Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live 20200701

Way thats adverse to the United States is nothing new. We want to begin in arizona where Vice President mike pence is set to arrive next hour as that state becomes the latest at the center of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Arizona one of the states just to reopen just reported a Staggering Number of 4800 new covid cases and 88 deaths. Thats just in the last 24 hours. Today, the state is also seeing the most hospitalizations yet. Joining me now from phoenix is nbcs Vaughn Hillyard, who to have you with us. After claiming all 50 states were safely reopening, the Vice President today is traveling to a covid hot spot. What should we expect to hear from him, when he arrives . Reporter ayman, im going to try to lay this out in as serious nature as i can, what the state is facing. Over the last weeks, we have brought doctor after doctor after doctor on to our air, and communicated the message that arizona was in a crisis situation. And yet, it was only up until this monday when governor ducey implemented some executive orders. That included closing gymnasiums. That included closing movie theaters. Restaurants are still open. Malls are still open. Retail is still open. And thats what leads us here, just in the last hour, the new numbers coming out of the state of arizona, 4,878 new cases, ayman. In just the last 24 hours. 88 newly reported deaths here in the states. Even more Staggering Number, 28. 3 of tests here in the state in the last 24 hours came back as positive. 1 out of every 4 tests came back as positive. That number is at about 5 , 6 in early may before the states stayathome order expired. You saw a similar situation in texas and in florida. As soon as that expired over the course of the next two or three weeks you saw that number along with the number of cases continue to rise. I think the continuing part, governor ducey and local officials, the county officials, they are dealing with a Hospital System that is about to be overwhelmed. And that is where Vice President pence is literally flying into phoenix as we speak. This is a Vice President , ill remind you, just two weeks ago, wrote an oped in which he said it was fearmongering on behalf of the media that there would be this, quote, second wave and that everything was going well. Just yesterday, the Vice President said, yquote, were ready and more prepared than ever before. There is not enough testing here. Theres hartley Contact Tracing here in the state of arizona. There are not enough machines to process the demands in the state of arizona. Youve got to wait for hours, you have to wait for days. In order to get your test results back, you have to wait at least more than a week. Right now, the state of arizona is about to experience an absolute spike in cases, in hospitalizations, in mass exposure. Because of these numbers and where theyre at, there is no stayathome order in place. I asked the governor why not put that stayathome order in place now ahead of the fourth of july weekend. He said hes looking at this day by day. And if that is the fact, theres got to be serious questions today, this wednesday, with the Vice President of the United States, as to what this states stance is going forward. Ayman. Vaughn hillyard, a very important update from phoenix. Vaughn, thank you. Over in california, cases are pushed to their limits as the coronavirus cases surge in that state. It was one of the first states to impose a stayathome order. Now, its seeing an increase of more than 50 in confirmed cases just in the past two weeks. Today, governor gavin newsom is expected to announce additional restrictions going into the Holiday Weekend. Joining me now from riverside, california, is nbcs jo ling kent. Jo, the Riverside Community hitting 95 capacity for icu beds. What are you hearing from folks there about the growing demand . Reporter the demand for icu beds is going up. And i just interviewed the chief nursing officer, annette greenwood, here at Riverside Community hospital. And what she is telling me, they have not seen these levels of covid cases since the peak back in early may. And she says that they are concerned that the nursing staff is fatigued in her words. And when it comes to what theyre going to do next and how theyre going to handle it, listen to what she just told me. The Health Care Providers across the nation are tired. Were seeing that surge, that resurgence is really truly because were visiting with one another. Because were interacting with one another. Because were everybody was pentup and they want to get out. I would just ask them to slow it down, wear your mask, use your hand hygiene. If you dont have to go somewhere, please dont go somewhere. As Health Care Providers, were begging you for that. Reporter so much of what the chief nursing officer there told me echoes what we all heard in march and april and may. It also is in line with what Governor Newsom is expected to say today, over the past couple of days, he says there will be more enforcement of maskwearing. And that, quote, dimmer switch on the reopening plans across the state of california, he plans to lower that today, when he makes more announcements on what could be coming next. In the meantime, los angeles county, ventura county, they have closed beach access here in riverside and other counties across the state. They have shut down nightclubs and bars. And the refrain from health care workers, Pay Attention to what weve been telling you, listen to us and everyone can be healthier. All right. Jo ling kent in riverside, california, for us. Jo ling, thank you. Lets bring in pulmonologist dr. Vin gupta. Dr. Gupta, a pressure to talk to you. A troubling time. The New York Times saying new cases up 80 . 80 in the last two weeks. The Deputy Director at the cdc says the virus is spreading too rapidly for the u. S. To bring under control. Im curious to get your thoughts. What is the Tipping Point . When can we say we have lost control of this virus . And is there anything that can be done to turn it around at this point . Thanks for having me. Were at a Tipping Point already in arizona, in texas and in florida. Obviously, its a statebystate case right now. Some places are worse than others just like we had in march. If youre governor ducey at this point, what are you doing . You have a responsibility to the people. Vaughns incredible journalist just now, reporting on the facts. Essentially, you have the situation where people can go to restaurants. Indoor dining we know is not safe. Credit to mayor bill de blasio and the governor of new jersey taking action on this. We have that action, dining in an indoor place, only outdoor is safe. We need that to happen in arizona. We need the governor to mandate masks. His cases are going up as vaughn mentioned in riverside, from jo lings reporting, were already there. Ayman, were already there. To the point where icu beds are filling up, thats where you know you have a fivealarm fire. With the president , i have little doubt thats going to happen the message on that. But now hes an ally of what were trying to do, hopefully modeling the best behavior, although if the past is any indication of the future, we know thats not going to be the case of what he does today in arizona. Dr. Gupta, let me get your comments between what were hearing from individuals like dr. Anthony fauci who is warning of 100,000 cases per day going forward. And the need to try and address it as you just outlined as well. But at the same time, the mixed messaging coming from white house officials from people like President Trump who still refused to wear a mask in public. And to still some degree very dismissent of the needs and requirements of people to wear a mask. That is different from the Vice President who is wearing a mask but also does not want to call for a mandatory nationwide order for people to wear masks. I have to say, ayman, the Vice President presided just a few days ago in an indoor choir singing event which is the worst type of event you could possibly preside over. Whats the message hes sending . Its safe. Hes basically sanctioning other Services Like that. To your point, the mixed messaging has gotten ridiculous. And its irresponsible. Its going to result in the deaths of many americans. Because folks like myself and my colleagues are constantly working to compel people to comply with recommendations on masking. As opposed to saying, you know what, weve tried it, its not worked, now were going to mandate it and its going to be enforcement. Its not working, ayman because of this mixed messaging. Were pushing a ball up a hill that is impossible to circumnavigate because the president has the mixed messaging. We have to follow the leads of governor murphy and mayor bill de blasio, no more critical rallies, mandate masks. Thats what you do to save lives. Finally, dr. Gupta, i want to get your point on data points if you were, some of the cases perhaps in the city of el paso was affecting younger people, that the surge was among younger people between ages of 20 to 30. I spoke to the mayor of el paso, that is a call for concern that younger people did not heed the warnings to stay outdoor when they went to bars and reopened the bars in that state. Are you at all kerneled about the transmission that takes place indoors versus outdoors and are we collectively reopening some of these bars and restaurants in various parts of the country too soon . A few important points you raised there, ayman, let me take them in turn. Number one, asymptomatic symptoms among younger individuals. Younger individuals, were seeing rising case numbers in the demographics. Thats deeply concerning. Not only because they can be silent spreaders because its harder to compel, unfortunately, younger individuals to wear masks. Were seeing mask adoption rates 40 in the mountain west. Thats because of mixed messaging at the very top. Thats number one. We just need public cooperation especially among the younger demographic. We dont have it. To your point, ayman, just in terms what were seeing, in terms of the overall state of the outbreak, listen, the outdoor versus indoor transmission piece. We know indoor transmission, you have a 19 times higher rate of indoor transmission than outdoor transmission. Whether its in a restaurant or bar or political rally. Thats why Indoor Dining unfortunately needs to stop. Indoor events, large gatherings have to stop for the time being, especially in hard hit states, arizona, florida, texas and younger participants are unfortunately the participants in these gatherings. The time for leadership is over. Dr. Vin gupta, thank you for joining us and giving us the facts. Appreciate your time as always. From there on to seattle, where police in seattle began the operation to clear out the area known as c. H. O. P. , the capitol hill occupied protest zone. The operation began earlier this morning. Police say they have arrested at least 23 individuals. For more on this developing story, well cross over to nbc news correspondent Steve Patterson who will has been there on the ground since this operation got under way. Steve, when we spoke earlier in the morning, it seemed like it was a tense situation. How has it been playing out since . Reporter remains tense, as you might imagine. Protesters, though, on the outside, the outer perimeter, along the police line, trying to find a way to see whats happening inside. Thats where we are, police have granted us access to show you the dismantle. And its incredible. Take a look at this. I mean, youre talking about protesters holding a Police Precinct in a major American City for nearly a month. And this is all being dishandled, im guessing, in less than a day. This whole area was filled with tents. Was filled with porta pot eap was filled with festival items. Smoker, the grill used to be there. I used to meet a guy every day at the grill. He would tell me whats goes on at the community. To see it like this so efficiently, with the operation. You see the street sweeper trying to get everything off the ground. That is pretty much all that is left of c. H. O. P. , safer weafter and weeks and weeks of protesters. Their side on the side of the police. Fund the police, and protesters. As far as what this will accomplish, i think the peace will bear that out. As far as what happened, the declaration from the mayor came out very early in the morning. It went on the citys website, 5 02, police were telling everybody to get out. By the time we got here, the desire zone was locked down. 31 arrests so far. The chief of police has spoken to the media. He said this was done quickly. It was done quietly. It was done efficiently, and it was done with minimal contact with the protesters that remained