otherwise, it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. and today america's democracy stood. >> america's democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. amen to that. the rachel maddow show starts right now. hey, rachel. happy new year. >> hey, jen, happy new year to you as well. thank you so much. today america's democracy stood. when she got to that moment in her remarks i felt moved and also a little shaky about the assertion given where we have been, but i'm really glad you played that. >> both is how we're all feeling. you're stating what we're all feeling as per usual. >> emotional and shaky, that's pretty much my tattoo at this point. thank you, jen, much appreciated. and thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. i'm really happy to vow you here. glad you're with us.

so gearhart marks is a sculptor, very famous sculptor, considered to be one of the famous european sculptors of the 20th century. he was german, though, and during the third reich when he was making his art, the german government, the nazis they decided his art was degenerate. he wasn't jewish, but he was fired from his teaching job in germany after he tried to protect his jewish students from the nazis, after he protested against jewish faculty members being removed from their posts at the school where he taught, so he lost his job as well. the nazis didn't just fire him from teaching, they banned him from showing his work. they banned him from selling his work. they actually confiscated some of his tures and melted them down. they said they needed weapons to make for the germany army.

so it's a little bit of a miracle he survived world war ii in germany he did. it's even more of a miracle some of his sculptures survived world war ii in germany. they did. not long after the end of world war ii in 1949, one of his surviving sculptures actually came to the united states. there was a big, important international sculpture show in philadelphia in 1949, and gearhart marks brought this statue to that show. it is 7 feet tall. it's called maja, m-a-j-a, and it's considered to be a monumental work but representative of his style. it's exactly the kind of expressive modernist, but very human thing that the nazis hated about gearhart marks and his art. that said, philadelphia loved it. the big public art association in philly that had put on the sculpture show, they bought the

sculpture from him, and for years it had pride of place that overlooked the big famous terrace at the philadelphia museum of art. a few years ago they moved maja to a new and probably permanent home. she's still in philly, but the art association put her through a full conservation and renovation process, and they built a park for her. it opened in 2021, and it's called maja park, and she is the center piece of this public space in philly. it's right there on that benjamin franklin parkway. it's kind of a lovely spot. just before the election this year, somebody unexpectedly and without a permit, definitely without permission put up a new sculpture right near maja in that same park. it was near to the gearhart mark sculpture, it was behind her, in fact. actually, the way it was setup, it was kind of leering at her, and as you can see here, it is a

donald trump statue. somebody put up this donald trump statue in maja park in philly just before the election, and it is a statue of trump, but it is not like a statue honoring trump, at least not except in a very backhanded way. there's a plaque at the base of the trump statue that has a little leaf at the top of the american flag, and it says in caps in honor of a lifetime of sexual assault. quote, i just start kissing them, it's like a magnet, just kiss. and when you're star you can do anything, grab them by the -- you can do anything. president donald j. trump. that statue with that plaque on it went up in that philadelphia park just before the election. city workers pretty quickly took it down because it didn't have permission -- it was there without a permit. around the same time, though, all the way across the country on the west coast in portland,

oregon, there was another one. in this case it was near a statue by a seattle-based sculptor who's named norman taylor. this sculpture has been in portland, oregon, on southwest 6th avenue downtown since 1975, relatively famous local statue enportland. this is also a bronze statue. its name i will not try to pronounce for you. it's the norwegian word for female nude. i cannot pronounce it in norwegian so i will not try. but this in downtown portland. at the same time the kind of gross trump statue went up near to the maja statue in philly, that same trump statue with the same plaque went up here in portland as well, near that other statue of a nude woman. quote, in honor of a lifetime of sexual assault.

