and liberace. >> i've got to give it to joy reid. my special thanks. richard lewis, al roker. >> read out. >> the book is "you look so much better in person, true stories of absurdity and success." as always we try to do it extra on "the beat." thanks so everyone. don't go anywhere. joy reid is up next. don't go anywhere. joy reid is up next. donald trump is terrified. he should be. today the one who terrifies him more than anyone on earth, today former president barack hussein obama did a eulogy on john lewis. in doing so a treatise on

democracy, a rousing call to arms, that could herald a blue wave this november. >> george wallace may be gone but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear bass and batons against peaceful demonstrators. we may no longer have to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive id laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the postal service in the run-up to an election that's going to be dependent on

mail-in ballots so people don't get sick. >> trump was so triggered by the remergence of the popular globally respected 44th president on the national stage, the batman to his joker that he barely get obama get to the pulpit at ebenezer baptist church before he scrambled the white house press corps to announce he, too, would have words to say. he abruptly added a previously unscheduled briefing to his schedule, which ended in the last hour. trump had good reason to fear for his political future even before obama garn speaking. the gdp dropped by a staggering 33% marking the biggest economic contraction on record since those records began in 1947. the coronavirus still rages out of control, including in the very states that trump needs to win re-election.

then you've got the made for tv misdemeanor invasion of democratic cities intended to stoke racial resentments. if that wasn't clear enough, trump is using a racist trope about low income housing to scare suburban voters. that's why amid all of this, he now says he wants to delay the election. in a stunning tweet trump questioned the legitimacy of mail-in ballots proposing to delay the election until people can properly, securely, and safely vote. he refused to back down from that threat at his brief press conference today. of course, he has no power to actually delay the election. it was an 1845 act of congress that set voting day in early november, and it's not changing now. on top of that the constitution mandates that trump's term would still end january 20th even if no election were held. i'm joined by cory booker from new jersey. senator, i want to first get

your reaction to that eulogy today. three living presidents, jimmy carter also sent in a note, speaker of the house and all of those speakers. what was your reaction to seeing president obama speak today for john lewis? >> the whole funeral was just very, very moving, but i think president obama's remarks was what john lewis would want. it's what he wrote to us posthumously in "the new york times" today. he challenged us to keep moving, to keep fighting, to keep pressing on until this democracy lives up to the fullness of his promise. and so i think he is delighting in heaven looking down and seeing three former presidents, two different parties, coming together -- two presidents in clinton and bush who reauthorized the voting rights act, obama who is elected because of the voting rights act. now to be sitting on a precipice of a president who is doing everything he can to destroy the

idea of voting and free voting and return us back to the days, as obama so eloquently said, where people were having to do mass protests for those rights. so this the cross-roads in history that was laid plain. you could feel john lewis's spirit calling us to stand up for our democracy. >> let me play a little bit more of president obama's eulogy. this is him talking specifically about the voting rights act. take a listen. >> one to honor john? let's honor him by revitalizing the law he was willing to die for. naming it the john lewis voting rights act, that is a fine tribute. but john wouldn't want us to stop there, just trying to get back to where we already were. >> he didn't stop there. president obama also pushed not

only to pass john lewis voting rights, automatic voting rights, voting for inmates, expanded early voting, more polling locations, making voting day a national holiday, granting voting rights to residents of d.c. and puerto rico, making them states, ending partisan gerrymandering and eliminating the filibuster which he called jim crow relic. are these things that would be top of mind for democrats should the democrats retake united states senate. >> here is the wonderful experience i had on the presidential campaign trail where we had 78 people running for president, maybe 780, but most of us had these major pill ars of expanding voting rights in america that included the list that president obama said and more. remember, we have states doing vote by mail, like oregon for a long time, all vote by mail. this idea that we have a voting day that's constrained, where people need to wait in lines, why not open up some voting

