good evening, welcome to politicsnation. tonight's lead, mired and mar-a-lago. right now on this last weekend of august, ten weeks out from a november midterm, we should be consumed with horse rage

electric coverage. this has no been no ordinary august politically. then news week ahead promises to be dominated by the deepening implications of just what the justice department retrieved from donald trump's mar-a-lago estate nearly a month ago. that's thanks to two surrounding developments surrounding this investigation. a federal judge and florida signaling just yesterday her intention to appoint an independent special master to oversee the review of what the fbi retreat from mar-a-lago. as the director of national intelligence announces that her office will conduct a threat assessment of those documents. the news comes after this week 's release of unredacted copy of the affidavit used by

investigators to obtain the search warrants. wearing out the justice department's fears of possible national security risks. over classified documents that trump was holding on to. between all of trump's trouble, a busy summer of legislative winds and a resurgent president biden. democrats appealed to be going into november from a place of growing strength, as some people -- they may keep the senate while at least containing gop gains in the house. another big politicsnation show tonight. lots to cover. let's get started. joining me now is congresswoman sheila jackson lee. democrat of texas. a member of the house judiciary and homeland security committees. congresswoman, as always, a

pleasure. you are the perfect guest for us tonight. we close out in unprecedented august of course. september doesn't look like it will be any less intense. mar-a-lago investigation escalates. we have got two key developments this week ahead. florida federal judge holding this hearing on thursday. on the appointment of an independent special master to oversee the review of the documents retrieved from mar-a-lago. her quest for trump's legal team. and the director of national intelligence and now and saying that her office will conduct a threat assessment of those documents. from your seat on the house judiciary and homeland security committees, what is your take on these two developments? >> thank you very much for

having me. defending democracy is a tough one -- that is what the maga people and of course donald trump is handed america. how do we defend america? how do we defend mobocracy? it is going to be a feisty october november. you know wet, reverent? i believe that we have a potential victory in november for the house and the senate. why? we put the american people first. it is obvious that this historic moment has never happened with the presidents -- [inaudible] eye camera in the last 50 years of history. i don't think it happened for. what does that mean? it means that a president ran away with top secret documents and talk to their personal home. not the white house. to their personal home. they were in disarray. the documents were not marked.

they are mixed in with other inconsequential documents. they were top secret. to add to the insult, they were requested quietly and diplomatically if you will by the national archives. it homes the original emancipation. of course, today is august 28th. the anniversary of the march on washington. >> we're going to talk about that. and the anniversary. let me ask you this. biden has stepped his criticism of trump republicans ahead of november. republicans clutching their pearls this weekend over his comments calling the maga philosophy, quote, semi fascism. meanwhile, the increasingly quiet as that redacted copy of mar-a-lago warrant affidavit has shown us just how deep the justice department's concerns were or the search.

your response to the president on the attack and the gop on the defensive? >> they should be on the defensive. as i said, this is a historical moment. they continue to -- [inaudible] the trump republican party. you install the master when the court has said it somewhat ludicrous. he will get that. we know that the justice department is on the right side. [inaudible] president biden did the right thing. he did the right thing by challenging them and calling them maga fascists, semi fascist mentality. and here into a dictator and promoting national presents as opposed to working on behalf of the people. the individual people of the american public >> congresswoman, the president is set to unveil his safe america plan and pennsylvania on

tuesday. the core of which is the hiring and training of some 100,000 new police officers. crackdown on violent crime and more resources for the atf to go after illegal guns. i don't have to tell you that not everyone in the civil rights community including me is optimistic about putting more cops in black neighborhoods without a whole overall of a power doing in policing. why shouldn't those critics be concerned in your opinion about the potential for disproportionately violent interaction between police and black americans? i mean, we in texas, in your district, you had to deal with george floyd. his birthday in texas. he spoke at the funeral where i gave the eulogy in houston. the same time, and you have to deal with gun violence. it's this kind of how do we deal with this? we deal with the gun violence.

