our pockets that peanuts with notifications day and night, it is also what i have spent the last three years thinking about and researching. and in fact, i wrote a book about it. the book is called "the sirens' call: how attention became the world's most dangerous resource." it is about how attention became the most dangerous resource of our time and how the constant extraction of attention from us is driving us all a bit insane. producing a widespread experience of deep spread alienation, warping the shape of both democratic debate and public life, like immigrant lies, and the most intimate parts of our inner lives. i mean, attention, what we pay attention to, is the substance of life, and we live in an era in which the world's most powerful forces and corporations are trying to take it from us, in every last instant. the book is going to be released in january of next year, but it is now available for preorder. you can read about it and

preorder it on this website, sirescallbook.com, or by scanning the qr code on your screen. i will also be doing a special event with a very brilliant writer i admire, and that event will only be available for folks who preorder the book here in the u.s. it will be a great conversation and i would love for you to join. also, i will admit, because i work in the attention business, you will be hearing a lot more about this book in the months to come. i promise. that is "all in" on this thursday night. "alex wagner tonight" starts right now. good evening, alex. i mean, you wrote a book. >> [ laughter ] >> listen, i am writing a book, too. i am not done with my book, and i am pre-selling qr codes with the preorder thing, and your book is going to be in every airport bookstore, on the best seller wall, and it is so awesome, and i know i'm going to read it and just feel so defeated. >> no, no, no, no!

you got it. run through the tape. i'm cheering you on in whatever milestone. >> it sounds amazing and so brilliant and i can't wait to read it. congratulations in advance. i'm pre-ordering. >> thank you. >> all right, thank you for joining me this evening and happy election day to all to celebrate. i know, november 5th is still 54 days away, but today, voters started casting the first ballots of the 2024 election. yesterday, absentee ballots went out in the state of alabama, and today we are seeing local news reports that people are already turning those ballots in. so, we are off to the races, people. next week, wisconsin starts mailing out its absentee ballots and pennsylvania, minnesota, south dakota, and virginia all start in prison early voting. slowly but surely, the rest of the states will follow, and what that means for this race, is that the window to change voters' minds is closing. today, donald trump announced that he will not have a second

debate with vice president kamala harris. >> as everyone saw two nights ago, we had a monumental victory over comrade kamala harris in the presidential debate. >> harris, though, said that she and trump owe it to the voters to have another debate. now, trump is explaining why he doesn't want another debate by saying, "when a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, i want a rematch" and trump claims that polls clearly show that "i won the debate." for the record, though, one nationally post debate poll we have tells a very different story. according to morton consult before the debate, harris was really leading nationally by three points, within the margin of error. on the day of they debate, harris' lead widened to four points, and after the debate,

harris' lead widened to five points. but, yes, donald trump says he doesn't need a debate because of how clearly he won the first and second ones. >> we have done two debates, and because they were successful, there will be no third debate. [ cheers and applause ] it's too late, anyway. the voting has already begun. >> and on at least one of those points, trump is right. the voting has already begun. it is about to begin in some of the states that will decide the election, like pennsylvania, which again, starts its early voting next week. so, without any more debates on the horizon, the question for the harris campaign is, how do you reach those voters before -- as trump put it -- it is too late? well, one way is for ads. today, the harris campaign announced in the 24 hours after the debate, harris had her best

fundraising day since the launch of her campaign. the campaign says it raised $47 million in 24 hours. that could help bolster the $370 million that the harris campaign has already committed in tv and digital ad buys that are going to be running from labor day until election day. those ads will keep the memory of harris' victory on a debate stage very much alive. the harris campaign today announced it is going to release a series of ads highlighting footage from that debate, to get harris' performance in front of as many voters as possible. here is the latest one of those ads, which the campaign released a few hours ago. >> i want to turn to the issue of abortion. >> for 52 years, they have trying to get roe v wade into the states. i did a great service in doing it. it took courage to do it, and the supreme court had great courage in doing it. >> i have talked with women around our country. you want to talk about, this is what people wanted? pregnant women who want to

carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room, because the healthcare providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she is bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? she didn't want that, her husband didn't want that. it 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? they don't want that! i think the american people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body, should not be made by the government. i am kamala harris and i approve this message. >> beyond the ads, the harris campaign is planning to meet swing state voters by doubling down on retail politics. today, harris' running mate, tim walz, was in michigan. second gentleman doug emhoff did events in alabama and arizona, and vice president harris herself had two rallies in north carolina. i know, you might be thinking, north carolina?

