Texas Primary Leaves GOP Wary

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0:38Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today. Welcome to Beat. I'm Ari Melber, and we are following all of this news. Later tonight, we have a special guest, a Democrat with a plan to stop what he calls unprecedented corruption from the thug fund to the self-dealing. It's Democrats on the move. We've told you we're going to bring you those kind of stories, not just what's happening from the White House. And that's coming up tonight.

1:08Also, Neil deGrasse Tyson on Intelligent Life Out There Somewhere. His new book, Take Me to Your Leader, the Trump Pentagon dropping those UFO files. He is always a great guest to have and he's coming up live tonight. night. We begin with Republicans concerned, though, that Donald Trump is doing exactly what the Democrats want, at least in Texas, which is not a usual headline. Democrats eyeing what they see as a closer race in Texas, the possibility of turning it blue, which would be critical to their math to try to take back the Senate, all thanks to Donald Trump. Indeed, there was a headline in a conservative outlet saying this is the one time that both parties apparently agreed, if you look at the Trump side wanting the long shot candidate, the Democrats want the long shot candidate, and they agreed.

1:54It's only the Senate Republicans who are closer to the costs who are freaking out. So we have this scandal ridden Trump endorsed, very conservative candidate, Ken Paxton, who beat the long term, long time statewide ballot, John Cornyn. He's been on that ballot as a senator across over 20 years. He's been on that ballot for other statewide races. This is a sign, among other things, that even in a red MAGA place like Texas, they are the voters mad at Senate Republicans. They are not mad necessarily in the Republican primary at Trump specifically, but they ousted a longtime Republican. They're not taking orders from the Republican Party.

2:32And apparently, if Trump says he wants to go with the candidate that's more likely to lose the Senate, a lot of voters are going along with that. That itself is interesting. Meanwhile, Paxton's Democratic opponent, James Tallarico, posting the gentleman's mugshot. Paxton, we should note, did settle what was a federal corruption case against him. So legally, he went through the process long enough to get the mugshot. So it's public record. But in fairness to him, he's not in prison. He wasn't convicted. We should also note, though, that in the constitutional process in the state of Texas, which is pretty conservative, he was impeached when serving as Texas attorney general for alleged offenses that alarmed at least that largely red state.

3:12But again, in fairness, I will tell you he was ultimately acquitted. So legally, he's got the open lane to run. Politically, almost nobody, including Senate Republicans, thought that this mugshot impeached individual was their best chance. Now, Democrats also are drawing the link to other times when we see Trump seize on and support people that the party said would lose who went on to lose. Walker, Lake, Moore. If you don't remember all those names, that's because they lost. And most people don't sit around remembering the losers of campaigns. They were on the scene for a couple months, and then, despite their Trump endorsement, were not heard from again, not in federal government.

3:50Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report, which is kind of a nonpartisan Bible, because of the Trump move here and because Trump's candidate is in, they are now lowering the odds that Republicans win with Paxton. They thought it would have been better with, as I mentioned, the other guy. Meanwhile, the official Republican Senate campaign arm, which was back in Cornyn, now trying to walk back its many attacks on Paxton. The internet, though, might remember. This is the sound of Texas. And this is how it sounds under Ken Paxton.

4:32Shots fired! Shots fired! Those are just some of the memorable attacks. The Democrat Tallarico just did a newsworthy interview with Lawrence O'Donnell where they discussed Paxton's baggage. I can't tell you the number of people who come up to me at the end of these events and whisper, I'm not a Democrat, like they're in the Witness Protection Program, including a lot of people who voted for President Trump in 2024. That is the sound of a different kind of candidate. You also might remember some have called him a Colbert Democrat because he had that big newsworthy interview on Colbert, which then the government of the Trump administration basically tried to silence under abuse of FCC laws, and sometimes this happens, which ended up drawing a lot more attention, support and even online donations to Tallerico.

