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Transcript: The ReidOut, 6/18/21

Guests: Sandra Garza, David Jolly, LaTosha Brown, D.L. Hughley

Summary

Right wing embraces January 6 conspiracy theories. GOP Representative Gohmert pushes conspiracy theory that FBI was behind January 6 insurrection. NBC obtains FBI transcript of insurrectionist interview. Shocking video shows former NYPD officer attacking police. Insurrection claims capitol police instigated riot. Partner of fallen officer comments on GOP attempts to rewrite history of January 6 insurrection. Garza says, it`s saddening to learn that former police officers were involved in insurrection. Representative Gosar demands to know name of officer who shot Ashli Babbit. GOP Representative Clyde reportedly refuses to shake hands of D.C. Metro Police officer.

Transcript

ARI MELBER, MSNBC HOST: That`s where we`re going to leave it though. And I love seeing you guys together. We`re going to do it again. Happy Father`s Day to everyone. My thanks to the original dynamic dou, the Fat Joe and Bill Kristol, that`s our program.

"THE REIDOUT" with Joy Reid starts right now. Hi, Joy.

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: You know, he is the father of Bill Kristol. He is. He is. Big ups to Fat Joe, big ups to Brooklyn. Spread love, it`s the Brooklyn way. See you later. Have a happy Father`s Day weekend. Happy Juneteenth.

Good evening, everyone. We begin THE REIDOUT tonight with the fringe that has become the mainstream of the Republican Party. The most popular host on Fox News and elected members of Congress are now embracing one of the bonkers rewrites of American history that we have seen in recent memory. And as per usual, it centers on the events of January 6th, when an undeniably pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn his election loss.

First, Republicans tried to blame Antifa. Then they tried to blame Democrats posing as Trump supporters. Then they tried to say, well, it wasn`t an insurrection at all, even claiming the insurrectionists were as peaceful as tourists.

Now, they have settled on an alarming new narrative straight out of the Trump playbook. Last night, Tucker Carlson doubled down on the baseless conspiracy theory that he raised on Tuesday, alleging once again, without any actual evidence that the FBI played a role in carrying out the insurrection. In other words, he`s suggesting it was an inside job, another so-called false flag operation by the deep state. Tuckums says that because court documents named unindicted coconspirators as having participated in the insurrection, well, those people must really be undercover FBI agents.

But one of the many problems with that theory is that, by definition, the government literally cannot name an undercover agent as unindicted co- conspirator. It`s also a no surprise that the theory originated on a dubious Web site run by a former Trump speechwriter.

But never mind what Tucker`s ridiculous narrative was, that it was immediately debunked, Republicans are not letting facts stand in their way. Just as they did during the Russia probe, they`re embracing this deep state conspiracy theory in a new effort to deflect blame from their dear leader, the former president. That is why we saw Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz baselessly accusing FBI operatives for the insurrection this week. And yesterday, Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas said this on the House floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): There are some major, major questions that need to be answered, because we don`t like to see government agents stirring up trouble or find that there are criminal acts that would not likely have occurred had not the federal government been participating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So, Republicans are clearly trying to make the FBI the enemy. And that might not be a coincidence, given that the FBI is the agency investigating the actual people responsible for the insurrection. In fact, NBC obtained a transcript of an FBI interview with an alleged Capitol insurrectionist, and it shows that agents not only asked about his possible connections to right-wing groups, like the Proud Boys, the 3 Percenters or the Oath Keepers. Notably, they also asked whether the defendant had any potential connections to members of Congress as well. And, presumably, that line of questioning is not unique to that particular defendant, which might be putting some Republican lawmakers on edge.

In fact, the defendant in that FBI interview happens to be the retired New York Police officer and former Marine, Thomas Webster, who is accused of doing this to a Capitol Police officer.

Now, unbelievably, in his FBI interview, Webster suggested that the officer he attacked was instigating him, which he says got him a little worked up.

Joining me now, NBC 4 Washington Investigative Reporter Scott MacFarlane. And, Scott, this is a fascinating sort of line of inquiry. Let`s start with the fact that this man, Mr. Webster, is blaming the police for what he did to the police. That`s odd. Talk to me a little bit about this defendant and also about the fact that the questions that are coming up in these interviews include whether or not these guys had connections to any members of Congress.

SCOTT MACFARLANE, NBC 4 WASHINGTON INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes, Joy. Good evening. Let`s start off with the fact that Mr. Webster is a former police officer himself, former New York Police, also a former Marine. He is accused of attacking an officer right there outside the capitol January 6th.

We have gone through thousands of court filings so far. This is our first look though at an FBI transcript and interview with a defendant, Thomas Webster. You mentioned some of the top lines there, that they are questioning him. They`re focused on whether he had ties to the Oath Keepers, the 3 Percenters, the Proud Boys, those far-right groups. He declines, saying he has any connection to those groups, says he does not.