democrats have not won north carolina in a presidential election since barack obama in 2008, and they hadn't won it before then since jimmy carter in 1976. but, the harris campaign is making a big bet that north carolina is in play this year. according to quinnipiac polling in this week, harris is needing trumped by north carolina by three points, that is within the margin of error, but still, three points, north carolina! an official with the harris campaign told nbc news that the harris campaign has set up 26 field offices across north carolina, and that since harris became the nominee, more than 20,000 north carolinians have signed up to volunteer for the campaign. so, again, i know we are 54 days out from november 5th, but the first ballots of the 2024 election were cast today. this is a marathon, but it is also a sprint. >> it's time to turn the page.

[ cheers and applause ] we are ready for a new generation of leadership -- [ cheers and applause ] that is optimistic -- optimistic about what we can do for our country, together. i will always put country above party, from the courthouse, to the white house, i have always fought for the people. always fought for the people. north carolina, we have 54 days until election day. 54 days! and with your help, we will win! we will win. >> joining me now is michael tyler, the communications director for the harris-walz

campaign. thank you for joining me. i know it is very, very busy and i appreciate your time in advance. let me first just ask about the second debate with donald trump, for vice president harris, what donald trump is calling the third debate. are you surprised that it is a firm "no" from the trump campaign, given that trump himself acknowledges that the loser often wants a rematch? and do you think it is a firm "no?" >> well, thank you so much for having me this evening. i'm not quite certain it is a firm "no." donald trump also said for the first debate with the vice president, that he was happy with unmuted microphones, but his team overruled him, so we will see if that happens again. at the vice president has made her position clear, she thinks that the american people deserve to see, once again, what they saw on the debate stage on tuesday night, which is a very clear choice in this election. if so, whether or not that happens, whether trump ultimately agrees to do so, we are going to make sure, as you were discussion, that from now until the election, we bring

that same split screen to the voters where they are, on the ground, and on the airwaves. we are going to make sure every day between now and november 5th, we understand the very clear choice in this election between the vice president, who is fighting for them, who is going to stand up to provide an economy where people have the opportunity to actually get ahead instead of just get by, she is going to contrast that with donald trump's disastrous economic policy. on the issue of abortion we were talking about, we are going to run that ad, to make sure they understand that donald trump is the one responsible for the horror playing out in terms of states with trump abortion bans in this country, and she is the leader who can get us out of this mess and restore roe, she is going to make sure on every single issue, the american people fundamentally understand the choice in this election. >> i want to go back to a lot of that, but just because you opened the door to maybe this not being a firm "no" on a second debate with trump, are you still negotiating with the trump campaign on the terms of a debate, or have those negotiations ended? >> no, listen, we are open to

having conversations about a second debate in october. we think the american people deserve to see that. we had a very clear choice on the stage on tuesday night, and we think that if donald trump is willing to do so, that they should have another opportunity to do that. we are entertaining offers, we are having those conversations, we very much look forward to debating donald trump again in the month of october. we believe the american people deserve to see that before everybody has the opportunity to cast their ballots on november 5th. >> michael, you bring up the abortion add that we just played on the air, and i wonder if you could talk a little bit about how the campaign is seeing that issue, in terms of driving turnout? and also, what you have been hearing from constituents about the things donald trump said on that stage on tuesday night? >> yeah, i think what a lot of voters heard donald trump say is what he has been saying out at the maga rallies for months now, but he hasn't necessarily said it in front of a mainstream audience, this is a guy who probably takes credit

