brought into government, where sometimes government has to play the role of keeping people in check? the role of government is often to keep anyone from getting too much power. and in this case, we're taking the most powerful, wealthiest person in the world. and the president of the united states is now bringing them into the oval office and having them literally run government for him. that's dangerous. >> you can listen to that episode, plus my conversation with jemele hill wherever you get your podcasts. that does it for me tonight. the rachel maddow show starts right now. hey, rachel. >> jen, congratulations on the new gig. it's very exciting. >> thank you so much. and i will just say, i watched you and nicole and lawrence honor our dear friend joy joy reid earlier, and it almost made me cry watching you all. and today is very much about thanking her and honoring her. but i have

millions of questions to ask you at the appropriate time, way down the road. >> okay. >> all right, my friend. change. change afoot. change. that is good. change that is hard. and everything in between. i'll have more to say about that a little bit later on, but congratulations to you in an uncomplicated and serious way. thank you. jen. >> thank you. >> and thanks to at home for joining us this hour. so there is a town in california called yucca valley. it's a beautiful place. it's located in the mojave desert. and the good people of yucca valley have this man representing them in congress. his name is jay obernolte. he is a republican. he was first elected to congress just a couple of terms ago in 2020, and he had a pretty easy reelection this year. his constituents sent their republican congressman back to washington by big margin by more than by more than 20 points. but although he had an easy ride in his district overall, this isn't a bright red county in california. yucca valley is in

san bernardino county. biden won there in 2020 by ten points. this past election, trump just very narrowly won san bernardino county just by just by a couple of points. so it's an interesting it's an interesting place. and over the weekend, congressman obernolte held a town hall in his home district. and that sort of purple interesting part of california and yucca. and this is how it went pretty much right from the jump. >> my question to. >> you. >> as a member of congress. which holds the purse right here. what are you going to do about it to stop the cuts? when, while and what how do you feel about a unelected non-super? no, no. you can you can do your job.

i wanted to check. >> with balances of our nation. yeah. >> great question. >> i'm glad you asked me. oh. oh. >> the big at. >> the end there. they almost know what he's gearing up to do, right. remember, purple district barely went for trump. but here's how congressman obernolte answered that question. >> great question. i'm glad you asked it. oh, >> i should. answer it. >> okay. i am very glad someone. is looking at. all of the waste. >> oh, what a waste. >> no waste. >> oh. yes. >> i you're going to be the

first. generation of americans. to know. oh my. >> know more. no. no more, no more. must do. >> your job. you do your job, do your job, do your job. >> do your. >> job. >> to your child, to your job. do your job, do your job, do your job. >> he's not up to much. >> surrendering to. >> billionaires, you coward. >> your people. >> voted for change in november. >> oh. >> three. they stand. >> almost proud of it. right?

>> i'll tell you this. the american people voted for change in november, and change is what they're getting. and then he gets shouted down by a couple hundred people booing him to his face. his constituents. if you're a republican member of congress continuing to carry water for this administration, continuing continuing to defend what donald trump and his top campaign donor are doing to the united states government, this is perhaps not an unfamiliar vibe these days. i mean, we're seeing this at town halls all over the country. we're also seeing, you know, huge protests like these ones all over the country. this weekend. there were protests all over the country this weekend, marking the third anniversary of russia invading ukraine. people out there in the streets demonstrating their support for ukraine, their opposition to russia and its dictator, vladimir putin. even as the trump administration switches sides in that war and now appears to be supporting russia. there were also more protests over the weekend at at tesla dealerships in places like

seattle and fort lauderdale, florida, and new york and san francisco. there was also a very dramatic protest in yosemite national park this weekend, federal workers sending up a classic sign of distress american flag upside down at the top of el capitan, a way of letting the country know that things are not okay. we're going to be talking later on in the show about this big dramatic show of force we are seeing all over the country and about this real, i think, shock to the system for republicans who are daring to speak to their own constituents. but to be clear, democratic members of congress aren't necessarily finding it easy either. they are getting pushed really hard at their own town halls as well at their own congressional offices, not because they're siding with trump and his top campaign donor like republicans are. no, democrats are doing that. democrats are getting pushed because even though they are in opposition to what trump and musk are doing, many democratic,

