here is just some of that leslie jordan original. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> baptized 13 times to make sure he would be there. well, you might be gone from this earth, but you are here in

our hearts leslie. thank you for the laughs and for the light, for the love, and your incredible warmth. you will truly be missed. and on that beautiful and very sad note, i wish you all the best. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thank you for staying up late with us. i will see you at the end of tomorrow. tomorrow so, here's how it worked in 2020. two years ago, almost exactly in october 2020, we reported here on this show on something that we first learned about from one of the great historic gigantic radio stations and the united states, that the michigan behemoth that is wwj

radio in detroit, michigan. wwj has been on the air for more than 100 years. they're just a huge deal in american broadcasting history. they are still on the air today. they are still a big deal today. and just about exactly two years ago, on october, 2020, we learned about a story that was broken by a reporter at wwj, named sandra mcneill. sandra mcneill had gotten a tip from a listener to wwj in detroit. the listener told her that they received a really, really sketchy robocall about the november 2020 presidential election. now, as we all know, basically every robocall is sketchy, right? i mean, robocalls, by definition, are shady and annoying, and almost always scammy, right?

everybody knows that. but this one, that is just detroit resident got before the 2020 election, this one was so bad it not only seemed worse than your typical robocall, it seemed so bad it kind of seemed like it might be a crime. and the -- spoiler alert for the end of the story, it turns out it was a crime. turns out the list or two wwj was right to sound the alarm about it, and reporter sandra mcneill, and wwj where right to go big with the story. so, i'm gonna play the sound of the robocall now, and i'm gonna tell you in advance that everything in this robocall is wrong. none of this is true. do not believe a second of it. but you should hear what it was, because this, literally, was a crime committed against the american people, specifically against black registered voters in the lead up to the 2020 election. >> hi, this is tameka taylor from project 15 99, the civil rights organization founded by jack burkman and jacob wohl. mail-in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you

vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warns, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt. the cdc is even pushing to use record for mail-in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. don't be funnest into giving your private information to the man. stay safe and beware of vote by mail. >> now, again, everything in that is wrong. none of that is true. voting by mail is fine. it does not expose you to the police tracking you down. it does not expose you to credit card companies getting you. it does not expose you, somebody giving you a vaccine you don't want, let alone the cdc doing that. voting by mail does none of those things. it is fine. everything in that rubble call was a lie. but in 2020, the lead up to the 2020 election, radio station

wwj in detroit reported that detroit residents are receiving that call, a lot of detroit residents were receiving that call. thousands of them were getting that call. now, detroit, of course, the democratic stronghold in the swing state of michigan. it is a city that is roughly 80% african american. and here's this call going out to thousands of registered voters, saying it's from a civil rights organization, which it was not. and telling people they need to be terrified to about. it is just disgusting. and it was more than just shady. voter intimidation is a crime. that robocall was a crime. and here on this show, almost exactly two years ago, after this was first exposed by the local press and detroit, we had here on the show, michigan attorney general, dana nessel, when she announced that state felony charges were being filed against the two men who initially denied that they put out that call, but then finally admitted that they had done it. the investigation into that robocall in 2020 ultimately turned up the fact that this

trash wasn't just targeted against black voters in detroit, michigan. it was also used against thousands of black registered voters and pennsylvania, in philadelphia, and pittsburgh, in illinois, and chicago, also in new york, also in ohio, tens of thousands of these calls were placed all too majority black, majority democratic voting areas. now, there were those felony cases, from any charges brought against the guys who brought that call. in michigan. first announced here on this show. also, a federal civil rights lawsuit, excuse me, a federal civil lawsuit was brought against those guys who placed those calls. that federal civil lawsuit is still not resolved, but the federal judge, hearing that civil case, actually ordered the guys who sent out that call that they needed to pay for a follow-up corrective call to all the people who got the initial call. the follow-up explaining that their previous call had contained false information,

and in fact, had been -- had been determined by a federal court to be an intimidation effort designed to interfere with the election. so, the federal judge in that case ordered those guys to place follow-up calls, disavowing everything that had happened in the first call. that federal civil case still pending. in addition to the criminal charges in michigan, and that federal civil case, and being ordered to send to follow up corrective call, the fcc took a look at this, as well. fcc regulates things like robocalls. the fcc made actually a very rare unanimous recommendation that the guys who sent that call should pay the largest fine ever levied against anyone for any robocall of any kind. the fcc unanimously recommended they should pay more than $5 million, as a fine for having sent those calls to black voters in advance of the 2020 election. in terms of where this stands now, the felony charges brought against those two guys in the

