Ron DeSantis gets NIGHTMARE news in court

This is democracy watch Mark. It looks. like you have become a nightmare for Ron. DeSantis down in Florida. Can you. explain what you just did? Yeah, so Ron. DeSantis was bragging about the fact. that he and the Republicans passed their. own version of the save act. Yeah, the. law that would disenfranchise millions. of people, tens of millions of people. nationally. Ron DeSantis took that idea. and put it in a bill in Florida and he's. been bragging about this and I've been. saying on social media directly at him, if you sign this bill, we will sue you.

And we were waiting and waiting and. waiting and finally, you know, in the. middle of the Supreme Court oral. argument as I'm listening to that, you. know, birthright citizenship argument, I've got an eye on my computer because. Ron DeSantis is, I think in the Villages. talking to a bunch of Republican seniors. telling lies about voting, telling lies. about states like California and and and. getting ready to sign the save act and. I'm literally like. as soon as he signs, we're going to.

press the file button and so the moment. he signed that bill, he got sued, the. state of Florida got sued and they're. going to lose and we're going to show. Florida again as we have before that it. cannot pass these voter suppression laws. without getting sued and without losing. So talk about what the precedent would. be here if you're able to defeat Ron. DeSantis in Florida. What would this. mean for the save act both nationally. and in other states across the country? Yeah, so look, I think it is important. that every Republican governor and.

Secretary of State and legislature know. that if they take this terrible bill. that would violate the rights of US. citizens by making it harder for them to. register to vote. And by the way, in. Florida, they actually take it one step. further. They don't just say new. registrants have to prove citizenship. They're actually talking about kicking. off the rolls people who have been. voting for years and decades. I mean, they they essentially have to. re-register in a lot of instances.

even though they've already been. approved as as voters in the past. And. so we cannot let these ideas go forward. unchallenged and so I think we've got a. very good argument and a very strong. case to strike this down and if we do it. in Florida, if we're able to show that Ron DeSantis. can't get away with this in Florida, it. is going to be a powerful message to. every Republican governor around the. country that if you do this, you're. going to get sued and you're going to. lose. And at the end of that rainbow, by. the way, you're going to have to explain.

to your taxpayers not just why you. wasted taxpayers money fighting us, but. also when you pay our legal fees. And. that's what I I I hope Ron DeSantis. is ready for. I hope his Secretary of. State is ready for and the taxpayers of. Florida should be asking whether they're. conservatives or or liberals, they. should be asking their governor right. now and their government, why the hell. are you passing these voter suppression. laws that Mark Elias then comes in and. invalidates and then then you have to. pay part of his legal fees. Yeah. Yeah.

It's also, you know, the the the. question I've gotten more than any other. question as it pertains to the Save. America Act or all of these, you know, state iterations of this thing is, won't. it also affect Republican voters? And so. I guess the question is, what do Trump. and then by extension Ron DeSantis have. to gain by putting up obstacles when. their own voters are going to have to. abide by these obstacles? Look, Trump. doesn't care. I mean, I have this debate. periodically and I'm curious, Brian, on. your take on this more generally. You. know, there's like this debate that's.

going on in the national level, does. Trump know that he is very unpopular? And if he knows he's very unpopular, does he care? Because a normal. politician would know that they're very. unpopular and then they would care a. lot. So you would see them, you know, back in the 1990s we called it. triangulation. This was the Clinton term. for it. But basically what it just means. is that you pivot to the center, right? Like you get unpopular as a president. and then you do some things to try to be. less unpopular. And Donald Trump doesn't. seem to do the things Oh, you you mean. how how Donald Trump was like, oh, I'm. getting unpopular, why don't I launch a.

war and break the core tenant of my. entire presidency, which will in turn. raise gas prices, which is like the the. the worst possible thing you could do in. the United States, especially in an. election year? Correct. Right, exactly. So like there's this big debate about. like why that is with Donald Trump. Is. it that he doesn't know, he doesn't. care, he's a psychopath? He's just a My. theory he's just a dictator and. therefore he doesn't actually care he's. unpopular, just escalates his his. tactics. of of of voter suppression, election. subversion. He figures he'll win the. elections. Otherwise, but Ron DeSantis,

you would think would care that he is. disenfranchising voters who will find. out that they are no longer eligible to. vote and then be really angry at him, right? Like he'll be disenfranchising, as you point out, not just Democrats, but disenfranchising a lot of. Republicans, including, by the way, those seniors. who are sitting in the Villages. listening to this press conference. Like. do they have their birth certificate? You know, like do they have their birth. certificate from 70 years ago or 80. years ago when when they were born or or.

do they just not realize that they're. going to get screwed in the in the in. the wake of this? So I like I said, for. Donald Trump, I think he doesn't care. that it's going to disenfranchise. Republicans because his whole plan is to. try to just steal the elections, right? His whole plan is to take over the vote. counting and and decide who can vote and. who can't vote and all of that. And he. doesn't care that a bunch of Republicans. will be will be angry because like he's. constantly playing his supporters for. fools. >> constantly lying to them. I mean, look.

at the look at the terrible things he. says about our veterans, about people. who are wounded in in action, the lies. he tells about the parents of deceased. of deceased soldiers. Like I think he. doesn't care, but but Ron DeSantis, I. don't know. These other governors, these. these state and local officials, you. would think that they would care more. about their voters than they do about. pleasing Donald Trump. I I think I think. for the Ron DeSantis's of the world, um, you know, there is a sense that these. people that the entire political party.

is just beyond reproach, that they are. that they operate in this like in with. this air of invincibility and in very. much the same way that Donald Trump is. like Teflon Don, he can say whatever he. wants, do whatever he wants and he'll. never lose a voter, these people below. Donald Trump, it's like this. trickle-down where they feel just as. invincible as he is, that nothing can. ever happen to them and that they can. treat their voters like absolute fools. with utter contempt and disdain and. it'll never blow back on them. And I. think Ron DeSantis is is in the.

beginning part of that right now. Also, what I don't I don't understand about it. though, Brian, what I don't understand. about it is. Donald Trump's not Teflon. Have you. looked at his poll numbers recently? >> Yeah. But I I think it's just it's just, you know, this this long-standing idea. of who he is and, you know, for these. Republicans who want to believe that. that, you know, he can do no wrong and. that it's more important to kowtow to. the god king than have even a modicum of. a spine, that's still the idea of him. that persists. But I would also add, as. far as Trump himself is concerned, yes,

I completely agree with everything you. said, especially the part where where, you know, he he will operate with a. sense of impunity because he is. fundamentally autocratic and dictatorial. and so that's how he's going to behave. But also, you know, the people around. him are not there telling him the truth. He's he's not he he's surrounded by. yes-men and sycophants. You've seen. those cabinet meetings where where they. all just, you know, each one tries to. outdo the next in terms of how far up. his ass they can shove their heads. And. so the notion that these people are.

going to say, "Oh, I don't think you. should do that, sir, because it's going. to poll really bad." Or what you've. done, sir, polls really bad. I mean, more likely is that they're just telling. him, you know, I I it's great. Everybody. loves it. You're the best. Here's a. bunch of tweets we tweet we printed out. showing how everyone thinks that you're, you know, the second coming of Christ. Which is. not not to take any of the the the. responsibility away from Trump, by the. way, but because he is a grown-ass man, he has agency, he can see what he's. doing. Um, but but I also think that the. people around him certainly aren't doing. him any favors. But here's the thing.

Pam Bondi just got fired. I mean, Pam. Bondi did everything you just said. Pam. Bondi was willing to break, you know, decades of precedents and ignore the. rule of law and bless the most absurd. legal things that he had to say. He was. she was willing to prosecute his. political enemies. She was willing to, you know, fire prosecutors, bring cases. that the grand jury would reject. She. was willing to subvert elections. Like.

like she was willing to go to Congress. and praise the stock market. Like. literally, she went to the white she. went to the to Congress to testify about. the Department of Justice and she's. touting Donald Trump's stock market. prowess. >> Right. As as justification not to. release the Epstein files because you. couldn't possibly get accountability for. pedophiles when the Dow is at 50,000, but go on. >> Right. But yet at the end of it all, she. gets tossed aside. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So don't they realize don't like if. you're Howard Lutnick, if you are.

you know, Tulsi Gabbard, if you're Pete. Hegseth, if you are, you know, Sean. Duffy, you know, if you are, you know, just pick your cabinet official. Do you really think he has Marco Rubio? Do you think he has an ounce of loyalty. to you? He'll throw you overboard so. fast you won't know why it is all of a. sudden you're underwater. Yeah. And so. that is true to his cabinet. It's also. true to his voters. It's also true to. these governors and these state. legislatures that are passing these.

