every day. much of america is about to return to the office for the first time in more than two years. what you need to know about the risks and the new covid boosters. then and almost prophetic conversation with the one anomaly margaret atwood. we've got a special edition of the velshi banned book club coming up. bill she starts now. >> good morning to you. it is saturday, september the 4th. having lived a weekend. i'm ali velshi. we talk as you know a lot on this show. about how imperiled our democracy is after the lawlessness of the trump administration, the damage caused by the insurrection on january 6th. the ongoing minutes of the big lie and the slow boiling threat of another coup that comes along with it. but whether or not on trump's prosecuted. whether or not he runs for president. we are living in a changed america. for one thing, the threat of violence now -- ignored or excused or even defended by trump and republican leaders who are

still too cowardly to take a stand against insurrectionists ex president. the idea of political violence is being normalized. he held newspaper published a piece this weekend underlying its stark terms what this new post trump post january 6th world looks like. the number threat in vests -- launched by u.s. capitol police in 2021 was 100 and 50% higher than it was in 2017. trump's first year in office. lawmakers who are critical of trump remain among those most frequently targeted for violence. the long and diverse listening clues republicans who voted for an infrastructure bill he opposed. democrats who manage the former presidents impeachments. republicans who supported his ouster after the january 6th capitol attack. and most recently, the nine lawmakers on the select committee investigating the 2021 a riot. all of whom have around the clock security details. end quote. president biden addressed the normalization of violence this week in his soul of the

nation's speech. >> you've heard it. more and more talk about violence. as unacceptable political tool. in this country. it's not. it can never be unacceptable tool. we saw law enforcement brutally attacked on january 6th. we've seen election officials, poll workers, many of them volunteers -- subject to intimidation and death threats. and can you believe it? fbi agents. just doing their job as directed facing threats to their own lives from their own fellow citizens. we can't allow violence to be normalized in this country. it's wrong. we have to reject political violence with all of the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster. now. >> and while president biden was forceful on the point that we can fight back against this threat, it seems the other side

is gathering forced to. because biden along with scholars and legal experts and historians are all sounding the alarm, idolatrous grieving more brazen. in his lies and his calls for lawlessness. he went as far as to promised pardons to those convicted of violent crimes for their roles in the january 6th insurrection. >> i will tell you, i will look very very favorably about full pardons. if i decide to run and if i win i will be looking very, very strongly and pardons. full pardons. >> above all, this election is a referendum on the corruption and extremism of joe biden and the radical democrat party. if you want to stop this destruction of america you must vote republican. you've got to get out and vote. >> for more on this, i'm dave nbc news justice reporter ryan

reilly. ryan, quite something. the juxtaposition of joe biden's speech talking about the extremism of the republican party and members of it and it's particularly the maga crowd. biden sort of went out as a way to distinguish between all republicans and conservatives versus the extremists. donald trump and his allies made no such effort. >> what's remarkable there is that speech that he should've could've was before an audience gathered for doug mastriano who was on the researcher grounds of the u.s. capital on january six himself. there's video of him just a few feet behind really the proud boys as they ripped down some of those barricades. he has not been charged, obviously, we should point out. neither were thousands of people who are on the researcher grounds of the capitol that they. we report earlier that one of his aides now on his campaign -- subsequently went on to block media access move his events. was actually on the restricted grounds of the capitol as well at the top of those stairs as

police for battling the rioters for trying to charge inside. later, you can see footage of him. standing around media quitman is destroyed and laughing. he has deep connections. a lot of security people in douglas trios team are -- he brought buses down to the capital. as testified before the chasers committee. it is remarkable to see mastriano and others -- donald trump jr. rally around a lot of these january six defendants who are on video committing of crimes in many cases. there is just a ton of video evidence out there against a lot of these individuals who've been charged with crimes around january 6th. >> pennsylvania and arizona are in similar positions which there are people running for both senate and governor who have talked about overturning the election who are election deniers. if that were to happen, doug mastriano and emmett oz winning in november and in arizona,

