Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20200611

The last two weeks without social distancing. And then this morning, a stunning apology from joint chiefs chairman mark milley during a virtual commencement address. The general said he was wrong to follow President Trump through Lafayette Park to st. Johns church for a photo op after Peaceful Protesters had been forcibly removed from his path. As senior leaders, everything you do will be closely watched. And as many of you saw the result of the photograph of me in Lafayette Square last week, it sparked a National Debate on the role of the military in a civil society. I shouldnt have been there. My presence in that moment, in that environment, created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned, uniformed officer, it was a mistake i learned from and i sincerely hope we all can learn from it. Joining me now, nbc White House Correspondent and 12krist welker, pbs news hours Yamiche Alcindor, and scott thompson, former police chief for new jerseys camden county. Kristen, first to you. This is a stunning admission from general milley, who is a strong adviser, a very close adviser to the president , to do this. Was the white house given any kind of heads up and what is their reaction to his apology today . Were trying to get answers to all of those questions, andrea. You are right, it was a remarkable thing to hear the chairman of the joint chiefs say that it was a mistake to be there in front of st. Johns church last week. Administration officials, white house officials have not responded yet and wont say if the president or any top officials here were given a heads up before that happened. But putting this into a broader context, this is not the First Military official to break with President Trump in terms of his decision to go to st. Johns church and hold up that bible. The defense secretary, mark esper, also, a day later, saying that he wasnt sure where they were going, so basically distancing himself from the decision to go there. And separately, andrea, just yesterday, President Trump saying that he will not allow military bases to be renamed, military base ths that are name after confederate generals. That also a break with some of his top military officials who said they would be open to the idea. So were seeing this remarkable divide between President Trump, between some of his own military brass. Now, the president is going to be leaving for texas within the half hour. And we will be trying to ask him some of these questions to try to get a reaction from him. And in addition to that, andrea, try to get a response from him about the question that you posed at the top of your broadcast, what if anything is his plan to deal with these protests and their central concern. They say there is systemic racism throughout Police Departments all across the country. Does he see it that way, what is his plan to deal with it, andrea. Kristen, it has been at least ten days, nine or ten days since that monday night walk through the park. You were following him, you were out there, you were one of the people saying to him, what is the plan. In the days since, other reporters and you yourself have asked the question, what is the plan. And he has not said what the plan is, whether hes going to have a surprise announcement in dallas today or not. There is no plan. And the republicans are beginning to develop their proposals on the hill. But he seems very disengaged from it. Thats right. And we were told last night that theres still no definitive decision about whether President Trump is going to be announcing some type of unilateral action in texas today, an executive order. Were told among the things that the president , that the administration is considering, limits on chokeholds, some type of National Registry for officers who misbehave and who are engaged in misconduct. But there is still no decision about any of that, andrea. And we know that republicans on capitol hill are working to try to figure out what type ofe pro put forward, because of course last week democrats put forward a sweeping proposal. There are a number of red lines in that proposal for republicans. So, not clear if theyll be able to get on the same page and pass something that the president can support, andrea. And Yamiche Alcindor, this as the white house plans the first inperson rally, the president has been itching to return to his big rallies, so theyve scheduled it for tulsa next friday, its juneteenth, which perhaps the white house is unaware is a very important day in black history, it is the end of slavery, marking the end of slavery. Its also tulsa, where 99 years ago this month was the worst race riot, white race riot against africanamericans. It was a massacre of africanamericans who are still buried in a mass grave in a very important local church. How could they not be thinking about it . I just want to show, tim scott, the africanamerican republican member of the senate, was asked by al roker today about this juneteenth rally in tulsa. Lets watch. What about the president s juneteenth rally and his choice of these things . Well, al, thats a good question. I would certainly say that the more diverse our staffs, the more we avoid these public issues that come about. So i dont have a good answer for that because im not on his staff, i dont know what his plan is. Yamiche, have you heard anything from the white house to explain why they would choose tulsa and choose to do that first rally on juneteenth . I have not yet, much like kristen, ive been asking the white house for all sort of things, including why is this rally going to be held in oklahoma on this seminal day in the africanamerican community, but really in american history. Also, you know, whats the plan, whats the actual plan for the president to deal with systemic racism, does he actually believe that there