Voters go to the polls amid Trump's declining popularity

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When we know the outcome of this election tonight, the winner will face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers running unopposed in the Republican primary. Democrats will seek to tie him to an increasingly unpopular Donald Trump. Earlier today at the legendary Eastern market here in Detroit, I was shooting prediction markets. This segment for my show, Connect, I talked to voters about today's race. El Sayed or Stephen? Abdul El-Sayed. You think he's going to win? I do. Stevens or Abdul El-Sayed? Abdul El-Sayed by a hair. Why Stevens over Abdul El-Sayed? She does what she says. She's going to do, and she's very honest, trustworthy. Stevens or Abdul El-Sayed? I voted for Stevens. I voted for Abdul El-Sayed. But wait a minute, the two of you here shopping. Great friends. Great friends. Agree on most everything. We got El-Sayed and we got Stevens. What's the difference for the two of you? I'm going progressive this election. I'd like to blow everything up and start from scratch. And you went with the trusted voice or for you the trusted voice here in Michigan? Yes. So who are you for it? What's your prediction? Elsa, I'm freaking me, come on. Get money out of politics, baby. It's a toss-up.

And that is where we begin the balance of power in the United States Senate running through right here in Michigan. We have a huge show ahead. Our very own Ali Bell. She has a breakdown at the big board. We are also tracking the news on Todd Blanche, as well as the Trump administration surveilling protesters. You are not going to want to miss that. But we are going to start with our panel. My dear friend Chris Jansing, MS now chief national correspondent, and Craig Mowger, state politics reporter with the Detroit News. It's good to see you both. It's an extraordinary day. I've been saying this all day. It doesn't look like long lines, but Chris, because of the way that they vote here, you may not be able to tell it. I know you've been tracking enthusiasm on the ground. Yeah, and I think early voting has been very high. I think you would agree with that. What is it? 1.3, over 1.3 million now. But the number that folks who I talked to before I came here told me to track was low propensity voters. And here's why. Abdul El-Sayed is a candidate who they wanted to see. Would he be? bring people either back to the fold. People who have gotten so sick of the political process, they think it isn't answering their needs that they've kind of dropped out, or people who frankly have never been involved because they don't really believe that their vote makes a difference. Let me show you the numbers that I got from the Secretary of State's office. 53,000 people who early voted, 53,000 had only voted in one of the past three presidential elections. These are generally non-voters or low propensity voters, as you say. And this is the lowest propensity voters. 18,386 people cast. absentee ballots who did not vote at all in the last three general elections. So I talked to Abdul El-Sayed this afternoon when we were over at Eastern Market. Look, they see that as a good sign, but in places like where we're sitting, I think. that could be a little bit of a different story. What are you seeing, Craig? This election that keeps saying it's a bellwether on the Democrats, but ultimately I have talked to so many Democrats who say they are going to unite behind whomever emerges here as a referendum ultimately on Donald Trump come November. And this is a state, which I said earlier in the broadcast, that he has hit time after time with allegations of voter fraud. He has come here and said he has become the Michigan man of the year, a position that does not exist. I think voters. here seemed to be tiring of Donald Trump's message. At least that's what I'm seeing. Yeah, I mean, I talked to one Republican voter who said Trump's endorsement didn't matter to her because she was tired of him. So, I mean, there are views all over the place about how people see the president right now. This is really a test of the Democratic electorate in Michigan and maybe nationally right now, as you all have outlined. There is a theory that in Michigan, these progressive anti-establishment voters make up about 30 to 40 percent of the electorate. That's how it's always been. Abdul can't win this race. Heads up with Haley. That's what people thought going...

