you could argue millenia. there was no way we were going to solve it. i think we wouldn't have been honoring the people on that day and the crew on that day if we tried to do it any other way. i just want to say that this was bound to happen. technology had reached that point. whether it was that conflict or a different conflict, it was inevitable. just so happens that was the tragedy that was unfolding. >> yeah, and if anything, the events of october 7th amplified the issues that the movie is about. issues of journalism. >> yeah, no question there. the new movie "september 5" is playing in select theaters beginning today. it goes nationwide starting january 17th. co-stars peter sarsgaard and john ♪ jingle bells ring slowing and glowing ♪ ♪ ♪

a morning. it is saturday, january 4. i am alicia menendez along with symone sanders-townsend and michael steele from washington, d.c. today donald trump gets his sentencing date for his election interference conviction . plus, mike johnson winning the speaker's gavel. now comes the hard part, trying to govern with his very narrow republican majority. dc merrimack muriel bowser joins the conversation ahead of a busy few weeks for the nation's capital. grab your coffee and settle in. welcome to "the weekend". ♪ ♪ weekend". ♪ ♪ it is a new year. there is a new congress. we have a seismic new development in the case against donald trump in after dramatic first vote and lengthy backroom

discussions, mike johnson narrowly held onto the speaker's gavel. johnson's effort to win on the first vote seemed sunk after republicans initially voted against him. but two changed their votes within 20 minutes after a slapdash call with donald trump which directed his golf game to urge the congress to get united. the vote was over in two hours, y'all. as critics buckle under trump, judge juan merchan denied his bid to dismiss the 2016 interference conviction where he was found guilty on 34 felony counts stemming from hush money payments from him to an adult film star. it will be friday, january 10th at 9:30 am. merchan said he would likely spare trump any punishment for the crimes, no prison time, no fines, no prohibition. 10 days after that sentence is scheduled to deliver, well, donald trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the united states. sident of the joining us now are nbc news

capitol hill correspondent, literally on capitol hill and political contributor and political white house correspondent eugene daniels. eugene, earlier this week, they said he is coming, i said, great. i get here and eugene is at home. i was like, i hope you come up for "the weekend" and hairy is. >> at the table. we are glad to have you at the table. julie, we love to have you at the table. >> julie, sorry, the table is not big enough to have you. maybe if we get a new table in the new year you can join us. >> new year, new table. that is how we work. it is good to have you on the hill because yesterday, i mean, you could not appreciate the split screen more than to have the machinations of trying to win this on the first ballot

for mike johnson, which was the goal from the very beginning. and holding the vote open for two hours and trying to work the machinations, getting trump to get off the back nine for just a moment to deal with his party. and then to have judge merchan say, you still are convicted. and so how did that play out? what was the vibe like on the hill, first, with trying to get this thing secured for johnson and almost literally the moment it happens, judge merchan says, by the way, you are still convicted. >> yeah, i think republicans

here have stopped paying attention to anything going on in terms of legal ramifications for trump, especially now that he is about to take the white house in just a couple of weeks here. yesterday was really an important test for trump and republicans here. i will tell you, he placed not one phone call during his golf get one, but two, the second of which was actually on speakerphone with mike johnson and a holdout sitting at the table and trumped telling them mike is the only one that can get to 218 to make this happen. it was important for trump, i am told, do not let this go to a second or third ballot. it was important to get this done for the first time around. republicans are scarred, we have ptsd from witnessing it. trump didn't want that, especially when they have to certify his election win on monday and they can't do anything without a speaker. mike johnson's headache will just get bigger over the next two years. >> there was a big list of demands, i sure you saw the reports, ramp-up implement very spending, there was stuff about how meetings are going to work and functionality of the house. what did norman and self get in exchange for this vote?

