Welcome to mondays meet the press daily im Steve Kornacki in for chuck todd. With 43 days to go before the election, President Trump vowing to move quickly to confirm the president s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died on friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. Her final words were reported to be, quote, my most fervent wish is that i will not be replaced until a new president is installed. This morning President Trump affirmed his intention to nominate a new justice and to push the senate for confirmation as soon as possible. Im looking at five, probably four. But im looking at five very seriously. Im going to make a decision on either friday or saturday. I will announce it either friday or saturday. And then the work begins. We should act quickly because were going to have probably election things involved here, you know, because of the fake ballots that theyll be sending out. So, you do believe that this vote should happen before november 3rd . Yeah, i think it should go very quickly. Now, two Senate RepublicansLisa Murkowski of alaska and Susan Collins of maine say that they will not support a confirmation vote before the election. But two more republicans would still have to break ranks to stop that vote from happening. Senate republicans are also weighing the potential risks and rewards of waiting for a vote until after the election. So that they could campaign on the issue. Although it is unclear which party is more fired up about this issue right now. Were going to have more on all the numbers we see on that front in just a moment. Democrats, meanwhile, are vowing a brutal fight. Some even talking about a socalled armageddon option to pack the court if they can win back the presidency and the senate this november. Democratic leaders in congress arent ruling anything out. We first have to win the majority before that can happen. But once we win the majority, god willing, everything is on the table. Youre not taking any arrows of our your quiver and youre not ruling anything out . Protecting our democracy requires us to use every arrow in our quiver. In both trump and biden are hitting the campaign trail today. This after events over the weekend where the court fight took center stage. The last thing we need is to add a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss and deeper into the darkness. If we go down this path, i predict it will cause irreversible damage. The infection this president has unleashed on our democracy can be failed. Enough. Lets get to the latest now joining me now outside the white house shannon and down pennsylvania avenue nbcs Garrett Haake is on capitol hill. Also with us the Washington PostPhilip Rucker and msnbc political analyst. Thanks to all of you for being with us. Shannon, let me start with you. So, the president making it clear he wants to go forward and he wants the senate to go forward talking about trying to do this before the election. There is this question of who he will nominate for this seat. What are you hearing on that front . Well, despite the president saying he has four, five names our indicating really reports that it is down to two. Amy coney barrett. She is a favorite among conservatives and do great at rileying up the base and one of the culture war figures almost. And then Barbara Lagoa is a bit of a newer name on the scene. But the president s advisors have pushed for her because she is cuban american and she is from florida and they have argued that politically that could help hemim in a state tha is expected to be very close. A lot of efforts being under way in florida to help trump boost his numbers among hispanics particularly among cuban. Were also being told the white house is planning to do another primetime address type style event like they did with gorsuch when the president does have a name and im told outside advisors are pushing the white house to move quickly on naming someone because they want to get this conversation not about a vacant seat and whether it should be filled, but they want the conversation about a specific person. They feel if they have a name and a face and a record they can put out there that is dpogoing help them get someone nominated whether this is a theoretical talk about how and when a seat could be filled. The president saying he could name someone on friday or saturday a few minutes before the president made those comments press secretary said that a name could be put out there on wednesday. Earlier this week i was told that something, im sorry over the weekend that is, a name could come as early as tuesday. So, some uncertainty on when this will be announced. Lets go over to capitol hill and Garrett Haake is there and look at the situation and, garrett we put some of the numbers there. Two republicans right now. Murkowski, collins saying, hey, trump is going to nominate somebody and there wont be and we wont support a vote before the election on this. If four republicans take that position, then they wouldnt have the votes, it would appear. The prospects of two additional republicans saying what murkowski and collins are saying. What are you hearing on that front . This rule of four is familiar to anyone paying attention during impeachment. I have a hard time seeing how democrats get the two additional votes they need. The universe of people who might break with Mitch Mcconnell and break with the president on something as important to the Republican Base as a Supreme Court nominee is vanishing small. Were watching three senators who havent committed yet which way they would go. Cory gardner in a tough reelection fight in colorado. Although hes proven time and time again hes unlikely to break with the president. Chuck grassley the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee and you think an unlikely choice here. This was a