but certainly alarm bells are going off for a lot of republican fund-raisers right now. >> lachlan markay, thank you for locating your one tie and putting it on. and thank you all for waking up with us this wednesday morning, "morning joe" starts right about now. with what appears to be left in this district that is an incredible steep hill to climb for molinaro to make up with basically 3300 votes what is known to be left in the district right now. pat ryan, the democrat is -- there it is, nbc news has just called it, pat ryan, the democrat has been elected to congress in a special election from new york's 19th congressional district. he defeats republican marc molinaro. >> there it is, steve kornacki at the big board. the night that nbc news called a hotly contested election.

a swing district that went to trump in zweent and then joe biden in 2020. steve joins us in just a moment to break down how democrats' messaging on abortion rights is now recasting the conversation about that once expected red wave this fall. also from new york, a victory for two key figures since the impeachment of donald trump, jerry nadler handily defeated caroline maloney after powerful allies were forced to run for the same seat. and in a crowded 10th district, federal prosecutor daniel goldman won unseeding mondaire jones. and in florida, democrats have placed their debts on charlie crist to challenge the state's current republican governor ron desantis in the general elocation. and it will be former orlando police chief congresswoman val demings trying to unseat marco rubio in the united states

senate. both charlie crist and val demings will be our guests on the show a short time from now. good morning, welcome to "morning joe." it's wednesday, august 24th, i'm willie geist, we've got mike barnicle, former aide to the bush white house elise jordan. eddie glaude jr. and white house for politico sam stein, hugo lowell. and big developments with the fbi search of mar-a-lago. including a new letter from the national archives revealing former president trump took more than 700 pages of classified documents with him to his florida home, upon leaving office, including some containing the highest level of top secret information. we'll get into all of that with hugo in just a moment. a great group assembled. let's go back to the big board. not quite sure if he left. he's still there. national correspondent steve kornacki. steve, good morning.

if you're still up, thanks for the california coffee this morning. why exactly are we so focused on this 19th district the special election, upstate new york? >> yeah, willie, good morning to you. the reason is, we've been asking the question for the last two months, i think certainly triggered by that supreme court decision overturning roe v. wade and other backers. we've been asking the question whether the political climate broadly, nationally, has shifted away from ones in which republicans were in a strong, over dominant position heading into the midterm elections to one that perhaps is nor neutral and democrats have an opportunity at the senate and potentially the house level that, frankly, not even democrats thought they would have a few months ago. the backdrop for the special election. you see the final result, pat ryan, the democrat to defeat marc molinaro, just over or two points. this is a classic swing district that ryan did this. in the 2020 presidential election, joe biden carried this

by two points. take it back to 2016, donald trump won here by seven. if i could extend this further out to 2012, you can see that barack obama won this district in 2012. this is a district that didn't just have the obama/trump/biden pattern. in between, it favors the out of party pardon. obama won in 2012, in 2014, elected a republican congresswoman. biden won in 2020, you get a special election. you look at the national polls, joe biden's approval rating is in the low 40s. voters are very sour when it comes to the mood on the economy, when it comes to the mood on inflation, optimism about the country. these are all basic ingredients that create a very favorable climate for the opposition party. and marc molinaro was considered to be one of the strongest recruits that republicans have.

he's a county executive in dutchess county, one of the biggest part of the districts. he ran for governor in 2018 that carried the same district by double digits over andrew cuomo when he ran for governor in 2018. republicans poured a lot of money, time and resources into getting molinaro. instead, as we say, pat ryan ends up exceeding the joe biden number and winning this district outright. that's not a result you're supposed to see if and when a major wave is forming. if you put this in broader context, why i say we've been asking this question about whether the national political climate is changing. this is the most dramatic data point that we have that i think it is. but just take a look at what's been happening over the last few months that can draw a line right here. these are other house special election that's have been playing out this spring and this summer. and i draw this line, because this is where on the calendar,

the supreme court decision that overturned roe v. wade fell. you see just before that decision in south texas there had been a special election. it's a district that biden had carried by four points. we were talking a lot about this heavily hispanic district. there had been a swing by republicans. the republican district had won by a margin of four points. that's where we won the supreme court decision on roe v. wade. here are the four special elections that have taken place since that decision. what you can see, coming into last night, you had two, one in nebraska, one in minnesota that had been held in districts that trump won by double digits. the republicans won them, ten points, six points less than trump did. democrats said these were signs of new momentum after that supreme court decision because their candidates had so overperformed joe biden. it's a sign there was more enthusiasm for democrats. then you got last night, a

really clean test, a clean test in a district democrats won outright. by the way, there's another special election in new york last night didn't get a lot of resource, didn't get a lot of money, it's a district kind of going away. changing in the fall. but they had a special election. trump won this by double digits, the republican won last night but again moving by five points in the democratic election. since the supreme court decision, all four of them, the needle has moved in the democrats' direction. and the democrats have won the swing district outright. i think it's dramatic, if you compare that to 2018. this is what special elections in the runup to a wave election looks like. this is 2018, trump is president. this is the blue wave year, democrats end up with 40 house seats. look what you are seeing special elections in 2017 and 2018. democrats were outperforming by 20 points, 14 points, 16 points, six of these eight special

elections democrats overperformed in the presidential level by double digits. you could see in the special elections, heading into 2018, where things were going. because democrats across the board were just overperforming so much. you look at, again, what i just showed you there, in terms of the special election that's we've seen since the supreme court decision, they don't fit that pattern at all. so when democrats start talking about their voters being much more motivated now in the wake of that supreme court decision, the political environment changing, this district here, the 19th district in new york is just a great example. one other thing i could just point to. you see there are two counties here that went blue in this district, it's bolster county and columbia county. they're two big county, olster is the biggest in the district. here's another measure of enthusiasm. the only blue county in this district. in the 2020 presidential

election, they accounted for 36% of all votes cast in this district. last night, they accounted for 42% of all votes cast in this district. so democrats just proportionately squeezed a lot more votes out of the core democratic areas of this district. that's what we've been seeing in these other special elections where the democrats have been outperforming. in the democratic-leaning, democratic-friendly areas, energy, enthusiasm, turnout among democrats that dwarfs energy and enthusiasm and turnout among republicans. republicans ran up good numbers in these rural areas here, you see red. but they weren't getting the proportionate level of turnout. that speaks exactly to what democrats contend has happened since the supreme court ruling. that their voters are more motivated in a way they weren't before. and, frankly, a way that republicans, if you look at the special elections, that republicans may not be right

now. all of that raises and underscores the questions we've been asking about the last few months, whether you talk about the senate, you talk about weak recruitment in the senate and whether democrats could be able to hold on to chrome the united states, that tenuous control they have right now. and honestly, you start to look at results like this, it would not take much for republicans to pick up the house they only need to pick up a small handful of seats. but if you're a democrat you want to say there's a scenario where your party actually maintains control of the house this november, this is exactly the kind of result. and these over the last few months, are exactly the exact kinds of results that you want to be seeing to have an actual chance to put the house into play. >> that is a great breakdown of what happened in that district. eddie, you always run the risk of extrapolating too much in one county in a special election where the democrat won by 5,000 votes, but, but, but -- the

focus was on with ryan, roe v. wade, that was his focus. the focus from the republican molinaro was the perceived weakness of joe biden, inflation. in this district, turnout energy was behind the democrats and got them to the finish line. >> it bodes well for the party. not to extrapolate too much. you combine this with what we see in the latest polling data that the threat to democracy is on the mind, there is a sense that folks understand the very fabric of the country is fraying. and that's the concern and what we see in the elections. >> i think eddie's right. i would caution on a couple of levels. one, on the bias of guyography. this is a northeast district. >> yeah. >> it's a little different than the rest of the country. you're right about the volatility, eddie, you can feel it, you can sense it, people wondering if things are coming apart. the turnout is important. if they can motivate democrats,

democrats have been motivated to go to the polls as steve pointed out, then they have a shot but i would say pump the brakes on it. >> i'd like to talk about district. steve, can we talk about district on the board, just pull it up. not that the outcome of either primary is really surprising but you look at the numbers, staten island, you've got max rose against nicole mallley. >> yep. >> and the democratic turnout at the end of the day actually was 3,000 more votes than what she got to win. >> you're looking at here, max rose, the former congressman seeking the comeback, was widely expected with the incumbent, nicole malliotakis. she's expected to win here.

actually in certainlies of turnout, several districts in new york that we looked at. not as much in florida last night, to the point that mike is making. in florida last night, i think republicans probably feel good about the turnout they saw relative to the turnout produced. what we're showing you in that 19th district special election, saw that in nebraska. saw that in men. there were pockets demographically similar to olster county and the turnout level and enthusiasm level for democrats was kind of through the roof. i just -- there are a couple of examples. there are two, really, since the great depression of a president's party defying history. and actually picks up house seats in midterm elections. they were in 1998, bill clinton was president. and there was a backlash to the republican drive to impeach him. and it was 2002, george w. bush

was president, after 9/11, there was a sort of swell of patriotic pride that was behind george w. bush that translated into success for republicans. both of those were well in excess of 60% on election day. that's the missing piece. joe biden's approval is in the low 40s. he's not at clinton '98 or bush '02 levels. that's why democrats have felt optimistic all year. you look at the other years, that special election in new york 19 is the kind of election a republican would be winning. those special elections in nebraska and minnesota are not the kind of elections where democrats would be making inroads, so it just suggests the possibility that there's a very different dynamic in this

midterm election that you expect when you look at a president who has the approval rating that joe biden has. there's questions here, that are raised that we're not used to raising. >> we'll tox so sean patrick maloney who won his race last night but the chair of the district. nbc steve kornacki shows no signs of fatigue after a long night. steve, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> sam stein, what did you see, when you watched not just that case in the special election but across the country in florida, as well, what are your takes from last night? >> first, let me salute steve for his service. great american. he's got the ivs with the caffeine right now. you know, the question i was going to pose to him, but what i've been curious about how much of this is democratic enthusiasm

versus how much of this is absence of trump support enthusiasm at this juncture? you know, donald trump obviously is sucking up all of the energy on the grassroots side. and you can see it in the fundraising statistics. all the low dollar money is going to the trump save america committee. you don't see that with the democrats. they're struggling on the fundraising level. that suggests to me that the grassroots is geared towards a singular figure and that's donald trump. when that's the case, that adds another variant to the election in that maybe republican candidates running for high-profile marquee senate elections are going to have more difficulty in turning out their base. certainly after roe was overturned, democrats won't have that same problem. i wonder if that's what's in play in new york 19. >> certainly, the focus there

trying to keep trump away from january 6th and all of that, talking about the economy. he lost last night narrowly. "the new york times" reports that the former president took 700 pages to his florida home upon leaving office. including some containing the highest level of top secret service. the letter made public yesterday by the national archives was sent in may by the acting u.s. after kievist, a lawyer for the former president. in the letter, he shoots down the executive privilege in order to block them from being shared from the fbi and justice department. she writes this, the question in this case is not a close one. the executive branch here is seeking access to records belonging to and in the custody of the federal government itself. not only to investigate whether those records were handled in an unlawful manner, but also as the national security division explained to conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the

apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and to take any necessarily remedial steps. she went on, i have therefore decided not to honor the former president's protective claim of privilege. the 700 pages of classified information mentioned in the letter only includes those records seized in january. government officials would make two more visits to the resort after that letter was sent to recover more documents. it is unclear how many pages of classified information were found during those trips, congressional reporter for the guardian hugo lowell is with us. hugo, you've been covering this so closely. what you see is the national archives trying to go through the process, trying to take the conventional and routine steps as it does for the documents saying you guys have delayed so long we don't recognize the argument. we want the documents. >> yeah, just staggering, 100 pages -- 700 pages, the numbers

