- [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. it's a good night to keep it locked on msnbc. we have a lot going on tonight. tomorrow, you can catch "the beat" weekend. we have interesting stuff cooked up and some moments from the week you might want to take a look at. so set your dvr or your calendar, 4:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow. and with the rallies and everything going, keep it on msnbc. "the reidout" starts now.

>> tonight on "the reidout" -- >> we're like a garbage can for the world. that's what's happened. that's what's happened. we're like a garbage can. >> trump's dark sin sister closing message to the nation. not that we're a shining city on the hill, but that america is a garbage can. also tonight, vice president kamala harris delivers a major address on abortion rights in texas, one of the states that's imposed a strict ban that's putting women's lives in danger. and she's got a very special opening act. but we begin tonight with the closing arguments of two very different campaigns. for the kamala harris campaign, part of the closing argument has been to bring out some of the biggest stars in the world, but also some of the best advertisements for the american dream. to help her make her case that

it's time to move america forward. and she's upping that ante tonight with a hairdresser's daughter who became the biggest star on earth, of course, i'm talking about beyonce, who will perform in her hometown of houston to hype up the bey hive to vote. that's what the kamala harris/tim walz campaign is doing, including last night in georgia. >> she's running to be the 47th president of the united states. donald trump is running to be an american tyrant. >> you already know what time it is. we don't have a moment to lose. we want to stop that other guy, i don't call him by his name. i call him agent orange. >> we have seen that horror show before. and there's no way, no how we gonna make america great again. we are not going back. >> you want to hear something about an american dream?

mcpherson was once a confederate army base where there were confederate soldiers plotting and planning on how to keep 3.9 million negro enslaved. now that land is owned by me. >> that last bite by tyler perry is about as good a depiction of the american dream as you are going to get. perry, one of georgia's most important residents, i suspect even to that state's republican governor, has survived poverty, even living in his car to become an actor, comedian, producer, and fick maker who a few years ago was able to buy that 230-acre former confederate military base and turn it into the biggest most important movie studio in the eastern u.s., making atlanta the hollywood of the east coast. bruce springsteen's father was a day laborer in freehold, new jersey, yet his working class son became one of the most

important singers/songwriters in the history of the music industry who has maintained his authenticity by helping the heart of blue collar america for decades. spike lee's father was a jazz musician. he grow up in brooklyn new york, and attended morehouse college. he's one of america's most important filmmakers. his movies have illuminated everything from hbcu life to the killing of black men in racial incidents in new york to the life of malcolm x. samuel l. jackson was born two years after donald trump in washington, d.c., but unlike trump, who was born rich, jackson's grandparents were from chattanooga, tennessee. he was a young activist in the black power movement in the 1960s and is also a morehouse man. he moved to new york city and became a prolific stage actor who even survived drug addiction to become one of the biggest, most bad ass and iconic stars in the world. and then of course, there's barack obama, a man who also came from humble roots, an

african immigrant father and white mom from kansas raised largely by his grandparents in hawaii. but through his brains and determination, he made it to the top of the harvard law review, to the senate, and then to becoming the first black president of the united states. kamala harris herself is the daughter of immigrants from jamaica and india. who also went to an hbcu, howard university. and won an improbable race to become the san francisco d.a., then another to become the first black attorney general -- attorney general of california. then a u.s. senator, and then the first woman vice president of the united states. and now, she's the democratic nominee to be the president of the united states. >> we here understand, we have an opportunity before us. to turn the page on the fear and divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of donald trump.

we have the opportunity to turn the page and chart a new way and a joyful way forward. >> this group of americans descendants of slaves, sons of the working class, a daughter of the middle class, none coming from money or from the ranks of the elite. all of whom achieved the american dream. if you want to know why people all over the world want to come here to this country and have looked up to america, that's why. it's the possibilities and the opportunities this country uniquely offers despite the challenges of being a multiracial democracy. that's why my parents immigrated here. and yet, here again is donald trump's closing argument about america. >> they're coming from 181 countries as of yesterday. we're a dumping ground. we're like a garbage can for the world. that's what's happened. that's what's happened.

