Transcripts For MSNBCW All In With Chris Hayes 20200721

Maxine waters joins me when all in starts now good evening from philadelphia im ali velshi in for chris hayes. The coronavirus nightmare is getting worse in 40 states across the country, and the president continues to fail in leading the country out of this nightmare. So its not surprising that the pandemic is the single biggest thing driving the president ial election right now tonight joe biden was trying to fill that president ial void in his interview with my colleague joy reid on her new show the reid out. And that makes sense given Donald Trumps disastrous and unprechbtd crossexamination about the pandemic yesterday on fox news and so knowing hes got to turn around americas perception of his Coronavirus Response donald trump announced hes going to resume his coronavirus briefings this week. Remember those he stopped doing them back in april after he called them a waste of time and, honestly, hes not wrong because they were nothing more than a sideshow in case you had forgotten about them, this is the kind of stuff we used to get daily from those briefings. Trump brought in ceos to lavish him with phrase, including a fox news favorite, the my pillow guy. He regularly used the briefings to lie and discount the dangers of the virus and blame others for his own shortcomings, and he regularly attacked journalists and in one the very last briefings he suggested that people might ingest bleach, almost as a cleaning, to defeat the virus. So its truly puzzling that the white house believes that more of these briefings will help the president s disastrous response to the coronavirus or the publics perception of them. In any way especially since things havent improved much since those bleach comments today we saw record new coronavirus cases in states like minnesota, alaska, kansas and georgia. Georgia, where the republican governor is suing to prevent atlantas mayor from enforcing a mask mandate american tourists have been banned from entering the bahamas, even though tourists from other countries are allowed into the bahamas, because americans are too dangerous to be allowed into other countries. The canadian government will not allow my hometown team, the toronto blue jays, to play games in their home city because of the risk of carrying the virus from the United States things have gotten so bad that the New York Times reports some republican governors have been, quote, holding latenight phone calls among themselves to trade ideas and grievances they have sought out partners in the administration other than the president , including Vice President mike pence, who despite echoing mr. Trump in public is seen by governors as far more attentive to the continuing disaster. The president got bored with it, david carney, an adviser to the Texas Governor greg abbott, said of the pandemic. He got bored with it the failures of donald trump and his handling of the coronavirus have been on full display throughout this pandemic but we have rarely had him specifically have to answer for them until this weekend when he sat down for an interview with fox newss Chris Wallace do you regret not wearing a mask in public from the start and would you consider, will you consider, a National Mandate that people need to wear masks no. I want people to have a certain freedom and i dont believe in that, no everybody was saying dont wear a mask all of a sudden everybody has got to wear a mask and as you know, masks cause problems too with that being said, im a believer in masks. I think masks are good but sir, testing is up 37 . Well, thats good. I understand. Cases are up 194 . It isnt just the testing has gone up. Its that the virus has spread the Positivity Rate has increased. Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day. They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test. You said at one point i think were going to be very good with the coronavirus i think that at some point thats going to sort of just disappear, i hope. Ill be right eventually. I will be right eventually i said its going odisappear. Ill say again, its going to disappear. Does that discredit i dont think so. It is going to disappear, and i will be right eventually thats actually what the president of the United States told Chris Wallace over the weekend as more than 140,000 americans have lost their lives to this virus. Were living through one of the worst Economic Crises since the Great Depression americans know this. And we know that because were seeing it in the polls theyre looking for an alternative to donald trump. Just a little while ago on the debut episode of the reid out joe biden made the case why he is that alternative. The words of president s matter, no matter how incompetent the president is the words of the president can make the market rise or fall they can take us to war. They can bring peace they can do a lot. And so as president of the United States, the first thing im going to do is stand up and talk sense and be honest with the American People, level with them, tell them exactly what i know and whats going to happen and take responsibility for whats happening im joined now by someone who knows how to run and win a Campaign David plouffe. Weighs president Barack Obamas 2008 Campaign Manager and a former white house senior adviser. Hes also the author of the book a citizens guide to beating donald trump. David, good to see you thank you for being here its kind of a remarkable week its always a remarkable week in the Trump Administration but in this last week we have seen poll after poll after poll showing donald trump paring down to his real core of supporters and numbers below which hes not likely to go because people are looking at this coronavirus mess and realizing he just cant be trusted. The numbers, the question ask those things specifically. How does joe biden deal with this does he just sort of stay on