are just crazy. i think that gives us a counting and sensitivity of the documents put out in mar-a-lago. in january, they went back two separate times. the one thing that does stand out to me the potential obstruction and lays out the ways that the justice department had to go to get the documents. when you read that in tandem with the filing on monday you see how the justice department every effort to get the documents back. the fact that the documents were listed on the search warrant when executed at mar-a-lago, i think that's significant. >> hugo, i understand you're not the dean of the harvard law school. but perhaps you can help us out with issue of executive privilege. how account former president assert executive privilege when a., all of these documents belong to the united states government and archives? and, b., he is no longer an executive? >> i think when you talk about

the way they believe this, if you're a supreme court president, nixon versus usa, trump v. thompson more recently, no supreme court has said the president doesn't have the ability to execute the executive privilege. they spent it back to appeal let court and the appeal let court said well, it's not executive privilege, it's just the current president's waiver counts for more than the former president's assertion. basically, the trump team are looking at this saying maybe we can litigate this out all the way through 2022 and 23. i think that's what they're trying to do. >> it's fascinating, hugo, the filing on monday and all the documents that the trump people have tried to make public that helped them sometimes amount to confessions of what he's done? >> yeah, i think the documents by the national archives, recently released by an ally, so that is shooting himself in the foot. but they tried to make the claim

that some of the documents removed from mar-a-lago are subject to executive privilege. if you start making that argument, you get into the territory where you're saying well these are actually government governments and effectively conceding that, they should have remained at the national archives. they shouldn't be at mar-a-lago in the first place. you have that concession that comes out of that. and one of the bolsters ufc 2701 which concerns government records. >> here's something that i do find confusing and i wonder if it's trump world's best argument. the president has broad leverage over what he can declassify. and as we've seen, with the broad leverage over who he can give a clearance. jared kushner was not given a clearance. and donald trump wants jared kushner to have access to the highest level of intel. and donald trump had his way over the intel community. what are you hearing about that argument and how it's going to play out? that the president could have

already declassified these documents. >> yeah. that's what they're really focused on, i think, they want to make this about declassification, i think if you look at the statutes, i've said this and a lot of people have said this, the statutes don't turn on whether the documents are classified. all the documents do, are they sensitive, national security secrets, government secrets. kash patel close to the president saying it's a standing order, by the way, we've not seen any evidence of that whatsoever. even if that were true, that doesn't exceed the fact that the president had all of these national security documents lying around in mar-a-lago at a storage facility. >> and you look at the trump people's arguments and the exposure that they have went to themselves with their arguments is that you could have made these arguments 30 years ago in any case that donald trump was involved with, and there were many, real estate, largely, and it all comes down to two

elements, delay and deny. and that's what they're doing here. >> well, absolutely. and i can't help -- you guys help me -- i can't help but think about why -- ask the question, why did he want the documents? what's the purpose? and given who he is, i'm not the dean of the harvard law school. not even close. >> a little closer. >> why -- aren't we worried that he would monetize this? >> yeah. >> he's like at expert-level grifter. i mean, the danger is out of bounds. >> especially we know from a reporter that he was personally going through the boxes and screening through what should go back to the archives and what belongs to me. saying these documents are mine. of course, that he had a vested interest, as he points out in what he was surrendering and keeping at mar-a-lago. >> he went through a point as well, he went through the boxes himself when the justice department came knocking.

he reidentified the documents that he wanted to return and didn't want to return. of course to your point leaving the white house, he was looking through what he wanted to take with him through mar-a-lago. very secretive. he didn't want to let his aides -- i spoke to people in the east wing helping melania trump put the belongings together. that was the case for them. people across the board were not really to see what trump was putting into his own boxes. i think it sadly shows or starts to satisfy the intent level. >> it really sounds that the most reading donald trump's done in his lifetime. >> it might have been charts. >> yeah. but that's what i find so awesome about the story. not awesome just, wow. >> wel, given his nature, given his history, given his lack of character, you can't help but think he'd look at a doubt and

wonder what will they'd pay to read this in riyadh? >> remember when he was sitting on the patio with prime minister shinzo abe talking about the nuclear test. hugo lowell, congressional reporter for "the guardian," thank you for being here. still ahead on "morning joe," the irs launches a safety review amid an increase in threats to its employees with the head of the agency blaming the dangerous rhetoric from top republicans for increased danger. also this morning, united states is preparing a new weapons package for ukraine. the largest yet as the russian invasion hitsed six-month mark today. we'll have the very latest on where the fighting stands. and also this morning, congressman and former governor charlie crist won his election, hoping to defeat ron desantis in november. joins us next. we'll be right back on "morning joe."

republicans in congress call them "entitlements." a "ponzi scheme." the women and men i served with in combat, we earned our benefits. just like people earned their social security and medicare benefits. but republicans in congress have a plan to end so-called "entitlements" in just five years. social security, medicare, even veterans benefits. go online and read the republican plan for yourself. joe biden is fighting to protect social security, medicare and veterans benefits. call joe biden and tell him to keep fighting for our benefits.

okay season 6! aw... this'll take forev—or not. do i just focus on when things don't work, and not appreciate when they do? i love it when work actually works! i just booked this parking spot... this desk... and this conference room! i am filing status reports on an app that i made! i'm not even a coder! and it works!... i like your bag! when your digital solutions work, the world works. that's why the world works with servicenow. ♪♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks so good it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick? a pool floatie is like whooping cough,

it's not just for kids. whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. and it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination because it's not just for kids. it's time for the biggest sale of the year, on the sleep number 360 smart bed. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination it's temperature balancing, so you both say cool. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. all smart beds are on sale. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. ends monday power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools, and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities. while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. finding the perfect project manager isn't easy.

but, at upwork, we found him. he's in adelaide between his daily lunch delivery and an 8:15 call with san francisco. and you can find him, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did.

i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. today marks six months since russia's invasion of ukraine. the biden administration expected to announce a new $3 billion security assistance package later today. it is the largest aid package yet to ukraine. and being prepared to coincide with the country's independence day. it will include drones, air defense systems and other weapons with advanced capabilities. officials say the new funding is aimed largely at helping ukraine to secure its medium and long-term defense. nbc's josh lederman joins us live from kyiv. josh, what does it look like there today on independence day?

>> reporter: well, willie, it's a mix of defiance and anxiety as ukrainians mark six months of war as well as independence day. defiance as ukrainians have burnt out tanks through russia, through the streets of kyiv, and not far from maydan. ukrainians bracing for a potentially massive bombardment on this day. you can see the banner they've hung up at city hall behind me, honoring the captured soldiers from mariupol. there's so many families for whom this is a very bittersweet independence day. >> translator: he called around 7:00 a.m. said, mom, i'm fine. he didn't say a word about what happened on the island. >> reporter: the day the nation invaded, her son was serving on the island where the war's first atomic war played out.

tell me about your son. >> translator: the island, the nature, the sea. >> reporter: olena's son nike cola was a cook in the military, also at snake island, these two mothers now bound together by anguish. they learned their sons had been captured by spotting them on russian tv piece bussed to occupied crimea. so this is your son's room and you've kept it exactly like it was for him when he comes back? >> translator: today it is nothing, nothing at all, are they eating anything? >> reporter: as ukraine marks six months of war on wednesday, there are countless families waiting and hoping. >> translator: we're talking about several thousand prisoners of war. >> reporter: ukraine's military said nearly 600 have been released in exchanges with russia. many later described torture, death threats and constant mental abuse. russia said it treats p.o.w.s

humanly. this man was among one of the lucky ones released. in april, he was part of ukraine's last stand in mariupol. he saw a russian tank aiming at him and then a flash. >> translator: the building started collapsing, i fell from the floor to the first floor. and i was covered in rubble. >> reporter: he had a broken nose and jaw. the only way doctors could save him was to turn him over to russia. he said he was given no pain pills, and that chechen soldiers were taunt him. >> translator: sometimes, the nurses would leave the food and say, eat it yourself, ukrainian. it was clear i could not move, let alone eat. they would come two hours later, take the food and ask, are you full? >> reporter: freed after 17 days, he hopes to return to the front lines. when the phone rings in the

village, anna prays it's her son. you can read to me what was last said. >> everything is fine. been at war, everything is fine. >> reporter: if your son could see this conversation right now, what would you like to tell him? >> translator: that we are waiting for him. we love him. >> reporter: and willie, i asked that ma lien whether his experience has made him feel hatred towards the russian troops who have littered ukraine with equipment like this. he said these days it's hard for him to distinguish mentally between quote-unquote good russians versus bad russians. he said the russian army has turned his female friends into widows and his male friends into cripples. that is some of the legacy of the ongoing war that's weighing on ukrainians as they celebrate independence day today. willie. >> as you said the country on edge there, josh lederman, we

appreciate it. let's bring in the former senior operations officer with the cia. mark, good to see you this morning. let's pause for the six-month commemoration from the beginning the war, russia's invasion, a lot of people said it started in 2014 with the illegal annexing of crimea, but this phase of the invasion, anyway. what's your assessment of where things stand right now. ukraine, obviously, has shown the world its bravery, the fight of its military, the ability to rally the west behind it. russia's objectives certainly scaled back from what it wanted on the first days and weeks of the war. but where are we, as we sit here, six months in? >> good morning, willie, i think it's important at the six-month mark to kind of take a look at where we are at the from the intelligence perspective. i spent 26 years at the agency. i remember the intelligence nation's first line of defense, i take a look at the russian intelligence services. some talk about the military

intelligence is the key to war. without it you cannot win. so how has russia performed? they performed spectacularly bad. it's almost an epic failure. there's an expose about how the russian service has been responsible for ukraine. really was filled with acute risk and confidence running poor sources and ultimately providing terrible information to russian president vladimir putin. almost reinforcing his desire to invade, rather than telling truth to power. so the russian intelligence service has suffered spectacular failures. also don't forget that 400 intelligence officers were to care for nato countries so they lost an operational footprint in europe. when you take a look at it at the six-month market, with russian intelligence considered ten feet tall is really like the military. >> mark, was one of the

intelligence that the russians brought to the field early on, did it occur, when we saw the miles long logistical train of tanks outside of kyiv, and they had to retreat within two or three weeks? >> well, that's right. mike, and don't forget, yet it's been told vladimir putin that the russian military would be treated as liberators, you know, flower petals thrown at them. they expected to take kyiv with a lightning strike. they told vladimir putin. they had sources in place, agents in place to help overthrow the ukrainian government. so they were wrong. that line of tanks and that's a function of the russians getting the entire issue so absolutely wrong. to me, i look at, you know, as we follow the russian compass, it's remarkable ahead of the efforts, that he still has a

job. that's probably a reflection that vladimir putin relies on the russian security elite as the foundation of the state. but this goes down in intelligence history as just an epic failure. and again, with the performance of the russian military, that's a result of getting it so wrong from the beginning. >> mark, elise jordan here. president biden has pledged $3 billion in munitions to the ukrainians, that's on top of $10.6 billion that we already have provided. is this becomes another proxy war against the russian, much like what played out in afghanistan for so many years? >> well, elise, that's a great point. i think my own colleague, cia operations director and then the special operations forces, you know, special operations europe, they're quite busy now. and this is what we're really good at doing. and, you know, starting in 2014, the u.s. national security establishment which really was, you know, u.s. and british special operations and

intelligence forces established relationships with ukrainians, particularly ukrainian military intelligence. i think there's a seams flow of now billions of dollars of aid is allowing ukrainians to do so well. that's a balance of the function. rus is good at this, of course the western nato parties and this bodes well for the future. just keynotes as we're looking from the intel side, number one, nato intelligence services have done very well. u.s., we stalled the war plans. that's an intelligence boon. and then we have the operational train where we're sending billions in. make no mistake, let's talk about the ukrainians, extraordinarily brave. ukrainian intelligence is leading the way, the at to ingest billions of weapons and get them to their partners in the ukrainian military is pretty remarkable. >> they've shown the country what incredible people they are.

