Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20200814

And host Andrea Mitchell. Joe has the morning off. Lets give you a sense of all that is happening today. The economic downturn hasnt adjourned even the senate has. The lawmakers return with not having reached a deal on Economic Relief. What it means for the millions of americans left jobless amid this national crisis. Plus President Trump fans the flames of another birthertype conspiracy. Birtherism is back. This time suggesting that Kamala Harris may lack the legitimacy to serve in office. Going back into the wheel house. This as a brand new National Poll out this morning shows former Vice President joe biden with a sizable lead in the race for the white house. The latest poll finds 53 of registered voters back biden. 42 back President Trump. And, therefore, he starts acting in the extreme. Well begin with President Trump adding new fuel to the claims that he is trying to tip the scales of the election by sabotaging efforts to vote by mail. He went on the record yesterday admitting he opposes additional funding for the post office because it would help mailin voting. They want 3. 5 billion for the mailin votes. Universal mailin ballots. They want 25 billion, billion, for the post office. They need that money in order to have the post office work to take the millions and millions of ballots. In the meantime, they arent getting there by the way, those are just two items. But if they dont get those two items that means you cant have universal mailin voting because theyre not equipped to have it. If theyre not going to approve a bill and the post office therefore wont have the money, and theyre not going to approve a bigger bill and not going to have the 3. 5 billion for the universal mailin votes, how can you have those votes. Given the negotiations are still ongoing whether to get more money to the Postal Service why not put more resources and money yourself, find a way to do that they can do it easily. All they have to do is make a deal. If they make a deal, the Postal Service is taken care of, the money they need for the mailin ballots would be taken care of. If we agree to it. That doesnt mean were going to agree to it. All they have to do is make a deal. Heres the thing. Its the quiet part that youre saying outloud when youre trying to cheat, using your whole corruption stuff that you do. I know you watch. Do you think americans are that ditzy. Do you think theyre not going to hear you saying the quiet part that you want to cheat in the election. The president s remarks follow reporting from the Washington Post, that the Republican National committee and conservative groups are pursuing an unprecedented effort to limit the expansion of mailin balloting spending tens of millions of dollars on lawsuits aimed at restricting who receives ballots and who remains on the voter roles. Joe biden fired back. Heres the former Vice President along with comments from House Speaker nancy pelosi. Come on, guys. For the Postal Service and mailin voting, what do you think about that . Pure trump. He doesnt want an election. The president is afraid of the American People. Hes been afraid for a while. He knows that on the legit it would be hard for him to win. So he wants to put obstacles up for participation. But we do not agonize, we organize. Whatever the reality is that we have to deal with, if he refuses to honor the sacred right of the vote, removing obstacles of participation if he wants to undermine the post office for the moment well be here in january, thats most unfortunate. This is jonathan lemire, president undermining a post Office Amidst the pandemic. When the post office may be the only way some people can get things because they cant leave their homes, including medicines, and again the president saying the quiet part outloud. Hes afraid, he sees the polls, hes losing so hes going to find a different way to win, which is to try to undermine the election itself by undermining the post office by saying the results cant be counted. I just wonder how ditzy and stupid does he think the American People are . And my second question to you is, how stupid are republicans . Are they going to stand by this . First, mika, you make a good point. This is not just about the election in november. The Postal Service is a vital u. S. Institution all the time. But particularly now during the pandemic where for Many Americans it is their way to reach the outside world where they can receive everything from a birthday card from a Family Member they cant see right now because of the pandemic or, of course, vital medication that they need. So that should be stressed off the top. But youre right the game is playing. Hes saying the quiet part out loud as you say. The Republican National committee and a lot of conservative groups have been filing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits to slow mailin voting throughout the country. Even though republicans in the past have benefitted from that practice. The president has asserted time and again, without evidence, that it will be used to conduct widespread voter fraud. Hes convinced himself. He ld told aides privately that is how the democrats are going to steal the election from him so hes choking it off. Were seeing delays in Postal Service throughout the country. Pennsylvania last night, a vital battleground, which is going to have far more mailin balloting this time around, hes already sounding the alarms that theyre not going to handle the capacity there with the post office being so diminished. The president has fought efforts despite what he said in the white house yesterday, he fought efforts to expand funding there. Thats a topic of disagreement between the white house negotiators and the democrats trying to hammer out this bill. Yes, this is in part to sow chaos and doubt in the most american institutions, the ballot. This is going to slow things down. The results as weve been saying on the show for a while it is unlikely well be able to declare a winner on Election Night because of the pandemic, the process to count the votes, its going to take days and weeks and that isnt going to allow him to assert fraud, open up investigations, its going to be harder for americans to vote and President Trump believes easier for him to claim fraud. So id like to hear from David Ignatius and tom nickels about this, whether it be historical parallels if there ever could be one in our wildest imagination. But also, is this the moment of truth where we should be hearing loudly from the people who could make a difference and close in on the president , David Ignatius, i just wonder, i feel, i see this as i read all the details about it, as an emergency for our country. Am i overstating it . No, youre not, in my judgment, mika. This is outright attempt to suppress votes. Trump couldnt be clearer. Hes cutting off funding, holding onto funding for the Postal Service because he thinks by doing that hell reduce the number of mailin votes that he thinks are threatening to him, fraudule fraudulent. I have felt this is a subject we need to be writing and talking about in the remaining two plus months, forewarned is forearmed. The only way were going to have any chance of dealing with all of the things that trump is going to try to throw at the country in the final days is thought about them, talked about them. Im making an effort to talk to state and local Law Enforcement. What are they going to do november 3rd to november 10th as votes are being counted. You can hear trump saying this is fraud. Youll have people on the streets that will be angry on both sides. People need to think about what thats going to be like. They need to prepare for legal challenges. I hope the democrats and republicans both are going to be attentive at polling places providing poll watchers and also poll workers. But youre right. This is one where its not asurprise. Hes announcing it, hes telling us what hes going to do. Its a magician telling us what the trick is. Its up to the country to be smart, take appropriate precautions. Talk to people who are going to matter like state and local Law Enforcement and get ready because its coming at us. To your point David Ignatius if you look back over the past few years of this presidency and the patterns of this president , he has often told us what hes going to do. He has often told us outloud what he thinks is okay. Whether it be getting dirt on a political rival from a foreign leader or whatever, he has said the quiet part outloud and ill just say i never want to see him on fifth avenue, ever. Ill never be on fifth avenue with donald trump. Tom nickels, i want to play for you some of trumps people who work for him, who echo what hes saying no matter what. Here we have Kudlow Larry Kudlow saying the quiet part out loud. We couldnt reach a deal with the democrats. Theyre asking too much. 3. 5 trillion. Weve already spent over 3 trillion. So much of the democratic asks are really liberal left wishes. Voting rights, aliens and so forth, thats not our game and the president cant accept that kind of deal. Well wait and see on the negotiations. Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin is working on that. So far its a stalemate, no question. Tom nickels, forewarned as david uignatius puts it. I have to ask the question, i have the great minds on the show this morning, am i to understand we are in an emergency situation here in terms of the sanctity of our elections and the safety of our democracy . Absolutely not. It tells you something about how much trump has worn us down and corroded us that we would even ask ourselves that question, are we overreacting here . Theres no precedence, no story theres certainly plenty of them in Banana Republic but nothing here where the president says i intent to make sure the vote goes my way. When someone said what are you doing to protect a free and Fair Election in the United States and he shrugged and basically said the quiet part out loud im not interested in a free and Fair Election. Im interested in one where i win. I think its fascinating to watch his sycophants be wrong footed by this because for days before this they were saying the post office will be fine, hes not trying to do this. And as usual the president comes out on the podium and says, no, thats exactly what i intend to do and saws that limb off right behind them and then they have to scramble and double down and get us used to the new outrage. Get us used to the idea that were overreacting. That we dont see things clearly and all the gaslighting starts all over again. This is a national emergency. And the one thing that would stop him is an election where the results are incontest whether i large. Andrea mitchell i cant imagine what youre thinking watching this play out. We have the president saying the quiet part, the corrupt part, the cheating part outloud, clearly telling us what hes going to do. What about members of the administration or leading republicans . These are the people who could make a real difference, are they going to say the correct part . The patriotic part, the right thing out loud . So far not. And i would not expect that. Because i think republicans now, even some who had been critical in the past, say Mitch Mcconnell who has not been critical in the past, they are so worried about losing the senate, which is now a really a real possibility. They are not going to object to anything. Theyve seen what happens in primaries when he exerts his influence. Look at the way he was praising the georgia candidate who just was elected, completely outrageous candidate. The fact is this is a president who is the first in American History who has not asserted after several times being asked that he would honor the results of the election. We should that alone should be enough to raise all these alarm bells. Whats happening with the post office is really criminal. The fact that friday night firings, inserting this postmaster general with no experience and last friday night firing all the top officials with any experience and reinforced by the fact that there have been not fraud but delays in counting mailin ballots because there are so many more than anyone would anticipate before the pandemic. I dont think any way to properly educate americans to how important fixing this post Office Problem is before the election and getting some money into that bill. And again, he was equivocating last night as to whether he would or would not sign it. Every signal he is sending cannot be relied upon now to avoid a real catastrophe for our democracy. The United States Postal Service is reportedly removing mail sorting machines from around the country without any explanation. These are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots ahead of the november election. Were still working on different aspects of the story. But according to interviews with postal workers and a Union Official 19 mail sorting machines from across the u. S. Have been removed already or are scheduled to be in the near future. In a statement to nbc news, a usps spokesperson said, quote, normal business adjustments. The Postal Service routinely moves equipment around its network as necessary to match changing mail and package volumes. So that could be it. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Postal Service has warned the state of pennsylvania that some mail ballots might not be delivered on time because the deadlines are too tight for its, quote, delivery standards. That warning came in a letter made yesterday in a filing to the Supreme Court asking it to order that mail ballots be counted as long as they are received up to three days after november 3rd. Gene robinson, calling money for the post office a liberal left wish list, i mean, were not just talking about balloting and we are very worried about the election and maybe more people on the left are than on the right but i would think they would be worried to. Donald trump is doing a mailin ballot, im assuming hes voting for himself, doesnt he want it to get there . A lot of this doesnt make sense but if youre watching trumps patterns, i would suggest that everyone should be very, very worried. I beg Republican Leaders to speak out. Andrea says theyre worried about losing the senate, how about losing our country as we know it . You have to try and hold on to the actual function of voting in order to retain this democracy that this president clearly seems to be breaking down day by day by day, lie after lie after lie, coronavirus death, coronavirus death after coronavirus death, which he could have prevented. I dont know how much more these republicans need. I dont know how much information the American People need to be as worried as i am. So you tell me, what is it that would hold back anybody, whether its someone working in the administration or a republican leader, from speaking out right now and getting that money to the post office . Its just that theyre more interested in Holding Onto Power than the democracy as we know it and weve grown it and cultivated it and tried to preserve it for 240 years. They care less about that, than they care about keeping the senate and then certainly President Trump cares less about that than he cares about getting reelected. It is amazing that were sitting here this morning talking about trying to defend our democracy from the president of the United States. From our commander in chief. It is a situation that none of us ever thought we would be in, were in that situation now. That lawsuit that you talked about unbelievable. In pennsylvania is one of the kinds of measures that has to go forward. There was actually a Supreme Court ruling that gives some hope about how the court will look at these sorts of cases that allows a rhode island to relax some restrictions on mailin voting, given the pandemic. And that was 6 to 3 decision by the Supreme Court. It was kind of hopeful, actually. But it is, again, why do we have to file and make these Court Filings. Why do we have to have a landslide victory over donald trump as opposed to any sort of victory . A victory is a victory. But thats the situation where were in. We are trying to defend our democracy under mortal threat. Thats where we are. I mean, Mitch Mcconnell, wake up wake up and smell the coffee. Dont you see you want to hold youre going to have nothing at the rate youre going. At the rate youre letting him go. This is obvious. He told us every step of the way what hes going to do and what hes not going to do. And here we are. Its time to wake up. Still ahead on morning joe with polls showing him trailing joe biden, President Trump is promoting another birther conspiracy. This time about Kamala Harris. And with coronavirus cases still on the rise, breaking records in deaths, joe biden is urging governors across the country to issue mandatory mask orders. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Ht back. 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. Did you know prilosec otc can stobefore it begins . Urnaded, Choice Hotels is there. Heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. Prilosec otc uses a unique delayedrelease formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. It then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. 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Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3. Trelegy, 1,2,3 woman save at trelegy. Com. We want to go to the middle east now and israel and the United Arab Emirate striking a major diplomatic deal to establish full normalization of relations. In the coming weeks the two countries are expected to sign agreements on security, trade, direct flights, reciprocal embassies. Israel agreed to stop plans to annex the west bank. But Benjamin Netanyahu said despite the deal hes still committed to annexation. Huh . Okay. President trump praised the break through saying the deal will soon be signed in washington. I want to thank you Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of israel and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of the United Arab Emirate two fantastic people for their vision and leadership and i look forward to hosting them at the white house very soon to formally sign the agreement. Well probably do it over the next, i would say, three weeks. Theyll be coming to washington. In a response, the Palestinian Government recalled its ambassador from the uae saying the deal is a betrayal. It comes as the world looks to israel as a potential Strategic Partner against iran. Bahrain and egypt cheered on the deal as white house officials signalled that more arab countries could soon follow. Israel currently has a peace deal with two other nations, egypt and jordan. Im confused about the messaging on the west bank. Well, mika, the deal essentially trades normalization with the uae, something that israel very much wants and hopes will be a prelude to a broader wave of normalization, for an israeli promise not to go forward with annexation of the west bank. The language used in the formal communique said israel will not annex areas described in President Trumps so called vision for peace plan that was announced in january. What does that mean . The precise areas havent been assigned yet so its hard to know. I was assured yesterday by uae and u. S. Officials that this deal means no annexation period. I think thats something people should celebrate. I think this is a significant achievement for israel, for the uae and the United States. Since israel was created the dream that arab countries would accept normalized relations, Exchange Ambassadors has been one that i think millions of people around the world have shared. It moved forward today. I think the heroes of the story are the diplomats who demanded that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of israel, give up his Campaign Rhetoric about annexation. If they wanted normalization, the uae made it clear they had to give up annexation. In the end they made that choice, good deal for them and everybody. In your piece, david for the Washington Post, its entitled trump is right, the israeluae agreement is a big achievement. You write, neonazi and mohammed bin zoyed were drawn together by shared interests. They agreed that iran and its proxies threatened the middle east. They mistrusted the Obama Administration. They favored more trade across the region. And they liked the Trump Administrations transactional real politics. Kushners peace plan when it was announced seemed stillborn. But kushner argued that if he could peel off several countries that were ready to make a pragmatic deal, the process of normalization with israel a dream, might finally get traction. Whats to be done . Anything that concerns you moving forward looking at this . There are a couple of things that concern me. First, making sure that the terms of this deal are pinned down so that there wont be bites at the edges of the west bank that would make a future palestinian state impossible. This deal is important because it preserves the idea of a possible twostate solution. In doing that, i think satisfies or should been to satisfy palestinian desires for a homeland that work. Its important to Pay Attention to that. I hope therell be momentum with other arab states joining. I dont think that saudi arabia will join any time soon, the situation is too fragile right now under mohammed bin salman. But bahrain, morocco, so if you had that kind of momentum, that kind of effect, the vision of a middle east thats more like europe, where theres free transit of investment of goods and services, an ability to share technology, share good ideas, something we all would love to see coming that comes a little closer. To say one final thing, although this is a success for donald trump, its also good for democrats. Democrats have been the strongest supporters of arab israeli peace. It makes it easier for democrats in congress to deal with the gulf countries, it makes it easier for a future Biden Administration, if we wins, to open the gates to dealing with the uae, dealing with saudi arabia on a different agenda, seeming to push this forward. So in sum, i thought yesterdays anoun announceme announcement, its an august surprise, one we didnt see coming but one we should celebrate. Tom nian nichols, do you agr with david . Yes. Its a word we dont use lately, which is globalization, more connectedness. In a smaller connected world it was easier to do this. The one dark shadow ill throw over this, the rise of iran looms over this. Its great it made it possible for new partners to reach out to each other and make these kinds of arrangements, but in part its happening because of something potentially threatening happening right in the middle of the region with the rise of iran, but think for today, thats equivalent. This is overall a good thing. And i think it i think its a win all around. If israel and a neighboring arab state reach out to each other and imagine normalized relations, thats a good day. Gene robinson . Just a couple thoughts. I wont disagree with David Ignatius on the middle east because he is an expert and has covered it for so long. But it seems to me there are a couple of caveats. Number one, the there is the matter of palestinians, who see are likely to see this as Benjamin Netanyahu promising not to do something that they and International Law considered blatantly illegal to start with. And so, i dont think theyre going to be happy about this. I think iran is likely to feel more threatened by this. Iran, as tom says, does loom over the region, is in many ways gaining strength, but it also iran looks across the gulf and sees its being confronted by the arab world in what it must perceive as an aggressive manner and now with israel joining forces with the uae, so i wonder if this does not kind of to use the diplomatic term of art, freak people out in the government in tehran and lead to consequences that we cant quite foresee. So im not sure that its all sweetness and light from here. But it is it is a step forward. And lets hope it works out. Lets hope the deal is nailed down, as david said. Yeah, lets get some maybe back story from the white house, jonathan lemire, about how this went down. Reaction in there. It certainly gave them something to focus on yesterday. Obviously there are major stories just swirling around the white house that we will continue to cover, including the ever growing number of coronavirus deaths, the absolute failure in this white house to deal with this pandemic that has put us in a terrible place, geopolitical c geopolitically. We are weakening by the day. And then, of course, the corruption from the presidency on down as it pertains to the Postal Service. The president saying outloud he wants to mess up the election. But he had this they were pushing a lot on social media. Youre right, mika and we should not forget the president s return to birtherism which im sure well get to this in show. We will. It was a the white house framed it as a good day and everything said from eugene, david and tom echos that. There are warning signs, turkey is another country that expressed unhappiness and anger at the uae that this deal went down. But this was a surprise. Jared kushner has been charged with delivering middle east peace, no small task there as part of his expansive portfolio in the white house. But this is something he worked on and they put him out there in the Briefing Room yesterday and sold it as a good news story. For the most part it received applause, and deservedly so. We should note the National Security advisor, robert obrien, also took to the podium in the Briefing Room yesterday and said he thought this would win President Trump the nobel peace prize, which is an amazing moment of politicking from that room but i guess its another nor in convention thats tossed aside by the administration. But it goes to show also at times how much this white house struggles at the politics of all of this. This could have been a story that framed the day, won the day for them, instead when the president had his own briefing hours later, it was 25 minutes in before he mentioned it. When he was asked about it, he deferred to others in in the room, aids for question. This is not what he wanted to talk about yesterday. His focus remained on joe biden, masks, which the president seemed to back away from the usage slightly after joe biden suggested a mask mandate for the country and his ongoing assault on the post office, of course. Still ahead, the president wanted to slow down coronavirus testing so fewer cases would be reported. Can i help you out here, he wants to slow down the testing so he doesnt have has many cases so his numbers look better but when you slow down the testing you obviously cant trace the viruses that you find so more people get it and more people die. Hes literally slowing down the testing for his political benefit not caring that the American People are getting more and more infected every day and dying every day. Testing has slowed. But the number of cases, of course, has not. And deaths are up. We will discuss this ahead on morning joe. Joe. 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. Heres your iced coffee america runs on dunkin. To soccer practices. And new adventures. You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Lets help protect them together. Because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. Ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Unless we all pull together to get that down and we dont have disparities in some states are doing this and some states are doing that, were going to continue to have this up and down. So thats the thing that im concerned about, because i believe we can, we have it within our power to be able to get that down. Bottom line is, im not pleased with how things are going. In an interview with National Geographic yesterday, dr. Anthony fauci said hes not happy with the state of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Meanwhile, as coronavirus cases continue to surge across the country, the u. S. Is cutting back on testing. I just cant believe im saying this. According to axios nationally the daily number of tests performed is about 17 lower than it was at the end of july with testing also declining in hard hit states. Although experts say the reduction in testing has helped clear away delays that caused a lag in releasing test results, conducting fewer tests may also hinder the countrys coronavirus response, as if it isnt hindered already. At the end of july, the u. S. Was conducting more than 800,000 tests a day. This week it hovered around 715,000. Even as states with particularly bad outbreaks pull back on their testing, the number of positive test results is still high. An indicator that more testing needs to be conducted. In an effort to stop the spread of covid19, joe biden called on governors across the u. S. To issue maskwearing mandates with President Trump pushing back, claiming the democrat is, quote, putting left wing politics before facts and evidence. Every single american should be wearing a mask when theyre outside for the next three months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate, every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing. The estimates by the experts are, it will save over 40,000 lives in the next three months. 40,000 lives. If people act responsibly. And its not about your rights, its about your responsibilities as an american. At every turn biden has been wrong about the virus, ignoring the Scientific Evidence and putting left wing politics before facts and evidence. Sleepy joe opposed both the china and the europe travel bans, you know that. He opposed the china travel ban that i instituted early and the europe just get out of this. I mean, this is just the president just lied four times in a row. And i just cut it short because we dont need to hear him lying. He says joe biden has been wrong every step of the way. Was he wrong in january when he penned an opinion piece for usa today warning of a coming pandemic . Warning that many lives would be lost if the president doesnt get his cdc and build teams around this to combat a virus. Was he wrong or were you wrong when you went to the cdc spewing your germs all over the place saying if you want a test, you can test a test, when no one could get a test . Or maybe were you wrong when you said it would go away miraculously . Maybe, were you wrong, when you said it was one person coming from china . Maybe, were you wrong when you said perhaps you dont want to use the defense production act to mobilize a nationalized response to testing and Contact Tracing . Like other countries have done and their numbers are gone down. And while you might be keeping the testing numbers down, by slowing down testing, which is just utter stupidity, talk about ditzy, talk about a ditzy, stupid, botched response to a pandemic that is killing tens of thousands of people, over 160,000 right now, this is on you. Many of those deaths, mr. President , are on you and your terrible response to this virus. Obvious terrible response. You cant even show leadership on masks. And now, youre politicizing your lies against joe biden, whos saying everyone should wear masks because it could reduce the numbers of transmissions of the coronavirus, which is what fauci saying, which is what all the doctors are saying and former cdc directors saying. People who have degrees and decades of knowledge instudying pandemics and Infectious Diseases and yet you go out there and just blow off stupid ideas about injecting clorox into your body and taking hydroxychloroquine when it isnt safe enough, saying you took it . Its idiotic. And its killing people. And you get up there and talk about joe biden being wrong . Theres nobody who has been more wrong about this than president donald trump. Look at the facts. Look at the numbers. Look at the recordbreaking deaths. Families losing people by the day. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and yes, yes, President Trump little children actually die from the coronavirus. Maybe not as many, but you say that children miraculously just dont get it. Youre wrong. Theres no one who has been more wrong than you on this, and youre the president of the United States. And your botched response to this is leading to you losing so badly that you pathetically have to cheat like a sixth grader looking at the paper next to him during a test. You tell everyone youre going to mess up this election, undermine the post office so that the ballots cant be counted so that the election cant be you are pathetic at this point. And every network that shows his lies every day, please do it, because every day this president looks morey d ridiculous. The clothes fall off. We see the lies for ourselves. I think every network should bump out and fact check when he is blatantly lying. But it is so obvious that if some Network News Directors dont want to bump out, his lies hang out there. Its painful to watch because so many people are dying and those people who have lost loved ones, they know youre lying. They know now they should have saved themselves. Maybe they should have listened to the scientists and not their president , but it shouldnt be this way. And it doesnt have to be this way. And it didnt have to be this way, but it was because of president donald trump. The one and only. Joining us now, state attorney for Palm Beach County dave aaronburg. Lets talk about masks, you can look at florida as an example, its simple but its become a political issue. Good morning, mika, yes, its a shame that people are politicizing this pandemic. You have a sheriff in North Central florida who is doing so. He is not only telling people that masks should be optional, thats one thing, hes banning them outright. This is about political wars, its not about Public Safety. The sheriff comes from a county in florida thats largely republican and this is his way of getting in the graces of the farm rig far right, but its harming Public Safety. Its putting mistrust between the police and communities theyre supposed to serve. This the does the opposite of bringing people together. This makes it less likely that a member of the community will approach a Police Officer, trust a Police Officer because the prifr could be carrying the coronavirus and because of this policy that Police Officer is not allowed to wear a mask. One final thing on it, our local sheriff here in Palm Beach County has his deputies wear a mask whenever they come into contact with individuals in the community. He said it has never impeded the job that they have to do. So this is wrong headed, it jeopardizes Public Safety and it also could put lives at risk. So, i just i was going to ask you about Law Enforcement, whether or not they could charge someone who refuses to wear a mask, you can answer that but i would like to take it further legally. What recourse do the American People have right now when their life is in the hands of a president who wont do the basic things to save it . At what point is it malpractice . At what point is it something worse . Im thinking of tulsa where the Trump Campaign took the social distancing stickers off the chairs and squish people together and made them click on a waiver saying you cant sue if you get the coronavirus and die from coming to this rally. How stupid can you be at this point if you follow this president . I beg you not to be for your life. But i ask you, dave aaronburg, is there any Legal Recourse if you get this virus because of the stupidity of this president . Mika, government officials have a level of immunity, so youre not going to be able to sue them. The rnc made people sign a waiver. I think the way to fight back is voting in november. As far as whether police can arrest people for not cooperating because theyre afraid to deal with an officer whos not wearing a mask, they have the discretion to file criminal charges or make an arrest of someone resisting an arrest. The state would go to the state attorneys office, who would review the potential defenses and facts of the case and if the crime is prosecuted, the defense lawyers would pursue a necessity defense saying the defendant was reasonably fearful of contra contracting the coronavirus and he or she is in a High Risk Group or elderly and the whole case can be thrown out. This is the kind of policy that can backfire against prosecutors and the police. And one other thing to add on that. Even if someone is not charged, were seeing a potential dangerous escalation in an otherwise routine traffic stop or encounter with civilians. And why in the world would we want on the do that in the wake of George Floyds death. We want to bring people together not put up more barriers between police and the communities theyre supposed to serve. Dave, thank you so much. You made so many good points. If youre sensing intensity here, im amped up because this is an emergency. Its not just me. Its David Ignatius, tom nichols, Gene Robinson saying it. If we dont find a way to hold the president accountable with his attempts to undermine the post office and also his apparent negligence, perhaps purposeful on saving the American Peoples lives in this pandemic. Coming up, the Senate Adjourns through labor day without a deal on Economic Relief. What this means for the millions of out of work americans. Plus Donald Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen says in his new book that hes convinced the president , if he loses the election, he wont leave peacefully. Yeah, weve been talking about that. Donny deutsch joins us at the top of the hour to discuss the revelations from his longtime friends book. Morning joe is coming right back. Ng joe is coming right back behind every 2020 census takers mask is a friendly neighbor. Theyre teachers, retirees, vets, people committed to doing right by getting the count right. If you havent responded yet, theyll be stopping by to ask some simple questions that will inform how billions in federal funds are spent on local Services Every year for the next decade. So when they come knocking, say hi from a safe distance and do your part to support your community. Time is running out. Shape your future. Start here at 2020census. Gov. Shyou cant claim that because its inanimate people ask me what sort of a person should become a celebrity accountant. And, i tell them, nobody should. Hey, buddy. Whats the damage . I bought it the waterfall . Nope a new volkswagen. A volkswagen . I think were having a breakthrough here welcome to caesars palace. Thank you. Some Companies Still have hr stuck between employeesentering data. A. Changing data. More and more sensitive, personal data. And it doesnt just drag hr down. It drags the entire business down with inefficiency, errors and waste. Its ridiculous. So ridiculous. With paycom, employees enter and manage their own data in a single, easy to use software. Visit paycom. Com, and schedule your demo today. Welcome back to morning joe. It is friday, august 14th, euGene Robinson is still with us. And joining the conversation we have mike barnicle. Donny deutsch is with us. Susan delpersio. Donny, no, really . Its friday, i guess and hes headed to the hamptons or something. Try a size up. And senior Political Correspondent for the washington examiner, david drucker. You have no idea how many emails i get about my conversations with donny about his fashion on the air. Donny, you know were friends, not really. You know what, some people call me ditzy but i just do my things and thats all that matters. I love you. We begin with the brand new poll out this morning, former Vice President joe biden with a sizable lead in the race for the white house. The latest poll finds 53 of registered voters back biden if the election were held today. 42 backed president donald trump. That is bidens widest lead yet in the poll. We should note this poll was conducted almost entirely before biden chose senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Looking at the breakdown by age groups the former Vice President is ahead with voters 18 to 29 by 35 points. By eight points with voters age 30 to 44. By nine with voters 4559 and by three with voters 60 and older. A tie with trump given the polls 3. 6 margin of error. Biden is ahead by 16 when it comes to who voters think would do a better job handling the coronavirus and 24 handling race relations. Trump ahead by 2 points when it comes to the economy. And when asked if they trust information about the coronavirus coming from President Trump, over two thirds replied not very much or not at all. And what i want to understand is who is the onethird. I really donny, help me out here. Im dead serious. I really, truly believe were at a breaking point in this country. Its an emergency as it retapers to the election and as it pertains to this pandemic which is not getting better, which can be mitigated, its been done by other countries. There are scientists leading the charge here in this country who know how it can be done and yet more people are dying. The president is reducing testing. Its almost as if hes purposefully trying to botch the response to this pandemic and yet a third, a third of the people who responded to the poll believe him . I have no explanation to that. One thing i would like to pick up on, you called an emergency, remember picking up the tv would go beep, this is not a test, had it been a real emergency . Yes. We are in a real emergency. I want to read you poll numbers that tell you everything. Fox poll, 4120 plan on voting, 45 of republicans plan to vote in person. In wisconsin, are you voting by mail . 81 are going to vote for biden versus 14 for trump. This is an emergency. The things that our grandparents, great grandparents died for is in play. The media has to be vigilant 24 7, we cant move to the next story. This is the game. This is it. Every interview with every republican congressman, senator has to ask them about this. Every news show, interview, people need to be vigilant, angry and outraged. This is an emergency. This is insanity. Were here. Were here, its insanity, its our democracy thats at stake. I beg republicans to speak out. Mitch mcconnell wake up its not about winning the senate. What are you going to have after this . If President Trump is allowed to cheat his way through this election, what are you going to have . Are you day traders . Are you not smart anymore . What happened to you . Cant you see what is happening . I know you have a lot of special interests in your state and maybe money coming in from russia and interests your wife works in the administration, but wake up its not about losing the senate. Were losing much more than the senate if you allow this president to cheat his way he has told you that he is trying to do it. And susan, you can be sure that you will never see me on fifth avenue ever, ever because he has said he could shoot someone on fifth avenue, i believe him. He has told us about trying to get dirt from a political rival from a foreign leader. We have seen him. It has happened. He doesnt care. He says the crime that hes going to commit, the corruption that hes going to delegate, hand out to the American People and then he does it. What is the response supposed to be . I ask for you to appeal to members of his administration. Those who still have a brain. Those who arent somehow brainwashed by the cult leader or those who arent such stooges or interested in their own special interests and the money they make somehow that they could care for one second about this country. , mika, if President Trump even for a moment believed in a fair and free election, if he didnt like the mailin ballots, okay we could put that aside. But where is his call for a ton more money being spent on opening more poll site locations, more poll workers, expanding board of elections throughout the country which would cost 5, 6 up to 10 times more to create those Safe Environments than it would to put the money into the Postal Service. He doesnt care. And i say to those people who work for him who have supported him, and even worse, especially those in the house and in the senate particularly who have been silent, you are part of tearing down this democracy. You are not asking for a Fair Election. You are asking to you are supporting the president to undermine we talk about the pillars of our democracy, whether it be the courts or the free media. This is voting. What are you waiting for . Speak up because it is about our country. You all took an oath of office to support and protect our country. Whats more important than that . Why are you afraid of this, donald trump . Its a mask. Its a little piece of paper. Tell people to wear it, save 40,000 lives in 90 days as joe biden said. It will help us, it will work and you can save lives and actually just a little bit do your job. Do you remember the words of our friend, the late Elijah Cummings at the Michael Cohen hearings when he said when youre dancing with the angels, what did you do . What did you do to save our democracy . I ask that to everybody who could have an impact on this president right now or an impact on the outcome right now. What are you going to do . You have been warned time and time again, and he is telling you straight out what is happening. So the question is going to be, thats going to be on your gravestone . What are you going to leave behind . Corruption, weakness. Sort of a limp response to being a man or a patriot, Mitch Mcconnell, Steve Mnuchin, mike pompeo . Whats wrong with you . Do you care about your legacy . When you are dancing with the angels, what did you do to save this democracy, what will that answer be for you . Because now is the time for you to step up, anyone who can. At yesterdays coronavirus briefing, this was supposed to be about the pandemic that is killing tens of thousands of americans, 1,000 a day, and is running rampant in this country. President trump appeared to legitimize a Disinformation Campaign against Kamala Harris. He went to bier birtherism during a coronavirus briefing. Take a listen. I heard it today that she doesnt meet the requirements. By the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a highly qualified, talented lawyer. I have no idea if thats right. I would have assumed the democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for Vice President. Its just more garbage coming out of his mouth. Mike barnicle. Well, mika, you recited a long litany of how we got here with reference to what the president said yesterday, Kamala Harris was born in oakland, california. That happens to be in the United States of america. Her parents were here, obviously, when she was born. Her parents are immigrants. So the president is citing a piece written by a lawyer who clearly is ignorant of American History as well as american law, at least aspects of american law because under his theory i am not a bona fide citizen of this country and a lot of other people. You know mika, what youve been talking about today and a third of the people who still believe President Trump when he says whatever it is he says and most of it is a lie or a distortion of the truth at a minimum. It took us a long time to get here, at least 20 years, probably longer. We were lied into a war in 2003, and less than 1 of americans went to fight that war. My children did not go to fight that war. Your children did not go to fight that war. It was people like from youngstown, ohio and parma, ohio, the middle of the country. People whose parents maybe didnt have a great income or certainly didnt have access to influence, they went and fought that war. And that war collided with 2008, 2009, an economic collapse in which many of them lost everything. The obama economy rebuilt part of the country and then it collided with whats happened right now, a collision of incompetence and ignorance on the part of this administration. Gene, i dont know about you, but i look around at people, the only time you really encounter people in this culture that we live in now with everyone quarantined is places like Grocery Stores and gas stations and you talk to them as americans and you can sense their frustration. What do you think . Well, i think your analysis is right, mike. I dont think this all happened in the last three years. I think there is a reason why a third of the country believes the president s lies. And is still willing to support this man who is out to who cares nothing about democracy. And is out to destroy what is most precious about this society for his own selfish gain. Thats who he is, who he has always been. But were here in the here and now. And so, as donny said, this is an actual emergency. So we have to figure out how what were going to do. Were going to have to people are going to have to vote early if theyre going to vote by mail. People are going to have to organizations and the Democratic Party and other organizations are going to have to be in court making sure that restrictions on mailin voting are relaxed, are given the pandemic and make sure that those votes count. And Many Americans, who really would rather vote by mail, are going to end up having to find a way to vote in person. And thats uncomfortable and thats unfair, but i think thats true. I just think, because there has to be an overwhelming vote on november 3rd against donald trump. There just has to be. And i i actually do have confidence that the American People will find a way to make their voice heard. I dont know if i do, gene, with a third believing his coronavirus briefings, according to some polls. Weve got a real problem here. David ignatius has touched on this, but i i i implore any of our viewers who have Family Members who are Trump Supporters or who are Trump Supporters to really look at this presidency and look at the facts. I know i may not be the best vessel for this information because theres clear disdain that i have for this president , but look at the facts. Look at how hes worn us down from his paid off porn star to russia lies to racism in charlottesville, racism across the board, children in cages i mean, lie after lie after lie, conspiracy theories that hes shot out there on twitter about my husband. Just torturing the family of a young woman who died years ago. Just doing it for fun so he can jab at joe, like he thinks he could hurt joe. But how sick this president has behaved. And in real time he says what hes going to do. His constant lying is now killing people. Its killing people by the day with his calamitous coronavirus leadership. Its killing americans every day. He could be keeping people alive. Hes choosing not to. And david drucker, hes now targeting the election and hes telling us in if real time that he wants to undermine this election. And maybe have no result with no coronavirus Economic Relief deal in sight, the senate now has adjourned until after labor day, Mitch Mcconnell who i think should wake up, made the decision yesterday. Acknowledging that the talks between congress and the white house were at a stand still. Mcconnell noted that senators will be given 24 hours notice to return to the capitol to vote if if a deal is reached while on break. This means americans will have to wait weeks before more age, including another round of stimulus checks is made available by the federal government. Some people are calling this this a depression. It is very clear people are hurting all around. Whether its losing Family Members to the coronavirus or they dont have jobs or money coming in, theyre desperate and yet, and yet there are people who are still following this president. Explain to us, if you can, his focus now on the post office and how were supposed to be looking at that. Well, look, the president for many voters represents somebody who finally stood up to a broken system. We discussed all the things over the past 20 years that has gone wrong. Look, there are Republican Voters, there are conservatives who looked at a part they didnt think was living up to the promises they made. They looked at a media culture and political culture that they didnt think had their best interest at heart and sometimes they think the president isnt perfect, in many ways its been a feature, not a bug by being so different, so disruptive, that represented to them somebody who was finally shaking up a badly broken system. And thats why you will continue to see a fairly close race in the battleground states that will decide the electoral college. The f for democrats the good news for them is they have a nominee, a team in a position to do something about it and because voters arent happy about the president s leadership on the coronavirus, basically the only thing that matters in the election no matter what else the president promotes, no matter what other subject he may lead on, such as the economy when you look at most polls, its about coronavirus leadership and hes hurting there. And if the former Vice President and senator harris can make a case, not just that theyre not trump but they have leadership to offer, they can take this lead they have developed in a lot of the important states, never mind nationally and they could put this race to bed, but it takes active leadership and theyre in a position to do it. I dont think youre going to see voters on the republican side at large abandon the president because we have become so divided and tribal in this country that when partisans look at the other side no matter how bad their side may be on certain issues the other team is worse and they dont trust what theyre hearing. I talked to voters over the years about my reporting, not just the media, i am the media but my reporting people are distrustful, who are your sources, where are you getting that . This is something that was different 20 and 40 years ago when the news was broadly believed and maybe there was a difference of opinion over what to do about it. Donny deutsch, to this point, mike pence, pompeo, mcconnell, you name them, are they under a spell . I get it, im sorry their team is losing terribly. It should be obvious to them, these are not stupid men, i believe pompeo went to west point he went to west point really . Thats right there, something im going to have to take pause and think about, because the way this president is behaving right now is anything but patriotic. Is anything but helping this countrys National Security. Is anything but shoring up the strength of this country. So for someone from west point not being able to speak out im sorry your team is losing but im just wondering why cant these men, at least talk about the sanctio sanctitity of our e, talk about how the post office needs protected during a pandemic when people need their medicines. Are they under a spell . What explains this . First let me answer the question you asked me last time because im outraged over this post office thing. How do one in three Americans Still believe this man about anything, the answer is one thing, one in three americans are racists, one in three americans are terrified that by 2040 this country is not going to be majority white. That the black man or brown man or yellow man or woman are going to come and take their jobs and take away their suburbs. No coincidence yesterday trump brought up Kamala Harris and the birtherism. Thats the explanation. You cant bring up the economy anymore. One in three americans are racist in this country. As far as the other question about pompeo and the other people, they are cowards. The only thing we can do in the press is visually do not let the parade go on. Any time you are interviewing any republican about anything, you start with the post office, if we dont get that right and we get four more years of trump, you are right, mika, people like you, like me, like Gene Robinson could end up in jail and certainly we want to stay away from fifth avenue. And you have to wait for us to ask, republicans . You have to wait for us to ask . What are you going to do walk by and put your masks on, if youre wearing them, and im sorry i have to get to a lunch. You cant talk about this . You cant talk about this, theres something wrong with you. You need to look in the mirror and think about what you really care about beyond your money, beyond your access to power, beyond this moment. Think about what we are supposed to be and please speak out. David drucker thank you very much for being on. Well read your latest reporting on how the addition of Kamala Harris to the ticket is playing in the rust belt. Still ahead on morning joe what the New York Times calls the true coronavirus death toll. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. 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. Metastatic Breast Cancer is relentless, but im relentless too. Because every day matters. 