national security advisor, jake sullivan, was pushing back saying, wait a minute. aren't we sure? do we want to block-- don't we want to think about this? biden said, absolutely not. now, what is the benefit of that? not having ground troops in these wars. coming up, our next guest is a democratic lawmaker who is using the words of a former republican president for her new campaign ad. we will learn why, next. next. ? yep! it feeds your lawn now to strengthen roots all winter for a better lawn next spring. how do you know all of this? says it right there on the bag. yes, it does. download the my lawn app today for lawn care tips and customized plans. feed your lawn. feed it.

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my record is one of progress, not platitude. my record is one of specifics, not filed. my record is one of performance! but i have no intention of standing on the record alone. we will continue winning the fight against inflation. we will encourage urban program, which ensures safety in the streets. we will ensure the integrity of the social security system, and improve medicare. we will create a climate in which our economy will provide a meaningful job for everyone who wants to work. and as we go forward together, i promise you once more to uphold the constitution, and to do the very best that i can for america

, god helping me, i won't let you down. >> i am hillary swanson, and i approve this message. >> that is a new election campaign ad from democratic congresswoman hillary skelton of michigan, you heard using the voice of former republican president gerald ford, who held her seat for more than two decades in michigan. the congresswoman is the first immigrant to represent that district in over 50 years. congresswoman joins us now. thanks for being with us this morning. tell us about the message he wanted to debate by using gerald ford there. >> good morning, thank you so much for having me. i'm coming to you live here from an actual kitchen table in battleground michigan. the message is one of traditions . this is a book and to the first ad that i lost about my deep west michigan roots and how some things are changing here in terms of party, many

things are saying think the same. gerald ford is a political role model of mine. this is talking about my own record of bipartisan solution oriented service, leadership me but also the future, which is going to clean cling to those traditions of the past. >> so, congresswoman, let's talk about the state of michigan. obviously, vice president harris, who i understand will be in your district in a couple of days, needs to win michigan. she is putting great emphasis on that date. we know it is incredibly close looking at polling. internal polling has a tide as well. what would be decisive, not just in your district, but in the state of michigan, what are vultures waiting to hear their? >> the path to the presidency truly does run through michigan . and it runs through west michigan as well. you increasingly cannot win statewide without waiting in west michigan, without winning in my district. the things that

matter here are the things that matter at the kitchen table, the issues of economy, housing, affordable healthcare, and the issue of reproductive freedom. there is no more greater economic decision that a family can make then rather when, where, and how they are going to start a family. michigan codified the right to protect reproductive freedom with a ballot initiative in 2022. it is still top of mind for voters that that can be taken away with a nationwide abortion ban. i hear that all the time. >> congresswoman, one of the major issues in the state of michigan, even the thing that has to do with the automotive issues, we have seen trump really push ev's, some of which the biden/harris administration is requiring. could you talk about what is true and weigh in on the impact that is having on the polls? >> absolutely.

michigan put the world on wheels and we will keep moving it forward. here in michigan, we don't care what kind of car you want to drive. if the next generation of autos is going to be made somewhere, we want them to be made in michigan. i think that is the point that is really getting lost for a lot of people. this is not about dictating the kind of car you want to drive, but it is fighting for a competitive share of that next generation of vehicles. and we don't want to be left out. we don't want china running away with advancements in the auto industry. we want those to be made right here. it is very rich that president trump is trying to own a record on the auto industry, when he promised not a single factory would close here in michigan under his watch, and no less than three did. we lost more than 9000 auto jobs while trump was president. the biden/harris administration is bringing them back while keeping us ragged relative and competitive in the future

market. >> and that means jobs in the economy, and jobs for many other places. finally, let me ask you about the election in your state. obviously, all of the seeds of false information dating back to 2020, looking to 2024, suggesting there is something fishy with the election process. you have a strong attorney general in your state and secretary of state as well who has had the election will be secure. are you confident this time around? >> i am confident we have the best possible leaders at the helm making it so. i am also confident that folks are going to try all kinds of political shenanigans, and even criminal activity to do what they are willing to do unconstitutionally to overtake this election. that is why it is so critical that we take back the house so we have a democratic majority that is committed to certifying the election results. republicans today will not commit. the speaker of the

house himself will not commit to certifying the results of the election. here in west michigan, it is not only a critical presidential race, it is my race too, a critical battleground where we are fighting for control of house and an open senate seat. our next guest says, the trump team is prepared to bring election chaos. former acting u.s. selected general joins us with that ahead on "morning joe: weekend.". gray rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways.

