a lot of close elections. it's difficult it's, a divided country, there's a lot of divided races so, we'll be looking out for that. i have to say, just a little advice for everyone. think about minding your own business. if you're thinking about challenging someone's voter status, watch them go to the ballot box, manual business. thank you very much. that is all in on this thursday night. alex wagner tonight starts right. good evening alex. questions. you're not that cleveren that cute. >> that doesn't mean that chaos won'tan ensue. >> i hope not. >> mary beth bail is the city

clerk in wisconsin. she spent the last 15 years running elections. here she is holding a mock election in 2011. she is trying to figure out how much extra time voters need to cast ballots under the state's iner you voter id law. >> i'm madison city clerk. and today we're having a mock election invi the city county building to time various scenarios with voter id and figure out how to do the best practices for 2012 before we actually have an election. >> she said she chose to do this work because she wanted to combat voting inequities in madison. she encourages every new wisconsin election clerk that comes to herwi for training to similarly find their why. quote, they have to focus on why they're doing this work. what it comes down to is making votingak accessible to those eligible to vote. that's why we keep showing up daye after day. her why is more important now than ever. in 2020, mary beth contemplated

not showing up. she almost quit. that's because after election day 2020, mary beth started to get death threats, they included online discussions contemplating which weapons to use against her. at one point she says people spoke about lynching her. she received so many threats that year she began worrying about the safety of her election staff andhe her family. she screened visitors at the office andr she kept the blind closed at home. but ultimately, she decided to stay on the job for another five years. so mary beth will be on the job this election day. across thisct country, staying the job has not been easy for a lot of people. in new mexico, people who claim to be voter fraud investigators have inundated election officials with an assortment of unusual requests like asking for images of all 130,000 ballots cast in 2020 and digital records on where those votes were cast. in nevada, republican activists

accuse the registrar to count fake votes and required her to be locked up. after threats against her and family, she resigned in june and she's not alone. top election officials in 10 of the 17 counties in nevada resigned, many after facing harassment and threats. we seen a similar exodus in pennsylvania, south carolina, r and texas and 30% of election officials left office since 2020. 30%. major news this summer when three-county elections officials inty texas resigned in august leaving the county with no election staff two months before election day. one of those officials resigned after being stalked repeatedly and receiving death threats related to the 2020 election. and that is what happened in a county thatap trump won by 59 points in 2020. the job of administering an election in any county in america right now is exhausting and it is scary. so much so that the workers who

are the backbone of our election infrastructure are on their way out the frdoor. and that's intentional. trump allies targeted the officials to force them out of their orjobs. it's working. the center says that one in three election officials know someone who has left because of safety concerns. clearly, what we're asking of thesewe officials is a lot. more than it ever has been. back in wisconsin, the dane county election clerksc is a ma named scott mconald. both counties are democrat in a deeply purple state. i traveled to wisconsin to talk to scotto mcdonald to find out why exactlycd he is so worried. when did you start doing this job? >> ten years ago. >> and like what was it like ten years ago this job? >> it was great. we had had the first same sex marriage license done here. we do marriages out on the front of the steps and it was fun.

but it's become sort of a darker version of that now. i'm worried about my staff and the staff across the hall, the city h clerk's office. there is inadequate security in this building. this building was not set up to be secure. it is set up to be open. the staff could walk right in. i said that is the problem. they didn't have to go through weapons screening. and that's a good thing. that's an open government. but for us, you know, you can't just be able to walk in off the street and come back to my office like you used to be able to do. and we have stop the steal rally a block away. hard to point that down here at our office. >> have you received death threats? >> i've gotten some vague ones. >> what are vague death threats? >> like you should -- you committed sedition. there is a lot of that. but they're just vague enough e that, you know, when you talk to the police they're like it almost feels like a game of clue. they have to have an iron pipe and billiards around and tell

you the time they're going to attack you for them to lus ento it. but that's been a problem for clerks around the country. but they're just vague enough that nothing happens with them. >> do you worry about your safety? do you worry about the safety of your colleagues? >> it's more like russian roulette. it seems like something has to happen that ties to this place. because i remember one time the president tweeted about my office. didn't say anything negative. it felt like a click in the chamber. he just c i missed. nothing happened. but then in another county or another place in the state it will all focus in on that person. there will be some accusation of fraud that was an innocent mistake or doesn't understand how it works. it just seems like it will congregate in a location. you don't know when or where it's going to be. you do know it's going to be in a swing state. and it's going to be probably in abe democratic areas of those swing states. it's been kind of quiet. it's like a quiet before a storm is how it is right now.

