it a nearby storage room in the club. but why maybe of more interest as what investigators did not find. the court filing says the bureau also ceased 48 empty folders marked as classified. the crucial question becomes, where are the documents that should have been in those folders? abc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell has the scoop. >> unsealed by the court today, this detailed property list raises new questions about what happens to classified records at mar-a-lago. 48 folders with classified markings inside the former president's office, and storage area, were empty when the fbi searched. another 42 empty folders indicated the contents had to be returned to a military aid. where are the government secrets that might have been inside? and no. the fbi did seize more than 103 classified records, up to top secret level found in the office and storage room. the inventory notes the highly

restrictive documents had been mixed in with ordinary things. magazines, gifts, and clothing. for the first time, the department of justice revealed that more than 11,000 unclassified government-owned papers and photographs were also seized. mr. trump spokesman responded, this unprecedented and unnecessary raid was not some surgical, confined search and retrieval. but a smash and grab. however, today, former trump attorney general william r. defended the doj's actions. >> people say this was unprecedented. it's also unprecedented for a president to take all this classified information and put it in a country club! >> donald trump's actions contributed to the dire warnings from president biden last night in philadelphia. about dangers to democracy. >> maga republicans do not respect the constitution. >> republicans rejected that as an unfair, broad attack on trump voters. >> they do want to make america

great again. they just don't agree with president biden's neo-socialist, woke agenda. >> but today, the president says he thinks most trump supporters do not support dangerous ideas. >> voting they're not voting for attacking the capitol. there aren't voting for a fraudulent election. they are voting for -- >> nbc's kelly o'donnell reporting there. that was doctor david priest. he's a former cia officer and a former daily intelligence prefer to then fbi director robert mueller and the former attorney general, john ashcroft. he's also the author of several books, including the presidents book of secrets, the unsettled story of intelligence briefings to americans presidents. david, thank you for joining us today. i will tell you, this is why it's very useful to have people like you here, because i was reading a twitter threat that you put out today. it's picking up traction, which cautions people like me, journalists, and others, to jumping to conclusions about the discovery of empty folders

that are marked classified. the rest of us are saying, hold down, there's 40 plus folders that's a classified on them, and no documents in them. where are the documents? you seem to have an answer to that. >> it is possible that there are classified documents still missing. i'm not ruling that out. but we have a bunch of folders that simply say, classified, on them. that means the documents within those folders are of various classification levels. then, we have further report you just show, about 100 classified documents that are not listed as being in folders. so, it stands to reason that it is at least possible, and i would argue, likely, that at one point, those very documents were in those very folders. now, that doesn't tell us whether they were moved out of the folders while at the white house and somebody just threw them into a carton haphazardly, which the rest of the materials would suggest, or whether they were moved to mar-a-lago and

someone had been going through them there and removing the documents from the folders and treating them haphazardly, which we also see evidence of. it doesn't give us any diagnostic value on one documents were moved out of folders. so,. yes we cannot rule out that there were documents out there that were unaccounted for that may have once been in these folders. there are many more documents than there are folders, and these are the kind of folders that are used to transmit classified information within a generally secure space like the white house all the time. so, it's not that shocking that you would find these folders, especially for someone who was mixing classified documents with unclassified documents, photos, articles of clothing, all these other things that were found in the boxes. >> so, since you and i last talked, given the new information, the inventory, the photographs, things like that, where are you on your level of concern about this? >> the surprise to me, ali, what's the sheer volume of the unclassified material. i say unclassified, we actually

don't know that yet. we know that these were documents without classification markings. it's possible some of those were actually classified, but the markings weren't evidence upon immediate search, because they were doing this inventory list quickly. it is possible there are additional classified materials in there that have not been determined as such when we saw this inventory. what was that? 11,000 articles of documents and photos and other things? that is a lot of government property. so,. yes i focus on the classified side a lot. but you have to remember, this is not just an isolated incident of one or two things that were slipped in. we're talking about literally thousands of government documents and other pieces of property that somebody had put into these cartons. somebody had moved reason to mar-a-lago, and the former president knows around him certainly knew they were there, because of all the interaction with the national archives in the department of justice. >> are you concerned about the