is systemic racism in policing. All of those answers have gone unanswered or all the questions, rather, have gone unanswered by the white house. I think tim scott made a stunning admission there, that he thinks part of the issue with this rally is there isnt enough people of color in the white house who would put it together that the tulsa massacre along with juneteenth is probably not the place you would want to have a trump rally in the middle of that. It should be a day that should be commemorated, its an important day, of course, to africanamericans but its an important day to the country. The entire conversation were having about race, everyone in america on juneteenth should be thinking about how is the legacy of slavery continuing to affect all parts of society including policing, health care, and the media. So i think what we have here is the president possibly just not understanding what the significance of this is. Of course i would say critics of the pretty say there is of course a second narrative which could be that they understood what was going on and they wanted to make a point that the people who will be gathering in oklahoma, those are the people who are the people that the president is most interested in pacifying and wanting their support from. So i think its going to be pretty striking to see the images that are going to come out of that trump rally if it is in fact held on juneteenth. And rashon ray from brookings, your concerns about the president s inaction on police, what message should he be sending and what kind of reforms would you like to see the police adopt and embrace . I think the message that should be being sent is that unfortunately bad apples come from somewhere. And those bad apples come from trees. We have to be realistic that the legacy of Law Enforcement in the United States comes from structural racism. And i think some of the policies to really deal with this, i think first what we have to do is to deal with civilian payouts for Police Misconduct. In chicago, for example, over 600 million chicago had hs pai out for Police Misconduct, settlements, in the past 30 years. Other cities from detroit to philadelphia have done the same. We need to ensure that officers who are terminated for Police Misconduct can never work in Law Enforcement again. This could have saved tamir rices life, it could have saved antwon roses life. People like chauvin wouldnt have been on the streets in minneapolis. The federal government could step in at that level and put in a comprehensive Data Collection plan. We only collect information on officerinvolved killings in 16 states. We know how many people are killed by jellyfish every year, the cdc collects it, but we dont know how many people are killed by Police Officers. These are common sense forms of legislation that we need to see to ensure that Police Officers as well as the people who they interact with get home safely at the end of the interaction. And scott thompson, its good to see you again. We had talked earlier after you led camden through a complete rebuilding process. You had everybody disbanded, including yourself, and then rebuilt the Police Department in camden from the ground up. And in fact brought down the violence levels. Tell us how you managed to do that. Andrea, in 2012, it was arguably one of the largest hours in terms of our city in terms of crime, poverty, the failures of the education system, Event Organization which i came up in was one that had grown to be apathetic, lethargic. The political decision was made to disband the Police Department and create a new one, create a county police force, one that would give us the ability to build culture as opposed to trying to overcome the resistance of change in culture. And we really focused on three bedrock principles. Every new member of this organization were going to be guardians and not warriors. We were going to engage in enhanced community empowerment. And that deescalation was going to be engrained in the culture of our organization. We wanted our officers to weve demanded of our officers, were going to identify more with being a member of the peace corps than being a special forces operator. This was rooted in putting the mindset of what is the definition of insanity. We look at the same problems that continue to be seemingly intractable and we would go at it with the same approach, expecting a different result. Instead of trying to arrest our way and use might and force in neighborhoods, we took a different approach. We told the cops, stop writing people up, stop writing tickets, be a guardian, occupy the public space, be a facilitator, a convener, a person that can coalesce and heal a community. If we can remain there with a sense of presence as opposed to just trying to institutionalize everyone in there, we can move the needle. And the result of that was that we reduced murders by nearly 70 . Its been sustainable for the last seven years, it continues on a downward trajectory of 50year lows in crime. Weve been able to build relationships with the community wherein there were high levels of disdain and mistrust, to one in which were coexisting, building a relationship more and more each and every day and making our community better, safer, not just for the residents, but for the officers as well. So it was a complete paradigm shift. And do you think that the branding of defund the police is too hot politically to make it viable on capitol hill . It doesnt adequately explain what you did in camden which was to basically take the department apartment and rebuild it completely. Andrea, one of the challenges right now, ive heard several definitions for defund. We need to land on one so we can have a meaningful conversation about what to do. Do i think getting rid of police altogether is a viable option . No, i do not. Do i think that putting more resources to root