that does it for "the weekend," this sunday morning. the last weekend of the year. velshi starts with guest host, charles coleman. all yours, baby. >> happy new year. so good seeing you guys. >> look at the brother sporting

the neck! >> a turtleneck on! >> you know what, michael steele, you're not going to spend yesterday lighting up the message boards and think i'm not going to come in today with my best self-. >> you brought it, brother. >> all right. turtleneck gang is here. >> alicia, michael, symone. >> alicia, symone, thank you for indulging us. pay us no mind. happy new year to all of y'all on the last sunday of the year. so good to see you. and so much looking forward to more of "the weekend" in 2025. >> charles, thank you. >> "velshi" starts right now. good morning. it's sunday, december 29th. i'm charles coleman jr., sitting in for my friend and colleague, ali velshi, and we've got a lot to talk about. there are just 22 days until donald trump takes office for the second time. and trump has hand-picked his

people, those who he wants in his inner circle. that's right, his desired cabinet. these are the people who will help craft legislation, lead critical federal departments, and make crucial decisions about our nation's security. but the fate of some of trump's cabinet picks is still unclear. since the election, the president-elect wasted no time announcing key figures to fill out his campaign, as well as other senior administration positions and important ambassadorships. here, you're looking at just some of trump's dozens of selections, some of which will need senate confirmation. now, republicans will be in control of the senate in the next congress, however, some of trump's more controversial selections could still have an uphill confirmation battle. former fox news host and war veteran, pete hegseth, has been tapped for secretary of defense. hegseth has suggested that members of the military who embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs should be fired. he is also openly questioned whether women should serve in combat roles. and he faces accusations of

excessive drinking by former colleagues, and has also been accused of sexual assault. hegseth has denied any wrongdoing and he has never been charged. on to robert f. kennedy jr., who has been selected for secretary of health and human services, despite having no medical background. rfk is a vocal critic of vaccines and has promoted several debunked medical conspiracies. prior to the election, trump told a crowd at a rally that he's going to, quote, let rfk go wild on health. i'm going to let him go wild on food. i'm going to let him go wild on the medicines. um, okay. then there's kash patel, who trump has picked for fbi director. in the past, patel has vowed to, quote, come after members of the media and others who are critical of trump, and he said he would shut down the fbi's washington headquarters and turn it into a, quote, museum of the deep state. former florida congressman matt gaetz was initially picked for

u.s. attorney general. however, he withdrew his name from consideration amid a reported lack of support in congress due to a heap of controversy. now in his place, trump has selected pam bondi. bondi served on trump's legal team during his first impeachment and previously served as florida's attorney general. she's considered a staunch trump loyalist. we'll see how things shake out. as the senate hearings for these confirmations are going to begin in just a few weeks. joining me now to unpack all of this and get us started on a sunday is rita shaw. she's a republican political strategist and the founder of relax y ies as well as my friend, steve benen. he's a producer for the rachel maddow show, editor of the maddow blog on msnbc.com and a political contributor. he's also the author of multiple books, including "ministry of truth," "democracy, reality, and the republicans." good to have you both here with me on a sunday.

steve, let's look at the future senate confirmation hearings. who has the biggest uphill battle, and of the high-profile picks, who are you expecting to have the easiest road going forward? >> that's a good question. i think it's important to keep in mind that if there are four republicans in the senate who balk, as they did with gaetz, these nominees are going to fail, despite the fact there's republican majority in the chamber. pete hegseth is the most controversial. there's a lot of resistance, a lot of skepticism on capitol hill, even among many republicans. and so with that in mind, i think that they are going to be having to confront very challenging confirmation hearings, because of the scandals, because of the lack of qualifications. i think they're going to face a lot of skepticism. having said that, there's going to be -- given the fact that there's a republican majority in the senate. i could name a dozen other controversial picks that are going to have probably very smooth sailing for the senate, because of the partisan affiliation and because of the gop majority.

>> one of the things that makes me think about, the old saying, pleasure measure twice, cut once. and when it comes to the speeds of how we're seeing these picks being made, this is faster than we're typically used to and faster than what the biden administration did when it came to announcing its can be the picks. what do you make of that as we head into this second term of donald trump in office. >> the pace of these cabinet pick announcements is definitely aggressive. but i don't think it's consequential. i mean, they are certainly people that in so many ways, do not have the experience to do the job. but it's not unlike the last time trump was in the white house. he was also picking people that didn't quite have the resumes, that most people would consider appropriate for leading such agencies. in particular, i'm most concerned about robert f. kennedy jr., because of his controversial statements about science. when we talk about facts, there is -- there can be no

alternative facts. for trump's legacy to land this time, i think he ought to know that. and i think there's a little bit of showing that he gets that, in some ways. he has shown that he is -- can be malleable to the moment, right? and i want to go a little bit deeper and explain that for a moment. malleable to the moment means that he's not picking the exact time of loyalists he picked last time. he is really having the measure of the private sector. in so many ways, what we see by seeing tech leaders lead, and again, people with private sector resumes that are so long and exhaustive in manners that we are not used to, he's trying to say that i can do it differently this time. so, in some sense, i'm cutting him a little bit of a break. i'm being a little bit more hopeful than i've traditionally been about who trump is choosing to have by his side. to me, the most problematics are hegseth and kash patel. although i may feel some kind of way around robert f. kennedy

jr., the sentiment around washington is someone who's getting a bit of a warmer reception than was expected on the senate side. but patel has been known as not just a rabble rauser, he's known as someone who cannot play well with others and can be very vindictive. and that will be a problem as the nomination process and these hearings start to approach. we will hear more from these people and we should listen closely. >> steve, we talk a lot about some of the more controversial choices that donald trump has made for cabinet. primarily because of the things that they've said, the rhetoric. that's why you hear about them. the ones that have had challenges and problems. but is there anyone who represents some level of balance in terms of they're qualified, they're relatively sane, they're normal, and they should move forward? because these are the picks we're not hearing about. and without that, the picture that the public is going to have

is that everyone donald trump has selected for his cabinet is deeply embroiled in controversy and has lots of problems. who is the person or who are the people that are qualified and should sail through without a problem because they are justifiably chosen for these positions? >> charles, i wish i could answer that question with a long list of folks who have been author thoroughly vetted, who a absolutely qualified, who can expect to have near-universal support in the senate. but dozens of democrats rallying behind them because of their obvious qualifications. and you know what, i can't, because the answer is zero. there are -- i can't think of a single republican official, that donald trump has picked for a key position of authority, who has actually a deep resume and actually deep qualifications who can expect full support in the senate. you know, traditionally, we've seen senate confirmations for cabinet posts, possibly getting unanimous votes. this is not uncommon in modern american history. that is not going to happen this time. donald trump has not picked

anyone who i think can expect clear sailing, smooth sailing throughout the senate right now. >> but steve, the appointments that donald trump has president will make don't just end at the cabinet. they extend to the judiciary, for example. is this a sign that we could be looking at donald trump potentially appointing judges who may not necessarily have the best qualifications going forward, as he fills of the judiciary as well? >> absolutely. you know, in his first term, there were a great many judicial nominees who were picked because they were young and backed by the heritage foundation. sometimes as young as the late '30s, early '40s. despite that they weren't necessarily qualified. and yet senate republicans confirmed them anyway. my expectation is that we'll see more of the same in the second term. in fact, in all likelihood, it will be even worse. >> rena, let's go to day one. donald trump has made a bunch of

promises, incoming a big move on immigration and deportation, claiming that he's going to have the largest deportation that this country has ever seen. how do any of these picks that donald trump has made regarding his cabinet and what he wants to do help advance the execution of not just his goals around immigration and deportation, but his entire agenda? >> well, i'm looking at three women with a lot of hope and promise. and look, we may not like them on a personal level, because they've bowed at the altar of trump, and some of them have done these 180s that frankly feel more like they belong in the gymnastics portion of the olympics. i'm talking about the pick for u.n. ambassador, elise stefanick, the congresswoman from new york. and i'm looking at pam bondi for attorney general, and tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence. these three women right there represent a trifecta of execution quickly, swiftly, whatever we want to call it, efficiently, even. they understand how to pull the levers of government.