technical breach we know exists, by virtue of the fact they are classified documents in a place that wasn't secure, or consider the other stuff, the intelligence community is talking about in terms of the damage assessment, the actual dangers that may be faced because names and sources might be up there? >> any unauthorized disclosure of classified material is, by definition, a threat to national security. material is not classified if it is not deemed to be a threat to national security. there's a separate conversation we could have that i look forward to having some day, about our classification system and whether we have an overclassification tendency. that can be true. but that is not the judgment for any individual to make, looking at the top secret document. they don't get to the side whether that really should be top secret or not. that means there's something in there that puts united states national security at risk, if it is inadvertently disclosed, and your telling me 18 months, that these documents were haphazardly stored in these random boxes and in the death down at mar-a-lago, that no one

could have had access to them? even the former president having access to them is a problem, because he had no security clearance and he had no reason to have classified material, but i am very worried about this, because so many people go in and out of that facility, and we know the former presidents habit of trying to show off shiny objects. so,. yeah i'm very concerned about what will happen in this investigation. david, good to see you. thank you for your twitter threat. i guide everyone through it so they fit better understanding of what the situation is. former cia officer, the former daleville intelligence briefing to then fbi director robert mueller in the farmers -- congresswoman stacey plaskett of the u.s. virgin islands. she served with the house manager for donald trump's second impeachment in 2021. he's formally a member of the doj civil rights division. great to see you in real life again. doesn't happen all that often for us, so we're very excited. >> you're looking. good >> thank you. >> let's talk a little bit about what david was just talking about.

there is, and you understand this, as a former doj official and the former prosecutor, there is a technical breach. we know those documents weren't supposed to be there. somehow, some, where a lot has been broken, unless somehow, donald trump magically, mystically declassify those documents. no one who understands that thinks that's possible. and then, there's the other ginger. what do you do with that information? where does it go? who saw that? are their names of people in it that could compromise their lives? where are you on what you're worried about and what you should be done about it? >> i'm worried on the precedent first. and individual, whether he be president or other vice, who believes that he can flout the law by taking documents that belong to the government to their home. and storing that wherever they feel like during that. that, in itself, is very problematic. it sets a precedent that must be checked. and then, of course, is the national security interest that you mentioned. as we heard from one of donald

trump's lawyers, many people come into that office on a regular basis. she said it in mar-a-lago. so, we have no clue how many people may have been able to see these documents, our national security interests secrets, individuals, methodology, might be compromised at this time. and i believe that's why doj is so concerned about the special master, is they have a duty right now to try to the threat assessment, to try to triage this, and having a special master might slow this down. >> i want to play something, because of your involvement in january six, that donald trump said on a radio show about the insurrectionists who have been charged so far. we have seen some, and we've seen some long sentences. let's listen to this. >> i will tell you, i will look very, very favorably about slow pardons. if i decide to run and if i win, i will be looking very, very

strongly about pardons. full pardons. >> well deserved. >> i think that's probably going to be the best, because even if they go for two months or six months, they have sentences, six months, a lot longer than that. >> years and years. >> they will be looking very, very seriously at full pardons, because we can't let that happen. what happened here, and i mean full pardons with an apology, just too many, an apology. >> a man. >> what do you think about that? >> i'm glad he said it's so weak -- it's out there! what we have suspected he would do, his involvement, his belief that what happened on january 6th was appropriate, has now been said for all of us to see. and if he should run for president, i know and hope that every democratic candidate will play that in a loop, so the american people understand that we have an individual who wants to be president who agrees with insurrection and potential

