Updated
Summary
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby discusses the efforts to aid Ukraine. President Barack Obama delivers an hour-long speech about the fragility of democracy and how it`s being tested by political disinformation and fake news spread online. Colorado Governor Jared Polis discusses Florida Governor Ron DeSantis` targeting of Disney World. Florida rejects so-called woke math books. Randy Rainbow discusses his hilarious and hugely popular parodies.
Transcript
ARI MELBER, MSNBC HOST: Thanks for joining me here on “THE BEAT WITH ARI MELBER.” I hope to see you tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
THE REIDOUT WITH JOY REID starts now.
JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, everyone.
We begin THE REIDOUT tonight with a choice between good and evil. It was once said that with great power comes great responsibility. And when you are granted that power, you have the responsibility to use it wisely.
Today, former President Barack Obama, the most eloquent spokesperson for the Democratic Party, whose own election felt for a brief historical moment like a giant step forward in the American experiment, delivered an hour- long speech about the fragility of democracy and how it`s being tested by political disinformation and fake news spread online.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democratic backsliding isn`t restricted to distant lands.
Right here in the United States of America, we just saw a sitting president deny the clear results of an election and help incite a violent insurrection at the nation`s Capitol.
Not only that, but a majority of his party, including many who occupies some of the highest offices in the land, continue to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the last election and are using it to justify laws that restrict the vote and make it easier to overturn the will of the people in states where they hold power.
So, for those of us who believe in democracy, and the rule of law, this should serve as a wakeup call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Meanwhile, the goblin king of Mar-a-Lago uses his power to amplify lies and disinformation for personal gain, at the expense of American democracy.
In a sweaty and overly bronzed interview with Piers Morgan, the twice- impeached president continued to push the big lie he cooked up to excuse his failed reelection.
These lies about a stolen election are what precipitated the greatest assault on American democracy in modern American history. These lies led to the death of nearly 10 people. And yet the Republican Party does nothing, because they need these lies. These lies continue to fuel their party, a party filled with feckless political sycophants who are ready to follow Trump into the gutter, because power is all that matters to them.
Today, we got yet another reminder of just how pathetic these leaders are. In an upcoming book obtained by NBC News, “This Will Not Pass” by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of “The New York Times,” Kevin McCarthy, shortly after the insurrection, was ready to give Trump the old heave-ho.
The authors report that Kevin told a group of his Republican colleagues that what the former president had done was — quote — “atrocious and totally wrong.”
In a separate call a few days later, McCarthy told a smaller group of Republicans — quote — “I have had it with this guy. What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it.”
As Democrats were set to introduce a resolution to impeach the former president, McCarthy told his colleagues that he would inform Trump that — quote — “I think this will pass, and it will be my recommendation you should resign.”
This morning, McCarthy responded to that reporting, writing: “`The New York Times“ reporting on me is totally false and wrong.” He also denied ever saying he pushed Trump to resign.
The book also reports that, over in the Senate, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was equally frustrated with Trump. While discussing the upcoming second impeachment, McConnell told two advisers that: “The Democrats are going to take care of this son of a bitch for us,” presuming there would be at least 17 Republicans ready to affirm Trump`s impeachment.
McConnell`s office denied — or declined to comment on the record regarding that reporting.
And NBC News has not independently verified the allegations in the book.
Now, all of you know that none of this came to pass. In fact, 17 days, 17 days after the insurrection, Kevin flew down to Florida and kissed the mad king`s ring. And the Republican National Committee followed suit, claiming that January 6 was just a bunch of people expressing legitimate political discourse.
These revelations are important, because it shows that, when Republicans were presented with a choice, a choice between democracy and Trump, they chose Trump and his lies. All of this, all of this news comes as officials at the Justice Department seem to be ratcheting up their investigation into insurrection plotters and members of Congress and others close to the former president.
Joining me now is Matthew Dowd, founder of Country Over Party, and Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino.
Thank you both for being here.
And, Matthew, reading through that “New York Times” article today, I`m struck by two things, one, just the sheer cowardice of these men, who all knew that what happened on January 6 was beyond the pale, and said so to other people. And if the book is reporting this, it means they said so to enough people they could tell these authors, so they said it.
[19:05:05]
And we all know that that`s how they felt, because some of them said it on the floors of the House and the Senate. But they didn`t have the courage, at the time when Trump was the politically weakest, to take action, because they were more afraid of losing power. They were more afraid that Trump`s voters would remove them from power.
And that, in the end, is all they cared about. How do we defend a democracy with weaklings like that, weaklings like Mike Lee, who`s out there now trying to defend himself, when he was texting ideas on how to kill the election to Mark Meadows? And now it`s like, oh, no, no, no, I wasn`t there to do his bidding.
