“Red alarm fire” Trump’s Supreme Court ruling should scare all of us

[0:05] Well, well, well. Greetings, everyone. A lot has been going on this week. [0:11] Eugene and I were at the Hilton for the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday night because we were working. [0:17] We were there with our colleagues when an attacker ran through security and shots were fired just outside the ballroom. [0:24] This year, President Trump was there. Last year, he was not in attendance. [0:28] But I was on stage as the WHCA president bringing a message, hopefully, about who we are and are not as journalists. [0:36] We journalists are a lot of things. We are competitive and pushy. We are impatient. [0:41] And sometimes we think we know everything, but we're also human. [0:46] We miss our families and significant life moments in service to this job. [0:50] We care deeply about accuracy and take seriously the heavy responsibility of being stewards of the public's trust. [0:57] What we are not is the opposition. [1:01] What we are not is the enemy of the people. [1:03] And what we are not is the enemy of the state. [1:06] I was in the crowd, OK? And I was like, yes, Eugene, yes! [1:12] And you did look fucking phenomenal. [1:14] Thank you. Thank you very much. [1:16] But this year, I, her, a lot of us, hundreds, thousands of us were huddled underneath dining tables trying to figure out what the hell was going on today. [1:27] We've asked a couple of other people who are in the room with us, under the table with us, to join us for the group chat. [1:33] So later in the show, MSNOW's very own Jen Psaki and Ali Vitale will come on and talk about what we experienced, the reaction on the Hill and the Internet, [1:42] and most importantly, trying to push it forward. What's happening next? [1:45] Yeah, what is going on? There are a lot of pieces to this story. [1:48] But first, there are some very, very, very, very, very important other things going on in the country right now. [1:55] After a 6-3 Supreme Court decision that came down Wednesday morning, the Voting Rights Act is effectively dead. [2:01] Now, when I came in here and said this to Eugene, you said what? [2:06] I said, is it? [2:07] Is it? [2:07] Because effectively wasn't the word you used. [2:09] I said it's dead. [2:10] Yeah, it's a red alarm fire. [2:11] It's a red alarm fire. Look, ever since 2013, the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. [2:16] A language people in the civil rights community have used is that it is on life support. [2:20] Right. [2:20] And I should tell people, you know, I used to have a lot of different jobs. [2:24] One of my jobs, post-2016, I was a senior advisor for the Priorities USA Foundation, [2:31] which at that point was the largest funder in voting rights litigation in the country. [2:34] That was before Mark Elias had the Elias Law Group. [2:37] Mark Elias was our lawyer. I worked on all these cases. [2:39] I know a little something about voting rights in America, okay? [2:43] The way that cases have been brought under the Voting Rights Act since 2013 is Section 2. [2:48] Yeah, because they gutted the other ones. [2:49] They gutted the other ones, okay? So Section 2 was the only one left. [2:52] The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of Section 2, [2:56] and they basically said that this district in Louisiana, [2:58] I believe District 6, Cleo Field, is unconstitutional [3:01] because the way in which it was drawn, they said it took race into account. [3:06] And the particular way it took race into account is unconstitutional. [3:09] That matters, Eugene. It matters because there are other states... [3:14] Waiting. [3:15] Okay? Waiting. [3:16] Trigger laws is what they're called. It's the same thing with abortion, right? [3:18] Exactly. [3:19] That they're waiting for either to send everybody back to work [3:22] and start redrawing maps or maps that they already have ready [3:25] that they're ready to just push through. [3:27] And I think one of the things that was disturbing for me [3:31] as I'm reading through what the 6 said is basically that, like, [3:35] race doesn't matter. As if people in this country [3:38] do not still make a lot of decisions based on the color of people's skin. [3:42] As if, when you're talking about where people live, [3:46] as if we are not living in little Black neighborhoods, [3:49] little white neighborhoods. So, yeah, of course, there needs to be [3:51] some thought process about how race impacts the way that people vote. [3:56] And the continued dilution of the Voting Rights Act, [4:00] as if this is a country that is post-racial, [4:02] should concern every single person. [4:04] Every single person. [4:06] Michael Steele made the point in a group chat of ours [4:08] that it is death by asphyxiation. [4:10] Because they didn't actually strike down Section Two. [4:13] And... [4:14] Technically, it's still there. [4:14] Technically, it is still there. [4:16] But this is just like after the Supreme Court failed to uphold [4:20] what happened during Reconstruction. [4:22] Just like when Congress walked away, [4:24] the values and the legislation that they said that they all believed in [4:27] during Reconstruction. [4:28] Post-Reconstruction, the 15th Amendment was never repealed. [4:32] They just did all this stuff around it to make it obsolete. [4:37] You take out the teeth. [4:38] And then that means that everybody that wants to do something [4:42] that in the past would not have been allowed, [4:45] they can now do it. [4:46] And I want to read a little bit from Kagan. [4:48] Come on now, Justice Kagan. [4:50] Okay? [4:52] I dissent. [4:53] The Voting Rights Act is, or now more accurately was, [4:56] one of the most consequential and amply justified exercises [5:00] of federal legislative power in our nation's history. [5:03] It has been repeatedly and overwhelmingly reauthorized [5:07] by the people's representatives in Congress. [5:09] Only they have the right to say it is no longer needed. [5:12] Not the members of this court. [5:13] I dissent then from this latest chapter [5:15] in the majority's now completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act. [5:19] Honestly, now it's- [5:22] So don't take it from us. [5:23] Don't take it from us. [5:24] Take it from Justice Kagan. [5:25] According to this ruling, a state can now dismantle [5:27] a majority black district and just call it a partisan gerrymander [5:31] and get away with it. [5:32] I'm thinking about what's going on in Florida. [5:33] They're drawing new maps as we speak. [5:35] Are they going to get rid of the quote-unquote black seats? [5:38] Mississippi. [5:38] Mississippi, the governor, signed an executive order [5:42] that said 21 days after this ruling, [5:44] Mississippi's going to convene and look at their map. [5:46] Mississippi got one black person. [5:47] And who's that? [5:48] Who sits in the United States Congress? [5:49] It's Benny Thompson, and they trying to come for his seat. [5:52] This is not happening next