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still no evidence former president is micro dosing any sort of drugs. the events of this week, the dancing the other night, his speech from the economic club, which we will talk more later in this hour, certainly raising questions about his fitness for office again, a question that president biden had to face, now renewed on donald trump. meanwhile, there is a new guest

out today, highlighting the real possibility of election chaos next month and spells out what that might look like. let's bring in the author of that new opinion piece, former acting u.s. solicitor general and msnbc legal analyst, neil. neil, good to see you this morning. the election is three weeks away, but we know there are already some efforts underway to sold-out as to its results. those efforts only to accelerate . please tell us more about the chaos you fear may come. >> i think we are looking at a very possible constitutional crisis, and one that will make january 6, 2021 look like a dress rehearsal. this year, the rogues have had four years to pro and perfect their life. i wrote this piece, i think the most important piece i've ever written, because i really wanted to warn the american people about what their email

very well may happen. we should not be surprised when donald trump sent his lawyers to challenge everything. that is what they did in 2020, the vice presidential candidate, j.d. vance, would not even admit that donald trump lost in 2020. remember, in 2020, biden won 306 electoral votes to trump's 222. all of his additional challenges he filed, he had to run the table to win a bunch of them, this election might be closer. i'm very worried about these possibilities. >> neil, i agree this is such a very important piece. we have to think about the aftermath of the election, just as much as the election. what happens if there is chaos at the actual polling centers in major cities in places like philadelphia, milwaukee, or maricopa county on election day , and those results are then, as versions are cast on what

those results are if there is chaos at the site? >> you, and those as versions can be cast in a variety of ways by the trump team. he can try to go to court, as he did in 2020, and try to say, throw out the votes, discount them. they can go to state election lawyers, as they have empowered georgia to do, local lawyers to try to throw out election results. they can go to state governors and say, hey, this challenge is wrong. you've got to send a different, fake slate of electors, or something like that. most importantly, they can go to the united states congress january 6, 2025 this time and say to the congress, you need to throw out these state electoral states because they are procured by fraud or the like. it is a simple majority of the house and senate that can enact that and strike a state from the electoral college. congress in 2022, in something called the electoral count reform act try to modify this

event. they did a good job, but there is a industry of the strategist trying to and that act and eliminate protections. >> neil, georgia is, to my knowledge, the only swing state that has a republican governor. i just wonder if you could talk us through a little bit, where your concerns are around kind of this path to not accepting the election results that would involve fake electors. is it a state legislator that would be responsible for essentially throwing out democratic results? for example in georgia, the governor of georgia, kemp has said, he plans to stand up for democracy. what exactly does that pathway look like? is it state legislators where your area of most concern is?

>> state legislators is certainly a part. remember, donald trump in 2020 try to use state legislators for fake slates of electors. eve had two good things to happen since the year 2020, one of the supreme court case called moore versus harper, which rejected a lot of this state, legislator nonsense. the other is the 22 act of congress, which gave governors the power, not state legislators the power to send this date of electors to washington, d.c. the problem is that some people think that act is unconstitutional. trump will certainly make those kinds of arguments. there is a general feeling that it is not just state governor or legislators, it is also state courts. some of them are elected, they are bipartisan here they run on partisan platforms. ordinarily, we have been able to rely on two things to prevent these nightmare scenarios. one is the good faith of political candidates and political parties, be it

republican or democrat. nobody kind of believed this election hoax nonsense. you have people like al gore, the supreme court ruled against said, fine, i will accept it, it is not over. trump is not that way. the second thing that has happened, is that you have really now a playbook that has been perfected over the last four years by the republicans to use any means available. states, state courts, state legislators, state governors, or the u.s. congress. basically, the democracy folks have to run the table and hold each of these different institutions after november 5th. the best way to do that, of course, is to have something like a blowout in electoral college, the way biden did in 2020, so that trump would effectively have to run the table in battleground state, over battleground state with his legal challenges. to connect the two battleground states for georgia republicans, georgia and nevada. i want to give you a question