republican, excuse me, many democratic members of congress around the country are finding out loud that their constituents think they're not doing enough. yeah, being in opposition is one thing, but you're not doing enough to fight back. this was over the weekend, a town hall in cincinnati held by democratic congressman greg landsman. here was the local press coverage at a cincinnati town hall. a democratic congressman is urged to be more confrontational. another 300 or so people showed up in hawaii on saturday to put pressure on their democratic congresswoman, jill tokuda. one congressman, one constituent of the congresswoman, telling her, quote, have a backbone, please, please. this was just last week. dramatic footage that ricocheted around the country from a town hall held by democratic congressman paul tonko. >> i saw you on tv at noah. i saw you on tv at the department of education. what i'm saying is

this somebody asks. >> you what. >> your red line was, and you said. >> you said. >> that the time is always right to go. does that mean the red line is already been crossed? >> yes. >> why? >> because i think. >> it has. if you ask us. >> to show up. >> congressman tonko. >> we will show up. thank you. but it's not coming. we have to take the gloves off. >> we can't. >> with the protocols. >> that are not playing. >> by the rules. >> yes, yes. >> we have to do this. >> what did. >> i tell you? what i tell you next to. >> maxine waters again, i was. >> so proud. >> that my. >> representative was. >> on the front. >> line right there. but i thought about. >> jimmy carter, and i. >> thought about john lewis, and i know what john lewis. >> would have done. >> he would. >> have gotten arrested that day. yes. make them. make them outlawed. you. we will stand

behind you. we will be there with you. i will get arrested with you. >> we have to take the gloves off. >> americans pushing republicans really hard, particularly when they try to defend trump. but americans also really pushing their democratic members of congress to do more, to fight harder against this white house and what feels like a real crisis in washington. and that's happening not just to democratic members of congress. you're learning about for the first time here, because i'm showing you tape from their town hall. it's happening to all the democrats, including the democratic leader in washington, hakeem jeffries, leader of the house. this was outside his office in brooklyn, new york, on thursday. hundreds of people calling on him to be more aggressive toward this white house, to stand up faster, to stand up more firmly, to fight harder against trump and his top campaign donor. it happened to leader jeffries again the very next day in oakland, california.

this was outside an event where congressman jeffries was giving remarks. hundreds of people gathered outside demanding that he do more. and i absolutely understand the sentiment. but what can he do? what does he believe is within his power? joining us now is the man himself, democratic leader in the house, hakeem jeffries, leader jeffries, it's a real honor to have you here tonight. thank you so much for joining us. >> good evening. >> great to be with you. >> so every day now, i feel like we're getting more and more tape and dramatic reportage from congressional town halls all around the country, seeing republican members of congress pressed by their own constituents, even by their own republican constituents, about what trump and musk are doing that the public doesn't like. but we also see voters imploring democrats and you specifically to fight harder, to not be nice, to break protocol, to get arrested, if that's if that's what it takes. how are you hearing those those calls? what

can you tell voters tonight who say you could be doing more than you're doing? >> well, i think we understand. >> the passionate. outcry that we. >> are seeing. >> all across the country. >> as it relates. to the. >> flood of. >> extremism that's being unleashed on the. american people by this administration, by this president, by. >> his allies like. >> elon musk. and of course, this is creating. chaos and confusion and crisis, and it's corruption that's connected to it as well. and so we're going to continue to operate in an all hands. on deck way. that's what we've said from the beginning. it means that we've got to push back aggressively in the congress as we're doing, and certainly we'll have a budget fight that will be on the floor as early as tomorrow, where every single democrat, i believe is going to stand in firm opposition to this gop tax scam, which is all about rewarding their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations and