now, both these statues went up just before the election. in philadelphia, as i mentioned, it was just city workers who took it down because there was no permit to be there. in portland they took a different approach, somebody cut the statue's head off, and then a local pro-trump politician in portland took a hammer and chisel to the plaque with trump's quote on it and to the title about sexual assault. that's what happened in portland. then there was the one that went up at the donald j. trump state park in yorktown heights, new york, which i think is just about 50 miles north of new york city. this was a different statue, but went up around the same time as the two leering statues about trump with the quote about sexual assault. this one in the trump park, however, this was a different message. it was a big, giant -- like a big pillar, and you see how there's a teeny, tiny thing up top. this huge pillar with a plaque on it and sitting on top of it

is a tiny little mushroom. and this one, again, has an explanatory plaque. this one was titled "the very large donald j. trump monument." it says that in all caps on top. and then below that it says, quote, this giant pillar pays tribute to president trump. as you can see this is very large monument, definitely the largest. despite this towering statue's impressive size, the president's former mistress, stormy daniels knowingly slandered the president as, quote, having a smaller than average monument and claimed it is a, quote, unusual monument similar to a mushroom. she further went onto describe her interaction with his monument as, quote, the least impressive i've ever had. plaque continues the circumstances corresponding her statements have been verified by a new york state of law. this towering monument stands in defiance of the statements so that we may all bear witness of the truth of this giant, very

normal monument. and, again, a teeny tiny little mushroom at the bottom of the plaque and at the top of the very large plimph. donald trump continues to deny every having a sexual encounter with stormy daniels. after he was convicted to 34 charges alleging him to taulsifying business records of secret payments he made to her to cover up what she says was their sexual encounter and all of its very unsettling, unpleasant, and in some cases pitiful details. so there's the leering trump in philly, there's the leering trump in portland, there's the teeny, tiny mushroom in trump state park in new york. then there was also this, again, just before the election went up around the same time, this one was a giant tiki torch. it was put up near freedom plaza

near the white house. the plaque on this one explained it was essentially commemorating trump's praise for the white nationalists and neo-nazis who marched with tiki torches in charlottesville, virginia, saying things like "jews will not replace us." someone later destroyed the tiki torch in d.c. by smashing it to bits with a skateboard. not sure exactly what was going on there. again, all these works of art went up right before the election, and of all of them the one that got the most attention is actually another one that went up in d.c. nearby to the tiki torch statue, but specifically it was on the national mall. and it, you know, actually stayed up on the national mall for kind of a long time. it went up in late october, it stayed up right through the election. the people who made it apparently properly went through the formal process of getting a permit to have this thing put up and stood up on the national mall so it was fully legal to be there, and it was there for a

while. and this one on the national mall got the most attention not only because of where it was right there amid the monuments and everything on the mall in washington, but it also got attention because of what it was. the statue that went up on the national mall before the election was as funny and shocking as all the rest of them, but the one on the national mall was also a little unnerving in a different way because the sculpture that went up on the national mall just before the election was made of bronze. it was a desk that had some normal desk stuff on top all cast in bronze. it had a land line phone and post it notes and maybe like a calculator and that size and shape, but then prominent, private place on top of the desk there's a nameplate showing that this is a representation of the office on the desk of former

house speaker nancy pelosi and next to the nameplate on top of the desk cast in bronze is a big bronze larger than version of the pop emoji, plopped there right on top of the desk. and once again there's a plaque. it says, quote, this memorial honors the brave men and women who broke that you the united states capitol on january 6, 2021, to loot, urinate, and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election. president trump celebrates these heroes of january 6th as, quote, unbelievable patriots and warriors. this monument stands as a testament to theiridarying sacrifice and lasting legacy. their lasting legacy, a bronze curd left on the national mall for a few days around the election. seems about right, actually. seems about perfect. and, of course, this is funny,

obviously. if you're like me and have an 8-year-old sense of humor permanently for your whole life anything involving a pop emoji or any reference to pop is almost always going to make you laugh. i will admit it, i am complete slave to pop humor, absolutely. but in addition to being funny i think the reason this one is equally funny and unnerving is because of the inherent just position, right, because this really is cast in bronze. amid all the very serious stuff on the national mall. we've got the plaques marking the historical sites and the big marble memorials and the cast bronze sculptures part of these memorials. to have a big version of the pop emoji in that context is funny but also like a bad juxtaposition, it's repulsive. you go back to it plaque, what it says about the hallowed halls

