, to a black first lady and family in the white house. back with me. joining us also is former obama white house official and montgomery county council member will jawando. we've talked in the past and we'll continue to talk about this issue, the idea of the pressures imposed to have conformity, the idea what we consider to be professional or we consider to be beautiful, what is punishable, and how we take people seriously based on their appearance. we are aware of this. but hearing it from a former first lady about that pressure in the white house i found

particularly striking given that we knew there was a lot at stake and a lot of eyes on them. what did you make of that? >> well, first of all, i thought, sister, america wasn't ready for a black woman in the white house, period. let's just start with that. but also as i read through what she said, understanding the first black family, the first black president, she also understood -- i worked for hillary clinton in the white house, and the first lady takes on a lot of whatever our cultural baggage is about women. i remember the first time she wore pants it was -- you know, freaked people out. >> or a sleeveless photo for the portrait. you remember that? >> yes. michelle rightfully understood i don't want to create a distraction, and we can all think it was ridiculous it would have created a distraction -- >> no, it was imposed on her. where it was like obama the

quote-unquote terrorist and for her the mere styling of her hair in that image was supposed to signal militancy and comes from a mind of an artist who at the time i think given his age would have those associations of sort of the black panther activist violence type things. so it was out there. >> we often talk about the crown act obviously that passed in the house. it's still waiting for a chance in the senate, whether it will get it or not. the idea you could actually be punished in the workplace not just not respected but punished for not looking appropriate, so to speak. well, men are a part of this conversation as well, very much so. >> the line, you got to tighten up. >> it's all natural. >> thinking about it you in your perspective it's not just a conversation about black women. >> no, it's about black people and about anti-blackness. it's about the centuries of

efforts put in to say everything about us our lips, our hair, our back sides, our skin color is negative, and that the epitome of perfect and the standard is white. and that has -- you know, when it was really sad. i have a michelle at home. karen knows. who when our daughter came home and said mommy i want my hair to be straight and pretty like the girls on tv, and we have all black dolls, all black books. that seeps through the culture. i'm glad the first lady talked about it because it was a real consideration. it's something every day black people, particularly black women are getting up making decisions how do i present myself to the world. and the crown act we passed it in montgomery county, and maryland is one of the 19 states that's passed it. but it's such an important protection because it not only gives you legal protection -- i don't know if you saw that young man who was on the wrestling

mat. >> had to cut off his dreads. >> like while his teammates watched him. >> for sure anytime i came on television prior to taking this job i straightened my hair. and when i decided not to, every single day it's been difficult. you know every single day i felt awkward. every single day i thought is this the right thing to do. >> now? >> yes, of course. i'm the only one doing it. i go into the hair and make-up and there's no one else wearing nar hair this way. so the signals are very strong culturally. i want to add one more thing in the time we have left. her being able to say this now in some ways is the end of the signal of respectability politics that says there's nothing you can do to yourself that will make you equal in the eyes of someone who is racist or harbors racist ideas, and therefore you shouldn't be doing all of these things because

that's not going to get you there. the activism is going to get you there. >> ketanji brown jackson with her braids and little girls getting their little wigs with their braids for halloween. i mean we have moved from where things were as the first lady. and i hope that more little girls look atika tongy brown jackson and other women with natural hair and decides what makes them feel good not based on -- >> i'm sorry this just came into my ear that -- her hair is beautiful. let it perpetuate. and for more michelle obama make sure you tune in this sunday night at 8:00. sarah schneider hosts michelle

obama's mission, a conversation with michelle obama, mala clooney and melinda gates. two former presidents, a former vice president, a speaker of the house all laying out their visions for the future of this country, so whose vision is going to win? we'll talk about it next. my name is joshua florence, and one thing i learned being a firefighter is plan ahead. you don't know what you're getting into, you knnot having to worrybehind buyouabout the futureou.y, makes it possible to make the present as best as it can be for everybody.

covid-19 moves fast, and now you can too by asking your healthcare provider if an oral treatment is right for you. oral treatments can be taken at home and must be taken within 5 days from when symptoms first appear. if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they are mild, don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk of severe disease, act fast. ask if an oral treatment is right for you. covid-19 moves fast, and now you can too. psst! psst! with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. flonase sensimist provides non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. in a scent free, gentle mist. psst! psst! flonase. all good.

(snorting) if you struggle with cpap... (groan) (growling) (chuckle) ...you should check out inspire. no mask. no hose. just sleep. (beeping) learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. hi! need new glasses? get more from your benefits at visionworks! how can you see me squinting? i can't! i'm just telling everyone! hey! use your vision benefits before they expire. visionworks. see the difference. if you run a small business, you need the most from every investment.

that's why comcast business gives you more. more innovation... with our new gig-speed wi-fi, plus unlimited data. more speed... from the largest, fastest, reliable network... and more savings- up to 60% a year with comcast business mobile. all from the company that powers more businesses than any other provider. get started with fast speeds and advanced security for $49.99 a month for 12 months. plus ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card with a qualifying bundle.