because we don't know what is going to happen. typically, if theype win, the os in the election win, then it's fine. >> right. >> that's howwi it works. and then if it's a close election, then suddenly they'll find problems with it and try to dispute it. that's -- that seems to be the pattern now. >> this period we're now in is what scott mcdonald calls the quiet before the storm. over the last several months, he andse other county clerks and election officials have gone through specialized training courses for the first time ever. so they know what to do if someone wants to carry out on their threats.th they've learned some skills that will hopefully help them dekaes late any situation that becomes dangerous. and they have learnedha how to that in person. people are so incensed that they -- these clerks are worried that firearms are going to come to the equation. >> yeah, wisconsin, a lot of states in the west are heavily armed. >> wow. reasoning with an enraged person is not possible. okay, so what does that mean?

>> you try to repeat back what they're upset about and work with them on, you know, work with them on possible solutions that is not telling them that they're wrong. >> that's difficult, right? the essence ofdi this is that ty are wrong about what they think. >> right. but what is frustrating to me and a lot of clerks is that these citizens, they genuinely believe what they're saying. >> right. >> they've been misled and they're upset. they think something is happening to their country. and so there is some sympathy for that. you know, all of us are -- want to make sure the election is fair and free. we agree with their base concern. it's justit that they've been ld to by drifters. >> so this is escort them into an area where you're t not in a group situation. >> yeah. >> communicate the process. never attempt to deescalate a potentially violent situation without calling for backup. it says know how to signal for help without escalating the crisis. do you have a secret signal?

>> well, part of it now is having that plexiglas so they can't just waltz in lahere. so peopleca for people to come and jump a counter before. number one, now we have a barrier. but we do have panic buttons all over now. that's ans new feature. >> you have panic buttons? >> oh, yeah. >> i mean, i just have to stop and note this is the county clerk's office. and you have plexiglas and panic buttons.ic like what has happened to american democracy? >> yeah. it's not a good sign. >> there are people -- these arl people who are involved in the running of government and elections. like, this requires a totally different set of skills to manage, a, incredibly stressful situation and, also, resolve it. >> right. >> that's a lot to ask of a clerk. what is the generalf emotional like, tenor of people who come here and are really angry? i assume they're all kind of, like -- >> to this office. we didn't get -- we haven't gotten much of that. the recount was really on full

display. they were closed arms, red faced, yelling, not listening. and honestly, what helped us was that trump lawyers just wanted to get out of there and go to the court. so they were helpful in deescalation because they were trying to invalidate thousands ofte ballots and get to the supreme court. so the yelling wasn't in their interest. >> escalating behavior, change in voice, heavy breathing, sneering or use of abusive language, glaring or avoiding eye contact. i mean, this is all -- this sounds alterrifying. i have to say. like i'm listening to this. i'm reading this thinking like, that -- ire would just want to extricate myself from that situation. do clerks say, wait a second, i'm not going to deal with this? if they're still working, are there any that are like, yeah, no, thank you. i'mno handing this off to someo else? i can imagine just wanting to tap out. >> there are two things. this doesn'two happen very ofte >> yeah. >> for. most clerks, they're