for the role that he played in overturning roe v wade, appointing the majority of the justices that overturned roe with the dobbs decision, somebody who takes credit for these trump abortion bans that are playing out in over 20 states across the country. the impact that is having beyond just abortion, right, the threat that we have now to fertility treatment in states like alabama, which you mentioned early voting is starting today. what they saw on the other side was the vice president, who made very, very clear, a, who was responsible in donald trump, but b, how we get out of this, electing her and making sure we restore roe so that women can make their own choices about their bodies moving forward. this is a fundamental issue of freedom in america. so, what we are hearing and what we are seeing from voters across the country is that this is not a partisan issue, this is regardless of ideology, you see women across the country understanding this is a fundamental freedom. our dials that we were running during the debate, this is one

of the most powerful moments among undecided voters in swing states. so, this will continue to be a resident issue with voters and we want to make sure what they saw, that they continue to see the exchange that took place on the debate stage on tuesday. >> i'm sure you are! let me ask you, two events in north carolina, some people are scratching their heads, and i am sure there are some democrats worried about an ambitious map. what you say about people who are a little weary of going beyond the blue wall states, and the strategy behind having not one, but two events featuring the vice president today in north carolina? >> no, listen, we have been very clear about our path to victory in the beginning of this campaign. including the blue wall states, michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, but also the sunbelt states come out west, nevada and arizona, and out we east, georgia and north carolina. and i think that is why the vice president travel coming off of this debate is reflective of that. she is in charlotte, greenville today, she's going to pennsylvania, johnstown, wilkes- barre, and we are making sure

that when we go to these battleground states, we are making sure that we touch every single part of the state, right? tomorrow, we are not simply spending time in philadelphia and pittsburgh, which we travel too often and will continue to do so, but we are making sure that we are tapping into other parts of the state that democrats haven't traditionally campaigned in, the same thing with georgia and the bus tour. we are proud this is the first democratic campaign in 38 years since bill clinton to campaign in southeast georgia. we are going to do more of that tomorrow, we will keep doing it in the weeks to come because this is a margin of error race. that was the case before the debate and that will be the case after the debate. for us, margin of error really comes down to margin of effort. are you going to see vice president harris, governor walz, this campaign apparatus kick into high gear to make sure that we communicate with every single other that will communicate the pathway to 270 electoral votes and that is across all of our battleground states. >> margin of error being turned into margin of effort. okay, michael tyler, communication director for the harris-walz campaign, thank you so much for your time, sir, appreciate it. >> thanks for having me.

we have a lot more coming up tonight, including the one issue that could decide the election according to the new york times pulling expert. stay tuned to find out what it is. plus, how kamala harris can the fight and win that battle of inches that will be fought over the next 54 days. we will get thoughts from two democratic strategists, coming up next. up next. ♪ ♪ and i'm keeping the weight off. wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only fda-approved weight-management medicine that's proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight. wegovy® shouldn't be used with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines. don't take wegovy® if you or your family had medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop wegovy® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis

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hours will be a very tight race until the end, okay? it is going to be a tight race until the end, and we are the underdog. understand that. we are the underdog. but, i say all that to say we have some hard work ahead of us, but here's the thing i love about everybody here. we love hard work. hard work is good work. hard work is good work! hard work is good work! >> that was vice president kamala harris in north carolina today writing the postdebate momentum, but also reminding voters that this is going to be a close race with a whole lot of work to be done. the harris-walz campaign

schedule, on that note, is packed. the self-proclaimed underdogs have appearances planned in wilkes-barre, pennsylvania, grand rapids, michigan, wausau, wisconsin, i hope i'm saying that right. that just takes us through saturday. joining me now, former campaign manager for bernie sanders' 2020 presidential campaign and chair of the democratic party of wisconsin -- what is it? >> wausau. >> and i have family in wisconsin, too. i would just like get both of your thoughts on these issues that are emerging on the strategy points for the harris campaign and what your thoughts are. the first is this idea that kamala harris is a candidate of change. there is an ad that they took out yesterday night and it is basically contrasting donald trump as someone preoccupied with an america of a dark vision, a retrograde vision, and harris as this sort of avatar of a new tomorrow. it is a hard case to make, when