to weigh in on the scenario brendan book buck put out for us a couple of hours ago, that harris wins, republicans hang on narrowly in the house, because that is a plausible scenario, and the house is seated january 3rd. mike johnson going to try to become speaker again. brendan floated the fear that johnson will be held hostage and some republicans will say to him, i'm not going to give you a boat for speaker if you say you will certify kamala harris's victory. of course the certification deadline a few days later. if that were to occur, what happens next? >> depends exactly on how the objection is laid out on january 6th. there are some objections that congress has suggested to me don't eliminate the denominator in the electoral college. there are others that do. this gets really complicated. my op-ed today tries to tease some of this out. the bottom line is that you could have a circumstance in which you tie in the electoral

college because johnson is throwing out certain votes, and that with beholding to the house of representatives under the 12th amendment under totally arcane voting rules, where it is not the majority of the house, it is majority of the voting of the house, and things can get really unwieldy, really fast. as i said, it has been american principle, american honor the integrity of the parties that has presented prevented any of the scenarios in our lifetime. that appears to have broken down in the republican party, which is now really entrenched in the big lie, not just 2020, but it looks like gearing up for 2024. up next, tony nominated, emmy and glow golden globe award winning actor, jimmy parsons joins us on his role in the new production of the american theater classic, "our town." that is right after the break. break.

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plus, a free samsung galaxy s24 fe. this play is called, our town." in it you will see billy jones, richard thomas, michelle wilson, katie holmes, zoe dortch, sophia harris, hagan olivarez, julie holsten, and many others. the name of the town is " grover's corners." >> very ordinary town, if you ask me. >> once in 1000 times, it is interesting. >> do any other human beings realize it, every other minute? >> there are some things we know

, but we don't take them out and look at them often. >> people are meant to go through life two by two.>> you've got to love life to have life and you've got to have life to love life. it is what they call a vicious circle. >> earth, you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you. >> that is a look at the new broadway revival of a timeless classic, "our town," first premiered in 1938. this iteration of the all- american plastic takes the audience back to grover's corner, new hampshire, but with modern twist and a star-studded cast featuring katie holmes and one of our next guest. joining us now, tony nominated, emmy golden globe award winning, jim parsons, and director of "our town," kenny leon. kenny, can i start with you and that cast that you assembled? i am sure, jim, they were drawn to you because of your incredible track record on broadway, but my gosh, what a

group. >> i am the luckiest director in america. we say this all the time, we had five weeks of reversal before we got into the theater, but just coming to work every day, coming to work with 28, wonderful actors, but better human beings, it does not get much better than that for me. we would spend the first 30 minutes of every rehearsal talking about what happened in the room? what did you see? what was it like with your wife last night? did you talk with your daughter ? as actors, we are talking about human behavior to me but a lot of artists don't spend time taking about human behavior , human life, human politics. i am the luckiest guy in the world. >> and building chemistry in the process. jimmy you have done so much in your career, on-screen, and on stage, i have to are managed-- imagine, for any actor, "our town" you jumped right on it? >> i don't know what people are going to think of me, but i'm

going to do it. when someone asks you to do "our town," you just do it. i had never worked with kenny before, but i admired his work and i admired him. i did not know a single person in this cast of 28. i had met katie in an elevator at one point. other than that, i had never worked with any of them. kenny is describing that morning thing where you started knowing where we would talk about what you observed in your own little town. it was so amazing because it made you look at the world in a way that was applicable for this play, but gave you a chance to hear people's interpretations of what they see around them. that is a very special thing, different than just having a conversation with them. you get to hear how they see the world and what they think about it. it's created a very close knit group of people. it created our own little town, and you could feel that. >> i had always loved the play. growing up in florida, i did not see myself in that play.

you know what i mean? but they allowed me to see it through my eyes. my mother, who lives in tampa, florida, she called me on the phone and i put her on speaker phone and she said a prayer for us, for the country, for the play, and she said, just trust god. that play, this production has been touched since my mother blew life into it. zoe dortch, katie holmes, come on, john boy from "the waltons. " you can't lose! [ laughter ] >> and a little blessing from your mother. that is all the time we have for today. thanks for watching. come back tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. eastern for the week's highlights. until then, enjoy your weekend.

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