periods. we in this democracy should be making to make our democracy more vibrant, inclusive of everybody to folks with disabilities to folks that are low income, yet we have a president who is trying to make his party all about constraining voting rights after the supreme court in the shelby decisions cripples the voting rights bill and you now see states from texas to north carolina writing the most restrictive voting laws we've seen since the civil rights movement. this is a time not just to try to repair that damage but to move forward and make a more vibrant and inclusive democracy as a whole. >> senator, you're still a vegan, right? >> yes. >> and you tend to be a very nice guy. there was a time you were helping people snowed in and doing various things in new jersey. i want to establish that you are a nice gentleman. but i want to play for you what donald trump had to say about

you. i'm almost sorry to play this for you but i want you to listen to what he said. he invoked you as a thing that would threaten the white suburbs. so take a listen. >> they don't mind if low income housing is built in a neighborhood in a beautiful suburb of iowa but a beautiful suburb anywhere in the country they want low end -- this has been going on for years. obama made it much worse, and now they want cory booker to run that program. cory booker of new jersey to run that program and make it many times worse than it is right now. >> okay. i know i interviewed you for "am joy" and you live in the suburbs. the suburbs aren't all white. your response to what he donald trump had to say about cory booker in the suburbs. >> i'm thrilled whenever donald trump attacks me. you should judge a person by who attacks them. i want to say i live in a black and brown urban community now but i think the opponent you're

referring is the fact that when i was growing up my parents tried to move into the wealthy -- middle class suburbs i should say of new jersey and were turned away for housing time and time again. they literally because of some activists, black and white christian, jewish, republican and democrat in that community set up a sting operation to have white couples follow my mom and dad. when they were told the house was sold, they would find out the truth and it was for sale. eventually we had the white couple to bid on the house. on the day they didn't show up, my father did, the lawyer -- they were attacked. the real estate agent punched my father in the face, sicked a dog on my dad. after a whole bunch of upheaval we eventually grew up in the community i grew up in, had access to incredible public schools, incredible opportunity. i wouldn't be here today, perhaps, if it wasn't for those activists to challenge the kind of racism and bigotry that donald trump was spewing and was evident when he was just running housing. here is the kicker to bring this full circle.

when i went to go back and find those people who helped me move in, the main lawyer, i asked him why did he do what he did to represent my family, he said he was sitting on a couch one day comfortable and saw bloody sunday, saw john lewis getting beaten and realized he couldn't just sit there. he had to get up and be a part of the fight. right now it's not donald trump that worries me. it's the people who are sitting there on the couch and haven't been inspired by john lewis and others to get up and join the fight to make our democracy live up to its promise and not let an authoritarian leader who is trying to take away our democracy and undermine it, not let him govern the morals of the country. let's get back to the idea of love thy neighbor, inclusive values of love we celebrated at the service for john lewis who exemplifies those values today. >> cory booker, well said. very much appreciate your time. i'm sure everyone in america

would love for them to move next door to them. you're a very nice man. >> thank you. >> let's bring in former acting solicitor general and reverend al sharpton nbc's politics, president of national action network. i'm going to let both of you respond to the madness of donald trump -- he couldn't stop himself, reverend al. he couldn't let reverend al get to the pulpit before he had to inject himself into the mix. your thoughts on that, on his inability to restrain himself? >> that's vintage donald trump. he has no -- not only does he have no filter on what he's going to say, he can't handle situations that he feels he's being upstaged. but if you look at his tweet about the housing situation, it is consistent, because in the '70s his father and he were sued by the federal government for housing discrimination. they had to settle a

discrimination lawsuit. he's played that race card of housing all of his career. he's only going back to what he's always done. what he doesn't realize is that america no longer exists. are there people in the suburbs that may have racist tendencies? sure, but they are everywhere. joy, we're in the era of gentrification. people from the suburbs are moving into the city. who is he talking to? the problem we have in national action network, they are saying we're getting pushed out to the suburbs from the inner city. so he's talking to people that doesn't exist. he's still watching 1950s tv. he probably has a black and white television in his office. >> yeah. he's not up to date. kneel, i want to go to you on this, because this threat -- it's an empty threat in the sense donald trump cannot change the day of the election, it's in the constitution, only congress can change it. what do you make of the fact