But back in October, he said democracy is not even the objective of this country. Your thoughts?
MATTHEW DOWD, FOUNDER, COUNTRY OVER PARTY: Well, first, I was struck by the same exact thing as you were in this.
And I always remember Maya Angelou`s quote, which is, courage is the most important of all virtues, because it`s the only thing that allows us to practice every single other virtue. You have to have courage first in the course of this.
And it`s also striking that, on the day that the Profiles in Courage Awards are announced, which were given to people throughout the world, including President Zelenskyy, the secretary of state of Michigan, Liz Cheney, to them for defending democracy, you have Republicans that, on one day, will celebrate all of the patriots in history that have died defending democracy and all that, but have no amount of courage to even stand up to a guy to even risk an election loss.
And, trust me, this is less about Donald Trump and their fear about Donald Trump, and more about the fear of what the Republican base has become. And so they`re completely willing to do an ends-justify-the-means calculation. They don`t care about integrity. They don`t care about courage. They fundamentally don`t care about democracy, as long as it allows them to retain power.
And they`re scared of the base that has become — and pointing to what President Barack Obama said today, which I thought was a very important speech — has become so radicalized, because of disinformation, they`re afraid of the base. But they have no amount of courage.
All of the things they have celebrated of people and courage throughout our history, they don`t — won`t even risk an election loss.
REID: It is striking, Maria Teresa.
I mean — and I`m struck by the Mike Lee — this is from 2020, when he tweeted that: “Democracy isn`t the objective. Liberty, peace and prosperity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”
So he already laid out his understanding that we don`t need a democracy, that, in his mind, it would be OK if we simply had the Congress choose the president of his liking. As long as he got power, it`s fine. They don`t seem to have any — any red lines, as long as they get power.
And President Obama`s speech, I thought, was striking, because he`s talking about the information universe that creates the base of people who would rather have a dictator, and a fascist dictator, at that, as long as they can feel comfortable in their own cultural skin. They feel like the culture is running from them, so they would rather have a dictator that would impose the culture that they prefer, rather than democracy.
So that`s them.
But the leaders — Maria Teresa, talk about the — these are supposed to be men.
(CROSSTALK)
REID: I can count two men in the Republican Party, Adam Kinzinger and Mitt Romney. Where are the men? And Liz Cheney is more — she is more man than they are at this point.
MARIA TERESA KUMAR, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VOTO LATINO: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
REID: They won`t stand up for this country.
KUMAR: Liz Cheney — Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, they are patriots. And they have been able to come forward and say that they`re trying to sound the alarm.
And I have to say, for every single Republican that has decided that they`re not going to run because they don`t like what the face of their party has, I wish they could run as independents, because then they would be sounding the alarm to their base and saying, what is happening is not OK.
But let`s take a step back. The fact that President Obama is now coming out so forthright saying that this is an issue. I wish he had done it when they started talking to him as a birther, because you know who was behind the birtherism and who`s behind the big lie? Donald Trump. It`s the same man.
And when we recognize that Hillary Clinton, when she was running in 2016, sounding the alarm of how this big factory of disinformation was going to erode our trust in government and was going to radicalize a group — a group of few, I wish more had been paying attention, because we — what we do know is that not only are people getting radicalized, but they`re also getting hurt.
This disinformation is not only telling people not to trust their government, but it`s also telling them not to get a vaccine. It`s something that is so corrosive. And we have to figure out how these social platforms at the end of the day are held accountable, Joy, because how can they be perpetrating lies that are dismantling democracy on one hand and causing death on the other?
REID: Yes. Yes.
KUMAR: And if you don`t speak truth to that, then we`re going to basically — to what Matthew was saying, we`re going to have a group of people who are believing that we are living under this faux democracy, when, in fact, the reason we`re having this conversation is that democracy won last November — two Novembers ago.
[19:10:07]
How fast everything changes.
(CROSSTALK)
REID: Indeed. I know. Time goes by so fast.
I mean, the thing is, Matthew, we`re at a point where Alex Jones from Infowars could be a key witness in a case of national import. That that man had that much influence and that much access to the president of the United States, the guy who said Sandy Hook was fake, and now has had — is going to be bankrupted because of it, the man who`s just pure conspiracy theorist, he is now mainstream Republican.
He is the mainstream of the base of the Republican Party. And do you think, as we look back, did the media — I`m going to tag the media here. The media missed the Tea Party altogether, and how extreme they were. Ron DeSantis, all of these Tea Parties who are now in power came from that. Birtherism, they — the media even let that go.
