>>> THANK YOU FOR SPENDING PART OF YOUR DAY WITH US. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL. "THE BEAT" WITH ARI MELBER STARTS RIGHT NOW. HI, ARI. >>> THANKS ALICIA. WELCOME TO "THE BEAT." WE BEGIN WITH HOW DONALD TRUMP IS BARRELLING TOWARDS THESE AUTHORITARIAN TACTICS AND PROMISING TO PUSH AMERICA AS FAR AWAY FROM DEMOCRACY INTO A DICTATORSHIP AS HE CAN IF HE WINS NEXT YEAR. CRITICS ARE GOING AFTER THE MAGA ALLIES NOT ONLY ENABLING THIS, BUT ARGUING ANYONE TRYING TO HOLD DONALD TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE OR PROTECT THE RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY ARE THEY THEMSELVES ENEMIES OF THE STATE. ALL PART OF THE SAME PLOTTING. NOW, TRUMP SAID IN THIS KIND OF ODD EXCHANGE WITH FOX'S SEAN HANNITY, WHO SEEMED TO BE PUSH AGAINST THE IDEA HE WOULD BE A DICTATOR, TRUMP SAID, WELL, HE'D BE A DICTATOR ONLY ON DAY ONE, WHICH BREAKS HIS PROMISES AND VOWS TO HAVE RETRIBUTION. LIZ CHENEY HAS BEEN ON MSNBC AND OTHER CHANNELS AND RIGHT HERE ON "THE BEAT." SHE BRINGS A VERY IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE TO THIS, BECAUSE AS MANY PEOPLE REMEMBER, SHE WAS IN LEADERSHIP. SHE HAD A FRONT-ROW SEAT TO THEM SHE ALSO TOOK A STAND PUSHING FOR DONALD TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT OVER THE INSURRECTION AND CHAIRING THE JAN 6th COMMITTEE. HERE'S WHAT SHE TOLD US. >> DONALD TRUMP WON'T DENY THAT HE HAS PLANS LIKE THE ONE WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING. WHAT DONALD TRUMP OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS TAUGHT US IS WE HAVE TO TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY AND WE HAVE T TAKE HIM LITERALLY. HE HAS SHOWN US WHAT HE'S WILLING TO DO. >> HE HAS SHOWN US, TAKE HIM LITERALLY, AND BE READY TO RESIST THE TYPE OF STRATEGY OF DIMINISHMENT, SOMETIMES APPEASEMENT, SOMETIMES JUST A GENERAL KIND OF TROLLING, UNDERMINING OF THESE VERY REAL CONCERNS, BECAUSE THAT ITSELF IS DESIGNED TO HELP DONALD TRUMP NOT ONLY RETURN TO POWER -- ANYONE CAN RETURN TO OFFICE -- BUT RETURN TO POWER AND PERHAPS NOT LEAVE OFFICE. THE GUARDRAILS ARE CLEARY ERODING ON THE RIGHT. TAKE A REPUBLICAN SENATOR ECHOING DONALD TRUMP'S DISCUSSION OF ABUSING POWER, POTENTIALLY ILL REALLY TO GET THE DOJ TO GO AFTER OPPONENTS, WHICH IS SOMETHING MANY ASSOCIATE WITH TROUBLED EX-DEMOCRACIES. AND AS IS SO OFTEN THE CASE, THIS IS SOMEONE WHO CAN'T BE TAKEN AS CONSISTENT OR REALLY VERY HONEST, BECAUSE HE CAME TO PROMINENCE BEFORE RUNNING FOR OFFICE AS A TRUMP CRITIC. NOW J.D. VANCE SAYS THE FEDS SHOULD INVESTIGATE A JOURNALIST WHO WROTE THAT THE SECOND TERM TRUMP PLANS COULD AMOUNT TO A DICTATORSHIP. THE REPORT COINCIDES WITH REPORTS TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A BUNCH OF FIRE BRANDS FOR VP, POSSIBLY TUCKER CARLSON, POSSIBLY J.D. VANCE. IT'S EARLY FOR ALL THIS, BUT AXIOS REPORTS THE COMMITMENT TO STRETCH LEGAL AND GOVERNANCE BOUNDARIES IS WHAT'S SO APPEALING TO TRUMP AND VANCE, TO BE A HAMMER FOR HIM. VANCE, LIKE KEVIN McCARTHY HAS BEEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS, AND THAT'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT PIECE, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT TRADITIONAL GOOD FAITH DEBATES HERE. FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE COVERED ABORTION. IT IS A LONG-RUNNING DEBATE IN AMERICAN LIFE, AND THERE ARE PEOPLE, WHO WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH THEM OR NOT, HAVE SPENT THEIR ENTIRE ADULT LIVES AND CAREERS IN ONE POSITION, WHICH SEEMS AT A MINIMUM LIKE THEY'RE CONSISTENT, NOT MAKING IT UP. THIS IS THE OPPOSITE. THE SAME WAY McCARTHY CRITICIZED TRUMP AND THE SAME WAY J.D. VANCE WROTE A WHOLE BOOK BEMOANING THE TRUMP MAGAISM TAKING OVER THE RIGHT AND IS NOW NOT ONLY IN IT AND DEFENDING IT, BUT IS PUSHING FARTHER THAN OTHER REPUBLICANS. LIZ CHENEY ALSO SPEAKING TO THIS POINT AND HOW SO