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.

♪♪ — i want options — nonsurgical options. and five... and if nonsurgical treatment isn't offered? ♪♪ i'll get a second opinion. let's go! take charge of your treatment. if you can't lay your hand flat, visit findahandspecialist.com to get started. in 2016, donald trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his white house. now those people have a warning for america: trump is not fit to be president again. here's his vice president: "anyone who puts himself over the constitution should never be president of the united states." "i cannot in good conscience endorse donald trump this year." his defense secretary: "do you think trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again?" "no. i mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk." his national security advisor: "donald trump will cause a lot of damage." "the only thing he cares about is donald trump."

and the nation's former highest ranking military officer: "we don't take an oath to a king or queen. or to a tyrant or a dictator. and we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator." take it from the people who knew him best: donald trump is too big a risk for america. i'm kamala harris and i approve this message.

chris, you're a legend in the news business. your father is a legend in the news business. i want to ask you, how do we sort this out? not only is people that report on the news, not just the story, but the constant firehose . it seems like catastrophize and when you say, well, they are lying about cats and dogs, they are still lying about the stolen election. they are still lying about this.

there still lying about the hurricane. where have you, nine years into this donald trump era, how have you come down in the best way to communicate what's true and what's not true to your viewers? >> it's a really good question and it's something that i think any serious journalist asks himself all the time. and on the one hand, you have to point out that the lies are lies. you know, in terms of putin, it's so funny. maybe i'm wrong, no, i went and googled it today. in 2019 trump accuses john kerry of breaking the logan act, which was busily set in the late 1700s, the you can have individuals conducting foreign policy because of the fact he was continuing to have conversations with the iranians, which he negotiated the iran nuclear deal, which trump pulled out of. trump is accusing kerry of breaking the logan act and then

it turns out he's having private conversations with vladimir putin, in addition to which has been pointed out, he had a whole cash of top-secret documents at mar-a-lago. and who knows what he was doing with putin as far as that was concerned? so you have to point out what's wrong. on the other hand, he is the republican nominee. 17 million people did vote for him. it's a tough balancing act because they weren't all crazy. you know, a lot of people think he is the person that should be the next president. i don't think that it's our position. we point out the facts but we can tell people how to think, nor should we tell people how to think. and if they want to accept it that's on them. that's called democracy. >> mike, countdown 1960. the latest in the installment on the is incredible countdown books. let's talk about this race. tell us what you remember about

it. as i was saying before we came onto the air, this is the race that seems to have shaped everybody that i look up to in media. this was a defining moment for them. >> what i remember about that race, obviously because of where i grew up in greater boston, massachusetts, was the fever pitch on behalf of john f. kennedy. favorite son, but also a catholic. and he would be the first catholic to be president of the united states. in that period of time there was still a lot of residual aftereffect of people who came over from ireland that landed in boston, new york or whatever. they couldn't find jobs. they were treated he poorly by the establishment. he was going to be there reward for sticking it out in america. and the stunning fact, and it is the fact that it hasn't occurred to me, you mentioned off camera a few minutes ago, the two candidates running for president that year, nixon versus kennedy, where the first

two candidates born in the 20th century to run for president. >> it's a really interesting point, mike. there were a lot of things about kennedy, possible vulnerabilities. he was young, he was a rich boy. there were rumors about his health. in fact, he was quite a sick man. and in the end his father said, just before the election, there is only one issue. are americans going to vote for catholic? there had only been one catholic nominee for president, who was al smith back in 1928, who got clobbered by herbert hoover. so this question of religious bigotry, we kind of forget now. joe biden is a catholic. nobody thinks anything about it. but kennedy, in september of 1960, has to go to a big, protestant meeting in houston and basically convinced them. nobody asked me what my religion was when i find world war ii. nobody asked my brother what

the religion was when he embarked on a bomber raid when the plane exploded. he basically had to make the argument that a catholic could be an american and not take word from the pope. that was the concern. there he would be a tool of the vatican pick >> chris, i'm not sure most people realize this book is such a good reminder. this was kind of the beginning of modern presidential campaigns in terms of media. it was the first that was really a tv campaign. of course, the famous debate that everyone talks about. people on the radio heard it differently than the people who saw it on tv. fundraising, the mass of fundraising that we see today, in some ways born in 1960. and really, length of the campaign. there used to be shorter affairs. this was a long campaign as well. >> yeah. and the other thing, this is how kennedy wanted, the nominations always used to be decided -- david lawrence in pennsylvania, daley in chicago. and kennedy realized, because he wasn't one of the