5:24Now, is he going to get a bigger airing and hearing now? Certainly looks like it. And that dynamic I mentioned that Republican voters are mad, that doesn't mean they've all turned on Trump. I'm only going to tell you what the numbers show. We're not getting ahead of ourselves with what's happening. But the fact that they're mad and mad at Senate Republicans and that 100 million was spent in this race shows the party is not exactly united at a minimum. Take Nebraska, a very conservative place where a Republican lawmaker was getting an earful from constituents with some backlash for the Trump agenda.

5:57Why do you continue to protect the pedophiles and Trump's DOJ as they continue to break the law? What are you going to do about the rampant corruption occurring all over the Trump administration? I have a question about Congress's approval of wars. Where are you stepping in? How much did Doge save the taxpayers? I'll fact check you. How can your morals let you fall into like with Trump?

6:29That's some of the back and forth, even in red areas where people are even holding town halls. Many Republicans have been avoiding them or carefully vetting them. And as the midterms look bad for the Republicans in the House and worse, getting worse in the Senate, although the math would still be on their side. They have 53. Trump is now saying something that you don't usually hear from an incumbent president who wants to motivate his base. Discussing the war, he says he doesn't care about the midterms. Their whole economic system is broken down. They thought they were going to outweigh me, you know, or will outweigh him.

7:05He's got the midterms. I don't care about the midterms. He doesn't care about the midterms. Now, I told you, I always try to keep the fairness in the context. Imagine it's not Trump. You could imagine a different president making a statement like that for foreign policy reasons, trying to say, hey, this other country thinks that I'm under the gun. I'm not politically at home. And if that were just foreign policy strategy, it might be smart. The problem for Donald Trump, of course, is it's not just that he's saying that in war diplomacy or ceasefire talks. He's acting like he doesn't care about the midterms because he keeps siding with candidates that his own party says are worse for the midterms.

7:45I want to bring in two wise and expert seasoned politicos, not calling anyone old, just saying we've been around the block. I could say that about people I know and like. Reverend Al Sharpton, of course, host of Politics Nation, former presidential candidate and president of the National Action Network. And first question is obviously going to Mark. Mr. McKinnon is a longtime political strategist from Texas, knows that state well, as well as national politics. Have you ever seen the Showtime show, The Circus? He created it. You might remember him from George Bush's campaigns all the way back to the statewide Texas campaign and then the presidential.

8:20As for the Paxton primary win, which is the news tonight, a perfect storm is lining up for Texas Democrats, says this experienced Republican. Welcome to you, Mark. I have questions, but first, the floor is yours. You know so much about this. What happened last night? Thank you, Ari. Well, it's fascinating. I've worked on both sides of the fence. I actually worked for George W. Bush and Ann Richards, but Ann Richards was the last Texas governor elected 35 years ago. I remember that election because I worked in it. But there hasn't been a Republican elected statewide since. So I'm the guy who every two or four years is always pushing back when the media or people call me and say, oh, I don't know.

9:01This could be the year, blue tide. and I always tap the brakes, but I think something different. You're saying Democrats have struggled there, yeah. Yeah, yeah, but there's always this notion, or there has been in recent cycles, the Beto race is a good example when he ran against Cruz, but I've always been resistant because I just know how conservative Texas is, generally speaking. But I think something's happening that's coming together that could really make this race a possible pickup for Democrats, which is astounding to me. I mean, first of all, you have an exceptional candidate in James Tallarico, really just completely unique.

9:38And I tell people who may have heard whatever they've heard about him on either side, just watch a speech. He's just got a different approach, different language. He embraces values. He can out Bible Republicans on on on faith issues. And it's really compelling. You know, but so stack that up with a candidate who couldn't be, you know, having greater baggage than Ken Paxton. And so you have like kind of a pure good, you know, pastor type of character. And the guy who's had all these criminal charges against him at Finn and Peach. So I think you stack all that up and the fact that Democrats are enthused right now.