former cia operations officer parker polymeropoulos, new piece in the washington examiner. we'll get insight from new documents recovered the mar-a-lago from jeh johnson. for plus, the woman hoping to take marco rubio's senate seat, democrat val demings fresh off a primary win last night. 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. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”.

but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business. families are struggling with inflation and congress and president biden just did something about it. signing the inflation reduction act. it means lower drug costs for millions and ramps up production of american-made clean energy, bringing down monthly energy costs for families. and it's the boldest action on climate change we've ever seen. it means lower costs for us and a brighter future for them. a historic win that will bring relief to millions of people. congress and president biden got it done. this is xfinity rewards. our way of showing our appreciation.

with rewards of all shapes and sizes. [ cheers ] are we actually going? yes!! and once in a lifetime moments. two tickets to nascar! yes! find rewards like these and so many more in the xfinity app.

it's deep to left field! there's a fly. a long home run for judge. 1-0 yankees. >> 48 of them. aaron judge got the scoring started in the fourth inning for the yankees last night against the mets with that major league leading 48th home run of the season. jump to the bottom of the seventh, game's tied. former red sox andrew benintendi.

judge tacked on other run, rbi. a brief two-game sweep of the mets in the final subway series of the regular series. both teams remain in first place in their divisions. the mets, though, the lead over the braves is just down to two games. mike, are the yankees better now? is this their get well, we needed this palate cleanser? >> yeah, last night, i think the flight attendant on that ball that aaron judge hit, i think she was upset it was going too fast. but, yeah, they're looking good. andrew benintendi, he's looking good. the yankees are good. toad good not to be okay. and so are the mets. the mets, a fun team. >> yes, they are. that is one of the home runs where the pitcher tyron walker just didn't look. >> yeah. >> he knew he missed it. like into the next ball. what about the braves, though,

man, the braves, defending champs, they're going to be tough on the mets? >> braves have a series of young athletes that have arrived on that team, on that club, just this summer who have made a remarkable difference in the club, just in the last six or seven weeks. and the braves are smart enough to sign them long term early. to take care of their budget. the braves are a great team as well, terrific team. >> they are. we're not even talking about the dodgers, the titans in baseball. >> i'll talk about any team except my team. >> of course, the red sox. not that far out of the wildcard. >> oh, please, stop teasing me. stop this. >> false hope. when we come back a very busy morning after a busy night of primary races. we've got winners, val demingses, charlie crist and sean patrick maloney, all our guests, when "morning joe" comes back.

♪ i'm the latest hashtag challenge. and everyone on social media is trying me. i'm trending so hard that “hashtag common sense” can't keep up. this is going to get tens and tens of views. ♪ but if you don't have the right auto insurance coverage, you could be left to pay for this... yourself. get allstate and be better protected from mayhem for a whole lot less.

time. it's life's most precious commodity, especially when you have metastatic breast cancer. when your time is threatened, it's hard to invest in your future. until now. kisqali is helping women live longer than ever before when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant... in hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's proven to delay disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain... a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. your future is ahead of you, so it's time to make the most of it with kisqali. because when you invest in yourself,

everyone gets the best of you. when a truck hit my car,est in yourself, the insurance company wasn't fair. i didid't t kn whahatmy c caswa, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to k how much their accident case is worth.h barnes. t ouour juryry aorneneys hehelpou

the insurance company getenwasn't fair.ity y cablele. i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. llll theararnes rmrm now the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪

♪♪ 6:50 in the morning on a wednesday morning. the united states capitol. looks like a beautiful day in washington. so, you recall last week, we talked about that video from senate candidate dr. oz in the state of pennsylvania where he strolled through a supermarket looking for a crudites. those are vegetables, by the way, with the super bowl, you get the vegetables with the dips and everything? that's what that is. now john fetterman, opponent in the race made an issue of that. dr. oz's team is trying to push back. on that video that went viral in the spring, fetterman making merchandise, and oz's team pushing too far. rachel tripp released a

statement to "insider" that reads this way, if john fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke and be in a position to lie about it constantly. fetterman suffered a stroke on the campaign trail. and took some time to recover. he wrote, i had a stroke, i survived it. i'm truly so grateful to still be here today. i know politics can be nasty, but even then i could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges. eddie, that's disgusting. there are politics, and the punchback to mock you for being a stroke. it's dr. oz playing a role. he's trying to be trumpian as he's proven before, it's gross. >> there's a line from maya angelou, if people show you who dher, believe them. we're seeing evidence of character of these folks, at the heart of it is cruelty and

nastiness. that statement shows not only a lack of empathy but a mean spiritedness that speaks to who the people are. >> lack of character -- >> you're losing when you put out statements like that, you know, you're desperate. >> yeah, it's support for desperation. that's what it is, dr. oz going around offering cheese trays to people in beaver falls, pennsylvania. >> it's crudites. yeah. and charcuterie boards. sam stein, it does get to a more serious point of the race and state of the candidates, hand-picked by donald trump. we've heard the private grumbling from donald trump that dr. oz is not the candidate that trump thought he would be. but he was charismatic and charm people to win the race. he may still, but he's is not right now? >> yeah, i think he's doing this both out of a sense of desperation but as because he needs to juice fundraising.

when you do outlandish things like this to get fundraising. it just goes to the what candidates have chosen before, especially in these races. herschel walker struggled as well. and look, if you watched the pennsylvania race over the past couple of weeks, you notice something in particular. oz is still in this conservative media bubble. doing all the conservative stations trying to reach conservative voters that's because he's not generated enthusiasm which goes back to my original point is that the grassroots enthusiasm on the conservative side is geared through donald trump. doesn't get transferred through any other candidate, it's geared through donald trump. if you're running for office as a republican, you have to be trumpified but no one else can pull it off except for donald trump. >> and the way to juice fund

raving to mock your opponent for having a streak. sam stein, see you tomorrow. we're joined by a pair of primary winners from florida. democratic congresswoman val demings is our guest, after running for the race to unseat marco rubio and former governor charlie crist joins us in his bid to take down ron desantis. plus, nasa is looking to build a foundation for human deep space exploration and it starts with a return to the moon. the agency's top administrator bill nelson joins us, when "morning joe" comes right back.

the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty. an answer. uncovered through exploration, teamwork, and innovation. an answer that leads to even more answers. mayo clinic. you know where to go. ♪♪ my relationship with my credit cards wasn't good. i got into debt in college and, no matter how much i paid, it followed me everywhere. between the high interest, the fees... i felt trapped. debt, debt, debt. so i broke up with my credit card debt and consolidated it into a low-rate personal loan from sofi. i finally feel like a grown-up. break up with bad credit card debt. get a personal loan with no fees, low fixed rates, and borrow up to $100k. go to sofi.com to view your rate. sofi. get your money right.

♪♪ joe biden and democrats in congress sofi. ge just passed right. the inflation reduction act to lower our costs. the plan lowers the cost of healthcare and medicine and lowers our energy bills by investing in clean energy. that's more savings for us. finding the perfect designer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in austin between a fresh bowl of matcha and a fresh batch of wireframes. and you can find her, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com ♪♪♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks.

now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us

♪♪ we are a community. we are a country, who wants freedom for all. [ applause ]

we are a country who wants safety for all. we are a country who wants democracy for all. and tonight, we sent that message loud and clear across the nation. >> that is democrat pat ryan after winning a special election in new york state for the united states house of representatives. it is a swing district seen as a national bellwether. we'll discuss why this may change the conversation about a potential red wave in november. plus, congressman jerry nadler handily defeats his long time ally carolyn maloney in a race who pit two powerful incumbents against each other. and this hour, we'll speak to former police chief congresswoman val demings ready to challenge marco rubio after winning her primary.

welcome to "morning joe." it's wednesday, august 24th. mike barnicle elise jordan still with us and msnbc analyst claire mccaskill. and jeh johnson, who will talk about the secretary's new developments on the search of the fbi search of mar-a-lago. including the national archives rejecting the request from trump's attorneys to block the fbi from reviewing some of the classified material recovered from the former president's resort. but first, the details on that democratic visibility your in upstate new york. democrat pat ryan wins the hotly contested special election in new york's 19th district defeating republican marc molinaro. it's a true swing district, went for trump in 2012, biden in 2016. and attorney general del gad go was appointed lieutenant

governor in new york. and underscores the democratic message on abortion. ryan put the supreme court ruling of roe versus wade front and center. claire mccaskill, why are we talking abe a special election in the hudson valley, 19th district of new york, do you believe we can take something away from this nationally? >> well, i am worried that we are going to go there and think that this thing is under control. because we've had such startling results in kansas around this issue. we're now seeing a swing district like this, where he put on his yard signs, choice is on the ballot. his name was much smaller than that message. i think we are -- most democrats believe this is going to change the entire complexion of the midterm elections. that it is going to be about

women in this country saying, no, you cannot force an incest victim to give birth. and that's what these republicans are doing across the country. they are now legitimating such extreme positions around this very, very emotional subject. that's what motivates people to vote. and that's why this election, all of a sudden, one small congressional district, out of hundreds in the country, is sending a message to democrats, okay, we can do this. this does not have to be a red wave election. >> so, claire, obviously, this is one district in one part of new york state, maybe not representative of somewhere like missouri or a swing district in other place where is you've served. what are the lessons, do you think, for democrats now? is it to lean into the abortion issue? is it to defend president biden what have you taken away from this, as a strategic thinker on politics? >> it feels like to me the message this fall is a battle of are you down for extremism and

for people who want to put democracy in a dust bin? or are you more worried about inflation and the cost of goods in your family? that's, to me, how this is setting up. so, if gas prices continue to steady and go slightly lower, if inflation abates in any way, i think what you see, it's not just a district in new york. which i think everybody knows new york is much more liberal than most of the country in general, maybe not this district, but in general. but in a place like kansas, willie, i mean, nobody expected the kind of turnout, forget about the margin of that issue. it was the turnout that was remarkable. and that's what's giving, i think, democrats a breath of fresh air. and frankly, a little more oxygen in the lungs for the midterms coming up in 10 weeks now, 10 1/2 weeks? >> also, the state of florida make something news last night with its primary races. joining us now the democratic

nominee for governor there, congressman charlie crist. congressman, thanks for being with us this morning. how did you do it? what were the central issues as you talked to voters out there? >> well, i think just touching base with people. talking about roe v. wade, as you were just talking about, huge issue, critically important. and frankly affordability in the sunshine state. the profit is through the roof, trying to buy a house in florida anymore, you can't do it, if you're a millionaire or billionaire and most of us aren't. making sure we can vote. that's another issue. voting rights, womens' rights, affordability, they're critical now and they juxtaposed themselves last night. >> as you know, congressman, democratic supporters have given time to celebrating looking ahead to governor desantis, he's

got a $140 million war chest available for the matchups. how will you go at governor desantis? >> well, people talk about his approval rating and how popular he is, willie, have you seen that lately, that number? the last one i saw was 50%, right? so, i was governor before. i approval rating as governor of florida was about 72%. that's 22 points ahead of where he is now. he's like this giant? i mean, come on. that was republicans, democrats, independents because we were doing what was right for the people. and it was shocking, you know. he wasn't seeing that before but when that happens, it's an amazing thing. it's a god think. and when you're doing what's right for everybody, whether they're black or white. rich or poor, gay or straight. and not discriminating like he is against people all the time, he's trying to tear my state apart. that's why i'm running against him. i don't care about the money he's got.