year. [5:53] It's happening this year, folks, because why? [5:56] They're trying to steal the election. [5:57] But I digress. [5:58] There's something about James Comey happened, too, you know. [6:00] Not like there's enough news. [6:02] You got to throw James Comey in there. [6:03] The former FBI director was indicted again, [6:06] this time for a social media post. [6:08] This picture of seashells arranged to say, [6:10] 86-47, he has been charged with making a threat [6:14] against the president. [6:15] Um, I would note that this happened. [6:17] The seashells photo was literally last year. [6:19] They just charged a man this week. [6:21] I don't know. [6:22] I guess the investigation of the seashells took a long time. [6:25] Did we need to speak to the fish? [6:26] To something? [6:27] The little mermaid there? [6:29] Where's Ariel? [6:30] Ariel, she obviously got into the conversation. [6:32] Well, gas is also up, Eugene. [6:34] Diesel is up. [6:35] Fertilizer is up. [6:36] You texted me about your gas. [6:37] Oh, I played $6.39 at the pump this week. [6:40] And I was on E. [6:41] And $85 did not even fill my tank up. [6:43] I didn't even get three-fourths. [6:44] It was crazy. [6:45] I was like, let me see how much $85 is gonna get me. [6:47] The American people, whether they need gas or not, [6:50] they're not doing well. [6:51] They're not doing well, Eugene. [6:52] Is there any good news for the American people out there? [6:54] Well, if you're a Democrat, [6:56] there's, like, some sort of good news. [6:58] That's kind of the best we can do nowadays. [6:59] It's that Virginians voted yes to a new map, [7:03] which would probably cancel out a Texas redistricting effort [7:06] that the president of the United States pushed forward, [7:08] calling them and saying, I want five seats. [7:10] But a state judge blocked the certification [7:12] of that redistricting vote. [7:13] And the Virginia Supreme Court let the block stand for now. [7:18] And on Monday, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, [7:21] proposed a new map. [7:22] The one that he has right now could handle Republicans [7:24] four congressional seats currently held by Democrats, four more. [7:28] Simone, you pointed out his plan left an entire district [7:31] off the map altogether. [7:33] Sure did. [7:34] And I spoke to some state senators in Florida [7:37] who were trying to figure out, was this a mistake? [7:38] Or did they do it on purpose? [7:40] They are literally, as we speak, debating these maps. [7:43] They do not know. [7:44] You know, State Senator Shevin Jones is the vice chair [7:46] of the rules committee, and they are debating this thing vigorously. [7:49] So stay tuned, folks. [7:51] Residents of Georgia, they are on their way to the polls [7:54] for early voting in the primaries. [7:56] Now, they've already tallied, Eugene, a record, [7:59] record-setting number of votes for races, [8:01] including governor, senate, and, Eugene, [8:05] the polls indicate that both those roles could go blue. [8:07] In Georgia, this is the primaries. [8:09] This is the primary. [8:11] This is the story of the midterms at this point. [8:13] Democrats overperform now. [8:14] This is why that Supreme Court decision is... [8:16] Matters. [8:17] Matters. This is not abstract. [8:19] Yeah, no, it's a part of... [8:20] The stories are all connected, [8:21] and we should be continuing to connect them. [8:23] Another story we have our eyes on, [8:25] Trump in his damn ballroom. [8:27] About two hours after Cole Tomas Allen [8:30] ran through a metal detector at the Washington Hilton, [8:33] Trump walked into the White House press briefing room [8:36] and said this. [8:36] This is why we have to have all of the attributes [8:41] of what we're planning at the White House. [8:43] It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure. [8:46] It's got... [8:47] It's drone-proof. [8:48] It's bulletproof glass. [8:49] We need the ballroom. [8:50] That's why Secret Service. [8:52] That's why the military are demanding it. [8:55] They've wanted the ballroom for 150 years [8:57] for lots of different reasons, [8:59] but today's a little bit different, [9:02] because today we need levels of security [9:05] that probably nobody's ever seen before. [9:07] We have not heard the military ask for this ballroom [9:09] for 150 years, but I digress, [9:11] because even if it is drone-proof, bulletproof, [9:14] if this ballroom existed, [9:15] the White House Correspondents' Dinner [9:16] would not be held there. [9:17] This is not a presidential event. [9:19] It is an event put on by the White House Correspondents' Association. [9:23] It would make zero sense, zero sense, [9:26] for the White House Correspondents' Association [9:28] to have any event in a ballroom [9:31] that is on the White House grounds. [9:32] The point of it is to pull us out of that area [9:36] and get the president, who's the Association's guest, [9:39] on our turf, on the turf that we are collecting and creating. [9:42] So, like, make it make sense, Simone, please. [9:45] Well, Eugene, I think that the president [9:46] and the White House, the Republican media apparatus, [9:49] I think they just think that everybody's stupid [9:50] and that they wouldn't connect the dot that you just... [9:53] Very quickly. [9:54] ...that you just laid out. [9:56] And also, the proposed ballroom [9:58] doesn't even have enough seats and space [10:00] for the amount of people who come to the dinner as is. [10:02] None of it makes any damn sense. [10:03] To be clear, the proposed ballroom was actually bigger [10:05] than the actual square footage of the entire White House. [10:07] The ballroom doesn't make any sense. [10:09] Let's play, um, this side of Trump saying [10:12] that he and the rich friends were gonna pay for the ballroom. [10:15] No charge to the taxpayer whatsoever. [10:17] This was all donations made by friends of mine [10:21] and people that, uh, that love our country. [10:24] They love the White House. [10:25] I just wanna say nobody asked for the ballroom. [10:28] It is literally driving me crazy [10:30] that some people are acting like, well, we need it. [10:32] We did, we needed it, and he did say he was gonna pay. [10:35] No! [10:36] So is that a lie? [10:36] I mean... [10:37] Now that you have Lindsey Graham saying [10:39] that we need the ballroom, let's play this sound... [10:42] Mm-hmm. [10:42] ...from Lindsey Graham on Monday, April 27th, [10:45] when they introduced this bill. [10:46] Let's play that. [10:47] The sooner we get the ballroom built, [10:51] the more hardened it is, the better for the country. [10:54] So I hope and pray that most people in the Senate [10:59] after Saturday night will support this bill. [11:03] This is not about Trump. [11:04] It's about the presidency of the United States. [11:07] Never seen something more about Trump in my life. [11:09] Come on now, exactly. [11:10] Don't gaslight me. [11:11] Um, Capitol Hill reporter Pablo Manriquez [11:14] asked Congresswoman Sarah McBride, [11:16] she's