here. That doesnt mean there wasnt conflict. Weve certainly seen it. And weve certainly seen videos, some of the arrests that happened as well. Police came in here hard and fast and they accomplished what they wanted to do. Which is secure this zone so they could clean this up. As far as when police may move back into this precinct, that may come in the next few dailies as the operation continues. But its an incredible sight to see c. H. O. P. The way it is now, or i should say the fall of c. H. O. P. Ayman. Steve patterson live for us. Steve, thank you. Coming up after the break, were going to speak to new jersey congressman andy kim. Congress is now demanding an explanation from the white house and this administration with what it knew regarding intelligence that russia may have paid the taliban money to kill american soldiers in avenue st afghanistan. St afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. Anistan. Afghanistan. Afghanistan. You can explore endless options at every price point. Get your Outdoor Oasis delivered fast so you can get the good times going. Wayfair. Youve got just what i need. Theyre going to be paying for this for a long time. They will, but with accident forgiveness allstate wont raise your rates just because of an accident, even if its your fault. Cut sonny. Was that good . Line the desert never lies. Isnt that what i said . No you were talking about allstate and insurance. I just. When i. Lets try again. Everybody back to one. Accident forgiveness from allstate. Click or call for a quote today. The white house is under increased scrutiny over those reports that russia offered bounties to the taliban for the killing of u. S. Service members in afghanistan. This afternoon John Ratcliffe will brief the Intelligence Committee. And Speaker Pelosi says the House Intelligence Committee will be briefed. The gang of eight will be briefed on the matter tomorrow, sources telling nbc news. Now, the white house maintains that the president was not briefed on the reports because the information didnt rise to that level. Joining me now from the white house is nbc news carol lee. Its safe to say there has been a little, carol, mixed messaging on this. Today secretary of state mike pompeo saying that russia engages in the way thats adversarial is nothing new. Yet, at the same time, the president is tweeting all of this is a made up hoax. Still, members of congress are actively being briefed by intelligence chiefs. Whats going on here with the mixed messaging . Reporter i think a couple of things are going on, ayman. Theyre trying to explain why the president wasnt briefed on that, and make the case this was handled properly. So, in doing that, theyre saying it wasnt important enough to rise to his level. And theyre really downplaying that this was significant and should have been brought to his attention any sooner. At the same time, they want to push back against lawmakers, particularly democrats, who are saying that this wasnt handled properly. The president should have been briefed. And they want to know why he didnt take any actions in response to this intelligence. So, in orlando to der to do thae pointing out that lawmakers were briefed about this months ago and didnt raise any concerns about it then. But in doing that it really just, you know, undermines this argument that the president didnt need to be briefed when all of these other officials were being briefed during that time. So, its just a larger way in which this white house has decided clearly today that they are going to dig in on this. Theyre making the case that this was handled properly. The president didnt do anything. Or didnt need to do anything that wasnt done. And that he acted appropriately. And so did the people around him. One thing i would point out that theyre using to make their cases. Theyre saying that the president s briefer, his career intelligence official who prepares his daily brief, decided on her own not to include that in his oral briefing. So that again, is deflecting the blame saying that the president didnt need to know. As soon as he did need to know, he found out. All right. Carol lee live at the white house with all of those details. Carol, thanks. Joining me now is democratic congressman andy kim. Hes a former director in the National Security council under president obama. And a former adviser to general allen and the gang of eight is scheduled to be briefed tomorrow on the bounties intelligence. Do you think that all of congress should get an intelligence briefing on this matter . Absolutely. Every member of congress has the right to know what has happened in afghanistan. And whether or not there were bounties placed on the lives of americans out there. I served in afghanistan as a civilian adviser. And i visited afghanistan late last year and saw and met with members of my own community in new jersey that were serving out there in afghanistan. Their families deserve to know. The American People deserve to know what was in that intelligence. And if our members were under threat. Yeah, the New York Times series reporting that two Officials Say the intelligence about the bounties was included in the president s Daily Briefing, possibly as early as february. Nbc news reports that the white house until National Security officials learned about the intelligence last year. You tweeted that you used to read and analyze that briefing every morning. How would intelligence like this normally be handled . Thats right. When i worked ted National Security council i was helping coordinate the counterisis fight. I think would go into the white house every single morning really early and read through all of the intelligence in the president s daily brief related to those issues. We would write reports up to the National Security adviser, senior leadership, about that, providing our own analysis. When something is in the president s daily brief that is something of sheer significance. Something that our nation should focus in on, and something that we need to have debated and understood at the highest levels. So this is something that certainly should have merited much stronger sanction from this administration, to find out what the truth is. And to protect our Armed Service men and women immediately. I dont know if youve had a chance to see the secretary of state mike pompeos press conference today. He was asked about this story at his briefing. I want to play you a bit of his response. Take a listen. Fact that the russians are engaged in afghanistan in the way thats adverse to the United States is nothing new. By the way, some members of congress out there suggesting that theyre shock and appalled by this. They saw the same intelligence that we saw. Interesting to ask them what they did when they saw, whatever intelligence that they are referring to. Hes putting a little bit of a blame there on congress. Is it possible that this intelligence got missed by more than just the white house . Did congress let it slip through the cracks as well, do you think . When i just heard the words of secretary pompeo, i found them offensive. Hes trying to downplay a potential right here about 3w0u7 bounties placed on American Service members in afghanistan. We should just removal te the w russia, afghanistan anywhere in the world. Any bounties placed on americans anywhere in the world, should be condemned. And for this secretary of state to downplay is that and try to make it seem this is normal, this is not. Ive served as a civilian adviser in afghanistan. Bounties placed on them for killing of americans is an escalation and something that should be treated as such. Let me see if i can pivot a little bit to coronavirus because obviously theres an alarming trend thats taking place in this country right now that the numbers continue to rise. Last night, the senate has an extension for the Paycheck Protection Program by unanimous consent. As a member of the Small Business committee would you support passing it in the house. And do you think another more targeted round for aid for Small Business in this country is warranted . We absolutely need to give our Small Businesses across the country every opportunity to be able to get through this crisis. I think we should move forward with it and to expand the Paycheck Protection Program. We in the heroes act enacted to extend that further into next year. That alone are the steps. But that alone is not going to protect our Small Businesses. And we need to take aggressive action and we have to support our state and local governments and were very concerned what will happen in new jersey if we dont get that funding. Those are the steps we need to do. We cant just do this piecemeal, the senate needs to take up the fuel work that they deserve that this extraordinary time of crisis. Congressman andy kim, thank you for your time, i appreciate it as always. Up next, the coronavirus outbreak in michigan tide to an east lansing bar now tops 100 cases forcing officials to take action there. Were going to be join by the citys mayor just after the break. But first with the july 4th Holiday Weekend coming up, myrtle beach is now a hot spot. Governors warning residents to stay away from the popular vacation spot. This as front line medical workers raise concerns over people not Wearing Masks. Were all scared. Were all just trying to do our part. Whats scary now is that people are starting to see with their coronavirus testing results. What you can do is wear a mask every day. Thats really going to help you right now. P you right now. New fixodent ultra dual power provides you with an unbeatable hold and strong seal against food infiltrations. Fixodent. And forget it. Were following several new developments in the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the facts as we know them this hour. The Senate Passed an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program on tuesday which would continue the program until august 8th. It still needs to be passed by the house and signed by the president. Floridas Governor Ron Desantis has signed an extension on the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until august 1. This as the state continues to see a sharp rise in the cases. And the Firm Biontech show the results. And the findings have not been peer reviewed. Ahead of the july 4th weekend, officials in shore communities are bracing for crowds. Officials in myrtle beach, south carolina, will vote tomorrow on whether they will require visitors and residents to that area wear a mask. South carolina is seeing a sharp rise in the number of daily coronavirus cases. Its 36,000, the governors of kentucky and West Virginia have warned their residents to stay away from myrtle beach. I strongly, strongly would tell you if youre thinking of going to myrtle beach, rethink what youre doing and everything. And the other thing is, if you have been, go get tested. Its really important you that do that. Were seeing some concerning outbreaks that are being caused by areas where people are traveling to right now. Myrtle beach is one area that we are seeing causing outbreaks in other states and in kentucky. All right. Joining me now from myrtle beach, south carolina, is nbcs dasha burns. Dasha, good to talk to you this afternoon. What are people there in the community saying about the impact the coronavirus is having, potentially as well, not just from a health perspective, but obviously as we see this playing out from an economic one . Reporter yeah, ayman from what ive been seeing and hearing here so far, i dont know how effective those warnings you just played from those governors are going to be here. It is a beautiful hot sunny day here in myrtle beach. Take a look behind me. A lot of people out today enjoying some time on the beach. Idol see a lot of social distancing for the most part. Its only wednesday, were not even in the thick of the fourth of july weekend quite yet. This is, frankly, what the city wants. They want to see people coming in and spending money here. This entire economy is propped up by tourism. That is the industry here. And they suffered a lot of losses over the last few months. And they are now trying to make up. So the city and the businesses ive been talking to here are trying to strike this very delicate balance between surviving economically and also protecting residents and visitors here. I want to introduce you to a woman named emily ericsson, hes a bar manager at one of the restaurants here. Shes eight months pregnant. She talked to me how she feels coming in to work every day as the crowds are getting bigger. Take a listen. For me, its a lot different. Im pregnant. For me, every day going to work is a risk. I mean, thats just part of life now. Its kind of sad now thats part of our lifestyle, going to work, and you might get sick. Or you might be exposed to somebody who is sick, so kind of scary. Reporter and ayman, she also told me that right now is when she sees the biggest tips. This is the most profitable time of year for her. And her fellow staff members. So shes really capturing that dichotomy here on the one hand, wanting to be safe. On the other hand, really needs this economic boost right now, ayman. Dasha burns live for us in myrtle beach, south carolina. Thank you, dasha. There are increased concerns of Indoor Dining amid the pandemic. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has postponed indefinitely, new york city announced a play in allowing Indoor Dining. Earlier this week, mayor bill de blasio cited a coronavirus outbreak to a bar in michigan when discussing his thinking. More than 100 cases of the coronavirus have now been traced to that east lansing bar. Health officials are advising anyone who visited harpers restaurant and brew pub between june 12th and june 20th to selfisolate for freenl days. They 14 days. Joining me now is the mayor of east lansing ruth buyer. Mayor, thank you for joining us. First of all, how do you prevent an event at harpers from happening again . First off, harpers is regrettable, but it did give us a great wakeup call. We naively thought that our governors insistence on Wearing Masks and executive order would work, it has, mostly with people, say, over age 30, but with younger people it has not yet taken hold. So we are taking steps to prevent another outbreak. But our real fear is when Michigan State opens in the fall and you have 40,000 students instead of 2,000 students and counting. So, the steps were taking, and the county actually changed to say you could have 50 for 75 or fewer people. That is great. Harper had 220 people in there. And they were dancing. Thats really hard. And nobody was wearing a mask. What . Please, finish your thoughts, go ahead. The next thing we did, last night, the city met with the university, medical people from the university and the county and our own Hospitality Group in east lansing. And every business that serves food and alcohol in east lansing has taken a pledge to require masks inside. And the signs showing it, if somebody is wearing a mask and the other person talking to you is wearing a mask, it really works towards preventing the spread. Given the picture that you just painted for us, maybe in terms of what youre saying in terms of harpers, it may be skewed to the younger crowd. How did this happen . Was it too early . Who Indoor Dining been delayed . Were there more resources enforced with getting these young people to heed the message, wash your hands, wear the mask, et cetera . I dont think so. What Governor Whitmer did, she opened very slowly. She started up north where there arent a lot of universities. And bar and Restaurant Owners were very careful. They insisted on masks and they had social distancing. Then as it moved downstate, like i said it worked in 90 of our establishments. It did not work in harpers, because they didnt do that one thing which was require people to wear masks inside. In fact, harpers actually had to change its model. You cant have dancing. 100 people on the dance floor or 200 people and not spread the virus. I dont think we opened too early. I think we were naive to think that the message had already worked with young people. That said, Michigan State university and east lansing together, i think we are going to be a model for the rest of the country very quickly. We are going to become a maskwearing society. This virus is going to be around for years. And were going to work to adopt mask wearing and just the thing that you do every day. Get up, you walk out, you put on your mask. You go to college, you put on your mask. You go to work, you put on your mask. Mayor ruth beier of michigan, pries appreciate your insights. Up next, the investigation into the death of elijah mcclain. Why several aurora, colorado, officers have now been placed on leave. Plus, where things stand with the George Floyd Police reform bill making its way through capitol hill. Youre watching msnbc. timer chimes man hm. 5 . 9. 95 . 9. 95. Whats with all the 9. 95 notes . I thought youd never ask. Its about a Life Insurance plan with options starting at 9. 95 a month. Been seeing it on tv. We talked about getting more Life Insurance. Remember how much your brothers funeral cost . Yeah, his funeral expenses were a real eyeopener. North of 8,500. Exactly. man what do you like about this insurance . The 9. 95 price, and best of all, itll never go up. man but we could get it at our age with my medical history . 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The only fdaapproved, oncedaily 3 in 1 copd treatment. With trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works 3 ways to open airways, keep them open, and reduce inflammation for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Think your copd medicine is doing enough . Maybe you should think again. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. We know times are hard and were here for you. Find support at trelegy. Com. We are following new developments in the investigation into the death of elijah mcclain. He died last year, after he was stopped by police and put in a choke hold in aurora, colorado. Now, federal authorities are looking into a possible civil rights investigation and the Aurora Police Department Said it has placed multiple officers on paid administrative leave over alleged photos that were taken near the spot of mcclains fatal encounter with the police. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has the latest. Reporter as protests mount in colorado, over the death of elijah mcclain, the Aurora Police department has now placed multiple officers on paid administrative leave, after it says another officer reported that they took potentially inappropriate pictures near the site of mcclains fatal encounter with police. Just when you think Aurora Police cannot get low enough, they find a new low. Reporter revealing an internal investigation, now coming from the police union. Stop, i have a right to stop you because youre being suspicious. Reporter officers stopped mcclain last august after a 911 caller reported a sketchy looking man with a mask. Mcclains family said he walked home he sometimes wore a ski mask to keep warm because he was anemic. An internal investigation told the officers followed policy. But last week, colorados governor appointed a state attorney general as a special prosecutor. Why wouldnt a special prosecutor appointed sooner . It automatically goes to the d. A. The d. A. Took a look at it. Reporter you disagree with what the d. A. Found . I lack confidence in what the d. A. Found. This is related to systemic racism. Reporter shes a professor at the university of denver and local organizers of black lives matter. People are realizing this is happening in my community, and theyre wondering what stories arent being told. People in colorado didnt know Elijah Mcclains name until a few weeks ago. Reporter they know how. Gabe gutierrez, aurora, colorado. Earlier, members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference on latest to address racism including police reform. Karen bass, one of the chief architects of the house reform bill vowed to continue to fight until a business is passed. Last week, we proudly passed by bipartisan support the george employed justice in policing act. We will not stop and the movement for justice will not stop, until the bill is passed in the senate and signed by the president. The movement for justice has now expanded to include a call to end systemic racism in the United States. Police violence directed at black lives is one manifestation of systemic racism. The disproportionate relationship of covid19 and other disparities is another n manifestations. Joining me now a law professor at ucla and Columbia Law School and host of the podcast intersectionality. Its great to have you with us. Lets get to representative bass and her comments there about the George Floyd Justice and policing act. Do you think it goes far enough in addressing what this country ultimately needs . Well, of course, its an opening gam meugamut. This senate is not going to pass this bill. This is a way of framing the energy thats been generated over the past several weeks about the killing of george floyd. It is a recognition that a fundamental overhauls that to happen. And its also a bill, frankly, thats framed within the existing parameters of politics right now. So, yes, it actually does move the needle. It acknowledges that some of these practices have been intolerable, and we can no longer continue them. It also recognizes the need to eliminate the immunities that Police Officers have that allow them to do these acts with impunity. This is the reason why so many of these cases have not been filed. But its also a recognition that there are more structural determinants that need to be addressed. Some of the bill actually gives money to existing Law Enforcement, rather than shuffle that money to defund the capacity of Law Enforcement do what it does. And the big question which really in place anywhere is constitutional rules that allow encounters with very little suspicion. And they often turn into homicides which is unfortunately what happened to elijah. So, were going to need to understand this is a long step of a very long struggle. Were going to generate the understanding why this needs to be a bigger project. Thats what we do under the black light. We talk about the broader frameworks that folks need to understand in order to shift for, not just a shift in funding, a fundamental change for what police do in the american society. Let me get your thoughts, kimberly, about something impacting new york city immediately but something were seeing play out across the country in various police departments. New york city just passed their budget with 1 billion that has been shifted away from the nypd. As you can imagine, the nypd, theyre not happy about it. The defund the police advocates, a slogan weve grown to learn in the past couple of weeks, they also say that this 1 billion shift from the nypd does not go far enough. Im curious to get your thoughts what steps can cities take to actually start addressing systemic racism . And is this kind of a gesture enough for a place like new york city . Well if we look at patrick lynch, the Police Union President , to hear him talk about this bill, you would think that the police are about to close up shop. And the marauding others are about to climb through everyones window. One wouldnt realize this is say small shift until in resources. But what one should realize, how it actually allows for the ability to be fed, a voracious appetite, when so many other social at some of the funds that have been restored, funds for homelessness, funds for youth programs, domestic violence, Senior Citizens centers, these are all funds that have basically been lost to feed the appetite of the police. What this does is allows the police to actually help create the very problem that they then tell everyone else you need us to solve. Police shouldnt be solving these problems, but some of these problems wouldnt exist if the Police Budget were brought in line with so many others. So the real challenge at this moment is to get in between the fearmongering of the police and the realities. And to understand that this is part of history. Police have always used this, all the way back to the history of the patty rollers, that was what their job was, to tell people were the only ones who stand between you and those others, and those others are often people of color. So this is what we will talk about tonight on under the black light. Were looking at police power, the pandemic, and what we need to do to actually make this moment into a transformative one. Hopefully so. Kimberly crenshaw, thank you so much for your time and insights. I appreciate it, as always gloorb up next, in a blow to President Trump, a federal judge overturned the policy to limit Central American migrants from cl claiming asylum in the u. S. Details after this quick break. K like way more vanities perfect for you. Nice. Way more unique fixtures and tiles. Pairing. Nice. Way more top brands in sinks and faucets. Way more ways to rule your renovation. Nice on any budget, with free shipping. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. Cmon pizzas here. Whoa is that shaq . This is my new pizza the shaqaroni and its bigger than pizza because for every shaqaroni sold, 1 is donated to the Papa Johns Foundation for building community. I see all the Amazing Things you have been doing. You are transforming business models, and virtualizing workforces overnight. Because so much of that relies on financing, we have committed two billion dollars to relieve the pressure on your business. As you adapt and transform, were here with the people, financing, and technology, ready to help. Ibut nothing makes me feel like pnew always discreet boutique. Outside, its soft like underwear. Inside, it turns liquid to gel. For incredible protection, that feels like nothing but my underwear. New always discreet boutique. All right, a federal judge has struck down the trump administrations rule that requires immigrants to first claim asylum in another country before claiming it here in the United States. This ruling is a major blow to the trump administrations tough immigration policy, and it comes just weeks after the supreme courts decision to uphold the deferred action for childhood arrivals program. Take a quick break. Rger. Rger. I want a sugar cookie. Wait. I want a bucket of chicken. I want. Its the easiest because its the cheesiest. Kraft. For the win win. Saturpain happens. Aleve it. Aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. When pain happens, aleve it. All day strong. Good afternoon. Im katy tur. Its a little before 11 00 a. M. Out west and 2 00 p. M. Here in the east. In fact, two minutes before. Cases of covid19 continue to spike across the country, with experts warning the pandemic is at risk of spiraling out of control. Six states broke their records for new reported cases yesterday. And the state of arizona broke its record again today. With nearly 5,000 confirmed cases. In california, governor gavin newsom is expected to tighten the states stayathome order next hour as it sees a new spike in cases. More on that in a moment. But here is one frontline medical worker in national city, california, describing the dire situation they are seeing there. No good news to share. Just sadness. Just no progress. Keep seeing covid patients. We keep seeing patients die. We keep losing our patients. We see very little progress in healing. In washington, the white house delayed a planned gang of eight briefing on intelligence that russia was offering bounties for american soldiers in afghanistan. But the senate Intelligence Committee will be briefed by the director of National Intelligence this hour. And on capitol hill, nearly a Dozen Senate Republicans told nbc news they will not consider extending the 600 a week Unemployment Benefits that Congress Passed as part of the c. A. R. E. S. Act. The benefits are set to expire at the end of this month. The senate is expected to take up the next relief bill in the second half of july. Lets focus on the virus as it spreads and go down to texas, where that state is quickly becoming one of the worst impacted states by this pandemic. It saw nearly 7,000 new cases yesterday alone. A record high. But Lieutenant Governor dan patrick says he doesnt trust the experts. Fauci said today that hes concerned about states like texas that skipped over certain things. He doesnt know what hes talking about. We havent skipped over anything. The only thing im skipping over is listening to him. Joining us now is Msnbcs David Gura live in houston. What is the reality of how seriously people are taking this virus in houston and in texas . You have the Lieutenant Governor saying fauci doesnt know what hes talking about, and you have a number of bar owners who are now suing governor abbott, saying that bars are not the problem. Yeah, its interesting to watch. You and i talked yesterday as the bar owners were marching on the capitol in austin, texas, expressing their anger over the fact the governor had shut the bars down again. Lets go through some of the graphics. A lot of news coming out of houston at this hour. I want to start by looking at this graph if we can put it up of the number of hospitalizations at the Texas Medical Center for covid19. You see as the months drag on there, march, april, may, june, we see that beginning to rise, and that exponential way to get us to where we are. The red line is the sevenday moving average. Thats concerning. People with a grasp of reality are looking at that and are rightfully concerned. I want to put up another chart causing a stir right now. This is from the Texas Medical Centers data dashboard where they put their information on whos being hospitalized, what type of people are being hospitalized, what beds are used. If you look at the bar on the left, divided into three phases. Lets ignore that for the time being. That Hospital Centers traditional capacity of icu beds is 1,330. You look and see that the number of people in icu beds right now is at 1350. They have exceeded their traditional capacity. I think its prorimportant. Its bad they have so many people using the icu beds, of course, but you see just about 480 of those beds are for covid19 patients. When you look at that entire graph, there is some flexibility there. Some of the folks might be able to move off them, you can postpone some kinds of surgery. What they said with this threephase thing is they have the ability within the Hospital System to create new icu wards, move people around, but just looking at that, its something thats going to add to concern for people who are looking again at that exponential growth rate. The Hospital System right now doing an okay job of handling this, but this doesnt develop linearly, it develops exponentially, and thats going to cause more trouble for the hospitals in the area as this goes on. We know from what happened here in the northeast, especially in new york, we didnt reach our peak in cases for many weeks. If theyre still on the way up and theyre already at the hospital capacity, its unclear what might happen in the few weeks. Hopefully theyre not on the same path we were on here, where capacity kept dwindling as the number of cases spiked, but good news and good nuance from you on the number of patients that could potentially move to a different sort of icu. David gura, thank you very much. And florida Governor Ron Desantis is holding a News Conference in Daytona Beach this hour. He has voiced skepticism over the lockdowns and announced his state is, quote, not going back after reopening. But the situation is not improving in florida. Much like texas. It reported an additional 6500 new cases today. Joining me now from ft. Lauderdale, reporter for our nbc affilia affiliate, wtvj, sasha jones. The governor said hes not going back to lockdowns. How much worse are things is he willing to tolerate . How much worse can it before the governor might consider rethinking a Statement Like that . You know, its really hard to say. The latest action from the governor has been the extension of a statewide moratorium on foreclosures. He waited hours before it was set to expire, and then extended it until august 1st. It was relief for the many people who are not able to pay their bills because theyre still not back to work because of the state of coronavirus right now here in florida. Now, as you mentioned, just today, as we reported that more than 6500 new covid19 cases have been reported. But Governor Ron Desantis has said in the past hes not going to shut down and that the state is going to move forward. However, county leaders are making some of their own decisions, like the decision to close down the beaches for fourth of july weekend. Right now, were here in broward county. This is ft. Lauderdale beach. You can see people here on the beach enjoying the sun, remaining socially distant, but thats something that county leaders were not sure was going to take place during a busy possibly packed fourth of july weekend, and for that reason, many county leaders in miamidade, broward county, and Palm Beach County made the decision to close down the beaches. To give you an idea of where the total cases stand right now in florida, the numbers roughy at about 158,000 cases just since march. Katy. Sasha jones from wtvj, thank you very much. And california is also seeing a spike in new cases. Governor gavin newsom is set to announce new restrictions on the states stayathome order shortly. In california, and elsewhere, a disturbing trend is also emerging. Americans frustrated with the lockdown and the steady stream of bad news are turning their ire towards the very Public Health officials that are trying to keep them safe. Joining me now is nbcs jacob ward. Whats going on . Katy, we rely on frontline workers, nurses, doctors, to keep us safe when we wind up in the hospital, but theres a whole other front line trying to keep us out of the hospital, and that is Public Health officials. Now, unfortunately, they are under attack. Open california open california theyre on the front line of the fight against the coronavirus, but under fire. They have unnecessarily put people into a state of fear. Across the country, Public Health officials are being harassed by the very people theyre trying to protect. L. A. Countys Health Director says shes been threatened. I, like hundreds of other Public Health officials across the country, have in fact received threats and have in fact received a lot of hate mail. They dont get paid a lot of money. They put in a lot of hours. They do it for the compassion that they feel. It was a tough job before the pandemic. Now, a growing public backlash against Health Safety restrictions and lockdowns makes the job even harder. Theyre taking verbal abuse. Sometimes there are physical threats to their lives or their families. Dozens of Health Directors and senior officials have resigned, retired, or been fired since april. Ohioans, you have saved lives. Ohios Health Director resigned june 11th after intense criticism and even armed protesters at her home. Even though she had the support of the states governor. Its true not all heroes wear capes. Some of them do in fact wear a white coat. For those who stay on, the harassment continues. Its extraordinarily hard to work under conditions where people are so angry with you and take it so personally. All of this after a decade of shrinking funds at Health Departments and with conflicting information, some americans seem inclined to doubt the experts on covid19 safety precautions. That man harassed me for not wearing a macsk. When we have a contanination of water, and they say you have to boil your water, everybody boils their water. And so the fact that people are not paying attention to this as Public Health advice is alarming. And its not really something that i have ever seen to this extent. Katy, its worth noting that a disproportionate amount of the harassment seems to fall on the female Health Directors, and that is a whole other layer of darkness to this. Meanwhile, california, where i am, is seeing an uptick in cases at a time when this state had been held up as a model for the nation. Locking down early, taking precautions. But now, what were seeing is really were only as safe as the people who take the least precautions. Around the edges of people Wearing Masks, those who dont can infect everybody else. So the numbers seem to be going in the wrong direction, and this harassment against the very people trying to keep us safe, its dark times right now, katy. Its just not wise. Its not smart. It doesnt make any sense. Jake ward, thank you very much. And dr. Anthony fauci says that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Only a few states are seeing a steady rate of decline, and as fauci points out, without a National Quarantine plan in place, no state is safe. When you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country theyre doing well, they are vulnerable. I made that point very clearly last week at a press conference. We cant just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk. Joining me now is dr. William hassleteen, president of Access Health international, also the author of a family guide to covid. Doctor, thanks very much for joining us. Lets start off with what dr. Fauci was saying, that without a National Quarantine in place, even states that have had lockdowns, have seen their numbers decline, are going to be vulnerable to another spike. Explain what can be done reasonably within this country to prevent exactly what fauci is warning against. Well, the first thing to say is infection anywhere in the world is a threat to the whole world. We learned that. One person infected presumably in china has now infected well over 11 Million People worldwide, and its rising very quickly. So the same is true for our country. If one part of the country is infected, people travel, and they can infect the other part of the country. So you have to look at our country as a whole. It is what we can administer, at least we should be administering. And im now calling, as many of my colleagues are, for a national Public Health service. We have a surveillance organization. We have a research organization. But we have a Surgeon General who has no troops. We rely on the states, and they rely on the cities, and they rely on the counties, and there is no Central Authority to protect our nation. Not one part from the other. So we are in the soup at the moment. We have places where people simply arent believing that they are at risk. They arent taking the simple precautions to protect themselves or their families. Theyre not taking the precautions to protect others. And were paying the price. Now, i understand that many people who did obey all the rules, who stayed home, feel like they have paid the price and havent reaped the benefits. And thats true. In some parts of the country, people did stay home, and they havent reaped the benefits. But lets just take calf cal. If you look at california, the bay area, theyre doing pretty well, especially the east bay and south bay. Theyre doing quite well. Theyre in the same state. What is the difference . The difference is they acted a little earlier, and the people in that area are more responsible in terms of following the instructions. They were opened up. They didnt have spikes. Thats because they were more careful. Whats happening throughout the south, the southwest, and the southern parts of california is people just arent following the advice. Young people are getting together, and theyre spreading the virus. Its not just the young people. Its people of all ages. So if you follow the advice, we can open up and control it. If you dont follow the advice, you cant open up, and it gets out of control. So thats whats happening now. Its pretty sad. Theres a lot of confusion and a lot of that comes because our leadership at the top has made Something Like mask wearing a political statement. The president has said if youre wearing a mask, it can mean that you dont like him. It has become a political statement for a lot of people in this country. The European Union has banned travel by americans to any country within the European Union. I know banning travel between states or cities here in this country is anathema to what were used to, to what we would describe as our freedom. But is it something that needs to be done in order to get a handle on this Health Crisis . To make sure that the entire country doesnt flare up repeatedly until we have a vaccine . Let me answer two parts of the question. The first is that new york and other states are now requiring people who come in from the highly infected areas, one that you were describing, the rising numbers, florida, texas, southern california, theyre asking people to be selfquarantined for two weeks. Thats what many countries, other countries have done, if you travel from one city to another, you have to quarantine yourself. Thats basically disinviting you because who wants to come only to stay isolated for two weeks . So thats the first measure. If that doesnt work, there may have to be more restrictive measures. The second is, when will this be over . And there are two ways i think this could end, if people arent willing to do whats necessary. One, of course, is a vaccine. But i dont really give that a 50 50 chance given what we know about the virus. I can talk more about that if you want. But theres another way thats coming along reasonably fast, maybe even faster than the vaccines, and thats using drugs to treat and drugs to prevent. We use drugs right now to prevent malaria infections. We use drugs to prevent hiv infections. We use drugs to prevent respiratory infections in children. Drugs can be used to treat and used to prevent. Those drugs are coming along. Thats very good news. I think there will be i am very confident those drugs are going to work. Less confident about vaccines. Not that they wont work, but we dont know theyll work, but really confident about these drugs that they will work. So we have to hold on. We have to do what we need to do until those are ready, which should be by the end of the year, early next year in terms of the drugs. I cant tell you about the vaccines. Dr. Haseltine, thank you for joining us today. Well have you back on to continue this discussion. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you, katy. And if you have a question about the virus that you want answered, just tweet it to us using the msnbcanswers or email talk msnbc. Com. Craig melvin might answer your question live at 11 00 a. M. Here on msnbc. And still to come, rhode island has gained control of the virus. The governor will be here to explain how her state pulled it off and what shes doing to make sure it stays that way. Plus, former hud secretary Julian Castro will join me as he warns about a mass wave of evictions that are expected to begin today across the country. First up, though, were at the white house and on the hill where new details continue to come out about what the president knew and when he knew it on allegations that russia offered a bounty for the deaths of u. S. Troops. Life isnt a straight line. And sometimes, you can find yourself heading in a new direction. But when youre with fidelity, a partner who makes sure every step is clear, theres nothing to stop you from moving forward. A partner who makes sure every step is clear, you say that customers maklets talk data. S. Only Xfinity Mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. I accept 5g everybodys talking about it. How do i get it . Everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. Thats good. Next item corner offices for everyone. Just have to make more corners in this building. Chad . Your wireless your rules. Only with Xfinity Mobile. Now thats simple easy awesome. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus get 200 off a new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra. We see threats in intelligence reporting to our soldier station all over the world every single day. Every single day. And so i can assure you that whatever reporting it is that youre referring to, that we responded in precisely the correct way in making sure our soldiers were postured directly, that they were aware of the credibility of the threat. That was secretary of state mike pompeo on intelligence russia paid a bounty for the deaths of u. S. Troops and reporting surrounding it. This hour, the director of National Intelligence will brief the senate thetelligence committee. The gang of eight will be briefed tomorrow at the white house. In advance of that meeting, the president slammed the story and all of the reporting as a hoax on twitter. But a new report out today from the New York Times provides something of a paper trail that undermines the president s denial. In it, three officials tell the times that american officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by russias military Intelligence Agency to a talibanlinked account. Evidence that supported their conclusion that russia covertly offered bounties for killing u. S. And Coalition Troops in afghanistan. Joining me now from capitol hill is msnbc correspondent Garrett Haake and at the white house, nbc news correspondent carol lee. Garrett, i want to start with you. So the gang of eight briefing has been delayed. The Senate Intelligence briefing is going to come from John Ratcliffe, but there are a number of bipartisan lawmakers who say they want a full briefing. Where does it stand . Well, sounds like theyre going to get at least something closer to that. This has been a moving target all day long, but i can report the gang of eight briefing is expect today happen tomorrow morning around 11 30 on capitol hill, not at the white house, and it will feature, according to two hill sources, gina haspel, the director of the cia. Thats the kind of briefing that lawmakers have been saying they wanted, remember, when they went to the white house, there person who did most of the talking was mark meadows, the Lawmakers Said they wanted to hear from the intelligence professionals themselves. It does not any higher up the food chain than the director of the cia herself. So whether that creates more questions or more answers remains to be seen, but at this, the highest level you can get in congress in terms of intelligence, theyre going to get their briefing from the highest level you can get in the Intel Community. Carol, from your reporting, what do you make of mike pompeo saying that they get this sort of intelligence all the time and they always take appropriate action. Look, i think its part of what we have seen from the white house today, this pattern of trying to really downplay that this was something significant, that it was something the president should have been briefed on earlier than he was, which was, we learned, after this New York Times report came out and it was in the public sphere. So secretary pompeo is saying that, and thats similar to what we have heard from the president s National Security adviser, robert obrien, who said that everything was handled appropriately. This didnt rise to the level. At the same time, you have seen the president , as you noted, call this a hoax. We heard from kellyanne conway, saying he was referring to the media coverage. But katy, Rudy Giuliani, the president s personal lawyer, was just here and spoke with us as he was leaving the cameras on the north lawn, and he agreed that it was a hoax and said thats exactly the message the president should be delivering. Lets take a listen to what he had to say. Some kind of a felon in the federal government, some kind of a deep state criminal, he committed a very serious crime, that was actionable intelligence, that was disputed, unresolved, i mean, i cant think of a worse crime. Its not quite treason, but it comes close. He should be caught and go to jail for 20 or 30 years. I dont care. I dont care what it revealed. So you can see there the focus is on the leak, not on the content of the leak. The white house really wants to shift the focus there, saying that this was something that was illegal, that shouldnt have happened, and whoever leaked this should pay a price, katy. In what capacity is Rudy Giuliani speaking on behalf of the president , carol . Well, thats a great question. He is the president s personal lawyer, as you know. We asked him what brought him here. He said he wouldnt discuss whether or not he was meeting with the president. He did an interview with a different News Organization on the north lawn just a few steps down from where i am. And then when he finished talking to us, he left and went down to the driveway thats outside of the lower level of the west wing. So he said he had meetings here, but we dont know exactly what they were. Carol lee, Garrett Haake, thank you guys very much. We appreciate it. Coming up next, were going go to phoenix where the Vice President is expected to meet soon with the governor about plans to slow arizonas spike in coronavirus cases. Plus, rhode island is one of the only states that has seen a steady decrease in new cases. The governor is here next to explain how her state is doing it. vo parents have a way of imagining the worst. 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Indoor dining will not resume as previously planned, but Outdoor Dining will continue. South carolina set a new daily record yesterday with over 1700 new cases recorded. Health care workers are urging people in their state to do their part, to stop the spread. Spread it and still feel fine, and they are going out in public and giving it to people. I dont think people realize you can wipe out an entire floor of nursing and doctors, respiratory therapists. You could wipe us all out. Just by being deceitful and selfish and not staying inside. I feel like one of the easiest things you can do is wear a mask to help prevent it, yet thats really hard for people to do right now. Shouldnt be that hard. Its just a piece of fabric. And in arizona where the Vice President will be landing any minute, another daily record was set. Nearly 5,000 new cases recorded just today. The Vice President is expected to meet with Arizona Governor doug ducey this afternoon to discuss the states response to a surge of new covid19 cases. Lets bring in nbcs Vaughn Hillyard at phoenixs Sky Harbor International airport, who is awaiting the Vice President s arrival. It looks like the Vice President has landed, vaughn. He has not yet appeared from that doorway. Give us a preview of the meeting hes going to be having with the governor there. You can see the tail of air force two right behind us. I know you have that shot. The Vice President is expected to be meeting with governor doug ducey here over the next hour. Dr. Birx is also in town for this meeting. This is a state that woke up this morning to new records, katy. More than 4800 new cases in just the last 24 hours. More than 88 newly reported deaths here in the state of arizona. Today, also marks a Record Number of hospitalizations. This is what the Vice President is walking into, two weeks after suggesting the media was fearmongering the situation, just yesterday afternoon, at a Coronavirus Task force briefing back east, this was the Vice President who resisted the idea that the reopenings of businesses in florida, texas, and arizona contributed to rising cases. But when you look at the data, that is a point in which the numbers started to rise, in the week, two weeks after the stayathome orders were lifted in the states, including here in arizona. As you see Vice President pence prepare to make his way for the meeting, i want to bring in dr. Southwell, because when i saw the new numbers pop in, katy, i felt we needed to get somebody who has been on the front lines of this to explain to the Vice President , to explain to arizonians and the American Public what the state is facing. The Vice President just yesterday afternoon, doctor, told us that were prepared. The country is prepared. Is the state of arizona prepared for whats happening right now . Absolutely not. That statement is totally false for arizona. How, why . We dont have enough staff to staff our icus. Were about to completely max out our hospital capacity. And we are going to have to start triaging people who are less likely to survive to death because of the lack of resources. We cant test enough people. We cant contact trace. I dont know how that makes us prepared. Will you explain the percent positive rate here of tests coming back is now 28 . Can you explain why that is such a Staggering Number and what arizonians should expect over the next week, two weeks . That number indicates to me, i mean, people who get screened may have symptoms. So 28 of people out there probably are actually infected, but there are so many more infected now that its hard to know anyone who doesnt know two or three people in arizona, at least maricopa county, with an infection. This means wherever you go, there risk is even higher. The grocery store, with a regular surgical mask, if youre surrounded by six or seven covid patients, some of them dont even know theyre sick. I mean, the transmission is going to only accelerate unless we do something. Dr. Southwell saying do something. I just talked with the states Arizona Department of Health Services director because the state has not implemented a stayathome order, not shut down restaurants or retail or malls. Theres a lot of question marks about what the state has in store. Katy. And we just saw Vice President pence exit air force two. Hes giving some elbow bumps right now. I just want to go back to what that doctor was saying to you, vaughn, because i feel like we need to underscore it. He says arizona is not prepared. They cannot test. They dont have enough tests. They cant contact trace. And hes saying that they might have to end up triaging patients basically saying here are the patients that we are going to treat because theyre the ones that are more likely to survive. That is dire straits. Some of what we saw in italy during the height of the crisis there. There was worry about that happening here in new york during the height of the crisis here. It is chilling to hear a doctor in arizona say that, as the Vice President is landing in that state to talk about the steps that the governor there has taken to try to combat the virus. Not enough, according to that doctor that theyre not ready. Vaughn hillyard, thanks so much for all of your reporting, and you were right. We did want to hear from that doctor today. And the only states currently seeing a decline in new cases are maryland, new hampshire, and rhode island. Rhode island just moved into phase three of its reopening plan this week. And joining me now is the governor of rhode island, gina raimon raimondo. Thank you for joining us today. Youre on the decline. How are you going to keep it that way . Thank you, katy, for having me. We are on the decline. Were feeling confident, though not complacent now. I think thats what we need to do to make sure we stay on the decline, which is a lot of testing, aggressive Contact Tracing. I have an executive order mandating mask wearing and just staying vigilant. Right now, rhode island has tested more than any other state in the country. We have tested the equivalent of almost 25 of our population. So testing is a big component of what we do. And our test positive rate is less than 2 . So we are you know, we started early. There was no denying in rhode island. We didnt deny. We knew we had a serious issue. We were the first state in america to deploy the National Guard to do testing. And thankfully, our economy has been open for more than a month. Slowly and cautiously, and knock on wood, right now, we continue to see a decline. You also deployed the National Guard to make sure that those who were traveling from outside of your state stayed at home and quarantined. I know youre a small state, your population is not doesnt match a lot of the states in this country. But can other states do what you did effectively in order to make sure that there arent continual spikes because one state takes it more seriously than another state . Absolutely. You know, rhode island was very vulnerable, still is very vulnerable. Were a very densely populated state. And also right in between new york and boston, two incredible hot spots. So we had to take it very seriously. But katy, what youre saying really speaks to the fact that if we had had a National Plan and National Leadership from the federal government, from the get go, we would be in much, much better shape right now as a nation. So you know, yes, of course, if states were doing more testing and Contact Tracing and had access to ppe, every state would be in a better situation. But you know, this president made it very clear from the beginning, governors were on our own. And as a result, you know, our economy as a nation is weaker than it should be, youre seeing patchwork of different results across the country with different states. And what we have really lacked from the beginning is a National Plan, National Leadership, to make sure that every state was in its best possible shape. Whats your advice to arizona, to florida, to texas . Maybe even to california right now . Yeah. You know, my heart goes out to the people of those states. This is a brutal virus. Its taking lives every day. My advice would be to mandate mask wearing. Massively increase your testing. Get into the community for testing. And Contact Tracing. I would say what i say is we have to know were living with this until theres a vaccine. Dont try to fight t dont try to deny it. Do Public Private partnerships, innovate, be aggressive. Because we have to. Its not going away, so we have to be smart and meet the demands that it requires. Is our federalist system a match for this virus . It makes it a challenge. You know, the federalist system in many cases it shows that were being innovative. Here in rhode island, we have been very innovative around Public Private partnerships with Contact Tracing and testing. But there is no question in my mind that as a nation, we are behind where we should be. Economically and dealing with the virus, because we lacked a National Plan and strong National Leadership. Instead of denying the virus for the first several months of this year, if we had had a coordinated federal response with a plan, we would have many fewer people out of work right now, and we would have many fewer spikes that youre seeing in these other states. I feel for these governors, and i know them. And i wish them the best. Rhode island governor gina raimondo, thanks so much for joining us. We wish you all the best, and good luck to you and those in your state. Thank you. This week, the governors of new york and florida extended statewide protections against evictions. But the same cannot be said for much of the rest of the country, even though millions of americans are unemployed and having a really hard time paying their bills. Former hud secretary Julian Castro joins me next to talk about this and the looming crisis. Stay with us. All strength we aint stoppin believe me go straight till the morning look like we wont wait were taking everything we wanted we can do it all strength, no sweat it is july 1st, and for most of us, that means rent or mortgage payments are due to, but for millions of americans, making that payment will be impossible today because theyre not going to work. And theyre not getting paid. More than 1 Million People filed for firsttime Unemployment Benefits for 14 consecutive weeks. Almost every state at some point put a moratorium on evictions or on rent, but as americans fight with covid19 and it stretches into a fifth month, those reprieves have largely ended. To date, only about a half of the country still has those protections in place. That means this month could bring a wave of evictions and the fallout will likely impact minority communities the most. Joining me now is former secretary of housing and urban development, Julian Castro. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for joining us. I just want to get some more of these numbers out there, because theyre staggering. Its estimated that 20 million to 28 million americans, renters, are perilously close to eviction. The heroes act included 100 billion for rent relief. Is that enough to make sure that those millions of americans are able to stay in their homes . Well, i think its a very strong start, katy, and we need to pair that with what you mentioned new york and florida have done, which is extend the eviction moratoriums because you have this confluence of factors that are coming into play here, the fact that that 1200 check that people received is further and further behind in the rear view mirror, it doesnt stretch this long. That these eviction moratoriums are running out in a lot of places, and also, 20 Million People are still out of work. At least 20 million, so we should invest 100 billion in direct rental assistance that the heroes act would include as well as what are known as Emergency Solutions grants that address homelessness in communities across the country, but its going to take more than that, both in terms of dollars and also extending the eviction moratoriums so people are not filed against in court and soon after that finding themselves out on the street or having to double up with relatives, staying in a car, or trying to find shelter somewhere. Just to be clear, the heroes act hasnt passed. Mitch mcconnell, its unclear if he would support Something Like that, 100 billion for rent relief in the next bill. If it doesnt happen, and if 20 million, 28 million americans or even a smaller number of that, a few million americans are kicked out and are evicted from their homes, what would that mean for the larger economy, for the country as a whole . It would be unprecedented in terms of the scope. Were talking about by one estimate you mentioned more than 20 Million People by september that would face eviction. We know that having a stable home is the most important thing that you can have thats connected to being able to go do your job, being able to get a good education, being able to live a good quality of life. So what were talking about all of a sudden, millions of americans not having the stability of a place to live, thats going to affect them in every single way. Kids are not going to be getting the same kind of education they could. Folks are going to lose their job or not be able to look for a job or not get reemployed if they had a job in the first place. You know, in every single way, our country is going to be hurt. So the message out there for policymakers especially for Mitch Mcconnell and his republican colleagues in the senate that are holding up the heroes act, and of course, to the president , is if you want to avert a disaster in this country, where millions of people are out sleeping on the streets, then you better pass the heroes act, and you need to make sure that those eviction moratoriums are in place. Ill also say theres a role for local communities for for states. Some local communities and some states have implemented their own eviction moratoriums. That was the case here in texas for a while. Its not the case anymore. They should follow the example of new york and florida. If this president and if Mitch Mcconnell and his republican colleagues are not going to act, then do what you can, both in terms of direct rental assistance and with an eviction moratorium. Let me ask you one other question before we run out of time, but we would be remiss not to include the demographics here. 50 million renters live in households that suffered covid19 related job or income loss with 40 occurring in lowincome households. So like so much else, this virus has preyed more heavily upon the most vulnerable among us. I had your fellow texan, beto orourke, on the show last week. And he was saying part of the reason why the crisis isnt as urgently felt by lawmakers at the top is because of who its disproportionately affecting. I put that to you. Do you think that who this is affecting is making a crisis like this, a housing crisis like this, less urgent for some members of congress . Oh, i have no doubt. I think that a lot of those folks like Mitch Mcconnell and others that are holding this up, they dont see it as their problem. They dont see it as a problem constituents. I tell you what, as hud secretary i traveled throughout this country. Its true this crisis is going to affect black and brown communities to a great can extent but it affects everyone. If those essential tors look into the fact, impacted by a housing crisis thats happening right now, the truth is, theyve been for a while. We had an affordability crisis before this pandemic and, you know, if we dont do something its going the get much worse. That dynamic youre talking about policymakers not caring enough about this issue, some policymakers, yeah, because these folks are lower income, disproportionately people of color, they dont have the political power or sway with a big lobby group and giving thousands and thousands of dollars in contributions, so that means that its incumbent among americans out there who care, who can use their voice, if theyre affected or just concerned about the issue to be active, to make sure that you let your senators and your congressional representatives to know why this is important to act on. Former hud secretary and 2020 president ial candidate, Julian Castro. Thank you so much. We appreciate your time. Thanks a lot, kat. Still ahead the president will celebrate the fourth at mt. Rushmore but it comes as the monument faces renewed criticism over its racist past, thats next. Next President Trump plans to celebrate Independence Day weekend with a showy display at mt. Rushmore, the friday event is slated to include fighter jets and the first fireworks display in black hills since 2009. It coind sides with the toppling of monuments. According to many native americans and activists mt. Rush more should be one of them. The president of local activist organization, ndna collective, one of several activists planning to protest the president s mt. Rushmore visit. Thank you so much for joining us. Tell us why you feel this way about mt. Rushmore. Well, mt. Rushmore is stolen land from Indigenous People and its a symbolizes of white s supremacy and structural racism. They stole this land from us as Indigenous People and then carved the faces of four white men who were clonizers who contributed to the genocide of Indigenous People. One of the fundamental symbols of White Supremacy here in america. The fact that the president is coming here is showing one of the narratives hes perpetuating im sorry to interrupt, what do you think should happen to the site . We believe that mt. Rushmore should be closed as a national monument. Would you go ahead. In the act of the White Supremacy of the dismantling we have to shift the power and so because decisionmaking, selfdetermination of people has been taken from us throughout time we have to reclaim that power and so its about shifting closing the monument and shifting the control of this land that was stolen from native people back into the hands of native people for us to decide what to do with the future of it. Nick tilson, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you. And that will do it for me today. Ill see you back here at 5 00 p. M. Eastern for meet the press daily. Dont go anywhere, Nicolle Wallace picks up our coverage after a quick break. After a quick break. 9. 95. Whats with all the 9. 95 notes . I thought youd never ask. Its about a Life Insurance plan with options starting at 9. 95 a month. Been seeing it on tv. We talked about getting more Life Insurance. Remember how much your brothers funeral cost . Yeah, his funeral expenses were a real eyeopener. North of 8,500. Exactly. man what do you like about this insurance . The 9. 95 price, and best of all, itll never go up. man but we could get it at our age with my medical history . I feel 25 here and here, but the mirror says otherwise. Dont worry. We cant be turned down for any health reason. I think we should call to see for ourselves, dont you . Makes sense to me, lets call. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about colonial penns number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan. 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Ask, shop, discover at your local xfinity store today. Hi, everyone. Im Nicolle Wallace. Its 3 00 p. M. In the east. 12 noon out west. Brian williams is taking some well deserved time off this week the Trump White House enters the second half of 2020 enveloped in two major crises, which they appear that have no control. First is the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 129,000 americans have now lost their lives to the virus and another 2. 6 million have been sickened by it. The United States reported a record high of 47,000 new infections just yesterday. Most attributed to the spike in cases in the south and west. That number of new infections is well above what we saw during what we thought was the peak in march and april. Arizona along with california, florida and texas, make up roughly half of all the new cases reported yesterday. Heres what Texas Governor greg abbott to abbott said about the spike in his state. Were not dealing with pockets of growth of covid instead were dealing with community spread. I think people had covid fatigue. They had done such a good job of slowing the spread, they felt a sense of celebration and it led to an increase of people coming into close contact with each other, we need to go back to those best practices of wearing a mask, maintaining safe distances and sanitizing your hands. A surge in the case that a new poll finds that nearly two of he thirds of americans are more concerned that states are lifting restrictions too quickly. Health officials now urging people to limit their july 4th plans with some states closing beaches in some towns and cities cancelling firework displays and other celebrations. President trump has tried to down play the Coronavirus Crisis and the other crisis facing his white house. At this hour, director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is briefing the Senate Intel Committee on reports that russia offered to pay bounties to talibanlinked militants to kill american troops. One day before the administration is set to brief the gang of eight which consists of the leaders of both parties in the house and senate along with the leaders of the house and Senate Intel Committees. Despite those officials briefings, the president tweeted again today that the reports are a hoax. Designed to damage him and the republican party. While the president makes it about himself and calls the allegations a hoax, theres new evidence that appears to support their credibility. The New York Times reports that the u. S. Intelligence intercepted data from large sums of money from a account controlled by russian intelligenagency. Joining us is Frank Figliuzzi and yamiche alcindor. Yamiche, let me start with you, the White House Landing on this bizarre insistence on litigating the correct redibility on the i. He was briefed through his pdb in late february. Its pretty incredible, the president has decided the way to try to defend himself against allegations and its pretty clear that he didnt take this seriously enough is to call it all a hoax, that flies in the face of the fact that his own administration is briefing lawmakers on this information, it also flies in the face also that the the New York Times this issue, this intelligence that russia was paying bounties to kill u. S. Soldiers was included in the Daily Briefing before he signed this paeeace dl with the taliban. You have family of the military including a father of young man who was killed in afghanistan, demanding answers from the u. S. Government because everyone including of course these military families are wondering what the United States is going to do if this turns out to be true. Frank, i dare this president to look a Family Member grieving the most horrific loss and call it a hoax, i mean, ive lost the thread on his stupidity. Do we have a president on his fourth year as the countrys commander in chief doesnt understand what intel is, theyre all leads until the explosions go off, until the bombs go off, this says something really, really scary about his fundamental lack of understanding what the intelligence product is and does. This piece of intelligence, nicolle s no more a hoax than the covid virus was a hoax. To admit that this was in his pdb understand would to be admit incompetence, to reveal all of the issues once again between him and vladimir putin. Lets be absolutely clear here, this is not a hoax, the Intelligence Community has all but said that this is briefed. Were continuing to work on this. His own secretary of state, mike pompeo, has said we are working on this. This is not new information. Russia is the adversary on this. So, were playing a game here sh where pompeo is enabling the president to continue these lies while trying to have it both ways. Yeah, we got an issue here, were working here, hes really tough on russia, at the same moment the president tweeting this is a hoax. You cant have it both ways. Lets put trump aside for a moment and the guy walking behind him cleaning up the mess today, mike pompeo. My colleague Kristen Welker spoke with the family of Corporal Robert hendricks. Heres what she said. It would break my heart if this was known and one once of blood was spilled and the government didnt let these soldiers know there was an extra threat. Went on to say, why hasnt anybody called me or my exwife to settle us . Isnt it enough the hell were going through that no one has come forward with anything at all . Its really horrible. I just want to really specifically ask both of you about this question, because im told by a former Senior Pentagon official that it would appear that the military did take this seriously and did act on the intel from the Intelligence Community for the purpose of forced protection. Do we know if thats true . Do we have the pentagon at odds with white house fact pattern . What i can say, when you hear the quote from that father and you hear the idea that not only is hes saying breaking his heart hes putting himself in the shoes of his son, i wanted to make sure that my son knew everything that he could have known to keep himself safe and keep his fellow Service People safe. The question that will count to haunt President Trump. These military families serve really invisibly because their loved ones are out and serving the country but also when they lose their loved ones we dont have the fanfare and the funeralses that we once had in other generations. I have talked to so many families who feel lonely and feel their country has abandoned them in mourning the loss of their loved one. Heres a father saying, can you give me a call . The federal government. So far the father isnt getting that. Frank, lets hear i think these are the most important voices and really the only ones that should matter to anyone in this country . Another parent whose son was killed last july. Heres what she had to say. Id like someone to be held accountable for this. You know, my concern is, you know, the men and women that were over there last year, and that are still over there right now, you know, is this still a continual threat for them and, you know id like to know if the white house was informed, if they really did know about this. Why wasnt anything done or precautions taken . Frank, to that grieving mothers point, i mean, she puts it better than any of us have. What has been done . What has been done, President Trump continues to service putins Foreign Policy agenda. Yeah, look, the most important thing a president can get done in any given day is to simply absorb his intelligence briefing. So the fact that he can or cannot read the printed word is irreal valevant here. The Intel Community is expected it to him in a way he can absorb. The Family Members needs to understand, the buck has to stop on the resolute desk because the president s most important task on daily basis is not getting done. More important than sitting in bed and watching fox and friends while you polish off last nights cheese burger remains. More important than where youre going the play golf this weekend. Its matter of National Security. Picking up the phone on this intelligence and calling putin and saying, were on to you, we understand the large cash, were seeing trends, Wire Transfer of funds to the taliban, stop it. That could have saved a life or two and that was not done. A life or two would be the difference in the lives of so many, its remarkable that wasnt done. Explain to me why the spokesperson for the president took to the podium with the world watching and said, the president is able to read. That happened because White House Press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany has to defend the president doing his job. No president wants to see, his White House Press secretary had to say, yes, the president does read and by the way, hes the most informed person on the planet. Just being able to have to say that, proves the point that youre in a place that you shouldnt have to be defending that. What it also underscores the president is in this place where everything is kind of going awry. You have this russia bounty story, a virus thats surging around the United States with the president saying he doesnt want to he doesnt think people should be required to wear mask. A protest movement, people are demanding some sort of Racial Justice in this country and the president instead is lashing out at protesters, saying theyre domestic terrorists. The president is in a tough position right now ahead of this 2020 election. Its an amazing point, yamiche, in the span of ten days, i covered the tulsa rally, he said i can walk, i can drink and the press secretary has had to say he can read. Thank you for spending time the with us. Coming up at the top of hour at 4 00 senator Kamala Harris will join us fresh off that senate Intelligence Committee briefing on the russia bounty paid to taliban militants. Well be speaking to House Speaker nancy pelosi. When we return, the other crisis, the Trump White House is struggling to contain, the country inching its way to dr. Faucis grimmest forecast of 100,000 cases of each day. Later, its july 1st. Yep, in case you didnt know it, but the new school year is just around the corner and with the pandemic surging there are huge Unanswered Questions about what back to school looks like. [narrator] did you just reward yourself for spending a perfectly reasonable amount of time on the couch with tacos from grubhub . Grubhubs gonna reward you for that with a 5 off perk. doorbell rings [crowd] grubhub fireworks exploding just between us, you know whats better than mopping . Anything at the end of a long day, its the last thing i want to do. Well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. Its an allinone so its ready to go when i am. The cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. And the pad absorbs it deep inside. So, it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. Plus, its safe to use on all my floors, even wood. Glad i got that off my chest and the day off my floor. Try wet jet with a moneyback guarantee because now you can expewatch all your favorite hulu shows and movies on xfinity. Youre only a voice command away from Award Winning shows like the handmaids tale, to new hits like little fires everywhere. And fx originals you can only watch on hulu. Thats just the beginning of what you can experience with hulu on xfinity. Tv made simple, easy, awesome. We keep seeing patients die. We keep losing our patients. We see very little progress in healing. Were also seeing a lot of complications in our patients. Were all scared. Were all trying to do our part. Whats scary now is that people are starting to be deceitful with their coronavirus results. You can feel fine, theyre going out in public and giving it to people. You can wipe out an entire floor of doctors, nurses, you can wipe us all out. Healthcare workers on the front lines of a surge in new cases across the south and west, as the country continues to break the worst kind of records. New records every day. In the fight against coronavirus. Here are the latest facts as we know them at this hour the numbers as we reported at the top of the hour are staggering. More than 2. 6 million cases of covid across the nation. Nearly 129,000 american lives lost. In the pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down. Its the opposite. New cases have surge 80 over the past two weeks. Right now, Texas Medical Center is reporting that intensive care unit beds in the houston area has reached 102 capacity. A nightmare scenario for Healthcare Providers in the region. Given the spike in cases nationwide, the new york mayor announced this morning that new York City Restaurants will not be permitted to serve patrons indoors this coming monday. One day after a similar announcement from new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy who said Indoor Dining will be prohibited until further notice. Joining us now is nbcs jo ling kent. Im one of the people whos actually confounded by how badly californias being walloped. My familys in california. They were under lockdown orders before i was in new york city, what do they think is going on and how bad is it . Reporter well the nurses ive been talking to are saying they believe this is happening because there have been the loosening and the reopening of the state. And as a result, governor gavin newsom right now is giving a press conference in which hes actually saying that in 19 counties including here in riverside county, theyre now being ordered effectively immediately closed their indoor operations of restaurants, wineries, Family Entertainment centers, they also have to close all bars in their entirety in all of these 19 counties. You can see the reclosure happening very quickly. Apple stores, lot of those stores in the l. A. Area also reclosing for the first time. Now this comes as Health Care Professionals tell us that they are bracing for what they believe is a continuation of a surge, i just interviewed the chief nursing officer here at Riverside Community hospital and shes talking about what theyre doing in preparation including ppe and preserving that, getting ready for what theyre bracing for here and heres what she just told me a few hours ago. Were very concerned. Concerned. I think the Healthcare Providers across the nation are tired. Were going to be there for everybody. Well take care of everybody. But we just would really ask for everyones benefit that everyone be smart. Reporter now, the thing that she means there by being smart, wearing your mask, not gathering with family or friends that you dont live with. This comes as 6,000 people have now died of covid19 here in california, 227,000 cases and growing. Nicolle . Nbcs jo ling kent. Thank you. Joining our conversation is an Infectious Disease physician, Boston University school of medicine. Also with us is our friend sam stein. Doctor, what is the fork in the road for us now . Are we really looking at looking at people who stayed at home for three months, followed those laws, sending them back home if they started to inch out, or do you think were looking at legislating or mandating or looking to strengthen our ability to force people to wear masks and social distance . Nicolle, i think probably has to be a combination of those two. W. H. O. Said 60 of all of the cumulative cases have occurred in the last month in this pandemic. This is accelerating. Majority of those cases that are occurring in the United States the 40,000 are actually coming from the states that you mentioned arizona, florida, california, texas. And so, you know, when its got to be a strategy where you have to have requirequire mask. Think about the fact here in the northeast when we reached the kind of capacity youre seeing in california and in florida we were already locked down for a couple of weeks and then thats when the peak came, we made the space and then the peak came. When you look at florida and the fact that youre going into fourth of july weekend and Governor Desantis hasnt closed down the bars and the Indoor Dining. Id urge the governor to plan for the hospitalizations that hes seeing now that hell see in two weeks, it requires, you know, places like florida, places like texas and california, it requires things like mask mandates at this point because youre seeing people let down their guard, they came out lot of lockdown, those mandates will help insert of cultural evolution, we cant go back to normal. The new normal has to be careful for our own health and being careful around us. So the biggest things that we can do aside from those mandates is to keep messaging the fact that, you know, we dont have to stay indoors. You can do Outdoor Activities with smaller groups with masks on and still be healthy. Its the bars, we have seen this over and over again, the Indoor Dining thats driving all this stuff, these gatherings. We have to do hit both the heart and minds of people as well as legislation late health sam stein, when i flip through social media and i see the picture of our failure, i stop everything and i click in and i go deep into the tabs of our spike and i try to understand the vasriables that make us different, i wonder if we ered. We have had conversations for more than three years the power that Donald Trump Holds over his base the cultlike figure for the people who believe him and not Law Enforcement or intelligence agencies and is the storys playing out in realtime around the intel and the pdb about russianpaid bounties but i wonder if we underestimated the sway he had as a cultlike figure over millions of people who saw him not wear a mask, who heard him talk about cleaning the lungs, for some people almost more closely associated with comedian sarah cooper. These were his utterances that put the spike on the map. Im torn about this. On the one hand, he was clearly late to the game. He talked continuously about the virus vanishing in warm weather, going away naturally. Hes talked about how testing is a doubleedged sword in the medical professional Community Knows its not and hes pushed the country to reopen really quickly. So that has contributed to the climate we find ourselves in. On the flip side, you look at some of these Public Opinion polls and a good swath, a majority of the country still values the idea of Public Safety over quick economic resolution. They still are supportive of people wearing their masks in large numbers. Theyre still anxious about reopening society too quickly. The country basically has stayed remarkably consistent on the side of the Public Health experts for five, six months now in the middle of intense and immense personal sacrifice. The question is, could we have done more . Obviously, should we have done more if trump had been with them through the whole time . If he had urged people to keep social distancing, talked about the virus in realistic terms and if he had put on mask and sent a signal to his supporters, what you see right now the mask has become this emblem of a political fight. We could have saved lives if we wore masks earlier. I celebrate anybody coming to mask advocacy at any point in a global pandemic. But it counts as news that Mitch Mcconnell and other republicans are doing so. I mean, did they not care when the virus threatened blue states and they care because whats the excuse . I think you hit it on the head. It shouldnt be news, this is science. They should have been there from the beginning. Obviously, it gets to your first question, which is everything in the age of trump is through the prism of politics, partisanship and trumpism. And early on, the president set a tempo in which you didnt wear a mask. You didnt look good. It wasnt manly or was a sign of, you know, your personal freedom, your antigovernment philosophy to not wear a mask. If you go even deeper on the internet and look at some of these dark corners of the web that are sort of the trump outlets here, massive conspiracy theories about what masks are for, its government control, its bill gates. When you have republican officials looking at this, fearful of course of the wrath of trump, they are going to be hesitant and its a sad commentary that its taken them this long fto come around. Doctor, sam stein, thank you so much for spending time with us. If you have questions about coronavirus, my colleague craig melvin will be answering them at the 11 00 a. M. Eastern hour here on msnbc. Craig will put those questions to his panel of experts. When we return on the ground in arizona, eight days after donald trump held an indoor rally with his mostly unmasked fans, the coronavirus is surging there. That story next. That story next. Can my side be firm . And my side super soft . Yes, with the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. Come on pup, time to go. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet but can it help keep me asleep . 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