pam resume from florida and that is why she was brought up quickly to replace gaetz. bondi has also, let me remind the audience, been someone that's been applauded by jeb bush. so establishment republicans even like her. stefanick is a little different, but her world view will help trump, and she is younger. she's a millennial like me. i've watched her rise entirely. and tulsi gabbard, though she's done problematic things in the past like meeting bashar al-assad and putin, seeming to embrace him in many ways, she is being seen as someone who is a lightning rod. and has this experience in our armed forces that can do her good as she's starting to look at how we view intelligence. i think what the role is of a director of national intelligence as well. her being a former democrat also adds fuel to the fire that trump loves. these are the three women that i'm looking at to be front and

center in this next administration of trump's. >> that was rena shaw and steve bannon. thank you both for getting us started on a sunday morning. turning to breaking news out of south korea, at least 179 people have been killed in what is being called the deadliest air accident ever in the country. a total of 181 people were aboard the flight that took off from bangkok, thailand, and so far, there are just two survivors, both of them members of the crew. nbc news has obtained video of the moment the plane crash landed, but we were warn you, this video is disturbing. >> here you can see the boeing 787-800 airliner veer off the runway and erupting into flames as it slams into the concrete fence outside of the airport. south korean investigators have arrived on the scene and are conducting an initial investigation. a bird strike reportedly started the consequence of events that led to the crash, after which the pilot declared mayday immediately. this story is rapidly developing and we'll bring you any updates as we get them.

still to come, we'll talk about the crucial voting bloc that is black men in america. what we've learned from the 2024 election cycle and what that information means for the future. and the death penalty is back at the forefront of our political conversation after president biden commuted the sentences for 37 inmates on federal death row. next, i'm going to be joined by acclaimed civil rights attorney, brian stevenson, who has dedicated his career to fighting for justice for the incarcerated. we'll discuss the problematic history of the death penalty and why some are sentenced to capital punishment and others are not. you're watching "velshi" on msnbc. you're watching "velshi" on msnbc. the finance guy, will it make him softer? bounce can't do it all but for better laundry, ♪ put a sheet on it with bounce. ♪ ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ woah, limu! we're in a parade. everyone customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual.

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welcome back. this past week, president joe biden made headlines, not for something that he did, but rather, for something that he undid. on monday, he commuted dozens of

sentences for federal death row inmates to life without parole. and in doing so, the president reiterated that he was not pardoning these inmates, nor was he releasing them, but just ensuring that these prisoners do not die by execution. in a statement, the president still stated, make no mistake, i condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts and ache for all of the families that suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss. then enter donald trump, the president-elect lashed out at biden, responding to the commutations as if the president had just granted these inmates freedom. in a lengthy christmas day post on truth social, he told those inmates to, quote, go to hell. and a day earlier, trump said, quote, as soon as i'm inaugurated, i will direct the justice department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect american families and chirp from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. we will be a nation of law and order again. now, as a civil rights lawyer,

it's important to me to point out the parts that donald trump is failing to acknowledge here. there are plenty of mistakes that can happen before and during a trial that might result in innocent people being convicted and sent to prison. and when those mistakes result in innocent people being sentenced to death, that's more than just a miscarriage of justice, it is the height of a system's failure, but this isn't simply a hypothetical that we're talking about here. this has actually happened and many of the individuals it has happened to are disproportionately black. according to a 2016 study in washington state, black defendants are four times more likely to be sentenced to death than non-black defendants in similar circumstance. and the death penalty information center reports that since 1973, at least 200 former death row inmates have been exonerated of all charges related to the wrongful convictions that landed them on death row in the first place. of course, the majority of those people exonerated, 54%, in fact,

were black. these statistics are not a mistake. they are by design. coming up after the quick break, i'll dive into all of this with the foremost voice on this topic, fellow civil rights attorney, bryan stevenson, who has dedicated his life to reforming the criminal justice system. you're watching "velshi" on msnbc. stay tuned. watching "velshi" o msnbc. stay tuned

welcome back to "velshi." i'm charles coleman jr. in for ali today. before the break, i told you about how last week president trump lashed out at president biden after president biden commuted the death sentences of more than 30 inmates to life in prison. for more on this, i'm now joined by someone who understands the issue of capital punishment better than anyone. bryan stevenson is an acclaimed civil rights director, professor

of criminal justice at nyu school of law, and the author of "the new york times" best-selling book, "just mercy." bryan, i have a thing that i do on the show, where i take off my glasses and talk to lawyer. so good to have you. i would love to just start, before we get to the politics of it, for you to sort of talk about the fact that on a state versus federal level, most people who are sentence to the death penalty are actually sentenced at the state level, not the federal level. and why that's significant when we're having this conversation. >> no, i appreciate that. you're absolutely right. we have over 2,000 people on death row in this country. there have been 1,600 people that have been executed. most of those have taken place result of death sentences imposed at the state courts. and so the 40 people on the federal death row are relatively small percentage of the number of people on death row in this country. but i do think that president

biden's commutations are extremely significant, historic, even. because i'm hoping that governors governor s in many of these states will follow the president's lead. there are over 600 people on death row in the state of california. a state that has spent $4 billion on the death penalty since 1978. there are over 100 people on death row in north carolina. 100 people on death row in pennsylvania. and if governors and state executives follow the president's lead, we could see a dramatic reduction in the number of people on death row in this country. and i think there are tense of millions of americans that would celebrate that, because they do not want their government executing people in their name. they do not believe that a great state or a great nation should be systemically and unnecessarily executing its citizens in this way that has been so unreliable and so unfair. >> you know, i misquoted you or paraphrased a quote from you

last week when this was announced, where you basically said something to the effect of, we can condemn people who have committed crimes or who have done heinous acts withouting state-sanctioned death. can you just elaborate? can you elaborate on exactly what you meant around that idea? >> yeah. well, we had the ability in this country to incapacitate people, to punish people, to hold people accountable without killing them. i think it's a flawed logic to say, we're going to kill people to show that killing is wrong. we have the capacity to adequately punish people. i think the question of the death penalty isn't really a question that can be answered by asking whether people deserve to die for the crimes they've committed. i think the question we have to ask is do deserve to kill when we have a system that is so compromised by racial bias. in the state of texas, in federal prosecutions, black defendants are 16 times more

likely to get the death penalty than white defendants. the majority of people on federal death row are people of color. the question is whether we deserve to kill when we make so many mistakes. as you pointed out, we have now had 00 people who were innocent exonerated after being sentenced to death. that means for every eight people executed in this country, we've now identified one innocent person on death row that's been released. it's a shameful rate of error. a rate of error we would not tolerate in aviation. we would not allow one out of every eight planes to crash and kill everybody. we would not allow toxins to be on apples and if you touch one, it would kill you. we would stop elling apples. but we continue to impose the death penalty. even if you don't believe as i do that a country believes in human rights, a country that's great shouldn't be killing its folks, even if you don't believe that, you have to recognize that we have a flawed, ill-fated, unreliable system. and that's why we should step

back from this barbaric punishment of killing people to show that killing is wrong. >> much of what you just talked about really hinges on the notion of how you perceive apples. and what i mean by that is that you hinted on the issue of ratio bias and how that impacts the notion of capital punishment. the can you elaborate on the significance of that, particularly as we are looking at an incoming president and everything that he has stated, his rhetoric, the rhetoric of many of his supporters, and how big of an issue race can potentially be, going forward with a justice department that has been told to pursue these issues aggressively. >> what most of the studies have shown is that race is the greatest predictor of who goetz the death penalty. it's race of the victim, then race of the defendant. and we've seen these problems play out over and over again. there is a presumption of dangerness and guilt that gets

assigned to black and brown people in this country. it's a consequence of our history, of lawless mob violence and lynching. you can be an msnbc host, you can be a lawyer like i am, like you are, and you can still have to navigate a presumption of dangerousness and guilt when we are accused or stopped by the police. that creates a real skewed impact when you start prosecuting people for the death penalty. the supreme court has stepped back from protecting people in 1987 and mcclusky, the court said that racial bias and the administration of the death penalty is inevitable. justice sotomayor, after the 13 executions that president trump ordered at the end of 2020 said that the court was failing to provide the adequate review that these cases require. i don't think we can be committed to racial justice and tolerate the kind of death penalty that president trump is talking about. you'll recall that when the central park five in new york city were wrongly accused, it was donald trump who was championing their prosecution. and we haven't heard the

president say, i was wrong, i'm sorry. we haven't seen anything happening to reckon with that mistake. and that's the fundamental problem with the death penalty. it requires a perfect system. because when you execute somebody who is innocent, you don't have the power to fix that. and i just think that we don't need to put ourselves in a position where we're doing the cruel, horrific injustice of executing innocent people, executing people because of their race, executing people because of their poverty. as you know from your own work, we have a legal system that treats you better if you're rich and innocent than if you're poor and innocent. wealth is often more important than culpability. that is more significant than imposing a system like death. >> dropping jewels left and right, bryan stevenson, i'm sure we'll be talking again. thank you for joining me on "velshi." coming up, an unexpected swing voting bloc emerged this election year. that's right, i'm talking about black men. what have we learned from the 2024 election cycle?

