you had the debate, and everybody's phones were flowing up for the next couple of weeks, and just about every democrat i knew, every journalist i talked to, everybody was saying well, they can't just hand it to kamala.

that's not going to happen. there's going to be an open convention, and she's going to have to earn it. there's going to be fights. why did everyone close so quickly around kamala when all of the elites and experts said it was never going to happen? i think it's a testament to her. almost four years as vice president, demonstrated the leadership throughout. may not have been covered all the time, but it was there. she was building relationships across the party, across the country, and again, no one handed it to her. >> that was not the perception of her, as you know. people were always knocking her. since she has gotten the nomination, i have talked to friends, world leaders, ambassadors who say, oh, yeah, she came to our country two times or three times. we know her, like her, and all of these things that you find out afterwards that she had

been doing at quiet work. >> that's why those of us on the inside were not surprised. that's why many could have stepped up and didn't. you know, i think they saw what i knew and you're hearing after the fact. this is who she is, someone who stepped up when we needed somebody, and did ten hours of hitting the phones, and making sure that she was getting the word out. she wasn't preordained at all. she earned it. she earned it not only for her actions on that day, but through the four plus years and her career of being there. whether it was being covered or not, it was happening. >> donald trump, you talk about the debate. why do you think donald trump will not debate her again? >> you saw the first debate didn't you? >> yeah. >> that's why.

he got his kicked. he's afraid it will happen again. he's spreading the fog of misinformation and gaslighting rather than facing her again. >> he is spreading it about you, saying that tabloid stories about your personal life, saying it should be front and center. he is saying it about your wife and making incredibly crude and lewd suggestions about her past life. house do you stay disciplined and not really go off and push back hard at these things? >> we don't have time to be off. it's all a distraction. it's designed to try to get us off our game. >> does it get you off your game? >> all we are doing and talk about is the election. we understand the stakes and the responsibility. >> what are the stakes?

>> our very country, our future, what kind of future are we going to have? who would you like picking the next two or three supreme court justices, the guy who picked the three that took away roe v. wade and want to take away more freedoms? or do you want kamala picking the justices? she said it, not just the important election of our lifetime, but the nation's lifetime. right now, you have seen us in the before times, a lot of happy couple talk, and we love each other dearly and love being around each other and have fun and enjoy being together. right now we are deferring that happy couple time because everything we talk about right now is what else can we be doing to win this election. where else can we go? how can we make sure that we are getting the word out? that's it. like i said, the stakes are too high. all of the other stuff you're talking about, it bounces off,

and it's a distraction. >> you talk about the stakes being high. i don't know if you know this or not, but your wife and i were on the cover of new york times magazine this week with 20 other people. the question was if donald trump would be able to jail the people he said he was going to jail. so does she think about that? do you think about that? if donald trump wins, if he is good on his word, he could arrest her and jail her and jail critics? >> we don't think about that for ourselves. we think about it for every single other person in the country. you know, she put herself out there, and that comes with the territory. so we are willing to take anything that is thrown at us for our country. we love our country. we are patriots. we care about the future of the country like i know you do. this is why we are going to

fight like hell for the next 20- something days for the rule of law, for the constitution, for the democratic ideals, not someone who is going to talk about, you know, weaponizing the department of justice for perceived enemies and going against the free and fair media. this is all stuff people need to understand and not get socked in by this fog, this trump fog out there of disinformation, misinformation, this perception he was somehow good on the economy when he was president. he was not. all of these things he's trying to dupe the american people on. when you have someone like kamala harris, a prosecutor, someone who is an attorney general who are is the united states senator, vice president, been in the oval office, helping to make decisions, in the situation room, doesn't have to train to be a world leader, already is a world leader, and has the character that people can look up to, and she tells the truth. for me, and for so many others, this is why we are all

supporting kamala harris. >> doug emhoff on the stakes of the race, we don't have time to be off. in the next hour, you will hear why the second gentlemen thinks the race is still tied. coming up, how john lewis became an american icon. we will speak to the author of a new biography on one of the most important figures in civil rights. morning joe: weekend is back in a moment. e: wee kend is back n a mome nt. nice to meet ya. my name is david. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years.