that it's something he's proposing and the fact that he seems to have absolutely no respect for the voting rights act, which is the thing john lewis gave us with his blood on that bridge. >> it was such a contrast between the president tweeting all that, trying to stop people from voting, and what you saw in the celebration of this man today and really in president obama's remarks. it's hard to eulogize st. john, st. louis in a waint illusion - but barack obama did. our founding values with voting can't be denigrated and we're all working to make it more perfect. i've never told this story today. when i watched today i thought about the voting rights act back in 2009 when barack obama was

elected i was assigned the monumental task of defending it at the supreme court. now i've done many but that was my fourth. i was nervous as heck. congressman lewis called me. i said, look, i'm nervous. i told him the voting rights had the blood of patriots on it, and i was thinking about him. he told me, neil, you've got this. i did. afterwards president obama called me about it to congratulate me we won and so on, and i confessed i was nervous about the argument and that representative lewis had steadied me. he said something like, neil, that's john for you. that's john for you, john for all of us. we're all nervous about the state of our democracy right now, and i can do no better than to remember his words echoed in this gift he wrote in the "new york times" to all of us that it's our duty to fight to make this country a bit more perfect. >> yeah, indeed. that's a wonderful story. i'm really glad you shared that

with us. reverend sharpton, john lewis was the younger to the dr. kings of the world and you were the activist younger to him, being that next generation down fighting for the same fight that seems to keep happening, black lives matter through the decades. give us, please, your thoughts on the funeral today and how it struck you, both that and what president obama said. >> i thought it was one of the most beautiful services that i've seen. the fact that john lewis deserved it is an understatement. but it also showed -- and i think president obama in his eulogy did it in a very meticulous way, the continuity of struggle. there was a struggle that proceeded john lewis. he was certainly a hero, a frontline soldier, a general in the struggle, and then he expects us to continue that fight and those behind us. i think that no one said it better than president obama, but

no one wrote it better than john lewis. when i saw george bush, i remember when george bush re-signed the voting rights act. he not only re-signed it, he invited many of us that had been marching on him. there was always this spirit of we can disagree but we don't have to be ugly. we've not seen this kind of venom and ugliness in my lifetime until now. george bush had us all on the rose garden line when he re-signed the voting rights act. the fact that we're even discussing the fact that the voting rights act was gutted out and i was in the hearing room at the supreme court when they argued those oral arguments and justice scalia said voting rights seems like some kind of racial gift, or something to that nature. we were sitting right there. john lewis was in the room. i was there with martin luther king, jr. and jesse jackson, all of us were sitting there. to think we're back to arguing

about what john lewis gave blood for shows us how president obama is right. the struggle continues. you take a step forward, they will try to push you back. we have to be persistent. that was his message. we've got to keep going like john lewis did. >> absolutely. neil, what did you make of president obama's specific proposals as someone you told us, i'm so glad we got that story today, argued to defend the voting rights act. what did you make of his idea, automatic voting rights, voting rights for former inmates, making voting day a national holiday, et cetera, and granting d.c. and puerto rico state hood. do you think those are sound proposals? >> 100% frickin' right, joy. we start with reauthorizing the voting rights as representative said with republican support 8 8998-0 in 2006 and supreme court in 2016 struck it down. i think it's got to come back. absolutely those proposals.

in this day and age it shouldn't be partisan. the idea we're going to block people from voting, i can't think of anything so fundamentally important. the republicans recognized that's why you had george w. bush signing voting rights act. i think we've got to get back to that place. reverend sharpton is right, fight, fight, fight like mad for this, because this is what makes us americans. >> yeah, absolutely. as president obama said, first you have to get rid of that jim crow relic called the filibuster to do it. we'll see what happens if democrats win senate. neil, reverend al sharpton, thank you both very much. by the way, we did ask republican senators, all of them, to respond to donald trump's dangerous idea of an election delay. what they told us is next. plus actress kerry washington joins me on her inspiring new documentary, the fight. the reidout continues after