go to charlie crist.com if you want to help. but, my goodness, it's about more than that, it's about value, it's about doing what's right for people. it's about doing on to others as you would do to yourself. i wear the yellow wristbands. practice it every day, do unto others as you would do on to you. >> charlie, you mentioned in florida, like it is in a lot of places, the republican party has generally fought to restrict voting rights in a lot of areas. i'm wondering where that issue, voting, is going to take priority in your campaign against the incumbent? >> well, it's roe v. wade and it's voting. you know, i had the honor, god rest his soul, serving with john lewis from georgia. what a civil rights, voting rights icon in our country. mike, he used to say to me all the time, anybody else who would listen, charlie, our right to vote is so important.

it's precious. he said it's so precious, it's probably sacred, godly. and he was right, because he would say, you know, your vote is your voice. and if you don't vote, you're not heard. and john lewis had it right. and i think that, a woman's right to choose, respecting women, which truly this is what this is about. desantis doesn't. he tears them down. he tears down lgbtq. en unconscionable what he's done, but he's running for president of the united states. if we are to beat him which i believe we will on november 8th, that show ends right here in florida, people need our help. >> congressman, this is eddie glaude. i've got a sense of how you want to fight governor desantis.

he's a cultural warrior. he's going to fight on that terrain. he mobilizes and exaggerates grievance. how you going to fight on that terrain? given the don't say gay stuff and all that he's doing, how are you going to battle on the cultural war field? >> eddie, that's a brilliant question. he is on the battlefield of hate. i'm on the battlefield of love. there's faith, hope and love. and greatest it's in corinthians in the bible. i'm going to beat him because i'm running on love and love always wins. if he wants to run on hate and culture wars and dividing people and making people hate even other, that's his turf. it's not mine. i'm on a different plane. i'm on a different turf. and it's what floridians deserve. you know, he's torn my state apart. and florida's beautiful, as everybody knows. i want to bring her back together. that's what this campaign is

about. hate versus love. his hate, our love. god's love. >> congressman, perhaps no other issue is potentially more advantageous for you, than pushing back against abortion restrictions in florida. how are you going to set up a contrast, your policies versus governor desantis? >> i don't have to set it. the table is set. he signed in law the 15-week law that is so barbaric that can include exceptions for rape or incest. who did that? you know, what kind of fool believes that's a good idea for women for 52% of the voters in our country? he's out of his mind. i, as a republican governor, have already vetoed an anti-abortion bill in my state. and i've said the first day of the second crist administration

i will sign an executive order making sure we protect a women's right to choose in the sunshine state. what else do you need to know? the contrast doesn't need to be set up. the contrast actually is crystal clear. there's crist for women, and there's the other guy, desantis against them. >> the democratic nominee now for governor of florida fighting on the battlefield of love. congressman charlie crist. congressman, thanks for being here this morning. appreciate it. claire, obviously, this is a tough race for democrats, congressman crist against dron desantis. we'll talk to val dem information a few minutes to take on marco rubio. the registrations for republicans in florida have gone up in recent years. hispanic voters trending again towards republicans in many places. how do you see the races playing out? >> well, i think that, you just mentioned, a very important part

of the florida race. and that is hispanic voters. both for val demings and charlie crist. latino voters are going to be key. and one of the things that has really hurt democrats with latino voters is the way that republicans have irresponsibly thrown the word "socialism" around. there's nobody in florida that doesn't love medicare. medicare is great. medicare is very popular. i'd go right at them with issues of health care, reassuring latino voters that nobody wants socialism in florida, but we do want to make sure that you get your health care. i think that will do a lot to bring back -- and i think democrats need to quit looking at latino voters as a monolithic voting bloc. there are things that are motivating latino voters and just assumes because there's a lot of hate coming out of ron desaintsis about others, whether

it be gay people or people of color, that doesn't mean you're going to get the latino voters. i hope both of these campaigns are in serious overdrive. >> we'll speak to congresswoman demings. and we want to go to the news story of documents taken and top secret service letter made popular by the national archives in may sent by an archivist as a lawyer to the former president. in the letter, the archivist shoots it down. writes this, the question in this case is not a kloss win. the executive branch here is seeking access to records belonging to and in the custody of the federal government

itself. not only to investigate whether the records were handled in an unlawful manner, but also as the national security division explained to conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and to take any necessary remedial steps. i have therefore decided not to honor the former president's protective claim of privilege. end quote. the 700 pages of classified information mentioned in the letter only include those records seized in january. government officials would make two more visits to mar-a-lago, after that letter was sent, to recover even more documents. it's unclear how many pages of classified information were found during those trips. as advertised, secretary jeh johnson joins us. so, mr. secretary, i want to get into this claim that the president and team have made of sort of waving a wand and declassifying all the documents as they were ferried out to mar-a-lago. but first, the process, how the

fbi, the justice department have proceeded. as we get a look behind the curtain, you see they've tried to take regular steps to get this back and got no response or deflections from the trump team. >> first, let me make a disclosure, i'm a new york mets fan and have been since the miracle season of 1969, so all of the boston and st. louis fans around "morning joe," get used to the idea of it. >> loves the mets. >> yeah. >> yes, it seems as though there was a dialogue going on between the government and former president trump's lawyers where each time the national archives thought they had it all, turns out they didn't. and for reasons that are probably pretty compelling, the department of justice felt it had no choice but to go in and seek a search warrant to obtain all the rest of what is still at mar-a-lago. you know, i wrote in an op-ed

last week that the system of classification is one that is created by the president himself. through executive order. it's not a law. it's the president's commander in chief authority to classify documents, to create a system to classify documents at the secret level, the top secret level. and that can be overridden by the president himself, if he deems it necessary for the foreign policy and national security interest of the country. and that's happened from time to time. this seems to be an abuse of power. and even if one could construct somehow an argument that the former president was correct in walking out of the white house with classified documents, the government, specifically, the fbi, still has the compelling interest in insuring that the

national security secrets of our government are protected and are secure. and obviously, the department of justice is concerned that a lot of very sensitive documents sitting in mar-a-lago in a hotel are not. and so they did what they did. and i think it was probably for very compelling reasons. >> let me take your point. is there any compelling argument, you served as home of homeland security for a president of the united states to take documents, boxes full of them from the white house, and move them into his private home after he's present? is there a case to be made somewhere after that? >> well, let's be clear, this claim thats there was a standing order that anytime president trump picked up a classified document and walked out of the oval office and went to the residence with it is somehow declassified is laughable. >> by the way, everyone's on trump's team has said that. john bolton has been on and said there's no standing order. >> because, everybody -- if you understand classification and sensitive documents you know

it's laughable. first of all, a document itself is not classified. the information on the document is classified. and that information can exist in multiple agencies, with multiple officials. so, part and parcel of declassifying something is announcing to the rest of the federal government, this information is hereby declassified. you can't just -- this claim that there was this standing order. it's a little like saying the speed limit in the state of new jersey is whatever the governor happens to be driving at a particular moment without telling anybody. so whoever conjured that argument up didn't understand the first thing about national security information. >> so, according to the reporting, we don't know, untold number of documents are at the highest order of classification. >> yes. >> documents that ordinarily be read in a scif, a secured

private room, i'm going to assume that you've seen top secret documents, so from looking at these documents could a trained observer, or even a skilled observer, figure out methods and sources of intelligence gathering. >> yes. >> that would present some danger to operatives currently in the field? >> yes, without a doubt. because very often, intelligence reports -- the lowest level of classification is confidential which is barely classified. then there's secret. then there's top secret. then there's something called top secret sci, sensitive, compartmentalized information. even with top secret clearance, you can't be read into sci except through program by program. then there are there are saps, special access programs. and very often, an intelligence

report will taken not only sensitive information but the manner in which it's collected so that is very sensitive. >> there's been so much parsing of language and talking what's different levels of classification. at the end of the day, the former president of the united states packed up a bunch of boxes, took them to his storage room in this beach and tennis club. went through there did denied requests by the national archives to give everything was not forthcoming from it. whatever level of classification they, they took the documents, stole them and took them to his house. >> absolutely. >> what's more extraordinary, nobody stopped him. or no lawyer. >> right, they claimed to have tried. >> saying, mr. president, if you do this, you're putting yourself in legal jeopardy. >> mr. secretary, break it down for the ordinary joe, what does all of this suggest to you about donald trump? why is so important? beyond the fact that it's a classified document, why is this so critical? >> it is yet another example of

an abuse of power by this president. he treated the executive branch of the government as if it was his own family business. and it's not. and so, i find it -- anybody who's been around national security will find there's a protocol for, you know, setting up presidential libraries, working with the national archives to do that. but you just can't take classified information of our government and walk out of the white house with it and take it to your home, to your basement. you know, if i were in somebody's private residence, and somebody showed me a ts/sci document i'd probably break out in hives in a cold sweat because it's not in a scif. and this to me is yet another example of how this president regarded everything of the federal government as his own. he can do what he wants, he's the commander in chief and that

somehow this authority continues to exist even though he's no longer president. it's all absurd. >> and the predictable offense over the last two weeks is to attack the fbi as a witch hunt to go after him. just one of the institutions being attacked by republicans right now. and others, the irs, in a letter sent to staff yesterday, irs commissioner charles reddig announced the agency is launching nationwide security reviews. some of them with threats directed at irs and its employees. the increased threats come after top republicans and allies of former president trump had been engaged in violent rhetoric and conspiracy theories about armed residents targeted agents. saying they're concerned about the safety. he added threats against the agency amplified by elected republicans are extremely

dispresuspectful to the agency. and janet yellen said it's a top priority. this is the agency's first security review since the 1990 bombing in oklahoma city that killed 168 people. joining us u.s. national editor at the "financial times" ed luce. the battle to keep an american state, ed writes, quote, disabling the nonmilitary side of america's state is not a recent republican priority but its record is decidedly mixed. on one hand, day to day u.s. administration has become ever more difficult. the restrictions placed on agencies including the irs has grown more other thannerous over the years, people's interface with the u.s. government can be a painful experience. the democratic habit of micro regulation which acts like a full employment charter for lawyers also has added to the d.c. slow movingness.

