Department of Homeland Security and worse. Ur department of homeland secitury and worse. [ ] when you have diabetes, managing your blood sugar is crucial. Try boost glucose control. The patented blend is clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. It provides 60 more protein than the leading diabetes nutrition shake. Try boost glucose control. As business moves forward, were all changing the way things get done. Like how we redefine collaboration. How we come up with new ways to serve our customers. And deliver our products. But no matter how things change, one thing never will. You can rely on the people and the network of at t. To help keep your business connected. Tthis is xfi complete from xfinity. Youll get the xfi gateway with advanced security, so your connected devices are also protected. And stay out plus with unlimited data, you can stream and scroll more than ever. And well ensure that you get the most wifi coverage throughout your home. This is xfi complete. Simple, easy, awesome. Get the security, unlimited data and wifi coverage you need. Plus, xfi customers can add xfi complete for only 11 a month. Call or visit a store today. Portland, oregon saw another night of clashes between protesters and the feds last night. The 62nd straight night of protests since the death of george floyd. Now the governor of oregon, kate brown, says deployment of federal officers, the militarized camouflage variety, may be coming to an end starting with a phased withdrawal on thursday, but well believe it when we see it. She says in part, quote, we have a clear agreement that all customs and Border Protection and i. C. E. Officers will leave Downtown Portland on thursday, shortly thereafter theyll go home. A limited contingent of feds will provide security year round to the courthouse and remain and stay focused on its interior. Oregon state troopers will be downtown to keep the peace. This announcement came hours after the president called the protesters anarchists, said the federal government is making a, quote, strong stand in portland. Acting secretary of Homeland Security, chad wolf, the fifth person to serve in that job says dhs officers will remain in portland until, quote, we are assured the courthouse and other federal properties will no longer be attacked and that the seat of justice in portland will remain secure. Today it was announced federal Law Enforcement officers will also be sent to three more cities, detroit, cleveland, milwaukee as the socalled operation legend expands. Important we have the following voice, retired army generous he will. 37 year veteran of the u. S. Armed forces, led the relief effort on the ground in new orleans following the days of hurricane katrina. General, it would be useful for us and viewers right now for you to remind us of the proper role of Homeland Security which, lets not forget, was an outgrowth of 9 11. Absolutely. These organizations were brought together under the department of Homeland Security security to protect us from terrorists. I say that one more time, to protect us from terrorists. And they evolved into this force to go reinforce federal Protection Agency that normally protect federal buildings along with contractors. Most of the federal buildings are protected by contractor and a few officers from federal protective service, and generally that worked. What we saw play out in portland was a reinforcement with tactical officers from the border and the u. S. Marshals. I have the highest respect for the marshals. When i grew up in the south and integrating school, they escorted people to reinforce federal law they would integrate the school. The border patrol. I worked with them on the southern border, ridden with them in a vehicle, showing the challenge they have in protecting it. I think much like the military, they were given a mission that exceeded what they normally do which is to focus on people who break federal law as well as protecting the border. I think it is an overreach of what the white house tried to do, using the uniformed military. Im happy to see they worked out a compromise and that the governor will protect the outside of that courthouse, let federal officers protect the front step of that courthouse. General honore, the model is to be replicated in other cities as brian said under the auspices of protecting the monuments, protecting federal installations that the president seems keenly interested in. You mentioned the military and overreach. There are obvious parallels in the images we see to clearing of Peaceful Protesters in Lafayette Square which brought about a rare rebuke from general mattis and an apology from general milley. I wonder if youre surprised not to see more Law Enforcement figures rebuking the conduct and apologizing for what appears to many like an overreach. Yeah, weve seen few of the senior or retired Police Chiefs speak to this, i hoped they would speak out because this is their space. To use federal officers to go to detroit and whatever the other city is, to have them positioned to do protective service around buildings is a solution looking for a problem. Most of the buildings are routinely protected on the outside by the local and state police. The effort in chicago and kansas city to reinforce local police, with investigative powers of atf and fbi i think is a normal move that happens all the time, but the idea of prepositioning federal officers as a solution looking for a problem, that is politicizing the federal police force, theyre politicizing the federal police force, not using them for what they were meant to do which is to focus on our enemies, our borders, and fight crime, protect our buildings and people. Retired Army Lieutenant general russel honore. I always stop when i hear you on brians program or anyone elses. It is a privilege to talk to you myself. Thank you so much for spending time with us. Brian, this is the part of the hour i dread. When you leave us as well. I doubt that very much, but thank you for having me. Thank you for having me for at least part of the ride. This is the world i leave to you each day. Good luck with it. Ill be watching. It may change 100 more times between now and 11 00 when your broadcast comes on the air. Well be watching. When we come back, joe biden inches closer to naming a running mate, while democrats are fighting back against republicans and what they call politically motivated actions. Politically motivated actions. It will mean painful cuts to essential Public Services across america. Fewer teachers and nurses, longer response times, dirtier streets. But some say our states should just go bankrupt. Text fund to 237263 to Tell Congress to fund our essential Public Services. Afscme is responsible for the content of this ad. Techand your car. , were committed to taking care of you tech well fix it right with nocontact service you can trust. Tech so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Can it one up spaghetti night . Cleaning power of liquid. It sure can. Really . Can it one up breakfast in bed . Yeah, for sure. Thanks, boys. What about that . Uhh, yep it can . Yeah, even that i would very much like to see that. Me too. Introducing tide power pods. One up the toughest stains with 50 more cleaning power than liquid detergent. Any further questions . Uh uh nope one up the power of liquid with tide power pods. New democratic backed Nonprofit Group is opening a new front in the 2020 election, the issue integrity. They have their first target. Republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin who heads the Senate Oversight committee. The project shared its first report with nbc news, raising new questions about the senators actions on capitol hill and his personal finances and whether he used his power to enrich himself. The report alleges that senator johnson, quote, has likely seen his personal fortune double as he advocated for policies that benefitted him financially while he has been in office. Joining the conversation, correspondent heidi press bell a, who has done extensive reporting on this story. Also, jason johnson, professor of politics and journalism at morgan state university, also a contributor to msnbc. Heidi, this is your reporting. Take me through it. Nicolle, this is the opening salvo for the new group of democratic watchdog heavyweights. They say ron johnson is just the first target and give us a preview of what will be a major focus on republicans that are supposed to be tasked with serious oversight roles over issues like coronavirus, election interference, police brutality. And they say these Republican Committee chairs and leadership members are using those powers instead to conduct politically motivated investigations like the one of the bidens that ju r senator johnson is conducting. Theyre going to drill down on self dealing and potential ethics violations and corruption. And in this case, theyre focusing on senator johnsons former stake in his family plastics business. They say he broke a Campaign Pledge to put that business into a blind trust, then sold his stake in that company for millions they say, potentially millions more than he valued it for, and in that time his own self net worth increased by 50 to 100 . That he sold that stake to a campaign donor, that he is not disclosing details of it. Senator johnsons office, had a long talk with them, they say theres nothing untoward about this, that he didnt do a blind trust because it is his brother who owns the company. So really, how blind can it be. We did find that Campaign Promise that definitely happened, nicolle, and theyre not telling us how much he profited off it, and importantly, i ran it all past the Nonpartisan Center for responsive politics and they said this is definitely something that is worth looking into, given the ownership tangled web and the fact it looks like he sold the company for far more or the stake for far more than it had been valued for on the senate disclosure forms, nicolle. So really, the democrats are launching this new effort to focus on republicans who they say are shirking their responsibilities to provide a check on the trump administration, nicolle. Well, and jason, we get wrapped up in stories like the impeachment of the president , the pandemic that has our entire country in its grips and sometimes stories like heidis reporting and a lot of stories, they dont lead the news like they would for a normal president. But the corruption and refusal at the beginning of the Trump Presidency to even try not to enrich himself really was the original sin, right, the original ethics norm busting that may have put us on this path. Yeah, these guys are wrapped up in corruption with sprinkle of emoluments and buried in a swamp. Weve seen that since trump got into office. Im happy to see the democrats launched their junior version of the lincoln project, start going after republicans for not just going after someone, this is not Election Year for ron johnson, he is not open until 2022, but focusing that you have sitting politicians not doing their job. I think it is an excellent thing for democrats to do and focus on a regular basis. It is not just senator johnson, we have this scandal in georgia, we have this scandal with sitting members of the trump administration. Someone has to Pay Attention to the fact that you have large numbers of politicians right now who have been basically enriching themselves as the country faces financial ruin during coronavirus. I financial ruin during coronavirus. So i think this is an excellent effort. I hope they do begin to target some of the people who are up for election this fall, because i think this kind of information could have even greater impact. Jason, johnson, and heidi are staying with us. When we come back, joe biden now days away from naming his Vice President ial running mate. And new clues have emerged about who he might be thinking of picking. That story is next. Ight bthe in picking. That story is next in just a few days, joe biden will announce his longanticipated Vice President ial pick. Hes dropped very few hints about who he might pick, but an Associated Press photographer captured the former vp holding notes about senator Kamala Harris yesterday while taking questions from reporters. Some of those shorthand notes read, quote, do not hold grudges, campaigned with me and jill, talented. Were back with Heidi Przybyla and jason johnson. Jason johnson, Kamala Harris is such an interesting political figure in the era of trump. Shes one of the only people to have really, early on, laid a glove on bill barr and sort of unmasked his sort of role as trumps fixer and not as the attorney general in that hearing. Shes also someone who was out of this democratic primary very early, but with a whole lot to have grace. A lot of people who dont go the distance have to reentry. She never had that phase. I mean, what do you think of some of this and again, were reading some tea leaves here, but what do you think if this tea leaf reading is indeed pointing towards a Kamala Harris selection . Senator harris is very well liked. And ive written extensively. I think she is the person that joe biden is going to select. And nicole, youre exactly right. She bowed out of the race early. And let the word come out. She said, look, if i cant win this, im not going to do this out of vanity. She gave her staff enough time to work with other campaigns. She has campaigned with joe biden. They appeared to have buried the hatchet one way or another. I think shes probably a shooin. But what you have to remember, there are minuses to her being the vp. You have issues with her criminal justice background. Its going to be an interesting decision when he makes it. Heidi, last word . Days before hes supposed to choose his vp, hes carrying notes about Kamala Harris. No matter how you dice it, that is not a bad thing for her. There are going to be questions about the quote unquote trust gap, but as jason said, shes gone a long ways to make amends for that, to do virtual fundraisers for him, and hes been heaping praise on her during the campaign. You know, jill biden did say his wife, dr. Jill biden, that it was a gut punch, what happened during the campaign, but it does seem as if theyre putting that behind them, behind themselves. Heidi and jason, two of the biggest brains on all topics politics and the current moment in country. Thank you both for making time for us today. Coming up for us, donald trump once again letting Vladimir Putin get away with it, any of it, all of it. Deadline white house is next. Tada did you know Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need . Given my unique lifestyle, thatd be perfect let me grab a pen and some paper. Know what . Im gonna switch now. Just need my desk. My chair. And my phone. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. [ ] when you have diabetes, managing your blood sugar is crucial. Try boost glucose control. The patented blend is clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. It provides 60 more protein than the leading diabetes nutrition shake. Try boost glucose control. Hi, everyone. Its 4 00 in the east of the United States and 11 00 p. M. In moscow, where today high fives or smiles or whatever it is that Vladimir Putins version of Mission Accomplished looks like is assuredly underway, because today in a brandnew interview with donald trump conducted by Jonathan Swann of axios, donald trump sends the surest sign yet that putins word is worth more than that of his very own intelligence community. In an interview sure to send shock waves through National Security circles ahead of the 2020 american election, donald trump makes perfectly clear that when it comes to russia, he does not believe whats in his pdb, the most vetted intelligence product produced by the u. S. Intelligence community. The pdb included that intelligence about russia paying bounties to taliban fighters for the killing of u. S. Soldiers. Donald trump confirming publicly that he did not raise the intelligence with putin and that he does not believe the intelligence. Heres that remarkable exchange. Its beenly reported that russia paid bounties to kill american soldiers. You had a phone call with Vladimir Putin on july 23rd. Did you bring up this issue . That was a phone call to discuss other things. And frankly, thats an issue that many people said was fake news. Who said it was fake news . I think a lot of people. If you look at some of the wonderful folks from the bush administration, some of them not any friends of mine, were saying that its a fake issue. But a lot of people said its a fake issue. There was well, we had a call talking about nuclear proliferation, which is a very big subject, where they would like to do something and so would i. We discussed numerous things. We did not discuss that, no. And youve never discussed it with him. I have never discussed with it him. I would, i have no problem with it. But you dont believe the intelligence, thats why . You know, its interesting. Nobody ever brings up china, they always say russia, russia, russia. It was your president ial daily brief they didnt think it was worthy. If it reached my death, i would have done something about it. Do you read your daily brief . I read a lot. They say i dont read. I read a lot. I comprehend extraordinarily well, probably better than anybody youve interviewed in a long time. So claiming there he reads his written intel briefings a lot, thats his claim, although three years of reporting to the contrary. And he pretends wecomprehends w says. So why doesnt the president seem to comprehend the established and widely comprehended fact that russia has been arming the taliban for years. So even if you dont believe this report, and there is dispute about it, john nicholson, your former head of staffs in afghanistan said, and this is when he was working for you, that russia is supplying weapons to the taliban. Isnt that enough to challenge putin over the killings of u. S. Soldiers . Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting russia, too. When they were fighting, the taliban, in afghanistan thats a different era. Im just saying im just saying, we did that too. I didnt ask nicholson about that. He was there for a long time, didnt have great success, because he was there before me and ultimately i made a change. But you surely heard that, right. Its well known in the intelligence community, that theyre arming the taliban, russia. I dont know. When you say arming supplying weapons. Is the taliban paying russia is supplying weapons and money to the taliban. I have heard that, but its never again, its never reached my desk. I mean, he said it on the record when he was hey, russia doesnt want anything to do with afghanistan. Let me just tell you about russia. Russia used to be a thing called the soviet union. Because of afghanistan, they went bankrupt. They baecame russia, just so yo do understand, okay . The last thing russia wants to do is get too much involved with afghanistan. They tried that once, it didnt work out. Let me tell you about russia, and then let me defend russia. None of that is normal. Nor is it normal for a reporter to have to explain to an american president just how an adversary is arming our enemies, so they can kill our soldiers. And its remarkable to see trump there, as he often does, going further to say that even if its true, well, america did that too, arming the afghans against russia. Its a stunning piece of propaganda coming out of the american president s mouth, that is at this point only furthered by proputin puppets. And donald trump. And if trumps willing to say and do all of that publicly, if hes not even concerned enough about the possibility, the possibility, the tip deemed verified enough to put in his pdb that russia might be paying the taliban to kill american soldiers, at some point its not even worth asking what we should expect him to do about these headlines today. That russia is once again tar t targeting the u. S. With a disinformation campaign, this time on kprooifrcoronavirus, ex the war on science being gauged by the man in the oval office. We no longer think trump will Warn Congress to warn russia. And after yesterdays defensive posture from william barr about questions on foreign influence and interference in our elections during his testimony before the house judiciary committee, we can no longer hope that there are any remaining guardrails protecting our democracy from russia, or potentially even from the president himself, when you consider how barr struggled with this simple question. In april of this year, the Republicanled SenateIntelligence Committee unanimously found that russia interfered with our elections and attempted to undermine american democracy, correct . Skpiand i said so, too is it ever appropriate, sir, for the president to solicit or accept foreign assistance in an election . Depends what kind of assistance . Is it ever appropriate for the president or president ial candidate to accept or solicit foreign assistance of any kind in his or her election . No, its not appropriate. Okay, sorry you had to struggle with that. Depends what kind of assistance. Remember that, folks. The president of the United States all in with putin with less than 100 days left to go until the next election. Thats where we start today with former chief of staff to the cia and department to have defense, jeremy bash, plus former Top State Department official, rick stangl, and pbs newshour white house correspondent, yamiche alcindor. Jeremy bash, let me start with you on that portrait from the president of russia, defending russia. Nicole, that interview with axios really reveals exactly the president s mindset with respect to protecting americas National Security and protecting our troops. He said that intelligence never hit my desk. Thats a lie. The intelligence was in the president s daily brief in february. Even after it came to light that he hadnt read it, that it had not potentially came up in an oral discussion, his aides said that they went and talked to him about it. So obviously, it has hit his desk, it has been on his radar, and he has decided affirmatively that he doesnt want to do anything about it, he does not want to confront Vladimir Putin about it. In fact, he potentially welcomes the activity by russia as horrible as that is to contemplate, because if you were to dry the opposite conclusion, you would see a president demarshing, rebuking, telling a russian president , stop hurting our troops, stop arming those who are killing American Service members in afghanistan. This president washes it all away, says its fake news. He doesnt not only believe our intelligence, he believes Vladimir Putin over the lives of American Service members. And i just want to capture and underscore something youve just said and show you something else, jeremy. So two points, one, being in the pdb means a piece of intelligence is credible enough, its been vetted enough to deem as urgent enough to bring to the countrys commander in chief, the figure who sits atop the chain of command of our military. Here is the Top Commander in afghanistan, saying what Jonathan Swann said he said. Weve had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by afghan leaders and said, this was given by the russians to the taliban. We know that the russians are involved. So, i just want to underscore this point. Its not just believing Vladimir Putin over the american intelligence community, something we were gob smacked by the first time when he did it in helsinki, but have now almost become used to, it is also not believing what the military believes to be a threat to american men and women on the battlefield. Thats right. Our military commanders, their first job is force protection. Theyre the ones along with the civilian leadership in the department of defense who signed the deployment orders who send forward our troops into afghanistan into harms way. So they bear that ultimately responsibility and take seriously any threats to our forces. And so when this reporting, whether its 100 certain or even 50 certain, bring forward information to a president , the president must, as commander in chief, say, i need to get to the bottom of this. I need to protect our forces, and if i believe that there is even a scintilla of evidence that our partnership with russia is resulting in them targeting our troops, im going to cut off that partnership and im going to rebuke Vladimir Putin. Any normal president would do that. Any president with a heart, any president who cares about our troops would do that. This president has done none of that, nicole. Yamiche, you, along with Jonathan Swann, are one of the reporters who is able to reveal new things about this president three years in, which is no easy ta task, but what do you think they think at the white house about donald trump saying on tv, no, i didnt raise it with putin, and no, i dont think theyre doing what everyone knows theyre doing. The russians have been arming the taliban now for years. And i guess the part, question two, part b for you, yamiche, would be he accepted it with iran. He blew up soleimani. He accepted that the iranians were a threat to u. S. Troops, so he can hear it if its someone other than russia, it would see seem. Thats right. And whats most remarkable when you watch this is that this is an interview thats happening and that was welcomed and that President Trump willingly sat down for, knowing that russia bounties was going to come up. So to your first, when you think about what are people thinking in the white house, maybe there are some people left in the white house who might be concerned about this. But people who will rise to the top and continue to be successful in the white house are the people who are going to downplay this and say that they are on the president s side. I always go back to the idea that a highranking white house official telling me that the way to survive in this white house is to ride the trump wave and double down and be seen as presenting a united front. The second thing is, when you look at what the president is doing, i was transported back to helsinki when i was watchi inin Jonathan Swann trying to push the president on this russian bounty story. Because there are two things, russia meddle, interfered in a u. S. Election and it took President Trump years that he could even utter the idea that that might have happened, even though so many intelligence agencies and his own government told him it did happen. And now u. S. Troops, the most sacred of our american soldiers, the people who are tasked with keeping the world free, who are tasked with protecting us from foreign interference and harm, they are potentially being targeted by russia and the president cant be bothered to bring it up on a phone call were Vladimir Putin. Critics of the president will say that this is the president once again showing he doesnt have a backbone when it comes to russia. The president will say i will say that the devils advocate, the president will say, okay, so i brought it up with Vladimir Putin. What does it mean . Hes going to lie. But the fact that the president wouldnt even bring it up with, thats pretty telling on where the president is right now. And on the topic of lies, President Trump is at 20,000. Putin is giving him a run for his money. Heres what russia got from america this week. The wall street journals reporting that the pentagon to move nearly 12,000 u. S. Troops from germany, that was on President Trumps to do list, honeydo list, if you will, for donald trump. And this is right in your wheelhouse, rick stangl. Disinformation ongoing. The Associated Press is reporting that based on u. S. Officials, russia is behind the spread of virus disinformation. Yes, ill take the second point first. I mean, the russian disinformation efforts dont have an offswitch. Its a distributed network. You know, they know what putin wants and you have the Internet Research agency in st. Petersburg doing this, the gru doing it from moscow. There are these new sites that theyve created and what theyve learned since 2016 is, they dont have to create the disinformation themselves. Theres plenty of disinformation out there. They need to amplify it. And thats what theyre doing, with thousands and thousands of bots. But i am so glad, nicole, you brought up the point about the Defense Department announcing the withdrawal of 12,000 russian troops, 12,000 american troops from germany. This is Vladimir Putins dream. This is his dream since he was a kbg officer and watched the berlin fall. To the russians, a special relationship in diplomacy is not between the u. S. And the uk, a special relationship is between america and germany. And russians, for 75 years, have been right to place as much distance between america and germany as possible. And the only president that has ever done this, the only president that has listened to Vladimir Putin about this is donald trump. And this is not just a symbol to russia, this is a symbol to everybody in the whole world, that our alliances, our most sacred alliances are now not even worth the paper that theyre written on. This is a tremendous victory for Vladimir Putin. Jeremy bash, putins dream, americas nightmare, heres fiona hill talking about what putin wants in an american presiden president. When Vladimir Putin looks at the 2020 u. S. Election, how does he size up these two alternative american futures and what would be your advice to whoever takes the oath of office in january of 2021 on how to deal with this . Putin is looking to see what he can get out of it, no matter who it is. Clearly, he wants to have a weaker u. S. President , doesnt matter who. And hell be looking if thats the case. Because the more that the u. S. Is bogged down in its own internal contradictions, the weaker the president is domestically, but also perceived internationally, the less likely it is for the u. S. To try to restore a leadership role. He wants to basically have a fairly diminished, you know, wubs president , no matter who it is. Jeremy, even trumps allies admitted in some reporting in the Washington Post this weekend that trump is, indeed, diminishe diminished. Yeah, nicole, so 12,000 troops out of germany, half may be redeployed around europe, but half will come, half will come back to the United States, which means pa muchreduced presence in our nato ally countries. Germany is a critical nato ally. And its also a critical member of the g7. So when President Trump invites Vladimir Putin into that international body, in essence, germany and other countries have been standing in his way. Hes been looking to punish germany. Of course, germany represents the fall of the berlin wall, the reunification of germany after the cold war, after the fall of the iron curtain. So in some respects, i think rick is right that pulling troops out of germany is the ultimate gift to Vladimir Putin. Its the ultimate symbol that moscow has the upper hand and i think it will weak efforts and weaken our transatlantic alliance. This is a very sad day for american National Security. It is, indeed. Jeremy bash and rick stangl, thank you for talking us through it and starting us off. Were always grateful when you guys make time for us. When we come back, the nations top doc fighting the good fight against the rampant spread of coronavirus disinformation, including some new material being pushed by none other than the president of the United States, information that is downright bizarreo, even for him. And trump seemingly in denial over his poll numbers and letting his desperation show. His latest attempt to keep his socalled suburban dream alive. Plus, Ba Brac Barak and Michelle Obama together again. What the current u. S. Government is doing and how theres still a chance to fix. It ne. Because everyone deserves the best. This is unlimited built right. She always wanted her smile to shine. Now, she uses a capful of therabreath healthy smile oral rinse to give her the healthy, sparkly smile she always wanted. crowd cheering therabreath, its a better mouthwash. At walmart, target and other fine stores. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. All strength we aint stoppin believe me go straight till the morning look like we wont wait were taking everything we wanted we can do it all strength, no sweat woi felt completely helpless. Hed online. My entire career and business were in jeopardy. I called reputation defender. Vo take control of your online reputation. Get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender. Com. Find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. Woman they were able to restore my good name. Vo visit reputationdefender. Com or call 18778668555. Weve got to follow the science. If a study thats a good study comes out and shows efficacy and safety for hydroxychloroquine or any other drug that we do, if you do it in the right way, you accept the Scientific Data, but right now today, the cumulative Scientific Data that has been put together and done over a number of different studies has shown notify efficacy. So when theres a video out there for a bunch of people spouting something that isnt true, the only recourse you have is to be very, very clear in presenting the Scientific Data that essentially contradicts that. With the patience of a saint, dr. Anthony fauci pleading again with the American People again to do one simple thing. Listen to the science. And it comes in the wake of the president again today touting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus, following yesterdays defense of his promotion of a nowdeleted video that showed some questionable medical experts, if we can call them that, claiming that the drug was some sort of cure. The coronavirus still sweeping across this country with devastating effect. The death toll passed 150,000 americans yesterday. And a new federal report shows the government warning 21 states are now in the red zone and need to take aggressive steps to combat the coronavirus. Joining our conversation, dr. Irwin redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at columbia university, and an msnbc Political Health analyst, yamiche, who gets to pose a lot of these questions to the president herself, has agreed to stick around. Yamiche, ive got to start with you and what is just bizarrebizarreo world. And youre not someone who fell for the idea that the white house had successfully carried out some kind of conversion as to who the president is or what the president does, but there were people who noted that he seemed to stay on script for a few minutes last week at those nowrevived coronavirus briefings. But hes back to touting dangerous disinformation about a drug that has been warned to be dangerous, and seeming to be rowing against the work that dr. Fauci is trying to do. Thats right. And i think, i continue to think about the expert who said, if you mix science with politics, what you get the politics. And President Trump has been really, really eager to try to put the coronavirus in the rearview mirror. At one point, he was reading off of notes that said, yes, its going to get worse before its going to get better. But even in the same briefing he said, look, at some point its going to disappear, without having any kind of evidence. The president is eager to find a way to say, look, i have solved this issue, lets move forward, when he knows that americans are laser focused on this, and people who took his advice, including the governor of florida, my home state, florida is a hot, hot, hot spot and theres a state suffering because a governor decided to take the advice of President Trump instead of listening top scientists like dr. Fauci. Dr. Fauci is out today saying, with dont take hydroxychloroquine unless youre there with a doctor. And the president is and peter navarro, i should add, his trade adviser, who is not a scientist, has been out saying that these drugs could be helpful and theyre somehow being stymied by other people, by other forces. It is very confusing and very alarming this is happening. But what we do know is that dr. Fauci is someone who americans trust. Poll after polls show that. And its also true that dr. Fauci is saying, the best way to continue to do this is the way hes been saying to do it since march, that is washing your hands and keeping your distance. The president is a little frustrated. We heard him this week say, why does dr. Fauci have so many high Approval Ratings and someone like me doesnt. So the president is also focused on his high Approval Ratings and people dont trust him when it comes to the virus. All right. I wasnt going to play it, but yamiche just teased the woe is me sound. So dr. Redlener, lets watch it and talk about it on the other side. We could have gotten somebody else, it didnt have to be dr. Fauci. Hes working with our administration. And for the most part, weve done pretty much what he and others, dr. Birx and others, who are terrific, recommended. And hes got this high approval rating. So why dont i have a high approval rating, with respect and the administration, with respect to the virus . Theyre highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality, thats all. As the mother of an 8yearold, this is conduct reprehensible in small children. And it is so unbecoming of our countrys leader, i dont even know what to say about it. But the idea that he cant wrap his brain around the fact that fauci has public support because fauci is viewed as being motivated by the public good is the piece that i feel endangers all of us. Yeah, nicole, this is its just its just incomprehensible, the selfpitying on the part of the president is absolutely pathetic and a side of him we really havent quite seen before. But what were dealing with, if you combine that with his statements on the hydroxychloroquine, we either have a case of really incurable madness or some sort of intentional manipulation of Public Opinion around some absolutely dishonest statements about the effect of hydroxychloroquine added to the pantheon of untrue statements that the president has made for, you know, since the beginning of all of this. I can only imagine, and maybe this is some sort of twisted logic in trying to create some image that will help him in november for his reelection. I just dont see how that all works. And hes looking increasingly unstable. And the promotion of this pitiful recurrent, you know, imai imagination is just one of many. I dont know how theyll create a narrative around covid in november, but i suppose theyll keep trying. Yamiche, gohmert, which is Congress Version of donald trump, congressman gohmert, tested positive. And he said this. Quote, i cant help but think if i hadnt been wearing a mask so much in the last ten days, i really wonder if i would have gotten it. But i know you know moving the mask around, getting it to sit just right, i am bound to have put some virus on the mask, end quote. Um, i dont even know what my question is, but i guess with friends like this, its no wonder the republican fortunes in the fall look bleak at this point. Is the white house trying to at least get some of the president s allies on a less sort of mask skeptic message . I think its going to take some time, because the president was so slow to adopt and embrace masks. Now, it should be noted that dr. Fauci at the beginning was saying that fantastics were not needed, but we were saying that because Health Professionals need them and they were worried there would be a shortage. He has since changed his position, but President Trump took months and months and months to then adopt that position. I think this congressman, congressman gohmert, its hard to wrap your brain around whats going through his head, especially when you think about the fact that he learned that he was positive because he was trying to get on a plane with President Trump. So it begs the question of why hes so skeptical, when he now knows that he was carrying the virus, asymptomatic, Walking Around the hill. Yesterday in the house judiciary hearing, chairman nadler literally scolded republicans for not wearing their masks during the hearing. And they kind of rebuffed him and conservative media kind of attacked nadler for that. Its questionable why in america, and especially among the republican party, why theres a big political debate. Its become almost tribal, whether you wear a mask or you dont. But President Trump in some ways is at the heart of this, because hep only joined team mask a few weeks ago when the majority of industrialized, developed nations have been on team mask since like april. Lowe could ask walmart to ru the country. Dr. Redlener, congressman gohmert has endangered the health of his staff, this is some reporting from politico this afternoon, as tweeted out by a friend of our show, jake sherman. Quote, jake, thank you for letting our office know louis tested positive for the coronavirus. When you write your story, can you include the fact that louie requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that we could be an example to america on how to open up safely. When probing the office, you might want to ask how often people were berated for wearing masks. This is a sitting member of congress including all of his staff including three interns to come work in person and berating them for wearing a mask based on an accounting by someone in that office. Yeah. So nicole, essentially, criminally endangering the lives of other people, especially those who work for you, it is an incredible kind of intimidation that literally puts the lives of others that hes responsible for in danger. And to yamiches point, this has become so politicized, nicole, you and i have talked about this before, in a sense, defiance that has to do with not wearing a mask as was the case for donald trump for so long, has almost replaced the maga hat of a symbol of who your Political Support is. As opposed to looking at this as strictly a Public Health measure designed to save lives, donald trump has managed to politicize this to a point where a sitting member of congress can behave so irresponsibly and with such ignorance and disregard for the lives of the people that work for him and around him. Its just mind boggling, nicole. Dr. Irwin redlener and yamiche alcindor, thank you both for helping us to try to make sense of some of this today. Were grateful. After the break, its a Campaign Tactic that donald trump has used time and time again, trying to convince americans in the suburbs that they not clear who they are but theyre coming for you. The latest iteration of Donald Trumps fearmongering is next. Fd trumps femoarngering is next. When you shop with wayfair, you spend less and get way more. So you can bring your vision to life and save in more ways than one. For small prices, you can build big dreams. Spend less, get way more. Shop everything home at wayfair today. Techand your car. , were committed to taking care of you tech well fix it right with nocontact service you can trust. Tech so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron . Try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. The bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. 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Were leading in arizona. Our numbers. Were leading in arizona. Were leading nicely in florida. I think our poll numbers are very good. Were leading substantially in georg georgia. We get a lot of suppression polls, a lot of fake polls like we have fake news. We have polls that show me leading in almost every swing state and substantially in other states by even more than i won in 16. You didnt know any better, listening to that, you might think trump was beating joe biden in the polls. But the fact is trump is losing his grip on the 2020 race based on all the polls. The latest National Poll has biden holding a ninepoint advantage over trump. That doesnt even adequately explain trumps dire straits. Remember what he just said about how well east doing in battleground states . Well, the latest polling actually has trump tied in georgia of all places. Hes five points down in arizona and in michigan, a battleground state he won by only about 10,000 votes in 2016, the New York Times is reporting that the campaign is essentially going dark. That means stopping spending money on paid political advertising in that state, entirely. Perhaps a product of desperate times, desperate measures. Trump again today went controversial on twitter by saying for him what is barely even the quiet part anymore out loud, speaking about an obama era fair housing rule he did away with and writing this. Quote, i am happy to inform all of the People Living their suburban lifestyle dream inexplicably capitalized that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having lowincome housing built in your neighborhood. Joining us, basil smikle and a. B. Stoddard. Basil, im pretty restrained and reluctant to air trumps tweets on this program, but i couldnt decide whether the racism screaming out in that or the delusion were the biggest headline. Its like he thinks that only minorities are poor, and like he thinks only white people live in the suburbs. This is, more than anything else someone who doesnt know very much about the country he leads three years in. Thats right. Its not only an abject failure in understanding how the country has evolved, but it also shows that his lack of leadership has actually connected people across race and class divides it probably had not before. Im involved in a group of schools called the east harlem schools and i was privy to a demonstration about their reopening strategies for this fall. And you realize there are people on the ground doing this outstanding work to bring students back to school safely. If you think about the indict that teachers and parents have around this singular issue and that the president has only responded by language thats both punitive and intransigent, that you really that its not just families in urban centers, its people in suburbs, all in Rural Communities across the country, that hes upsetting because hes not showing appropriate leadership and what he does show and what he does say is through this very thick racial lens that is becoming apparent to everybody at this point. Apparent to everybody, and chipping into his own coalition from four years ago. Ab stoddard, im trying to accept our politics as they are, not as they should be, not as they are under a normal president , and that is difficult at a moment when 150,000 americans have lost their lives, when that didnt have to be the case. We didnt have to be the worst country in the world when it came to putting in place policies to slow the spread or to make sure that spiking states arent out in bars or having dumb debates about masks. But here we are. My question is about Donald Trumps seeming inability to do the right thing, even when it will serve his political interests. That seems to be a new quirk of his political persona. Well, we didnt have a real crisis. He always lives in his own reality. But now that we have a real crisis, as you point out, exacerbated business by his own epic failure to accept reality, lead at a national level, be responsible and have the patience to ride it out for the sake of americas Public Health and wellbeing for the sake of a healthy economy, to matter the political consequence. So now we see what hes like even when five months into an extreme crisis, a one in a hundred years crisis with every adviser begging him and campaign hand and old friend on the phone at night, and even probably rudy giuliani, to embrace the reality of this and be responsibility, he still refuses to, for after two briefings where he just reads these scripted remarks. He just doesnt have the patience for it. He wants to wish it away and it is so heartless. And i think what baa sills talking about is so interesting, because what i believe is that when parents, as basil noted in every single part of this country, grapple with the failure of this government to use march, april, may and june to plan for school, i think the polling on this in september is going to be devastating for the president. Yep. I think thats right. A. B. And basil are staying put, because after the break, a welcome reminder of what leadership in the white house used to look like. Well show it to you. E. Well show it to you apps are used everywhere. Except work. Why is that . Is it because people love filling out forms . Maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much Vacation Time they have. Or sending corporate their expense reports. Ill let you in on a little secret. They dont. By empowering employees to manage their own tasks, paycom frees you to focus on the business of business. To learn more, visit paycom. Com Little Things can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. The thing that i worry, i hear, i think, too many young people who question whether voting, whether politics is worth it. Well, partly because they have been told, the message is sent every day that government doesnt work. You know, they take for granted all of the things that a working government has done in the past. The only time they know about what government is doing when is when it doesnt work, right. So were getting a good lesson in that right now. Just, you know, husband and wife, chitchatting there. That would be completely understandable if you took that as a slight dig at Donald Trumps presidency. Its from the First Episode of former first lady Michelle Obamas podcast and her very first guest was her husband, the former president. The two spoke to the importance