into this summer. And now the voters have turned that on their heads. Abdul has a chance to win. He has a chance to overturn how people see democratic politics in this battleground state. And that's why the eyes of the nation are on this state right now. What do you hear? What's your reporting tell you? I said to our viewers that I heard from the Detroit elections officials that there have been at least five sightings because they have to sign in, actually, inside the polling places like the one that we're outside of, of these federal election monitors. And they say that they're looking into issues. like poll watcher readiness. What's your reporting tell you about this monitoring operation sent by the federal government? Yeah, I think there's two tracks here. There's one track that is so far today, it seems to be going smoothly. No one's raising any concerns about what the monitors are doing. The other track is, why are they here? And the basis for what the Justice Department has said. The reasoning is for them to be in Michigan today. It doesn't line up with what election officials from either side of the aisle have seen. So their actions are not concerning. The questions to what this portends for November, that's what I think concerns a lot of people. Chris, the money has been just as big a part of the conversation here as the substance of the issues. Abdul El-Sayed continues to point out the outside spending. on behalf of the Congresswoman, and it is exponentially larger than anything that he's gotten. What are the numbers? Yeah, central to his theme is no outside money, no corporate money in his campaign, and he believes that so many people take outside money. And this, I've watched it resonate with people when he's talked to them one-on-one. I went canvassing with him last night, and he talks about... What do you think that money buys? Do you think it buys loyalty to you or to the corporation or the company or the PAC that gave it to him? Almost $81 million has been spent in one Democratic primary. It's the most expensive of Michigan history, if I'm not mistaken. Most expensive ever for a Senate race primary. It's unbelievable. And 63.9 super PACs and other well-funded organizations for Haley Stevens, 34. Pro Haley Stevens, 20 million opposing Abdul El-Sayed compared to 7.3 million that he's been. The advertising is incredibly lopsided. And look, again. I spent a lot of time in crowds with El-Sayed supporters. But today, just walking through the Eastern Market, talk to one Republican who said, you know, I've been Republican for a long time, but I just can't do it anymore. And I'm going to vote for El-Sayed. And one of the things that he mentioned was this influence of outside money. And so many people have said who support Abdul El-Sayed, I don't want other corporations outside of Michigan people telling me who I should vote for. I'm going to make that decision. In a state where data centers, the cost of living, people looking for jobs is clearly top of mind to anybody that you talk to. This money thing has become so central to the conversation, both on the airwaves, but in people's brains, the Israel-Gaza War, the spending of AIPAC, he has turned it into an issue against Taley Stevens, I'll say it. Yeah, I mean, that's what Abdul has done, I think, so skillfully this summer, is he has tied the spending.

to people's concerns about prices. I don't think Democrats have been able to do that in the past. Tie the outside influence to, hey, this is how it's actually impacting your life. This utility company is supported Representative Stevens in the past. This is the utility company that you're upset about. And Abdul has worked that angle so well. I've talked to... numerous voters today who have tied that outside money to their own frustration with how the political system works. And it gets down to that question, I think people will be asking in the fall, is this a change election? Is this an anti-corruption election? Is it some combination of both? And if you're Abdul El-Sayed, he's kind of prepared for both of those possible outcomes this November. It really does feel extraordinary to be here in this moment. I know you're going, you'll be his campaign head for this tonight. Okay, so everybody stick around because Chris Jansen will be. there during the special one it kicks off with Rachel and the gang. I'm Chris, Craig. Thank you both so much. It's good to see you. Thanks. Thank you. I want to go right now to Ali Belchie. Another one of my dear, dear friends, who's at the big board with the preview of tonight. Mr. Belchie, take it away. I'm so jealous of you, first of all. I've spent probably more time in Detroit, Michigan than most other places in America. A little trivia for you, my friend, since you do prediction markets, if you are sitting in Detroit, Michigan, and you look south, are you looking at Indiana or Ohio? Okay, don't answer it. I won't make the answer. The answer is when you are looking south from where you are right now, you know you're looking at Canada, right? Detroit is north of Canada. So that's number one. Number two, let's take a look at some house races in and around the area that you're in right now. There are two that I'm keeping an eye on very carefully. Number one is the 7th district in New York, which is in and around Lansing. This is an interesting race. There are three people competing in it right now. The most prominent name was Bridget Brink. She was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine most recently. resigned under the Trump administration because she felt that he wasn't doing what needed to be done. He's running against Matt Mazdom. The two of them probably occupy a similar ideological lane versus William Lawrence who's coming in in that progressive lane. So we're going to watch very carefully in addition to that state Senate race that you've just been talking about what happens in Michigan 7. I also want to go to Michigan 13. This is... Part of Wayne County, it's where you are. It's Detroit and the southern part of Wayne County in which an incumbent, Shreithanadar, is being challenged by Donovan McKinney. Same thing. An incumbent being challenged by somebody from the left. We're going to see how that goes. Shreth Shri Thanedar would, if he lose it tonight, become just one of a handful of Democratic incumbents to lose. But again, it's far, far too early to tell how that's going to go. If you go one district west of where you are right now, this is 12. Rashida Tlaib is the incumbent there. She's expected to win very handily. And if we go out to the Senate race that you were just talking about with Craig and Chris Jansing, we're going to be looking at results really coming in from the Detroit area. This will be late. The bulk of the state's population is in the Detroit metro area. Detroit is part of Wayne County. So that whole district will be very, that whole region will be very important. But as Al-Sai has pointed out, he may have some. in areas that are just outside of Detroit as well. So as early results come in, Haley Stevens is going to say, hold on, don't do anything until you see the Detroit numbers, which might be several hours from now. Al-Sai is going to say it's not just Detroit numbers, it's areas like Dearborn and Dearborn Heights and Hamtramack in which his power base is. But in the end, this is going to come down to some of that conversation that you aired at the top of the show where people are making decisions not based on who they...