Did we fail as a country to confront the radicalism of things like the Tea Party and the birthers early enough to save ourselves from these people today?
DOWD: Yes. The answer to that is yes.
I mean, I think — and I look at myself as one of those people that — I mean, I have tried to sound the alarm. I left the Republican Party 15 years ago and tried to sound the alarm about what was coming, what was coming. I tried to warn about Donald Trump. I could have done more.
The media — I think part of the media problem — and I`m not — I`m a huge First Amendment believer. I think the First Amendment is crucial for our democracy. And I think people have a right to their own opinions and all of that.
But social media platforms, to me — and the media has to recognize this — are a bit like fire and water. And fire is — can warm you and fire can light the way, but fire can burn things down. And water can quench your thirst and water can drown you, unless you control them in the course of this.
And so I think the media — part of what the media has done too often, not all, but too often, is treat this whole thing like it`s a game, like it`s a game. Well, this guy has 75 percent chance of winning, not like that we`re asking the question, is our democracy going away?
REID: Yes.
DOWD: Or we`re going to interview this guy because they have the opposite side opinion because that`s what we do.
Balance should not be the goal. And we — I think have we have fallen way too often on the idea of balance is the goal. The truth is the goal. And we have allowed balance to take us further and further away from the truth. Just because one person says the earth is flat and the other person says, no, it`s round, doesn`t mean they have equal opinions.
REID: Yes.
DOWD: One is the truth, and one`s not.
(CROSSTALK)
REID: I used to tell my students, it`s like one person saying, well strychnine can kill you, and the other saying, well, strychnine is delicious. Balance would say, give them equal time.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: You`re going to kill a lot of people.
Maria Teresa Kumar, let`s go back to where we started with President Obama, because I think one of the issues too is the urbane way that he describes the problem also makes me nervous, because I do feel that Democrats are trying to treat this as a political challenge, rather than an existential problem, much too often.
And it feels so existential to me, and I think to Matthew and I think to you, that I wonder if Democrats` Marquis of Queensbury rules strategy has any chance against it.
KUMAR: You know who knows how to under — who understands and uses social media so deftly? The Ukrainians.
And they do it in a way that they`re constantly communicating to the country and to the world of what an existential threat to democracy and liberty is. And unless the Democrats lead that we are in a moment of reckoning with our democracy, that it`s not business as usual — it`s like, yes, there`s inflation, but there`s this other existential threat before us, that we`re not going to be able to get to inflation if all of a sudden you do not have rights.
That is where we are. And, believe it or not, the majority of Americans are primed to it. That`s why we voted in record number in 2020. We understood that what Donald Trump represented was asymmetrical to freedom. And all of a sudden, the Democrats are packing their bags and want to talk about something that`s so esoteric that doesn`t make sense.
No, you tell people that, if you cannot have access to the voting booth, all your values, all your issues, all your agency of your body is out the door.
REID: Indeed. And it`s all on the table. Republicans have said there is nothing they won`t sacrifice or destroy in order to be the courtiers, if they have to be, to the American czar. They don`t care. And they know what he is. They don`t care.
Matthew Dowd, Maria Teresa Kumar, thank you both very much for helping us sound the alarm.
Up next on THE REIDOUT: Disney hurt the little governor`s feeling, and now baby MAGA Ron DeSantis is making sure that they pay a heavy price. My next guest identified that as authoritarian socialism. And he`s offering asylum to Mickey and Minnie.
Plus, this is what liberation looks like to Russia, flattened buildings and murdered babies. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby joins me.
And you heard how Florida is rejecting so-called woke math books? Schools there now have to buy those books from one company, which was formerly run by a current Republican governor and DeSantis wannabe. Hmm.
[19:15:03]
And this was fun. I spoke with the great and hilarious Randy Rainbow about the very serious issues behind his hilarious and hugely popular parodies. And I got the scoop on his real name.
THE REIDOUT continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: Today, Florida Republicans passed a new congressional map that dismantles a largely black district in Northern Florida and gives Republicans a major edge in future elections.
[19:20:07]
Florida Democrats led by black members voiced their opposition by staging a sit-in on the House floor over the new map, chanting and shouting as the final vote was taken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This motion is not debatable and requires majority vote. All in favor say aye.
HOUSE MEMBERS: Aye!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All opposed, no.
Show the bill. The motion passes, we will now proceed to call the previous question.
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: At that same session, Republicans made good on their threat to retaliate against Disney, passing a bill that strips the Walt Disney Company of its special self-governing status, a privilege Disney has held for 55 years. That bill will head to the desk of baby MAGA, who is expected to sign it, of course.