issues can lead to better results . Yeah, i do. I saw that in camden city. No one was doing it. As long as we did that, things were getting better. So i think most Progressive Police chiefs in this country would concur with me that i would have traded ten cops for another progressive and productive boys and girls club within my neighborhood, because i saw the issues that they were addressing and fixing. They were fixing the things that were leading to the symptom of crime which we were continually interfacing with. Its time to go upstream and start to address some of the real issues in a meaningful way. And well have far less on the back end of things. And lastly, ill also say, andrea, as long as we keep asking Police Officers to enter space on a regular basis and expect them to remedy issues such as mental illness, homelessness and addiction, well continue to see a movie that ends in a way that nobody likes the way it is. Scott thompson, lessons learned. Rashawn ray, still teaching us many lessons to come. And yamiche and kristen, thanks so much. Coming up, coronavirus concerns. At least 21 states across the country are seeing cases spike. Next, were live in North Carolina where hospitalization rate are at an alltime high. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Atching andrl reports on msnbc. Alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Oh. Oh, darn wha let me help. Lift and push and push there. Its up there. Hey joshie. Wrinkles send the wrong message. Help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. Lets be honest. Quitting smoking is hard. Like, quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So try making it smaller, and youll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette. And sometimes, you can find yourself heading in a new direction. 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Have now topped 2 Million People with more than 113,000 people who have died in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. 21 states and now puerto rico are reporting a spike this cases this week including North Carolina, the state now ramping up its testing as hospital rates hit record highs. Nbc news correspondent catie beck joins us from raleigh, catie, those numbers are staggering for that state. Are the hospitals prepared for the surge . Reporter hi, andrea, yes, the numbers are staggering. State officials are keeping a close eye on this, calling it an accelerating trend in the wrong direction. It looks like the state has set a record high number for hospitalizations for the sixth time this month, seeing more patients with covid19related illnesses. And they are certainly concerned about what could be coming after all the reopenings. These states want their economies to start and their people to get back to some kind of normal life sometime, but they also want to keep flattening the curve. The governor of North Carolina has said North Carolina will stay in phase ii until at least june 26 and at that point he will meet with state Health Officials to determine whats next, whether they go on to phase iii, whether these numbers continue to climb, whether there is a sudden surge. Right now hospitals say they have the capacity to treat these patients, general beds and icu beds are available. Should these numbers continue, will they still be able to have that . Thats what theyre trying to solve as they move forward, andrea. Thanks so much, catie. Our guest is from the school of Public Health. Dr. Sharpstein, do you relate the spike to the memorial day crowds . What are your concerns about the crowds from the posts where there was clearly no way to safely distance . Sure. I think were seeing this in a number of states. North carolina, south carolina, like you mentioned, texas, arizona, utah. I think its very concerning. This probably predates the protests. It relates to when certain states decided to reopen. It relates a lot to how people are acting. If people are acting like this is over, its behind them, we now can move on, theres just a huge risk that the virus will jump from person to person. The virus just is looking for the chance to spread. And if were not really careful on everything that were doing, were going to give it more chances. And it has the potential to grow exponentially. We could be seeing a lot worse than what were seeing right now. And what were not seeing, though, is dr. Birx or dr. Fauci. Theres no Vice President pence or president of the United States in the briefing room. They have so downplayed that task force, which is still functioning, because weve heard from them in the last 24, 48 hours, weve heard dr. Birx warning that they need to do more testing. Heres what i dont quite understand. I know that the administration and many governors are very worried about having to shut down again. They dont want to do it. They want to keep pushing forward with the economy. And i understand that. But if thats what they want to do, they should be doubling and tripling down on the Public Health response. We should be seeing very clear warnings to people about being careful. A Huge Investment in Contact Tracing, isolation, quarantine, identifying communities at risk and helping them protect themselves. So were seeing, one, the lets get things going, without the other, which is, lets protect ourselves at the same time. If that stays out of balance, were in trouble. In fact the treasury secretary mnuchin was on cnbc today saying we cant shut down the economy again. I understand the concerns, you dont want to go from beginning to reopen to a complete dead stop. But as you point out, if you want to do that, why not emphasize the use of masks, emphasize the Contact Tracing and the testing . Right. I think the treasury secretary should be calling up the cdc and saying, we need you now more than ever, we cant afford to go back, tell us how we continue to open the economy but safely and lets all line up behind a clear and consistent, you know, set of actions to accomplish that. Its the failure to do that thats really putting us all at risk. And then those states where people feel like theyve just moved on, those states are going to be in increasing trouble, im afraid. Dr. Sharpstein, its always good to see you, thanks so much. Coming up next, another 1. 