we're like a garbage can. first time i have ever said garbage can, but you know what, it's a very accurate description. >> a garbage can. donald trump describes america, a country that has given him more than he deserved, including a presidency he had zero qualifications for, as a garbage can. donald trump's grandfather came to this country from bavaria, aka, germany, in 1885 as a 16-year-old draft dodger. he bought the one-way steam ship ticket in order to avoid compulsory military service in his home country. that is an example that his grandson cadet bone spurs would later follow to keep from serving in vietnam. among the jobs the teenage coward wound up doing here in america were working as a barber and allegedly as a pimp. running a saloon where he rented female prostitutes to gold prospectors, since he had failed

as a gold prospector himself. he eventually invested in real estate in new york, married a fellow german, and tried to go home. but germany stripped him of his citizenship for draft dodging and he returned to the u.s. for good. lucky us. his middle child fred was donald trump's father. fred inherited new york properties from his father and built his real estate empire by becoming a slum lord in queens, new york. taking advantage of generous tax incentives while also being a prolific tax evader. best known for buying up and ruining coney island. he used to lie about his german heritage, pretending to be swedish to do business with jewish new yorkers while getting sued by the nixon administration for refusing to rent apartments to black new yorkers. donald trump's mother was an immigrant too from scotland. she was working as a maid when she met fred, but pretty soon,

she was sporting fur coats and jewels while refusing to let her own nieces and nephews have free access to the coin laundry in the buildings the trumps let them live in and sometimes withholding heat, according to her niece mary trump. and then there's donald. a man who was born with $317 million in the bank, who after fred helped him get into upenn and handed over his real estate empire, promptly lost $900 million on bad real estate and casino investments. he was saved by russian money, and then by mark burnett, when he was dead broke, but a good enough performer to land a job as the star of "the apprentice" on nbc. and that fame despite his having actually no actual skills, convinced enough americans that he should be president, that he defeated a former first lady, u.s. senator, and secretary of state, hillary clinton, despite losing the popular vote by 3 million votes. he and his family have done nothing but grift off this

country. they stole and took and have given nothing back. trump and his adult sons are banned from doing business in the state of new york for committing charities fraud. they didn't pay taxes and scammed the state to the point where trump now owes the state of new york nearly $500 million. donald trump has a lot of f'ing nerve calling this country, a country that has given him every undeserved benefit a mediocre, garish, tacky, creepy sex pest whiner and felon could possibly imagine. a garbage can because of immigrants, who unlike his cynical sociopathic immigrant family have actually given this country something in return. joining me now is tim o'brien, senior executive editor of bloomberg opinion and democratic pollster fernand amandi. tim, if i missed something great that the trumps have contributed to america, you are a biographer

of donald trump, please, please, fill us in. >> well, i actually want to point out that also, he had two wives who were immigrants. in that list of immigrant connections in the world of donald trump. you know, if anyone had told him that his -- two of his wives were infecting the country or were vermin or were garbage cans, he obviously would have been insulted. and he would have taken action, strong action against those people, but he has no trouble getting up on a national stage as a republican candidate in a party that at one point said it wanted to embrace tolerance and expand the republican net to include more people of color and more immigrants in the party, to completely redefine it in the most ugly, sensationalistic and damaging of terms. and he's a man who also made his bones professionally and politically in the city of new york, which is not a perfect

city, it's got itswaters, but if there's any city of the planet who has tried to make tolerance, diversity, and a melting pot work, it's new york. and he self-identifies as a new yorker, and it's one of the reasons new york has disowned him, because at his core, he's a profound racist and he doesn't try to hesitate to insinuate that the country would be better off if it had less diversity and if migrants went somewhere else. >> yeah, i mean, he doesn't mind, fernand, his own late wife and his third wife, melania, being immigrants because they're not from the congo, venezuela, or haiti, one of the countries he considers s-hole countries. they're from white countries which he thinks are fine to come here. you and i both have parents who are immigrants. i woke up pretty hopping mad when i heard that quote. i wonder how it struck you. >> joy, it's something for the worst american who has ever