and what has that information taught us for the future? i'm charles coleman jr. and you're watching "velshi." leman you're watching "velshi. on us. and ipad and apple watch series 10. all three on us. only on verizon. what causes a curve down there? who can treat this? stop typing, and start talking. it could be a medical condition called peyronie's disease, or pd. you're not alone, there is hope. find a specialized urologist who can diagnose and treat pd. visit makeapdplan.com today.

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a few months ago, we told you about two teenage boys in gaza, omar and mohammad. these young men took to social media to document their daily lives in an active war zone. that's omar there on the right

and mohammad on the left. when their homes were both destroyed in the north, they were forced to move to the south. the two boys explained that they weren't really even friends before the war, but because of the challenges they faced, they quickly developed a close friendship. and through their daily videos, they explained that they had been in college for about a week and a half, starting their journeys in higher education, right as the war began. they both expressed a desire to continue their studies outside of gaza, but they needed money in order to do so. so, they started a couple of mini businesses in rafah, where they sold e-sim cards, provided internet, and rented video games by the hour. they also set up a children's play area. every day, they posted day in the life video, documenting their experiences, living in a war zone, trying to get food, and running their businesses. >> day one of sharing our daily routine in war zone.

>> day two of sharing our daily routine in war zone. >> day 24 of sharing our daily routine in war zone. >> we started the day on the scene of people evacuating from rafah. >> that account quickly gained a following, going from a few hundred followers to more than 500,000 in less than a month. >> day 29 of sharing our daily routine in war zone. >> look how crazy is that queue on the bakery because of the lack of flour, people are fighting and struggling to find bread. >> day 81 of sharing our daily routine in war zone. >> but soon, as israel's bombardment of rafah intensified, they were forced to flee north, being displaced at least ten different times, despite losing one of his best friends to a bombing, despite having limited internet connection and limited resources, omar was determined to apply to colleges outside of gaza. he risked his life to get close enough to the

egyptian/palestinian border to submit his application with an egyptian e-sim mobile network. and about two weeks ago, omar was accepted into dartmouth college. he hopes to join the class of 2029 in the fall of next year. but right now, virtual ly no on is able to get out of gaza. omar's future classmates are doing their best to help get him out as soon as possible, to help ensure his safe arrival on campus next fall. the dartmouth solidarity coalition started a petition to get the school and their wider community to take action to try to help omar. so far, nearly 28,000 people have signed on to the petition on change.org. and while omar's path is not clear, he still remains hopeful. on the official page of class of 2029, omar wrote, my name is omar from gaza. this year was a roller coaster from crafting my application in my comfy room to applying to

dartmouth under the constant sounds of war drones. yet it never dimmed my yearning to see the sky beyond the wardrobes, end quote. the sky b wardrobes, end quote

this year's historic presidential election was full of surprises, including the emergence of an unexpected potential swing voting bloc. that's right, black men. from tailored messaging on economic opportunity and criminal justice reform to high-profile celebrity endorsement, this election made very clear that black people and more specifically black men are not a monolith. nbc's trymaine lee has more. >> the 2024 presidential election year was a roller coaster, marked by politics not as usual. >> turn out for what? >> and the remarkable new focus on an unexpected group of voters. >> black male voters could prove to be a key swing voting bloc.

>> as primary season kicked off, some voters seemed unenthused. >> what is missing from like the election cycle and what is missing. what is missing? >> a good candidate right now. >> what's the word that you think when you see these two candidates running for president? >> oh, hell, no. >> and democrats worried about their base. >> the president's support among black voters is slipping. a recent nbc news poll shows just 61% would now choose him over a republican. >> he is about to lose me. >> while former president donald trump eyed a potential opening. >> donald trump's campaign is targeting young black men, believing that this year the gop can win them over. >> i love the black population of this country. i've done so much for the black population of this country. >> reporter: as this long-overlooked voting bloc made it clear what mattered most to them. >> anything that's going to directly affect my community. >> we are entrepreneurs and we are business persons, and we are homeowners, and we want some

real discussions around economic matters in the community. >> reporter: some felt ignored. >> we haven't heard anything from a democrat or a republican. >> reporter: some felt empowered. >> and i want to make a decision that is going to be impactful. >> we need to save ourself. >> that's right. >> if we're looking for somebody to save us, it's not going to happen. >> a tug and pull between the status quo and the hope for something new. >> people come to our communities and pander for our votes. >> and then an 11th hour candidate shake up. >> it's not about me, it's about you. >> president biden bowed out of the race. >> are you ready to make your voices heard? >> and vice president kamala harris became the nominee. >> and when we fight, we win! >> reporter: and suddenly, there was something new, along with new energy, for candidate kamala harris, looking to make history as the country's first indian, black, and woman president. >> let's get out and make kamala harris the 47th president.

>> reporter: a slew of black celebrities showing their support. >> our black men. we've got to get them out to vote. >> reporter: while the trump campaign had its own endorsements. >> let's vote for trump, baby! make some noise for the president. >> the former president courted controversy with his version of plaque voter outreach. >> they're taking black jobs. >> you see black people walking around with my mug shot, and a lot of people said, that's why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. >> reporter: but for some black men, there was an appeal beyond being trump being trump. >> he has good folks around him and good policy. and so, that's all i'm looking for. >> reporter: in the end, the vast majority of black voters, including black men, stood by vp harris, many dreaming of a new way forward. >> i voted for kamala. i think it's time to try something new. >> reporter: but there were unforecasted shifts and a surprising realignment of voters, including growth with hispanic men and young people. among them, young black men.

all moving toward trump. >> reporter: the democratic party now trying to understand shifts in its core coalition. >> reporter: and setting the stage for a reckoning to come in american presidential politics. president-elect trump will be inaugurated on martin luther king jr. day. begging for some, the question of what happens to a dream deferred? >> for more on this, i'm joined by my friend, the people's champ, basil smikle, with the school of professional studies at the columbia university school of international and public affairs. he's also the former executive director of new york state's democratic party. and an msnbc political analyst. and i'm also joined by my friend, quentin james, founder and president of the collective pac, which is the nation's largest consortium of organizations dedicated to black political representation across all levels of government. he is also an hu bison by

marriage. gentlemen, we are going to get started with this conversation, but there are a couple of ground rules i want to lay plain before everyone. i want us to be very clear about this conversation, all right? over overwhelmingly, black men still voted democrat in the 2024 election. let's be very clear about that. if there's anything that is an issue, it is a conversation about disengagement from the entire system as a whole. not necessarily defection to the republican party or to third party candidates, although we will discuss that. what i want to talk about is that notion of disengagement. that notion of actually keeping people engaged in the process. whether you represent democrats or republicans, so that no one misconstrues our discussion here. quentin, the election's over. what do either party -- or what can either party do right now to continue that engagement and to fight the feeling of exhaustion

that some black men and voters at large may be feeling? >> thank you for having me, charles. good to see you as well, basil. first of all, both parties have to listen. we should not be going into communities asking them to do anything other than communicate about how they're feeling about both trults of the election, but how public policy has impacted their communities. we saw from this election, black men were very clear, they wanted to hear more about better wages, better work, how to build wealth for their communities. that was number one in terms of the issues that black men wanted to hear more about from other parties. over the next few months, we need to go out there and do a listening tour around the country, to continue those -- you know, how many barbershop talks have we seen since november. we can't keep rolling into these communities only during election season. we have to do that work year round >> basil, we've seen a number of different issues expressed across the electorate. what do you think are going to

be the priority issues for black men as we look at another trump term? >> certainly it's going to be economics. it's the root of so much of it. but we have to talk about it differently. there are a lot of numbers thrown around in terms of the black/white wealth gap. but there's a wealth gap within our community, too. there's almost 25% of the wealth -- 25% of the population of high-income earning african-americans owns 90% of the wealth. so when you think about that, when you think about home ownership, which somebody talked about in the lead up to this, you talk about entrepreneurship, like, what is happening in our community that helps to continue to promote that? one of the things that i've talked about, which is somewhat controversial, but i continue to talk about it, there are a lot of folks that discuss the silos in our community. that a lot of folks started doing very well, don't necessarily engage with other aspects of the community. dick parsons who just passed away, the former head of time warner was very good about being really hyperlocal. and when we talk about zwanza,