worried about it but they haven't had something too terrible. maybe someone a little angry or, you know, they get them when they have to pay taxes or -- they get thisax in other areas. but the other thing is they are soin dedicated to their job and they love their job. they take it seriously. and they know it's important. >> how responsive has law enforcement been to your concerns about threats that you may be facing? >> well, they have been helpful. i think part of the problem though is that they deal with people getting threatened all day long. soda when they hear, you know, got a threat on e-mail from a proton e-mail you can't trace, it's hard e to do a lot about i. for them, its common. but, you know what? i try to explain to them, but it's meant to destabilize our democracy. if people leave who know what they're doing, who are they replace bid?re then they make mistakes and it

just continues to fuel the cycle of we have a scandal. see, it's all messed up or it's fraud. and that serves, again, the interests of raising money online on intimidating election officials. >> it is meant to destabilize our democracy. it's meant to fuel a cycle, scare the people who run the elections, force outhe the seasoned professionals, force changes to voting rules, make it harder to hold fair elections. to try and solve a part of this problem, some counties are increasing security forti these officials tour guard against threats. states across the country have been tapping into federal and state funds to protect election workers with physicalct safety measures caahead of election da. wisconsin is no exception. dane county budgeted $95,000 to have a more secure center. this is whator that looks like. >> you can basically walk in

here. >> w beforehand, you could walk into my office, no problem. because we would have 3,000 couples coming in here -- >>co right, getting married. >> they would sit back here. >> and anybody can open this door. >> now they can. >> you open the door and -- >> now at least there is a block. so before you could just walk. so this was open before? >> yes. just a counter. and a we had that little screen door toli keep kids from runnin all the way to the back. people would have their little kidsle in here. so when did you unstall this? >> less than a year ago. >> and then you have cameras in here now. >> that just happened. they just gotha wired yesterday. i don't think these are on yet because they're -- they have to do something in the closet.om >> and then panic buttons throughout. >> yes. >> and can you lock the door remotely? >> no. althougho. does it lock at 4:00.

but, no. we do have the ability to just lock it light old school. >> but you physically have to d that? >> yeah. >> and so what, you know, what we do is just exit that way. >> there is another exit? >> yeah. >> and have you done drills? >> oh, yeah. and then we're doing one when we -- we're doing one in another week before we evacuate this place on election night. so how do we keep it going on election night? that will be an obvious thing to do. and, you know -- >> how do you keep the vote going. >> we can do it. we can keep it going. we can bug out of here. >> but were you exercising, like, precautions and, like, drills prior to 2020? >> we had plans and we talked about it and we had it set up. but now we reenact it. there is definitely a higher

level of wanting to make sure we know exactly how to do it and not just thinking about it. that is one of the things in the slide. yourin body can't do what your mind hasn't thought. >> so h they're getting trainedn de-escalation and staging preelection night drills, they installedt panic buttons in thr offices. they're doing everything they can to try to protect their colleagues and make sure they can stillea do the job. but still, election workers across e the country have left theirav positions. and those who remain are facing this frightening game of russian roulette ase they try to presee the corner stone of america's democracy. november 8th is election day. iy

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here are a few of the things that republicans have promised to do if they retake control of congress in the midterm elections. they promised they will cut medicare and social security. they unveiled a bill that would increase prescription drug prices for seniors. they say they'll cancel popular infrastructure spending that got bipartisan approval in congress. they say they will cut taxes, make the deeply unpopular trump tax cuts permanent. and they are intending to get all of that by issuing threats to shut down the government and crash the world economy. fortunately we don't have to imagine what it would be like if republicans get their way. the economic vision is lab tested over the last few weeks in a place calle the united

kingdom. the country's in you had conservative prime minister liz truss implemented a plan of tax cuts and deregulation that was cheered on this side of the atlantic by republicans and pundits across fox news. so how did it go? >> it has been a night of astonishing scenes in westminster with shouting outside the parliamentary lobbies in a supposed vote of confidence in the government. the deputy chief whip was reported to have left the scene saying i'm absolutely f'ing furious. i just don't f'ing care anymore before he we signed along with the chief whip. but who had just been told they have now officially unresigned. the secretary has, however, definitely gone. in short, it is total, absolute abject chaos.