state of michigan, those will only charges are still pending. but state prosecutors also brought charges against these guys, find any charges against them in the great state of ohio. and today, almost two years to the day since we first reported on that fantastically racist voter intimidation campaign, today, those two conservative activists who sent out those calls to tens of thousands of voters in ohio and michigan and new york and illinois, all these other places, those two conservative activists today in court in ohio pled guilty to felony telecommunications fraud. they had been facing 15 felony counts each in ohio. the court allowed them to each plead guilty to one felony in exchange for having the other charges dropped. they're gonna be sentenced next month. there is looking at up to a year in prison. plus, whatever they get if they

are convicted off the felonies they're facing in michigan, plus the 5 million dollar plus fine they're facing from the fcc, plus whatever may get decided against them and that federal civil case, which is an sdny, that's being handled by the new york attorney general, letitia james. so, that was two years ago. that with how conservative activists were handling the run up to the vote in 2020. and these are the consequences, that as of today, are just now starting to face, for the fact that what they decided would be their game plan back in 2020 happened to be as fantastically illegal as it was disgusting. their first felony guilty plea today in ohio. we will find out about the prison time for them next month. that was 2020. that's how long it took to resolve that. now, here we are in 2022. and this time, it looks more like this. >> i have been so pleased to hear of all you vigilantes out there that want to cap out at

these trump boxes, right? [applause] so, do it, do it. you put the word out today. >> it is a republican state senator from arizona, saying how delighted she is to hear about all the vigilantes that are going out to the polling sites, calling on more vigilantes to go show up in places where people turn in their mail ballots. >> we are gonna have hidden trail cameras. we are gonna have people parked out, they're watching you. they're gonna follow you to your car, and get your license plate. it's gonna happen. it >> is gonna happen. and the credit card companies will come for you, if you try to vote. and the police will come for you, and people with needles. in 2020, it was conservative activists targeting black voters democratic cities and swing states. they are now facing prison time for it. but in 22, it is elected

officials. it's that republican state senator in arizona. it's also the republican candidates for governor and for secretary of state in arizona. the republican candidate for governor in arizona is asking for people, literally, to take a shift, watch a drop box, meaning showing up and looming over a place for people drop off their mail-in ballot. the republican candidate for secretary of state in arizona, he himself as a member of the oath keepers group, whose numbers are currently on trial for seditious conspiracy in federal court in washington. he says, watch all drop boxes, he said that just within the past few days. i mean, and that state, and arizona, people with guns are now in fact camping out at voting sites. because maybe robocall-ing people to terrify them into not voting, no longer seems at risk for you than it was a couple of years ago. so instead, they're doing this. it's happening in arizona. they are reportedly organizing along similar lines in

pennsylvania, michigan, washington state, even conservative groups in hawaii. also this year, they're trying this. the bulwark now reporting on multiple instances in which republicans are running ads against african american democratic candidates, in which they are dramatically -- darkening their skin tone of the democratic candidate for the purpose of the attack at. in national republican senate campaign committee doing that against democratic u.s. senate candidate mandela barnes in wisconsin. the campaigned for republican brian kemp in georgia doing that two democratic candidate for governor, stacey abrams. the day in north carolina, wral as reporting that a conservative group is talking to democrats who are running for reelection, as numbers of the status nature in north carolina. here is six representative ricky hurtado. he's photographed here, super happy. he is in his district doing crash cleanup. here is how a conservative

group changed that for their attack ads against him. they took him out of his shirt that he was actually wearing, and the photo, ricky hurtado state house district t-shirt, and instead, put him in a defund the police t-shirt, as if that was he was wearing. not only what he was not wearing that shirt, and that picture, he doesn't have a shot like that. he doesn't even support defunding the police, and he never has. but they've gotten pictured in a t-shirt as if he wears that around. they did the same thing to this democratic state rep, terrence everett. they took this picture of terrence everett, dornoch in north carolina, a nice red, white, and blue t-shirt, and they changed the shirt. now it looks like he, too, this wearing a defund the police station, which again is not a sure that he has, not a shirt that he wore, and in fact it's not something that he supports. so this is how it's going this year. i can sense, i can feel through the tv screen that you are not shocked. i know you are not shocked, and