undermining working class americans by sticking it to them and cutting medicaid and things that are important to their health, their safety, and their economic well-being. it's all hands on deck in the congress. it's all hands on deck in the courts. and it's certainly all hands on deck in communities across the country. and you are seeing that kind of mobilization take place as you've illustrated. >> and i got to say, the mobilization is a bottom up, very, very grassroots, very organic coast to coast uprising. and what they are pushing against is what's happening in washington, but what they are trying to push up and push forward is you and your colleagues to try to further empower you and further inspire you, by one way or another, to find new tactics, to find new avenues, to find new leverage. i mean, let's let's take this budget thing. you're going to expect this vote potentially as early tomorrow in the house. the

republicans margin in the house is razor thin. we know at least one republican is planning on voting no on that budget. you say you think you'll have every democrat voting no. you've also asked members of the democratic caucus to meet tomorrow on the on the on the capitol steps to try to make clear to the american people, members of the house democratic caucus should join us on the capitol steps at 12 noon tomorrow to make clear to the american people the stakes of what's happening. what are you planning for that event? what should the american public expect around this budget fight and how consequential it will be? >> well, one of the things that's important is we have to tell the story of the everyday americans who are at risk of dealing with the pain and the suffering that these extreme maga republican proposals and cuts will unleash on them and the american people. if you just take, for instance, the proposal to cut as much as $1 trillion

from medicaid, if not more, in connection with the republican budget resolution proposal. that's going to hurt children, hurt everyday americans with disabilities. it's going to hurt seniors. it's going to close hospitals, including in rural america. it's going to shut down nursing homes. it's going to hurt veterans and others who rely on medicaid benefits. and so we've got to be able to tell that story, of course, with urgency, of course, on the floor of the house, certainly in committees. but we also have to take the case directly to the american people. and tomorrow at 12, that's exactly what we're going to do. having stories told through the voices of those americans impacted the most. listen, i represent neighborhoods in central brooklyn and beyond. i'm in those neighborhoods. i was there over the last few days, of course, and in other parts of the country. and so i understand that there's a lot of anxiety that has been caused. the communities that i represent in

many ways have been dealing with trauma and anxiety for a long period of time. and this is a moment where that anxiety, of course, has been heightened across america. and so we're going to continue to rise to the occasion to meet the moment. the next three weeks will be critically important because we have the budget fight this week. and then, of course, donald trump will be on the hill next week. and then after that, we'll have to figure out where we're going to land in advance of the march 14th funding deadline. three critical weeks to push back against the extremism, and also to define ourselves as a party that actually wants to make life better for everyday americans, drive down the high cost of living, solve problems for those hard working american families who want us to give them a real shot at the american dream. >> the case that you are making against republican policies here is one that i hear and is cogent, and that plays to a

greater or lesser extent, i think, all across this country. the other thing that americans are stressed out about, though, right now, is that policy doesn't feel like it's the main conversation right now. it feels like we are in the middle of a ketamine fueled, middle of the night, autocratic power grab that is rendering congress irrelevant. that's rendering policy irrelevant, and that's rendering the rule of law an afterthought, if not a joke, to those who are planning on staying in power indefinitely without benefit of further elections. i mean, it is not about i mean, it is about a bad budget. that's one of the things you have to contend with. but the fight here feels like it's on a different scale than the kinds of legislative point counterpoint stuff that i think democrats and republicans are used to fighting over. and i think what americans are sort of clamoring for is to hear from you personally, as the senior democrat in washington, in the house, where the margins are so

narrow to hear from you that you understand the scale of the threat, and you have ideas about how to interrupt what feels like something that we have not experienced since the civil war in terms of the threat to our republic. >> well, certainly the case that we understand the scale of the threat that can't be doubted. the cbc, which i'm a part of, definitively understands the scale of the threat. our communities have been under siege, as you pointed out, since before the civil war. i'm a direct descendant of those very communities. so we understand the struggle, the history, the strength of people like john lewis, which we're going to channel. that's my experience. that's my personal experience, that's my family's experience. and so we understand that. and as a caucus, it's definitively the case that we understand that. listen, we launched the rapid response task force and litigation working group is going to be led by joe neguse and of course, a brilliant