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you all have a lot of money. i know about 20 of you and you're rich as hell. we're going to give you tax cuts. i am not rich as hell. i work hard. i scrape to get by. donald trump wants to give tax breaks to billionaires, but kamala harris has plans to help us. she's going to crack down on price gouging and cut taxes for working people like me. i voted for donald trump before, but this time i'm voting for kamala. ff pac is responsible for the content of this ad. business just to keep the lights on. you're here to sell more today than

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we do not get the legislation out of this congress, the time will come. we will not confine our march to washington. we will march through the south, through the streets of jackson, through the streets of danville, through cambridge. we will march with the spirit of love and dignity that we have shown here today. by the forces of our demand, our determination, and our numbers, we shall splinter the segregated south into 1,000 pieces, putting them together in the image of god and democracy. we must say, wake up america, wake up. we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patronized.

>> that was john lewis speaking at the 1963 march on washington. lewis' speech that day and his heroism at the edmund pettus bridge, where he nearly died after being beaten by alabama state troopers propelled him to the forefront of the civil rights movement, where he would remain until his death in 2020 after serving 17 terms in the u.s. house of representatives, where i had the great, great honor of making a friendship with him there. the remarkable life and legacy of the late congressman is the subject of the biography, john lewis, a life, and david greenburg is joining us now. a professor of history at rutgers university. it's an unlikely story. talk about how this shy alabama

farm boy grew up to be the one that helped drive the steak in to the heart of jim crowe. >> it's an amazing story. i think readers who know john lewis from television and the years in congress are going to learn a lot about him from the book. he comes really as you say abject poverty. his parents were sharecroppers who scraped together enough for their own plot of land. one of ten siblings in the worst of jim crowe, alabama. he saw and felt the sting and evil of segregation. he gets to college and goes away from home really for the first time to nashville, where under james lawson and other ministers, they take up the sit- in movement. the first in a wave of actions

through the early '60s that topples segregation, turns john lewis into a national figure and instills fighting for a set of values they think our democracy sorely needs to protect and preserve. >> david, one of the things -- and i'm grateful you wrote the book. i intend to read it since it was just giving to me, but i think one of the things people miss, john lewis was about half a generation or so younger than dr. king and would fight the contemporaries about keeping the king spirit alive. i was the same distance in age from him, and he would say to me, mrs. king got me to understand the words. al, the black-jewish union. what happened? not only have the rhetoric that way, and i know you come out and don't feel that way, but

you can't identify with people that are antisemitic. we developed a relationship. the last time we marched on the bridge, i helped hold him up. i think he held my arm on his last tribute dying of cancer crossing the bridge. talk about how he could help to cultivate some of those we need today, my generation behind me, that would help to deal with the question of what is going on in the middle east, seen through the black community as john lewis would see? >> we have a tendency to see the civil rights movement as one big happy family as everyone in complete alignment. there were differences and splits over the tactics and ideas. john lewis really follow in the footsteps of martin luther king and later coretta scott king in

believing if had to be an interracial move. the black jewish alliance was an important part of that, and working with catholic groups and labor groups and other groups, and in some years, the relationship, those relationships with ally groups became strained, but lewis always wanted to preserve and fought to preserve that relationship. you know, back in the '90s when lewis faracon was having a hayday, he said there's messages that people may find inspiring, but i cannot cast my lot with someone who is antisemitic, antiguy, antiwomen, and i think he was a life-long supporters of israel and understood the importance of the jewish state, not only to the jewish people, but all people concerned with human rights that didn't prevent him

from understanding the plight of the palestinians. even when there were rifts, he would lead the healing to find a common way forward. you put the finger on an important theme of his life and career. >> the new book is on sale now. author and professor of history at rutgers university, david greenburg, thank you so much. >> thank you. up next, she is an ncaa champion, two-time wnba champion, and now the first former player to be both a coowner and executive, renee montgomery is joining us straight ahead to discuss her new documentary, a radical act. you're watching morning joe: weekend. yo u're watching morning joe: weekend. he traveling trio. each helping to protect their money with chase. wooo! tools that help protect. alerts that help check. one bank that puts you in control. chase. make more of what's yours.