neither am i. but a couple of things stood out about this. the first is, i think this is as good a signal as any, that this is the home stretch. and things are very close. looking at the recent polling, it is just remarkably consistent. new cnn poll today with a margin of error of four and a half points, that poll shows that wisconsin governor's race inside the margin of error. that poll shows the wisconsin senate race inside the margin of error. latest yougov cbs news poll with a margin of error of, again, four and a half points. that shows the nevada senate race to be inside that margin of error. the latest suffolk university usa today poll, margin of error 4. 4 points. it shows that nevada senate race inside the margin of error. trafalgar poll, margin of error of 2. 9 points, and shows that pennsylvania senate race inside the margin of error. siena college spectrum news on the ohio senate race, not just inside the margin of error, but literally tied. let marketization's poll on the georgia senate race also not just inside the margin of error, but, look tied.

46. 1% to 46%. we are two weeks out from the election. if you are counting on the polls to tell you what's gonna happen, or to tell you what you should be doing now, well, here's what the polls are telling you. whoever it is that you want to win, they need your help. and if you really want them to win, if it matters to you, you need to volunteer for them, now. i mean, the polls are tighter than your already tight jeans, except when they're even tighter right after thanksgiving dinner. honestly, if you care about the outcome in this election, it's now or never. pick a race and volunteer. this is the last two weeks. this is the time to do it.

that is one thing to know about how nutty things are getting, how naughty things are getting now, as we close in on this next election. i think the other thing to note, though, the second thing to note, the folks who are trying to contest the election this year by doing things that are illegal, like we saw in 2020 from the conservative side, the people who are doing that version of those tactics again this year, right? intimidating people out of voting, threatening people for voting. and they have taken two years before we got some accountability from one of the worst instances of that in the last election. it may have taken to today before we saw the felony guilty plea pursuant to those tactics used on the conservative side in the 2020 election. but it may not have to take another two years this time. in arizona, where we are seeing republican candidates and republican elected officials tell their supporters to go out and intimidate people at voting sites, where we are seeing people respond to those calls by showing up with guns at voting sites. tonight, and arizona, we just got the first legal challenge to what these vigilantes are doing. the complaint for declaratory

and injunctive relief, just fired tonight in arizona. quote, at least five times last week supporters of defendant clean elections usa, gathered at ballot boxes in arizona with the express purpose of deterring voters from depositing their ballots. things are getting worse. on friday, to the drop box watchers were armed and wearing tactical gear. on saturday, armed and masked individuals were gathered near drop foxes. defendants activities have already prompted three a voter intimidation complaints that have been referred to the u.s. department of justice as well as responses by the america county sheriff's department. defendants post that they are just getting started. defendants coordinated campaign of vigilante voter intimidation violates the voting acts of c 1965 and a act of 1871. in the aftermath of previous voter suppression efforts in the reconstruction and civil rights era, congress responded forcefully but -- immediate relief is necessary. voting is already underway, there are only 15 days left

until election day. this was fired in federal court tonight. defendants organized vigilante groups have already turned away voters. under any circumstance, defend his conduct would be objectively intimidating. in the current charge political climate, defendants actions carry with them exacerbated threats. there is no guarantee that the crowds that defendants have mobilized are continuing to stoke, they will not remain peaceful. unless enjoyed, defendants will continue to bully and intimidate lawful arizona voters, including through using armed presents us. voters are attempting to do nothing more than vote in accordance with arizona law. . plaintiffs respectfully request that this court -- they have violated the voters writing act, they have by the

cuckoo clocks klan act. temporally and permanently enjoined the defendants and their respective agents, officers, employees, and successors, and all persons acting in concert with them. -- from training, organizing, or directing others to do the same. it goes on from there. this legal complaint filed tonight, a new federal lawsuit brought in arizona. the force of nature lawyer who was taken this fight into courts, 50 days before election day, he joins us live here next. stay with us. becoming a morning person starts the night before with new neuriva relax and sleep. it has l-theanine to help me relax from daily stress. plus, shoden ashwagandha for quality sleep.