are, where they come from, what their internal politics are, but what they're sick of or what they want more of. And we're going to be watching that very closely through the course of the night. Jacob? It's going to be... You know, it could be a late night here, Allie, because not only do the polls close here in Detroit at 8, but in the Upper Peninsula, as you and I were talking about offline earlier, they close at 9. And it's a very interesting system here in Detroit because while Wayne County tabulates all the votes from the different municipalities and townships, each of them, and I know you're going to monitor them all very closely, tabulate their own vote results and then bring them back to a central headquarters. So we're going to be going through this together tonight, my friend. I'll be out here. Call me any time, even when we're not on TV. and we'll keep the conversation going. All right, Hallibalsh, thank you so much. And I want to introduce, yes, I want to introduce all of you guys at home to three people that I just met. They're all here voting. As part of this process, and as I said earlier, it is not an indication that there is an enthusiasm because you're not seeing long lines. In fact, it's the opposite. Let me get all of your names. Tell me who you are. Alex. Alex. Darnell. Darnell. Olivia. And have you all voted already today? Okay. If I'm not mistaken, you voted absentee, and you have voted here in person? Yeah. And you voted here in person. Talk to me about the race. What brings you out today? Why did you decide to come out in a primary election? Well, because I always vote. People died for the right to vote. I've never missed an election. Never. And in particular, of the two candidates, Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, who's got your attention, who's got your vote today? Unfortunately, Abdul El-Sayed, because that seat has been held by an African-American... Occupant by since 1965. And your decision in terms of the issues, what are the issues that are the most important to you? Well, the people who live in that district aren't being represented. They just aren't. And why absentee? You're here in person. Did you drop your absent? Thank you very much. Why did you drop your absentee? You dropped it off here today? No, I dropped it off in the mail like four weeks ago. And so what brings you out to the polling place today? If you voted four weeks ago, you're on top of it. My husband goes to school here. I see. And I just came up. But yes, I voted. Like your husband. Did you go for Mr. Abdul El-Sayed, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed? I did, Haley. Why Haley? First of all, Barack. He, you know, endorsed her. And then I like the fact that, you know, she's not a millionaire. She's one of us. She worked in his administration. Yeah. Yeah. So I like that about her. If she doesn't prevail tonight, will you back Abdul El-Sayed like your husband in the general election? Yeah. Yes, I will. And do you think that the Democrats can hold on here to power? It's critical if they want to regain control of the Senate. Yes, I hope so. Yes. And how about you? You came out today to vote. Are you a regular voter? Yes. Okay, so why did you wait until the last day? Why did you vote on Election Day? It's just the timing of everything, but I made sure I came out today. And El-Sayed or Haley Stevens? Abdul El-Sayed. Okay, talk to me about what spoke to you about Abdul El-Sayed. Well, I heard that Haley Stevens had taken a lot of like A-PAC money. We were just talking about that with my fellow colleagues here. Yeah, that term, y'all from her. And then I just feel like Abdul El-Sayed, he had.