>> what is interesting is that mike jansen said he did not want to make any deals to become speakers and it doesn't seem like he made any actual deals. we don't have any indication he told people that this was something that kevin mccarthy did and at the end of the day, what they've got is donald trump kind of pushing them to do their job and, um, it will look like, two hours is a very long time. people running around, it does not look good if it has to go to a third or second ballot. it was impressive. he was able to corral everyone around. that does me that things will

keep getting harder and not easier. what he does not realize and what we have learned over the years is that the house freedom caucus, the folks that created that letter, many of them didn't have loyalty to donald trump. they don't have loyalty to the party. a lot of them are kind of year because of conservative fiscal responsibility, right, someone like chip roy, people like andy biggs, you have gone against their party over and over again. >> that is a really interesting point. in the aftermath, while mike johnson said donald trump helped him to get this vote over those finish line and lock in the members the members to a holdout said it wasn't trump, i knew where trump was, this was about me. to me, that is a shout -- shot across the bow to say, we let y'all change rules on the threshold, we got at least nine people that are willing to buck the system and also, too, donald trump doesn't tell us what to do. i thought that was interesting. can we play hakeem jeffries? this is what he had to say on where the democrats said yesterday prior to handing the gavel to speaker johnson. >> democrats will never abandon the long walk towards freedom.

we will fight hard. we will defend the freedom of opportunity that makes the american dream possible. america promises one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. that is the america house democrats will fight hard to preserve. >> hakeem jeffries, julie, was on fire there. personally, i like everything he had to say in his speech about everything except the first amendment. he said the campaign is over, it is time to put the swarm partisanship down and pick up the plow of bipartisanship. i don't even know what that is about. what is the tone of democrats on the hill here? on one side, there like, we want to work together in another breath mike johnson is

like, forget everything y'all talking about. america first. help me out on this. >> we need notes from chatgpt. >> yes, i do. >> sorry, julie. >> no. that is an important note to point out, i am glad you did. it sort of relays the question. i think this is just going to be an incredibly long road the next few years. republicans, led by drop, do not want to work with democrats. they don't want to cut deals with them. they don't want their votes. they want to pass legislation that doesn't even require their votes, the 60 vote threshold we talked about, they just want stuff on immigration, the border, everything trump was to do on the tax cuts, the spend come all this he wants to do in his mind without democratic votes. democrats are saying, okay. yesterday they did not sit and vote present like they did a few months ago to bail johnson out after they passed ukrainian money. all of them were behind hakeem jeffries. one point it looks like jeffries had more votes than johnson did, we were waiting on holdouts, including the ones that did not vote until the

very end, they let their names get by. mike johnson has a real problem with his margins. they were even tighter this time around than they were in the last congress. trump doesn't care about that, neither do the hardliners who will mess everything up her johnson and make it difficult for him over the next two years. then, if he turns to democrats, democrats will use their leverage and extract what they can out of johnson, out of john thune, the new majority leader in the senate and out of trump. will be extremely messy for johnson. one thing he's got going for him that kevin mccarthy did not, everyone actually likes mike johnson, democrats and republicans alike. >> i think that is an important part of it, to a certain extent, eugene. you have to like the guy who was in charge, i guess, to the extent it matters. i think julie put her finger in a very important aspect of this that will really be the focus of what your coverage and the

coverage of that julie and others have on the hill, it is not the house, it will be the senate. at the end of the day, the house is a crap show, herky- jerky and that is it. the senate is where the work will be done and where the negotiations will be and where donald trump will face his reality on the budget, conversations on the deck, conversations that began in march on immigration and all the other pieces they want to put together. how do you see, from your reporting, that kind of playing itself out on the centerpiece of this, which everybody is looking past. everybody is focused on mike johnson. you gave him the gavel, he got a gavel, right ? the reality of it is, the work will be in the other chamber. >> that is always the case. the house will do all this work, they will go back and forth, they will think they have a bill that will pass and the senate will go, that is cute. here is what we are going to do. that is the bill that typically gets to the president's desk. the house will be messy. the conference, the republican conference kind of always will be but for senator john thune, he will be the most tested over and over and over again, right?