theoretical discussion as early as last week. He was saying perhaps not best to move forward this close to the election. Im watching him and then mitt romney who is a complete sion ts and on the one hand he voted to remove this president from office but on the other hand and i think this links back up with shannons reporting. I can also imagine a world in which he is impressed by a conservative nominee that is put forward and says something to the like, you know, i dont know if i would have liked to have done it this soon, but i like that persons credentials and i would like to move forward. Romney is not going to comment one way or the other on this until he discusses with mcconnell and his republican colleagues probably tuesday afternoon lunch that we report on. Hes an interesting x factor even if democrats get him on their side, they are missing that one vote. Tough for democrats to block this nomination. Philip rucker in terms of, again, the timing here. The timing of the vote. The president talking about trying to do this before the election. You saw some theories floating around over the weekend. Hey, maybe for republicans theres an advantage of dangling the prospect of a vote to try to sort of excite their base and then do it after the election. In terms of the thinking of the president saying lets do this before the election, what are the calculations youre hearing about on that front . Well, steve, there are a number of calculations that the president and his team are making, including sort of what the Senate Procedure would allow for in terms of the speedy time table and some of the political gaming out scenarios tat you were alluding to. The president was very clear this morning that he wants this vote to happen before the election and informing that drive to do it quickly is all the uncertainty that could come after the election. Lets say trump loses on november 3rd and or the republicans lose their Senate Majority. Suddenly in the lame duck session even though republicans would have the majority during that period, the political environment could be very different. And it could be hard for Mitch Mcconnell to gather the votes in the senate that he needs to, you know, effectively overrule the will of the people after the election. So, the president , mcconnell, their best most riskfree way to get this court picked through is to do it before the election and i think thats why youre seeing them move with such urgency these last few days to start to line things up and to get a name out there in the next couple of days. We mentioned Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski each coming out and making these statements. When they did that it provoked a response from the president this morning. Would you take a listen to what the president had to say about these two republicans. Take a look at this. I think Susan Collins is very badly hurt by her statement yesterday and i think, i think murkowski is very badly hurt and she doesnt run for two years. But i think this will follow her. Nobodys ever done so much for so little with murkowski. Nobodys ever done so much for little. I think shell be really hurt badly in two years and i think that Susan Collins is going to be hurt very badly. Her people arent going to take this. People are not going to take it. Here with the Susan Collins bit there i think is interesting because, look, shes running for reelection, as you mention. An uphill fight in maine and you mention cory gardner, colorado and Martha Mcsally in arizona and couple senators republicans in tough reelection races. Watching collins take this position and now take some heat from the president , what do they draw from that in terms of a lesson . Look, i mean, collins is probably the single toughest spot of any of these republican senators running for reelection. If she opposes the president here she alienates the supporters and if she goes along with him on another Supreme Court justice after backing Brett Kavanaugh the last go around she might turn off any of the independent voters she left. She is in a very small box here. But if she loses this race and donald trump is reelected to be president , hell miss her when shes gone. The Senate Majority is such a fragile thing here for this presidency. For him to be out trashing Susan Collins or at Lisa Murkowski who remains the chair person of a powerful committee and still be in the senate for two more years. Political risk for the president who doesnt think he needs lawmakers if youre on capitol hill until he really does. All right, Garrett Haake on capitol hill. Shannon pettypiece, Philip Rucker, thank you for being with us. Appreciate that. For more on this fight in the senate and what it means just 43 days now and counting im joined by Chris Van Holland and the chair of the campaign committee. Senator, thank you for joining us. I dont know if you were listening there, but we were going through some of the math. On paper republicans at least right now thaeir theretically h votes to get through and you need to get to four. We played nancy pelosi the House Speaker saying democrats have to use every arrow in their quiver. What do you, what can you do . What can democrats do given that republicans are the ones who have majority in the senate right now . Anything that democrats can do to stop this from happening . Well, steve, its good to be with you. Two things. First, we will use every procedural opportunity before us to block this abuse of power. As you know in the senate, that mostly relates to the timetable. So, we will turn over every stone in that effort. Second, we havent given up at all on getting another two republican senators to come out and do the right thing. You named a number of those senators. And the message really is what joe biden delivered the other day. Which is what republicans are saying is that in