overthrow of the government if he doesn't get his way. >> let's talk about the gop. let's talk about the soul of the nation speech the other night. president biden actually started his campaign, when he ran for president, on a fight for the soul of the nation, but it looks very different back then in charlottesville and racism and things like that. what do you make of the speech, and does it move anybody? does it move anybody who needed to be moved, was thinking about voting republican? maybe, who was thinking about donald trump for another term? >> i think what it does do is solidifies for his base as well that this is an issue he cares about. there has been concern, i believe, among democrat base. does this president want to play too much with the gop? is there a line that goes too far for the democratic party? and i believe that him giving that speech allows him to set a clear line that this president doesn't agree with those ideas. while, at the same time, it continues to work with, as he calls it, mainstream

republicans. i call it, the republican party, he calls them maga republicans, i call that the maga party. so, making a delineation between that so each one of us, and as you said, those independents, have a place to go. and understand that yes, the president said we are not part of them. but we are part of this american experiment. i think that is going to be helpful. >> hang on for a second. we have to take a commercial, pay the bills, and that we will talk about the war. we will continue our conversation after a quick commercial break. we've got much more ahead this hour. republicans in michigan seem to know their antiabortion stance is unpopular, because they are trying to block a vote on abortion rights. it looks like all systems go for the moment at florida's kennedy space center. the launch window for the artemis 1 rockets opens in just over four and a half hours. nbc's jake ward is there. and the so-called mainstream republicans we were just talking about, president biden says he knows he can work with them. we'll talk to two major players from team normal republican

party about where they stand in their plans to wrestle the party away from a certain twice impeached ex president. you're watching velshi. g velshi

next level at back with me >> is a democratic notre dame de namur university. ndnu specializes in delivering the workforce of the future. we offer flexible schedules to help maintain balance in your life, and in your career. with multiple financing options and small classes to foster personalized mentoring, ndnu prepares you for careers in ndnu prepares you for careers in classes start year-round. advance your career at ndnu dot edu today.

representative from the virgin islands. what about the midterm elections that are coming up. things have happen in congress, things have happened with the january 6th, things have happened with republican candidates. particularly the senate candidates in the past six weeks. think about roe. they have changed the calculus about what happens in the midterm elections. let us know exactly how things have changed. we have seen activation among women voters. there's been activation for voter registration across the country. tell me what you are thinking about, talk about all the things that happen in the last three months that we did not expect to happen. >> sure. i mean what, happening candles with that special vote on abortion, there was a special election in new york.

we thought it would potentially be a republican. there was also alaska. they had a democratic member of congress in the special election with the passing of don young. those are indicators. i don't necessarily look at the polls. we have seen the poll. if they're not necessarily clear. and i think that democrats have an opportunity to potentially hold the house, even to advance the senate in the sense that we can show to the american people all that up until november that we are holding a line on democracy. we are standing at the door holding back the hordes who would try and take us back. whether it is voting rights, racial equity, all of those other issues. at the same time, we are advancing the issues that matter to the american people. we really have to hone in on that message. we want to bring down the cost of insulin, bring new jobs onto the market, clean energy, student loan debt relief. all of those things that

american and scary about. also, this is what we believe. it is what president biden has said, it is democracy itself. those are the two messages. in the house, our message is that we are about the people of this country. we are about people and their daily needs. the republican party is about power in politics seems by every vote they have taken for the last few years. >> you and i have talked for years. we talked five years ago, september 5th is the anniversary of hurricane irma and maria. i cover them. they hit where you are from. i asked you during the commercial break, you know, how far apart were? they felt like we are covering one continuous hurricane. the damage from one was not over before the second one hit. >> exactly. exactly. we are on five years after the storm. congress did an incredible thing after that time. through that bipartisan budget

act of 2018, they changed the law for the virgin islands and puerto rico. not just have funding to rebuild, but they wanted things as they were. we were a territory. we have been under funded for many years. we lost hospitals, schools, roads, ports, et cetera. because we were in the trump administration, many of that funding had been held up. we are trying to get the money on the ground to rebuild and create opportunities. what was demonstrated to the members of congress and others more than anything was the resilience of the people. in puerto rico, in my home of the virgin islands, people were without power for 4 to 6 months. they went on with their lives. they supported one another. they did what was necessary. that is the pride of the community that americans throughout the country have. we are dealing with capacity issues.

