interview. covered a lot from culture to politics to his affinity for admittedly weird roles. you can see, we had not only a great and intense time, but jeff explained he like you watched "the beat" sometimes. he was thrilled come i shared one of the lighters from the fall back friday segment. mark your calendars if you're interested in joining us. this interview will debut for the first time. you can bet we got into insect politics. shout out to fans of the fly if you get the reference. if you want to suggest people to come on mavericks you can find me online at ari melber or the best way to connect with me is to go to arimelber.com where you can subscribe for my writing. arimelber.com or send us ideas at any social platform. "the reidout" starts now. tonight on "the reidout" --

>> we've got the white christian men that built this country the first time, and we'll do it again. you think you can replace us? you're wrong. we will replace you. >> that is trump's dinner guest, white supremacist, holocaust denier, and incel leader nick fuwent es. trump claims he had never heard of the guy, but even after being told who that is, he won't condemn white nationalist because of his long history of embracing it. plus, voter enthusiasm is through the roof in georgia with the senate runoff deadline eight days away. meanwhile, herschel walker was mia for almost a week and we're still waiting to hear back from him about that debate he demanded to have with me. >> we begin with a very extreme thanksgiving. in this case, a friendsgiving meal hosted by donald trump at

mar-a-lago, with guest ye, and nick fuentes, an outspoken anti-semite and racist who does a podcast popular with other anti-semites and racists. here's a sampling of what trump's dinner guest is all about. >> our secret sauce here, it's these young white men. that's what we call the secret ingredient. america and the world has forgotten about them, but not us. >> this is going to be the most racist, sexist, the most anti-semitic, the most holocaust denying in all of dallas this weekend. >> trump has since claimed to know nothing about fuentes and says he didn't know when he was.

he does know ye, who let's face it, does not appear to have all the chips in his cookie these days and must have heard ye has been denounced for making anti-semitic statements before he invited him over. trump claims ye brought the anti-semite to dinner so it's not on him. he also said of fuentes, i like him, he gets me. trump dining with a white nationalist, impossible, according to his campaign? as the media descends on a full fledged public relations catastrophe. one described it as, quote, f'ing nightmare. are we going to play this game as if trump dining with one of the country's most prominent white supremacists is surprising? remember, he is the guy who told the far right proud boys to stand back and stand by when he was asked to condemn white supremacists, before they broke into the capitol. he also said this about the unite the right white supremacist rally in charlottesville that left one counterprotester dead. >> you also had people that were

very fine people, on both sides. >> very fine neonazis, according to trump. nick fuentes was at that rally along with richard spencer who helped to organize it. spencer, a prolific and proud white supremacist, muslim hating propagandist, attended duke with stephen miller, the architect of trump's muslim ban and child separation policies who now spends his time suing the federal government for helping black farmers. spencer has publicly stated he considered himself miller's mentor. let's pause on that for a moment. the person who was writing america's immigration policy was allegedly mentored by an alt-right white nationalist. that's spencer's term, by the way, alt-right, which is basically a cleaned up word for white nationalist, fascist, nazi. steve bannon who once bragged he made breitbart the home of the alt-right, was later brought on as trump's chief campaign strategist. he then had a direct line to trump, and the oval office.

thereby cementing white nationalism and nativism as key components of trump's vision. it's like six degrees of separation to a white nationalist, not even six, like three or one. then throw in the republican party and it's like, well, everyone knows your name. two house republicans, marjorie taylor greene and powell gosar, participated in an annual white supremacist event, organized by, wait for it, nick fuentes. after backlash, greene claimed she didn't know who he was. and we have matt gaetz who hosted holocaust denier charles johnson, brought him as his guest to the state of the union. gaetz then claimed he had no pre-existing relationship with the guy. just happened to have an extra ticket lying around for the anti-semite in my office. ditto on trump adviser larry kudlow who once invited peter brem alow to a birthday party at his home. he is the promoter of white

identity politics on an anti-immigration website that he founded in 1999. kudlow said, well, he had known him forever, just not the white nationalist part. there you have it, the same tired excuse we're now hearing from trump who denies knowing who anyone is, denies responsibility, denying knowing who david duke is, but he did know who he is, and behind every one of these denials is something more sinister. this creeping white nationalism and its entry as a center part of trumpism which is now just republicanism, as an alternative but mainstream political philosophy. we have said it on the show. let's stock with the shock and hand wringing, the clutching of pearls. instead, we condemn it, call it out for what it is. this is another very fine people moment. very fine people invited to dine in a former president's home. joining me now, charlie sykes, editor at large for the bulwark,

mara gay, member of "the new york times" editorial board and msnbc contributor, and dana mill bank, author of the destructionest, the 25-year crack-up of the republican party. i'm going to go in reverse order and start with you, dana, because the thing is, i think the only thing that surprised me about trump having dinner with, you know, kanye used to be a really good rapper but now is just woooo-west, and this white supremacist who is the media pretending to be shocked again. how many times are we going to play this game of pretending donald trump has not been chucking with white nationalists since he went down that elevator? >> it's so silly, and i think we owe trump a debt of gratitude for coming right out in the open. this isn't the white tablecloth republican party. this is the white nationalist republican party. this, we have been talking about

the overtones of white supremacy in the party, but it really is now principally the melody. i guess the good news is as trump fades ever so slightly in the republican party, he clings more to the fringes. he plays the qanon theme music at his rally. he's rapping himself ever closer with the white nationalists, but the flip side of what's happening here is who cares why trump is doing it. it's elevating the white nationalists. it's getting them a national audience over and over again. you mentioned richard spencer. when trump was elected, he said we have a psycic connection to trump and they had that all along. it's not just psychic now. there's actually a physical embrace. >> there's a physical embrace and they actually literally tried to overthrow the government for him, mara. it's not as if white nationalists just popped up when

trump came along. there have been whites in american politics from the very beginning and there were white nationalists who used to be very much in charge of the democratic party. they became the dixiecrats and then they became republicans. these people have always been with us, they just keep switching parties. now that they have control of the republican party, i feel like there's a collective amnesia that happens every time trump does something racist. wait a second. this is a nonexhaustive list. trump allegedly praised hitler to john kelly during his europe trip. vanity fair claimed trump's fist wife claimed he kept a book of hitler's speeches by his bed. these are old stories from the '90s. black guys counting my money, said trump, i hate it. i want short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. i could go on. he has a long history going after japanese people, black people. he's been like this the whole time. i don't understand why we play

this game of saying, oh, my god, trump might be racist and anti-semitic, get out of here. >> yeah. joy, i completely agree. and i think and i hope that it's well past time to for all of us to stop obsessing over why trump is doing the things he's doing with respect to these white nationalists, and how the rest of us have allowed this behavior to go on, have allowed a man who palled around with these people and continues to, to be in the white house, and i think republicans in particular, and you heard some of them starting to openly criticize trump today, especially at the midterms a couple weeks ago, it's really time for them to have some soul searching, not that we can expect that from them, but really about what they want their party to stand for and where they stand. every single member of the republican party in my view needs to be on record, do you

support white nationalism? do you support nick fuentes? this is really a time for a roll call. i also just, you know, it's hard because we have to wonder, we have always known that these people existed. to your point, joy. they have always been here. the klan has been around since redemption. and yet, you know, it's only recently that they are suddenly getting an audience after decades of progress with a former president of the united states. not since maybe woodrow wilson have we seen this kind of unabashed hatred from somebody who used to sit in the white house. so that really is in and of itself dangerous, because that sends a signal that normalizes this hate and puts a target on the back of any american who is jewish, lgbtq, black, just let that continue. so this is a very dangerous moment. >> we're going to fix your

audio. we're going to come back to you and fix your audio. look, let me go and bring you in here, charlie. the media is currently calling the moderate alternative to trump the guy in florida who ran against a black opponent by saying let's not monkey this up. he's the moderate? the guy in virginia, youngkin, banning books by black people. the media pretends that's moderate. let's play someone asked if they could straightforwardly deny donald trump meeting with a known white nationalist and holocaust denier. this is a former trump official. his name is len. here's don lemon trying to get him to say that's a bad thing. >> do you think it was wrong for the former president to meet with nick fuentes? >> for what i understand, president trump said he didn't know nick fuentes was coming. >> you're saying it's wrong for him to meet with him? >> well, you know, again, he didn't know he was coming. but it's never a good idea to

give anti-semites a forum. >> it sounds like you're making excuses for him. >> i don't think the president should have met with kanye or his sidekick, and i wish no one else will either. >> you could have said that in the beginning. thank you very mump, len. >> charlie, why was that so hard for -- why is that so hard for republicans to do? >> okay, so the first thing to note is that whether or not donald trump knew who nick fuentes was when he walked in to mar-a-lago, he certainly knew afterwards. and he has refused to criticize or condemn him, even though he now knows that this is a jew hating, holocaust denying white supremacist. and there's a reason for that. it's the same reason you're having this other reluctance. it's all about the base. donald trump is absolutely convinced that he cannot criticize people like nick fuentes because the racist anti-semitic troll base is

crucial now to his electoral hopes. and he's communicated that to the rest of the republican party. so there's a reluctance to criticize donald trump, but there's a real fear at criticizing the base. and so what people like glenn youngkin and ron desantis are trying to do is talk the republican party into moving past donald trump but not ever breaking with that base. and that's of course the crisis here. donald trump is certainly a problem, but he's also a symptom of something much larger, as you have been talking about. and the reality is that this white nationalist anti-semitic base has been normalized. it's been empowered in the trump years. and now, other republicans are afraid that they will split the maga base if they break with him. and they're willing to antagonize swing voters and suburban voters, the voters that turned against them in the midterms because they're

reluctant to do what ought to be the easiest thing in american politics, to say nazis are bad. anti-semites are bad. racism is bad. and we condemn them unreservedly, and no, you should not be having dinner with some of the most vile specimens of the racist right. the fact they won't do that shows how reluctant they are to confront the real fundamental problem that the republican party has right now. >> and you know, maury, i'm going to come back to you. look, hugo lowell has that exact reporting, that trump didn't want to say anything because he doesn't want to anger the base. but some of them also believe it, let's be clear. there's reporting ron desantis actually was trying to teach civil war history when he was in georgia from the south's point of view. part is they are the base. the tea party is now the base, and he's one of them, and these tea party people are now the fundamentals of the party. it's not as if trump is some sort of outlier.

trump isn't some freak who is dragging the party to the right. he represents the median belief system of many of the people who vote for him. it's that simple. >> i mean, that's right. we have to kind of go back to the historical origins of the modern day republican party, which does not mean that every single republican subscribes to these beliefs. quite the opposite. but yet, the origin of republican party as we know it today really has to do with a backlash to civil rights. so any understanding of that republican party without that historical backlash to civil rights is incomplete. and so while of course a majority, we hope, of republicans do not espouse these views, that thread has always been there and there's always been a tension between the ways it is expressed, what's acceptable, what kind of language can we use around it,

how close do you get to some of the grosser parts of that base, versus just plain conservative economic agenda, and so that tension has always been there. the difference is that donald trump has brought forth id, if you will, i'm not the first to say this, that is really the darkest face of that. and i think it's really up to the republican party to excise that, confront it once and for all and move forward, but they do not appear in a position to do so. >> i guess, dana, that brings us to the question, and i know you get at this in your book. is there anyone with the moral authority among other republicans to do that? because it seems to me that when republicans stand up and try to do that, they get shouted down off the stage, and that's why the mitch mcconnells of the world, who i don't know what he really believes but he sure isn't going to do anything about this and neither is kevin mccarthy. >> that's exactly it. who is speaking out now

denouncing this dinner? liz cheney and asa hutchinson, future president asa hutchinson. that tells you all you need to know. it is once again, important, i agree, the historical perspective because consider pat buchanan in 1992 and 1996, doing the exact same thing donald trump was doing now. steve king was doing the same sort of thing that donald trump is doing now. the difference was there was a critical mass within the republican party that stood up and said, no, this is not what we stand for. and they marginalized them. so in a way, i say good for donald trump to finally admit what he is, which is a white supremacist. where is everybody else in the party now that it's undeniable? why can't they say, for the obvious reason, that they would be marginalized like a liz cheney or like an asa hutchinson

is going to be if he continues on that path. >> what we'll see in the true character of the men and women of the party is will someone do it anyway? that's what we're waiting for, to see who is man enough or woman enough to do it anyway. and take the hits like these others who are leaving politics are doing. let's see if anybody stands up. charlie, mara, dana, thank you. >> up next, voters surge to the polls. just one week to go until the georgia senate runoff deadline. "the reidout" continues after this. this will share a perfect moment. oh, wow. but we got to sell our houses. well, almost perfect. don't worry. just sell directly to opendoor. close in a matter of days. get your free offer at opendoor.com (burke) deep-sea driving, i see... (customer) clsomething like that...s. (burke) well, here's something else: with your farmer's policy perk, new car replacement, you can get a new one. (customer) that is something else. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

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. we are eight days away from the final day of voting in georgia's senate runoff between raphael warnock and herschel walker. today was the first day of state-wide early voting after more than two dozen counties opted to start over the weekend, including the hard fought for saturday. turnout has been, quote, blowing the doors off expectations, according to georgia secretary of state. in fact, today set a record for fwhigest early voting day turnout in the state's history. with more than 239,000 voters having cast their ballots as of 4:45 p.m. that's in addition to the nearly 157,000 people who voted in person on saturday and sunday. following a failed attempt by republicans to restrict the only saturday of early voting ahead of the runoff. while warnock and walker head into the final sprint, today was the first time walker has held a public event since la tuesday.

no word on why he's been mia. by comparison, warnock held half a dozen events over the weekend alone and has been dominating the airwaves with new ads like this one. >> the other night i was watching this movie. i was watching this movie called fright night, some kind of night, but it was about vampires. i don't know if you know about these -- >> what the hell is he talking about? >> is he serious? is he for real? >> china getting our good air. their bad air got to move. >> it's all the same air. >> not only does it mike no sense. i don't even understand what he thinks he's saying. >> it's a rifg to me and millions of georgians to put this man in a position of power. >> let's call it what it is, that [ bleep ] is embarrassing as hell. >> it's all the same air. bye, we continue to reach out to herschel walker's campaign because we formally accepted his request to come on the show and debate, but we have not heard back. joining me from cobb county near

atlanta is trymaine lee, host of the into america podcast and tia mitchell, washington correspondent for the atlanta journal constitution. i'm going to go to you, trymaine, because you're talking to the people. what have you heard from voters today? >> i tell you, joy, sometimes easy to slip into hyperbole and talk about what elections like this actually mean. we saw the record-breaking numbers. i was at a polling place earlier today where all day long the line was snaking from the door all the way to the street. i spoke to the folks like an older woman who said she feels herschel walker is being manipulated like a puppet. another school teacher says he sees the stake too high not to get involved. i spoke with a woman, miriam, a black mother of three beautiful little children who said it's a sense of mission and also for the future of our children. that's what this election means to her and that's why it matters. take a listen. >> as a black woman, knowing that this was not always available to us, i will do anything i need to do to make my

voice heard, exercise my right, and vote for the candidate that i think is going to align with my beliefs and my values. someone who values the basic right of democracy, the principles that our country was founded on. >> the principles that our country was founded on. this, again, easy to get into what these kinds of days mean, what early voting means and why it's important to come out, but these people are mission driven. we also talk about enthusiasm, excitement, and it doesn't often mean about cheering with signs. but the folks today standing and voting, they're making their voices heard. >> i'm curious, you know, a couple of issues i'm wondering if they came up. this idea of walker not really living in texas. there was this reporting over the weekend that he files tax returns saying he lives in texas. but is voting and running for office in georgia. did that come up with anybody you spoke with? >> it came up time and again in the context of what they see as a man who was full of charades

and hypocrisy, whether it's the allegations around abortions for his girlfriends, whether it's him living in texas to take advantage of tax incentives there. it's more of the same. when they see the great contradictions between herschel walker and senator warnock, it's clear and every day it becomes more clear. >> i'm going to ask you the same question, tia. has the campaign responded to that? if you can't prove you live in the state, it makes all the rest of your claims don't seem to make a whole lot of sense. has the campaign responded to that reporting? >> we're running into the same problems you cited where we're not getting a lot from herschel walker's campaign. i just wrote an article today about how silent the campaign is on pressing issues. we also weren't hearing a lot from the campaign about his many controversies, including the most recent one about that, you know, status of his residency and the tax cuts, tax relief he's getting in texas as a

primary resident there. so no, we're not getting much from herschel walker's campaign right now. if you're not kind of those conservative media outlets that allows him to stick to his talking points, he doesn't seem to respond. >> and we know that he's not said anything about kanye west and this white nationalist nick fuentes dining with donald trump. he hasn't said anything about that so far. i wonder if you have been able to ask the campaign why is it that he can't do interviews by himself? why does he always have what seem to be minders? white southern senators who seem to go with him everywhere rather than letting him talk by himselves. has the campaign ever commented on that? >> the campaign hasn't. i think what we have heard is that this is herschel walker showing his support. that's how they justify it. he's not being handled. he's being flanked by his

supporters. you know, and so that's kind of how they put it out there, is that, you know, these are senators that are joining him for these media interviews, but as you have noted, a lot of people interpret it as again, herschel walker is either not comfortable or not being allowed or not willing to kind of do interviews solo, even on these kind of friendly conservative media networks. he tends to, as of late, do joint interviews with other republican surrogates with him. >> trymaine, i want to come back to you. you are talking to voters down there. i talked to a lot of black men who say they find herschel walker embarrassing. i played a little part of the ad. have you heard any of that feedback, the idea that he looks to be a representation of black manhood that is humiliating for

any black male voters in particular? >> well, certainly if you can hear me, senator warnock just came behind me. against the last few weeks here in georgia, today and weeks ago, at morehouse college in particular and these young men say they see right through the game they believe the republicans are trying to play. putting up a kind of minstrel, this false representation of black men saying we have one of you guys is for us, so come on in. so they quite frankly not only see it as embarrassing but as part of a broader plan and feeds into a narrative that black men didn't want to support stacey abrams, they weren't involved and this shows clearly how the right views many black men. >> tia, i'll give you the last word on this. we know president obama is coming back. what is the campaign saying about the fact that on the herschel walker side, they're not going to have donald trump, but they are trying to get the kemp -- brian kemp to come out and stump for him? and is he going to do that?

i heard he's not on the ads. i heard they're sending out mailers that show kemp but don't even show herschel walker. >> yes. the ads that kemp has cut feature kemp prominently, not necessarily kemp with walker. but kemp prominently pushing walker. you know? and again, that message from brian kemp has been, you need a republican in this seat to try to limit what president joe biden can do in washington, even his message really isn't about herschel walker. that being said, no former president trump has not been campaigning in georgia, is not expecting to campaign in georgia. just like current president biden has not been campaigning in georgia and is not expected to campaign in georgia. so they're sticking to surrogates who they think could help. kemp for walker, obama for warnock. >> probably worried he would bring, you know, ye and nick fuentes if he came.

why wouldn't he? at this point. trymaine lee and tia mitchell, thank you. >> still ahead, i don't know if any of you are old enough to remember back when republicans thought crime was america's most pressing issue. that was almost a month ago. two dozen mass shootings later and suddenly it's crime, what crime? we'll be right back. if your business kept on employees through the pandemic, innovation refunds could qualify it for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee. all it takes is eight minutes to find out. then work with highly qualified professionals to fill out your forms and submit the application. go to innovationrefunds.com to learn more. for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness.

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remember before the midterm

elections when republicans aided quite frankly by much of the media were all about inflation, gas prices, and crime? they insisted crime was a top issue for voters, right up there with inflation and would propel republicans to a red wave. outside the new york city suburbs, voters did not bite on that narrative. according to an analysis by media matters, coverage of crime plummeted by half on the right wing echo chamber as soon as the election ended. apparently, crime is the 2022 version of hillary clinton's emails. there is however one type of crime republicans are not especially interested in, even as it continues unabated. our nation's epidemic of gun violence. in the wake of a series of mass shootings at an lgbtq club in colorado springs and a walmart in chesapeake, virginia, and just a few weeks earlier at the university of virginia. so what new gun reform laws can we expect from the new republican majority in the u.s.

house of representatives? kentucky congressman james comer in line to chair the oversight committee, he doesn't see the big deal. >> we already have many gun laws on the books. if passing a bill would simply end gun violence, then i think you would have overwhelming support in congress for that. number one priority with respect to crime in america for republicans is going to be the fentanyl crisis. >> joining me now is shannon watts, founder of moms demand action for gun sense in america. you heard him. thank you for being here, shannon. if republicans care so much about crime, why do you suppose that this particular type of crime, crimes committed with guns, seems to be something they have no interest in? >> well, first of all, i think it's very interesting you would choose the profession of lawmaker if you think laws don't work. that's a head scratcher. this is the same lawmaker who

thinks laws will stop fentanyl death and will stop abortion, but somehow won't stop gun violence. and we simply know that isn't true. you can't be soft on guns and tough on crime. and voters showed republicans that at the polls. gun safety was one of the top three issues for voters in this country. but the reality is the data shows gun laws work. when we look at states with stronger gun laws there's less gun deaths. when we look at states with weaker gun laws. there's more death. that's pretty intuitive, yet we continue to hear that gun manufacturer rhetoric that somehow more guns and fewer laws are going to make us safer. and if that were true, with 400 million guns and very few laws in this country, we would be the safest country in the world. instead, we have a 25 times higher gun homicide rate than any peer nation. >> i mean, and look, i brought receipts, the wonderful producers here got receipts for you to back up what you said. 6 out of 10 states with the least gun violence deaths have the strictest gun laws.