>> that well? in just 44 days, truss managed to crater the economy, throw the entire government into chaos and earn the party the worst approval ratings in history. but apparently that is the economic plan republicans would like to rollout here. if they manage to take over congress, americans do not have the option to kick them out after 44 days. we'll be stuck with them for years. so democrats want to make sure that doesn't happen. what should they be doing in these final weeks of the midterm election campaign? this week they're getting advice from a former democratic official. i got in trouble. when i was a podium or when i was in a crowd, there were times i would get, you know, sound hike i was given a bunch of

policy mumbling. that's not how people think about the issues. they think about them in terms of the life i'm leading day to day. how does politics even -- how is it even relevant to, you know, the things that i care most deeply b my family, my kids, you know, work that gives me satisfaction. you know, having fun. not being a buzz kill, right? and sometimes democrats are. right? and it's like -- sometimes people just want to not feel as if they are walking on eggshells. and they want to acknowledgement that life is messy and all of us that we can say things the wrong

way, make mistakes. and that attitude, i think, just being a little more rereal and little more be attentive goes a long way. this was a symptomatic -- the symptomatic propaganda i think is being pumped out by fox news and all the other outlets all the time. >> former president obama is about to get back out on the campaign trail for democratic candidates. first he sat down with that interview with my next guest. joining us now is john favro, former speechwriter for president obama. he is also co-host of the little known podcast pod save america which this week featured a guest barack obama. the president in that clip that we just played is sort of explaining why he thinks what the work democrats need to do.

but he is also kind of giving his thesis about why he thinks people support republicans. i wonder what you make of his words. do you think that the fundamental problem here is one of messaging and not of substance and that it's really just how democrats deliver the message? >> i think it's both. i think that, like, people -- the president is talking about is that the same thing i heard when i talk to focus groups or voters across the country. they don't think politics is speaking to their lives or anything is happening in government that is actually making their lives better. sometimes democrats try to argue voters out of their feelings. don't you understand that democracy is at stake.

i think what president obama is reminding us all is if people don't think that government is fighting for them, if they don't think that people they're electing are fighting like hell for them, then they're going to tune out and not going to vote or vote for the other party. >> i just wonder, i'm sure the biden white house is a gog that idea that nobody understand what's they've done on student debt and covid and climate. does none of that resonate when you talk to people? when you get the thoughts from president obama. does he think it's just been a failure of communication on some incredibly landmark legislation that passed to help people in their normal every day lives? >> well, like, let's take the inflation reduction act, for example. so fantastic piece of legislation. going to lower the cost of

prescription drugs. it's going to beef them up. make hk more affordable and fight climate change. most of the effects of that bill are not going to take effect for a couple of years. if the cost of the prescription drugs is the same and they're filling up gas tank and too much money, like all the messaging in the world is not going to fix the fact that they don't feel the effects of that legislation in their lives. what i did hear from some people is like i love the stimulus checks. but the stimulus checks were a year and a half ago. i'm still struggling to pay rent or to make my mortgage or pay my bills. i think the challenge is that people are still struggling with high costs.

if you put republicans in charge, they are going to crash the economy and unless they get cuts to social security or medicare. you have to draw the economic contrast and frame republicans as the party that is going to fight for the rich friends and democrats is the party that is going to keep fighting for working people. >> i think you have a great example in the uk, right? someone following through and executing on the same policy prescriptions and it's been an abject failure. the thing that separates us from the uk is the people in the uk, some leaders are admitting it is an abject failure which we would never get from our republican party. i wonder if you think there is any acknowledgement, even privately inside republican circles that maybe they're headed in the wrong direction given what played out in the uk? i think back to brexit and the way that was kind of the canary in the coal mine for a lot of people that didn't think trump could win. look at what is happening across the pond. it is an indicator of what is

