CHRIS CUOMO (CO-HOST): Carl, you've seen it all but you ain't never seen anything like this, have you? 

CARL BERNSTEIN: I think this is the darkest, most dangerous moment in our history, in at least 60, 70 years. We've never had a nominee for the presidency the likes of Donald Trump. The kind of demagoguery, racism, xenophobia, and really, a kind of sociopathy on the part of the candidate such as we've seen here, and with a huge following, who is now trying to delegitimize the very democratic system under which we operate, including the election itself. It is a fraught moment that requires courage.

CUOMO: He puts it on you. He puts it on us. He says “none of that's true,” what you just said. You just want it to be true, because he's going after Clinton. He's going after the establishment. And that's where you live in the media, and he represents the rest of the country. 

BERNSTEIN: Let me start by saying Hillary Clinton has been a terrible candidate. And under other circumstances she would probably lose and you could have a real contest of ideas. This is something different. This is danger, demagoguery from someone who is antithetical to what we believe as a democracy. It is a time of requiring courage, courage from Republicans, from the right wing, we've seen it with people like Charles Krauthammer. He has got a fabulous piece in The Washington Post and I've watched Charles on Fox saying what he says about this candidate and the need to reject him in our culture. The same with George Will. It is a time for courageous Republican voices to get up and say “you know, let's elect our senators, let’s elect our congressmen, we must reject Trump-ism as un-American.” 

ALISYN CAMEROTA (CO-HOST): And yet so many voters and supporters of Trump just want to talk about jobs. They want to talk about the economy. They want to know where they're going to get their next job. 

BERNSTEIN: This is why I say Hillary Clinton has been such a bad candidate. She allowed Bernie Sanders and Trump to correctly identify the anger at the elites in this country as well as she was so late to understand the pain of working-class people in this country. It's as if she were tone deaf. But that's not what this election is about at this point. She understands it. That's demonstrable. She ran a bad campaign. So what at this point? We need to re-establish our faith in our democracy in this country and if it means for people who don't like Hillary Clinton and the Democrats still accept someone who believes in democratic principles which the nominee of the Republican Party demonstrably does not. That's what Michelle Obama was talking about yesterday. 

CAMEROTA: Is 25 days too late? Or is it an eternity on a campaign? Is there a way for Donald Trump to stop talking about the allegations against him, and get back to what really resonates with his crowd and with his supporters and jobs and what he can do for the economy? 

BERNSTEIN: Unfortunately what is resonating and what has carried him with his base is not just the jobs message. Rather it is the xenophobia, the racism, the homophobia, the anger at the press, taken to a point you can again talk about the press and have a debate about the conduct of the press. To say there is a conspiracy in this country between the press, the Clinton campaign, the Democrats, is so outrageous, so far from the truth. We need a fact-based campaign. We've lost it. We don't have a chance of regaining it in this election. Right now is a time for courage. Courage for those in the Republican Party on the right who need to repudiate once and for all the demagoguery, the hate message that is dominating their candidate's presence in a historic election, and let's say “this country cannot stand Donald Trump or any more of this kind of campaign.”