← The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
Trump & allies make excuses for Signal leak
00:41:25
Tonight on The Last Word: Democrats call for Pete Hegseth to resign over the Signal leak. Also, the race for the House seat vacated by Mike Waltz is closer than expected. Plus, Elon Musk is pouring millions into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. And Republicans are scrambling as Democrats win special elections. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara McQuade, Josh Weil, Ben Wikler, Pennsylvania State Sen.-elect James Malone, and Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton join Symone Sanders.
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- [00:01]
Jeff Lewis
Hey, this is Jeff Lewis from Radio.
- [00:03]
Simone Sanders
Andy live and uncensored.
- [00:04]
Jeff Lewis
Catch me talking with my friends about my latest obsessions, relationship issues and bodily ailments. With that kind of drama that seems.
- [00:11]
Marco Rubio
To follow me, you never know what's going to happen.
- [00:13]
Simone Sanders
You can listen to Jeff Lewis live at home or anywhere you are. Download the SiriusXM app for over 425 channels of ad free music, sports, entertainment and more. Subscribe now and get 3 months free offer details. Apply.
- [00:32]
Marco Rubio
At Designer Shoe Warehouse. We believe that shoes are an important.
- [00:36]
Pete Hegseth
Part of, well, everything from first steps to first dates, from all nighters to all time personal bests, from building pillow.
- [00:45]
Barbara McQuaid
Forts to building a life for all.
- [00:47]
Pete Hegseth
The big and small moments that make up your whole world. DSW is there and we've got just the shoes. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love at brag worthy prices at your DSW store or dsw.com tonight.
- [01:04]
Simone Sanders
The great Simone Sanders is filling in for Lawrence on the last word. Good evening, Simone. Good evening, Rachel. I too was worried about Lawrence when they first asked me to pull double duty today. And I said, is Lawrence all right? Do we need to call someone? And they assured me that Lawrence was just fine. That's a. Well, the first time when I heard that he wasn't going to be back, I don't know why, my immediate first.
- [01:24]
Barbara McQuaid
Question was is he still in the country?
- [01:27]
Simone Sanders
Like, I don't know if I thought.
- [01:28]
Barbara McQuaid
He had been like spirited away or something.
- [01:30]
Simone Sanders
He is home. Well, Rachel, given the news, given the news, Rachel, these are questions we have to ask, but I'm glad that Lawrence is all right. We all go to dark places. Yes, exactly. Well, you had an excellent show. Thank you so much. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you. Thanks, Simone. Greetings, everyone. Tonight, Republicans, well, they're either denying or staying silent on the biggest national security failure of the Trump administration to date. But the folks at town halls, they have a lot to say. Here is the big and loud crowd that showed up at a town hall rally headlined by Tim waltz and Beto O'Rourke in Texas tonight.
- [02:09]
Tim Walz
So last Friday, just to bring everybody back to the same page, you have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary in the Oval Office announcing God only knows what. You can't really understand these folks, but Pete Hegseth says he's talking about America. He says under the previous administration we look like fools. And then, and then in his best Fox News weekend anchor voice, he says not anymore. Three days later. Three days later, that guy across an unsecured group chat on a commercial platform is texting detailed attack plans putting the men and women of the United States military in harm's way as we ask them to go halfway across the world to secure our interests and to defend this country.
- [03:25]
Simone Sanders
Democrats, this is the way. Do not back down, do not let up, demand accountability for accidentally texting imminent military attack plans to a civilian on signal for putting American troops in harm's way. And by the way, the whole group chat was an effort to evade federal law and administration record keeping. Now that the screenshots have been released, the usual Trump playbook of lie, deny and deflect is falling flat. And the biggest change to the Donald Trump playbook. He spoke to the cameras just once today at a pre scheduled Ramadan dinner at the White House. Just one appearance for a guy who for the last 60 something days has had the cameras rushed into the Oval multiple times to listen to him expound on whatever. It was a tactic to keep whatever Trump wanted to talk about front and center in news coverage. Trump said nothing about the accidentally text attack plans tonight. Maybe it was because this actual crisis of at the very least staff judgment, if not national security exposed. He has no idea what's actually going on.
- [04:34]
Donald Trump
I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time. It wasn't classified as I understand it. There was no classified information. There was no problem. I want to find if there's any mistake or if a signal doesn't work. It could be that signal's not very good. He is doing a great job. He had nothing to do with this. How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do. Look, look, it's all a witch hunt.