financing in the u.s. government is about to get much costlier, biden's new law, the inflation reduction act will go some way towards leveling the playing field between under paid irs agents. but if republicans regain control of congress in november it could prove a short term victory. they can simply block the irs budget. the societal cost of this latest disinformation campaign is hard to count. millions of americans now think that the u.s. government is armed and out to get them. it's a whopper of a lie and lies have a way of taking root. ed, as you point out, senior members, like chuck grassley saying armed federal agents with ar-15s are going to kick in the doors of business owners. it's a conspiracy theory. >> we've seen it before that. this isn't new, think of death

panels and brash. think of the propaganda around the estate tax, rebranding it as a tax on family and farms in iowa. it's getting considerably worse to have mainstream republicans talk about not just of abolishing the irs and the fbi for that matter, but depicting their agents, depicting these government employees as essentially shock rooms for globalists, autocrats who are coming to a home near you to take your property, to take your bible, to take your guns, whatever it is. the scale of rhetoric is getting a lot, lot worse. and it's hard to measure that. it takes roots in people's heads. and in terms of the irs, look, no government is possible without the ability to collect revenues. if we're going to depict the relatively underpaid and very hard working people, overstretched people, as

dangerous tools of a fascist state, then we're disabling government. we're watching a concerted republican attempt to disable the ability of government to function at all. >> claire, more irs agents and employees are being hired because it's going to take six, eight, ten months to get your tax return this year. it's woefully understaffed. but i'm curious what you think of some of your old colleagues in the united states senate, and the way they've adopted, in this case, just a crazy conspiracy theory about 87,000 armed irs agents patrolling the country looking for everyday americans and small business owners to do god knows what to. why are they doing that? why is chuck grassley doing that? >> well it's a good old simple playing to the chief to american politics. if you put out a list in

american government that are really popular, first of all, y50ud be hard-pressed to find one, certainly at the bottom of the list would be the irs because people just see it globally as somebody who is going to try to collect money from them. so, yeah, chuck grassley is doing the ultimate irresponsible and incendiary think. i mean, ed is right, when you have a government that's running a deficit like we are, how in the world do you think it's a good idea you that do away with your accounts receivable department? and they like to talk about government running as a business. all they're trying to do here is to collect money that is owed under the law from people who make more than $400,000 a year. i mean, that's -- that's, to me, should be popular to all of the people paying their fair share. so, i'd like to turn this to jeh, though, this incendiary talk about government workers. i spent 40 years in government. you spent a lot of time in government managing a lot of

people. i think it is important every once in a while, that we just take a pause and talk about these people and who they are. these are not people looking for headlines. they're not people looking for a lot of money in their careers. there is an essence of public service that we've revered in this country and it's one of the things that donald trump has blown up. talk about the people that worked with you, the hundreds and thousands of people, in the departments that you worked in, where you were a high-level leader and how they deserve more than what chuck grassley and ted cruz and these guys threatening their lives talking about their service. >> claire, the people you're talking about really do make our federal government work. they exist administration to administration to administration. very often, they're woefully underpaid, but the job satisfaction actually is pretty

high because they feel like they're making a difference. they're trying a vestitude of people's business. i would have to say, with homeland security right now, probably one of my top fears, this is a smoldering fire right below the surface. and i've been saying for some time now, those of us with a public voice and a microphone, engaged in overheated dangerous rhetoric, make unacceptable behavior acceptable and but the deranged among us inevitable. you know, the wake-up call for this was 1995, timothy mcveigh, oklahoma city. but this is a threat that's smoldering below the surface. continues to exist. >> it's not that far beneath the surface, elise, you can ask fbi

agents in the field office, you can fbi offices having to harden the buildings where they work. this is real. politicians who know better, who know they're telling lies an putting those employees in harm's way, it's unforgivable. >> it's petrifying and unacceptable. ed, i do feel like those have been fertile ground for republicans to attack democrats on the irs because there is such a fear by so many small business owners by middle class americans of getting audited. how can the biden administration message this as a 1% tax force. this is going to go after americans with the resources to fight back the irs, not americans who don't have those resources? >> that's a very good question. and, you know, as the saying goes, the bigger the lie, the more difficult it is to counter.

it just takes roots in people's heads. and of course in politics, when you're explaining you're losing. but the fact of the matter is that this is just restoring the irs capacity back to where it was back to pre-2013 which is when tea party republicans really started to flash the irs budget. it's restoring it to relatively normal levels, even pre-2013 that if had been cut. most of resources are going to into help lines and updating i.t. and as the biden administration has made very clear, the noncompliance rate is for people returning $400,000. particularly, over $1 million and then in the hundreds of tens of millions. so they've got to keep repeating that. they are dealing with an extremely effective propaganda. you know, that place into a lot of americans' fears about being

audited. i understand those fears. it's a horrible, you know, experience. although i'm not speaking from personal experience yet. it's a horrible experience being audited. but this is not -- this is not the kind of american being targeted. it's the super wealthy and corporations. >> eddie, claire's right, nobody loves the irs. nobody wants an audit but that's the caveat that hangs over all of this. but that doesn't mean that people want violence visited on the irs. that doesn't mean the people that live in the information bubble and that's the problem with so much issues we talk about everything morning. and ed luce has just told facts about what's going on here if you listen to podcasts and certain websites there's an entirely different relatively. there's an entirely different story that 87,000 irs agents are load up and coming to get you.

>> the ecosystem from ruby ridge from waco, to oklahoma, to bannon's deconstruction of the administrative state, all of this is part of that ecosystem. so it's imperative that we understand that it's a fire underneath that's blazing in interesting sorts of ways, and it is dangerous to the republicans. >> u.s. national editor at the financial times, ed luce, former homeland secretary jeh johnson, great to see you. i'm a yankees fan, i just swept you, and go mets, thanks. still ahead on "morning joe," millions of kids heading back to the classroom, parents say it's not the quality of education. we'll tell you. plus, the congressman and sean patrick maloney will joining us and dan goldman who

leads in his congressional race. and up next, we turn back to florida the democratic nominee for senate, val demings joins us as she prepares to go head to head with marco rubio. we'll talk to congresswoman demings when were you come back. between the high interest, the fees... i felt trapped. debt, debt, debt. so i broke up with my credit card debt and consolidated it into a low-rate personal loan from sofi. i finally feel like a grown-up. break up with bad credit card debt. get a personal loan with no fees, low fixed rates, and borrow up to $100k. go to sofi.com to view your rate. sofi. get your money right. ♪♪ so we need something super distinctive... dad's work, meet daughter's playtime. thankfully, meta portal auto pans and zooms to keep you in frame. and the meeting on track. meta portal.

the smart video calling device that makes work from home work for you. finding the perfect developer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in prague, between the perfect cup of coffee and her museum of personal computers. and you can find her, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com time. it's life's most precious commodity, especially when you have metastatic breast cancer. when your time is threatened, it's hard to invest in your future. until now. kisqali is helping women live longer than ever before when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant... in hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's proven to delay disease progression. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain... a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness,

loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. your future is ahead of you, so it's time to make the most of it with kisqali. because when you invest in yourself, everyone gets the best of you.

i'm a fancy exercise bike noobie. and i've gone from zero to obsessed in like... three days. instructor: come on milwaukee! i see you!

after riding twelve miles to nowhere, i'm taking a detour. and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, you could be working out a way to pay for this yourself. get allstate and be better protected from mayhem for a whole lot less. i really do believe this daughter who is not supposed to be standing here tonight, but i really do believe that together we can do anything, we can do everything apart, divided, we can't do much. >> that is the fresh democratic nominee for senate in the state of florida. former orlando police chief and current current florida

congresswoman val demings who joins us now. congresswoman, congratulations on your victory. you won by my math by 78. you can turn the corner and run the race against marco rubio. what is your case against rubio to be the next senate in florida? >> let me say good morning to all of you. it's so great to be with you post-primary. i also want to thank the voters in florida. i do not take their support for granted. i do not take it lightly. but on to the general, look, i just believe that people in florida, regardless of where they live, whether that's in rural florida, like where i grew up. or if that's in a metropolitan area deserve to have someone who wants to represent them. someone who will vote for things that are in their interest. someone who believes in creating a future where that every child in florida can be included. someone who believes that, look, protecting our environment matters. lowering the cost of prescription drugs matter.

reducing the costs of goods and services matter. and we know that marco rubio is not that person. number one, he doesn't like to show up for work. i mean, that's a fact. and when he does show up, he does things, makes decisions that hurt florida. we can do better. and we will dough better, come november. >> so, congresswoman, surely senator rubio may have already hinted to this, will tie you to joe biden. tie towel the tie to you inflation, democrats have been in control of washington for a couple of years nearly now. what is your response to the criticism that you all have been at the helm for the first part of this administration, inflation is through the roof and it's not easy to buy things in the state of florida right now. >> well, it does not surprise me that marco rubio would look to everybody and anybody that he can hide behind or run to. look, unlike him, i have worked

hard for everything that i have ever gotten. and i will continue to do that as florida's next senator. we had an amazing, marco rubio had an amazing opportunity just a short time ago to vote for the inflation reduction act. that we know is truly good for florida. but guess what it is good for america. and marco rubio is so concerned about the costs of goods and services, and we all are so concerned about inflation. we are all are so concerned about our deficit, we you are, they had a great opportunity to vote for this historic piece of legislation. marco rubio chose not to do that because he wanted to put politics over people. of course, he's trying to peddle, voting against what joe biden is doing and what other people are doing. this race is between marco rubio and me. come november 8th, the voters in

florida will have a clear choice and clear direction. >> congresswoman has eye-popping fundraising. it's rare to see that, she wasn't even an opponent. congresswoman 37 millions, rubio $36 million. that gives an indication of her excitement around her candidacy. comwoman demings, this is eddie glaude. he's going to bring up crime and cultural issues. how are you going to respond to the way in which marco rubio and the republican party, particularly in florida will exploit grievance and resentment to gin up hatred. how are you going to fight that battle as you run for senate? >> eddie, thank you for that. it's great to see you, look,

marco rubio has been in elected office since 1998. and let me be clear about this, because you hold a public service office does not make you a public servant. as a career law enforcement officer, before that, i served as a social worker working with abused, neglected and abandoned children. 27 years at the police department i had my way of working my way up the ranks to become the police chief. yeah, i was tough on crime. yeah, we were able to reduce violent crime by over 40%. but i as understand we had to invest in the social ills that caused the chaos in the communities in the first place. because of that, able to bring the community together working every day to restore and rebuild trust. helping people to understand that the police is the community. and the community is the police. we were able to do some great things. i will put my record of public

service bringing people together, not just picking and choosing winners and losers like marco rubio does. i'll put my service up against marco rubio's, career politician record, any day. -i look forward to that fight. >> claire. >> yeah, good morning, chief demings. >> good morning. >> congratulations on being the nominee. i want to talk a little bit more about this inflation reduction act. i get the name of the bill but i don't think a lot of people realize what's in that bill as it relates to health care, particularly how many decades have we been talking about negotiating for prescription drug prices. the fact that you're in florida and marco rubio voted against, for the first time, a bill that was really going to tame the pharmaceutical industry, talk about that. and the health care things in that bill that he turned his back on and how important they

are to florida. >> i always say if it's good for florida, it's good for me. if it's bad for florida, then it's bad for me. this is a historic piece of legislation that would help reduce -- bring the costs down for health care. you know, dr. king said of all of the injustices inequities, that the access to health care is the most unjust. but you're absolutely right, it will also absolutely help to reduce the cost of prescription drugs to hold big pharma accountable. i cannot tell you how many times i hear from constituents and hear from seniors having to cut their pills in half to stretch their 30-day supply to 60 days. i spoke recently with a family of four. daughter has juvenile diabetes. and the mother told me that it is cheaper for her to fly her family of four first class to canada to buy insulin for her

baby, than to purchase it here. now, i don't know, i guess marco rubio think that is acceptable, that is totally unacceptable. and we can do better. and not to mention the historic provisions that will be more aggressive in dealing with climate change. you know, what we're experiencing here in florida. more intense storms. tornadoes, flooding. things that we have historically dealt with. this legislation will help to aggressively address climate change. when we think about renovating buildings, building new power plants, all of that comes with that. millions of jobs will be created right here in the state. it is about looking forward and providing a future that's bright for everybody. not trying to take us back to a past that we are damn determined not to go back to. florida has a clear choice. and i'm excited about this race. >> congresswoman demings, let's

go to lee county, let's go to ft. myers. let's talk about a family, married couple, husband, 45, wife's 43. two children. a son who is a junior in high school. a daughter who is in sixth grade and has chronic diabetes. even that young. as well as asthma. they're getting killed at the publix market every time they go grocery shopping. they're getting killed at the gas station when they put the gas in the truck. why you and not marco rubio? >> well, marco rubio has been in elected office since 1998. he's had opportunity after opportunity to do something for that family in lee county and other families like them throughout our state. it's interesting, i was just until lee county in fort myers last week. and i talked to people about those very issues. about the cost of goods and services, the cost of gas at the

pumps. i remember, of course, as the daughter of a maid and janitor, watching my parents stretch a dollar so i know what that feels like. last year, we were honored to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure deal. and yet again, it's legislation that marco rubio voted against because he certainly could not give what appeared to be a win to the administration, or democrats. but we know, we're already seeing the benefits of that bill, pour into florida. millions of dollars, pour into florida. millions of dollars have been invested in our ports. you know what that will do? it will help to expand cavity at our ports. expanding capacity at our ports means more goods are able to come in which means more goods on our shelves, in our stores, in our malls, that will help drive down the cost. and the cost of gas at the

pumps. we have been directly involved in trying to make sure that big oil and big gas companies are not involved in price gouging. not involved in market manipulation. we need to hold them accountable. that is exactly the kind of work that we are doing on the democratic side of the aisle. so i would not just listen to what marco rubio the senior senator from florida says. take a look at what marco rubio does. and that's not much. i've always picked up jobs and have been involved in getting things done. i'll continue to get things done in the united states senate. >> we will be watching. congresswoman val demings, the democratic nominee for the united states senate in florida, running closely in the polls and outraising marco rubio right now. thank you for being with us. congratulations again. thank you.