california, hawaii, new york, massachusetts, connecticut, and new jersey. mississippi has the least strict gun laws in the country and the highest gun violence rate. the top five states in gun violence in order, mississippi, louisiana, wyoming, missouri, and alabama. the united states has 120.5 guns for every 100 people. the next closest country is yemen. then serbia, then montenegro. you go all the way down, and as you said, this is the country with the most murders. by far. there is no country that is not at war that has more gun murders. it's the reason it's much more comfortable going to a bar in new york city where they're not kariing guns than it is to go in atlanta, where they can carry in a bar. it's like, it seems like it's so obvious, but republicans go, oh, there's nothing we can do about it. a lot of states are doing something about it. >> absolutely. and look, this is rhetoric we have heard from the gun lobby and they have invested in these

lawmakers, and they're their allies, but slowly but surely we're making progress. when i started doing this a decade ago, about a quarter of all democrats in congress had an a-rating from the nr arb. today, none do. when we passed the first ever federal legislation in nearly 30 years through congress this summer, it had 15 republicans sign on. so we have to release the stranglehold that the gun lobbyists had on our lawmakers finger by finger, and we're doing that. when we look at what is tying these gun deaths in this country together and let's be clear, it's not just mass shootings. it's daily gun violence that kills 110 americans. there's something most have in common, that is easy access to guns. we also have something no other country has, a gun lobby that profits, gun manufacturers, by writing our gun laws to benefit them. it's pretty intuitive and it's something that all americans have to get off the sidelines and get involved in. they have a chance a week from tuesday to elect -- re-elect senator warnock, and then our

legislative sessions start in january. it's really important that everyone is getting involved in this issue and showing lawmakers they want them to stand on the side of safety. >> and very quickly, there is this learned helplessness that i think happens among a lot of voters. you think about uvalde county where this massacre happened about these fourth graders. they voted to re-elect the current governor, greg abbott, by nearly 22%. the turnout, 45%. fewer than half of people bothered to vote, and they could have gotten themselves a governor who would have done something about it. that's learned helplessness. >> it absolutely is. i think cynicism is an excuse too often for inaction. we have to have hope in those states where we worked hard, michigan and minnesota and pennsylvania, we have flipped chambers of the general assembly. now we're going to pass stronger gun laws. we can do that everywhere. if we work together to pass stronger gun laws and to vote on the side of gun safety.

>> shannon watts, thank you for all that you do. appreciate you being here. appreciate you. >> up next, growing concerns about possible mistreatment of brittney griner, and reports that russia is stonewalling attempts to set up a prisoner swap. more after this.

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more than four months after offering a prisoner swap to free wrongfully detained brittney

griner and paul whalen, the u.s. is still waiting for a, quote, serious response from moscow. we're learning more about the horrific conditions griner is facing after moved to a penal colony, a labor camp described as inhumane and slavery like. it's written in the nation, not only is the penal colony notoriously racist and utter hell for lgbtq people, but one activist and member of pussy riot who spent two years at a colony said prisoners are expected to work 16 hours a day, beatings and torture are common, medical care hardly exists. international observers have no idea about griner's conditions or even if her bed can fit a 6'8" frame. joining me is dave zirin, supports editor for the nation. it's been too long. good to have you on. i want to read a little bit from your column. you write about the right's reaction to the punishments that this woman presumably is enduring. and you write, both the

anti-drug law and order crowd and the right-wing cult of putin and russia authoritarianism crowd want to see her punished for no other discernible reason than her identity and politics. she wore a t-shirt with breonna taylor. she's somehow not american and worthy of this punishment. trump insulted griner which opens the door for his minions to do the same. if this was tom brady or derek jeter in a prison camp for nine years the outrage would become unholy. i am just going to let you talk about this case. >> it hurts to talk about this case. because brittney griner is i mean, if people out there are concerned about the prison system, i mean you have to be concerned about it in the global context. if you are concerned about the war on drugs, the war on cannabis, people in prison for

