Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20200703

Health guidance. We know that large gatherings presents the biggest risk right now. Would you advise someone to go to a large gathering, yes or no . Well, craig, its not a yes or no. Every Single Person has to make up their own mind. There are going to be people going to beaches, going to barbecues, going to different environments, and they have to look at their individual risk. And that is exactly the problem. Here are the facts at this hour. Despite public warnings against mass gatherings, President Trump is traveling to mt. Rushmore today and encouraging thousands of people to gather for a fireworks display, with south dakotas governor refusing to require masks and forestry experts warning of the risks of wildfires out west. The president s trump comes as the Washington Post is reporting Vice President pence had to postpone his trip to arizona by one day this week after members of the secret service tested positive for coronavirus. Miamidade county in florida has put a 10 00 p. M. Curfew in case and in a major reversal, Texas Governor greg abbott who previously barred texas mayors from making maximsks mandatory, now making masks mandatory in the state. All this as republican officials, including the Texas Governor, are beginning to break away from the president s past criticism of masks, as he himself is facing a more serious reelection challenge because of growing criticism of his leadership on the pandemic. Economists, meanwhile, warning this months improvement at allimportant jobless numbers could be temporary given widespread rollbacks on reopenings with spikes occurring in a majority of our states. We start then with our reporters in two of those coronavirus hotspots, Msnbcs David Gura is at lyndon b. Johnson hospital in houston, texas, and nbcs Erin Mclaughlin is in Santa Monica Beach in california. Vid, t Texas Governors mask mandate is a big turnaround for greg abbott. What are you seeing in houston as those cases are spiking . Reporter andrea, you called this a major reversal and that is absolutely right. The governor for so many weeks has resisted calling for this kind of mandate. Yesterday he did late in the afternoon. I think its for two reasons. One is simply the data. As he looked to whats happening here in houston, in Harris County, and across the state, the kind of spikes theyre seeing, it has to be alarming to the executive of the state. The other is the pressure hes under from local officials. We got our hands on a letter that the mayor of houston wrote to the governor just a couple of days ago. In that letter, andrea, he said that he needs more ppe, he needs more support. He called for a mask mandate, he wanted to see one put in place. I sat down with the ceo of the Hospital System behind me here, Harris Health system, the safety net system in Harris County, it services a lot of people who are without insurance. This crossed the wires right as we sat down. I asked how he reacted to it. He said he wanted to get up and do a cartwheel, he was so decided that the governor had made this decision. I asked him, given what were seeing, given the governors decision to do this, how important is this moment . This is what he had to say. Its a fork in the road. Depending on the direction we go is going to determine what news story were going to be talking about on july 18 or july 20. We could have a story that says Harris County is now like new york, or it can be the story that Harris County was able yet again to flatten the curve. And i really hope its the latter. Reporter the doctor has only been on the job since march. This has consumed his entire tenure, overseeing this health care system. The hospital behind me is at capacity. He says hes working with other hospitals to move patients to bring in more staff. But things are getting very serious here, andrea, and Hospital Executives in this community are certainly worried about whats going to happen in the days and weeks to come. David gura, thank you so much. Erin mclaughlin, enforcement measures now in santa monica, 100 fine for failing to wear a mask as beaches now are closing. Reporter thats right, andrea. And a stunning sight here in santa monica. Let me ask cameraman scott to pan the camera over to show you the situation unfolding behind me. That parking lot down there right by the beach would normally be filling up with cars and people by the thousands arriving here to celebrate july 4th. You can see the beach there completely empty and closed. Just to my right is the Amusement Park, the iconic Amusement Park here in santa monica, also shut down. There will be no fireworks this weekend to prevent people from congregating, gathering together, exactly what authorities do not want people to be doing here in california this weekend. That is the situation playing up and down the california coastline as authorities here are struggling to get this under control. The numbers are also staggering. Hospitalizations up some 56 in the last two weeks. Number of confirmed cases approaching a quarter of a million. And authorities are now really trying to get people to wear masks. The state of california issuing a Public Service announcement starring previous governors including arnold schwarzenegger, that playing out on televisions across the