similar things are happening that could be quite influential. i want to ask about these pardons. i'm about to talk to joanne freeman, the historian. i've never, i cannot recall somebody running for office on a platform that includes a promise of pardoning people who committed crimes in his name. >> it really is remarkable. i think at some point traveled down into the individuals who -- being focused on here. trump hasn't really identified anyone who he really thinks is getting the book thrown at them or is being mistreated. he spoke very generally and talked about sort of blanket pardons. donald trump jr., last week just promoted this individual named -- support campaign for this individual name ryan nichols. there was a video filmed by ryan nichols, his wife in which he declares that right nichols which is someone who is peacefully want to go down to the capitol on january 6th and ryan nichols own words and video that's explicitly why he did not get out of the capitol. he is on a video recording

himself talking about dragging politicians through the streets. when he gets there, he's on video pepper spraying officers with the giant cannon of chemical weapon to use against officers there. afterwards, he reports a video no she's actually holding a stick and talking about how he responded with violence and ryan nichols supports violence. it's just one of those crimes that's all out there on video and he's being made out to be the victim here. it's just sort of ludicrous that that's how he's being pertained considering the stunning amount of evidence against him before his crime, during his crime after his crimes. i'll point out that he hasn't been convicted yet but he's been held for -- because judges have decided the evidence against him is so overwhelming. it's not because he went down to peacefully protest. he's being held because there's such overwhelming evidence against him. >> yes and in fact a former new york police officer was convicted and sentenced this

week to the longest in his we have seen, ten years, in prison. for his work involving attacking the officers there. , again same thing. all of this was on video. and even the judge in that particular case said, what you are saying does not match the evidence that we actually have. again, much of it on video. >> that is exactly right. it was really stunning. this is the record setting january 6th -- before the record was around seven years, now we're up to ten. prosecutors actually wanted 17.5 yards, in this case. because he was wearing some body armor, which could have theoretically given him an even bigger upgrade on his sentence. but ten years is a decade behind bars. it is a significant time, there. and he is not the worst of these offenders. i think it really is a lesson to folks who want to go to trial on this, because taking a plea deal in these cases is often your best bet. if you go to trial and you lie on the stand is the jury concluded the thomas webster did in this case, based on

analysis of the video just based on what he said versus what was actually captured on video, it is going to backfire on him. the judge was very clear that he was not buying the story that thomas webster was trying to sell on the stand there. >> ryan, good to see. you thanks for joining us. ryan riley is nbc news justice reporter. once we get dr. john freeman, award-winning historian at yale university. and doctor at the closet junior, who was chair of the african american study studies department was to university. he's the host of histories as podcast. and an msnbc contributor. it's just so it is not all doom and gloom, is it true today's your birthday? >> absolutely. >> happy birthday, then, my friend. >> happy birthday. >> this is an insurrectionism and a democracy birthday wish on msnbc. john, let's start with you. because violence has come to the for a few times this week. the conviction of the officer that ryan and i were just talking about for ten years.

the biggest sentence yet, longest sentence, yet in the january six staff. biden is going out, they're repeating the mantra he used to launch his presidential campaign, about the soul of the nation. back then it is about charlottesville and neo-nazis, oil supremacists. now it is about his name to trump and maga people. and then the reaction from the republican party, in the moment when joe biden put out an opportunity to, say i'm not brand blaming all of you. but some of you are extremists. mainstream republicans came back and attacked joe biden. >> right. what we are seeing in essence -- as a historian i have to say, what i thought of in the court particularly in the course of seeing the presidents speech and seeing some other pushing back, in a more aggressive way on the part of democrats, that has been true before, i thought back to the 18 50s, and the reason i did is because the

northerners, kind of like the democrats, were for a long time assuming responsibility for following the rules, behaving with civility. they were the people who always behaved well. and senators, the ones who broke the rules and brought, violence would happen in the new 1850s is some northerners began to push back. not on violence, but they were much more assertive and they stood up to threats. and what i saw in response to some of -- on the part of the left, some of this pushing back, what is these same tenure and tone that i saw when i looked at people writing to their members of congress in the 1850s. and that, was essentially in a word, finally. finally people are pushing back on the left. or in the north. that is interesting to me. and that is not normalizing violence, and it is not celebrating violence or even encouraging it, which one might say pardons on the other side

is doing, but it is pushing back in a way that in many ways people on the left at the top have not ben. it has been, like the white house tweets. it has been getting response. >> in, fact it was part of biden's speech that did not sit well with me. but there was never a reason for political violence. the world is actually filled with reasons for political violence, many of which have obtained independence in companies which were not democracies, and things like that. lots of examples of it in history and today. as john points out. lots of examples of it in america, from the 1850s through to the 1960s. it is not entirely true that violence on the other side should not be met with strong resistance on one side. but how do you stop this from devolving into literally pitched battle between people with their political views? >> well, i think you have to defend democracy. especially if democracy is in peril, as it is now.