we need to think about more about that, how we pool our resources as a community to help each other. when you a lot of folks saying, we can't talk about this every four years. there has to be a continued engagement. and you can't have a former president go into our community and scold us for not doing certain things right before the election. and then go away afterwards, which a lot of folks s were concerned about. you need to have obamas and everyone else stay there and continue to be engaged. >> i'm glad you said it. people called me -- it was terrible! >> but it's not for us, right? it's not for us. that's why a lot of folks say, don't -- we may see these folks regularly, but if we don't -- if there are parts of the community that don't see these folks on a regular basis wukn't just swoop in. >> that's exactly right. it's a very important point to talk about the different facets of how the black male vote has

evolved that require microtargets by either political party. quentin, we've been talking all day about trump's cabinet picks. notably, tim scott's nowhere to be found. we've got, you know, none of the folks who seem to have been on the campaign trail as surrogates have gotten any of the positions -- herschel walker, apparently is looking at an ambassadorship. but other than that, there's an absence there. if donald trump delivers on some of his campaign promises and black men feel like their pockets are better and the immigration issue for those of them who matters to has been handled, does the lack of representation at least so far matter? >> it does matter. but i think it points to -- this may be an unpopular opinion, but the problem that the right does have. they don't have a bench in terms of black talent. when you only have one or two or three, you have these challenges, where do you find

other people to show up to be appointed in these roles? while i'm a democrat, a proud democrat, i want to focus on build the bench on the left, the republicans have to think about building a bench on the right. it does take groups like collective pac and others on the right, for instance, to, you know, train up those focus to be ready to take those positions. but it does speak to, again, this question of, you know, does all of the rhetoric really mean anything if you can't put folks in a position to make change for these communities. that will be a really important point to follow over the next three years. >> basil, i have tried to keep this conversation sort of balanced in terms of exploring what both parties need to do and focusing on engagement, but right now i want to zero in on the democratic party. there are a lot of things that the democrats have to focus on in terms of rebounding from november. how do democrats prioritize keeping black men engaged in slowing the trend of either

defection or disengagement, as we go forward? >> well, one of my mentors very early in my career said, every movement becomes an institution. and what that means is that, you know, for someone like me that got engaged really in the early-to-mid-90s, that even though for my cohort, if you will, there is political and economic empowerment through the democratic party. that's going to end at some point. and i think that's kind of what we're seeing. we've seen it on the right. and what happened on the right is that donald trump seized on that moment. but on the left, what's the next step? where is that next generic coming from, of leadership coming from, to quentin's point. that we do have a significant bench, but that bench has to be hyperlocal. there was a time you had democratic clubs all over the place, you could go if, get a job, can you help me here, there? but there have been changes in the party, it's become less, you know, less patronage. the soft money stuff is all gone. and so the changes in the party structure have created, i think,

a lack of engagement that is so hyper local, to give people the impression or the belief that, yes, this party is my path towards economic political empowerment, that's changed a lot. but the dynamic needs to still be there. the party needs to be so local and so engaged that people feel like it's actually going to help them in their lives. let's say very quickly, one of the most important moments of my career was being on a campaign in dallas, texas, and talking to a lot of young black men about going out to vote. and then looking at me, saying that they can't. because they had warrants or they were -- you know? now, the party has been at the forefront in many ways of actually trying to restore those rights. but when you think about the fact that this has affected so many of us, that there are so many issues that the party -- that the party can be helpful in solving, and they need to sort of get back to ground and do that. >> so much to talk about in this conversation, and so glad to

have two of the best to do. basil smikle and quentin james, thank you for being here. straight ahead, donald trump wasted in time in announcing his key picks for the incoming administration, but the fate of some of trump's choices remains unclear, as senate confirmation hearings are set to get underway in just a few weeks. all of that and more is coming up on the next hour of "velshi " we're back after a quick break. . we're back after a quick break e and get you a brand new iphone 16 pro at t-mobile. it's on them. at t-mobile, it's better over here! families save 20% every month. what a deal! to all you new and existing customers, trade in your busted old phone, and t-mobile will give you a brand-new iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence on us. plus, families can save 20% when they switch. t-mobile is one of none. go get that. what he said! (children speaking)

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