← The Beat with Ari Melber
The Beat with Ari Melber
Inflation Nears Punishing 4% Under Trump
00:41:12
Reverend Al Sharpton joins MS NOW's Ari Melber to discuss President Trump's economy, inflation, and rising gas prices.
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- [00:00]
Promotional Announcer
On May 15, Beth and Rip are back in a new series. Dutton Ranch, streaming on Paramount. Plus, Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser return, and this time they're taking on Texas as Beth and Rip begin to build a life together. Peace will have to wait as they face corruption, danger, and a ruthless rival ranch willing to protect its secrets at all costs. Legacy is a beautiful thing, but only if it survives. Dutton Ranch. Starring Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Annette Benning and ed Harris. Streaming May 15th on Paramount.
- [00:30]
Movie Trailer Narrator
Plus on May 29th, from focused features and the producers of Darkest Hour comes the untold true story of D Day. Facing the wrath of nature and with the largest seaborne invasion in history at stake, the fate of the war rests on the shoulders of two extraordinary men. One impossible decision. Featuring powerful performances from Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon and Damian Lewis, the untold True Story of D Day. Only in theaters May 29. Rated PG13. May be inappropriate for children under 13. Experience it in Dolby Cinema.
- [01:00]
Ari Melber
Welcome to the beat, everyone. I'm Ari Melberg. With Donald Trump trying to abuse power in ways that are catching up to him, we've been reporting on how some CEOs are standing up stronger and taller as compared to, say, last year. And now we have the rumor that Trump the leak that Trump might settle his own lawsuit against the irs. Now, this is a weird one and speaks to some of the inherent kind of everyday corruption that has been attempted to be normalized by Trump. The judge was pushing back, pointing out that Trump is suing entities whose decisions are subject to his direction. That's a legal version of saying, why are you suing yourself if you're suing the irs? And you, of course, run the Trump administration that oversees the IRS. Now, the judge has given Trump and the DOJ until May 20th to basically prove that this is legitimate, that it is actually possible for the private party citizen Donald Trump to bring this case against the government controlled by the Trump administration, and that that is a real and actual conflict which is required for this kind of case. Now, this matters in a bunch of ways because remember, Trump has been busted for dodging taxes. The IRS habitually does an audit of the president or vice president, which is a good thing to deal with potential corruption or other issues. You want to have a look at that? And one of the things that Trump was trying to do with this case was get out from under that the Times reports the administration might just settle before the deadline mentioned and they have teams that would try to get things done like that audit drop. Now, Congressman Raskin said Trump's DOJ also has now paid millions to FBI agents who are suspended, he argues legitimately for misconduct. That basically it's kind of like a political payoff to the very individuals who in this upside down world were supposed to be sanctioned, not rewarded. Group representing the agents, though, does push back. I want you to know what they said. The Post reporting, this whole thing, they view as a temper tantrum and that they're fighting for what they say is the proper process for these individuals. And that's not all. FBI Director Patel has been facing scrutiny for that story that we've been reporting on. And I mentioned CEOs fighting back. Rupert Murdoch pushing back on behalf of his Wall Street Journal and Fox News empire when sued by Trump in civil court. And now there was this big issue about whether the question being whether Donald Trump's DOJ went back at Murdoch again by trying to hassle Wall Street Journal reporters in that leak probe. Now, all of this put Patel back under the hot seat for a range of issues, by the way, but he's been grilled by the senators there over the reports that he is trying to basically hassle reporters, that it's not a legitimate probe, but rather a way to go at the Journal. And as always, we tell you, if there are denials or other sides of the story that are credible, we will include them. This is a denial under oath. And so I want you to hear what the FBI director is saying in response.
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Melissa Murray
There are reports that you're using FBI resources to investigate journalists. Can you commit to this committee today that no agent hours have been pulled from other work like counterterrorism or violent crime investigations, to work on matters related to negative press about you or your personal lawsuit center.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
I greatly appreciate the question. And I contended unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists.