our concerns, including yours truly, are putting 100,000 more police up there. how do we thread this needle congresswoman,? >> first of all, afghan americans and the civil rights leadership should not have a backseat. should not take a backseat seat to their concern. and their fight for victims of crime. it has been the civil rights community, it has been the attorney general of the african american community. it has been the congressional black caucus and others that have stood up for victims who have not been addressed. there have been violence and families that have come to us for refuge. no one denies the importance of a society that adheres to law in order. some rights is a absolute imperative that goes along with one order. i hope as the president makes his remarks that he will acknowledge that as these officers may come apart of the

law enforcement of the nation at the same time there must be firewalls. there is no more breonna taylor. there is no more joy slide. we or rashid. are eric garner and others. that is what the point i think he needs to make of the speech. he needs to be very careful to know that african americans and other people are color are not against law enforcement. in fact, you will ask a citizen and neighborhoods and urban communities and roll. they will say that it is important to live in a nonviolent and safe community. at the same time i must be empathetic and sympathetic to them to understand that they must be the training and guidelines and firewalls to make sure that on a dark night, a pregnant woman is not frightened to death and handcuffed on the streets. or the highways. because of an attitude that would be prevalent that we should not have. i believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

it will be important in the speech that the president makes. i hope he is sensitive to the idea of law enforcement. the idea of safe streets. the idea of making sure that officers go home to their families. i want my neighbors, i want my fellow americans to go home to their families. i will be looking at that speech. i don't want to have a situation where my committee, the judiciary committee, we'll have to have one more hearing dealing with the question how we deal with law enforcement in america. -- >> we will all be watching it and have our concerns. we have concerns on both sides of that issue. finally, before i let you go, as we've seen congressional democrats score these policy wins, climate, student debt, guns, our viewers would like to know where your legislation to establish a federal commission to study reparations stands? president biden has signaled

his openness to the idea. as recently as this past spring, supporters of how to spell h.r.40 were saying the votes were there. the senate being the different story. please give us a short update, congresswoman, on where we are with h.r.40. >> first of all, let me thank you for your continued support. it has been powerful. we couldn't have gotten where we are today without you and other civil rights leaders in particular. we can be very proud of. from the naacp to their burnley to others. let me be clear, the president in the 100th commemoration of the wall street mask, or black wall street mask, or indicated his support for a study of slavery. i would connect that to the development of reparation proposals. that's where h.r.40 is. where we are,, reverence we believe and we ask your viewers to push toward the white house. so we can push toward executive

order for a the commission that has been done in times before on other issues that were developed the module them, modalities, for going forward and understanding the concept of what kind of systemic changes would come about because of reparations. it would be not a study where we do nothing. it would be an implementation after a clinicians and scholars, economists, others, who that have hearings across america, i want to make this point. the president of ghana just mentioned about a week ago how important reparations are for the african people and for the diaspora. which would be us. his point was very clear. let us not worry about the modalities of compensation. let us worry about the question of justice. the question that we had to give money to the slave holders. they got money.

the haitians had to give 25 billion to the french. what we are saying, let's move on the executive order. let's respond to the pain of slavery. let's restore reconciliation and repair. i think the president of the united states, we, hope will listen to us and put forward an executive order to get this commission going. >> all right, we're going to stay on the issues. thank you for being with us to kick us off tonight, congresswoman. joining me now is allen ole attorney general quame raul, a democrat attorney general raul, thank you for being with us tonight. i want to start with the biden administration's new rule this week on so-called ghost guns. requiring new regulations on the kits used to make homemade firearms. which i understand have turned up by the thousands in criminal investigations conducted by the atf. i also understand that you

personally push the administration to take this action. how will the save lives, mister attorney general? >> thank you first for having me, reverend. it is critically important that was, you have to understand what ghost guns are, they are frames and receivers without serial numbers that prior to this action you could purchase without a background check we have done a lot here in the state of illinois. we created a prime gun tracing platform. we train law enforcement on red flag laws. we prosecuted gun traffickers. without this action from the biden administration through atf, we remained at great risk. just on the 4th of july, we had a horrific shooting here in illinois. at highland park. it was through the ability to trace the gun that was used by the shooter that he was apprehended before he was able to go to another location to