5 Million People filed for unemployment last week. Well dig into the numbers. Stay with us. I have moderate to severe pnow, theres skyrizi. Things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free to bare my skin yeah thats all me. Nothing and me go hand in hand nothing on my skin thats my new plan. Nothing is everything. Keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months. Of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. And skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. I see nothing in a different way and its my moment so i just gotta say nothing is everything skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. Nothing is everything ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. According to numbers just out today, more than 44 Million People now have applied for Unemployment Benefits during the last three months of the pandemic. As the Labor Department reports, another 1. 5 million have applied for Unemployment Benefits, a reduction. Fed chief Jerome Powell is warning there will be a slow recovery for the u. S. Economy with an estimated Unemployment Rate of 9. 3 by the end of the year. Some jobs clearly not returning at all. Joining me now, nbcs business and Technology Correspondent jo ling kent and chris lieu, former secretary of labor in the obama administration, now a senior fellow at the miller center. O where are the strong points in the u. S. Economy . I always like to take a look at continuing claims. That means the amount of people who continue to get Unemployment Benefits. And that number has also dropped. But its still at 21 million. We have to remember that even though we see this downward trend, as you mentioned, the numbers are still staggering and very dramatic. And so yes, we did see a jobs report last week that showed a lot of people going back to work. But we also have seen massive layoffs continuing and retail is one of those very important sectors that i always like to watch, because it indicates how so many workers are faring. And Companies Like zara, for example, are announcing theyre closing 1,200 stores worldwide. You have kay jewellers, jared, Closing Stores directly because of the covid19 impact. When you look at the broader picture here, you see research saying 25,000 stores may permanently close this year alone. As much as the numbers are getting better, were still very much sitting in the millions. And that means there are still a lot of job losses going on. Fed chair Jerome Powell is now saying a lot of those jobs may not ever come back and the number that really is the takehome here is when you look ahead to the rest of the year, you look at gdp, productivity of the american economy, right, and that number, Jerome Powell is saying it could contract by 6. 5 , andrea. That would be really indicative of long term need for recovery, not something weeks or months away. Indeed, and chris lieu, when we talk about the economic impact, it is felt much more deeply among africanamericans in particular, when you look at the disparate effects, first of the virus, but then of course of continuing unemployment. And we saw that dramatically last week when we got the monthly unemployment numbers. The Unemployment Rate among white americans dropped but it actually went up among africanamericans. We know at times of economic downturns, communities of color have higher unemployment. They say unemployed for a longer period of time. Because they havent accumulated the amount of wealth along the way, they have less of a nest egg to cushion them in a difficult period of time. When you accumulate this over years and years, you see this tremendous wealth gap between white americans and black americans to the point now where the typical white household has the same network as 11 1 2 africanamerican households. Look, while the president today is in dallas talking about a variety of inequality issues, its going to require sustained, focused attention to address some of these underlying inequalities whether its economic, health care, or education. And he has been talking about a vshaped resurgence, a rebound, but were not seeing any sign that have yet. Of that yet. I think its too early to say that. I think when you look at these numbers coming out of today, its not just the 21 Million People who are unemployed. Theres 9 million additional ones, largely parttime and gig workers. Thats 30 Million People on unemployment right now. And i think last weeks jobs report unfortunately gave people a false sense of confidence. And i think now people are starting to take their foot off the accelerator in terms of additional economic relief. We know theres another wave of layoffs coming down the road with state and local employees. Thats teachers, thats police and firefighters. Already a million and a half of them have lost their jobs over the last two months. Right now congress doesnt seem inclined to help states out, so were going to see noeanother w of people getting unemployed over the next couple of months. Another thing jay powell said yesterday was there will have to be more help from the fed and more help from congress. As you point out, what the administration took from last weeks numbers, the jobless numbers, the improvement there, is that they dont have to do anything anytime soon in terms of new legislation. Thats exactly right. And i think thats a mistake right now. I think we are way too soon into what we think is a little bit of a bounceback. But this is a long road ahead. And i think its important to look at what chairman powell said yesterday, that were going to have elevated unemployment all through 2021, and most importantly, that millions of americans would likely not get their jobs back. Jo ling kent and chris lu, thank you so much. Next, former Vice President joe biden has a major concern when it comes to this novembers election. Well listen to that, next. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Watching anl reports on msnbc. Miles to the job site. The campsite. And anything else we set our sights on. Miles that take us back to the places we want to go. And to the people who count on us. So, lets roll up our sleeves. Because weve got miles to make up. This moment right now. This is our commencement. No, well not get a diploma or a degree of any kind. But we are entering a new chapter in our lives. Our confidence is shaken; our hearts cracked. The kind of a crack that comes from the loss of a job; from life plans falling apart. We didnt ask for it. But we are rising to meet it. And how far weve come isnt even close to how far we can go. We just have to remember how patient we were. How strong we can be. how strong you can be. and remember this; theres a crack in everything for a reason. How else can the light get in . Tomorrow starts today. Pete davidson is twell, dads still dead. D. I want to become a real tattoo artist. Your work is mad inconsistent. Obama aint right. You dont get to act crazy your whole life just because dad died, ok. Your dad was a hero. And heroes are necessary. [ cheering ] why do i have to clean this anyway . What, are you trying to show up sexy to a fire . I like him. No no no no no, theres no space there maybe over here . Hot hot oven mitts oven mitts everythings stuck in the drawers im sorry oh, jeez. Hi. Kelly clarkson. Try wayfair oh, ok. Its going to help you, with all of. This yeah, here you go. Thank you oh, i like that one [ laugh ] thats a lot of storage perfect. Youre welcome i love it. How did you do all this . Wayfair speaking of dinner, whatre we eating, guys . But a resilient business you cacan be ready for it. Re. A Digital Foundation from vmware helps you redefine whats possible. Now. From the hospital shifting to remote patient care in just 48 hours. To the university moving hundreds of apps quickly to the cloud. Or the City Government Going Digital to keep Critical Services running. You are creating the future on the fly. And we are helping you do it. Vmware. Realize whats possible. As President Trump is planning to resume holding big rallies, his signature rally starting next week, despite the covid spike, joe biden told trevor noah on the daily show that his biggest concern is that the president will try to steal the election. This president is going to try to steal this election. This is the guy who said all mailin ballots are fraudulent, while he sits behind the desk in the oval office and writes his mailin ballot to vote in a primary. Have you ever considered what would happen if the election result came out as you being the winner and trump refused to leave . Yes, i have. And i was so damn proud, you have four chiefs of staff coming out and ripping the skin off of trump. And you have so many rank and file military personnel saying, whoa, were not a military state, this is not who we are. I promise you, im absolutely convinced they will escort him from the white house with great dispatch. Join me now is mike memoli, nbc news correspondent in philadelphia where biden is speaking on the economy at this hour. Jen palmieri, and former republican congressman david jolly of florida. Mike memoli, it seemed to me joe biden was sharpening his attack in this nearly hourlong interview last night with trevor noah. Thats right, andrea. As one Campaign Adviser put it to us several weeks ago, the thing that keeps them up at night is this question of whether donald trump will challenge the results of an election. You heard the former Vice President making that clear. Also telling trevor noah that the campaign is ready to have lawyers sent around the country to make sure that the vote is being protected. Today we expect to see him running just a little bit behind, as you know, andrea, as is often the case, for an event thats supposed to focus on the economy and what the Biden Campaign says will be an effort to discuss the Vice President s plan to safely reopen the economy after the coronavirus. Hes going to be joined by a Small Business owner as well as a recentlyunemployed worker here in the city. This coming as President Trump is getting ready to really relaunch his rally schedule. A note about what were going to see, the former Vice President is going to be joined by a handful of people. Youll notice im outside, not in the room as we typically would like to be. The campaign keeping these events rather small, only a pool of reporters as they try to protect not just his health but to set a positive example for the country. The Biden Campaign likes this idea of contrasting what he is doing versus what the president is doing and you couldnt see it any better than this small kind of roundtable versus the kind of big rallies the president wants to start doing as soon as next week. And in fact, that next week rally, the rally that is planned, jen palmieri, hes planned it for juneteenth, which is a significant date in american history, the end of slavery, it is celebrated by africanamericans and other people alike around the country. But its also in tulsa, which marks 99 years this month, the worst white race riot, burning and looting and killing, massacring black americans in tulsa, 99 years ago. And people are saying that it is tone deaf, to say the least, unless, as Yamiche Alcindor suggested, unless its a deliberate signal, a dog whistle, if you will, to the maggazin rally. Its either a lack of knowledge or its intention