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news in the first week of 2024. the supreme court announces-able here at case on trump's ballot eligibility under the 14th and that meant. as president biden plays out the stakes of this election in the starkest terms to date. jamie raskin is here with his reaction and he's coming up first. plus, maine secretary of state, shannon ballot, joins me after -- in her state. a decision that is pulled once these appeals play out. also today, with eight days until the iowa caucus, i'm gonna talk to someone who spends a lot of time in focus groups with voters. and later, we love player steps down from a top nra, as his corruption trial gets underway in new york. we'll take a look at the damage that he did and the future of

americas -- ♪ ♪ ♪ okay, i really believe that sometimes we all just need to acknowledge how insane this moment we're living in really is. think about it this way, friday was of course january 5th, one day before the third anniversary of the january 6th insurrection incited by the former president. it was the same day as a major speech by the sitting president about the danger that the former president still poses to democracy. and then, on that same day, the united states supreme court announces that it will hear a case on whether that former president can even be on the ballot because of his role in the insurrection. all in one day. it's important to lose sight about how we arrived at this moment and why we arrived at this moment. the supreme courts taking up this unprecedented case because of the unprecedented actions of donald trump, that's why.

and we're gonna spend a lot of time talking about the specifics of the specifics of that case and the 14th amendment. even if the justices do leave donald trump on the ballot his position as the pro insurrection candidate isn't really in doubt, is a? i mean, take trump's appeal to the supreme court earlier this week, andrew weissmann's gonna join me later in the show and tweeted this about the filing. any normal person will leave this brief by saying, i did not engage an insurrection, but since trump is embracing that conduct, not condemning it, he relegate that till a later aside. that's exactly the point. justices may leave him on the ballot, we don't know, but trump isn't even denying the court argument against him, he's not running from the insurrection, he's embracing it. he's called january six, a beautiful day, he's referred to the rioters, as patriots. he said he will pardon many of them, he's even played a version of the star-spangled one -- at his rally. just this weekend, three years

to the day since he incited that violent mob, he called on president biden to release the january six hostages as he called them. and that's exactly the point that president biden made in his speech on friday. that this race between someone who supports what happened that day and someone who does not, that's what it's about. and that contrast should tell the american people what kind of president each of that would be. >> donald trump's campaign is about him, not americans, not you, donald trump's campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. he's willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. trump won't do what american president wants to, he refuses to denounce political violence. hear me clearly, i'll say what donald trump won't, political violence is never ever acceptable in the united states politicize it, never, ever.

it has no place in a democracy, none. [applause] it can't be pro insurrectionist and pro american. >> you can't be pro insurrectionist and pro american. that's pretty straightforward. so yes, the insurrection was three years ago, but it's not in our past, it's very much a part of our present and our future depending on what happens. it's already become a centerpiece of the 2024 campaign. both donald trump and joe biden are essentially running on january six, but in vastly different ways. one looks at the events of that day, the death, the destruction, the literal and figurative attacks on the rule of law and celebrate set. and one is firmly against it. one stands with the constitution and one said that he wants to suspend it, one supports democracy in one ignores it. one embraces political violence and one rejects it. that's really what it all boils down to. and this weekend has served as

an important reminder of that. >> joining me now is congresswoman, jamie raskin, he led the second impeachment trial of donald trump, served on the house select committee, and he's now the ranking democrat on the house oversight committee. it's great to be with you here this afternoon, happy new year to you as well. i wanted to start, congressman, it's important in my view to call out the craziness even when we feel numb to it at times. when you hear trump call the insurrectionists, hostages, as he's repeatedly down this weekend going as far to say that president biden should release them, you were in the capitol that day, you spent the last few years working on this, how dangerous is that rhetoric? and what could be done in your view to counter these attempts to rewrite history of that? >> obviously, it's a major insult an affront to the families of actual hostages still being held by hamas in

gaza right now. look, something struck me yesterday, it was the dog that did not park. t was the dog that did not park the republicans released hundreds and have hours of tv, security today from january six, they had months to examine it, they haven't come up with a single shot which purports to capture and antifa fighter, or an fbi agent, inciting the insurrection. yet they're still out there spreading their propaganda and disinformation about how it was really antifa and fbi agents, which would make it strange to argue that all these people should be released and trump's gonna pardon them. why would he pardon all these antifa fighters? there's no logic in the president -- he's characteristic of what you get from authoritarian and fascist political parties. >> no question.