state, urging the wearing of masks. Theyre enforcing mask orders, fines are 300 in the case of west hollywood, andrea. Thanks so very much, thanks to both of you, erin and david. Joining me now is dr. Mario ramirez, emergency room physician, former acting director of the office of pandemic and emerging threats at the department of health and Human Services and a texas native. Dr. Ramirez, thanks for being with us. I understand you still have family there so youre especially concerned, obviously, about whats happening in texas. Lets start there. Thats right, andrea, i group up in mccowan, texas, in one of the hardesthit counties now. I have several family members working in the hospitals there. The news coming out of that region is really concerning. Several months ago there were stories about how the local county judges and other folks had done a good job of putting restrictions in place. They were keeping case counts under wraps. Then of course you covered governor abbotts superseding order that sort of removed those. And now the governor has changed course and put those mask orders back in place. Im hopeful that things will get better. But thats going to take some time. The Surgeon General, dr. Adams, was asked today on the today show by craig, why people are not being required to wear masks at the mt. Rushmore event. Take a look at this. We will support governors and local officials with their decision making. They know their people best. Here is the challenge. If you make something mandatory, particularly for the younger age groups were talking about, many of them will rebel and do the exact opposite. If people understand why theyre doing it, theyre going to be more likely to comply. If its mandatory, theyll only do it when someones watching. While im not against anyone who has a mandate, i think the most important thing from a Health Communications point of view is helping people understand how they benefit and why they should do this. Isnt the biggest problem that the federal government has deferred to local governments and youve had a division between red state governors and in some cases mayors, and the National Government including the president . That sent a mixed message and politicized this whole issue of face coverings, which should be a Public Health issue. Andrea, youre right, weve been battling this politicization of not only the masking issue but the scientific debate as well. I respectfully disagree with the Surgeon General here. What our approach over the last few months has shown is pushing responsibility out to local jurisdictions and telling people why they should be doing something is clearly not enough. We are literally one of the only countries in the world watching their case counts go up when other countries similar to ours have seen their case counts drop down to zero. And what those countries were able to do is implement a National Coordinated strategy that the United States has failed to adopt. And there are a lot of reasons, some of them political, why thats failed to happen. But i just you know, i disagree with the idea that we can hand out responsibility and expect everybody in the country to do the right thing. Clearly thats not the case. And the Lieutenant Governor in texas, dan patrick, disagreeing with dr. Fauci, taking him on in this, take a look at this on fox news, where youve got now greg abbott finally agreeing, and showing remarkably that hes willingly to acknowledge that he was wrong and too slow to this, but the Lieutenant Governor is taking such a hard line, take a look at this. Locking down doesnt work. If it did, those two states would be doing better than texas. Fauci said today that he is concerned about states like texas that skipped over certain things. He doesnt know what hes talking about. We havent skipped over anything. The only thing im skipping over is listening to him. He has been wrong every time on every issue. I dont need his advice anymore. Just as a doctor, and im not a doctor, im just a citizen, to have the Lieutenant Governor of the state of texas saying that about dr. Fauci, bad enough that hes been pretty much silenced as far as public warnings are concerned, but to have that happen is really troubling. We should be really clear about this, andrea. Scientists like dr. Fauci do research and scientific work on behalf of the federal government to inform the decisions that our elected policymakers are exposed make. You know, and i think what we saw at the Senate Hearing the other day, where senator paul made similar statements about dr. Faucis opinions, but the truth is that citizens elect those officials to take that information in and then set policies for our society. Its not dr. Fauci who makes the policy. He provides the best recommendations for these folks. And in texas, this is an interesting case because the governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected independently, theyre not elect on a joint ticket. This puts the governor in the uncomfortable position of embracing a mask mandate while his Lieutenant Governor clearly feels the opposite. Lieutenant governor patrick is clearly willing to come out with his policy stance on this issue. But i think thats really the core of this issue, people are politicizing scientific officials as if theyre the ones making the policy, and thats