A lot of the things in his campaign were things that I cared about and that align with me politically. So it just made the most sense for me to go in. You think you back Stevens to, you know, to unify the Democrats if Abdul El-Sayed doesn't win tonight? I mean, if it comes down to it, yes. But I'm hoping Abdul El-Sayed wins. It's so nice to meet all of you. Thank you so much for coming by saying hello. And remember, don't be a stranger. Polls don't vote. People do. Polls don't vote. People do. It's so nice to meet you. I want to show you all a little bit more of what's happening here before we go to a commercial break. We have so much more left in this show and so much more left tonight on MS Now. As I said, Rachel and the gang are going to be here at 8. But before then, we're going to bring you through all aspects of this election and a lot of other news that's happening today. First, these are people that are electioneering here. I was talking about this with Nicole Wallace. They're standing here to the last possible minute in order to tell people. their opinions about the candidates in this race. Some of them, you're not even old enough to vote, right? You said you're 17 years old? Yes. What's your name again? Christian Harlan. How does it feel to be out here and watch people exercise their right to vote today? It feels really nice. I'm really happy that everyone's come and just exercise their rights of vote. You have a little FOMO that you're not able to vote yourself today? Yes. Well, you got next year you'll be up. It's so nice to meet you. And the last thing that I want to show everybody is that these nice, before you guys go, can I say hello to you? You guys are doing the curbside voting. How many people are showing up? You feel like that there's a large presence, a large turnout at the curbside vote today? Um, now, yes. Now there is. There's a little bit of rush. Yeah. Last minute rush. People seem to always want to wait to the last minute. Have you ever done anything like this before? Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Every year. Yes. Uh-huh. You're feeling like one of the things that the Trump administration was talking about is that they're sending people out here to monitor the integrity of the vote. Is everything going smoothly from your estimation? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Definitely. Everybody knows what they're doing. As somebody who's experienced in this, what's a sign that things are going well? Mm-hmm. Everybody's working well together. Say it again. No spoiled ballots. No spoiled ballots. Your names? My name is Trina. And? Molly. Thank you so much for what you do. Thank you so much for your service. You are doing the civic duty. And I always say it time and again, when anybody, this administration or others, come after election workers in this country, it should drive all of us crazy. This is probably not your day job, right? No, no. What do you normally do? I'm a declutterer and organizer. A declutterer and an organizer. And what do you normally do if you weren't here today? Take care of my grandchildren. Taking care of your grandchildren. I love it. I love it. Thank you for your service. Thank you for being here. We appreciate you very, very much. It is, it really is an extraordinary day out here in Detroit. And we have so much more to come on this very special edition of the beat. We're going to talk all about Democrats accusing Todd Blanche of lying under oath. Joyce JD Vance will be here. Also, we have revelations on the Trump administration using social media surveillance against protesters, a critical issue in this election. And Congresswoman La Monica McIver will be here, a new tragedy.