powerbrokers, lyndon johnson was. the senate majority leader. the only way he could conceivably win was to go out in these primaries. there were only 16 primaries then and he basically said, i'm going to win this, not a smoke- filled room, but by going to the people. he went to new hampshire. he won easily there. he went to wisconsin. and he beat hubert humphrey. and he was way ahead in west virginia, which was 95% protestant. suddenly bobby kennedy, his brother was his campaign manager, comes back and says, your mind. how could i be behind? i was ahead. they said they had just discovered you were catholic. there was also a lot of money. the mob was involved in this. a lot of undercover money that went to political bosses. one quick story. richard cardinal, the head of the archdiocese of boston, it's all of the offerings on a sunday and he hands them over to joe kennedy.

then kennedy gives cushing and the church a big donation, for which he gets a tax deduction. now joe kennedy has all of this untraceable money and he gives it to the mob to give to the preachers, protestant preachers in west virginia, to promote jack kennedy. and the reason we know this is cushing bragged about it years later to hubert humphrey, the man who was lost. he said, hey, it was good for the church, the catholic church in boston. it was good for the preachers, the protestant preachers, and it was good for the candidate. >> wow. >> let me ask you guys, maybe you can remember, there is the story. i don't know if it was teddy white that started tearing up after kennedy won west virginia. he said, oh my gosh, these people, they looked past his catholicism and still voted for a catholic. the statement was

followed up, well, it wasn't really. not anything more than all the cash that was dumped on him. >> i knew a fellow. he was a member of the governance council. uniquely impotent board in massachusetts. his name was sonny. and he was a very good friend of cardinal cushing's and the ambassador of joe kennedy. and he was charged with taking the satchel of cash. it was cash, to west virginia. to disperse. and you had people in west virginia that were going to disperse it. the only question that bobby kennedy ever had about what transpired, according to sonny, was not whether it was legal or illegal. they knew it was illegal and everything like that. it was how much sonny took out of the bag between leaving for boston before they arrived to pick >> up one point somebody in the kennedy group, or the mob, goes to some preacher and says, what

do i need? what you need to win this at your county? and he says, 35. and he has some $35,000. and the guy goes, i only need $3500. and he says, keep it. that's all right. they had plenty of cash. >> i think at this point, for people that are watching the horrified and say, oh my gosh, the democrats stole that race, there were charges of corruption on both sides. of course the mob in chicago. beforehand, when he had pat buchanan on, we asked pat one time, why didn't you challenge the race? they still illinois. they stole west virginia. and pat's answer was, because we still kentucky, joe. pat was very proud of it. but there were charges, like the races today, there were charges of corruption. >> what went on, and it may

well have gone both ways, but what went on in illinois with richard j. daley, where kennedy won by a.d. hundred votes. and in texas, where it was rampant fraud with the paper ballots. it was pretty dramatic. you are right. there was some stuff on the republican side. and maybe if they had had a full investigation kennedy would have won in the end. but if nixon had been able to flip just illinois and texas, he ends up being president instead of jack kennedy. up next, a new film depicts the chaotic i.d. minutes before the very first saturday night live aired in 1975. the cast and director of saturday night join us ahead on morning joe weekend. what are you thinking? >> i'm thinking, better honeymoon. >>, i have a? neymoon. >>, i have a? ...on a ranch

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>> to feed your fingertips. >> to the wolverines pick >> to lorraine's. >> i'm afraid we're out of badgers. >> i'm afraid we are out of badgers. >> would you accept the wolverines place? >> would you accept wolverine's place? >> next. let's boil the wolverine. >> let's boil the wolverines. >> next. live from new york, it's saturday night. >> that was 50 years ago. chevy chase uttering those famous words for the very first time when a brand-new tv show called, saturday night live, premiering here at 30 rockefeller center.

now a new movie with the same name is revisiting the iconic the in tv history, which almost never happens. >> my name is lorne michaels. on the producer and creator of saturday night. we are excited. there's never been a comedy show like this. >> will kind of show is it? even with the shows? >> did anyone ask edison when label was before he harnessed electricity? >> or you and the metaphor? >> how do you pronounce this? >> dan akron. >> joining us now, director, producer and cowriter of saturday night. four-time oscar nominee, jason reitman, also with us, the stars of the movie, corey michael smith, who plays chevy chase. helen hunt takes on the role of rather. and dylan o'brien, who steps into the shoes of comedy legend dan akron. guys, good morning to all. >> in morning. things for having us.

