>>> this our, princeton university professor eddie glaude talks to me about president biden's graduation speech at morehouse. the interview in just a few moments. >>> a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome everyone to "politico" reports. first two political headlines. here is what is happening right now. president biden arrived in atlanta a short time ago. he will attend campaign events later today and is expected to deliver the commencement speech at morehouse college tomorrow. >>> earlier today, the white house released photos of a friday meeting with members of the divine nine historically african-american sororities and fraternities. biden also spoke at the national museum of african- american history and culture. >> together, the naacp and this museum are monuments to the power of black history to black history is american history. it is american. it is a really important thing to continue. we have a whole group of people out there trying to rewrite history, trying to erase history . >>> donald trump will be in texas today as he campaigns be

amna: that's professor eddie glaude , author of the new book "we are the heroes we have been lookinga pleasure. thank you. >> thank you. appreciate. ♪ amna: remember there's a lot more online, including a look at why u.s. elections seem to stretch on longer than other countries. that is at pbs.org/newshour. geoff: join us again tomorrow night for a look at the terrorist threat posed by a resurgent isis in syria. that is the newshour for tonight. amna: on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years, bnsf, the engine that connects us. ♪ >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour, including leonard and norma clore fine, and the judy and peter bloom coble or foundation. >> certified financial planner professionals are proud to support newshour. professionals are committed to acting in their client's best interest. more information at let smakeaplan.org. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the front lines of soc

eddie glaude is a professor in the department of african american studies at princeton university andhor of the new book, we are the leaders we have been looking for. karen attiah is a columnist with the washington post and adjunct lecturer at columbia university. thanks to both of you. >>> coming up, donald trump on trial and the campaign trail. why he is dipping his plans for a second term as president. plus, why one more six-week abortion ban could have an outsized impact on the south and i would hints at more trouble to come. >>> plus, jeannette walls joins me to discuss the glass castle, her important memoir of

princeton professor of african american studies eddie glaude.s an msnbc contributor and "new york times" best-selling author of the new book , we are the leaders we have been looking for. it is good to see you. this book that you have written, there is something you wrote, talked about the damaging role that heroes and profits can play in prop -- in politics. you wrote about the authority of black moralism resting in the temporal age that those who invoke the movements, murders and their achievements along with his vocabularies as a way to claim their legitimacy in the face of the eroding conditions of much of contemporary black life. the question for you in 2024, who should we be looking to? >> first of all, thank you so much for that lead in. the short answer is we have to look to ourselves. we have to understand our power. when we follow people, often times we cease doing the hard work of working on ourselves. we outsource responsibility to them, and we think we can go about the daily chores and trials and demands of our lives. we are in a mo

princeton university professor eddie glaude junior says that's what's needed to secure a just and democraticamerica. it's a case he makes in his new book we are the heroes we have been looking for. welcome back to the newshour. >> it's good to see you. it's a delight. collects it's a beautiful book. it tackles some very big ideas. it's also fair to say there's an urgency to your writing in this book what is driving that -- in this book. what is driving that? >> i think we have outsourced our responsibilities to democracy for too long. we have outsourced it to politicians and so-called community leaders when we need to take responsibility for it. if we do not take responsibility for democracy in this moment, we may well lose it. so instead of thinking -- looking to politicians, we need to look to ourselves. to do that, we have to examine that. >> we are the leaders we have been looking for, the profits we have been looking for, you write. this has been an absolute call to action. what is it you want to see everyday americans do differently? >> there's a through-line throughout the book, and i

joining me now is princeton university professor of african american stuies eddie glaude jr. k "we are the leaders we have been looking for." eddie, my friend, good to see you. this book that you have written, there is something that you wrote, it talked about the damaging role that heroes and prophets can play in politics. and you wrote about the authority of black moralism rested in the temporal trace of a heroic age that those who embrace it invoke the movement's martyrs and their achievements along with its vocabularies as a way to claim their legitimacy in the face of the eroding conditions of much of contemporary black life. so the question for you, in 2024, who should we be looking to then? >> well, first of all, thank you so much for that lead in. you know, the short answer to your question is we have to look to ourselves. we have to understand our power. you know, when we follow people, oftentimes we cease doing the hard work of working on ourselves. we outsource our responsibility to them. and then we think we can go about the daily chores and trials and demands of o

i want to bring in msnbc contributor, eddie glaud. eddie, had you see what's happening in madison, when you learn about the situations overnight at ucla and here in new york at columbia university, what's your gut reaction? >>. >> well, ana, it's great to see you. my gut reaction is heartbreak in some ways to mix my metaphors. once you invite the police onto campus there is by definition an escalation. there is the possibility of physical harm directed at the students, and last night when i saw images of new york police officers with their guns drawn entering one of the rooms in hamilton hall, my heart broke as an educator, our principal responsibility is to take care of our students, is to educate them, give them the equipment, the resources not only to be critical thinkers but also to be informed citizens, to understand their obligations to each other and to the country. and so it's heartbreaking on so many levels. >> what do you see, though, as the line there, eddie, when universities are saying some of these protests have prevented