lived in donald trump to call me and you the sons and daughters and the grandsons and granddaughters of garbage people when he is everything wrong with the worst of what this country represents, such a phenomenal extraordinary country. unfortunately, there are a lot of people who think like donald trump and we can't allow these distraction words and these horrible concepts to impede our eyes on the ultimate prize, 270 electorate votes on the fifth for kamala harris. i am in a sense grateful to donald trump because i was worried about a year ago that he was going to try the bs approach in this campaign and talk about unity and all of this stuff, cover stuff, if you will. instead, he has absolutely kept the mask that he's had off for the last eight years even more off, gone full on fascist, full on racist, full on white supremacist, full on misogynist, and i think we now have to all

internalize, all of us watching this broadcast tonight, the election is not about kamala harris or donald trump anymore. it's about whether or not we as americans are going to allow donald trump's vision for this country and for the people that make this country great, joy, which are your parents, my parents, and grandparents, and all of those here that emigrated to this country to make the united states and live the american dream. that's the question, are we going to allow that to happen? because we're not going back, joy. i'm not going back and you're not going back. >> amen to that. amen to that. tim, i mean, we are starting to see, and i think it is heartening, i had a conversation with claire mccaskill last night and she definitely gave a good loving correction, it isn't all republicans that are going along with this garbage. you're starting to see what happened when the john birch society was evicted from the republican party in the late 1970s and going into the 1980s when the ronald reagan crew kicked them out and said you can't be here.

go home, you don't have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here. you have a former wisconsin republicans backing kamala harris. you have the former mayor in reliably red waukesha, wisconsin, endorsing her. you have the green bay, wisconsin, a republican from green bay, wisconsin, has endorsed her, calling trump a totalitarian and a fascist. you have former aides to john kelly coming forward and defending him, now that he's gone on record and allowed a tape to come out with him calling donald trump a nazi fan. and obviously, a person who would try to rule as a fascist. you are starting to see some republicans join the liz cheney coalition and say, no more. we want this out of our party. that's a good sign, right? >> of course, it's a good sign because i don't think we're going to solve the things that divide us by dividing ourselves further. i do wish it hadn't happened, you know, a week before the

election. i wish people had started to organize and take action around what a plague and a problem donald trump is long before now. but i think the reality is, you can't deny any longer what trump intends to do if he becomes president. and what he stands for as a candidate. it is -- the idea, mitch mcconnell came out today saying it's wrong of the democrats and a handful of republicans now to call donald trump a fascist. that it makes him a target and subjects him to violence. when trump has been targeting people with sensationalist dangerous language his entire career, with no concern about their safety. and moreover, the republicans have used a whole alphabet soup of acronyms and phrases to either demonize or isolate their

opponents, from, you know, woke to fake news to dei, go on down the list. the reality around fascists is that trump is a walking definition of what a fascist wants to do. he wants to weaponize the military, he wants to take control of the economy, he wants to build a government that is based on cultism, and the power of his own character. and he'll try to do that from day one in the white house, and it's a clear and present danger, and the republican party now recognizes it, and so do some members of the military. >> and you're seeing, to add to that, fernand, you're starting to see republicans toy with the idea in a state, you have a connection to, north carolina, that we should skip the election thing and just award donald trump the votes in the state of north carolina. he said that on a far right wing podcast. you're seeing republicans talking about just taking the election to the courts and not having the voters vote. they are not only looking the other way when he says fascist things like round people up and

put them in camps and mass deportation and round up all of his enemies and arrest them. they just shrug their shoulders and say there's nothing wrong with it. so the republicans who are still on team trump are apparently fascist enablers. >> that's exactly right. these are complicit fascist enablers. and unfortunately, there is precedent around the world for this type of behavior. we saw it in nazi germany. we saw it in russia now as a whole crew of people have turned over and become putin enablers. we saw it in my parents' home country of cuba where as castro rose to power and became more and more authoritarian, they began to line up and normalize and justify his bankrupt regime which now is by the way completely in the dark, 60 years of repressive authoritarianism. i always tell folks, the problem with democracy is, if you lose it, you don't always get it back. and certainly not in your lifetime. so joy, i think again, we need to think about the stakes here.