constitutional lawyer, jamie raskin, to be able to respond to and work with our allies like tish james and others. and part of what we are responding to. listen, elon musk and donald trump, they're flooding the zone in part to create distress, to create a sense of invincibility and inevitability. but the reality is, there have been more than 75 different lawsuits that have been filed by democracy reform groups, civil rights reform groups, by attorney generals like tish james and others. and we're winning in court. they're losing more than 35 different unconstitutional and unlawful executive orders and administrative actions have been challenged. and they're not winning those cases in terms of the trump administration. they're losing over and over and over again. that's been a forceful pushback. and that, of course, will continue. the congressional battles will

continue. and the mobilization in the communities will continue. >> does it help? does it advance democrats ability to stand up against trump and musk, and what's happening in washington, to have people at these town halls, to have people protesting in various symbolic and important places, either that represent the government or that represent some of the forces that are at work right now within our government. does people showing up and doing direct action, peaceful, nonviolent, direct action to try to put steel in your spine, among others? does it does it help or is it more of a hindrance to you? >> well, listen, public sentiment is everything. as abraham lincoln once said, with it, nothing can fail. without it, nothing can succeed. i don't think anyone needs additional steel put in their spine. let's be clear about that. and i think, you know, the house democrats, under the leadership of nancy pelosi during the prior trump administration, continuing to where we are at this moment, are going to continue to push

back forcefully using every tool available. now, i think it does help, for instance, that our house republican colleagues are held accountable. rachel, you appropriately mentioned, we've got the narrowest majority that any party has had in the congress since before the great depression. the narrowest majority, 218 republicans, 215 democrats. the democrats are holding together. we're holding together, for instance, on this reckless republican budget, which is a betrayal of working class americans and cuts to medicaid, cuts to snap cuts to veterans benefits. that's not theoretical. that hurts real people that i represent, and that every single member of the house democratic caucus represents. that's not a theoretical fight. that's a real fight. but here's the thing. on any given issue, like the

budget, we only need three. not all 218 republicans. we only need three to do the right thing for their constituents. and so the activity that we've seen over the last few days, over the last week or so, i think, is going to let the republicans know that no one is going to remove the spotlight from them. they shouldn't be able to escape accountability. and as democrats, we're going to make sure that they don't. >> democratic leader in the house hakeem jeffries, leader jeffries, it is a real honor to have you here. i know that your time is valuable. come back anytime, sir. i'd love to talk to you anytime. you can stand it. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> all right. i'm going to take a little point of personal privilege here, just for a moment. if it is okay with you, you may have already heard about changes that have been announced at msnbc over the last couple of days. the new president of our network made it official today. some of our shows are moving to

different time slots or expanding or going away altogether in primetime. just so you know, i am here five days a week for the first 100 days of trump's presidency, as planned and as planned. i will go back to just mondays after that. that is not changing. what is changing is that the show alex wagner tonight is not coming back at nine after the first 100 days. instead, alex will be a senior political analyst for msnbc, and jen psaki will start hosting the 9 p.m. hour all the other nights except for mondays. so that's a big change. and even bigger programing change is at 7 p.m. 7 p.m. eastern, where joy reid's show, the reidout ended tonight, and joy is not taking a different job in the network. she is leaving the network altogether and that is very, very, very hard to take. i am 51 years old. i have been gainfully employed since i was 12 and i

have had so many different kinds of jobs. you wouldn't believe me if i told you, but in all of the jobs i have had in all of the years i have been alive, there is no colleague for whom i have had more affection and more respect than joy reid. i love everything about her. i have learned so much from her. i have so much more to learn from her. i do not want to lose her as a colleague here at msnbc, and personally, i think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door. it is not my call and i understand that. but that's what i think i will tell you. it is also unnerving to see that on a network where we've got two count them two nonwhite hosts in primetime, both of our nonwhite hosts in primetime are losing their shows, as is katie phang on the weekend. and that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them, that feels indefensible. and i do not defend it. but there's just one