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idea to delay the election is so ridiculous, even some of his staunchest republican cronies on capitol hill shot it down, including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> never in the history of the country through wars and depressions and the civil war have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time, and we'll find a way to do that again this november 3rd. >> in fact, trump's suggestion was basically dead on arrival to most members of his open party, at least the ones willing to comment on his latest pat eptly unconstitutional idea. texas senator john cornyn tried to downplay trump's tweet telling reporters, i think it's a joke, i guess. so i mean, so all you guys in the press, your heads will explode and you'll write about

it. he claimed it was strategery trying to get media to talk about dangerous mail-in voting. michael steele, jennifer palmieri, communications under president obama and author of the new book "she proclaims, declaration of innen enindependa man's world." we need to dig into that. i'll start with you michael steele, he jokes around and then tries to get william barr to do it. >> no, i don't think it was a joke. it served two purposes. first to reiterate his belief vote by mail was fraudulent pact. he wants to continue to perpetuate that narrative. i think the second part was the very, very devastating economic news that hit the airwaves first thing this morning was another way to change the conversation. we always know, we've been in this room before, joy, when

there's bad news, economic, global, or just around the corner from the white house, this president is going to find something else for us to talk about. he's going to create -- even if he has to have a bright shining object for the public. that was the second piece of this today. the first piece is the one we should be most concerned about. he's dead seriously thinking about how he can go about having these elections postponed or suspended. the fact that mcconnell and others have softly pushed back on that, their test is going to come when he says with the greater degree of ferocity, no, i'm serious. i think we should hold off holding elections this november. >> am i crazy to not trust mitch mcconnell at all or these republicans to resist him? they have never shown a whole lot of backbone before. >> the track record is not very great there. i don't think the american people are going to go to sleep tonight or even at some point in

the future relying on their word that they are going to stand up against the president on something like this. it's going to take a national concerted effort with both conservative and liberal and progressive organizations out thereto as they have been doing so far to make it very clear, vote by mail is not fraudulent, something states need to be prepared to do and any attempt, any attempt to not hold elections this november is unconstitutional. >> jennifer, first of all, let's just show this chart. michael is right. there was a piece of data out there that donald trump owns now that he's presided over the greatest drop in gdp since it's been measured. that's all him. he doesn't want to distract from it. he has his authoritarian tendencies. he admires vladimir putin, would like to be here. somebody who seemed to have seen this coming was joe biden, who back on april 23rd predicted trump would try to delay the

election. there was an nbc article that quoted him as saying, mark my words, i think he's going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rational why it can't be held. should democrats be preparing for donald trump to attempt to outright delay, stop, steal the election? if so, how can they prepare? >> i believe they are. they are also preparing for what happens after november 3rd when donald trump tries to contest the results of the election. i feel the last 3 1/2 years have been all of us training for this moment, right? it has been a really painful time but we've learned. just look how you and michael just laid out what happened today. we are not going to be because the unawares this time. we know when he's going to distract from tough news. we know not to expect too much from senate republicans. we know we have to start talking about issues that may seem crazy and out of the ordinary three months in advance but we know

now to expect that trump will follow through on what he threatens to do. june was a good test for us, when he used tear gas to gas americans in order to go across lafayette square and have a photo-op. when he tried to rally the national guard to his side. these are moments where we have been tested and we know what to expect. democrats are working really hard. it's not just democrats, as michael said, to make people understand how they vote, safely, why vote for mail sn fraudulent, why they count, and prepare for the aftermath of it. this is where our training in the last three and a half years has put us in good fighting shape to not let him take our democracy. >> yeah. meanwhile on the republican side, michael, herman cain passed away, and condolences to his family. he attended donald trump's tulsa rally back in june, june 20th.