coming over here. do you think we learned our lesson in terms of looking at the global petri dish as a lab for different political ideas? >> i don't think republicans learned their lesson at all. while they know that when they're campaigning they should, like, gin up culture war issues to divide people. every time they take power, every time whether it's congress or the presidency, what do they do? they try to cut taxes for the rich and they try to gut social security and medicare, health care programs. right? that is what they always do. and, you know, you saw this play out over the last couple weeks. you mentioned earlier, they've already said, well, joe biden is the president if we take congress. we're not going to be get any legislation passed. but we're going to use the dead ceiling and hold the global economy hostage so we get another huge tax break for the rich, extend the trump tax cuts and do all this stuff that is really unpopular with voters but they cannot help themselves

because this is like their core economic philosophy. they're going to make inflation worse by giving a bunch of tax cuts out to people that are going to spend more money. >> i wonder whether democrats have not made enough hay about that. given the comments, you know, kevin mccarthy. >> no. we haven't. >> we're going to hold the global economy hostage to give the wealthy more money. bernie sanders is really vocal. he is doing his own stump campaign. he is saying, look, we cannot just focus on reproductive choice as the issue for the mid terms. we've got to be stronger on an economic message. i sense that you would agree with sanders on that. look, i don't think it's an either/or. campaigns, they run plenty of ads. there is a stump speech. talk about both. you have to talk about reproductive rights both for the moral reasons but also because it's also politically popular to protect abortion access in america. but the closing argument also

has to include this economic case. it has to include the fact that republicans if they get power are going to trash the global economy so they can help the rich and screw over working people like they've done before. it is the best contrast democrats have. it happens to be the truth. i think the democratic candidates need to hammer that home every single day between now and election day. >> do you that i is going to be obama's message? he is going on the trail, not as much as biden is going on the trail. what do you make of that? and also, was the podium really the problem in terms of obama sounding too purposeorial. >> yeah, it was the podium. no. >> i think that will be the core without knowing what the stump speech s but having talked to him in that interview, we asked him a question about donald trump. he said sometimes i think we get into like, you know, donald trump says something crazy and

we're all like oh, look how crazy that is and we think that will be enough for voters to vote for democrats or vote against republicans. in reality, you have to talk about the issues that people care about and matter in their lives. he said people vote for republicans because they're not a buzz kill. >> yeah. i mean, look. it was interesting hearing him say that. because i do think that, you know, he started that answer by saying like we have made all this progress especially in the last several years. whether it is the me too movement or black lives matter. and there is a lot of change going on in this country. i think the point he was trying to make is when people aren't there yet, when voters aren't there yet, you have to give them

space to come along. doesn't mean you have to sacrifice values or compromise principles. but you have to allow people space to grow and learn from their mistakes. or say something wrong once in a while. and then grow and learn from it. and i don't think democratic politicians necessarily do that. i think, you know, the larger discussion, the national debate can sometimes go to that place. i think for obama is trying to say is, you know, like he won the presidency twice by being open to trying to bring a lot of people along. >> sometimes people just want to not feel as if they're walking on eggshells. so focused former president obama. john, always great to see you. thank you for your time and wisdom this evening. >> you too, alex. thank you for having me. >> we have much more ahead this hour. this week there are been horrific reports on what people in this country had to endure because of the abortion bans in their own states.

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it seems like decades ago but 2015, trump was in the second year in office and the second year of robert mueller's investigation into the president and cam pawn dealings with russia. and the big question everyone had at the time is would trump sut for an interview with mueller? trump said multiple times he was looking forward to sitting down with mueller and love to do it as soon as possible. but we all know what actually happened. >> is it true you said an interview with the president is vital to our investigation? >> yes. >> and is it true that you also, quote, stated it is in the interest of the presidency and public for an interview to take place, close quote? >> yes. >> but the president still

refuses to sit for an interview by you or your team? >> no. >> after more than a year of trying, donald trump refused to sit down with the special council. and now amid the myriad investigations of the former president, we seem to have be having deja vu. while we wait for the economy to formally serve that committee, according to reports, donald trump has told allies he is absolutely willing to testify to the committee but only if that testimony is public. "politico" reports that he hired a separate law firm to specifically deal with the

subpoena. he thinks there are more records at his club, one that's trump refused to hand over. but if pass past is pro log, we understand what happens after the reports of trump unwilling to cooperate. we know how they they end. don't hold your breath. end. do don't hold your breath.