clearly not the case. And overnight, the president again tweeting that its because of testing that these numbers are going up. If you want to fact check that for us. I think weve seen plenty of evidence that thats just not correct and its not accurate. What we have seen in numerous places, whether its arizona or texas or florida, is that hospitalization rates are increasing and in some of these areas in certain counties, were seeing testing positivity rates as high at 20 . That fraction doesnt go up just from the increase in tests that youre doing. That only happens because more people are developing the disease. The u. S. Is doing much more testing than we were doing three months ago but the problem is the result were getting is not the one we had hoped for. Dr. Mario ramirez, as always, thank you, and a safe Holiday Weekend for you and your family. Coming up next, politics and the pandemic. President trump battling crises on multiple fronts as he faces a looming election, a reelection contest. More on that, next. And later, fourth of july fireworks. Why the president s planned visit to mt. Rushmore is worrying both environmentalists and Public Health experts. This is Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Stay with us. Reports on msnbc. Stay with us you doing okay . 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. Won these bluetooth headphones for 20. I got these three suitcases for less than 40. And shipping is always free. Go to dealdash. Com right now and see how much you can save. President trump and his Reelection Campaign are dealing with several crises this Holiday Weekend. The spreading coronavirus pandemic, clearly. His handling of intelligence on russia. And the countrys racial reckoning. The president is watching his polls plummet except on his handling of the economy. There has not been anything like this, record setting, shattering all expectations. Our economy is roaring back. Its coming back extremely strong. These are all historic numbers. A record, never had a number like that. Joining me now are nbcs White House Correspondent kristen welker, also coanchor of weekend today, gayle lemmon, a senior fellow at the council of foreign relations, and the New York Times correspondent peter baker. Kristen, most economists agree these economic increases are temporary because of the reopening. Basically the economy is only going to be as good as the issue of the virus and thats not Getting Better as far as we can see. Thats exactly right, andrea. President trump touting those strong economic numbers yesterday. And yet, the fact that a number of his aides and allies say, look, this may be temporary, you do see these states that are starting to scale back their reopening plans, and ultimately that could impact the state of the economy. And they think that ultimately, andrea, ultimately, he is going to be judged on his handling of this broader crisis, the coronavirus pandemic. And on that there have been a number of mixed messages. We saw that on display today where you had the Surgeon General on today talking to craig melvin and saying you should wear a mask, essentially urging people to wear masks, yet not being able to say if they should avoid large gatherings as we await President Trump heading to south dakota, to mt. Rushmore, to hold that big event this evening, where they will encourage Wearing Masks but theyre not going to require it. And so the president and the administration have been criticized for these mixed messages and saying that essentially its making it tougher for people to know how to navigate this crisis moving forward. There is also going to be, obviously, andrea, that big event here in d. C. We know that Hand Sanitizer stations are going to be set up, theyll be handing out masks, yet a lot of concern about the possibility that this could ultimately be one more big weekend of socializing that could impact the pandemic, andrea. And in fact the mayor is very much against it, telling people to stay home, while the president is saying come out to the mall. Just quickly i wanted to ask if youve learned anything more about those secret Service Agency who were preparing Vice President pences visit to arizona and contracted coronavirus or are showing symptoms, which limited the Vice President s efforts to just the airport. This is the second time this has happened, it happened in tulsa on the president s detail. Thats right, the second time its happened, andrea. It underscores how complicated it is to hold big events and to travel, frankly. So reports that as many as eight secret Service Agents did test positive ahead of the Vice President s trip. I reached out to the secret service who provided a statement overnight saying, quote, the health and safety of our workforce, their families, and that of our protectees remains the agencys highest priority. The agency continues to operate in compliance with the centers for Disease Control recommendations and the u. S. Secret service. So not disputing the reports, andrea, but really trying to underscore that they are focused on keeping their agents safe moving forward, andrea. Peter baker, youve covered so many president s. Again, the president seeing good numbers in his reelection polling at least on his handling of the economy, but the Labor Department is saying that nearly 5 million americans returned to work last month, but those were largely people who had been furloughed and the Unemployment Rate is falling to 11. 