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this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it helps prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing, and lower use of oral steroids.

fasenra is not a rescue medication or for other eosinophilic conditions. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. ask your doctor about fasenra. >> we are gonna take it up a

notch by blowing this so far and declaring war in the spiritual realm and the physical realm. let's go to war. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i'm gonna make you a promise. i'm gonna mount -- this deed of

freedom. and i will get some rains in my hands. >> why don't you pray and crush the demonic satellites, we need to send the holocaust virus into their computers to destroy them, so that they would not function until our election is over. >> that was a conservative, sort of, get out the vote event this weekend in pennsylvania. trump national security adviser mike flynn was there. roger stone was there. former president trump's son eric was there. at one point, he got up his stage, and put his father on the phone from the state, to try to get the crowd all hyped up. and one point, they really did break from the stage for a holy ghost virus to infect all the computers and destroy all the computers, so no computers will function until after the

election is over. they also did not just pray for donald trump to come back as president, they said that trump is coming back right away before the end of the year. one of the leaders of the script says, we're gonna go dark. and when the lights come on, worldwide celebrations are coming. we are going to see that we turn this year. 45 comes back, not by his will, but by god's well. only got well that trump will come back this year, same guy kind of lead the event, also then break for the angel of death to visit all of trump's enemies by the end of this year, too. they put all the enemies up on a big banner for everybody to pray for their death. so that's some of how the election is going right now. that was pennsylvania this weekend, 5000 people there at that big maga republican event this weekend, including a telephonic visit from the last republican president of the united states. split screen, though, sunday morning this weekend, also went like this across new england. and all capital letters, under siege, democracies frontlines in crisis. we've had it.

how america's election workers found themselves living a nightmare and leaving their jobs? that's how the boston globe watched a special series this weekend about attacks on election workers. things have gotten so bad over the past couple of years that turnover among top election officials is around 30% in some key battleground states, which is profoundly high. quote, in weber county, in utah, the county clerk and auditors car was vandalized three times on site his home all around klm dates in 2020, 2021. that clip telling the globe, look, i get in this all the time we are watching you. we know you are in on it. quote, my wife wants me to wear a bulletproof vest to work. but, this election is not supposed to be a scary thing in our country, and neither is voting. but we are seeing the news out

of arizona these days, one voter in mesa, arizona last week reported being filmed why while approaching a drop box to drop off his ballot, which is an unlawful thing to do. as of friday in arizona, there are apparently now showing up armed and in tactical gear at voting sites. you can see them more closely here in this footage, which i believe we have. yeah. this is out a voting site? if you are alarmed by these kinds of images, if you think this does not sound right, if you think this maybe doesn't even sound lawful, you are not alone. as i mentioned at the top of the show, and you lost was just fine tonight in federal court in arizona, asking the court to step in, and stop this from happening right away, at least in that state. quote, absent declaratory and injunctive relief voters will be subjected to intimidation, threats, and perhaps even forced or physical harm at the hands of vigilante dropbox watchers, and many may suffer

unwarranted delays or denials of their right to cast a ballot in the approaching elections. again, this lawsuit just filed tonight. federal court in arizona, joining us now is mark elias, election lawyer, founder of democracy docket, which filed that voter intimidation lawsuit tonight in arizona on behalf of two local organizations. mr. elias, it's a pleasure to have you with us tonight. thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> then you tell us a little bit about the basis for this lawsuit and who your organization is presenting at bringing in? >> sir. our organization is representing to, really, great voting groups. the alliance for retired americans and voto latino. and the basic facts of the complaint are simple, which is that we now have vigilantes, some of whom are armed, intimidating voters from casting their ballot in a legal way, that is via dropbox. the law is very clear. there are actually two sets of laws, one that goes back to the ku klux klan, in the 19th century, the ku klux klan act

the other was recent, the voting rights act. specifically to prevent this type of intimidation at the poll. >> how late is too late for this kind of an intervention? we are 15 days out from the election. and obviously, you are asking for immediate relief from the court. do you believe the courts can act quickly enough? the courts can be sort of nimble enough to intervene in a way that will protect voting rights and enough time to make a difference? >> i do. in fact, rachel, we heard that the court is scheduled a hearing on this motion tomorrow morning in arizona. so, we're glad to see the federal courts are stepping in, and stepping in quickly. you know, after donald trump lost his election variant square, the courts played an important role in making clear that what the outcome of that election was. donald trump then unleashed vigilantes to storm the capitol, and now, we are seeing the return of that vigilantism organized by the same factions of the republican party that

we're at play that. and we need the courts, once again, to step up and treat, take this seriously and prevent voters from being disenfranchised. >> now, the defendants in this case that you brought include one of these, sort, of anti voting rights pressure groups that have sprung up. all over the country in recent years and have been particularly entered energized since the 2020 election. also, the founder of one of those groups is a name defendant in your case. but i want to ask you about the role of the various republican elected officials who have bolstered what these groups are doing. we've got the republican candidate for secretary of state there publican candidate for governor. we've got at least two that i know of sitting republican state senators who are pushing this effort, who are encouraging people to turn out and be vigilantes at voting sites. i wonder if you see some of these responsibilities, some of these officials as wearing some of that same responsibility here. absolutely, republicans from top to bottom their responsibility.