But then the FBI presses him further, asks if he has any connections to congressional members, congressional staff and U.S. Capitol police. We have tried to reach the FBI to talk about this interview. They declined to comment. But a former federal prosecutor in D.C. says that is a significant line of questioning. The former federal prosecutor says that it is indicative of an investigation into potential complicity of members of Congress in this, at least the potential for complicity.

REID: Yes.

MACFARLANE: But also, drilling down on staff is important too, Joy, because staff have access to the buildings, staff know the routes and staff could be part of this umbrella as well.

REID: And let me ask you this. Was there any indication that part of that questioning related to whether or not people like Mr. Webster came to the Capitol beforehand? We know that there are allegations from other members of Congress that some of these insurrectionists got tours of the Capitol before the January 6th attack.

MACFARLANE: I would expect this questioning is happening for multiple defendants. I don`t see that reflected in this transcript. But also this is a defendant who told the FBI he doesn`t know anybody in Congress, doesn`t know staff, doesn`t know Capitol Police. In fact, he calls himself apolitical since he hasn`t been to Washington in decades. So perhaps that changed the complexion of future questions.

But it`s striking to me how often they go back to asking about far-right groups. Unequivocally, that is the epicenter of this sweeping investigation right now, the 3 Percenters, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, multiple defendants charged together. That`s different. That happens with the far- right groups. And the most severe charges, conspiracy, assault on officers, only some cases include that charge, all the far-right groups do, Joy.

REID: Yes, wow. It is fascinating. Scott Macfarlane, thank you very much. I hope you will come back. Great reporting.

Okay, Republicans are not only targeting the FBI. The party that claims that blue lives matter wouldn`t even stick up for the officers who protected them when their lives were at stake. They seem to forget that it was just four months ago that Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after engaging with the insurrectionists on January 6th, lay in honor in the Capitol rotunda, a rare and fitting tribute to his heroism that day. Last month, Officer Sicknick`s longtime partner, Sandra Garza and others lobbied Senate Republicans for an independent commission to investigation the insurrection, and yet, Republicans blocked it.

And Sandra Garza, joins me now. And, Ms. Garza, thank you so much for being here. I have seen your interviews and, look, I been very much looking forward to talk with you. I want to first get your reaction to what you just heard from Scott MacFarlane, the idea that there were fellow brother officers that were attacking men like your husband, people like your husband were injured by people like Thomas Webster, who himself was a former NYPD officer. What do you make of that?

SANDRA GARZA, PARTNER OF OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK: Well, Joy, first, I just want to say thank you so much for having me on your program. And Brian was my longtime partner, but it`s absolutely loathsome, it`s detestable to think that other law enforcement officers were out there attacking Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police and other sister law enforcement agencies that were out there that day. You know, I mean, it`s -- I can`t even wrap my head around it. It`s so saddening and it`s just -- it`s unbelievable.

I actually was invited last week by the National Association of Police Wives to do a Facebook live interview and they were absolutely sickened by what they had heard as well. Other law enforcement officers out there attacking their significant others, their spouses, and just the overall, you know, cold shoulder by members of Congress where they were defending them, protecting them and not only that, defending democracy that day.

These Republicans claim to be the patriots, the people that love America the most. And yet how are they showing that they love America? These people were out there beating these officers with American flags, blue line flags, and they were willing to allow these people to overthrow the will of the people and to allow Donald Trump to go in there with brute force and overthrow what the American people wanted. I mean, it`s unbelievable. It`s maddening.

REID: And, you know, what`s striking here, if you go back and you think about the fact that this guy, Ali Alexander, who is still in hiding, had claimed in advance that there were members of Congress who were helping him set up the events at the Ellipse that happened before the attack on the Capitol. Paul Gosar is one of them. Andy Biggs is one of them. Mo Brooks is one of them.

This is what Paul Gosar, who is one of the people who, again, is named by one of the organizers of the event that preceded the attack that wound up causing or contributing to the death of Brian Sicknick. Here`s what Paul Gosar, this is how he questioned FBI Director Wray this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): Why hasn`t that officer that executed Ashli Babbit been named when police officers around the country are routinely identified after a shooting?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: What do you make of the fact that Paul Gosar is demanding that this officer, who actually -- I mean, we talk a lot about shootings that are questionable on this show. This is one that was not questionable from a law enforcement perspective. This officer had to do what he had to do to protect everyone behind that door, and he did his job. What do you make of the fact Paul Gosar wants his name out there?

GARZA: Well, I think -- you know, first of all, I think he should be scared to death and wondering if FBI Director Wray is going to start investigating him for posing with photos with a Proud Boys member, and also why on earth he is attending a white nationalist conference. And I would like to know if that is being done on taxpayers` dime. You know, that`s my concern here.

We know that a lot of these white nationalist groups were the most responsible for instigating the events that happened on January 6th. And here, we have a member of Congress that is going to conferences. It`s unbelievable. So I think, you know, FBI Director Wray has actually more questions for him than he has for Director Wray.