of the capitol and people breaking in to loot and defecate and urinate inside those hallowed halls. that is, in fact, what happened on january 6th. and these are things that should not go together, right? it's gross. it feels like whatever the civic version of sacrilegious. it's repulsive to think of the hallowed halls and then people doing that inside them. it's repulsive. and i think that's -- that's sort of both how we're supposed to feel as citizens, i think it's how americans generally do feel about mixing the violence and politics, right? when the two do get mixed together, it turns our -- it turns our stomach. doesn't feel like it's something that's supposed to happen. we don't know whether to laugh it or kind of point and run, but it feels wrong. here's another example. this is something that's on videotape. this is 2018 in south florida in

coral gables, florida. >> maybe nancy pelosi right here. look at this piece of [ bleep ] right here. look at this piece of [ bleep ] right here. you don't belong here you [ bleep ] communist. get the [ bleep ] out of here. [ bleep ] you and your [ bleep ] democrats. >> so this happened at an event for a democratic congressional candidate in 2018. speaker of the house -- then speaker of the house nancy pelosi was there. the local party in miami-dade county called for oo protest at that event, and this is what their protest looked like. >> [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. what's up, brother?

>> open up. there's some proud boys in here. >> open up, it's the proud boys in here. two things to know about this. the first thing to know is that when that guy says, hey, it's the proud boys here, he's right. the guy who was apparently filming that piece of video, the guy who was credited with having filmed that piece of video is enrique tario, the national head of the proud boys protrump military group. enrique tarrio at the time lived in south florida and now lives in prison after being sentenced for 22 years for sedition, which is trying to overthrow the u.s. government. enrique tarrio's lawyer today just wrote to president-elect trump formally asking trump to pardon his client.

enrique tarrio's family have been publicly counting down the days trump is sworn in as president because they're convinced enrique tarrio will be one of the january 6th he pardons on the day of his inauguration. the guy shooting the video, the guy screaming at nancy pelosi, filming people pounding on the door to try to intimidate here, saying the proud boys are there, that guy is now in prison for trying to overthrow the u.s. government. but the other thing to know about that video is that the guy who he's actually filming doing the pounding on the door, this guy right here in the red circle, he has just been named by donald trump as his choice to be the next u.s. ambassador to the nation of panama. because apparently that is what our country is looking for in ambassador now. will you make yourself a physical menace for donald

trump? now, that man who's now donald trump's ambassador pick, after this happened in coral gables, he later defended his conduct there saying he was just exercising his right to protest. at the time it happened, though, in 2018, republicans were quite embarrassed by this. the head of a miami-dade republican party apologized for being there, distanced himself for the proud boys. other republicans including florida senator marco rubio condemned the actions, that republicans should never do anything physically intimidating like this. well, now marco rubio's about to be nominated to be donald trump's secretary of state, where the guy pounding bloody murder on the door to try to scare nancy pelosi and smiling up at enrique tarrio when he says it's the proud boys in here, that guy will be reporting

to him when he's ambassador. the reason why that's repellent and instincttually repulsive to us is because there's supposed to we a sharp line that keeps violent intimidation on one side of the line and politics on the other and never the two shall meet. in a democratic country those things are supposed to be separate. and so today, january 6th, the certification of the last presidential election happened in washington. and it just happened ministerially and ceremonially like it's supposed to, and that contrast with what happened today versus what happened four years ago makes clear the profound difference between the two parties, right? had democrats won the presidential election this year, the whole country openly expected and was preparing for republicans to go into violent, if not armed revolts. but because instead republicans