where is mitch mcconnell calling this out? where is kevin mccarthy calling this out? where are the so-called responsible leaders of the republican party saying having armed vigilantes preventing people from casting their ballots in a legal way is wrong. they are going to announce a. where are they? it is not just the kari lake's, it is not just the state legislators, it is from top to bottom it a party that a has abandoned democracy ed has lost all semblance of decency. >> you know that these counters have been referred to the justice department as potentially illegal voter intimidation, asking effectively for prosecutions at the federal level in addition to a civil suit like yours. i wanted to ask you if you see the justice department as having a more immediate role here, whether or not they consider prosecutions for these things at the federal level. should the justice department being sending monitors,

descending in personal now to try to prevent infringement on voting rights that your lawsuit is calling out as such an immediate threat in his last 15 days? >> we need everyone at all levels of law enforcement to take this seriously. the sheriff's department, the local police in maricopa county are stepping up. this is not their job alone. the justice department is headed by some really great civil rights lawyers, i'm sure they're looking at their options. we are all going to have to do our part in bringing this to velocity, getting immediate relief for the voters in maricopa county and the entire state of arizona, -- >> marc elias, founder of democracy diet. thank you for your time, i'm interested to hear what the hearing is going to be tomorrow morning. it is intriguing that the

courts are willing to move so quickly, i would love to say apprized and up on the case. thank you mark. we have much more, stay with us. us. ♪ ♪ woah, surprised to see you here. how's your head? all good man. [vacuum cleaner] advil targets pain at the source. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liquid gels. hi, i'm ron reagan, an unabashed atheist. and i'm alarmed, as you may be, by the intrusions of religion into our secular government. that's why i'm asking you to join

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minister is the guy who, at some level at least, is in charge of running russia's war against ukraine. as you might imagine he doesn't often have phone conversations with his american counterpart. our defense secretary. what with the u.s. being squarely on the ukraine side in that war and all. in fact, after russia invaded

ukraine, russia's defense chief apparently refused multiple attempted phone calls from u.s. secretary lloyd austin. the two men have apparently only spoken once against russia -- that was already back in may. that was until this weekend when russia's defense minister got on the line with secretary lloyd austin twice in the space of three days. he also reportedly called his defense secretary counterparts in the uk, in france, and in turkey. why the change? why suddenly so chatty? because he apparently wanted to warn all of them that russia believes ukraine is about to detonate a dirty bomb. and explosive packed with radioactive materials. that of course makes no sense. nobody believes that ukraine is about to detonate a dirty bomb, let alone on its own territory. do you know what? it sure sounds like something like russia may be considering. putin is the guy who keeps announcing that nuclear weapons are not off the table for him.

ukraine's president warning that what is going on here really is that russia is laying the groundwork for their own dirty bomb attack, one that they would then blame on ukraine. now, since the russian defense minister started making all these very uncharacteristic phone calls to all of his counterparts in all these various countries, the u.s., britain, and france put out a joint statement warning russia against using a dirty bomb accusation as some sort of pretext for escalating the war. of course, what gives teeth to warnings like that is that the u.s. could significantly increase the military halt that we are providing to ukraine.

this is also turning out to be one of the sleeper issues of the midterm elections. midterm elections are already underway, one of the sleeper issues at stake here is that a republican could take over congress which could mean pulling the plug on anti ukraine, or at least drastically scaling back. house republican leader kevin mccarthy, he of course is in line to be how speaker if there isn't a republican congress. he has recently been suggesting that funding for ukraine would be one of the things that would be on the chopping block if republicans get control of the house. joining us now is jim hines of connecticut, he sits on the intelligence committee. he's back from a visit to ukraine where he met with president volodymyr zelenskyy. i know you are probably still jet like, thank you so much for being here. let me ask you if you feel differently about anything about this war and our support from ukraine coming back from the ship as compared to when you left. >> i do, probably the impression i took away most powerfully was from president zelenskyy right down to the guys that were serving coffee in the hotel lobby. everyone we spoke to was saying that this war ends when every russian soldier is off every inch of our land. it was remarkable to hear that because as they were saying that, missiles were coming down.