what is at play, and if you're anxious, if you have feelings of dread, channel that this weekend and next week, getting into those battleground states, calling folks in the key states, doing what you can. and also calling out the shameful conduct of our institutions which are bowing to this fascism and i'm talking about the los angeles times and "the washington post," which were disgraceful. you are a disgrace to what you did in the message you sent to our country with your cowardly refusal to endorse someone who you know defends democracy and silently are as complicit as the republicans who bow behind trump's fascism. shame on you. >> and say their names. according to the folks at "the washington post," including some who have resigned, that was jeff bezos's decision, capitulating in advance is part of how you build a fascist country. you have billionaires like that who fear a false billionaire who says he wants to rule like hitler with an army like

hitler's indeed. thank you for saying that because i was going to say it, but fernand said it better and before i could get a chance. shame on them. tim o'brien, fernand amandi, thank you. the vice president is in texas with beyonce to lay their cards down. the state may not be in play, but its hot button issues are like reproductive freedom. that's next. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ it's nice to know you're free to focus on what matters, with reliable medicare coverage from unitedhealthcare. ♪♪ when i was diagnosed with h-i-v, i didn't know who i would be. but here i am... being me. keep being you... and ask your healthcare provider about the number one prescribed h-i-v treatment, biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people

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in just a few short hours, vice president kamala harris will be taking the stage in houston, texas, at a major rally featuring the one and only queen bey herself, beyonce. the two will be getting in formation as harris hones in on an issue voters say is one of the most important of this election, reproductive freedom. in a state with one of the country's strictest abortion bans. the rally will feature some of those who have been impacted by the bans including women who nearly died because of state restrictions, and the vp is expected to put the blame squary on donald trump, who consistently brags about overturning roe v. wade. today, the campaign released a new ad using his own words against him. >> for 54 years, they were trying to get roe v. wade terminated. and i did it. >> he did it. >> it was pretty devastating. >> bragging about the rights he stole from -- >> american women. and trump has promised to do more. >> in project 2025 -- >> they're restricting birth

control. >> tracking pregnant women and forcing a nationwide abortion ban. >> the government should get out of my business. >> stay out of my business. >> in america, women make their own decisions. >> i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. >> joining me now is wendy davis, senior adviser to planned parenthood texas votes and founder of defend the front line, which provides aid for those at risk of prosecution because they provide access to abortion care. it's good to see you, wendy. let's talk about this event tonight, because a lot of people don't really view texas as in play, necessarily for vice president harris. so what would be in your mind the point of doing a big rally in texas tonight? >> well, i think three-fold. number one, texas is moving in the right direction. if you compare what we have been doing presidential cycle over presidential cycle, barack obama lost texas by 16 points in 2012. joe biden lost texas by 5 1/2 points in 2020. so we are going the right

direction, unlike some other states that have had a lot of attention paid to them. and i think part of her visit here is out of respect for the hard work and of course what we understand is going to be the ultimate big prize of turning texas blue in the not too distant future. she's also here for colin allred. colin, of course, is locked in a tough battle with ted cruz. they are neck and neck. he actually has a fabulous opportunity to unseat him. and as you said, she is here to make her closing argument against donald trump and a huge part of that, of course, being reproductive rights. and there's no place that has seen more of the impact of what it means to lose the access to safe legal abortion care than the women of texas have seen. and it's a perfect thing for her to do as she highlights this to the rest of the country. >> yeah, and it is a huge state.