10:13That's what happens in midterms. It's which party most enthusiastic? More Democrats voted in this primary than Republicans did in Texas. That's what really got my attention. So the Democrats are cranked up. Whatever happens on the Republican side. And Ari, I called a bunch of my Republican friends around the state today, and here's what they said. They said, I'm not yet ready to say I'm going to vote for Tallarico, but I'm absolutely not voting for Ken Paxton. Well, and that's the issue with what they call low-quality candidates, right? You get a different trend line than the state's trend line, which is still red, if a candidate is low-quality enough.

10:49And so you mentioned that race with Cruz and Beto, where Cruz won by less than three points. What does that tell us about sort of the gap and what Tallarico has to do here? And then I'll let Rev respond to you. Well, thanks. I think that's a great data point. So you look at that race in 2018, where, again, everybody said, you know, there was a shot here, Democrats, because they had a great candidate in Beto. But Beto really made some mistakes at the end of the campaign. He nationalized the campaign. And at the end of the day, you know, Republicans, these same friends that I talked to, just couldn't handle Beto's nationalizing race.

11:23I think that Tallarico learned lessons from that race. I think he'll be a better candidate than Beto was, and I think that Paxson will be a way worse candidate than Cruz. So stack that up. That's an easy three points. I would totally agree with Mark on his last statement, better candidate and worse candidate, given Tallarico and given Paxson. I think also you have to remember the environment in which we are having the elections. with people's gas prices high, with affordability out of reach for many people. A member of our National Board of National Action Network is a commissioner in Houston, Rodney Ellis.

12:03He said people are hurting. Trump people are hurting. And I think that you can clearly look at all of the reasons that a guy like Tallarico would appeal to them. And they don't have the flag in the Bible against Tallarico. It's hard to put the Bible in the hands of Paxton. So I think that you have elements there that if they're handled right, and we'll see, could lead to a Democratic. Well, it's like Kendrick Lamar said, sometimes you got to hide the Bible if God is watching in a big fight. But you're saying this is a Democrat who's not hiding the Bible. He's going to run tough and strong on his faith.

12:40That's exactly right. And he puts it out there. And it's a state that that matters. and he's contrasting with a guy that's been accused of several improprieties, including by his own wife. So it's not like I'm trying to out-God you or out-Jesus you. I'm this and you are that. And he's supported by a president who we all have questions about. But even with all that aside, with affordability and the other issues like Iran and other issues that are troubling the average Republican Texan. I think that Tallarico has a good shot. Yeah. And Mark, people watching might say, having been fatigued by the losses of Democrats you mentioned in Texas, but also what you might call Trump's resilience.

13:29You know, he's not known for his honesty or his ethics, but he gets back in the ring. And so you got viewers and voters who say, OK, well, I'm hearing the same old story. I thought it was interesting that the Wall Street Journal kind of agreed with the point you raised earlier. I'd love for you to expound on it, Mark. The journal says Trump and Democrats get Paxton. The Senate nominee, they all want it. I alluded to that earlier. But again, this is Murdoch's paper. And he says the risk for Republicans is that more moderate and indie voters will be turned off by Paxton. Providing the opening for Chalo Rico, the seminarian and state lawmakers become a fundraising force among Dems hungry for victory.

14:09Speak on that, Mark, because it overlaps with what you said. And I don't think anyone would accuse Rupert Murdoch's paper of just looking for a liberal propaganda. They seem to think this is the case. Well, yeah. I think it's just observing the obvious, which is Republicans should not have had to spend a dime in this state. If Cornyn were running and he were the nominee, they would turn all their attention to these other key races around the country. They've already spent$135 million, and they're going to have to spend millions more to try and protect Paxson, which is going to take a whole lot more money than it would have been for Corning.

14:45So even let's just say that Paxson won for some reason, and I really think that Tallarico's got a shot here. But in the best case scenario, it's going to drain millions and millions of dollars from races that Republicans could pick up because Paxson's the nominee. Yeah. I want to thank Mark McKinnon for kicking off our Texas coverage tonight. Rev stays here on one other point. We'll be back in just 90 seconds.