other piece of it that you should know from your side of the tv screen. you will. you will mostly see changes in terms of who's in the anchor chair, and actually everybody's who's going to be in anchor chairs from here on out are great colleagues and great at what they do. and you are not going to be disappointed in who's on our air and what you're going to be seeing. but one thing you cannot necessarily see is that the people who get our shows on the air, they're really being put through the ringer. dozens of producers and staffers, including some who are among the most experienced and most talented and most specialist producers in the building, are facing being laid off. they're being invited to reapply for new jobs. that has never happened at this scale in this way before when it comes to programing changes, presumably because it's not the right way to treat people and it's inefficient and it's unnecessary, and it kind of drops the bottom out of whether or not people feel like this is a good place to work. and so we

don't generally do things that way. maybe all of our folks, including most of the people who are getting this very show on the air right now, maybe they will all get new jobs here, and i hope they do. but in the meantime, being put in this kind of limbo, the anxiety and the discombobulation is off the charts. at a time when this job already is extra stressful and difficult. it is not news for me to tell you that the press and freedom of the press are under attack in a way that is really. it's a big deal for our country. it's very visceral for us here. i know that the business of the press is not an easy thing, and i know that no job is forever, but i think i think i'm safe in saying, for all of us anchors who, you know, threw the tv, please know that what pains us the most is not what happens to us. it is what happens to our coworkers on whom we depend and who you don't necessarily know. but we respect and love them and depend on them. and did i

mention we respect them? this is a difficult time in the news business, but it does not need to be this difficult. we welcome new voices to this place and some familiar voices to new ours. it's going to be great, honestly. and we want to grow and succeed and reach more people than ever and be resilient and stay here forever. i also believe, and i bet you believe, that the way to get there is by treating people well, finding good people, good colleagues, doing good work with them, and then having their back that we could do a lot better on that we could do a lot better on a lot better. baby: liberty! mom: liberty mutual is all she talks about since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. baby: liberty! biberty: hey kid, it's pronounced "biberty." baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: bi-be-rty! baby: biberty!

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this weekend on the steps of the lincoln memorial to show support for our allies in ukraine. today

marks three years since russia invaded its neighbor. people marched in grand rapids, michigan, carrying ukrainian flags. stop putin, stop war. there was a pro-ukraine rally at the state capitol in madison, wisconsin. there was another at the state capitol in salt lake city, utah, also at the state capitol in columbus, ohio. people rallied in support of our allies in ukraine, in detroit, michigan, and in boston, massachusetts. there was a huge turnout in houston, texas. in reno, nevada, and all around the world, from toronto to warsaw, from paris to melbourne, australia, all these people all across our country, all across the world, all standing in solidarity with the people of ukraine as they mark three years of trying to stay a country, of trying to resist this unprovoked russian invasion. but here is how the us government under donald trump marked that

milestone today. this was the banner headline today at the washington post this afternoon. quote us sides with russia against ukraine war resolution. quote washington breaks with europe refusing to condemn moscow on third anniversary of invasion. and, you know, un resolutions are non-binding. votes like this are symbolic, but this is essentially the us declaring pretty much formally that we're on russia's side now. us was one of only 18 countries in the world to vote against ukraine. and with russia on this today. so? so who who are we? who are our allies now? who are we allied with now? well, based on this vote, we now stand with russia, obviously. also north korea, iran, belarus, burkina faso, burundi, central african republic, equatorial guinea, eritrea, haiti, hungary, israel, mali, the marshall islands, nicaragua, niger, sudan, and the united states of america. what a

club to be part of. welcome to our new axis. and how are we doing with the countries that have long been our allies? you know, the european nations that have been our closest allies for the last 80 years or so? well, there was a remarkable moment, kind of an embarrassing moment in the oval office today, one in which i thought president trump might burst. he's sitting there next to president emmanuel macron of france. and trump tried to claim right there in front of macron, that somehow europe is going to be getting back all the money that it's invested in ukraine to support its defense against russia. the us is somehow getting screwed. we gave them the money. but europe, it was just loans and they're getting all the money back. the french president then interrupts the president of the united states to correct him, to say, actually, europe has given more money than the united states to ukraine's war effort and isn't getting any more of it back than the us is. watch this and watch watch how president macron touches trump's arm here.