voter suppression laws. You know, the. moment we beat him in court and he looks. weak, Donald Trump will have a million. people to blame. He'll blame the judges. He'll blame me. But you know what? He'll. also blame Ron DeSantis. He'll also say, "Oh, you didn't, you know, you're too. weak, you're too, you know, you're not. up to it, you're whatever." And I just I. I the contempt that I have for these. Republicans who are spineless is nothing. compared to the contempt that Donald. Trump has for the same people. I I I. completely agree. I think the only.

thing, you know, the true tragedy of. today's MAGA Republican Party is not. just that these people will debase. themselves by sticking their neck on the. line for Donald Trump or going to work. for Donald Trump or sacrificing every. ounce of their integrity or their. principles for Donald Trump. Even worse than that is that these. people do so thinking that somehow. they're special, thinking that somehow. the thing that's happened to all these. other Republicans will never happen to. them. It's happened to Michael Cohen, George Papadopoulos, Gordon Sondland,

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Pence, Reince Priebus, Ronna McDaniel, um. Pam Bondi, uh Kristi Noem, but somehow. everybody else in their own mind, they're special. They are completely. immune from from, you know, uh Donald. Trump's ire, which he shows to. everybody. And that really does does put. on full display the delusion uh that. these people are trafficking in, that. that nobody expects the thing that is. inevitable to ever happen to them.

Now, it's absolutely right. And look, this is a dangerous time in American. history. It is dangerous for precisely. the reasons you say, which is that you. have sycophants around the President of. the United States. And look, let's let's. just like say the the part out loud that. we have to say. If you saw Donald Trump on TV the other. night, this is not a well man. I mean, this is an elderly man who is was I. mean, he was reading off a teleprompter. I mean, if you watched his. Iran address, everyone, and you thought, okay, he didn't seem good, he didn't.

seem like he had energy, he didn't seem. entirely coherent and, you know, all. there, that was him reading off a. teleprompter, okay? And and and this is. a guy who is surrounded, as you say, by. sycophants who and who will not be who. will not deliver bad news, but will also. do whatever his whim is, whether that is. starting a war or whether it is seizing. ballots, whether it is lying about gas. prices or it's lying about elections. And and so, as we head towards the the. fall, you know, the reason why this. series that Brian and I do is so.

important for you to be subscribed to, and I hope you're already subscribed. And if you're not already, go and hit. the subscribe button and please hit the. bell to make sure you're alerted when. there's new content. But the reason why. this is so important is because as he. gets more deranged and more desperate, and as he issues more executive orders. like, you know, Brian and I talked about. in a previous episode that we're. challenging in court, as he counts on. more Republican governors like Ron. DeSantis to be willing to do more. extreme things to disenfranchise you, and when that doesn't work, he deploys. ICE. And when that doesn't work, he.

seizes he sends in the new attorney. general to seize ballots. And when that. doesn't work, he just declares that the. numbers are not what the numbers say. they are, and his math rules the day. As. that happens, the role that the rest of. us are going to play is more important. than ever. And the first thing that I. need everyone to do is to be educated. and informed because, look, I can go to. court and I can fight and I can win, but. I need everyone to be informed about. that is happening and to share that. information more broadly because, like. you said, he's becoming more.

more detached, his sycophants are. becoming worse, but also, like I said, we got to admit, Brian, he's not well. Yeah. Like like like some. of this is auto the autocratic impulse. of someone who wants to be an autocrat. Some of this is just a guy who's. bragging about about taking a cognitive. test. Right. >> He's claim he's claiming he's he's. taking a cognitive test that is given to. people. who may suffer from dementia. I mean, there's no acing a cognitive test. >> [laughter]. >> Yeah, there's just there's just, okay, you don't yet have dementia. So, like.

>> [laughter]. >> yeah. Well, look, I think I think what. you said is especially important and and. also underscores the fact that in terms. of people being able to fight back. against this stuff, yes, it's an it's. absolutely important to stay informed. The number one resource that I use to do. that, even besides having these videos. with Mark, is is to read every single. day what comes into my inbox from. Democracy Docket, which is the news. outlet Mark himself founded to focus on. everything voting and elections. Please, if you've not yet signed up, support his. work by not only elevating his voice in.

this ecosystem, but supporting the cases. that he's bringing in court. He's got. almost 100 cases across the country. right now, including this one that we're. talking about right here in Florida, where the only thing standing between. Ron DeSantis being successful at passing. his version of the Save Act and not is. Mark and his team. So again, small step. that we can all take to support the one. of one of the biggest fighters that we. have in the entire country right now is. to subscribe to Democracy Docket. So, I'm going to put that link right here on. the screen and also in the post. description of this video. I'm Brian. Tyler Cohen. I'm Mark Elias. This is.

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