won, everyone expected and, in fact, we saw today that democrats would peacefully accept and participate in the transfer of power. and when a whole country expects guaranteed violence if one side loses an electoral contest, then the two political parties in that contest are no longer competing in democratic terms anymore. one of those parties is a small "d" and capital "d" democratic party. the other party is something else. so that is part of what we are contending with on this january 6th. how do we ever get our democracy back now? because we have, in effect, lost it. how do we ever get back to competition in democratic terms, which means specifically how do we get the republican party and the trumpest right to no longer see physical force and armed conflict as the way they're going to get their way and hold power? one big step backwards from that as a goal will be trump's

promised pardons to the people who committed violence in his name on january 6, 2021, the ones who earned themselves that bronze statue of nancy pelosi's desk on the national mall that briefly memorialized the physically repulsive and scato logical nature of their actions at the capitol. the question seems to be is just how many pardons will he issue? will he pardon them all or just pardon some of them? that's led to publications such as the huffington post and wall street journal editorial page to try to front page, try to surface the details of these crimes to make it seem even to trumpest republicans that maybe even these convictions were sound and should stand.

quote, andrew taake pepper sprayed police officers defending the capitol on january 6, 2021, and hit one with a metal whip. he's serving 74 months at a prison in texas. christopher albert carried a loaded .9 millimeter pistol onto the capitol grounds. steven held a cellphone in his mouth so he could beat an officer using both of his hands including with the officer's own baton. he's doing 85 months at the federal prison in forest city, arkansas. all three will be back on the streets if donald trump, the man who incited them and some 2,000 others to attack the capitol in the first place follows through on his often repeated pledge to pardon the january 6th insurrections. of those serving a year or more in prison a full 57% are there following a conviction in cases involving an assault on a police officer. in all 83% serving a year or

more were convicted of committing an act of violence, which means that with few exceptions the only people trump could release from prison with his pardons are those who attacked a police officer, possessed weapons or explosives, or were convicted of some other violent felony. are those going to be the ones he springs? here was the deeply conservative wall street journal editorial page today. it's titled, "trump's pardon promise for january 6th rioters. does it include the ex-traffic who brought a baton and. he emptied a can of pepper spray at police, beat them with a pole, and pelted them with objects such as a metal scaffolding pipe.

he yelled the cops were pieces of -- the prosecution sentencing memo says his criminal history includes a pending criminal case for an alleged 2023 stabbing. on december 17th meaning last month, a 60-month sentence was given to michael bradley age 50 who apparently went to the capitol on january 6th with his own metal baton and a hip holster. he swung it at police more than once. his prior conviction includes 2002 for meth trafficking. and 47-year-old man got nine months for having thrown a equipment container lid that beamed a cop causing unconsciousness and suspected concussion. a 41-year-old man who wore body armor on january 6th pleaded guilty to scuffling with police including trying to seize an officer's baton while shouting come out here b-word. other acquisitions including accusations of ramming the police line, punching cops and

hitting riot shields with a baseball bat. this was the brutal reality of the capitol riot that many want to forget. pardoning such crimes would contradict mr. trump's support for law and order and it would send an awful message about his view of the acceptability of political violence done on his behalf. now, as i mentioned, this is "the wall street journal"'s editorial page deeply conservative. i would take issue there with their characterization of mr. trump's support for law and order. he has repeatedly praised the idea of violence in his name for every year that he has been in public life, and so i would take issue with that. that said, that last line i read there from "the wall street journal" is absolutely correct. quote, it would send an awful message about trump's view of the acceptability of political violence done on his behalf. the acceptability of political violence done for him, in his name. this january 6th, yes, we have

got very blunt evidence of the profound difference between the democratic party offing democratic competition, win or lose, and the republican party's threat of violence to hold power. and, yes, there is also the unnerving and occasionally unsettling fight to remember what actually happened, to be real about how disgusting it all was while the trump movement and the republican party and the conservative media tries to say the january 6th attack was really just a bunch of heroes who were so peaceful and loving and they've just been wrongly persecuted for doing nothing wrong. the effort to remember and to stick to the truth of what happened there and not be gas lit and lied to, that it was some sort of day of love and peace is unnerving and unsettling, and, yes, occasionally hilarious. but there is also a very instrumental and practical question at hand this january

