Death toll from September 11th, 3,103 people in this country died yesterday. The gut punch comes when you realize that Many Americans have almost gotten used to Reading Numbers like that. Actually, four days in the past week have ranked among the deadliest days in this countrys history, ever. The pearl harbor attacks that killed 2,400 people will forever be remembered and described as a day that will live in infamy, as proclaimed by fdr, and in the aftermath of September 11th, president george w. Bush asked for prayers for all of those who grieve for the children whose worlds were shattered that day. Yet today, 3,000 families wake up wondering what life looks like now, today, without their loved one beside them. And we wait for the president or really anyone to acknowledge the somber occasion in any way. No reference to the death toll or to the virus, for that matter, on Donald Trumps twitter field. Instead, tweet after tweet after tweet about the election he lost in the most secure election in our countrys history to joe biden. Behind the scenes, at least according to his public schedule, his only event today was a meeting with republican state ags. Heres what theyre up to. Theyre suing on his behalf to overturn the election result. Yeah. And rather than getting on the phone with lawmakers and urging them to pass that desperately needed Economic Relief for the tens of millions of americans suffering the effects of reduced wages, job loss, and hunger, something his successor, President Elect Biden has been pressing for publicly, trump is on the phone, but hes Calling Republicans on capitol hill to pressure them into joining his fruitless and now dangerous election fight, leaving cities, states, and ordinary americans to basically figure this out for ourselves. Like the feed store in south dakota, whose sign now reads, god be with us, at its remote cases, counties, and deaths skyrocket. Or the vast stretch of west texas with just one hospital and a 12,000 Square Mile Radius and no heart or lung specialist to treat the serious cases of covid there. Or los angeles, where yesterday, a county Health Director fought back tears when her briefing on the death toll in her community became too much for her to bare. While this trend line provides a frightening visual of our reality, the more terrible truth is that over 8,000 people sorry. Over 8,000 people who were beloved members of their families are not coming back and their deaths are an incalculable loss to their friends and their family, as well as our community. A human being having a Human Reaction to the incalculable loss in her community and countless others, all across the country. As we are all awash in that grief. Today, though, theres reason for some hope. A panel advising the fda is, as we speak, nearing the end of an allday meeting to decide whether to recommend for approval pfizers coronavirus vaccine. Their recommendation would make swift fda approval likely, and could mean a light at the end of the tunnel of this, of what were living through right now. For millions of americans in the coming months. The glimmer of hope in a darker winter than any of us could have imagined. Thats where we start today with some of our favorite reporters and friends. Yamiche alcindor is back, also joining us, dr. Kavita patel, a Practicing Physician and served as White House Health policy director under President Obama. And robert gibbs is back. Former White House Press secretary for President Obama. Lucky for us and you, theyre all msnbc contributors. Dr. Patel, i want to start with well, im going to get to the vaccine news, but i want to start with the death toll. Im starting to think maybe its me, but how does a country process a loss of this scale and size when the excerpts and the scientists are on tv every day telling us the worst is yet to co come . Yeah, its hard to process. And i think, nicole, what even i cant process the numbers, because theyre just unfathomable. By the way, dr. Freher, who you showed the clip of with her emotional reaction, that is unanimous, all of us are feeling her feelings and it becomes a point where 3,000 you cant believe it. I cant believe it and i get like a pit in my stomach where i think and i know, as you point out, this is not the worst. And then at the same time, you know, ive been a dork and watching that Advisory Committee meeting. I cant help but get excited and then, nicole, part of me thinks, because one of my patients was in that 3,000 died, a 98yearold woman, in a nursing home, had to be by herself, she is i cant help but think that if we had that vaccine just a couple of weeks early, would that have saved her life . And i know thats a hard mental exercise, but as these days go on and these numbers increase, they almost become you just become numb to them, except were not numb to them and you see the emotions on the faces of you and everyone around the country. Tell us what that Vaccine Hearing has concluded, as far as you know. And then what their decision means in terms of maybe getting these vaccines into our arms soon. Yeah, and theyre voting you know, theyre having their discussion and voting kind of as we speak. So we expect to kind of get a readout of that in about an hour or two. What has happened so far has been an incredible presentation on the data, the cdc also presented some really compelling graphs and statistics, nicole, reinforcing that older people, people with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, are at higher risk to die, as well as some disturbing statistics that pregnant women might be at risk for preterm delivery, if they get covid. So all the reasons we need a vaccine. And then, really, i take away from it and predict that they will vote to support and recommend to the commissioner of the fda to authorize an Emergency Use Authorization. From that point on, Commissioner Hahn with obviously his colleagues and advisers, will make that decision to issue that Emergency Authorization. And i really do expect that to be in the next day. And then as soon as that authorization is issued, pfizer has prepared with their manufacturing capacity, has prepared to release vaccine to a third party that will handle distribution, to states territories, and tribal nations around the country. And we will start to see Health Care Workers at highest risk getting the vaccine, hopefully as soon as monday, sunday or monday. But theyre all were all waiting freezers are ready. Were all waiting. And so this is the moment that weve been waiting for, but i want to offer some really sort of stark concerns that you have. We dont have enough Pfizer Vaccine or even Moderna Vaccine prepurchased to vaccinate the whole country. So we are not going to see the relief we need for several months, at earlier. And that means everybody has to do that you are part to flatten the curve today. And not wait for the vaccine or think that its somehow a magic, you know, a magic solution. Robert gibbs, more people died yesterday than ever before in our countrys history. And we checked, up until seconds before we came on the air. No republicans on capitol hill said anything. The president has said nothing. The Vice President has said nothing. I worked for the president on 9 11, you worked for a president During Newtown and we both worked for president s at a time when the military was suffering losses in iraq and afghanistan and other places. And i need some window into the vacuum of voices at the national level, as the country that they all think they have some Leadership Role in is on its knees. Yeah, nicole, i wish i had a great answer for you. I would love like everyone else would, to hear a voice of empathy from the current leader and not just the President Elect in how were going to go forward. I think as you all have been talking about, we see this flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. And, you know, just the idea of listening to the fact that we might be getting vaccines in peoples arms as early as this weekend is exciting. It also means, as the doctor said, weve got a number of long months ahead of us. And i think at last real effort that has to be knead a time in which the country is most weary to double down on doing whats right, to save as many people as humanly possible. And you also mentioned this. Its really important, what i would love to see our government do more than anything, than even acknowledging whats happening with these astounding numbers is do what nancy pelosi talked about today, and that is set aside the calendar and say, were not leaving washington for a holiday or for the year until we get an Economic Relief bill that puts some protection into place. We know the economic recovery is stalling. We know that the number of people losing their jobs is increasing. And quite frankly, if were going to ask places to close so we dont congregate and spread this virus, we need to make sure that theyve got the help they need in order to do that. We dont want people to have to make choices between the virus and wiping out their livelihood. We have to protect them from not having to make that existential choice. Yamiche, as we said at the top, that is not, though, where the president s focus is. Its not where the Republican Leaders in congress have their vocation, the president s focused on his farcical attacks on the 2020 election. But hes left a mark. And theres a long tail to his conduct over the last ten months. And the Associated Press is reporting today that tensions are rising around this country over masks. One of the two things we can do to protect ourselves. Wear a mask and keep a distance from others. As the virus grips smaller cities. The ap reports on growing antimask movements in idaho, south dakota, montana, and missouri. Those are all places where donald trump and mike pence have a lot of sway and a lot of influence. Is there any discussion with anyone at the white house, on those 18 acres, about getting involved to tamp down the unrest over these Public Health measures that are being advocated by fellow republicans in most cases . From what i can tell, the focus of the white house and the focus of President Trump is on trying to wrestle back this election that is clearly something he has already lost. I dont get any sense that there is this movement inside the white house to try to convince americans that they need to be Wearing Masks fulltime, they need to be being as cautious as possible, because we saw the president from the very beginning of this pandemic