commit another mass shooting. if, in fact, he had used a ghost gun, law enforcement would not have been able to apprehend the shooter. that is one example of many as to how critical this action by the biden administration. us >> let me go to this. abortion remains legal in illinois. several states have, of course, banned the practice after the supreme court's reversal of roe. how is your state handling the influx of women from neighboring states like wisconsin and indiana where some of those first bands came down post roe? >> we are discussing ways to approach the leg's legislature to expand provider base given the fact that already we had seen expands and increase and women coming in from illinois because we are an oasis for reproductive health acts. we have something called the

reproductive health act here. i am defending it in court. one in addition to taking that action in court, we halso have to work to make sure we expand the provider base. i am also talking to my colleague across the board and wisconsin. attorney general josh carl. how we can get providers from wisconsin to come across border so we can make sure that women have access to safe legal abortions. >> as we approach midterms in your state and elsewhere, he joined two separate coalitions earlier this month, both representing -- and a dozen state of attorney generals to file challenges to discriminatory voting laws in north carolina. what's at stake in those states that prompted you to sign on, mr. attorney general? >> as you know, north carolina and florida are critical states where voting rights have been

challenged many times through the years. as a former legislator i passed an illinois voting -- i put a constitutional -- to protect voting rights. but we've seen under the former president and other extremist leaders, attempts -- to be just dictating through voter i.d. laws, as well as to try to overturn the results of the last election and so i banded together with my colleagues, people like ford, and nevada, pete ellison in minnesota, david nelson of michigan and others to make sure that we fight to protect voting rights, not only in our own states but throughout our country. >> attorney general raul of illinois, thank you for being with us. after the break, the new plan to tackle student loan debt in america is a good start. but we need to rise up to do more. i will share my thoughts.

in florida, senator marco rubio has some advice for those struggling to pay by college loans, but it probably won't work for everyone. more on that later. but first, my colleague richard louis with today's other top news stories. >> red, it's sunday to you. we'll start with breaking news for you. the texas gubernatorial candidate beta roark saying is taking a break for campaigning to recover from a bacterial infection. the 49 year old democrat saying he went to the hospital friday where he was given an iv and antibiotic's. he has since been resting at his home in el paso. now to some live pictures. nasa's rocket is on track to blast off tomorrow despite lightning strikes that the launching pad saturday. one of the capsules sustained damage due to the thunderstorm. the unmanned capsule will complete a 42-day trip around the moon before returning to earth. beautiful shot. mickey mantle, baseball card in mint condition was optioned off for 12 point $6 million today. that makes it the price east

sports memorabilia item ever sold. 89.3 million-dollar jersey worn by soccer star, diego maradona during the 1986 world cup just a few months ago. more politics nation with reverend al sharpton right after this break. reverend al sharpton right after this break after this break

some days, it felt like asthma was holding me back. but asthma has taken enough. so i go triple... with trelegy. with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler,... it's the only once-daily treatment for adults that takes triple action against asthma symptoms. trelegy helps make breathing easier,... improves lung function,... and lasts for 24 hours. go triple... go trelegy. because asthma has taken enough. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler... for sudden breathing problems. trelegy contains a medicine that increases risk of hospitalizations and death from asthma problems when used alone. when this medicine is used with an inhaled corticosteroid,... like in trelegy,... there is not a significant increased risk of these events. do not take trelegy more than prescribed.

trelegy may increase risk of thrush and infections. get emergency care for serious allergic reactions. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. don't let asthma take another breath. go triple. go trelegy. ask your doctor about trelegy today. >> tech: cracked windshield? don't wait. go to safelite.com go triple. go trelegy. you can schedule service in just a few clicks. it's so easy. and more customers today are relying on their cars advanced safety features, like automatic emergency breaking and lane departure warning. that's why our recalibration service is state of the art. we recalibrate your vehicle's camera, so you can still count on those safety features. all right, we're all finished. >> customer: thank you so much. >> tech: thank you. don't wait--schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart. efficient. agile. and that's never been more important than it is right now. so for a limited time, comcast business is introducing small business savings. call now to get powerful internet for just 39 dollars a month.