we have a picture of him smiling there with a lot of other black trump supporters. this isn't that particular picture. there's another picture of him there. there he is with lots of supporters. now that he has passed, there are people on the republican side, on the maga side, still refusing to accept it is coronavirus, that is the reason he's died. angela stanton king, who is running for john lewis's seat, john lewis's seat in georgia tweeted this today. all the celebrities and democrats catch covid and magically heal but herman cain is dead. i swear, i hate it here. i was right there with him. we were perfectly fine. this is a war. she was one of the people at the rally as well. what does that mean? does she mean in georgia, the district? what do you make of that tweet? >> i don't know what the hell that means. it makes no sense. we're at war. we're at we're. look, herman cain was a buddy of

mine. i appreciated every moment i got to spend with him and my heart goes out to him and his family for this loss. the reality of it is for those who don't think this is serious, those who think this is some made up china virus that was imported into the country, you know, live in that bubble and you will die in that bubble. that's all that can be said. folks, we cannot -- we cannot stop you from being stupid. we put the information out there. we've tried to educate and inform. we've got the best and brightest scientist in the country summarily dismissed by this president. you know what the realities are. you've had family members an friends that have been sick and dying since it began. i can't help your stupidity at this point. that's your risk. it won't be mine. my heart goes out to the fallen, who have not listened. at the same time for those who

are, take carry, wear the damn mask. >> amen to that. by the way, mr. cain as well as all the other people there signed a waiver. obviously the trump campaign understood they needed to make them sign a waiver that if they got sick or worse they wouldn't be liable, the administration and campaign wouldn't be liable. note that before the next rally. jennifer palmieri we'll have you back to talk about the book. up next, john lewis, stay with us. next, john lewis, stay with us

say to those like the president that would defend these statues, this is not what makes america great. making america great is to live up to what america is supposed to stand for. >> in an op-ed submitted to "new york times" by jan lewis why he had to visit black lives matter even though his diagnosis had taken a turn for the worse and he would be admitted to the hospital the very next day. here is some of what congressman lewis wrote. i just had to see and feel it for myself that after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

emmett till was my george floyd, he was my rayshard brooks, sandra bland and breonna taylor. he was 14 when he was killed and i was only 15 at the time. i will never, ever forget the moment it became so clear he could have easily been me. in those days fear constrained us like an imaginary prison and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars. ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of america by getting in what i call good trouble, necessary trouble, voting and participating in the democratic process are key. the vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you can in a democratic society. you must use it because it is not guaranteed. you can lose it. in my life, i have done all i can to demonstrate the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. now it is your turn to let

freedom ring. when historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say it was your generation who lay down the heavy burdens of hate at least and peace triumphed over violence, aggression and war. so i say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of ever lasting love be your guide. well said and well done, congressman lewis. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%. it is, that's safe drivers save 40%. - he's right there. - it's him! safe drivers do save 40%. click or call for a quote today. you can't always stop saffor a fingerstick.betes with the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you don't have to. with a painless, one-second scan you can check your glucose with a smart phone or reader so you can stay in the moment. no matter where you are or what you're doing.

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john lewis always looked outward, not inward, he always thought of others. >> he insisted on the truth in the congress of the united states. >> i just love him. i always will, and i'm so grateful that he stayed true to

form. he's gone up yonder and left us with marching orders. >> i'm joined now by erin haynes and actress of color farm media and producer of john lewis, good trouble. great documentary. erin, i want to go to you first. you covered john lewis in the state of georgia. tell me what you thought of the funeral today, those who were assembled and what president obama also had to say. >> yeah. i mean, joy, i think that it was an open question whether when congressman lewis passed the country would be able to mourn him and really have the kind of closure that he really deserved. but i think what you saw was really a celebration of ontower he member of our greatest generation. it tapped his full legacy.

