Transcription
JEWELRY. WE'RE GOING TO EXPLAIN THAT STORY IN JUST A BIT.
I'M ALI VITALI.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH.
WE'LL START WITH THE NEWS. ORGANIZERS SAY MORE THAN 7 MILLION PEOPLE GATHERED NEARLY 3000 EVENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY OVER THE WEEKEND FOR NO KINGS RALLIES. IN A LARGELY PEACEFUL SHOW OF FORCE AGAINST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S POLICIES. THAT'S 2 MILLION MORE PEOPLE THAN THE FIRST NO KINGS DAY.
BACK IN JUNE, PROTESTERS FLOODED STREETS, SQUARES AND PARKS IN BOTH BIG CITIES AND SMALL TOWNS, CHANTING "NO KINGS IN AMERICA" AND CARRYING SIGNS WITH SLOGANS LIKE "DEMOCRACY, NOT MONARCHY" AND "MAKE AMERICA GOOD AGAIN."
IN BOSTON, ORGANIZERS SAY MORE THAN 100,000 RALLY GOERS CONVENED AT THE HISTORIC BOSTON COMMON, AMERICA'S OLDEST PARK. IN WASHINGTON, D.C., PROTESTERS, INCLUDING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, FILLED THE STREETS NEAR THE U.S. CAPITOL AS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN REMAINS IN EFFECT.
IN NEW YORK CITY, PEOPLE STRETCHED FOR MANY BLOCKS, WITH RALLIES SPANNING ACROSS ALL FIVE BOROUGHS. THE PROTESTS WERE OVERWHELMINGLY PEACEFUL, WITH MANY PARTICIPANTS WEARING COSTUMES LIKE THE UNICORN THAT I BELIEVE. JACOB SOBOROFF INTERVIEWED. THEY WERE WAVING AMERICAN FLAGS. THEY WERE DANCING. ALL THIS DESPITE REPUBLICANS REFERRING TO THE EVENTS AS "HATE AMERICA" RALLIES.
IN RECENT DAYS, MANY ELECTED OFFICIALS AND PUBLIC FIGURES JOINED PROTESTERS AT THESE RALLIES, SLAMMING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND CELEBRATING THE DAY'S EVENTS.
"WE ARE HERE FOR THE SAME REASON OUR ANCESTORS GATHERED HERE IN 1776. WE WANT OUR GOVERNMENT TO RUN WITHOUT A KING. OUR GOVERNMENT IS BASED ON IDEAS EMBODIED IN THE CONSTITUTION, AMONG OTHER REMARKABLE FEATURES. IT GUARANTEES OUR FREEDOM TO SPEAK, AS WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY, RATHER THAN DOING ONE MONARCH'S BIDDING. WE HAVE AGREED TO FORM A DEMOCRACY, TO WORK TOGETHER AND TO FOLLOW THE LAWS THAT DERIVE FROM IT. NO THRONES, NO CROWNS, NO KINGS, TYRANNY REQUIRES YOUR FEAR, YOUR SILENCE, AND YOUR COMPLIANCE. DEMOCRACY REQUIRES YOUR COURAGE. AND TYRANNY DEPENDS ON GOOD PEOPLE DOING NOTHING. IT REQUIRES US TO ACCEPT THE UNACCEPTABLE, TO RATIONALIZE THE IRRATIONAL, TO NORMALIZE THE ABNORMAL. BUT TYRANNY ALSO FAILS WHEN ORDINARY PEOPLE REFUSE TO COOPERATE. WHEN THEY SAY NO KINGS AND THEY MEAN IT."
MIKE JOHNSON, THE REPUBLICAN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, CALLED THESE RALLIES "HATE AMERICA" EVENTS. "BOY, DOES HE HAVE IT WRONG. MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE COMING OUT TODAY NOT BECAUSE THEY HATE AMERICA. WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE LOVE AMERICA."
AND SPEAKING OF THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, JOHNSON DOUBLED DOWN ON HIS CRITICISM OF THESE RALLIES DURING AN INTERVIEW YESTERDAY. AND PRESIDENT TRUMP SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE DEMONSTRATIONS ORGANIZED AGAINST HIMSELF AND HIS ADMINISTRATION.