downplay the use of masks. Hes worn them at times, but even, we can all recall, after he got the virus himself and calm back to the white house, he had that moment where he took his mask off. And what the president has done is sell the idea to people that there is a political statement to be made when youre having a mask on or a mask off. And of course, theres this idea that the president is in some ways distracted at one of the points in america where we need a leader to talk to americans about the coronavirus vaccine. So the president is off trying to somehow plan his political future at times. At other times, trying to wrestle back the election. When in fact what we need at this point, and whats clear even with Republican Leaders, is that they still continue to need more direction from the white house on how to handle what is really a mass casualty going on in the United States right now. Yeah, robert, it is a mass casualty event every day. Theres some reporting in the New York Times, i want to ask all of you about. They report that Rudy Giuliani conceded that his Celebrity Status had given him access to care when he came down the covid that others didnt have. Giuliani appeared unaware of the scarcity issues, telling interviewers that politicians have taken masks and Business Closures too far now that covid19 is treatable. In fact, the Antibody Treatments are so scarce that officials in utah have developed a ranking system to determine who is most likely to benefit from the drugs, while colorado is using a lottery system. So robert gibbs, i take your point. Wed rather have them gomping and getting money into the pockets of families who are choosing between the medicines they need and food for their family. But the lack of awareness that even when they all breathe on each other and give themselves coronavirus, the treatments available to Rudy Giuliani and donald trump and his friends are not available to really anybody else. Youve got States Running a lottery to use those therapies on anyone else. Well, i think if you go back in time, i think the most the most horrific stories and scenes weve talked about are exactly that. Hospitals that have had to go through the triage of determi determining who would get treated, who would get a hospital bed, who would get medicine. And for rudy to say the silent part out loud is its hard to its hard to put into words. I can only imagine that theres now more than 100,000 people in the hospital right now. Some of these places are overwhelmed and nurses, doctors are overwhelmed. Theyre not, as youd mentioned, getting the medicine they need. And its a Stunning Development to listen to him talk about this. I think he even said, you know, if he werent who he was, he probably wouldnt even be in the hospital or have gotten that type of treatment. So, you know, really, you do wonder, whos left inside the building with the lights still on that can shake the system and figure out how to get more medicine to more people more quickly. Yamiche, is anyone i know that the posture from this white house has been for trump to sort of dip in when hes interested in being part of Vaccine Coverage and he seems to be interested in pointing to the markets on those days. Is anyone engaged in any part of a process to start Planning Distribution . Or have they all kind of checked out . Well, there is this push to talk about distribution. The Trump Administration is having officials speak with the Biden Transition Team about Vaccine Distribution. Theyve said and aive talked t sources who say those conversations are going pretty well and there is going to be this smooth transition of how to distribute this vaccine enough. But i think youre asking, is there somebody there thats p h pushing President Trump or trying to get more on message with trying to get this vaccine out there, i dont think we have a government thats functioning in that way. And as this vaccine is going out into the arms of americanses this weekend, there are vast majorities of americans in polls who say they dont trust this vaccine, especially africanamericans. So apart from having this Vaccine Distribution plan, there needs to be a plan of educating americans and convincing them this is safe because of all sorts of reasons that are in some ways based in legitimate concerns that people have been treated about the health system. And if you could dip into that conversation youre having about africanamericans that dont have access to some of the health care that President Trump and others are getting, lets also remember that there were people that were fighting the coronavirus virus at the same time as the president. Im thinking about a story in the Washington Post, an africanamerican mother and daughter both died of the virus as President Trump was being treated. There are people in this country who saw their loved ones die during this time period and continue to not have resources. There are places in texas where not only is there not greet access to treatment or health care in this country. You know, i didnt mean to gloss over that. Im glad you came back to that reporting about Rudy Giuliani. And dr. Patel, there are so many i allusions to dictatorships and autocracies when we talk about donald trump and the Republican Partys refusal to acknowledge the result of the most secure election in our countrys history, but theres also in the way that donald trump and his inner circle had been treated for coronavirus with therapies that might have been made the difference between life and death for the folks that yamiche is talking about and were now at a very real point where this weekend, if you have a heart attack, you might have died where you otherwise might not have died from your heart attack if every icu wasnt at 90 to 100 capacity. If your kid breaks their arm, you might be sitting in an emergency room waiting room for 36 hours, not 4. Every Single Person is affected by the coronavirus pandemic, it would seem, except donald trump, Rudy Giuliani, and the folks who can take a helicopter to a hospital and get experimental, unapproved treatments. How do you make people trust that the government is on their side again . Is the change in president enough . Well, its certainly a start. Because i think youve already seen President Elect Biden in his tone, his words, his actions, they party. And i think youre also seeing it in the appointments hes making. Hes picking people who are adults, who actually understand what happens. And this is the president that basically from day one has stripped many of the parts of the Affordable Care act, has stripped away states abilities to expand medicaid access. And candidly, has promoted what we call in health care, junk health plans that dont even cover things like cancer care or Mental Health benefits. This is truly not just selfcenteredness and naval gazing, but the idea that Rudy Giuliani can characterize this illness as something thats, quote, treatable, 3,000 deaths prove otherwise. And by the way, its not just certain people that are getting sick. Children, babies, adolescents, teenagers, young men, young women all ages, all people are getting literally dying from this virus. So it goes so far that President Elect Biden has a high hill to climb, but im much more confident that he can do this and i do believe we will see an incredible change on january 20th. But start to see one now with the transition. Dr. Kavita patel, robert gibbs, yamiche alcindor, not many days we start with news this heavy and bleak and complicated, but you are the three most Perfect People to talk to about it. Thank you so much for starting us off. When we come back, another extraordinary attempt by the president to intervene in the election. This time with a warning to georgias Attorney General. The reporter who broke that story joins us next. And with the president s legal tactics going nowhere fast and control of the u. S. Senate happeninging in the plans, an alreadyenergized Democratic Base in georgia is getting a boost from the President Elect, as Joe Biden Heads there in the coming days. Plus, how will we heal from what weve been talking about . Unimaginable loss that were witnessing every single day in this country. Well talk about the need for leadership to guide us through these losses. All of those stories when deadline white house continues after a quick break. H deadline white house continues after a quick break. My husband would have been on the sidelines. 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The Republican Attorney general from georgia, one of the states targeted by this baseless legal effort. Attorney general chris karr has called the efforts made in the lawsuit constitutionally, morally, and factually wrong. The Atlanta Journalconstitution reports that those comments by georgias ag karr earned him a call from donald trump today. Quote, President Donald Trump warned Georgia Attorney general chris chris carr not to rally over republican officials against a longshot texas lawsuit, seeking to toss out the States Election results. This according to several people with direct knowledge of their conversation. Joining us now, the reporter who broke that story for the Atlanta Journal constitution, our new friend, greg bluestein. Greg, ive said this to everyone who has come on to talk about politics in georgia, both the president ial and the senate, you are at the center of the american political conversation right now. And this is just another stunning piece of reporting. Take us through it. Yeah, well, the president called at the urging of senator david perdue, one of the two senators in control for the runoff. The president spoke with chris carr, the Attorney General, whos also republican, like every statewide officer in georgia, and urged him not to tell other Attorneys General to oppose this lawsuit. He sees this as one of his lastditch efforts to overturn the election results. And when chris carr said, no, i have not been telling other Attorneys General, but i do believe this is factually and constitutionally wrong lawsuit, but its another example of the direct intervention of President Trump, directly applying pressure to georgia officials to somehow help his efforts to try to overturn election results. Greg, its also a great piece of reporting that reveals where the president s head is when it comes to georgia. He really doesnt give a rats behind About Loeffler and perdue. Hes still working on overturning his own defeat there. How does that land . This has been one of the defining themes of this entire rou runoff cycle. We gave him a few minutes, he gave them the sound bites they wanted. Talked about how theyre important to promote his agenda, but spent the vast majority of his rally talking about his own issues and own claims of widespread fraud that have no evidence behind them whatsoever. No substantiated evidence. And so this is something that continues to gnaw at republicans in georgia, who are on one hand trying to tell people to vote on january 5th, vote by absentee, vote early in person, vote on election day, and on the other hand, are trying to combat his claims that the election was rigged, which sends the message to many, why bother . I want to show you some sound. Youre probably familiar with it, but i want our viewers to see, from georgias Lieutenant Governor, jeff duncan on cnn this week, talking about his concerns about the longterm damage that donald trump is going to the Conservative Movement in the Republican Party. I think the damage is done, but well watch and have that conversation on the other side. Its time for us to move on. Unfortunately, the guy i voted for, erin, did not win. The person i campaigned for didnt win. But its time for us as a country and as a party to move on. You know, shortterm, weve got these senate races that weve talked about before that are very important to me as a republican. But also longterm, its this you know, im very, very worried that this affects our brand of conservatism. The Republican Party. Greg, this is my question for you. Thats your states Lieutenant Governor. Youve reported on the states Attorney General, who says that these efforts are bad, theyre immoral. Gabriel sterling has become a National Political figure, a republican election official in georgia who came out and warned not just about the effort, but the danger it poses. Said, quote, someones going to get shot, end shot. And raffensperger has come out and said, it is my job to certify the vote, the vote is free from fraud, biden won. My question is, i dont see any republicans act like those four men have in the four weeks since the election. And i wonder if you think its something about being a republican in georgia, if you think its something about the two senate seats that are up, or if you think that that is the silent view of republicans who are guilty of being too scared to speak the truth . I think its the silent view. Im hearing it from Many Republicans on the ground here in georgia. They agree with governor kemp, Lieutenant Governor duncan, but theyre afraid to see anything because of what the president has done to those poor people on twitter. He went after jeff duncan shortly after he made those cnn comments, saying that jeff duncan was a puppet and corrupt and a rhino, a republican in name only. Hes gone after governor kemp, one of his staunchest allies in the south, for refusing his demands to call a Special Session to illegally overturn the election results. So they see whats happened to the few republicans in georgia who dare to speak out against him, and theyre chastened by that. Many are staying silent or many raufring some Talking Points that they may or may not truly believe in. And it leaves a vacuum for other republicans who are more forcefully siding with trump, to fill that space here in georgia. This is unbelievable. It really is. Greg bluestein, thank you so much for spending some time with us. We always love having your reporting and having you. When we come back, well stay on the topic of georgia with the senate on the line there. President elect joe biden traveling to the state, reminding voters there that there is a path to victory and control of the senate for the democratic party. Thats next. Arty thats next. Is often unseen. Because the pain youre feeling could be a sign of irreversible joint damage. Every day you live with pain, swelling, and stiffness. You risk not being able to do the things you love. Especially in these times, its important to keep up with your rheumatologist. Schedule an appointment today. I wouldnt be here if i thought Reverse Mortgages, its important to keep up with your rheumatologist. Took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. Learn how homeowners are strategically using a reverse Mortgage Loan to cover expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve your portfolio and so much more. A reverse Mortgage Loan isnt some kind of trick to take your home. Its a loan, like any other. Big difference is how you pay it back. 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Senator so fragile, so afraid that you wont even debate your opponent in public . Like, my message for david perdue is that if he doesnt want to answer questions in public or debate, thats not a problem. He just shouldnt run for reelection to the u. S. Senate. That was democratic candidate for the senate, john on ossoff, was featured there with comedian leslie jones, who will be our next guest in the next hour. The two of them had a great conversation, part of ossoffs effort to get the vote out anyway he can ahead of next months Senate Runoff in georgia. Also, reminding voters of some of the Big Questions being raised and asked about his opponents finances. He and other democratic candidate Raphael Warnock will now be getting some more help, this time from President Elect Biden. Joe biden announcing this morning that he will head to the state on tuesday, a day after electors formally cast their votes for him as president. And just in time for the first week of early voting there in this runoff. Yo ossoff and warnock hoping that biden will help reenergize his base of voters in a state he just won. Joining our conversation, the chairman of the department of africanamerican studies at Princeton University and an msnbc contributor, eddie glaude and democratic strategist, ayesha mills. Eddie, i just want tuo talk abot your next book, and leslie jones will be on next hour and the one video i watch over and over is her with your books and well get to that in a second. But ossoff seems to be running a very interesting campaign, aware of the structural and historic challenges of getting turnout in a special election. What do you think of the campaign youre watching there . I think hes been running a brilliant campaign, actually. And you know, i think its really important for us To Contextualize What January 5th will look like. We know what happened in 2018, nicole. Donald trump was not on the ticket. We saw in some ways a depressed republican turnout and the numbers on the democratic side increase. And then, of course, the president ial election. And now donald trump will not be on the ticket. And theres a sense in which the work is still to be done, because donald trump and Mitch Mcconnell in the minds and hearts of many voters are kind of inextricably linked. So i think ossoff has been doing a wonderful job to try to keep people to keep people to understand, if thats a formulation, to get people to understand that the job is not yet done. And i think Raphael Warnock is doing the same thing. And were going to see, i think, an interesting turnout come january 5th. You know, ayesha, these races are so interesting and my colleague Rachel Maddow joked about how wed all get in our own rvs for covid safety and move down there after the election to cover these runoffs, because everything seems to be on the line. Everything that joe biden wants to do, it seems is next to impossible in a republicancontrolled senate, where no one, i think four or five, six, maybe senators have acknowledged the result of the election. How much is that sort of empowering a biden protest and taking control of the senate, how motivating is that, do you think, in the runoff . Well, on the ground, surely, as a Messaging Tactic to reach the people and talk about why this election matters. You have republicans who are voters for donald trump and listening to donald trump essentially say that their votes didnt matter. And that the election didnt matter, because he was hoodwinked. So theyre demoralized, and theres no reason for them to show up to here, to hear donald trump tell it. But you have the democrats who have this opportunity to tell everybody that came out in record numbers, look, your vote matters and you proved that it matters because you elected joe biden and now you have an opportunity to change the power in the senate. And thats a big deal, because nancy pelosi and the democrats over in the house have passed hundreds of bills during this trump era, that have gone nowhere, that would support the american people. Shuler arou surely around covid relief, Economic Relief, civil rights, the health care, the environment and on and on and on. So i think it will be really, really motivating and well see turnout for the democrats, higher than anyones expecting. Because it matters, and the democrats have power and we know, and weve seen that showing up really does change the outcome. You know, eddie, i wondered, the other side of that is, i wondered, i was just talking to the reporter from the ajc whos broken a lot of these great political stories down there. And i asked about the impact on the republican side of a president whose efforts in the staut have nothing to do with the Senate Runoff. Theyre just about overturning the votes of everyone in the state, invalidating the whole vote, so there are republican votes and democratic votes. But i wonder about perdue himself. He seems based on a lot of investigative reports, ethically challenged i think is a diplomatic way foto put it. Not showing up for a debate. Even donald trump showed up for his debates. And we can talk about whether that did him more harm than good, but not showing up for a debate is something that even your own voters its one of those last remaining rituals for politics. He seems to be a worse than bad candidate. Right. It seems to me that he plus, he understands the strength of ossoff in the form of debate. We know that ossoff would have torn him a new behind if he actually would have shown up there. So i think thats clear. And we have to make a distinction between the trump voter, because trump increased his base, he increased that turnout, and whether or not they are actually supportive of the Republican Party, as such, or are they fans of donald trump, and i dont know if perdue and loeffler can motivate them. But we do know that they cannot motivate them in the way say that donald trump can. Plus, we have to understand and note the civil war that was