i believe the second most populous state. doesn't hurt the total vote if you want to look at the popular vote of running up the numbers in texas. let's listen to ted cruz trying to sort of wriggle out of his support for banning abortion. >> isn't your personal preference relevant here? you're a leading state wide. >> i recognize you don't like my answer, but that's okay. my answer is -- >> you're not answering. >> i am answering it. you just don't like it. what i am saying is that is a decision for the state legislature and the governor. i'll point out, i'm notlegislat governor. >> the challenge with that, of course, wendy, is the governor and the state legislature in texas are essentially allowing texas women to die. and allowing, you know, infants born of rape, forcing women who have been raped to give birth. that's what they're doing. >> that's exactly right, joy.

i mean, these republicans like ted cruz and donald trump have laid their own trap. and now they're trying to wiggle out of it and not be held to account for the outfall they have created. we have a rise in maternal mortality rate -- excuse me, a rise in maternal mortality of 56% in texas. we have a rise in infant mortality of 13%. there has been a study released that more than 26,000 rape related births have happened in texas since our ban went into place. and what we know because tesh tex does not have an exception for rape and incest, it doesn't have an exception for fatal fetal abnormality, and the exception for life of the mother isn't worth the paper that it's written on, this is having a devastating human consequence. and for other states that may think this isn't coming for them, it is. and for people who don't think they support abortion, it's coming for you, too.

because in texas, we are losing our ob/gyns in droves. we don't have residents who want to do their residencies here anymore. and we have other ob/gyns who are retiring early. at the end of the day, the impact is going to be felt by every single woman who wants to be pregnant in our state. it is dangerous to be pregnant here. and i know that kamala harris is going to press that case tonight. and she'll do it beautifully, as she has done through the whole campaign. >> yeah, and people should remember that ob/gyns do more than just deal with pregnancy. they deal with everything from trying to make sure that you don't have cancers of the uterus, et cetera, getting your regular gyn exams. if there are no doctors in the state and they're leaving. that's going to affect everybody. and the argument ted cruz tried to make is donald trump said he would veetdo a national abortion ban. "the washington post" points out donald trump doesn't need to have an abortion ban pass the

congress. he claimed he solves the problem of reproductive rights by putting the issue to the state, but the executive branch obtains significant influence to care throughout the country, in fact, while it's gotten relatively little coverage during this election, the biden/harris administration has worked to protect women's access to care through regulatory decisions and lawsuits, all of which trump could easily unravel or reverse. not to mention just enforcing the comstock act, he could simply do that and he wouldn't need a national abortion ban. >> that's exactly right. the comstock act is going to give them the ability to essentially initiate a national abortion ban without him having to sign that into law. and he'll do it by executive order. his administration is absolutely bent on making that happen. and if they do, if they re-enact it or bring it back to life, that means that medication abortion can no longer be sent in the mail. it means any of the tools that

are needed for surgical abortions can no longer be sent in the mail. and what that means is that over time, women all over this country are going to lose access. they mean it when they say they're going to do it. and we need to believe them. we know what it feels like here in texas on the ground. it's hard to describe how devastating the human consequence of this ban has been. and we are hell bent on making sure that we're going to hold not only donald trump to account for this but ted cruz and colin allred has been pressing that case incredibly well as he comes into the final days of his campaign, too. >> a veteran of a fight for women's liberty, wendy davis, thank you so much. thanks for coming through. and we'll be right back. ba. that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor.

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there is breaking news from the middle east. a series of strong explosions have been heard around tehran, according to iran state tv. the israel military confirmed they are conducting strikes on military targets in iran. nbc news reports the strikes appear to have been targeted at barracks and weapons depots. joining me is correspondent raf sanchez in tel aviv. what do we know as of now? >> reporter: so it is 2:30 in the morning here in israel. and the israeli military has just released official confirmation that they have begun what they are calling

precise strikes on military targets in iran. they're saying this is in response to what they're calling months of continuous attacks from the regime in iran against the state of israel. now, the statement does not specify exactly what and where they are targeting, but it is notable that they say that these are military targets, because there had been long running speculation that israel in response to that wave of ballistic missiles fired by iran on october 1st could attack iranian nuclear facilities, could attack iranian oil fields. we have heard president biden explicitly warning israel that while he supports israel's right to respond to those ballistic missiles, he did not want to see israel responding in a way that would create a new cycle of escalation. he said explicitly he did not want to see attacks on nuclear