6th, which is what happens to the future of political violence in our country. in the very short-term in like the next year if the people who committed violence on trump's behalf are sprung by prison by him and celebrated as vindicated heroes who did nothing wrong starting two weeks from today when trump takes office again? think about this in big picture terms? why does a leader who celebrates violence against his critics and his enemies want not just a government, not just the state to do his bidding, he also wants his mob. he also wants his paramilitary groups, people who have proven themselves willing to commit violence on his behalf. why does he want the mob, why does he want his paramilitary groups, why does he want his violent ex-cons.

he wants to set them free at the start of his presidency so they can do what for him? the idea that there is permeability between violence and politics, that an incoming president might want a deniable, nongovernment violent force that he can activate or direct to do his bidding, that what is supposed to be civic hollow ground might be fouled by rioting and looting and people doing what they did in trump's name on january 6th, that is supposed to repel us and disgust us indelibly. we are never supposed to acclimate to that. but the trump side has, and this artwork was temporary. and so now this january 6th what should we be prepared for next, with two weeks left before he's back in power? i know just who to ask.

next. sk next

♪ ♪

with so much great entertainment out there... wouldn't it be easier if you could find what you want, all in one place? my favorites. get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month.

this is republican congressman andrew clyde. >> watching the tv footage of those who entered the capitol and walked through statuary hall showed people in an ordally fashion standing between the stanchen and ropes taking pictures. if you didn't know it teeny photo was from january 6th you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. >> a normal tourist visit, said republican congressman andrew clyde. is this you republican congressman, andrew clyde? is this you, the guy in the red circle holding up a piece of furniture to try to barricade the house floor while all those normal tourists were trying to break down that door on january 6th? if this is the way you react to every normal tourist visit to the capitol, remind me to never be a tourist never you. it looks dangerous. for what it's worth congressman

clyde has repeatedly said those remarks were taken out of context, but he has declined to answer questions about what the proper context might be. also consider his colleague, republican congresswoman, nancy mace. >> it was a sad day for our nation. i was shocked, i was heartbroken and i was pissed and angry by seeing this violent mob. how do we hold a president accountable that put all of our lives at risk? >> how do we hold a president accountable that put all of our lives at risk? how? turns out if your name is congresswoman nancy mace you endorse that president to be president again after he did the thing that you said, made you so angry and afraid for your life. she was so committed to holding that guy accountable she actually endorsed trump over nikki haley in her home state. she is her constituent and lives

in her zrekt. want one more? here's one more. >> this has been a truly tragic day in america. violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable, it is anti-american and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. >> it is anti-american and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent -- you see where this is going for now, right? right? >> i have concerns about the treatment of january 6th hostages. >> they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. i mean, they're hostages. we must free them. it is one thing to sugar coat the facts of what happened on january 6, 2021. it's another thing entirely to contradict your own personal, individual assessment of what happened that day especially when it didn't happen all that long ago. it is a phenomenon that is funny and embarrassing, but it's not slowing down on its own just because it's funny and embarrassing. it requires a pushback, some of

which it's getting today from people like congresswoman zoe lofgren, a democrat who was one of the january 6th investigators in congress. congresswoman lofgren saying today, quote, i have no respect for donald trump but i do have respect for the process and for american voters. he was elected president, and we will certify that election today. the funny thing is some of these members the day after january 6th four years ago they were condemning trump and decrying the violence. now it's as if it didn't happen. it's sort of a lesson in propaganda, if you will. but ultimately she says it will not succeed and i have faith in america. joining us now is congresswoman zoe lofgren, a democrat. i appreciate your time tonight. thank you for being here. >> happy to be here. >> when you say it won't work, it will not succeed, i have faith in america, can you share with me the reason for that -- that optimism? >> well, you can't undo history, rachel, as you know. one of the good things that our