the sideline and keep it quiet or can he actually provide something that sounds like a meaningful alternative to people who are losing hope . Well, i think youre right, ali. I think the American People or at least 50 to 55 of them have decided donald trump should not be rehired to be president so joe biden needs now to get hired. He needs to continue to make the case interviews like tonight, he has an announcement of his running mate coming up, the Democratic Convention, the debates most importantly will be an opportunity for people that have already decided i cant take four more years of Donald Trumps incompetence to fill in the blanks and give them comfort and confidence that joe biden will not just be the alternative to trump but a good president. So yes, its really important on the economy, on health care, on the pandemic, on distribution of the vaccine, on bringing the country together infrastructure, all the things that people care about people have to get the sense that hes more than biden is not trump and that he was obamas vp i think theyre really starting to do that i thought his green Energy Speech and Climate Change speech was really important the economic speech about buying and building here in america was really important he needs to do those each and every week ali, ill just make a point. People are voting in battleground states starting in six weeks, so the election is happening before we know it in reality. Whats interesting is a lot of those people in those battleground states, particularly workingclass people whove really felt maybe the last decade or 15 years has been rough, and it has, they bought into his promises, his economic promises, most of which were broken well before the pandemic, which he now has zero chance of fulfilling so at this point people do need that alternative theres a real need for people who thought he was going to make America Great again, who realize theres zero chance thats going to happen. But that is, i think, the remaining piece of the puzzle for the Biden Campaign, which is trump still, his numbers are starting to sag on trust in the economy, but theyre still the best numbers he has. So you have to puncture that first of all, he doesnt have the competence to rebuild the economy because hes not going to deal well with the pandemic, hes not going to deal well with distributing the vaccine hes going to be a disaster. The economy will never, you know, flourish when were still in the grips of a pandemic so you have to puncture that but make the case that hes going to build it back for people like him and people at the very top economically i think joe biden is uniquely suited to make that case when i think about the debates, when i think about the Democratic Convention, to me thats the single most important thing to do amongst many important things, is to say you cant trust donald trump to rebuild the economy for people like you and your family, but you can trust me and heres what im going to do. Either the Democratic Convention or the selection of a Vice President is going to be sort of a Central Point of enthusiasm for the Biden Campaign joy reid asked donald im sorry, joe bide benn that a little earlier on the reid out. Lets listen to what he said are you committed to naming a black woman as your Vice President ial running mate . I am not committed to naming any but the people ive named, and among them there are four black women. So that decision is under way right now. And by the way, black women have supported me my entire career. You all look like all of a sudden there was an epiphany in South Carolina i had had over a 96 , 94 rating in the state with the eighth largest black community in the United States of america, delaware and so theyre the ones as that old saying goes that brought me to the dance i have been loyal. They have been loyal to me and so it is important that my administration, i promise you, will look like america how did he walk that line, David Plouffe . Because hes right he has had the support of the Africanamerican Community in fact, in this particular nomination campaign they brought him to the dance how does he handle that . Well, i think, you know, joe biden has a really unique Vantage Point on this question having gone through it in 2008 and serving as Vice President. He will serve the person hes most comfortable with and confident will be a good governing partner. The campaign is actually secondary to if he wins who he wants to be in that position that job is not a warm bucket of spit anymore that being said, if he decides not to pick a black woman, there is obviously going to be questions. Joe biden has to be comfortable that if he doesnt pick someone who is a black woman that the person hes picking is clearly the person above all else that he wants to be that partner. I think he made a point about his cabinet. And thats an opportunity. Well see ultimately if he announces some potential cabinet picks before the election. But i think to talk about the types of people that youll have in your cabinet is an important way to show diversity as well. I think hes going to pick the person that says you know, whether im in an economic depression digging out of this pandemic, a Foreign Policy crisis, who can deal with congress, who do i want down the hallway in the west wing for me . And i think thats a very personal decision. In many respects pts its a lonely decision. Because he has advisers like any president ial nominee does. But hes got to live with this decision and the most important thing is for voters to say that person can be president on day one. And the good thing is we have over a dozen people i think who will fit that qualification. David, always good to see you. Thank you for joining me this is a little earlier than i typically do tv on a weeknight, so i hadnt had my dinner yet tonight, and thanks for bringing up warm buckets of spit. I think i might just pass on that tonight good to see you tonight. David plouffe, always a pleasure regardless of who wins in november Congress Needs to act now to save millions of americans whose lives have been turned upside down by this virus. Let me just remind you of the numbers. Right now 25 million americans are receiving an additional 600 a week of unemployment benefits. Those are federally added benefits that is scheduled to run out starting at the end of this week different states have different deadlines. But it starts to run out this week House Speaker nancy pelosi and topranked Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet trumps chief of staff mark meadows and treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin tomorrow can they work out a deal in time to make sure americans have what they need during this crisis joining me to discuss that is the top democrat in the United States senate, senator Chuck Schumer. Of new york. Senator, it is good to see you thank you for being with us. There is really an issue with the degree to which the urgency of this has dimmed certainly among some of your republican colleagues in the senate and the white house, which has decided to sort of put coronavirus on the back burner how do we deal with the fact that for so many millions of americans this is really real. That 600 makes a big difference it might mean the difference between having your home and not having your home. Youre right. Our republican friends and the president have been totally asleep at the switch its three months since we passed the last covid bill, and we have so many different problems facing us that make people unsafe, economically and healthwise. And so mcconnell said, lets take a look. Lets do a pause then he said maybe localities should go bankrupt donald trump has avoided this problem, says its going away. Well, you cant make the coronavirus go away just by wishing it to go away. You have got to do something so for months three weeks ago Speaker Pelosi and i sent a letter to Mitch Mcconnell and said lets sit down and start negotiating. We didnt hear a peep out of him. Now finally theyre beginning to talk to one another. But if you believe the press reports, and from what im hearing they were all divided amongst themselves there are 10 or 15 republicans who dont want to spend a nickel and let us go into the Great Depression because theyre such hard right ideologues. Then there are all kinds of disputes the president actually told the republican senators not to put in any money for testing or Contact Tracing. Well, when you ask yourself, why are we doing so much worse, this is a shame, a shame, we should be ashamed of this, we are doing so much worse than the european countries, italy, spain. They had as virulent a crisis as we did at one point. The east Asian Countries its because were not doing the testing. Were not doing the Contact Tracing that they prepared for and did. And now trump is saying dont do it anymore donald trump has put his head in the sand he is responsible for the safety of the American People, and he has hurt that safety dramatically and our Republican Senate friends are so afraid of donald trump that they dont budge. They dont do anything now all of a sudden, its beginning to dawn on a few of them, and as i said theyre divided, that if they dont do anything the economy is going to just go into a total tailspin and instead of a deep recession, the worst recession weve had since the Great Depression, we could end up with a depression so theyre beginning to nibble at the edges but if you look at what they proposed, it is such weak tea that its not going to solve the problem. Right and the weak tea is a problem because we have more than a Million People signing onto unplamt rolls every week we have airline employees who say soon as the deal they have runs out at the end of october tens of thousands more will be unemployed weve got these stop and start cities that are happening. What is the proposal that you and Speaker Pelosi think makes the most sense ours is a robust, strong proposal its called the heroes act it deals with the major problems lets talk about three or four of them. Number one, it keeps the pandemic Unemployment Insurance going at least until january 31st because were going to have more and more Unemployed People lots of businesses that have just been hanging on by their fingernails are going down what are we going to tell these people dont feed your families get kicked out of your snoemz dont go to the stores and buy things thats the formula for disaster. So thats number one number two, we have in there robust money and specific plans as to how to do testing and Contact Tracing. The state of arizona, one of the epicenters, is so the governor themselves, all the government officials have said were short of testing every other country that has gotten out of this has had many tests. If you test people regularly and get the results back quickly, the labs are so backed up here in america it often takes a week, which makes the tests almost invalid you can stop this crisis because you can do Contact Tracing you find out if someone tests positive who they have contact with you make sure theyre tests and you isolate them third thing. Come this thursday, people the rent the moratorium on eviction expires there are lots of people in this country, a lot of them poor, a lot of them people of color, who have not paid the rent but they couldnt be evicted till the 24th they can get a rent bill for four months because the rent was not forestalled. We propose 100 billion to help them stay in their apartments. What good is it going to do this economy, this country and these poor people and their kids if they get kicked out of their apartments and money for state and local governments. I had to fight tooth and nail in covid 3 to get 150 billion we knew that was insufficient. Right now 1. 5 million state and local workers, government workers, have been laid off. But theyre going to be many, many more if we dont do this. And theyre not putting any money into that at all mcconnell said let the states go bankrupt our republican friends say this is a blue state issue. Oh, bull a firefighter who is laid off in arizona or a firefighter who is laid off in new york is the same firefighter who needs the Community Needs him for safety same with the bus driver, same with the sanitation worker their bill is just totally inadequate but ill tell you the good news. The good news is on the last three bills, covid 2, covid 3, covid 3. 5, mcconnell did the same thing this time said im going to write the bill in my office. He calls it bipartisan i mean, that is no ones definition of bipartisan but anyway, we held i want to ask you we democrats have said let me ask you about yeah, go ahead. Sorry i didnt mean to interrupt you we have a little bit of a delay. I got in in the middle of a pause. I did not mean to do that. Sorry, senator. I was going to say he said hes going to write it in his office well, if he writes it in his office, it will not pass the house. Democrats in the senate will not go for it and then he will have to come back and do a much bigger better bill along the lines of what we had and write it together let me ask you about the election. Yep. Were a little longer than three months away from the election you sent a letter to the fbi if which you write we are gravely concerned in particular that congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate and the president ial election in november youre talking about congressional activity there what are you referring to, sir well, i cant get into the details because things are classified but i can tell you this. We know that there was foreign interference in the previous election and we must make sure we do everything we can to know whats happening and then to do something about it so thats why the four of us, Speaker Pelosi and myself and mark warner and mr. Schiff, the heads of the intelligence committees, Democratic Leaders of the intelligence committees have demanded that ray come before us and brief the entire congress, democrats and republicans, so first we can know whats going on and then we can do something about it. And if people dont want that to happen, theyre playing with the wellspring of our democracy, safe and fair elections. You know, if we believe if americans start believing that foreigners can interfere in your elections and jaundice the results thats the beginning of the end of this grand experiment in democracy senator, always good to see you. Thank you for your time tonight. Thanks. Good to talk to you. Chuck schumer, the democratic leader in the United States senate still to come, how close are we to a vaccine there is a new study showing some of the most promising results yet. Laurie garrett is here to put todays news in context right after this businesses are starting to bounce back. But what if you could do better than that . Like adapt. Discover. Deliver. In new ways. To new customers. What if you could come back stronger . Faster. Better. At comcast business, we want to help you not just bounce back. But bounce forward. And now, were committed to helping you do just that with a powerful and reliable internet and voice solution at a great price. Call or go online today. From the beginning of this pandemic, we have gotten bits of news from various companies about promising vaccine candidates that theyre developing for the coronavirus but in some cases, those companies are releasing that information. It might seem to try and promote themselves or boost their stock prices so today we got some vaccine news from a trial out of the university of oxford that appears to be something different. A real piece of possibly good news in a study published in the medical journal the lancet one of their vaccine candidates triggered an immune response against the coronavirus in a trial. Now, there are still several caveats, including the fact this was a relatively early stage trial and there is a lot more testing to be done before we figure out if this is really going to work in large numbers here to talk about what this means is Laurie Garrett. Shes the pulitzer prizewinning science journalist, Foreign Policy magazine columnist and msnbc science trisht laurie, youre the one i turn to to try to make sense of this stuff. Everybodys talking about vaccines it gets muddied because the president has talked about a vaccine by november, which seems to sound like before the election where are we really in the vaccine world right now . We have about 150 vaccines in the pipeline, and in addition to the one you mentioned, the Oxford Astrozeneca vaccine that was reported today in the lancet there was also a chinese vaccine in the lancet. It got less stock market interest but it was of similar caliber. Last week we had the Moderna Vaccine release its details. We now have some indication of some capacity to create antibodies and other aspects of human immune response against the covid virus. In at least five different vaccine products that are out there. But its early days still, and all of them use different methods for measuring the success of their products. And so its impossible to compare them you cant say, you know, vaccine number one produced an immune response on this level and vaccine two on this one and this one because they all are using different apples and oranges methods of measuring the immune response. Well, you sent us i want to just put up a graphic that sort of illustrates a few of the vaccines. Like you said there are 150 of them weve just got a if you have them and where they are i want to read for our viewers, the first column is preclinical work, then phase 1, phase 2, phase 3. Those are expressions people hear but you have to get to each one of those faces in testing. So what weve got is this Astrazeneca Oxford one and sinopharm. They are ready to enter phase 3. Moderna and pfizer are going to be doing so probably in the next month. Phase 3 is the big trial, right . Thats a lot of people thats a lot of people. Thousands of people. They will receive variable doses and they should be tested against a placebo so that you know whether or not youre really getting a bona fide response and you know, these are going to take some time if you only look at the people for, say, four weeks you dont know if they still have an immune response four months later. But were in a real rush here. And the reason im concerned about this rushing, besides the fact that people make mistakes when they go too fast, is that we may have very shortlived immune responses and we wont know that until after weve spent a lot of money and vaccinated millions and millions of people and we discover that, as is the case with people who are naturally infected with this virus, your immune response may only last 90 days, 120 days. Its not like measles. Youre not going to get lifelong immunity from a vaccine. So let me ask you this. Theres we have the phase 3 trials then they have to produce the vaccine. And then sometimes things get allowed for emergency use first because theyre not 100 sure its safe for everybody. Then you get the distribution, the mass distribution and marketing of this vaccine. How does that look to you . Because this is likely going to be the most indemand vaccine in the history of vaccines. Well, of course its going to be and unfortunately, a lot of countries are already kind of jockeying for position to number one, say its the american vaccine or the chinese vaccine, what have you. But also to say the priority goes to our people so there is an International Effort that 150 countries have signed on to, not including the United States, to guarantee Global Access and to minimize a sort of nationalistic approach to whatever vaccine turns out to be capable of hitting something close to a home run. And its unfortunate the United States is not part of the game, that were trying to go it alone. This of course imperils us because if it turns out we dont have the best vaccine and some other countries that signed in on the collective understanding does, well, it might not be available to americans thats important we keep on working on this and keep on talking about it laurie, thank you for being with us you always make the time and always make a lost sense Laurie Garrett coming up, the president reportedly wants to use portland, oregon as a model for other cities, deploying more federal officers to patrol protests coming up next im going to talk to a navy veteran, seen here being beaten by those federal officers after this upbeat music [narrator] food delivery just got more rewarding, now that grubhub gives you rewards when you order. Did you order tacos . Again . Boom, rewarded. chewing dog barks ordering dinner for the family . Voila, rewarded, with a side of quiet. baby mumbling grubhub rewards you. Get a free delivery perk when you order. [group] grubhub. upbeat music this is about the next 10 years. But this is something you can do today. You can make a difference today by filling out the 2020 census. The census impacts hospitals, schools, and Public Transportation. The 2020 census counts everyone, whether you rent, own, or live at home, including roommates. Taking the census is quick and easy. Its only 10 questions. Shape your future. Start here at 2020census. Gov. You guys have a good day. Portland is bracing for yet more protests tonight where like previous nights federal agents will again patrol the protests and the president indicated that this may be coming to more american cities. There was a report out this morning that youre considering sending 175 federal troops to these cities to help local law ebb forcement. Can you fill us in on that it depends on what your definition of troops is. Were sending law enforcement. Portland was totally out of control. Were looking at chicago too were looking at new york. Look at whats going on. Depends on what your definition of troops is. Thats going to come up in a minute so just hold that thought. Back in portland the backlash to this federal invasion as some people call it is growing. The mayors calling what happened a direct threat to democracy. Protesters are remaining in the streets with a group called moms look at them moms against police brutality. Linking arms to protect the protesters on sunday to protect Peaceful Protesters from armed federal agents using weapons on them. Overnight agents fired tear gas, scattering the selfnamed walls of moms. Thats who they fired tear gas at and then a 53yearold Naval Academy graduate named chris david. Thats him in the sweatshirt the navy sweatshirt. This military veteran was so disturbed by the images of federal agents throwing protesters into unmarked cars that he took it upon himself to visit the protests on saturday night to talk to those agents, to ask them what theyre thinking, what theyre doing this this video is of mr. David approaching federal agents to talk to them, upholding their oath, asking him about upholding their oath to the constitution look what they do to him they beat him. Warning. This is disturbing [ bleep ] look at that guy beating on him. Mr. David, as you can see, never flinched while he was being struck with the baton. They finally sprayed him in the face joining me now is that navy veteran. Chris david. Mr. David, thank you for being with us. Its kind of unbelievable. I cant believe how you didnt flinch this guy had two arms on a baton and hes hitting you in the legs and about the body are you injured . Yeah, yeah. I did get injured. Principally my arm was broken, but in addition to that, ive got, you know, some bruising all over my body from the baton. What a remarkable thing you went there to talk to them you are a veteran of the United States navy, and you had a sense that federal officers or agents or whatever you want to call these guys, people working for the federal government in enforcement of law have a responsibility they swear an oath you went to talk to them about that you werent up in anybodys business you werent causing trouble. You just wanted to talk. Thats exactly what i wanted to do, was just talk to them and the thing that was so upsetting was that there didnt seem to be any recognition that as a veteran i was even going to be listened to or treated any differently than anybody else. And that sort of makes sense because if theyre going to gas moms, theyre going to beat up vets the president was asked about sending in more troops or whatever he calls them he calls them federal enforcement officers what did you see on these people because were getting reports that they dont have identifying badges you cant tell who they are. They dont have the name of an agency some of them have vests that say police but anybody can pick those up who did you think they are oh, i have no idea to this day who they actually are. I am still mystified and im not sure i have a good answer as to who those gentlemen were were they customs and Border Patrol were they Marshal Service . Were they federal Protection Service . Nobody knows i havent gotten a good answer on that. I think that would be a good question for ken cuccinelli. Yeah. Well, he says that what youre seeing in portland, im putting words in his mouth, but it seems to be a pilot project. They are talking about meeting resistance, as they call, it anywhere in america. What do you make of that i do think this is the test case i do think this is supposed to be the firstdomino that falls. What were finding is that they probably were usingportland as a testing ground for rolling out in other cities and trump pretty much listed exactly what those cities were going to be, which are chicago, new york, and any place he decides that he doesnt like to see protesting happen. I am glad to talk to you, chris david, and im sorry that youre injured it is remarkable footage thank you for going and trying to talk to these people and asking them what they believe theyre doing and how that relates to the oath that theyve taken. Thank you, sir good to meet you congressman john lewiss tireless pursuit of justice and the fight for Voting Rights that he dedicated his life to congresswoman Maxine Waters on continuing his legacy, coming up this year, the Alzheimers Association walk to end alzheimers is everywhere. On every sidewalk, track, and trail across this country. All of us are raising funds for one goal a World Without alzheimers and all other dementia. Because this disease isnt waiting, neither are you. Take the first step on your walk right now. Go to alz dot org slash walk. Im a talking dog. The other issue. Oh. Im scratching like crazy. Youve got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. Apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours, whether its a new or chronic problem. And apoquels treated over 8 million dogs. Nice. And. The talking dog thing . Is it bothering you . No. Itching like a dog is bothering me. Until dogs can speak for themselves, you have to. When allergic itch is a problem, ask for apoquel. Apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of Atopic Dermatitis in dogs. Do not use apoquel in dogs less than 12 months old or those with serious infections. Apoquel may increase the chance of developing serious infections and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or preexisting cancers to worsen. Do not use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs. Most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. Feeling better . Im speechless. Thanks for the apoquel. Aw. Thats what friends are for. Ask your veterinarian for apoquel next to you, apoquel is a dogs best friend. We are tired we are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again and then you tell us be patient. We do not want our freedom gradually. We want to be free now [ applause ] it was an emotional day on capitol hill as lawmakers took time to honor the man known as the conscience of congress, civil rights icon john lewis, who passed away on friday at the age of 80. That speech he gave, he was 23 years old when he gave it. Members of the house held a moment of silence for lewis this afternoon. A simple black drape was placed over the door of his office in tribute. It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary life of john lewis he was a sharecroppers son from alabama whose ceaseless night for civil rights and his embrace of nonviolence earned him countless beatings including a broken skull at the hands of police, and at least 40 arrests. Four zero. Lewis was one of the original freedom riders who challenged segregation in Public Transportation in the south. He led nonviolent demonstrations against segregation at restaurants, at hotels, at public pools, and anywhere else that banned people based on the color of their skin in 1965 on the Edmund Pettus bridge in selma, alabama a state trooper cracked his skull with a billy club as he was leading a peaceful march, demanding Voting Rights the violence was broadcast across the country it spurred the passage of the Voting Rights act, which outlawed Racial Discrimination in voting. In 1986 lewis was elected to congress he would serve for 17 terms, fighting tirelessly for what he believed was right, including the impeachment of donald trump. If you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something our children and their children will ask us, what did you do what did you say john lewis is gone. But his fight is not over. Were going to talk about his legacy and where things stand now with the Voting Rights that he fought so hard to establish congresswoman Maxine Waters joins me right after this. Each one suffering with a story that breaks your heart. Like ravette, who needed help, because every step brought her pain. Their only hope is a ship unlike any other. Mercy ships. The largest floating civilian hospital in the world to bring free surgeries and care to people who have no other hope. Only 62 cents a day. 19 a month will help provide urgently needed surgery for the worlds forgotten poor. If you have ever wondered how can i, just one person, make a difference . This is your answer. So many are still suffering. So dont wait. Call the number on your screen call or donate now at mercyships. Org its kind of my quiet, alone time. Audible is a routine for me. Its like a fun night school for adults. I could easily be seduced into locking myself into a place where i do nothing but listen to books. I never was interested in historical fiction before, but im obsessed with it now. There are a lot of like, classic and big titles that i feel like i missed out since i dont have time to read, mean i might as well listen. If i want to catch up on the news or history or learn whats going on in the world, i can download a book and listen to it. Because i listened to her story over and over again, i made the decision to go ahead and follow my own dream, which was to help other veterans. I think theres like 180 books in my, in my library now. It changes your perspective; it makes you a different person. Its true, its so true. To start your free 30day trial, just text listen17 to 500500. Thousands of people who want to vote. Citizen of mississippi, of alabama, and georgia, who are qualified to vote but lack a sixth grade education. One man, one vote is the african cry. It is ours, too. It must be ours. One man, one vote is the african cry. It is ours, too. It must be ours. 1963, a 23yearold john lewis speaking at the march on washington the right to vote meant everything to him. In 1965 he was beaten by a state trooper in selma, alabama as he marched to galvanize support for the passage of the Voting Rights act five months later. John lewis, perhaps more than anyone else, was responsible for that historic piece of legislation. But he was also around to see that history gutted. In 2013 the Supreme Court in a 54 decision struck down the heart of the Voting Rights act allowing states with a history of discrimination to change their election laws without federal approval last december congressman lewis presided over the house as it passed a bill to restore the Voting Rights act. And that bill has been sitting on Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnells desk now for more than 225 days. Joining me now to talk about the future of Voting Rights is john lewiss longtime friend and colleague, congresswoman Maxine Waters, democrat from california congresswoman, good to see you again. Thank you for being with us. John lewiss death has reminded everybody about that bill thats sitting there languishing on Mitch Mcconnells desk not that a lot of people needed reminding, but for those who did, its a reminder that something needs to be done with that bill. What do you think is going to happen now well, you know, i would like to say that somehow theyre going to honor john lewis and his sacrifices, his work, and the law that he introduced and it was passed in the house and they are going to move to pass it but i cannot tell you thats going to happen. I cannot tell you thats going to happen because mcconnell and too many of the republican senators really believe in voter suppression. They do not wish to have one vote, one person they do not wish to have fair voting in this country they are about the business of basically supporting a president of the United States who believes that somehow when they talk about taking back this country, what theyre doing is denying blacks the right to achieve. To build wealth. To have voting equality. All of that. So what i think is going to happen is we are going to have to vote in new people. Weve got to vote for another president , a democratic president , and for me thats biden. Were going to have to vote to make sure that mcconnell does not get reelected hes in a Reelection Campaign we have a lot of hope that he is going to be defeated thats the only thing we can really hope for. Mcconnell does not mean black people any good. He does not care hes not about the business of correcting what is wrong with the Voting Rights thats been basically undermined by the Supreme Court in the way that they dealt with section 4 that really eviscerated section 5 let me ask you about congressman lewis was a supporter of black lives matter but when he would go out there, the thing he would say every time he was in a crowd recently is you have to vote. Stacey abrams said the other day, the only way to avoid the idea that donald trump is pouring water on the idea of voting by ma if the victory is decisive, and donald trump sees it yesterday in the interview with Chris Wallace on fox, Chris Wallace asked him what happens if he loses. Lets listen to what he said in general, not talking about november, are you a good loser im not a good loser. I dont like to lose i dont lose too often i dont like to lose. But are you gracious . You dont know until you see. It depends i think mailin voting is going to rig the election. I really do. Are you suggesting that you might not accept the results of the election i have to see. Can you give a direct answer, you will accept the election i have to see look, you i have to see im not going to just say yes. Im not going to say i didnt last time, either. Congresswoman, thats kind of remarkable the president of the United States not able to commit to a journalist that he will respect the outcome of the election. I have said all along that this man is a deplorable human being. And certainly, theres nothing that he could say that would shock me anymore so hes already, you know, basically talked about perhaps there might be a civil war and when we tells you he cannot commit to stepping down, believe