facilities. did not want to see attacks on oil fields. right now, israel is saying it is targeting military targets. now, what we know from iranian state media is a series of explosions have been reported in the tehran area. we don't know exactly at this point what it was that was blowing up, but this is israel striking apparently around the capital of iran. now, this attack has been some three weeks plus in the making. it has been very publicly telegraphed by the israeli military. just two days ago, we saw israel's defense minister at an air base in the south of the country. he was meeting the pilots who would be responsible for carrying out what is a complicated, complex, long range bombing operation, and he was explicit that israel would

retaliate for that october 1st attack. secretary of state antony blinken was here in israel earlier this week, and basically, his parting words to the israeli government as he got on the plane to leave this country was that israel should not strike in a way that creates a new cycle of retaliation. and it remains to be seen at this point exactly what israel has hit, exactly how sensitive the targets are, and then of course, how iran may respond. the israeli military says its forces are on high alert to repel any iranian retaliation and the united states military for the first time since october 7th has moved forces into israel itself, some 100 u.s. military service personnel responsible for operating a sophisticated air defense system that was put in place exactly for the purpose of helping israel respond to any

iranian retaliation. so again, the israeli military has confirmed it is carrying out what it calls precise strikes against military targets inside of iran. >> and just one quick follow-up. how are we interpreting the term military targets? because we know when it comes to gaza, there's been a relatively loose interpretation of what the idf considers to be military targets. do we know how close to population centers theseesh plosions are taking place? you're talking about outside the capital of iran. how close are we talking to population centers? >> reporter: so, exactly as you point out, these explosions are happening in the greater tehran area. a large city, the greater urban area is a significant land mass. so we don't know exactly whether these strikes are happening inside what we consider the city

proper, whether they're happening on the outskirts or not. it's worth saying that iran is a nation state. it has a traditional military. it has clearly sign posted military installations. this is different from israel fighting against non-state actors, militant groups, hamas in gaza, hezbollah in lebanon, who as part of their modus operandi operate in some cases from within civilian areas. if israel wanted to strike clearly designated military targets inside iran, it would be able to pick those targets. i'll give you a couple examples. iran obviously has air fields, it obviously has weapon depots and military barracks all across the country. >> raf sanchez, thank you very much. if you have any additional information, you're in touch with our producers and we'll

bring you back if there's any further developments. let me bring in ben rhodes, former deputy national security adviser, and john brennan, former cia director. ben, i'm going to start with you. this feels like a pretty significant escalation. and i wonder what you make of the warnings and entreaties by the biden administration not to escalate against iran in a way that could exacerbate a regional conflict, because it doesn't seem that the israeli government really listens to the biden administration. >> yeah, they haven't in many cases in terms of escalatory action, certainly recently in lebanon. i think the question here, though, is what precise type of escalation is taking place. now, what the biden administration has been most concerned about in its warnings as raf said is an israeli attack on either the iranian nuclear facilities or iranian oil

fields. both because of their strategic importance to the regime, but also because the regime itself would see that as almost an existential attack on its survival. and might therefore respond in kind and actually there have been warnings out of the iranian government that they would respond by large scale attacks on israeli infrastructure, and that kind of attack could precipitate -- we're already in a regional war, but a kind of full blown regional war in which the iranian regime preseves itself as fighting for survival. if these are as they so far appear to be, if these are so far limited attacks on certain iranian military infrastructure, on certain iranian revolutionary guard bases in the strange logic of tit for tat in the middle east, that could be perceived as israel responding in a kind of proportionate way to what was done in terms of the iranian attack, and you might avoid that wider war. i think the general point, as we

continue to experience periodically here, is that this is still on a cycle of escalation across the region. there are reports perhaps of israel taking additional military action even today against iranian proxies in places like iraq or syria. and so the challenge is that there's no real pathway towards ending the core conflict, which is in gaza and has now spread. so perhaps this is not the worst escalatory scenario for the biden administration, but it does speak to the fact this conflict is out of their hands. >> and john brennan, let me bring you in. there's no pathway to end the conflict because it does not appear netanyahu wants it to end. yahya sinwar, who was the military leader of hamas is now dead. that is now confirmed. the israeli government has made that very clear. and yet, it doesn't seem that de-escalation is on the table at

all, despite the u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken being in the region and asking for it, despite attempts to try to get a regional solution. we now have, what, how many million people now displaced in lebanon. lebanon is seeing attacks in population centers. they're being displaced. we have however many million plus displaced in gaza. and it's now -- we're now adding to that attacks on just outside of tehran. this feels like netanyahu is determined to escalate a regional war. am i reading that wrong? >> well, joy, it's very clear that netanyahu has been pursuing a rather aggressive military posture against hamas, hezbollah, and iran. in terms of using israel's military might. but i must say, i think in this instance, maybe netanyahu has listened to the biden administration because the administration was counselling against israeli strikes against iranian nuclearo economic or oil

targets. it sounds from these very preliminary reports that israel struck military targets inside of iran in the tehran area as well as against iranian forces or proxies in iraq and syria. now, the big question is, what type of iranian military facilities were hit? weapons systems, their defense systems, training facilities, air fields, and so on. i heard the reference to barracks. military barracks. so i think the question is whether or not there were significant number of casualties, including among iranian military forces that were the result of these strikes. if there were a large number of casualties inside of iran and inside tehran, then it could be in fact this escalatory spiral that you're referencing. but i think it was recognized that israel was going to respond to those earlier iranian strikes, the cruise missile strikes. but trying to do it in a way that is not going to lead to a

further escalation here. and very interesting to see what the iranian reaction is going to be, what they're going to say. it is the middle of the night there, so i think they're going to be waiting to see how much damage was done, but again, how many casualties were the result of these strikes. i will say the israelis have very, very capable military forces and air forces. and they are very precise in terms of the targets going after. yes, there's been mistakes made, obviously in gaza and lebanon, and they have inflicted a large number of civilian casualties in those two theaters. but in iran, as ben and raf were saying, there are very well known iranian military facilities that the israelis apparently have targeted. >> gentlemen, please stay right there. i want to bring in msnbc's ayman mohyeldin who has new reporting. what do you know, what can you

tell us? >> reporter: joy, we have been able to get some initial confirmation from two senior arab sources in the region who obviously have been tracking the developments and they have been able to indicate that indeed what the israeli military and israeli government have been able to confirm, that israel has carried out initial strikes on targets in tehran. the initial assessment, i should note, from outside of tehran based on these two sources is that the targets included military targets that included a weapons depot and barracks as well as offices. it's not jet clear whether they belong to the iranian revolutionary guard or other aspects of various iranian security services. but the initial assessment from sources i have been speaking to is that the targets were iranian military targets that included as i mentioned barracks, offices, and a weapons depot. >> very quickly, just you are always such a great sense of these personnel in the region.

there's been a change of government in iran. what would be the assessment of that government? i think the previous government we might have thought would be more reactive. what do we think in terms of the current leadership in iran and their propensity to react in a way that might be even more escalatory? >> reporter: well, the initial statements from iran not following this strike but following the previous strike as the situation had been increasingly tense between israel and iran was that iran was going to respond to any attack that israel might have carried out against iranian territory. they have been very clear that they were going to respond in whatever capacity they thought that one of the points that was mentioned

already on the table so to speak and in the last couple of weeks, very, you know, at that analysis suggesting israel might target those. however, iran said regardless what the strike was it was going to respond. whether or not iran responds right now as seen in the past with the ballistic missiles, if you kind of go back to the previous two rounds of exchanges, if you will. the initial exchange when israel killed a senior iranian revolutionary commander inside syria by targeting the iranian consulate in damascus. what ended up happening was iran gave a significant heads-up to allies in the region as well as international mediators saying they were going to respond and they did, but it was almost while those missiles were in the