coming up it is an emotional and defiant day in ukraine the country marking 31 years of independence while locked in a fight for freedom. we'll get an update on the war now at six months. plus, we'll hear from teachers at the largest school district who this morning are

i would say that to me an important aspect is too... meta portal with smart sound. helps reduce your background noise. bring that sense of calm, really... so you come through, loud and clear. meta portal. the smart video calling device that makes work from home work for you. i'm a performing artist. so a healthy diet is one of the most important things. i also feel the same way about my dog. we were feeding her dry, triangle shaped ingredients long as the yellow brick road. we didn't know how bad it was for her until we actually got the good food. we got her the farmer's dog sent in the mail. it was all fresh, when she started eating healthier, she started being more active and smiling more, running more, playing more. i want my dog to have a healthy and long life. the farmer's dog really helps that out. see the benefits of fresh food at betterforthem.com

finding the perfect project manager isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found him. he's in adelaide between his daily lunch delivery and an 8:15 call with san francisco. and you can find him, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com

a monster was attacking but the team remained calm. because with miro, they could problem solve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose.

live picture of cincinnati, ohio at 7:54 in the morning. students there and across the state of ohio back in school, but teachers in the state's largest district are not. we have the details. >> reporter: on the first day of classes in columbus, ohio, teachers are skipping school and holding the line. [ chanting ] roughly 4,500 teachers in ohio's largest district on day three of their strike. the first in nearly 50 years. on tuesday the strike taking a

violent turn the several struck by pellets picketing outside an elementary school. no serious injury the reported. students will attend class remotely taught by substitutes and administrators. teachers holding strong to demands. namely, smaller class sizes and building improvements. >> in is conflict is not about salary. our focus is accountability, and fixing these schools. >> we have to be mindful of that as we work to try to incruise increase sally ares in a responsible way. >> reporter: experts argue frustration among america's teachers has been mounting for years. >> that shift happened during the 2017-2018 school year. where we saw a big increase in number of strikes. >> reporter: this doctor studies public policy and points to successful past strikes. chaos inflicted by the covid pandemic only adding to mow meant pup saying teachers are fed up. >> strikes are by definition

desperate moves. >> reporter: this morning experts say tensions are mounting in districts across the country. meanwhile, all eyes are on ohio. >> you are absolutely watching what's happening in columbus? >> i am. i am. and i hope educators across the state of north carolina are as well. >> reporter: in asheville, north carolina, wrote on facebook over 6,000 vacancies no way anyone can justifiering teachers for walks out. >> our teachers and educators are 100% in the drivers' seat right now. leaving us, and rightfully so, unfortunately. >> nbc's maggie vespa reporting there and joining us president and ceo of national alliance for public charter schools nina reese. the organization outside today with a new study looking at views parents have on education. nina, thanks for being here this morning. a fascinating new study with amaing eye-popping numbers. coming out of it, new swing

voters focusened on school safety. 77%. break down the numbers, nina, if you can. >> first of all, thank you so much for having me. this poll that we conducted back in may was done because we wanted to get a better read on parental sentiments when it came to education. since 40% of american bes are parents. and one of the things we discovered through this poll is that education for registered voters who are parents is now the number two issue that's going to take them to the ballot box this coming fall, and 82% of those who were surveyed told us they would vote for a candidate who spoke to them about education issues, and they could cross party lines to vote for those candidates, which is extremely telling. i think something happened during the pandemic that really woke up parents.

the issue of education. how their kids were being educated. they want more options. our poll consistently showed regardless how we asked the question that more parents want options over 70% of them want more options in their communities. if charter schools were available that is the number one public school option of choice, and over 80% actually said they would want children to attend charter schools, even if they themselves were not opting for a charter school option for their kids. so, if anything, parents want something that fits their kids' needs and having greater educational options within the public spaces, the best bet to appease and speak to these families. >> nina, so many parents want their child to get a great ked education and preference over what school to attend but aside

from them want them in school every day. how much did school closures play into what your poll revealed? >> well that definitely is a factor. you know, to the extent schools did not open on time, so what happened in the charter school sector depended, really, on the needs of the community. so in some communities where parents did not feel safe sending their children back to school, a lot of our schools offered good, healthy remote options. but at the end of the day, parents, certainly working families, want their children in a setting, in a safe setting that is offering a caring and strong education for them. so regardless of closures and your, know, lack of confidence in the safety protocols in a school, at this juncture, most families simply want things to go back to normal and to make sure that children are in a safe setting, getting the education they need and quite frankly for schools to close the achievement

gap pronounced through the pandemic. before the pandemic, through the pandemic, it became larger. we have a huge opportunity right now to leverage all federal funds that are going down to states and districts to make sure that children are getting the education that they need, in order to close that achievement gap and excel academically. >> and disturbing report of teachers in our public schools, a very difficult time. president and ceo of the national alliance for public charter schools, nina reese. thanks for being with us. the next hour of "morning joe" starts right now. >> with what appears to be left in this district, that is an incredibly details climb for molinaro making up basically 3300 votes left in the district now. pat ryan, the democrat, in a -- there it is. nbc news has just called it. pat ryan, the democrat, has been

elected to congress in a special election from new york's 19 congressional district and defeats republican marc mall narrow. >> marc molinaro. >> a special election for the democrats, swing state went from donald trump in 2016 and joe biden in 2020. steve sgro joins us in a minute. recasting the conversation due to abortion about that once-expected red wave this fall. also from new york, chairman of the judiciary committee jerry nadler handedly defeated longtime congresswoman carolyn maloney after the powerful allies were forced to run for the same seat. down in florida, bets placed on charlie crist, challenging the state's current republican governor ron desantis, and former orlando police chief val demings trying to unseat

republican marco rubio in the united states senate. good morning, welcome to "morning joe" this wednesday august 24th. i'm willie geist. with us, msnbc contributor mike barnicle, former aide to the george w. bush white house elise jordan, professor at princeton university eddie glaude jr. and sam stein and hugo, lowell, big developments with the fbi search of mar-a-lago including a new letter from the national archives revealing former president trump took more than 700 pages of classified documents to him to his florida home upon leaving office, including some containing the highest level of top-secret information. we'll get into all of that with hugo in just a moment. a great group assembled to talk about everything going on this morning. begin at the big board. not quite sure if he left. still there. nbc news national political correspondent steve kornacki. steve, good morning. good to see you. if you're still up, thanks for the extra coffee this morning.

why exactly are we so focused on this 19th district, special election in upstate new york? >> good morning to you. the reason is, because we've been asking a question for the last two months and i think certainly triggered by that supreme court sdgs overturning roe versus wade and other factors. whether the political climate broadly, nationally, has shifted away from one where the republicans were in a strong maybe even dominant position heading into the midterm elections to one it's perhaps more neutral and democrats have opportunities at the senate and potentially house level, that, frankly, not even democrats thought they would have a few months ago. so the backdrop for the special election. see the final result here. pat ryan, the democrat, going to defeat marc molinaro, the republican. margin just over two points. a classic swing district that ryan did this in, and in 2020 presidential election, joe biden carried this by two points. take it back to 2016.

donald trump won here by 7. extends further ert out to 2012 you see barack obama won this district in 2012. about district didn't just have barack obama, trump, biden, tip lickal backlash favored the unseated party. biden won in 2020, for instance, you get a special election. you look at the national polls. joe biden's approval rating is in the low 40s. voters very sour when it comes to mood on the economy, comes to their mood on inflation, optimism about the future of the country. all supposed to be the basic ingredients that create a very favorable climate for the opposition party, and marc molinaro considered to be one of the strongest recruits republicans had in a race like this. he's a county executive in

duchess county, one of the biggest parts of the district. ran for governor of new york in 2018 actually carried this same district by double digits over andrew cuomo, when he ran for governor in 2018 and republicans poured a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of resources into trying to gets they victory for molinaro and make a statement that they were in a position of strength heading into the midterm. instead, as we say. pat ryan ends up exceeding the joe biden number and winning this district outright. that's not a result you're supposed to see if and when a major wave is forming. if you put this in broader context, why i say we've been asking this question about whether the national political climate is changing. this is the most dramatic data point we have that i think it is, but take a look what's happening over the last few months. i can draw a line right here. these are other house special elections playing out this spring and this summer. i draw this line, because this is where on the calendar the

supreme court decision that overturned roe v. wade fell. you see, just before that decision in south texas, there had been a special election. it's a district that biden had carried by four points. talking a lot about this. heavily hispanic district, a swing towards republicans, and in fact the republican candidates actually won by a margin of four points in that district. that's where we were before the supreme court decision on roe v. wade. here are the four special elections that have taken place now since that decision. you can see, coming into last night you had two, one in nebraska, one in minnesota, held in districts that trump won by double digits. the republicans won them, but by about 10 points less, 6 points less than trump did. democrats saying signs of new momentum for them after that supreme court decision, because their candidates had over-performed joe biden. it's a sign there was more enthusiasm for democrats. then you got last night. a really clean test.

a clean test and a classic swing district. democrats won it outright. by the way, another special election in new york last night. didn't get a lot of resources or money. or a lot of attention here. a district really kind of going away, changing in the fall, but had a special election anyway. trump won this district by double digits. republican won last night. again, movement of five points in the democratic direction. four special elections held since that supreme court decision in all four of them the needle moved in the democrats' direction, and democrats have won the swing districts outright. i think it's dramatic. if you compare that to 2018. this is what, what special elections in the run-up to a wave election look like. this is 2018. trump is president. this is the blue wave year. democrats end up winning 40 house seats. look what you saw in special elections in 2017-2018. republicans, democrats outperforming by 20 points, by 14 points. by 16 points.