with no contract. and a money back guarantee. all on the largest, fastest reliable network. from the company that powers more businesses than anyone else. call and start saving today. a campaign promise by joe comcast business. powering possibilities.

biden. lightning the load for americans or crush with student loan debts. hopefully this move is the first step in an ongoing process in addressing the exorbitant rise of college tuition. meanwhile, it's up to us to rise up to push the president and congress to work together to council more student debt as well as finding new opportunities for people to

learn and succeed. the president announced $10,000 a federal student loans will be forgiven for borrowers making $125,000 a year or less. unless pella grant recipients and that threshold are eligible for $20,000 a year. according to the u.s. department of education, 90% of black students take out loans, followed by 72% of latino students compared to 66% of white students, on average a black student graduate for years after college holds more than $52,000 with, almost doubling that of white graduates at 28,000. the united negro foliage college funds reports the typical black borrower still owes 95% of the original cumulative balance after 20

years of repayment. while black students are disproportionately burdened by student debt. black women face a particularly heavy debt load. according to a report by the education thrust, while this is undoubtedly a historic move by the president, there is still more work to do. the 125,000 income cap would leave a large amount of the population behind. especially in an error of high inflation. a black doctor, attorney, who earns above the cap could very well have six figure student debt. low levels of cancellation might leave already distressed black borrowers struggling with repayment. we must rise up and call on congress to provide relief by passing legislation to further build upon the presidents action. we cannot stop there.

continued funding for historically black colleges and universities is a top priority. as well as support for college programs to help develop skills and motivate students to think beyond high school. who may be from low income households and potential first generation college students. we all share a role in reaching back and uplifting those who are coming behind us to mentorship. so they can have a chance at success. we will be right back. we will be right back. we will be right back. this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections,

including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. this is the moment. but we've only just begun. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. an innovation from pfizer. 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. shingles. the rash can feel like an intense burning sensation and last for weeks. it can make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you.

50 years or older? ask your doctor about shingles. man 1: have you noticed the world is on fire? 50 years or older? record heat waves? does that worry you? well, it should. because this climate thing is your problem. man 2: 40 years ago, when our own scientists at big oil predicted that burning fossil fuels could lead to catastrophic effects, we spent billions to sweep it under the rug. man 3: so we're going to be fine. but you might want to start a compost pile, turn down the ac. you got a lot of work to do because your kids are going to need it.

♪ so i climbed into the cab, and then i settled down inside ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere, man ♪ ♪ of travel i've had my share, man ♪ ♪ i've been everywhere ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ with hand-crafted steakburgers and chicken sandwiches. there's a perfect plate for everyone. great value for all your favorites only from ihop. download the app and earn free food with every order. welcome back to welcome back. politicsnation. let's bring in my political panel to offer their analysis of today's big stories. we have two former governors, kathleen sibila's, former democratic governor of kansas, and then former secretary of health and human services, and

the obama ministration, and george patek a, former governor of new york, a republican. welcome to both of you. let me go of you for secretary city less. i want to start with student loans and the new policy for president biden to cancel debt for bowers up to $20,000 for those who qualify there. are some on the right who say this move is unfair to the americans who have paid off their student loans or did not attend college. let's listen to senator marco rubio on fox last night. >> i've talked about the fact that we need to reform student loans. i owed over $100,000 in student loans. they got elected to senate, i had $100,000 to incidents. i was able to pay it off because i wrote a book. from that money, i was able to pay it. if not, i would still be paying. >> rubio's advice on pain student loans is to become a

career politician and write a book. what is your response? >> i am so pleased to see the biden administration taking on this issue, which i think is critical to the future of our country. the vast majority of jobs in this economy today new jobs in the economy today require a college degree. way too many students start college or try to go back to school and find themselves just overwhelmed with the amount of money it takes a semester after semester. they drop out without a good degree and don't have the skills and qualifications they need. or they graduate and find themselves to be unable to buy a house or think about starting a family. we take the job that they might love. they are still burdened with student debt. this is a big step forward. i think it's very targeted to lower income students. i love the fact that the grant

recipients received twice as much forgiveness as others. that is a pre-targeted group. on fairness is two trillion dollars worth of tax cuts that all of us picked up. but on the government credit cards. the tax cuts push through. frankly, i'm paying for a lot of that marco rubio does. as a taxpayer, i pay salary, and pay health insurance. i'm really glad he saw the book. frankly, estate loans are paid for on taxpayer dollars. >> governor pataki, president biden student forgiveness plans as from a string of winds for the white house. and democrats in congress. which results in a boost and biden's job approval rating just over two months ahead of the midterms. at 44% according to the new gallup will. however, biden isn't seen as the topic for a surrogate as only a few democratic candidates said they want the

president to campaign for them in their state or district. why do you think some democrats are reluctant to embrace biden? >> it's great to be with you, thank you for having me. let me just disagree with governor sebelius. this is not target at low income. it's very clear. 73% of biden student loan forgiveness goes to the top 40% of american earners. only 10% goes to the bottom 20%. it is completely unfair to blue collar workers and those who did not go to college and those who paid it back. by the way, byron another 300 billion the first year, 700 billion over the next ten years is horrendously inflationary. which is going to cost every american and the long run. why would i not want biden as a surrogate? his numbers are up. they're still pretty bad. he is terrible, the money a man who -- out on his own in the field, but he's not the teleprompter. you just don't know it is going

to say. he's not that popular. you're going to have to end up defending his policies like his open borders in the fact that he is destroy the domestic energy market. and forced up energy bills. rev, today, 20% of american households are behind on their utility bills. that's the highest it's ever been. yes we need an andrei transition. we need an intelligence. would biden is known as not intelligent. it is for speeding change which we need. we need to also continue to be able to have reliable and an expensive electricity. we don't. i would not want him as a surrogate. if i'm running, he can make the case on their own. you don't want somebody in the have no idea what is going to say out there. you want to campaign on what you believe and what you see is the future. i must let secretary sebelius respond. we ask you this, governor attack. you and i know each other. we have disagreed we've. always retest back to the show. they're ivo's been a straight

shooter as far as i'm concerned. would you let donald trump campaign for you? >> absolutely not, rev. first, i agree. -- >> one of the things i probably do agree on is that donald trump cannot be campaigning for anybody. yes we, have been able to disagree respectively. america needs more. that no, i certainly would not have donald trump out there campaigning. >> let me let the secretary respond. -- >> if you look at the need to return respect election. look at virginia. governor youngkin kept trumped out. and ended up winning a surprise victory. if you want to win as a republican, you don't want trump and they're campaigning for you. that might not be the case in certain parts of kansas, secretary. it's the case for most of america. if you're a democrat, you do not want biden out there. run on your own, run in your vision, look to the future, not the past. >> secretary, respond to the governor, the former governors, position on student debt. >> rev, i think it's, there's

been a lot thrown at this wall in the last couple of minutes by my former colleague governor pataki. i think that it is wise to have candidates campaign on their own message on their own issues. unfortunately, the republican party has chosen to wrap themselves in an axle around donald trump. and embrace this very radical maga philosophy of denying the election results and trying to suppress votes across this country. we see it in kansas, we see it in various states across the country. as president biden is often fond of saying, he is not running against the almighty. he's running against the alternative. in this case, we have republicans who not only don't support student loans and debt reduction, really, for anybody. they've had an opportunity to participate. not for anybody. they don't support negotiation

on drugs for medicare. the largest purchaser of drugs in the country. they are on the side of big pharma. they don't support any kind of sensible gun control or background checks. right final oz that are very popular. they have consistently not supported helping the american economy get back on track. i find it very disingenuous to have this terrible outrage about how student loan pay off is unfortunate and unfair and rising the deficit. we will have enormous deficit reflection in this country. the robocall blinken administration, again, going back to the trump two trillion dollar tax cuts for the wealthiest corporations and the richest americans. that was seen as very fair. that was dina somehow good policy. i think it was terrible policy. i think we'll be paying for it for decades. thank god that joe biden is looking out for people who are

trying to make their way through college and trying to pay off debt. trying to be participating in this economy. when i liked it to be broader you bet. but i like to see more people involved? you bet. >> let me move to other than we -- need to move to other issues before another. time the secretary, right city cannot major issue in this year's midterm since roe v. wade was overturned late last month. states under republican control have moved to limit access to abortion. including for more just in the past few days. this move has sparked outrage among voters and has increased democratic enthusiasm at the polls. it has shown in the new york's bellwether 19th district. the election of pat ryan. of course there was a shocking 18 point defeat in your state of kansas. the anti-abortion ballot

measure at the start of the month. do democrats have to do to keep the voters engaged on this topic leading up to november? n thiswe saw an unbelievable tut here, rev, in kansas. it was a campaign that was ignited on fire by the dobbs decision. six weeks later, we had a straight up and down vote. this reliable you over public and state. voted for donald trump by 40 15 points. kansans not only registered in i believe will numbers. women out registered men. -- and the post of decision. we broke all midterm records. people all over the state not just in the urban centers but across the state of kansas and rural communities decided that they did not want politicians into pika determining reproductive health rights. they did not want the legislature to be able to

totally ban abortion and watch that happen in our neighborhood state of missouri. we became very real. democrats need to just remind people what republican legislators are about and what a lot of republican governors are doing. i want the republicans in congress are now saying they would like to do which is a national ban on abortion. >> governor protectee, i want to ask you about this search at mar-a-lago. were you surprised at the whim by congressman-elect now really -- the nominee. ryan in upstate new york. you are an upstate person. you are an elected official upstate. where you surprised by that? and the fact that your party, the republican party, eight has a very pro trump person running for governor in new york against governor --

are you going to support him? are you going to support governor hochul? >> on a congressional race, yes. i was surprised. i thought the republicans have a great candidate. i'm very confident he will be in congress in november when he runs in a different district. because of -- it's a very complex thing. i think the democrats very intelligent. they ran out there saying republicans are going to take away the right to choose. volunteer on his team did not respond. i remember thinking at the time, they should put up something responding. i know marc mullen arrow. he's not going to vote to take away women's right to choice. all he had to do is say that. they're saying i'm going to take a woman's right to choose. that is not true. in the case of him it wasn't true. they ignored the issue. i think governor we sebelius, her analysis is very accurate. republicans have got to understand that they have to respond. i think it's easy to do. i think you just make the case

quite plainly that you're not going to support a national law taking away women's right to choose. and that you reject extremism, whether it comes from the republican rights are the democratic left. look at the democrats. they tried to pass a bill that would allow abortions through the end of the ninth month. the american people are overwhelmingly against this. i think the american people, this is often the case, rejected extremes. the republicans have pointed out that on this issue there are many democratic members of the house who are far more extreme than the republican counterparts. -- >> i am at a time, governor. in that light, would you support extremist we -- >> i don't support extremists. i know zeldin. i know hochul. i don't think zeldin's extremist. when you don't have a vision for the future, when you can't

defend your own record, you try to link someone to someone who people dislike. -- >> he's a trump guy. >> i think he can. >> he's a big supporter of donald trump. he is one that has said, question the election in 2020. that is not extreme? >> i think he's wrong. i think it's more important to me, the fact that, as you know, new york city, crime is through the roof. the minute -- the subways are falling apart. we have poor leadership and albany. i have grave concerns about the future of the state. the future is not going to be decided by donald trump. it's gonna be decided by the next governor. >> a trumpster there who is very loyal to trump would be considered extreme by many of us. i am glad you came on. certainly you and i have a lot to talk about the future.

of course, from a secretary sebelius, former governor george pataki, thank you both for being on with us tonight. moving on across the country. this year we have seen an impressive number of black candidates running for office even in states without a long history of electing african americans statewide. one of those candidates's democratic nominee for governor in iowa, mr. deidre this year. in 2018, she ran for iowa secretary of state making history as the first black candidate to be nominated for statewide office. she is now running a campaign against trump endorsed incumbents governor kim reynolds. deirdre dizzier joins me now. -- former president trump took iowa in 2016 in 2020 --

has received former president trump's endorsement and has when a campaign embracing his policies. what do you make of the political shifts. that have taken place in your state in recent years -- >> i want to thank you for having me. we've been spending a lot of time talking about incumbents. and i feel in these moments it is incumbent upon me to defend democracy -- as you mentioned, i'm running against an individual who has been backed by the former president and not only is she backed by them but the policies

-- it's not about the individual. we have more than 90% of our students in the state of iowa who worn ruled in public schools. and our current governor is defunding education right now with only a 1.9 increase over the last three years. completely and totally undemocratic. not only is she not funded. she decided to corner of $55 million of taxpayer money, and she wanted to stifle those resources off to give to fund the private tuition of private students. again, undemocratic. she's also digging her heels in the send. she's already prided herself on a 20-week abortion ban in a couple of weeks ago and has decided that she wants to pursue a six-week abortion ban in our state. those two issues are really riling up iowans and getting them engaged in this process all over the state. i launched this race over a

year ago. i can tell you, it is night and day over the last 60 days, and how people are getting engaged in this process. i am right now in rural iowa and just left an event with more than 100 folks in a population of 1500 people, because people are riled up and excited about change happening in the state and change happening for the good, and i am the one to make it happen. >> one of the focuses of your campaign has been education reform. you accused governor reynolds of doing serious damage to the school system by leaving teachers underpaid and disrespected. on your campaign website, you point out iowa ranked 48 in the nation, yet increased spending per student from 2014 to 2019. while at the same time, governor reynolds has been pushing for vouches that would divert with little money is being spent for public schools to private ones. what would you do differently when it comes to iowa's

education system? >> one, we have to fund education. we know the constant business has gone up even prior to covid. and without our governor looking at our education system in a way that we need to invest in it for the teachers, janitors everybody who is making our education ecosystem work for the good, they need to have the resources to fund this thing so that they are performing at an optimal level. one thing we've got to do is increase access to early childhood education in the state. we've lost more than 40% of our childcare providers over the last two years. we can do better than that, because reverend al, i'm talking about a state that was when -- we are not new to this ensuring that students have access to a strong quality public education system. what is happening under this governor is that we are falling further and further down the list. access to our three and four-year-olds, they need 30 hours of pre-k each week in order for them to be prepared when they go into kindergarten. in our state right now, we're

seeing third grade reading scores dropping. we all know with those indicators lead to if students are not on par. we also have to increase the access to training in the nine through 12 arena, because our students graduating from high school, not prepared for college. not prepared to take on a job. if we increase access so the treats, putting them into our high schools, instead of produce a better alternative for our students in the future, and i know in the previous segment you were talking about student loans. we have 16 community colleges in the state. we have three public institutions, four year institutions in the state, and those institutions were also being underfunded. two thirds of their budget, now it's a third of their budget. as joe biden is doing his due diligence in the biden administration and reducing student loans, the states have to do a stronger job, making the cost more affordable. >> let me ask you this. let me stick with education for

a moment. biden's plan to cancel student loan debt was criticized by governor -- this week, she said the program simply shifts the debt burden from students who took the loans to taxpayers. federal data shows 429,000 iowans or 13.3 billion dollars in student loan debt as of march 31st. -- what do you take of the biden's plan in relationship to governor reynolds and what he's saying? how will it help? >> it's a step in the right direction. it is definitely a step in the right direction, but i'm -- joe biden cannot accomplish it on its own. he needs to ensure that we have states across this country that is making the cost of education more affordable. when you governor reynolds says he's putting the burden on the taxpayers, which he's doing right now, and not fully funding our education system is

putting the burden on the parents to seek out opportunities for those students to get educated. we have 98% of our students who are in the world in public schools, and her idea around taking $55 million of taxpayer money to fund the private school students, only impacts 2% of our students. we need leadership who is willing to do the hard work to resolve the challenges that all of us are facing. this idea that you got robbed peter to pay paul. i don't subscribe to that notion. we need policies to impact all iowans. >> let me ask you this. before i let you go, iowa has long been proud of its first in the nation presidential -- but the democratic national committee has been considering changes to the calendar in order to ensure a diverse electric and represented -- it is represented in the early stages of the presidential nomination process. the dnc isn't expected to make