1 under their calculation, yet most economists say its at least 13 or 14 when you consider all the people who are no longer even looking for jobs. Well, thats right, and those numbers come from surveys done in the middle of june. In other words, two or three weeks ago, basically, before weve seen the real spikes that have just rocked some of these states in the last number of days. And so we dont know whether or not those numbers are indicating anything that will continue as a trend or will be reversed, as you pointed out. The president , you can understand why of course he would want to tout the numbers in the briefing room. Hes had very little good news lately to talk about. This is obviously good news for millions of americans who are returning to work at least in a temporary phase. But without a solution to the virus, without a better approach to the virus, it does feel like its tentative and perhaps quite fragile. The president wants to be able to convince the country that its on the path back, that momentum is on his side in order to create, you know, a sort of cascade effect, right, that there is a virtue in some ways to promoting optimism. But the problem is the numbers arent cooperating on the virus side. And as long as states like california and texas are heading backwards, youre not going to see these economic numbers, we dont think, continue the way they had been into midjune. And on the Foreign Policy front, the leadership of the president on that, on National Security, with this russia bounty intelligence, that the white house is trying to claim has not been, quote, validated or confirmed, as though you were talking about evidence in a trial beyond a reasonable doubt, thats not the way intelligence is either gathered or reported to the chief executive, to the commander in chief. Youve lived in afghanistan, youve written books about afghanistan. How concerned are you about the way this president is taking intelligence and the security of our troops . Here is the reality, andrea, is that afghanistan is the war that has spanned three administration, which absolutely no one has wanted to own. What you see now is that russian activity in afghanistan is not new. What is new is this level of discussion about what it means and how it is endangering u. S. Forces. 2017, secretary mattis was talking about russian activity in afghanistan. 2018, general nicholson, who has been on your show, talking about russia clearly acting against United States interests, arming the taliban, and those arms would be used against either Afghan Forces or u. S. Forces. The question is does this force the hand. Today the special representative for afghanistan peace talks is talking to the heads of afghanistan, trying to figure out the way forward with these taliban talks, because really the president has said he wants to end this war in this administration. And i think hes not the first president to say this, you and i have talked about it over the years. Well see if he actually does execute this. But this complicates it a lot, because many people who had wanted to see the u. S. Remain in afghanistan, particularly on the hill, will not take this lightly. And peter, i know you were bureau chief of the times in moscow. What is Vladimir Putin thinking when the president calls this a hoax . Not only doesnt he warn putin in six phone calls after this intelligence was briefed to him but he then is not briefed by his people to Say Something to Vladimir Putin about it, and he invites him to the g7. Yeah, weve seen this sort of dichotomy in russia policy over the last 3 1 2 years, you have the president and his own administration on different pages. The president saying nice things about Vladimir Putin, not challenging him openly, while his administration applies sanctions and other things. This is one more instance where you see a president not willing, it seems like, to challenge Vladimir Putin on something that would be of importance to American National security. Thank you, peter, thanks, gayle, and kristen. Happy hoyliday weekend to all. The president is leaving washington for a fireworks celebration at mt. Rushmore, sparking controversy on a number of fronts. Tom brokaw joins us to tell us about the visit. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Doing. You are transforming business models, and virtualizing workforces overnight. Because so much of that relies on financing, we have committed two billion dollars to relieve the pressure on your business. As you adapt and transform, were here with the people, financing, and technology, ready to help. President trump heading to mt. Rushmore today to celebrate the fourth of july with a massive fireworks display despite a decadelong ban on fireworks because of the risk of wildfires there. This year, new Public Health concerns, of course, about large gatherings spreading the coronavirus. But the republican governor, kristi noem, is refusing to allow face masks or social distancing. Nbc news correspondent cal perry is reporting at mt. Rushmore. He just had to move because of secret service lockdowns before the president s arrival. Cal, youre in a nearby town, close enough. Reporter yeah, theyre