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ARE CHARGED ON ANY GIVEN DAY WITH INVESTIGATING CRIME, STOPPING HOMICIDES FROM TAKING PLACE, PREVENTING CARJACKINGS. THAT'S THE WORK OF A POLICE OFFICER IN A CITY.
MEANWHILE, WE HAVE ICE AGENTS THROUGHOUT OUR CITY AND THROUGHOUT OUR STATE, WHO ALONG WITH BORDER CONTROL ARE CREATING CHAOS. POLICE ARE SO BUSY NOW RESPONDING TO THE MESS ICE IS CREATING, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO BE AS RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO SERVE. THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE JUST SAYING IN THOSE CLIPS.
MEANWHILE WE CONTINUE TO SEE DAILY EXAMPLES OF ICE AGENTS USING EXCESSIVE FORCE AGAINST CIVILIANS. WE'RE SEEING ICE AGENTS BRUTALIZE BOTH IMMIGRANTS, SUSPECTED IMMIGRANTS AND PROTESTERS ON THE STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS. TACKLING PEOPLE, DEPLOYING TEAR GAS, SMASHING WINDOWS AND PULLING PEOPLE OUT OF THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE SCENES. WE'VE SEEN ICE AGENTS GET PHYSICAL, EVEN RIPPING PHONES OUT OF THE HANDS OF CITIZENS TRYING TO FILM THEIR ACTIVITIES. WE'VE HEARD FROM A REPORTED FATHER OF SIX WHO TOLD SKY NEWS THAT HIS CHILDREN WENT TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE ICE AGENTS THREW A TEAR GAS CANISTER UNDERNEATH HIS CAR. WE'VE SEEN VIDEOS LIKE THIS, SHOWING AN OVERZEALOUS BORDER PATROL AGENT SEEMING TO THREATEN SOMEONE THEY'VE DETAINED WITH PEPPER SPRAY. THE AGENT WAS SEEMINGLY RESTRAINED BY ANOTHER OFFICER WHO APPEARED TO KNOW BETTER. I GUESS THAT'S GOOD, BUT STILL THIS IS HAPPENING OUT THERE.
I'M GOING TO TALK WITH HIM ALSO IN JUST A MOMENT ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE GROUND. THESE ARE THE KINDS OF HEAVY-HANDED TACTICS THE ADMINISTRATION IS DEFENDING. SECRETARY CHRISTINE HOME EVEN SAID ICE AGENTS ARE DOING EVERYTHING CORRECTLY. BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CLEAR THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS STOKING THIS CHAOS ON PURPOSE. AND WE'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE. I MEAN, TRUMP USED AGGRESSIVE ICE TACTICS IN LOS ANGELES AND CHICAGO TO CREATE CHAOS WHICH HE THEN USED AS JUSTIFICATION TO CALL ON THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RATCHET UP TENSIONS EVEN FURTHER, AND NOW HE'S CONSIDERING A MORE DRASTIC ESCALATION FOR MINNEAPOLIS.
TODAY DONALD TRUMP THREATENED TO INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT, A RARELY USED LAW THAT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO SEND THE U.S. MILITARY INTO THE STREETS. BUT UNLIKE HIS PREVIOUS THREATS, INVOKING THE INSURRECTION ACT WOULD ALLOW THOSE TROOPS TO CARRY OUT LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTIONS LIKE MAKING ARRESTS AND CONDUCTING SEARCHES. IT WOULD MILITARIZE THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS, PITTING U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS AGAINST THEIR FELLOW AMERICANS. TRUMP KNOWS HIS OPERATIONS IN MINNEAPOLIS HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. JUST LIKE ALMOST EVERYTHING HE'S DOING IS A DISASTER. BUT DONALD TRUMP DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO ADMIT WHEN HE HAS FAILED, SO INSTEAD, HE POURS MORE FUEL ON THE FIRE, STOKES MORE CHAOS AND MAKES THINGS WORSE.
STARTING US OFF TONIGHT IS MILES TAYLOR. HE WAS OF COURSE CHIEF OF STAFF AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DURING TRUMP'S FIRST TERM AND HAS BEEN SPEAKING OUT EVER SINCE INCREDIBLY FEARLESSLY. MILES, I KNOW YOU, AND YOU'VE WRITTEN PIECES ABOUT THIS TOO, YOU'RE A PART OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE INSURRECTION ACT DURING THE FIRST TERM. IT SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE CYCLES OF THREATS THAT TRUMP LIKES TO THROW OUT THERE. AS YOU'VE WATCHED THE LAST WEEK AND HEARD HIS COMMENTS, DO YOU THINK HE'D ACTUALLY TRY TO INVOKE IT NOW?