there's no logic really in trump's argument here other than politics, he's accusing biden of being a threat to democracy, that projection what you and i both know is crazy, and everyone out there knows it's crazy, it's working with his base. how do you combat that, you need to combat that, should we all be combat-ing that? >> yeah, look, they've racked the republican party, when the civil war started lincoln said that insurrection is the negation of the basic principle of democratic government, which is the people get to choose their own rulers. and they have ruined the republican party, it started as an anti slavery, pro freedom, pro immigration, anti -- and they've reduced it to a cult of authoritarian personality, or donald trump even yesterday is engaging in what is essentially pro slavery,

anti union rhetoric, saying abraham lincoln could've avoided the civil war by accepting the so-called compromise, which was a pro slavery compromise that would've constitutional lie save slavery for all-time. and this is what they've done to the republican party. it's true, he has this on rubber, your glue strategy, when joe biden and the democrats called them out for the authoritarian collapse of their party they said, no, it's you attacking a moxie. and we just need to go out and educate america about what is actually happening, and trust in the good common sense of the people that they will recognize in joe biden was honorable public servant who's been devoted to the common good his entire life, versus donald trump who is our rip off artist,

a compulsive liar, and a danger to the public. >> such a good name, no question that speech on friday was intended to do exactly that. i also, since i have you, i want to ask you about some big news, there was a lot of big supreme court news, the big news about the 14th amendment. it's understandable, in my view, i'm sure yours as well to be skeptical a bit of the supreme court. given a number of their rulings. they have ruled in cases related to trump, kind of against him in scenarios, excluding ones about the release of documents, et cetera. how confident are you that they can be impartial in this 14th amendment case given there's no historic precedent, but that's the point of them facing at? >> it's true, the court has ruled a few times against donald trump. the arguments that he advances are so outlandish, agree just, that even the people on the court who he thinks oh hem, do

not want to completely disgrace themselves. i hope it will be the same way with section three of the 14th amendment, it's a case of major importance to the future of democracy in america. and the constitution is clear just like you need to be 35 in order to be president, just like you to be native born u.s. citizen and even though that's gonna disqualify a lot of other wise qualified people like -- also you need to not have engaged in treason, there are, you could not have engaged in insurrection or rebellion, there is probably fewer than a dozen people who have essentially disqualified themselves because of their actions on january 6th, it's five more justifiable than just saying, maxwell frost or aoc cat run for president because they're too young. these are the qualifications that we have. i hope the supreme court will do their essential job by

reading the text of the constitution, understanding what the original purpose and meaning is, and implementing it, i haven't seen anything serious advance that donald trump did not participate in insurrection on january six, on the contrary, he was the mastermind and the ringleader of the whole thing. >> it's so hard to get it to trump's mind, i don't do it too often, it seems pretty clear that he's been trying to pressure the court in some ways. he said in the wake of the news, i hope we get fair treatment, if we don't our country is in big trouble. do you hear that as attempts to intimidate the justices or pressure them, how she would be hearing that? >> yeah, already you could hear in the right-wing media about how justice kavanaugh owes him, donald trump -- it's a mob stir form of justice where it's not important what

the law says, but what's important is which judge you know. and that of course is an essential attack on the rule of law, the idea that were governed by the constitution as the supreme law of the land. they're just saying these people who trump put on the court over him, i think there's been a very coherent argument made already that justice thomas needs to recuse himself because he's obviously biased by virtue of his wife's participation in the insurrectionary politics of january six, and the weeks leading up to it. and in an ideal world you'd have a justice that would be able to recognize that, this court does not accept any binding ethics regime, or they turn it over to other judges to determine whether or not they're acting in an objective way. >> thank you so much, congressman jamie raskin, thank you for joining me this afternoon. >> thanks for having me.

