00:00:00.000Hey, good morning, everyone. I'm Mark Halperin, host of Next Up with Mark Halperin, filling in
00:00:06.600today for the great Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026, and this is your AM Update.
00:00:13.100We strive to represent all Americans.1.00
00:00:15.840You strive to represent all the queer pedophiles.1.00
00:00:20.060The director of the Smithsonian's American History Museum grilled on Capitol Hill0.99
00:00:24.360over accusations she's turned the institution into a showcase for left-wing activism.
00:00:30.920Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaving the door open to a presidential run in 2028
00:00:37.020and the Pentagon identifying three American soldiers killed in the renewed fighting with Iran.
00:00:41.720A serious software error in New Jersey's motor vehicle system led to the improper voter registration
00:00:49.580And more than 6,000 non-citizens improperly added to New Jersey's voter rolls,
00:00:55.440with hundreds going on to cast ballots. All that and more coming up here on your AM Update.
00:01:04.960We would not be celebrating America 250 if it weren't for a strong foundation
00:01:08.940set by the framers. Hamilton built America's financial foundation on the principle of sound,
00:01:13.980stable money, a principle later embodied by the gold standard. But we abandoned that discipline
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00:02:09.400it. Text MK to the number 989898. The director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American
00:02:17.120History facing a congressional grilling Tuesday over accusations that she has turned the taxpayer
00:02:21.940funded institution into a vehicle for left-wing activism. Republican lawmakers questioning Anthea
00:02:29.460Hartig during a House oversight delivering on government efficiency or DOGE subcommittee
00:02:34.880hearing focused on the Smithsonian's presentation of American history. The hearing coming just weeks
00:02:40.820after the White House published a 162-page report accusing the museum of failing to present the
00:02:46.080nation's heritage in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of the country. The Independence
00:02:51.660Day report arguing the museum gives insufficient attention to the founding fathers and the nation's
00:02:57.160founding while placing an outsized focus on slavery, immigration, woke gender ideology.
00:03:02.940The Smithsonian receiving more than half of its roughly $1 billion annual budget from federal sources, including money directly appropriated by Congress, President Trump previously signing an executive order directing Vice President J.D. Vance and federal budget officials to prevent taxpayer money from supporting exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide the public by race, or promote ideologies at odds with federal policy.
00:03:30.260Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who chairs the Doge Subcommittee, in his opening statement accusing Hartig of helping move the museum away from its original mission and toward a fixation on race, sexuality, inequality, and oppression.
00:03:47.280Dr. Hartig proudly takes credit for changing the museum's mission statement,
00:03:52.160which no longer uses the term American history or refers to the infinite richness of that history.
00:03:58.360The museum is now guided by an interpretive plan that ensures all topics focus on the core issues of our time.
00:04:05.720And do we want to guess what they are?
00:04:07.680Race and identity, gender and sexuality, environmental change, immigration and migrations,
00:04:14.360and economic inequality, top the list.
00:04:17.300Also, a center for restorative justice at the museum,
00:05:32.520It's also interesting, because the same mass action toolkit that your organization has been promoting
00:05:38.220references politeness as a defining characteristic of white supremacy culture.
00:05:45.180Harding pushing back on accusations that the museum denigrates the country.
00:05:49.160We honor the Declaration, the Revolution, the Constitution, our national symbols,
00:05:54.580and we tell the truth about the times that the country fell short of its own founding ideals.
00:06:01.820Telling our story fully is a form of respect for the American people
00:06:06.180and a commitment to constantly being in pursuit of a more perfect union.
00:06:11.940Democratic Congressman Jasmine Crockett of Texas, responding with her usual theatrics,0.95
00:06:17.000dismissing the entire proceeding as an effort to whitewash American history.