REID: What have you dealt with in the aftermath of this? I mean, you are out there, and you and Brian Sicknick`s mom have been on Capitol Hill. Is that something you have ever done before? I doubt this is an experience that you`re used to doing. You put yourself out there. What has been the reaction that you have gotten?

GARZA: No, I have never done this before. And as I was saying yesterday, I`m just a regular person who happened to be thrust into this due to the events of January 6th, like most, I would say, you know, people who were moved by the footage of that day. I was appalled. And I could not idly by and do nothing.

Also, obviously, in addition to knowing that someone I loved very much suffered and saw his colleagues suffer during his last moments on earth, you know, I felt compelled to do something. And because of that, sadly, I have received a lot of backlash and unkind comments online.

But, you know, that`s not going to stop me from doing the right thing. I feel that this is more important than dealing with trolls and people who hide behind fake names and not even putting their photo out there and, you know, people`s opinions.

But it is difficult. I`m not going to say it`s easy. I think some people have the misconception that this is fun for me. It`s not fun. But I feel compelled to do it. And Gladys, I know, feels the same way. It`s something that has to be done.

REID: It`s very brave of you to do. I have to ask you to react to the fact that Andrew Clyde, who is a member of Congress from Georgia, refused to even shake the hand of Michael Fanone, who`s a Metropolitan Police Officer, who may have saved his life. We saw Andrew Clyde helping to barricade the door from the insurrectionists.

And, you know, Mr. Fanone, Officer Fanone has suffered terribly. He had brain injuries and incredible injury, a heart attack. What do you make of the fact Mr. Clyde wouldn`t shake his hand and that Republicans don`t want to give congressional gold medals to these officers? I mean, that could have been Brian Sicknick, had he survived, he might have been the guy whose hand Andrew Clyde refused to shake.

GARZA: That`s right, Joy. And you know what, it makes me incredibly angry. It`s not right. It`s unfair. And I think they`re all cowards. They are more concerned about their political careers and appeasing the Donald than they are in doing the right thing, and it`s detestable.

You know, I mean, these people fought for hours and endured incredible abuse. I mean, not to mention, you know, Officer Dunn, who endured hours of racial slurs so much to the point that he literally fell to his knees, you know, was so emotionally overwhelmed in dealing with that. And this is how these people are going to repay them, by holding up the congressional gold Medal of Honor? I mean, it`s absolutely disgusting.

And you know what, their family members need to put pressure on them because they need to be thankful to all of law enforcement that day that saved their lives. They need to put pressure on them and say, hey, listen, you need to do the right thing here. I`m glad that you`re here with me, that we are here eating dinner together, that we get to spend each day together. The only reason we are able to do that is because of law enforcement that day.

REID: Yes. It`s hard to say blue lives matter if that`s how you`re treat them. We`re out of time, but tell me one great thing about Brian Sicknick that people should know, people that you would love for people to know.

GARZA: He was a warm, gentle person. And it hurts me that he had to deal with what he did. He got along with everybody. And it`s a shame the people who attacked him, they probably would have been friends with him.

REID: Yes. Well, so sorry for your loss. Please pass our condolences on to Brian`s mom. We`ve -- I`ve seen the pictures of you two together, lovely, so thank you so much for being here. God Bless you, Sandra Garza. Thank you.

GARZA: Thank you. Thank you, Joy.

REID: Cheers. And up next on THE REIDOUT, well, you don`t exist in the GOP unless you embrace the big lie. And wait until you see how the MAGA crowd greeted Mike Pence today.

Plus, the more you know, the new federal holiday Juneteenth is actually Trump`s gift to the blacks. Nobody ever heard of it before, as he proclaimed.

Meanwhile, tonight`s absolute worst is yearning for the days of the former game show host was president, a brain surgeon ran housing policy, and a big Trump donor with no education experience was in charge of education.

And comedian and actor Director D.L. Hughley joins me with his thoughts on Juneteenth, critical race theory and how to survive America.

THE REIDOUT continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: The worst and the dimmest of the Republican party got together in Florida today to pander to a key voting bloc, white evangelicals, with an eye toward the 2022 midterm elections and, let`s be honest, 2024.

They took turns taking on the MAGA culture wars at a Faith in Freedom event, including super genius, in his own mind, Ted Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I had a -- just this week on Capitol Hill, I had a reporter run up to me, he thought he had a gotcha. He said, hey, what`s critical race theory? Apparently, he thought I would turn to him and say, gosh, I have no idea. I think it`s really bad, but I just don`t know what it is, because conservatives are morons, and we don`t know what we`re talking about.

And I explained to him. I said, well, it`s a theory that derives from Marxism. Karl Marx viewed the entire world is a conflict between classes, between the owners of capital and the working men and women, the proletariat, a fundamental battle in society.

Critical race theory takes that same Marxist concept, except it replaces class with race. And let me tell you right now, critical race theory is bigoted. It is a lie. And it is every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: No, no, no, no, Ted, that`s not what critical race theory is.