him being the son of share croppers, grandson of enslaved workers. his son, lieutenant in civil rights, selma, bloody sunday and as a congressman who represented his beloved fifth district for 17 terms. first elected in 1986. then his district was the place where he was eulogized in the spiritual home of reverend martin luther king, jr. at ebenezer baptist church where he was eulogized by the first black president barack obama. i think it was a remarkable and fitting tribute to john lewis and really the kind of honor that only he could summon in the midst of a pandemic as somebody who really was a great warrior and a patriot for this country. you know, it was a service that saw three living presidents in attendance, the speaker of the house, and it was part home going but really part call to

action for black america and really for all americans of conscious to honor congressman lewis's legacy. i think you heard that in the eulogy from barack obama. it's an honor john lewis to carry out ideals in their own lives. so often we forget that the civil rights movement was really carried out by ordinary people doing the extraordinary, right, who confronted unacceptable to change the course of human history for all of us. >> yeah, indeed. erica, you had the great luck and great fortune to do a documentary about him that is going to be a lasting piece of memory for a lot of people, an education for a lot of people about john lewis. what did you make of the service today and what did you learn in doing this documentary about this great man? >> sure, it was a great ps honor of my life to do the documentary. we're all very proud, obviously

participan participants and we've been working hard. you should know we got to know this man in another way. i'm trying not to cry, joy. really every time i start talking about him. the funeral was outstanding. outstanding. reverend lawson was there to talk about his friend and the person he taught nonviolence to. he's still here in los angeles doing that work. that was phenomenal. he was so clear eyed. he's 93. he's a genius. i was thrilled to see all of john lewis friends and colleagues weighing on this man. they are gladiators, it's humble, reminding us of how far we had to go. what we did in the film is small an minute about learning about these people and where they have been. they have been creating frontiers. we need authors for a new story because the old brand that perpetuated white supremacy and

told lives. it might be undiscovered country but for now people who know the story keep telling them, and i was glad to help tell his. >> it is a phenomenal documentary. i hope everybody will check it out. errin, what do you make of the politics that will be around the succession of john lewis? it's hard to imagine anyone succeeding him in congress but it's going to happen. >> it is going to happen. nikema williams was chosen by the democratic party in georgia shortly after john lewis passing in accordance with georgia law as the person who will be on the ballot for congressman lewis in november. given the district's -- she is likely to be, for all intents and purposes, the person who will be replacing him again after 17 terms in congress. but john lewis is irreplaceable.

she can only be pt next congressperson from the fifth district. >> big shoes to fill. errin, erica, thanks for being here. actress kerry washington will be here along with director of aclu voting rights project. they are going to weigh in on donald trump's outrageous outrageously ridiculous threat to delay the election. we'll be right back. further que? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide power pods.

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as the country faces an election in fewer than 100 days with a president who seems more interested in being a king, there are those on the front lines fighting back against autocracy and on behalf of democracy. actress kerry washington joins me with the director of aclu's voting rights project when "the reidout" continues. en "the reidout" continues t-mobile and sprint have merged.

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enforcing this law is like using a baa sue ka to kill a fly. election-related litigation tends to go a little faster because we're usually trying to get a court ruling before elections. i like that. i like it's fast paced. >> it is all about protecting the right to vote and disproving that there are hordes of citizens infiltrating elections. >> a timely documentary takes us inside the american civil liberties union. the fight follows civil rights lawyers on four landmark cases involving immigration rights, reproductive freedom and transgender individuals to serve in the military as well as voting rights. joining me now is kerry

washington who was just nominated for four, count them four, emmy awards and the director of the voting rights project who is featured in the documentary. so i have got to go to kerry first. congratulations on the emmy nominations. >> thanks. it doesn't come close to dealal wins, but i appreciate the acknowledgment. >> thank you. tell us about the documentary that you were involved in producing, kerry. >> so we somehow the film makers and i, we got unprecedented access into the aclu and we have been with them for the past four years, so these are our real life superheroes. they're the real justice league. they're on the front lines of all of the important cases confronting our civil rights and civil liberties and we knew we had to be follows them with cameras to be in the battle with