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It is Election Day in Detroit, and we are back. Just a moment ago, we heard a voter say that Barack Obama had endorsed Haley Stevens. I just want to correct that voter. That is incorrect. President Obama has not endorsed in this race, although he has endorsed her in the past. And now I want to turn to a controversy back in Washington, D.C., where Donald Trump's Attorney General nominee took another step closer to confirmation today, despite widespread backlash. As the Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance Todd Blanche to the full Senate. And that vote could come as soon as this week. That all happened after two Republican holdouts agreed to move Todd Blanche along after he posted documents rescinding Trump's controversial slush fund, although experts point out that there are numerous loopholes. Here's what one of those Republican senators John Cornyn said earlier today. As to the idea that it could be revived in the future, I think it's highly unlikely that that could happen without the cooperation of the Department of Justice. And I think Mr. Todd Blanche gave us the assurances that it was dead and would not be revived. And in this case, we have no alternative but to take his word for that. You will not be surprised to know that Democrats disagreed. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, even said Todd Blanche. He said Todd Blanche lied under oath. Mr. Todd Blanche's willingness to casually lie under oath about a statement he made in a room full of witnesses shows the links he will go to to avoid offending President Trump. The most brazenly corrupt and unethical thing this administration has attempted. Can you trust Todd Blanche going forward? I will tell you, I do not. He is about to become Trump's sword against his adversaries and shield against any scrutiny. Kuhn said the most brazenly corrupt and unethical thing this administration has attempted just moments ago. Maine Senator Susan Collins announced she would vote against the Todd Blanche nomination. Her defection, it's important to note, though, will not be enough to sink Todd Blanche in the full Senate. She has, of course, that tough reelection campaign in a purple state in Maine against an opponent who has criticized her for voting too often with President Trump. Joining me now is Joyce Fans, former U.S. Attorney and MS. Now legal contributor, Joyce, thank you so much for being here. I want to read what you wrote earlier today that, quote, $776 billion slush fund isn't as dead as Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis seem to be willing to believe. Can you elaborate?

Well, the senators and specifically John Cornyn in the comments that you noted seem to be willing to suspend disbelief as though there's no context for thinking about whether or not Todd Blanche is trustworthy. And the problem here is federal judges across the country in court cases have found that they can no longer employ a presumption of regularity where DOJ is concerned. That means that judges, many of them Trump appointees, don't believe that the Justice Department is telling them the truth or acting ethically when it's in their courtrooms. So it really defies belief that John Cornyn, who is himself a trained lawyer, someone who understands how the Justice Department is supposed to work, would accept this sort of Pablo that Todd Blanche has been delivering. It's clear that he's still acting as the president's lawyer, not the people's lawyer. And when he makes these paper promises, they're just that paper promises that he could take back. Right. Or that the Trumps could challenge down the road. Tell me if I'm right about this. The Department of Justice doesn't necessarily need to funnel, it doesn't need to be the DOJ as the entity. It doesn't need the fund to funnel the taxpayer money to Trump allies. Is there a way to do this despite the new document from Todd Blanche? That's what you're saying? Yeah, absolutely. You're correct about that. And the issue is this. If you're committed to doing what you want to do as opposed to respecting norms and laws, then there are a number of creative ways that the administration could find to do this. DOJ has a settlement fund that's typically reserved for paying, or rather a judgment fund that's used to pay judgments that are adverse to the departments where prosecutors have done something wrong, agents have done something wrong. And you could imagine wholesale abuse of those funds, which are a line item on DOJ's budget, there's actually, I think, unlimited access up to the amount that's needed to satisfy those sorts of judgments. So this administration could play loose and fast with that, among other mechanisms. Yeah, and just a reminder to everybody that the nomination advanced out of committee, it's a 12 to 10 party line vote, but the full Senate vote, that's what Susan Collins is talking about, could be as soon as this week. Joyce fans, thank you so much for being here on a very busy, very consequential day, particularly here in Michigan, but across the country, including in Washington, D.C. Thank you. Thanks. Still ahead, everybody. I have a very special guest that will be a familiar face to many of you on the primary fight here in Michigan and the youth vote. I am so excited about this one. So stay with us for it. Plus, absolutely stunning revelations on the Trump administration surveilling protesters. We'll be right back.