you are the incumbent vice president, that you are a candidate of change. but, you know, the ad is convincing. i wonder how much of an uphill climb you think that is for her? >> i think it is very clear, in fact. and i think that moment in the debate where she said, "i'm not joe biden, i'm obviously not donald trump, but i can offer a new generation of leadership," it was saying what was very obvious when you looked at the stage. someone pointed out, it has been since 1976 that we haven't had a presidential election that didn't have a clinton, a biden, a bush, it or a trump on the ballot. like, it is wild to think how relatively static the cast of characters of american politics has been for a long time. kamala harris is new in that bigger sense. not new, relative to the last few years, but to the last generation or the really whole history of the country and she is bringing a new energy and a new kind of joy that does feel

materially different. it was a choice between this sense of dread and disaster, both sides describing how awful things would be under the other side, for years now, going back to 2016 and 2020. now, there is this real sense of just a palpable relief, and laughing, and dancing, and -- it is a new day, because it is genuinely a new day. and this model, by the way, is forward. >> very on brand for your state. what you think about the idea that harris is sort of touting the achievements of the biden presidency, the biden administration, which she is an integral part of, and also suggesting she is the page turner in american history, which of course the candidate represents in terms of gender and race. but, in terms of politics, do you think it is a hard hill to climb? >> well, first of all, i am speaking to you from wisconsin, james' favorite state, meeting some of his favorite staff and talking to local issues -- unions hear about the issues

that are most concerning to them. i agree about the units and how it works to her advantage, kamala harris versus donald trump, and i think at this point in the race, she is very well-positioned. and hillary clinton at this point in the race was similarly polling at a very strong position, so, the harris' point, we are an underdog, we know there is hard work ahead and some convincing to do for the late deciders. that units you have been referencing is an advantage and the suggestion of the hard work that needs to be done, because it means, as somebody who is new, you kind of need to reaffirm for people who know less about you, what are your values? why do you want power? why do you want the government authority in her hands? what do you want to do with it? for me, at least, and i think a lot of people running around wisconsin, thinking economic issues are really at the top of

mind. to use that power to say, i want to take on what i see, the exploitation and abuse by big government over workers, over consumers, i want businesses to thrive, i want profits assured, but i want an economy that works for working people. if she can get that across in the last few days, i really think we got this. >> i mean, she is certainly -- you know, i think her luckiest answer in the debate is when she was talking about the economy, but she clearly has a story she wants to tell about her upbringing, how she understands the needs and concerns of you, the voters. but, she is not just -- whether or not the economy is the single most important issue in this race, they are also playing a multipronged strategy here. there is something the campaign is doing around foreign-policy that i think is really interesting. they are using the war in ukraine as a touch point to speak with undecided voters, swing voters, who may have eastern european roots. understand -- she talked about this in the debate -- you know, whether or not vladimir putin runs roughshod over europe is going to matter a lot to the 800,000 polish americans in the state of pennsylvania because if ukraine is gone, poland is

next. they are running ads on that, they are running ads in pennsylvania, they will run them in wisconsin and michigan, as well. do you think that could be a successful strategy, getting people interested and excited? >> i think it is one piece of a successful strategy, for sure. especially for a lot of voters who are cynical about politics, they know how much they are paying for groceries and they want a government that is on the side of working people, and against price gougers, and against your bosses that are trying not to pay overtime, and fire people trying to form unions. and with foreign-policy, they want -- they don't want a government that is just letting the country where they came from get overrun by russia. my own family, the wicker settle is in perfect love, outside of lab rob, ukraine, and has been under many different flags at different times and there are so many wisconsinites, polish wisconsinites, there are several margins of victory -- biden won