- [04:58]
Simone Sanders
Do you still believe nothing classified was shared?
- [05:01]
Donald Trump
Well, that's what I've heard.
- [05:02]
Simone Sanders
I don't know. I'm not sure.
- [05:03]
Donald Trump
You have to ask the various people involved. I really don't know.
- [05:07]
Simone Sanders
If Donald Trump doesn't know, who does? Who is running the country? Why is the president not accountable? What is going on? These are all questions folks should be asking, you know. According to reporting today, Trump might now believe that he actually has a Mike Walz problem. Trump's national security adviser Michael Walz has admitted that he was the one who added Jeffrey Goldberg to the message group. NBC News is reporting that Trump expressed frustration with Walz in his conversations with people today about his decision to withdraw. Representative Elise Stefanik's nomination to be the United nations ambassador is according to two Republican sources which knowledge of the conversations Donald Trump is apparently angry that Waltz fumbled the signal group chat and annoyed that the race to replace Waltz's seat in Florida is shaping up to be a little tighter than it should be for Republicans. Gonna have more on that race later in the hour. The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, was a member of the chat, and here's what he's saying about it.
- [06:04]
Marco Rubio
Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain't supposed to be on that thing.
- [06:13]
Josh Will
So they got on there and this happened.
- [06:16]
Simone Sanders
The big mistake was that Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the attack plan chat. Marco Rubio never told Pete Hegseth in that chat, hey, let's take this to a more secure communication. Hey, perhaps this should be an in person meeting. None of the Trump senior officials in the chat said anything about this not being the right place to share the war plans information. I used to work in the White House. I can tell you that's not how it's supposed to go. The Donald Trump administration, they may want us to turn a blind eye to the national security threat happening here, but we're not. The courts sure aren't. This afternoon, a federal judge ordered the National Archives and five of Donald Trump's cabinet members who participated in that signal chat to preserve all of their signal communications that happened between March 11th and March 15th. The federal judge behind that order, Chief U.S. district Judge James Bolzberg. That is the same judge in a showdown with the Trump administration over its possible defiance of his court order to turn around planes deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. You might remember that Donald Trump's Department of Justice claimed that his order in that case somehow didn't count because Judge Bolzberg delivered it verbally from the bench during a court hearing. Well, this time, Judge Boasberg isn't giving the Trump administration any excuses not to preserve their text messages. Don't worry, it'll be in writing, judge Boasberg said as he delivered his ruling. The judge has since issued his written order for the defendants, naming CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the National Archives, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his capacity is acting archivists to, quote, promptly make best efforts to preserve all Signal Communications from March 11th to 15th, 2025. The Trump administration must describe their efforts to comply with that order in a sworn declaration on Monday. Now, the judge's ruling marked a win for the advocacy group American Oversight, which sued members of the Trump administration to force their compliance with the Federal Records Act. The group's lawsuit aims to make sure the Trump Cabinet members signal messages. Don't, you know, end run laws on preserving records because on signal things can be deleted. But there are limits to their lawsuit. Judge Brosberg explained during the hearing, writing, the plaintiff here is not asking me to require the government to disclose the signal. Communications disclosure is not part of the suit. Today, Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear that resignations should be coming, particularly the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- [09:09]
Jeff Lewis
We're in the middle of a fight right now as it relates to Pete Hegseth. He needs to resign or be fired by Donald Trump. We've made that clear across the caucus. And Democrats, I think, showed fight in the Senate hearing on Tuesday and in the House hearing on Wednesday. Our veterans have stood up to push back against this stunning national security breach. That's a fight that we're in right now. Are we on the sidelines? Have we been silent about this scandal? Have we? Okay, so that's a fight. These fights are on.
- [09:58]
Simone Sanders
Republican colleagues are also demanding resignations, albeit anonymously. A House Republican lawmaker told NBC News, quote, it's more than a teachable moment. It seems to be a double standard that's being articulated here by Republicans. If this was Lloyd Austin, we would have already drawn up, you know, impeachment and asked for his resignation. To anybody that's a young Marine or a young officer, they would say, why can the head of DoD do this? But I can't. It's a good question. Joining us now is Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthy of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the Oversight Committee. Representative, I just, I wonder if you can answer the question that this anonymous Republican posed. Why can the head of the Department of Defense engage in this conduct but a rank afoul officer can't?