to be silent in the face of these threats is in some ways to be complicit. so we have to kind of make our way through this. and let's be clear, political violence has been a part of this country since before this country. i can draw straight line from the paxton boys to the proud boys. right? the cousteau grandma of 1763 and what the proud boys are doing. or we can talk about the period right after cooper's union speech with lincoln. and of course the south doesn't agree with the claims. then, boom what we have? we have this -- between 1865 in 1877. 2000 black folks are ling lynched. the period between 1855 and -- when wilmington two. there is always been this specter of political violence, with this idea of america as a white nation is threatened. when this idea that some people who feel a sense of grievance, as well as a sense of possession, that sense is threatened. there is always been this idea

about it. so the response must, be i, think aggressive defense. we have. to that is all we can do, to stand by silently is to be complicit or in some way let them do what they are currently doing. >> i definitely do not disagree with you. but i wonder what their looks like when what donald trump does, and his close allies of, who is as egregious as it is. i want to just play -- i don't tend to like to do this and my viewers differently do not like when i do this, but it is important to understand, sometimes, what trump is actually saying. and get your evaluation on the other side of it. professor. >> joe biden came to philadelphia, pennsylvania, to give the most vicious, hateful in divisive speech over delivered well in the american president. vilifying 75 million citizens, plus another probably 75 to 150.

if we want to be accurate about it. as threats to democracy, and his enemies of the state. you are all enemies of the state. he is an enemy of the state. >> professor freeman, let me start with. you there's a lot in there. we have three, sentences and we call it a vicious and hateful speech. vilifying the people who voted for him. plus another 75 to 150 million, if we want to be accurate. do not know where he got that figure from. biden is calling you all enemies of the state, he is an enemy of the state. there is a lot of language in there that is used a lot of countries that are not democracies, to rile people up. to elevate violence. >> right. and i think the important thing to see here is that if you feel, and i just mention this, and use the word that you feel entitled to, power justifying having power, if you truly

field entitled to, it an undemocratic way, then you are going to see democracy as you're on me. democracy is going to take power away from, you and then you become -- yet the person defending democracy, the person saying violence to not be a normalized part of our political process. if it is an energy to an undemocratic states, for somebody who says that violence is bad is being divisive, that in a sense is the most divisive thing you could say. >> i am going to ask you to hold until after the break, i want to -- bill for a second. joe and freeman and -- he was celebrating his birthday. have a cupcake during the commercial break. we have jobs numbers, by the, way for. august of the game in stronger than a half back of a tumultuous month on the stock market. it ukraine's nuclear plant is once again lost power. susan say they fear nuclear disaster.

the latest on that after this plus, millions of adults are returning to the office. the only downside is that we are still in a pandemic, with thousands of people heading back to work in person. good on the other covid surge be on the horizon? doctor dan baker of lenox hospital joins me in the studio. this is velshi on msnbc. is velshi on msnbc. you've put your dreams on hold. remember this? but i spoke to our advisor, and our vanguard investments are on track. “we got this, babe.” so go do what you love. thanks for being our superhero. only at vanguard, you're more than just an investor—you're an owner. giving you flexibility to follow your dreams. that's the value of ownership.

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and historian professor at yale university and eddie cobb junior, chair of the african american studies about chris princeton university animosities contrary to celebrate his birthday today. you have a cupcake on your lap there. [laughs] eddie, i want to get your comments like i did from dwight about the stuff that donald trump is saying. it sounds like a ratcheting up of rhetoric, even by donald trump standards. everybody sort of getting red of -- running for president. >> absolutely.