Congresswoman representing a district in Delaware, [11:18] about how the president has now switched up [11:20] from saying the donors are gonna pay for this ballroom [11:22] to now, oh, they need the American people to pay for it. [11:25] This is what she had to say. [11:26] I thought it was very interesting. [11:27] Take a listen. [11:28] My constituents can't afford fucking grocery bills [11:32] or utility bills, and he now wants to spend taxpayer money [11:36] on a ballroom, on reckless wars, on a masked immigration regime. [11:43] I mean, it's... [11:44] His priorities are clearly in the wrong spot, [11:47] and, uh, they shouldn't use a potential tragedy [11:53] to try to secure funding from taxpayers [11:55] for this president to have great Gatsby parties [11:58] in the White House. [11:59] And I mean, and that is the point. [12:00] They are using this potential tragedy, [12:04] what happened on Saturday, [12:06] to now talk about all these other things. [12:07] Oh, he need to get his ballroom paid for. [12:09] Now, because of what happened on Saturday, [12:11] oh, Jimmy Kimmel, you actually need to be fired. [12:13] Now, what happened on Saturday, [12:14] oh, actually, we need to review all the licenses [12:16] of the local stations at Disney Homes. [12:18] Now, because what happened on Saturday, [12:19] Democrats, y'all should not be talking about the president. [12:22] Don't be asking questions about Donald Trump. [12:24] And I came on the weeknight this week, [12:25] and my point, and I think this is really important [12:28] as we're having these conversations, [12:30] about, like, people need to lower the temperature, [12:32] starting with the president of the United States. [12:34] He is the drama, as Charlemagne was saying. [12:36] I don't like to quote Charlemagne, but here we go. [12:38] On Saturday night, he was in that press room saying, [12:42] you know, we need to all... [12:43] We all came together. It was unity. [12:45] And then immediately after, on Sunday, [12:47] attacking the press again, again. [12:49] And so, the criticism that people launch [12:52] against President Trump is not the same thing [12:55] as a call to violence. [12:56] And I think that needs to be made very clear. [12:58] I mean, to be clear, we just talked about it. [13:00] Fertilizer is up. Gas is up. [13:02] Utility bills. The grocery bills. [13:04] The Strait of Hormuz is still closed. [13:06] Like, there are real... [13:07] We're spending billions of dollars with a B on this war. [13:11] There are real questions about this president. [13:13] And there's real inquiry... [13:15] Just about all these other things. [13:17] And now, on top of that, [13:18] it's inquiry about what happened on Saturday. [13:20] Because the Secret Service did not secure the site. [13:23] How did the assailant get... [13:25] Come on, protocol. [13:26] How did the assailant get all the way down [13:28] through the magnetometers? [13:29] How? How? [13:30] According to Carol Lenick, our MSNOW colleague, [13:33] because I had a lot of questions. [13:34] Why did the government, the president, [13:36] and the attorney general, and the FBI director, [13:38] tell us that, oh, the Secret Service apprehended the assailant? [13:42] We found out, actually, Carol Lenick. [13:44] Talked to some people in the Secret Service. [13:45] He tripped. Not maybe. He tripped. [13:47] The people in the Secret Service believe he fell, [13:49] and then they tackled him. [13:50] Well, baby, what is going on? [13:52] Who shot the Secret Service agent? [13:55] Well... [13:56] This lack of information, these lack of answers, [13:59] and then when Carol Lenick went and got us some answers, [14:01] it don't seem like it's adding up. [14:02] It's why these conspiracy theories [14:05] and the misinformation and disinformation [14:07] is really rampant on the internet. [14:08] Exactly. [14:09] And the things are just not adding up. [14:10] So, for laypeople out there, [14:12] and I feel like I heard you make this point, [14:13] that it is easier for people to go to a conspiracy theory [14:20] than to really address, like, [14:22] there was a massive failure. People are stupid. [14:24] Like, I'm sorry, I keep telling y'all, [14:26] West Wing is fake. Veep is real life. [14:28] Scandal is not real. [14:29] Scandal is not real. [14:30] House of Cards ain't real. It is Veep. [14:31] And I think that... [14:32] My point about that is that conspiracy theories... [14:36] There's always a little truth to them. [14:37] And the truth is, some of this don't add up. [14:39] Look, I think there's a lot of... [14:41] As we just noted, there's been a lot of conversation [14:43] since Saturday. [14:44] We've all heard it from people that we know, [14:46] people on the internet, folks have been like, [14:47] this was staged. [14:49] Y'all were part of a false flag operation. [14:51] It's been insane to hear people say these things. [14:53] And conspiracy theories are nothing new. [14:55] But what is concerning is that, [14:57] despite the White House Correspondents' Dinner [14:59] being hosted and attended by journalists, [15:01] I repeat, lots and lots of journalists, [15:03] thousands of them in the same room, [15:04] people at home not just doubted the facts [15:07] that we were reporting, [15:08] but, like, calling us liars. [15:10] And there were real questions to be had. [15:13] But to immediately, and it was immediate, Simone, [15:15] immediately, people saying it was staged. [15:18] I think the people had these questions [15:20] because they are dealing with the White House, [15:22] and we're dealing with the administration [15:23] that has lied to us on a number of occasions. [15:25] Lied to the American people, lied to the reporters, [15:27] lied in the press briefing room. [15:29] And lastly, how many attempts, actually, [15:31] have there been on Donald Trump's lie? [15:33] Apparently, it's the third. [15:35] Three. [15:36] So is he, like, is he maybe targeted [15:38] more than other presidents? [15:39] I'm asking because they're making it seem like [15:42] this is a, this is a, like, outlandish case. [15:46] Nobody in recent years has faced more bullets [15:49] and more violence than President Trump. [15:51] This political violence stems from a systemic demonization [15:55] of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, [15:58] by elected members of the Democrat Party, [16:01] and even some in the media. [16:03] There were also, if you may not know, [16:04] 11 legitimate threats on Obama that we know of. [16:07] Now, that means, that doesn't mean, like, [16:09] some threats on the internet. [16:10] That means that they actually had to go and find the person. [16:12] Someone threw a grenade at George W. Bush. [16:16] Mm-hmm. [16:17] Someone tried to kill Gerald Ford twice [16:18] in three weeks in 1975. [16:20] Someone literally shot Ronald Reagan at the Hilton. [16:23] There is a change in the, in a rise in political violence [16:27] right now. [16:28] It is not just Donald Trump, right? [16:31] You're talking