Transcripts For MSNBC The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross 20240711

The biden American Rescue plan. The next will be recovery. We call it reconciliation. Theres nothing in reconciliation that precludes republicans from voting for it. Good morn, everybody. Im tiffany cross, and we have a lot of news to get to this morning on Cross Connection, so strap in. President bidens 1. 9 trillion rescue plan is on a fast track to approval after the house and Senate Passed a Budge Bill Yesterday and democrats pretty much tossed the deuces to the republicans warning they maybepass them altogether. Its good news for struggling americans who cant even afford to put gas in the car or go to a job they no longer have. Meanwhile capitol hill is preparing for Donald Trumps second Impeachment Trial to kick off on tuesday. And at least as of this morning, it looks unlikely that a minimum of 17 republicans will vote with the dems to convict trump. Now, the irony doesnt even seem lost on them that as they make these bow was calls for unity, theyre increasingly unwilling to hold their own accountable. Only 11 republicans in the house voted to strip Marjorie Taylor greene of her committee assignments. This is despite seeing her on cam rarks stalk School Shooting survivors, insinuate against her colleagues. Let me focus on this. Shes the symptom of something much bigger just as trump was. The conspiracies, the misinformation, the lies, the racism, theyre driving wedges between all of us, and personally im not interested in unifying with crazy or finding the humanity in those who deny mine even exists. We can only move forward when were honest about whats right and whats wrong. So lets have some real talk. Thats where the Cross Connection begins. I want to welcome my fellow panel. Host of on one with angela rye. Fernand omandy and msnbc political analyst and my friend former rnc chairman and Msnbc Michael Steele who i also love to spar with. So happy to have all three of you on my show with many this morning. Angela, im so happy to have you on, so i have to kick it off with you. Let me ask you. Is there risk in focusing too much attention on Marjorie Taylor greene given the wide breadth of problems weve seen republicans introduce to sew side in recent years especially . Tiff, thats a strong question and i would say, yeah, were focusing a lot of time on this woman that you say is emblematic of crazy. The larger argument is we have a foundational issue in this country and it expands far beyond party. It pervades every corporation. It is in every system of government from local to state to federal. The reality of it is there is no unity without first being honest, and we cant be honest because half of the country is up describes to Donald Trumps rhetoric around this 1776 commission, which, as you know, was dropped on Martin Luther king day. So when you have people who will deny history as it was, the ugly trooct, the past of america, the present of america, and what will become the future of america if were not very, very clear about all that it is, if i hear one more person say this is not who we are, it is exactly who half of us are. And before we can really move forward, we have to acknowledge the fact and be honest about the fact that that is, indeed, the truth. I completely agree. A lot of this stuff is as american as apple pie and as old as jamestown. Michael, i want to turn to you. Its not the party. Its the policies. Since the republicans have had control, theyve introduced policy after policy thats damaging to people who look like you and me. I have asked you before. How do we unify. How do we meet a bigot in the middle . As they continue to perpetuate things and give a tickytock march to people, how are we supposed to move forward as a country with those people still having significant power at State Legislatures and even in the federal government . The last part of your question is your answer. They still hold significant power in wide swaths of the country, theres no doubt about that. Look. This is a battle. It is a battle over ideas. Whiets angela say, denying the history of this country, creating an america that never existed quite honestly. It was never about white picket fences. These are the people who ignore the white poor in their own midst, so there is a sense of an america they have idealized. How do you deal with it . You deal with it the way were starting to deal with it. You have to confront it head on. I agree weve wasted a lot of anything on taylor greene. You have to stop it cold in its tracks or it will continue to permeate and it will only expand. What you saw in georgia was not an accident. It was deliberate, right snit was born out of efforts to oppose it. Stacy agram said, no, that aint happening and she pushed against it and defeated it. Thats the course. Its part of our own history. Weve watched the marches, and weve heard the speeches, but at some point it requires the level of action and engagement we saw that turned a state blue that i can tell you very frankly the republicans never saw coming. That was not on their reality scope. We need to change the reality. I say that as someone whos tried to do it inside the party, now doing it inside and outside the party. It has to be done. Not every republican is like that qanon nut, right . Trust me. We have to get folks to join us in this effort because right now theyre overwhelming inside the party. That sounds crazy, but we see how and why thats happened and how 74 million americans have bought into something they know now was a bad bill of goods. Let me give a little pushback on that. You say republicans didnt see georgia coming. I beg to differ. This is why brian kemp kept introducing Voter Suppression bills across the south, the bible belt of the country. Youre also saying with e have to provide an offramp. Im not saying thats not going to happen. Thats not my ministry. Thats not your ministry, tiffany, but youre not the only minister. You are as a minister i think youre affiliated with the Lincoln Project, and so for folks like that, and i wouldnt apply this for you. Butve for the Lincoln Project people, i appreciate the effort that theyre making, but im also reminded the great ads theyre cutting now cut against him in 2008 2009. Forgive me for wanting to friend folks who were once my enemy. As a conservative as a sensible conservative, what do you say to folks like me who are sideeyeing some of these efforts and some of these 11thhour al lies . You can sideeye them all you want. Youre talking about old political battles. Thats not about whether or not the constitution should still stand. These about whether or not we have obamacare. I was on the other side of that debate, and i said to my democratic friends and progrisivs like you and angela and others, i look forward to getting back in the ring and have these public debates. But thats not where we are. Were about the Deacon Construction of our country, all right . This is not about any color on the screen. This is about all of us, not a particular policy. So the fact that some of the folks on my side were running ads against obama in 2008 and theyre aligned with you now, ask why. Michael, you know you and i are going to argue more on your podcast. I would love do more but ill have to thumb tack it. I want to bring in my friend fernand. Youre a researcher. As you see people trying to go down this bipartisan vote, im curious what this looks like to voters particularly as we start to shift our focus to midterms as people get increasingly frightened of the party. And the gop party is desperate, clinging on to these Conspiracy Theories. What impact might that have on midterms . Tiffany, there are two ways of answering the question the first and let me say from a personal perspective. I think its critically important that we unite with the Republican Party because america has thrived and American Democracy Tlieshs with a bipartisan system. Weve seen the greatest economic expansion in history. The problem with that idea is that the Republican Party of our friend Michael Steele and others is dead. And the fact that we should partner with them, its not only a dangerous idea and concept, its a National Security risk to do so. And to your original question, i ask myself constantly, lets look at the numbers and flip the prem premise. 