doing that sweep, as we said, so were outside. There wont be social distancing as the governor of south dakota says, she says its a free country, dont come if you dont want to, is what she basically said. Add to that the concern about forest fires. Its been more than a decade since fireworks here. The black hills is a place that is a sacred place to the indigenous tribes who live here. They view the monument very differently than Many Americans do. This was land that was promised to them in 1868. The u. S. Government betrayed that treaty, the laramie treaty. Take a listen to the head of the ndn collective, what he had to say to us yesterday. I would say these arent Great American heroes. These are folks that were colonizers. They were mass murderers. They were responsible for the steal of Indigenous Peoples lands, the murdering and raping of our communities and people. Thats just the reality of our history. Reporter when you look at the rally that happened in tulsa, around juneteenth, you look at this rally, andrea, there is a question here as to whether the administration is blind to the history this country is now relookingat, reexamining in this moment of social awakening or if they simply dont care, andrea. Cal perry, an iconic location and a controversial one. Joining us now, nbc news Senior Correspondent tom brokaw who hails from yankton, south dakota, and has a lifelong interest in this issue as it affec affects native americans. Ive lived my entire life, my family was in an army base not too far away from there during world war ii, and we would go and have picnics at the base of mt. Rushmore when there was no infrastructure whatsoever. But it is very important to understand the role of the lakota people and their legitimate claim on the black hills. In 1860 they were granted the black hills. Then custer, as was his wont, came riding into the black hills, set off a gold rush, and broke the treaty, no question about it. In 1980, the u. S. Supreme court ruled it was a violation of the treaty and granted the tribes an enormous amount of money. But it was not enough. It was not the money they were interested in. There is a fund now that is over a billion dollars because the tribes dont want to go into that money. They want their land back. Its not likely to happen, obviously. But i think its an important part of our culture and our history. They are there and reminding everyone, this was their land at the beginning. Lets talk about crazy horse and the memorial that is there and the importance of that figure to the lakota and dakota. Reporter it was called pahasaba, the black hills, a very rich part of the world, a lot of wildlife, beautiful conifers. I grew up effectively in one form or another in the black hills as a boy scout, camping across, living there during world war ii, going back very often during the course of my life. I never failed to be thrilled and moved by the importance of the black hills to the native americans. And you have to remember this is a private enterprise created so they could pay tribute to the great warrior chiefs of the lakota tribe, thats not too far away. Thats all private money. A polish sculptor did it, his family now runs it as a commercial enterprise, and its important for us not to overlook that because those people whose land we effectively invaded made a great, strong Warrior Stand to retain it. He was killed by an american soldier and no one knows where he is buried there. Its one of the Great American historic stories that we should be aware of. I also want to ask you, tom, about a story that is breaking today. Were both football fans, weve both attended our washington Football Games plenty of times. There is a new statement today, for the first time the owner of the Washington Redskins is saying that there is a team review of the name because now fedex, which is the naming corporation of fedex field where they play, has come out with a statement asking them to change the name, something that, you know, the owner has said would never, ever happen, but now they are reviewing it for the first time. How important do you think it is in the light of the National Reckoning over a lot of these things . I think its very important, andrea. Ive felt for a long time that they couldnt exist as the redskins forever. Look, i played on a High School Team in south dakota in which we were named after indians and finally the community said look, this is not appropriate, so they changed the name and changed the logos, because it was frankly a kind of insult to the native tribes in our area about how they were referred to by a bunch white kids running up and down the football fields. There are lots of ways you can reconfigure the redskins, the Football Team, and pay homage to what their heritage is as a Football Team but also to the people who were here long before we were. And we have to keep that in mind. Athletics, by the way, on the reservations themselves in the states like montana where i am now, and south dakota, all these areas, athletics on the reservation are hugely important. The kids are extremely good athletes for the most part. And we ought to honor that as well and find a way to pull them into the Great American culture of sports, spectatorship, and fans. As always, tom, its great to see you. Our thanks to your producer, claire frey, for getting us your hit today from montana, we really appreciate you. A happy holiday to you and your family. I would go there when i was just a child, i was like 4 years old, i would a really wonderful time, we had this camping that we would do. Grandma would say, we have to take care of it. Its been part of my life. I know it has. Thanks for that, as always. And up next, as the coronavirus cases spike in more than half of the country, how this july 4th weekend will look like no other. Stay with us, youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Re watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. 9. 95 . Thats impossible. Hi, im jonathan, a manager here at Colonial Penn Life Insurance company, to tell you it is possible. If youre age 50 to 85, you can get Life Insurance with options starting at just 9. 95 a month. Okay, jonathan, im listening. Tell me more. Just 9. 95 a month for Colonial Penns number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan. There are no Health Questions to answer and there are no medical exams to take. Your acceptance is guaranteed. Guaranteed acceptance . I like guarantees. Keep going. And with this plan, your rate is locked in for your lifetime, so it will never go up. Sounds good to me, but at my age, i need the security of knowing it wont get cancelled as i get older. This is Lifetime Coverage as long as you pay your premiums. It can never be cancelled, call now for free information. Youll also get this free beneficiary planner. Use this valuable guide to record your Important Information and give helpful direction about your final wishes to your loved ones. And its yours free. Its our way of saying thank you just for calling. So call now. Wayfair has way more ways to renovate your home, from inspiration to installation. Like way more vanities perfect for you. Nice. Way more unique fixtures and tiles. Pairing. Nice. Way more top brands in sinks and faucets. Way more ways to rule your renovation. Nice on any budget, with free shipping. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. A new record day of covid cases in florida on thursday, when the state hit a spike of 10,000 new cases. With that comes a slew of new restrictions and closures as we head into this Holiday Weekend. Nbcs Kerry Sanders is in lauderdalebythesea in florida. Kerry, what precautions are they taking . Reporter well, it depends on the part of the state youre in. Were in broward county, which is in south florida. Im standing on the pier in lauderdalebythesea. The only way you can see the beach today is to walk out on this fishing pier, because the beaches are close incod in sout florida. As you look at the state, there are some serious issues going on in florida. We had a record single day positive test of 10,000. And so its sort of waking people up to recognizing that whats happening in other parts of the country is now seemingly happening here and that people have a role to play. The concern, of course, is closing the beaches, canceling fireworks shows, telling people not to gather, whether people will necessarily follow through with not necessarily having a barbecue in their backyard, getting together with friends. Then you get into other parts of the state, on the west coast of florida, in the clearwater area, where the beaches are wide open. Some people are taking it more seriously than others take it. Some who live here are wondering, do i have an understanding of what i need to do or do i still dismiss it . This is what one person had to tell us. Its a good idea because not everybody is going to be out here. Its going to spread it more because people dont know how to basically maintain social distancing or anything. As it is, its already getting worse. Everybody will be out in full force on the weekend if they do leave it open. So its just going to make it worse. Reporter to underscore the serious nature of whats going on here, florida just saw its youngest victim from coronavirus, 11yearold daequin trembley, very sad. It reminds everybody that the virus is indiscriminate by age, by wealth, by anything. Its a pandemic, as weve said over and over, and one thats, sadly, taking lives, andrea. Kerry, a sad reminder indeed, thank you so much. For many summer resort communities, its been a brutal year economically. Their season dramatically shortened by the pandemic. Tourists slow to return. One legendary resort town working hard to bring tourists back is macenac island. It has a new determination to get through the pandemic stronger and safer than ever. Nbcs Kevin Tibbles has more. Reporter its a picture postcard of a place where every visit is a step back in time. This year theyre working doubly hard to ensure time doesnt stop. Its a simpler way of life and a slower pace. But we also have to realize you have to stay safe. Reporter there are no cars allowed on michigans mackinaw island, just bikes and horses. Its the site of the Christopher Reeve film somewhere in time, a place many come to try a bygone era on for size. But two months of the tourist season were lost and tourists are slow to return. We have weathered most storms here on mackinaw. This storm is unlike any weve seen. Reporter chris sheppers family has run a Ferry Service here for three generations, now struggling to keep the business afloat. The company