00:06:22.140Thank you, Mr. Chair. Welcome to the Republicans' White Pride Rally disguised as a congressional
00:06:27.960hearing. It might be uncomfortable for some people on this committee to hear about the true history
00:06:33.240of America. And I hate that for them, but facts are facts. And it's a fact that there is a violent,
00:06:40.740exclusionary, discriminatory, sexist, and racist part of American history, where our indigenous
00:06:46.360populations were forcibly displaced from their land, where thousands of black people were unjustly
00:06:52.360lynched, where black people were denied the right to vote and they're still trying to do it today,0.72
00:06:57.300where women needed their husbands' permission to open a bank account, where people with0.74
00:07:01.120disabilities were routinely excluded from schools, workplaces and public life, where four little
00:07:06.420black girls were murdered by the KKK at the 16th Street Baptist Church. And a lot of this wasn't
00:07:12.460that long ago. New York Democratic Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offering her strongest0.59
00:07:19.180indication yet that she may be eyeing the White House in 2028. Asked by Politico about her
00:07:24.860presidential prospects, AOC responding, quote, I mean, I can't say that I've ruled it out.
00:07:30.180The comment coming during a weekend swing through Michigan, where Ocasio-Cortez joined Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders to campaign for far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed,
00:07:42.000AOC emerging as one of El-Sayed's most prominent national supporters after endorsing him earlier this month in Michigan's closely-watched Democrat Senate primary,
00:07:51.720the appearance marking the latest stop in a national campaign schedule carrying Ocasio-Cortez well beyond her New York district,
00:07:59.540She spent much of last year appearing alongside Senator Sanders at his so-called fighting oligarchy rallies before increasingly taking to the trail on behalf of candidates that she's personally selected.
00:08:12.860AOC withholding her support from former Maine Senate candidate Graham Plattner, despite the early enthusiasm surrounding his campaign, the congresswoman telling Politico that staying out of a primary should not necessarily be viewed as a rejection, adding, quote,
00:08:26.840but I think that me choosing to enter a race has a high bar because I put a lot of energy
00:08:33.000into every candidate that I endorse. Her choices on the campaign trail are not the only signs
00:08:38.180fueling speculation about 2028. Axios observing a noticeable change in Ocasio-Cortez political
00:08:45.080language in recent months, a Democratic Socialist increasingly pairing her calls for sweeping
00:08:50.440economic change with a more inspirational appeal. Here, for instance, a recent campaign appearance.
00:08:56.880Ask your skeptical neighbor to believe. It's the only thing that we have. Our hope is the only
00:09:06.320thing that creates change. And that's why so many people try to talk us out of it.
00:09:13.200That's why so many people try to deride it as naive, as out of touch. And cynicism gets sold
00:09:21.280to us as sophistication. I assure you it is not. What is very sophisticated is understanding full
00:09:29.140well the forces that are working against us and deciding to fight anyway. If that sounds familiar,
00:09:36.280go ahead and compare that with then Illinois Senator Barack Obama introducing himself to
00:09:41.460the country at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Do we participate in a politics
00:09:48.260of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope i'm not talking about blind optimism here
00:09:55.700but i'm talking about something more substantial it's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire
00:10:00.980singing freedom songs the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores the hope of a young
00:10:08.660naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the mekong delta the hope of a mill worker's son who dares
00:10:14.900to defy the odds. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place
00:10:20.880for him too. Hope, hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity
00:10:32.480of hope. Axios reporting the resemblance may not be entirely coincidental. A person familiar with
00:10:39.200Ocasio-Cortez's relationship with Barack Obama says the former president has taken notice of
00:10:44.840her communication skills, and that the two have had several positive private interactions.
00:10:50.460On prediction market Kalshi, Ocasio-Cortez recently drawing roughly a 15% chance of securing0.93
00:10:56.400the Democrats' presidential nomination, putting her tied with Senator John Ossoff of Georgia
00:11:01.420and behind California Governor Gavin Newsom at about 20%.
00:11:05.620Traditional polling also placing Ocasio-Cortez within the top tier of possible candidates.
00:11:11.080The Real Clear Politics national polling average, showing former Vice President Kamala Harris leading the prospective field at 28.1 percent, Governor Newsom following at 16.5, with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 11.1, and then AOC at 8.5 percent.
00:11:29.100Coming up, the Pentagon identifying three American soldiers killed in a conflict with
00:11:35.400Iran and New Jersey Governor Nike Sherrill confirming thousands of non-citizens were
00:11:40.320improperly registered to vote in her state, and hundreds actually cast ballots.