6 of these 8 special elections democrats overperformed their presidential level by double digits. you could see in the special elections heading into 2018 where things were going, because democrats across the board were just overperforming so much. you look at, again, what i just showed you there in terms of the special elections seen since that supreme court decision that don't fit that pattern at all. when democrats start talking about their voters being much more motivated now in the wake of that supreme court decision, the political environment changing. this district here. it's the 19th district in new york. a great example. one other thing to point to. there are two counties here that went blue in this district. it's olesster county and it's columbia county, both good-sized counties. olesster biggest in the district. another measure of democratic enthusiasm. these two counties, the only two blue counties last night in this district in the 2020 presidential election accounted

for 36% of all votes cast in this district. last night they accounted for 42% of all votes cast in this district. so democrats just proportionately squeezed a lot more votes out of the core democratic areas of this district. that's what we've been seeing in these other special elections, where the democrats have been outperforming. in the democratic-leaning, democratic-friendly areas, energy, enthusiasm. turnout, dwarves energy enthusiasm and turnout among republicans. republicans ran up good numbers in these rural areas, you see red, but not the proportionate level of turnout. that speaks to exactly what democrats contend has happened nationally since the supreme court ruling. that their voters are more motivated in a way they weren't before and frankly in a way republicans by -- look at special elections -- republicans may not be right now. all of that just raises and

underscores the question we have been asking now the last few months whether, you talked about the senate. talked about weak republican recruitment in the senate and democrats might be able to continue the control now and look at results like this. it would not take much for republicans to pick up the house. only need a small handful of seats. a democrat and want to say there's a scenario your party actually maintains control of the house somehow this november, this is exactly the kind of result, and these over the last few months exactly the kinds of results that you want to be seeing to have an actual chance of putting the house into play. >> a great breakdown of what happened last night there in that district. eddie, you run the rick of extrapolating too much based on one race, in one county in a special election. where democrat won by about 5,000 votes. but, but, but, the focus from the democrat ryan in this race was on roe v. wade, on abortion.

really, his focus. the focus from the republican molinaro on the perceived weakness of joe biden on the economy, inflation and at least in this district, turn out, energy was behind democrats, and got them over the finish line. >> bodes well for the party. not to extrapolate too much or get too excited, combine it with what we saw in kansas. combine it with what we see in the latest polling data, the threat to democracy is actually front of mind, top of mind for folk. a sense folk understand the fabric of country, fraying's that should be the concern. we see it in these elections at this to moment. >> absolutely. >> i think eddie's right. i would caution on a couple of levels. one, the bias of geography. a northeast district. it's a little different than the rest of the country. you're right about the volatility in the country, though, eddie. you can feel it, sense it out there. people wondering if things are just coming apart. turnout is important, if they can, if democrats are motivated

to go to polls, steve pointed out. then a shot. i would say pump the brakes on the rest of it. >> i want to go back to steve if we can and talk about district 11. >> go ahead. >> district 11 on your board. just pull it up. not that the outcome of either primary is surprising, but look at the numbers. staten island. max rhodes against nicole maliotacous and democratic turnout, end of the day, actually was 3,000 more votes than what she got to win. >> looking here. yeah. max, former congressman seeking a comeback. widely expected to win the democratic primary there. this is the incumbent, nicole. republican churn out here. again, expected to win renomination here. but, yeah. just in terms of turnout, absolutely.

consistent story here in this district. several others in new york we looked at. not as much in florida last night to the point mike is making. florida last night republicans feel good about turnout they saw relative to the turnout democrats produced, but like i said. we were showing in that 19th district special election. saw that in nebraska. saw that in minnesota. pockets of those two districts that were similar to olesster county. demographically similar to that county and to columbia county. again, turnout level and enthusiasm level for democrats was kind of through the roof. i just -- there are a couple of examples. there are two, really, since the great depression of a president's party defying history and actually picking up house seats in mid-term elections. they were in 1998. bill clinton was president and a backlash to the republican drive to impeach him and 2002, george

w. bush president, a year after 9/11 and still this swell of sort of patriotic pride really was behind george w. bush translating into mid-term suction for republicans. both of those presidents had approval ratings well in excess of 60%. the missing piece for democrats. joe biden's approval rating very low. low 40s. not at clinton or bush '02 levels. why they felt so optimistic whole year. the other years, non-'98 and others, that special election in new york '19 the kind of election a republican would be winning. those special elections in nebraska and minnesota are not the kinds of special elections democrats would make in-roads. it just suggests the possibility that there's a very different dynamic in this mid-term election than you would expect when you look at the president who has the kind of approval

rating that joe biden has. i think there are variables here that raise questions we aren't used to -- aren't used to raising when it comes to mid-term elections. >> see if it tells us as much as people think it does. talk to sean patrick maloney, won his race last night and chair of dccc. they're excited. and steve kornacki showing no signs of fatigue after a long night. never does. appreciate it. sam stein what did you see as you watched that, no the just the race in that 19th special election, but across the country, down in the state of florida as well. what are your takes from last night? >> first off, let me also salute steve for his service. a great american. >> already back in this hyperbaric chamber. >> and the question i would pose to imhad and curious about is, how much of this is democratic

enthusiasm versus how much of this is absence of trump supporter enthusiasm at this juncture? you know, donald trump obviously is sucking up all the energy on the grass roots side. and you can see it in the fund-raising specifics. all low-dollar money it going to trump's save american committee. you do not see that for republican countries as much. struggling on fund-raising level. that suggests to me that a lot of the grass roots energy in the republican party is geared towards a singular figure not on the ballot in the midterm, donald trump. that adds another -- maybe republican candidates running for house elections or in these high-profile marquee senate elections will have more difficulty turns out their base. certainly after roe was overturned democrats won't have that same problem. i wonder if that dynamic is also at play what we're seeing in places like district 19? >> trying to keep focus away

from donald trump and away from the election, january 6, all that. lost narrowly last night. a new letter from the national archives revealed the former president took more than 700 pages of classified documents to his florida home upon leaving office. including some containing the highest level of top secret information. the letter made public yesterday by the national archives sent in may by the acting u.s. archivist to a lawyer for the former president. in it the ar vivist shoots down trump's effort to claim executive privilege over the documents to block them from being shared with the fbi and justice department. writing the question is not a close one. the executive branch here is seeking access to records belonging to and in the custody of the federal government itself. not only in order to investigate whether those records were handled in an unlawful manner, also as the national security division explained to conduct an assessment of potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials

were stored and transported and to take any necessary remedial steps. she went on, i, therefore, decided not to honor the former president's protective claim of privilege. the 700 pages of classified information mentioned in the letter only inclosed those records seized in january. government officials would make two more visits to the resort after that letter was sent to recover more documents. it's unclear how many pages of classified information were found during those trips. congressional reporter for "the guardian" hugo lowell is with us. we mentioned. hugo, covering this closely. the letter, national archives trying to go through its process, take the conventional and routines step it does to get these documents saying you guys delayed and delayed we don't recognize your argument and want the documents. >> effectively, yeah. look at numbers, staggering. right? 100 pages of documents. 700 pages, numbers are crazy. then i think that gives us an

accounting of the volume and sensitivity of the kind of documents they pulled out of mar-a-lago. that was in january, the first request. like, went back in two other separate times. but the one thing that did stand out to me is this kind of potential obstruction. relays the ways that the justice department had to go to get the documents, and when you read that in tandem with trump's filing monday, you really see this picture develop of how the justice department was thwarted every effort to get the documents back and on the search warrant executed at mar-a-lago is significant and tying everything together. >> hugo, i understand you are not dean of the harvard law school but can you help us out with the issue of executive privilege. how can a former president assert executive privilege when, a., all these documents belong to the united states government and archives? and, b., he is no longer an executive? >> so i think people in trump's

organization and reason, if you have a supreme court, nixon versus usa, trump v. thompson, no supreme court says a former president doesn't have ability to invoke executive privilege. when the supreme court looked at trump v. thompson and didn't rule on that sent it back to appellate court who said not that a former president doesn't have executive privilege. the current president waiver accounts for more than the former president's assertion. basically i think the trump team are looking at this saying maybe litigate this, maybe litigate it all the way through 2022, 2023. maybe up into the next presidential election. >> fascinating. the filing monday and all documents that the trump people tried to make public they think helped them. sometimes amounts to confessions of what he's done. >> hmm. yes. i think this document from the national archives, originally released by an ally of the president. kind of shooting himself in the foot. the filing itself as well. trying to make the claim that some of the documents removed

from mar-a-lago are subject to executive privilege. making that argument, get into territory saying, these are actually official government records, and effectively conceding they should have remained at the national ar vives, not at mar-a-lago in the first place. you have an almost concession coming out of the filing. i think ernie bolster, one of the statutes on the search warrant, you see 2701, unlawful removal of government records. >> and here's something i do find confusing, and i wonder if it is trump world's best argument. the president has broad leverage what he can declassify, and as we've seen with broad leverage who he can give clearance. jared kushner not given a clearance and donald trump wanted him to have access to highest level of intel and donald trump had his way over the intel community. what are you hearing about that argument and how it's going to play out? that the president could have

already declassified these documents? >> yeah. that's what they're really focused on. more about the classification. look at the statutes though, i think, said this and others have said this, but the statutes don't turn on whether the documents are classified. all the statute says, are they sensitive national security secrets? government secrets? so kash patel and people close to the president making an argument, standing order. declassified them. no evidence on that whatsoever. even if true, that doesn't excuse the fact a former president has all of these security documents lying around mar-a-lago under security contents not up to -- >> look at people's arguments and exposure they went to themselves with their arguments, is you could have made these arguments 30 years ago, and any case that donald trump was involved with, there were many, real estate largely. it all classifies, comes down to

two elements. delay and deny. that's what they're doing now. >> absolutely. i can't help, and you help me. i can't help but think about why, or ask the question, why did he want these documents? what's the purpose? and given who he is, i mean i can't -- i'm not, not the dean of harvard law school. not even closer. >> you're closer. >> aren't we worried we would monetize this? he's an expert-level grifter. the danger here is -- is -- out of bounds, seems to me. >> especially, hugo, we know from reporting personally going through the boxes and screening what should go back and what belongs to me kept saying these documents are mine. they're not, of course, but a vested interest, as eddie points out what he was surrendering and what he was keeping at mar-a-lago. >> yeah. and went through, accord to our reporting and the "times" as well. went through these boxes themselves when the justice department came knocking. he really identified the

documents he wanted to return and what he didn't want to return. of course, to your point when leaving the white house, went looking through what he wanted to take with him to mar-a-lago. secretive about his packer. didn't wants aides -- actually spoke to several people in the east wing involved helping melania trump put their belongings together, the case for them. people in the residence across the board not able to see what trump was putting into this own boxes and kind of certainly seems to start to satisfy intent level of this potential crime here that he really wanted to take these documents. >> sounds like the most reading, donald trump's done in his lifetime -- >> charts and -- >> and that's what i find so -- awesome about the story. not awesome, just -- wow! >> given his nature, given his history, given his lack of character, you can't help but think that he would look at the document and wonder, wonder what they'd pay to know this in

riyadh? >> well, remember the story from early 2017 when he became president. sitting under the patio with prime minister shinzo abe talking about the north korean missile tests. throwing it out there. the membership. out on the patio. nothing is beneath him. hugo lowell, congressional reporter for "the guardian" thanks for being here. coming up. harrowing stories are survial from the front lines of ukraine. new report on the prisoners held by russia. "morning joe" is coming right back. ng joe" is coming right back

today marks six months since russia's invacation of ukraine. the biden administration expected to announce a new $3 billion security assistance package later today. the largest package yet sent to ukraine and be prepared to coincide with the country's independence day including drones, air defense systems and other weapons with advanced capabilities. officials say the new funding is aimed largely at helping ukraine

to secure its medium and long-term defense. nbc's josh lederman joins us now live from kyiv. josh, what does it look like there today on independence day? >> reporter: well, willie, a mix of defiance and anxiety as ukrainians mark six months of war as well as independence day. defiant as ukrainians are parading burned out tanks from russia through the streets of kyiv, the main drag not far from maidan, ukrainians preparing for a massive bombardment on this day and this banner hung up at city hall behind me honoring captures soldiers from mariupol. so many ukrainian families this is a very bittersweet independence day. >> translator: he called around 7:00 a.m. saying i'm fine. didn't say a word to me about what happened on the island.