wisconsin by 20,682 votes. you don't need a huge community, as long as you have something that connects in a deep way, the same way reproductive freedom and other issues do. this issue is profound for people that feel a connection to the countries that their families emigrated from. trump is just manifesting on the long side, when it comes to the question of whether you should allow russia to invade and occupy other countries. >> you know, the granular nature of this campaign -- like, every choice is a very specific choice that they make, right? they are talking about change, they are talking about abortion, they are talking about ukraine in a way that is particularly resident with the swings voters that they have to get to. from a campaign perspective, how much targeted information do you think they possess and are ready to deploy, to get to these literally tens of thousands of voters who are going to decide the election? >> that is an even better question for ben because i have sit and talk to those organizing in the united

states, and they will hand you a walk packet if you want to canvas doors, and when you walk back, you will know about the demographics, the income levels, how people voted in the past, what the issues of concern are to them. so, there is that level of knowledge, but not only in wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, all of the key battlegrounds, all of the state offices you mentioned earlier in the program, that is what they are doing. but i think, though, you could do them at the same time. a lot are targeting about micro- targeting of ads, pieces of content, here is one page of freedom on ukraine, that helps. but, i also want to pull us back and say, not the whole election has been won by a microbe. you need a macro operation of what your values are, to speak to the widest number of people that brings the widest number of people into your campaign. i just don't want to lose sight of getting so micro-that you are not talking about the number one thing for many undecided voters. that is where i am focused right now, the persuasion of the last day.

the concerns i keep hearing over and over, but it is not just that story, it is time it took, what are your values? for harris, too, to drive a contrast. that guy loves elon musk, he loves to sit with crypto billionaires, oil billionaires and execute government on their behalf. this is who i am, this is who i fight for, this is why i like to see the same passion come out as on the issue of abortion, that would be great. >> she certainly is doing the micro and the macro. ben, very quickly, there is an a wash of money in the harris campaign. how much does money matter at this point? or, is it more a matter of the foot soldiers getting out there and knocking on doors? >> it is an all of the above moment. i want to stress, though, it is absolutely worth donating directly to the harris campaign and down ballot democrats. if you look at the state legislature, if you support the wisconsin assembly and state democrats, officials like arizona, one seat in each chamber, one seat to break the republican super majority. those races are often sought -- starved for funds. so, we are supporting the top of the ticket, also the senate,

house, and state legislative races, and i should put in a plug, all of that work, and using those funds to make sure that we reach the voters who are paying the least attention to politics, who didn't watch the debate. it is when we can connect with those folks and the things they are facing in their own lives, that is when we win this election by that margin and potentially win more than just a fraction of a percent that so many of these elections come down to. >> a fraction of a percent, nobody is looking forward to another one of those. >> but, we will take it, if we have to. >> ben winkler, the person who comes up with the phrase, let's turn a margin of error into a margin of effort. >> i think i probably just heard it somewhere because it is so good. michael tyler talked about it, margin of effort, margin of effort, let's put in the work. >> all right, thank you guys, both, for your time and expertise. really, really appreciate your time. still to come this evening, the department of homeland security is focused on january 6th, 2025. we will have more on the planning for the next january 6th, coming up. but, first, what are undecided voters waiting for?

no, really, what are they waiting for? the new york times' polling guru joints become an expert -- joins me next. next. the right investment and benefit choices. so you can reach today's financial goals and look forward to a more confident future. voya, well planned, well invested, well protected. your loved ones are getting older, and they need your support. care.com is here to help. it's an easy way to find background-checked senior caregivers in your area. and some piece of mind. see why millions of families have trusted care. go to care.com now.

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the polls are dead. long live the polls.

okay. that is a reminder. in 2012, barack obama outperformed the polls, but in 2016 and 2020, polls underestimated support for donald trump. in the 2022 midterms, democrats exceeded polling expectations almost across the board. so, what are the polls saying now? and i can't think of anybody better than pulling those polls. according to a recent battleground state average from the new york times, kamala harris holds a slim lead in wisconsin, michigan, north carolina, and pennsylvania, ranging from just one to just three points, all of which is all well within the margin of error. kamala harris is tied with trump in nevada, georgia, and arizona. joining me now is ruth gilbert, polling editor for the new york times, whose primary responsibility is working on one of the largest and most important polls in the country, the new york times' siena college poll. ruth, i was saying to you during the break, you must be the most popular least popular person in your circle of friends. >> depends on the finding.