air that iran signaled to the israelis and the international community they did not seek further escalation. the second time around. following the killing, -- iran response was much more robust including, you know, 100 of ballistic missiles fired into israel. some of them landing inside israel. not just intercepted by iron dome and other air defenses. so iran signaled to the israelis it was prepared to escalate should there be a third round and tonight we have now seen this third round in which military strikes. both side saying they are retaliating to the other side. in this case obviously what iran decides to do is -- or not. >> ask ben rhodes your assessment having worked in the white house worked with

president biden. what is their calculation now? u.s. troops are in the region. a lot of concern in this country, i believe, about not wanting to have u.s. troops pulled into another conflict in the middle east and of course a presidential election in literally 10 days. >> making sure a lot of u.s. forces are in the region including in places like iraq or syria. there are iranian proxies. first order of business is making sure you have resources in place and that you're in touch with forces making sure you're prepared to defend them. more diplomatically across the region i just think it's this effort to stop this from spiraling further out of control. the challenge is clearly, again, they have not had that capacity to affect the willingness to purchase pursue, benjamin netanyahu's, particularly in gaza and then in

lebanon. living with a risk trying to manage it for the time being and not for the election. this happening ten days before a presidential election, something everybody is aware of including players in the region. >> players in the region including netanyahu who has a dog in this fight and it's not kamala harris. it's the other guy. ben rhodes, thank you, he very much would like to see president trump elected. thank you all very much. be right back. very much. be right back.

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kamala harris? >> well, it really is a texas of it all and kamala harris in the closing argument bringing it back to an argument she's dominated since the fall of roe add law of the land of this country. centering reproductive rights in the place so many see as ground zero for reproductive rights in texas with there is no bigger star than beyonce to focus attention. texas may not be a battleground but bringing the star power around this issue that means so much to so many voters in the home stretch of this election is certainly going to bring attention to harris' campaign in this home stretch, which she needs to keep momentum going and hopefully for her campaign, hoping to translate that enthusiasm into electability and votes around the country. not just texas. >> you know something about going into enemy territory, liz, to argue for the rights of women

and reproductive freedom. play a little of the documentary. "no one asked you" following you as you go on a six-year tour supporting abortion clinic access. >> anything that you can do to help a clinic is radical. >> you're like -- >> people do not want these clinics to exist. ♪ some information ♪ >> sometimes families don't know i work there because of tension how people feel about abortion. >> so those people you work with also have to be your compatriots. >> states like texas are not only losing abortion clinics they're losing doctors. ob/gyn's are abandoning the states. why do you think the fight is so important to wage it in a place like texas? >> i think texas should also, it's just the cautionary tale of what america could become. things start in texas so often. texas, mississippi, louisiana, because they are in a court

system that leads to hostile supreme court. when you look at texas, the number of ob/gyn's fleeing, idaho, missouri, ohio until they passed their abortion ban and also we can't forget talking about med students who don't want to go there and who don't want to be there. so we really find ourselves in a health care desert that is terrifying, that not only are you not able to access reproductive care when it comes to abortion, ivf birth control but just to make sure you can get cancer screenings. if doctors can't provide that, what is the message we're telling to anybody with a uterus? you don't matter? >> yeah. erin, now actually have names. women have died. two women in georgia. names of people who are victims of this policy, and it does feel important that vice president harris and that she's gotten beyonce to come and make this case right there in the heart of

texas. and one of the most suppressed counties in texas. harris county. >> yeah. don't forget, beyonce is somebody also a mother. she is somebody who has lived experience around the issue of reproductive rights and reproductive freedom. vice president harris also has told and shared the stories of those women, you know, and their tragic stories in the postop landscape. continuing to talk about this issue, to have these women and their stories onstage, front and center in this campaign including women of color we know are disproportionately impacted is on the minds of so many voters going to the ballot box. >> indeed. thank you friends. much appreciated. that's is tonight's "the reidout." back with my friend at 10:00 p.m. eastern tonight. first "all in with chris hayes" starts now. tonight on "all in" --