I THINK HE WILL INVOKE IT.
YOU THINK HE WILL DO IT?
I THINK HE WILL DO IT. THIS HAS BEEN TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING. HE HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR ALMOST A DECADE FOR THE EXCUSE, THE RIGHT MOMENT, THE PRETEXT, THE VISUALS THAT WOULD JUSTIFY HIM INVOKING THE INSURRECTION ACT. AND I CAN REMEMBER JEN, WHEN HE FIRST THOUGHT HE HAD IT, OR ONE OF THE TIMES HE THOUGHT HE HAD IT. IT WAS THE EVE OF HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS IN 2019, AND WE HAD TO RUSH TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO INTERCEPT HIM IN THE MAP ROOM AS HE WAS PRACTICING ON THE TELEPROMPTER AND KEEP HIM FROM HAVING THE STENOGRAPHER TYPE IN AN INVOCATION OF THE INSURRECTION ACT INTO THE ADDRESS. AND WE WENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL'S OFFICE AND HELPED THEM TALK THE PRESIDENT DOWN BECAUSE HE WANTED TO INVOKE IT AT THAT MOMENT ON THE BORDER. THERE WAS A CARAVAN HEADED TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES AND THAT'S WHAT HE WANTED TO USE AS JUSTIFICATION. REMEMBER, JEN, THE LAW SAYS THERE NEEDS TO BE AN INVASION OF THE UNITED STATES, A REBELLION OR AN INSURRECTION. AND A GROUP OF PEOPLE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES BORDER TO CLAIM ASYLUM DIDN'T MEET ANY OF THOSE CRITERIA.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THIS, TOWARDS THE END OF MY TIME IN THAT ADMINISTRATION, I SAT DOWN WITH STEPHEN MILLER IN HIS OFFICE ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE WEST WING, YOU KNOW THE SPACE, AND STEPHEN TOLD ME ABOUT HOW IF TRUMP WON REELECTION, IT WOULD BE A SHOCK AND AWE. HE WOULD INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT AND TRY TO RUN IT UP TO THE SUPREME COURT AS FAST AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO GET A DECISION. I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IN THE LEAST IF THIS YEAR DONALD TRUMP DOES IT. HE SPENT LAST YEAR TRYING TO FOMENT CIRCUMSTANCES IN LOS ANGELES AND CHICAGO AND PORTLAND TO JUSTIFY IT. ALL OF THOSE FAILED. NOW, IN MINNEAPOLIS, THEY SEE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH, TO THEM, MIGHT SEEM ACCEPTABLE FOR THE INVOCATION. TO ANYONE ELSE, IT WILL LOOK LAWLESS AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL BECAUSE IT WILL BE. AND IT WILL COMPLETELY MILITARIZE THE STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS.
I'M SURE THIS IS A... I MEAN, THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS, AND I WAS TALKING WITH SOME VERY SMART PEOPLE ON MY TEAM ABOUT THIS TODAY, THAT HE MIGHT THINK ABOUT DOING THIS, RIGHT? HE WANTS TO NORMALIZE MILITARY IN THE STREETS. HE WANTS TO SEEM IN CONTROL. HE'S INCREDIBLY INSECURE AND A LOT OF THINGS. WHAT IS HIS END GOAL HERE AS YOU MAP THIS OUT IN YOUR HEAD?