The move comes after Disney paused political donations in the state and condemned the new don`t say gay law. Florida has hundreds of similar special tax district, including The Villages, a MAGA boomer oasis northwest of Orlando that has not been penalized for its political views.
So let`s just be clear about what DeSantis is doing. It`s called political extortion. Those Florida Democrats aren`t the only ones making noise, however. A Democratic governor has stepped forward, calling out the DeSantis playbook as authoritarian socialism, while offering Mickey and Minnie full asylum in his state of Colorado.
That governor, Jared Polis, of Colorado joins me now.
Governor Polis, thank you for being here from my former, growing-up state.
Let`s talk about authoritarian socialism. I saw your tweet and thought that`s the term we need to be using, because — well, you explain what it is. What is authoritarian socialism?
GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Yes, first of all.
Randy Rainbow, wow, Joy. I`m a huge fanboy. Everybody should stick around and listen to Randy Rainbow. He`s amazing.
REID: Yes.
POLIS: But, on this topic, Joy, so what we`re talking about here is, this is out of the playbook of authoritarianism, of government intervention in private business, saying, you don`t do what I want — in this case, you`re not supporting my anti-gay law — therefore, I will directly penalize your company, not pass some general law that affects all companies. Literally, we will go after your company if you don`t get in line.
I mean, that`s out of the out of the playbook of Maduro in Venezuela, Chavez. I mean, this is the kind of leadership they have that stifles freedom, stifles economic prosperity, and it`s exactly what we`re seeing out of Ron DeSantis in Florida.
And, look — and Colorado is always happy to have a Mountain Disneyland, and Mickey and Minnie are safe here.
REID: I would go to that.
And, by the way, that is also what they had in the old Soviet Union. It`s very Soviet.
POLIS: Yes.
REID: And it`s weird how Republicans, they keep tacking back to the old Soviet Union, and they seem to want to mimic the things that the new Soviet Union, meaning Vladimir Putin, is doing.
And just so that you all don`t think that Governor Polis is being over the top here, let me play you Laura Ingraham admitting that that`s the plan. This is back in April. And this is Laura Ingraham on FOX going after Disney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS: And when Republicans, they get back into power, Apple and Disney need to understand one thing. Everything will be on the table, your copyright and trademark protection, your special status within certain states, and even your corporate structure itself.
The Antitrust Division at Justice needs to begin the process of considering which American companies need to be broken up once and for all, for competition`s sake, and ultimately for the good of the consumers who pay the bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: And I`m going to make a point that they — DeSantis has also threatened Twitter. He`s threatened to go after members of the Twitter board because they are not bowing down to Elon Musk`s takeover bid.
So, this is across the board. They`re picking through the companies that they don`t like their views and going after them.
Let`s let you make your case. Is it feasible to try to attract the Walt Disney Company to pick up stakes — they have been there since the 1960s — and move to Colorado? What`s your pitch?
POLIS: Yes, I mean, look, DeSantis has — this is a playbook out of Putin. And we saw where this goes. This is co-opting private companies, saying you got to bend to my will, or we`re going to directly penalize you.
In Colorado, we have a different tradition. I don`t care what your political philosophy is. You can be conservative, liberal. You can be religious right, religious left, atheist, middle. Doesn`t matter. We want to give you the opportunity to thrive in our state. And no matter what your political viewpoints are, our state is open for business, open for jobs, certainly open to host Disney World.
REID: And I can verify that it is a great place to live, Colorado.
It is — let me ask you, because you actually made history. I think you were — were you the first sitting governor to be married, to have your gay marriage affirmed as — while you were governor? It was — I know that there was something like that, that you made history.
But you are a very proud gay man, married, a family man. The tactic that people like DeSantis and this clack on the right are using is to try to associate LGBTQ people with groomers, to try to accuse people of being groomers, even people who are not LGBTQ, but who are like friendly to people who are LGBTQ. If you`re not for their belief system and for their ideas, you`re a groomer.
[19:25:05]
Give me your comment about that as a gay man.
POLIS: Well, first of all, this could be any issue. And penalizing a company for not bending your political will is wrong. It is Soviet. It is authoritarian. And that`s exactly what we — what he`s doing.
Now, on this particular issue, it`s perfectly fine to have disagreements and agreements. And I think there`s a lot of agreement there too, because I think we can all agree that, when you`re talking about first, second, third graders, of course, they should not be exposed to any kind of sexualized content in school. We all agree on that.