and watch trump's reaction. >> europe is loaning the money to ukraine. they get their money back. >> no. in fact, to be to be frank, we paid we paid 60% of the total effort. and it was through like the us loans guaranteed grants and we provided real money, to be clear. >> no, in fact, to be frank, i can't do i can't even do a fake french accent, to be frank. but you see, the way he puts his hand on trump's arm, like the way you do when grandpa starts going on again about something he saw on fox news. now, grandpa, we talked about this. you keep saying europe is getting all its money back from ukraine. but grandpa, to be frank, that's just not true. at a press conference later in the day, trump said he thinks it is, quote, very much to the benefit of russia to make a deal. i'm sure it will be with the american president, apparently quite hell bent on making russia as happy as possible to the list of things that will undoubtedly make russia very happy in this

trump era. we can now add destabilizing the us military. as of this weekend, former secretary of the air force has a stark warning for the public on that front, and he's going to that front, and he's going to join us to discuss that her always dry scoop before you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. it's time we listen to science. one a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. one a day. science that matters. work. play. blink. >> relief. >> relief. >> the only tap into etsy for home and style staples to help you set any vibe. from custom lighting under 150 dollars to vintage jackets under 100. for affordable pieces to help you make a fresh start, etsy has it.

as americans, there's one thing we can all agree on. the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families. the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+ folks. the time to act to protect our rights is now. that's why i'm hoping you'll join me today in supporting the american civil liberties union. it's easy to make a difference. just call or go online now and become an aclu guardian of liberty. all it takes is just $19 a month. only $0.63 a day. your monthly support will make you part of the movement to protect the rights of all people, including the fundamental right to vote. states are passing laws that would suppress the right to vote. we are going backwards.

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(800) 990-5365. that's (800) 990-5365. call now. >> senior u.s. military officers and senior civilians in the defense department. really? senior like people who serve on the joint chiefs, people who are

secretaries of the various branches of the military. i have been able to meet and interview and get to know more of them than you'd think. i wrote a book about the military a decade or so ago, and that started a process in which i met a lot of these folks, and it's been an honor. and while folks at that very senior level come from all sorts of different backgrounds, they come to those leadership positions through all sorts of different routes. by the time any of them have served at the most senior ranks of the military in the defense department, i think one of the things you can say about all of them in unison is that they are measured. they are calm. the word unflappable is almost right, but it feels like it needs a more worrying root word than flap. right? these are these are people who are, like, epically even keeled. and that is why i asked to be on the show tonight. the man who until last month served as secretary of the united states air force. his name is frank kendall. he is a

west point graduate, an army veteran, a former undersecretary of defense, and for the last four years he was secretary of the united states air force. he is not a flappable man, and yet, friday night, president donald trump and defense secretary pete hegseth announced the sudden and unexplained removal of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the highest ranking officer in the united states navy, the vice chief of staff of the air force and the senior lawyers, the senior legal officers in the air force and the army and the navy. now, frank kendall responded to that in writing. and what he wrote to me is the unflappable veteran defense official version of an air raid siren. just listen to this, quote. president trump's decision to fire senior military leaders without cause is foolish and a disgrace. it politicizes our professional military in a

dangerous and debilitating way. what frightens me most is the removal of three judge advocates general, the most senior uniformed legal authorities in the defense department. their removal is one more element of this administration's attack on the rule of law, and an especially disturbing part. the military's top judge, advocates general, are the senior military professionals who interpret and enforce the uniform code of military justice, the rules that guide troops in the field. they have the independent legal authority to tell any military commander or political appointee that an order from the president or the secretary of defense is unlawful cannot be given and should not be obeyed. mr. trump and mr. hegseth will now get to choose the jag leadership for all three military departments. one has to ask why jag leadership was singled out for replacement. this is part of a much larger pattern of disrespect, even disdain for the rule of law. if there is one characteristic of this president and this administration, it is the utter lack of respect for