We need answers. We need justice. We need truth. For the folks who are highly vulnerable in detention, I am pleading and begging the legislators to help us so we can push to get them released as soon as possible. Three? All right, listen to up, this is important. Activists today are protesting to death of yet another person while in ICE custody in this country. It's part of a wave of backlash and a wave of revulsion to Donald Trump's deportation agenda that is driving turnout in this midterm season, including here in Michigan. His name is 39-year-old Edwin Lopez Cornejo, and he died while in ICE custody at Delaney Hall in New Jersey. That's a detention center that advocates, that advocates, excuse me, say, has inhumane living conditions. He had a 12-year-old daughter. ICE hasn't revealed the cause of his death, but during Donald Trump's second term, 54 people have died while in ICE custody, 54. Joining me now is Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, Democrat from New Jersey, where Delaney Hall is located. The congressman, you might remember, is facing federal charges from the Trump Justice Department after she and other Democratic politicians tried to visit Delaney Hall. You're looking at that exchange there in a bid to exercise just some oversight over that facility last year. Congresswoman, it's good to see you, and I want to start with this awful news, another immigrant dying while in ICE custody at Delaney Hall. What do you know? What is your reaction here? Well, it's heartbreaking. It is, you know, so sad. It's devastating. And it's truly disturbing, but it's not surprising, Jacob. This is a pattern, you know, with this specific location, but also with the deaths that we see all across the country underneath Trump 2.0. It's horrible. And it really should not be happening. No one should be losing their lives at these facilities. And, you know, at the same time, we're dealing with the same kind of behavior from ICE and from... the detention centers. We're trying to get answers. We're calling. We're visiting, asking for explanations, and we're constantly getting the door shut on our face to demand answers regarding what happened to this gentleman. This is the second death at Delaney Hall. If you remember last of fall, early winter, Jean Wilson Brutus was murdered there after just being there for 24 hours, literally came out in a body bag, a healthy, 42-year-old Haitian, you know, immigrant. And this is why oversight is extremely important at these facilities. Yeah. Yeah. It's part of a pattern. And, you know, I spoke about it on my show this weekend. The ACLU has two new reports out, one about the conduct and there's all this discovery of agents that have been out in the field and the racist language that they have used against people as they have gone across the country, but also abuses, alleged abuses inside these detention facilities, like the one that we're talking about right now. You mentioned the word oversight. It's why I'm here in Michigan. If Democrats take back some power in the fall, how could oversight of these detention centers?

And honestly, I's overall change. Oh, it would change drastically with Dems being back in the majority. One, we would be holding people accountable, specifically calling them in front of different committees to hold them accountable. And that's, you know, part of what needs really to happen. We have people who are literally committing crimes at these locations, you know, engaging in cruelty and brutality at these facilities. And even those who are killing, you know, ICE agents who are killing people on the street and broad daylight in front of us and abusing them and beating them. I mean, this is horrible and these matters need to be truly investigated. And we're not seeing that happening right now underneath Trump 2.0. It's part of why we're talking about it right now. And I'm sure this happens to you. I was actually, as a Madison Square Garden last week, and a woman came up to me who was an employee there and said that she was grateful for us talking about what the immigrant experience is like. in this country right now because too often we turn our heads away and we forget. And after family separation, it was called, you know, one of the most shameful chapters in the history of our country by a Republican appointed judge who stopped that policy, yet they're able to continue this, a mass deportation effort on an exponentially larger scale. What do you hear from people? What do people say when they come up to you, not just immigrants, but Americans as well on this issue and how it's affecting how they're going to come out to vote in the midterm elections? Well, people are exhausted. They're sad by what they see. You know, they are angry about what they're seeing happening. And I hear people talk about it all the time, talking about how it's just not right, especially when you hear about the inhumane treatment that is happening at these detention centers, Jacob. I mean, people are literally being mistreated. abused, not giving proper food, you know, not giving medical attention. And these are the kind of conditions that this country has talked about other countries doing for so long about the brutality and a cruelty in these other countries. And now the United States of America has become one of those countries where they are using your tax dollars and public dollars. to literally, you know, participate in these inhumane activities and to implement cruelty. And it's harm. It's just hurtful. We are better than this. It's sad to see the country at this state and to see, you know, Republicans in this administration and this president okay with that. This is not okay. This is wrong. And we should be better people and should not be operating like this. Your point is so well taken and it is our taxpayer dollars. Not only is it our taxpayer dollars, but oftentimes Congresswoman McIver, they're going to for-profit companies. And I have said it once and I will say it again, there is a prison.