coming up, all asked secretary of state, shenna bellows, how the supreme court's decision to take up the 14th amendment case could impact her decision to remove trump from the ballot. later, trump's political calendar and legal calendar are about to collide in a very big way. andrew weissmann joins me in a high stakes hearing he set to attend here this week. we're back after a quick break. a quick break a quick break and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. lowering bad cholesterol can be hard, even with a statin. diets and exercise add to the struggle. today, it's possible to go from struggle to cholesterol success with leqvio. with a statin, leqvio is proven to lower bad cholesterol by 50% and keep it low with 2 doses a year. common side effects were injection site reaction, joint pain, and chest cold. ask your doctor about twice-yearly leqvio.

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trump from the ballot under the 14th amendment started in colorado, but a decision late last month by the secretary of state certainly upped the pressure on the supreme court to act. and life hasn't exactly been easy for china fellas since she removed trump from the ballot. ballots and her family and her staff have faced threats and harassment since making the decision. her home was even swatted over the holidays, which basically means someone made false emergency calls prompting a large police presence to a erroneously respond to her house. but she stood firm and her decision, which is summed up in

her original ruling. she wrote, quote, i am mindful that in the secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section 3 of the 14th amendment. i am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before a -- engaged in insurrection. that's the point of all of this. joining me now is maine secretary of state, shenna bellows. secretary bellows, it's great to see you. thank you for taking the time. i just want to start with the news that broke on friday night, with the supreme court announcing it would take up the colorado case. we're all trying to understand kind of what this means. help us understand. this is putting your decision on hold, but it's not necessarily binding on your decision, if i understand correctly. is it possible that the supreme court could rule against colorado, and your decision could still stay in place? is not in the realm of possible? >> good morning, thank you for having me. it's a snowy day here in the great state of maine. >> beautiful. >> so, i want to share -- it is.

i want to share a little bit about the process. now, in my decision, and folks can read it on the secretary of state's website. it's 34 pages. i voluntarily suspended the effect of my decision pending the appeals process to superior court. now, the main matter is before superior court now. and, because mr. trump appealed last week, as is his due process right under the constitution, this is the process. any registered main voter can bring a challenge to the secretary of state -- initiate snot process. now, the supreme court taking up the matter of colorado may impact maine. of course, the supreme court is the final arbiter in constitutional law. and all of us, every single election official in this country, swore an oath to uphold the constitution and the

rule of law. so, the supreme court may issue a ruling that impacts maine. meanwhile, however, that does not suspend the legal process here in our state. so i had voluntarily -- fact of my decision, and as we look at that lions, maine's presidential primary is march 5th. the federal requirements, every military overseas voter is entitled to begin receiving ballots on january 20th. in maine, we have this really wonderful law where every citizen and our state can begin engaging in what we call no excuse absentee voting. ballots are made available to every maynor 30 days prior to election day. -- maine law contemplates what happens if you print a ballot with a candidate who is disqualified after printing, or, you know, something else

happens. historically, in maine, there have been candidates when the ballots have been printed, people have been voting, and there's been a tragic incident where a candidate might, you know, passed away, or they may change their minds. and some candidates have withdrawn after printing the ballot. so, i shared with the court, and it is in the last page of my decision, that we are voluntarily suspending the fact of the decision. because the election administration moves forward, right? we don't print ballots without a name on them, and then people start voting, and then we print other ballots. that's not how it works. so it's really important that -- cy. >> no, it's okay. because you said a lot there, which is super helpful information. it's an's like there is a range of rulings the supreme court could rule. they could rule a ruling that includes or doesn't include maine. you are planning for different scenarios. trump is on the ballot. obviously, if they rule in a way that kick some off the ballot, there would be an