happening within the Republican Party prior to all of this happening. You know, between doug collins and will havelloeffler, right . So there was already dissension. So thats all playing itself out while the democrats are excited they can finally sit Mitch Mcconnell down and take control of the senate. There are a lot of forces at work tat once here. And its my sense that President Obama going in first, that biden is waiting for these rituals of the Election Process have passed. It seems like theres a very sort of concerted effort to keep up the momentum on the biden side of this. He won that state, it was a huge deal. Youve got to infrastructure now for a democratic win statewide. Where do you whats your gut on this . Even pollsters who 20, 30 days ago thought it was a really hard state for two democrats to win in a runoff see it very much in reach. Whats your gut on the state . If georgia has taught us anything, its that the drum beat of grassroots organizing and staying connected to voters is the only way that you really win elections hands down. Stacey abrams started this even before she ran for governor, really, talking to voters, organizing people to get feet on the ground and to be engaged with people constantly and in conversation with them. And you cant let that lapse. You cant just show up when you want to vote. You have to be in conversation with people all the time. What were seeing play out in georgia is this ongoing drumbeat that the democrats have had. But really, i think that, you know, joe biden would be very smart to continue to build upon this momentum and to not let it lapse, because people are animated. And john ossoff had a lot to do with that as well when he ran for congress the first time and got people really remiiled up i think it was twou2018. So i think georgia is an example for all of us around democratic participation, the gop efforts, engaging with people constantly, not just showing up at the door when you want to vote, it works and when you win when people hear from you. Ayesha, thank you. We always benefit from your busine wisdom and experience on these topics. Eddie is sticking around, because im going to need him for whats ahead. Helping our nation grieve when every day feels worse than the last. A leader is needed to help all of us mark these losses. Well have that conversation, next. S mark these losses. Well have that conversation, next you must go and i must bide but come ye back when su mom, dad. Whys jamie here . Its sunday. Sunday sing along. And he helped us get a home and auto bundle. Hes been our insurance guy for five years now. He makes us feel like were worth protecting. [ gasps ] why didnt you tell us about these savings, flo . Ive literally told you a thousand times. Oh, danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling im just gonna. From glen to glen ive lost a wife, identive a child, i have some small notion of what its like to get that phone call. I have some small notion of that. So i know nothing, nothing, the good that comes from this, nothing, even if the best occurs and we really get our arms around the terrorist activities worldwide will give any solace to any of the people who have lost loved ones here. That was then senator joe biden in 2001 on the very day after the September 11th attacks, exemplifying leadership, and just as importantly, understanding that for the family and loved ones of the 2,977 people who died that day in the 9 11 tragedy, the pain of their loss is forever, and nothing makes it better. Now, President Elect Biden, no stranger to pain and loss himself, will inherit a country that hasnt even begun to process the astounding, mounting level and scope and numbers of lost americans from this pandemic. The coronavirus has now taken more lives in one day, yesterday, than the total death toll of September 11th. A new record for us, 3,103 americans died from covid19 yesterday. So far, more than 292,000 grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, teachers, firefighters, and yes, children, are gone. Joining our conversation, our good friend, donny deutsch. Eddie glad is still here, as well. Donny, i went and watched some tape, because i remembered joe biden i worked on tin the wh house on 9 11, and i remember him talking about loss at a time when it was obvious that everyone felt, but not a lot of people had the influency he h f had. Heres joe biden when he was Vice President. Its a buddies, lost friends, it is even tougher for the Family Members who lost friends. I almost wish it was raining today. Instead of this clear and as bright as it is today. Because when you go through this year after year, it doesnt matter if it is 14 years or 40 years, it brings back memories as if they happened five minutes ago. Donnie, its almost erie to hear someone talk like that. We are so starved of this sort of language of grief and loss. One of the traits of the leader is three things, it is honesty, empathy and having a vision. Honesty to confront a problem and say we have a problem and here is the problem. The empathy is the most important part. And i understand and i can feel it. I feel you. And you feel that from him. And the third part is having a vision about how were going to solve the problem. Here is the problem. And in one of your earlier segment you showed a crowd at a trump rally and someone held up a sign that said 99 Survival Rate is not an emergency. That is the mindset of somebody if you were in a Movie Theater with 100 people and one person was going to die, the other 99 shouldnt care. Shouldnt huddle around. And that is the problem in this country. Is that we have a part of this country called ungreatest generation that is a me culture and if doesnt affect me, i dont give a damn. That sign said it all. And that is the problem. Even if you have bidens leadership and it has those three traits. If you have a huge part of the population, and we do, and i see the sadness in your face today, nicolle. You look like youre going to cry. And feel the same way. And certain people cant be led. If you have enough people who dont give a damn unless it affects them, it is hard to solve that problem and we have a segment that is the ungreatest generation and that is the sadness that we have here. That cant feel, cant look at that 3,000 and go those are people. They cant process it. If it doesnt affect them, they cant process it and that is sad. But i cant imagine being in a Movie Theater, donnie, and if one person started choking and everybody wouldnt get up and call 911. I just refuse to believe that that is who we are. I think there is a chunk of the country that is fed lies and im not taking out the responsibility for believing the lies and being attracted to the liesi lie. I know a lot of people high on the lies but i refuse to believe we cant be led to a somewhat brighter place. Some of us. For feeling the loss. But maybe we have to get to a point that maybe there are 15 million jerks in this country and joe biden is doing everything right. And when you see that sign and maybe there is a chunk of us that really suck as human beings. Maybe that is a reality. Eddie. Well, i think, you know, donnie has touched on something. And i think that we need a new moral and Social Contract between each other. The moral and Social Contract of the nation has been shredded. What are our obligations to each other. What are our sense of concerns to each other. Death leaves its mark. Its grooves, its patterns in us. You dont get over it. So you have people all over this country who are grieving and as ive said before, that grief is ting with regret because they werent able to say goodbye and that gives death a different kind of sting. So i think we have to come to a kind of conclusion, in the theater, nicolle, some people would come to the help of the one person and others would pull out their phone and start taping. Some will start paying attention back to the movie. So part of what we have to do is to understand the social fabric of the country has been torn, rip part. So we have to imagine a different way of being together with each other. But death leaves its mark. My god, it does. Eddie, i need you to do that imagining for me. What does that look like . Let me say this, really quickly. Im thinking about two leaders that come to mind. Abraham lincoln and Martin Luther king jr. Two different moments. Im thinking about lincoln in the second inaugural and the carnage of the civil war and how the death weighed on his shoulders as hes trying to save the union and what the Second Inaugural Represents as one of the founding documents of the modern u. S. Nation state, he bored the burden of that death. And im thinking about dr. King and his eulogy at the 16th Street Baptist Church when you watch him walking out of the church, hes bent almost over. The weight of the death of those babies were on his shoulders. So it seems to me in this moment, you know, we have to find a way beyond right and left, republican and democrat, and actually reembrace a notion of decency and compassion and find a way to acknowledge our relationship, our concerns, our care for each other. We are broken. People in pulpits should be preaching and synagogues should be preaching and mosques should be preaching. There is a moral rot in the nation and donald trump is justice avatar. We need a new moral and Social Contract. Kma what is my obligation to me and your obligation to donnie and our obligation to those poor and in the shadows. As we dont give a damn, how do we begin that is not just with empathy with imagining the country anew. We have to break the frame. I dont know huh that is going to take place but i know it has to eithotherwise the countrys is sealed. We have to keep having this conversation. Donnie, when you said i looked like i was about to cry and i thought about reaching for some lip gloss but i am good to cry. 3,000 people died yesterday and i know from most of the obituaries most leave behind children and husbands and loved ones. And ive spent the last hour thinking there is something wrong with me. But i think anyone that doesnt feel that way should go listen to what eddie glad just said. It is a remarkable moment. We need a reboot. We need a doover. We need a reboot. Theyre broken souls. They really are. I could cry. The problem with doing a show with your good friends is you cant b. S. Either of them. Eddie and donnie, i love you both, thank you for spending time with me. The next hour of deadline white house and leslie jones coming along to make us laugh. We all need that. That is coming after a quick break. Dont go anywhere. Break. Dont go anywhere. And everyone can do it. Its from optum, a Health Care Company thats trusted by millions of people. 