about, um, Melissa Hortman, [16:33] who was shot at her home. [16:35] And her husband and a dog, murdered. [16:37] Uh-huh, at home, the representative of Minnesota. [16:39] Paul Pelosi in his house. [16:41] Attempted assassination with a hammer. [16:43] And Steve Scalise in 2017. [16:45] Literally shot on a baseball field. [16:47] With other members of Congress. [16:48] Other members of Congress. It's crazy. [16:50] On the weeknight, we also had the former FBI assistant [16:54] special agent in charge, Michael Feinberg, on, on Monday. [16:57] And he said the, the pivot, his word, his word, not mine, [17:01] Michael Feinberg's, of federal departments [17:03] from apolitical to political tools under Trump [17:06] is one of the reasons that the institutions [17:08] that are supposed to keep Americans safe [17:10] aren't working very well right now. [17:12] Listen to Michael Feinberg. [17:13] The people who would normally be carrying guns and badges [17:17] out on the street actually solving crimes, [17:19] we had to dedicate them to doing perimeter security for ICE. [17:23] So nobody has the freedom or institutional independence [17:27] anymore to really focus on their primary missions. [17:31] They're taking orders not based on what needs to get done [17:35] for the safety of the country, but based on what's gonna pull good [17:38] for this White House. [17:40] He's going to use this shooting that happened, [17:41] this almost tragedy, to do something completely [17:45] that has absolutely nothing to do with what happened on Saturday. [17:49] It's so true. [17:51] There, there was video of like J.D. Vance being removed [17:54] by his Secret Service detail prior to the president's. [17:56] I too, so many MSNOW journalists also, [17:58] they wanted to know why did that happen. [18:00] Well, Donald Trump told Norah O'Donnell 24 hours after the shooting. [18:03] I probably made them act a little bit more slow. [18:07] They said, wait a minute, wait a minute, let me see, wait a minute. [18:10] So, you know, I'm telling guys... [18:11] Just at that moment where it looks like you go sort of down with the service, [18:14] you were telling them to wait. [18:15] Well, you know, what happened is then I started walking with them. [18:18] I turned, I started walking, and they said, please go down. [18:21] Please go down on the floor. So I went down. [18:24] I'm just gonna be honest. [18:25] As someone who has unfortunately been in a number of situations [18:29] where a person who was being protected by the Secret Service, [18:33] the then Vice President of the United States of America, [18:34] had to be evacuated from a place because they thought there was a serious threat [18:38] on her life, ain't no way that the service is gonna hold on [18:43] so you can see what the fuck is going on before they take you out. [18:47] This is why people are like, it's not adding up. [18:49] What do you mean the president said? [18:51] What do you mean the president wanted to see and they let him? [18:53] So either the Secret Service didn't really think there was a threat [18:57] on the president's life, which I don't think that that's true [18:59] because they snatched out the Vice President. [19:00] Clearly snatched everybody and the cabinet members all about the... [19:03] Jumping up on the tables and stuff. [19:05] Or they thought there was a threat, [19:06] but they feel like it's more important to listen to the president. [19:08] Which again is like, I thought... [19:10] Since when are we listening to the president when it comes to the safety? [19:13] I don't understand. Is that making sense? [19:15] We have to continue to ask questions. [19:17] When the danger happens, the protectees are no longer in charge. [19:20] No. So why is he in charge? [19:21] And this is something that is really important. [19:22] When they snatch you up out of there, they don't care what you're saying. [19:25] They literally snatch you up and carry you sometimes. [19:27] You look at the pictures and the video of some of the members of Congress [19:31] that were pulled out. [19:32] I've been left. There was once, there was a bomb... [19:34] They left us. They took the VP-elect out. [19:35] Because they ain't there for you. [19:37] Because they not there. [19:38] And that's the one thing you really realize when people are like, [19:40] oh, they left the wise baby. [19:42] They are there to protect the protectee. [19:44] The protectee. [19:44] You are not the protectee. [19:46] Last point before we go into the group chat. [19:49] Unfortunately, children all across this country have had the experience [19:54] that frankly we had on Saturday night. [19:56] A worse experience. [19:57] Worse and worse. [19:58] And frankly, like we were lucky, there are so many people, [20:01] children, other folks in very public spaces and places who are not. [20:04] And they don't have Secret Service protection. [20:07] They don't have private protective details. [20:10] They are not getting a ballroom built to protect them, right? [20:13] Or bulletproof vests. [20:14] Like, where is the conversation about the safety of our children? [20:17] The number one killer in this country of our children are guns. [20:21] So our children are living through traumatic events every single day. [20:24] And I just feel like the people have lost the plot. [20:29] And that's one of the conversations we're gonna have next. [20:31] Oh, goodness. [20:32] We're gonna take a break. [20:33] Yes, let's take a break. [20:35] But this conversation will continue with two of our MSNOW colleagues, [20:38] Ali Vitale, Jensaki. Don't go anywhere. [20:41] We'll be right back. [20:42] We're just kinda doing it together. [20:44] Welcome back and welcome to Jensaki, host of The Briefing, [20:47] and Ali Vitale, host of Way Too Early. [20:50] Audience knows y'all, so let's just jump right into it. [20:52] Now they're in a group chat. [20:53] They're our red-headed president. [20:54] We're on a group chat. [20:55] There's a literal group chat. [20:57] Now it's a continuation of the group chat. [20:58] Yes, it's our actual group chat. [21:00] I would just like to note, I think y'all are on two separate schedules. [21:03] So the fact that y'all are here today at the same time. [21:05] We're like shifts in the night. [21:06] I was like, it's so good to see you. [21:09] Now, the last time we were all together, [21:12] it was at a table like this at the White House Correspondent Center. [21:14] I just, tell us y'all's experience, or the experience we all had. [21:19] You know, okay, so I said this to Jen. [21:21] I actually learned something about every single one of my colleagues that night, right? [21:24] Like, that all of us under pressure are the people that I would want to be in a pressure situation with. [21:29] I told Rebecca Cutler the same thing. [21:31] I said, if I want to be in a foxhole, it's with the people that was at that specific table. [21:34] Correct. [21:35] Correct. [21:36] And I think that was a learning experience that I also never need to have