of community and taking care of one another, but made sure to point out that the state of our country under current leadership does not have to be this way. That government, when operating well, does, indeed, serve a purpose. Basil and a. B. Are back. I feel this way about all of the former living president s, but especially this one and this family, that their voice is really needed, basil, in this moment, and we are bordering on a little bit of not a little bit, a lot of despair. To a. B. s point, with the school year in question, with the economy decimated by the pandemic and all of the uncertainty, hearing from former leaders about what leadership is supposed to look like when were suffering is beyond welcome. Its needed. It is. And you know that, as you know, former president s tend not to step on the toes of the current president , but i think in some ways, that needs to be looked at again right now, because i think barack obama and Michelle Obamas message about unity is so very important and needed. And look, one of the things that they were also good at doing is aligning their message and their policies with where the country is. Which is something that this president doesnt do. We havent found a way to align his political compass with the country. His true north is racism, disruption, and division. And you didnt see that with the last administration. And even if you quibbled with prior administrations, you felt that there were enough people that were around our leaders that can sort of keep them in check and create a certain kind of balance. And when you dont have that, which is what i think is particularly lacking with this administration, just the ability to create this kind of balance and a check on power, its scary, its scary to people, i dont care where you live and i dont care how much money you make, it should be scary to all of us that you have federal agents, quote unquote, in our cities, taking people off the street. This is something that should unite everybody. And i would love to see the former president and the former first lady weigh in. It should also, a. B. Stoddard, scare donald trump. Because if president obama is able to reassemble the coalition that elected him to the white house twice, and having worked against him once, pretty handily, that represents a death ne nailterm. Right. One of the biggest worries for democrats right now is whos going to actually end up voting. We have talked about this before. Because of the pandemic, there will be fewer places to go. The voting by mail process will have builtin hurdles, lawsuits have been successful in creating barriers and you have this sort of disenchantment among young voters and nonwhite voters who think the government are total failures and theyre not interested in joe biden or anyone else. The obamas are working on this, making sure people find their friends and family a path to get registered and find where theyre going to vote on november 3rd or before, and this is a really effective use of their time and their power. Lebron james is involved in this effort as well in florida and other places where theyre really trying to engage the people that might tune this out and show them how many technical and mechanical barriers could be in their way, and how to overcome them. So as we see not only the obamas come in and sort of build support, enthusiasm for biden, but actually use their power and their influence and their voice and their messaging on the ground to make sure people get involved and get those ballots in. That will make a huge, probably the biggest difference of anyone helping joe biden and interesting to see how effective they end up being and how much the numbers are influenced by their efforts, by the time we get to november. Well keep watching. Basil smikle, a. B. Stoddard, thank you so much for spending time with us. After a quick break, ending our program with a celebration of two lives well lived. System. System. A continuous glucose monitor. Makes it easy. Easy to check your glucose without fingersticks, and easy to share your data with your doctor. And for those who qualify, the freestyle libre 14 day system, is also covered by medicare. Ask your doctor for a prescription. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestylelibre. Us i felt like i was justthis constantly cleaning up his hair. Then, i got my paws on the swiffer sweeper. Its a game changer. These heavy duty dry cloths pick up a crazy amount of hair this is all you. We stopped cleaning and started swiffering. For 9yearold kimmy lineham, fridays were girls days, just her and her mom. Tradition. A trip to the mall was common. Kimmy would often pick out her own clothes, obviously. She was only 10, after all. Independent, inquisitive, a sweet soul through and through. For kimmys mom, though, those trips werent really about shopping. They were about so, so, so much more. Especially after kimmys dad died in april. Girls days were about laughing again. They were about shared glances, about darling conversations with her only child, her sweet girl. Two fridays ago, the two of them went shopping, they came home, they ate, and according to first coast news in jacksonville, kimmy said she felt tired and asked to take a nap. Some time later, hemom went to check on her. Kimmy never woke up. So we want her mom to know this afternoon that were thinking about her. And her little angel kimmy. And theres dr. Costa, a real life superhero, if there ever was one. He was the chief of the Critical Care division at Mercy Medical center in baltimore. Dr. Costa had it all, supersmarts, fluent in german and italian. He was a talented musician. He had a thirst for knowledge, an unparalleled work ethic. Above it all, he had an unshakable, selfless desire to do good for others. Baltimore sun writes this, he cared for coronavirus patients, talking to their families over the phone, sometimes daily. They became his patients too, he said. Then, it was dr. Costas turn to be a patient. Dr. Costa passed away peacefully in his own icu of the coronavirus in the Early Morning hours on saturday. He was surrounded by the people he loved, his dear husband of 28 years, who held constant in his arms as he slipped away, and his colleagues turned caretakers, about 20 of them, who collectively laid their blue gloved hands on his body in a gentle tribute. An emotional goodbye for a real life superhero. Thank you for watching. Thanks for letting us into your homes in these extraordinary times. Our coverage continues with chuck todd after a quick break. everythings stuck in the drawers im sorry oh, jeez. Hi. Kelly clarkson. Try wayfair oh, ok. Its going to help you, with all of. This yeah, here you go. Thank you oh, i like that one [ laugh ] thats a lot of storage perfect. Youre welcome i love it. How did you do all this . Wayfair speaking of dinner, whatre we eating, guys . Techand your car. , were committed to taking care of you tech well fix it right with nocontact service you can trust. Tech so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. 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