him. Believe him because i tell you, something is going on in this country. When i take a look at what is going on in oregon, and who are these federal agents, unidentified, in unmarked cars, that are raining down on the protesters who are these people are they organized by and with the president of the United States are there more of them are they in practice for what theyre going to do when they resist the fact that this president , perhaps, is not going to be reelected i think americans should be worried, but i thought all along that americans should be concerned. This is the most flawed character that ive ever encountered in my life hes dangerous and i believe him when he says that he cannot tell us whether or not hes going to accept, you know, if he is not elected. He cannot give you any reassurance that he will do what the constitution expects any president to do and that is step down its lets play this out because we may be in a situation where come close to the election we are encouraging people to vote by mail, which a number of states do very successfully, and as they do that the turnout tends to be pretty good. But in this instance it might get complicated for people and donald trump is laying the ground to question voter fraud to question mailin ballots with a baseless accusation that it contributes to voter fraud but how do you prepare this prepare yourself for this and how do you prepare your constituents for this . Well, the first thing we should be doing now is understanding what the president is already doing to the u. S. Postal service he has sent his henchmen over to run it and im already getting complaints from people who are saying that they believe that the president of the United States is managing the delivery system, slowing it down, interfering with people being able to get their mail and so i believe what im hearing, and we should put this at the top of our agenda that we are not going to allow the president of the United States to dismantle the United States post office and undermine the possibility that absentee votes could be used in the next election he is going to try and say no matter what happens, if he does not win, hes going to say that it was a fraudulent election, that somehow this election has been undermined by the democrats. Hes going to blame us for it. And so we can anticipate what hes going to do because he has defined himself. He has shown us who he is. He has shown us what hes capable of doing this man is capable of doing whatever he thinks is in his best interest, be damned the people, and so we should be putting it on top of our agenda. But its unfortunate, while this pandemic is going on, were trying to respond to it, were trying to make sure the citizen states get adequate money to take care of all of these people who are putting their lives on the line for us every day. The nurses and the doctors were trying to do something about keeping people from being evicted and put out on the streets. Were trying to keep the homeowners from holding on to their property and have forbearance in a way that will help them to not only keep their property but be confident they dont have to pay a lump sum to pull it out of forbearance, that perhaps this can be worked into when the property is sold. Were working so hard for Small Businesses in this country to make sure they can stay alive and they dont close down, and for 600 for the poorest of americans who are depending on this 600 to put food on the table for their children this is what were working on so hard. Yeah. Is not responding and the president of the United States is undermining all aspects of government interfering with our ability to move forward and do the right thing by the people of america and i want to just remind our viewers because we started the conversation this hour with Chuck Schumer that forbearance ends on friday july 24th, the mortgage and rent forbearance, and the 600 extra federal payment is starting to end this week congresswoman, we have a minute left i want to ask you, john lewis passed away on friday night and there have been so many tributes for him, but you really cant get enough of it because this man was tireless he worked until his last day he sent a letter out with Kevin Mccarthy on friday the day he passed. This is a guy who lived he lived what he actually said he was doing. He absolutely did and so we cant do enough. We cant memorialize him enough. We cant honor him enough. There should be a statue in his name the Edmund Pettus bridge should be named after him we should take the Voting Rights act and name it the john lewis Voting Rights act. Thank you, msnbc, for what you have done in honoring him, and we should all do as much as we possibly can to make sure that he is absolutely recorded in history in the way he should be. Yeah. And that his image and his knowledge and understanding of what democracy is all about should be remembered by everybody because of the work that he has done well, our work as journalists is to bear witness, and if you cannot bear witness about the life of john lewis then there is no more work for you to do congresswoman, its always an honor to talk to you thank you for joining us congresswoman Maxine Waters. Of california. And thats all in for this evening. The 11th hour with Brian Williams starts right now. Well, good evening once again. Day 1,278 of the Trump Administration 106 days to go until the president ial election. Tonight we are learning donald trump plans to not long ago this evening the president confirmed a major weve seen the anonymous feds. Well have much more on this story later including trumps plans for other cities trump is also making political calculations and shifting his coronavirus strategy six months after the virus was first diagnosed in our country and as the nation continues to shatter records for daily outbreaks. The pandemic has now taken over 1,041 lives and as theew