people were being killed. meanwhile in the united states, we're having a debate that you just alluded to about how this ends. how does this be a negotiated, not just given riccardi, but a letter signed by 30 progressives. having spent time in the country, the cranes are in, they intend to win this thing. >> in terms of that letter from 30 members of congress, they're asking for the united states to do something that we are not doing right now, which is to have direct diplomacy with russia on this issue rather than just supporting the ukrainians and following the ukraine's lead. you can sign on to that letter, what do you make of that argument? >> the letter was a bad idea, not just because they called for conversations between the united states and russia, that is not a bad idea. as you just talking about, those are those conversations happening at one level. the reason that letter is a bad idea is twofold. number one, the objectives in the letter we're far short of

what needs to be done. the letter says, we need to find a way to a free and independent ukraine. that is not enough. we need to free and independent ukraine with the territory that the russians took away. with accountability for the war crimes that were committed. the other reason that letter was poorly timed was that the ukrainians are winning. history is showing us that trying to negotiate with a dictator, much less a totalitarian, genocidal dictator who doesn't abide by any agreements that he makes, bad idea. >> what do you make of the communications. i will say this, these reports about the russian defense minister suddenly calling all his counterparts, both in the united states and in other countries, unnerve me just because it is in an uncharacteristic action. predictability is a blessing when someone is making threats like a vladimir putin has been making both implicitly and explicitly. i worry about those calls and it is setting -- that russia may be implicitly alluring the world that they are on a course to do some escalation that involves some radio active tech. do you think there is reason to worry about that? do you think russia sees a strategic advantage? >> as we know, russian doctrine

calls for the famous escalation to de-escalate. it is always a scary thing we usually think about that in the context of tackler nuclear weapons. it is their doctrine to go there if they feel and accidental threat. very logical weapon, a dirty bomb could be in the same category. here's the important thing, yes scary, but my guess is that all the conversations that the russian leaders had with western leaders and it with western leaders saying, there's no way you pull this off and blamed on the ukrainians. as a member of the intelligence committee, i can tell, you there's no way that they pull this off and successfully blame it on the ukrainians. the russians need to know, we haven't talked about this but we can escalate. how easy do you think it is for the chinese to continue to buy russian oil if they let off a radiological weapon and we can prove that they did it? the russians not just flying with u.s. escalation here they're playing with one asset that they have, which is that the chinese are buying their energy. they do this, the chinese no longer bother energy. >> tell me about the level of u.s. support for ukraine in

terms of their military capability. i've heard argued that the united states is effectively arming ukraine well enough to not lose, but not arming them well enough to win. we also see on the republican side of the aisle, kevin mccarthy, all but explicitly saying that if the republicans get control of congress you will see them launch it back. u.s. supports that it is a smaller number or it is purchased in some way that is going to be less impactful. what do you make quantitatively in terms of how much support we are providing them? and how it is affecting the course of the war? >> i think that phrase, we are giving them enough weaponry to not lose the war, i think that is probably a fair

consideration. timing matters here, i think most people who understand the russians would tell you that a truly catastrophic breakthrough. there been close catastrophes for the russians, they're getting pushback every single day. something that happens really fast, or all of a sudden something that suggests that the ukrainians can attack russian troops on crimea, that gets you into a world where, again, back to the russian doctrine of escalating to the house plate. this thing does not get one quickly, it gets one because the russians continue to lose. frankly, in my own opinion, i think it gets one because the russians finally decide that their current leader, vladimir putin, has made every single possible mistake. he has achieved none of his goals and maybe it is time for the man to go. now, let me be very careful here, i'm not saying the u.s. should help make that happen. but, i think this and most rapidly when the russian people really recognize what a devastating thing vladimir putin has done to them and to their country. >> do you think that putin has

