it's from key west open eyes to biodiversity. >> i feel like a surgeon. >> the flying classroom and taking students beyond traditional lessons. >> i've had a chance to work with all types of kids, from different backgrounds, different walks of life, and it's powerful to see when that light of a cliques for them. >> opening new world and helping kids soar like irving! >> and on that note, i wish you a good night! i'm symone sanders-townsend, in person world who will be back here tomorrow! you can catch my show every weekend at four pmi a serene, right here on msnbc and into original episodes on mondays on peacock. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late! ♪ ♪ ♪

so it's really the second time in american, history the former president appeared in court as a criminal defendant. the first time as last month when donald trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. in the manhattan district attorney's case against him. now, today, mr. trump appeared in that courtroom again, virtually. by video conference from mar-a-lago. the reason for this hearing was that the judge in this case needed to explain to former president trump why he is not allowed to post any of the evidence from this case on social media. which seems like it was probably quite necessary. because donald trump has a real tendency to post about his various legal entanglements. this weekend, for example, the former president went on a truth social tirade, the radical left democrats will step up their fake investigations on me because they they now see they can't win at the ballot box. trump hating special prosecutor jack smith, whose family and friends are big-time haters and,

will be working overtime on this treasonous quest. >> mr. trump tends to do that kind of frenzy posting what he knows the stakes are getting higher. and this week, there's a ton of new reporting, suggesting that when it comes to special counsel, jack smith, the stakes are, indeed, about to get a lot higher. for starters, we've got a whole new host of reporting about how the special counsel -- prosecutor, is now in possession of detailed notes taken by trump's former lawyer, evan coker, in notes that describe exactly what was happening down at mar-a-lago. while trump was refusing to turn over classified documents to the fbi. they are very detailed. these notes, taken by mr. evan corcoran, they tell us a lot. about one key figure, and all of trump's orbit. this man. his name is what -- he is trump's longtime aide. his body man, in the white

house parlance. no, prosecutors have been circling him for some time, ever since it was discovered the trump told him to move boxes of classified information out of the storage room, both before and after the fbi issued its subpoena for those classified documents. at this point, walt now to is now corroborating with doj prosecutors. he gave them some conflicting narratives in separate interviews about what went down as a pertained to the moving of those boxes. after prosecutors threatened to charge mr. nauta with a crime. he ceased communication with the special counsel's team. but trump's lawyer, evan corcoran, the one who took all those notes, he is cooperating. he has to. he's been ordered to buy a federal judge. and the detailed journals mr. corcoran just handed over to special counsel, jack smith, those journals tell a very interesting story about walt nauta and his role in all of this. this is from the guardian, about what happened after the

doj first subpoenaed almost mystifying classified documents. quote, the notes described how corcoran told nauta about the subpoena before he started looking for classified documents. because corcoran needed nauta to unlock the storage room. corcoran then described how nauta had offered to help him go through the boxes, which corcoran declined and said nauta should stay outside. going through 60 boxes in the storage room, took longer than expected, and the search ended up lasting several days. the notes, again, evan corcoran's notes, they also suggested to prosecutors that there were times when the storage room might have been left unattended, well the search for the classified documents was ongoing, such as when mr. corcoran needed to take a break, and walked out to the pool area nearby. okay, so, consider all of this information for a minute. trump's lawyer asked trump's body men to unlock the storage room. hey, walt, the other key for this room?

trump's body made annette then asked a lawyer ponytail, hey, evan, do you need any help? corcoran says, no thank you. walt. can you also please stay outside. >> trump's lawyer then leaves the storage room unlocked and walks away. this is where the record of what happened gets a little fuzzy. the special counsel has subpoenaed security footage from mar-a-lago from around the time of the search. but there are reportedly gaps in that security footage. now, prosecutors have been asking witnesses questions about those gaps. and we know from previous

reporting, mr. walt nauta is at the center of those questions about the security footage gaps, is at the center of those questions to? after the fbi requested the security footage from mar-a-lago, mr. nauta reached out to trump's head of security. texting the security guys, hey, call him. why did walt when nauta he did talk to trump's security team about was on those tapes. doesn't have anything to do with why there are gaps on that security footage? that is one of the many things we still do not know. but the special counsel's investigators, they just might. because they have talked to almost everybody involved in this whole thing. they have talked to maids, staff, and mar-a-lago. they've talked to high-level

officials. they have obtained the cooperation of an insider witness. and they have subpoenaed a ton of documents. i just the past 24 hours, the new york times in the washington post both report that the special counsel has subpoenaed records from trump's businesses going back as far as 2017, as part of that same mar-a-lago investigation. no, the special counsel's investigators appear to be ready to reach a conclusion. the wall street journal reports today, jack smith is wrapping up the mar-a-lago

investigation. which means we could know any day now whether the former president of the united states will face yet another criminal indictment. joining us now, devlin barrett, reporter covering the fbi in the doj for the washington post. also with us is joyce vance, former u.s. attorney, co-host of the sisters in law podcast. devlin and joyce, thanks for being. here devlin, let me start with you in terms of your reporting. and the reporting that is out there. does this timeline surprise you? that the special counsel may, in fact, be wrapping up? >> so, i think wrapping up sometime in the eye of the beholder. it is certainly true there are a lot of indicators. showing they have done, let's call it, a majority of the investigative work here. but i feel like we also have to caution folks, prosecutors have a habit of doing what bob mueller used to call, playing with their food. i don't think you should assume, just because a lot of the grand jury work has been done that the prosecutors themselves are ready to move to the next step. we see, to be honest, and a lot of federal mastication, we see time and time again, how the decision-making process can actually get bogged down. that's a big question right

now. i think in terms of the special counsel. >> i like that metaphor, disturbing, though it may be to some, joyce, devlin's suggestion that prosecutors sometimes play with their food. do you think the other special counsel probes that are looking into documents retained at president biden's office, that that might factor into the timeline in terms of potential charging decisions in the special counsel's probe of mar-a-lago? >> i suppose it's possible, alex, that someone's made a decision that it would be easier, that would help the public understand if they're announced together. i think, in terms of evaluating the case against trump, that's just not on jack smith's mind.

he's looking at his evidence, and i think devlin is very accurate when he says prosecutors like to play with their food. we definitely do. and after you're done playing with it in the grand jury, the appellate lawyers want to come along and take a look at with the food that you've gotten your plate. and figure out if it's enough to pass some of the legal benchmarks that they're looking for. for instance, do you have enough evidence, both to obtain and to sustain a conviction. so, sometimes, we see a little bit more legal work going on in the background. i think it's relatively rare for prosecutors to consider these sort of extraneous factors like other investigations that may be underway. setting aside the timeline,

which, of course, is a mystery to all of everybody except for jack smith, probably. devin, the strength of the case here, the evidence that we're learning about, the fact that evan corcoran was a copious notetaker, down to the reporting in the guardian says, in addition to his exchange with trump. corcoran described trump's facial expressions and reactions whenever they discussed the subpoena. then usually detailed nature of his notes said to have irritated trump, who only learned about them after the notes themselves were subpoenaed. this is, what sounds like, a treasure trove of information. especially since mr. nauta is i don't think evan corcoran is a willing or even necessarily particularly fulsome witness for the government. i think those notes and the broader picture of what corcoran says he was told is important to understand the presidents own words and actions. >> yeah, i would say, joyce, i wonder how you read this, the very fact that trump's lawyer, who, by the way, is still working for trump, the fact that he's taking these notes in the first place suggests to me and other people that this is someone who maybe knew the kind of client he was dealing with. it doesn't seem like common practice for a lawyer to be jotting down notes about what his client's facial expression was when i talked about the subpoena. that seems out of the ordinary, at least to me. does it to you? >> it really does, it's much

more a stock in trade of a prosecutor, which evan corcoran once was. and the district of columbia. it's what you do when you're interviewing a witness, and you're trying to figure out if they're credible, and what kind of information they might have. and it reminds me very much of the point in the mueller investigation, where trump's, were told in the report, the trump learned that his white house counsel, don mcgahn, took copious notes. and trump expressed alarm and said, he'd never had a lawyer who took notes. he didn't understand why that would happen would be happening. that suggests to me, the former president does not someone who likes to have people taking a written record of his conduct. and the fact that corcoran has it here is important, it does suggest he had a certain healthy amount of concern about himself. alex, what's so remarkable here, we've seen instance after instance were some of the best witnesses against the former president or his own lawyers.

it is such an uncommon occurrence to see the attorney-client privilege pierced by the crime fraud extra exception. i think it's become dinner table top in america, we're all conversant with this notion, that when a client uses a lawyer, it doesn't have to be a conspiracy. it can literally be the client asking the lawyer for advice that they can then use. turned it a crime. that the relationship no longer blocks that evidence from scrutiny by prosecutors. that's what's happened here. >> to that point, to elaborate on what you're saying earlier, devin, this can show what andrew weissmann referred to as the men's rail, his intent and all this. which seems to be the key, right? the piercing of the attorney client privilege, reveals the cooperation, or lack thereof, between the client and his lawyer. the fact that trump may have obfuscated or down light lied to evan corcoran. and presumably, there are other lawyers in the mix, who told trump, this is what you need to do. this is why you need to return these documents. this is how the

declassification process works. there's probably not just one lawyer here that can attest to the trump's state of mind, as a concerned, but given the document back to the doj? >> right, that just a really important factual point in this case, it's important remember, vertically with evan corcoran. evan corcoran has brought brought into this late. after other lawyers talk to trump about this. evan corcoran, comes into this cold got a lot of this from the former president could've evan corcoran it at the mercy. of trump's lawyers of events. when he spotted late. and i think it's part of the reason why his notes are so important. and part of the reason why what evan corcoran is told maybe significantly different than the facts, because he is new to the issue. >> there's another piece of this that i think is important

if not specifically legally but for the narrative which is why didn't trump want to hold on to these documents? and dublin, you've had a piece that i found similar, it's pockmarked on our browser, about trump's sort of motivation for all of us which sounds like it was vanity. and yet you have some new reporting and the times reporting about the doj subpoenaing financial records from the trump organization specifically as it pertains to business deals he made in 2017. can we talk a little bit about those businesses and how they made it dovetailed or how they do dot here with the mar-a-lago investigation. >> right, so the subpoena that went out in april asked for information on essentially two types of things, one, what foreign nation deal that the trump organization make from 2017 on? now trump and his aides have long said that they made no such deals while he was the president, but i did make such a deal and oman after he stopped being the president. so what various folks up to me is, if you are going to look at this topic, it is fine, but a lot of people who have dealt with this, it seems to be more

of a box checking exercise to make sure that they aren't missing anything. is there some lurking financial motive to these things? and that's one thing to prosecutors to look at. but that doesn't necessarily mean that a smoking gun there or even a gun at all. >> i gotta ask you, joyce, this illegal sort of narrative or the narrative as it pertains to legal exposure and then there is the narrative in terms of how guilty this makes trump in the court of public opinion. the motivation part i think a lot of americans are asking why? why do all of this? and information that we have so far suggests it may not have been more than ego, and i wonder if you think that matters in terms of this broader investigation? that it might not have been to do a deal with some foreign

government, or sell cloth outside documents for financial personal gain? >> so motive is really an element in a criminal case. often it's enough to prove alex what andrew -- state of mind, and on the active's race of mind and then perhaps circumstances, or thinking about classified materials about that these are nda documents, that they and pertain to the national interest. so that's enough to conduct in a courtroom. and prosecutors are very skilled and explaining to a jury the absence of evidence of a motive and how they don't have to prove it. other jurors argument and they love to hear about motive and sometimes that can help to bring a case home but when we get into the court of public opinion, we have this notion

that there is some things that just awful. they may not be unlawful but they are awful. and these are the sorts of conduct that should bar someone from holding office. five years ago i'm out of thought that committing a sexual assault would be one of those. apparently that's not the case anymore. something that we will look for very carefully as this investigate begins to wind down it's whether some of the conduct, even if it doesn't end up being charged is the kind of conduct that will convince them and sway public opinion and say here is someone who is so cavalier about handling the nation secrets, that he is suited for office. >> five years ago i didn't make a lot of things would be okay that apparently are okay right now. but it's a brave new world. devlin barrett great joy vance, thank you so much for your time this evening. greatly preceded! when we come back, on the eve of this long expected presidential campaign announcement, florida governor ron desantis is working on his likability issue. but how he is expected to make

his presidential campaign announcement it may not help him all that much. that next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ both for eisenhower. >> that campaign ad it was a

first of its kind in 1952, not just for the jingle but because the 1952 presidential race was the first to make use of television as a campaign platform. world war ii had ended seven years earlier and dwight eisenhower a famous wartime general, he was on the ballot, and there was no question about eisenhower's likability 1952 gala polled determine that general eisenhower was the most admired man in the u.s. that year. so a campaign created a little bit about jingle reminding everyone that they liked ike. since then, likability has been sort of omnipresent and also elusive. all candidates apparently need to have it but some of them apparently don't. barack obama was considered likable in 2008 which led to this. >> he's very likable. i agree with that. i don't think on that bad. >> you're likable enough, hillary. >> and today there's one person in particular whose ability to be likable enough is really sort of in question. what a governor ron desantis. in 2018 during the debate prep for his first run for governor, decide this had to be reminded to be likable.

>> [inaudible] >> ever since then, there are public governor has been trying to get people to like. i'm to find unlikable. and while he has not yet announced he is a white house bid, mr. desantis has already made a few preemptive as a surly campaign states in a sort of choreographed attempt at being likable. according to the new york times, desantis and his team had internal conversations acknowledging the need for him to engage in the basics of political courtship, small talk, handshaking, eye contact. and it certainly seems that the governor is trying. here he is a law fake, or something while meeting with supporters and iowa few weeks ago. but does that, whatever that is, does that make him seem likable or human for that matter? this is after all the

individual who reportedly use his fingers to eat chocolate pudding, hubert to learn the names of his own staffers, who asked the leader of the for the republican party to fire a race had cancer survivor just a week after that person returned from surgery. whether or not voters can look past the putting fingers and a terrifying laughter, the thing that has made people question whether governor ron desantis is truly likable is what he has done to his own state. last fall, desantis if you recall rounded up 50 asylum seekers and send them to martha's vineyard, some said that they were misled about their final destination and had expected to land elsewhere. last year he signed don't say gay into law which in addition to marginalizing lgbtq people set off a massive feud with the states largest employer, disney. there is stop woke, the governor's assault on history lessons about race in k through 12 classrooms paired with his conservative takeover of the state university system.

all of that and more prompted the end of naacp this week to issue a travel advisory warning the state of florida has become openly hostile for black americas, lgbtq, and latino -- individuals. according to naacp, derek johnson, black lives are not valued in the state of florida. and now governor desantis wants to make america florida literally that is a chapter in his book. and so he is expecting to announce a run for the white house tomorrow with help from elon musk whose likability is in the eye of the beholder, has probably being generous. three sources tell nbc news that the announcement will happen tomorrow night in a conversation on twitter which of course is the company musk purchased last fall for 44 billion dollars. since that time, musk has we tweeted conspiracy theories and re-platform this all describing neo-nazis and created a public square for bigotry. along with a certain hate

speech on twitter since musk took over, the country has also observed a spike in white nationalist activity and violence. and this week, some of that activity might have made its way to washington. that's next. oh booking.com, ♪ i'm going to somewhere, anywhere. ♪ ♪ a beach house, a treehouse, ♪ ♪ honestly i don't care ♪ find the perfect vacation rental for you booking.com, booking. yeah. my mental health was much better, but i struggled with uncontrollable movements called td, tardive dyskinesia. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements. ingrezza is different. it's the simple, once-daily treatment proven to reduce td that's #1 prescribed. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce

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>> late last night, that man from missouri reportedly rammed a u-haul truck into barriers near the white house.

the suspect is 19 years old and a secret service as he told them he wanted to get to the white house to quote, seize power and be put in charge of the nation. he said he would kill the president if he had to and would hurt anyone who stood in his way. park police says up to the vehicle stop, the driver got out and took this flight out of his backpack. a flag emblazoned with a swastika. investigators asked him about the fly, the man says he bought it because quote, nazis have a great history. told investigators that he admired the nazis authoritarian nature, eugenics, and they're one world order and said that he looked up to hitler because he was a strong leader. now we still do not know what this man intended to do with that nazi flag, but boy are we seeing a lot more nazi stuff around the country these days. earlier this year, ohio education officials uncovered nazi approved home schooling lesson plans that were created

and shared online by white supremacists. in march, we saw swastikas and the hands of neo-nazis who were storming a drag queen storytelling event in a park in ohio. and earlier this month we saw a swastika and other symbols of hate tattooed on the body of the gunmen who opened fire in a mall in texas and killed eight people. joining us now is kathleen belew, associate professor of history at northwestern university and author of bring the war home, the white power movement and paramilitary america. professor belew, thank you for being here tonight, and i'll just get right to it. i think there are a lot of people who are familiar with the sort of phrases of white supremacy that we have heard integrated agree over the course of the last several years, but nazism seems like another level up in terms of distressing, disturbing developments in american culture. has this been building for a while or do you see this as a

precipitous increase in the waiving of they nazi flag? the in blazing of the swastika on body parts and elsewhere. is this a gradual increase, has been building for sometime, or is this all of a sudden that we are seeing all of this? >> i think it's all of those things. first of all, neo-nazi symbolism and the swastika, the regalia of the national nazi regime has been very popular in the militant right since at least the late 1970s and early 1980s which is when neo-nazis clansmen around occultists resist airs, -- and a number of other previously desperate groups join together in what they called the white power movement. from the 19 80s for that movement used those symbols alongside things like the clan robe and hug, but in crosses and other familiar white supremacist tropics offer the same purpose which was to

recruit and radicalize, and to wage a war on the federal government. this culminated in that period in the oklahoma city bombing in 1995, and has we appeared in our current moment in all of the ways that we have become very familiar with, beginning with perhaps the unite the right rally in 2017, and author to january 6th. it's all the same movements. what is different in this current moment is how a bowden these activist are, not only to enter our politics, to enter the public sphere, but to do so bearing the symbols of hatred that had for a long time been anathema to everything that we think of as part of america and its democratic system of governance. >> when you talk about how they are emboldened, i want to if you think the sort of

normalization of white nationalism, especially on the part of republicans, whether that's has done its share of making nazis you feel that there is a place for them. and i'm thinking of people like tommy tuberville who has asked about a white nationalist and whether they should be involved in the military, and he said while they call them that, as an white nationalist. i call them americans. is that the kind of stop normalizing mainstreaming white supremacy, by a sitting u.s. senator, that further emboldens nazis to come out and play? >> yes, absolutely! another good example just in the last few weeks is paul gosar's, the revelation that they employs on their staff, somehow contributed to actually say alachua contributed to nick fuentes and other white power activists, has posted on white power websites. now all of this has made somewhat more complicated because this is an

opportunistic movement that is constantly seeking ways to expand and reinvent itself. so we have just come through this story of the allen texas shooting with the latino neo-nazi gunman. and now we seem to have in this white house event a southern diane person who has identified with part of this movement and with a neo-nazi flag. the sort of expanding access to the symbols is one of the things that is different in this present a movement, but again history gives us some parables to work with here. for instance, the inclusion of skinhead activists in the late 1980s which also was for the people in the white power movement and then, a very very different cultural presentation but was deemed necessary because of what they saw as a state of emergency that

required everyone to mobilize and use whatever army they could find. at bottom, the people in this movement are much less concerned about distinctions between the claiming neo-nazi, between the neo-nazi and say other groups, and much more concerned about the looming common enemy which is the federal government, people of color, and the idea that the white race or the white culture, or the white nation might be extinguished. >> and i think that's a really important point to make because defenders of white nationalism have said that the fact the person of color was allegedly or is allegedly the suspect in all of this, sort of makes it impossible that it could be white nationalist if there is a person of color behind the act. and what you are saying that it's patently untrue. that people of color can also be white nationalist because it's an embrace of the broader agenda of white supremacy and white nationalism. as confounding as that might be, that's apparently something seems to be happening now in america? >> yes.

and it's mobilizing and a number of different complex ways. one is that within the latino community, there are a lot of definitions at work about what is whiteness. our idea of whiteness and the united states is not the only one, and in many countries in central and southern america, there is a different scheme of based on population of enslaved people, formerly enslaved people, on indian population, and on spanish population, and that's the racial hierarchy. this case of a south and the important being involved is interesting because there is also a quite old strain in this movement of thinking about aryan-ness which is the category that in the united states, has to do with white skin, but in india has an entirely different history and significant. so part of what we are seeing here is the global traffic of these ideas coming home to roost and part of what we are

seeing is that fundamental opportunism of which the people that are driving the recruitment and radicalization in this movement were driving the violent action are much less concerned with what, i suspect they might see has temporarily alliances than they are with sort of the long range strategic game plan. this will be either the historical record which points as towards mass casualty attacks, opportunistic attacks on communities of color, infrastructure attacks, or this new open road into our political system which point as towards things like intimidation of election officials, and attempts to jeopardize voting returns. both of these are threats, and both of these require our full attention. >> absolutely! kathleen belew, like you as always for your wisdom expertise on this topic. sincerely appreciate it. >> thank you for having me, alex. >> we have still more to come

tonight. texas lawmakers are increasingly trying to end the division between church and state. there is a bill on tap today that could put religion in every public classroom in the state. that is next. ♪ ♪ ♪ aspen dental is here with smile replacement solutions that work for your life. whether it's your first step, or a fast fix, you can get in today for all your denture needs, all at an affordable price. right now, get 20% off dentures and make your smile work for you again. call or book online today. the first time you made a sale online with godaddy was also the first time you heard of a town named dinosaur, colorado. we just got an order from dinosaur, colorado. start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. start for free at godaddy.com

how to grow more vibrant flowers: step one: feed them with miracle-gro shake 'n feed. that's it. miracle-gro. all you need to know to grow. >> this is a brand new children 's book, quote, if there is danger and it's safe to get away, we should run like rabbit instead of say.

if danger is near, do not fear, hide like pooh does until police appear. if we can't get away, we have to fight with all our mites. parents in the dallas independent school district in texas found out this week that their kids, kids as young as pre-k were sent home with this book. it is called stay safe, and it uses characters from winnie-the-pooh to teach run hide fight which is the guidance in the ad event of an active shooter. it's just that two young children. we talk to the publisher of this book today and he told us he was thinking of the school shooting in uvalde, texas last year that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers. the book publisher said he just wanted to make resource for parents who found themselves not knowing how to have this conversation with children that young. and i told us that he is quote, heartbroken that we as a society have a need for something like this. now we are showing you this book today because tonight, at

midnight, is incredibly significant in the state of texas. first of, tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the uvalde shooting. on top of that, tonight at midnight is the deadline for any new legislation of any kind to pass the texas legislature until its next session. and if you do not know the texas legislature only meets every two years. the legislature can technically meet more than that if the governor calls for a special legislative session, both conservative greg abbott in the governor's mansion, that means after midnight tonight only republican party priorities are going to see the light of day. other than that, if bills are not passed by midnight tonight, then nothing will happen in the texas state legislature until it meets again in january of 2025. i'm not misspeaking here, there will be new new legislation into the year 2025.

and in the years and the uvalde shooting, the big thing uvalde parents pushed for was to raise the minimum age for buying a semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. but the republican controlled legislature wouldn't even do that. so in a state where schools are now turning to winnie-the-pooh to teach 4 year old how to survive mass shootings what just hours left to pass anything for the next year and a half, and hours until the anniversary of the deadliest school shooting in the past decade, what are republicans in the state of texas focused on? well yesterday the texas house passed a bill banning diversity equity and inclusion efforts on college campuses. another bill regulating drag shows. today, they pass one bill that gets rid of the county election administrator and just one single county, harris county, which is the largest most diverse county and all of texas. they passed another bill that gives the texas secretary of state the ability to take over elections administration in any county where a complaint is filed.

so that's basically any county republicans want. earlier this month, they passed a bill that would allow schools to employ chaplains who are religious figures to essentially serve as school counselors. and in these final hours we are watching to see if they will pass a bill requiring the ten commandments to be posted in every classroom in the state including public school classrooms. those last two measures are among a handful of bills that if passed at least one chamber of a texas legislature and that are alarming people who believe that the church and state should remain a separate here in america as they have been for much of the 20th century. one texas state senator who sponsored several of those bills told the washington post quote, there is absolutely no separation of god and government, and that's what

these bills are about. that has been confused, it's not real. with just hours left for the texas state legislature to pass anything, former public school teacher and current democratic texas state james talarico is going to join me live coming up right here next. stay tuned. realtor.com (in a whisper) if we use kevin's college fund, we can afford this house. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to find options within your budget. good luck young man. realtor.com to each their home. with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work.

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christian, representative, i know your devout christian and trauma. this bill to me is not only unconstitutional, it's not only un-american, i think it's also deeply un christian. >> that was texas a representative james talarico earlier this month as a committee was taking up a bill that would require public school classrooms to display the ten commandments. representative talarico's arguments did not win over the majority of his republican led committee and the bill was later voted out of that committee and into the full state's house. that is where it sits tonight

on the agenda for a full vote but even if it does not pass, or if the path votes not happen in time, the bill will effectively die. but even then, it is just one of an estimated 1600 bills, 1600 bills in state house across this country that have attempted to dismantle the separation between church and state. joining me now is representative talarico, remember the texas state house and a former public school teacher. representative talarico thank you very much for stepping away from house business for our behalf. just, if he could for people who have not been following this issue in your state, what are republicans trying to do what to public education in the state of texas? >> well first, thank you for having me alex and thank you for shining a national spotlight on what texas republicans are trying to do to our public school students. they are trying to indoctrinate, they are trying to impose their version of christianity on 5. 5

million texas public school students, and it should be offensive to all of us, those of us who love the constitution, those of us who love democracy, and particularly those of us who are christians. i am the grandson of a baptist preacher from south texas. i town the same charge where i was baptized when i was four years old, and i find these bills deeply offensive to my faith, and so i think it's incumbent upon christians to speak out that these bills are exclusionary, they are $1 choice, and they are diametrically opposed to the teachings of peaches crisis. >> and this is coming on the eve of the uvalde school shooting which is tomorrow and a lot of parents are like to see legislative action on schools as it pertains to gun safety reform. instead republicans are focused on dismantling the separation between church and the state. i think anybody who is alive in the 20th century, it is shocking that that is not only being talked about but being acted on. can you talk a little bit more

about that opinion that this is a christian nation that needs to return to its christian roots? and how that has been embraced by the right as this sort of a new raison d'etre? >> you don't, i completely agree that my colleagues would confess to be questions should return to their christian roots. and we are called as believers to see christ in all things. that means we are called to see christ in the students of color who thrive with diversity equity and inclusion at tigers universities, we are called to see christ in the voters in harris county who are trying to access their god given rights at the ballot box, and we are called to see christ in those 19 babies and those two teachers who were massacred in a classroom at robb elementary and uvalde, texas. the fact that we have not lifted a finger to prevent that tragedy like that happening again should be offensive to everyone watching across the state of texas. we desperately need people in public office who will fight for the students of the state,

and who will truly live out the values of their faith. >> do you have any sense of whether the ten commandments bill is going to pass tonight? >> you know, i stopped on the floor to chat with you and your viewers and my colleagues as we speak are fighting tooth and nail on the floor of the texas house to prevent that the bill from coming up for a vote. i'm going to go join them as soon as i hop off this call. i hope that we can stop that a bill from getting heard on the house fall at midnight tonight. >> texas state representative james talarico, you go to the work that you need to do! we really appreciate you taking the time tonight. good luck out there! >> thank you for covering this again. >> that is our show for tonight. so you get tomorrow. now it is time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. good evening lawrence. vening lawrence. >> good evening alex! i'm sweating out some late breaking news items here but not breaking news, i'm going to do later much in the hour, is i'm going to attempt, and i probably regret this, i'm going to attempt to make sense of the

current debt ceiling situation. instead of having someone come on who doesn't know what's going on, i thought i don't know what's going on, i can just guess and so, we're gonna do a little bit of that. and i will advance a theory that joe biden is doing everything right. there is a theory that i landed on it today that joe biden is doing everything right. i reserve the right to take my mind tomorrow. >> [laughter] listen, lawrence, i will put my money on you being able to not only explain this but make sense of it, and have a plausible theory for all of it so i'm eager to see what you have to say this evening. >> it's one of the things that i know will sound good while i'm saying it. i don't want anyone to think about much after i say it. okay? >> [laughter] >> [laughter] let's see what the news is tomorrow. >> you've got to get the 10:59. >> right, yeah! >> it is given some until 10:59, and i'm sure it well lawrence as it always does!