as i watch the, footage i shudder actually. because what is happening is that there are folks who are using the democratic process, and liberal means for illiberal and undemocratic ends. it is the danger of those who committed to democracy, that we want to allow in some ways those to take advantage. our fellow is to take advantage of the freedoms of democracy affords. what happens when you use those freedoms to actually undermine the very foundation of democracy itself? well that point we have to make a decision. how do we defend the republic? and in this instance, it seems to me very clear. when he says later on in that speech that the country belongs to you, not to them, he is saying to you and me and others that we are just simply visitors to this place. we need to shut up and be grateful. at this country must be a country like at was in the 1950s, look it wasn't the 1840s, or something like that. we have to aggressively defend

democracy, while we are defending the principle. if not, we are going to allow these folks to run us over and throws back into the dark ages. in our fused to go back to the dark ages. >> the good, news professor freeman, is that if anybody refuses to go back to the dark ages he doesn't actually have. to because political violence is not the thing that we are left with in the united states. we actually have another entirely viable option, and we saw that in kansas the other day with a referendum. we are possibly going to see it play out in november. we are seeing massively higher voter registration numbers, particularly among women. we have an answer that does not have to be political violence, at this, point in our history. >> absolutely. free and fair elections and accountability on the part of people who give power, a part of the effort of democracy. you are right. we have that in front of us as a huge part of the process that we can use to defend democracy.

but i think it is important to push back against democracy. if you are saying the, united states the republic, the democratic republic, belongs to us and not to, you by definition that is not democracy. democracy is competition and contest for public opinion. and public about. that is what is at its heart. if you are saying there cannot be any competition, there cannot be any contest, there cannot be any -- you yourself and your supporters are entitled to power that can't be question. that is not democracy. >> i think you both for your insights this, morning what a pleasure. celebrating, with you, abby. dry and freeman is a professor at -- university.

doctor adi is a professor at princeton, and again this is birthday. as millions begin to trickle back into their offices today, it is easy to forget that we are still in a pandemic. but we are. doctor dan baker standing by to join me after the break to talk about how we all stay safe. we all stay safe [coughing] ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on by... ♪ if you've been playing down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day,... ♪ ...it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. ♪...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ no once-daily copd medicine... has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain,

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time in covid restrictions and regulations continue to relax across the country. and millions more americans are about to begin returning to the office after labor day. some for the first time in more than two. harris joining me now in, studio doctor daniel, baker the executive director of lenox ill hospital in new york city. also the assistant professor of emergency medicine at hostile university. dr. baker and his team even on the front lines of the fight against covid-19 since the very beginning. thank you for being here, sir. >> of course. thank you for having me. >> the cdc says 84,000 cases a day. i don't even know they will know that anymore. nobody now gets tested anywhere other than our house. >> yeah. that is going to be something that we are going to continue to see throughout the pandemic and possibly increasing ways. people are testing at home and on the street. we are not getting a reliable amount of the pure information of how many people actually have covid. >> we do get reliable information of the number of people who die with covid. 500 a day. sounds like a lot to me. do we know that they die of covid? >> great question. some are going to die of covid

and some are going to die with covid but each tributed to having the disease, that is a bit hard to tease out. that 500 a day is still doing much better in terms of the total number of cases and individuals are dying from covid. much higher in the first wave, and continuing to go down. that is a good thing to see. >> we've seen on those examples that we saw here and a half or two years ago with hospital emergency rooms filling up with people, who are dying on ventilators that are not available. it is a different -- much more endemic. >> absolutely. great point. that is exactly where the vaccine has taken us. and why we were so excited for the vaccine. the number one goal of the vaccine in many ways to can is to limit death and hospitalization. many will say i didn't, no i didn't even have symptoms. i had a minor cold. and that is easily recover. bill we also had a medication that would help with him or slightly moderate to severe symptoms. but we are really trying to avoid people in the hospital, and most importantly, people die. >> you got a hospital very, early as we should have as a doctor.

-- omicron when he got his vaccine. he was on tv. for the rest of us who were not eligible when it first came, out we are pressing refresh refresh refresh to get a vaccine appointments, i do not know anybody who is talking about getting these new boosters, now. why is that a problem? >> that is a great. points and that is what we are trying to go -- this is very helpful from that perspective where we are getting people getting boosters. you the most about four months after the last shot. whether it was your second one or your third one. and that would really help us as people come back to the office, people come back to school after the raid the cases. we need to ainge creates the dog about. it >> corruptly arise, there are a couple of reasons we are going to see a. rise the normal one is the season. one it is, colder it's gonna get colder, we're in close spaces together. combined with the fact that this may be, this labor day may be the time that millions of americans and more than two years are leaving their homes and going back to work, at least a few days a week. >> i am sure it is very exciting for many people.