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Ari Melber
Now, target is a term of art. It may be that they have the goal of hassling journalists without targeting them, but when he says they're also not investigating them, that would suggest that there is a limit there. Now, here's of course, the issue. The New York Times report about the same subject says the FBI is investigating a Times reporter after an article on Patel's girlfriend. That's in addition to the Wall Street Journal subpoenas that I mentioned. So you got a couple of things here that at least are involving journalists. But again, when sometimes people say in this era, well, maybe nothing matters or they don't care, well, clearly the director, at least under oath, wants to say they're not doing this, that they're not targeting the press, that they don't have an enemies list. Which reminds you that even for them, even by the standards of Kash Patel, there are some things that are bad enough that they would rather deny it than be seen as doing it. That's part of the rule of law and what we might call our civil and civic discussions thereof. Now, amid all of this, Trump's DOJ is also winding its way through the courts and finding a lot of turbulence. Politico reports that judges have ruled against some of the ICE detention practices, not ten or a hundred times, but ten thousand times in most of the cases, 90%. This was an exhaustive report that reminds you why if you've heard a little bit less about immigration lately or Stephen Miller taking a back seat, partly it's because in a slow, long term way, some of those drastic measures have been trimmed. Judges ruling against Trump more than eight times the amount they ever rule for him. So that's a lot of losses. Trump's doj, of course, is still trying to find ways around all of this. And that has included these ploys and tricks where they have acting prosecutors and temps trying to do things that the permanent people, the non partisan people, won't do. And other times really playing fast and loose with whether they have to follow all of these rulings. They've also drafted a legal opinion internally which says they think they have the power to take state voter rolls. Federal courts, though, have already ruled against that. And so the DOJ writing up its own internal memo about something that violates a court order is its itself a problem? The memo claims that they are authorized to compel states to produce their voter lists. DOJ says they want this in order to combat non citizens from being registered to vote or making it onto those roles. Now, if that is the reason, and that's a big if, they don't need to do this because we already have data and voluminous evidence from the state level that states already do that. And you just don't have a lot of folks ever making on the rolls who are non citizens. And so again, we want to show you the facts and the details, but it doesn't look like a good faith effort to actually prevent, say, voter fraud or secure the election. It looks just like the IRS case and some other things that they're trying like an effort to abuse power. I want to bring in Melissa Murray, law professor with NYU msnow analyst. Her new book, the US Constitution, a comprehensive and annotated guide for the modern reader is out now. You can get it? Wherever books are sold, the COVID almost looks like it's gonna be the Constitution, the US Constitution, and then it's a little bit of you as well.
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Melissa Murray
Well, the Constitution is in there too.
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Ari Melber
Sure. But I mean, someone might pick this up.
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Melissa Murray
It's like it's Melissa Murray Times. James Madison. The best collab you never knew you needed.
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Ari Melber
James Madison featuring Rock.
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Melissa Murray
Yes.
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Ari Melber
We love it.
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Melissa Murray
I love it.
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Ari Melber
So, yeah. Because you don't have to be a constitutional expert to know if it were the Constitution, it wouldn't be that dick.
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Melissa Murray
That's true.
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Ari Melber
You didn't know the news was gonna start with your book. We hope people like it. Onto the news. What does it tell you that the DOJ is trying these games?
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Melissa Murray
So the whole idea of the DOJ writing a memo that it's now citing, I mean, this is sort of like, you remember that Divino song, I cite myself or I touch myself. This is like I cite myself. The DOJ is like writing memos to cite for the proposition that the President has this authority to compel the state states to turn over this voter registration data and give it to dhs. And lower federal courts have said that they don't. The fact that the 6th Circuit has fast tracked this question for appeal suggests that this is a really live issue, and it's one that can really upend the infrastructure of federal elections going forward. If there is an opportunity for the executive and the DOJ to use this information and then turn it over and use it in homeland Security for whatever reason, as you say, there is no evidence that elections are being overrun by fraud by people who are voting, who are not supposed to be voting. So this all seems a little pretextual, but it's worse than a pretext because here you actually have the DOJ furnishing the evidence itself of the authority that it has to do this, which is just not something that you see. This would basically be like my students grading themselves and then putting it on their transcripts.
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Ari Melber
The other news from the FBI director, very low bar. But unlike, say, the President he serves, who admits to unconstitutional plots in public regularly, what does it tell you that Director Patel, who's been embattled for a number of reasons, really wanted to say, hey, no, even if it's popular on the right, or from his boss to go after the free press and the First Amendment, he claims they're not.
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Melissa Murray
Well, I mean, again, you can go after the free press in a lot of different ways. So Cash Patel is at great pains to disclaim the prospect that they are targeting journalists. I'm not sure that they even need to. The President and this administration, through a series of lawsuits, has basically cowed media institutions into submission. As we know, there is an important precedent on the books, New York Times versus Sullivan, that says that in order to establish defamation, you have to show that the person who allegedly defamed you acted with actual malice. It's a very high standard. It is the bedrock of a free press in the United States. It's what distinguishes the free press in the United States from press in the UK and whatnot. But Donald Trump hates this decision. And he has tried to sort of get cases to the Supreme Court to overrule it. Hasn't worked. He's managed to do it through these settlements, though, with these media institutions, like for example, that ABC News settlement around George Stephanopoulos allegedly defaming him by calling him like, instead of saying sexual abuse, by basically getting ABC to settle. And he confirms perhaps to the public that something wrong has happened and that he has been injured in the way that a defamation suit that had been successful might have confirmed his injury. So through these settlements, he's managed to backdoor his way into getting the kind of outcome he wants. He gets to cow these media institutions. He gets to ensure their silence going forward and to limit their dissent to his policies. And he also gets to basically confirm that he has been the injured party. So they're already targeting the media. They're just not doing it directly.