at 6:30 am on august 2nd, she experienced what doctors call a preterm premature rupture

of membranes. her water broke before labor. the doctors recommended terminating the pregnancy, but that wasn't an option, at least not in missouri. farmer was left to make a series of trips across three states and countless phone calls. in the end, farmer would risk her own life as she traveled to illinois for a life saving abortion. here is another story from the wall street journal out of tennessee. the patient was in her second trimester of pregnancy and her unborn baby was born with genetic abnormalities which meant the baby wasn't expected to survive. she thought the patient needed an abortion but tennessee has a total ban on the procedure. the doctor decided to send the woman to a six hour ambulance ride to end her pregnancy in north carolina where she arrived with signs of kidney failure and high blood pressure. she kept asking if she was going to die, the doctor said. i kept saying i'm trying. i'm trying. we're going to make it happen. we just need to get you to the right place where you can be

taken care of. thankfully she got to the right place. and she survived. and then there is amanda zurofski from texas that spoke to a news outlet. she was 18 weeks preg nonthe when doctors said a mistarnlg was inevitable. -- a miscarriage was inevitable. >> i couldn't make the decision for myself. we couldn't make the decision for our daughter, our doctors couldn't make the decision. i mean, they were just as furious as we were because their hands were to youed. -- tied. had they acted, they would have been charged with a felony. >> i was left wanting either to get so sick that my life is at risk or that my baby's heart stopped beating so that i could be over. >> three dawes later amanda was admitted to the hospital with a 102 degree fever. she was diagnosed with sepsis and almost ended her life but

was able to end the pregnancy is that allows the abortion to save the life of the mother. so much of the conversation heading into this election focused on what republicans will do or could do if they gain power. but right now we have real world examples of women whose lives are very much at risk from republican abortion bans. with the election less than three weeks away, how -- how does this horrifying new reality affect what happens in november? does it? joining us now is richard, former president of planned parenthood. thank you for joining me. >> good to see you. >> i wish we didn't have to talk about this which is a day, i think, a lot of us never thought -- i never thought it would come. yet the stories have come so quickly. do you think there is a broad enough awareness of the terror and the fear and the life

threatening situations that women across this country are being put in every day? >> there is no way there could be enough exposure to the stories. the woman you just profiled from texas, she and her husband have been so forthright. and she even herself said, you know, you're hearing my story. but i had good health care. i had supportive family. what terrifies me is the stories we're not hearing. it's like we know millions of people in this country do not have access to adequate health care. do not have situations where they can drive to another state. and, of course, i think the other thing that is so horrifying about my home state of texas is that a doctor couldn't even have helped her, you know, get out of state. that's how the situation, you know, she arrived in a situation where she almost died. that is horrific. >> and that the precursor to her

getting an abortion. it's like the state wants to make the situation so unbearable that that is the only recourse women have is to get an abortion. do you know what i mean? >> right. >> they have to get that sick. they have to have their lives in danger in order to get this procedure they should have been able to access days prior. >> and, of course, her story is like the stories i'm hearing around the country. they have tried 18 months with fertility treatments to get pregnant. this was a very much wanted pregnancy. but obviously it was complicated. and that's what i'm hearing from women across america. they're terrified of getting pregnant in states with abortion bans. i spoke to a woman in dallas the other day. she said her daughter is trying to get pregnant. she said i'm terrified about this. i'm terrified shez going to get -- there's going to be a complication. all i want is a healthy grandbaby. why is politics in the middle of my daughter's effort to have another child. >> it's the crap shoot that is pregnancy. some just go horribly awry and

