New political era and as medical breakthroughs provide hope in the midst of this pandemic, offer us a glimpse of hope at least the grim reality remains. A Record Number of americans are hospitalized tonight with the virus. Over 300,000 of our fellow citizens are gone. Tonight the bells of the National Cathedral in washington tolled 300 times in their memory. The vaccine rollout continues across our country with more states inoculating Health Care Workers and others in high risk front line groups. Today dr. Fauci said president elect biden and Vice President elect harris should be on that list. For security reasons i really feel strongly that we should get them vaccinated as soon as we possibly can. You want him fully protected as he enters into the presidency in january. And again, the simple math here the two shots have to be administered 21 days apart. The democrats have 36 days before being sworn in. And there is yet another vaccine on the horizon. Tonight the fda is saying modernas vaccine has been found to be highly effective. The New York Times reports the agency could signoff on an emergency use by this coming friday. Today the fda approved the first athome coronavirus test that you can buy at a drugstore without a prescription though its unclear when we will all see it in stores. This was also a big day because the most senior republican in the United StatesSenate Finally acknowledged there will be a new Administration Come january 20th. The Electoral College has spoken. I want to congratulate president elect joe biden. I also want to congratulate the Vice President elect, our colleague from california, senator harris. For the past six weeks mcconnell had joined donald trump in resisting any recognition of the biden victory. Tonight axios reports mcconnell, indeed, alerted white house chief of staff mark meadows before he spoke on the senate floor. And nbc news is reporting that during a Conference Call mcconnell urged members of his Republican Caucus not to mount an objection when congress affirms the Electoral College vote. Thats coming up on january 6th. This afternoon biden confirmed that he and mcconnell had been in touch. I had a good conversation with Mitch Mcconnell, called him to thank him for the congratulations. We disagree on a lot of things, theres things we can Work Together on. And we agreed wed get together sooner than later. Biden also heard from Vladimir Putin today who offered his wellwishes in a telegram. Said he hopes the u. S. And russia can Work Together despite their differences. Problem is that just got harder given russias alleged extensive cyber attack on our own Government Agencies including but not limited to homeland security, the very people we put in charge of preventing such strikes. Much more on the hacking ahead in this broadcast. We have heard nothing yet from donald trump about the electronic attack on our country. Instead he remains focused on his own future and his dreams of overturning the results of the election. Today the White House Press secretary was asked if yesterdays decisive Electoral College vote would prompt donald trump to finally recognize joe biden as his successor. The president is still involved in ongoing litigation related to the election. Yesterdays vote was one step in the constitutional process. President trump had the benefit of the senate starting hearings and starting the process before he was inaugurated in january of 2017. Does the president oppose the Senate Taking up joe bidens nominees before the inauguration . I think thats a hypothetical and, you know, he wont get ahead of that activity actually happening. But he has taken all statutory requirements necessary to either ensure a smooth transition or a continuation of power. Trump also remains focused on settling scores. Tonight the Associated Press reporting hes considering pushing his incoming actor attorney general, jeffrey rosen, to appoint a special counsel to carry out a federal tax investigation of hunter biden. That would mean, in effect, the new president would be powerless to stop it from going on within the Justice Department. Also today trump retweeted a message from a Georgia Attorney threatening the states governor and top election official because they refuse to subvert the States Election results in trumps favor. Donald trump is a genuinely good man. I bet he dislikes putting people in jail especially republicans. He gave brian kemp and the georgia secretary of state every chance to get it right. They refused. They will soon be going to jail. Joe biden was in georgia today, the state he managed to turn blue to help out get out the vote for Democratic Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and jon ossoff. The january 5th Runoff Election will determine nothing less than the balance of power in the u. S. Senate. Biden underscored how much is at stake here. Weve got a lot of work to do. And i plan to get to work right away doing it. I need two senators from this state who want to get something done. Not two senators who are just going to get in the way. Meanwhile there is this. Trumps neighbors in florida are bracing for the possibility he just might spend his postwhite house days right there alongside them. Tonight the Washington Post is reporting that some of the neighbors down in maralago want the city of palm beach to prevent trump from settling down there. They argue he signed away his legal right to live there fulltime back in the 90s when the resort was originally converted from a private residence to a private club. With that lets bring in our lead off guests on this tuesday night. Ashley parker, pulitzer prizewinning White House Reporter for the Washington Post back with us. As is jeremy bash, former chi of staff at the cia and pentagon, former chief counsel to the house intelligence committee. And michael osterholm, professor and director for the center of infectious disease, research and policy out of the university of minnesota. Also a member of the president elects covid19 advisory board. Good evening and welcome to you all. Ashley, id like to start with you and your beat. And just like that its over because Mitch Mcconnell says it is. Has there been any appreciatable measurable migration in Donald Trumps thought process toward accepting the loss at the polls . Not in Donald Trumps thought process or not even in the thought processes or at least the public actions and words i should say of a number of republicans. It is significant what leader mcconnell said on the senate floor. But keep in mind when he said that according to a the Washington Post tally just 20 of the 52 senators were acknowledging joe biden as the president elect. And according to a broader tally the post surveyed all republican lawmakers under 40 of over 200 republican lawmakers house and senate say joe biden is the president elect. Very few of them to be clear say donald trump actually won another term, but, you know, youre seeing a drip, drip, drip. But as long as the people around the president , the enablers and as long as the republicans in congress who know better many of them but fear him will not come out and state the obvious, its going to be very hard to answer your original question to see the change in the thought process of a man who could see nothing worse than being a loser. Jeremy bash, this talk is increasing of donald trump embedding a special counsel into what would become the biden era Justice Department to investigate the son of the 46th president. This talk got a big boost tonight on fox news from one lindsey graham. We cant live in a country where you take a wrecking ball to the trump family for 3 1 2 years based on nothing and ignore business relationships on the biden side that really could compromise our ability to push back against china and maybe russia itself. So nows the time for us to have a special counsel to look at the bidens the way that mueller looked at trump. So jeremy, this new acting a. G. , mr. Rosen, doesnt start until december 23rd. It appears his first major decision may be laid out for him long before he takes office. Yeah, and that may turn out, brian, to be the reason why bill barr was pushed out and jeff rosen was elevated. Just to remind viewers the reason why we had a special counsel in the form of bob mueller is because donald trump fired the head of the fbi who was investigating russias 2016 election interference. And but for that event there would have been no need for a special counsel. So when senators come forward and say we need a special counsel, they havent established any facts precedent that would justify such a move. In fact, it looks completely political. Looks like retribution and sour grapes for a president who lost the election big time, trying to use the engines of Law Enforcement in our country to investigate a political rival. That is Banana Republic stuff, brian. We dont do that in the United States of america. And any senator who claims we should needs to understand and reread our constitution. And now michael, over to you for what is the backdrop of human life in this country right now. Im still calling it an uncontrolled pandemic until and unless proven otherwise. Talk about the split mood of this week, the great celebration, the arrival of the first vaccines coupled with the warning i know you have about the winter we are just starting to enter. Well, thank you. In fact, we are living in the best of times in the worst of times. The fact we can see light at the end of the tunnel with these vaccines is really something that we will go back in history and remember for many decades to come. It was a Manhattan Project as such. The challenge we have with those vaccines will only be here in limited amount in the first few months of this next year. And it really wont be until much later in the year that were going to see enough to vaccinate most americans. And in the meantime just as you pointed out we are living with this ever increasingly dangerous pandemic where today we are watching hospitals in this country being overrun with all the cases, the deaths increasing substantially. And i dont think we have a sense yet what the ceiling will be over the course of the next several months in terms of both number of cases and deaths. And michael, while i have you talk about the differences, appreciable differences between these two vaccines assuming we get an approval of moderna on friday. I believe ive heard it said theyre not at all interchangeable. If you get the first shot of one brand, the pfizer, you must get the second shot of the pfizer. Is that correct . Thats correct. However, they are very similar vaccines. They use the same platforms of what we call as the way to deliver the material to the body that then causes the immune response. Theyre both what we call messenger rna vaccines. The action will be very similar in how they work. We have early data thats been made public for both vaccines, the one approved by fda for pfizer, the Moderna Vaccine which will be evaluated and considered on thursday which we all anticipate that vaccine will also be approved. And they are highly effective vaccines. Ashley parker, back to you. Back to politics and the west wing. Trump has a rare Cabinet Meeting on the schedule tomorrow. You know the tableau. You know the scene. Cabinet meeting was the scene of the kind of dear leader session early on in the administration that we witnessed. Do you expect this to be at all infused with even the hint of feeling that this is a departing administration . Its a great question because the west wing in general sort of has this feel of the last guests at the wedding. So theres a bit of nostalgia, a bit of refuelness and a bit of regret. Theres less foot traffic to the oval office. People are working from home. So you very much could have those sorts of toasts to keep the wedding metaphor going the president likes and demands from his cabinet secretaries and especially Vice President is classic of that genre. But itll be interesting to see either in public or private these toasts happen, and b, if they are sort of infused with a sense of ending, of looking back on four years and not looking ahead to the next four years hes very much not going to have. And jeremy bash, back to your bailiwick. Do you believe that or have we for all the wrong reasons been at the same kind of static level of vulnerability for these past four years . Well, its vitally important, brian, that the incoming team receive all the intelligence, all the information about Cyber Espionage efforts. I dont know yet whether or not the delay itself makes us more vulnerable, but this cyber hack from russia is a deadly serious event. I mean, just think about it, brian. All the threats that we face as a country are technological in nature, the major ones at least. This biological threat from the pandemic, chinas effort to dominate Artificial Intelligence in the global internet, and russias brazen cyber attack in the 2016 election and now their attack on our government in 2020. We have to elevate science, evidence, facts, truth over ideology and politics. I think one of the greatest shortcomings of the trump era will be they elevated political ideology. They were big time deniers of the virus, big time deniers of the facts of the election results. Americas never been, you know, a country of political ideology. Weve left that to the mous and we are the country of technological innovation, and were going to need that technology and practical realism and defeat the threats of the 21st century. Wow, a lot to think about there. And michael, you get the last word. We mentioned the approval of this athome test for coronavirus. Can you help us fill in the blanks . When will we start seeing it . Where will we start seeing it . And is there any early word on efficacy, potential false positives, false negatives . A lot of people have been looking forward to this development. We surely want to expand testing. It is a very important part of our response to this pandemic. However, i would offer a note of caution, that many of these tests that we have heard about that are easy to administer, quick results have given us really problem results. Meaning that they have tested negative when you really were infected. Theyve tested positive when you werent. So i think we have to be really cautious here and see how this works in our hands before we can say this is new major break through. Michael osterholm on medicine and science. Jeremy bash National Security. And Ashley Parker covers the white house and good for an occasional wedding metaphor. Our thanks to the three of you for starting us off on this tuesday night broadcast. Coming up for us, now that Mitch Mcconnell has finally stated the obvious, what to look for in a fractured gop. And later the former ambassador to russia who says its time, indeed, the u. S. Gets serious about Cyber Security just as jeremy was saying and the threats posed by russia. All of it as the 11th hour is just now getting under way on this tuesday night. Nder way on this tuesday night doorbell rings thank you. Can we be besties, simone biles . I guess . Yessss should we dismount now . The only thing a disaster cant destroy is hope. Donate now at redcross. Org [sfx ding dong] its ohey. Think youre managing your moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns Disease . Are you ok . I did. But even when i was there, i never knew when my symptoms would keep us apart. So, i talked to my doctor and learned humira is for people who still have uc or crohns symptoms after trying other medications. And humira helps people achieve remission that can last, so you can experience few or no symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Help the world believe in holiday magic. And this year was harder than ever. And yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. Its not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. Santa, santa, youre on mute just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for believing. Do you have any concerns at all about what the president has been saying and should he accept these results . Look, i dont know have any advice to give the president on the subject. Said this morning for me and i think on the basis of the way this system works the decision by the Electoral College yesterday was determined. Earlier today Vice President elect Kamala Harris was asked about mcconnell finally acknowledging this, the joe biden victory. Mitch mcconnell and joe biden have spoken. He has acknowledged that he is the president elect. Yeah. How important do you think that is . I think its critically important. I applaud Mitch Mcconnell for talking to joe biden today, you know, would have been better if it were earlier. But it happened, and thats whats most important, and so lets move forward. Lets move forward. And where we can find common purpose and common ground, lets do that. For you kids out there thats the definition of a positive spin. Back tonight two of our returning veterans. Jason johnson, campaign veteran, veteran journalists, contributor to the grio, professor of politics at morgan state university. And tim miller, contributor to the bulwark, former Communications Director to jeb bush among others. Jason, in light of mr. Mcconnells remarks is this a great day in the morning or just a tuesday in december . Its a tuesday in december. Maybe its the light at the end of the tunnel if that light is an oncoming train. Look, the fact Mitch Mcconnell is willing to accept the facts after six weeks to me is just a reminder hes perfectly comfortable in engaging in sort of mendacity, dishonesty and provoking fear and ignorance if it serves his purposes. If i thought for one instant Mitch Mcconnell thought there was legitimate fraud and these investigations were real, i might give him some credit for coming to this conclusion today. But no, it was just another cynical move he engages in. My hope is in him making the statement in these conversations hes supposedly had with joe biden will lead to at least less acrimony but i dont give him any credit to saying something that was true that he knew was a lie. Here is our friend Steve Schmidt discussing a change in his political affiliation. The Republican Party, a majority of them voted for this autocratic moment. 