i am sure there are some anxieties associated with that as well. there is comfort realty in working at home and having this endemic out there. but there are a lot of things that we can do to keep each other safe. we want ventilation in our work. you can certainly wear a mask. and most importantly, when you are feeling ill, test and stay home. this is an opportunity, again, for people to go back to the workplace. see what that is. like grow comfortable. we may see more cases. >> how does this play out for you? we have various iterations of vaccines and boosters. this does not seem to be urgent to people. masks are coming off, widely, requirements for them, a vaccine requirements. you don't have to show them when you go places anymore. we seem to be deciding as a society that this is slightly in our past. is that correct? is that the way to think about it? >> i don't know if it is the correct way to think about it. but i think it is the way that we are looking at it. society is hopefully get to something along this line. and we are going to get there.

we need to be cognizant of those that are older, they're immunosuppressed, that our family members are around some this is not so much looking at us but looking at others that we are interacting with. the vaccine people movie thinking that the last time i got covid i don't need. it but you to think what when you are going to be at the holidays and celebrations at the end of the, year they're going to be who are sick these celebrations. that is who we should be protecting. >> there is one thing to think about. now people are saying there is a flu every year, i don't take precautions against that. but the other thing, is everybody knows when you have the flu. you are symptomatic when you are symptoms. the difference is that most people do not know they have got covid when they first have, it and they are contagious. >> that is a hard piece. and that has always been a hard piece of the pandemic. we saw what was just this incredible dichotomy of individuals who are in the hospital, life support and others who are walking around saying i feel fine i had no idea that i had. it but they got tested because somebody else then you had it. and that makes it difficult.

i still think there is a huge proportion of individuals who do have symptoms. but minimal, mild or more moderate. and that is why you need to be tested. there are lots of tested, home there is government supported the testing. so there are always for us to be sure they are not spreading. >> thank you ring, here really pressure the conversation. >> my pleasure. >> doctor dan berger is the deputy professor of lennox hill -- coming up, next nuclear power on the frontline of the war has lost remaining, power lines. states are running right to ukraine for an update after this. later in the show, and never before seen conversation with the author of the handmaid's tale, margaret atwood. her book and my conversation with her could not be more timely given the war on bodily autonomy. you are watching velshi. tching velshi. ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> tech: my customer enjoys time with her family. so when her windshield got a crack... she scheduled with safelite in just a few clicks. we came to her house... ...replaced the windshield... and installed new wipers.

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line heightening fears of a possible meltdown. the plant, europe's largest, it sees brush and sources early on in the conflict. now it was at the front lines of the wars, and only one of its six practice remain in operation. officials from the un's nuclear watchdog push for russia to allow a group of independent expects clears to inspect damage in the. plants those officials reached the point on thursday after both russian and ukrainian officials confirmed that the plant had been hit by shelling. in a general statement released yesterday, the director general said, i remain gravely concerned about the situation of these operation nuclear power plant. this hasn't changed. but the continued presence of the iaea will be of paramount importance and helping to stabilize the situation. jake raisman is following all the developed on the russian ukraine front. he joins us now from the town of zaporizhzhia. jay, not only the workers of the problem have to worry about shelling, but they actually have to avoid a nuclear meltdown. how is it going here? >> yeah, ali.

a lot of people in the region talk about you've surmised here. first of, all that main power line was damaged by shelling, it is no longer functional. the alternative power line is a lower voltage power line, and this being used to draw power from the grid, to help cool down the core of the reactors, as well as a nuclear waste. so it is vital. and then of course to power homes and businesses across ukraine. look, if that reserved power line goes, they will have to rely on diesel run generators. and so they have got to continue to be filled with fuel. so that is a very big concern here. only one of the six massive reactors in the plants are currently operational. and they are being run by ukrainian scientist employees, under the watch of russian guards who have taken control of the plants, as you talk about. there are six independent investigators still inside at this point. four of those are expected to leave sometime early this week.

two will remain indefinitely. both ukraine and russia have agreed to allow those two observers tuesday and kind of moderate what goes on. and watch the risk level that continues as the shelling continues. to really intensify in the row that area. but we also know that a report from the investigators and the initial assessment should come out sometime next week, which could provide more detail about what is going on inside that plant. and what the biggest concerns are. as you mentioned off the top. we already know that they have seen significant structural damage there. it is popped by shell strikes and other things that are there. so that is something they are also working very closely on. just a difficult situation. not only there in the planet, but again for all of those outside who are trying to go on. nothing is normal. >> jay, thanks for your. point please stay safe. jay gray for us there in