the middle of this covid19 pandemic, in the middle of this health care crisis, republican senators top priority is not providing emergency relief, but is to pack the court with right wing justices whose first order of business is going to be to destroy the Affordable Care act. Thats the hearing in mid november before the Supreme Court. That will undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions, which are important any time. But, of course, very important during covid19. So, republican senators need to think very carefully about the message theyre sending to the American People in this vote. You used that term a minute ago in abuse of power here. What you say republicans are trying to do. I want to put up what you said four years ago when president obama nominated merit garland and this was during the to 16 campaign republicans, of course, refused to move on this in the senate. You said then that majority leader mcconnell and the senate Judiciary Committee must schedule a hearing and allow a timely up or down vote on the president s nominee. Anything less would be a total abdication of the responsibilities. Why wouldnt that apply here . Well, steve, as you know, the senate is a place of tradition and rules that are often established by precedent and not all those rules are written into the Senate Rule Book. And what Mitch Mcconnell did when he blocked garland and i stand by my statement before. But what he did by taking that position is establish a precedent for the United States senate that we should not move forward with Supreme Court nominees in the middle of an election year. So, he established that precedent. I may not have liked it at the time, but now hes saying that what was good for a democratic president no longer holds for a republican president. When you start just throwing out the rules and principles that are established in the senate, it does become a total free for all. So how does that work Going Forward because theres a lot of conversation here already about what decisions being made right now and what effect they could have on the next president if joe biden is elected, if youre talking about this precedent that was set, youre saying, by mcconnell in 2016. Does that mean that President Joe Biden in 2024 shouldnt make any Supreme Court nomination . Oh, what im saying is that by changing these rules and making one set of rules for republican president s and a different one for democratic president s. What theyve done essentially is throw out that rule book. And they need to be very wary that, you know, there are other senate rules that are at stake when you start opening this up for a free for all. Again, our focus right now in the coming days, steve, is to block the abuse of power this time. Right now. To get another two republican senators to do what Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have done. But they should consider not just the message theyre sending about destroying the Affordable Care act, but potential consequences down the road in the United States senate. Again, focusing now on stopping the abuse of power now, but all of these need to be things that people are considering as they weigh their decisions. Youre talking there and you say potential consequences down the road. I want to put this up from one of your colleagues. Senator ed markey from massachusetts. This is what he said on friday. He put some specifics there. Mitch mcconnell set the precedent no Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year. If he violates when democrats control the senate in the next congress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the court. Are those the consequences youre talking about if the republicans put through a Supreme Court justice right now, something youre saying would be an abuse of power. Do you say democrats, if they get back the senate in this election in november, should then expand and move to expand the Supreme Court . Steve, what im saying is that our focus is the coming days is to block this abuse of power. Thats our focus. If for some reason were not successful in doing that as others have said, everything will be on the table as we go forward. And republican senators making up their minds at this moment, again, need not only consider the terrible message theyre sending to middle of a covid19 crisis that theyre willing to move forward on this issue and ignore Everything Else including the 200,000 americans who are now dead by covid19, but that they are just opening up the entire Senate Rule BookGoing Forward. All right. Senator chris van hollen, democrat from maryland. Thank you for taking a few minutes. Good to be with you, steve. Ahead, the high stakes we are talking about here over the high court. How the battle over the next justice is mobilizing both sides ahead of election day. Well head over to the big board right after this. But, first, weve also learned some new details to relay to you about the memorial plans for justice ginsburg. She is going to lie in repose under the Supreme Court on wednesday and thursday. Members of the public will be able to pay respects outside of that building due to covid19. House Speaker Nancy PelosiJust Announced that the justice will lie in state at the capital statuary hall. That makes her the first woman ever given that honor. A private Burial Service will take place next week at Arlington National cemetery. Before we go to break, heres justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her own words. The progress i have seen in my lifetime makes me optimistic for the future. And if you look at things over the long haul, we have come a long way from how it once was. It is by far the best and the hardest job ive ever had. And it takes a lot of energy. And staying power to do it right. I think its important to realize that law is not some kind of abstract exercise. It affects real people. When the time comes, what would you like to be remembered for . Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability and to help repair tears in her society. Weve often wondered what keeps the world running. Economics . Algorithms . Magic . Turns out, its you. Doing your thing. Dreaming dreams. Building new worlds. Its why we built our workspace technology. To help you do your best work and to see what you can become. Youre made for bigger things. And to see he used to have gum problems. Now, he uses therabreath healthy gums oral rinse with clinicallyproven ingredients and his gum problems have vanished. crowd applauding therabreath, its a better mouthwash. At walmart, target and other fine stores. I feel good i knew that i would, now i feel good get a dozen double crunch shrimp for one dollar with any steak entree. Only at applebees. More dangerous and corrupt president than trump. Hes harming our basic values, giving rise to hate, and hes selling out america to big corporations. Im working to protect immigrants, women, communities of color, and lgbtq people. And im making corporations like pg e and Insurance Companies play by our rules. We need experienced leadership to wipe away trumps stain on america for good. Were back. All sorts of talk here 43 days before the election about how the seat occupied by Ruth Bader Ginsburg until her death on friday. How that vacancy and the president s vow to appoint, to nominate a successor and to push for a senate vote how it could affect the election. So, a couple numbers we can show you here. Well, there you go. You can see it already. 2016 to 2020. What this is. This was a pew poll and they askask ed about Supreme Court appointments. The question was asked in 2016. For democrats in 2016 the number was 62 and in 2020, its actually ticked up. 66 . So, democrats, the percentage of democratic voters in four years saying that Supreme Court appointments that, again, this was taken this summer. This was before Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death. That number has ticked up slightly. That is more significant when you look at whats happened on the republican side in that same time. Take a look at this. Republicans, the number actually went down. So in 2016 you see 70 of republicans compared to 62 of democrats say that Supreme Court appointments were a very important issue now at least before ginsburgs death and the vacancy caused by it. It was democrats by a 6661 margin more likely to say it was a very important issue. So, the centrality of Supreme Court nominations to the parties, it is democratic voters at least according to this poll. Its a little bit more on their minds at least, again, before this current fight. You saw the implications of this in 2016. I think we can show you on election day in 2016. Folks who said the Supreme Court vacancy, remember in 16 this was scalias seat and folks who said this was the most important issue to them decisively here a 15point margin went for trump over clinton. Voters who werent in this category clinton actually won but it was something who said the number one issue to them in 2016 was a Supreme Court nomination. They were trump voters in 2016. Thats where the sense out there a lot when youre talking Supreme Court nominations and youre talking Supreme Court politics, that is an issue that really animates and galvanizes the Republican Base and a lot has to do with what we saw in 2016. But, again, some suggestion in the numbers, again, at least before this current fight took off in the last couple days. Theres been some suggestion in the numbers that over the last couple years in the trump era through two Supreme Court fights during the Trump Presidency that democrats have become more animated by this. Also, there is this. We can show you here. Look in 2016, folks were asked, excuse me, right now folks were asked who do you trust to do a better job appointing a Supreme Court justice. 5245 biden over trump and an advantage there for biden. I put these both up here and say keep in mind in 2016 when we were asking these questions, who do you trust more . Who do you think would be better when it comes to making Supreme Court appointments. We did see on that big picture broad question, led on the Supreme Court questions in 2016. Biden has that advantage over trump right now. So, the question there really becomes one of who is most motivated. Who is most animated by it . The answer in 2016 was republicans. The answer in 2020 at least right now is not so clear. Signs that democrats are more energized and now that we have this news and now that this fight is breaking out, what is the effect going to be on both parties . Thats something were going to be looking at. Were looking at here, again, the question of this election. What it is going to mean on election day and how that is going to shape a potential vote before the election. But theres also the question of what happens after the election. Because what if there is not a vote before election day. What if this nomination when trump announces his appointment, what if the nomination does not go through before the election. Would there be a lame duck confirmation . On that front, heres an interesting angle we can talk to vaughn hillyard. Martha mcsally the republican. The issue here of a lame duck confirmation potentially if mark kelly wins that senate race, could really scramble what happens after the election. Take us through that. Exactly. Forward this confirmation process, steve, they need four republicans it looks like. Thats if mark kelly, though, is sworn into office. He wont be sworn in with other senators in january. He would actually be sworn in early because this in arizona is technically a special election to fill the seat thats vacated by john mccain. The senate would have to wait for the official results here in arizona to be certified. That certification day, november 30th. So mark kelly if he were to beat Martha Mcsally in arizona could be sworn in as early as november 30th which addscconnell and theo get this confirmation prosmoces moving. And thats why this senate race here already had eyes here but now with this added element to it, this is a whole other ball game. I want you to listen to a few voters here who we talked to across phoenix over the last couple hours. You can play the hypocrisy card all day long, i think, if they try to push somebody through. But i think the best approach is just hope that enough republicans in the senate or, you know, take a stand and they wont be able to get it through until after the election. Just like last time. I never liked the fact that for the last year of any president s term that theyre trying to push something in and push their agenda and push this. I also like a Supreme Court that is a little more balanced. Slowly so that the change is effective and it is the right change. And right now its just polarized opposites just making changes to benefit their power and its wrong. On both sides. Steve, even for us who have this as our job every day tracking this, the story of the Supreme Court battle in the lower court dating back to mcconnell and harry reid is a complicated one. Every voter we talked to was aware of rgbs passing in this confirmation battle that is about to take place here in the country. If the democrats want to make the sell that in potentially 20 21 they would add more because even democrats were hesitant at that idea. Vaughn hillyard, a state were going to be talking about a lot in the days and weeks ahead. Ahead, President Trump and joe biden take their cases to two major battleground states today. How the fight over Supreme Court justice is taking center stage in wisconsin and ohio. And advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. 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With the political fight over the Supreme Court intensifying inside the beltway, President Trump and joe biden will be campaigning in two of the most hotly contested battleground states. The president is going to be leaving in a few hours from now for ohio. He will have a pair of events in dayton and then near toledo. Biden, meanwhile, is on his way to wisconsin right now. And while leaders in his party are warning of a socalled armageddon option if senate and Republican Leaders vote and confirm trumps Supreme Court pick before november. Biden is urging republicans to deescalate the situation. We need to deescalate. Not escalate. Thats why i appeal to those few Senate Republicans, the handful who really will decide what happens. Please follow your conscious. Dont vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and senator mcconnell have created. We cant keep rewriting history and scrambling norms and ignoring our cherished system with checks and balances. And nbcs sam brock is live and well start with you. I was looking at a map and i think its about halfway betweentbetween s and if republicans go forward and put this nomination through, hes saying, all options on the table next year. You have a lot of democratic aligned groups that want a very aggressive posture from the party here. What is biden . What is the candidate himself trying to project in this . What is his message here . Well, steve, Vice President biden will land and i have been practicing all morning manitowoc. We heard from Vice President biden in that speech yesterday in philadelphia when he wanted to cool the flames and he had the appeal and allow the next president whoever is elected in november to allow that president to be the one to appoint and fill this vacant seat and thats what the Vice President has been focused on. He has notably avoided the suggestion that you have seen from some more of the activists in the party and the left than the base of the party, i should say, that have been calling for more drastic measures or have been calling for him to detail those more drastic measures. He said he and he recommitted to appointing a black woman and even that would be the result of bipartisan input that he would seek from his senate colleagues. So, that is how he is framing it right now. But just get a sense of the tension that you have with Vice President biden. One, acknowledging that the Supreme Court vacancy is going to drive the day and drive the political news there and also him wanting to stay on message. Aides say his speech here will be focused on the economy, coronavirus and the u. S. Crossing the 200,000 deaths mark and here in wisconsin, they Just Announced the Record Number of cases just on friday. So, its a serious issue. Still going on here in wisconsin and youll also hear him talk about that populous message that we heard him increasing just last week. That scranton versus park ave and talking about his economic policies there. You see he wants to continue that message that we heard him doing, that economic message and hes going to have to contend with the Supreme Court battle both the nomination and the process taking up much of the political oxygen. Steve . Manitowac. Lets go from there to monica, i was watching the president at the rally over the weekend in North Carolina and i saw, i think everyone did, he really latched on to that fill the seat slogan. We talked so much about the president looking for a message that he feels he can drive against joe biden and try to get some of that energy back a bit from 2016 motivating his base. Did they think they have found it here, his campaign . Absolutely, steve. That rallying cry filled that seat. I was there saturday night in fayetteville, North Carolina, and the president was so pleased with that reaction. He even dictated to his Campaign Aides asking please turn that into a merchandising line as soon as possible. Lets get tshirts and stickers with that. Thats exactly what happened. The campaign has fully capitalized on this and that chant, as you mentioned, came from his supporters just 24 hours after the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The president first to a tone of appreciating her career but quickly pivoted to this dedication to now filling her seat and that vacancy. We can expect that to be center stage tonight at this rally here just outside of toledo. What you see behind me is already hundreds of people who are in line. Youve seen these airport hangarstyle events. The campaign is technically not allowed to call them rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the state of ohio, gatherings are limited to only ten people and there is a statewide mask mandate, especially for anybody, even if youre outdoors if you cant maintain social distance and six feet. But that kind of protest is how the Campaign Frames it is exempt under the first amendment. Just in talking to some of the president s supporters here in line, theyre extremely animated by this vacancy. They want the president to move as quickly as possible, steve. Theyre hoping even to hear him talk about some of the finalists tonight. And they really want to name a lot of people here already would support the president no matter what. This view only seems to push them in a more intense direction. Monica and shaq brewster, thanks to both of you. Appreciate that. Up next, the World Health Organization rolling out its distribution plans without the u. S. On board. Well check in with a leader american vaccine researcher with the latest on plans here in the United States. Stay with us. 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If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. If you cant afford your medicine, even as i look toward 65, one thing hasnt changed i still love getting on the ice. Which means i need to stay healthy. Now, as im thinking about selecting a medicare plan, i know i want one that has the kind of coverage that takes a total approach to my health. One that connects all the different parts of my health care to keep me aging actively. Aetna medicare. Keep doing what you love. Welcome back. The United States is marking another grim milekeep stone in the coronavirus pandemic now surpassing more than 200,000 deaths. That death toll in this country has more than doubled in the last four months. And nationally right now cases are up, too. An average of about 40,000 new confirmed cases a day. That is with at least 18 states moving in the wrong direction. The president continues to say that the country is, quote, rounding a corner on the virus and, again said today that a vaccine could be available by the end of next month. Joining me now is vaccine expert dr. Peter hotez, dean for the National School of tropical medicine at baylors college of medicine. Doctor, thauk fnk you for joini us. I want to talk sort of big picture here about what youre seeing because we put these statistics out here all the time. X number of new cases today. X number of total cases. The big picture here when you look at this country, are you seeing generally places that havent had it before starting to get a flare up, starting to get cases or are you seeing places that have had it start to get second waves . What are we looking at here . Something working its way through slowly the first time or is it now hitting places multiple times . So its actually a very good question and i think what were seeing is a little bit of both. We had this big massive resurgeance across the Southern States in july and august and now its starting to come down a little bit. But not by much. I mean, we went from 66,000 new cases a day at our peak in the summer down to now around the 30,000s. But as you point out, now its going up to 40,000 again. So what were all dreading is the possibility that well see a big third peak from this and it seems to be happening initially in the middle part of the country. So, a whole swath going up from texas, arkansas and oklahoma where were seeing a big uptick in cases into missouri and then up into the dakotas and into wisconsin. So, that seems to be where the next big push is of this virus. And the worry is because we never really brought it down very much to begin with, 30,000 cases. Thats far more than what we had back in the end of may. So, im really worried about a big fall rise. Were already at 200,000 deaths and, of course, the concern is well have 300,000 deaths by the time of the election. So, also some confusion here i think about what is coming out of the cdc in terms of information on how this virus is spreading. Youre talking about some of the places where youre seeing upticks here. You have new cdc guidance that went up in the last couple of days about airborne transmission and about the possibility we always hear so much about keeping six feet of space and the possibility that in some settings this could be wider areas than six feet. Maybe an indoor setting. What do we know now, what do we think we have a handle on in terms of the most efficient way this is transmitted and in terms of that issue specifically of airborne and indoor transmission . Yeah, i dont know why the cdc pulled it today whether it was an honest mistake or is there some political interference going on. Remember, just a couple weeks ago that we had the fact that the cdc finally was allowed to put up the fact that asymptomatic individuals could transmit the virus. So we dont know what is really going on at this point. We have known since april or may airborne transmission of this virus and this is why Wearing Masks is so absolutely vital to help us control this. And so this both your droplet contact and it appears to be airborne transmission, as well. Six feet is really a minimum and thats really concerning, as well, especially when youre talking about large indoor events. So, this is, so this is a constant ongoing tension that were seeing, some would call it a war between the white house and the scientists and the agencies and nih and cdc and fda and we saw this with dr. Redfields testimony recently. The dispute over when the vaccine is going to be ready. Weve been saying quarter three of 2021 all along and dr. Redfield reiterated that and then the president says, no, were going to have this before the election and hes still making comments about this. So, this ongoing antiscience for science going on between the white house and the agencies and its very destabilizing and really gives americans a lot of concern about how to best trust their government. All right, doctor, thank you, as always, for joining us. Appreciate the time you took here. Thank you. As the world battles crises on multiple fronts, Climate Change also looms. Another recordsetting hurricane is churning in the atlantic. Al roker is going to join us next. You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Lets help protect them together. Because missing menb vaccination could mean missing out on a whole lot more. Ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. Asthat selling carsarvana,en 100 online wouldnt work. But we went to work. Building an experience that lets you shop over 17,000 cars from home. Creating a coast to Coast Network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. Recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. And putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. Thats why weve become the nations Fastest Growing retailer. Because our customers love it. See for yourself, at carvana. Com. Welcome back. All day all platforms of nbc news are going to be focusing on the issue of Climate Change. Which comes as yet another named storm is headed toward the gulf coast. Tropical storm beta making its way toward the texas coast and parts of louisiana. And youre not alone in thinking that were in the midst of one storm after another. The atlantic Hurricane Season has been so busy this year that we have gone all the way through the traditional storm names and that means we now use the greek alphabet. This for only the second time since the 1950s when modern naming conventions began. Joining me now is al roker, tracks all of these things. Al, were onto the greek alphabet here. Tropical storm beta. What can you tell us about this one . Yeah. Its funny, steve. My son asked me yesterday, he said, so dad, what happens if you run out of greek names . I said, i dont know. That would mean we had 45 storms or 46 storms. I have no idea. Hopefully that does not happen. So lets concentrate on what weve got going on right now. Tropical storm beta, 55 miles southeast of pot oconnor, texas. Moving westnorthwest at 7 miles per hour. Its a slow mover. It will make landfall as a tr Tropical Storm some time late tonight and it will bring heavy rain to southeastern texas, a increase in flash flooding. Wednesday, it continues to skirt around the texas coast, moving into louisiana. Thankfully, storm surge numbers have come down from 2 to 4 feet to 1 to 4. Locally, up to ten inches of rain, but look how far one to three inches extend up into the Mississippi River valley, so thats going to be the issue that were watching now, steve, as far as beta is concerned. And were putting up on the screen here, we have these 2020 Global Extreme weather events. We talk all the time, i see headlines about record temperatures, record average temperatures, melting in the arctic. Talk, if you would, a little bit about how all of these anecdotal things we hear, how they kind of come together and create potentially a situation where youre getting so many storms like this. Well, look, heres the deal. This 2020 is on track, unless something crazy happens, 2020 is on track to be the hottest year on record. The last five years have been the hottest years on record. So you look at some of the Global Extremes that have happened, and because of Climate Change, because of a warming of the earths atmosphere, because more moisture is getting put up into the atmosphere, we have been seeing these wild events. We talk zommy fires in the caucuses. Were talking tornado outbreaks here in the u. S. , european heat waves. Snowless januarys in oslo, a record typhoon season, and even for us, we had 4 billion disasters in august. Wildfires and laura, and 2020 is the sixth year in a row where we had tenplus billion dollar events, steve, all fueled by Climate Change. And as you can see, these events just continue to happen as we see this atmosphere warming. Were going to see more and more of these extreme weather events. And interestingly enough, theres a poll out, this is in your ballywick, the maris poll shows for the first time democratic likely voters put Climate Change at the top of the things theyre concerned about. 22 of the democratic likely voters say Climate Change, followed by the coronavirus at 18 , health care, 15 , the economy at 10 , and Race Relations at 9 . So Climate Change, at least for democratic voters, really resonated. With republicans, the didnt even make the top five. Part of a trend, too, we have been talking about. Two different worlds politically. Al roker, thank you for joining us. You bet. And be sure to watch planet 2020, thats a special broadcast hosted by al roker and savannah sellers. Tonight, 8 00 p. M. Eastern on nbc news now. Thank you for being with us. Chuck is going to be back more with more meet the press daily, and more coverage continues now with katy tur just after a quick break. 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Where washington finds itself embroiled in what will likely be one of the ugliest and most important battles in modern political history