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Ari Melber
Yeah. And I think that's a good primer. And some are cowed and some are not. And even Disney, ABC is less cowed lately.
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Melissa Murray
Lately.
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Ari Melber
Maybe they're a little more, you know, cast, I don't know.
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Melissa Murray
But not every news organization is going to have the resources.
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Ari Melber
No, I agree. I agree with the problem set you're mentioning.
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Melissa Murray
Problem.
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Ari Melber
But Patel doesn't want to say he's a part of this. Does that mean that there's some line there? I mean, we hear so much about how nothing matters. You've told us some of your lawsuits say, well, haha, the rules.
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Melissa Murray
Josh Patel's kind of on the ropes right now.
- [11:31]
Ari Melber
Yeah. So I'm asking, what do you, what do you think of that?
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Melissa Murray
Is that maybe he's looking for like, what comes next for him when he is no longer FBI director. If that is something that is in the offing for him, I think for the American public, the idea of a free press is bedrock. And the idea that you would target journalists for doing their job is a line in the sand that we ought not cross. This is not something that seems American. And I think the fact that he was at great pains to disclaim that today speaks to that. But again, I want to emphasize whatever he says. This administration is still trying to cow the press every single day.
- [12:03]
Ari Melber
Right. And you're echoing something our colleague Rachel talks about. Watch what they do, not what they say. But it is important as the, as the Trump approval crashes and we're reminded and people say, wait, are you alone? Are you crazy? Actually, no. The country is against, particularly the idea that the government, the big government's going to pick our comedians and control what's on our airwaves.
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Melissa Murray
It seems anathema. It seems un American. It is exactly the kind of thing the First Amendment was intended to meant.
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Ari Melber
Because I'm jumping around with you and we love starting the show with you because you got expertise. I want to show a little bit of the president talking about this, this strange thing where the judge really was saying on the IRS front, wait, is this even a case like who's suing who and who are you? Which in the case of a president is one of these interesting legal questions of are you a person, you're a taxpayer, you're also overseeing the tax function. So here was this mother.
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Melissa Murray
About what is going to be on both sides.
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Ari Melber
It's very interesting.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
I have another one where, you know,
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Ari Melber
virtually won the Mar a Lago break incident.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
And, you know, I had to work out some kind of a settlement. I'm supposed to work out a settlement with myself.
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Ari Melber
I'm supposed to work out a settlement with myself.
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Melissa Murray
Your thoughts said nobody ever. So to get into federal court and to stay in federal court, you have to have what's known as standing. Standing requires a lot of things and injury, but it also requires adversity among the parties. When you are the President of the United States, even if you file this lawsuit in your personal capacity, the fact that you over oversee the IRS and now maybe negotiating a settlement with this department that you oversee, means that there's no real adversity here. You're not at odds with each other. You're contiguous with each other. In fact, the president controls the irs. It is part of the executive branch. Therefore, a lawsuit pitting the President, even in his personal capacity against an agency that he overreach the overseas would confound, I think traditional practices of standing for Article 3 federal courts. I think this one is going to be really hard for the President to sustain.
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Ari Melber
So translation, because you can't necessarily sue and settle yourself, he would be, well, let me, let Me, he would be dismissed and thus lose the case. He would have lack standing and the case would go away.
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Melissa Murray
The case might, well, the case might go away for want of standing just because the President in his personal capacity is overseeing the irs. Although there could be other ways to reframe this. Maybe a trust that the President is not involved with then. But again, that could still raise the problem with self dealing and corruption because he still oversees the administrative agency. Again, this is an ongoing issue with a president who has really become the plaintiff in chief.
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Ari Melber
And south park makes fun of him as like this whiner. I mean, we have this headline banner on the screen. It's a little meta to talk about it while we're here, but here we go. Judge asked Trump if he's suing himself. I mean, it's. Because it's, it's bananas. And then this is amidst. And this is, you get the final word amidst the climate where people are struggling and they're paying high prices and they got gas concerns, they got all these other things. And he's over here trying to use what looks like a trick. I mean, we'll cover the case where it goes. So it currently hasn't been completely detonated yet, but what looks like a trick to get himself a tax benefit while people are suffering.
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Melissa Murray
So I've spoken about the jurisdictional questions here about the President suing in his personal capacity, but ultimately having it being resolved in the context where he has real, you know, an actual official capacity. There's also enormous ethical questions here about the President reaching a settlement with an agency that he controls that gives him enormous benefits. Like this is a stunning opportunity for unprecedented self dealing and corruption. And I think that is also what the judge is like. Just the question of jurisdiction and the President suing himself in an agency he controls, but also what it means to allow the President to go forward and do that.