nonviolent, nonviolent drug offenses, and brittney griner needs to be your cause, as well. i am seeing too many people say, well, we have those problems here, so why should i care about brittney griner over there? when i think, caring about brittney griner is actually a part of caring about the problems here at home. so, that's what i am dealing with in terms of like these articles and these ideas, on one side of the political spectrum. on the other, we have what you just write, like i have actually been shock. and i've got some calloused, join, but i've got shocked by the rights response to brittney griner's capture, and maybe that's being me being naive about the racism, sexism, homophobia on the right in this country. but i really thought this idea of an american, an olympic athlete, somebody who represented his country, and has metals on her chest because of it, would at least gain some sort of bipartisan effort on a grassroots level to say, gee, maybe she should not be in jail for nine years, in an active

what's essentially hostage diplomacy. and yet, at the same time, we don't have that in this country. we can't even unite on bringing britney griner home, and that is to the deep condemnation of the right wing. >> and, i mean, i have to assume that moscow is watching the way that we, as a public, react to this, right? i mean, at first, we were being advised, don't play it out, because we don't want to make her seem more valuable to the. but then, when that changed, they were all screaming, bring her home! it seems like we're all looking to how to act. i'm assuming that moscow can see that there is not a united front behind this athlete, and that influences what they do. >> oh, absolutely. i mean, look, it doesn't take somebody with a ph.d. in political science to understand that vladimir putin spends as much time studying u.s. domestic politics, as it seems likely does studying question domestic politics, because he likes inserting himself in our

quote unquote culture wars, and he likes the fact that he is an icon, do not just the u.s. far-right, but to the far-right internationally, for authoritarians the world over. so, he wants to play that up, and holding brittney griner over the heads just well-meaning good people in the united states, i don't want to say liberals or left, just people of good heart want to see her home with her family, like for vladimir putin to see that we can't even agree on that, to him, makes brittney griner nothing more than a tool, by which to tweak the united states. meanwhile, what we are trying to say, no, this is a human being, and part of asserting brittney griner's humanity is also making sure that for our own government, for anthony blinken, and secretary of state, that freeing brittney griner and freeing paul whelan be on the top of their to do list, because i really didn't get as a country, if we just fold our arms while she's detained.

>> 100%. and it's almost the holidays, you know, the end of the year holiday season. we're fully in the holiday season, so we wish her wife, and also, paul whelan's family and her loved ones very well. and dave zirin, i appreciate you. thank you so much for being here. and up next -- i think republican governor set up special units to belize voter fraud out of the recent elections, right? you're not gonna believe what they found. i mean, seriously! the big review, straight ahead, after this short break. ♪ ♪ ♪ with carmax you get pre-qualified in no time at all. so you can see your personalized monthly payment for any of our cars. with no impact on your credit score. that's car buying reimagined. carmax.

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incapable of understanding that majority of americans don't want them in power. in 2000, even after the supreme court gifted them the presidency, they still did not believe that our gore had won the popular vote, claiming that there was widespread fraud, that blood states like new mexico for gore. that and other democratic winds lead to republican attorney general, and once again nationwide initiative for the country's 93 u.s. attorneys to combat voter fraud. as it turns out, they did not find much of anything, mostly minor issues. but they were so hell-bent on finding this mythical voter fraud, that they actually fired seven u.s. attorneys in a single day, in addition to one who previously was fired, an ethical move that ultimately led to the demise of attorney general alberta gonzalez tenure. but that prime, they're publican party just voted for trump, who even though he won the presidency could not handle the fact they lost the popular

vote by 3 million votes. so, he set up an entire voter fraud commission. and surprise surprise, there was no widespread voter fraud, same deal in 2020. though there were four maga voters and the villages who voted for trump twice. but trump's inability who attempted to overturn the election in 2020 -- paid for by tax payer money, and florida as a very grossly stage arrest of lack voters what felony records, but what led to believe they could vote. and guess what? those units found absolutely nothing in these midterm elections either. but this never really been about finding voter fraud, hasn't it? it's been about republicans making it has hardest possibly for americans to vote against them. and republicans are gonna keep trying it, as long as they keep losing. and that is tonight's reidout. all in with chris hayes starts now. arts now. >> tonight on all in -- >>