a decision to act in the midterms. but i wonder what your thoughts are on the issue as a black candidate for office in the state about diversity and the fact that iowa is the first caucus. how would you feel the dnc decides to move? >> i'm originally from jackson, mississippi. went to high school in tulsa, oklahoma. i came to i was seeking an education, and what i found was my home. a part of that was through the iowa caucus experience where it got to sit down where people who i did not know and talk about politics in such a way that we are talking about policy resolving the problems of everyday people facing. i know the system is not perfect, but i can tell you is that i would not be infatuated with the system of the way that i am had i not experienced that. i know a lot of folks like to talk about the lack of diversity that is in the state of iowa. i'm here to tell you that that

diversity is strong and it is meaningful. when we talk about -- our state, i want people to know this. we are not just number one because of our amazing teachers. this day was number one, because nearly 100 years before brown versus board of education, iowa made a decision to desegregate schools on the account of a little black girl in -- rural iowa, made a decision that no matter your age, no matter where you live, each and every student should have access to a strong, quality public education system. i would not be here, i would not be here if it had not been for iowa. >> i'm out of time. mrs. dejear, i thank you for being with us. i'm out of time. and i am certainly going to have you back. thank you for being with us. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. y final thoughts stay with us stay with us has the largest and fastest 5g network. but, they don't. they only cover select cities with 5g. and with coverage of over 96% of interstate highway miles, they've got us covered. after years on the battlefield and multiple concussions,

migraine attacks followed me home. i wasn't there for my family and i was barely functioning. until nurtec odt changed all that. nurtec is the only medication that can treat and prevent my migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. most common side effects, in less than 3% were nausea, indigestion, stomach pain. now, i run a non-profit for other green berets, and i can do so much more because i can treat & prevent, all in one. ask your doctor about nurtec odt. they said it couldn't be done. because the big drug companies have billions of dollars and an army of lobbyists. but aarp has never run from a tough fight. they stood with their 38 million members and said, "enough." enough of the highest prescription drug prices in the world. together, we forced the big drug companies to lower prices and save americans money. we won this fight, but big pharma won't stop. so neither will aarp.

we just moved. so there's millions of - dahlias in bloom. over nine acres. when we started, we grew a quarter of an acre. now i'm taking on new projects on the regular. there are millions of ways to make the most of your land. learn more at deere.com the tenth pick is in the new all-american club. that's a “club” i want to join! let's hear from simone. chuck, that's a club i want to join! i literally just said that. i like her better than you the new subway series. what's your pick? 67 years ago today a teenager

for recall named emmett till was killed in the state of mississippi. allegedly for whistling had a white woman. it took many years for his mother to see any inkling of justice. it was her courage of showering his battered and bruised body, opening the casket when she brought him home to be buried in chicago at the church of garden christ that ignited a movement in the 60s and the 50 is. rosa parks said she would give up her seat and the front of the bus when she was demanded by police because she thought of emmett till which had just happened a year before. 59 years ago today was the march on washington of 63.

that culminated the fight from the montgomery west boycotts that emmett till inspired all the way through the freedom riders. heard the historic speech of i have a dream by dr. martin luther king. throughout the 21st century his son martin the third and i beginning with his mother, late widow now of dr. king, would have commemoration marches to remind people of that day 59 years ago today. and the state of the dream as we now have gone into the 21st century. the last one we had was just two years ago in 2020. we brought the families of george floyd and breonna taylor and jacob blake and michael brown and eric garner with us to say the state of the dream was threatens with police reform. last year, we marched on voting

rights. today's civil rights leaders held a press conference saying the state of the dream is democracies at risk. we had a march today. we're going in those states to bring our voters to save the union and save democracy. that doesn't from a. thanks for watching. i will see you back here next week at 5 pm eastern. american voices with alicia menendez starts right now. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. critical work at a critical moment. hello, everyone. i'm alicia menendez. we begin this sunday with what happens next in the mar-a-lago documents investigation. the newest facet to be led by the director of national intelligence. dni avril haines this weekend agreeing to meet the demands of top congressional democrats. seeking to understand the dangers of trump's decision to hoard some americans talked secret documents at the florida resort. the goal as stated by the office of dni is to evaluate, e,