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Ari Melber
I'm gonna close with some true compliments, which are the best kind. You're a legal expert, you're very smart. You're an author.
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Melissa Murray
Arthur Arthur, author. Thank you. I appreciate that. That's the whole thing.
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Ari Melber
That was it. Did you want more than that?
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Melissa Murray
I mean, with you, you never know
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Ari Melber
what you're gonna get. All right, I get it. Well, we love to see our guests win. And congratulations on the win.
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Melissa Murray
Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
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Ari Melber
Thank you, Professor. We're gonna put in a quick break. And we're back in 90 seconds.
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Promotional Announcer
On May 15th, Beth and Rip are back in a new series, Dutton Ranch, streaming on Paramount. Plus Kelly Reilly and Cole Hower return. And this time they're taking on Texas as Beth and Rip begin to build a life together. Peace will have to wait as they face corruption, danger and a ruthless rival ranch willing to protect its secrets at all costs. Legacy is a beautiful thing, but only if it survives. Dutton Ranch Starring Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Annette Bening and ed Harris. Streaming May 15th on Paramount on May 29th.
- [17:02]
Movie Trailer Narrator
From focused features and the producers of Darkest Hour comes pressure. The Untold True Story of D Day. Facing the wrath of nature and with the largest seaborne invasion in history at stake, the fate of the war rests on the shoulders of two extraordinary men. One impossible decision. Featuring powerful performances from Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon and Damian Lewis. The Untold True Story of D Day Only in theaters May 29. Rated PG13 may be inappropriate for children under 13. Experience it in Dolby Cinema, home to
- [17:31]
Ms. Now Network Announcer
the Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, the Briefing with Jen Psaki and more. Voices you know and trust. Ms. Now is your source for news, opinion and the world. Learn more at Ms. Now
- [17:46]
Ari Melber
we are back. Melissa Murray is here. I wanted to turn to the other legal issue that we were planning to get to, which is choice and women's health. Someone you know well that we also rely on Joyce Vance or U.S. attorney rights. We could see anything in this coming days of an unsigned Supreme Court decision that would permit the law to go into effect while litigation proceeds to something more substantive regarding whether women can take what is a very common way to end early pregnancy. If the court goes the latter route, it's unlikely it would dig too deep without hearing this case. We've heard about the shadow docket, which is a related thing. I don't want to go deep into that, but the idea that even the court could remove what is a currently available health care treatment option for women in this manner without taking a full briefing in case even that seems quite extreme. Can you prime us for. Yeah, go ahead.
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Melissa Murray
When you have six, they let you do what you want. As they say, I don't know. I don't know that we can rule out anything from this conservative 6 to 3 supermajority. So the substack post that you're referring to, Joyce wrote about the fifth Circuit's decision basically imposing a nationwide ban on mifepristone, which is the first drug in the two drug medication abortion protocol. This has been a major way for women to terminate pregnancies in the wake of Dobbs and the overruling of Roe vs Wade. It's also a major tool for miscarriage management, and one in three women suffers and loses a pregnancy.
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Ari Melber
So effectively something close to a national abortion ban.
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Melissa Murray
A national abortion ban for that tool. It was immediately appealed by the makers of mifepristone, Danko and GenBio Pro to the Supreme Court. Justice Alito, who is the Circuit justice for the Fifth Circuit, issued a stay. That stay expired on Monday. It has been extended to Thursday. So on Thursday, we will get more clarity on what the Court is likely to do. One of the things that Joyce noted is that the Court could allow the Fifth Circuit's decision to continue while this litigation plays out, which would mean there would be a nationwide ban on mifepristone being distributed through telehealth or in the mails in the United States until this litigation percolates its way back up to the Supreme Court. Or it could issue a stay that would be lifting the ban that the Fifth Circuit is imposed and let the status quo, which has allowed this medication to be distributed via telehealth and through the mails while the litigation is pending. That's up to the Court. All of that could happen on the shadow docket with very little explanation. Another alternative that Joyce raises, I think, is also one that we haven't talked about in a long time is that we have the Comstock act, which is still on the books, and it prevents the distribution of articles meant for, quote, unquote, immoral purposes to be distributed through the mails. And all you need is a Department of justice that's willing to do this. And I think post midterms, we might get that kind of Department of Justice that would be willing to enforce the Comstock act, which has been lying dormant for years, as a kind of zombie law.
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Ari Melber
Yeah, it's really sobering, and it speaks to how, you know, you have to really look at what the agenda is and what you said. Yeah, six Justices willing to not only go this far, but do it outside of any regular order or real substantive process, which to me, I mean, we're running out of time, suggests that they don't even care about looking legitimate.