because, for the kinds of things donald trump said he wants to do that seem unpopular with the american people, to sign on to those kinds of things, when you talk about the kinds of bills they want to pass, you know, are we gonna go back to the wall? what kind of bill that needs to be passed to fund the kind of mass deportation that donald trump is talking about, and senator john thune, will be on board with that? he is the most establishment figure in republican politics right now that is a leader. we are looking at johnson, he is not that. donald trump is not that. any of the leadership around the republican party are very maga republicans. that is not who john thune is. he will be a thorn in the side of donald trump over and over again unless he decides not to be. he has a future before donald trump and he needs to figure out what his legacy will be. >> his role, to your point, becomes more important because in 2026, house, senate

republicans, they have to defend that majority. they need to grow that majority. unfortunately, for them, they have more seats than democrats to pick that is why john thune is out here, we are keeping the filibuster. [ laughter ] >> we like the institutions. okay, senator, we see you. we see you. >> that is so true. julie tsirkin and eugene daniels, thank you very much for starting us off on this first weekend of the new year. next hour, we will talk to congresswoman per miller jail paul about the speaker vote and the new congress. pulse, be sure to follow our show on social media. you know you love us. you can find us, our handle everywhere is @theweekendmsnbc. ♪ ♪ @theweekendmsnbc. ♪ ♪ leak and odor free. see what foam can do for you. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing non-medicated vicks vapors.

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♪♪ yesterday congress picked a new speaker, that was about to be the big news of the day but all of a sudden, judge juan merchan comes down and says he wants donald trump sentence on january 10th. what happens between that? january 6, the certification of the election, january 10th appeals, maybe they move for us day. it doesn't even happen january 10th. just the possibility. >> i think it does. >> will, i think merchan was to put an end to all of this to. this is where donald trump and his legal team wanted us to be. >> which he said in his order. >> so judge merchan in order, upholding the sentencing yesterday, he said to vacate the verdict on the grounds that the charges are insufficiently serious and the defendant is about to assume again what constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the role of law so he felt like he had to do it. the president-elect has thoughts on his social media site. he is not happy about this. >> he is not happy. >> illegally treated by a corrupt democratic judge and prosecutor who went against the opponent of a present, me, just

in case it wasn't clear. >> me, i am the president. >> wow. >> i know judge mershon, i am glad he did this but i am also disappointed but it seems, um, performative, in a sense. you are saying, you are still convicted. you must come to sentencing but i am not going to sent in due. >> okay. true. [ laughter ] true, but here is the beauty. that is why i keep saying those two words. still convicted. no matter whether that, the sentencing, this is the part everyone needs to understand. that is the afterthought, that is the after action. you know? it is way after or very close to when the jury says you are guilty. that is the moment in any criminal case is when the jury

of your peers says you did it and you are guilty for it. when the judge comes back and goes, okay, they found you guilty, you are guilty. i've got a range of things i do to you. all the judge is saying, okay, i will acknowledge the fact you are now coming in in a week's time as the new president of the united states. you are still convicted. i may not find you, i may not give you jail time, but you will not be able to erase what that jury did. that, by the judge saying that, it is an important piece. everybody don't get trip and out by about, my god, you didn't give him any time. he is still convicted. two words, baby, that is all it takes. >> it needs a little dose of truth serum. >> it's in the copy. >> we will get an update on the fbi investigation on the horrific attack in new orleans. you are watching "the weekend". .

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president biden will travel to new orleans on monday to meet with the families of the victims of the new year's day terror attack. the fbi believes the attacker acted alone and was inspired by isis. that attacker, an army veteran, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on bourbon street in the early morning hours of new year's day. killing 14 people. "nbc nightly news" reports the city of new orleans owns the anti-vehicle barriers to prevent such an attack but did not use them on bourbon street on new year's eve. nbc news justice reporter ryan riley joins us now. >> ryan, can you give us just the latest on this investigation into new orleans and the immediate aftermath. there was a lot of hubbub about how the attacker likely did not act alone but since then, the fbi has ruled that out. what do we know? >> often come after these attacks, they will say someone

else was involved but honestly, you don't need another person in most of these attacks. if you just look at historically attacks in the past, the only real exception to that was the boston marathon bombers because they were working together because they were related. it there is a conspiracy that involves two people, suddenly the third person is an fbi special agent, especially in a lot of these confidential human sources. as soon as they introduced the third person to the mix, it is almost always the case, there is some guy who says, i just have the guy who can build these bombs just around the corner from you. as soon as you involve more people in these conspiracies, it becomes very, that is when it opens up. that is when the fbi gets themselves in there. they do have a real focus on islamic terrorism, sometimes to the fault of missing a lot of