MUCH OF THIS IS NOT HONEST, IS NOT IN HER VIEW GOOD FAITH, BUT IS DONE FOR CRAVEN PERSONAL REASONS OR JUST SHEER POLITICAL GAIN. >> KEVIN McCARTHY IS, THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD HAD MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THE RIGHT THING, AND EACH TIME HE DID THE WRONG THING. IT ISN'T JUST NOW THAT IT'S COST HIM HIS CAREER, BUT IT'S THAT IT COST THE NATION GREATLY THAT THE LEADER REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE DIDN'T LEAD. HE NEEDED DONALD TRUMP'S DONOR, AND THAT MEANT HE HAD TO HELP DONALD TRUMP WIPE AWAY THE STAIN OF WHAT HE'S DONE TO OUR COUNTRY. >> THAT WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT POINT THAT SHE WAS CONVEYING THERE, AND IT'S ONE THAT'S RELATIVELY NEW. IN OTHER WORDS, SIX MONTHS AGO, YOU COULDN'T HAVE SAID WHETHER KILOMETER COME'S POLITICAL CALCULUS -- WHATEVER ABOUT HIS UNDERMINING ETHICS, DEMOCRACY. ACCORDING TO CHENEY, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORSE IF IT WORKED BECAUSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A REWARD FOR HIM BACKING UP TRUMP. BUT YOU WATCH THE NEWS AND YOU KNOW. LIZ CHENEY AND I DISCUSSED THIS. I WAS CURIOUS HER BREAKDOWN ON THIS. IT'S ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE, McCARTHY BEING LOYAL TO DONALD TRUMP OVER HIS OWN PUBLIC CRITICISM OF THE COUP AND THE COUP ATTEMPTS AND THE INSURRECTION THAT McCARTHY HAD OFFERED. IT RESULTED IN THE SHORTEST SPEAKERSHIP WE'VE SEEN IN HISTORY. IN HIS PUBLIC HUMILIATION AND DEFENESTRATION. IN OTHER WORDS, BOTH THINGS CAN BE TRUE. IT CAN BE GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY TO STAND UP. THAT'S KIND OF THAT PLACE LINE, AND IT'S A NONPARTISAN POINT, BUT ALSO CAN BE GOOD POLITICS TO DO THAT INSTEAD OF SELLING OUT AS McCARTHY DID AND STILL GETTING OUSTED, STILL HAVING A FAILED SPEAKERSHIP, STILL GETTING SHOWN THE DOOR LONG BEFORE OTHER COLLEAGUES OF HIS IN THE CONGRESS. THEN THERE'S SEAN HANNITY, WHO I MENTIONED, AND SOMEONE WE KNOW WAS PRIVATELY HORRIED AT THE ACTS OF THE INSURRECTION. YOU WOULD EXPECT PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN A RULE OF LAW SOCIETY WOULD LOOK AT THE ATTACKS. HE DID PRIVATELY AND THEN LIED ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC AND ENCOURAGED AIDES AND PEOPLE HE HAD INFLUENCE OVER TO REIGN TRUMP IN. PRIVATELY. PUBLICLY HE HAD TO ADMIT -- THE CLOSEST YOU'LL GET TO HIS OLD CONCERN IS WHEN THEY TRIES TO HELP TRUMP BY PUSHING BACK A LITTLE BIT OR TRYING TO GET TRUMP TO SAY HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE DICTATOR. WE'VE SHOWED YOU THAT HEADLINE MAKING CLIP. HANNITY SAID, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE DICTATOR, RITE? TRUMP WOULDN'T EVERYONE SAY, THAT JUST A PART-TIME DICTATOR, AS IF THAT'S ENCOURAGING. "THE WASHINGTON POST" WRITES, YOU TAKE IT ALL TOGETHER AND SEAN HANNITY DEMONSTRATES HOW TO HELP AN AUTHORITARIAN GAIN POWER. THE "POST", OF COURSE, AN INDEPENDENT OUTLET. THIS IS A BREAKDOWN LOOKING AT THE FACTS AND EVIDENCE. I'M TALKING ON A NEWS CHANNEL THAT YOU CAN SAY COMPETES WITH FOX. YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR INFORMATION WHEREVER YOU WANT IT, BUT BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS THE LEVEL AND SUBSTANCE OF DEMOCRACY AND THE LAW AND NOT TRYING TO TAKE A RANDOM SHOT AT MR. HANNITY WHO HAPPENS TO BE ON ANOTHER CHANNEL. NOW SAYING THIS IS AS SERIOUS AS A HEART ATTACK AND THIS IS THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE MEDIA PROPAGANDA, AND POLITICAL PROJECT, AND THEN THE OTHER NEFARIOUS FORCES THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY DECIDE THEY THINK THEY'RE BETTER OFF ENDING DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, AND IT'S HARD TO SAY IT WITHOUT PEOPLE THINKING THAT IT SOUNDS EXTREME. WELSH IT IS EXTREME, BUT THE EXTREME PART IS NOT HOW WE SAY IT OR REPORT IT. THE EXTREME PART IS THEIR EXTREME PLAN. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE RUNNING FOR OFFICE WHO WANTS TO TAKE AWAY YOUR VOTE, WHO CONTINUES TO LIE ABOUT THE LAST ELECTION, WHO IS PROMISING TO GO AFTER THE INDEPENDENT, FREE PARTS OF CIVIC LIFE, THE FREE PRESS, THE OPPOSITION, WHICH TO HIM INCLUDES TOP REPUBLICANS LIKE LIZ CHENEY, WHO HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT MR. HANNITY. >> SEAN KNEW AT THE TIME. THEY UNDERSTOOD HOW DANGEROUS DONALD TRUMP WAS AFTER JANUARY 6th. SEAN HANNITY KNOWS THAT TODAY, SO HE HAS SEVERAL TIMES NOW TRIED TO SORT OF BAIL DONALD TRUMP OUT WHEN HE'S SAID SOMETHING OR SUGGESTED SOMETHING THAT IS ILLEGAL, THAT IS COMPLETELY BEYOND THE BOUNDS. >> WE ARE NOW JOINED BY FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY JOYCE VANCE, NO RELATION TO SENATOR VANCE. WE THOUGHT OF YOU FOR THIS BIG PICTURE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRACKING AND WRITING ABOUT AND GIVING LEGAL ANALYSIS ABOUT THE JACK SMITH. BEFORE WE GET TO THE LAW, IF YOU WILL, I'M CURIOUS TO SOMEONE WHO'S ALSO SERVED IN GOVERNMENT, YOUR RESPONSE TO SOME OF WHAT MS. CHENEY SAID, SOME OF WHICH IS NOT NEW, BUT MUCH OF WHICH COMES FROM A VERY CONSERVATIVE CARD-CARRYING MEMBER -- LIFETIME MEMBER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. >> SO I THINK LIZ CHENEY IS EXPRESSING THE VIEWS OF SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE SURPRISED TO FIND THEMSELVES IN AGREEMENT WITH MEMBERS OF THE OTHER POLITICAL PARTY. DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS COME TOGETHER AND AGREED THAT WE LIVE IN A MOMENT WHERE A COUNTRY HAS TO MATTER MORE THAN PARTY, AND SO IT'S -- IN THAT SENSE IT'S NOT AS SURPRISING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT LIZ CHENEY IS NOW URGING PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT IN THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IT'S NOT THAT SHE AGREES WITH JOE BIDEN'S POLITICS OR WANTS ANY OF THE POLICIES THAT WOULD COME WITH THE DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION. SHE AND SO MANY OTHERS INCLUDING I THINK YOU AND ME IN THIS CATEGORY BELIEVE PROTECTING THE UNION, THE CONSTITUTION IS THE PARAMOUNT DUTY WE HAVE AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO THE 2024 ELECTION. >> HMM. YOU PUT THAT VERY CLEARLY. I ASKED HER -- PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO ASK HER DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, SO WE'RE NOT BY IN MEANS UNIQUE HERE. SHE'S A MUCH SOUGHT-AFTER FIGURE AFTER THE COMMITTEE. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I ASKED HER, PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT ROLES. NOT EVERYONE'S GOING TO RUN A PROSECUTION OFFICE AS YOU DID PROFESSIONALLY. NOT EVERYONE'S GOING TO BE IN CONGRESS. I WAS ASKING, CURIOUS, WHAT ABOUT CITIZENS? WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE SOME TIME IN THE DAY, SOME TIME BEYOND VOTING, WHAT DOES SHE RECOMMEND? HERE'S WHAT SHE SAID. >> NEVER CITIZENS IN THIS COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE BYSTANDERS, AND RIGHT NOW YOU'VE GOT TO CONSIDER RUNNING FOR OFFICE YOURSELVES, PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BALLOT IF YOU'RE GOING TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION. VOTE FOR GOOD PEOPLE. BUT MOST OF ALL, COME TOGETHER ACROSS PARTY LINES TO STOP DONALD TRUMP. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT? >> YEAH, COMING TOGETHER ACROSS PARTY LINES TO STOP DONALD TRUMP SOUNDS LIKE THE DEFENSIVE MANEUVER THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE, THAT WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO WORK ON IN 2024. I LOOK FORWARD TO YEARS AHEAD WHERE WE CAN GO BACK TO HAVING ARGUMENTS ABOUT POLICY AND POLITICS, THE SORT OF RESPECTFUL, WELL-MEANING ARGUMENTS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO GET THE BEST POLICY