legal constraints. kendall says, quote, we are in danger when the legal constraints on how the president uses the military, including within the united states, are ignored or brushed aside. our country is in uncharted territory. we have an administration that is waging war against the rule of law. the evidence is everywhere. we don't yet know how far it will go as it seeks to control, reinterpret, rewrite, ignore, or defy legal constraints, including the constitution itself. he concludes with this the replacement of the military jag leadership is one skirmish in that war. but it is time for the american people across the political spectrum to recognize what is happening. quote america has a rogue president and a rogue administration, and we need to acknowledge that and respond. joining us now is frank kendall, who until last month was secretary of the united states air force. secretary kendall, it is a real honor to have some time with you tonight. thank you for joining us.

>> oh, thank you, rachel, it's great to be with you. >> am i right to read this as you essentially sending an alert that although, you know to civilians, this this might not have registered at first glance like the biggest deal given everything else, you're essentially telling the public this, this is a very big deal and one that needs a response. >> it is a big deal. and i chose. >> my words. >> carefully and very thoughtfully. i felt that in the. announcements about. >> the people. >> being replaced, that the removal of the judge advocate general, the lawyers for each of the. >> services. >> was not. >> getting the. >> attention that it deserved. and i really wanted to call some attention to that because of the implications that could possibly have. >> in terms of the removal of those legal officers. i found it striking that in the announcement about their removal, they weren't even named, implying that they were removed as a class of people rather than as individual public servants and officers who were removed for some specific reason as to how they were doing their job. well, what is the thing you

most worry about in terms of replacing senior legal military officers at this level and doing so as as a group? >> well, first of. >> all. >> i have a lot of. >> confidence in our judge advocate general. this is a class of very professional people. i've worked with them over most of my career in a number of different capacities, and i've seen what they can do. what i'm what i'm concerned about, though, here, is that there'll be some effort to find people. >> who are going to be very compliant. >> with whatever the administration wants to do. secretary hegseth has made. >> some public. >> comments about this. >> he's talked. >> about, you know, jags constraining operators excessively when they're when they're. >> engaged in combat. that's a concern that lower ranking. >> people might, might. have about not being allowed to use as. >> much firepower. >> as they'd like, for example. but the rules of engagement, the rules. >> of armed conflict. >> and so on are there for a reason. >> and they have to be followed. >> by people. and we. use the jags. >> to. >> help enforce that. that's one

aspect of it. but there are a number of other things that the jags would be able to pronounce judgments on. >> and. >> again, have legal authority over people in uniform. and that includes, as you mentioned, use of the military within the united states. >> against american citizens. >> there are legal constraints on how the military can be used. but as as with all laws, they're. subject to interpretation. so i'm. concerned about the direction in which this is heading. this wasn't part of the. >> di. >> you know, war against di that's being waged. the jags really have no role in that. these are not people who have, you know, other than fairly narrow responsibilities. well down within the structure of each of the services. so it really struck me as unusual and hard to understand why these particular people would be would be singled out for replacement. >> when you said america has a rogue president and a rogue administration. i'd like to hear how you define those terms and what you what you mean by that. i take you at your word that you

chose those words very carefully, but you followed that assertion immediately with, we need to acknowledge that and respond. so i'd also like to hear from you what you think the appropriate response is. >> first of all, we're seeing. >> a number of behaviors. >> and not not just these of the military and so on, but we're seeing the use of a non-government. >> employee, a billionaire, to come in and pretty much wreak. >> havoc with the with the entire federal. >> government apparatus. >> we're seeing declarations of things like birthright citizenship no longer being valid under the constitution. >> so there's a. >> large range of things not following the law and relieving the inspector generals that were relieved. i think your previous guest mentioned that there are. 75 lawsuits going on right now. >> president trump made the. >> comment recently that, you know, if you're saving the nation, you're above the law or words to that effect. these are. >> dangerous things to. >> hear. from an american president. and the conduct has been. >> very consistent. >> so i think rogue is a reasonable description. i think it's an apt description. and i