You know when you feel embarrassed for someone because they don`t have the good sense to be embarrassed for themselves? It`s that kind of thing. Good try, though, Ted.

Of course, the most infamous and orangest Florida retiree in the Grand Q Party wasn`t there, but he looms forever, as GOP candidates across the country continue to bend the knee.

As NBC`s "First Read" noted, call it MAGA bingo,. Hen a party no longer offers a new party platform or new public policy ideas, the way for its politicians to distinguish themselves is through symbols, gestures, performance art, and, above all, loyalty to the former president, in addition to harping, incorrectly, as always, about critical race theory, which has nothing to do with the theoretical underpinnings of a classless society, it turns out.

That`s what Marxism is.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott is fronting big bucks for the orange man`s border wall. In Ohio, Senate candidate Josh Mandel is setting masks on fire for who knows what. And Missouri`s disgraced former Governor turned Senate candidate Eric Greitens ran to Arizona`s fraudit to avenge his dear leader.

But, today, we also saw how insufficient genuflection to the MAGA idol`s big lie goes over, when former President -- when former Vice President Mike Pence took to the stage in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank my friend Ralph Reed for those overly generous words. I`m deeply humbled by them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traitor!

PENCE: Ralph Reed knows me well enough to know the introduction I prefer is a little bit shorter.

I`m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

PENCE: And I am honored to stand before you today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

REID: Joining me now is Dean Obeidallah, the host of "The Dean Obeidallah Show" on SiriusXM and an MSNBC Daily columnist, with David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who is no longer affiliated with the party.

David, I guess Mike Pence should be happy that they didn`t start chanting "Hang Mike Pence," which is an oldie, but a goody.

Your thoughts?

(LAUGHTER)

FMR. REP. DAVID JOLLY (R-FL): Some of them did chant "Traitor."

And I guess my thoughts is, can we just jump to D.L. Hughley? Because I think we will have a lot better content talking to him than listening to those that were pandering to white evangelicals in the Republican Party down in Florida.

Look, I mean, this is this is one more day that affirms how far the party has gotten from some type of conservative construction, some ideological construction, that is the pulse of the party.

You`re right. They are in this kind of listless moment where they`re still trying to figure out how to cater to Donald Trump, but where the next generation of Republican leaders are trying to figure out how to get around him. And it`s fascinating to see that group, the -- DeSantis, Haley, Pompeo, others. There are different strategies.

At this point, I think watch how Ron DeSantis is handling all of this. He is doing the conservative things. He`s behaving in a somewhat Trumpist way, but he`s not always giving the nod to Donald Trump. He`s protecting his own identity.

You can`t say that about everybody else that took that stage today down in Florida.

REID: Well, yes, let`s move on to Marco Rubio, because, Dean, there`s a meme, that meme that it`s like the guy who`s got a girl next to him, and he`s looking back at the other girl.

And the guy -- the girl behind him is Sharia law. The girl in front of them now is critical race theory, because Republicans are just like, which of those two things am I going to demagogue today?

Let`s show Marco Rubio doing the Marxism fandango.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): The old Marxism, the old Marxism used economics to gain control. The new Marxism, the new Marxism uses identity politics.

And the result is something that looks nothing like America. There`s no reason to believe that this new Marxism will result in anything but what the old Marxism resulted in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: These people wouldn`t know Marxism if it punched them in the face. They actually literally don`t know what Marxism is. They just keep saying Marxism, Marxism, Marxism.

I mean, but I brought up the Sharia law thing, because, remember, they did that before, where they were like every state in America is going to input Sharia law, and it`s going to come to your state, and we better legislate against it before it happens.

Like, now they`re doing it with critical race theory. Your thoughts?

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, MSNBC DAILY COLUMNIST: It`s the same exact thing.

First of all, the chanting Mike Pence is a traitor is...

(LAUGHTER)

rMD+IT_rMD-IT_OBEIDALLAH: I don`t think that is what Jesus would have done. Is that what Jesus would have done? I don`t think so at that event.

But the Christians there, the evangelicals were very upset with Mike Pence. And critical race theory is the new boogeyman. It has replaced Sharia law.

I kind of feel ignored. Like, why not talk about my people? What about us Muslims?

(LAUGHTER)

OBEIDALLAH: I still want Sharia.

No, I don`t want Sharia law at all. It didn`t matter, because -- but the difference is now, look at -- they have turned critical race theory. They use that buzzword. But when you look at the laws are passing, now in 20 states, they have passed or on the verge of passing laws or regulations, it really is divisive topics.

And when you look how it`s defined, it`s systemic racism. They don`t want to teach people that there`s systemic racism, that you can draw a line from slavery, through Jim Crow, to today`s racial wealth gap, where white -- the median white family has 10 times more in assets than the median black family. You can draw a straight line. They don`t want to do that.

They want to believe the white mythology. Rick Santorum, remember, we birthed this nation from nothing, we, we white Europeans. That`s what he`s saying to people.