recently, we were joined by princeton professor eddie glaude jr.n learn from the great civil rights leaders of the 20th century. >> "we are the leaders we have been looking for." eddie looks back at a series of lectures he delivered at harvard over a decade ago that focused on martin luther king jr., malcolm x, and ella baker. eddie explores the question the trio posed, how to fight for justice in a post civil-rights era and in today's political ply climate. quote, "at the heart of the book is almost a cliche, if we are going to be the leaders we are looking for, we have to become better people." eddie, congratulations on the book. we've been anticipated this for a long time. it is here today. people can go pick it up today. what did you set out to do? i set the table a little bit, but specifically with this book, what did you want to say? >> really, i think we've outsourced, willie, our responsibility for democracy for too long. we've outsourced it to politicians, so-called prophets and heros, and we've given over our responsibility, our power. wh

eddie glaude, junior, chair of the princeton air african american studies department. j.son, former homeland security secretary, birmingham may aranda would fin montgomery mayor steven reid among others, and cedric richmond helped out as well. what does the white house believed that they must accomplish today? >> well, in also the biden administration's sent emissaries to morehouse to speak with students since in liters on campus currently, yeah. i think for the biden administration for president, biden, number one, i think he wants to have a speech that resonates, one that is seen as successful, one where he's seen as charismatic. one where he's seen as intune to what the needs of those graduates are as far as uplifting them and not just delivering a run of the mill campaign speech to your point. this is about the graduates and i i think one of the things that biden has heard, some of the pushback is about we want someone who's not coming in just to give us a campaign speech into grandstand. we want someone who's going to help us celebrate our commencement in addition to

eddie glaude is a professor in the department of african american studies at princeton university and a contributor and analyst and author of the new book, we are the leaders we have been looking for. karen attiah is a columnist with the washington post and adjunct lecturer at columbia university. thanks to both of you. >>> coming up, donald trump on trial and the campaign trail. why he is dipping his plans for a second term as president. plus, why one more six-week abortion ban could have an outsized impact on the south and i would hints at more trouble to come. >>> plus, jeannette walls joins me to discuss the glass castle, her important memoir of resilience and redemption on the band book club. another hour of "velshi" begins right now. right now. >>> good morning to you, it is saturday, may the fourth. week three has wrapped in the first criminal trial of donald trump. the republican party's twice impeached for four times impacted presumptive presidential nominee. he is the first former president to find himself facing a criminal trial and the possibility of spending time in jail.

joining us, eddie glaude, professor at princeton university and author and presidential historian, doris kearns goodwin. her latest boo is out now. one of many books she has written. >> this is an unprecedented moment for both the american legal system and presidential politics. what's your reaction? >> i think the reaction yesterday in listening to it was one of the moments when the -- you realize the hallmark of our system is a trial by jury. it seemed the case was fair. the judge was fair. a jury decided. then that jury decided and the judge said judge him as a defendant, not as somebody above the law. to hear the president come out now, it was an historic moment. it's a crisis moment in his legacy. not to have prepared a speech. you think about any other president or former president at that moment would have stayed up with a group of people trying to put the best touch on it. maybe trying to take responsibility. feeling sad for what has happened. spinning it as you want to. instead, it was the same thing he has been saying over and over, which is saying that the system is corrupt an

professor at princeton university and "new york times" best selling author, eddie glaude jr.he right lost its mind," charlie sykes. rev, we'll start with you. how do you think the president did at morehouse? >> i thought it was a very good speech. i thought that he really made some very key points, including his outright call for an immediate cease-fire. but i also think where he listed things like the george floyd justice and policing act, the voting rights act, specific things about how black unemployment is down in terms of record unemployment, so it was a substantive speech and inspirational. it was at a place that many of us see as sacred ground, martin luther king jr. came from morehouse, among many others. i thought it was the place to do it. i thought the students protested. it was a small amount, but they did it with the dignity that did not scar the school. at the same time, respected the graduation. i thought it was a win-win for both the students and for the president. >> one of the colleges, most esteemed graduates, eddie glaude jr., happens to be with us right n

has been seeking counsel from ms some morehouse alumni, prominent alumni, including a professor eddie glaude, cedric richmond, among others. and really the message that he's gotten is trying to find ways to celebrate these young men. of course, this is also a key voting for president biden black voters made up a core part of his support back in 2020, there have been some signs of narrowing in support among that group. so this will also be an important message those students have told us that they don't want to hear a campaign speech from president biden, but he very clearly faces a very delicate balancing act as he's trying to sell it labret, these students, even as there is frustration, discontent among some about his handling of the conflict in gaza. >> bachelor's degree in mathematics and neck. you told us about an hour ago the mood was one of excitement. i mean, this is a commencement. >> your outside of morehouse. >> what are you seeing isabel? >> it's been active here since even before the sun came up, a lot of excitement, this is a huge de, a big moment and auspicious day for so many

professor at princeton university and best-selling author eddie glaude jr. are the leaders we have been looking for." >> eddie, how is it going? >> going well. i'll be down in miami, the miami book festival. >> that's a good one. >> also with us, staff writer at "the atlantic," tom nichols. we have a lot to talk with him about, russia. he has an incredible piece about his cat. >> tom, i think the next james bond movie -- >> keep things moving. >> we had "the spy who loved me." ian fleming's family is going to look at your "atlantic" article with "the cat who saved me." >> so beautiful. that's carla. >> this is a beautiful story. we don't usually do cat stories here, i'm not going to lie. >> we should do more. >> i read it in "the atlantic," tom, and it was moving on so many fronts. tell us about the cat who literally saved your life. >> um, well, twice, really. i first met her 15, almost 15 years ago, and i was pretty down in the dumps, as i say in the story. i was divorced. i was broke. i was, you know, living in a kind of walk-up down by the waterfront. she