again. [21:39] Correct. [21:39] Because I think the thing that was so scary is that it went from being this lovely celebration [21:45] where you had just maybe ordered a Magnum Moet. [21:48] Sure did. [21:49] That I didn't even get to open. [21:50] It's Lant. [21:50] No, you got the tinfoil off. [21:51] No, we did open at the end. [21:52] And it just arrived. [21:53] Yeah, it just arrived. [21:54] We did open it. [21:55] We didn't drink it because I thought it was inappropriate. [21:56] It had just hit the table. [21:56] The ice was getting around. [21:58] It was nice. [21:58] And all of a sudden, it was just the complete total change. [22:03] And frankly, what all of us remember is just hitting the floor and pulling you, Simone, [22:09] right down with me, Alicia on my other side. [22:12] You're across the table from us. [22:14] I mean, that's not normal. [22:16] And I think that's the part that is still staying with me that I'm still grappling with [22:21] is how something can go from loud, raucous, joyful to, oh, my God, we are on the floor. [22:28] And is the sound of a man holding a gun over me a good guy or a bad guy? [22:32] Right, right. [22:33] And there was just not a lot of information we knew in the moment. [22:36] And first of all, Eugene. [22:38] Maybe Eugene was like top flight security in the world. [22:40] He was. [22:41] Literally. [22:42] I am 5'3". [22:43] Eugene is a foot plus taller than me. [22:46] And every time I see him, he's like, is that jacket something I can wear? [22:49] And it's like, maybe, maybe. [22:50] And he's so smart. [22:51] It's almost ever so freaking smart. [22:53] But Eugene moved into like, I played football in college. [22:56] And I will carry people to their live shot positions. [23:00] And Rebecca Cutler, our boss there, if needed. [23:02] And I was thinking, we don't know if there's another gunman. [23:05] I know you're tall, but that doesn't stop. [23:07] I will say, you know, I don't go to a lot of these dinners. [23:10] I went to this one because these are people in the room who are holding the president to account. [23:16] And I did not go there to sit there like a potted plant and listen to the president. [23:20] And I went there because, and we saw this in action that night, colleagues of ours, Vaughn Hilliard and Carol and Kendallinian, Jackie, they leapt into action to learn more information, to share that information with the public. [23:36] And they did that because they felt people deserve to have it. [23:40] And that was also really cool to watch. [23:43] You know, that wasn't my role. [23:44] I felt like my role in the moment was like, is the DNC chair and the mayor of Minneapolis okay? [23:50] Because this is a crazy situation. [23:53] Because they were at our table. [23:54] Mayor Frye and DNC chair Martin and his wife. [23:58] And it was just, it was so insane. [23:59] I will just say, the moment that we hit the ground, I did think that there were actual, like, shooters in the room. [24:06] And I thought we were going to get shot. [24:07] And I just would say, Ali Vitale pulled me down and threw me under that table. [24:12] I had to pull down Jackie as well. [24:14] I need you guys to have some more situations. [24:16] But this is the thing, right? [24:17] Like, what is wrong with you that you're interested in? [24:19] I was just like, what is, Ali's like, get your ass down. [24:22] And pushed me under the table. [24:24] And when we figured out that, like, okay, maybe there is not a current threat in the room. [24:28] What I thought was remarkable, Ali was like, we should be recording. [24:31] So me and I'm trying to follow Ali Vitale. [24:33] I'm under the table. [24:33] We should be recording. [24:35] So I'm under the table. [24:36] And I like, grab the phone. [24:37] And I'm like, do you want to hear the funniest part of that is that we were both doing that. [24:41] And I came out with blurry still photos because I couldn't figure out how to do the video. [24:45] And I was like, actually, Simone, like, I'm going to need the video. [24:48] This is why Simone, whenever I try to take a selfie, she's like, no. [24:51] She just takes it. [24:52] She knows what she's doing. [24:53] Whatever is happening right there. [24:54] But again, we learned something about each of our colleagues. [24:56] We did. [24:56] Every single time. [24:57] We did. [24:58] I will say one of the things that was so shocking about it and heartening, I guess, as a journalist, [25:04] was watching everyone, not just like go to live shots, but people were recording within the room. [25:09] The second that even when Secret Service was running inside, when we didn't know if they were good or bad guys, [25:16] phones everywhere were up. [25:18] And I think, like, the room showed both the best and worst of America. [25:22] The worst is that we all knew, most of us, knew what happens when something like this happens [25:28] because it happens so much in this country. [25:30] And it happens much worse in other places, right? [25:33] No one died where we were. [25:35] The only person that was shot was a Secret Service agent. [25:37] He is doing well. [25:39] And we still don't know who shot him. [25:41] And a lot of children don't get the benefit of having other people with guns protecting them. [25:46] But then we saw the best of America, which is the people that were there supporting and defending [25:50] and celebrating the First Amendment were doing that in the moment, trying to make sure. [25:55] Not that, like, well, there were some people who had the camera made with the wrong way. [25:58] You're supposed to be shooting what's happening to let people know what's happening. [26:02] But making sure that people knew, where was our president? [26:05] Where's the vice president? [26:06] And where are all the members of Congress? [26:08] The Speaker was there. [26:10] So, like, all of that so quickly. [26:11] That was kind of the thing that I took away from it. [26:14] Just to your point on, like, gun violence. [26:16] Because we all talk about this a lot, right? [26:18] There were a lot of people in that room who were like, everybody should have, you know, [26:22] concealed carry in schools and in libraries and in hotels. [26:27] And it's like, yeah, it should have been, we're not living in La La Land, none of us, but it should be a wake-up call for that. [26:33] And remember, when Ronald Reagan got shot in that same hotel, it took a long time. [26:39] But one of the things that happened out of that was more gun safety measures. [26:42] That's not going to happen here. [26:43] There's advocacy for a ballroom. [26:45] It's all freaking insane. [26:45] But, like, that's what the kind of thing is that should come out of that. [26:49] Can we also just say the ballroom has no bearing whatsoever on this? [26:52] Like, I'm sure this has been driving you a little bit insane. [26:54] Because it's like the White House Correspondents' Dinner has literally nothing to do with the president other than the fact that he always gets an