Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20201204

At this point do you feel that thats more likely than not . Well, you know, i hope that thats not going to happen. And thats the reason all of us are out here telling people, literally pleading with them, about the fact that we can do something about that. It shouldnt be despair where you throw your hands up and say its inevitable, its going to happen. Dr. Fauci also telling savannah that he accepted on the spot when president elect biden late yesterday asked him to continue at nih and also to become chief medical adviser. This as biden told cnn he will ask americans to voluntarily wear masks for 100 days to blunt the crisis. Im going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask. Not forever. 100 days. And i think well see a significant reduction that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably. And joining me now, nbcs jacob ward in california where new restrictions are being introduced. Nbcs dasha burns in North Carolina with new details on vaccines. And dr. Peter hotez, director of Vaccine Development at texas childrens hospital. Welcome, all. Jacob, first to you. California has new restrictions. Governor gavin newsom announcing new orders because the hospitals there are reaching icu capacity. What changes are in store . Andrea, these are big, sweeping, statewide policies being implemented by governor newsom, yesterday announcing if a region, in this case the governor has divided the state into five regions, if one of those regions falls below 15 icu capacity, that will automatically trigger a threeweek stayathome order. That will close all unnecessary businesses. That will close schools if they have not im sorry, that will keep schools open if they have not already been closed. And all restaurants will have to be just delivery and takeout. Really sweeping restrictions across the state. You know, what were seeing here of course is record breaking numbers. More than 85 increase over the last 14 days in new cases. California was one of the first places you heard government and Business Leaders talk about flattening the curve. Andrea, were back at that place, we need to flatten the curve or the governor says hospital beds will be overwhelmed by the middle of the month. Thats why were seeing immense new restrictions being nut in place in this state of 40 Million People. Wow. And the hope is that vaccines are on the way not too long from now, dasha. Youre at duke medical hospital, Duke University medical hospital, where of course the vaccines are a big issue because theyre going to be distributed there. What is Duke University doing to prepare . Hey, andrea, well, im actually in the room where hopefully in just a couple of weeks the first round of people will be getting vaccinated right here. And it may not look like much just yet, but even this room, the amount of thought and planning that went into it is incredible. They had to find a space big enough to put these vaccination stations more than six feet apart. Theyve got ten here so they can move people through in groups. Getting the shot only takes two minutes but with this vaccine theres a 15 to 30minute monitoring period because there will be some people who have side effects, thats normal. Theyll be monitored here. This room is strategically pl e placed in the hospital because the first people to be vaccinated will be Health Care Workers who will go straight back to the hospital as long as theyre feeling okay. This is a small slice of the symphony that needs to come together in perfect harmony, everything from getting the vaccines into the cold Chain Logistics that are so complicated. I want you to hear from the chief pharmacy officer here on just that slice of it. Well have designated staff who will have specific responsibility for handling these containers, the thermal containers. Once they are received, these Staff Members will open them up and inspect them for integrity. Were doing Everything Possible to make sure that those that are going to be involved in the supply Chain Management process will have appropriate training to ensure their safety. Every layer here presenting unique challenges, andrea. Indeed, its a complicated process, but, first of all, a lot of emphasis on what the states are going to do at these Distribution Centers and Big Questions about what the federal government is doing to get this all doing. Dr. Hotez, our nbc reporting indicates a lack of federal planning to help the states distribute the vaccine beyond the initial phase of vacating Health Care Workers and nursing home residents who are a more obvious population. But the next phase, how will they make decisions . And theyre not going to initially have enough vaccine for everyone in these categories. Thats right, and we heard yesterday that there may be some supply Chain Management issues for the pfizer vaccine. One of the problems with these mrna vaccines, they look really good in terms of protection, but its a brandnew technology. Weve never scaled it up before at this level. So we should expect some bumps in the road. I think the way to look at it is, three or four months from now were going to have four or five different covid19 vaccinations, really a small fleet of vaccines. Two mrna vaccines, two adenovirus based vaccines, maybe the novavax particle vaccine. This will eventually smooth out. But in the beginning, there are going to be bumps. And were waiting now for the acip to from the cdc to recommend the next tranche of people that get vaccinated, including first line responders and other groups. But remember, the state dont necessarily have to adopt them. Historically they pretty much do, they take the federal guidelines at face value. But in this very highly charged environment, its not clear if the states will want to make their own specific recommendations and make some adjustments. Let me drill down a bit on the pfizer supply chain issues because that really is reducing the numbers, the millions of doses we thought were going to be available initially. And this is one of the two vaccines that requires two doses. Yeah, my understanding is, each of the ingredients that goes into a vaccine, each of the components used to manufacture the vaccines themselves haved to certifi have to be certified, they have to know the sources and the logging in of the materials. Its a pretty complicated dance. If its a wellknown technology, the companies have been doing this for a long time. With a brandnew one, if there are glitches, we have to go back and reassess the source of the material going into the vaccine. So its not totally unexpected. Im pretty confident, pfizer is a wellestablished vaccine company, theyll be able to fix that pretty quickly. But it goes to show you there will be lots of questions as we move forward. For instance, we dont know about the durability of protection, how long these vaccines will last in terms of protection. Will it be three months, three years, 30 years . We dont even know if these vaccines interrupt the spread of virus from one person to another. So were all talking about herd immunity induced by the vaccines, we first have to know if the vaccines have the ability to stop the transmission of the virus, and we dont know that. There are some trials under way. The good news is as americans get vaccinated, they can feel comfortable that theyre not going to the hospital or intensive care unit, thats the most important piece. But all the other information will have to roll out over the next year. Right now we dont really have a communication plan in place, everything is being left to the pharmaceutical Companies Press releases, which is completely inadequate. One of the first steps the Biden Administration will have to do is build in a government scientist Communication Team to explain these things to the public on a periodic and frequent basis so the public knows what to expect. And build the credibility that has been so lacking from the white house so far, that people actually trust what theyre saying in such a polarized environment. Dr. Peter hotez, thanks for your expertise, its invaluable, thanks so very much. After months of no progress at all on covid relief, talks are finally getting serious with only one week before the governments overall spending deadline, now a convenient vehicle, perhaps, for a compromise covid package. Nbcs Garrett Haake is on capitol hill. Garrett, what are you hearing from the speaker today . Reporter the speaker sounded an incredibly optimistic tone that after months and months and months of no measurable progress that this bipartisan framework of 900 billion worth of coronavirus aid could be something that could pass both chambers and provide essentially a bridge to a Biden Administration that could then do more. Here is a little bit of what she told reporters a short time ago. There is momentum with the action that the senators and house members in a bipartisan way, im pleased that the tone of our conversations is one that is indicative of the decision to get the job done. We feel very excited about the prospect that there is a bipartisan bill. Because i told members, im not bringing any more bills that are not bipartisan. Reporter the tone there from Speaker Pelosi matches that of leader mcconnell who spoke to reporters offcamera yesterday and said that based on his conversations with the speaker, the two of them are finally talking person to person, that he believes the speaker is interested in getting an outcome, thats sort of mcconnellese that theyre seriously working on a bill that could become law at some point. This is a pretty significant concession from democrats, to cut 1 trillion off their negotiating position, in the fallout, the aftermath of the election. You heard pelosi say theyre willing to accept this because joe biden will be present in january and there is a vaccine being distributed in winter and spring. I think this is the argument shell make to democrats who wanted more. They can potentially go back to the well next year if they can get this package across the finish line before the end of this year on a bipartisan basis. Fast its critical for the states to have the money to distribute the vaccine, which is in that package. Reporter yes, 16 billion in that package for Vaccine Distribution. Thanks, andrea. Thanks for that detail, thats really important for people to understand how important this is. And ahead, ill be talking to the mayor of atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, about the president s call for 100 days of Wearing Masks and the challenges of mask mandates. First, inaugural invite. Why the president elect says it is important that his predecessor attends the inaugural but not as far as hes concerned, because of what other people overseas will say. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Good morning, mr. Sun. Good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. Im gonna grow big and strong. Yes, you are. Im gonna get this place all clean. Ill give you a hand. And im gonna put lisa on crutches wait, what . Said shes gonna need crutches. She fell pretty hard. You might want to clean that up, girl. 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Dont let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. Xeljanz. The teams been working around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. The latest jobs numbers out this morning show just how great a challenge it will be for president elect biden when he takes office 47 days from now. With almost 10 million out of work since the pandemic began, the economy added 245,000 jobs in november, half the gains predicted. President trump has been focusing almost exclusively on his false claims that the election was rigged, instead of on the covid crisis and a lagging recovery. Hes also talking about skipping the inaugural entirely and holding a counterevent that day to announce that hes running for the white house again in 2024. Joe biden was asked on cnn whether he thought it was important for President Trump to be at the inaugural ceremony. I think it would important only in one sense, not in a personal sense. Important in a sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that hes created that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on. Joining me now, nbc correspondent with the biden transition mike memoli. Nbc News White House correspondent and weekend today coanchor Kristen Welker. And chris lu who served as deputy secretary of labor in the Obama Administration and is now advising the biden transition. Welcome, all. Mike memoli, the president elect, speaking on the economy this afternoon and revealing that some republican senators are secretly congratulating him on his win. Hes just put out a statement about the new jobs numbers which is fairly, you know, negative and, you know, alarming, saying this dire jobs report is a snapshot from midnovember before the surge in covid cases and deaths in december as we head into a dark winter. And hes talking about theres no time to lose on the covid package and its only a down payment, theres nobody a bigger package needed. Thats right. Down the road, after the lame duck. Yeah, thats exactly right, andrea. This statement we just got in the last two minutes perhaps a preview of what well hear from the president elect this afternoon. And you touched on it, this idea of bipartisanship. The fact that, as he revealed last night, he has been getting calls from republicans on capitol hill, even if theyre not willing to congratulate him publicly. He also touches on this in this statement, about the fact that hes encouraged by the movement on capitol hill for this 900 billion covid relief stimulus package. But as you indicate, just a down payment. He hopes that there is the same kind of bipartisan cooperation in the new year when hes going to be pushing a much more robust stimulus package. Remember, his Economic Program that he laid out over the course of last summer was in the trillions in terms of its total price tag. We talked last night about the fact that Vaccine Distribution alone, which ill remind everybody, he said all americans should be able to get this vaccine for free, is itself going to be an enormous financial undertaking. Getting the aid to states so that they dont have to do the kind of layoffs of state workers, of First Responders at the community level, is also going to require a lot. So biden, has he has for really the last month, since accepting victory here in wilmington a few days after election day, but accepting it nonetheless, trying to set a tone of bipartisanship, continues to do that at this point. And you also heard that in that sound bite about the inauguration, andrea, saying this is not about him wanting the president , the outgoing president , of course, to be at his inauguration but that its an important symbol both for the country to try to move beyond the partisanship of the last few years but also an important signal to the rest of the world showing that america is the model of democracy, the model of peaceful transitions of power, that it has always been in the past. And kristen, the president , President Trump, in very sharp contrast to what we saw last night with president elect biden, Vice President elect harris, in talking about bipartisanship, talking about how they would rebuild that firewall between the white house and the Justice Department, this as republicans are touting that they have raised 207 million since the election, and a lot of that is for the president s leadership pac that he can use at his own discretion, raising that on the false claims of a rigged election. Thats right, andrea, staggering numbers there, and the president doubling down on his claims about a rigged election in tweets today, in the oval office with me yesterday, despite the fact that out of 47 lawsuits that have been brought by the president s campaign, by his allies, 27 have been denied, dismissed, or thrown out altogether. And there have been no cases of fraud found, andrea. We know the president is looking to the future. Hes considering potential pardons of his family members, of his close allies. Could that backfire . To what extent is he concerned about legal action being taken against him . During that interview overnight with president elect biden, with Vice President elect harris, jake tapper asked them about what they saw as the role of the department of justice. Take a look. Our Justice Department is going to operate independently. Its not my Justice Department. Its the peoples Justice Department. Any decision coming out of the Justice Department, in particular the United States department of justice, should be based on facts. It should be based on the law. It should not be influenced by politics, period. Those comments by Kamala Harris are significant, because remember during the primary she said this, she said the department of justice would have no choice but to prosecute trump after the presidency. So clearly in line now with president elect biden and making that line of demarcation very clear. Meanwhile, within the gop, jitters that all of this talk about a rigged election could depress turnout in georgia where they have two key Senate Runoff races. We know that Vice President pence is going to be there today. And President Trump is going to be in georgia over the weekend, andrea. And chris lu, lets talk about this big task ahead for the Biden Administration. The virus, distributing the vaccines, without a plan, really, that theyre inheriting from the trump white house, as well as the economy. Yeah, look, todays jobs numbers was disappointing. But its certainly not surprising, because weve always known that were never going to have a lasting economic recovery until you get your arms around the pandemic. And its not just the 10 million jobs that have been lost. Its the 2. 5 Million People who have permanently lost their jobs. Its the 4 Million People that have been out of work for over six months. Its the millions that have dropped out of the labor force. It speaks to the importance of getting a deal done between congress and the white house. Frankly, a deal should have been done back in may when House Democrats passed the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act. But now its the right time to do it. And look, this is not a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. But it does provide money to unemployed workers, to businesses, especially restaurants, to schools for Vaccine Distribution, and really to avert this next wave of potential layoffs from state and local government employees. So i think youre going to hear the president elect today talk about the importance of passing this because he understands this. He knows that from the great recession, that unless you keep this economic stimulus going, it just prolongs the pain and more people suffer along the way. And mike, theres been a lot of pressure that youve been reporting by civil rights groups, the Congressional Black Caucus, that as diverse as the appointments so far have been, they are not at high enough levels, they want to see policies and they want to see more black members at the top levels of the cabinet. Yeah, you heard the president elect talk about this last night. What he called special interest groups, and he said he didnt mean that in a negative way, who are doing what they should be doing, he said, pressuring him to follow through on the promise he made in the campaign to have a diverse administration, and he said its his job to also follow through on that promise. And were seeing signs that the Biden Campaign is beginning to acknowledge the disappointment from some corners about the moves that theyve made so far. One, i was told from a member of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday, that Adewale Adeyemo actually joined a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday to hear them out about their concerns. Congressman stephen horseford of nevada who is charged with working with the Biden Administration on this said its an example of why we want more of them in positions, and revealing he will be meeting with members of the naacp next week here in wilmington as well, andrea. Mike memoli, kristen walker, chris lu, thanks to all of you. President elect biden asking americans to mask up for 100 days. Will they listen . Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms fought a legal battle to defend her citys mask mandate, joining me next. Always wear your mask, especially if youre in front of the elderly like your grandparents or anybody thats immunocompromised because you know know who youre going to spread it to. For you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks see yourself. 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As the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb across the country, Health Officials in georgia say there were almost 4,000 new cases there on wednesday, thats the highest infection rate since august. What impact might that have on the willingness of the republican governor in georgia to enact basic Public Health recommendations like mandating wearing a mask . This as president elect biden plans to call on all americans to wear masks in at least the first 100 days of his presidency. Joining me now, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Madam mayor, its very good to see you again, thank you for being with us. Do you think the president elects plan can work . Youve already faced yourself a big political battle with the governor. You had a mandate for masks in atlanta and you had to go to court to fight him on that. Yes, and thank you for having me again. Leadership matters. And the words from our leaders matter. So when you have the president of the United States encouraging people to wear masks, then i think it will make a difference. Right now in the state of georgia, our positivity test rate is over 14 . We are headed in the wrong direction. And although our governor supports Wearing Masks, what we know is that if you dont give businesses and other entities the opportunity to mandate that masks be worn, then people may or may not put one on. But again, when you look at where we are in georgia, you look at the impact that its having, especially on communities of color in our state, its very encouraging to know that the president elect of the United States will call upon us all to wear masks. And today, with the new jobs numbers, and weve seen that businesses, especially Small Businesses, some will not even be able to reopen as the pandemic continues to grip the nation and get worse, we understand that you are at least leading the pack in a pick to lead the Small Business administration, a cabinet rank. Anything you can hint at with us today . No, ill refer you to the Transition Team for any questions or answers about that. But what i do know is that president elect biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris have committed to making sure there is a diverse cabinet thats representative of who we are as a country. Ive had that conversation directly with president elect biden during discussions for a spot on the ticket. He has said privately and publicly that he wants to make sure his cabinet reflects our country. Its like watching sausage get made right now, its very frustrating. Ive been a transition before, obviously not on this scale, but i just encourage people to give them an opportunity to complete their picks. And i trust that he will keep his word. If it were to happen, would you be willing to serve . You know, i cant speculate on whats not before me. I have a wonderful job as mayor of atlanta. But certainly it is an honor to serve the public in a capacity, in the capacity that im in. And if i were offered something, thats something i would have to consider when and if it is offered. Of course georgia is facing this runoff january 5. Tomorrow the president is coming, campaigning for the republican incumbent senators, kelly loeffler, david perdue. President obama is coming, as is Vice President pence. The president is claiming the november election was rigged despite the fact that its been certified by the secretary of state and certainly approved by the governor, both republicans. Ive never seen anything like were witnessing in the state right now. To see the infighting and to see elected officials who donald trump supported now be the target of his wrath is nothing short of fascinating. That being said, we cant take anything for granted in this state. We have to continue to remind people how important this election is, remind people that the work was not done in november. There is still so much work to be done. And theres still an opportunity for people to register to vote in our state until december 7. Early voting will start shortly after that. And people have to turn out. It means everything for president elect biden to have a senate that will help him push forward with the agenda we need to get this country moving in the right direction. And so when donald trump talks about coming to georgia and when pence comes to georgia today, its again a reminder of how important it is. Eyes are on our state. At the end of the day, only the people in the state have the ability to make a difference in this election. And we have to show up to vote like our lives depend on it because they do. Madam mayor, its always a pleasure to have you here, its good to see you again, and we hope to talk to you in the future depending of course on whether or not you end up here in washington. Thanks very much. And president elect joe biden says hell have the most diverse cabinet in American History. But some are calling for him to appoint more racially diverse candidates to the top spots. Naacp president Derrick Johnson joins us next. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Youre watchil reports on msnbc. Get realtime insights in your customized view of the market. Its smarter Trading Technology for smarter trading decisions. Fidelity. Oh, oh, announcer ® onceweekly ozempic® is helping many people with type 2 diabetes like emily lower their blood sugar. A majority of adults who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. Heres your a1c. Oh my a1c is under 7 announcer and you may lose weight. 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Call us today and speak with one of our helpful, licensed hellomedicare agents. Hellomedicare. Say hello to an easier way to do medicare. The president elect is under heavy pressure from black lawmakers and civil rights organizations to nominate black leaders for the remaining top cabinet jobs. Specifically, secretary of defense and or attorney general, although they have chosen historically diverse teams for the white house in other slots so far, theyre also looking for that top slot. Jake tapper asked president elect biden last night if he will name a black attorney general. Look, im going to be announcing the remaining 15 members of the cabinet. The first eight members are the most diverse cabinet anyone in American History has ever announced. Im going to keep my commitment that the administration, both in the white house and outside in the cabinet, is going to look like the country. Joining me now is the naacp president and ceo Derrick Johnson. Thank you very much for being with us. What grade would you give the Transition Team and the president elect so far in terms of diversity in the cabinet . To a degree we do believe this administration will be the most diverse administration. Our concern is less about people than it is priorities. The four pillars that the president has laid out, the economy, covid, and he ended with Racial Justice. The appointment of former senator kerry as the climate czar. Were looking at his footprint in terms of the Economic Relief necessary. Were excited that he announced dr. Fauci will stay in place. We havent seen anything in terms of Racial Justice and thats our concern. How will this administration truly embed Racial Justice as a part of the policy priorities regardless of the race or the gender of the individuals representing his cabinet . What are you hearing about attorney general, for instance . We know who is going to be at Homeland Security and that affects immigration and a lot of issues of Racial Injustice but certainly the attorney general appointment is the most important in terms of dealing with the Racial Disparities of the criminal justice system. Weve heard several names. Many of the names were excited about. We know that whoever walks in the door needs to on day one understand where all the bathrooms are and get to work immediately. We have a problem with domestic terrorism in this country. We have a problem with militia groups. We need a head of the doj willing to take those groups on to ensure people are not harmed as weve seen by the plot in michigan and unfortunate incidents in pittsburgh, the synagogue, or charlottesville. The many places where White Supremacists have carried out harmful actions against communities. Theres also been a lot of pressure regarding the pentagon and how important it would be given the large number of minorities in the military, of course, to have the first black secretary of state. The military has been for many years one of the beacons of diversity. We would hope that would continue. You know, the original march on washington was planned in the backdrop of world war ii in 1941. We saw the integration of Armed Services and the federal government. We have seen since that time the military being a beacon, an example. And we believe this administration will continue in that same legacy so that the rest of society can learn from the military around the importance of diversity. There have been a number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, marcia fudge, karen bass, floated as potential cabinet members. But theres also pushback from congressional leaders who see that nancy pelosi has a much smaller margin right now, and to give up any seats could threaten the democratic majority. Does that hold water with you since theyre largely from democratic districts . Theyre from democratic districts, but to be clear, congresswoman fudge would be an outstanding head of department of agriculturae. She served as the chair of the subcommittee on child nutrition. She understands that twothirds of that agencys budget is for nutrition. Her replacement would be a democrat, so thats a moot point. Congresswoman bass would be an outstanding contribution to the administration. That replacement will be a democrat. So we shouldnt allow ourselves to get distracted with fake arguments when there are opportunities to appoint qualified individuals to serve in this administration. Derrick johnson, thank you very much for being with us from the naacp. Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity. Senate runoffs are now just one month away in georgia. President trump is returning to the campaign trail there for the First Time Since losing the election. Could his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud help or hurt the republican candidates . Stay with us, youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Zza. Tacos. Pizza what about subway . Its a good call and everyone loves it. We raised our kids on it. So it stopped the bickering . mocking tone mom, jjs copying me grow up. Mom knock it off try the new subway buffalo chicken or bbq chicken. We started by making the cloud easier to manage. But we didnt stop there. We made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. No matter what it does, or how it changes. And we kept going. So you only pay for what you use. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. To syour body needs routine. System, because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. Centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. Season, after season. Ace your immune support, with centrum. I will send out an army to find you in the middle of the darkest night its true, i will rescue you oh, i will rescue you tomorrow President Trump is going to rural georgia to campaign for the republican senators. Is he going to help or hurt . Party leaders in fact worry that he could depress gop turnout by repeating his false claims that the november election was rigged and people should not trust mailin ballots. Today former president obama will appear with Stacey Abrams at a virtual rally for the democratic hopefuls. Mike pence is in georgia today visiting the cdc in atlanta before appearing with the two gop senators. Joining me now, ashley parker, White House Reporter for the washington post. Jonathan lemire, reporter for the associated press, and brendan buck, former Senior Adviser to house speakers georgian. Jonathan, what do you expect from the president tomorrow . What kind of speech will we hear . Hes back we thought the trump rallies were perhaps a thing of the past. No longer. The content tomorrow certainly worries a lot of republicans. It is hard to believe that a few weeks of course prior to this election we know that the president was polling in the 80 plus percent Approval Rating with republicans and as hes fond of reminding us, received over 80 million votes but now spent a month undermining the electoral process, calling into question the very fabric of our democracy, suggesting without evidence that the election was rigged and a lot of republicans are nervous as you suggested in the tease to get out there and actually hurt their cause. As someone in the republican insider said to me if the president speaks for 90 minutes and 80 minutes are attacks on the republican georgia governor, republican secretary of state which he targeted both in recent weeks for not helping his claims of fraud that could hurt, make Republican Voters say, well, this is all fixed and rigged and perhaps not turn out at all and democrats are pleased that President Trump will emerge from hiding tomorrow and head to georgia. Of course, ashley, the republican incumbents and the Republican Party has to argue that keeping the Senate Republican is really important because theres going to be a democrat in the white house. Oops. But they havent acknowledged the democrat in the white house. Your colleagues did obtain a video of senator perdue acknowledging that joe biden won and then his spokesperson tried to clean up the comments and deny it. Right. Thats the awkward twostep that the candidates have to do. To convey the urgency of this election and the importance for republicans and it is urgent and important because it will control the balance of the senate, they have to explain that that is because if democrats pick up both seats Vice President harris will be the deciding vote and democrats will have control of the senate but in admitting that basic fact, that basic reality, the president views that as a rebuke because he is still claims baseless, falsely with no evidence that he won the election and tying the hands of two republican candidates in an already tough situation. Brandon, what are you hearing from republicans about the effect of the president likely to have on the race and how much to hurt their candidates . May have already hurt them. Yeah. There are a lot of republicans in georgia who are holding their breath. What they go and says and does down there will have an effect. Republicans in georgia are calling for boycotts of the election and this is going to be, was always going to be a close race. I think republicans will still win and in a normal election they would win but if you convince 5 , 10 of the hardcore voters, the people buying these are the most reliable Republican Voters, if they dont come out that could really hurt so what the president says is going to have a big effect. I think it is too much to ask to acknowledge that the system works but turn it into a rallying cry for republicans to say dont let them do what they did to me but discipline is not necessarily his calling card so we have to see if he can stay away from attacking the republican governor and republican secretary of state down there. But of course, runoffs are famously difficult for democrats, especially in what had been a reliably red state. Jonathan, to get the republicans to duplicate what they did with donald trump on the ticket might be hard. First of all, credit to using the discipline is not necessarily his calling card. Thats quite the understatement there. Yes, in terms of that is a challenge. Democrats know that. That they won georgia for the first time in many president ial cycles by a very small margin. In part because of the antitrump enthusiasm, the support that joe biden was able to win in the suburbs of atlanta, normally a gop stronghold, he was able to inroads there and may have been the difference. Democrats recognize though as much of a rallying cry it is to give joe biden unified government, that the democrats would have control of the house and the senate and get so much more done, thats important, obviously but thats not as motivating as vote out donald trump so this is a tougher hill to climb and yes i agree with that abonalysis that republican feel like they have the advantage here and what will be a close race and so nervous of donald trump, could he sabotage them and make the journey for democrats easier. Before we go, ashley, just briefly, Kristen Welker asked President Trump yesterday whether he had confidence in bill barr and a long pause and said lets see what he does of the next couple of weeks, again pressuring him to go along with these false claims of fraud. Yeah. Absolutely. The president was frustrated with bill barr even before he made those comments in the interview that the Justice Department shows no evidence of the widespread fraud the president is claiming. And as the white house said when the president has a personnel change you will know likely on twitter. The people around him are trying to calm him down but again check that twitter feed because well see what happens. For pardons, as well. Pardon me but we got to go. That does it for us for this friday. Have a great weekend. Thank you to all of you and follow the show online. Chuck todd is up next only on msnbc. The hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressives home quote explorer. International hand model jonjon gets personal. Your wayward pinky is grotesque. Then a high stakes pattycake Battle Royale ends in triumph. You have the upper hands its a race to the lowest rate, and so much more. Only on the upper hands. Hello is friendly. Hello is open. Its welcoming. 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If its friday it is yet another grim day of record covid deaths, record hospitalizations. As more states resort to lockdown measures now the economic recovery is officially stalling. Plus new momentum on capitol hill for covid relief. Well speak with one of the architects of the deal about getting it over the finish line amid concerns that the aid still isnt nearly enough. Runoffs in georgia take center stage with duelling rallies toda