- [10:48]
Donald Trump
It's called the double standard, Simone. And that's why that's what's going on here. And actually, the morning that this article came out, I actually got a text from a moment of a sailor who received a bulletin that was sent to the entire military saying, don't disclose any type of classified or sensitive information on signal because of known vulnerabilities in that particular messaging platform. She said to me, look, how could it be that if my son were to do what Pete Hegseth did, he would be court martialed or worse? And yet Hegseth is getting off scot free? And I think that is the type of sentiment that a lot of people feel right now. And I think that's why I just saw polling that 60% of Republicans feel that this particular signal gate is a serious security lapse.
- [11:45]
Simone Sanders
You know, Representative, I watched the hearing as the members of the national security community came before your committee the other day, and I was really struck by the gaslighting. I truly was. And this is more than just about one signal chat, one text message, right. Adding one journalist. This is truly about the entire machinery of our national security apparatus, about the care or the lack thereof that members of this particular administration take in dealing with some of the most sensitive information that could literally be the difference between life and death for folks. I know you had very pointed questions in that hearing. I'm wondering what questions are still unanswered at this moment.
- [12:33]
Donald Trump
Well, look, I think that you're absolutely right. The fact that they would deny that this was classified information that Pete Hegseth shared on this group chat when the Trump administration's very own executive order, it's called 13526, says that any information about weapons systems, military plans or operations is by default, classified information is all you need to know about the gaslighting that they were engaged in. But I think that right now, we're in a dangerous moment because we don't know how many other signal chats are going on about other sensitive topics. We don't know whether our adversaries have gotten that information and taken advantage of it against us, and what is the damage done. So that's why I'm glad. I was heartened to see that Senator Roger Wicker called for a full investigation. And I think that we need to know kind of the full extent of the use of these different messaging apps, including Signal, but for that matter, WhatsApp or any other messaging platform. And then finally, I would just say that in the meantime, Hegstad must resign. He must go. He must either be terminated or he has to resign immediately because he's, quite frankly, endangering our national security.
- [13:50]
Simone Sanders
You know, it's not lost on me that the inspector general at the Department of Defense, which the senator is calling on the inspector general to investigate. Donald Trump fired the inspector general. So actually, the inspector general currently there is acting. At least one Republican, anonymous Republican wants hed sec to resign. Given the state of the inspector generals and the administration, I'm just wondering, is Congress going to do more? Are there quiet, anonymous, bipartisan conversations currently happening with your Republican colleagues, at least on the intel committee?
- [14:27]
Donald Trump
I haven't yet heard them say this, but I am hearing a lot of chatter from my Republican colleagues that this is, as Don Bacon openly said, my Republican colleague from Nebraska said this is unconscionable and it's not the time to blame the reporter who merely is conveying the fact of this security lapse, but to really fix what needs to be fixed, and that is to avoid the security lapse in the first place. Simone, you know this better than anyone else, having been in the White House. You know, when you have these types of conversations, you do it in secure spaces or you do it through secure communications, whether it's video or audio. You don't do it on a messaging app such as Signal. And certainly you don't do it in a way that could advantage our adversaries. In this case the Houthis. If they had known about this strike hours before it happened, and then they trained their air defenses on those F18s as they were approaching Yemen, those pilots would absolutely be in jeopardy.
- [15:35]
Simone Sanders
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy, thank you very much for your time tonight and your insight. Appreciate it. Joining us now is Barbara McQuaid. She's a former U.S. attorney and a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School. She's also an MSNBC legal analyst. Barb, can I just say that, as the Congressman just noted, I used to work in the administration. I've worked in the White House. If I had done what the Secretary of Defense and National Security Advisor, anyone on that chain participated in, I would have lost my job, but I would also probably be in jail. Can you just. Is that a hyperbolic estimation here?
- [16:13]
Barbara McQuaid
No, not at all. And in fact, you know, these efforts to downplay it really are. You know, you use the word gaslighting to suggest that somehow this is no big deal. This is a huge deal. Using a non government messaging app to share this kind of sensitive information is incredibly reckless. You know, there's some quibble over whether this is or is not classified information. It seems ridiculous to think that it wouldn't be. But it doesn't matter. If information relates to the national defense, as this most obviously did, a person authorized to have that information cannot disclose it to someone who is unauthorized to have it. Merely using the Signal app is a deliberate breach of that responsibility. But even if they thought it was somehow a safe way to do it, it's at least gross negligence to be using the Signal app and not noticing that there's an extra party on there who's not a government official. That is a violation of the Espionage act. And the Espionage act is A serious crime with penalties of up to 15 years in prison. So I would think most of us would be certainly at least under investigation for doing what these people did.
- [17:24]
Simone Sanders
You know, I was struck by the fact that Judge Boasberg basically ordered the Trump administration and the National Archives to preserve the signal messages because that should actually be the policy. You know, there's the Federal Records, that act, and then there's the Presidential Records Act. They're both the same thing. Essentially. It's just one refers to the people that work in the executive office of the President, and the Federal Records act is everyone else, except members of Congress. If, in fact, you are in the federal government and you are texting or sending emails, not to a government email or government device, you are always supposed to preserve the messages. So, essentially, did the judge today order the administration to follow the laws? It's already written. Am I reading that right?
- [18:08]
Barbara McQuaid
Yeah. Yes. So the lawsuit says that it appears that the administration is in violation of the Federal Records act because one of the features of signal and one that was used in this particular chat is the one that allows messages to disappear after a certain amount of time. In this instance, it was 10 days and also four weeks. And so American oversight has asked for messages to include signal messages and have been told there there are no such messages that exist. So the concern, of course, is that there's been this request made, and it could be that they will be deleted on their own through the Signal app. So the judge is saying, you can't do that. The law requires you to preserve these records as part of the archives of the United States. So don't allow that function on Signal to just delete them without stepping in to prevent that from happening.
- [19:05]
Simone Sanders
The administration ignored one of Bozart's orders before. Do you think they'll do it again?
- [19:10]
Barbara McQuaid
Well, it's very interesting, isn't it? In that instance, they claimed that they had, you know, authority, that they didn't understand the order, that it wasn't in writing. And so I think that if they do it again, they will really find themselves at risk of a contempt order by this judge. He even made a comment today when he ordered that these messages must be preserved. I will follow up with an order, and it will be in writing. I suppose that was a little bit of a joke, but also a pointed warning to not test him again.
- [19:42]
Simone Sanders
Don't test the judge. Barbara McQuaid, thank you very much. Coming up, folks, we have more new town hall sound today. Republicans are still on the run from their own voters. They're refusing to hold any town hall events where they would no doubt hear what voters really think about their support of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and accidentally texting military attack plans to a random civilian and lying about it. That's next. What's poppin listeners? I'm Laci Mosley, host of the podcast Scam Goddess. The show that's an ode to fraud and all those who practice it. Each week I talk with very special guests about the scammiest scam of all time. Wanna know about the fake eras? We got em. What about a career con man? We've got them too guys that will wine and dine you and then steal all your coins. Oh, you know they are represented cause representation matters. I'm joined by guests like Nicole byer, Ira Madison III, Conan O'Brien and more. Join the congregation and listen to Scam Goddess wherever you get your podcasts.
- [20:51]
Marco Rubio
Auto insurance can all seem the same until it comes time to use it. So don't get stuck paying more for less coverage. Switch to USA Auto insurance and you could start saving money in no time. Get a quote today restrictions apply.
- [21:06]
Pete Hegseth
I've never felt like this before. It's like you just get me. I feel like my true self with you. Does that sound crazy? And it doesn't hurt that you're gorgeous. Okay, that's it. I'm taking you home with me. I mean, you can't find shoes this good just anywhere. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas and more at your DSW store or dsw.com.
- [21:40]
Simone Sanders
Texas Republican Congressman Troy Nels refused to meet with his constituents in person. But never fear. Democrats Tim walz and Beto O'Rourke were more than happy to do so.
- [21:52]
Tim Walz
This guy said he was going to be a dictator on day one. He was lifting lines wholesale from Mein Kampf, saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of America. He tried to destroy the Constitution. He ignored a co equal branch of government. He called veterans suckers and losers. He defied a federal judge's order, precipitated constant crisis.
- [22:16]
Marco Rubio
What did you guys do?
- [22:18]
Tim Walz
What? What did the people of America in 2025 do? So so so the the line in the sand it has been drawn. It is very clear what we're up against. While you're twiddling your thumbs and playing nice and trying to be bipartisan, they are killing your country and taking away Amen. Democracy. We are either going to fight or we are going to surrender. And I plan on fighting. That's right. That's right. Let's do it.
- [22:52]
Simone Sanders
Amen. Today, after months of waiting, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Donald Trump's first Cabinet pick of his second term, by the way, is no longer the nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump announced that Republicans risk losing Elise Stefanik's red seat, quote, with a very tight majority. I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat. Donald Trump doesn't want to take a chance on a seat Elise Stefanik won by 24 points and a district he won by 21 points. Why wasn't Trump to be concerned about House Republicans historically narrow majority when nominating members of the House's Cabinet? It's a good question. It's a question Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski asked shortly after Donald Trump's announcement. They just realized now, apparently. Well, today, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sees Elise Stefanik's withdrawal as a sign that Republicans are panicking.
- [23:53]
Jeff Lewis
They seem to be panicking about the two special elections in Florida, which shocks the conscience of anybody who follows these races closely, Florida 1 and Florida 6. Donald Trump won those two districts respectively, by 30 and 37 points. How is it that they are even competitive at this point? Why are Republicans panicking in deep red districts? It's because their agenda is unpopular.
- [24:27]
Simone Sanders
There are just five days left to fill those vacant seats, including one held by Mike Walz of Signal Gate fame before leaving to become Donald Trump's National Security Advisor. Our next guest is the Democrat running to fill that open seat in Florida's 6th congressional district. According to a new poll, Democrat Josh Will's Republican opponent is leading him by only 4 points. That is significant because this is a district that Donald Trump won by 30 points. Mike Walsh ran that ruby red district by 33 points. But as Governor Waltz said tonight, don't write places like Florida's sixth congressional district off.
- [25:04]
Marco Rubio
I got elected to Congress in a congressional district that had one Democrat since 1892.
- [25:10]
Tim Walz
And the reason that I ended up.
- [25:12]
Marco Rubio
Winning that district was Howard Dean. Remember Howard Dean, Governor Dean?
- [25:18]
Tim Walz
Howard Dean said we need a 50.
- [25:21]
Marco Rubio
State strategy and we can't ignore a single congressional district because of that.
- [25:27]
Tim Walz
Because of that, my Republican district, farm.
- [25:32]
Simone Sanders
District in southern Minnesota, people put money.
- [25:35]
Marco Rubio
Into it and we won that seat and we held it for 12 years. Don't write these places off. Don't write any corner of America off, any congressional district. Give them the resources, help train the candidates.
- [25:48]
Simone Sanders
Joining us now is Josh Will, who's the Democratic candidate for Florida's 6th congressional district. Sir it's very nice to see you. I think folks at home should know that you are a math teacher that are giving Republicans in the state of Florida a run for their money. Tell us a little bit about your race and why you think you are resonating in this way that you are.
- [26:10]
Josh Will
Yeah, well, unlike the Republicans, we haven't been afraid to hold town halls for the last four months. We've been all over this very large district, meeting with voters across all six counties, Democrats, Republicans alike, and we've been listening to them as a district that is 25% age 65 and above. They are scared to death about what's happening to Social Security. They're concerned about Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. They're disgusted by the impacts that they're feeling in the Veterans Administration, our veterans. Within 48 hours of the first round of cuts, our veterans here had their doctor's appointments and their scheduled procedures and operations pushed back four to six months. You know, the impact from these cuts from these policies is affecting people in real time here, and they want someone who will fight for them.
- [27:03]
Simone Sanders
What are you seeing in the early vote return numbers? There are Republicans who say they are concerned not only about the amount of money that you're raising, but specifically how close the returns are in terms of the early vote. In terms of turnout for Democrats this time.
- [27:20]
Josh Will
Yeah, absolutely. We're six days into early voting and more Democrats have voted in Volusia county, which is our largest county in this district, than Republicans have. There hasn't been a single day in the last 30 years where more Democrats have voted than Republicans. So this is historic. We're seeing turnout. That's the percentages are about twice as high for Democrats than Republicans. They're coming out and that doesn't even begin to count. You know, all the Republicans that are polling shows support my campaign over my opponents.
- [27:57]
Simone Sanders
I have to wonder how the signal scandal, signal gate, as some folks are calling it, now has played out in this race. I know we're just four days into that, but are you hearing about that from voters in the district? And frankly, are you hearing about dei? Because there's been a lot of focus from this administration about dei, about immigrants, about everything but the economy, it seems. Are these things bubbling up in your race?
- [28:27]
Josh Will
Honestly, it's been entirely about the economy. It has been. You know, we have a Republican governor and Ron DeSantis and a super majority in our legislature held by the Republicans, and they have made it nearly impossible to afford to live in Florida at this point. Republicans and Democrats alike are asking for regulation, you know, federal housing regulation. They're asking for federal insurance regulations. You know, they're asking to be protected from Florida. Basically, they voted in November for economic relief. They voted in November because it was too difficult to live here. And now, you know, seniors on a fixed income are seeing those checks put at risk. You know, they've already removed the caps on prescription drug costs. There is immediate economic impact that is hurting them even worse because of the policies and actions of this current administration. People need to be able to survive. They're less concerned with those other issues. They want to know that they'll be taken care of. They want to know that the systems they rely on will still be there. Tomorrow.
- [29:34]
Simone Sanders
If you are elected in this special election, you will join Congress. And right now there is a debate happening within the walls of Congress, albeit a little bit anonymously, about the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, Mike Walsh, the gentleman who previously held the seat that you were running to occup. Do you think, Pete Hegseth NSA Waltz, that they should resign?
- [29:59]
Josh Will
I mean, it's disgusting what we saw there, you know, I mean, Mike Waltz clearly had the qualifications to be appointed to National Security Advisor much more than a number of the other cabinet picks. But I mean, if I was the National Security Advisor, I would advise you not to put classified military information. And in a group chat, that's just me. This is a betrayal to our nation and you know, there should be consequences for that. If we cannot trust you with national secrets, then you shouldn't be in a position to receive them.
- [30:30]
Simone Sanders
Josh Will, thank you very much. We'll be watching your race coming up, folks. Elon Musk, he is not just content with messing with the federal government. He's actually pouring tons of money into a very critical race in Wisconsin. But the Democrats, they have a plan to push back and the chair of Wisconsin's Democratic Party, Ben Wickler, will join us next. Pandora makes it easy for you to find your favorite music. Discover new artists and genres by selecting any song or album and we'll make you a personalized station for free download on the Apple App Store or Google Play and enjoy the soundtrack to your life.
- [31:06]
Marco Rubio
Auto insurance can all seem the same until it comes time to use it. So don't get stuck paying more for less coverage. Switch to USA Auto insurance and you could start saving saving money in no time. Get a quote. Today, restrictions apply.
- [31:21]
Pete Hegseth
I've never felt like this before. It's like you just get me. I feel like my true self with you. Does that sound crazy? And it doesn't hurt that you're gorgeous. Okay, that's it. I'm taking you home with me. I mean, you can't find shoes this good just anywhere. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas and more at your DSW store or dsw.com.
- [31:55]
Simone Sanders
Republicans are on the run because voters do not like Trump's chaos and they don't like Elon Musk's chainsaw. So Elon Musk is reverting to his old playbook to try and buy them back. In the key state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, Trump endorsed Brad Schimmel has received nearly wait for this. $20 million in support from Musk backed groups like America PAC, which according to the New York Times is quote, paying canvassers $25 per hour and offering $100 to any voter who signs a petition in opposition to activist judges in an attempt to identify and turn out more right leaning Wisconsinites. Now with the election on Tuesday and Democrats fired up, Musk is panicking and raffling off millions of dollars to people who signed. Musk did the same thing in Pennsylvania, we should note in the run up to the presidential election. And thanks to the money Musk has put in, this Wisconsin State Supreme Court race is actually on track to be the most expensive judicial race in US History. The Wisconsin Democratic Party has released a new ad calling out Elon Musk's attempt to buy a seat on the state Supreme Court.
- [33:04]
Barbara McQuaid
Brad Schimmel is corrupt and will do.
- [33:06]
Simone Sanders
Anything to get on the Supreme Court. I have to invest in knee pads.
- [33:10]
James Malone
I have to crawl around begging, please, please, please.
- [33:13]
Barbara McQuaid
And who did he beg? Elon Musk, a man who needs a guaranteed vote on the Supreme Court because his company is suing the state of Wisconsin. Schimmel begged and Musk unloaded $10 million.
- [33:26]
Simone Sanders
To rig the court.
- [33:27]
Barbara McQuaid
So how much does it cost to buy off a corrupt politician? Just ask Kneepad Brad.
- [33:33]
James Malone
Please, please, please.
- [33:36]
Simone Sanders
Joining us now is Ben Wickler, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair. I must say, Ben Kneep definitely has a ring to it. I have to ask you, just today Elon Musk announced that he's going to award a million dollars to a man in Green Bay in this lottery situation. Election Day is on Tuesday, April 1. What is the turnout looking so far? Early voting is underway as we speak.
- [34:03]
Marco Rubio
Simone, thanks so much for having me on. This is the first big test of whether Elon Musk can buy any election he wants. And if we defeat him here, if Susan Crawford beats Brad Schimmel. It punctures this myth of invulnerability that Elon Musk's money can buy him. So we're watching the early vote very closely, and it is explosive. It looks like it's up for Democrats and for Republicans, it's up all over the state. Almost 50% higher as of yesterday than the number of early votes at this point in 2023. But the question is, who are these voters? We think at this point we have the edge going into actual Election Day, but it is a sprint to the finish because we've seen late surges on both sides before. So anyone watching who knows anyone in Wisconsin, urge them to bring every friend they can to the polls. It's go time.
- [34:52]
Simone Sanders
You know, I am really shocked by the fact that the Wisconsin race, specifically, a lot of the advertising from, we just played from the Wisconsin Democratic Party and other ads and even mailers that I've seen, they focus a lot on Elon Musk. And about a month ago, you know, strategists here in D.C. even people like myself would have said, I think people should be focusing more on Donald Trump or on the Republicans. They're letting the Republicans off easy. But you must see something or be hearing something from voters that says putting Elon Musk in the ads, in the framing is important. What are you seeing?
- [35:31]
Marco Rubio
Voters are infuriated by what Elon Musk is doing to the whole country. The attacks on Social Security, the attacks on cancer research, on veterans benefits. Every day it's like another hammer falling. And here he wants to buy Wisconsin Supreme Court. He'll line his own pockets if he gets a guaranteed vote. And he'll subvert democracy. He'll erase one of the last checks and balances on his power and on Trump's power. So we are, we're talking to voters about this all the time, and they're telling, they're telling us they want to vote to beat Brad Schimmel and to defeat Elon Musk himself. I was with Susan Crawford tonight. She was giving a speech and she said, when I was a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, I never imagined I'd be up against the richest man in the world. But here we are. And the thing is, people can beat Musk. If you go to crawfordforwi.com crawfordforwisconsin.com, you can donate. Grassroots donations are powering a campaign that is actually potentially going to beat out the combined forces of the world's biggest far right donors and oligarchs. In this country. So I'm energized. I'm not taking anything for granted. But here on the ground in Wisconsin, there is this kind of a backlash that the Republicans have built for themselves. And Musk is right at the forefront of it. His chance chainsaw has a double edged, I don't know, a double edged chain, you might say. It cuts both ways. And Republicans need to wonder if they should stick with this guy.
- [36:53]
Simone Sanders
So many issues at stake in this election. Reproductive rights, voting rights. We'll be watching on Tuesday. Ben Wickler, good to see you. Thank you.
- [37:02]
Marco Rubio
Thanks so much.
- [37:03]
Simone Sanders
Coming up, folks, there are two local races in Pennsylvania and two wins for Democratic candidates, including in a very, very, very red Republican district district. We're going to talk to the winner. That's next tonight. Republicans are on the run and Democrats are celebrating not one but two special election state wins in Pennsylvania this week. Voters in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where Trump won in November by 15 points, elected Democrat James Malone Tuesday in the race for the 36th District's state Senate seat. And Democrat Dan Galganor, who has spent the last 14 years as officer in McKeesport, Pennsylvania and sits on the city school board, also won his special election last night. Gogonor's win means Pennsylvania Democrats will once again keep their one seat majority in the state House and Democrat Joanna McClinton will remain speaker. Even the Wall Street Journal is worried about the, quote, shock Democratic Senate victory in Pennsylvania. Republicans might want to take this surprise loss in MAGA country as a warning. They write Mr. Trump's tariff threats are whipsawing financial markets. And the the conference board said Tuesday that a survey of consumer confidence showed a drop in March for the fourth consecutive month. Even voters who like the GOP's policy agenda could be jolted by the impression of chaos in Washington. Plus Mr. Trump's recent focus on retribution. Democrats got pummeled last year because they followed out of touch leaders down ideological rabbit holes. Republicans will suffer if they do the same in reverse. Well, well, well, Wall Street Journal has something to say. Joining us now is Democratic state senator elect J. He flipped the seat in Pennsylvania's 36th district and he is currently a local mayor of the town of East Petersburg. Mr. State Senator elect, welcome to you and congratulations. You know, I have been, I have been asking everybody this question because in Washington, D.C. and essentially across the country in some of these Republican congressional districts, you hear a lot of talk about di, a lot of conversations sometimes about refrigerators and gas stoves, everything except the me and I am just wondering, are Those issues that bubbled up in your race, is that what people cared about in the 36th district?
- [39:30]
James Malone
When we were talking with everybody, the pieces that really came up were protecting education, protecting libraries, the expenses, and, you know, making sure that we had some good background for a first responder. And, you know, those are things that I care a lot about as well. So it was a lot of preaching to the choir. There was a heavy dislike for the chaos that's going on at the federal level. And you know, I think all of that together really did help. And we did also have a lot of Republicans here who felt that their state leadership was not listening to. I think that's a really important point as well.
- [40:24]
Simone Sanders
No, I mean, I think that's a really important point because oftentimes, especially, you know, here I'm in D.C. and you hear a lot of talk about how Democrats need to go around and rally Democrats. But at this point, I think it's about Americans that like what's happening and people that are okay with what's going on. And some of those Americans are Democrats and some of those Americans are Republicans and some of them are non party affiliates. And it sounds like it was that kind of coalition that got you a win on Tuesday night. What about the money? You know, we've talked a lot about the influence of money in politics, Elon Musk's influence specifically. How did you over overcome that and build that coalition?
- [41:06]
James Malone
We got really lucky. We set out and reached out to every person that we knew. We had a, a lot of groups that gave us bits and pieces. We got a. I can't remember the name right now. Oh, Progressive Turnout, which is a group of grassroots gatherers that gave us a significant chunk and you know, everything we use, we used to get out the door knocking and calling and talking to people and making sure that we could get the information out there. And literally we just were like, you know, we need to be decent, we need to, you know, irrational and you know, we want to help our state, we want to help our district. And so a lot of people felt that they, they were really willing to, to, you know, pay that forward and vote for us. And of course, you know, we're going to do this again in 26, so. So we're going to need that support. And we've got basically from May to May to prove that their vote for us and their faith in us was valid. We're going to do everything we can to do that.
- [42:23]
Simone Sanders
Well, you know, James, I like to say America's policy is actually made in the state legislature. So we will be watching what's happening in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Democratic State Senator elect James Malone. Appreciate your time tonight. Joining us now is Pennsylvania House Speaker, Democratic State Representative Joanna McClinton. Madam speaker, there are some people that thought you were not going to hold onto the gavel. What do you have to say to them tonight?
- [42:50]
Joanna McClinton
I say we are battle tested, sleeves rolled up and we are back in the majority. We have the most slim majority in the entire nation, but it is our one seat majority that's keeping the gavel in my hand and keeping the chaos in Washington, D.C. from Unfold in Harrisburg every single day.
- [43:09]
Simone Sanders
Why does who controls the state legislature in Pennsylvania matter? What are some of the bills and things that are being discussed that folks care about and that will affect their lives? I'm not joking when I say America's policy is made in the state legislatures. What Congress sometimes does is they copy off of what's happened in state legislatures across the country, then they try to nationalize, bring to the federal level that state legislation.
- [43:35]
Joanna McClinton
One of the things we passed just this week, Simone, and I'm fresh off the road from Harrisburg, is double downing on protecting health care for all those folks who live here in the Commonwealth. We passed three and four, actually four pieces of legislation to protect provisions of the Affordable Care act into our statewide exchange program. When we see what's happening in D.C. not only are folks falling away from the extreme radicalism, not only are people seeing that our president wants no stability in our nation, but they're also looking to us under the domes of the smaller state capitals to protect their fundamental freedoms.
- [44:13]
Simone Sanders
We only have a minute left, but I must say it seems to me that your success on Tuesday is part of the reason why Elise Stefanik is no longer the Ambassador to the UN what is your message to Democrats in the last 30 seconds? I have across the country.
- [44:28]
Joanna McClinton
We've got to stay faithful, keep on the fight, spread the message of the good work we're doing and make sure we let folks even who voted in November for the president know they can come back on the right side of history and fix the wrongs that are happening every single day with each election.
- [44:44]
Simone Sanders
Pennsylvania State House Speaker Joanna McClinton. Thank you, folks. We'll be right back. That is tonight's last word. Finding the music you love shouldn't be hard. That's why Pandora makes it easy to explore all your favorites and discover new artists and genres you'll love. Enjoy a personalized listening experience simply by selecting any song or album and we'll make a station crafted just for you. Best of all, you can listen for free, download Pandora on the Apple App Store or Google Play and start hearing the soundtrack to your life.