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have been added to the economy. the unemployment rate crept up two tenths of a, point 2.7%, which was in fact protected by experts. friday's job report was welcome news after a very rough month for the stock market. we are bracing for an even rockier months ahead. because september is historically the worst year for stocks overtime. not to mention there are millions more jobs that need to be filled, and the cost of goods is still quite high because of inflation. joining me now to dig into the good the bad in the ugly of this economic news. investigators other-in-chief caleb silver. good morning, caleb. start us off with the good news. >> you said. it the labor market continues to be strong, ally, despite worries about a recession. despite worries when economic slowdown. we have added 5.8 million jobs this year, the average of something like 420,000 jobs a month. that is extremely strong. many of the workforce have fully recovered, all the jobs lost during the pandemic. when we just get 260,000 jobs in all. that is very. good labor force participation

rates. we're gonna see only working adults in the workforce are working. it is up to 62.4% as of last month. that is the highest we have seen all year. this was a lot of people going back to work. as you, know ali, we've seen some wage increases. not. huge but about 5.2 5.3% this year. which is going up every month as companies try to retain workers, and wage growth is very good. >> that is the good, what is the bad, then. there is still a lot of job openings have not been filled. >> you said. it according to the -- report there been 11.4 million job openings out there. that is two jobs for every available worker. you know small businesses, especially in the short hospitality, have a hard time filling those positions. a lot of job openings out there. and the weight, gains although they have been, good have not been able to keep up with inflation. for your day at 8.5% is been a big factor. and especially with lower income workers. inflation, sticky high. federal reserve, as we, know

has been raising interest rates. and will continue to do so until interest rates and inflation comes down to about 2%. that is its target rate, and we are a long way from, that. ali >> you've given me a bit, i'm good about it. bat there are whole bushel of ugly right now. >> unfortunately there. is and that is what you get on the other side of this recovery. so inflation is still a sticky high. we have those higher rates, higher interest rates, which are going to impact our borrowing costs. that will slow down the economy, and the concern is that the fed does not want to put the economy into a deep breeze. they want to create a so-called soft landing with the fed themselves saying that there is going to be painful for some families, especially lower income families. higher interest rates amid inflation a very tough for low-income families. because it is, rent it is electricity, and it is who that is really costing the most right now. so that is lower income folks. we have 8.5 million people behind on 3.5 million. at risk of action. you hate to see that right now. especially as iran keeps rising. in the stock market. i would have americans are

invested possibly in 401k's or directly. that is down 17%. september is one of the worst months of the, year you are absolutely lately. right it is especially bad for the midterm election year. so the stock market is off to a very bad spot, start, nine months of the year, it matches the year so far, ali. >> you and i have work together for a long. time we see what happens when there is. inflation if i can raise interest rates to fight it, and it does slow down the economy. it does, work. ultimately you can raise interest rates enough to slow them down. what is that point at which there is a danger of a recession? >> the danger is that they raise interest rates so much that borrowing costs are too steep for folks. you are seeing that destruction in the housing, market housing, sales housing building permits. mortgage rate finances, all have fallen precipitously. car sales. to if you raise interest rates too much too fast, you can put the economy into a deep breeze and into a recession. it could take months, if not years, to kind of. that that is the risk. >> good to see, you my. frantic you're joining us this morning. caleb silver is the editor and chief of invest okita. major bipartisan before the

biden administration, that you may never have heard of. the chips and science is significantly will tell you why. stay with us. with us 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. the last 2 years have been hard on 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