No. Guess what? Native Americans were here and black people helped build this nation. And guess what? Twenty percent of those slaves were Muslims.

REID: Yes.

OBEIDALLAH: It was us. They weren`t bringing Sharia. They were working here as an enslaved people.

REID: Yes. No, that is absolutely right.

And, I mean, to stay with Marco Rubio for a moment, he`s now facing something he`s not used to. I mean, he`s going to face a tough fight. Val Demings has already told -- she told Jonathan Capehart: "Marco Rubio is afraid of a tough fight. I`m not. I grew up poor, black and female in the South. The first time I was called the N-word, I was 4 years old. I know it`s not going to be easy. I do believe it`s doable."

Does Marco Rubio -- will he just deconstruct when he actually faced is somebody who`s not afraid of his silly Marxism phony buffoonery, which is just B.S.?

(CROSSTALK)

REID: For David.

David first.

JOLLY: Yes, Joy, Marco Rubio doesn`t have the intellect to go toe to toe with Val Demings in this race. And I mean it. You will hear a lot of Americana themes from Marco Rubio, but they will mean nothing.

And we also have to recognize this is a moral inflection point, this conversation around critical race theory, because it can be debated what should be in the curriculum in our classrooms. That`s fine. What they are doing is turning their head to our racist past. They`re turning a blind eye to it.

The most valuable education any student can have is to be taught to think critically. And the reality is, the United States was founded by one race that owned another. And our Constitution and our laws were constructed to protect that ownership of another race. And that has drawn now for generations in a way that has affected the ladders of opportunity in education and finance, in homeownership and jobs and opportunity and labor for one race that is still suffering from that condition on which our nation was founded.

Now, we don`t need educators to tell you what to do with that information, but we need educators to prepare kids to think critically about it. And if we don`t, we`re failing our kids.

So, when Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio make light of this and make a joke of this, it is a moral failing of those two in this moment. Val Demings is going to nail Marco Rubio to the wall on this

REID: And the thing that`s so sad about and pathetic about Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz is that, if Donald Trump hinted that he thought Marxism was the way, they`d both be declaring Marxism as the one true religion, Dean, tomorrow.

OBEIDALLAH: Of course.

Everything to the GOP is -- it`s not -- remember, Joy, we would hear this thing, Republicans are silent because they fear Donald Trump? No, they were silent because they agreed with Donald Trump. He is not an aberration. He`s a manifestation of the GOP.

It`s been -- it`s been catering to white nationalists for years. You have got the Christian Sharia law. People -- today, he had a big conference for that down there. You have got this cruelty, the anti-Muslim bigotry. Trump just brought it as a package. He was this one big person that did all of it.

And I can just say, oddly enough, Joy, critical race theory, being of Palestinian heritage, it`s personal for me when you want to erase the humanity of another group, because the same lie about us, the idea that there were no Palestinians in what was ultimately Israel, so that you didn`t care about us, you didn`t know our humanity and our story, so we can be erased.

So, if you don`t know the story of black Americans, if you don`t know about slavery, Jim Crow, you can deny the humanity the same way. And that`s what part of this is.

REID: Yes, and of the indigenous as well, absolutely. Well said.

Dean Obeidallah, David Jolly, happy Juneteenth to both of you.

And coming up, LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, joins us from the Blackest Bus in America.

Stay tuned to find out what that`s all about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: History has a way of repeating itself.

And, unfortunately, 2021 is eerily reminiscent of 1961. To date, 14 states have enacted suppressive voting laws that target brown, black and Asian communities. And just like in the struggles of the 1960s, much of the hard work of pushing back against these moves is left to the people.

Black Voters Matter, which played a seminal role in turning Georgia blue, is redoubling its efforts. Tomorrow, it will launch its Freedom Rides For Voting Rights, a voter outreach campaign meant to engage black voters and expand their power. Today, they hosted a prelaunch event in New Orleans, and they were joined by two original Freedom Riders.

The tour, which will hit seven Southern states and end with a rally in Washington, D.C., coincides with the 60-year anniversary of the original Freedom Rides.

And joining me now live from the bus is LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter.

OK, first of all, I`m extremely jealous. You`re in NOVA. And you`re on the Blackest Bus in America. And I`m like, I feel FOMO at the moment, but it`s all right. I`m going to get over that.

(LAUGHTER)

REID: Talk to me about this tour. What`s the -- what is the plan? And what is the purpose?

LATOSHA BROWN, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK VOTERS MATTER: It has been wonderful.

Today is our prelaunch. We wanted to make sure that we came to New Orleans. Most people may not know, but the final destination that was intended for the Freedom Ride was actually New Orleans, right? They never really, fully got there the same kind of way because of all of the violence, and they had to reroute and do some other things, although eventually wound up coming to New Orleans.

So, we wanted to start our freedom tour where literally where it left off to show that we`re given homage. And one of the things that we did in starting in New Orleans, there were three original Freedom Riders that we literally honored today.