adjustment, i assume? of course. >> 100 percent. yes. we will follow the law in the constitution no matter what. and that was what was so important. so i made my decision based exclusively on the record in the hearing, the weight of the ag fidan's -- i followed the law in the constitution as is my duty, and that's what election officials do every day across this country. >> i wanted to ask you. you are one of many officials who has received threats against you and your family. that has, i'm sure, been very difficult. as that level of vitriol surprised you? you're part of the main community, you probably know a lot of people in your community. how have you felt personally about that? >> i was prepared for a strong reaction, potentially, for people to disagree with my decision.

but their processes for disagreements under -- mr. trump has the right to appeal to courts. if people think that main law delegates too much authority to the secretary, there's a process for amendment of the law. i wasn't prepared for the aggressive, abusive, and threatening communications targeting not only me, but members of my family and people who work for me. i wasn't prepared for swatting. but i will tell you this, now that a week has passed. i believe that violent rhetoric, right? those threatening communications, they're designed to scare and to silence people. they're designed to send a message to people. it's dangerous to do their job, to hold the constitution. most people, like the country -- my favorite country song goes, most people are good. and the overwhelming support that i've received, including people who tell me, you know,

yesterday i was talking to one individual who is in my community, and he said, i'm a trump or. but we are good. and i think that is really important. we can agree to disagree on candidates and issues, but we're together in community. and really, here in maine, i've been very heartened by the level of support, including with people who disagree with me. >> but that is so good to hear, and also, to your credit, you have not been silenced in any way. i'm happy to hear that as well. -- thank you for joining me this afternoon. coming up next, donald trump referred to andrew weissmann as jack smith's slime ball boss. does this man look like a slime ball to you? i don't think so. -- he joins me next. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. but here i am... being me. keep being you... and ask your healthcare provider about the number one prescribed h-i-v treatment, biktarvy.

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previewing ways in which donald trump's legal and political counties have been on a collision course. now, it's about to actually happen. over the next couple of weeks, as the people of iowa and new hampshire cast their very first votes of the 2024 election, trump plans to be in court a lot. on tuesday, it will hear oral arguments and a d.c. federal appeals court over trump's claim of presidential immunity, which trump plans to attend in person. he's also set to attend closing arguments in his civil trial in new york. then it's back to politics for the iowa caucus on january 15th. the day after that, he's set to -- e. jean carroll. after the jury in the first case found trump liable for sexual abuse. according to the new york times, trump wants to attend that trial. even though the new hampshire primary is the following week. join me now is someone who knows a lot about all of these things, that is former general counsel of the fbi, and you weisman, one of everybody's

favorite legal eagles. i'm sure, i want to just talk about this very high stakes day in d.c. on tuesday. it's this hearing in the d.c. appeals court over presidential immunity. it's a big deal. once those oral arguments take place this week, once they're done, how soon do you expect them to rule? what does the calendar look like on that case, potentially? >> well, they can take as much time as they want, but there's a data point to suggest that they're gonna move very quickly. and that is the schedule that they set to hear this case. this was in legal terms really lightning speed. all the briefing was done over the holidays. they have all full briefing by january 2nd, and one week later from this tuesday, they have legal argument. -- i think there's no question that donald trump is going to

lose on his argument that he is somehow absolved of all criminal liability because he was a former president. i think that is a dead loser. the main issue is that currently, there is a full stay of the trial date, and so, that was scheduled, and it technically is still scheduled, for march 4th. but the thing i'm keeping my eye on is what happens to that stay. does the d.c. circuit do anything to tighten up any steps that donald trump can take after it rules to delay things further? or whether they're going to allow the trial court to move forward quickly? >> yeah. i mean, as he raised many times, and thought -- a lot of this is about using legal tactics to delay and pursuit of his goal of delaying all of this. and you're out with this great piece -- about the ways in which the appeals court could basically on stick this whole process.