LOOK, DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. LISTEN TO HIS OWN CURRENT CHIEF OF STAFF, SUSIE WILES, WHO A MONTH AGO WHEN THOSE VOGUE INTERVIEWS CAME OUT, SHE SAID HE HAS AN ALCOHOLIC'S PERSONALITY. BUT DONALD TRUMP IS A TEETOTALER. HE DOESN'T DRINK. I DON'T SAY HE IS IN POWER AND I DON'T SAY THAT FACETIOUSLY, I DON'T SAY IT HYPERBOLICALLY. I GO BACK TO EARLY IN HIS FIRST TERM AND I REMEMBER WHEN THOSE CABINET MEMBERS WHO DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HIM, GOT TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DISCOVERED WAS HE WAS ON THIS CONSTANT QUEST TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE APEX OF HIS POWERS WERE. WHERE WAS HE MOST POWERFUL? BECAUSE THE MAN CAME INTO OFFICE DEEPLY... HE DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE POWERS HE THOUGHT HE HAD. TRUST ME, THE MAN HAS NEVER READ THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND HE WAS CONFOUNDED THAT HE HAD CHECKS FROM THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH IN HIS OWN BRANCH, THAT THERE WERE CHECKS FROM CONGRESS, THAT THERE WERE CHECKS FROM THE COURTS. AND SO HE WANTED TO KNOW WHERE AM I MOST POWERFUL? AND EARLY IN THE ADMINISTRATION, THAT'S WHEN HE WAS FIRST TOLD THE WORDS INSURRECTION ACT AND EVER SINCE THAT MOMENT, HE WAS INFATUATED WITH IT. I MEAN, I'VE SAID TO PEOPLE BEFORE HE STARTED CALLING IT BY HIS OWN SET OF WORDS. HE CALLED IT HIS MAGICAL AUTHORITIES ON MORE THAN TWO OCCASIONS. I HEARD HIM REFERENCE THOSE POWERS AS HIS MAGICAL AUTHORITIES BECAUSE TO HIM, IF HE INVOKED IT, HE COULD DO EVERYTHING HE WANTED. NOW THAT'S NOT WHAT THE LAW SAYS. THAT'S NOT WHAT THE LAW SAYS. THAT'S NOT WHAT THE CONSTITUTION ALLOWS. BUT IN DONALD TRUMP'S MIND, THIS ALLOWS HIM TO DO ANYTHING. THAT SHOULD WORRY ALL OF US. HE HAS A CREEPY OBSESSION AND DISTURBING OBSESSION WITH POLITICIZING THE MILITARY TOO. AND I JUST KEEP THINKING OF THESE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE BEING PUT IN THIS IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION OVER AND OVER AGAIN. YOU KNOW, WATCHING THE... AND I'VE TALKED TO A LOT OF THEM OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST WEEK, ELECTED OFFICIALS IN MINNEAPOLIS, LOCAL OFFICIALS, SENATORS, OTHERS. IT'S HEARTBREAKING WHAT THEY'RE SEEING AND THEY'RE ALL PUNCHING BACK VERY HARD. BUT THIS IS LIKE A BARRELING MOVEMENT FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION COMING TOWARDS THEM. WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM? YOU'VE THOUGHT SO MUCH ABOUT HIS THINKING, WHAT WORKS AND DOESN'T, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM? WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THE LEADERS OF THE CITY ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH WHAT? WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM WITH THIS?
WELL, ONE QUICK NOTE FIRST, JEN. CREEPY IS THE RIGHT WORD HERE. WE NEED TO START USING THAT MORE AGAIN BECAUSE DONALD TRUMP'S OBSESSION WITH THIS WAS CREEPY. I CAN REMEMBER WHEN HE WOULD GO MEET FRONTLINE AGENTS, ICE AGENTS, AND HE WOULD FIND THE TOUGHEST LOOKING ONE, A GUY WITH A SHARP JAW, BEEFY ARMS WHO LOOKED LIKE HE WAS IN SPECIAL FORCES. HE WOULD GO UP TO HIM AND HE WOULD PUT HIS HANDS ON BOTH SHOULDERS AND SAY VERBATIM, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE STRAIGHT OUT OF CENTRAL CASTING. IT WAS WEIRD. BUT WHAT DONALD TRUMP DIDN'T MEAN WAS I WANT ALL OF MY ICE AGENTS TO LOOK LIKE SOLDIERS INSTEAD OF FROMPY BEAT COPS. HE MEANT I WANT THEM TO ACT LIKE SOLDIERS. SO THIS HAS BEEN LONG IN THE MAKING AND AGAIN, CREEPY.
AS FOR JEN, MY ADVICE TO ELECTED LEADERS IN MINNESOTA, DO WHAT ILLINOIS DID, DO WHAT CALIFORNIA DID. GO ON LEGAL OFFENSE AGAINST THIS ADMINISTRATION. AND AS YOU KNOW, MINNESOTA IS STARTING TO DO THAT. THEY ARE DOING THAT BY SUING ABOUT THE INVASION OF ICE AGENTS. WHAT THEY ALSO SHOULD BE DOING IS PREPARING PRE-EMPTIVE ACTIONS FOR THE POSSIBILITY THAT DONALD TRUMP INVOKES THE INSURRECTION ACT. THEY NEED TO GO ON LEGAL OFFENSE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M HEARTENED TO SEE SO MANY STATE AND LOCALS DOING EXACTLY THAT. THEY HAVE GOTTEN THE MESSAGE. THEY ARE STANDING UP. THEY ARE BEING DEFIANT. THE ONLY WAY TO BE IN THIS MOMENT IS ON OFFENSE. OTHERWISE, HE WILL KEEP PUSHING AND PLOWING FORWARD.
MILES TAYLOR, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS. SO INSIGHTFUL, CHILLING BUT IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR.