Transcripts For MSNBC The 11th Hour 20240708

Electoral college results. The times adds that days before the insurrection, they both met with john eastman, the lawyer who insisted that pence had the power to stop certification of the vote. The Washington Post has reported that jacob clashed with eastman and his advice. Maybe it is no surprise, then, that the committee had nine hours of questions for jacob. Here is Committee Chairman Bennie Thompsons take. We are glad that he came. And obviously it is all part of the work that we do. He is a great patriot. He loves this country more so than other people who do not. And this afternoon another Committee Member explained what investigators hoped to learn. Understanding what that pressure was and what plans were in place and what pressure was applied on the former Vice President , to what extent was the former president or the people surrounding him involved in orchestrating and hatching this plan . That is the work of this committee, to get all of those facts and details. Today, donald trump who on sunday admitted he wanted pence to overturn the 2020 election launched an attack on his former Vice President. Trump issued a statement that said that the January 6th Committee should be looking at, quote, why mike pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval, in that it has now been shown that he clearly had the right to do so. Meanwhile, the committee is set to hear from oath keepers founder Stewart Rhodes tomorrow. He has pleaded not guilty to a Seditious Conspiracy Charge he is facing related to the capitol riot. And as all that unfolds, the white house is moving forward with the task of filling the Upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. Vice president harris and President Biden met with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair dick durbin and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley this afternoon to discuss the confirmation process. We have worked on nominations a lot together overall, particularly Supreme Court nominations. Selecting a justice is one of the most serious responsibilities. I am serious when i say that i want the advice of the senate as well as the consent and we can arrive on who the nominee should be. I am looking for a candidate with character, with the qualities of a judge, in terms of being courteous to those before them and treating people with respect, as well as a judicial philosophy that, as has been suggested, knows there are on Enumerated Rights to the constitution. I intend to get this decision to my colleagues by the end of the month. The white house says that Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell also spoke to biden today about the nomination. A mcconnell spokesperson said he stressed to biden the importance of a nominee who, quote, will resist all efforts by politicians to bully the court. Nbc news has also confirmed that doug jones, a former democratic senator from alabama, will serve as a guide for bidens Supreme Court pick during the confirmation process. The white house is also trying to defuse tensions with russia over ukraine. Russian leader Vladimir Putin made his first Public Comments since december about the crisis. During a joint News Conference at the kremlin with Hungarian Prime Minister viktor orban, putin said the u. S. Ignored russia security demands and was trying to pull russia into a conflict. He did not mention removing any of the 130,000 troops at the border with ukraine but did say that he hoped talks would continue. Secretary of state Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov also spoke by phone today. They came to no agreement, but said they would keep talking. We want to pursue a diplomatic solution. And we are going to lean in on the diplomacy and i was very pleased coming out of the meeting and the discussion that Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister lavrov had, that they agree they would have for the talks. Thats the approach we have always wanted and we will continue to do that. But it does not mean that we will not prepare to respond and to respond with strength to any aggression that the russians might decide to put forward. While all that was going, on british Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with ukrainian president zelensky. Johnson warned that a russian invasion of ukraine would end in a humanitarian, political and military disaster for russia. With that, lets bring in our lead off guests on this tuesday night, Yamiche Alcindor anchor and moderator of Washington Week on pbs and contributor to nbc. Chuck rosenberg, a former senior fbi official and malcolm nance, author and veteran of special ops and cybersecurity. He has 35 years in the trade of counterterrorism and intelligence. Malcolm is currently in the ukraine on a Fact Finding Mission for his Terrorism Research center. Yamiche, what does this focus on pences inner circle tell us about how this january Six Committee is progressing with the inquiry . What it tells us is that lawmakers on this committee are intensifying in a really, in some ways, closing in on people who are not close only to the former President Trump. But also to people who were very close to the former Vice President. I should say, as someone who covered the Trump Administration and was there on january 6th, the Vice President s office and the aides they were very uncomfortable with what President Trump was doing. We are learning new details about how former President Trump was pressuring the Vice President , the former Vice President mike pence, to publicly and privately overturn the election. And really what this tells us is that there are aides who have information, that are willing to come to the committee to provide that information. It also says in some ways that what we saw, the idea of the former President Tweeting that mike pence should overturn the election, that was just the tip of the iceberg. We think that we know a lot about how President Trump was pressuring Vice President pence. But there are all sorts of new ways that we are learning about the Pressure Campaign there. So it is an Interesting Development and it shows that lawmakers realize that they are working on a clock. This is a mid term year, this is not a committee that will go forward, most likely, if republicans take the house and so democrats have their work cut out for them. They are focusing on the people who have information. Yes, it sounds like with nine hours, greg jacob had some things he was absolutely willing to say and then you have the Committee Chair calling him a great patriot. From what we are learning about which pence aides are being spoken to, does it sound to you, chuck, as if the committee is still trying to get pence to come in . Where do you think this is going . Well, i imagine, chris, he would very much like to speak to the former Vice President. But this is a good reminder of two things, i think. One is that the committee has spoken to almost 400 witnesses so far. So whether or not the Vice President comes in and they have a pretty good sense of what happened but also, secondly, we spend so much time talking about the sydney powell types and Rudy Giuliani types, people who would not know the truth of it hit them in the back of the head, and people who are not cooperating. But there are so many people who are cooperating. The two senior pence staffers who have spoken to the committee, they are incredibly important witnesses because they were with the Vice President when the former president was pressuring him not to certify bidens electoral victory. So lets just keep in mind that lots of people are doing the right thing. Republicans and democrats, who were deeply concerned by trumps behavior. And i am glad to see folks like marc short and greg jacob testifying before the committee. Their testimony is incredibly important. And we have, malcolm, the Oath Keepers Founder Set to appear before the committee tomorrow. It is not clear that they are going to learn anything because the indication from lawyers is that he will take the fifth. But what have the investigation shown us about the threat that extremist Militia Groups continue to pose . I think the most important thing that they have continued to show thus far, we are gaining more data as the days go by, is not just that the oath keepers, Three Percenters and proud boys who were very well organized. But i also had a commanding control element that had a political bridge that leads almost directly back to the white house. And that they were an integral part of the operation to overthrow the government. And in some way even though 40,000 people showed up at that rally and 10,000 pressured the capital and 1000 or more went inside the building it was pretty well known that there was a strategic objective of taking the building. And that was in order to stop the vote that was now part of this Massive Political Campaign that spanned across multiple states to essentially overthrow the government, overthrow the electoral results. Stewart rhodes led the on the Ground Operation to get inside there. And he is going to plead the fifth. He hears nothing but trouble for him if he opens his mouth inside there. And it is a badge of honor for people to not talk in front of this committee. And donald trump is essentially poisoning the well. Poisoning the well by saying he would pardon anybody who would not talk, to a certain extent. So it will be interesting to see whether he says anything other than his name. The New York Times, yamiche, points out tonight that a series of new remarks by Donald J Trump about the aftermath of the 2020 election and new disclosures about his actions in trying to forestall its results including discussing the use of the National Security apparatus to seize Voting Machines have stripped away any pretense that the events of january 6th, 2021 were anything but the culmination of the former president s single minded pursuit of retaining power. It has been 13 months since the attack on the capital and yet tonight, yamiche, once again the president the former president was talking about the idea of pardoning the folks who were involved in january 6th. Does it seem as if a big chunk of washington itself is aware that what happened after the election is bigger even than what happened on that day, january 6th . It is a great question and i think it is something that is a hard question to answer. Because i think there are so many republicans who privately, especially those who came out publicly after january 6th, and were very critical of former President Trump and his supporters who broke into the capital, that they have now sort have receded. They have all gotten in line because of President Trumps powerful grip on the gop. I think its interesting, as a reporter, to hear former President Trump continuing to not only lie about the 2020 election but also really continue to try and talk about the fact that he wanted to overthrow the election. There is new reporting coming out every day, really explaining to us even more as americans just how serious former President Trump was about trying to take back the election. And trying to hold on to power that was no longer his to hold on to. I mean, his talk of taking over Voting Machines and the Pressure Campaign that we heard of, that the president was doing when it came to local officials. There are so many things that we still do not know. In some ways it underscores the fact that this January 6th Committee and the Bipartisan Group of lawmakers, remember there are only two republicans they are on to something, in that we think we know what happened on january 6th and the aftermath of the Pressure Campaign that the former president was trying to do. But we still only know the surface level stuff. Because even by his own admission, he is giving us former President Trump new information about just how far he was willing to go to really bring american democracy to his its knees. He lost the election and yet he is still talking about overturning the election. He is still talking about trying to undo the will of the american people. It is incredible, chris. So chuck, forgive me for an overly broad question, but it does seem like we are learning new things every day, we learned about the president ripping up more and more of the paperwork that is supposed to be held as part of the president ial record. We are learning more and more from the folks who are going in, about what happened, the pressure that was put on mike pence, the number of people who were involved in discussions with eastman. And about what eastman had to say. We are learning more and more about those things. At what point does this come to acknowledging what yamiche said, that there is a lot we dont know and more we have to learn. When is the start to turn into criminal referrals . Well, look, as far as we know, chris, there may be criminal investigations of these very things you are talking about. Right now there may be investigations, without us knowing about it. The Department Of Justice does not need a criminal referral from congress in order to get an investigation. You heard merrick garland, the attorney general, a few weeks ago say that we will take this wherever it leads us, as far and as high and as wide as we need to. Thats where we will go. Lisa monaco, the Deputy Attorney general, she said the other day that they are looking at other aspects of the insurrection and events leading up to it. So we do not need a criminal referral from the Department Of Justice. But when is this start turning into indictments . And convictions . That is a separate but related question. And that is a hard question to answer. Malcolm touched on this. That is what makes the dangle of pardons by President Trump, former President Trump i should say, so nefarious. Defendants always make calculations. Should i go to trial . Should i cooperate and plead guilty . If i plead guilty, what sort of time am i looking at . They always try to minimize their risk. How do i avoid jail . How do i minimize jail . What can i do to better my situation . With a pardon dangled in front of them, that calculation may change. Some defendants who thought that they might plead guilty and cooperate, chris, may not. And other people, who may be inclined not to commit crimes now might feel that the former President Trump would have their back with a pardon if they did. It is an extremely dangerous thing that former President Trump did. It concerns me deeply. Malcolm, i want to talk about russia, since you are in kyiv. On the one hand it seems like hes trying to ratchet down tensions, open to diplomacy, but at the same time blaming the u. S. For the crisis. What is the level of danger as you see it and what are you hearing on the ground there . Well, on the ground, it is completely, completely opposite of what you are hearing in the news media. Here in kyiv the government is trying to play the situation down very calmly, even though Prime Minister Boris Johnson from england was here, showing solidarity with the ukraine, sending them anti tank missiles. And the Ukrainian Parliament stood for one of the countries that were supporting them. But there is no sense of crisis here. No sense of crisis for the ukrainians. They have been at war for eight years, as far as are concerned in blue hands and done its. And crimea as well. But the russians have a Military Force that has the logistic legs, the pipeline of food, ammunition, blood, clothing, extra soldiers, reserve forces, to where they could do a lightning blitz. That doesnt mean that they are not going to be able to go very far. The ukrainians are very proud and they will fight and we have seen that will to fight, even though they have relative inexperience and are a non technological savvy combat force. But just look to afghanistan for how well that went. Russia could make great inroads into this country. They could even try to take the capital to if they use Special Operations and airborne forces. But they are going to devastate a city the size of baltimore, 3 million people, and a countryside that is not you know, it makes no armor and movements forward. It is very susceptible to ambush. And then you have a long term insurgency. Who wants this here . I think Vladimir Putin is sort of pinning himself into a corner. Because he does not seem to understand that he is not getting any of the concessions that he wants from nato. He wants to keep nato technically off his doorstep. But it is not nato that is the threat to russia in ukraine. It is the fact that they embrace democracy and embrace the west fully here in ukraine. Putin is afraid of that being a virus that affects his country and destabilizes him in a future. And in our final minute, yamiche, i want to go quickly to the nomination process for the Supreme Court justice. Biden was Senate Judiciary Committee Chair and probably knows more about this process than anyone in the white house. Is he largely running this process . If you have a sense of his strategy here and getting this nominee confirmed . Well, it is based on my conversation with white house officials. The president has a sense of what he wants to have happen here. He was close to keep his promise, to nominate the first black woman. He is looking at a list of people who are qualified and its thinking through he wants to be his nominee. The other thing that is that the democrats, while it is a 50 50 senate, they understand that one senator not being able to show up really does throw possibly this entire nomination process into at least a challenge. There are some republicans who may vote for this nominee. But i think my sense is that what the president is saying is clear. He wants to have to have a nominee picked by the end of the month. And democrats want to have the nominee confirmed in a timely fashion. Yamiche alcindor, Chuck Rosenburg and malcolm nance, thanks to all of you. Coming up, what money tells you about who is in really in charge. Two of our best political experts on the former president s huge fund raising haul and what it means for both parties heading into the midterms. And later, the Important News many parents have been waiting for. We will talk with a top pediatrician about pfizer asking the fda to authorize their Covid Vaccine for children younger than five. The 11th hour just getting underway on a tuesday night. Underway on a tuesday night. Supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. Dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. New from vicks. Do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep . Qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. The brand i trust is qunol. Yep, its go time with wireless on the most reliable network. Ok, that jump was crazy but whats crazier . You get unlimited for just 30 bucks. Nice but mine has 5g included. Wait 5g included . Yup, even these guys get it. Nice ride, by the way. And the icing on the cake . Saving up to 400 bucks . Exactly. Wait, shouldnt you be navigating . Xfinity mobile. Its wireless that does it all and saves a lot. A message from president like a lot, a lot. Trump. The democrats walked all over brian kemp. He was afraid of stacey, hopes abrams, brian kemp let us down. We cant let it happen again. David perdue an America First conservative outsider, hes the only candidate for governor he endorsed by President Donald Trump. Then you campaign ad now airing in georgia is a testament to what happens to republicans who refused to endorse the former president s Election Fraud lies. The Atlanta Journalconstitution puts it this way, its one of the first direct to camera peels in a tv ad from trump this election cycle. And it continues the theme for purdue, who has centered his challenge against kemp on both his loyalty to trump and his embrace of the former president s phony narrative of widespread Election Fraud. Joining us now, robert gibbs, former Obama Campaign Senior Adviser and former White House Press secretary. He also cohosts the hacks on top. And Mark Mckinnon, former advisor to both george w. Bush and john mccain. Hes also one of the cohost of the circus on showtime. Good to see you guys. Robert gibbs, you have been keeping a close eye on this georgia election. One makes it so interesting and is there anything we are going to learn from the outcome there . What are you watching . Chris, i think its one of the most fascinating state in the 2022 cycle. And i think you look at just this ad and it shows you, this is going to tell you a lot about trumps power in the republican primary. In 2022 and Going Forward. And i think if you look at 74 of the people in the recent Atlanta Journalconstitution poll believed republicans, believe widespread fraud happened in 2020. So the big lie among Republican Voters in georgia has absolutely taken hold. And i think the real question is, whats the impact of that going to be on this republican primary . 42 of Republican Voters are more likely to support a candidate with trumps endorsement. The downside of course is going to be whoever gets to a general election, if they get there with trumps endorsement, independents are 54 less likely to support a candidate with trumps endorsement. So again, we will see the power of trump in the republican primary. Whether hes await in the general election, if that candidate becomes a nominee, just a really fascinating statement in 2022. The money is so fascinating, Mark Mckinnon. Republicans are outpacing democrats so far. The president goes into 2022 with the war chest. He spent almost nothing. But then, this new information came out, and im reading from a new nbc news story, none of the republican Seeking Reelection who voted to impeach or convict former President Donald Trump was out raised by a primary challenger last quarter. We always say follow the money, but this is not a criminal investigation when you look at the money right now, what if anything doesnt tell us, or, frankly, is it just going to be so much money out there that it doesnt really matter . I think there will be, particularly when it comes to trump, it doesnt matter that much, because 100 percent name id. Although i have to say, if you are on this mailing list, which i am, its astonishing the Marketing Machine that he has. I must get 20 or 30 emails trying to raise money. But as gibbs pointed out the problem for republicans is, they cant live without him in the primary and they cant live without him political Morning Council poll shows just how deep the problem is. Joe biden is probably as low as he can possibly be in his presidency its possible to get lower, but not much. And yet, when you put him up against trump, or donald trump jr. Or ted cruz, or any of the other acolytes, including ron desantis and joe biden beats them all today at its lowest point in the presidency. So what does that say . It says that republicans are went to donald trump and, unless they get him off the wind shield and in the Rearview Mirror, their prospects for general elections Going Forward are not very good. Ill move the question, robert gibbs, from the money and what it tells us at this point, to polls and what they tell us, do they tell us anything at this point . Or are they useful . Do they give at least sort of a baseline of where president ial candidates would be president ial candidates are . Well, look absolutely. You get a sense, as mark would, say of the low point right now from biden with job approval. And i think thats hard to dispute. And i think we will see that going into the 2022 election. The one thing for democrats certainly that they have on their mind is the last two democratic president s have suffered through low Approval Ratings in the first two or three years of their term. They struggled in midterm elections, theyre lacking if you will, in the obama years. But oh what bill clinton and barack obama lost congressional control what and i again, i think there is a lot that has to get figured out in the next few years. And its really hard to look beyond just a few months into the Looking Glass to understand what is going to happen. And look beyond covid and inflation at this point, see where we will be in your two. Both guests have agreed to stay a little longer. Coming, up the conflicting signals about the future for joe biden when he could be doing about it now. When The 11th Hour continues. I was injured in a car crash. I had no idea how much my case was worth. I called the barnes firm. It has been a rough winter for when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. I called the barnes firm. It was the best call i couldve made. Your case is often worth more than insuran call the barnes firm to find out i couldve made. What your case could be worth. We will help get you the best result possible. The barnes firm, Injury Attorneys call one eight hundred,est resul Eight Million the Biden Ministration but as our guest Mark Mckinnon mentioned, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Still with us, Mark Mckinnon and robert gibbs. You wrote a piece for vanity fair that offers a bit of optimism for democrats, in part because of that poll you talked about, showing date on republicans. You also suggest, though, that biden will not be the nominee in 2024, saying its both a headache and an opportunity. Explain what you mean. Well, joe biden himself, when he was running, talked about being a transitional figure. And i think part of the challenge that the Democratic Party has is that the rising demographic and tide is all in younger voters. Thats where the energy is. But yet its current president is the oldest sitting president in history. And i think that, given this for years, it is tough at anytime, currently, for anyone to be president of the united states. But especially with covid and all the challenges, like afghanistan, that joe biden has faced, given his age. I think it is an opportunity for him to pass the baton. And by the way, if i am joe biden he says hes going to run again. Mark i know you heard it. Of course he does, he will say that, he would be a lame duck if he doesnt. He has to say that. But i think joe biden is going to go and say to himself, listen, you have given it a good ride. Lets pass the baton and see if you sunsets. We can talk about that another point but i want to play what jim psaki had to say about bidens record so far on crime and issues here in new york city. But President Biden has a comprehensive plan to tackle gun crime, including giving cities historic funding, putting more cops on the beat, Community Violence intervention programs and after School Programming and reducing recidivism to address the root causes of gun crime. Look, you know this, robert gibbs, you can talk about the programs and the things that the president is doing. But if the headlines people see are about cops getting shot in new york city, and there were a couple funerals, and we see more kids bringing guns to schools. And the president is being hit from the left on police budgeting, criticize as being soft on crime from the right. Is this a messaging failure . A Policy Failure . What does the president need to say tomorrow . I think that first of all it is a great sign that, as part of the reset he is getting out of washington, he is going to a place like new york to see a dynamic new mayor in eric adams. He is a former Police Officer himself. And i think that that will help. I think that addressing this issue and taking it head on and discussing it, making sure that people understand where you are in 2020, a lot of congressional candidates on the democratic side got tagged with defund the police. And joe biden was clear that he was not for that. So this gives him an important opportunity, i think, to talk more about what he is against and what he is for, like after school programs, reducing gun violence and even more cops on the beat. He was a big proponent of more cops on the beat in 1994. I think we would be surprised, as we look through the polling on crime. It is something that everyone is concerned about. And i think that it is an issue that has crept up in importance. And i think it is important that the president is out there talking about it. I think he is actually coming on thursday, not wednesday, we will take that banner down. But mark, i want to ask you about the bipartisan disagreement on the pandemic. 71 of independent say it is time to accept covid, 89 of republicans. Only 47 of democrats agree. Where does that leave the Biden Administration . Listen, i think that the surge is behind us, at least in terms of its peak. I think it is subsiding. And i think it is only going to get better. And those numbers are only going to get better among democrats as well. I think we are at a point where we have seen the worst. And i know we have said that before. But i think the Omicron Variant was like a fire burning through a bunch of timber and it has burned through the forest. And thats why i say, it has a Great Potential i think that is going to recede into the Rearview Mirror a bit. And that is only going to help people realize that there is good economic numbers out there. So there is a lot of potential upside. And i think a lot of people generally believe that we want to relax the masking mandates standards, even among democrats. I think you will see those numbers go up. One more thing i want to get your take on, robert. The National Debt reached the 30 trillion line. Does the debt news make it harder for them . There is a february deadline to increase the deadly might death a limit. Does that play into it at all . I dont think so, chris. Because i cant imagine anyone on capitol hill wants to not fund the government. Republicans have been blocked off that horse one too many times. Democrats and republicans will get an agreement on this. It is not an anyones interest to fight out a government shutdown. Democrats have things they want to get done and talk about, like a new Supreme Court nominee. Republicans have their message. But shutting down the government and not getting something passed to fund it is just something that does not make any sense for any side. Our thanks to Mark Mckinnon and robert gibbs, great to see you gentlemen. And coming up, right now, only kids over five are eligible for Covid Vaccines. But that might soon change and we have questions, we will give answers, when The 11th Hour continues. He 11th hour continues. Its our ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. It senses your movements and automatically adjusts to relieve pressure points. And its Temperature Balancing so you both sleep just right. And now, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. I have a daughter who just plus, 0 interest for 24 months. Only for a limited time. Turned four. My wife and i have been eagerly waiting the day when we can vaccinate her. My hope is that todays news about pfizers submission of their data may bring us closer to that day. If this vaccine is authorized it will be because it is safe and effective. Tonight, pfizer submitted its request to approve an Emergency Use of its Covid Vaccine for children under five years old. The company is looking into whether a third dose provides even better protection. It comes as the New York Times makes this point about kids already eligible. Quote, the pace of vaccination for americas 28 million children between five and 11 remains even lower than Health Experts had feared. Roughly 30 of children in that age group have received at least one dose, according to cdc data. Back with us is dr. Irwin redlener, founding director of the university of columbias center for disaster preparedness. He is also a professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein college of medicine. I see these numbers all the time and i still get shocked by them. 30 of kids are with one dose. I mean, one dose is one dose even anything, irwin . Well, one dose is not anywhere near enough. Children need at least two doses. They need maybe a third dose, a booster shot. The only group able to get away with two doses, ultimately, are the children from six months to two years. And the reason for that is likely to be the fact that those children whose mothers were vaccinated may be carrying some antibodies from mom that would help protect them. But once you get over two, those maternal antibodies are basically gone. And they will probably need three doses, in those children. But i must say, i agree with you, chris, its pretty disappointing that we havent gotten as many 5 to 11yearolds vaccinated as i was hoping we would by this time. Yeah, and thats the parents, right . They are making the decisions about whether the kids are going to be brought in. Is it realistic to think that this even Younger Age Group is going to see better Vaccine Turnout than the 5 to 11yearolds . Well, i dont know. The other interesting thing about this is that many parents who are reluctant or hesitant about vaccinating their children have been themselves fully vaccinated. Though basically, i guess people are somehow assuming that the vaccines for children are not as safe as the ones for adults and i think that that is not true. The data being submitted by pfizer to the fda, as you can see, it will be emphatically reassuring that the vaccines work and that they are safe. Dont forget, kids under five get many, many vaccines to prevent a whole list of potentially dangerous childhood diseases. So the reason that i understand that pfizer is looking into boosters already is because recent data from Clinical Trials show that two shots of the vaccine did not provide a Strong Enough Immune Response in kids ages 2 to 4. Can you explain why children between the ages of, for example, six months to two years showed a robust Immune Response from two shots . But 2 to 4yearolds may need three shots . I think this is an important point. If mom is vaccinated and has a good Immune Response, then some of moms immunity will travel through the placenta and get to the baby. So in that case, mom is actually giving, through the placenta, the first shot. So children who are in the six months to two years age group, it may well be that those two shots are like booster shots, because they have already gotten their first via their mom. So that will have to be explored. But in the meantime we are probably fine with two doses for six month to two year olds. And then you need the third dose for the age group of 2 to 5yearolds. I have asked you this question so many times and i dont expect a different answer. But you try to figure out, what do you say to people to get them to vaccinate their kids . And then you see these headlines that say, we are breaking records for the number of pediatric cases with the Omicron Variant. I dont know, is it that they think that it is fading away . Or they think that there still isnt enough research out there . Enough kids have not gotten it to see what the long term impact might be . What do you hear from parents when you talk to them . Well, first of all, parents are there are two groups of parents. Some parents are generally hesitant or resistant around vaccines for themselves or their kids, thats one group. So they have these preconceived notions, almost always coming from nonsense on social media and the internet. Those parents are a problem. Then we have a larger group of parents who are vaccinated themselves but still may have some reluctance when it comes to vaccinating their children. I have actually seen examples of this in my own family, chris. It is extremely frustrating. You are kind of running out of messages to present to parents, to make them feel comfortable. There is just so much counter information out there and it is a very tough road to hoe. Let me ask, you finally, because we were talking about this with Mark Mckinnon. He said, i think we are on the other side of it, that is how many people feel. People want to move on. What do you think . I mean, are we getting to the point where it is in the Rearview Mirror and the worst is over . We can hope that that is the case. It may well be the case. But this is one of those examples of a situation where we have to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Because we have no idea, whether we may get another mutation that we dont know about or two of them in this year, 2022. It is just an unknown situation. I think people have to be careful of assuming or hoping for this thing to be over. There is no way to prove that. That is what worries me. Dr. Irwin redlener, always great to see you my friend, we appreciate you staying up with us tonight. And coming, up as covid threatens to sideline some members of team usa, we will give you an inside look at strict Covid Protocols just days before the Winter Olympics begin, when The 11th Hour continues. The second Olympic Games of the pandemic are set to begin this week in beijing. Athletes have been arriving for weeks and have been greeted by strict covid 19 protocols. Nbc correspondent Stephanie Gosk has our report tonight on the realities of the Winter Olympic bubble. With just three days to go before opening ceremonies, a tough blow to team usa. She has great bobsledder elana meyers taylor, a favorite, has announced that she tested positive for covid and is in an Isolation Hotel in beijing. She wrote, getting to the olympics is never easy and this time, as a new mom, it has been challenging and rewarding. Earlier this, year she spoke about her hopes for these games. Getting out on the line and competing, its really going to be the competing of all the work we have all put into it. She will have to test negative twice before being allowed to compete. At least nine members of team usa, including three athletes, have tested positive for covid in china out of nearly 400 Delegation Members who are here. To keep the virus under control, china has welded and closed off these olympics. Or if you watch the 2008 olympics, this is going to look familiar. There is the birds nests. There is the water cube, its now the ice cube. And that is the olympic park. I just cant get in. Organizers have created what they call a closed loop, a bubble. They cant come in here and we cannot go out there. My nbc colleague Janis Mackey Frayer lives in beijing. Hey, hey hi janice this was as close as we could get to each other she hasnt traveled out of china in over two years. If i were to try to cross this 30 feet that is between us, that would mean three weeks quarantine. Our thanks to Stephanie Gosk for that report. And coming up, as we begin black History Month, we will take a look at groundbreaking attorney and federal judge when The 11th Hour continues. Hour continues. The last thing before we go tonight today is the first day of black History Month. Yes some teachers are having to scale back their syllabus this year on certain issues, including black history. At least 14 states are now imposing book bans and other restrictions when it comes to discussing systemic racism. And in washington, President Biden is getting some pushback from the right over his pledge to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. So it seemed like a perfect night to get into a little judicial black history and remember the very first black woman to serve as a federal judge. She is described as the civil rights queen in a new book by tameka brown negan, because constants motley got her start as an attorney, working for the this all defense fund with thurgood marshall. She represented more luther king junior on several cases. Motley was the first black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court and the first to become a New York State Senator and the first woman to become a new york borough president. And after winning nine Supreme Court but arguments, President Johnson appointed Constance Baker motley to the court. During her years on the court, she continued to protect Constitutional Rights and privately reached out to black women judges to offer advice. This passive timber, there was a commemoration of what would have been Constance Baker motleys birthday. President Vice President harris spoke about why was Constance Baker motley such an inspiration to her. So many of us count Constance Baker motley among their personal heroes. I certainly do. She showed us the power of the law to effect change. And she taught us to see what can be unburdened by what has been. May Constance Baker motley have been the first but she is definitely not the last. The senate has already confirmed 22 minority women appointed by President Biden to federal courts. Now we will see what happens with his choice for the highest court in the land. That is our broadcast for the night, with our thanks for being with us, on behalf of all of our colleagues here at nbc news, goodnight. Tonight on all in. They know its true, they know its there, they know who won the election, but they refused to say your right. Donald trump himself was in on the scheme to seize Voting Machines. Tonight the most incriminating evidence of the trump coup plot yet. The back man he used to help him do it and with the investigation is discovering from torn trump documents. Then, the republicans suing to disqualify Madison Cawthorn from congress for engaging in insurrection joins me live. Plus, jelani cobb on the right wing crackdown on teaching black history as black History Month begins and one year after a certain senators great escape to cancun, or works says that texas has failed to prepare for another freeze. All in starts right now