Alex Wagner

First of all, how the fuck is this happening in the United States of America?

But that's more than just a legal question.

That's an everything question.

But let's start first where, at the place where I think a lot of people found themselves

perhaps most alarmed, which is the thing that's, I will grant, always worrisome when Trump says it, but especially right now.

And that was his threat this week on Truth Social to invoke the Insurrection Act if, quote, Minnesota officials don't act to stop the professional agitators.

Just as a side note, there are no professional agitators.

Can you give us a kind of legal breakdown on what it actually means to invoke the Insurrection Act and what powers that actually confers?

I have to ask because when he says he's going to invoke it.

What does that mean?

Is Congress anywhere involved in any of this?

Yeah.

I guess one of the things you mentioned that.

you know, it's a law and therefore may be subject to judicial oversight, who would have standing to sort of sue to stop the president from invoking the Insurrection Act?

Would the state of Minnesota?

We sit here, we're recording on Friday, the 16th of January, and Minneapolis and St.

Paul Public Schools are offering virtual learning, I think until mid-February, because there's so many children and parents who are terrified of going to school.

And one would assume that they would have standing to say, hey, this, you know, whatever, ramping this up, if you do invoke the Insurrection Act, is causing great harm to our children's education.

Exactly.

And nobody hates a school closure more than the right wing.