we are small, isolated. we are able to rebuild. we are working with our governor to ensure that we can bring that money, not just haven't, there but really have the opportunity to make the virgin islands the jeweled caribbean. that is something we want to work towards the next few years. >> all right. nice to see you. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> the democratic representative for the united states virgin islands. right after the break, how unpopular is michigan's antiabortion stance? here's a clear, they are scared to take it to citizens to vote on it. on it. welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone! (nurse) wait... did you say verizon for just $30? (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (dad) yeah, and it's from the most reliable 5g network in america. (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (mom) yeah, it's easy and you get $960 when you switch the whole family. (geek) wow... i've got to let my buddies know.

(geek friend) we're already here! (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon.

want a permanent solution to homelessness? you won't get it with prop 27. it was written and funded by out-of-state corporations to permanently maximize profits, not homeless funding. 90% of the profits go to out-of-state corporations permanently. only pennies on the dollar for the homeless permanently. and with loopholes, the homeless get even less permanently. prop 27. they didn't write it for the homeless. they wrote it for themselves.

♪ well the sun is shining and the grass is green ♪ ♪ i'm way ahead of schedule with my trusty team ♪ ♪ there's heather on the hedges ♪ ♪ and kenny on the koi ♪ ♪ and your truck's been demolished by the peterson boy ♪ ♪ yes -- ♪ wait, what was that? timber... [ sighs heavily ] when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you've built with affordable coverage. in the months since roe was overturned, americans are newly committed to protecting abortion rights and this year's elections. an effort to and shine abortion rights in michigan constitution is in jeopardy.

a pair of republican officials voted against adding it to the ballot in november. at this, there is not enough space between some words in the text of the proposal. the proposal is known as the reproductive freedom for all. what amanda state constitution. it would make it explicit that abortion rights are protected in the state. more than 753,000 signatures in support of adding into the ballot this november. voters can determine the fate of abortion rights. that is about 300,000 more signatures than they needed to get it on the ballot. that is believed to be the most signatures ever collected for any petition in the states history. last month a group of abortion rights proponents presented a formal challenge to the reproductive rights for all amendment. the minimal spacing between some words resulted in, quote, nonsensical gibberish. no other complaints were laws regarding these subsidies or content of the amendment. it was just the spacing. on wednesday, the four members

of the michigan board state were deadlocked along partisan lines on the decision to certify the ballots. the two democratic women on the board voted in favor of certifying. it into public and men voted against a proposal. anthony is the bold republican chair person. he called the minimal spacing between words and egregious air. he said it was, quote, a tragedy that happened. a tragedy, and egregious air. the group behind reproductive freedom for all has fallen. appeal it will not be up to michigan supreme court term and whether or not the measure will appear on the ballot is november. joining me now is the secretary of state of michigan. she is the author of an important new book. it is the secretary of state guardians are the democratic process. secretary, good to see you. thank you for joining me. i had trouble reading that story with a straight face. it is deadly serious. it seems nonsensical. can you tell me what i may stay in that story about these basing of the question? why does that not make it to a

ballot? >> you are exactly right. i think that the state is supposed to be a nonpartisan body. what you have here is then potentially going beyond their authority to certify a proposal based on whether it has enough signatures. more legal questions. this is going to the michigan supreme court. it is also important to note that this is the same body that certified election result. we worry that this is a preview of his parties and a lot for what we could expect in november. >> tell me about the board. is it their job to do this? it is a provision of what it is they are supposed to do about looking at things like spacing? if something is not spaced properly bottom gets on the ballot, i would assume that that can be something that is worked out by someone who specializes in weird and spacing. >> yeah. we are in a bit of uncharted territory. i think that it is also important to note that the spacing issue that was flagged