15:36ride with pin verification from Uber. One more way Uber is putting safety at every turn. Learn more on the Uber app. Let's check in on the Serta counting sheep. Why aren't we counted anymore?

15:46Neil deGrasse Tyson:Well, the all-new Serta Perfect Sleeper has the Q4 support system that helps relieve aches and back pain. We'll never get counted again! Uh, nope. Serta, we make the world's best mattress. Home to the Rachel Maddow Show. Morning Joe, the briefing with Jen Saki, and more voices you know and trust. MS Now is your source for news, opinion, and the world. Learn more at MS.now. We're back covering the big news out of Texas, where Democrats think they have a better chance of taking back the Senate. Reverend Sharman is here. We've talked about Tallarico, who I don't think is a full national name to all Democrats, but he's certainly gotten some money from activists, people who follow it closely.

16:28And he also got what some people call the Rogan Primary, which matters more, Joe Rogan's influential podcast based in Texas. Take a look at this moment. I do think our challenge on my side of the aisle is how do you get to that third step of feeling disillusioned, but then using that to rise and create something new? I guess all I'm pushing back on is that second step of it's always going to be this way. Right. It doesn't have to be this way. That is the key step. Right. That's because you need to run for president. We need someone who's actually a good person. Not bad. You know, to be able to in a state that clearly he's running to represent, to go to Rogan, who is probably revered, whether I agree with it or not, by people in that state and come out of the ring unscathed in and of itself, says something about his talent as a as a political person.

17:32but he also comes across sincere. And I think that that is the thing that is going to be something that a lot of voters are looking at because people can kind of sense when somebody's performative or somebody's emanating from the inside. And he comes off that way to where even a guy like Rogan had to like, kind of be delicate, how he handled them because he wasn't talking to somebody performative. Everybody knows whatever Trump is saying, even his supporters say, does he really mean that? This young man comes across like he means what he's saying, or he is saying what he is. And that goes to the wider questions in the midterms.

18:12You mentioned gas prices, economy. Those are the factors that drive it. But there's always a question of politics of whether you're fighting the last war. And people who've been change agents, Obama was a pathbreaker. So apart from even the discussion around being an unusual pathbreaking candidate, he also broke with Democrats on foreign policy, and he had a different style. And we've seen Trump, of course, whether you like it or not, broke all kinds of dishes and rules. And so you wonder if that doesn't only have to go towards entertainment. It could also go back to old school where people go, you know, whatever you think of Taro Rico, he certainly doesn't come off as a clout chasing failed reality show star.

18:51And he doesn't come off with someone that's just doing this for a personal agenda, ambition or power hunger. He just doesn't come off that way. And if Democrats have those candidates around the country, it can really be helpful. But I think just observing him, and I don't know him, I think he's done my show once or twice, but I think observing him, his persona is so opposite of Paxton that the contrast is going to be interesting when they have debates, because you're going to see one guy who's been accused of everything who just comes off like a guy that's slick and another guy that seems like a young man who knows the bible and really wants to help people now whether either side is true or not is that's how they're projecting yeah and to extend our um this biblical mood we've been in today uh the sins of the father donald trump are apparently sometimes forgiven more by voters in red states for Trump than his mini-me's.

19:52Because I showed some other people whose scandals might not have even been worse than what Trump stands accused of. But those folks, I showed Walker and Moore and others lost. No, they don't forgive others. And I think that Trump is a one-time thing, I think. And what you're seeing with Trump is the cult of personality. Well, you can't transfer cult of personality. You can't transfer charisma. So everyone that gets caught up in that storm with that charismatic cult of personality leader doesn't understand that when the storm starts coming down, they hit the ground first because people are not following them.