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Melissa Murray
Well, I mean, the Chief justice the other day was at the Third Circuit Judicial Conference, and he was bemoaning this idea that the public thinks the Court is just doing politics, it's not doing law. But I think when you have decisions like this, I don't know that you have any other conclusion as a member of the public, that you could draw the fact that they overruled Roe versus Wade the minute they had a 6 to 3 conservative super majority, the fact that they overruled affirmative action, Chevron deference while doing it. I mean, these are all pet projects of the right. And they all happened as soon as the court had the votes to do it.
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Ari Melber
Yeah. As mentioned, we learned a lot from you. Pastor Murray, thank you.
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Melissa Murray
Thanks for having me.
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Ari Melber
On several topics. Let me tell folks what's coming up because we have video of Donald Trump falling asleep. It's gone viral. People were in the room. A secret United States intelligence assessment that suggests they are not being straight with you about this now costly war and Republicans on defense. While Trump commits another gaffe about finances. I don't think about Americans financial situation. I don't think about anybody. Al Sharvin's here next.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
The MAGA party is the last breath of the Confederacy and I'll be happy to see millennials and Gen C burial. There will be no more of your party. The midterms gonna come, y' all gonna get wiped out. Trump gonna get dragged out of the White House and I'm gonna love every second because y' all loved every second of the suffering that he caused everybody in this country.
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Ari Melber
Starting on day one, we will end
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Rev. Al Sharpton
inflation and make America affordable again.
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Melissa Murray
Mr. President, to what extent are American financial situations motivating you to make a deal?
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Ari Melber
Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about American financial situation. I don't think about anybody. He doesn't think about Americans financial situations. In the pantheon of presidential gaffes, this is a big one. And there is a narrative, I've told you, where people say, oh, Trump gets away with everything. Nobody cares. And then there's the reality that his polls are crashing. Republicans retiring, Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson saying he's quote, evil and they're done with him. And we're still in the beginning of this. Donald Trump's already crashed the worst second term approval of any president since we've been measuring. And comments like this obviously doesn't don't help Democrats hitting him for it.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
It's good to see Donald Trump telling
- [23:34]
Ari Melber
him truth about something.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
Donald Trump has made clear that he and the Republican Party don't give a damn about the personal finances of the American people.
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Melissa Murray
I don't see how he has time to think about the financial prospects of the American working class when he's spending all of his time thinking about how to enrich himself.
- [23:52]
Ari Melber
He's not even trying. No, he's listening. It doesn't matter.
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Rev. Al Sharpton
To me, he's certainly not focused on the everyday costs of struggling working families. Costs have gone up and it's a direct result of Republican policies.
- [24:07]
Ari Melber
Here are the numbers. Groceries, gas, energy prices, regular consumer goods are all up. 59% of Americans view the economy as getting worse. And a whopping three quarters of the country blames Trump. 77%. I mean, that is just an overwhelming show of unity in our divided times, that this is Trump's fault. As inflation ticks up near 4%, a three year high, here's how it's playing on Fox.
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Matt Mahan
Food prices, grocery prices, core inflation, those numbers are up.
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Melissa Murray
We are now deeper in the red. Markets do not like what they're seeing.
- [24:44]
Ari Melber
This is pretty devastating, actually. Now, you might expect any politician in any party in any decade to say, I hear you, we're working on it, I'm thinking about it, I feel your pain. Yada, yada, yada. The phrases sort of write themselves, right? But Donald Trump has this problem where he often does blurt things that are true. Washington Post said he's been caught in more lies than any other public official ever. So he does lie a lot, but then he blurts things that are true. You heard the Democrats there saying this is true. He doesn't think about it, he doesn't care. And Republicans have a problem at a time where they don't want to be tied to that. And they've been asked about this gap. The President thinks about American's financial situation.
- [25:30]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Every time I talk to him, he's focused on affordability.
- [25:33]
Matt Mahan
I didn't see that.
- [25:35]
Rev. Al Sharpton
He's got a lot on his plate, including the war.