any fear of that, that he has fear that there is a successor for him that is waiting in the wings, or there is someone who is in russian society in a russian elite who might marshal forces? >> it's the band he meets with his ministers on table that is 40 feet long, yes, he has fear. he has got almost in his obsession about his own health and safety. that is probably a smart thing when there are a lot of people who would probably not like, would not mind seeing him go. it is not a smart thing in a country that has been known overtime for removing leaders in a less than democratic fashion. >> jim -- just back from a visit to ukraine, he met with president zelenskyy. get some sleep, thank you, it's good to see you. ahead, stay with us.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, and save at trelegy.com. you talk about joe biden a lot, i understand, i think you're gonna be running against him. i can see how you might get confused. you are running for governor. you are running for governor. i have a question for you. you are running for governor, why don't you look at the audience and say to them, if you are reelected you will serve a full four-year term as governor. yes or no. [applause] yes or no, run. will you serve a full for your team if you are reelected governor of florida? it's not a tough question. it's a fair question. he won't tell you. >> we do not agree on the candidates asking each other questions. governor, it is your turn. >> i know charlie is interested in talking about 2024 and joe biden, i just want to make things a very, very clear. the only worn out old donkey i'm looking to put out to

pasture is charlie crist. >> that was from the debate tonight in florida between the 22 material candidates. rand ron desantis and his democratic challenger charlie crist. notable there that ron desantis, even though he got in his insult about president biden to charlie crist at the end, he really did refused to answer the question as to whether not he would actually serve as florida governor, survey full term if he is reelected. he is widely expected to throw his hat in the ring as a presidential candidate, whether or not he is reelected as governor in florida this year. today is the day that early in person voting starts in florida, also early voting today starts in texas. there's something interesting that is going on with early voting this year. let's look first at georgia. by this point in the last midterm election, 2018 was the last midterm, the number of people who had voted early in georgia was huge. it was a record beating number,

2018, 400 for 34,000 people. that was seen at the time of being unfathomably large for early voting numbers. that was 2018. if you compare that to the previous midterm for years earlier in 2014, the 2018 numbers tripled what they had done in 2014. 430,000 votes by this time in 2018, the times the early votes have been cast by that point in the previous midterms. it was just huge. again, 2018, just over 430,000 people had voted. that was unimaginably large in terms of george's records. well, now, it is the next midterm after 2018. early voting, what does it look like in georgia today? according to the secretary of state's office, the number of people voting is well over 758,000.

that is almost as high as the number of people who had voted by this time in the general election in georgia in 2020 in the presidential year, when it was joe biden versus donald trump on the ballot. the midterm elections are the same numbers effectively as the presidential election, the presidential general election? that kind of early a voter turnout in a midterm election is not just unheard of, it is almost like science fiction. 400,000 it was mind-blowing four years ago, now it is over 750,000. it is just a whole new world, a huge surge in early voting in georgia this year. it is not just happening in georgia, in north carolina requests for absentee ballots are up 100 and 14% compared with the last midterm in ohio, the number of people voting early is up 75% from the last midterm. in florida, the total number of people who have already in voted early by mail, it is up 50% already from the last midterm. for all the efforts on the right this year to make voting scary and disproportionately threatening to democratic voters, especially people of color. for all those efforts that we

are seeing and that we have been reporting on, even tonight. lots of americans are showing up to vote early in a record number in multiple states. obviously, these numbers, they just tell you numbers, didn't tell you anything about who is necessarily going to win the election. it does tell you that people are willing to show up and vote, that is good news for the country that is effectively voting this year on the question of whether or not we are going to continue to have elections. whether not we are going to continue to be a democracy. seeing this many americans turning up despite all the headwinds to cast their votes this year of all years. i don't know if you have cockles in your heart, they are probably warmed by this. early voting begins today in texas, early in person voting begins in florida. watch this space. it has l-theanine to help me relax from daily stress. plus, shoden ashwagandha for quality sleep.

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san francisco collects more tax revenue than nearly any city in america. but our streets are dirty and public safety is not getting better. i'm working hard to live within my budget. the city should too. join me in voting no on m and o. now is not the time to raise taxes in san francisco. vote no on m and o. norma lundy?

>> she was the wife of a u.s. senator who died in a mysterious plane crash in 1940 and that mysterious plane crashes what starts episode one of my new podcast. which is called rachel maddow presents. ultra. episode one is where you get to meet senator ernst lundy. norman's husband. episode four is out just as of today. that is when we get to meet normal. the senator's wife. if you are like me, the sound of her voice might start haunting your voice once you've heard it. you can get ultra for free wherever you get your podcasts. if you've been wondering where one gets a podcast, don't feel bad. don't be shy, it happens. personally i get mine using my iphone through the very basic podcasts app they put on your phone automatically even if you've never used it. a little purple square that says podcasts. just pop that square, open the app and search for ultra and ultra maddow should pop up in the suggestions. go ahead tap on, that tap on the podcast, and