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faction signed into law a major bipartisan bill dubbed the ships and science act. it aims to boost u.s. competitiveness with china when it came to producing semiconductors. the hope is that american companies will regain ground as a leading global manufacturer

of microchips. it's a good bet. semiconductors are literally in everything. cars, laptops, smartphones, refrigerators, medical equipment. this fresh funding will help bring manufacturing back to the united states, lower costs and crucially prevent further supply chain disruptions. yesterday, i spoke with just the right person to tackle this topic. u.s. trade representative ambassador -- she's a principal trade advisor negotiator and spokesperson on u.s. trade policy. here is our conversation. >> the chips act. this is one of those things that flew under the radar because so much was going on in politics and it was a bipartisan bill. it was an important bill. what does that actually do? most americans don't think of ships but our costs are going up because of them. our costs of used car, new cars have gone up because of them. what will this bill due to the reasons why semiconductors are more expensive right now than they would've been two years

ago? >> your so right, ali. chips are in everything. chips are in critical technology that power the world that we live in today. president biden has been clear in his vision that we are going to grow the american economy from the bottom up in the middle out. and that requires substantial investments in america, in america's workers, in our producers in our industries. so the chips and signs act, which as you noted, pass on a bipartisan basis. it's a critical investment in a critical industry. we've seen that major producers have already announced significant investments that they are making intel, mike ron. it's not just limited to this industry. just in the last week, we've also seen first solar producer -- a great american manufacturer announcing significantly investments also and it's all part of president biden's vision for investing in america, americans. that includes what we've done

the chips and science act, in the bipartisan infrastructure law and also in the inflation reduction act. >> is there a direct line between this bill and lowering costs of things that we buy that have chips in them? is that not really the way to think about that? is that two immediate line to draw -- >> i think that's a helpful way to look at it. if you track our experienced through this pandemic and then also more recently through russia's invasion of ukraine. we see that supply chains around the world for production are vulnerable. we see that in a really specific way for semiconductors. which is impacted people's ability to buy cars. refrigerators, phones. they impact our high-end consumption in our regular and consumption. i think that it is helpful to look at something like a ships and science act as a dressing not just the resilience for our

supply chains and production but also accessibility of for all of us. >> i've been a business reporter for a long time. 20 years ago hooting ago, if someone said semiconductors, the answer was taiwan. we get a lot of them from taiwan. it is a major manufacturer of semiconductors. and now we got a bit of a situation where our relationship with taiwan is being tested because china keep sort of flying planes and putting boats in the taiwanese territory. and there looks like there is tension heating up on that side of the world. how does any of that affect this discussion? >> let me just focus on the fact that taiwan has been a very important and strong trading partner of the united states for a long time. taiwan is in among the top ten of our trading partners by volume. this is a vibrant trade relationship that we have. at ustr, we've just announced

recently that -- the initiation of negotiations under a u.s. time on 21st century trade initiative to deepen and expand our relationship. this is a part of a broader biden administration trade agenda to promote common goals with respect to resilience sustainability and the creation of an inclusive prosperity with all of our partners and allies. this is also the reason that commerce dignitary gina raimondo and i will be hosting the trade ministers from 13 different indo-pacific countries in los angeles later this week. to kick off our work in the indo-pacific economic framework. >> my thanks to u.s. trade representative katherine tai. we got much more ahead on velshi. the perilous path ahead for america democracy from big lies to the message that donald trump is sending about political violence.

remember my eerily prescient conversation with the handmaid's tale author margaret atwood. there is more where that came from. another hour of velshi begins right now. good morning, it's saturday, some of the third. happy labor day weekend to you all. i'm ali velshi coming to you live from nbc news world headquarters in new york. we've got a lot to get to this morning. the democratic congressman roger -- he's a member of the house intelligence committee. i've got a lot of questions for him. as new details start to emerge about the classified documents that the fbi seized from donald trump's florida golf club. plus president biden laid out in clear and alarming terms the threat to our democracy posed by the so-called maga republicans who worship at the altar of an insurrectionist ex president who pedals lies and encourages political violence. for whom was the presidents message? it is truth telling him getting out the vote enough to turn

things around? jelani cobb, and michael beschloss a slice the status of the battle -- two months away from the critical midterm elections. later in the show, a very special edition of the velshi banned book club featuring the one and only margaret atwood. we begin this hour with a sometimes controversial presidential power. the power of the pardon. u.s. constitution bestows a handful of races the american president. one of which is the quote power to grant reprieve and pardons for offenses against the united states, and quote. which seem callous presidents over the centuries you see this -- authority for good. often giving mercy to those who are wrongfully committed or convicted or in more modern times, those who were simply railroaded by the criminal justice system. but like almost all legal and constitutional norms in this country, this one has been complicated in the era of donald trump. let's be clear, donald trump did not issue a lot of pardons. in fact, he issued fewer than most other