We know that we`re traveling in 10 cities across the nation in the next seven days. And that`s because of the work that they did, that they literally laid the foundation and made sure that we can move around freely.

But we have got our own work to do, with voter suppression happening right now in 47 states where we have these proposed bills to actually restrict access to the ballot. This is our moment. So, we`re riding out, and we`re on the Blackest Bus in America.

We have been joined by our partners, over 22 different national partners. UNITE HERE sent three buses from Texas. And it is on and popping. Tomorrow, we will kick it off starting on Juneteenth to June the 27th.

REID: Well, that Texas bus, that`s the original O.G. Juneteenth bus, so now I`m doubly jealous.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

REID: And I didn`t know that about New Orleans. I love learning something. And that`s one of the things I love about doing the show.

I know one of your stops is West Virginia. And I know that part of that advocacy is to send a message to these senators that we need to pass voting rights urgently.

Joe Manchin, I have seen you tweet about his ideas about a pushback and his own version of a voting bill. You`re already nodding. What do you what do you make of his proposal?

BROWN: A couple things.

One, why are we negotiating voting rights in 2021? Are we -- we`re looking at -- we`re actually negotiating away voting rights for people who participated in the process. Matter of fact, one of the problems with Manchin`s bill is that, in some of the states, they actually don`t have voter I.D.

REID: Right.

BROWN: In some of the states, they don`t have some of the repressive policies that we see in some of the other states. So to nationalize, to take as policy, you would actually be restricting access to the ballot in certain states.

Why would we do that? Why should we do that? That`s very undemocratic. And so what we`re saying is, we`re still supporting and pushing for For The People Act, because that`s what we need right now, and the John Lewis Voter Advancement Act.

And, yes, we are going to West Virginia, and we`re going to West Virginia strong. We have been invited with several organizations that are going to be leading it in West Virginia. We`re taking seven buses. We`re actually going to -- I think there`s something that the people of West Virginia have to say, that, as Manchin is saying that he`s speaking for the folks of West Virginia, no, he`s not.

Overwhelmingly, almost 70 percent of West Virginians support For the People Act. So he should as well. And we`re going to go remind him, along being led by West Virginians, what the people of West Virginia are saying.

REID: And you said you have got Freedom Riders on that bus. And so I`m sure you`re getting so much wisdom from them to talk about the way they did advocacy.

Can you talk about the ways in which this kind of outside pressure can actually move the politics here? Because what we need in the end is either 50 votes to overturn the filibuster so we can just get on with it, or somehow some sort of miraculous 60 votes, which, let`s be honest, is never going to happen.

How do we actually go from this status we`re in right now to a voting rights bill that, you`re right it`s ridiculous that we need it in 2021, but we need it.

BROWN: I think what we`re going to have to do is, people of this nation are going to have to step up, and we`re going to have to literally hold electors accountable.

We should not be in the circumstances where elected officials are telling us who the voters are going to be. It has to be the reverse. We have to really recognize that voting rights is on the line. And what it does is, it fundamentally -- while it has been targeted at black voters, it would actually restrict access to the ballot to other -- all of us.

And we don`t need that. And so I think a couple of things are what we believe is that we have to organize the voters, just as we did in 2018, just as we did in 2020. We have to organize our communities, educate our communities, and we have to show up with a coalition of black people, white people, Latinx people, indigenous folks, Asian Americans.

Those of us who really believe in democracy have to say no. And it is absolutely more of us than it is a small group of elite, racist folks who want to be able to maintain and keep power.

REID: Yes.

Let -- well, we will see you in D.C., LaTosha Brown. When you get here, we will be there.

LaTosha Brown, thank you very much.

And still ahead -- happy Juneteenth.

Still ahead, D.L. Hughley is here to talk about his searingly hilarious new book, "How to Survive America."

But, first, irony reaches new heights of awfulness in tonight`s absolute worst.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA TRUMP, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: She dropped out at the race, guys, for the Democrat primaries before her home state of California even voted. She was polling at 2 percent. She dropped out before Marianne Williamson even did.

She was not a very popular person. And, clearly, she probably thought, maybe I`m in over my head here. Now she is vice president of the United States. And I think we`re seeing the consequences of possibly choosing a person based on identity politics, based on their gender, and not qualifications. This is what you get, again, an embarrassment for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: OK, so you all will be excused if you have no idea who that blonde lady was.

That was Lara Trump, wife of Trump`s secondary fail son, Eric, daring to say that Vice President Kamala Harris isn`t qualified for her job.

What? OK, just a quick recap. Vice President Harris was the district attorney of San Francisco, California attorney general, and a United States senator before she was nominated to be vice president of the United States.

Lara Trump, meanwhile, is a former TV producer who worked on Trump`s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, and then held policy meetings at the White House, which not only did she have zero qualifications for, but were ethically sketchy.

Speaking of qualifications, Lara`s brother somehow got a job at the Department of Energy, despite having no experience there. Her wedding planner, her wedding planner got a job overseeing public housing in New York and New Jersey.

Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

Oh, and then there`s sister-in-law Ivanka, whose experience before her senior White House role included running a mediocre clothing and jewelry company. Oh, and brother-in-law Jared Kushner, who ran a real estate company that`s now heavily in debt, before his plus senior adviser role.

Trump hired his bodyguard to be the director of Oval Office operations. He hired Rudy Giuliani`s sad little son Andrew, a former sales intern and pro golfer, before joining the Trump campaign.

Ben Carson was some kind of brain surgeon with zero experience related to his job as director of the Housing and Urban Development Department.

Oh, and then there`s Betsy DeVos. Neither she nor her children went to public school, but she was put in charge of the country`s public education system.

So, Lara Trump, for daring to question Vice President Harris` qualifications, while the Trump administration was a complete cesspool of inexperience and stupid, you are tonight`s absolute worst.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: From police violence, to higher rates of COVID, to Tuckums of FOX News courting guests that say black people have lower I.Q.s, it isn`t easy being black in America.

It kind of makes you wish that you had a survival guide for these openly racist times, when even bird-watching is considered high-risk behavior, which is exactly what D.L. Hughley, one of the original kings of comedy, offers in his new book.

And D.L. joins me now, comedian, actor and author of "How to Survive America." I will hold up the book right here. OK, it`s going up on the screen as well. But I also have my copy.

One day, I want it signed when I see you again.

D.L. HUGHLEY, AUTHOR, "HOW TO SURVIVE AMERICA": Thank you.

REID: D.L., congrats. Thank you.

Congratulations on the book. And I have to tell you, you are a very funny man, but your book is brutal. The opening is rough. It is telling very hard truths. And it basically is saying, with all of these things that we face, congratulations surviving. And, by the way, the world is going to tell you everything that`s going wrong is your fault.

Talk about why you wrote this book and what people are going to learn.

HUGHLEY: Well, I was at it.

Before I do that, I want to comment on Lara Trump. It`s interesting how everybody denigrate Kamala Harris` race and gender, when it was her race and gender that kicked your ass and Arizona and Georgia and it`s the reason that you have written 350 laws to suppress the vote.

So, that woman, who was -- you consider not qualified, beat the most powerful man in the world at his own game.

REID: Firm, but fair.

HUGHLEY: So, she`s the reason that you got -- so, she changed Georgia blue, while you guys changed a bunch of rules.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHLEY: So, she`s no Mike Pence. Absolutely right.

REID: There you go. There you go.

HUGHLEY: I wrote the book because I was recovering for COVID. And I was actually promoting my last book.

And I was watching Jerome Adams tell black people that, even though despite COVID was ravaging the world, but we -- it was our drinking and smoking and eating that predisposed us to the fact that we were disproportionately affected by it.

And it incensed me. But, historically, it`s the way it`s always been. No matter what happens to us, no matter -- if we`re shot by the police, it`s our fault. If our children died during childbirth, it`s our fault. If we`re not -- if we have childhood asthma, it`s our fault.

And so, ultimately, I don`t think that there`s ever been a death, even when you watched what happened to George Floyd, if you listened to the medical experts, he basically told us it was everything but a knee on his neck.

So America has always been either -- either we are kind of these fragile human beings, or America continues to participate in some pretty monstrous things. So that was the impetus for the book.

And I don`t see anything changing. Like, we asked for justice, and they give us a three-day weekend.

(LAUGHTER)

HUGHLEY: So, that`s...

REID: Yes. Firm, but fair.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHLEY: ... time-and-a-half.

REID: Yes. No, you`re absolutely right.

I mean, here -- what do you make of the irony that you have now a whole movement -- they call it critical race theory. They don`t know critical race theory is. It`s not.

HUGHLEY: Sure.

REID: But, I mean, but they -- but their core argument is, don`t undermine our sense of our own past perfection, the perfection of our side. So, the slave owners, the Confederate soldiers, we need them to be innocent. Don`t ever try to paint us with a broad brush.

But, by the way, we`re going to paint you with a broad brush. All of you all are -- right.

HUGHLEY: Yes.

REID: So they don`t want to be painted with the broad brush of slave owners. But they`re basically doing, as you said, painting black people with the broad brush of anything bad they can think of.

HUGHLEY: They have always done that, because it would mean that they would have to face what they done.

Like, even you`re telling -- you`re telling teachers that they can`t teach about slavery now, but yet we have a Juneteenth holiday.

(LAUGHTER)

REID: Right.

HUGHLEY: Now, what do you tell the children they`re off from school for?

(LAUGHTER)

HUGHLEY: Like, and what do you say about all these dudes with stores and parks and bronze statues? Because we want -- what they want is the monuments and the affects of slavery. They want it everywhere, but they don`t want to admit anything happened.

Like, to get a statue in America, all you have to do is be incredibly brutal to black people. There are way more statues of Robert E. Lee than there will ever be to Jesus. The last white dude got a statue that didn`t beat the hell out of black people was Rocky, and even he beat up Apollo Creed.

