in knowing morgan will remain behind bars forever. michelle hopkins: i want her to be in jail for the rest of her life. i want her to know that i'm going to be there when her daughter walks down the aisle. i'm going to be there when her daughter has a baby. i'm going to be there with her sons when they meet their wives and graduate from high school. i'm going to get to see all of that, and she's not. she's in hell. and she's going to live this way for the rest of her life. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. welcome to the saturday edition of morning joe weekend.

let's get the conversations you might have missed this week. >> tom, i can't even fathom the disinformation being stranded -- spread by donald trump energy defense. i talked about my first year in congress we had three hurricanes coming into the fall. the campaign against bill clinton, campaigned against hillary clinton. it was on tv it seemed every night going after him, going after him, going after him. the hurricane hit and i told the story a couple of days ago. he put his arm around me. didn't like my politics. the governor said, basically, we are going to walk you through this, joe. he kind of pushed me in there. his district, let's all work together. that stayed in my head. some things are bigger than politics. you've got a 78-year-old, right now, according to the charlotte observer. the largest newspaper in north carolina. making matters so

much worse for victims of these hurricanes. >> there's nothing bigger than politics for donald trump your course, there's nothing bigger than donald trump. everything is just raw material. everything that happens around donald trump is just raw material for donald trump to use for his own benefit. the misery of other people, disasters, the suffering of other americans. none of that registers as real. that's all just part of the big set, the big tv show that donald trump lives on every day. everything that happens, whether something good, something bad, a disaster like this, it's just another part of the script that has to be turned to the advantage of donald trump. >> it's got to be about him. >> because he's not capable. i think kamala harris is absolutely right. there's no empathy in the

person. he has no sense of other people's real human beings who suffer. >> have been courting conservatives all week. that's something that krauthammer said, when he originally said he was like an 11-year-old child, everything had to be about him. later he said, i think i had a the age off by about 10 years. >> also with us, we have vanity fair and -- podcast, your latest article, lying is loyalty and trumps the gop. my god. i keep thinking of what tom friedman said. was it an hour or two hours ago when he looks at someone who constantly lies for trump and except what he's doing. what is wrong with you? what is wrong with people right now who would support a man who does and says what he does? >> the setup was the 2020 election. lying became the litmus test. you had to lie and say that trump won the 2020 election in order to be a member of trump

world, in order to stay in good faith in this republican party. once that happened you sort of shifted the base into unreality in a way that i think is really detrimental. we saw this with covid. now we are seeing it with these hurricanes. the idea that the federal government cannot be trusted. that your leaders cannot be trusted. and i think it ended up sort of setting a very destructive tone. >> turning now to the race for the white house. chief white house correspondent peter alexander has the latest on the harris and trump campaigns. >> in the final four weeks until the election vice president kamala harris is ramping of her media appearances. cracking a beer with stephen colbert on late-night tv. but facing scrutiny for these comments on the view when asked what she would have done differently than president biden over the last four years. >> there is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of, and i've been a part of most of the decisions have impact.

>> leader saying she would report a republican to her cabin and pick >> i would be one of the differences. i will have a republican in my cabinet. i don't feel burdened by lighting pride can the we have a good idea. >> reporter: former president trump and his campaign seizing on the comments. trump, listing the border and inflation as issues during the biden residency and writing, her dumbest answer so far. on howard stern's radio show harris responded to new reporting from journalist bob woodward in a forthcoming book obtained by nbc news. woodward writes that the height of the pandemic trump secretly sent covid test machines to russian president vladimir putin for his personal use. even as the u.s. and other countries faced shortages. harris, weighing in. >> i believe that donald trump has this desire to be a dictator. he admires strongmen and he gets played by them because he thinks that they are his friends.

they are manipulating him, full- time. >> reporter: woodward also reporting that trump and putin had as many as seven phone call since trump left office. trump telling abc news the reporting on his calls to put in and providing him test machines is false. but the former president, defending his relationship with putin yesterday. >> get along with him very well, which is a good thing, not a bad thing. >> reporter: nbc news has not independently confirmed woodward's reporting. >> peter alexander reporting, a man that needs no introduction joins us now. donnie pick >> donnie? >> where do we begin, donnie? let's go back a second. the rhetoric and other republicans falling in line with the storm. you have had republicans acting responsibly. we talked about these governors. the republican congressman who represents western north carolina actually put out a memo yesterday debunking all of these conspiracy theories that donald trump and jd vance are

pushing, sometimes in the wall street journal editorial page, saying this is a fact sheet that this congressman put out. nobody can control the weather. he cites the director of national oceanic and atmospheric and ministration saying, nobody has the technology to geo-engineering hurricane, like saying that to his constituents. and yet, these conspiracy theories in previous years live in the dark corners of the internet are amplified to the very top of the presidential campaign. >> i'm going to quote the lies the elder statesman, from the six clock hour. >> i'm old enough to remember six clock. i'm old enough to remember when the show started today. because you nailed it. when you said you could tell people generally sixth, you tell people he is lying in people's lives are at stake. he's lying about hurricane.