january 6th committee did was to document everything that we found and then to post it, freely available. you can go to the government printing office website, and all of the material is there. there's videos. there's radio traffic, transcripts, et cetera. and so you can just click on the exhibits and see the riot. it's right there. and i would encourage people who post on x or read things, if you see some of these ridiculous things that republican members are saying, it was just a tourist visit, just take a 20-second clip of the riot from the government printing office website and let that be your reply. because in the end what happened is what happened. luckily, and i'm so grateful to the capitol police. i've been touching base with members who were hurt on that

day and their family members just to let them know how much i appreciate what they did. they saved my life. they saved the democracy, and they are appreciated. and some of this nonsense that's being said by my colleagues, they know they're lying. doesn't undercut the heroism that they showed on that day and the significance of what they day. so in the end the truth will win out. >> you say they know they're lying and you describe it today as this being a lesson in propaganda. what do you think is the purpose of this propaganda effort? what do you think is the purpose of these lies? what is the end game for denying that january 6th happened the way we know it did? >> well, it's what trump wants, number one. he knows -- remember the day after he issued really a video apology. we can't make that go away either, can we?

he knew what happened, and he apologized for it. but now because he was wrong and he can never be wrong, right, we have to turn the facts upside down and make it seem as if it didn't happen. and, unfortunately, some of my cult-like colleagues are willing to accommodate him in that effort to try and cleanup the mess that he did on that day, the violence that he encouraged. he summoned the mob knowing they were armed. he sent them down to the capitol to overturn the election, essentially, a cue coup de ta. i don't like donald trump, but he was elected president. so we did what our job was today, which was to count the electoral count votes and certify the obvious, that he

won. i'm sorry that that's what voters chose, but it's their decision, not the congress' decision. >> congresswoman zoe lofgren democrat of california, member of the january 6th investigation in congress, thanks for being here. i know a lot of demands on your time on this day. i really appreciate you being here with us. >> any time. >> all right, much more to come here tonight. stay with us. right, much more here tonight stay with us

dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet.

five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business. this is a military base, an air base in honduras.

it's about 50 miles from the capital of that country. it's called soto kano. the united states has been at this base in honduras for decades. the largest u.s. military task force in central america operates out of this base. this is the base where u.s. presidents and vice presidents have flown into and been received by honduran officials for more than 40 years. soto kano is a big part of america's military footprint in central america, but it is not technically an american base. the base belongs to honduras, and the u.s. just uses it under a long-standing agreement with that country's government. well, just a few days ago in a new year's day address to her country, the president of honduras said that the united states is not going to be able to use that anymore. she said if donald trump starts mass deportations of immigrants when he takes office, honduras, effectively, reserves the right

to kick the u.s. military out of that base, which has more than 1,000 u.s. personnel on it right now and that we've been using for decades. she said, quote, faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies of cooperation with the united states especially in military arena. without paying a cent for decades, they maintain military bases on our territory, which in this case would lose all reason to exist in honduras. that news from honduras comes on the heels of some other really interesting news from the vatican. today pope francis appointed a new archbishop for washington, d.c. now, washington, d.c. is not the biggest catholic dioceses in the country, but it is very influential for all these obvious reasons, for this very influential post pope francis chose cardinal robert mac laroy. cardinal mclow roy is known as

an outspoken defender of immigrants. in 2016, for example, after donald trump was first elected, mcllroy said if the new trump administration was going to embark on the mathway of massive deportation, then, quote, the catholic community must move immediately to wide scale opposition, and we must move with the same energy, commitment, and amediacy that have characterized catholic opposition on the issues of abortion and religious liberty in recent years. of trump's threats to do deportations, mcelroy said, quote, the church can never acquiesce with such a grave evil in our society. an active injustice which would stain our national honor in the same manner as the progress chb dispossessions of the native-american peoples of the united states and the internment of the japanese. welcome back to washington, president trump. that's your new archbishop.