the psychological emotional pain of that is something that is incalculable and then add on the necessary medical treatment and it's -- i mean unfathomable to go through that. i wonder, you know, you're a creature of politics. why is the polling tightening? why is the polling tightening? independent women in september, independent women favored democrats by 14 points. now independent women back republicans by 18 points. what do you think is happening there? >> well, i won't talk about that particular poll. i think it's an outlier. these races are tightening, that's for sure. actually, i -- what i think is interesting is we're actually bucking historical trends. there are so many races, frankly, that democrats are competitive in right now that i think if we look at what would happen in other years, we wouldn't be competitive. and i think it is because of the abortion issue. we have seen a surge in women registering to vote. of course, in a midterm election, it is all about who turns out. we see young people registering

to vote. we saw in kansas, of course, you know, unbelievable turnout. completely unexpected. one beat back the ballot initiative by 18 points in a state that is majority republican state. so i -- i actually feel like this isn't the only issue in the election, of course. but i do think it is a motivating issue for a lot the voters that are staying home. >> do you think that democrats need to fold abortion into the broader health concerns and health care concerns that americans have? just because 2018 was such a landmark election for democrats, right? and the message there was really focused. it was on health care. it was about republicans wanting to get rid of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the aca. the biden administration and democrats have done a lot to shore up coverage polls, to help people negotiate or to help the negotiation of prescription drug prices. there is a number of things in the health care sphere that they have made real progress on. and, yet, health care and abortion are often seen as two

separate conversations. or at least as we've seen it. >> right. in the political realm that may be. but not in people's lives. it is a health care issue. and that's why i think we're seeing, again, independence, republicans saying this is actually such a deeply personal issue, pregnancy. as you said, a lot of pregnancies are complicated. the last thing we need is government in our lives is why do you see the republicans not talking about this issue anywhere? this is the most unpopular thing they've ever done. i think it's going to impact this election, i think it's going to impact the presidential election this year. because these stories, the ones you just showed, they're not going away. >> right. >> it's going to get worse. people are going to be having their own experiences. and i think what i'm grateful is that people are willing to share just what it's like. because this is not right. this is not america. this is -- this is anti-freedom. and i feel like it is going to have a huge impact on this country. >> yeah. if there is a silver lining, women are finally talking about

their own personal traumas when it comes to pregnancy and reproduction. >> and men are as well. >> men are as well. it is shared trauma. it takes two to tango also. thank you, co-chair of american bridge, always good to see you on set. >> we have one more story to get to tonight. the latest from ron desantis' florida. race and agenda could now end your career. and agenda could n your career. there. you're jonathan, right? the 995 plan! yes, from colonial penn. your 995 plan fits my budget just right. excuse me? aren't you jonathan from tv, that 995 plan? yes, from colonial penn. i love your lifetime rate lock. that's what sold me. she thinks you're jonathan, with the 995 plan. -are you? -yes, from colonial penn. we were concerned we couldn't get coverage, but it was easy with the 995 plan. -thank you. -you're welcome.

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since he took office in 2019, ron desantis made it a priority to refashion the public school system according to right-wing conservative principles and right-wing nonsense talking points. you probably heard of his two signature bills on this front. so-called don't say gay bill which restricts teaching anything that could be deemed related to sexual or gender identity from kindergarten to third grade. and there is a so-called stop woke act which bans teaching of any lessons specifically about race and racism that makes any student feel discomfort. both laws are incredibly ambiguous. what counts as teaching something related to sexual or gender identity to just exist as an outdate teacher count? learning about the work of martin luther king act if a single child felt uncomfortable during that lesson. all of that is unclear from the start. as with the punishment what would be if violating the acts. yesterday, both of the laws got their teeth.

yesterday the desantis state board of education voted on a rule on the don't say gay bill and woke act punishable. it will subject the individual to suspension of the educator's certificate. without that certificate, can you not teach in schools in florida. so as of yesterday, anyone can file a complaint against any florida public schoolteacher for anything they deem as indoctrinating their children about race or gender and that complaint could ultimately cost that teacher not just their job but their ability to teach at public schools in the state of florida, period. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow. "way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >> the documents may be even more important than his live testimony. we do know that the former president has a voracity problem. we