and people would say, what about lost third answer on the view? i also want to go back to tom friedman. not as much of a statement is you, but i'm going to reference them also. what happened to us? what is wrong with us? i feel like i'm living in another country. i really going to feel that way if election goes in the trump direction. it's like, how bankrupt have so many souls become? i'm not talking about people who, if you think is going to put on your table and europe's about prices, and that's the difference between a job and not a job, i'm talking about the people that we interact with, they give every other excuse but really care about the 3% tax cut. i've just been really down lately, not about trump, but about who we are. is this who we have become? because if that's the case, it's much bigger than donald trump. >> tom and i, i'm sure tom, you deal with it all the time. i know i do. we spent our entire life. and i spent my entire life

growing up, telling people in the media, telling democrats, telling voters we are not who they say we are. we conservatives are not racists. we are not bigoted. we are not anti-science. we are compassionate. we do believe in balancing the budget. we do believe in protecting our shores. and we do believe in the individual over the state. but all this other stuff, this is just what liberals say we are. and yet and yet, this is what donald trump and jd vance and the leaders of the party, and their followers and apologists in the press, this is what they actually are. >> it's what they've turned into. it is tragic because when people say, these people are antiscience nuts. how could you have ever been a

republican? he start reeling off names that are of blessed memory, right? to people like you and me. john hines, john chafee, charles mathias. percy. you could name all of these giants who are these sensible, moderate republican senators and giants. they are all gone. these are all people that probably would have been driven out of the party. and instead of talking about the things that we once talked about we literally have to say your antics plaintiff people that, no, the government doesn't have, you know, the government isn't a specter. he doesn't have a weather machine. it's insane. but it shows you that the party doesn't exist as a party anymore. it's just a vehicle for harvesting votes by scaring people with crazy stories and staying in power. >> that's all it's about.

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will come back to "morning joe weekend." let's pick up on the conversation we were just having before the break. >> molly, this may sound terrible. it's not. i look forward to the day when you and i can once again fight over policy. right? were you can say, you are way too conservative and i can go, you are way too progressive. talk about this unique time when liz cheney, cheney, bernie sanders, aoc, ken adelman, and over 100 republicans. alberto gonzales. you name it. they are all on the same side.

talk about this extraordinary, once in our lifetime moment. >> and the reason they are on the side of vice president harris is not policy. right? it's trying to preserve preserve democracy. saying that the system that we have works and we should keep it going. they're not saying that they agree with her about policy. they are not even saying that they necessarily will ever vote democrat again. right? what they are saying is that right now donald trump is such a unique threat to our american government system that they must forget about what they believe policy wise and focus on the larger threat. this is 91. that's why these people are voting for the democrat. and i think it's really meaningful and the hope is that voters see that this is not a policy issue. this is a democracy issued pick >> you know, donnie, there are

things to be concerned about. we can look at our friends and just say, how could they? at the same time, there are things to celebrate. you have people who have never voted for a democratic candidate before in their life. until this year. and people who will never vote for democratic candidate again in their life. at this moment, coming together in a political version of sort of a churchill war cabinet, coming together when democracy is on the line and saying, we are in it to win this. not for republicans, not for democrats, certainly not for policy. cheney doesn't agree with the policy of kamala harris. we are in it to protect this country, to protect constitutional norms, to protect our constitutional republic. >> my concern, yes, you've got

to be optimistic in this answer. >> think positive. >> military parades with donald trump standing elected. yes, i think kamala harris to really litigate the point. this is on the last few weeks. >> what did you say? >> i think you should reach in your hearts and really go with your gut. just understand that with your children we are going to be different country pick >> about this? how about stripping it down? how would this go? >> deal of this country? >> no. >> okay. ask yourself, who is in it for you? and who is in it for donald trump? >> that's what she's been saying. >> donald trump is about donald trump. i'm about you. right? >> you can go with the darkness. you're not going to let me go there. >> i agree. i actually think that's really,

really well said. in its think we have got to look at ourselves. you know? it's got time. >> donnie, tell me one thing you're grateful for today, donnie. we have a little break. but i'm going to work with you. are you grateful for today? >> actually grateful that i live in this country. i love this country so much. >> is this not an incredible country? >> i love this country. i never realized how much i love this country until we are here now pick >> donnie, i saw a picture that you posted and it was in front of your childhood home. and to take her children back there. every day. and talk about that. it's just the american dream, what your dad did, your mom did, what my parents did for me. they lifted us from the very middle-class background onto their shoulders and gave us an opportunity pick >> it's interesting. every year i go back to the synagogue i grew up with to pray there. can i go back to my childhood home where i was so happy, i