20:35They're following him. And it's not only going to be true in this year, it's going to be true in 28 when he has to pass it on. Can Vance or Rubio or whoever fill that gap that they energize people with their charisma? What Trump said half the time didn't make any political or policy sense. It was out of personality. Yeah. And they don't have anyone else like that. Yeah, and you're putting your finger on a bigger Republican problem, which is there's a fine line between knowing the song and sounding like you're doing karaoke. And people go, no, I'd rather hear the OG. And if you can't carry the tune, they may not get away with it the way he did.

21:13Rev Sharpton, always good to see you, sir. Always good to see you. OK, appreciate it. Up ahead, a Democrat unloading a new plan to fight the kind of corruption and just bizarre distractions we see like this going on at the White House. the president thinking about wrestling instead of fighting inflation in the war we have that top lawmaker and why is the pentagon releasing files that they say relate to ufos what's going on in this image we're actually going to talk to one of the foremost experts in the world neil degrasse tyson next and now the next chapter of the serta counting sheep hey uncle number one Why aren't we counted anymore?

21:51Let me tell you a story.

21:53Neil deGrasse Tyson:Long ago, Serta invented the Perfect Sleeper mattress. Oh, no. Oh, yes. It says the all-new Serta Perfect Sleeper with the Q4 support system has four-in-one perfectly interlinked coils that help relieve aches and back pain for perfect sleep night after night. We'll never get counted again. Uh, nope. Serta, we make the world's best mattress. Listen to your favorite MS Now shows anytime as a podcast. Enjoy new episodes of Morning Joe, Deadline White House, and The Rachel Maddow Show. Every small D Democratic muscle that we have is flexing. Plus the last word with Lawrence O'Donnell, the beat with Ari Melber, the weeknight, and more.

22:35Neil deGrasse Tyson:On the go, wherever you get your podcasts. For ad-free listening to all of your favorite shows, subscribe to MS Now Premium on Apple Podcasts.

22:53i can't seem to see your face mysterious i'm grace i'm gonna call you rocky thumbs up no that's thumbs down we do the thumbs up it's close enough uh it's close enough if you're working with an actual alien in real time that's from the new film Project Hail Mary, which gives ultimately an uplifting vision of what our first encounter with alien life could be like for humanity. And if we call that sci-fi, science fiction, right now we're going to do some sci-fact, because we have this great guest I told you about. There are renewed questions about whether there's life beyond Earth or what the Trump Pentagon is up to, releasing a batch of documents and videos that they kind of hyped up as maybe related to UFOs.

23:42There was also some testimony from civilians and military personnel. One official said they were speechless after seeing certain flying objects. There's also this 2019 clip that has unidentified objects that appear to fly over the Persian Gulf. There's a 2024 video, and people discuss this online, that shows something near Syria that appeared to go accelerate at a very fast rate. And from 2022, a cigar-shaped object that was flying, at least according to this sort of grainy video near U.S. military installations. The footage sparks at a minimum curiosity. Americans tend to believe when you poll them that aliens definitely or probably exist.

24:21Of course, that is fueled by so many of the movies that make us want to believe. Well, as mentioned, returning to the beat tonight is one of the people you would want in the entire world if you could discuss this. Neil deGrasse Tyson, an acclaimed astrophysicist. His new book is Take Me to Your Leader, Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter. You can Google it and get it wherever books are sold. Take Me to Your Leader by our friend. Welcome back.

24:47Neil deGrasse Tyson:Thanks for having me. I have one regret about that cover. Yeah. It's just people being beamed up. There should have been a cow in there. We should have had more than just. No, just a cow. One cow. Just one cow. Yeah. That would complete the story. Starting with this this odd drop from the files from a from an administration that sometimes seems to want to be in the news or distract. We're all aware of that. You were a little skeptical of how it came out. What do we make of these files? Well, I'm not surprised by them, given the testimonies we've seen in Congress under oath of whistleblowers, former military personnel, former intelligence officers, all saying that they've got alien body parts and crash saucers and reverse engineered technologies.