the closer we get to inauguration day, the more we are learning about the character of the pushback that is materializing against what trump says he wants to do. that list also includes one state attorney general who now says there's a very specific part of what trump has threatened to do that he's already planning his fight against. and that official joins us live here next. d that official joins here next.

the president-elect has been talking up his first day plans

for a while now, long enough to compile a day one to-do list that is dozens of items long. 59 boxes to check on day one, according to a list compiled by axios. end the russia-ukraine war day one. nearly three years of grinding conflict trump says he will settle it in a day. also pardon the people who attacked the capitol on january 6th. day one he says he'll get going on that in the first nine minutes. begin mass deportations, day one. round up at least 1 million people living in the united states. also, end birthright citizenship. birthright citizenship is the idea that if you're born here, you're a citizen. it's something that isn't just a basic idea about who's an american, it's explicitly and indelibly in the constitution. but trump says he plans to just cancel that. day one. that is being met with a promise

of a fight from one state's top law enforcement official, from the attorney general of connecticut. attorney general william tong saying, quote, i would be the first to sue. it is beyond clear what the law states. joining us now is william tong, attorney general of the great state of connecticut. mr. attorney general, thanks for your time tonight. >> thanks, rachel. >> so what was it about this day one pledge, this birthright citizenship pledge trump is making that grabbed your attention? >> well, it's very personal for me and millions of americans. like millions of americans, my parents came here with nothing. my dad had 57 cents left in his pocket, to be exact, when he arrived in hartford, connecticut. they opened a chinese restaurant, and when i was born i was not yet citizens, i was the first chinese american born.

that was all made possible by a right of my birth, the right to be an american citizen, a right that's given me an opportunity to have the education, the employment opportunities, the jobs that i've had, that have given me the opportunity to run for office. it is the enduring promise of america. it's what ronald reagan referred to. birthright citizenship as a part of our essential character. and it's core of the american dream. >> trump seems to think that he can undo it with some sort of executive action despite the fact that birthright citizenship is in the constitution. how do you expect this fight to unfold if he tries to do what he says he's going to try? >> well, i know my fellow attorneys general are committed to stopping him. we're going to be a firewall for the american people, for immigrants, for not just on immigration but also reproductive freedom, for the environment, against gun violence. we are going to use the law as a sword. and as my friend tish james

says, also as a shield to protect our state. and the fourth amendment is very clear. if you're a conservative, if you're an originalist, the 14th amendment means what it says, if you're born on american soil or under the jurisdiction of the united states of america, you're an american, period. and the supreme court confirmed that and a celebrated supreme court case more than 125 years ago. >> there is an ugly and under-appreciated history in this country of trying to strip people of their citizenship when they come under fire by one political faction or another. it has never succeeded before. i have a feeling we'll be seeing you and your fellow attorneys general fighting another successful fight on these -- along these lines, sir. but keep in touch with us as this unfolds. i'll be eager to see how the strategy works here. >> thank you, rachel. >> connecticut attorney general william tong. we'll be right back. stay with us. ney general william tong we'll be right back. stay with us

what if your mobile network wasn't just built to work out here... ...but was designed differently to also give you blazing fast wifi where you are most of the time? reliable 5g, plus wifi speeds up to a gig where you need it most. xfinity mobile. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g phone and a second unlimited line free for a year.

for the past two days there's been an outpouring of appreciation and admiration for former president jimmy carter as he's been lying in repose in georgia. this salive image of the carter center in virginia right now. more than 10,000 people paid their respects. tomorrow his remains ilgo to washington. he'll lie in state two days at the capitol. members of the public wul be able to pay respects in washington starting tomorrow night. and then from 7:00 a.m. wednesday to 7:00 a.m. thursday, and then his state funeral will be thursday morning at the national cathedral. the funeral itself will be closed to the public but you can watch it here live on msnbc. our coverage will start 6:00 a.m. eastern. that does it for us tonight. "way too early" with ali vitali is next. congress clears the way for president-elect donald trump to take office on