was created because of an added that the board recommended to the petitioners when they were viewing in the form of the petition itself. that actually happens first from the board before the petition goes into the field for four signatures. there is a bit of irony there. again, this underscores how partisan appointed boards are acting. they are potentially going on there or will. they could interfere with the will of the people. not just in the situation, but in elections themselves. >> so i go to the supreme court. that sounds a good thing. in theory, the court should look at these things more fairly then an evenly split board of canvassers. hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition for the privilege of voting on a thing. does that rule? you technicalities rule and supreme court look at this?

>> that is up to the supreme court. in my view, what will the people should rule. it is important to know that we are talking about two petitions here. one of the most reproductive rights. another is on voting rights. reproductive freedom for all initiative has filed some hundred 52,000 signatures. the signatures, the interest of the people, this was far more than you often see video types of initiatives. one of the people, the dire the people to vote on these issues is quite clear. in my view, technicalities should not leave individuals or proposals on the ballot. the law rules the day. the county court will now determine if these proposals will be on the ballot this november. >> the question becomes what we are seeing. i was just discussing that with the representative of the virgin islands. this is what we are seeing across america. there are increases in voter registration. what people are standing up. the fall of row has caused

people to say, you know what, i still actually have the vote in his country. what do i do with it? is it possible that this nonsense around this ballot measure may result people just saying, okay, i'm gonna vote, i'm gonna let people know what i really think. >> i think that what we are seeing is people getting mobilized and energized around this false election. it is on both sides of the aisle. we're preparing for a high turnout election. we are seeing people react to the removal of basic fundamental rights and freedoms that they and their parents have enjoyed. it is not hyperbolic at all to say that it is not just democracy on the ballot, but are fundamental rights and freedoms around about as well. again, the other side of this that we are focusing on in michigan, i believe that the court is gonna do the right thing. we will see how that evolves with these petitions.

this is an entity that certified election results. in 2020, the entity, one member did not certify. another republican member date. he has since been replaced on this board. this should also be seen as a preview for this type of partisan deadlock for what we may be dealing with after the election. we have our eyes on that as well. >> awesome. good to see you. thank you for joining us. jocelyn benson is the secretary -- he is the author of the guardians of the democratic process. after the break, nasa's first moon mission in 50 years was set to launch from florida in a matter of hours. we have reports that the artemis 1 is fighting a leak. we are in florida with the details. details. everyone. and teens are no exception. but pfizer has some welcome news for parents. now there is an fda-approved vaccine for 12 to 15 year-olds to help protect against covid-19,

with protection against severe illness, too. over 9 million 12 to 15 year-olds have received it. you shouldn't get the vaccine if you've had an allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. serious allergic reactions can happen. rare cases of inflammation of the heart muscle and outer lining have been reported. people with weakened immune systems may have lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were injection site pain, redness and swelling, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever. ask your doctor or pharmacist about the most widely used covid-19 vaccine in the u.s. our vaccine, named comirnaty, is now fda-approved for ages 12 and up. brought to you by pfizer and biontech. ♪♪ here goes nothing. hey greg. uhh...hello? it's me, your heart! really? yes! recording an ekg in 30 seconds. tada! wow, that was fast.