But when it comes to teaching history, to understand that kids might have – – some kids have a mom and a dad, some kids just have a mom, some have a dad, some have two dads, some have two moms, some are raised by a grandparent, we love them all, schools serve them all, and we should be affirming for kids, no matter what their family looks like, because it`s not up to them.
They have a loving family. And that`s what matters.
REID: And, I mean, I grew up in Denver public schools. I don`t even know what they`re talking about, right?
There isn`t — there is no content that`s trying to teach sexual content to children. But they`re saying it to try to tweak people`s fears and scare people.
But I just wonder if you`re just personally offended by them choosing that particular tack, because it`s an age-old tactic that`s been used against gay folks in this country.
POLIS: It`s a dog whistle, the same way that Critical Race Theory, which is also not taught in our schools, Joy, in Colorado…
REID: Yes. Yes. Hello?
POLIS: … or I don`t think anywhere — maybe some graduate course at a university, but certainly not in our — in our schools.
That`s also a dog whistle. So, a dog whistle to racism. Now a dog whistle to homophobia. These are not real problems. They`re trying to distract from going after public education, from bullying private companies, from having Soviet-style leadership, where they want to bend people to their political well.
And that`s really all it is, a distraction.
REID: Have you heard from the Walt Disney Company?
POLIS: We`re — I`m waiting for my phone to ring. And we`re ready to welcome them here with loving arms.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: I expect you to come back here and give us the update if that happens.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, thank you, sir. Really appreciate you.
And up next: Putin claims victory over what remains of the once beautiful port city of Mariupol and prepares to starve out its remaining defenders, as the U.S. and its allies continue to pour heavy weapons into Ukraine to help it counter the Russian advance.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:32:00]
REID: Vladimir Putin is claiming victory in Mariupol, despite multiple claims to the contrary.
In a highly staged televised meeting with his defense minister, Putin claimed that Russia`s efforts to — quote — “liberate” Mariupol had been a success, but said he would not order Russian forces to storm the last stronghold.
Well, this is what liberation looks like in Mariupol. Russia`s defense minister said that the steel plant were the last Ukrainian forces in the area are sheltering, where the area — are sheltering, is completely blocked off from the rest of the city; 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded Ukrainian soldiers are also trapped there.
New satellite images show more than 200 fresh graves in an area outside the city, where Mariupol`s mayor says Russians have buried as many as 9,000 civilians who were killed there. While control of Mariupol remains in dispute in the Donbass, the Luhansk regional governor says 80 percent of the region is now under Russian control.
And Ukraine`s second largest city, Kharkiv, was under intense bombardment as Russian forces struck a residential area today. President Biden announced an additional $800 million in military equipment for Ukraine, citing a critical window, as Russia maps up — ramps up its assault on Eastern Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To modernize Teddy Roosevelt`s famous advice, sometimes, we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin, because we`re sending a lot of those in as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: The president also challenged Vladimir Putin`s claims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It`s questionable whether he does control Mariupol. There is no evidence yet that Mariupol has completely fallen.
One thing for sure we know about Mariupol, he should allow humanitarian corridors to let people on that steel mill and other places that are buried under rubble to get out — to get out. That`s what any, any, any head of state would do in such a circumstance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Meanwhile, in addition to the military aid package, today, the Pentagon announced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host defense counterparts for Ukraine-focused talks next week at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
Joining me now is Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.
And, Secretary Kirby, thank you for being here.
I want to — let`s go back to this question of Mariupol, because it`s significant from two points — standpoints, obviously. Putin wants to be able to claim that whole sort of letter C, reverse letter C, that he controls that eastern part, and he also just wants to declare victory for anything.
What is the understanding right now inside the Pentagon of whether or not Putin and Russia controls Mariupol?
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We agree with President Biden. It`s questionable how much control the Russians have over Mariupol.
Clearly, they have been bombarding the city and causing extensive damage. And they have forces, quite a lot of forces, in Mariupol. But our sense today is that it`s still contested, that the Ukrainians are still there, they are still offering a resistance. So we`re not ready to accept Russia`s claims that they have Mariupol.
Now, clearly, as you pointed out, Joy, they want Mariupol because it gives them that land bridge unhindered, unencumbered from the Donbass region in the east all the way down to Crimea.
[19:35:04]
They also want to use Mariupol and that part of Ukraine as a springboard to go north up into the Donbass region to try to cut off Ukrainian forces that are still there.
REID: And so is the understanding from the Pentagon`s point of view that that is where Russia would intend to stop, and that they would not be trying to use that as a pivot point to try to take over more of Ukraine?
KIRBY: We don`t know. We honestly don`t know.