invitation. [27:01] And it's like, imagine throwing a birthday party and you're invited and then all of a sudden it's like, you got to do it at my house or I'm never coming again. [27:07] And it's like, okay, but, like, you were on the guest list, but, like, what else? [27:11] Correct. [27:11] It's not any part of this conversation. [27:14] So, like, congratulations to Republicans, I guess, who found some way to use this. [27:18] But, like, this is not... [27:20] Well, you know what? [27:21] Angelo made this... [27:22] Angelo Corazon, President of Media Matters. [27:25] When we were talking about this on Monday on our show, he was making the point that, like, what he took from the aftermath of the incident on Saturday is that Donald Trump is still the Pied Piper. [27:36] He can still get everyone in the Republican Party apparatus to sing from the same tune. [27:41] Listen to what he had to say about that. [27:44] He's still the Pied Piper. [27:45] He can still control a very large part of that ecosystem, even if there's criticism and frustration. [27:52] And there is. [27:52] There's plenty of cracks and fault lines and they're not willing to carry a ton of water day to day. [27:56] But for these catalyzing events, he's still the tallest tree in the field. [27:59] Right, Mike? [28:00] I mean, it is so... [28:02] It's watching these people, you know, Mike Johnson and so many Lindsey Graham go out there and say, this is what we need. [28:11] We need taxpayers to pay for a ballroom. [28:14] You're like, if Donald Trump said we need a pack of unicorns to surround the White House with a moat, would you go out there and be like, we need money for that? [28:22] And the answer is like, maybe they freaking would. [28:25] 75 million judiciary, they handle the unicorns. [28:26] I mean, it's like, what? [28:28] Like, have you had a lobotomy? [28:30] And also now trying to use taxpayer dollars when Donald Trump was saying over and over again him and his rich friends were going to pay for it. [28:36] It's also, I mean, we all know this, you know this as a former president of the Correspondents Association, is like the White House controlling invites, no matter who the president is, means they vet the invites, they decide who's on the list. [28:51] It's not the media organizations and it's certainly not the reporters. [28:55] There were a lot of people in that room, believe me, we like emerged from that place in the dark looking for Ubers in a MAGA throng of insanity, which I never want to live again in my life. [29:05] But the reporters in that room, the overwhelming majority of them, are the reasons anybody in this country has any information, because they're not sharing it from the White House. [29:15] And we haven't talked about it, but let's just throw the conspiracy theories on the table. [29:20] It happened so fast. [29:21] It happened quickly, but I feel like part of the, I think part of the conspiracy theory, like, rush, is that people are like, how is this happening so many times? [29:30] Like, there must be something going on. [29:31] And then I also think the other part of it is what Jen just said. [29:34] The White House is telling us and the FBI and the Department of Justice, they're saying the Secret Service did their job. [29:41] It was amazing. [29:41] Like, you need to thank a Secret Service agent. [29:43] Uh, Carol Lennox. [29:44] Did they? [29:45] Did they? [29:46] Carol Lennox said that the assailant just walked down 10 flights of stairs, popped right out outside the magnetometers before he ran through at nine miles an hour. [29:55] That don't seem secure to me. [29:57] In what universe is there a shooting outside the ballroom where the president, the vice president, members of the cabinet, like, lots of people are, and then you just let everybody out? [30:05] Jen, you've had conversations and negotiations with the Secret Service, right? [30:10] As press secretary, I imagine when the president wants to go somewhere, you're around, and you had been in those meetings. [30:16] There just seems like there's so much missing pieces of what we know and what we watched. [30:21] Yeah, look, I mean, the Secret Service, um, they are a part of, and I wasn't a decider in that sort of thing, but you're kind of aware of it, right? [30:30] To your point, because every president or vice president, right, is like, I wanted to go to the bookstore, and you're like, sir, ma'am, sorry. [30:37] Like, you can't. [30:38] You actually can't. [30:39] We can get that book for you. [30:40] Right, exactly. [30:41] And sometimes it's like they want to do what's called OTRs, which are off the records, which are like when, and these are great. [30:47] I think for journalists, they're great. [30:49] Yeah, we love them. [30:49] They're great for the community, because whenever presidents go places, normal people pre-Trump who interact with humans and children, like, in a normal way, you know, they'd go get ice cream, they'd go do whatever. [30:59] But the Secret Service would typically make the call, like, it's not safe. [31:03] We can't do this. [31:04] And I use that as an example because they're constantly assessing, right? [31:08] Carol knows more about the Secret Service than I ever will. [31:11] She wrote a book about it. [31:12] But it is so hard to fathom the fact that people who were staying in the hotel could just easily get down to the ballroom seems crazy. [31:20] And even the magnetometer was just a magnetometer. [31:23] Like, it was the same one as when Trump wasn't there. [31:25] I get wanted more aggressively to go into the Capitol every day. [31:28] Yeah. [31:28] Like, I think that's a key piece of it. [31:31] But then when I think about the mis- and disinformation, like, I decided a long time ago not to let bad faith actors dictate my humanity. [31:38] And the humanity in the response to this is, for those of us who were there, it was traumatic. [31:44] I think all of us are working through it in our own way. [31:47] It makes all of us think about the fact that other people have been going through this for decades. [31:51] And yet it is still just this gross, vicious cycle where we've all sort of accepted, like, okay, this is what it is, which it should not be. [31:58] And it's unfathomable that it is. [32:00] And then I think the other piece of it is, it is fair to, as a journalist, question how the Secret Service, which was investigated after Butler by a bipartisan committee and was found to be underfunded, lacking the ability to recruit enough people, sufficiently trained people, how something like this could happen again in the most secure room or what should have been the most secure room on the freaking planet. [32:26] It reminds me, frankly, of the parallel to January 6th, where I remember talking to Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs. [32:33] She said, my parents texted me on the day of January 6th, and they said, we're worried about you. [32:37] We see the pictures outside. [32:38] And she said, guys, I'm in the safest room in America. [32:40] I'm in