you know it! kardia offers the only personal ekgs that detect six of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds. so you can manage your heart health from home, or on the go. your heart rhythm is normal. no arrhythmias in sight. i wonder what my doctor would say. ooh! let's find out! with kardia, you can email your ekg directly to them or send it to a cardiologist for review. kardia can do all that? all that and then some, greg! kardia also gives you access to heart health reports and automatic ekg sharing. what next? let's get some fresh air. been cooped up for too long. yeah... ♪♪ kardia mobile card is available for just $99. get yours at kardia.com or amazon. right now, they're just over

four hours from the opening of the launch window in florida. the artemis one rocket was supposed to lift off later today. we are now learning that the space craft is battling a leak that could put a launch in jeopardy. jacob warren joins us now from the kennedy space center in florida. he has more on this. what is this about? >> i know that you know their space very well. no pun intended. if you are standing here, you would be as good as analyzing this is i am. look at the rocket right now. you can see that the top seed of it, that is where the autopsy jim tank sticks, that is the oxygen it forms one half of the fuel that sends this

thing, it is kicking off a certain amount of vapor. a vapor is a good sign. it's because the liquid oxygen has to be held at negative 294 degrees fahrenheit. it is at its boiling point. once the tank fills out, they began to kick off that vapor. that is a good thing. the bottom one, which is not giving off that kind of vapor, it is a liquid hydrogen. that is where we seem to have a problem this morning. there is a quick release where the two joints meet. it is in the line that carried like with hydrogen from the ground into the ship. the quick release joint seems to be leaking at this hour. it has been leaking for quite awhile. now they have tried many things to fix it. they have tried to be chilled aligned. they have tried a manual process. just recently they tried putting helium through it. none of those things seem to be working. here's why all this is such a bummer, you can send a crew out there with their tools to fix it on the launchpad. they're trying to do any kind of laying on the launchpad.

if they are really gonna fix this thing, they would have to roll it back to the vehicle assembly building behind me. this has not been announced yet. this may be the problem. this is what nasa fears. if they have to fix it in this building, that means that they have to send this rocket on its wheels. it is a 30 story object. that is for miles back to this. thing that could set us off track fundamentally. at this hour, it is not looking terribly likely this thing is gonna go up today. >> such a big deal. it is gonna be a big launch when it happens. it got scrubbed on monday. we have not officially been scrubbed yet. we still have a launch window, we will stay close if it happens. let's talk about it a little bit more. that is jake ward for us in florida. we are awaiting to see what happens with the artemis one. coming up, we're gonna check on the state of the battle for the soul republican party. two people are famously fighting 14 normal. ghting 14 normal shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care.

because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. ♪♪ you're pretty particular about keeping a healthy body. what goes on it. usually. and in it. mostly.

here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand. over 2000 high quality products. rigorously tested by us. real world tested by you. and delivered to your door in as little as one hour. ♪ ♪ 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. 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. not every republican, not even

the majority of republicans are maga publicans. not every republican embraces extreme ideology. i know because i have been able to work with these mainstream republicans. there is no question that the republican party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by donald trump in the maga republicans. that is a threat to this country. >> i was a very accurate description of the republican party by the democratic president. what is going to be dominated, driven, intimidated by donald trump? that means this. mitch mcconnell let the slip a couple of weeks ago. he said that maybe republicans are not field in the highest quality candidates in some senate races this year. he did not name names, but everyone was paid attention to the race for the senate. they knew that he was talking about the brand of trump election deniers, conspiracy paddlers, tv doctors running in swing states.

that is where general election voters might not have quite the appetite for the nihilism that would get them elected. this suggestion says that republicans might have trouble take back the senate this year. it might be because they are feeling some super fringe candidates in moderate leading states. that was enough to set off the mega crew. rick scott penned up serious op-ed. he said the trash talking republican candidates is an act of cowardice. it is treasonous to the conservative cause. and quote. believe it or not, mainstream republican's have been called a lot worse than that. two of them are joining me now asked to talk about how or whether they can take back their party. i want to turn to a piece of breaking news we have right now it of tupelo mississippi. please have issued a release at 5 am local time this morning. that is 6 am our time. apollo of a small plane, possibly a kinnear type plane, that will be a terrible plot prop with two engines, the pilot has made contact with

9-1-1 services. he was threatening to intentionally crashed into a walmart store. we are working on bringing you some more information in video of what appears to be the plane in question. local residents have reported seeing a plain circle over the head in the area. it is flying radically. they're pushing these things to social media. we don't bring you that directly. we have a team that verifies these videos on what they report to be. you don't have any video, you are looking at me. we do know the story exists. tupelo police evacuated the store in question, the walmart store. they are in direct communications with the pilot. they don't want anyone in the area until one all-clear is given. we are going to bring you any more additional details as they break. break. ne! (nurse) wait... did you say verizon for just $30? (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (dad) yeah, and it's from the most reliable 5g network in america.

(woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (mom) yeah, it's easy and you get $960 when you switch the whole family. (geek) wow... i've got to let my buddies know. (geek friend) we're already here! (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon.

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. comcast business. powering possibilities. 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. join me now is olivia troye a former senior adviser to vice president mike pence's. there is a former republican strategist. she is the principal and founder of relaxed reggie. she is the advisory for the renewed democracy initiative. welcome to both of you. thank you for being here. i want to talk to you. you are the people that the president was trying to make a distinction about, right? he was trying to say that he is not actually targeting of republicans he was certainly not targeting of conservatives. do you know anything about joe

biden, you know that is true. he spent a lot of time is working with republicans. he is not one of these inherently polarizing people. olivia, let me start with you. there were people who are members of the mainstream republican party who said that he is trying to divide america. he is doing all sorts of crazy things. did the reach out help at all? >> yeah. i think the people are criticizing what he said. they are using it to spin it to their own merit. i think he was pretty clear about that. that is something that we all chi here. was not trying to criticize any but what can voters. the republican party is dangerous. there are many of us republican voters who are not the right wing crazies that is damaging. we don't identify with that at

all. along as we continue to do this they will lose. >> if you are as the two of you are if you are not part of that ring of the republican party what are you what can you be? there are lots of examples. there are other groupings that have been formed. there is evan mcmullin running in utah. reaching out to a lot of formerly republican candidates. liz cheney hinted that she might run for president. i don't know. that has republican or not. what do all of these people have that compare on the republican party or help fix it? >> exactly what joe biden is the other night we are optimist. we are hopeful for america. it is important to show that message. everything feels dark heavy, we are in uncharted territory. a president taking classified documents to his private property is not normal.

this is not part of what process presidents do. we are in an absolutely unbelievable moment right now. we have a person who wants to hijack the country for his own gain. it is all one big calm. what i heard from joe biden last night gave me tremendous hope. it made me cry like a child. it reminded me of my late father who came to america in 1970. i was raised to believe in the goodness of america, not just as a concept but i was raised to believe in the goodness of the american people. i was told by my parents that americans are inherently good. by virtue, they're accepting people. how far we have come away from that. i heard that there are certain americans among those who are extremists. it is up to each one of us not to be vigilant and push back but to take a whole do

responsibility and do our part. >> joe biden olivia, who's talking these terms for a long time. he started his campaign on the idea of a soul of a nation. we are talking about neo-nazis. it is much easier in life to vilify neo-nazis and speak about a group within the republican party. some of them actually criticize the fact that he did talk about president trump. he took his name. he typically does not do that. that is neither here nor there. he did identify he did delineate who is talking about. it is the mega group. this is a guy who really believes that he wants to unify the nation. i think he means it. what works? do speeches like this work? what can he actually do to unify a nation that is polarizing in a world that is actually polarizing? >> yes. i would take president biden out of his where. i voted for him in 2020.

donald trump is very dangerous. i've seen that firsthand. he will remain dangerous for our country. we mentioned the classified documents. those are the nightmares that we all knew he was capable of. here we are. in this moment, the challenge is people that really needed to hear that speech. i need to process it and understand it. they probably did not hear it. right now we the people who really need to hear it are listening to the disinformation. there are the talking point that are being talking at them. there are the lies that got us here today. that is what it is. it is unwise being told by republican leaders themselves that are creating this division. they are allowing this extremism to continue. that is what is happening. it is not legal public and voters. it is not the american people. it is the leaders. that is how we are ending up in this situation.