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00:13:10.700The Pentagon identifying three American soldiers killed in the renewed fighting with Iran over the
00:13:15.380weekend, 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Freehan and 19-year-old Private Isabella
00:13:21.440Gonzalez serving at Muwafik Salty Air Base in Jordan when it came under attack from Iranian
00:13:27.580missiles. Both were in air defense artillery units. Lieutenant Freehan lived in Hawaii and
00:13:33.140was assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
00:13:38.440The Army posthumously promoting him to captain and awarding him the Bronze Star of the Purple
00:13:43.540heart and combat action badge. Private Gonzalez was from Carrollton, Texas. She graduated from
00:13:49.700high school just last year, joining the Army. Immediately afterwards, Private Gonzalez was
00:13:54.160assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Germany. At just 19 years old, she's the
00:13:59.500youngest American service member killed since the war began. The same Iranian barrage, leaving a
00:14:05.020third American soldier missing, remains recovered from the base, are believed to belong to that
00:14:09.300service member reports to the Times, though officials have not yet announced a positive
00:14:13.540identification. The Pentagon yesterday also identifying 30-year-old Sergeant Michael
00:14:18.020Emanuel Swinton of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Sergeant Swinton was killed in Iraq during a
00:14:23.300controlled detonation of a downed Iranian attack drone. A U.S. official telling the New York Times
00:14:28.300that Sergeant Swinton was not carrying out the detonation himself, but was struck by debris from
00:14:33.640the blast. His death remains under investigation. Sergeant Swinton served with the 108th Air
00:14:39.160Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, the Army posthumously promoting Sergeant Swinton
00:14:44.100to Staff Sergeant and awarding him the Bronze Star Purple Heart and also the Combat Action
00:14:50.280Badge. The White House announcing on Monday that President Trump will attend the dignified
00:14:54.220transfer of the fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base. The ceremony has been postponed,
00:15:00.560with officials still working to finalize the date and time. The identification announcement
00:15:05.460coming after CBS reports nearly 100 service members have been injured in Iranian strikes
00:15:10.980across the region this month. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirming that almost
00:15:16.640100 troops suffered some degree of injury, with 96% already returning to duty. The injuries
00:15:22.740resulting from multiple Iranian attacks on American bases and assets across the Middle East.
00:15:28.020President Trump posting to True Social on Monday, quote, every time Iran kills an American soldier,
00:15:32.740They will pay for that killing many times over.
00:15:38.480More than 6,000 non-citizens improperly added to New Jersey's voter rolls because of a software failure at the State Motor Vehicle Commission.
00:15:47.440Democratic Governor Mikey Sherrill revealing the problem at an abruptly scheduled news conference on Tuesday.
00:15:53.080In June of 2023, nearly three years before I became governor, a serious software error in New Jersey's motor vehicle system led to the improper voter registration of what we believe to be roughly 6,600 people in our state.
00:16:12.000When New Jerseyans applied for a driver's license or identification at the MVC, they were asked if they wanted to register to vote.
00:16:21.880In the case of this error, some individuals indicated that they weren't citizens and weren't eligible to vote.
00:16:30.940But the software registered them anyway.
00:16:34.100The error in the software was corrected a year later in June of 2024.
00:16:42.140Governor Sherrill outlining what the state has uncovered so far.
00:16:45.300Currently, the Division of Elections is working to ensure anyone who is illegally registered is removed from the voter rolls.
00:16:55.460Initial analysis shows that fewer than 400 newly registered individuals voted in an election due to this software error.
00:17:05.580They were registered as Democrats, Republicans, and the majority unaffiliated, and were scattered across the state.
00:17:13.280But let me be clear. This entire situation is unacceptable. It's unacceptable that the vendor released software with such a glaring error. It's unacceptable that the MVC took a year to get this issue fixed. And it's unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light, demanded accountability or took action when it happened years ago.
00:17:37.520The governor adding that the state has not found evidence that the ballots connected to the error changed the outcome of any individual election.
00:17:45.400Ms. Cheryl directing her chief counsel to investigate how the error occurred and why it was not disclosed earlier.
00:17:51.000The Motor Vehicle Commission also beginning the process of replacing the company that supplied the software, expecting to launch a new system next year.
00:18:00.020The findings coming less than a week after President Trump used a primetime national address to detail his administration's investigations into illegal voting.
00:18:10.360Governor Sherrill taking a shot at the Trump administration, apparently seeking to separate the state's software failure from the broader claims about non-citizen voting.
00:18:19.460As the Trump administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring that we protect our elections.