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Im proud to be a part of aag, i trust em, i think you can too. See yourself. Welcome back to the mirror. And know youre not alone because this is not just a mirror. Its an unstoppable community. Come on jessie one more. Its a race across time zones. Come on you two, lets go. A gift for the whole family. So join in now and see your best self in the mirror. Heart monitors that let your doctor watch over you, just like you watch over your best friend. Another lifechanging technology from abbott, so you dont wait for life. You live it. Ive never seen Something Like this. So i dont know what the Supreme Courts going to do. When states sue other states, the Supreme Court does have original jurisdiction but that is used like for things like Water Disputes or ive never seen anything quite like this before. Youre skeptical theyll take it up. Well i think they have to decide one way or the other. But it is pretty much unprecedented. It is simply madness. Which is the idea of suppose planting the vote of the people with a partisan legislators is so completely out of our National Character that its simply mad. Of course, the president has the right to challenge results in court, to have recounts. But this effort to subvert the vote of the people is dangerous and destructive to the cause of democracy. Hi, again, everyone. It is 5 00 in the east. The Republican Party as it has existed since its inception is now officially gone. In its place A Gang Of Men And Women who are now stained with the same dishonor as someone who standed by and watched a Violent Crime take place without doing anything to stop it. In this case the innocent victim is our democracy and the bully beating it up is donald trump. And it is still going on because more than 0 00 elected republicans in congress and a dozen states Attorney General are helping trump by standing by and doing nothing and in some instances aiding him in his assault. An escalation in the president s war to over turn the will of the people of the country, an effort described as unprecedented and madnesses that cemented the parties subservience to donald trump. Many states are among the 17 who filed a brief with the u. S. Supreme court to show support for a case launched by the texas a. G. That attempts to invalidate bidens win in four battleground states. Case which many legal experts say is doomed to fail aims to overturn the results in michigan, georgia, pennsylvania and wisconsin. Chris carr, the Attorney General for georgia called the lawsuit constitutionally and legally and factually wrong and prompting trump to call him and according to the Atlanta Journal constitution he warned carr to rally other republicans against the lawsuit. He not stopping at lobbying Attorney Generals, hes trying to work over members of congress as well. The Washington Post said the president has been Calling Republicans imploring them to keep fighting and proclaim the election was stolen while pressing them on what they plan to do. He spoke to arizona gop Party Chairwoman kelli ward and congressman mike johnson of louisiana, head of the conservative republican study committee. Johnson, according to nbc news, Reached Tout His gop colleagues about supporting the texas lawsuit and sent an email with the subject line, quote, time sensitive request from President Trump. The inside of his email sounds remarkably like it was written by a mob boss. Trump specifically asked me to contact all members of the house and senate today and request that all join on to our brief. He said he will be anxiously awaiting the final list to review. Using his bully pulpit as he actively worked to erode our democracy. The New York Times writes, it is all a political calculation. The willingness of so Many Republican politicians to publicly involve themselves in a Legal Campaign to invalidate the ballots of millions of americans shows how singular a figure mr. Trump remains in the gop. Even in defeat a reality that a significant number of republicans refuse to accept allegiance to mr. Trump is viewed as the ticket to higher office. The complete capitulation is where we start our hours with our favorite reports and friends. Joo Jason Johnson aback and msnbc and contributor is here. Plus Washington Post National Political reporter and msnbc political analysis robert costa is back and and National Security analyst frank figliuzzi. Robert costa, i want to ask you about the sound we came in on. John cornyn and mitt romney called it madness, unprecedented. I just had Greg Blewstein on and asked him why four state wide elects requested in that state are so willing to acnoknowledge the fact when none of the republicans in Congress Really are. And ip i wonder what you think delineated a raffensperger or sterling or carr from all of the republicans in washington . Nicolle, what differentiates those republicans in georgia and those republicans you played at the beginning of the program at 5 00, is the location of their comments. And what i mean by that is when you heard Senator Cornyn and romney, they were speaking at the capitol. They are in the Republican Party but pretty isolated, in fact, from President Trumps inner circle and that is the difference between this moment and in the summer of 1974 when senator Barry Goldwater and other republicans went to Richard Nixon and said it is over, it is time to go. That was of course during watergate. A different context. But similar in the sense that both parties now are grappling with the president who is embattled. But at that time they were closer to nixon than the current gop is to trump. The current gop is in the trenches with President Trump but they dont have the relationship to really nudge him along. I want to show all of what trump does to one mans soul. Here is what ted cruz thought of donald trump just a couple of years ago. Im going to tell what you i really think of donald trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesnt know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. It is not easy to tick me off. I dont get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that will do it every time. Donald, youre a Sniffling Coward and leave heidi the hell alone. So to anyone who ever covered Kamala Harris having a debate with joe biden on the debate stage and asked how they could be on the same ticket, i want them to play that tape before, after and during the segment. Ted cruz thought donald trump was a Sniffling Coward. What donald trump did was actually unprecedented. He attacked ted cruzs wife when they were opponented in the 2016 primary. But here is why it is news today. New york times is reporting that trump asks ted cruz to argue about b. S. Case in front of the Supreme Court and ted cruz said yes. So jason, just help me understand what trump does and that loyalty bob casta just explained to one soul. You know what, nicolle, this is why were happy that were getting a biden harris administration. When doug imhoff approached his wife, he was about to jump off the stage. Carrin had to sold someone back. He was insulted and his kids and his father by President Trump and hes become his suppose lick ant, his lawyer for the last four it is embarrassing from somebody who said they are a tough individual from the lone star state. But nicolle, this is the larger issue here. Republican party have all become the sort of suckers to the scam of donald trump. That email, i think it is important, that email from mike johnson, time sensitive issue from donald trump. That sounds like a scam from a third world country. Im the missing prince, et cetera, et cetera. It is a scam. Buy in. B buy my steaks and ted cruz is getting involved and what disturbs me most is after ted cruz and goes and shames himself in front of the Supreme Court which he will if it gets that far, what will he have to show for it. Donald trump will be out of office on january 20th and none of those who shamed him will have any sort of political power afterwards other than worshiping a guy that doesnt care about them. And the other point is donald trump doesnt have much affinity for his most loyal fans. He wants to win he watches morning joe more than he watches fox and friends, hell be trying to win over the next sucker. This is turning to a place where it isnt just about political subservience, frank. A poll out said today sed that 77 of republicans believe there was widespread fraud. If you think that joe biden won because of fraud, and that emotion is already inspiring protests outside of the homes of State Election officials, State Secretaries of state, you have this bogus Supreme Court case that conservative commentators and hosts are giving more oxygen than even they must know it warrants. Watt said there is real concern about just a strike of a Match Leading to violence. What is your degree of concern . Um, it is the highest its been since the Trump Administration has been in power. And here is why. And i have to tell you, i say this with weariness. Because im growing tired of being, you know, the guy who comes on and said the sky is falling but im here to tell you that i have no other training than to compare this and what were seeing here to a Radicalization Process that leads to a flash point that leads to violence. And the fact that people in suits and ties and expensive shoes who live in nice homes and have advanced degrees, some of them law degrees and have fancy titles, theyre elected officials are all buying into this actually makes this mainstream madness. Up until now, weve really been able to kind of comfort ourselves by saying all of this craziness is part of some Lunatic Fringe and i need not worry about these people. Theyre not part of our culture. But i think what weve gotten over the last two weeks an even in the last two days is Proof Positive that this is no longer Lunatic Fringe. This is now part of our mainstream. And what does that do from a secretary perspective, It Legitimatized it. And so the numbers will climb in those that tell youing this something is wrong and when you see this Radicalization Process and mainstreams an a flash point coming meaning the outcome isnt going to happen and eventually a Supreme Court will say no, you got nothing and it is court of the last resort. What cults do in those circumstances and seek violence is they do something called forcing the end. They make happen what they wanted to happen when they see it is not really going to happen without them. And that is when the violence occurred and that is what im most concerned about. Frank, having been a senior official at the fbi, what do you think theyre doing and watching right now in terms of this torquing up as you describe. Ashley parker, bobs colleague, described donald trump as becoming radicalized, basically by turning more to the right in terms what he views, and turning to Conspiracy Theory networks and taking his base of support with him. So this word is out there both in political coverage and as you describe in the mainstreaming of the experienconspiracy theories of republicans think there was fraud. There what was to fraud. A. G. Bill barr said there was no fraud. Chris krebs said there was no fraud. There was no fraud. But what do you think the fact that 80 of republicans think there was and donald trump seems to be growing more radicalized himself. What do you think the preparations are from law enforcement. I could tell you there are preparations and there is monitori monitoring and concern and even those that w. H. Ho study private chat rooms and websites of Fringe Groups and militia groups, et cetera, you could rattle off all of the names, theyre seeing an increased move toward amassing of weapons, calling for violence, and clear indication that theyre waiting fire signal. And who are they waiting for that signal from . Their leader, donald trump. And so i vacillate almost on an hourly basis on whether or not the media should give one iota more to the president and his rantings. And there is still Security Value in understanding what hes saying. You might not give it any coverage on msnbc and they decide to shut it down. But hes messaging the people who will carry out the violence and we need to know that. It better not be a surprise to us. So that sadly still merits coverage because only if a security perspective, we need to know where this journey is headed. You know, i mean, bob costa, i grapple the same thing and i think Ashley Parker hit the nail on the head as to why. Trump has become more radicalized and described him turning into the more radicalized outlets so hes having a conversation with his supporters over a news max. Ez easier to ignore but probably more dangerous than any other point in his president sy. Is this not the offramps of the republicans that privately called him a scum bag after the access Hollywood Tape and a prince after his soninlaw shut down the government. They finally have an escape hatch. He lost fair and square and resoundingly. Why are they still participating . They do not see it as an escape hatch or an offramp but a return to form. Remember, this is a president who ten years ago was mounting a Birther Campaign against President Obama questioning his place of birth, his love of country, and his credentials. This is who he is. This is who he has been. They have been accepting it for nearly a decade inside of the Republican Party. And its highest levels and also within the grassroots and now in 2020 at the end of the year, sure, common sense would say oh, theyre ready to move on. But privately and often publicly through their actions, there is an acknowledgment that President Trump might be leaving, he is leaving, joe biden is the President Elect. But he remains in control. They almost feel like they cant maneuver outside of his shadow and no one really has a path outside of it. There is no socalled exit ramp from a shadow that looms over everything in your political life. I mean, Jason Johnson, i believe and i think bob is right that that is how they feel. But that is like saying no one could escape them all. And ive read a lot of mob books. In a lot of cases that is try and they would come and find you. But the noble ones at least tried. Yeah, they did. And then they ended up sort of swimming with the fishes and that is what these guys think. They all think if they leave the family, that something will happen to them. But nicolle, i look at it another way. If you are a conservative republican, donald trump gave you tax cuts, he gutted regulations to protected women and minorities and gutted regulations for voting and gutting environmental regulations if you look at it from a policy perspective, he messed with the budget but he delivered a whole lot of things that republicans have always wanted in a shameless and offensive way. Hes like a dirty cop in a movie. It is like well hes a bad guy and smokes too much and mean to his wife but he get the job done. If youre republican, donald trump has been good for you policy wise. So if he has to assault me and they think it is fine because they worship the ideology the same way other people worship the bible or the koran or the tam ud. And after january 20th, i believe there will be violence and blood. Told them stand back and stand by. Theyre spending their campus season buying guns while the rest of us are trying to get gifts. Theyre going to be ready when the sign happens. And even once trump is out of office you will have this fight among republicans to say look at the policies accomplished. I want to be the next donald trump or be his suppose lick ant in the white house. Theyre committed to the nonsense and the lie and will look the other way when the violence hits them and their own communities because the ideology is more important than the health of our Jason Johnson, robert costa, frank figliuzzi, thank you for your candor and your insights and starting us off. When we return, amid a staggering post thanksgiving covid surge, Health Workers arent just dealing with the virus, theyre battling disinformation about the pandemic. That is as we continue to await an fda Advisory Board recommendation on the Emergency Use of the Pfizer Vaccine. That story is next. Plus President Elect joe biden adds two familiar names to his administration further underscoring his desire to build a team long on personal relationships and experience. And later we almost a very special guest, a comedian who has captured the moment were all living through better than anybody else on earth. She will make you smile. Whoa dude are you at a book store . That cant be his house. Please pull her but since youre in danger, there is a man above you that has 17,000 books in one room. And i feel like it is about to fall on top of you. When you put your glooss on, that means that needs to be read. Im only hear for nicki today. That is comedian leslie jones. A love her. She will be joining us. Stick around for that. Deadline white house continues after a quick break. Dont go anywhere. Youre all, youre all i need youre all, youre all i need as long as i got you then baby you know that youve got me, oh yea. For members like martin. An air force veteran made of doing whats right, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa were made for. [whats this . ] oh, are we kicking karly out . We live with at t. It was a lapse in judgment. At t, we called this House Meeting because you advertise gigspeed internet, but we cant sign up for that here. Yeah, but im just like warming up to those speeds. Youve lived here two years. The personal attacks arent helping, karly. Dont you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something . [ Muffled Scream ] stop living with at t. Xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. While working in the covid icu ive seen more loss than i ever imagined. This disease doesnt discriminate. Ive seen young people, old people, male, female, all lose their lives or lose their loved ones to this disease. And i just think that if there is anything we could do to make it better, we need to be doing that. That is the reality for front line Health Care Workers here in the United States. Today right now as we sit here after almost a year of facing this pandemic head on, doctors and nurses are now dealing with evidence of the post thanksgiving surnl we were warned about. A record average of more than 202,000 new cases every day and a mounting death toll. Just yesterday a record of more than 3,000 americans died from the coronavirus. Right now the fda independent Vaccine Advisory Panel is meeting and has been all day. Were awaiting a vote on whether the panel will recommend Emergency Use Authorization of pfizers coronavirus vaccine. Joining us now, dr. William schaffner, professor At Vanderbilt and adviser to the cdc. This feels like a day of extremes. The scope and the breath and the size of the numbers of lives lost yesterday, this is a deadliest day in history and this hopeful news seemingly imminent, some sort of answer about whether an important step will be taken toward authorizing the Pfizer Vaccine. How do you process those two things at once . Well, were in a terribly grim time, nicolle. There isnt any doubt. These cases are climbing. Who would have thought we had so many people dying of covid in the United States in any one day. And then cumulatively. I mean, its almost beyond my understanding. But on the other hand, i have been looking in on that Advisory Committees deliberations during the day and it makes me smile. Were moving toward an Emergency Use Authorization for a vaccine. Others are coming. Were going to see some light at the end of this tunnel. It wont be easy. Theyll be a lot of hard work. There are other issues that have to be resolved. But long journeys, first steps, these are great first steps. And that Advisory Committee is about to take a very firm first step, i believe. Dr. Schaffner, what does this step mean to those of us who arent front line Health Care Workers or residents of a nursing home . What is the reality of the time line for vaccinating all of us . Well the reality is that for the average person who doesnt have an underlying illness, and isnt very old, it will be several months. But we will start to see the introduction of this vaccine. First in health care personnel, those are the ones taking care of us when we are sick so that is very, very important. And as the country sees these people in white coats and blue scrubs roll up their sleeves and get the vaccine, that will generate more confidence in the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccine and i think well begin to persuade people who are holding back and understandably just a little skeptical, that, you know, those medical people, they know stuff. And theyre rolling up their sleeves. Hmm. Maybe ill get in line when it is my turn. I think in your very classy and elegant and restrained way talking about skepticism about the vaccine. How does disinformation about the pandemic and really smearing the few things that were able to do to protect ourselves, the wearing of masks, the canceling of gatherings, how does that maybe suggest the Vaccine Rollout will be received based on how we ended up dividing amongst ourselves about the other Public Health measures. Well, all that disinformation is of course why were here today with so many illnesses, so many deaths, so many Strained Health care facilities. And many of those people remain skeptical. And will remain skeptical. But its an accrual of information and a sense of reassurance and determination. All of which will take time. So i hope we could recruit many of the people to get in the line and participate as they see their citizens elsewhere and as the early data begin to indicate that the cases are going down. So i hope that sort of success will breed participation, that it will encourage people to come on in. Dr. William schaffner, we are encouraged to continue to turn to you to understand these fastmoving developments. Thank you for spending time with us. When we come back, President Elect joe biden brings back two more familiar and very experienced faces into his administration. The latest on the Biden Transition when deadline white house continues after a quick break. [ Thunder Rumbles ] [ Engine Rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. With less than six weeks to go before President Elect joe biden replaces donald trump in the white house, the Incoming Administration is putting in place people known for their depth of experience in government. President elect biden announcing today that hes tapping two familiar faces from the Obama Administration. Naming former National Security adviser susan rice as his Domestic Policy Adviser and nominating Denis Mcdonough as his pick to led foreign affairs. Joining us now, mike memoli. What do these two appointments signal to you and is there anything that caught you by surprise about where he put two officials who obviously are very familiar and comfortable aides and advisers to joe biden but im not sure that a lot of people predicted these spots for them in a biden presidency. No, that is absolutely right, nicolle. When youve been talking about the story of this transition for joe biden, it is really the story of a lot of competing pressures. Is there enough ideology diversity for the progressives in the party in his cabinet. Is there anybody racial diversity and weve seen this week with the meeting that he had with civil rights leaders, pressure to have more black representation in his cabinet. But there is the pressure of what we saw joe biden say in the Campaign Casting himself as a bridge to the next generation of democrats and what i called off and joe biden has that break glass in case of emergency candidate for democrats who thought maybe hes not progressive enough and see a younger democrat but we need somebody who could beat donald trump and get things done quickly and that is i think what youre seeing in some of these picks. The x factor has been really been people biden is comfortable with and he could trust. Tony blanken has been alongside joe biden for years in the Foreign Policy state. A lot of the Economic Team worked in the trenches with joe biden in the early days of the Obama Administration during the great recession. He knows they are a tested team. An you know very well the geography of the west wing. If you walk out of the Vice President s office and go in One Direction youre in the chief of staffs oxffice. That is Dennis Mcdonough and yo go the other way that is susan rice. These picks being announced together and especially in the second term. Denis mcdonough, one of the most difficult bureaucratic lifts in all of government but biden knows that he could handle this. And then as for susan rice, interesting that shes getting an appointment, not a nomination. We reported biden is heading to georgia to campaign in those Senate Runoffs and the makeup of the senate so critical for him. Maybe susan rice would have gotten a nomination for a different position were there democratic majority in the senate but hell be happy to have her in the west wing, excuse me, leading the Domestic Policy Council in part because of her experience with the pandemic playbook that she helped write late in the Obama Administration that is so important as they start out in the biden administration. You know, i thought of that west wing geography too and you actually brought that map to light. But it is true where the Vice President s office is on the main floor, those are the two offices that are closest. You could hear phone calls sometimes between them. But i want you to ask you about, to me what this said and we said someone that could staff a speech. A big speech by a president if it is about National Security has to get staffed through the cia, the pentagon, the dni, the state department, doj, these are people who know how to staff a speech. These are people who know how to get every Cabinet Secretary on the phone to get something in front of the president if there is a crisis and joe biden is dealing with a multitude of crises from day one. It seems that hes turning to people that really understand how to move and function that sort of levers of the federal government. Maybe, nicolle, in a different circumstance joe biden would be picking a different cabinet. But this is a position where he doesnt have the time to do what donald trump was doing four years ago, making a cast of Republican Office holders from across the country parade through trump tower, come visit him in maralago and interview them and he knows what he wants and what he needs an were seeing that play out in the critical positions. Biden so experienced in deep relationships with a number of these people. There is not the time for sentimentality or for some of the kind of decisions that you typically make in a cabinet. He needs to make sure he has a team around him who he could simply turn to and say this needs to get done and not having to worry about it. Mike memoli, live for us in wilmington, delaware. Thank you so much for your reporting, my friend. Well be back after a very quick break. Tonight, ill be eating a Veggie Cheeseburger on ciabatta, no tomatoes. [hard a] tonight. Ill be eating four Cheese Tortellini with extra tomatoes. [full emphasis on the soft a] so its come to this . [doorbell chimes] thank you. [doorbell chimes] bravo. Careful, hamill. Daddys not here to save you. Oh i am my daddy. Wait, what . What are you talking about . Were back with some breaking news. The fda Vaccine Advisory Panel has voted to recommend Emergency Use Authorization of pfizers coronavirus vaccine. The recommendation came after an all day meeting of the panel which is composed of independent experts and doctors among others joining us to talk about this, dr. Nahid bhadelia from Boston University school of medicine and msnbc medical contributor. This is an important step but it doesnt mean that tomorrow americans start get vaccinated. What does it mean. That is right, nicolle. I will say that what this is is an Emergency Use Authorization. What the Committee Members answered that on the totality of the scientific evident in front of us, does the benefit of giving Pfizer Vaccine outweigh the risk given the fact that were in a Public Health emergency and a vote today decided that it is and that means that starting tomorrow youll start to distributions and the first two groups identified by the cdc, the Health Care Workers and those in longterm Facility Or Living Facilities will start getting the vaccines. But the one thing i want to underscore because it is was an eua, there is going to be continue active surveillance of safety and a larger group of people. We know that this vaccine has been shown to be safe within the trial but when we open it up to a lot more people, it could be discovered a more rare side effect, that happened in One In A Million for example. So seeing the cdc plans on that was very heartening. Dr. Bhadelia, were the third western country to approve the Pfizer Vaccine. The u. K. Went first this week and canada went second. Is there any correlation between the moment or the date a vaccine is approved and the supply that is available to americans or is that all done ahead of these approvals . Well, we know there isnt because for most americans these vaccines will not make it in their arms until the spring. And not only that, but it will depend once the vaccine is released, it will depend on whether the companies could keep up the manufacturing and whether we could get people to take the vaccines so that we could get go from creation of the vaccine and the Evidence Base to actual vaccination induced herd immunity. Dr. Bhadelia, is the fda Final Approval basically pro forma now. Do you expect that happens automatically tomorrow and then distribution begins on that . What are the actual sort of mechanical steps after todays vote . So the fda will take into consideration the vote that happened today. And most likely theyre going to adopt the recommendation from the independent committee. One thing that they what today revealed is there were remaining questions an the fda will go back and ask pfizer to continue answering that. One is how long does the protection last from the vaccine. Does it work as well in all of the different subgroups so they may come back with the Emergency Authorization is the asks for pfizer to continue the investigations so we know a little bit more about the vaccine. Do we know anything, wasnt a unanimous vote from this committee. Do we know anything about the concerns for the people that did not vote to approve . There were a couple of discussions, nicolle. One was the discussion about the age group between 16 and 17, the Emergency Use Authorization is for those over 16 years of age and those are a consideration there werent enough people participating in that young group and could we gather more data. The other was potentially that there wasnt enough evidence that all of the different sub groups that were concerned about, people with different kinds of conditions, that there were enough people in each of those groups for us to show that severe disease could be prevented. But there were also consenting news. The fact that those who said if you could protect against mild disease, the fact that you didnt even get mild disease means that youll probably be protected against severe disease as well. There were other nerdy scientific questions that i wont go into that i spend the day thinking about. But it is a historic moment. This is the first u. S. Approved Emergency Use Authorization for Covid Vaccine almost a year after this pandemic has hit the world and it is something to be hold and im glad they did it so publicly because this builds the trust that we need. It is a medical marvel. Dr. Bhadelia joining us on the breaking news that a key fda Advisory Panel has voted to recommend Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer Vaccine for coronavirus. Thank you for joining us. When we come back, The One And Only leslie jones will be here. Her commentary about our commentary has helped brighten what has otherwise been a very challenging 2020. Mitch mcconnell crying is like the devil weeping over not being able to kill 50 more people. You up here with a chart you cant even read. He cant even read this chart. I love them pearls. I hate this nasty man is on the scene. Ill block him out so we could see claire and her wonderful background. Her wonderful background good morning, mr. Sun. Good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. Im gonna grow big and strong. Yes, you are. Im gonna get this place all clean. Ill give you a hand. And im gonna put lisa on crutches wait, what . Said shes gonna need crutches. She fell pretty hard. You might want to clean that up, girl. Excuse us. When owning a Small Business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. And im gonna eh, eh, eh. Donny, no. Oh. I know this guys name. Steve kornacki. I know im saying it wrong. This is how i like my reporters to look. To shuffle and concern. Nicki, i like this dress you gone on. What is that little collar thing. Whats up joyce. When she puts her glasses on, something needs to be read. Im only here for nicki today. Shes a marvel and anyone who knows anything about what i like to do when im not sitting in this chair knows that i love watching leslie jones commentary on our commentary. I will never be able to see some of our regular guests quite in the same way after watching leslio mean on eddie glads bookshelf and Claire Mccaskills kitchen but most of all at one of the darkest and toughest moments not just in american political history but in our countrys history, the snl alum knows how to do two things. One, make us laugh. And two, say out loud for everybody to hear, reveal the ridiculous parts of Anchoring Cable News in the time of covid. With no further ado, host of abcs Supermarket Sweep and lately whats up, nikki . [ laughter ] all right. I have to tell you, take me behind whats behind you. Okay. All right. Yeah, thats right. You know i was going to do it right, nikki. I was going to make it look good so i put my hero, you cant talk about mine unless you going to go there, nikki, unless you going to go there. [ laughter ] how are you doing, beautiful . You know how are you . I started you know, this is a rough one. This is a rough day. The number of people dying from the pandemic, the lunacy of the guy in the oval office. I mean, i have always been a fan of yours, but i became like a hooked addict friday after the election. I was watching your video. I was filling in for Rachel Maddow and i was watching your videos on the commercial breaks. There was viewers that were not happy i was doing that and i barely got the sound off when kornacki came up and thats when i sold you out and said, you know, leslie jones loves you. He looked at me like what . He is probably like who the heck is leslie jones . [ laughter ] but you i love steve. You say it out loud what everyone thinks. Yes, yes, exactly because thats what needs to happen right now, nikki. Everybody needs to be more honest. We got too many faces up, you know what im saying . Everybody needs to start being close, just need to really start being a little more honest because, you know, theres a lot of liars among us. We need to start telling each other the truth. I guess that starts with cutting the b. S. Behind us. I understand and watched enough of your videos, you know a lot about actual art. You always got a theory on which artist was influencing the artist that actually painted the thing behind people. You know a lot about history. I think youve read as many books as eddie glad has nobody has there really is but youve got a sharp, very sharp take on whats happening right now. What is your sense about what trump is doing right now . Well, okay, nicole, that brings me to a question i have for you, you know what im saying . You know, you work with the republicans a long time ago with the Bush Administration and i just the question i have thats been burning my brain is what did they ever offer, nicole . Whats the difference between those republicans you worked with than these republicans we work with . Mitch a lot of them is still there. Whats so different now . Made them so different . Why wont mitch budge . You know what im saying . Is this really about money . Is it about power . Is it about racism or all of that . Is driving people to believe these people, nikki . Thats the question. Thats the right question. George bush came out and congratulated joe biden as soon as the election was called and no one followed him and when youre an ex president , you dont have a lot of power and historically, you still had clout. President obama is basically still covered as though hes the president and he picks his places and hes sort of opines when there is an emergency or crisis but he is still covered. George w. Bush came out and said he congratulated joe biden on his much deserved and clear victory. None of the republicans in the senate followed him so this is just sort of they either are such hostages of trump and trumpism, which is i think the actual answer or they have lost sort of or they never had a moral compass. I dont have any excuses for any of them and struggle to explain it. It is the tragedy. There are two Political Parties and one is corrupt at the highest levels. Im at this point does trump have something on these people . I mean, its being played so dirty now i dont understand how mitch and Lindsey Graham is still following him when they really didnt like him as a candidate. So i just im just so confused how kentucky dont see Mitch Mcconnell is not taking care of them. You know, im so confused. Is it a cult . Do they love this man so much do they not understand trump is going to destroy democracy just to save himself . They dont like him either and if you look at remember when the access Hollywood Tape came out . They wanted him off the ticket. Four years ago when he did something nearly as appalling as his attack on the election is Reince Priebus wanted him off the ticket they stopped being anything other than part of basically a function like an organized crime family. It feels like the sparanos at this point. It does. To, nikki, its like a bad 80s movie. So i didnt win and i didnt get invited to this party, so im going to have a bigger party on the night that they have their party. Lets see who has the better party. No. Grow up. Like say anything. They wanted to defy the result because they cant accept it. See, nicky, this my problem us as citizens, how are we not together going okay this is so obvious, you guys. Come on. This is embarrassing to other countries. Like come on. Come on. It is. It is. Leslie, i have a surprise guest because i love, two of my favorite humans. Claire mcelderis going to join im having some of that g. D. Coffee. [ laughter ] claire, did you pull up with the mug . Did you pull up with the mug . I pulled up with the mug. I pulled up with the mug, leslie and my dangerous wiry stair way. [ laughter ] hey, hey, listen, here is what i got to tell you, first, my friend nicky is the best in the business and you figured that out. Nicky, always, nickhey. Let me tell you something, leslie jones, shes right about humor at a time of crisis and the fact you felt it and felt the need to act on it, people who are really smart are the only people who can be really funny and wow. That means you. It takes great intelligence so youre one smart broad. The second thing i want to tell you broad, i love it. I was looking at the introduction for you and i saw you in that green sexy thing with your sisters out there and i just want you to know you are also one sexy broad. There you go. You got both. Smart and sexy, girlfriend. Oh, claire. Claire, you are definitely my favorite cupcake, baby. [ laughter ] there you go. There you go. You got the best one in the business, boo. I love it. I love you love my back splash. Im cooler than cool now. [ laughter ] nicky leslie nicky, my writer, lenny marcus has the biggest crush on you. For years has had the biggest crush but nicky, im going to tell you right now, you will have to fight his wife. [ laughter ] leslie, i have a question for you. How do we keep you doing this . Like how do we keep you watching, you know any of the cable because i cant live without it. Its like crowd work. Like claire said, this is a moment i am a comedian. I do understand humor is medicine and this is the best medicine for us right now. We need to be able to laugh. We need to be able to i know its sad. We have to have hope now mixed in with a little humor, you know what im saying . We can start. You got to choose joy. You got to choose it, nicky. You got to choose joy. This is a time right now where we cant just go all willynilly with our feelings. We have to choose to be happy. We have to choose to help other people be happy. Thats our mission. If covid taught us anything, it needs to teach us to take care of each other and show us how to do that. Yes. Leslie jones, you are an inspiration and i cant tell you. You made my month by coming on and having this conversation with us. Im so happy to talk to you, nicky. [ laughter ] you come back. You come back any time. You can come back and tell us about your projects and claire, i always love seeing you, my dear friend. Thank you both. Merry christmas, leslie. Thank you. Thank you so much to all of you for letting all three of us into your homes during these extraordinary times. We are so, so grateful. The beat with ari melber starts right now. In this canick nicole, ill r hour. We can sit back and watch this. Wed love that. Shes awesome. Here is the thing, claire said it absolutely right. I mean, to be that comedian