think it should make us all concerned as citizens. you know, whatever our views on various issues, we all should believe in the rule of law. it's the. >> most fundamental american principle. >> it distinguishes us from, you know, almost any totalitarian state. certainly. and so we should. >> all be united. >> in saying that. wait a minute. whatever our differences may. >> be. >> if we're going to, we can pursue those. we can debate. we can we can have. processes play out to try to resolve those differences. but we have to do that within the within the law. that is so. fundamental to the existence of our democracy and to our freedom as citizens, that i think every. american should, should recognize that that's a concern. >> frank kendall, former undersecretary of defense until last month, secretary of the united states air force. sir, thank you for your service to our country. thank you for helping us understand this tonight. and thank you for writing this in the blunt terms that you did. at least for me, it really broke through. and it made me understand this in a way that i didn't previously. and

it's scary to me, but i appreciate your expertise. thank you. >> it's a scary time, rachel. thank you. >> yeah. thank you. as the daughter of a former air force jag in particular, i got to say. hi, i'm ron reagan, an unabashed atheist. jag in particular, i got to say. all and i'm alarmed, as you may be, by the intrusions of religion into our secular government. that's why i'm asking you to join the freedom from religion foundation, the nation's largest and most effective association of atheists and agnostics working to keep state and church separate, just like our founders intended. please join the freedom from religion foundation today. ron reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell. eye drops lumify. >> dramatically reduces redness. >> in one minute. >> and look. >> at the difference. >> at the difference. >> my eyes look brighter and ♪♪

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nature. on an annual natural event that's called firefall. look at that. every february, the way the sunset hits this waterfall at the top of the rock formation called el capitan in yosemite national park, it creates a surreal orange glowing effect, almost like the waterfall is made of fire. firefall at yosemite is a really big tourist attraction. like on a geologic scale. thousands of people camp out to look up at this exact spot where the february sun hits the waterfall. in just this way. well, it's now february and firefall is on. and on saturday this weekend, a group of yosemite park employees made it the site of a peaceful but dramatic protest. they climbed to the top of this 3000 foot rock formation. and they hung an american flag upside down, which in us flag code is the symbol of dire distress. the park employee who provided the

flag told the san francisco chronicle. the point was to bring attention to what is happening to the parks. by which he means that the trump administration, indiscriminately cutting huge numbers of jobs in the national parks. about a thousand so far enough to raise questions about how well the parks can function, not to mention potentially opening up public lands as widely as they can to drilling and mining. upside down american flag in yosemite. that is just an incredible expression of protest. that's number one. the second example happened today all the way across the country at the department of housing and urban development in washington, d.c, where senior level managers at hud have been told to expect half of their staff to be fired. now, i should tell you that what i'm about to show you is super gross. really gross. so if you would like to turn away, now is your chance. okay. throughout the dc headquarters for the department of housing and urban development, there are internal

tv monitors, the kind that you know might show you what's for lunch in the cafeteria or whatever, but instead today. what? yeah. when employees showed up for work the first day, everybody was expected to be back in the office full time. instead, on those monitors, they saw this. a are fake fake video of president trump passionately kissing the feet of elon musk with the text, long live the real king superimposed over it. oh, what appeared on those internal tvs at hud today needs to not exist in nature. and thank heavens it does not from our own very helpful internal network guidance on this quote. our editorial teams indicate this video appears to be ai generated and fake. yes. yes. thank you jesus. the video does have telltale signs of being fake, if you look closely, which i don't recommend. you might

notice, for example, that elon musk is depicted as having two left feet. we ourselves have not seen mr. musk's feet, but the ones on screen at hud today do look like fictional feet. nbc news has reached out to the white house for comment. we will keep you posted. but from the tops of the mountains to the bottoms of the president's top donors fake feet, americans are getting creative in their pushback. creative and unforgettable. we'll be right back. >> legal eagle. >> and, doug. >> you'll be back. emus can help people. >> customize and. >> save hundreds on car. >> insurance with liberty mutual. >> you're just a flightless bird. >> you know he's a dreamer, frank. >> and doug. >> well. i'll be.

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