domestic terrorism. that is what we know why this law is really here. we are talking about someone who is not, you know, coordinating necessarily overseas but was self inspired and read a lot of things on the internet. there are a lot of things, i think there is the distinction between domestic quote/unquote terrorism and international terrorism. it changes how the fbi can approach it but ultimately it makes it more difficult for them to handle sort of domestic issues. i think a lot of people don't understand what the difference is there. you're not talking about necessarily working with someone overseas but designated -- >> inspired by isis. >> exactly. but the underlying ideology is casting these huge distinctions here. suddenly, if you are inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, there are all these things the fbi can do that they can't do when it was just a domestic, you know, if you are talking about a ring of terrorism, it is harder for the

fbi. >> we need to change our laws in the u.s. to recognize domestic terrorism on the same plane as we see form terrorism because it is connected. it is much more connected now than it was. >> this happens the same day as the cybertruck attack in vegas. the police are now releasing some letters that the driver wrote. >> yeah, i did deep dive into the teslab,"s cybertruck driver. it is fascinating because you can piece together so much of his life. we learned he got divorced, you know, he was on his dating website, he was getting out there. in a year, he was engaged. within two or three years he had a kid. a very quick succession of events, along with being in the military. you know, they put out that letter. they found it on the phone he blew up. they were able to recover it. that really sends the message of what he was trying to do. when he laid out is that americans don't really pay attention unless there is some sort of spectacle. he thinks america is sort of headed to a collapse. he had a mix of a wide variety of ideologies.

yeah, i don't know how i would define him exactly. he is sort of all over the map a little bit. you see some stuff, okay, his friends and family said he was very pro-america, pro-jik1, right? and then back in the day, after the war, this was 20 years ago, he wrote a letter to his paper, talking about how there shouldn't be, we should not get out of afghanistan or rack very quickly because that would mean all the sacrifices that soldiers made were for nothing. i just think it is all over the map. it is really tough to define him in this narrow ideology cool category. >> you know what is so disturbing about the two, what happened on new year's, the attack, in new orleans and then the cybertruck explosion in las vegas, i think the stories of real people just get lost because there were folks whose lives who were unnecessarily cut short. particularly in new orleans, by a senseless act of terrorism. very young folks. >> there was a young woman, she had just graduated and was going to nursing school.

>> her mom and grandma. >> these are people. i just think behind every news story, people have to remember there are folks who are missing a seat at their table. there are children who will grow up without their parents because of a senseless act of violence on new year's day. >> thank you for covering this story. >> thank you, ryan, thank you so much. in washington, folks, we will turn to talk about the preparations underway for donald trump's inauguration. mayor muriel bowser met with the present luck to talk about his second term and she will join us next. you are watching "the weekend". ♪ ♪ weekend". ♪ ♪ complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! ♪♪ herbal essences is a force of nature. our shampoos and conditioners are made with supercharged botanicals.

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call or go online to my aclu.org to become a guardian of liberty today. your gift of just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day, will help ensure that together we can continue to fight for free speech, liberty and justice. your support is more urgently needed than ever. reproductive rights are on the line and we are looking at going backwards. we have got to be here. we've got to be strong to protect those rights. so please join the aclu now. call or go to my aclu.org and become an aclu guardian of liberty for just $19 a month. when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special we the people t-shirt member card magazine and more to show you're part of a movement to protect the rights of all people. for over 100 years, the aclu has fought for everyone to have a voice and equal justice.

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to plan around. thanks! i mean, i can see you right now if that's...convenient. visionworks. see the difference. ♪♪ mayor of washington's mayor muriel bowser had what she called a great meeting with trump on monday at mar-a-lago. she said they discussed share priorities including the workforce, buildings and park space. in a statement, the mayor said both she and trump want washington, d.c. to quote, reflect the strength of our nation. mayor muriel bowser of washington, dc joins us now. welcome pick welcome. it is so great to have you. >> it is my pleasure. thank you for coming to the d.c. warner. i am not even an actual resident. >> my daddy has. i have been a party at -- part

of the city my whole life. i think people need to understand that despite past differences, past differences are in the past. you are coming in it is a new administration, the city is a very important part of that. it was important to you to make that initiative to go and have the conversation with the incoming president, as you would do with any new administration coming about the heart and soul of the city, what it means, how you are governing it, how it needs to be governed, given the relationship with the congress and the white house, how do those conversations go and what should city residents expect from this administration, particularly given some of the words used by the former president, soon to be new president, about the city, referring to it as a killing field, rejecting a lot of the efforts to protect citizens during the black lives matter movement, et cetera.