61 give biden a, something donald trump dreamed of. Seven out of eight polls for president have been one decisively by the Democratic Party including the last four in a row. Rather thon discussing why we should be uniting, why arent others talking about united with the Democratic Party, which is the party of democracy and freedom . I have to agree with you. I bring it back to you, angela. We have a great reporter, blayne alexander, who talked to some of her constituents. They were not saying that. Im sorry. How can you side with this guy . When youre on the other side of this divide, thats your crew. They say, we need to provide an offramp. What is your thought . My thought is these folks were never on the ramp, right . I think the reality ask we have people who are friends of ours in the halls of congress and theyre not knowing if this person is crazy enough to harm them, their lives, their stache. We are a few weeks away from a capitol hill terrorist attack. I love you to death, Michael Steele, but i cant tell you one of my closest friends, we could not find for four hours. I dont think theyre talking about that. We really need to be talking about where we went wrong. And again i go back to where we started. Its at the foundation. So we can keep parting it at the feet of Marjorie Taylor greene. We can keep putting it at the fee of donald trump. But where we have to put it at the feet of is the founders staff. We have those who owned people who looked like folks on this panel. Thats what we have to wrestle with. We cant wrestle with any other things until we get to the heat of the matter. We keep trying to prevent the systems. But, yes, the same point to your thought, the same people who cut the obama ads, that they questioned his citizenship and where he was born but certainly subjectively Jaime Harrison unfairly so. At least we have her as the chair, but it has a long way go. I agree. This con vaergs has a long way to go. But well leave it there. I would politely ask that you not make a lot of plans saturday because id love to have you back. Sunny hostin had a great conversation yesterday. Fernand, i love you. Thank you for being on the show. Michael steal. Be sure to include me in your podcast. Thank you very much. After this short break, well take a look at this new plan trump used in reuniting children with their families who were ripped away. Well be right back. O were ripped away. Well be right back. This could be hi. You just moved in, right . I would love to tell you about all the great savings you can get for bundling your renters and Car Insurance with progressive. Oh, i was just oh, tammy. 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Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Youve been asking me to come on your show, but it was lacked. Come on your show, but it was lacked are you hoping to get anything for your birth day . Yeah. What are you going to get or you do think youre going to get . My dad. You want to get your dad for your birthday. That would be a nice present, huh, bud . Yeah. That heartbreaking wish comes courtesy of one of 600 children still separated from their parents after President Trumps policy rips literally families away at the border. One biden official called it the moral failing of trumps Zero Tolerance policy. One Executive Order Calls for the cree yaks of a task force to reunite these broken families, and on thursday the president announced the reversal of yet another terrible trump policy. Today im approving an Executive Order to begin the hard work of restoring our Refugee Admissions Program to help meet the unprecedent global need. Its going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged. But thats precisely what were going to do. This Executive Order will position us to be able to raise the Refugee Admissions back up to 125,000 persons for the first full fiscal year of the biden harris administration. Joining mu know, say brie na rodriguez, political correspondent. Im so happy. re making your Cross Connection debut. Thank you for being here. Let me ask you. We have not seem Immigration Reform pass in 30 years. Do you think its going happen today, and if, so what is it going to take to push through congress . Tiffany, what youre saying is very true. Its been a challenge all these years, and i am highly skeptical that its going to happen in the immediate term. You know, some of the positive signs weve seen is that, you know, President Biden on day one put forth his plan for a comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. Thats something that former president barack obama got a lot of criticism for, the idea he took too long to push it forward at which Point Congress wasnt going to do anything about it. So right now it seems like biden is sending all the right signals. Theres conversation pushing it forward. So its kind of tbd if were going to see a lot of energy from the white house. But on the hill there are people in the house, people in the senate that are trying to usher this through. And i guess were going to have to see after, you know, covid relief, you know, gets done. We know congresss track record of, you know, handling big packages, so you bring up president obama. I think one of the challenges he had, he was never able to push past republicans enthusiasm that the democrats control the house and the senate, is there any chance biden can have more luck . We should point out there are a lot of people highly critical of obamas policies. Some dubbed him deporter in chief. And it was not mentioned in a couple of addresses that he had. Now this the landscape has changed, republicans have entered into increasingly rhetoric. What do you think can happen . Immigrant applicants have changed their approach from under the Obama Administration where it was a big focus on this Big Comprehensive Bill whereas now they want to see wins wherever possible. If we can get something in a covid Relief Package that will legalize and give a pathway to citizenship in some way, that would be great or get the dream act, that would take the win. Immigrant applicants, and the applicants well have to take the phrase too. Theyre looking for these possibilities. Just last week senators introduced the dream act for which there is bipartisan support. Thank you so much, sabrina, for this context. I want to bring in now congresswoman escobar. Im so happy to have you here. Ive wanted you on the show for a long time. Thankdy thank you. I wanted to get right to it. You and Congressman Trahan from massachusetts launched the moms task force with separation hoping to help with the rue unification efforts. Looking at that child, im heartbroken. What happens if you cant find the parents, some of who may have already been deported. Its so wonderful to have me on the show. Youre right. There were so many violations that occurred along the u. S. mexico border. El paso was ground zero for many of these horrific, abhorrent, nightmarish policies that were created by the Trump Administration. We have to make sure by dont treft until every single child is reunited with a family member. That is not going to happen right away from some of these families because unfortunately the Gross Negligence and competence of the Trump Administration did not leave us with a whole lot of information and answers on some of these families. But i am very heartened that President Biden hayes made a commitment. Im very heartened that the first lady is going to per it is pate in congress. We need to make sure we provide the resources necessary to find every single one of those families that was separated. We also have the obligation to provide for Mental Health care for those families. The amount of money created is something we cant looj p damaged. Im committed to that, the obamas are committed to that and the Biden Administration is committed to that. This is not the first time the American Government has ripped them out. In addition to being a la lawmakers, you were a judge and you represent a border town. Youve led in to the border. I heard about the scary caravan from donald trump, coming to the United States bringing Gauge Members and all the ridiculous xenophobic rhetoric. For context, it was a County Chief Executive which was an incredible Bird Aye View of everything happening on the ground governmentally. Heres whats been happening on the ground for a number of years. Weve seen the change in flow of Migration P Boirmg back years. We began seeing families running frontal boundary their lives, families fleeing persecution, poverty, famine, and many looking to be reunited with their spouses or children who were already here contributed to the American Economy and were part of the american fabric. And instead of addressing what the new migration looked like chlk. We saw xenophobia, racism. We saw the approach via cruelty. What that did was cause the tremendous harm yound i discussed, created a humanitarian crisis. What we have now is a new administration and new shot and reshaping the way we think about the border. To me its a place of opportunity and a place of hope. I think the Biden Administration will help us. I cant hear. Oh, sorry. Can you hear me, congresswoman . I think we have lost the congresswomans audio. Thank you so much. I do want to point out before we go, i reported near 15 poo. If the rankandfile of i. C. E. Are not obeying the President Trumps orders, well see where it goes. Thank you so much. After this break, once again we make it make sense. So dont go anywhere. Ont go ane dad guess what i found something under the porch . Yup ugh. Even when i dont know how she got the stains, i know tide hygienic clean can get them out. It gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Dont make an amateur move, go pro at subway® for double the protein on Footlong Subs and new protein bowls. And if you want to go pro like marshawn, you got to feed virtual marshawn, too. Thanks for the footlong, irl marshawn no problem, tiny virtual, marshawn how do i eat this . Just put it in your mouth feast mode feast mode feast mode good call go pro and get double the protein for just 2 more on your favorite sub or new protein bowl. Subway. Eat fresh. Tmobile is upgrading its network at a record pace. 2 more on your favorite sub or new protein bowl. We were the first to bring 5g nationwide. And now that sprint is a part of tmobile were turning up the speed. Upgrading over a thousand towers a month with ultra capacity 5g. To bring speeds as fast as wifi to cities and towns across america. And were adding more every week. Coverage and speed. Who says you cant have it all . Welcome back, everybody. Its that time of the show. We take questions and try to make it make sense. This weeks question is coming from cali. Hi, tiffany. Im calling from long beach, k. Can you explain the process in making washington, d. C. , a state . Thank you. Atlanta and long beach together, you know youre in trouble. Thank you, carol. Thats a very interesting question. Delighted to answer it. The campaign to make d. C. A state has been going on for years. The push to make the district of columbia, our 51st state, has some new momentum. But why is a place thats home to more than 700,000 americans, thats vermont and wyoming, subject to Taxation Without Representation in the first place . Well, the origins of d. C. Come from our constitution which called for a district, quote, not exceeding tenmiles square, to be the seats of our federal government. In 1790 we took some land from maryland and virginia and created d. C. Per the constitution, the district is under the jurisdiction of congress. It has a mayor, Muriel Bouse Eric and d. C. Council, but congress can override d. C. Conditions. Some say the Founding Fathers wouldnt have wanted the small Federal District outlined in our constitution to be surrounded by a tiny state. But lets be real. The population of d. C. Is approximately 45 black. It used to be much more. And its overwhelmingly democratic. Adding two more likely blue senators to the chamber only chips away at gop power. History returned to the spotlight when Eleanor Holmes norton who can sponsor bills but cannot vote on passing them reintroduced a d. C. State bill with over 200 and last week there were democrats including chuck schumer. Dchl c. Statehood could easily pass the house, but in the senate where d. C. Has no representation, democrats would need 60 votes to overcome an expected republican filibuster meaning they would need 60 of their senate sign on or pass it with a simple 51 50 majority, Something Campaign biden seemed to support last year. Now President Biden and others have said they aint bucking for the filibuster. They still face an upclimb, but not as deep as before. Dont worry, well check again. Carol, thanks for your timely and important question. And, guys, one of my favorite parts of this show is seeing all the videos you send to my team every week. If youre watching at home, lets keep the conversation going. If youve got a question about politics you cant seem to figure out, hop on camera, record your 60second question, post a message using the hashtag or drop us an email and together we will make it make sense. Next up, pro tips for your Super Bowl Party, which i hope youre not having. Heres a hint. Dont go. Well be right back. Back. Dad guess what i found something under the porch . Yup ugh. Even when i dont know how she got the stains, i know tide hygienic clean can get them out. It gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Alright, i brought in ensure max protein. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont Grunting Noise ill take that. Yeeeeeah 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar drink, play, and win big in the powered by protein challenge next up, pro tips for your next up, pro tips for your Liberty Mutual customizes wait. Am i in one of those Liberty Mutual commercials where they stand in front of the Statue Of Liberty and talk about how Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need . Uhhh. Yes. Huh. What happens in this one . Seagulls. Oh, i like it. How are you doing . Seagulls Sounds only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Dont you tell me that im crazy. Dont you say that im losing my mind. If im acting a little strange its cause theres something new in my life. Im in love. Love, love, love. Its everything ive been dreaming of. Im in love. Celebrate your love with a gift from Pandora Jewelry and discover all the ways to shop. Introducing fidelity income planning. We look at what youve saved, what youll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when youre not working, so you can go from saving. To living. Lets go the super bowl is a big deal in the United States. Enjoy the game, watch it on television, but do it with the people in your family, immediate members of a household. As much fun as it is to get better for a big Super Bowl Party, now is not the time to do that. Dr. Fauci is urging you to skip the Super Bowl Party this year, but the big game itself may feel a lot like a party with 25,000 fans allowed inside the tampa bay stadium to watch the bucs and the chiefs. Of course, masked will be required with social distancing. The chiefs had their own scare when the teams barber tested positive for covid. More than 20 players and staff including Quarterback Patrick Mahomes were scheduled to receive a haircut last sunday when that positive test came in. While the season ends officially tomorrow night, all 30 said yums could serve as potential vaccination sites. Im joined by a participant in the Modere Na Vaccine Trial and dr. Bernard ashby, a cardiologist in florida. And michael smith, my buddy, host, brother from another on peacock tv. Thanks for being here. Ive got to tell you, im really nervous about this super bowl happening in tampa because people have to go through airports. Theyre going to be eating at the game. They might be drinking, taking off their masks, come back home and potentially be around schoolaged children who have go around older relatives. Is this a good idea right now . I i dont think its a good idea. Youre talking an woman who was at the epicenter of this pandemic. When i say epicenter, i lost Family Members to the covid. We too often decide what is our normal life, and i think we do that too quickly. I would much rather see the super bowl play without the fans present in the stadium because of the things you listed. There will be parties. There will be crowding. There will be highrisk encounters, so weve got to continue to stay safe, and i just dont think this is the best way to do it. Dr. Ashby, let me ask you because its not just the super bowl in your Neck Of The Woods but also the super bowl parties. For those who say, oh, im going to invite two of my buddies over, it wont be a lot of people s that a good idea and what do you say to people who do that . Tiffany, thank you for having me. I want to say that now. Happy to have you here. Extremely happy. But, listen. Thats a real issue. I mean the actual events surrounding the super bowl are going to be where the superspreader events are going to happen, and a little known fact is that florida is number one in the uk variant, which is much more efficient spreading in the u. S. It overwhelmed the hospitals in the uk. Its going to obviously increase the rate of infection. But particularly the uk variant that were so concerned about. In addition to that, we have all of the other variants. We have the brazilian variant and the South African variant. So it definitely is a real concern. If youre at a party, definitely mask up. I dont recommend it obviously. Definitely target events that are outdoors because the likelihood that youll get infected is much less. But at the end of the day, were sending the wrong message as a start and Groncht Desantis in particular, hes consistently shown he cares about the economic interest over the safety of people, and as kanye say, the disease doesnt care about the people. Not just black, but all people, floridians in particular. Michael, let me ask you. Im one of the most sought after expert on football obviously. 100 . Exactly. We talk about the sport all the time. And i want to ask you because, quite frankly, the concern is the players. A High Percentage of them are black. We saw the outbreak with the Tennessee Titans. Are the players safe . I dont watch football. So my question has always been, do we need to have football right now . Were in the middle of a pandemic. I know all the Football Fans are like, how dare you, but thats my question. Thats a legitimate question. Theres too much money at stake to not carry on professional football. [ indiscernible ] [ technical difficulties ] the league is coming up administered about 200 or so positive tests percent positivity rate. The chiefs are going in tampa later today and leaving at 3 30 a. M. , win or lose after the game. Weve already laid out the stadium situation. Players are being tested twice today. Theyre going to be tested again tomorrow. Their families who are joining them have been tested all week to go to tampa. Theres a tier zero clearance level for them to put on this game. I had a friend whos an executive last night. He went to dinner with a friend, but per protocol, they had to have two tables for one, six feet apart, masks, no ubers or lyfts if youre in tier 0. You have to have a drive ore rental care. The safest people will be those in the game and those providing ppe equipment. As we talk about the issues of the Super Bowl Party, which is going to be high five heaven and a whole lot of yelling and screaming which both positio bo will tell you is perfect for an airborne disease. Right. Which brings me back to you. Weve seen the vaccine distribution. People of color are falling way behind in getting vaccine. Ive talked to a lot of people who feel distrustful of the vaccine. Youve had it. And what do you say to people still hesitant to get inoculated . I feel great. I was part of the covid19 vaccine trial. Im fully vaccinated. I experienced some routine side effects when i had my first and second injection, and what i say to people who are still fearful, who have concerns, and who are part of the waitandsee category, i hear you, i validate those fears, i validate those concerns, and lets begin to understand what is it you want to wait and see. The Kaiser Family foundation did a poll and it actually found among africanamericans, the rate was not necessarily higher than other groups. It was the waitandsee category. Id like to break down the risks and benefits. Because were at an increased risk for exposure, for hospitalizations, and mortality, the wait and see is going to be there. Weve got to do a full court press. Ice not just historic information, but its disparity were seeing from others. Dr. Ashby, let me ask you. A lot of people, i dont think they understand the vaccine, right . When they say 94 , 95 efficacy, they dont know what that means. You can still get covid19 as a vaccine but you wont get sick. You can be a carrier and get other people sick who have not been inoculated. Am i explaining that correctly . Yeah, youre correctly . Yes, youre 100 correct. Theres a difference between efficacy and sterilizing immunity. Just because you yourself are protected in terms of not getting mild to moderate or severe disease, doesnt mean you have the ability to transmit it to someone else. An example is when there was an outbreak of the measles in new york where a young kid vaccinated against the measles was the primary spread of the virus in those cases in new york. So we need a hearing to the present guidelines. We said it time and time again but our leaders unfortunately are sending the wrong message. We need to wear our mask, socially distance and practice safe habit because at the end of the day, yes, the vaccinations are coming out and going to bring the pandemic to a hilt but its not going to be brought to hate unless we do the Behavior Modifications to change the trajectory of this virus and thats also leading to the variants out there and unfortunately because the variants are out there and theyre becoming resistance, we have to deal with other issues such as resistance to the vaccine or resistance to previous infections. The variants make me terrified. Whats up with not getting accurate data when it comes to the racial demographics of people getting vaccinated. Any thoughts there . Now youre trying to get me mad. Listen, our country, my state, florida, has consistently shown a pattern of not caring, meaning that they are focused on the economic consequences rather than protecting marginalized communities. And this is a basically revealing our Health Care System and leadership for who they are. Essentially they dont care about our people. Meaning people are dyeing unnecessarily. At the extent they would have taken the appropriate measures to protect our community, things wouldnt have been the way it is. In florida, the Vaccination Rate is less than 5 of the reported data. A testament to what it is, thats one of the things we have done right but unfortunately, the rest of the country has not reported that the racial Demographic Data amongst the vaccinated and amongst the folks who are affected and dyeing and thats a real issue so we need to correct that asap. Theres also an issue of people being able to get the vaccine, like some people having transportation and being able to get to pharmacies and doing a Public Relations campaign, to make this accessible to everybody. Thank you, guys, for providing context. Before i let you go, michael, i have to ask you, whos going to win tomorrow . Are you trying to put me on the spot . I need to be asking you as the foremost sports ball expert, im going with your boy patrick mahomes, i know thats your favorite quarterback. Obviously. And chiefs. For purposes of this conversation, the chiefs at least got sense enough to not throw a Victory Parade if they win, and i cant speak for florida and tampa bay what they will do if they win. But at least the chiefs wont have a superspreader on top of it so im going with kansas city. I didnt think about that, Victory Parade in florida where florida man is running policy. That would not be good. Thank you for your point. And thank you all for joining me. Theres a lot of questions surrounding the virus and vaccine. Thank you all very much. On the other side of this break, senator cory booker drops the latest on covid relief and trumps impeachment part two. Keep it right this. 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Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. Welcome back to the Cross Connection. All eyes are on the senate ahead of Donald Trumps Impeachment Trial set to begin on tuesday. As of now trump said he will not appear at the trial despite democrats insist that he do so. As lee raskin explained, one would think a former president would want the opportunity to defend himself against allegations from the government but that would mean trumps team has a solid defense. According to trumps lawyers, his team will mostly rely on the argument its unconstitutional to impeach him once he left office, an argument thats in dispute. But keep in mind the insurrection and Impeachment Vote occurred while he was still in office. After the sheer terror trumps lies brought to the capitol exactly one month ago today, this is not a fight the democrats plan to shy away from. Some are already demanding we move on, or worse, attempting to minimize, discredit or belittle the accounts of survivors. In doing so, they not only further harm those who were there that day and provide cover for those responsible, but they also send a tremendously damaging message to survivors of trauma all across this country. While the Impeachment Trial was going on, it will be up to congress to prove they can walk and chew gum at the same time. For that end, its full steam ahead on President Bidens 1. 9 Trillion Covid relief bill that has thus far failed to attract any republican support, something that White House Press secretary jen psaki stressed will not deter the Biden Administration. We are not going to sit here and wait for an ongoing negotiation where frankly we havent received an offer in return, right, a response offer, to what the president has proposed because the American People need the relief now. On friday the house approved the covid relief bill that had already passed the senate in the wee hours with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tiebreaking vote. While the bill has a few more hurdles to overcome, it is on track to become law. Despite this oped from a former obama official that cautioned against two excessive an approach, President Biden made it clear now is the time to go big. We cant do too much here. We can do too little. We can do too little and sputter but, again, the end result is its not just the macroeconomic on our economy and ability to compete internationally, its peoples lives. Real live people are hurting. And we can fix it. Joining me now is senator cory booker of new jersey. Senator, im so happy for you to make your debut on the Cross Connection. Many thank you for making time for us on a saturday. I want to ask you quickly tiffany, im sorry, but please allow me a point of personal privilege. Of course. In the words of the great Stevie Wonder. Happy birthday to you happy birthday to ya happy birthday thats as far as ill go. I love it. Thank you very much. My family rejoices in not just your birth but your presence on tv and how you live your life. Today is worthy of celebration and i want to thank you for being a light worker in this world. Well, my family all across this country is screaming in pride now that senator cory booker sang happy birthday to me, Stevie Wonder version at that, so thank you and i can probably die now. That will not be my last question from this chair, i hope, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Okay. I want to ask you about this covid19 relief bill because this is a huge issue as you know from Many Americans across the country struggling. The bill has not been signed. This is now when you get to the nittygritty as they say. This is where you write the legislation. So were standing at the edge of a cliff here. The next unemployment cliff is march 14th. There are cabinets bare, people out of work for six months. What are the next steps and how soon can the American People expect that 1,400 check to hit their account . This is a debate over peoples lives, 30 million americans who dont know necessarily where their next meal will come from. We have seen unemployment claims over 40 weeks now americans lost their jobs, in crisis. More than that we have an economy overall facing its worst reality since the wipeddown from world war ii. We are in the greatest economic of our lifetimes, most of us, and we need to answer it with a big bill, a big response. Thats what the debate was until 5 30 in the morning yesterday was and now were going to work to get the short strokes of this done. And i think the president of the use is 100 right. All of those folks who are willing to blow republican colleagues of mine, blow trillion dollar holes in our National Deficit for a tax cut that went to the and these are annual deficits that went to the wealthiest amongst us, and our corporations, now cant suddenly cry that we cant afford a one time, 1. 9 trillion Rescue Package for our economy and millions of americans suffering that most economists on both sides of the aisle are saying would have a stimulative effect to our countrys economy. Were going to work really hard. We have an Impeachment Trial to get through but were going to work really hard to get this done and get relief to the American People as quickly as possible. One thing i noticed in this legislation is the high earners, which you just brought up. So high earners will not get this check. Im curious how will congress define high earners . I made this point with my colleague, if you make 100,000 in this city, you wont be considered a high earner but in south dakota you would be considered a high earner. So you have the potential red states could benefit more from covid relief than heavily, more populated blue states and that doesnt seem fair. How do you address that issue in this bill . And this is why im fighting so hard. Im a jersey boy and im sitting here in newark, new jersey. Families who are making 75,000 are struggling during this difficult pandemic. So im fighting to make sure we preserve for an individual making 75,000, for a couple making up to 150,000, we need to preserve these checks. So the called middle class families are struggling as well. I have very short patience for people who tell me a year ago youre willing to vote for the wealthiest of americans to get a tax break and you know million airs and billionaires have done extraordinarily well during the worst economic crisis of my lifetime and now you want to play pennywise so to speak on short changing middle class, working class americans suffering. So im going to be one of those people fighting for finishing the 2,000 checks, another 1,400 and two people belows 75,000 threshold and below because in communities all over new jersey, its not a handout, its a help up during a difficult economic time. Thats very true, senator. The 1,400 checks for people struggling, a lot of that people can be eaten up by Overdraft Fees in your bank or eaten up by late fees on back paid bills. Its really challenging. Given where we are in this legislation, every vote counts, right . The democrats have a very slim majority in congress. So youve got senators like sinema and manchin, who are 45 and 50 and talk about the raise hike. Im curious what you think about with those two senators and what you might be for or against with the two aggressive policies . I want to say to folks, be careful when you vilify those two americans. They are extraordinary people. They are friends of mine. They are voting overwhelming majority of the time with the rest of the democrats and theyre fighting for working people. Theyre people i in many ways have leaned on heavily in the senate to get real things done for americans. Before we just keep vilification on them realize they have been, in my opinion, extraordinary leaders who defend and fight for their states. While we may disagree on issues, i just want to be careful how democrats of on want to eat their own. And i want to say this, look, im just a simple person. I have this radical belief that if you work a fulltime job in america, you should not be in poverty. In fact, you should be able to raise a family on that. And that is why if the minimum wage country up with inflation since it started in the 1960s when it was above the poverty line and we pegged it to inflation, it would be between 12 and 15 an hour. And i want to add to this. I dont think we should stop there. We have the highest Poverty Rates of the 35 wealthiest nations. Were in the bottom of the list for Child Poverty. We shouldnt just stop with raising the minimum wage to 15 but taking the first step the Biden Administration has done in expanding the child tax credit, expanding the earned Income Tax Credit and make that permanent. That would cut Child Poverty in america by almost half, for africanamericans over 55 , for Native Americans over 60 . It would make us a nation because most people dont realize, its terribly expensive, poverty hurts our overall economy. So we should have a plan for working americans, raising the minimum wage, expanding tax credits, making things like college more affordable. We should have a middle class agenda, and im telling you, you will be surprised at how much sinema, manchin, sanders, warren, all of us are going to find a lot of Common Ground in making work pay again in america, returning dignity to work in america and helping those people in the bottom half of earners in other country actually have their american dream. I want to hone in on this minimum wage subject for a sec. I want you to listen to what President Biden said to cbss Norah Odonnell last night. I am prepared as president of the United States on a separate negotiation on minimum wage. But that may not be in your American Rescue plan . No, i put it in, but i dont think its going to survive. All right. Is there a chance in this legislation that people who are pushing for a 15 minimum wage will sneak that language in there to force a vote among democrats that they may not want the 15 minimum wage but they wont want to be the people to derail the entire legislation . Right, so i want to tell you, what the president is basically saying is that its the senate and senate rules. And so im firmly in favor of a 15 minimum wage. The bill we have to do that would ramp it up over time, it wouldnt connell all at once, and thats something we should do. What hes conceding to is the senate rules might not allow in this reconciliation process, which anything in that reconciliation has to be finely tuned towards budget issues, that it might not qualify. If it doesnt qualify, we cant have the vote on it. So that is the big parliamentary issue that youre going to see going on right now. And there is a Movement Growing in america for 15 minimum wage. Even red states who raised the minute mum wage, we know and see raising the minimum wage is widely popular amongst republicans. Dont let republicans in the senate tell you that joe bidens bill is not bipartisan. Raising the minimum wage is bipartisan. 1,400 checks is bipartisan. Most americans aid to state and local governments, thats the support of every governor, democrat and republican. We know that this bill is a bipartisan bill. Were going to fight to get everything in the package possible. And we saw the First Step Towards that, where everybody in our caucus stayed together to create the framework for getting this 1. 9 trillion done and thats now what we have to work on. I want to ask you about impeachment, which kicks off this coming tuesday. Donald trump has already said hes not going to show up but the senate has subpoena power. Is there any chance the senate will subpoena the former president and, if so, how will you enforce it . Or subpoena any of the violent insurrectionists who we saw attempt to seize the Capitol Building one month ago today . So theres so much history going to start on tuesday night. First president in American History to have two impeachments. In fact, hes fully half of all of the president ial impeachments weve seen. But he was impeached in the house. This trial will now stat. The senate will turn into a courtroom but the senate was also a crime scene. And the House Managers now are going to serve as the prosecution. And i will serve with my other colleagues as a jury, and i will support whoever House Managers are seeking to bring in as witnesses. I think theres so much compelling testimony from the very people who are part of that insurrection who will point to donald trump as the person they believe they were taking instruction for. So i am very much looking forward, because i dont think america should just turn the page on this. I think there should be accountability and people who helped to insight this riot, chiefly the president of the United States, should be held accountable. Last thing i want to do is remind folks, we have a criminal Justice System that is widely unfair and wildly unjust. But theres one thing i will always support, is that you should not have to be compelled to testify against yourself at a criminal trial. This is a trial for high crimes and misdemeanors. I think if the prosecution wants to bring the president in, they should seek to do that, but i do affirm defendants rights, even if hes president of the United States. Hes not Above The Law but he also should be afforded the constitutional protections other criminal defendants are afforded. And senate is not a court of law. So its very interesting it is. You make a good point, because it is a constitutionally prescribed political process. So its not akin to a criminal court. But, again, hes being accused of high crimes and misdemeanors. He does not have to testify but what should happen, we should listen to his words. He was using incendiary words since before the election even ended that undermine the peaceful transfer of power. He whipped up this massive lie to the American People, sold it to millions of people, and now you look at polling and people do not think this was a just and fair election, despite over about 60 federal court cases by trumpappointed judges that said this is nonsense, republicans leaders from governor of georgia, secretary of state of georgia, other Republican Leaders said he was whipping up a lie. You had many people coming forward, Republican Leaders, be secretary of states he said what he was doing was dangerous, putting people in danger. He should be held accountable. And if he wont come testify, theres enough of his words on the records to play over and over again in that courtroom of the United States senate that i hope is compelling enough to get people to do the right thing and hold him accountable. All right, senator, i have so many more questions for you. Our time has run out. I hop you stay in front of your tv. Im going to be talking about your bill from the next segment, on the crackcocaine sentencing disparities. Such a great piece of legislation that will have widereaching impacts on many communities of color, specifically the black community. Before i let you go, im going to put you on the spot, give me your super bowl prediction. Listen, im sorry, as a giants fan, tom brady, i respect him, 40someyearold guy but hes got to lose. My giants loyalty, oldest rivalry, i know hes with the Different Team but im rooting against tom brady. I think a lot of people may agree with you. If you want to know what i will be watching tomorrow, i will be replaying the tape of you singing happy birthday to me. Thank you so much. I appreciate it very much. I hope you will come back, senator. I definitely will. Thank you very much. More after the break. After the. Keeonoh. Nope. Coeenoah. No. Joaquin. No. It just takes practice. Give it a shot. [ grunts, exhales deeply ] did you hear that . Yeah. Its a constant battle. Were gonna open a pdf. Whos next . Progressive cant save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. No fussin, no cussin, and no facing leaks takes strength, so heres to the strong, who trust in our performance and comfortable, longlasting protection. Because your strength is supported by ours. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. What are you doing . Art class. Its abstract expressionism. When you start with a better hot dog from oscar mayer, you can do no wrong. Its all for the love of hot dogs. Age is just a number. You can do no wrong. And mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein. With 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus only 16 grams in ensure® high protein. And now enjoy boost® high protein in cafe mocha flavor. Dad guess what i found something under the porch . Yup ugh. Even when i dont know how she got the stains, i know tide hygienic clean can get them out. It gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. New years resolutions come and go. So give your business more than resolutions. Give it solutions, from comcast business. Work more efficiently with fast internet and advanced wifi. Make your business safer with powerful cybersecurity solutions. And stay productive with 24 7 support. Make this years resolution better solutions. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. History says fine jewelry for occasions. We say forget occasions. snap fine jewelry for every day. Minus the traditional markups. I was sentenced to prison three times. You would thought someone would have said you dont have a criminal problem, you have a alcohol or drug problem. And theres a cure for that. You look at the opioid abuse and you hear about a health care approach, not a criminal approach. Im 21 years sober now. Wasnt i worth an investment in treatment . Im obsessed with the Netflix Documentary crack, cocaine, corruption and conspiracy. It takes a look at the Crack Pandemic of the 1980s, how it started, who benefited and how it shattered inner cities who were already black and latino. And it fueled the socalled war on drugs that ripped apart families, devastating an entire generation and the impact could still be seen in todays Prison Population Due to an inequitable Justice System and harsh sentencing. Joining me now is the director of crack, cocaine, corruption and conspiracy Stanley Nelson and my former colleague sampson styles. Im so happy to have both of you gentlemen with me. Stanley, i want to start with you. I have to tell you having lived through the Crack Pandemic as a younger person and now as an adult looking at it compiled in this brilliant documentary youve done, it was mind blowing, infuriating, frustrated but so well done. What made you make this film . Well, i thought it was time that we looked back on the whole crack era. During the era there was so much reporting, so much hyperbole, overblown reporting, and i thought it was time we looked back on it. So many things that are happening today happen because of the war on drugs, which largely happened because of crack. Sampson, let me ask you, i know your story. We work together. On another network, on bet. Seeing this film, it really put your story in another light to me. It was interesting seeing these young black men with very few options, with droves of white people coming to inner cities asking whether you dealt or not, do you have crack . Do you have crack . How can i get crack . And view these young men as victims. So tell me how you navigated that landscape and then became a News Correspondent and legal entrepreneur. Ironically, the schedules that was obtained at that time and what i used once i got out of prison as far as marketing myself and being able to tell stories is what landed me at bet through way of nelson george. He found me. But this right here it was touching and it was great to be a part of because i actually lived it, was involved in that, and to be when i was approached, to be able to tell my story and yet be able to give a descriptive detail about what was actually happening, i just jumped on the opportunity and, you know, it got it. You got it. You made it. You made it on the other side. You and i have worked together, so i have seen your dopeness up close, sampson. You have such a great presence on camera. I think one thing thats really important about this documentary is the governments role in the drug trade. I want to play this clip discussing irancontra. We started selling missiles and rockets to iran illegally and taking the profit that amounted to 15 million, 30 million that could be shifted to pay for what was now an illegal contra war that congress would not fund. We worked with pilots who were flying aid down to the contras and u. S. Officials not just looked the other way but collaborated with just about any unsavory and dirty individual. So, let me ask you to speak briefly if you will about the governments role in the drug trade and why you felt it was important to include that part in the documentary . Yeah, i think it was really important to talk about the totality of the crack era from the people who used crack on the street to people like sampson, who are involved in dealing to the governments role. And in letting crack, and letting cocaine come into the country and then that cocaine was turned into crack. The next thing that happens after the that you show is the price of cocaine falls, you know, and so cocaine becomes so much cheaper that it makes sense to cook it up and get the impurities out and cook it up into the pure form, which then they start selling as crack. So the government was totally involved in it. Also, the government was involved in kind of not policing black and latinx neighborhoods, at least at first. In the beginning in the crack era, there was kind of no policing and people like sampson and other people who dealt crack felt like they could deal with impunity and not get busted or shot or killed. The reagan bush years, and the whole campaign, particularly in the reagan years with just say no, i remember that was drilled into my head growing up at that time. And when this Drug Campaign was going on, they were only showing pictures of the inner city. They werent showing people snorting coke on wall street, which is just as prevalent. You speak in the documentary about the disparities in it. Until 2010, just five grams much crack carried a minimum fiveyear federal Prison Sentence while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carried the same fiveyear mandatory minimum Prison Sentence. Looking at how were responding to the Opioid Epidemic right now, what are your thoughts . Did definitely shows the amount of racism, pointblank, the amount of racism that still exists in this country. The fact it took from 1986 to 2010 when president obama, you know, basically helped change it from 1001 to 281, which was still crazy. 24 years it took to get to that point. Now 11 years later after obama, 20 21 senator cory booker is proposing it be evened out, one gram for one gram, doesnt matter crack or cocaine. Youre talking 35 years, 35 years, 15 years short of the 50year March On Washington for some, you know, some change to happen. So, you know, this is this taking too long, too many people are hurt, too many families are destroyed and this is, as you said, its not happening with the Opioid Epidemic. Theyre attacking that right away as a Public Health issue. And america should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, i think you make some really good points and im just so happy that youre on the other side of things and are doing well, Stanley Nelson, this film, i cannot say enough good things about it. Very rarely do people watch documentaries twice. Ive seen it twice and will probably watch it a third time. Thank you both for joining me today. This was a great segment and one i was decided to discuss with you both. Dont go anywhere at home. Coming up, a special look at black History Month with a wrinkle in time. But not every tomato ends in the same kind of heinz ketchup. Because you cant be everyones Favorite Ketchup Without Making A ketchup for everyone. Still fresh unstopables inwash scent boosteres favorite Ketchup Downy Unstopables Go Pro at subway® for double the protein on any footlong. Or on any new protein bowl so many ways to go pro at subway® its not amateurtein, its protein, baby go pro and get double the protein for just 2 more. Subway. Eat fresh. At tmobile, we have a plan built just for customers 55 and up. Saving 50 vs. Other carriers go pro and get double the protein for just 2 more. With 2 unlimited lines for less than 30 each. Call 1800tmobile or go to tmobile. Com 55. Dont you tell me that im crazy. Dont you say that im losing my mind. Im in love. Love, love. Celebrate your love with a gift from Pandora Jewelry and discover all the ways to shop. Its time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. Can it help with snoring . Celebrate your love with a gift from Pandora Jewelry ive never heard snoring. Exactly. No problem. And. Done. And now, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus, 0 interest for 60 months on all smart beds. Ends monday. While some may think of the late and great Chadwick Boseman when we talk about Black Panther, many of us think of Something Else entirely, like the africanamerican Revolutionary Party found in 1966 in Oakland California by hughy p. Newton and bobby seal. Its members challenged police and protected black citizens from brutality. The partys Community Service programs, called survival programs, provided food, clothing and transportation. Rather than integrating american society, which had a perpetual unwelcome mat for black citizens, members of the Black Panthers wanted to change it fundamentally. Well, the powers that be couldnt stand for that. Fbi director j. Edgar hoover had established a special covert Counterintelligence Program designed to neutral ice political dissidents. It often used extra legal means to criminalize various forms of political struggle and derail several social movement. Between the years 1966 and 1971 the fbi used cohens hold pro to investigate radical National Political groups that they thought would lead to the involvement of foreign enemies. But the fbi specifically targeted american citizens. Pay attention, because this is going to go full circle. Tactics included intense filtrations, anonymous mailing, psychological warfare, planning false reports in the media, Police Harassment and wrongful imprisonment, and while they targeted numerous organizations, of the 295 documented actions taken by them to disrupt black groups, 233 were directed against the Black Panther party. That included the statesponsored assassination of 21yearold Community Activist and revolutionary fred hampton, which will be chronicled in the upcoming film Judas And The Black Messiah out next week. I can go into more details about the many black people falsely imprisoned, murdered or otherwise derailed by cohens help pro or how the Black Panthers helped the champion of conservatives, thengovernor Ronald Reagan sign a gun control bill into law, or how we may see that happen again since recent data found that the largest Demographic Group of gun buyers was black american. But i digress. In the interest of time i will create a wrinkle in time. Just a few short years with ago in 2017 an fbi report asserted, without evidence, the assistance of socalled black identity extremists, likely motivated to target Law Enforcement officers. Documents suggested that the fbi had put resources towards running informants as well as physical surveillance of activists. According to the Britain Center in 2018 and 2019, the fbi conducted nationwide assessments of black identity extremists, prioritizing these cases over investigations of far more prevalent violence and from White Supremacists and far right militants over that period, including Mass Shooting at a pittsburgh synagogue and el paso shopping mall. So you can imagine as we bore witness to actual violence extremists trying to seize the u. S. Capitol. We might experience righteous anger that cannot always be concealed with a smile or polite exchange. So perhaps instead of cherrypicking docile quotes for black History Month that make everybody comfortable, we can confront an ugly truth that will allow for more honest conversation and a more equitable path forward. Speaking about the brave Men And Women Who Fan The Flames before me, who fought before me, who fell before me, i know black history may not always be pretty but its damn sure triumphant. Well be right back. L be right. . With Bounce Pet Hair lint guard, your clothes can repel pet hair. Look how the shirt on the left attracts pet hair like a magnet pet hair is no match for bounce. With bounce, you can love your pets, and lint roll less. Washed your hands a lot today . Probably like 40 times. Hands feel dry . Like sandpaper. Introducing new dove handwash, with 5 x moisturizer blend. Removes germs in seconds, moisturizes for hours. Soft, smooth. New dove handwash. The lexus es, now available with allwheel drive. This rain is bananas. 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After false claims like that from fox favorites like trump lawyer and Hard Die Victim rudy giuliani, the Election Technology company smartmatic filed a 2. 7 million Defamation Lawsuit against fox news, along with several onair commentators including giuliani and fox Business News host and ubertrump fan, lou dobbs, whose show was canceled last night, one day after the lawsuit was filed. Joining me now is eric bowl ard, author and editor of pressrun media and civil trial and defense attorney. Thank you both. Im not a lawyer but this lawsuit certainly seems to have legs. It absolutely does, tiffany. Good afternoon morning, not afternoon yet. If you read the first complaint, over 250 pages, this is something i do here in new york and its filed in a court in which i practice in a lot. The very first lines is earth the count, two plus two equals four and joe biden and Kamala Harris won the election for president and Vice President. This complaint methodically goes through each and every one of the false allegations and false statements made by all. Defendants and how they basically together set forth to have a disparageable campaign against smartmatic. Not only do they go for painstakingly all the false statements, this complaint also goes through how smartmatic was injured. Were talking consequential damages, actual damages, which basically outline the fact that theyre going to lose business because of this. A lot of their clients, current clients, are complaining and theyre also concerned about future clients. But another way in which smartmatic has been injured is something that i dont see often in civil complaints, is threats, employees of smartmatic have been receiving all kinds of threats and Death Threats and this complaint, tiffany, actually lists each and every one of the threats that they received since the november 3rd election until the day in which they filed this complaint. It is incredibly descriptive, it is incredibly disturbing as well when you read the alleged facts by lou dobbs and fox and Jeanine Pirro and so many others and when you read the actual facts. For example, Smartmatic Ownly worked in l. A. County for the 2020 election, and yet so many times we heard on fox that they had machines in the swing states, right . Arizona and georgia and pennsylvania. Absolutely none of that is true. So the facts are just so clear here, this is a very, very strong complaint, tiffany. Arik, let me turn to you, i often wondered how fox news is going to reinvent themselves in a posttrump america. Theyre essentially being cannibalized. Crazies are eating the crazies. You have outlets like oan and newsmax and theyve seen a ratings dip. They did issue a statement on do you lou dobbs being canceled. Lou dobbs is and was great. Nobody loves america more than lou. He has a huge following for his next move and that includes me. You cant deny the timing here, it came right after the lawsuit. So what do you see is the future of fox news . Fox is facing a perfect storm now. I have written about and monitored fox news for 10, 15 years and i have never seen them in the position they are right now. The smartmatic lawsuit is really just an exclamation point. Trump left the