(LAUGHTER)

HUGHLEY: So, I think that we are just interested in having them be predisposed to see us in a way that, no matter what happens to us, they`re not inclined to be sympathetic.

And they -- and we have this notion that you`re not supposed to do victim blaming, but that`s been going on here for 200 years.

REID: Yes.

But what you see on the right -- and I have seen a few of this, including maybe some relatives of some folks that were Trump friends -- out there trying put out videos. And these are trying to actually use black people to make this argument that, look at you, D.L.

You`re a successful, well-off -- look at how well you have done. You are the proof. Barack Obama is the proof. Oprah is the proof. I have got a TV show. That`s the proof that there is no racism and what in the hell are you complaining about?

What do you make of those attempts to try to use you? They`re going to try to use you against your argument.

HUGHLEY: Well, because black people are always judged by the rule and not the exception -- I mean, the exception and not the rule.

Everybody is not Michael Jordan or Barack Obama or Joy Reid. But some pretty ordinary people get to do extraordinary things if you`re a white guy. All white -- all anybody wants is the ability to be ordinary and still have a decent life.

But only we are judged by the exception, and never the rule. Most people aren`t exceptional. That`s just -- ergo the word exceptional. So why would you hold up the most exceptional people, the roses that managed to go through -- to grow through concrete, as the rule that we should all achieve?

If we all achieved exceptionalism, then there would be no need to have this conversation. But the point is that, no matter who you are, what you do, if you managed to survive -- we managed, all us managed to survive some pretty trying circumstances.

You can`t think of anybody that was successful that didn`t. And I don`t care what ideology they ascribe to.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: But the thing I find interesting is, why is it that I got to be Michael Jordan, or I got to be Barack Obama to be to be successful?

Why can`t I just be a dude who wants to raise his family, go to work, be an upstanding citizen, and still have a decent life, without all the drawbacks that being black inherently has?

REID: Yes.

And, so, but, I mean, what are the survival strategies? Because one of the things that I love about your book is, you`re -- you`re talking about how to survive. Give us one preview. How do we survive this?

HUGHLEY: You got to be lucky. You got to be lucky.

I don`t think there`s anything that George Floyd could have done that day that would have helped him survive, except not be in the same proximity as Derek Chauvin.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: He begged him. He called his dead mother. He had witnesses around. He submitted. He was compliant.

The only thing that could have kept him alive was not being in those circumstances, and just like anybody who passed on from COVID.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: There was a black woman, and I remember this -- she was from Indianapolis. She was -- Indiana. She was a black doctor.

REID: Doctor.

HUGHLEY: And she was telling them what was wrong and what they needed to do.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: And she knew that she was going to die.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: So, what she had to do to survive that is not be a black woman in that circumstance.

What do our children have to do? Is not be a black woman in that circumstance. So, unless we change the backdrop of the circumstances, the best that we got is, like, we have prayed, we have marched, we have activated ourselves.

REID: Yes.

HUGHLEY: It says a lot that now that the only offer that we have is that you don`t put yourself in those circumstances, that you can`t be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

REID: This is the book.

D.L. Hughley, this is it, "How to Survive America."

Thank you so much for being here, brother. Have a wonderful weekend.

(CROSSTALK)

REID: Oh, I don`t know what happened.

Well, before we go tonight, let`s do a quick "Moment of Joy."

On June 19, 1865, U.S. Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with a message: Enslaved black people were free. The Emancipation Proclamation issued two-and-a-half years earlier had been kept hidden from these enslaved Texas.

And that crucial moment in our nation`s history, likely not taught in high schools, has been celebrated as Juneteenth for more than 150 years, first in Texas and then in other Western states, like Colorado, where I grew up, and in parts of the South.

Yes, my sister, June Carryl, was runner-up in a Denver Juneteenth pageant when we were kids.

Juneteenth is a national expression of black freedom. It`s our actual independence day, because, real talk, on January 4, 1776, we were not invited to the barbecue, except to cook and serve food and clean up. That invite to freedom would come 100 years late. Full citizenship would take even longer.

So, when I think of Juneteenth, I think about those who waited, those who remained in bondage for two long years after the Emancipation Proclamation. And though much has changed, we are still waiting for justice, for our right to dignity, for our right to vote. Hell, we`re still waiting on an anti-lynching bill.

And yet Juneteenth being recognized as a federal holiday announced by the first black woman vice president, no less, was a win, a symbolic thing, but a win.

And, yes, the irony is not lost on me that we`re getting a Juneteenth holiday during a literal legislative campaign to erase black history. But that doesn`t mean we have to let the anti-history, anti-voting, cancel-all- the-culture crowd steal our joy, because it`s joy is also an act of resistance, celebrated boldly and in defiance of every attempt to take it away.

So, you go be with your loved ones and celebrate. And you have yourself a happy and very well-deserved Juneteenth.

That is tonight`s REIDOUT.

"ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES" starts right now.