so talk us through what that looks like. >> sure. so, to understand this, as my colleague mary mccord -- there's something called an interlocutory appeal. sorry to get into the weeds, but the normal role in a criminal case is that nothing goes up to an appellate court until the case is over. another waits, until there's a verdict. you have a trial, and the jury decides one way or another what should happen. that is the normal time there is an appeal. there are very few exceptions to that. and this, apparently, falls into an exception, and i say apparently because it's really not clear that this should've been allowed for what's called this interim, or interlocutory appeal. so it seems pretty clear that the d.c. circuit is going to talk about that on tuesday. they actually issued an order to the party saying that --

friends of the court briefs where this was raised by one of the friends of the court. in a brief about whether the state -- bring this up now. so stay tuned for the discussion on tuesday about that issue. >> a big thing to watch, it sounds like. okay, andrea, i can't let you go without asking, because i'm sure you saw the former president called you jack smith's slime ball boss. anyone who knows you things that's insane, or anyone who watches you. but i wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to that. >> sure. i don't think there's anything that i can say that hasn't just been better side by the maine secretary of state about these kinds of ad hominem attacks. i would separate that into two things. one is the sort of use of adjectives and adverbs. that is not legal argument. that is not a factual argument. anymore than if you say, the election was stolen.

you need to have the facts. adjectives and adverbs is not a way of arguing, especially for someone who has been the leader of the free world, let alone anyone else. and i think that's really important. -- somehow i am jack smith's boss, again, where are the facts of that? i have had zero communications with jack smith or his team. they are independent both within the department of justice and certainly for a legal analyst on msnbc. >> well, that is a very disciplined and graceful response. totally expected from you. and you weisman, thank you as always for joining us. coming up next, nikki haley is still a long shot to win the republican nomination, but she sure has gotten donald trump's attention. plus, what is the nra without -- where about to find out. we're back after a quick break. ck after a quick break hi, richard lui with a news update. --

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tons of primary voters who have a lot of sympathy for him. does that -- recent focus groups talking about how haley spoke out against trump on january 6th. -- >> political cover when, you know -- . that's extremely disappointing, because i think she was kind of hitching her -- sign of trouble, she jumped ship, because she didn't want to, you know, die politically. for me, it comes down to integrity, and all these people who aren't trump. i was treating them as maybe a running mate. but even that's a long shot. for me, i don't think he likes anybody on that stage. -- >> interviewed the gentleman you just heard there. she's the publisher of the bulwark, the host of the focus group podcast, where she talks

about a lot of these podcasts, of course, and the director of the republican accountability project. okay, sarah. you are talking to a lot of gop primary voters, more than most people. you afraid in a recent podcast, which made me laugh, some of them as a nikki curious. but does she have a real path here? and if so, how narrow is it? what's the reality? >> okay. so here is how and nikki play would work. we caught the haley mary play. which is, she comes second in iowa. she comes second in iowa, she's outperforming expectations, and she's beating ron desantis. and then they go into new hampshire, and the reason that trump is just a little worried about this is that in new hampshire, she is polling as close to him as anybody is in that state. -- tailor made for a lot of undeclared and independents to vote in the gop primary. and nikki haley does much better with those kinds of

voters than she does with base voters. and so, the one play here is to win new hampshire. nikki haley winds new hampshire, and she shifts the narrative. that would be like what joe biden did in south carolina. suddenly, he won south carolina, and the whole party shifts in his direction. now, i've got 1 million reasons i can give you why the republican party is not like that, and i do not see that scenario repeating itself on the republican side. but that is the play. there is a narrative shift that allows voters and the other early primary states to swing to her. because she would be disrupting, sort of one of the things that trump really has going for him, which is the inevitability narrative. people he's polling so far ahead that everyone expects him to be the nominee. so the theory would be she cracks that inevitability narrative, and there's a big move toward her. >> so you telling me there's a chance, and it's small. one of the things you just mentioned and i just talked about -- you talked about as it relates to your focus groups.