them. it is an incredibly inspiring provocative film. i'm really proud of it and i want dale to have the final thought. i'm thrilled you would have us on the show because i think your audience is going to really love the film. >> well, it is an absolutely critical fight. right, dale? i have talked to you before about voting rights. it is a thing you are passionate about. talk about these cases and how they are significant to the average person out there who just wants to have their right to vote and their right to live freely in the country. >> we're just doing everything we can. and you would think that would be a partisan, noncontroversial effort. but right now just trying to make sure that people can vote safely during the worst public health crisis in a century has proven to be quite a fight. we have filed 16 cases since march to try to make sure that people can vote safely during

the pandemic, and that's mainly trying to make sure that everyone has access to voting by mail. >> yeah. and, you know, i recall very directly when i was a very junior press secretary in the obama campaign, you were out there talking with voters. you were very obviously one of the most popular people who would show up at the polls and encourage people. how do you encourage people who actually are afraid that i'm going to go through all this, it's not going to count. how do you talk to people about participating when they are so afraid that none of this is going to count? i can't win? >> yeah. it is so funny because the morning after the election and really any time that there is a crisis like even with covid, all of a sudden olivia pope is trending again. and i keep reminding people, you, whoever is listening, whoever is tweeting that, you have more power than olivia pope. olivia pope is not a real person. she can't register to vote. she can't fill out a census. she can't call her lawmakers.

you have the power to transform your communities. and i think that's one of the things that's so special about the film is we do expose these lawyers for the real superheroes that they are, but the story telling is so intimate that you realize these are human beings, and they have figured out how to utilize their special skills, their talent for good. for them, it's law legal expertise. but each of us have something we can offer, even if it's baking cup cakes, selling them and giving the money to the aclu. you have the capacity to get in this fight in the way olivia pope cannot. >> yeah. and, you know, dale talk to us about -- give us the on the ground -- what is the aclu doing on the ground to make sure that people will be able to exercise the franchise in november? >> the first thing they are trying to do is make sure that everyone can vote safely, that

people don't have to choose between protecting their health and complying with social distancing protocols or exercising the right to vote. so we have sued in a number of states to try to expand eligibility to voting by mail. those efforts have mostly been successful. 46 out of 50 states allowed every voter to vote by mail during their primaries and runoffs this spring and summer. we're hopeful we could keep that rolling into november. but we're also trying to make sure unnecessary barriers voting by mail. some states require you to get a witness to sign the envelope that your absentee ballot goes in. that's not consistent with the public health recommendations we have right now. we're trying to make sure laws like that get suspended while the pandemic is going on. we're also trying to make sure that everyone understands, and we get this question a lot, the president does not have the authority to change the date of the election.

the constitution gives that power solely to the united states congress, and congress has set that date in november. it's not moving. one way or another, we're having an election. we had an election during 1864 during a civil war. we can have an election now. >> yeah, absolutely. are you hopeful going into november? what is your gauge of hopeful to sort of terrified about the outcome in november? >> i'm active. that's how i feel. i'm just in motion. i mean, i think one of the things that's so great about the film is that people keep watching it and saying, wow, i forgot about the muslim ban. i forgot about family separation. because there has been a strategic, aggressive onslaught of attacks on our civil rights and civil liberties. that is strategy.

it is to disor nn not us. what's at stake? reproductive rights, lgbtq rights. these are at the heart of how we define ourselves as a democracy. we have to win these battles. so i think the film is a great reminder for why we have to get out and vote. >> absolutely. thank you both very much. that is tonight's reid out. tune in tomorrow. al franken joins the reid out. "all in" starts right now. tonight on "all in," the attack on our democracy is coming from the president. trump's brazen strategy to undermine the voting process and throw november into chaos. barack obama sounds the alarm and a call to action in the name of john lewis. then the coronavirus death toll continues its climb as former presidential candidate her main cain loses his life to