was so blessed. my two amazing parents. it just reminds me of who i am and how lucky i am. and i think we'll have to remind ourselves that we live in this place in the world. hopefully is going to stay that way. we live in the best place in the world and it's going to stay that way. >> yes, sir. yes, sir. yes, sir. >> i get to work. let's get to work! >> thank you both very much. tom nichols, thank you. the cover story is available now at the atlantic. we appreciate you all so much. >> coming up, our next guest argues the primary process leaves most americans without a vote. we will explain ahead.

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teeth sensitivity is so common. it immediately feels like somebody's poking directly on the nerve. i recommend sensodyne. sensodyne toothpaste goes inside the tooth and calms the nerve down. and my patients say you know doc, it really works. welcome back to "morning joe. " a nonpartisan political organization is shedding light on some of the causes of today's

worsening political polarization. according to "unite america, only 7% of voters across the country will be responsible for electing 87% of house members the cycle. in total, there are 380 house races considered safe for either party in this district primaries. however, there are only 18 million voters cast out of 260 million voting age adults. nick, thanks so much for being here. let's start with this. how did we get here? >> told you about a country where we are a month out from the elections. the majority of legislative seats have been decided for most voters even cast a ballot. you think i'm talking about the united states of america, but here we are. and how we got here is because of the structure of our political system. most of our legislative seats for congress and state legislature are safe from one

party to the other, which means that low turnout artie primaries determine most of those outcomes. the taken sevens percent of americans electing 87% of our congress. so when voters are frustrated and they look at congress and say, why are they representing a majority of us when 60, 70, 80% can agree on solutions to the debt, on immigration, on climate? this is the problem. as the primary problem with our politics. and the good news is that it is fixable. >> we've got so much we can do here. i can go on way too long about this. because i do think safe seats are a huge part of our problem. because there's absolutely no political value in coming to the middle when you're in a safe seat. that's what people don't realize. when you're from the state were either republican or democratic elected there's great value in finding common ground because you've got to have some of the other party to get elected. steve got to find that middle, you've got to get consensus. not if you're in a safe place.

i want you to talk about the new primary election process that might help, which is what happened in a number of states or you don't run on a partisan basis in the primary. everybody is in one primary. that's part of it. but the other big part of it is gerrymandering in the house. i mean, they have drawn. allowing congresspeople to draw their own seats is really a huge part of the problem because they just want safe. i don't ever want to worry about anything other than a primary. >> right. the solution to this problem in our view is to abolish party primaries. they were invented a century ago with good intention but the consequences of today means that most elected officials fear getting primary. so we are advocating for is what alaska did in 2022 for the first time, which is replace both party primaries with a single open all candidate primary in advance the top four finishers to the general election, where whoever wins the majority gets elected.

in fact, we are releasing a documentary today called, majority rules. you can see it at majority rules film. the use of this election system and what it shows is that incentivizes candidates to represent a true majority voters. they are now knocking on everyone's door. that's what democracy really should be about. >> and we also noticed that alaska, when sarah palin was running against democrats, who had worked together in alaska before, they were polite to each other because it was the sort of approach. using sort of a scorched earth tactic didn't work. 30 people here going, well, this is some left wing liberal idea and we don't want this to happen. i just want to say, two people who would be big advocates for this right now, well, they may not publicly.

it would have made former speaker newt gingrich's life a lot easier. and hearing him talk about what mike johnson is going through, as gingrich said last week, it's the people i get reelected with 85% of the vote that are setting the house on fire politically. that are saying, we are not going to support anything. we are going to see the most outrageous things in the world. we are going to see the government creates hurricanes. we are going to talk about jewish space lasers. because we are never going to lose in our districts. and raise millions and millions of dollars from crackpots the united states that believe that there are jewish space lasers. this really isn't even a partisan issue. this is something that leaders in both parties would like. >> absolutely. for 40% of congress, not only

don't they have competition in the general election, they don't have a primary opponent this year. which means there's no accountability. and with no accountability we won't be able to expect any results from congress. like i said, we can fix this. there are six states with the initiative on the ballot this november for open primaries. there are red states, blue states and purple states. states like idaho, where 2000 volunteers gathered over 100,000 signatures to get this on the ballot you have former republican governors, that state supporting this. former democrats elsewhere. the current parties are produced but people support it. we will vote that truly matters in our elections. >> executive director of unite america, thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. we really appreciate it. coming up, 312 days that changed america's politics forever. chris wallace joins us next with his new book.