political lant landscape, hes nowhere to be seen, not granting interviews to anyone, not at fox. That robs hundreds of hours of news each month for Continuing Trump programming. Fox news ratings, theyre in last place for folks who might not follow the cable news wars, theyre in third last place. That has not happened since before 9 11. They had a 20year run, for many of the 20 years, it wasnt even close. Its become more close over the last five years. They are now in last place. As you say, the right wing base has splintered, right . Fox news was not fast enough last november and december to announce that biden, trump may be maybe biden hadnt won, newsmax, oan, others ran to the fringe. We dont know who won. We may never know who won. Fox news belatedly tried to play catchup. By then the damage was done. Weve never seen it splinter. Its really important for the Republican Party. For 20 years the Republican Party to go on fox news and reach the base, reach the followers. Now when republicans go on fox news, theyre not getting the whole base because again, the right, right wing has left fox news. Theyve gone to newsmax. Theyve gone to other places. Its a disaster for fox news. The smartmatic lawsuit, for all of the reasons just mentioned, this is a disaster. I think we are going to end up seeing a massive, massive settlement, the type we havent seen in decades in terms of medial libel and slander. Its only february, but fox news is already in such a deep hole. I agree. But i do have to say, midland, there is the issue of fox news but then theres all of the people who tuned into fox news and believed the lies and consumed that disinformation. Now they have more Fringe Outlets to go to and consume even more incredibly ridiculous Conspiracy Theories and more lies. What does this say about the Political Landscape and Cable News Viewers who are opting to get their information from some of these Fringe Outlets . You know, it says that cable news has a broad reach. It says that they have to be very careful with what it is that theyre saying. It says people are relying on them for what they believe to be true and factual information. We talk about freedom of the press, yes, Media Outlets have broad capability in terms of what it is they project. Opinions, obviously, dont fall under defamation laws but you have to be incredibly careful with how it is you present things in terms of presenting them as fact. What it tells us today too is we live in a country where people rely heavily on information that comes from cable news. And it can literally drive all kinds of things that weve seen. Yeah, i think youre right. Well definitely keep our eye on this lawsuit. Thank you very much, eric and midwin charles. Dont go anywhere at home. A super bowl edition of who got next kicks off after the break. And alex witt has a packed show. Dad guess what i found something under the porch . Yup ugh. Even when i dont know how she got the stains, i know tide hygienic clean can get them out. It gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Water . Urgh rocket ship hey hey heads up. Thank you water tastes like, water. So we fixed it. Mio the Calming Scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. Laundry isnt done until its done with downy. Next . This week, it was an easy question to answer. As youre gearing up to watch the 55th annual super bowl, washington, d. C. s Football Team made history by Naming The First Black Female Assistant Coach in nfl history. Friday i had a chance to talk to that assistant, black coach jennifer king. Jennifer, im so happy to have you with me. Such a delight to have you on this show. I want to get right into it and ask you, you were also a player before you were a coach. How did you make that transition . It was actually pretty seamless to be able to play football, which was a lifelong dream and then move into coaching football, moved pretty seamless and i think its added a little credibility with the guys. They love that i played. How do you interact with them . I was looking at some of your videos back when you were a player and back when you coached for the other teams. How do you establish, you know, yourself as an expert or authority with these big, rough players . Its all about communication. I learned early in my career to be able to build relationships and build trust with the guys. Thats been successful for me every stop along the way of the those relationships have been big. I continue to grow those today. We have a very good Working Relationship with all of those guys. Thats awesome. I want to ask you about diversity in the league. A lot of folks talked about the rooney rule. I know the league is trying to make some advancement there but some people have said they think it will just be more cere moanal steps for publicity and not real actual change to make the front office and Coaching Staff more inclusive. What do you say . Yeah, we have to do better. I look forward to the day the rooney rule is not needed just because the best candidates are picked for positions and i think thats a hats off to our organization for what weve done. We made a lot of hires over the past year and weve, you know, put people in position that didnt get opportunities before. So im super excited to be a part of our organization just for our diversity and new Culture Coach rivera is building. I want to ask you, covid is ravaging the country and taking its toll on the nfl. We saw the Tennessee Titans outbreak yet here we are the super bowl is right on schedule. How do you feel the league handled covid, considering 70 of the league is black, the disease has disproportion elt impact on black people, players cant be masked, theyre in close proximity. What is your take on it . I think the league did the best that it could. I was happy with the measures we took. We tested daily and social distancing was everything with us. We only met with our guys in person to practice. All meetings were virtual. They were extremely careful when we traveled and in the hotels as well, we never met in person. Everything was via zoom even though we were in the hotel with each other. Hats off to a lot of the teams and guys doing what theyre supposed to do. As prevalent as it was, it was impossible to feel no one would have an outbreak but i think as a league, we did really well to contain it. I want to ask you a question that may put you on the spot here, but tomorrow weve got tom brady facing off against patrick mahomes. Who you got . Thats tough. You did put me on the spot. I think its going to be a great game. Im super excited to see it. Im just going with the bucs because i have friends that work for them so im pulling for them to get their first super bowl. All right. I will have to slide in your dms and make a friendly major so i can get in the conversation and be part of the super bowl bet. Thank you very much, jennifer king. Youre a boss. Im so excited youre able to join us on the show and safe travels and good luck in your new role. Thank you. All right. Thats our show for today. Thanks for watching. Ill be back next saturday at 10 00 a. M. Eastern, and were so excited to show podcasts, finally launches today, all of you folks dming me, its happening. Look for it this afternoon wherever you get your podcasts. Coming up tomorrow, is be sure to tune into The Sunday Show when my colleague Jonathan Capehart will talk to house yort leader steny hoyer. For now im off to celebrate my birthday. Bye, guys. Hey joshie. Wrinkles send the wrong message. Help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. Ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Whoohoo great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. Whats the 1 Retinol Brand and nutrients to used most by dermatologists . Its neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1week, Deep Wrinkles in 4. So you can kiss wrinkles goodbye neutrogena® did you know that some aluminum free deodorants only mask odor . Secret aluminum free helps eliminate odor instead of just masking it. And is made with 3x more odor fighters. With secret, keep it fresh every day. Secret. Very good day to all of you here at msnbc headquarters in new york. Its high noon in the east, almost noon, and 9 a. M. Out west. New from today, President Joe Biden suggesting a break from tradition. In a new Interview Biden said donald trump should not receive Intelligence Briefings due to his, quote, erratic behavior. Should former President Trump still receive Intelligence Briefings . I think not. Why not . Because of his erratic behavior related to the insurrection. I just think theres no need for him to have an Intelligence Briefing. What value is giving him an Intelligence Briefing . What impact does it have at all other than the fact he might slip and Say Something . Also in that interview, the president talks about covid relief and what parts of his aid package are nonnegotiable and what might not make it in the final bill . Well have a lot more on that in a moment. First, today marks one month since a violent mob stormed capitol hill and there are new arrests of those who participated in the deadly riot, including this woman, who is no in custody with her role in the attack. Shes seen here in that pink hat using a roll pole, rather, as a Battering Ram trying