al s a dog whistle. Both are obviously really troubling. It says a couple of things, about what memoli shared with us, biden is right about trump trying to undo the Election Results or fight the Election Results. Last week we saw what hes capable of in trying to use the National Guard and trying to use the military. He built a fortress around the white house perhaps to try to keep himself in it, i dont know. We need to brace for what is coming in november and we need to prepare for the thing i really worry about, actually voting, both by mail, that being safe and there being enough locations to be safe to vote in person. I dont think this is a distracting issue for biden. I think it can drive enthusiasm for him. This is whats literally at stake, is democracy. That is what is on the ballot. And i think that he has to do it and i also think its a good message. And, you know, trump will do his rallies, biden will do his set pieces, and biden is great in that setting. This is where rallies are not really his thing, but one on one interaction with people and talking about the economy, thats a good set for him. David jolly, as a former republican member of congress, congress is refusing, republicans objecting, to appropriate the money needed to safeguard the election and republicans are now talking about 50,000, quote, poll watchers, which many fear could be too intimidate people, particularly in minority communities, to suppress the vote. Andrea, republicans on capitol hill do not want to stand between donald trump and the election as he tries to steal it. I think joe biden is exactly right. All we have to do is look at Donald Trumps history. He publicly called on russia to interfere in 2016. He did that from a microphone, we heard it with our own ears. He was just impeached earlier this year for asking ukraine to interfere and help him cheat in the 2020 election. And domestically they have this system of Voter Suppression that is done through rules and regulations and this notion that somehow the ballot is not safe. And the fatal flaw in republicans arguments on capitol hill, the fatal flaw is that rather than taking the lead in trying to make elections secure and vote by mail secure and being the law and order party, suggesting that we can improve voting, theyre simply the party of no. Theyre the party thats standing between voters and voters democracy in november. Donald trump has a playbook here, republicans on capitol hill are willing to go along with it because they know the polls dont look good and joe biden likely wins this thing. And just to pick up on that, the other thing the rnc is doing is urging people in pennsylvania to vote by mail, which is completely contradictory to the president s message. But what about also moving the republican convention, at least the renomination, the big rally and the acceptance speech piece of that potentially to jacksonville, florida . What does jacksonville, florida do for him, from North Carolina which would still have, as is contractually required, where the rnc was originally going to be, it would have the original business and platform events, pro forma events. Look, donald trump wants the imagery of a national convention. He wants the rally. Jacksonville provides a market that hits two states in florida and georgia, florida being a mostwin state. Andrea, donald trump and republicans, particularly florida republicans, are whistling past the graveyard [ inaudible ]. Jen, i want to events Like National conventions and its a dangerous move to go to jacksonville for a convention right now. I apologize, i was having difficulty hearing you from my part. Jen, i want to ask about nascar and the symbols. Here you have nascar moving very quickly to ban the Confederate Flag after pressure from race car driver Bubba Wallace who is wearing a black lives matter tshirt and renamed his car. Lets show you what he had to say on the today show today. To most, its a sign of heritage. But to a large group of people its a sign of hate and oppression and just a lot of negative and bad things that come to mind. Inclusion is what were trying to accomplish here. If the flag is holding them back, lets just take it down for that, for the sporting event. And jen, the speaker of the house said that she believes that some 14 or 15 statues to confederate heroes need to be taken down from the capitol. As well, the military was preparing to take the first steps toward renaming ft. Bragg, ft. Benefitiningbenning, which for confederate heroes. I also sold the ol miss coach wearing a unity tshirt and addressing a rally of football players, a black lives matter rally. These are cultural images of nascar, sec college football, saying that the Confederate Flag shouldnt be used. Its so remarkable, this is what happens in these big moments that turn into movements. And in terms of the confederate named bases, i think for people that dont understand, we think of it as heritage, we think of it as history, and look at how these bases are named as history, read Mitch Landrieus speech about removing confederate monuments from new orleans and talking about why people look at these monuments and think about history but from a black persons perspective, its about hate and fear. And this is a reckoning that was due to happen in america and its happening in all elements of our culture. Thank you so much, jen. That Mitch Landrieu speech is something we all should be rereading, exactly. And david jolly and of course mike memoli where joe biden has come out and is about to start that event. Well bring you any headlines. Coming up next, congratulations to the class of 2020. While the celebrations had to move online, they were so full of inspiring advice. I didnt choose this exact type of metastatic breast cancer. But i did pick clarity by knowing i have a treatment that goes right at it. Discover piqray, a treatment that specifically targets pik3ca mutations in hr , her2 mbc. Piqray is taken with fulvestrant after progression on hormone therapy and helps people live longer without disease progression. Do not take piqray if youve had severe allergic reactions to it or any of its ingredients. Piqray can cause serious side effects including severe allergic and skin reactions, high blood sugar levels and diarrhea that are common and can be severe, and pneumonitis. Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of severe allergic reactions or high blood sugar while taking piqray. Your doctor will monitor your blood sugar before and during treatment, and more often if you have type 2 diabetes. Before starting, tell your doctor if you have a history of diabetes, skin reactions, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. Common side effects include rash, nausea, tiredness, weakness decreased appetite, mouth sores, vomiting, weight loss, hair loss, and changes in some blood tests. Ask your doctor about piqray. To sleepy smudges. To showerskipping. These days call for a quick clean. Luckily, help is still one wipe away. Love, neutrogena®. For students and their families, including a special graduate in west lebanon, new hampshire, graduating from high school or college is a milestone to celebrate. This year while the pandemic canceled most inperson graduation ceremonies, we want to pay tribute to the class of 2020 with a lot of help from our friends at the today show. Congratulations. Congratulations to you, chosen ones. Must be very strange doing this in these trying times. You worked so hard, and for so long, and you expected it to culminate in some pomp and circumstance. I hope you wear these uncommon circumstances as a badge of honor. Its not the graduation you wanted, but you are graduating. I know youre missing what was supposed to be your medal ceremony, but that ceremony doesnt change a thing. Youve already won. I see your devotion, your commitment, your passion. I see your exhaustion. I see your pride. And i see your accomplishment. You guys are our future. Like, youre everything. We are counting on you. The world is yours now. And i cant wait to see what you make of it. To the class of 2020, im proud of you. I hope you use your gifts to create a better world. Congratulations, liv. You have greatness inside you. Every single one of you who is listening. You have greatness inside of you. Your job is to find out what your gift is, dig it out, and give it to the world. It is time to chase every dream, accept every challenge. Strive for the greatness. Honor every promise, and commit to your community. Let this moment confer your generation immunity. Crippling fear. And know the mantra can still stand for something. We are in this together. Real change has started with you. This new generation of high school and College Graduates who we celebrate today. Thank you for using your collective voice and letting the world know that black lives matter. If you hold strong with the same faith that carried all those giants before you toward real, measurable progress, you will change the course of history. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for inspiring the world to see our collective humanity. This is your moment. Your generations world to shape. And taking on this responsibility, i hope you are bold. Even though there may not be pomp because of our circumstances, never has a graduating class been called to step into the future with more purpose, vision, passion and energy and hope. The future is always uncertain, but we who celebrate what you have done. We celebrate all of your achievements. We are certain of one thing on this day. You will not let us down. And we want to send out a big congratulations to another very little graduate. This is gia who is home today after 106 days in the nicu. Her mother is jennifer swazo, the executive producer of nbc nightly news and the First Executive producer of our program. Congratulations to jen, her husband joe, the whole family and baby gia who became known in the nicu as the feisty one and is a true warrior, which is no surprise for those who know her mom. And that does it for all of us. This edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Chuck todd and katy tur pick up our coverage after a break. Wayfair has everything outdoor from grills to play sets and more one of a kind finds. It all ships free. And with new deals every day you can explore endless options at every price point. 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Deposit a check with your phone or tablet. Check balances, pay bills, and more. Send money to people you know and trust with zelle. Explore all you can do with our Digital Tools from almost anywhere. Pnc bank. From almost anywhere. Yeah. This moving thing never gets any easier. Well, xfinity makes moving super easy. I can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. Wow, that is easy. Almost as easy as having those guys help you move. We are those guys. Thats you . The truck adds 10 pounds. In the arms. Okay. Transfer your Service Online in a few easy steps. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. And a good afternoon in the east. Good morning out west. Im chuck todd. Here are the latest headlines. Two major stories right now both related to the aftermath of the death of george floyd. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for the removal of confederate statues from capitol hill and discuss possible legislation to strip confederate names from military bases. For what its worth, usually its states that have some governance of those statues inside the capitol. So that actually that might be more complicated than the legislation to change the names of the military bases, by the way. While the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is apologizing for taking part in a photo op after