>> we are huge fans of snl. we are so excited about this. i should point out, it was called saturday night at that point. they later added to live, which is the name of this film as well. jason, just for people who are wondering what to expect when they see this, is this the history of snl? what is this exactly? what part of the story to tell your? >> this is a movie that literally starts 90 minutes before the first episode of saturday night live. so we open with lorne michaels at 10:00 p.m. on 50th street right outside of this building, looking for andy kaufman. a stray shot roller coaster in the last line of the movie is, live from new york, it's saturday night. >> that's fantastic. and the inspiration. how long has this been on your mind? to do this? >> back in 2008, right after i directed a movie called "juno" my agent asked me what i wanted to do next. i said, i have two dreams as a kid. one is to be a director and the others to do saturday live. they said i could be a guest writer here. that's what started.

>> that's crazy. corey, it's hard to really remember now. but chevy chase really was the center. he was the star. he was the guy that, you know, that's really carried the first season for the most part. before all of these other iconic names follow through. talk about chevy chase and sort of stepping into that role. >> he had the benefit of being the only caster that could say his name. so he was every day introducing himself to the audience, saying, i'm chevy chase. he was sort of granted this authority and identity that everyone else wasn't. it's an amazing ensemble film. i've never been part of a stronger collective ensemble. his path in this story, you

know, he's young guy is very confident. he's a bit older than everybody else. he's a writer and an actor on this. and he shows up a little cocky, you know. really excited. >> a little? >> what he gets it handed to him by milne, played by jk simmons, who brings him back down to earth in the pretty brutal scene. i'm curious what you knew going into this about radnor. she's obviously known as an icon who died far too young. truly, one of the funniest performers. not just on the show but in the history of entertainment. >> to my shame, i did not know before i auditioned. she such an icon. and like you said, not just an amazing comic mind, but also an extraordinarily generous, empathetic person who really left a mark on us that is still rippling outwards today. but it really was a crash course for me.

>> dillon, where did dan ackroyd fit into this cast? where did dan fit into this? >> you don't really know, do you? make exactly. >> that's what i hear, how i got the part. he's just floating through this space i guess is how i would put it. >> secret sauce. >> secret sauce? >> i think so. >> yeah, absolutely. i would think he's a true genius. he was a guy that the writers could go up to and just pitch one word of the sketch. he would start rattling the sketch off in real time. and writers would say, you have to have a pen ready when he started because you need to sketch in real time. >> they called it the vomit draft. >> he was. i think he was the secret sauce. you had all these big personalities. i doubt you had to do the

routine. did you go back and see some of his work? >> yeah, yeah. to jason's point, what was so incredible about him as a talent and my education of him through this process is, how lightning quick he was and what a talented writer he was pick >> right. >> what what a gifted performer he was too. i became obsessed with his screen test. he goes through. i tried to learn as much of it as i possibly could. he goes through about seven minutes and six characters. he is improvising the entire thing. he never stumbles. he so precise. he's incredible. >> dillon, that would make this such a joy for us to watch, other than it being so iconic, is also the friction. you could read articles about it as it was going. and they were always, like eagles, if you see the eagles documentary.

they are always at each other's necks. there was always this creative friction. what was good for chevy chase was bad for everybody else. you know, talking about the competition that added to the creative spark there. >> it's almost as though your sing live television is a location for friction. not here. not here. >> we love each other. but nobody will ever do a great film about us. >> just wait. we are working on it. look, saturday night live was the birthplace of so much talent. obviously it continues to be. but even out of that first show. this was a show that so good that billy crystal got fired off of that show. never even made it to air. >> norman mcdonald. one of the funniest guys of her. fired. >> look, there's 100 comedians that are known worldwide whose careers birth happened right here at rockefeller center.

again, what makes this such an exciting moment in time is that friction. it's the fact that nobody knew exactly was saturday night was except for lorne michaels, who had a vision and somehow got it across the finish line. >> we have a second hour of "morning joe weekend" right after the break. apoaequorin, originally discovered in jellyfish and found only in prevagen. in a clinical study, prevagen was shown to improve memory in subgroups of individuals who were cognitively normal or mildly impaired. stay sharp and improve your memory with prevagen. prevagen. in stores everywhere without a prescription.

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welcome back to morning joe weekend. it is 7:00 a.m. on the saturday morning.