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i have been the undersized underdog my whole life. now people are calling me an activist. when you look back on it, my

whole upbringing was leading me to that point. i was trying to do something that was going to change everything. i hadn't really seen a player go from player to owner and exec. >> she thought she could be more effective than on the court. >> i felt lick it was the land of opportunity, but not just any opportunity. in atlanta, it's the land of black opportunity. >> that was a look at the new documentary, out today titled a radical act, renee montgomery. it follows the two-time wnba champion's journey to becoming the first former wnba player in league history to be a co-owner and executive. let's start with this, your life story, a remarkable one,

now on film. what are some of the messages you're hoping to impart with those who are watching it? >> i think a lot of times in our universe and world, toxicity rises to the top of the news cycle and everything, and people are like why did you call it a radical act? i think it is radical to think that you can achieve the ultimate goal or the dream job or the dream thing that you don't want to say out loud. you don't want people to hear you say it. if you fail, everyone knows you failed at it. it's radical to be positive and believe in yourself. a radical act is throughout my whole life, just remaining positive and keeping locked in on the goals. >> renee, first of all, congratulations on the documentary. >> thank you. >> i guess i wonder as the first player to now be an owner in the league, what are your thoughts on how to build support on how to pay women better in the league? >> i think that's -- i'm glad you asked. listen i think the main thing

that people have to realize, the way you get larger salaries and bigger media deals and bigger people pouring into the league. it's not necessarily about the owners and what they want to pay. it's splitting the equity and different things of that nature. i think the more visible we are as a wnba league, the more visible our players are, even now, there's no chance you can miss monday night football. you turn on the tv, and it's all over everything. my prime boxes, we all shop too much, but they have thursday night football. you can't miss their games. i think sometimes you can miss our games. i didn't know today is day three of the wnba finals. that's where we need to be visible, mainstream, turn on your commercial and see your favorite athlete there. we need to be more mainstream. that's where the dollars come in. >> renee, a remarkable journey, and that's why i'm excited for the documentary. west virginia point guard to

owner. what's the most surprising part of sitting in the chair and being a decision maker? >> i'm glad you said west virginia. shoutout to my family watching right now. the most surprising thing, it's going to take time. when you get in there, the whole ownership group. larry g., and susanne, we wanted to do so much in a documentary. he says i want to blow it up quick, but you can't. there's rules how much you can gift a player and different parameters where you have to color inside of the lines. i think it was the more surprising thing. you may be mad at a pothole and yelling at the president. vote local. you have to talk to your local officials. you didn't know who to be mad at. when you get in the position, you're like, i see why things are the way they are. >> support for the liberty here in new york is electric. it's exciting as a woman to see

the league blowing up in this way. why now? what is it about the league that has americans captivated? god bless the nba. i love a men's basketball game, too, but there's something different. can you speak to that? what is it americans are getting so excited about? >> it's like welcome to the party. i'm excited about it. i played in the wnba for 11 years. i talk about the quality of play, the product has been a1, but the visibility has not been there the college athletes, the class of 2024, they did damage. the angel reeses of the world, caitlin clarks, their fan base followed them to the wnba. the crossover we are seeing happening, in all sports. players have podcasts and they are their own media platforms they have millions of

followers, and they are watching the wnba and the players and finding out about more players. i think it was a volcano ready to erupt, and the last class made it explode. don't go away. a second hour of morning joe: weekend on this sunday morning, coming up right after the break. coming up right after th brea k. gum problems the star omino effect parodontax active gum repair breath freshener clinically proven to help reverse the 4 signs of early gum disease a toothpaste from parodontax, the gum experts.

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welcome back to a new hour of 'morning joe: weekend'. let's