"THE IRONY OF THE MESSAGE IS PRETTY CLEAR FOR EVERYONE. IF PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS A KING, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD BE OPEN RIGHT NOW. IF PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS A KING, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENGAGE IN THAT FREE SPEECH EXERCISE OUT ON THE MALL. I'VE NEVER CALLED ANYBODY AN ENEMY, BUT WE CALL OUT AMERICA RALLY OR YOU KNOW, ANTIFA PRO-HAMAS. THOSE ARE ENEMIES. THERE WERE A LOT OF HATEFUL MESSAGES YESTERDAY. I MEAN, WE HAVE VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF PRETTY VIOLENT RHETORIC CALLING OUT THE PRESIDENT, SAYING 'FASCISTS MUST DIE' AND ALL THE REST. I DON'T THINK THAT'S LOVING SPEECH. I DON'T THINK THAT'S FRIENDLY SPEECH, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S PRO-AMERICAN TO SAY THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO IT'S NOT ABOUT THE PEOPLE. IT'S ABOUT THE MESSAGE. IT'S ABOUT THE IDEOLOGY."
"I THINK IT'S A JOKE. I LOOKED AT THE PEOPLE. THEY'RE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS COUNTRY. AND I LOOKED AT ALL THE BRAND NEW SIGNS PAID FOR. I GUESS IT WAS PAID FOR BY SOROS AND OTHER RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS. IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS. WE'RE CHECKING IT OUT. THE DEMONSTRATIONS WERE VERY SMALL, VERY INEFFECTIVE, AND THE PEOPLE WERE WHACKED OUT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE PEOPLE, THOSE ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY."
I WANT TO BRING IN MSNBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT JAKE TAYLOR, WHO IS AT THE NO KINGS EVENT HERE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TO ME, KIND OF HARD TO SAY THAT 7 MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS THOUSANDS OF RALLY SITES WERE INSIGNIFICANT, SMALL OR NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF AMERICA. BUT NEVERTHELESS, THAT IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS TALKING ABOUT IT. CAN YOU BRING US ON THE GROUND WITH YOU? WHAT DID YOU SEE? WHAT DID YOU HEAR OVER THE WEEKEND?
YEAH. LET ME FIRST JUST MAKE A QUICK POINT. DO WE REMEMBER THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN JUST A FEW ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WHENEVER BIDEN REFERENCED SOME OF THE COUNTRY AS, QUOTE, "GARBAGE." AND THEN THE WAY THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN LATCHED ON TO THAT, THE "DEPLORABLE" COMMENT FROM HILLARY CLINTON BACK IN 2016, THE WAY THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN LATCHED ON TO THAT COMMENT. IT'S INTERESTING THE WAY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, TRUMP HIMSELF, HAS WRITTEN THIS OFF THESE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS IN A VERY SIMILAR WAY AND ARE EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT.
BUT I WILL SAY ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL. THIS IS A PHRASE WE SAY A LOT OF TIMES THAT REALLY WAS TRUE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS WEEKEND. THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT. FIRST OF ALL, 2000 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND NOW IN D.C. FOR A LONG TIME, AGAINST THE WILL OF MANY, MANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE. THE INDICTMENTS OF JOHN BOLTON AND JAMES COMEY RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA. FOR A LOT OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, THE ORIGINAL MILITARY PROTEST OR THE MILITARY PARADE THAT TRUMP HAD IN THE SUMMER IS KIND OF THE INITIATOR OF THIS ACTUAL FIRST NO KINGS RALLY. THIS BACK THIS SUMMER, THERE WERE SO MANY INDIVIDUALS I SPOKE WITH WHO THEIR OVERWHELMING THING THAT THEY SAID TO ME WAS TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION FREQUENTLY SPEAK ABOUT THIS OVERWHELMING MANDATE THAT THEY HAVE, THAT THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THE RIGHT TO GO ABOUT AND EXECUTE WHATEVER WAY THEY CAN BECAUSE THEY WON THIS ELECTION. THEY WANT. THE THING THAT I KEPT HEARING FROM LITERALLY I SPOKE WITH DOZENS OF PEOPLE. THERE WERE I MEAN, THE MALL WAS PACKED, THE NATIONAL MALL, PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, FROM WHERE WE STOOD BY THE CAPITOL ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE, WAS COMPLETELY FILLED OUT. THE THING THAT I KEPT HEARING FROM PEOPLE IS TRUMP DOES NOT HAVE AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE. AND WE'RE HERE TO SAY THERE'S A LARGE PART OF THIS COUNTRY THAT DISAGREES WITH WHAT HE'S DOING HERE.
I TALKED WITH ONE INDIVIDUAL. HER NAME IS HOLLY. SHE SAID, "I'M, YOU KNOW, NOT EVEN MAYBE, QUOTE UNQUOTE, YOUR TYPICAL DEMOCRAT. SHE SAID, I COME FROM A DIFFERENT BACKGROUND. I'M FROM THE SOUTH. I'M A CHRISTIAN, I'M A LAWYER, I'M A VETERAN, AND I AM SO UPSET WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY AND THIS MIKE JOHNSON AND REPUBLICAN KIND OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS BEING AN 'I HATE TRUMP' OR 'I HATE AMERICA' RALLY, AN ANTI-AMERICAN RALLY." HER WORDS WERE REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE SHE HONESTLY, IT SOMETIMES WAS EMOTIONAL SAYING, "I CARE FOR THIS COUNTRY DEEPLY. I'M HERE TO PROTEST PEACEFULLY, BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED WITH WHAT'S GOING ON."
WE HAVE SOME SOUND FROM THAT THAT I WANT TO QUICKLY LISTEN TO.
"I'M A FIRST GENERATION AMERICAN. I AM A VETERAN. I WAS IN THE MILITARY. I CHECK ALL THE BOXES. I'M A MOM. I'VE GOT FOUR KIDS, BUT I AND I FOLLOW JESUS. BUT I AM A PATRIOT. AND I WILL NOT LET ANYONE TELL ME THAT I AM NOT HERE BECAUSE I LOVE MY COUNTRY."
AND SO THAT IS, I THINK OF EVERYTHING. I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TODAY, THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS COUNTRY.
SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU HEAR THE WHITE HOUSE AND I SAW THE RESPONSE THAT THEY GAVE TO YOU WHEN YOU ASKED FOR THEIR REACTION ABOUT THIS, THEY LITERALLY WROTE BACK TO YOU, "WHO CARES?" BUT THESE ARE AMERICANS WHO ARE VOICING THEIR CONCERN WITH WHAT THEY'RE SEEING. MAYBE THEY DIDN'T VOTE FOR TRUMP. MAYBE THEY'RE NOT EVEN THE TRADITIONAL PERSON WHO'S INVOLVED IN POLITICS, AS THAT WOMAN WAS SAYING. AND YET THEY ARE OUT THERE. I THINK THE LARGER QUESTION IS, YEAH, HOW THE WHITE HOUSE IS RESPONDING, BUT WHERE DOES THIS GO? WHERE DOES THIS KIND OF PUBLIC PROTEST ACTUALLY GET FUNNELED? IS IT JUST THE MIDTERMS THAT'S STILL A YEAR AWAY?
YEAH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION. AND I THINK IT'S ONE THAT DEMOCRATS ARE OBVIOUSLY THINKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. YEAH. THIS WAS A SURPRISING AND IMPACTFUL AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS SHOWING UP. THAT'S SUBSTANTIAL. WHERE EXACTLY DOES THIS GO? I THINK I DO THINK MIDTERMS IS A REALLY KEY MARKING PLACE TO TO LOOK AT. BUT I WILL SAY TOO, AND I SPOKE WITH A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS ABOUT THIS TOO. AND IT'S HALFWAY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION. BUT A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS WERE CONCERNED BECAUSE THEY REALLY DO FEEL LIKE THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LOOKS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST ONE, AND THAT THEY JUST DON'T SEEM TO CARE. IN THE SAME WAY, THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE. AND I KNOW WE'LL LATER TALK ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, BUT IT EVEN TRANSLATES TO THAT A LITTLE BIT WHERE I KEEP HAVING WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TELLING ME TRUMP IS LACKING A SENSE OF URGENCY TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE AND REACH SOME KIND OF A DEAL HERE. IT LOOKS THE SAME HERE. THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS I SPOKE WITH YESTERDAY SAYING, "CAN'T YOU AT LEAST SAY IT'S NOTABLE THAT MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE OUT PROTESTING IN THIS WAY?" THEIR RESPONSE IS TRULY JUST, "WE ARE HERE TO FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HAPPY AND PLEASED WITH THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. WE'RE LESS CONCERNED WITH THE OTHER SIDE." THAT'S A SCARY THING IN AMERICAN POLITICS, AND WE'RE SEEING IT INCREASINGLY IN THE SECOND TERM.
YEAH, BECAUSE PRESIDENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS. AND YOU AND I BOTH AT EARLIER POINTS IN OUR CAREERS, WERE TRUMP EMBEDS. RIGHT? I DID THE 15-16 CAMPAIGN. YOU DID THE MOST RECENT ONE. BUT THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS IDEA FROM TRUMP THAT HE GOES WHERE THE SUPPORT IS, HE GOES WHERE THE LOVE IS. RIGHT. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING.