Transcripts For MSNBCW Deadline White House 20200526

Has undermined local leaders stayathome orders and thats just for starters. Nbc news correspondent bill neely is with us from rio. Bill, did we get that about right . You did, brian. And i should explain where i am, first of all, we are at a cemetery in rio de janeiro, with the permission of the authorities and with the permission of the families, six funerals have taken place in about the last hour and just about to be buried is Oscar Stearns from boston. Hes lived here for 50 years, hes 64 years old, and he is one of 807 people in brazil who have died of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, making brazil the country with the highest daily death toll in the world. As you say, it has just overtaken the United States in the last 24 hours. And i was struck, brian, by what one of your guests said just a few minutes ago, that the actions of a president are important, because they set an example to people in that country and as youve outlined, president bolsonaro says, forget about the lockdown. Forget about social distancing. He rarely wears a mask, and on the weekend, he was hugging his supporters and having selfies taken with children and his reaction to the rising death toll has been, so what . He touts the use of hydroxychloroquine and says he keeps some for his 93yearold mother. Well, a lot of brazilians dont like that attitude, but millions do and they follow his example. And we were at a city just outside rio today, a city that has been reopened by its mayor, who supports president bolsonaro and there were tens of thousands of people, brian, out on the street. There have been, many of them, in lockdown or virtual lockdown for the last eight weeks or so. But they were out in their tens of thousands. And of course, quite frankly, as medical experts will tell you, this is exactly how the virus spreads and it is spreading like wildfire in brazil. You quoted the numbers of new cases just under 400,000. Medical experts ive spoken to say that is an underestimate by somewhere between 10 and 15, because brazil is among worst in the world for testing. People here simply dont know how many people are infected, but its a lot, brian. And i have to say your characterization of bolsonaro was spoton. Bill neely, please stay safe. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. Brian, theres something about dr. Guptas words making their way to bill neelys ears there in rio that gives me just a sliver hope that maybe science will drown out some of the misinformation out there. A quirk of the satellite age that our correspondent standing by from the new global hot spot can hear our medical expert and his wanderings. And a question for you to ponder for the next few days. Because youm from the world of politics, will the politics of this age, its been called coronavirus denial, that were seeing play out. You name it, russia, uk, uk, brazil, will it reach its limit now . Will it bump up against i know Global Pandemic is redundant, but this pandemic that has taken on our pandemic. Some mornings and afternoons, it feels more urgent than others. I think maybe coming off the holiday weekend, this is one of those days. You know, its something that i think about all the time. And i think about it in the context of the other stories weve covered together. Fiona hill, who was indisputably one of the star witnesses of the trial, says she wont be part of a misinformation trial. Weve got one kblowhistleblowed counting who will have that moment of not wanting to be part of misinformation or an assault on science. Brian, thank you for spending more than half of this hour with us. Its always great to see you. Well be watching you tonight. Thank you. Up next, the fbi is investigating the death to have an africanamerican man in minneapolis after a Police Officer lean on to the mans neck with his knee. The mayor there calling it horrible and completely and utterly messed up. Four officers have now been fired. That story is ahead. Been fired. That story is ahead. No uh uh, no way come on, no no nnnnono only discover has no annual fee on any card. And my side super soft . Nnnnono yes, with the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep me asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. So, you can really promise better sleep . Not promise. Prove. Dont miss the final days of the memorial day sale, save 1,000 on the sleep number 360 special Edition Smart bed, now only 1,799. Ends sunday. Breaking news, just minutes ago, the mayor of minneapolis says four responding officers in connection with the death of george floyd have been fired. The mayor added, quote, this is the right call. George floyd died in Police Custody after an officer pressed his knee into floyds neck for at least seven minutes. The episode was recorded by a bystander. We want to warn our viewers, the video is very disturbing. You can see the officer crouched here. Witnesses say the africanamerican man on the ground identified as george floyd repeatedly cried my neck hurts and i cant breathe. Please please i cant breathe a few minutes into the video, floyd stops moving, but the officer kept his knee in place for several more minutes. The Police Department says the officers were responding to a report of a forgery. The Department Says the man was, quote, ordered to step out of his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted that he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an surveillanc ambulance. He was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later. At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved nop officers were injured in the incident. The familys lawyer tweeted out this picture of george floyd. Keith ellison, the attorney general of minnesota, released a statement in the last hour that reads, quote, george floyd mattered. Somebody loved him. His life was important. It had value. Wherever someone dies at the hand of Law Enforcement or a state power, we owe it to everyone affected to investigate thoroughly. Im confident that the values of accountability, transparency, and justice will be upheld. I will be a force for them. In a moment, well be talking about this case with the rev al sharpton and Frank Figliuzzi, but first, were joined by Minnesota Attorney general, keith ellison. I want to start by asking you to take us through what could possibly have brought the situation to what we see in the video. And we only showed that because so much of the reason we all know about it is because it was so abhorrent that bystanders took that video and posted it on social media and i think an investigation will have to bear out whether or not theres a correlation between our seeing that and the firing of four officers, but its at least worth noting that the response seems to be at least in part in reaction to the outcry. I cant justify or explain the officers actions. That will have to be the subject of an investigation. My advice to all concerned is if you have information, please come forward and share it. I hope that the officers involved, if they feel that they didnt do anything wrong, will be perfectly candid in everything that they did and why they did it, but as look, i have a vision just like everybody else, who watched the tape, and i am just, without words, as to why things proceeded the way they did. And deeply shocked, hurt, and i just extend my warmest sympathies to the family of mr. George floyd. So the fbis investigating. Is it too early to answer a question about whether or not there will be a state investigation or state charges brought if it warrants that . Well, the investigating deaths already happened in the bureau of criminal apprehension and minnesota is investigating the case. The case is also being investigated by the fbi. Sadly, tragically, we have experience in these kind of investigations and, you know, these are going on now. But, you know, the states so the state will be investigating, the Minneapolis Police will not be investigating. As you know, four of the officers have been discharged from their responsibilities, fired. Theyre not on paid administrative leave. Theyre fired. And i commend the police chief for making a decisive decision. But, yeah, this is a very serious matter. We take it very seriously. And the jurisdiction for prosecution is the henepee county attorneys office, and they will be taking this matter seriously. But at the end of the day, i invite the public to scrutinize everything we do in government. Make sure that were transparent, make sure that were clear, make sure that we are accountable, because i believe that given the history of this problem, of, you know, Deadly Force Encounters with police, that the clearest way to get justice is for the public to maintain its attention on everything that people in authority do. That was going to be my last question for you, mr. Attorney general. I mean, the public role in this seems to be the x factor. The act was so brazen on the part of the Police Officer, seemingly, from the video that we witnessed. He seemed to have his knee on the gentlemens throat as he struggled, clearly george floyd. Mr. Floyd, as he lost consciousness. And the public, you can hear them in the tape. They are they are outraged. They are calling yes suggesting that the Police Officer is killing him. I want to ask you if there is a concern about that, which doesnt happen in the light of day with a crowd watching. How do you knit the Community Back together when this is the conduct in the light of day . Well, you cant heal a dirty wound. Youve got to clean it out. You need disinfectant. Youve got to make sure that people trust the system, because the system is trustworthy. And i think that the discharge of these officers is not nearly enough, but and there will be an investigation and im certain that this case will be evaluated as to whether criminal charges are appropriate. But the simpystem simply has toy that everybody counts, everybody matters. That nobody, particularly africanAmerican People, communities of color, is underneath the protection of the law. And that no Law Enforcement personnel is above the law. We just have got to come to that conclusion. And look, this case is in part shocking, because its so routine. Its not new at all. I mean, whether youre talking about eric gardner, which this one is eerily reminiscent of, or Philando Castile or Laquan Mcdonald or even rodney king or even before that, this is a recurrent, historic, and widespread problem. And we have got to confront it. Thats why myself and the commissioner of Public Safety in minnesota had a task force on preventing Deadly Force Encounters with police. We came up with a list of recommends. And i hope that we can really take this problem seriously and say that everybody is equal in the eyes of the lie and nobody above it and nobody is below it. Keith ellison, thank you so much for spending some time with us today and having this conversation. Im grateful. Thank you. When we come back, the rev al sharpton and Frank Figliuzzi respond to what were seeing in minneapolis. Well be right back. When i noticed my sister moving differently, i didnt know what was happening. She said it was like someone else was controlling her mouth. Her doctor said she has tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medication she takes for her depression. Her ankles would also roll and her toes would stretch out. I noticed she was avoiding her friends and family. woman sighs td can affect different parts of the body. It may also affect people who take medications for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She knows she shouldnt stop or change her medication, so we were relieved to learn there are Treatment Options for td. [announcer] managing td in todays uncertain environment may seem daunting. But we can help. Visit talkabouttd. Com for a doctor discussion guide to better prepare for your next appointment, whether in person, over the phone, or online. We were so relieved to learn there are treatments for td. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. In this world where people are staying at home, many of lifes moments are being put on hold. At carvana, we understand that for some getting a car just cant wait. Thats why the new way to buy and sell a car is also the safer way. At carvana, you can do it all 100 online from home with a touchless delivery and pickup process to keep you safe. And for even Greater Peace of mind, all carvana cars come with a 7day return policy. So if you need to keep moving, its our goal to keep you safe. Check out carvana, the safer way to buy a car. More now on the death of george floyd, an africanamerican man who was held down by a minneapolis offi into the mans neck. Joining our conversation the host of politics nation and president and founder of the National Action network al sharpton and former fbi assistant director of counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi. Rev, if this is how these Police Officers act and acted the brazen, the brutality in the light of day with a crowd around them, it seems to sow an incredible maybe an insurmountable level of distrust about what happens when there arent cameras on them, when theres not a crowd watching. Thats absolutely correct, nicolle and officers around our country, we get reports every day, multiple reports, many that dont have a camera, but when i look at this case today, and ive been talking with attorney general ben crump, proud of the representations of the victims family, it reminds me of the eric garner, they had a tape and the officer wasnt prosecuted because you must have prosecutors who are going after the law. We see in minneapolis, they fired these policemen, but you cant have an equation when you lose your life and they just lose their job, they must pay in my judgment with a real criminal investigation and from what we see, i dont see how you defend holding your knee on someones neck seven minutes and the other officers standing around not stopping you from doing it. Its the pedestrians around saying stop. Not the officers. What kind of people would be hearing people pleaing for his life. I. Frank, i dont understand, maybe you can explain to me what the tenants in Law Enforcement, the offense was a nonviolent one, forgery, eric garner was selling cigarettes, how does a nonviolent interaction end in murder . Well, youre right, the Minneapolis Police officers responding here seemed to have turned a car forgery in progress to a murder in progress. I watched in the entirety the public posted video. What i saw was homicide. Very little doubt that officer will be charged at some point with homicide or manslaughter. Its an escalating system. Lets assume here, nicolle, i want to point this out youre talking to somebody who spent 25 in this particular case, im having a hard time envisioning what it would be theyre not seeing on the video even if it were violent that would have led and justified this excessive use of force. Lets assume the part of the video we cant see on the public side, involves a knockout drawnout fight, at the point that subject is subdued and on the video hes proned out and subdued, likely handcuffed. At that point, you stop your use of force and you now transport that person or arrest him in your custody. So even if the usual scenario is a severe resistance at the point where theyve got him in custody this now becomes an assault and eventually a homicide. And what does say to you, again, were making our observations here based on what weve seen and frank has pointed out, maybe some things we havent seen, but even yet, what possible what must the culture be like that has three the three other officers stood around and watched what you described, frank . Yeah, im glad to see that the other responding officers have already been terminated, because if were going to change a culture, across the country in community Law Enforcement, we have to instill in all officers that they are stewards of that police force and the reputation of that police force, so standing by the one officer whos clearly visible, standing by acting as interference with the public, the other officer whos partially obscured behind the vehicle who seems to be engaged in handcuffing, those officers are culpable, those officers may be charged as a come ambulances to murder. You cant stand idly by as another officer violates the law. Rev, as the attorney general ellisons statement said, mr. George floyd mattered. A family is grieving. How do you begin to heal not just in family but in the community, is the firing of the four aufofficers a sound beginn . What needs to happen today . The only way you can heal a situation you must confront the situation. You must confront the ailment if youre going to heal the ailment and thats policemen must know they will pay for their deeds if their deeds in turn end up being criminal. How do we deal with any other criminal . Youre supposed to be held accountable and if found guilty, go to jail. When you keep seeing people walk out, because they are Law Enforcement and not having to pay for their deeds, it makes other officers feel they can do anything. The bad officers. Those who lose their control or selftraining given them, feel theyre not going to be held accountable, they can do what they want. You must make an example of them. The rev al sharpton, Frank Figliuzzi, thank you so much. Deadline white house begins next. House begins next. I got an oriole here. Eh. Common bird. Ooh look over here something much better. There it is. Peacock, included with xfinity x1. Remarkable. Fascinating. Very. It streams tons of your favorite shows and movies, plus the latest in sports news and. Huh run the newest streaming app has landed on xfinity x1. Now thats. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Xfinity x1 just got even better with peacock premium included at no additional cost. No strings attached. Just say peacock into your voice remote to start watching today. Hi, everyone. Its 4 00 in the east. As the country in crisis staggers toward a grim milestone 100,000 lives lost in the United States to coronavirus. Its a human toll that felt unfathomable a little over two months ago when the First American death was reported, when the president was insisting the number of cases would soon go down to zero. This weekend as cases saturday past the 1. 6 million park, the president was confronted quite literally with a question that encapsulate the scene, outside trump golf course, a protester with a sign that read, i care, do you . Thats the question that looms over the white house. He focuses instead on a series politically motivated twitter feud. One that particularly underscores the painful consequences of trumps word. With a widow eer begging twitte to remove trumps baseless accusations, trump defended his weekslong accusations. This is the widower, my wife deserves better. Today, he joins the ranks of families who no longer better to ask whether trump cares about their family. The widow of johnson who described an upsetting phone call with trump after the death of her husband. Congressman Deborah Dingell who trump suggested that her husband must be looking up from hell. The mccain family who have endured trumps public attacks long after the senator was laid to rest. Those families no longer expect warm words or thoughts or prayers or even civility from a president who routinely puts his own politics over their pain and more and more the country doesnt expect much more, either. Today, trump devoted more space to the Conspiracy Theory hau haunting a grieving family than the coronavirus death toll. His only reference to lives lost was a complaint about his coverage in the media, basically saying, 100,000 dead and count is good enough but things would have been much worse if not for him. After a weekend spent golfing, twitter fighting, complaining and selfpromoting, the New York Times writes this quote, if the countrys issue were on the losses, the trump did a good job hiding it. In november, a candidate who took his first public trip during the crisis, modeled the sacrificing being asked of the American People in the fight to save lives and a president who refused to wear a mask, who, quote, afraid he would look ridiculous. The two choices lay bear before a nation in crisis. Jonathan lemier, Jonathan Swan and donna edwards. Jonathan, this is a story that i think this is uncomfortable for all of us because it envolves one of our colleague Joe Scarborough and long debunked Conspiracy Theory that didnt make it beyond the dark, ugly edges, official statements from the white house in the form of Donald Trumps tweets. Tell us about them. Nicolle, youre absolutely right. It shows the power dark power at times of the president s twitter account. In 2001, a staffer at thencongressman Joe Scarboroughs florida office, the medical examiner ruled that she had a preexisting heart condition, he told people earlier in the day that she wasnt feeling well. She fell, hit her head. There was no sign of any sort of foul play. Youre right, there were whispers on the very fringes of conservative media over the years but easily dismissed until the last few weeks with the president who of course is has been a frequent critic of our colleague and friend Joe Scarborough, you know, suddenly unearthed this, suggesting a cold Case Investigation was warranted. No evidence of such. No sense that any sort of local authorities have ever entertained that since 2001 and what we saw today a letter to twitter from the widower of the deceased staffer and he wrote saying, he has never remarried, he still lives in the same house, hes still heartbroken about her death and is now fearful of being the target of conspiracy theorists. The same that tormented as sandy hook families. Twitter to this point had not moved to honor the widowers request and we have seen nothing from the president suggests hes had any second thoughts, hes tweeted about it again, hes raised the issue again and just a few moments ago, the White House Press secretary when pressed upon this instead tried to deflect, put the fingers at Joe Scarborough suggesting that the one hes the who to address it. The president tries to thrill his base by attacking the media and has singled out our colleague and friend in recent days. Jonathan swan, im not under any illusion that donald trump attacking the media isnt a helpful applause line at the rally, this is a dark obsession with a single cable host and if youre really trumpy youre taking in a lot more fox and friends than the far superior morning joe, lets not pretend that this is what this is about. This is about a personal obsession, a maniacal obsession and the use of a family whos grieving. The rare instances even people in this white house have been uncomfortable by donald trump, before the white house people on the campaign, its the attack on the gold star family which in the eyes of his supporters went on too long. The eightday war with the widow of a soldier who died, these moments where he doesnt have that chip, on, no, theres familys suffering getting hit in the crossfire, this seems to have the hallmarks of that now that the widower of the woman who lost her life has weighed in. Whats notably about this episode is, you know, youre not seeing the usual trump sycophants online defending him. People if you do a cursory review of the usual suspects who are on twitter the keyboard warriors theyre not seeing this is a winning issue, its mostly silence and to the extent you have conservative voices who are who usually give trump the benefit of the doubt, theyre being quite critical, ben shapiro, very conservative comment day or the, hes very critical of the president on this. David brody who has a huge following among evangelical christians called on the president to stop it. To a person, theyre all making the same point, which is, this is a family thats suffering. We talked about Joe Scarborough, trump said in his tweet suggested that there was an affair, i mean, this is a young woman who died, whose husband is clearly tormented by this. And so, theres a whole family here were not really hearing from, we saw this letter and what can i tell from my own reporting and talking to people around the president no one is defending this and no one especially comfortable with this its just silence. And i mean this as a serious question, is he unstoppable . Is he out of control . Is he triggered . Is he okay, Jonathan Swan . Im not going to make pronounce pts about his Mental Health or anything like that. But, yes, of course hes unstoppable. This is episode 400 in the last 5 years, his aides, i dont know to the extent of which aides tried to get him off of this. I know for a fact in the john mccain, some of his Senior Campaign officials tried to get him to apologize. Todays tweet as trump saying, im not going to talk about this anymore. But im not apologizing. Thats the way i read that tweet. Its the closest youll get to trump on this episode apologizing and its a fair way from that. You know, donna edwards, if he were 7 and my child i would say thats not an apology at all, go back to your room and give me the ipad. Not my child. Thank god. Give me the contrast, here we are all, covering donald trump because thats what jonathan and jonathan and i do, we cover this president who has, gain, taken us down to whats underneath the system in this countrys politics, there was joe biden wearing a mask honoring the dead. How do we what does joe biden need to say to run against this kind of conduct . Well, as i have said before, i do think the contrast of course is so stark that i dont think joe biden needs to say anything, this is a weekend where most president s were accustom to the sobriety of the weekend, honoring our war dead and here you have the president of the United States not just, you know, sort of laying bare the grief of this widow, he called hillary clinton, Stacey Abrams names over the course of the weekend. He cant really help himself. And i think we have lost the ability anymore to believe that this president is going to be behave anymore, like a normal president , heck a normal president would behave. He doesnt have the capacity to do that and he just demonstrates it over and over again and i hope that what the American People saw over the course of the weekend and particularly yesterday on memorial day was the contrast of the former Vice President and dr. Jill biden honoring our war dead, Wearing Masks because its safe to do so, all of their detail also also Wearing Masks. The president of the United States plays golf over the weekend and then doesnt wear a mask because he doesnt view it i dont know what else to say about this president s lack of any kind of empathy or whatever that gene is that enables you to put yourself in someone elses shoes. He doesnt have it. Id like to see that video again. Because the president maybe not wearing a mask, but it looked like he was wearing stilettos, teetering back and forth. Let me watch that. After the salute. Seems to move around a whole lot. Let me talk to jonathan lemier and Jonathan Swan about men and masks. Donald trumps real way into the heart of his base is around these scenes of mansculinity. It would seem that any parent, any dad is now playing the role of protector of their family, protector from economic despair and protector from this virus. Most men i know wear masks, are the one who go out to procure masks for their children, spo e spouses. Is trump sure that this is the political winner he thinks it is . As we reported some weeks ago, he refuses to do it in public. He did see a snapshot emerge from last week at a mrarnt in michigan. He wore the mask briefly at the part of the factory that wasnt open to the press. The president in fact taunted reporters that day and showed them the mask. Hes made it a cultural issue, he has made masks a dividing line. Increasingly in a pandemic thats being divided along blue and red lines. The president is leaning into that. Were seeing that with the masks. I think your point is a good one lot of americans, we see the polling, lot of americans have expressed a lot of caution about reopening the country, they feel safer if people are Wearing Masks. Im not sure this is the political winner the president thinks it is. Right now, hes playing to his base. His spotters will follow him on this. And of course, there are many health risks, we hear that from the Public Health officials on a daily basis, its about protecting others. The president , its about vanity, he says he doesnt like how he looks in a make. We saw him over the weekend retweet by a fox news personality making fun of joe biden for wearing mask. The president was endorsing that mockery. Jonathan swan, i listened to about 40 minutes of Rush Limbaugh today, im just trying to understand what the blanks are of this reelection strategy against the virus, against the predictions from Donald Trumps cdc and others, from the head of the cdc warning of the possibility of a second spike, after these reopenings or in the fall that runs parallel to flu season and the piece of it that i cant connect is how donald trump gets what he wants, which is this economy that i dont know roars back but comes back or the defiance of science. The way to a vibrant economy, put everyone in a mask, face shield, gloves, keep them six feet away, has anyone made the case to him toward a Strong Economy is through social distancing . If they have its not the group that has the ear or influential inside the building. I mean, most of his senior aides, certainly the ones who are more politically advantages you, a stark visible contrast between donald trump and joe biden. I wrote this on sunday and it continues to play out day after day. They like that split screen image of donald trump no mask, joe biden with a mask. They like the idea that President Trump will be the candidate whos pushing forward, saying we need to reopen, we need to get this economy moving and its really big gamble, the gamble is based on assumption where Public Opinion is now today is not where it will be in october november, jonathan and you were accurate in saying that the public, majority of the public is still very cautious about reopening too soon, theyre making a bet thats not going to be case by late summer and people are going to be very, very anxious to get back and get moving and that the president is moving ahead regardless of some of the pronouncements of his health experts, the big, big Downside Risk is, if theres a severe second wave, this really falls apart in october. So thats the calculation. Donna, last word, how would you review this split screen image . I take Jonathan Swans word on that being the president s sort of feeling that this is good image, as a whom who voted for republicans most of my career and never will again, i see someone responsible and someone reckless when i see those two images. Well, to me, i look at those images and its a display of competence, you know, the former Vice President doing what the Trump Administration is saying to do, wear masks, keep social distance as a way to combat this virus and unfortunately, for the president of the United States, the virus is going to dictate the terms, hes not going to dictate the terms. And the terms may be that more people will lose their lives because the president of the United States insist on opening up, opening up sooner than we need to and not doing the kind of things that will help us to stave off this virus and, you know, i just dont really see a winner here for the president. Thank you so much for ns for your off and thank you to reporting. When we come back donald trump purveyor of conspiracy theories, what responsibility does twitter have for its role in spreading trumps smears. Also ahead trump rails against mailin voting, calling into question an election that hasnt happened. Well look at the map in november. In november this is a tempurpedic mattress. And its mission is to give you truly transformative sleep. So, no more tossing and turning. Or trouble falling asleep. Because only tempurpedic uses proprietary tempur® material. That continuously adapts and responds to your body, to relieve pressure. So you get deep, uninterrupted sleep. All night. Every night. The tempurpedic summer of sleep starts now, with all tempurpedic mattresses on sale, and savings up to 500 on adjustable sets. With all tempurpedic mattresses on sale, you say that customers maklets talk data. S. Only Xfinity Mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. I accept 5g everybodys talking about it. How do i get it . Everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. Thats good. Next item corner offices for everyone. Just have to make more corners in this building. Chad . Your wireless your rules. Only with Xfinity Mobile. Now thats simple easy awesome. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus get 200 off a new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra. As we mentioned at the top of the hour donald trump is using a shameful debunked Conspiracy Theory as against our colleague Joe Scarborough, donald trump has suggested to his twitter followers that scarborough is somehow involved in a death of a staffer some 19 years ago, that staffer died of a heart condition that caused her to collapse and hit her head, normally such a false accusation made often enough might get a person banned from a platform but in a letter to twitter Ceo Jack Dorsey asked that only trump tweets be removed, quote, i have mourned my wife since her passing. As her husband, i feel my marital obligations to protect her memory. Im asking you to intervene in this instance because the president of the United States is taking something that doesnt belong to him, the memory of my dead wife and perverted for preserved political gain. My wife deserves better. Twitter didnt specifically respond to his requests that they remove trump tweets. Putting out this statement, were deply sorry about the pain these statements and the attention they are drawing, are causing the family. Weve been working to expand existing product features and policies so we can more effectively address things like this going forward. Joining us is the host of the podcast pivot. Her piece titled twitter must cleanse the trump stain. Kara swisher, wonderful to see you. That statement, i mean i used to work in used to dabble in pr i have never written something that lam. Its actually a very typical response from Silicon Valley companies, theyre going to do nothing and theyre going to say its very concerned. Like susan collins, concerned and disturbed by this but not going to do anything about this. Theyre working on some things. Did some reporting on it. Including labeling these tweets as lies and putting the correct information next to it. But still they have not gotten those tools out. What do we do as a culture, i have spent four years sort of ruminating on the fact that the republican nominating process and the american president ial politics and now the office of presidency wasnt fortified for someone like trump, it didnt conceive of someone like trump, his corruption, a debasement of the office. We have someone tweeting smears that have reached retraumatized the family of a woman who with died 19 years ago. How do we adapt our platforms for him . Well, you know, twitter and facebook and all the others say they dont know about this. Theres great wall street article that came out th, they w this. Its engagement to create enragement and they dont anything about it. They built it this way, nicolle. They built it for speed and for engagement and this is just what you get. This is exactly what you get. Donald trump is actually the perfect example of the results, you know, these tweets are awful but he knows what they do, he knows whats going on. Not just appealing to his base hes doing it, because theyre doing nothing about it and he knows they will. No one is going to stop him. Thats really the woman who had that terrible video by the way in central park has been dealt with properly with her job, but in this case he gets to do anything he wants and doesnt get any kind of punishment for it. Well, i mean, its like walking down 5th avenue, akin to what the russians saw, exploit our First Amendment and most people on social media dont know the original source of where it comes from, are we heading were five months out from another election, are our platforms harder to know, if we dont if the president doesnt have to tell the truth how do we know junk from anything remotely factual . Thats a whole other issue. We know where this tweet is coming from and they try to wrap themselves in the First Amendment argument. Twitter is a private company and its not a public square. Twitter does this all the time, they took off bolsnaro because of a tweet on hydroxychloroquine and for them to say they dont do it, its not true. They ban people. They do act like an editor and so does nbc, so does the washington post, this is not unprecedented. Its not squashing speech. Just take it down once in one place and set an example, this is not tolerated. This is not news worthy. Everything he does is not ne newsworthy and its okay to say that and say this one is hurting someone, lets take it down. Its violating our rules. The opposite is actually also true, not only its fake news. Its the epitome of fake news. I hate that term. But this is a fabrication, this is a fiction, what does twitter say about fake information . Lies. They let that go on and in this case its verifiable. Its causing damage. Its violating their rules are so confusing in how they enforce them. The issue is, look, i dont have to speak for this. I was pretty tough on twitter. The widower probably one of the most eloquent examples of the damage this has caused, his wife is not allowed to rest in peace and neither is the family allowed to mourn properly. Joe scarborough is not the point here, its not great to be accused of murder. But the fact of the matter is, this man is not allowed move along because the president is using it in some weird, vile appalling game hes playing on a platform. Twitter can do something about it. I i encourage everyone to read your piece about it and the letter that as you described it perfectly, one of the more eloquent things i have read in this bizarre and disturbing time of politics that we live in. Also, kara swisher, i love your piece, i sat there crying, about your family, my favorite piece. Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. Nice to see you, my friend and thank you. After the break, how donald trump is already planting seeds of doubt about the results of the 2020 election, still five months away, his crusade against safe mailin voting is next. Everything has changed. Our work, how we eat, breathe, even stand. But we cant stand for this. To protect our health and our right to vote. With vote by mail, and safe options for voting in person, we must act now. But Mitch Mcconnell refuses to let the senate vote. Join us. Tell mitch protect our health and our vote. Whys mitch so afraid of our voices being heard . Let america vote pac is responsible for the content of this ad. Theyre laying the foundation already to call into question, to cast doubt about november Election Results that may not like. Its not the first time, they did it prior to these recent special elections. Trump himself did it four years ago prior to his election in november 2016. Its a tactic they go to time and again. The trumps attempt to distract from his failure to respond to covid19 pandemic. Hes trying to change the subject, we shouldnt let him. Thats the california secretary of state just a little bit ago responding to donald trump and his allies in the Republican Party who are continuing to falsely claim that voting by mail will lead to widespread fraud, calling it an obvious attempt to meddle in an election thats still weeks ago. Republicans sued california governor gavin newsom, to send our californians mailin ballots. Joining us is jen palmeri and John Heilemann is back. Jen, its always worth so stipulating a about this is about, what does donald trump make it so hard for people to vote by mail . Hes trying to hes hoping that less voters, like Younger Voters and voters of color dont vote and they know that if, you know, this is why Michelle Obama is called when we all vote, the more people vote more likely a democrat is going to win but theres a couple of things that i think the republicans are trying to achieve here, one, trump is trying to lay down this notion that vote by mail is fraudule fraudulent, oregon does only vote by mail, kit be do safely. They lost a suit like this in the state of nevada which is very important in terms of battleground. Republicans believe in california they may find more favorable judges to their view and hoping to win a case there they can then take to higher level to stop it. Theres both a pr Conspiracy Theory that trump but also the Republican Party is also trying to find a forum thats more favorable to them. They lost a case in nevada, its fair to send ballots to voters that are registered whether theyre active voters or not. John heilemann, i lost the thread on where donald trump thinks cheating took place in elections, because the only cheating thats been documented, the Mueller Investigation the Republicanled Senate Intelligence Committee that found russia cheated they helped donald trump win in 2016, what is donald trump trying to us is out here. Just to be clear, nicolle, you havent lost the thread. Theres no matrix. There he doesnt have an argument. If he asked what he thinks is going on, he cant give you a coherent answer. 140 Million People voted in 2016, of those 140 Million People who voted, about a quarter voted by mail. Thats like 35 Million People. So far in the literature that exists, theres no correlation between party and voting by mail. Its not like democrats win in vote by mail and republicans lose it. Florida has vote by mail, the president has voted by mail in florida. North carolina has vote by mail. Michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, battleground states. Trump won all of them in 2016 and won the election. What youll find is trump trying to i think, just basically trying to create some shroud of doubt about an outcome of a race that he increasingly understand that hes going to lose. If hes been complaining about fraud on multiple levels from day one, hell be able to stand up on the day after the election and say it was fraud and that will create the next postelection drama im virtually certain were going to have if donald trump loses. Well, john, to pick up your thread, how bad is it looking for trump . A normal rnc would be spending registering republican voters. I just mentioned those six battleground states. Wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, north carolina, florida and arizona. Those are the six states that both sides concede is where the battle is primarily being vote, six states that trump won by the slanderous of margins. Based on private polling, republican private polling, trump is behind in five of those states. Hes behind in arizona, in florida, all three of the mid western industrial states. The one state hes above water in is north carolina. Hes losing in five of six states that he won in 2016 and then you look at the states, hes advertising like crazy, playing defense effectively, if you look at the states, his team said they were going to expand the map, he said minnesota, new mexico, he said nevada, he said new hampshire, how many states are they aeft idvertising in ri now . None. The ones he lost by again, im not predicting the outcome of this election. No one should do that after what we saw in 2016. Its not looking good for donald trump. All three of us have spent a lot of time staring looking at the maps. After the break, more on the map and the key demographic from the state trump won by a long mile in 2016, it looks like its switching over big time at least for now to joe biden, what might be a big story line Election Night this november. announcer carvanas had a lot of firsts. 100 online car buying. Car vending machines. And now, putting you in control of your financing. At carvana, get personalized terms, browse for cars that fit your budget, then customize your down payment and monthly payment. And these arent madeup numbers. Its what youll really pay, right down to the penny. Whether youre shopping or just looking. It only takes a few seconds, and it wont affect your credit score. Finally a totally different way to finance your ride. Only from carvana. The new way to buy a car. Donald trumps handling of coronavirus just might hurt his chances with a key demographic in november. Seniors. Washington post reports, quote, while democrats have worried about bidens struggles to excite Younger Voters, older voters who are upset with the president are poised to be potentially more influential in november, especially in swing states whose populations skew their way, like florida, pennsylvania, arizona, michigan and wisconsin, jen and heilemann are back. Jen, that piece in the post caught my attention because, John Heilemann has been going through these states with me and the idea that florida i mean, florida had after 2016 almost moved out of swing state territory, it seemed to be trending so republican and now, because of an outside event, very much in question for donald trump in 2020. Yeah, floridas so hard. I mean, i feel like it breaks my heart every time and i know that the Biden Campaign its hard to organize. Its a very tough state. I know that the Biden Campaign particularly early on was much more interested in pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, then places like arizona, north carolina, places to expand, you know, from where we were in 2016. But it was whats so interesting about that piece you cited in the post, it opens up with a republican who didnt like trump, didnt vote for hillary clinton. There are so many people who didnt vote, voted for trump, now hes the incumbent. 74yearold republican is going to turn out and vote for joe biden, as hes already decided to do that alone can be a big difference, i think we forget what a motivator it is who didnt vote. Can turn out to be a big support for biden. The senior vote is hard, though, i know the Biden Campaign is not taking for granted. Not sure this will last, the downward for trump support and its a very harder voter to move. Wow, John Heilemann, the thing about the pandemic and how we have no idea how it will impact the election, and i see it fraught for both sides i think democrats have to be careful not to let trump take that mantle of reopenings all by himself and i think trump, though, would be foolish to not understand the reality which is, everybody older than 70 knows someone or likely knows somebody who have gotten really, really sick or lost their life from covid. Just sort of game that out the exposure for both sides. What jen said is right, traditionally you have democrats that do well with Younger Voters, republicans do well with older voters. Donald trump did well with older voters in to 16. Its hard to imagine a world where donald trump can win the election if he loses seniors, right now biden is winning that vote by a considerable margin and i think there are a couple of different factors there, look, Rob Brownstein a journalist, a friend of ours, talked about the biden inversion like this is new thing where the democrat is dominant with seniors and has a little bit of trouble with Younger Voters, and if that holds its a huge strength for and i think two things are involved. One, of course, the fact older voters feel super vulnerable in this pandemic and they feel as though donald trump in rushing to open up, the perception hes rushing to open up, is putting their lives first and foremost at risk. And then you see the trump people trying to disqualify biden by saying hes too old and doddering and seen ill and out of it, and the older seniors i know take offense to hearing donald trump and all of his foibles attacking joe biden like hes too old and out of it to do the job. And number one, donald trump is saying this . Number two, when youre saying that about joe biden, youre saying it about me. So theyre playing dangerous games in how theyre going after biden and in addition to how theyre handling the pandemic. And dont think we have not enjoyed is that john . Hes the young one. Its the puppy. He cant stay off tv. He finds you irresistible, like the rest of america. Im looking for a sub. If hes free at this time slot, give him my number and inexplicably placed pineapples. We will talk about that some other time here. Thank you for spending time with us. Can leave you holding your breath. But Bristol Myers squibb is working to change things. By researching new kinds of medicines that could help you live longer. Including options that are chemofree. Because were committed to bringing new hope into lung cancer care. Because were committed to bringing new hope were pretty different. Somos muy diferentes. Muy diferentes. vo verizon knows everyone in your family is different. There are so many of us doing so many different things. vo thats why verizon lets everyone mix and match different unlimited plans. So everyone gets what they need without paying for things they dont. The plan is so reasonable, they can stay on for the rest of their lives. Aww, did you get that on camera . vo plans start at just 35, our lowest price on unlimited for everyone. Plus, get up to 900 off the motorola edge . The network more people rely on gives you more. Your graduation may look different. But it does not change how far youve come. Or how far youll go. Congratulations, class of 2020 tenergy intoll whohelping others. Eir to anyone helping and caring in their own way. Thank you. Like you, were always on. Were proud to put our Energy Behind you. Southern company i but what i do count on. Ts anis boost high protein. Rs, and now, theres boost mobility. With key nutrients to help support. Joints, muscles, and bones. Try boost mobility, with added collagen. Now every bath fitter bathbath fis installed quickly, safely, and beautifully, with a lifetime warranty. Go from old to new. From worn to wow. The beautiful bath youve always wanted, done right, installed by one expert technician, all in one day. Weve been creating moments like these for 35 years, and were here to help you get started. Book your free virtual or inhome Design Consultation today. The New York Times didnt use a single photograph to make this one of the most visually striking front pages in recent history. You almost have to squint to read them. The names, the ages and short stories about the lives of a thousand victims of the coronavirus, neatly spilled out over a marginless page. Breathtaking, heartbreaking and yet still only counts as a fraction of the enormity of our losses. We mentioned today were choice to the threshold of 100,000 coronavirusrelated deaths in the u. S. , so for a sense of scale, this is what 100,000 people look like. Thats how many fans can fit into brian denny stadium, people listed on the New York Times front page can possibly fit into one of those sections in the upper deck. We start reading the names of all 100,000 coronavirus victims to you right now, just the names, three seconds each with no sleep, no break, wed be reading until saturday morning. So we will keep our remembrances to just a few at a time. They called lloyd porter mr. Hooper after the goodhearted sesame street store owner. Originally from california, he moved to new york to become an actor. Over the years he got a few gigs, notably in some commercials. This one was broadcast during the super bowl in 2017. He and his wife owned a restaurant bakery in bedfordstuy. As his wife put it, she did the baking, he did the greeting. It was widely popular, good food, good company. At the time of his death, lloyd and his wife had plans to move back to california with their daughter and buy a bakery. So keep them in your thoughts today. Along with the family of juan manual juarez. His niece told ktiv she keeps seeing his smile everywhere she looks. Before he died of the coronavirus, he was planning on retiring from his jobs at the local tyson foods plant. He loved his family. He was a hard worker and he was always cheerful. So for him, lloyd and the other 100,000 victims of the coronavirus, we see you, and we wont forget you. That does it for our hour. Thank you very much for letting us into your homes during these extraordinary times. 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