for children in the United States of America and families, the Dilley Detention Center in South Texas, owned and operated by a private company. You, yourself, Congressman Joaquin Castro, so many people have been down there. It was closed during the Biden administration. It is reopened right now. Those are the types of detention centers. When you talk about taxpayer dollars, that's what this is going to. Congresswoman McIver, thank you so much. Keep us posted on your case and all of the work you're doing. Thank you again. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jacob. Thanks. We turn now to a related story. I mentioned it earlier about protests against ICE raids as Americans all across the country turn against what they are seeing as brutal conduct by this government. This is a report from the Wall Street Journal. It is a bombshell. And it says ICE is actually, quote, weaponizing social media against its critics. They report this, quote, ICE has deployed around the clock digital dragnet to scour the public internet. for speech that could endanger the agency's mission. But experts argue, quote, the approach has swept up people expressing opinions that are protected by the First Amendment. Joining me now is Hannah Critchfield from the Wall Street Journal, one of the reporters who broke this extraordinary story. Thank you for being here and thanks for talking about it with me. How does ISIS program just bare bones conflict with normal First Amendment protections? Hmm. So, you know, ICE would say that the program that they've launched is in response to this massive increase in threats to its officers and their families. We spoke with folks that specialize in civil rights, defense attorneys, who said that at times ICE has cracked down on online speech that... is actually protected by the First Amendment. And, you know, our reporting suggests that Reddit, one of these social media companies, that ICE is monitoring through private contractors, at times pushed back because the agency had requested information about users who had posted speech that was critical of the federal government. But the Reddit determined was protected by the First Amendment. So I think it really depends on who you ask, how this program is being used. Right, and I guess ultimately that's that is sort of what is important to note about your reporting. I want to read some more of it. You say to unmask anonymous online critics, the Department of Homeland Security has sent hundreds of subpoenas to social media companies. According to people familiar with the matter, its agents have tracked down Americans at work and on the road asking them to sign letters acknowledging their online speech about ICE, quote, may be a crime. So what happens if you sign that letter? If ICE shows up at your office. What does that mean for these Americans? That's a great question. We spoke with experts and former agency officials who said that these letters appear to be a new thing. They were not familiar with them being used previously. And they inform posters that, you know, this is what the law is. You may have broken the law.

sign this and we may take it into consideration should you continue to break the law, I believe is a rough summary of what the letter says. And This is interesting. We don't know why these are being used now, but one of the things that came up with constitutional experts is that the bar for criminal violations for sharing an ICE officer's information is actually pretty high. You need to have evidence of criminal intent. And so some of the folks we talked to theorize that these letters might be a way for DHS to start to build a case. If... A user continues to express the kind of conduct that they've expressed online. And after signing that letter, it may be used to build evidence of criminal intent. What experts tell you about, I mean, the obvious question here is what happens beyond ICE? This is, you know, according to critics, criminalization or attempted criminalization of speech of protected First Amendment rights. Here in Michigan, there's people talking about politics and Donald Trump and this administration. As I'm speaking to you right now, some of them are behind me. How fine is the line between these folks speaking out against ICE and people speaking out against the Trump administration generally? It's an interesting question. I think that one of the things that came up in our reporting is, you know, DHS says we are investigating credible threats towards our employees, towards our officers, and towards our families. One of the sort of questions that I think remains from our reporting is what kind of... The oversight exists over this and what kind of reporting internally DHS is doing. I think I should note that the agency has successfully prosecuted a handful of Americans over online speech, including for threatening to kill ICE agents online. But one of the things that came up in our reporting is that a handful of people we identified whose identities had been the subject of these subpoenas from DHS have not yet faced any charges. So DHS has their identities, but at this time... You know, there hasn't been a criminal investigation or criminal charges filed beyond that. But the people that we spoke to said, you know, there's still a chilling effect on their speech as a result of that. It's such a critically important point. No charges against, at least at this point, the people they're investigating. And.

If you care about democracy, you don't even have to care about ICE or what's happening in this country. Although I urge you to, this is something that everybody should be paying attention to. This incredible reporting from Hannah Critchfield from the Wall Street Journal. Thank you so much. Thank you. Up next, I will have a very, very special guest here in Michigan to talk all about this critical primary. It'll put a smile on your face when you see him. Stay with us. Let's check in on the Serta counting sheep. Why aren't we counted anymore? 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. Hi, it's Sierra Miller. I can't wait for you to check out my new collection of shoes and accessories at Designer Shoe Warehouse. If you love shoes as much as I do, then trust me, I got you. From cute sneak arenas to the perfect flip-flops to stunning heels. These shoes are all style, no drama. It's a girls' girl's summer, and DSW has just the shoes. Shop the Sierra Miller collection right now at your DSW store or DSW.com.

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Marcus Johnson, the great Marcus Johnson, joins me now. I'm so happy to see you. It's always good to see you, Jake. It's great to be reunited. Before we get into today's election, are you confident now that JD Vance understands the limits to the power that the vice president of the United States has? No, I'm about as confident, and that is I'm confident that this grass is blue. So, not a shot, no. I talked to some, on my show, I talked to some good friends of yours. on the broadcast the other day about young people voting in Michigan. And Michigan, a lot of people don't know, has some of the highest youth voter turnout in the entire country. It seems like the young people that I speak with are trending towards Abdul El-Sayed. Do I have an accurate read on that? I'd say so. I've tried to find one who wasn't. I was not very successful for the sake of your show. I think I can answer your question with the question. Okay. I didn't watch the clip, but correct me if I'm wrong. Did you reach out to the Congresswoman's office about how she's engaging with young voters? That's exactly right. We asked Congresswoman Stevens, who appeared with Rev. Al on his show to come on the show, but she didn't come on my show. Yeah, you didn't get much from that, did you? Well, why do you bring it up? Well, I only said that because it's sort of indicative of the experience young voters have had when it comes to the show. two candidates who's engaging with younger voters. Young people don't feel like they're relating to Representative Stevens. No. And from my experience, I haven't really heard much from her in a lot of youth circles. I know she's investing a lot of time in many other circles, especially the black community in Detroit. But as far as the youth circles go, I've not really heard much now. Abdul El-Sayed is talking a lot about... big money interests, and he has been outspent by, it's an extraordinary margin when it comes to outside money, tens of millions of dollars to virtually none. For him, APEC and Israel Gaza are sort of central to that conversation, but it is a lot of other corporate interests. Is that the thing that's drawing young people to? Oh, it's definitely a big one. What else are people talking about? I think part of it is... You have a generation that's not really pleased with the status quo. So you have to look at the candidates and ask who's representing the status quo that we don't want and who wants to change that? I invite you to evaluate the difference. Well, and that's the question I guess in the end. And I was at... Eastern Market today. It was such an amazing place. It was so cool. And most of the people that I spoke with, even the ones who are going to go for Abdullah Abdul El-Sayed, said to me, I'm going to go for Haley Stevens when it comes to the general election because we want to take down Mike Rogers. We want to take back the Senate. We want to stand up to Donald Trump. Are young people also in that category, or do you believe young people might stay home should Abdul El-Sayed not win tonight? I've talked to some who've told me they would rather see a term from Mike Rogers than to see Haley Stevens. Wow. So, um.

I'll let you take that information with what you can do with it. You parlayed your appearance with us on the vice presidential debate night into becoming the head of the student body president of Oakland University. And Oakland University, Oakland County is a critical, critical place when it comes to the presidential election, but also to the midterms. What do you think, which way does Oakland County go in this election? I don't know, I would say Congresswoman Stevens has represented Oakland County in Congress for a long time. So I imagine the investments she spent there are gonna... pay off for her in the end. It inevitably gets down to the youth voter turnout. Marcus Johnson, one of the great political philosophers. I know. It's so great to see you. Thank you for being here. And we'll check in with you on the next election. You know I got you. Okay, we'll see you. That does it for this edition of the beat. Full team coverage of tonight's primary starts at 8 p.m. Eastern. But first stay with us, the weeknight is up next. I'll see on our special coverage. Imagine relying on a dozen different software programs to run your business. None of which are connected. And each one more expensive and more complicated than the last. Scaling with you while being magically affordable. And some say Odoo's programs for manufacturing and accounting and more are like building blocks. And they're all connected on one platform. Doesn't Odoo sound all of this? Fertilizer magic beanstock building blocks with simple, efficient software that can handle everything for every fraction of the price. Sign up at odoo.com. That's ODO.O.O. com.