We know that, immediately, what they want to do is occupy the Donbass region, and to find, fix, and, in some cases, finish Ukrainian forces that are there. They want to occupy that Donbass region. It`s a part of the country that they have been fighting over literally for the last eight years.
Now, should he accomplish that, what would he do next? We don`t know. We he just call it a day and say that`s what I wanted and declare victory, or would he use it again as territory from which to launch more attacks further west inside Ukraine and even perhaps threaten Kyiv? We just don`t know.
REID: Let`s talk about what the U.S. is doing.
Secretary Austin is headed to Germany for these Ukraine Defense Consultative Group talks. What will those talks entail? What`s the plan for that?
KIRBY: There`s three things on the agenda.
Number one, Secretary Austin wants to hear from allies and partners and military leaders in the region about their assessment of what`s going on, on the battlefield and in Ukraine, get a sense of operations and what`s going on.
Number two, talk to allies and partners, as well as Ukrainians, about their defense needs going forward. The president just announced $800 million in additional assistance today. And we`re going to keep trying to support them for as much as we can, as long as we can, as fast as we can. And so we want to be able to get a sense of immediate defense needs.
But, more critically, what the secretary wants to do is talk to these allies and partners about long-range defense needs and defense partnerships in Ukraine when we get on the other end of this war. What does that look like? What`s the footprint in Europe need to look like? So he wants to talk a little bit about more strategic objectives as well.
REID: We`re going to show what — I`m going to put up on the screen what we`re sending right now, what the U.S. is sending, $800 million in an aid package, with howitzers and tactical vehicles and all sorts of individual things.
I think the sense that some Americans have is that we are sort of putting a lot of money and a lot of equipment behind keeping the Ukrainians going, but that there isn`t much of an endgame in play by the West. There`s been lots of support, but not an endgame. Putin seems to be unraveling. There is this sense that he`s increasingly isolated. He`s firing off missiles, launching the Sarmat missile, which apparently is not even ready to deploy, but sort of threatening the world that, hey, I could get worse, I could threaten the rest of the world.
KIRBY: Right.
REID: How does the West, how does the world tamp down that threat?
Because just continuing to keep as many Ukrainians alive as possible doesn`t feel like winning and stopping Putin.
KIRBY: Well, we certainly want the Ukrainians to win.
And, now, they get to determine what victory looks like. We`re not telling them how to negotiate or reach the outcomes at the end. But we want them to win. We want Russian forces out of Ukraine. We want Ukrainian sovereignty to be respected by Russia and by everybody else. That`s what`s really at stake here. And that`s why we`re helping them defend themselves as best we can.
We are also working hard to make sure that NATO`s eastern flank is well- defended and well-coordinated and that there`s no threat to NATO territory by Mr. Putin, and he doesn`t — we don`t even want to begin to think like that.
Now, you talked about him unraveling. He has not achieved any of the strategic objectives that he has had or that he set for himself in the early goings of this invasion. And, again, we don`t know what the endgame is in his mind, if the sum total of his objective is just the Donbass region.
But he has clearly been set back in what his initial aims were at the outset. And we want to make sure that he`s not able to achieve the aims that he`s got right now inside the Donbass.
REID: Very quick question as I let you go.
When Secretary Austin is in Ramstein, Germany, any thought that he might head to Kyiv, that he might at some point meet with President Zelenskyy?
KIRBY: We`re focused on the trip to Ramstein and to talking to these allies and partners. And that`s really what we`re focused on right now.
REID: We will thank you very much, Pentagon Secretary John Kirby, who makes the list of travel-banned Americans, along with Vice President Harris and some journalists and others, Ron Klain, other White House members.
Consider it a badge of honor, sir. Thank you very much, sir.
KIRBY: Thank you.
REID: Still ahead: If you thought Florida Republicans` alleged outrage over math textbooks that allegedly teach Critical Race Theory is about math or kids or CRT, think again.
More next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:44:15]
REID: So here is how to do fascism for fun and profit.
If you are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, you start out by making it illegal for schools to make white children feel discomfort while being taught about our nation`s history of racial discrimination and violence. That includes banning certain books, but not just history books or English literature. No, no. Now even math books are being banned in the not-so-free state of Florida.
Last week, the Florida Department of Education rejected 41 percent of math textbooks for one key reason. Many of those books contained prohibited topics, including alleged references to Critical Race Theory. Now, of course, they did not provide any actual examples of what that could mean in a math textbook.
And now, for the state`s regular K-5 math classes, there is only one math book publisher that has survived the call, a company called Accelerate Learning, which happens to be a company bought out in 2018 by The Carlyle Group investment firm, which might sound familiar.