it's this kind of tricky challenge. including haley, where nothing kind of really works. i mean, the question that i have for you, and we've talked about this before, is there any argument? if you're just going back in time, that would work against trump? that would resonate with some of these republican voters who've been talking to? where it's just there's never been a really good option from the start and there still isn't now? >> yeah. it's a lesson argument and more of a person. i think that what you're seeing in this primary is just a dearth of political talent among these challenges. you know, ron desantis, that was a time when there was a big chunk of the republican party that i would say would move on from trump. they wanted an alternative. they were, at the time, desantis curious. i did tons of focus groups and the beginning of 2023 listening to republican voters who were super interested in the scientists and wanted to see more of him, and thought he might be a better alternative

to trump. the problem was that ron desantis turned out to be a lousy candidate. he wasn't a good politician. he didn't have the requisite political talent. and i think nikki haley, the reason she has been sort of emerged as a better alternative is that she is politically talented. her biggest problem, she's actually got what i would call three major problems. one, if you listen to the focus groups, the way they talk about or is they say, i don't hater. and so, the kind of like her okay, but they don't affirmatively, you know, really like her. they say, i don't hater, which is not the same thing is liking someone. the second thing is they don't believe she can beat trump. when you talk to these republican voters in these early primary states, there's so sure trump is gonna win. there's not even a sense among them that one of these alternatives could really breakthrough. and that includes nikki. the problem is, and this one is genuinely surprised me, it's how many people in the focus groups actually talk about not wanting to vote for a woman for

president. we just did one this week. this is the most dominant i've seen this. where five out of the seven participants, these are two-time trump voters, said they wouldn't like to vote for a woman. they'd rather vote for a man than a woman when it comes to the presidency. and that's just a tough thing to overcome. >> yeah. that is a tough thing to overcome. before i let you go, we have limited time, you did talk to some two time trump voters who now seem to be voting for biden, or maybe open to it, i guess. he's been doubling down on friday -- democracy argument. playing up the contrast on january 6th. is that animated enough for those voters? is that something, in your view, the biden team should be continuing to press and double down on? >> yeah. along with -- when i talked to trump voters who were open to supporting biden, or at least not voting for trump, that's really the

key, one of the main things where they said, never again will i vote for this guy, was january 6th. right? there are a lot of voters in the republican party who held their nose and voted for trump twice because they are republicans. but after january 6th, they said never again. so i think that it is good to talk about january 6th and what trump did then. because right now, biden is very top of mind for voters. these swing voters, they're not democrats, they don't always love joe biden, but they've sort of forgotten what they really hate about trump. but when you put trump front and center for them, they go, oh yeah, i don't want anything to do with that guy. >> well, that's some good advice from you, someone who spent a lot of time with republican voters. sarah, thank you so much. coming up, my thoughts on the downfall of wayne lapierre. -- we'll be right back. -- we'll be right back. we'll be right back. here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪

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pierre, the man who has led the nra for decades, resigned. the announcement was made amid a whole host of legal troubles. largely, of lapierre's own making. and just as a civil trial in new york was underway. -- important to go back to the summer of 2020. new york attorney general letitia james sued left here and three other leaders at the nra, alleging that they violated nonprofit laws and misused millions of dollars in unruly funds for their own lavish lifestyles.

and some of these details are pretty blatant. according to the lawsuit, the nra spent over a half 1 million dollars on private flights for lapierre, including eight family trips to the bahamas. he had the nra pay his personal consultant -- and the expense, over $100,000 in membership fees for a golf club. -- lawsuit originally sought to oust lapierre from leadership. -- the jurors in this trial will determine if he's liable, and how much lapierre and his associates will have to repay the nra. now, that may temporarily add a bit to the dwindling and are a bank accounts. this is all just kind of the latest and what has been a stream of scandals that have contributed to the study hollowing out of what was once one of the most influential and feared lobbying bodies in the country. -- there's no question. if you look back in 2016, the

nra's revenue since then has dropped by 34%. membership has plummeted to 4.2 million after being 6 million just five years ago. and while the nra filed for bankruptcy and texas and an attempt to duck the new york lawsuit, -- organization maybe reaching a point where the legitimate blame corrupt sea filing is necessary. and although the power of the nra and wayne lapierre are evaporating, it's so important to remember the measurable hold that their legacy still has on american life. first, remember the way the second amendment has talked about today? it's not at all as the way it was understood for decades. the nra didn't begin as a lobbying arm for gun ownership. it was a marksmanship club founded by union veterans after the civil war. but in the century that followed, it transformed into a concerted and well funded effort to recast had the second amendment was understood. just take a listen to a republican, nominated chief justice of the supreme court, talk about the second amendment

back in 1991. >> this is -- one of the greatest pieces of thought fraud, i repeat the word fraud, on the american public. my special in trist greets, that i've seen in my lifetime. -- if the militia, which was going to be the state army, was going to be well regulated, why shouldn't 16 and 17 and 18 or any other age persons be regulated and the use of arms? the way in automobile is regulated. >> to use justice warren burger's language, the nra, -- eight years later in the direct aftermath of what it the time was the worst school shooting in american history. columbine. following that horrific shooting with two students shot and killed 13 of their classmates and injured 20 other people, wayne lapierre and other nra leaders hopped on a crisis called to decide how the organization would handle the situation. according to tapes released by

npr in 2021, the nra was in a panic. they consider canceling their convention. that would be held just days later, a few hours away from columbine and denver. they even pitched the idea of starting $1 million victims fund. but ultimately, this is the key piece, the strategy they landed on is the one we have seen from the nra and its allies ever since. defiance. despite the urging of the victims families to cancel the convention, the nra pressed on despite protests. and nra president trolled to houston delivered these words decrying any regulation on gun ownership. >> we cannot, we must not let tragedy lay waste to the most rare and hard one human right in history. we will not relinquish it or be silenced about it, or be told, do not come here, you are unwelcome in your own land. >> the strategy became to

double down. to never give an inch. and tragedy after tragedy after a horrible tragedy, that followed the columbine shooting, the nra and its acolytes never wavered from that mission. even 13 years after columbine, at sandy hook elementary school, where 21st graders and six teachers and staff were gunned down, the problem could still never be about the guns. >> the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested and a plan of absolute protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> more guns. the answer for the nra and its right-wing allies was more guns, after 21st grade children were murdered in their classroom. in the upper decade since with each mass shooting that has become just commonplace in american life, that's still the

answers they give. just listen to the republican reaction to get another school shooting that happened earlier this week at a high school in iowa. >> i don't support and forging the rights of law-abiding citizens with respect to the ability to exercise their constitutional rights. i know these things can be used to try to target things, a lot of things that are proposed would not even prevented any of these things. >> we can go and take away a certain kind of gone today, and that would make you feel better today. but a week from now, that would be another shooting. >> it's just horrible. so surprising to see it here, but we have to get over it. we have to move forward. >> get over it. those responses you just heard are all courtesy of decades of work by wayne lapierre and his ones personal slush fund, the nra. one is on the way in, one is on the way it, and the organization he helped build is

a shell of what it once was. the damage to their legacy lives on in america. coming up, and inciting amounts meant -- and what who will be joining me for tomorrow. so stay with us. so stay with us. so stay with us. watering. look how crusty this is. ugh, it's just too much. not with this. good advice. when stains and odors pile up, it's got to be tide. ♪ parodontax ♪ blood when brushing could be the start of a domino effect of gum disease. all of these signs could lead to worse. parodontax is clinically proven to reverse the signs of early gum disease. parodontax, the gum experts.

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