the House chamber. [32:41] Right. [32:42] And Sarah ended up putting on a gas mask and running for her life with other members of Congress and reporters that day. [32:47] Right. [32:47] So, like, there are questions about the rooms that we assume to be safe and how those safety veils can be pierced. [32:54] And then also what it says about rooms that are not locked down by Secret Service, Capitol Police, law enforcement that I am grateful for, because they did help us recognize there was no active threat. [33:05] Right. [33:06] And also, it is completely valid to ask all these questions. [33:09] And you know what? [33:10] Like, none of that should just be left without stoned unturned. [33:13] And nobody should experience that. [33:15] And that is, it's a little deranged for anyone to think, like, it doesn't matter because these targets were against. [33:21] That is a hugely messed up thing to think. [33:23] Correct. [33:24] I'm going to throw another thing on the table. [33:27] It's always dangerous when she throws things on the table. [33:29] Just chum it. [33:29] I give you a caller. [33:31] This is Tyler from Kansas who called into the Megyn Kelly wrap-up show. [33:36] This is on Monday, April 27th. [33:38] He called in to air his grievances. [33:41] Take a listen. [33:41] I think it's also, the left already hates him. [33:44] But then, like, if he has an interview and doesn't like a question, he says, well, you're terrible people. [33:49] You're uneducated. [33:50] I mean, he called Megyn and Tucker uneducated. [33:53] You know, it's just, he says stuff to be mean. [33:56] And it puts crazy people, radical people, just over the edge. [34:00] And it makes them feel justified, like, yes, he does need to go. [34:04] And it's not helping. [34:06] It's dividing. [34:07] It's creating division. [34:09] And he needs to be the unifier. [34:11] He's the president. [34:12] He needs to be above all the words. [34:14] And his words just make the left hate him more. [34:16] And it motivates MAGA to hate the left, which divides our country. [34:21] Thanks for the call, Tyler. [34:23] Not the host being like, mm, mm, thanks for the call, Tyler. [34:27] Thank you, Tyler. [34:29] Who just said a lot of things that make me uncomfortable. [34:31] I'm going to use that forever. [34:33] Thanks for the call, Tyler. [34:33] Thanks for the call, Tyler. [34:35] When I, because for me, what this showed in the misinformation and what Trump is doing and trying to use it, [34:41] it just shows that we're, like, fraying at the edges as a country. [34:44] We're, like, fractured beyond repair. [34:47] And, um, there's a theory that most great empires last about 250 years. [34:52] It's called The Fate of Empires in Search for Survival by Sir John Glubb. [34:56] And a lot of people know about this. [34:57] It says that they, we go through pioneers, conquests, commerce, affluence, intellect, and finally decadence and decline. [35:05] And we are hitting 250 years this year. [35:09] And the fact that there, there's a lack of empathy in the country, [35:13] it feels like it spells bad news for us. [35:17] And I don't know if anybody else has some positivity that I throw on the table to that, [35:20] but that's where, kind of, like, where my head is at. [35:22] Yeah. [35:22] Listen, Sir John Glubb. [35:24] You're new to me. [35:26] Yes. [35:26] Um, I was not aware of you, Sir John Glubb. [35:28] Well, that it were. [35:29] But here's what I would say. [35:31] The demise is a scary thing to think about, and we have to be clear-eyed. [35:35] But I also think the public is a little bit, like, WTF about a lot of this, [35:40] and we're seeing this over and over again. [35:42] And that is where I would say there's encouragement and some positivity. [35:44] Yeah, we have no choice but to choose that, right? [35:48] Because I refuse to live in a world where I just have to feel negatively [35:52] about all of the bad things that are happening. [35:54] But I also think, I'll bring in an unlikely name to this conversation, [35:58] when I was talking to former Vice President Mike Pence last week, [36:02] he was someone who was delineating all of his disagreements with Democrats, [36:07] with members of his own party. [36:09] Never once did he call anyone a loser. [36:11] Never once did he insult anybody. [36:13] And I recognize that maybe that's not shocking for Mike Pence, [36:17] but it was almost shocking for me to come out of that interview and be like, [36:20] oh, I remember a time when politics still was far from perfect, [36:24] but, like, we did not despise each other in the course of political debate. [36:30] And I actually am hopeful that even in what feels like an age of decadence, [36:35] because it cannot be that you... [36:37] I'm not at decline, because I refuse to be at decline, right? [36:40] I think that the American public, in the way that you're talking about, [36:43] is saying, hey, this doesn't quite feel right. [36:45] Let's move to another place and we'll see in November, right? [36:48] Elections aren't won until they're done. [36:49] But, like, there is, I think, something brewing, [36:53] and we can appeal to our own better angels. [36:55] And we have to set a permission structure for that, [36:57] for people to, you know, be able to raise money off of not being an asshole [37:01] or attacking people. [37:03] It's a podcast, we can say these things. [37:04] Yes, you can. [37:05] But I think we have to create that and foster that, right? [37:09] And that's not being agreeable or not being tough as journalists. [37:12] It's nothing of that. [37:13] But it's like, you can pull out the bright spots [37:16] as much as you also pull out what you're talking about, [37:18] and there's certainly a lot to choose from, of the not bright spots. [37:22] You know what? [37:22] As you all were talking, it made me think about the fact, [37:25] as Eugene knows, I've been reading a lot about reconstruction [37:27] and the post-reconstruction world, and there is an 87-year gap [37:32] between the fall of Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Act [37:35] and the Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act in 1964, [37:37] Voting Rights Act in 1965. [37:39] And it was in that period, though, that so many of the institutions [37:43] in our country and organizations and great work was done. [37:46] You know, I'm giving the commencement at Spelman this year. [37:48] Yes, she is. [37:50] Spelman was founded three, four years after Reconstruction ended. [37:55] A college for black women at a time when literally the country [38:01] was saying, we do not matter. [38:03] They were literally trying to take us back to slavery. [38:07] Sophia and Harriet, Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles, [38:10] who founded Spelman, they came together and said, [38:13] no, we are going to, we're going to build anyway. [38:14] And I think that we are in a time to the point that you're, [38:17] you know, you made me feel very hopeful just now, Ali Batali. [38:20] We're in a time that I think everyone has to decide [38:23] to build anyway. [38:24] The journalists have to decide to do good work [38:26] and good journalism anyway. [38:28] The activists have to decide to get out there on their issues [38:31] and advocate and protest anyway. [38:33] The educators have to decide to educate anyway. [38:36] The builders have to decide to build anyway [38:38] because the decision in that 87 years [38:42] between the fall of Reconstruction [38:44] and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, [38:46] that is how we are able to sit here today. [38:48] So what we do right now is going to decide 87 years from now. [38:51] I feel like we just got a preview of your speech. [38:53] I think it sounds like it. [38:55] Yes, I will take it down. [38:56] Take it down. [38:57] I'm ready to graduate. [38:58] Let's go. [38:59] Put your hat in the air. [39:00] Roll your hat. [39:01] Can I also just say before we end, [39:03] not that we're ending, you decide when we end. [39:05] Yes. [39:05] I am very grateful for the group of people [39:08] that are at this table. [39:09] And I'm really grateful that everyone came correct [39:11] and ready that night. [39:12] And I'm very, very much in love with all of you. [39:15] Oh, I love you. [39:16] Well, yeah. [39:16] Jen Psaki was giving instructions. [39:18] We was walking out. [39:18] She was like, we need to huddle. [39:20] Yes. [39:20] And I was like, my queen. [39:21] Jen Psaki got us to get a chat. [39:23] I'm not going to tell y'all why, [39:24] but we was on the street. [39:25] And she was like, hold on a second. [39:27] We need to chat. [39:28] Exactly. [39:29] Because where are we going? [39:30] And I muted the phone her and we chatted. [39:32] Simone got the footage. [39:34] Eugene was carrying people out. [39:37] I was trying to huddle on the path forward [39:39] and Allie was on TV. [39:40] So there you go. [39:41] Come on, baby. [39:41] That's what we're all doing here. [39:44] Thank y'all. [39:45] Jen Psaki, Allie Vitale. [39:46] Thank y'all for coming to the group chat today. [39:48] Thanks, guys. [39:48] We appreciate you so much. [39:50] Anytime. [39:50] Always. [39:50] We will be right back with the side chat [39:53] on the other side of this. [39:55] Folks, welcome back to the side chat. [39:59] That was a very fulsome group chat conversation. [40:02] I will say after Saturday, you know what I did? [40:05] What? [40:06] I went to go see MJ, the Michael Jackson movie. [40:09] My husband took me to the movies. [40:10] He bought me the Big Popcorn and the nachos. [40:13] Shout out to Mr. Townsend. [40:14] Easily pleased over here. [40:15] Yeah. [40:16] I'm here for the nachos. [40:18] And the MJ movie was actually very, very, very good. [40:20] Now, I just, I encourage people to go see it. [40:22] This is not an, I'm not, this is not a paid ad. [40:24] This is just genuine endorsing. [40:26] This upcoming weekend, there are more movies I wanted to see. [40:29] But it's my sister-in-law, you know, [40:30] the one I always hang out with. [40:31] Yes, yes. [40:32] Shout out to Carrie. [40:33] It's her birthday. [40:33] So we're taking Carrie on a surprise birthday trip. [40:37] By the time this airs, she'll know about it. [40:38] I'm like, [40:39] wait, can I stay where? [40:40] So we're taking Carrie on a little birthday trip. [40:42] She's going to go see Meg Thee Stallion on Broadway. [40:44] Amazing, amazing. [40:45] So I'm not going to see Meg. [40:47] I'll be at work that day. [40:47] But we're going to make it a nice weekend for her. [40:49] So that's what I'm doing this upcoming weekend. [40:51] I will be going to see Devil Wears Prada, too. [40:54] So will I on Sunday. [40:55] I will be seeing it probably Thursday night after work [40:58] because I need to see it before people start tweeting it out. [41:01] Wait, what time are you going to go? [41:02] I don't know. [41:02] Can we go together? [41:04] Okay, yes, I want to see it on Thursday. [41:05] I need to see it. [41:06] I need to see it. [41:07] And also, I am going to be looking forward to next week [41:10] because it is the Met Gala. [41:12] Beyonce will be... [41:13] Beyonce! [41:13] Beyonce! [41:14] Is that the Met Gala? [41:16] She is one of the people putting it on the co-chairs. [41:20] Also, that means that we are getting into the next act [41:23] of her three-act situation. [41:25] So I'm just getting excited. [41:26] And if you know Beyonce, you know Yvette. [41:28] She said there's no album coming. [41:30] We don't believe you, Yvette. [41:30] No, Yvette said there's no album announcement next week. [41:33] Okay, that means it could come, [41:34] it's just not coming next week. [41:36] Yeah, she tried to trick us. [41:37] She tried to trick us. [41:38] And she has tricked us before. [41:39] We love you, Yvette. [41:39] We love you, Yvette, but you be tricking us. [41:41] We see you, girl. We see you. [41:42] So that's what I'm looking forward to. [41:43] The Met is going to be lit on Monday. [41:45] I am looking forward to that. [41:46] You know, I'll be in New York this weekend [41:47] and it's like, dang, the hotels are so crazy [41:49] because it's the weekend before the Met. [41:51] It's the weekend before the Met. [41:52] Now, you know, I think a lot of people [41:54] are about to pop out to the Met. [41:56] I will say we're supposed to be seeing my girl, [41:58] Michelle, on Broadway and Death Becomes Her. [42:00] It is so... Wait, it's so good. [42:01] Okay, I wanted to go see it this weekend. [42:03] We wanted to take Carrie, [42:04] but Michelle ain't gonna be there this weekend. [42:06] And then I thought about it. [42:07] My other sister-in-law was like, [42:08] she's probably preparing for the Met. [42:09] I said, ah! [42:10] Maybe the three of them together. [42:12] Ooh, we got a destiny child for New York! [42:14] Not a starting rumors. [42:15] Not a starting rumor. [42:16] Not a starting a rumor. [42:18] But it... No, you should go see it. [42:19] It was so funny. [42:20] I want to see it, but I want to see it [42:21] with Michelle in it. [42:22] Yeah, no, you have to see it. [42:23] I don't know who the other person is. [42:24] Shout out to the other lady, [42:25] but Michelle is so good in it. [42:27] She's in it more than I remember in the movie [42:29] that her character was in. [42:30] Honestly, this is the thing. [42:32] Now, democracy, I believe, is on fire. [42:34] Crazy things are happening in the world, [42:36] like we just said at the top of this thing. [42:38] What the Supreme Court did [42:39] the day that we recorded this is insane. [42:42] But you also got to find your moments of levity, folks. [42:45] You got to get out the bubble. [42:47] Can't be tied up in the craziness every day. [42:49] You got to breathe. [42:50] Sometimes you got to laugh to keep from crying [42:51] and then cry again and get back to work. [42:53] So that's what we doing this weekend. [42:54] And cry while you're laughing. [42:56] Might have to do so. [42:56] Thank you all for listening to Clock It Again.