[19:45:15]
Do you know who not only worked for the company for 25 years, but was also a co-CEO? Why, Virginia`s newly elected Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, yes, the same Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned on fake CRT hysteria last year and kicked off the right`s election strategy for the culture war.
It is quite a coinkydink that, suddenly, the Carlyle-owned company will supply the only approved math textbooks that apparently won`t make white children somehow feel personally responsible for long dead white adults doing bad things.
And just as supreme chairman DeSantis has set the authoritarian socialist agenda for other red state governors to follow, it will be interesting to see which other states not only take the same steps in banning math textbooks, alongside Toni Morrison books and anything about LGBTQ people, but, ultimately, which red states decide that the only option is to order from this same company, thus fattening this same company`s pockets.
That`d be quite a win for Youngkin, who, as of last year, was reported to hold more than 6.7 million shares of The Carlyle Group. And that is how to do fascism for fun and profit.
We will keep following this story and update you as we learn more.
And, up next, the hilarious political satirist Randy Rainbow.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[19:51:13]
REID: For millions of Americans, the four years under the rule of the orange menace from Florida were a hellscape filled with one terrifying injustice, lie and fraud after another.
There was one silver lining, though, or, should I say, rainbow, Randy Rainbow, to be precise. You all know and love his parody videos, because, frankly, he made us laugh when we wanted to cry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY RAINBOW, COMEDIAN AND SINGER (singing): Who`s as dim as the Don? Who`s as grim as the Don? Who assassinates dudes on a whim in Iran? No, his strategies couldn`t the stranger when handling foreign affairs.
Cheeto Christ. Cheeto Christ. He`s like if Jesus were pumpkin-spiced. Cheeto Christ. Stupid czar. Mad tangerine-colored commissar.
The alternative facts aren`t actually facts. They`re not facts. They`re fantastical facts. They`re absolutely not facts. They`re just alternative facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: And joining me now is three-time Emmy-nominated musical comedian Randy Rainbow. His book “Playing with Myself” came out this week.
I have my copy. And there is a perfect spot in the book right here for you to sign it when I see you, hopefully in person sometime soon. So I`m going to hold on to it until I can get a signed copy.
Welcome. Thank you so much for being here.
RAINBOW: Thank you, Joy. I will have my sharpie ready for you specifically.
REID: Yes.
RAINBOW: You know, you are mentioned in the book.
REID: I — no. And I`m so excited. Please explain, because you know what? We`re doing an interview about you. Tell them about me.
(LAUGHTER)
RAINBOW: Wait. What happened to my lighting all of a sudden? It was so perfect. And now it`s crazy.
(LAUGHTER)
RAINBOW: OK.
Anyway, listen, I did — I do sort of my own version of celebrity gossip in the book in the most innocuous way. And I kind of spill the tea on celebrities who have come out to me, so to speak, as fellow musical theater nerds.
And it`s not such a joke. I mean, in my line of work, people — you kind of learn who grew up on musical theater and who appreciate a good show tune. And I was so overjoyed to learn that you are one of them.
So — and I`m a big fan, so any chance to drop your name in the book. I was happy to.
REID: I love it.
Well, I come from a family of actors, my son and my sister, and we do love a good musical.
So let`s talk about you, because what — I find so much fascinating about you, but the most fascinating thing — and it is a little bit of a spoiler — I thought Randy Rainbow was a name that you created as a nom de guerre, but it is your real name. Please explain the history of your amazing name.
RAINBOW: Well, I — if you read chapter one of the book, it goes through the whole origin. So I won`t bore everyone with that now.
But, yes, I would not make it up. It sounds like the corniest stage name ever. But I would not have done that to myself. I kind of had no choice but to grow into it.
But — and there — and there — for all the birthers out there, there is a picture of my birth certificate in the book.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: And so, I mean, the thing is, is that your family, like so many families, came from one place in Europe to another, and had to change their name.
And, for everyone, the sort of short story is that Rainbow is a translation of what your family`s original name, as Jewish — as European Jews.
RAINBOW: Correct.
REID: So, it`s, like, fascinating that your real — you`re really Randy Rainbow, which is cool.
You also share with me…
RAINBOW: Yes. It`s the direct translation — I`m sorry.
It`s the direct translation of the word rainbow. So it was — they — when they came over, it was already Anglicized. And had it not been changed already, it likely would have been made into something like Rabinowitz or something. But it wasn`t. It was Rainbow.
And I had to become a gay show queen.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: Well, I mean, and so here`s the other thing. And we share this in common too, both having had roots in New York and Florida, the not-so-free state of Florida.