>> i'm sure. first of all, prepare us, all, here, the scuttlebutt in polling circles is that this election is going to be maybe even tighter than 2020. now, let me remind everybody at home, donald trump won in 2016, thanks to 77,744 votes in three states. in 2020, biden won thanks to 81,000, approximately, votes across four states. are we looking at tighter numbers than this? >> much tighter. >> much tighter? >> yes, it will be a tight race. >> tighter than 81,000 votes in four states? >> yes. >> that is terrifying. can we talk about what that practically means? when you're talking about undecided voters, for example, are there truisms about what that group of people looks like across these battleground states? >> this year, yes. compared to historical, undecided voters, the group is a little bit different this

year, but there is a truism across states this year, which is that we are talking about young voters, nonwhite voters, and latino voters, and that is consistent across states. >> beyond being undecided, is it that they care generally about certain issues above the other and they are not hearing these issues? or, they are not paying attention to the ins and outs of the political cycle? what can you tell us about their behaviors? >> they are voters that are less engaged, as opposed to polarized voters who already have the reviews, but they care deeply about the economy, the economy is absolutely issue number one above everything else. >> what does that mean when you say the economy, to those voters, is it taxes, is it inflation, is it wages? like, what is it? >> we mostly hear about inflation, but i think it really depends. inflation is the big thing, people are feeling that and at the grocery store, the gas pump, and they really wanted that candidate that will answer that for them. >> can you talk to me a little bit about the margins that we are talking about in these particular states? like, it will be either alarming or interesting to

people that, on this day, september 12, in the year 2020, joe biden was running ahead of donald trump in pennsylvania by five points, okay? today, this day in the year 2024, the present, kamala harris is ahead by one point. what does that mean? how many votes is that, that we are talking about? if it was already close at a five point spread, a one point spread is like, a handful. >> quite slim. a handful of counties that matter and a handful of votes in those counties, so it really will be slim and the pool of undecided voters is smaller this year than it has been in the past. >> does that mean you reach them -- i mean, because these voters are people that are not necessarily paying attention -- i know this is a huge, broad question -- but is the way to reach them anecdotally, are they paying attention? is word of mouth, does that matter with an undecided voter?

>> it is hard to know, right? because they are younger, we are seeing more on social media. >> memes. >> campaigns are trying to reach them on social media, but that is often how politics gets done, people talking to their friends and hearing who their friends are supporting. >> how good are the polls, ruth? i am talking to someone who has a vested interest in them being good, and you guys are the gold standard here. but, have the predictions gotten better? or, not the prediction, the snapshots in time? >> yes, thank you, i appreciate that. not predictions. >> have to gotten more accurate, do you think? >> you know, it is hard to say. every year, we do everything we can and we have done a lot of work to try to improve on issues that we have in previous years, but there is a lot of reason to believe the polls are pretty accurate. in 2022, in the intro you were talking about the polls being off, but if you look at times siena polls, for example, we were almost exactly accurate within one or two points of every race that we polled, so our hope is that we are doing a lot of extra effort to make sure we are reaching these

voters who are low information voters, but do vote. on the other hand, i will say that polls are kind of a big, blunt instrument that aren't great at figuring out this very narrow margin. you know? i mean, polls are great at telling us that 60% to 70% of americans support abortion. polls are telling us these broadbrush issues, but on these tight races and these states that are decided by a handful of votes, polls aren't necessarily perfect at that. they are the best thing we had and we do our best with them, but that is a limitation that we struggle with. >> and i would assume that accounts for the fact that they haven't really moved. these big temple events, and you are not seeing a big shift in the numbers because it is not a battle for inches, but millimeters .0, lordy. ruth gil nick from the new york times, the most popular person, the least popular person, we don't know what you are going to be in your circle of friends, but we deeply appreciate the work you're putting in, thanks for joining us tonight. >> thanks for having me. the man who, besides donald trump, did more than anyone else to try to overthrow the 2020 election results. today, that man accused democrats of playing politics with january 6th. we will explain, coming up, next.

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congressional business is now going to have the same level of secret service protection as presidential inauguration's and the super bowl. and here is how house speaker mike johnson responded to that news. >> reporter: and what you think of january 6th being designated now as a national security event? do you think that is necessary? >> i didn't even hear that that happened. who did that? >> reporter: dhs designated it as a national security event. >> it sounds like politics to me. >> "it sounds like politics to me." joining me now is susan glasser, staff writer at the new yorker. now, mike johnson was one of the ringleaders of the 2020 january 6th plot. mark elias calls him, other than former president trump, arguably the most culpable federally elected official in what transpired that day. what you make of his reaction to designating the certification a national security event? >> well, you know, it was really striking to hear him say,

"i think it sounds like politics," because, of course, it was trump and his allies on capitol hill, such as carson johnson, that turned an event like that into politics, that is really a ministerial, constitutional function of the government. and it really is so striking, because we are, once again, four years later, in an election in which the candidate for president of the united states for the republican party is already attacking and undermining the basis on which the election will occur, saying that there are going to be questions about it, that it is going to be fraudulent, that it will be unfair, and of course calling upon his allies on capitol hill to support him in whatever claims he makes. that is the amazing thing. imagine calling an election rigged before it even takes place. that is the situation we find

ourselves in, again. you know, i don't know if it will be january 6th or some other way in which trump chooses to attack or undermine the legitimacy of the election. if he loses it, again. but, i think there is a very real basis for those concerns. >> if you are paying attention to the sort of signals that are being given, whether by the department of homeland security, or by the attorney general, i feel like a normal person thinks, "i'm a little bit worried about what happens this election season." today, merrick garland, not known to be a public alarmist, gave very unusual remarks to the department of justice staff today, where he called out attacks on prosecutors and doj personnel, and talked about conspiracy theories, and just want the public and obviously his staff, that this was very dangerous and the environment was very, very threatening to the integrity and the safety of the department of justice and its employees. he didn't name trump by name, but it is -- susan, correct me

if i am wrong -- very unusual to have someone like merrick garland saying that 54 days before an election? >> there is, of course, this is something we haven't really seen before. merrick garland, as you said, is a very cautious official, not giving in to inflammatory statements. i thought that speech was quite remarkable, and it is very consistent, of course, with trump being very clear about wanting to use, you know, essentially to attack the institutions that are set up to safeguard the democracy. i was very struck. surprised it didn't get as much attention, probably understandably, given all of the incoherent and inflammatory things that trump said in that debate the other night. but i will point out, he was asked about january 6th, he was asked about his election lies, and he chose to double down on them in the debate the other night. he said not only that the election had been rigged and stolen from him, but he continues to say that he is going to continue to harden -- pardon the january 6th insurrectionist.

and he calls them, as you know, repeatedly in his rallies, he calls them, essentially, martyrs to the cause of donald trump, and that is the side that he has taken on. i noticed kamala harris made a point of saying, how many police officers were injured on january 6th, 2021. you know, pointing out that donald trump claims to be someone who backs law enforcement, who is anti-crime. but, i'm just -- i think that in this election season, we are going to see more and more escalation the closer it gets to the election itself, because trump is actively engaged in a campaign of undermining the legitimacy of an election that he might lose again. >> yeah, he is already saying today on the campaign trail, "i think we are going to win very big and as long as it is an honest election, i will absolutely accept the results." the upshot is that he is not in the presidency right now, the downside is that mike johnson is now the speaker of the house. susan glasser, always good to

see you, my friend. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. still ahead this evening, donald trump and jd vance are enjoying spreading the big lie about cats, but it is coming at a real cost in the town of springfield, ohio, where haitian migrants tell nbc news that they now fear for their lives. i will talk about that, coming up, next. stuff better than their old dish soap, removing 99% of grease. that's why only dawn is trusted to save wildlife. hey, everybody. w. kamau bell here. they say that america is the land of the free. but right now, people in the u.s. are seeing their freedoms taken away at an alarming rate. freedoms some of us take for granted. the right to vote. equal access to health care. book banning and other forms of censorship that threaten our right to learn. and here's something truly shocking, right now in our country hundreds of thousands of people are incarcerated simply because they couldn't afford bail. that's not free and it's not fair. but there is hope for change.

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illegal haitian migrants, taking over a beautiful place. migrants are walking off with your town's geese. they are taking the gaze. even walking off with their pets. my dog has been taken. >> if we have two meme about it to get the media to care, we will keep doing it. >> all week they have engaged in joyful bigotry, pushing the lie that haitian immigrants in springfield, ohio are eating cats, dogs and geese. they've spent the week on it. right wing provocateurs are

hunting for proof and offering a $5000 bounty for evidence of haitian cat consumption. but this racism is causing real harm, as racism often does. today the springfield police department reported bomb threats to multiple buildings, prompting evacuations and closures of city and school buildings and many haitians in springfield say they now fear for their lives. joining me now is yamiche alcindor, nbc news washington correspondent who is just now back from springfield where she spoke to haitian immigrants about the lies republicans are spreading about them. thanks for joining me. what are they saying to you? how do you feel about this? >> haitian immigrants are heartbroken and shocked about what is going on. i talked to one haitian man who immigrated a few months ago. he was too scared to go on camera but told me he is feeling re-traumatized because he left haiti fleeing gang

violence and insecurity. he did not want to leave, but he felt like he had to and then he came legally to springville, ohio and is working construction jobs. his coworkers repeatedly asked him if he eats cats and he told me he feels so sad about this situation and he has some friends that are telling him they might leave springfield and leave the idea of the american dream that they were hoping to live there, so it is in some ways very heartbreaking and a tough situation. the tension was so palpable, alex. >> did they have a response to trump who is on this, continues to do it like hours ago and keeps talking about this despite there is no basis in truth? did they have words for donald trump? >> yes a number of haitian immigrants told me they see former president donald trump as well as senator j.d. vance pushing racist and xenophobic language towards them. unfounded allegations. they see them putting their lives at risk with some people

not wanting to leave their houses. one woman kept their children home from school because she was worried that they may be targeted. they see them really is people trying to do harm to haitian immigrants. one person told me they see them as the continuation of a long line of attacks because former president trump years ago said haitians were bringing hiv to this country which is a false claim. they really see this as him continuing to beat down haitian immigrants and of course he has done that, they think, for a number of other immigrants. he has called mexicans criminals, so there may also be a political calculation here. he might be trying to get other people in ohio to believe this so they will then be motivated to go to the polls. i spoke to one man who saw the claims as credible and he told me he feels like springfield will be lost because it will be overrun in his mind with haitians and some say maybe it

will be a haitian community like there are other communities, irish communities, german communities, but he says he is hoping other communities are watching and they stop haitian immigrants and other immigrants from coming to their town. there is the idea that they feel mobilized by these baseless claims that help donald trump be elected. >> i would assume just from some of the videos that i've seen that the community around the haitians is incensed also about the lies that are being spread about springfield. did you get a sense of that while you are there? >> i got a very clear sense of that. i talked to a number of longtime residents of springfield, ohio, who say they were welcoming haitian immigrants. they were coming there legally through tps and a number of federal programs targeting immigrants fleeing violence and insecurity, but also springfield for years was losing its population and businesses were closing, grocery stores were closing and

now they have seen a revitalization and people who want the immigrants there say that is part of the reason they wanted that and the city i should note has advertised new manufacturing jobs and advertised springfield as an affordable place to live, which is why they were welcoming immigrants. they were enticed to come there. they are also confused because this whole thing about pets and abuse, it all seems to have started because of an unrelated case in a different part of ohio involving a u.s. citizen who was arrested over a gruesome incident, but that had nothing to do with springfield, ohio, and nothing to do with haitians as well. >> and they gleefully continued to spread the lies. yamiche alcindor, thanks for that reporting. it is really important to have the perspective and the real truth of what spreading rot does to real people trying to make it in america. that is art