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Before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection. Or symptoms such as fevers,. Sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs. Or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. I feel free to bare my skin. Visit skyrizi. Com. Heres your iced coffee america runs on dunkin when other countries are following the science, trump pushed miracle cures he saw on fox news. While other countries were flattening the curve, he said the virus would just, poof, go away. Quote, like a miracle. So when other countries opened back up for business, what did we do . We had to shutdown again. This virus has impacted almost every country. But theres a reason it has hit america worse than any other advanced nation. Its because of trumps failure to take it seriously from the start. His refusal to get testing up and running. His flip flopping on social distancing and wearing masks. His delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is reason, and the reason that an american dies of covid19 every 80 seconds. Joining us now professor of history at Tulane University Walter Isaacson. Nbc news medical contributor dr. Vin gupta, a pulmonologist who has treated critically ill coronavirus patients in washington state. And oped columness for the New York Times, david lionhart. Hes here with his latest piece called the unique u. S. Failure to control the virus writing, quote, nearly every country has struggled to contain the coronavirus, and made mistakes along the way. Yet even with all of these problems one country stands alone as the only affluent nation to have suffered a severe sustained outbreak for more than four months, the United States. And david, well get to your very, very long list on all the different ways that the response to this virus has been botched in just a moment. But walter, i have to start with you as a historian. Trumps behavior im not expressing shock and horror this morning at trumps behavior. I am horrified and also scared at this point, legitimately, at his attempt to undermine the post office and his next focus, which is on sowing doubt in our election. This is something i knew he was capable of doing. Something i worried he might do. He is now telling us he is doing this. So my question to you is a question ive asked a few others earlier. I feel we are in a real emergency situation, in terms of the safety of our democracy. Am i overstating this . No, youre not and youre right to connect it historically. One of the people ive written about, my favorite subject, is Benjamin Franklin and he puts the post office together in the United States, thats what creates our country. Until then we were colonies and mail went back and forth to england. This tied us together as a nation. It allows us to share information, have committees of co so dens to figure out how to create our country. What minds us together out of many states, peoples making us one, are things like the networks and the postal system and thats what they put in common for all of us. The national defense, postal system, things like that. When you rip that down, you rip apart the centers that hold together america. And when youre doing it simply to cause an election to be disrupted simply because youre afraid youre going to lose and simply because you think the more people who vote, the more danger it is for you. You are destroying one of the last of the great institutions. Weve seen them destroy institution after institution, including the justice department, for example, and destroy people, as you talked about in the last segment. There were people like bill barr who were normal people back when, and hes just undermined our faith in institutions and he sapped the moral strength of people. When you do it to the post office, youve cut down to the backbone of what first made the american colonies the United States of america. A followup and then well get to vin gupta. But what is the responsibility of mike pence . Of members of this administration that clearly see something is wrong . I have to believe that theres someone in the white house with a modicum of power that sees that this is wrong. What about republicans, Mitch Mcconnell, those worried about losing the senate . What is their responsibility at this moment . Their responsibility is to their nation and their sense of patriotism and sense of mortali mortality. When you talk to some of them theyll say maybe well be in a post trump era and we dont want to be the republicans that messed him up, got him in trouble because we want to rebuild after him. And that to me is abdicating your responsibilities. Making sure youre not racist, the way donald trump is racist pulling out the birther thing now for Kamala Harris. You have to show some backbone. This is what eisenhower did during a similar period to this when senator joe mccarthy was destroying peoples representations. A person like eisenhower, he had courage, of course, but he stood up. I find the most disspiriting part of this, not the fact that 25, 30 of Republican Voters are way out on the extreme, but that real republicans who should have real backbones are cowhering in fear of the bully tweeter in the white house and the fringes of their party. These are men and women who took an oath to our country. And that is disspiriting. Also the focus on the post office, dr. Vin gupta, obviously the post office is used for people to mail things to each other and for people to received medicines. The post office, it would seem to me, is something that would be vital in a pandemic. So that seems even more disspiriting, if thats possible. Id like for you, before we get to davids list, explain to me where you think we are with the pandemic, give our viewers a sense of the numbers, where theyre headed. But also, the part of leadership that were seeing from washington, that concerns you the most right now. Because we should be mitigating, not growing this virus. Good morning, mika. Im going to be as concise as possible. On your initial point here, where are we . Where we are right now and the New York Times just did this analysis. We likely have grossly underestimated, under counted the truth death toll from covid19. I see it all the time. I see patients all the time saying doc, im not coming in because im scared to come into the emergency room. Im scared to come to the clinic to get my meds because i dont want to get covid19 so we know people are dying at home at disproportionate rates across the country. Once they leave an icu they go to an unsafe nursing home facility or a Skilled Nursing facility that is understaffed, staff under protected because they dont have proper ppe, so everyone is at risk. So we are entering a dangerous space, we likely have a gross estimate of the true death toll here, with flu on the horizon, no Rapid Testing in place, schools reopening, if theres one thing we know, we know there have been great studies done in the last two weeks, suggesting the only way to keep universities opening is Rapid Testing potentially as requesti frequently as every 48 hours. The president said 50 of all tests are rapid test, its more like. 5 . And only if youre affluent or if youre a Major League Sports team do you have access to it. To give you numbers if we dont have continued wide adoption of masking we have ridiculous policies happening in parts of the country, georgia, the sheriff in florida, 40,000 americans will needlessly die. Out of washington, 400,000 potential deaths if we continue on the current trajectory. Thats an estimate. Still likely a gross estimate because the cdc and hhs is not sharing data we previously had access to. So this is our best estimating in the absence of data, true transparency. And the Trump Administration has made the Data Collection more difficult. And also reducing testing, bringing the testing numbers down, gives us less ability to know where the virus is, Contact Trace it, so more opportunity for this virus to run rampant in communities across the country. Its so basic it hurts. David, can you go through, you wrote about what got us here. If you can, list some of the key areas that really put us in this pretty desperate situation. We focused on five, mika. So one is the lack of effective travel restrictions. Which really is ironic. I had a friend that did a columnist that said we have a kpee know phobic, germophobic president , you thought he could have put in proper travel restrictions. He had them in china but nothing meaningful in other parts of the world. The testing failure, which people talk about so much. The mixed messages on masks. Its important to note that the whole world for a while had a mixed messages on masks, but the other countries as the evidence emerged you heard leaders say wear masks. You saw emmanuel macron, the leader in france, wearing a mask that matched his blue suit. But in this country political leaders cast doubt on mavgs. Then you had the confusion whether Public Health and the economy are in conflict, which theyre not. Finally, this spans everything, you had incredibly mixed messages from our political leaders. As one of the people we interviewed said look at how Angela Merkel talks about this in germany, how other leaders talk about it around the world, its consistent, they say its serious, act, put their government behind it and we havent had that. This is a hard problem. There isnt a country in the world that hasnt struggled with it. We see flares or more than flares in if europe, in australia right now. When you look at the numbers, the scale of those outbreaks in these other countries is just of a different order of magnitude. There is no rich country that looks like the United States right now in terms of the scale of the virus, the scale of death and the amount of chaos that its sowing in terms of our normal, daily function. Mike barnicle. So, david, dr. Gupta just pointed to something thats incredibly important and always present, ever present in our situation today in this country, its the fear factor. The president promotes fear in nearly everything he does, and he is especially, through ignorance and competence, has injected fear into the health system. People afraid to go to the hospital, afraid to do certain things. In your report for the times, have been incredibly educatio l educational, what do you find out about peoples fear of the virus, especially as we approach schools opening throughout the country . The fear factor for children catching the virus and the transmission factor . Thanks, mike. I mean, look, theres a good reason for people to be fearful right now. This is a deadly virus. While the odds of it doing big damage to kids is tiny. Whats been reported on these extreme rare cases where kids do get sick, the risks are on the order of risks we deal with all the time. Theyre sort of in the shark, lightning scale of risks. The problem is the data suggests that kids can spread it, they can spread it to their parents, grandparents, people in their community. So we are at a level of spread, virus spread in this country right now in which we cant safely reopen schools. We would like to. We would all like to. It reminds me of the stuff with the economy. We cant just wish the virus away. We have to first crush it and then turn to things like reopening schools and our economy safely. But if we dont crush the virus first, a lot of the fear youre talking about, unfortunately, is rational. Gene robinson, jump in. I have a question for dr. Gupta and its about reopening schools. Of course, we have this very confusing patchwork because there is no National Strategy for anything dealing with the virus, including for opening schools. But how big an issue do you see School Openings becoming and how big a threat to really sort of mushroom the rate of infection and create terrible problems, especially as we go into flu season . Thanks, eugene for the question, its an important one. What we know is the following. We know theres a 25 rise in documented cases amongst children just in the month of july. 97,000 new cases reported by the American Association of pediatrics. You know where they were focused . In the south and west. And led by arizona. We know that is absolutely irresponsible for governors, state officials to pressure School Boards to open in places like arizona, because whats happening in the community is any reflection, children will be impacted, they will transmit the virus, be infected. That puts teachers at risk, bus drivers other staff at risk, puts parents at at risk. And we know that children can transmit the disease in some cases Young Children have more virus in their noses than adults. As we learn more, the idea of opening schools in a hot zone is no different than holding a political rally in tulsa in an indoor stadium. Its a superspreader type of event. The only way to think about opening reopenings, schools can actually social distance, ventilate rooms, those are complicated. If they have Rapid Testing, rate. Those are essential items of any safe reopening of schools. We dont want to create haves and have notes because affluent School Districts can afford things that Public Schools cannot. David lionheart, dr. Vin gupta, and Walter Isaacson, thank you all for being on. Coming up, the New York Post reports that the plans to give his speech at the white house, despite ethical concerns. He holds his political p rallies there, during the coronavirus whatever you want to call them. Now he wants the rnc at the white house. Lets not be shocked. Lets move on and ignore this because thats what it feels like people are doing. And at this point, i think everybody, especially republicans like Mitch Mcconnell need to wake up. Plus well talk to the georgia lawmaker selected to be the democratic nominee in the election to replace the late john lewis. Morning joe is coming right back. Morning joe is coming right back 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. Heres your iced coffee america runs on dunkin. To soccer practices. And new adventures. You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Lets help protect them together. Because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. Ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Dont just think about where youre headed this summer. Think about how youll get there. And now that you can lease or buy a new lincoln remotely or in person. Discovering that feeling has never been more effortless. The lincoln summer invitation sales event is here. That gives me cash back onesome new aeverything. Akuten thats ebates. I get cash back on electronics, travel, clothes. Youre talking about ebates. I cant stop talking about rakuten. Pretty good deal peter sfx [blender] ebates is now rakuten, sign up today. Its more than just fast. It keeps all your devices running smoothly. With builtin security that protects your kids. Protects your info and gives you 24 7 peace of mind that if its connected, its protected. Even that that petcamera thingy. Can your internet do that . Xfinity xfi can because its simple, easy, awesome. Get advanced security free with the xfi gateway. Download the xfi app today. He, as much as anyone in our history, brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals. And some day, when we do finish that long Journey Towards freedom, when we do form a more perfect union. Whether its years from now or decades or even if if it takes another two centuries. John lewis will be a founding father of that fuller, fairer, better america. All right. Joining us now Georgia State senator nikema williams, the first black woman to be elected chair of the Democratic Party. And she was picked to replace john lewis on the november ballot. Its great to have you on the show. Gene robinson has the first question for you this morning. Gene . My first question is the obvious one. Congratulations, first, but second thank you. This is the perhaps the toughest act to follow i could think of. So assuming you get to washington, what are your plans . How are you going to keep the late congressmans legacy alive and move it forward . So thank you for having me and good morning, gene. I knew mr. Lewis very well. My husband worked for him for eight years and we had a very close, personal relationship. So he has taught me and paved the way and i kind of have a blueprint. I know one thing i will never be able to replace congressman lewis, but im planning to go to washington to continue the work that he started. What he showed us was each generation has to move the needle a little closer towards full justice and full equality. And if my future colleagues dont get it right before i get there, the very first thing we need to do is get the john lewis Voting Rights act passed and it needs to be more comprehensive than we had originally. We cant just go back to where we were. We have to move the needle a little more forward. We see what Voter Suppression has done across the country, especially here in georgia. And thats going on be one of the key things that im looking to get done. There are a number of things that we have not gotten right. We need to change our leadership at the top to get those things done. But another key issue is health care. Health care should be a basic human right and right now, there are too many people in our country that are going without here, especially when our health care is tied to our jobs and we see what is happening with the pandemic. This pandemic has put a spotlight on all of the inequities in our country. And im pleased to be going to washington to be the voice of the fifth Congressional District so that i can enact laws that affect the entire country and bring us one step closer to americas promise. Susan del percio. Senator, everyone says that this is your opportunity to bring your good trouble to washington. But im just curious, as a state senator, youve worked on several issues. What is it that you want to see move the ball forward from what your work in the state legislature has been to washington . So i have a 5yearold son, carter, who is a rising kindergartner. Hell be starting in a week and a half at atlanta Public Schools and right now hell be starting school virtually. And i was listening to the segment before around the response that our country has not done in a coordinated way around this pandemic and the virus and thats one of the things that we have to get right. We have to look at a plan, a readiness plan in place so that our children are safe to go to school. And looking at not keeping another generation behind with our students keeping them at home because we didnt properly prepare as a government. That is something we should be doing on the federal level and we failed our children, we failed our country at this point and im looking forward to getting in there and coming up with solutions to move us forward so we can go back to being safe in this country. Speaking of all the social distancing that must be done, how are you connecting with voters and what are you hearing from them . So the outpouring of support has been overwhelming. Atlanta went through a grieving period as well as the rest of the country. And i was here at home comforting my grieving husband in the process and trying to figure out what was next. Its a big difference in being a state senator and being on the ballot to be the name on the ballot to replace a living icon. So this was a huge transition for me and my family. Ive been doing virtual events, lots of phone calls. The process has been confusing to people. So a lot of voter education. And i do have an opponent on the november ballot, but i fully expect to be sworn in in january as the voice of the fifth Congressional District. Nikema williams, thank you so much for being on the show this morning. Best of luck to you as we watch your career thrive. Before we go to break,. Donnie do you have, you wanted to share a quick thought. Yeah. Earlier, he was passionate and talking about racism in this country about how that is the only reason and i was saying white people are afraid of the black man and the brown man and i used a term the yellow man. That was a stupid point. I apologize if i offended anybody. People that know me know where my heart is. And coming up, in the middle of a pandemic, with less than three months until the election, President Trump makes clear his intentions to sabotage mailin vote efforts. But first, what could be one of the most awkward attack lines yet from a political candidate. Morning joe is back in a moment. Morning joe is back in a moment. Senators Kamala Harris said she would change the dietary guidelines in this country to reduce the amount of red meat americans can eat. Well, ive got some red meat for you. Were not going to let joe biden and Kamala Harris cut americas meat. Meat 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. Plan matters more than ever. Unitedhealthcare Medicare Advantage plans have so much to take advantage of. See a doctor from the comfort and safety of home with zero copay. Call today to get more of the care you need. With zero copay. Im looking for my client. Imim so sorry. Nt. Hey hey man, youre here you dont trust me here in vegas, do you . Uh, well, i thought we had a breakthrough with the volkswagen. We did, yeah we broke through. Thats the volkswagen . Thats the cross sport. Wow. Seatbelts please just tell me where were going. Itscan it help with snoring . Sale of the year on the sleep number 360 smart bed. Ive never heard snoring. Exactly. No problem. And done save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus 0 interest for 36 months. Ends monday. Mr. President , after 3 1 2 year, do you regret at all all the lying youve done to the American People . All the what . All the lying. All the dishonesties. That who has done . You have done. Tens of thousands. Go ahead. Please. Please. Okay. No answer. Wow, how do you answer that . Pretty easy. You should regret it. President trumps nonanswer when asked about with all the lying that he has done in office, the Washington Post kept a tally. Every single day. And now about a life and death crisis facing this country. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. It is friday, august 14th. With us, we have Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and editor of the Washington Post and misnbc political analyst euGene Robinson, White House Reporter for the Associated Press jonathan lamere. Columnist and editor for the Washington Post David Ignatius, National Security expert columnist at usa today and author of the book the death of expertise tom nichols. Also with us, nbc news chief Foreign Affairs correspondent and host of Andrea Mitchell reports, Andrea Mitchell is with us. Joe has the morning off. Lets start out by giving you a sense of all that is happening today. The economic downturn hasnt adjourned, even if the senate has. Lawmakers head home without reaching a deal on Financial Relief for those hit hard by the pandemic. What it means for the millions of americans left jobless amid this national crisis. Plus, President Trump fans the flames of another berthertype conspiracy. This time suggesting Kamala Harris may lack the legitimacy to serve in office. Hes going back into the wheel house. This has a brand new National Poll out this morning shows former Vice President joe biden with a sizable lead in the race for the white house. The latest pbs news hour npr meris poll finds 53 of registered voters back biden. 42 back President Trump. Therefore, he starts extreme. Well get to all of that. Were going to begin, though, with President Trump adding new fuel to the flames that he is trying to tip the scales of the election by sabotaging efforts to vote by mail. He went on the record yesterday admitting that he opposes additional funding for the post office because it would help mailin voting. They want 3. 5 billion for the mailin votes. Universal mailin ballots. They want 25 billion, billion, for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, in the meantime, they arent getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mailin voting because theyre not equipped to have it. If the post office, if theyre not going to approve a bill and the post office therefore wont have the money and if theyre not going to approve a big bill, a bigger bill, and theyre not going to have the 3. 5 billion for the universal mailin votes, how can you have those votes . The negotiations are still ongoing about whether to get more money to the Postal Service, why not put more resources and more money find a way to do that to make sure they can do it easily. All they have to do is make a deal. If they make a deal, the Postal Service is taken care of. The money they need for the mailin ballots would be taken care of, if we agree to it. That doesnt mean were going to agree to it. All they have to do is make a deal. Okay. So here is the thing. Its the quiet part that youre saying out loud when youre trying to cheat, you know, using your whole corruption stuff that you do. I know you watch. Do you think americans are that ditsy . Do you think theyre not going to hear you actually saying the quiet part out loud that you want to cheat in the election . The president s remarks follow reporting from the Washington Post that the Republican National committee and conservative groups are pursuing an unprecedented effort to limit the expansion of mail balloting before the election, spending tens of millions of dollars on lawsuits and advertising aimed at restricting who receives ballots and who remains on the voter rolls. Joe biden is hitting back after President Trump signaled to opposition to funding for the post office. Here is the former Vice President along with comments from House Speaker nancy pelosi. Funding for the Postal Service tied to mailin voting, what do you think about that . Pure trump. Guys, lets go. Lets go. Come on. He doesnt want an election. The president is afraid of the American People. Hes been afraid for a while. He knows that on the legit, it would be hard for him to win so he wants to put obstacles up for participation. But we do not agonize, we organize. And whatever the reality is that we have to deal with. If he refuses to honor the sacred right of the vote enabling removing obstacles of participation, if he wants to undermine the post office for the moment, well be here in january. Thats most unfortunate. Yeah. This is jonathan lamere, president , undermining the post office amid a pandemic. When the post office might be the only way some people can get things because they cant leave their homes, including medicines. And, again, the president is saying the quiet part out lawsuit. Hes afraidy cat. He sees the polls. He is losing. So hes going to find a different way to win, which is basically to try and undermine the election itself by undermining the post office by saying the results cant be counted. I just wonder how ditsy and stupid does he think the American People are . And my second question to you is how stupid are republicans . Are they going to stand by this . First, you make a very good point. This is not just about the election in november. The Postal Service is a vital u. S. Institution all the time, but particularly now during the pandemic wherefore Many Americans, it is their way to reach the outside world where they can receive everything from a birthday card, from a Family Member they cant see right now because of the pandemic or, of course, vital medication that they need. So that should be stressed off the top. But youre right. The game here is playing. And hes saying the quiet part out loud. The Republican National committee and a lot of conservative groups have been filing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits to slow mailin voting throughout the country. Even though republicans in the past have benefited from that practice. The president has asserted time and again, without evidence, that it will be used to conduct widespread voter fraud. He has convinced himself. Hes told aides privately that he feels like that is how the democrats are going to steal the election from him. So what he is doing here is choking it off. Were seeing delays in Postal Service throughout the country. Were seeing states, including both pennsylvania last night, a vital battleground, which is going to have far more mailin balloting this time around because of the pandemic. Hes already sounding the alarms that theyre not going on be able to handle the capacity there with the post office being so diminished. The president , you know, has fought efforts, despite what he said in the white house yesterday, he has fought efforts to expand funding there as one of the major topics of disagreement between his negotiators, the white house negotiators and democrats trying to hammer out this bill. And, yes, this is, in part, to sow chaos and doubt in the most american of institutions, the ballot. This is going to slow things down. The results, as ooefb saying on this show for a while now, as you know, it is unlikely that were going to be able to declare a winner on Election Night. It is going to, because of the process to count these votes, its going the take days and weeks and that isnt going to allow him to assert fraud, to open up investigations, to suggest that results are not legitimate. Its going to be harder for americans to vote and President Trump believes easier for him to claim fraud. Still ahead on morning joe, new red flags when it comes to mailin voting, including fewer Postal Service sorting machines. And a warning that some pennsylvania voters might not get their mailin ballots on time. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. 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. Did you know Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance tada and wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. So you only pay for what you need . I should get a quote. Do it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. To soccer practices. And new adventures. You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Lets help protect them together. Because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. Ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Ask your doctor if your teen managingaudreys on it. S . Eating right. And staying active . On it audrey thinks shes doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but is her treatment doing enough to lower her heart risk . Maybe not. Jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. So it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. And it lowers a1c. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. 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I mean, who wouldnt want cash back. Sign up today and rack it up with rakuten. The United States Postal Service is reportedly removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation. This is vice news reporting that in many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots ahead of the november election. Were still working on different as expects of this story. But according to interviews with postal workers and a Union Official, 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the u. S. Have either already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future. Now in a statement to nbc news, a usps spokesperson said in part, quote, normal business adjustments. The Postal Service routinely moves equipment around its network as necessary to match changing mail and package volumes. So that could be it. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports the Postal Service has warned the state of pennsylvania that some mail ballots might not be delivered on time because the deadlines are too tight for its, quote, delivery standards. That warning came in a letter made public yesterday in a filing to the Supreme Court asking it to order that mail ballots be counted as long as they received up to three days after november 3rd. Gene robinson, calling money Fort Post Office a liberal left wish list, i mean, were not just talking about balloting and we are very worried about the election and maybe more people on the left are than on the right. But i would think they would be worried, too. Donald trump is doing a mailin ballot. Im assuming hes voting for himself. Doesnt he want it to get there . A lot of this doesnt make sense, but if youre watching trumps patterns, i would suggest everyone should be very, very worried. I beg Republican Leaders to speak out. Andrea says theyre worried about losing the senate. How about losing our country as we know it . You have to try and hold on to the actual function of voting in order to retain this democracy that this president clearly seems to be breaking down day by day by day, lie after lie after lie, coronavirus death, coronavirus death after coronavirus death. Which he could have prevented. I dont know how much more these republicans need. I dont know how much information the American People need to be as worried as i am. So you tell me, what is it that would hold back anybody, whether its someone working in the administration or a republican leader from speaking out and getting that money to the post office. Theyre not interested in holding on to power than holding on to the democracy. They dont they care less about that. They care about keeping the senate and then certainly trump cares less about that. But he cares about getting reelected. And it is amazing that were sitting here this morning talking about trying to defend our democracy from the president of the United States. From the commander in chief. It is a situation that none of us ever thought we would be in. Were in that situation now. That lawsuit you talked about in pennsylvania is one of the kinds of measures that has to go forward. There was actually a Supreme Court ruling that gives some hope about how the court will look at these sorts of cases that allows rhode island to relax some restrictions on mailin voting given the pandemic. And that was a 63 decision by the Supreme Court. It was hopeful, actually. But it is, again, why do we have to make these Court Filings . Why . We have to have a landslide victory over donald trump as opposed to any sort of victory. But that is the situation were in. We are trying to defend our democracy under mortal threat. Thats where we are. Still ahead, a new diplomatic deal between israel and the United Arab Emirates. Well talk to David Ignatius and get his take on that when morning joe comes right back. Morning joe comes right back 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 lookentertainmentoured, cexperience xfinity x1. Its the easiest way to watch live tv and all your favorite streaming apps. Plus, x1 also includes peacock premium at no extra cost. This baby is the total package. It streams exclusive originals, the full peacock movie library, complete collections of iconic tv shows, and more. Yup, the best really did get better. Magnificent. Xfinity x1 just got even better, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. No strings attached. We want to go to israel now, israel and the United Arab Emirates striking a deal to reach full normalization of relations. In the coming weeks, the two are expected to sign agreements. Israel agreed, for now, to suspend its plan to an ex the west bank. However, israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says despite the deal, hes committed to annexation. Huh . Okay. President trump yesterday praised the diplomatic break through, saying the deal will soon be signed in washington. I want to thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of israel and crown Prince Mohammed benzaied of the United Arab Emirates for their fantastic vision and their leadership and i look forward to hosting them at the white house very soon to formally sign the agreement. Well probably be doing it over the next i would say thee weeks and theyll be coming to washington. In a response, the Palestinian Government recalled its ambassador from the uae saying the deal is a betrayal and an aggression against the palestinian people. The deal comes as the sunni arab world increasingly looks to israel as a Strategic Partner against shiite iran. Israel currently has a peace deal with only two other arab nations. That would be egypt and jordan. David ignatius, im confused about this messaging on the west bank. Mika, the deal essentially trades normalization with the uae, something that israel very much wants and hopes will be a prelude to a broader wave of normalization. For an israeli promise not to go forward with an he exation of the west bank. The language that is used in the formal communique says that the israelis are committed not to an ex areas that are described in President Trumps socalled vision for peace peace plan which was announced in january. What does that mean . Well, the precise areas havent been defined yet, so its hard to know. But i was assured yesterday both by u. S. And uae officials that this deal means no annexation period. And i think thats something that people should celebrate. I think this is a significant achievement for israel, for the uae and for the United States. Since israel was created the dream that arab countries would accept normalized relations, Exchange Ambassadors has been one that i think millions of people around the world have shared. It moved forward today. I think the heros of the story really are the emiraty diplomates that netanyahu give up his Campaign Rhetoric about annexation. If they wanted normalization, the uae made clear they had to give up annexation. In the end, they made that choice. Good for them. Good deal for everybody. And in your piece, david, for the Washington Post, its entitled trump is right, the israeli uae agreement is a huge achievement. You write in part this, netanyahu and Mohammed Ben Zayed were brawn together by share interests. They agreed iran and its proxies threatened the middle east. They mistrusted the Obama Administration and its secret Nuclear Diplomacy with iran. They liked the Trump Administrations transactional real politic. Kushners peace plan seemed still born, but kushner argued if he could peel off several countries that were ready to make a pragmatic deal, the process of arab normalization with israel, a dream since the jewish state was founded, might finally get some traction. What still needs to be done . Anything that concerns you moving forward, looking at this . So, mika, there are a couple of things that concern me. First, making sure that the terms of this deal are pinned down so that there wont be bites at the edges of the west bank, but make a future palestinian state impossible. This deal is important because it preserves the idea of a possible twostate solution and in doing that, i think satisfies or should begin to satisfy palestinian desires for a homeland that works. So its important to Pay Attention to that. I hope it will be momentum with other arab states joining. I dont think saudi arabia will join anytime soon. The situation politically in saudi arabia is too fragile right now under mohammad bin solman. But ba ran ishrain is a likely country, morocco. So if you had that kind of momentum, that kind of effect, the vision of a middle east that is more like europe, where theres free transit, investment, of goods and services, the ability to share technology, share good ideas, something that i think we all deep down would love to see coming, that comes a little closer. Just to say one final thing. Although this is a success for donald trump, its also good for democrats. Democrats perennially have been the strongest supporters of arab israeli peace. I think this makes it easier for democrats in congress to deal with the arab gulf countries like the uae inside saudi arabia, makes it easier for a future Biden Administration if he win toes open the gates to dealing with the uae, dealing with saudi arabia on a different agenda, seeing to push this forward. So in sum, i thought yesterdays announcement, its an august surprise. We didnt see it coming. But its one that we should celebrate. And todd nichols, your reaction to the deal . Do you agree with David Ignatius . I do. And i think its also a triumph or word that we dont use very much any more or lately, which is globalization and connectedness that in a smaller, more connected world, it was easier to do this. The one dark shadow ill throw over all of this is that the rise of iran looms over this. Its great that it made it possible for new partners to reach out to each other and to make these kinds of arrangements, but in part, its happening because of something potentially threatening happening right in the middle of the region with the rise of iran. But i think, you know, for today, that is equivalent. I mean, this is overall a good thing. And i think its a win all around. If israel and a neighboring yard state reach out to each other and manage to normalize relations, thats a good day. Coming up, Country Music star brad paisley is out with a new music video bringing people together, even when we have to physically stay apart because of a pandemic. He joins us next on morning joe. 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. Brushing only reaches and25 of your mouth. Eaded, Choice Hotels is there. Listerine® cleans virtually 100 . Helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. Never settle for 25 . Always go for 100. Bring out the bold™ since youre heading off to dad. I just got a zerowater. But weve always used brita. Its two stagefilter. Doesnt compare to zerowaters 5stage. This meter shows how much stuff, or dissolved solids, gets left behind. Our tap water is 220. Brita . 110. Seriously . But zerowater let me guess. Zero . Yup, thats how i know it is the puresttasting water. I need to find the receipt for that. Oh yeah, you do. Want restand schools . Pen . Want the economy to get back on track . Youre not alone. And you can help make it happen. Stay 6 feet apart. Wash your hands. Wear a mask every time you leave your home. Choose to join the fight against covid19. Do your part. Slow the spread. Nasty to kavanaugh, judge kavanaugh then, now justice kavanaugh. She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing the way she was. I watched her. I watched her poll numbers go boom, boom, boom. Down to almost nothing. And she left angry. She left mad. Now you have a sort of a mad woman, i call her, because she was so angry and so such hatred. Yeah, angry, nasty, a mad woman. It may be no surprised that President Trump falls back on sexist terminology when talking about Vice President ial contender Kamala Harris, but our next guests warn that the problem goes deeper than that. Joining us now, tina chen, president and ceo of time is up now and time is up foundation focussing on the treatment of women in the workplace. Times up has joined a new group of female leaders called we have her back. And they have penned a letter warning the media about stereotypes and tropes often used to describe female politicians. Also with us, lauren leader, ceo and cofounder of all in together, a nonpartisan, Nonprofit Organization centered on the Civic Education of women. Her new piece for know your value is titled the role we all play in keeping sexism out of president ial politics. Great to have you both. Tina, ill start with you. Youve been there, done that, seen it. All the way from the top levels of the white house, how it happens on the campaign trail and in basic i think, though, donald trump has taken it to a new level. And i worry and i wonder if you worry that, you know, the bar has gone down again. Well, thats what we have her back is all about, is not to let that bar go down so far. We cant let it go down that far want we all came together over the last couple of weeks because a lot of us have been through this. Like our friend, valerie jarrett, we lived this before. We knew what was coming and we said were not going to sit back any more. Were not going to let that just happen. We need to call it out when it happens. This isnt just about cKamala Harris and the next president ial nominee. When you hear things like nasty, angry, phony about women leaders, it trickles down. Its not just about who can be president of the United States. Its about who can be a ceo in this country. Its about who can be the heeder in your business. Its about the aspirations of little girls and, you know, across this country. That is what is at risk here. And i wonder, before i get to lauren, ill just follow up, tina. You know, i believe that there is what we see in these polls, support for the president out there. And this is a president who, you know, paid off a porn star. You know, its lots of different comments that he made about women grabbing the and he has an incredible amount of support for someone who speaks this way, at least im surprised that all of this was okay with Trump Supporters. Do we overall have a tougher hill to climb than we thought . Well, i think we do because weve normalized the language. Let me give you an example. We issued the memo that we referred to a week ago today, last friday. 24 hours later, two major news outlets, right, the New York Times ran up the headline about wrist corsages and the l. A. Times ran an article last saturday that compared the deep stakes to the bachelor and the oval office as the ultimate fantasy suite. This is oh, my god. Thats the problem were pointing out, mika. It starts with the president and now its infected even our mainstream media. Thats why we wrote this memo to news editors and news room heads saying you have a responsibility to police us and police whats going on. Were not talking about shutting people up. Were talking about think about the language you are using, the message you are sending, the culture we are creating in our country. That is why were fighting back. Thats why we have her back. Got to do better. So, lauren, thank you, first of all, for writing this piece for know your value. What are some of the things outside of, you know, Donald Trumps blatant obvious sexism and things hike that but maybe more subtle ways that everybody makes mistakes. Well, right, and i think thats the point. I wholeheartedly green with tina. And you and i have talked about this before. We talked about it last year. The data that showed that the coverage of the women who are running for president were receiving consistently more negative coverage or sort of the neglect of less coverage overall. And we talked last year about the double entendre of the word ambition which has come back over and over again. The media has an issue. Remember that there are women and especially women of color remain dramatically underrepresented in news rooms, in print, television and digital. So their voices get overlooked and i think thats part of why, you know, the headlines, tina pointed out are so on obvious in a way had there been more women on those news desks, we might not have had those kinds of headlines. But the issue now is that this goes way beyond the media. The media has a Critical Role to may, but so does every individual. And the point that i made in the piece is that were all accountable. When the George Floyd Protests erupted all around the country, we had millions and millions of white americans who began to look deeply at themselves and asked the question am i reinforcing or repeating racist tropes that are holding all people back . My point in the piece is we all need to do that about gender. We all, including women, need to look at the biases we hold against ourselves and against others and start to disrupt it. In just the last phi days, i heard things like she slept her way to the top and the angry stuff comes up over and over again, nobody really likes her. Stuff that has absolutely nothing to do about whether or not shes qualified. This is not about Kamala Harris. I say clearly in the piece, Carlie Fiorino endured hideous, sexist attacks. This is not new. This is not partisan. This is about creating a Better Future for all women, for enabling all of us to be successful without being held back by things that have nothing to do with our capability and our qualifications for the job and we need to check each other on this. Susan del percio, this is something weve talked about. I think Hillary Clinton endured some of the medias inability to even realize when they were doing it, you know . I remember like cleavage stories. Its just like, what . What are you covering . So you take the next question. Tina, my question to you is we know that this exists. We have to fight it as women, as americans. It shouldnt matter what your gender is. This type of conversation definitely hurts women moving forward professionally. And im just wondering, as we can talk about how horrible donald trump has been in his description of women and whether he calls them dogs or all other horrible things, what are the real tangible effects, like if donald trump was reelected, how would his way of dealing with women can we give some tangible examples of what has been so bad and what it means and if women why women probably shouldnt vote for him again because it hurts them . Well, here is the thing. It normalizes what should be abnormal, right . We are watching it happening in front of our eyes is that if we accept this kind of language, if we accept this kind of treatment of women, as okay, as okay in our president and a leader of our country, then that trickles down. Times up was founded in a moment of recognizing the prevalence of Sexual Harassment in our businesses. And that is still going on. And, you know, if the president of the United States can act like that, well, then why cant the manager of a restaurant abuse his workers that way or a ceo of a company abuse his workers that way . You know, that is what we that is the trickle down effect of when you create culture. You know, mrs. Obama used to say, words matter and when you are speaking out from the white house, you set culture and it matters. That is what this is about. Were trying to send a message to our people, our young people in this country who are watching us as leaders and what we will do and what we are willing to call out. Lauren is right, this is every voter needs to be smart about is what theyre listening to. Were trying to inform of voters of being smart encoders of the messages theyre sending. Lauren, let me ask you, as you know, words are weapons. They can be used as weapons. They can be hurtful, they can be damaging. When we hear donald trump saying what we just heard him say in that clip that we played, its tedious kind of boring, people are used to it. But the vast majority of americans arent on twitter. Theyre not tweeting about it all day long. So the role of women in this culture and the demeaning words used to describe public women and as tina just pointed out it happens in offices all over america, too, but what can we do when we drop down a bit to high schools and Elementary Schools and the roles of parents and teachers and reinforcing, you know, what young women are, girls are, and what their power is in terms of the way we treat them as a culture. What can we do about that situation . Well, im glad you raised that. I have to just add one thing because tina was being modest. The Trump Administration eliminated the White House Office of women and girls which tina ran which was focused on elevating women and girls in American Society. So its more than just words. Look, i think that what one of the magical things thats happened in the last 30, 40 years and next week is the 100th anniversary of womens right to vote on suffrage even as black women were left out of that win for many more years. The reality is that women have risen in American Society in extraordinary ways, that the majority of the College Degree earners, 48 are primary breed winners. They are performing exceptionally well academically. But then they are not rising and not breaking the glass creelings which exist in almost every domain and discipline. And i think when we think about young women and the messages we give them, we need our entire society focused on the idea that young women of color, all young women, understand that they will have to work hard to push the doors open, but, you know, we have our back, it has to go more beyond the presidency. It has to go beyond this. We need to have all womens backs. We need to pe supportive of women in all of their ambitions. That is an entire society that needs to commit to that. Its part of why its so essential that this be about the media, but more. The president has already lost incredible levels of support from women, you know, republican and democrat, independent, you know, these lost them in historic numbers. This is way beyond the president. This is about who we are as a society. We have an opportunity now and always to say in this hundred years after stufferaguffrage, w going to ensure there is no barrier to any womans achievement. Were all in. Tina chen and lauren leader, thank you both very much for being on in this important topic. Up next, health care, hospitality, the coronavirus pandemic is having a widely visible and Significant Impact on the number of industries. Well talk about the future of the Music Industry with Country Music star brad paisley. Keep it right here on morning joe. Here on morning joe. My husband and i have never eaten healthier. Shingles doesnt care. I logged 10,000 steps today. Shingles doesnt care. I get as much fresh air as possible. Good for you, but shingles doesnt care. Because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. But no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age, increasing your risk for getting shingles. So what can protect you . Shingrix protects. For the first time ever, you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90 effective. Shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. 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Thats not stopping Country Music star brad paisley. His a little single, theres no i in beer joining with others across 32 countries sharing a beer virtually. The Country Singer joins us now as well as kurt bardella. Hes a morning joe contributor, usa opinion columnist and creator publisher of the influential morning hangover, Country Musics only daily tip sheet. Theres no i in beer. I love this, brad paisley. Thats been a challenge of the Music Industry. Part of what you do is gathering with people, jamming together, creating together, and yet you cant be together. Thats exactly right. I think our industry when its all said and done is going to be one of the hardest hit from this entire thing. Were going to be last probably as far as back to whatever you call normal, and were trying our best, but its starting to get very, very painful in nashville and in the Music Community and probably anywhere that has a Music Community. Joe and i work with a lot of musicians. You probably have quite a network of friends and colleagues that you work with. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about musicians, how often they have to have another career to support their joy, their passion, their talent. I mean when you say this is going to hit the Music Industry hard, i dont think people understand. They think of only the biggest stars out there, but its the thousands of people who have made them stars, the backup singers, the musicians, the people across the country who are living day to day on gig to gig. Nashvilles always had a community where theres this driving live screen. We have a bar scene downtown where you can see some of the best musicians of your life where theyre not famous and the studio scene whos finding a way how do this sort of covid reality, masked up and smaller sessions. But for the most part, anything where people have to gather at all is devastating and music is made for that. It doesnt its the kind of thing that doesnt really work over zoom. Writing can be done, but who are we going to play for . How are we going do this . Ive been trying to find ways to connect with fans and things like zoom and facetime and all of these video chat things have been a godsend. Yeah. I can imagine. Mike barnacle. Hey, kurt, as you know better than most, if you listen to Country Music a lot, if you listen to the lyrics, youre listening to a story, each song, a story about america, a uniquely american form of Country Music. Nashville, of course, is the hub of Country Music as we just heard, but you dont have go far from nashville or you could be in nashville riitself and see t results of the pandemic. You can see it in hunger, people going hungry in this country today. What role do you think Country Music has in this climate, in this culture of the pandemic to restore peoples faith in the country itself . You know, mike, i think its interesting during this pandemic, Country Music is the genre, has increased in consumption in terms of how many people are listening to our format. I think part of the reason thats the case, theres something about Country Music that as you say is uniquely american. It is the american story, and its told in a very relatable downtoearth way that unites people. I think part of that is because the artists themselves, they are the every man or every woman. The things they sing about, it is the life they live, when you sing about a town that revolves around a simple factory or singing about life, theyre singing about their own life experience, but theres a connection with the artists and fans thats so unique to Country Music. I think about artists like brad who has a great initiative, a nonprofit called the store, and the whole idea was to give people who have issues with Food Security for people to shop for food in a dignified way. And the remarkable thing is as covid19 happened, he had to reengineer the store to milwaukee it so that they could deliver food out of the store to elderly or other folks. Hes put together an army to help distribute food during a time like this. And you look at a song called no i in beer. Theres so much more to the song. For a video like this with 32 countries, 200 people, mike steel and Pete Buttigieg and george step step nop lis. I want to give you this opportunity, as we know, people are still hurting. What should we do . How do we participate . Oh, thanks. We have a website called thestore. Org, and it is essentially were a Grocery Store based on one we found in Santa Barbara called unity shop that we modeled after. Its a free Grocery Store for people who loz their jobs. We spent three years with a board of directors with ways to make this work for nashville, and we were ready to launch we got our permits right around march. So we opened our doors thinking, lets feed some people, anybody who falls on hard times and everybody fell on hard times immediately. Were serving five times what we expected to be serving at this point. Somehow were making ends meet. But you can donate by going to our website if anybodys interested. Its working really well. A great example of what we were talking about earlier, my record producer who hasnt been doing nearly as much producing has been immobilizing his interns to deliver food to the elderly. He used a bunch of studio interns to do that during these times because they were all sitting around with no sessions. Well, i do think theres no i in beer or a shot of brapdy. Thank you so much. We appreciate you coming on and giving us some insight into just how far the struggle has come given our pandemic. I want to say it was David Ignatius. Tom nick kols, gene rob insorngs vin gupta, Walter Isaacson on the show today who unanimously agreed were in an emergency situation in this country. This is the breaking point. Not just that President Trump has lowered himself to going to birtherism against Kamala Harris as he did with obama, that pathetic attempt to sow doubt and to sow racism. Its not his birtherism. Its not even his unbelievable botching of the coronavirus pandemic. But keep in mind if you have a loved one who has the coronavirus or has died or no one knows because theyre listening to the president , keep in mind were at 167,000 people dead and vin gupta said 45,000 are expected to die in the fall. We havent got a handle on this and we could get a handle on this. Look at what the president said hes going do with the post office. Look at that. Take note. Not me. Its people far, far more experienced with these issues than me who are saying that we are in an emergency. So think about what Elijah Cummings said. He said it about 2019. In the year 2019, what did you do . When you were dancing with the angels, what did you do to make sure our democracy was kept intact. So i ask to republicans and to members of this administration, what are you going to do . Are you going to side with trump and shut your mouth, or are you going to Say Something and speak out for america . The time is now to act. That does it for us