[19:55:10]
You grew up in Florida, actually not far from where my husband and I raised our three kids for most of their lives, South Florida. And that had to be an interesting experience even before Ron DeSantis, a young queer kid growing up in Florida whose name is Randy Rainbow, who`s shy. Musical theater is what brought you out of your shell.
Talk about growing up in Florida. And what was that like for you?
RAINBOW: For a number of reasons, I felt out of my element.
I — we moved from Long Island when I was 9, and we moved around a lot. So I was kind of not really set up for success, as a shy, awkward, overweight, effeminate boy. Those were not at the top of the food chain, if you can imagine, back then in an elementary school.
So, I — it`s really — I mean, we joke about musical theater, but it really saved my life. Musical comedy, specifically, is really kind of how I escaped and into my imagination. And that`s what got me through.
My mother is still in Florida. And it`s challenging, because she wants me to visit all the time. And I`m like, no, come here.
(LAUGHTER)
REID: Yes, I`m with you on that. Yes, I haven`t been back much since we left.
Let me play a little bit of a song that you did that is directly related to Florida. And, as we all know, Florida passed and Ron DeSantis signed and championed this don`t say gay bill, which is actually just really just meanness in a bill, because he thinks this is going to help be president.
But this is your response. This is a little piece of it. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAINBOW (singing): Someone`s being an (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That`s no way to be.
Ronnie D., here`s the tea. Gosh, I`d hate to upset your Republican peers. So, let me say this soft, so no one hears.
I have always been…
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Here`s an interesting fact.
RAINBOW (singing): … gay. Oops, I said it.
I`m gay. You can bet it`s a badge that I wear with a fabulous flair, because I`m gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay.
Sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: We laugh at it. And you`re really great at making us laugh at things that are really tragic and terrifying.
But, I mean, for a lot of young LGBTQ kids, that`s probably a little therapeutic, right, to hear somebody that is from Florida that was a kid — that`s — that was a kid just like they`re kids right now going through this. Take us into how the kids who are in Florida now have to feel growing up in an era where their governor is saying they essentially are not allowed to exist and are not allowed to be spoken of in school.
RAINBOW: Well, yes, it`s just reprehensible.
And you know, it`s — they twist it into this pretzel to make their argument. But it`s really — as you said, it`s just dog whistles and it`s just political nonsense.
And they — I don`t think they really understand the consequences that it has and the effect that it has on kids, like I was, who are struggling with their identities and already don`t feel safe in their environments. And it`s really just a horror.
I have a lot of young kids and a lot of parents of young kids who are sort of like me. And they do. They find a lot of kind of therapeutic benefits to what I do, which was a surprise, and a nice surprise, to me.
REID: Yes. Well…
RAINBOW: Sort of a nice byproduct of what I do.
REID: Indeed.
Well, OK, closing quick question.
RAINBOW: Yes.
REID: You have an encyclopedic knowledge of musicals. Do you have a favorite musical?
RAINBOW: Oh, Joy, don`t put me on the spot.
(LAUGHTER)
RAINBOW: I have to go anything Sondheim. Sondheim was my number one.
And I write in the book that I actually got to know him, but “Into the Woods,” “Sweeney Todd,” top.
REID: Love it.
RAINBOW: What about you? I wrote “Wicked” in the book. What`s your favorite?
REID: Well, you know what? Mine has Wicked in it, because my very favorite musical ever is “The Wiz.”
And so, of course, you know you do have that Wicked Witch in there. So, yes, “The Wiz” is my all-time favorite musical ever.
RAINBOW: Obsessed.
Next time…
REID: And you are one of my all-time favorite people ever.
RAINBOW: Likewise.
REID: Well, Randy Rainbow…
RAINBOW: Next time, we will be together. OK.
REID: Yes, absolutely. I cannot wait.
I`m keeping my book ready for you to sign, Randy Rainbow, author of “Playing With Myself.”
This is a great book to send to kids, particularly in Florida. They`re not going to — we`re not going to let them ban it. We`re going to send copies to all of our LGBTQ friends in Florida.
Randy Rainbow, thank you so much, my friend. Really appreciate you.
RAINBOW: Thank you, Joy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
REID: OK, OK, OK, how jealous are you guys? I got to talk to Randy Rainbow. That was pretty cool, right?
So thank, you, Randy Rainbow. You`re amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And I definitely want to hang out with you. And maybe we could sing a song together. It will be great.
That is tonight`s REIDOUT.
Whew, Randy Rainbow.
“ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES” starts now.
(LAUGHTER)