i think it remains a very difficult time. i understand where he is coming from on it. i am completely supportive of it. would, i think -- you need to call it for what it is. this moment is like no other's. you need to call trump out. you need to call it. he is leading our country. look we are in a dark moment. it is going to take all of us. all of us are coming together. it is the coalition of the willing. they will push back on this. it does not matter if you are independent, democratic -- we are going to support common sense democrat over a mega republican. that is the bottom line. i don't have a problem with that i know that we have to do what is best for our country. >> at some point, the question for republicans the question for voters who olivia has done a great job of distinguishing between the question for republican voters and

conservative borders need to be answered. what are they doing november? what are they doing 2024? what do they do with donald trump is the nominee? what do they do? they support democrats? do you feel a candidate? >> they vote on the issues. it is not along party lines. there is this notion that we have to punish republicans that are not doing anything for us. this goes back to the crisis of trust that we have in this country. i firmly believe the only way that we can overcome it is by appealing to our better angels. you can only do that if you do not dismiss the swath of people that have been told one thing or being told to behave a certain way. you push back on that in a positive way. you do it by coming together in a way that may feel uncommon uncomfortable. you go into the carpet in a way that feels like they are not being vilified for holding a particular view. you try to understand them. you can't do any of this with

the leaders of the top of the ticket who are doing nothing for or so. i wondered out loud for the longest time, where did the real fiscal conservative congress existing congress? they are not doing the work that we interest into the. what are they doing for us? it is time for fresh blood. that is what you did when you voted for trump, right? we have to be methodical in strategic in how we run people over. that is a. >> the senate has a few races that could control the senate. for how bad republicans won held by democrat. we have some people who mitch mcconnell, olivia has said -- he is not named them but he has said that they are not very high quality candidates. mehmet oz herschel walker ron johnson herschel -- if something goes wrong, they may take the house. if something goes wrong in the senate is not a message to the miss mcconnells of the world? why don't we just day band in

the crazy part of the party and go back to the middle? is that enough? it is just a power gap, right? people have decided to abandon their senses because it gets them in power. >> that is correct. look, republicans want to hold on the power no matter what the cost of the american populists. whether that means this extremism -- i think it will be a reckoning if these candidates say don't lose. they are terrible candidates. we could be running much stronger people. that is not what the republican party has chosen to do. do i think this is going to change the course of the party? not anytime soon. we are not seeing that. that is not the trend we are heading for. i think we are decade out from them figuring out the course that they want to be on. it is going to take losses like this to take them to take a stack back. this is not working.

how do normal comments and republicans actually push back? they can continue to do so. >> thank you to the both of you. this is an important conversation will have many times from. the sounds of it, it will be a conversation for a decade. the former senior advisor to mike pence, former republican strategist and the principal founder of relaxed judges, that has it for me. thank you for watching. catch me back here tomorrow morning. 8:10 am eastern on velshi. velshi is also available as a podcast. you can listen to the entire show anywhere you are. on the go. susskind, listen to free and where you get your podcasts. do not go anywhere. the cross connection with tiffany cross begins right now. >> i believe that america is a thing inflection point. it is one of those moments to

determine the shape of what comes after. democracy cannot survive when one side believe there are only two outcomes to an election either they win or were cheated. you cannot love your country only when you win. it is never easy. we are proving in america that no matter how long the road is progress does come. >> good morning. i am tiffany cross, we have a lot to discuss this morning. let's get into it. you guys saw the price primetime speech on thursday night. president biden warned that american democracy is on the brink. he did not shy way from pointing out that donald trump and his followers are the ones pushing it over the edge. >> mega publicans do not respect the constitution, they do not believe in the rule of law, they do not recognizable of the people. they refused to accept the