- [25:38]
Ari Melber
When we get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, that will alleviate a lot of pressure with gas prices and other things in the economy. That's the Speaker's view. Here's some reporting. Iran has restored the operational access to the vast majority of its missile sites. That's 30 out of 33 if you're counting. And the New York Times did. That's a long ways from what Trump and his Pentagon were pushing. The idea that even though people are paying a lot and there's no end in sight and we got a bad situation because the strait is closed when it used to be open. At least, at least they've obliterated a lot of Iran's weapons potential. It's not even true. I'm joined now by Reverend Al Sharpton, the host of Politics Nation and President, the National Action Network. I went through all that. It makes him look bad, but it's all true. I Mean, I just went through the numbers and what he's saying and why Republicans are running from what Trump is saying. Your view tonight, when you look at
- [26:37]
Rev. Al Sharpton
the president saying out of his own mouth that he's not thinking about caring about the financial status of Americans while he was headed to China with his billionaire buddies as his friends, going with him to cut whatever deal that is there, that the purpose of them going, I mean, you have to stop and ask yourself now, I don't care. I'm not concerned with America's finances, but I am concerned about Elon Musk and the two or three other billionaires that I'm going to bring with me that need to get their deals straight strait with China. So how contemptible is that to the American people? He didn't just say this now at some backward rally somewhere. He said this on his way to hook up with his billionaire boys and board, Air Force One that we're paying for to go over to China to try and work out some energy deals, some technology deals and all. Otherwise, there's no reason for them to be there. If any other president had done this, he would be the first one calling for their impeachment. This is like spitting in the face of Americans. It's bad enough you're rolling up the gas stations and the price is 450 up. It's bad enough groceries are up, but now you have the guy you voted for if you're in a red state or if you're a member of MAGA saying, I'm not thinking about you. Come on, Elon, come on. I'm going to get these deals. Let's talk to Xi about getting some of this business straight. And he's saying it out loud.
- [28:06]
Ari Melber
Hmm. You know, we've talked and you've lived a career that, that looks at the slow march of public opinion on civil rights, marriage equality. That could take decades. What does it tell you when we look at $29 billion for this war and the gas reaction that in a matter of weeks people went from skeptical concern, I mean, nobody was welcoming it to now just a country, including Tucker and the folks I mentioned, just wholly against this war.
- [28:31]
Rev. Al Sharpton
I think that what it shows is that one, Americans are a lot wiser and a lot more informed. Second, they were over promised by Trump in the first place. So if you're looking for, if you're a child and daddy promised you a pony and he shows up with a squirrel, you're disappointed because it's not what you were looking for. And third is because he is so blatant and open with it. We've never had a president that would openly show how he does not care about the average American, doesn't understand what they're going through and really has no compassion for them. I think that combination cut the calendar because you don't have someone trying to act compassionate or act like I'm getting it or act like I feel your pain. You have somebody that's saying, oh, you're hurting. Oh, well, that's too bad. I've got this deal to cut. I'm doing this, I'm doing that. And I think that even the most avid fan of Donald Trump has to question themselves and the rest of them have to say, this is not what we bargained for.
- [29:37]
Ari Melber
Yeah. And it's, it's such a fast, seismic shift. I'm going to ask you a question and get your answer. On the other side, as they say, the question is, with all of this crashing, if we had a parliamentary system, if we were like England and they held a snap vote today, would Donald Trump survive it? Because that's just the rules. Lawyers always say, you know, show me the rules, I'll show you the winner. Would he even survive a confidence vote? Today we're going to get more rev on the other side.
- [30:11]
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- [30:27]
Rev. Al Sharpton
that's. That's bull crap.
- [30:28]
Ari Melber
He doesn't care about our situation. He doesn't. He's just here for pride and ego. He's not lying and he proves it. Not only that, but also, like food stamps and other stuff. He does not care about our financial situation. The fact that he said that he doesn't care about America's financial situation, that's ridiculous. He's, you know, he's a pompous idiot.
- [30:47]
Melissa Murray
You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Of course the American pockets don't mean anything to you.
- [30:53]
Ari Melber
Americans react to Donald Trump's economy and his comments. We're back with Rev Sharp and the question was, if we were just a different system like England, if there was a vote, would Trump even survive a no confidence vote today?
- [31:05]
Rev. Al Sharpton
My guess would be he wouldn't because you have some of his major cheerleaders that would have been screaming in the House of Commons, if we're using that as example on his behalf, that are now screaming on the other side, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, like Tucker Carson. But when you start seeing people In South Carolina legislation, legislators saying, well, I don't know if we can do what the president wants us to do to cut up Jim Clyburn's district. Now, we don't know where they're going to find the land. But even the fact there's a pause tells me in that kind of situation, if we had the House of Commons, he wouldn't have enough people yelling on the other side. Because he has not only hurt the American public and said, I don't care, he has put a knife in the back of his own Republican fellow officeholders. And he says, I don't care about y'.
- [31:59]
Melissa Murray
All.
- [32:00]
Rev. Al Sharpton
I don't care how your districts end up. I don't care what you've got to try to sell in November during the midterms, I'm going to do me, and if you don't like it, I'll get up at. Well, he maybe hadn't gone to bed at 1 in the morning. And I'll write about you on social media and then I'll take a nap in the, in the next day in the middle of our meetings.
- [32:22]
Ari Melber
Now, Rev, they say it was an alleged nap.
- [32:25]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Well, if it looks like a nap, it appears like a nap. And you're nodding like a nap is a nap.
- [32:32]
Ari Melber
Respect. And in my, in my day, people who are telling you, oh, I didn't snore, I wasn't asleep. I have a family member. I'm not going to say who, who used to say, well, I was just resting my eyes.
- [32:42]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Yeah, I've had that.
- [32:44]
Ari Melber
Yeah, here it is. I was just resting my eyes. And it's like, okay, come on.
- [32:48]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Now you're just resting his eyes in the middle of everything going on, and then a little nod. So, I mean, this is a president that stays up all night on social media and nods off every time during the day.
- [33:02]
Ari Melber
It's fair, right? You know, it's funny because you just said something very precise. Let's, we'll put it back up. We'll, you know, we'll do it live as, as your friend Bill used to say. Right. We're actually going to run the, run the video again. Unlike other Presidents, he posts 30, 40 times in the, in the evening.
- [33:21]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Right.
- [33:21]
Ari Melber
And we see it. And he says it's him. He doesn't deny it. So we actually know why he might be tired. To your point, he's allegedly sleeping on the job, literally, because we know that all night he was posting hate and lies. That's what kept him up instead of doing the people's business. I Mean, it's quite that literal, isn't it?
- [33:39]
Rev. Al Sharpton
That is literally what happens. You see the time of his truth, social media postings. There's no staff there. There's no one to say, Mr. President, be careful. So he enjoys doing that. It's the real Trump. This is who he really is. In the middle of the night with no kind of boundaries, nobody around him. And he gives all of the venom he can all night to where he's exhausted the next day when he's taking care of things like dealing with the war in the straits of Hormuz and all that. I'm tired. I've been up all night calling people names that are my political enemies. That's my problem.
- [34:17]
Ari Melber
And we know why. And look, you, you run it back. You know everybody. I always tell folks in New York, Rev knows everybody. You remember Nas and famously said, I never sleep because sleep is the cousin of death. You know, you want to, you want to stay up, right? Especially if you're dealing with real stuff. And apparently he didn't get the memo.
- [34:36]
Rev. Al Sharpton
He didn't get the memo. But I will send him some Nas. Oh, no, I don't want him to write against Nas. Let's leave it there.
- [34:44]
Ari Melber
Yeah, we don't need a. We don't need a revived Trump ether battle. I mean, Trump might have been better served to just be a battle rapper and just insult other people and just save the whole government thing. You know, that could have been a fruitful time for him.
- [34:57]
Rev. Al Sharpton
Well, I don't know if it had been better for him, but it certainly would have been better for us.
- [35:03]
Ari Melber
We love seeing you, Rev Al Sharpton here on many topics appreciated. When we come back, we're going to show you even more. Yes. Because everybody's been talking about it. Late night reaction to Napgate. And by the end of the hour, we take an eye on these primaries heading into the midterms.
- [35:22]
Melissa Murray
I don't know how anyone can see what he posts or watch him in any meeting and think that he's fit for office. I'm absolutely concerned about it and I know my Republican colleagues are too. They just won't say it out loud.
- [35:38]
Ari Melber
Some won't say it, but we're hearing it more and more. The public is concerned and Donald Trump is not, not responding the way you'd want if you were concerned about someone's mental acuity and they said, I hear you. Let me tighten up at work or on their personal time. That's not what we're getting. Remember, too many things become normalized. I've told you that it is strange and concerning, but also ridiculous and the kind of baroque symbol of the Trump era. We're in that he stays up all night posting all this stuff. The Wall Street Journal reporting that the recurring online rants are a window into Trump's mind and serious outlets are documenting it. They note that the current latest spree was 55 messages sent between 10:14pm and 1:12am Monday night into Tuesday. Imagine if you're a parent and you had a teenager posting 55 times in public. That's before you even get into the content. Journal also notes on December 1st, from 8:17 until midnight, the President's account posted 160 times. Some question whether this is manic unhinged behavior. In the news spree, he said things that are if attempted Watergate level scandals, he said that President Obama should be indicted. He posted misleading propaganda going after Democrats. He had these AI images that again have gotten him into trouble before we've stamped the AI generated. He didn't. It's for example, a type of violation to post any sort of misleading legal tender, let alone the President. That's him imagining himself on a bill. And of course you see over there being added to Rushmore. The comics are having a field day. It's actually nice when Trump's in China because with the time change, his 2am truth social rants are at a normal time. Trump prepped for his enormously consequential state visit by staying up late on social media, gunking up the Internet tubes with a waterfall of paranoid madness. My God, when does this man sleep? Oh, right, right. I forgot Colbert joking about that. Al Sharpton says if it looks like an app, it seems like an app on the news. The way we put it is he appeared to doze off. You can see the eyes closed, the head nod. This is as there is volume and people behind him. And it's not like he's out of control of his schedule. If he was really tired and knew it, he couldn't manage that. This is one of his few public appearances and that made for more material. Trump is falling asleep in the middle of meetings, but he's not as bad as Joe Biden. Okay, remember Sleepy Joe? He was snoozing while inflation just skyrocketed. This is completely different today.