[ siren ] >> reporter: the day russia invaded -- anna's son was serving on snake island, where the war's first iconic battle played out. >> tell me about your son. >> translator: he liked the island nature. the sea. >> reporter: her son a cook in ukrainian military also in snake island. these two mothers bound together by anguish. they learned their sons had been captured by spotting them on russian tv it, being bused to occupied crimea. >> so this is your son's room, and you've kept it exactly like it was for him for when he comes back? >> translator: the day we know nothing. nothing at all. where is he? in what condition? is think housing even medicine? >> reporter: ukraine marks six months of war countless families are hoping and waiting. >> talking about several

thousands of ukrainian prisoners of war. >> reporter: ukrainian military says nearly 600 released in exchanges with russia. many later describe torture and constant mental abuse. ukraine treats russian captives humanely. and one of the lucky ones released, this man part of ukraine's last stand in mariupol. saw a flash. >> translator: building started collapsing. fell from third to first floor and covered with stone. >> reporter: pulled out of the rubble with a broken jaw, nose, and the only way to save him turn him over to russia. not given medical care. not even pain killers and they would taunt him running daggers along his throat. >> translator: sometimes nurses pass by the room, leave the room say, eat it yourself, ukrainian.

clear i could not move let alone eat. come two hours later, take the food and ask, are you full? >> reporter: freed after 17 days, he hopes to return to the front lines. when the phone rings in this village, anna prays it's her son. >> read your last message? >> translator: fine, don't worry. everything is fine. >> if your son could see this conversation right now, what would you like to tell him? >> translator: that we are waiting for him. we love him. >> reporter: and, willie, i asked that marine whether his experience has made him feel hatred towards the russian troops who have littered ukraine with equipment like this. he said, these days it's hard for him to even distinguish mentally between quote/unquote, good russians versus bad russians. he says the russian army has turned his female friends into widows and his male friends into

cripples. that is some of the legacy of this ongoing war that is weighing on ukrainians as they celebrate independence day today. willie? >> as you say, the country very much on edge again today. on independence day. nbc's josh lederman in kyiv. thanks so much. appreciate it. coming up, our conversation with winner of florida's primary for u.s. senate. congresswoman val demings. what she told us about taking on republican marco rubio in november. "morning joe's" back in a moment.

there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!"

and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”. but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates,

whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty. an answer. uncovered through exploration, teamwork, and innovation. an answer that leads to even more answers. mayo clinic. you know where to go.

i really do believe this agenda, not supposed to be standing here tonight. what i really do believe that

together we can do anything! we can do everything together. divided, we can't do much. >> that is the fresh democratic nominee for senate in the state of florida. former orlando police chief and current florida congresswoman val demings, who joins us now. congresswoman, congratulations on your victory. you won by, my math, 78 points. i think safely move on from that and turn the corner now to your race against senator marco rubio. what is your case against rubio to be the next senator in florida? >> let me say good morning to all of you, and it is so great to be with you. postprimary. i also want to thank the voters in florida. i do not take their support for granted. i do not take it lightly. but on to the general. look, i just believe that people in florida, regardless where they live. in rural florida, like where i grew up, or in a metropolitan

area, deserve to have someone who wants to represent them. someone who will vote for things that are in their interests. someone who believes in creating a future where every child in florida can be included. someone who believes that, look, protecting our environment matters. lowering cost of prescription drugs matter. reducing the cost of goods and services matter. and we know that marco rubio is not that person. number one, he doesn't like to show up for work. i mean, that's a fact. and when he does show up, he does things, makes decisions, that hurt florida. we can do better, and we will do better come november. >> so congresswoman, surely senator rubio, also hinted to this, will tie you to joe biden, and democrats have been in control in washington the last couple of years nearly now. what is your response to the criticism that you all have been at the helm for this first part

of this administration. inflation is through the roof and not easy to buy things in the state of florida right now? >> well, it does not surprise me that marco rubio would look to anybody and everybody that he can hide behind or run to. look, unlike him, i have worked hard for everything that i have ever gotten, and i will continue to do that as florida's next senator. we had an amazing, marco rubio had an amazing opportunity just a short time ago to vote for the inflation reduction act that we know is truly good for florida, but, guess what? it is good for america. marco rubio was so concerned about the cost of goods and services and we all are, so concerned about inflation, we all are, so concerned about our deficit, we all are, that he had a great opportunity to vote for this historic piece of legislation. marco rubio chose not to do that, because he wanted to put

politics over people, and so, of course, he's trying to peddle, oh, voting against what joe biden is doing. what other people are doing. this race is between marco rubio and me. and come november 8th, the voters in florida will have a clear choice, and a clear direction. >> eddie, congresswoman demings had eye-popping fund-raising. rare to see this. congressman, $47 million, rubio, $36 million. >> indication of excitement around her candidacy and intention of her actually beating marco rubio. congratulations. ask this question. he's going to try to connect you to joe biden and the quote/unquote radical left agenda. bring up crime. going to bring up those cultural issue. how are you going to respond to the way in which marco rubio and

the republican party particularly in florida will exploit grievance and resentment to gin up hatred. how are you going to fight that battle as you run for the senate? >> eddie, thank you so much for that. it's great to see you, and, look. marco rubio has been in elected office since 1998, and let me be clear about this. because you hold the office, because you hold a public service office, does not make you a public servant. as a career law enforcement officer and before that i served as a social worker working with abused, neglected and abandoned children. 27 years at the police departments. honor of working my way up through the ranks to become police chief. yeah, i was tough on crime. yeah, we were able to reduce violent crime by over 40%, but i also understood we had to invest in some of the social ills that caused decay in communities in the first place. and we were able to, because of

that, bring the community together. working every day to restore trust and build trust. helping the community understand that the police is the community and the community is the police. we were able to do some great things. i will put my record of public service, of really trying to bring people together. not just picking and choosing winners and losers like marco rubio does. i'll put my record of public service up against marco rubio, the career politician's record any day. i look forward to that fight. >> congresswoman, thanks for being with us and congratulations again. >> thank you. coming up, another florida democrat heading to the general election. our discussion with charlie crist, who won his party's nomination for governor's that conversation just ahead on "morning joe."

in two seconds, a vacationer will say... yeah, i'm going to live here. only to realize... what if i can't sell my place? ♪♪ don't worry. sell it directly to opendoor and we'll help you buy your next one. aah. when life's doors open, we'll handle the house.

joining us now, democratic nominee for governor there, congressman charlie crist. congressman, thanks for being with us this morning. appreciate it. how did you do it? what were the central issues as you talked to voters out there? >> well, i think just touching base with people and talking about roe v. wade as you were just talking about. huge issue. critically important. frankly, affordability in the sunshine state. our property insurance is through the roof. try to buy a house in florida anymore. can't do it unless you're a millionaire or billionaire and most aren't. we need somebody in the governor's office who's really got our back, looking out for us. making sure all of us can vote. another issue. voting rights, women's rights. affordability. all of these things matter, and they're critical right now, and they, really, juxtaposed themselves last night, you know, congressman, even democratic strategist and some supporters aren't giving you much time to

celebrate looking ahead to governor ron desantis. a 140 million dollar war chest ready for this general election. he leads you in these hypothetical matchups. how will you go at governor desantis? >> well, people you go at gover desantis? >> people talk about his approval rating. the last number i saw was 50%. i was governor before. my approval rating as governor of florida was about 72%. that's 22 points ahead of where he is now. and he's like this giant? come on. that was republicans, democrats, independents, because we were doing what's right for the people. it was shocking. you know, people hadn't seen that before. when that happens, it's an amazing thing. it's a god thing. when you're doing what's right for everybody, whether black or white, rich or poor, gay or straight and not discriminating like he is against people all

the time, he's trying to tear my state apart. that's why i'm running against him. i don't care about the money he's got. we need money. you know, go to charliecrist.com if you want to help. it's about more than that. it's about values. it's about doing what's right for people. it's about doing unto others as you would do unto yourself. practice the golden rule every day. >> you mentioned the right to vote as being an issue in florida, as it is in a lot of places. the republican party generally has fought to restrict voting rights in a lot of areas. i'm wondering where that issue, voting is going to take priority in your campaign against the incumbent. >> it's roe v wade and it's voting. i had the honor, god rest his soul, of serving with john lewis from georgia. what a civil rights, voting

rights icon in our country. he used to say all the time, charlie, our right to vote is so important, it's precious. he said it's so precious, it's probably sacred, godly. he was right. he would say your vote is your voice. if you don't vote, you're not heard. john lewis had it right. i think a woman's right to choose, respecting women literally is what this is about. desantis doesn't. he tears them down, he tears down lgbtq, he tears down african-americans and their right to vote, making it harder to vote, not having drop boxes in minority communities throughout our state. it's unconscionable what he's done. he's running for president of the united states. if we defeat him, which i believe we will on november 8th, that show ends right here in florida. people have to help us. we need their help. i'm looking forward to it, because we're going to get it.

>> i got a sense of how you're going to fight governor desantis. he's a culture warrior. he's going to fight on that terrain. he mobilizes and exaggerates grievance and resentment. how are you going to fight on that terrain given his don't say gay stuff, how are you going to battle on the culture war battlefield, as it were? >> eddie, that's a brilliant question. he is on the battlefield of hate. i am on the battlefield of love. there's faith, hope and love. the greatest of these is love. it's in korcorinthians in the bible. if he wants to make people hate each other, that's his turf. it's not mine. i'm on a different plane. i'm a different turf.

it's what floridians deserve. he's torn my state apart. florida is beautiful. i want to bring her back together. that's what this campaign is about. hate versus love. his hate, our love. god's love. >> perhaps no other issue is potentially more advantageous for you than pushing back against abortion restrictions in florida. how are you going to set up a contrast, your policies versus governor desantis? >> i don't have to set it up. the table is set. he signed a law, the 15-week law, that is so barbaric, it doesn't include exceptions for rape or incest. who does that? what kind of fool believes that's a good idea for women, for 52% of the voters in our country? he's out of his mind. i, as a republican governor,

have already vetoed an anti-abortion bill in my state. i said the first day of the second crist administration, i will sign an executive order making sure that we protect a woman's right to choose in the sunshine state. what else do you need to know? the contrast doesn't need to be set up. the contrast actually is crystal clear. there's crist for women and there's the other guy, desantis, against them. >> the democratic nominee now for governor of florida, fighting on the battlefield of love. congressman charlie crist, thank you so much. coming up, more on the search of mar-a-lago, where the fbi found documents not only in a storage room, but also in donald trump's bedroom and office. and office

republicans in congress call them "entitlements." a "ponzi scheme." the women and men i served with in combat, we earned our benefits. just like people earned their social security and medicare benefits. but republicans in congress have a plan to end so-called "entitlements" in just five years. social security, medicare, even veterans benefits. go online and read the republican plan for yourself. joe biden is fighting to protect social security, medicare and veterans benefits. call joe biden and tell him to keep fighting for our benefits.

finding the perfect designer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in austin between a fresh bowl of matcha and a fresh batch of wireframes. and you can find her, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com

. ♪♪ welcome back to "morning joe." it is the top of our fourth hour this morning, 9:00 a.m. at the white house, 6:00 a.m. as you wake up out west. mike barnicle and elise jordan with us for the hour. it is a busy one ahead, including the national archives revealing former president trump took more than 700 pages of classified documents with him when he left the white house. that is a court filing from trump's legal team may have undercut one of his key defenses. we'll explain. plus, twitter's former security chief turned whistleblower claims the company has misled the public about how it fights spam and hackers. andrew ross sorkin will be here to talk about w