how did you do that dance? [ laughter ] >> let me just say this. you are right. the city of washington, d.c., the capital city, it has a different relationship with the president of the united states than the other cities in america. we are proud we are the nation's capital, we are the host of the federal government, we are the host of grand events that show people what the united states of america is. i have had the privilege now to work, this will be my third transition with a president and the second with donald trump. so, just like in 2016, where i traveled to trump tower at the time, where he was handling that transition, this time i spoke with him at mar-a-lago, where he is handling his transition and i would characterize it as a forward- looking meeting where we talked about the things that are important for the district and for him in a second term. i think it was level setting

and we are looking forward to working on those shared priorities. >> it is my understanding it was not contentious, that you all focus, as you just said, your shared priorities and it wasn't necessarily, there was not rehashing of thanks. >> for sure. it wasn't rehashing. i would say that it was like any meeting that you would expect between two leaders that have constituents who want to move the city and the nation forward. it was not a quick meeting, either. it was not rushed. i would say we were there between 45 minutes and an hour. you know? >> that is a meeting. >> we got to meet the right people who we are going to have ongoing relationships with, between the city and the administration. we, i was proud to, what i tell everybody about it, start with

who we are per call a lot of people don't know. they think we are wards of the federal government. we are not. we take care of ourselves with a $20 billion budget we have raised from taxpayers. are residents, businesses and, visitors to the district. we invest in things to help our city grow. i let him know we are the number one state, in terms of residential growth. number one. and so now we have surpassed our pre-pandemic population, back to over 700 people in washington. we have driven violent crime down. candidly, we have had a tough year. >> crime is down 35%. 35% in all categories from last year but also down from 2019.

before the pandemic, when no one was talking about crying, our levels are below that. we have done a great job, i think, of attracting business and, um, focusing on things that make a special, like our sports teams. all of that has been good for the city. i always lead our conversations with who we are and how the federal government can help us. not by, you know, changing anything about how we work, but investing in the things that we need. >> when it comes specifically to the question of the federal workforce, which, of course, is a big part of your constituency, does it concern you he has tied himself to project 2025 and what is a declared war on the administrative state? >> well, what i focus on,

alicia, the federal workforce in the national capital region, d.c., maryland and virginia, we help america be productive. we need to focus on the talent, all of the infrastructure that has been built. >> you think those people will have jobs in a trump administration? >> i think most of them will have jobs and they should have jobs. there is a reason they should have jobs in the national capital region. that is an ongoing conversation the governors and i will i hope to have, continue to have in the region because we have supported of productive workforce. we shared the view there has to be a centralized telework policy. i don't think the federal workforce has been served well by each agency doing their own thing when it comes to in person work. i don't think it is serving well by having buildings that are sitting virtually empty. so we are going to be able to attract a great workforce, have, you know, the esprit de corps to help us do big things in our nation. we need to reestablish that in person work culture. >> good luck getting those federal employees back to the

office, but given the fact they could lose their jobs. >> there was i, people need to go back. >> that is where d.c. government workers are doing and has done since shortly after the pandemic. we are frontline folks. we will be here. we have some bad weather coming in, hopefully, it passes us by but we count on the 37,000 people that work for the d.c. government to be there and be there in person. i don't think that is too much to ask. >> i want to do a little bit of -- >> here you go. >> so, did you get a sense, do you have a sense that, that conversation was a two way, genuine conversation? >> yes. >> okay. because it is important, i think, practically for city residents, to understand there are a lot of members on the hill that have this city in the crosshairs. so, for me, it is important to

hear that you walked away from that feeling, okay, this is different. this will work. we seem to at least be right now on the same page and your people can keep doing that follow-up. >> right. >> that is the way for access. >> i have access. to be honest, i have always had access to him. even in the more difficult times. he operates a little bit differently, maybe because he comes from the business world. i heard one of the folks here at msnbc say this, she decided one day, i am just going to call him and ask him for an interview. she called him and he picked up the phone. he operates a little bit differently. one of the things, i don't think i am speaking out of school in saying this before i left, i said, mr. president, how are we going to get in touch with you? that is important to me.

in this world, where so many tweets or posts and this, let's, if i have a question or you have a question, let's figure out how we can talk about it. that is just our approach. that is our approach, similar to the members of congress. we work with every iteration. i have been mayor 10 years. every leader or speaker or president, everything you can imagine, we have to go, i have a responsibility to work with who the people sent and that is what we do. >> you know what? this is how, this is how d.c. got rfk back. it really speaks to it, i think, that, um, there were times people thought it would not happen with a bipartisan bill and -- >> a change of ownership helped. >> i am talking about in this particular congress in the ninth hour. it was because, it is my understanding, because of the relationships. >> yes.

>> it was in the senate version and it got pass. it wasn't just democrats. it was republicans and democrats you had to go to in order to get this done. >> it is significant. just for those of us listening on serious fm, we are talking that rfk stadium, not rfk jr. >> the 77 acres that surrounds the stadium, what it will be is a wonderful mixed-use development along the banks of the river. >> maryland has a different view. as the former lieutenant governor of maryland, i have to say. >> maryland has a team, the baltimore ravens. >> california has a number of teams, too. at that is true.

the washington commanders, how about the commanders? >> i know. i love them. there we go. >> we have the best quarterback, i think i'm in the league and he is doing big things. we are super, super proud of them. so, as i tell my friends in maryland, i like our chances. we will work with them, whether we have a team or not, we will have a great development for d.c., 177 acres, more connections, moorpark space, recreation space, more sports. >> we are looking forward to it. we hope there is a target. >> we like target here. >> o lord. >> washington, d.c. mayor muriel bowser. >> we love the restaurants. >> thank you. next, we will talk to new york state senator , candidate for d.c. chair. there he is. a quick programming note, on monday, our colleague will take the lead off spot for your msnbc day. o lord. you can catch her weekdays at 5:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. >> way to early.

♪ ♪ early. ♪ ♪

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♪♪ senate democratic leader chuck shumer just became one of the most prominent democrats to weigh in on the race for the chair the democratic national committee. this week he endorsed ben whitworth, the current chair of the democratic party.

february's election will have a big impact on the party going forward and for new york state senator james should best, it depends on greater investment in republican dominated state. in his platform for the dnc chair, he says, quote, i know what it is like to run, win and see no granite deeply challenging territory. red states and counties will get unprecedented attention and sweep equity from the dsa. he joins us now. can i just notice as a point of order here, there are 448 members that will make this decision, senator, on who the next dnc chair is and the members of congress are not one of them. >> disappointing. >> yeah. as michael and you all, no doubt know but many of your viewers don't, it is really a unusual

election. the elections in my high school class for president, vice president and senate were a larger pool of voters and we are timeout here, 448 dnc members. yes, the message is resonating. we are building support. i started as an outsider year. outside of new york eight weeks ago, no one knew who i was. i am on autodialer and i am speaking with these members and we are building support very quickly because people understand, one, we need someone who knows how to win. i come from a trunk plus 12 district. i won reelection by 14 points. he has won my district 3 times now. we need someone who was aggressive and knows how to win but we need someone who was willing and able to shake up the dnc.

if you have been in the apparatus for five, 10, 15 years like some of my competitors, whom i respect, you're less likely, less able to be able to tell the status quo stakeholders, as i refer to them as, no, we're not doing it this way and a longer. i am able to reorient the dnc to a place where we start winning again. >> senator, you have emphasized the need to dramatically enhance the party's red state fund, loosen counterproductive criteria that you need to qualify for the fund. you have called for year-round organizers in red states. how does that change the map? >> yeah, i am sick and tired of every four years competing in about seven states out of 50. especially as it pertains to the u.s. senate. we have a ceiling of somewhere in the mid 50s, where the republicans have a ceiling somewhere in the mid 60s, as a result of the structural advantages that they have. we have to expand there and just sending an additional, this is what it is currently, an additional $2500 a month to red states that qualify for the dnc, that is not a 50 state strategy. there is nowhere near sufficient. i suggest tripling that amount

but currently wide stance is if you have some success in these red states, let's talk about 2022 in alaska. mary portola was elected the at- large congresswoman. the minute she was elected, because democrats won a seat in a deep red state, the red state fund disappeared for alaska. we have to restructure how we are supporting these red states and rebuilding around the country. >> i think, not i think, i know what you are saying is absolutely right. you've got to think about, not just the states where you have success because you want to maintain that, but more importantly, the states where you struggle or don't have success, talk to me, if you will, you are a state senator. have you ever been a party official? >> i haven't. it's okay. >> i am not saying, i am not setting that up for a criticism because it is not. what i want to get to is, having been a candidate, now transitioning into a role that is involving, not just

candidacy, but infrastructure and strategy, you know, things as candidates you don't typically have to think about because you pay people to think about those things, how are you having that conversation with your membership who will be voting for you, who may say, okay, what do you know about running a party versus running as a candidate in a race? >> yeah, that is a great question. look, and i think you were a lieutenant governor, you have ran the party in maryland and you brought a skill set to the rnc at a time there was a lot of bloodletting within the

republican party. similarly, we probably aren't, you know, in a place this low as the democratic party in over 20 years. so we have to try something differently. look, if dnc members, and there are some, who won a state party chair who have that skill set, there are other candidates with that skill set. the skills that i bring, look, i organize and i build a coalition for a living daily for 12 years in a trunk plus 12 district. everyone from college campus activists in my district to a community of 40,000 orthodox jews that are center right or more right than me. that is my skill set that i bring to the race. i am not the state party chair but i am a coalition builder. running for office and winning in tough terrain is not some theoretical exercise for may. it is something i do every couple of years. i was not able to do it successfully and builders big coalitions, i would've lost by

15, 20.8 weeks ago. we all come to this race with different skill sets. i want to be successful and in the dnc's office, i want to use the talents of ben winkler, 10 martin to win back the wisconsin state legislature and win an important supreme court race in wisconsin. we are a talented dnc. i will not be doing this alone. we will be bringing more talent back to the organization. >> i want to bring up the question to you, the chief job of the dnc chair, i am a former dnc member is to raise funds. you are the chief fundraiser but there is no infrastructure with that money to get it. that is what the bulk of the chair spends their time doing and also ensuring hiring good staff . where do you stand on the fundraising prowess and ability? also, i am interested in your position on vendors at the democratic national committee, particularly the diversification of those vendors? >> sure. you know, look, if you ask anyone in new york state politics, they would tell you i am one of the strongest

fundraisers in the state. for state senate race, i raised a couple million dollars every cycle. i know how to have those conversations with donors and that is not an issue. here is what is just as important. it is where this money goes. it speaks to the vendor issue. a lot of these vendor contracts at the dnc are friends of a friend of a congressman or someone or a group of folks who are otherwise very well- connected. a lot of dnc members, the vast majority, do not see where these dollars wind up going. so i am the only candidate who is out there, as the outsider, who is leaning into a position whereby i would let every single one of these vendor contracts expire once i am chair. we will competitively rebid every single one of them. it folks want to do business

with the democratic party, they will earn it honestly and through providing value, not because of some special relationships they may have within the dnc. >> there you go. >> all right. hopefully, those competitive contracts include a proportionate number of black and latino vendors. a part of that, also, symone, you got to grow those vendors, too. >> okay, all right now, is they going to give out the contracts? they tell us we got to go. thank you. refill the mug, refill it. there is another hour ahead with all of this coming up on "the weekend". ♪ ♪ weekend". ♪ ♪ vitamins... ...follows her example. ♪♪ transforming nature's 4 billion years of wisdom... ♪♪ ...into supplements. with key vitamins, minerals, and herbs, sourced from whole food ingredients... ♪♪ ...all crafted to work with your body. ♪♪ bringing the power of nature... ...into your new chapter.

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