spent thousands of extra dollars a month on safety measures, including high tech disinfecting foggers and masks for customers, at a time when ticket sales are down. I define success for our company as if were going to be here next year at this date. And if we are, its successful. Reporter its the same story for the islands carriage industry which has a maskon policy and plastic barriers between the seats. Then theres the jewel, the fabled grand hotel. It its nearly 400 rooms sell out every night. This year, occupancy is 40 . Families can still sit together. Reporter hotel staff hopeful business will pick up. After 9 11, this was the place that people came to feel good, to feel safe, and they knew we would do it the right way. We trust that theyll come and they trust well be here for them. Reporter for more than a century, people have been coming to the grand hotel to take in the views from the longest porch in the world, more than two football fields. You can still do it this year. But even the famous rocking shares have been socially distanced. For island businesses, its safety first this season. Youre going to take a financial hit . If we have a healthy society, well have a good economy. If we dont have a healthy society, the economy isnt going to be good anyway. Reporter on this Independence Day weekend, this Little Island will be depending on good weather and good luck in hopes of surviving to celebrate another season. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, mackinaw island, michigan. And thanks to Kevin Tibbles on beautiful mackinaw island in michigan. Coming up next, the july 4th weekend. How the echoes of history, some of them very painful, are impacting the debate and the divisions in america today. Stay with us. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. You cant predict the future. But a resilient business can be ready for it. 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. Tomorrow will be a fourth of july under like any other in American History with the nation gripped by three crises at once, the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken nearly 130,000 lives, more than world war i, in fact, record high levels of unemployment when are dropping but still remain higher than the peak of the great recession, along with nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality, all with President Trump running for reelection. Instead of calling for unity hes encouraging americans to defy his administrations own health guidelines, making no call for calm as protests erupt across the nation and attacking rivals on twitter. Historian michael beschloss, its so good to see you today. What are the implications of all these crises on the presidency and his reelection efforts . Youre so right, andrea, this is a moment of a kind weve never seen before, the coronavirus. Its getting worse than ever. You have a president who largely is pretending its not happening and trying to pretend that things are a lot better than they really are. At the same time youve got a crisis in the economy, which is causing a lot of American Families to be terrified and suffering. Again, when the president got the news this week about unemployment, it was almost like her better hoover in patriotic and would help him politically to pretend that we were better off in the Great Depression than we really were. And the other thing is law and order. You know, the president keeps on tweeting about law and order. That helped Richard Nixon and George Wallace in 1968. This is a very different country weve seen in the last month. People are concerned, justifiably, about public safety, but they also want equal justice. And when Richard Nixon and George Wallace were focusing on law and order, and it certainly seemed to work for nixon in 68 and again in 72, in fact, people are affected by the pandemic in such a personal way. They cant be misled. They see it around them, theyre all affected rkts they, theyr afraid. No matter where they are in this country theyre afraid, red, white or blue. We all are affected. You have pho ato ask the questis donald trump using every president ial path available to him. Is he trying to avert the Coronavirus Crisis and doing something he should not do and are people dying in a way we have never seen before . Lets talk about the statues, his new threat, as a matter of fact, to veto the entire Defense Authorization bill which has 90 votes in the senate because of an amendment from Elizabeth Warren and others to rename fort benning, fort bragg, the confederate generals who were named in those bases. Where do you stand on that . There are people arguing that washington, jefferson, jackson and others who had who were slave owners, even ulysses s. Grant had a slave from his father as a wedding gift that they should be in a different category than confederate leaders who were traders of the country in formation of the union. These decisions will have to be made one by one. I think its outrageous that the president would even dream of jeopardizing our National Security by vetoing the defense bill in order to protect confederate generals and confederate symbols. These are people who were traders to this country, who violated their oath to protect the union of the United States, and were doing so in order to keep huge numbers of people enslaved. Hard for me to see there is any justification for those statues and memorials were manning. For 200 years and more, we americans have put up statues and monuments and memorials, and weve even taken some down because later on we began to feel its not right for the government to put these people in places of honor and ask all of us to pay tax dollars to support it. Were seeing something right now that is very much in that tradition of American History. Even ben franklin was ig slave owner and came to become a leading abolitionist, so everyone has a mixed history here. What do you do about a Woodrow Wilson who had many noteworthy achievements but was a racist, a segregationist, and princeton has decided to rename the Wilson School in a landmark decision, or accelerate the renaming of it . What about Woodrow Wilson . You were talking about people who were slave owners but not necessarily confederate generals or confederate sympathizers. Thats why these memorials and statues have to be decided almost on a casebycase basis. When you write a book about someone like andrew jackson, you have to say he was horrible to slave owners and yet did some great things. As far as Woodrow Wilson was concerned, for a long time ive been saying Woodrow Wilsons name does not belong on a school in princeton and a lot of other places both because he was a racist and in many ways he was a terrible president. Especially this school at princeton which is designed to teach people about leadership and Public Service. How do you do that if its a school named after someone who was not only a racist but something that is even more important to us this year, which is someone who was president when 675,000 americansplus died of an influenza pandemic that he did almost nothing about, didnt speak about, didnt warn americans about, didnt give a single speech about . Thats not very president ial leadership. Im glad to see that name go. Finally, your most recent book, of course, is the president s of war. This is a ministerial book. What do you think about keeping barbecues at home . I dont think its something that should be turned by a president into a political event. Weve had a lot of president s come to mt. Rushmore, a lot of president s who have spoken on the fourth of july. But i really hope without much optimism that tonight were not going to see this turned into a political rally that is to the benefit of Donald Trumps campaign and intended to divide and intended to exacerbate some of the things you were talking about earlier, such as native americans worries about the whole area in which the mt. Rushmore memorial is. American history is a steady, sometimes one step forward, two steps back, sometimes two steps forward, and to expand equal rights to fight racism and also to turn against president s who divide. No reason to think for the moment that now should be any exception. Michael beschloss, you are our treasure. Thank you so much for being with us, especially on this Holiday Weekend. It means a lot to me. Be well. You, too. That does it for a Holiday Edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. On sunday i will be sitting in for chuck todd who is on a welldeserved weekend off. This sunday well be talking about the pandemic, pandemic politics, the latest relations with russia and our former adviser susan rice. Remember to follow our slow online on facebook and twitter, Andrea Mitchell reports. And with new deals every day you can explore endless options at every price point. Get your Outdoor Oasis delivered fast so you can get the good times going. Wayfair. Youve got just what i need. It would be for me to discover all of these things that i found through ancestry. I discovered my great aunt ruth signed up as a nursing cadet for world war ii. You see this scannedin, handwritten document. The most striking detail is her age. She was only 17. Knowing that she saw this thing happening and was brave enough to get involved and do something that was eye opening. Find an honor your ancestors who served in world war ii. Their stories live on at ancestry. Cmon pizzas here. Whoa is that shaq . This is my new pizza the shaqaroni and its bigger than pizza because for every shaqaroni sold, 1 is donated to the Papa Johns Foundation for building community. Or psoriatic arthritis, Little Things can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats differently. For psoriasis, 75 clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. For psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. And the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. Fine, no one leaves the tablefine, well sleep here. Its the easiest because its the cheesiest. Kraft. For the win win. 49i found you good job. Now im gonna stay here and you go hide. Watch your favorites from anywhere in the house with the Xfinity Stream app. Free with your xfinity service. Now any room can be a tv room. Stream live tv, on demand shows and movies even your dvr recordings. Download the Xfinity Stream app today to stream the entertainment you love. Xfinity. The future of awesome. Good afternoon. Im peter alexander, and here are the facts as we know them at this hour. More than 2. 7 million americans have contracted the coronavirus with a staggering death toll in this country now at 130,000. On thursday the u. S