- [38:31]
Melissa Murray
New inflation numbers at the highest level in nearly three years.
- [38:36]
Ari Melber
Well, well, well. Looks like the Sleepy Joe er has become the sleepy Joe E. I guess all of the criticisms and insults he leveled, they just sort of come back on himself, right? Sleepy Don, we're going to fit in a break. Democrats, though, are bullish about these upcoming elections. And I've got a Democratic candidate next. Democrats are eyeing the midterms and other local races. And the primaries lead into that. When you think about one of the Democrats who's emerged as kind of the big counterweight to Trump, no matter who runs for president, next time it might be California Governor Newsom. And that, of course, comes out of one of the top positions in all of local and state politics because California governor runs, of course, America's most populous state. It's also counted on its own the fourth largest economy in the world. That's part of why Newsom, of course, has taken center stage. Now to replace him, we have Democrats like a Biden vet, Sarah Congresswoman Porter, a billionaire who ran for president. You might remember, sire, former Mayor Antonio Villaragoza. He's been on this program. Another mayor, Matt Mahant. Former Congressman Swalwell, of course, recently dropped out amid scandal. Republican candidates include a Fox News veteran, Steve Hilton. Now, this primary is coming up in a couple weeks, June 2nd. And as we turn to what's going on out there, we are joined by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. He's the Democrat running for California governor. Welcome.
- [40:07]
Matt Mahan
Thanks, Ari. Great to be here with you.
- [40:10]
Ari Melber
What would you do as governor and would it be different than the current governor I mentioned?
- [40:18]
Matt Mahan
Well, Ari, thanks for having me. Look, we're going to build on what Governor Newsom's done and we're going to fight back against an authoritarian administration that's harming Californians and working people across this country to feed his ego and score cheap political points, whether it's his tariffs who are punishing our farmers, a war in Iran that still can't understand what we're doing there. And we're paying for it at the pump. Gavin Newsom has led the resistance. And in addition to using the courts and the bully pulpit and all of the tools at our disposal, I also have tried to make the case in this race that the best resistance to Donald Trump is delivering results. California needs to lead the way by building more housing, upgrading our energy grid, improving our public schools, and showing that our values of inclusivity actually work in practice, that we actually can create a better quality of life, more affordable life for people. It's all about opportunity.
- [41:17]
Ari Melber
A lot of people around the around the country know about Newsom from going after Trump. You sort of criticized him as being a little too much, too much of a Trump echo. Ditch the Internet memes. Why was that important for you to Say you're not running directly against him, of course. And what does that say about the type of leadership you want Democrats to pursue looking towards the next election?
- [41:39]
Matt Mahan
Well, I want us to use all of the tools in the toolkit to make life better for people. And as the mayor of the third largest city in California, California, I simply wanted to deliver the message that in addition to holding a mirror up to Trump and look, I think what Governor Newsom's been doing is very important and we're using the courts as well. I've sued the Trump administration. I appreciate the governor and our AG's efforts to fight back through the courts. But let's be honest. Donald Trump thrives and his movement, this MAGA movement thrives when Democrats fail to deliver results in people's lives. And I have been laser focused as mayor of San Jose. And you've seen some other emerging mayors like Mayor Lurie in San Francisco who also get. And we need our next governor in Sacramento to be in lockstep with us that we have to end the era of encampments and get everybody indoors into shelter and treatment. We have to remove barriers to building housing so that middle class and working families can thrive in California again. We have to be accountable ourselves for delivering that higher quality of life and upward mobility that has drawn people to the Golden State.
- [42:47]
Ari Melber
And now I got, I got 40 seconds. Kind of tough, but how do you lower prices and create jobs in California?
- [42:56]
Matt Mahan
Well, in California today, we've ironically got a regulatory environment that has sometimes backfired, sometimes to achieve our climate goals. We've got long time regulations that prevent us from even upgrading our energy grid. If we're going to deliver high speed rail clean energy, the housing we need, we've got to make it easier to build and invest in the things that we so desperately need in our state. That's what I'll do because I've done it as mayor of San Jose. We're building thousands of homes and creating more space and opportunity for working people. That's what California's got to deliver in the years ahead.
- [43:31]
Ari Melber
Yeah, really interesting. We talk of course, a lot in the news about these upcoming races. The primaries of course got a lot of candidates. So hearing directly from one is appreciated. Matt Mahan, thanks for joining us.
- [43:40]
Matt Mahan
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
- [43:42]
Ari Melber
Absolutely.
- [43:43]
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