90 of them that didnt, but, look, theyre in a coalition of conservatives and autocrats. And thats bad for america. The party thats going to defend american liberties is the Democratic Party, and thats why i joined. Im a single issue voter now. Thats why i believe in american d democracy. So, tim, this leaves the republicans in an interesting spot. I was also mindful of the chants that started up at the maga rally this weekend in washington, destroy the gop. Could it be that all these elected republicans who gave over their votes or even just tacit approval to the Trump Administration are going to turn around and find insurrection surrounding their party . What should happen to the gop . Should this be an era of reconstruction . And you have a voice in this. Oh, brian, i think theres shoulds and theres wills here. As far as the shoulds go, yeah, absolutely. I think it would be great in this country we had two parties both equally cared about the fundamental principles of this country, democracy, welcoming of immigrants. We dont have that. And i dont see the Republican Party changing at all. And i think that steve is seeing clearly what a lot of people are not seeing. You know, i wrote an article for the bulwark a couple of weeks ago, goodbye to all that. Its about leaving the Republican Party. The reality is that people like steve, people like me, people the nevertrumpers, if you will all across the country, by the way. This was a determinative group in the election which is why donald trump lost and republicans won down ballot races, theyre basically the capital swing of the Democratic Party right now. Theres been a shift in our politics. The democrats are now largely culturally conservative republicans. And i think this is shift that everybody has to recognize as we look at politics going forward. The people that remain in the Republican Party who are political operators like Mitch Mcconnell, they are going to pander to the antidemocracy, white grievance donald trump wing of the party as much as possible because that is the majority of the Republican Party. There will be exceptions. There will be people in blue states like Charlie Baker in massachusetts. Our country is vast, our parties are vast. You know, they contain multitudes. But the animated part of the Republican Party right now is still Donald Trumps party and still antidemocratic. And i think steve sees that clearly. And i think Mitch Mcconnell sees it clearly, which is why it took him six weeks to go along. Great dylan back reference. Also a great quote that it was determinative. And i think i agree with you, and all the evidence backs you up. And jason, the great thing about this Election Year is it keeps going into 2021. And this is the part of the interview where i ask you what are the real chances that the Democratic Party flips the senate by pulling off what was deemed impossible and winning two Georgia Senate seats . Brian, i pride myself on my political cynicism. But i have to admit its not just that theres been 23 increase in sameday early voting in georgia versus the election last year. That is amaze wrg, but thats necessarily the determinative, bought we saw in 2020 high turn out doesnt necessarily favor democrats the way it did maybe 10 or 15 years ago. This is every time i talk to my contacts in the area. The republican civil war is real in georgia. It is a real conflict. The Georgia Republican voter is more interested in shots that perdue is taking at kemp and kemp is taking at trump and trump is taking at the secretary of state. That is what is really engaging Republican Voters right now whereas democratic voters are actually engaged ippaying attention to the election and trying to get ossoff and warnock elected. I wouldnt make a prediction this farout, but ive said all along i think its a twofer. Either ossoff and war North Carolina win or loeffler and perdue win. The republicans are too busy beating each other over the head. Nobody move. Both of these gentlemen are staying with us. Please, you, at home do so as well. Quick break. Well continue our conversation. When we come back, the biden choices thus far. Wh wene come back, the biden choices thus far with new rewards from chase freedom unlimited, i now earn even more cash back . Oh i got to tell everyone. Hey, rita you now earn 3 on dining, including takeout bon appetit. Hey kim, you now earn 5 on travel purchased through chase way ahead of you hey, neal you can earn 3 at drugstores. Buddy, im right here. Why are you yelling . Because thats what i do youre always earning with 5 cash back on travel purchased through chase, 3 at drugstores, 3 on dining including takeout, and 1. 5 on Everything Else you buy. Chase. Make more of whats yours. Smooth driving pays off. With allstate, the safer you drive the more you save. You never been in better hands. Allstate. Click or call for a quote today. Transitions light under control. Upbeat music transitions signature gen 8, available now in 4 new style colors. Transitions. I and nothing has really worked mifor me. Until now. Nd years. With nurtec odt, i have felt such relief. I am able to go about my day as if nothing happened. Nurtec is the only quick dissolve treatment for migraine attacks that can get many people back to normal activities and last up to 48 hours with just one dose. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. The most common side effect was nausea. For more information, go to nurtec. Com less sick days cold coming on . Zicam® is clinically proven to shorten colds highly recommend it zifans love zicams unique zinc formula. It shortens colds zicam zinc that cold we are back with our guest, Jason Johnson and tim miller. Tim, id like to talk to you about the biden choices thus far. We had the same conversation the last time you were on, the but the list of names has been added to. We learned today buttigieg transportation, Jennifer Granholm energy. Tonight axios has a piece guessing that the republicans in the cabinets in its traditional presidencies it is traditional to try to have someone from the opposite party that biden is looking at a republican perhaps for commerce. They further speculate that it might be A Meg Whitman type. What do you make of the slate youve seen thus far . Two things. One i think its a bidenesque slate. Its pretty crazy how much ive seen from the left really. You never saw this in the republican administrations where you dont have enough people from this Interest Group or from that Interest Group. And that seems to be all the coverage around biden. Hed picked a central left cabinet, a very competent cabinet. And out of todays picks i just want to call out pete buttigieg. Once again joe biden is making a first. This is going to be the first gay cabinet official confirmed by the senate. And this is massive news. I know in a lot of urban pockets on the coast you know being gay is pretty common these days, and this doesnt seem like this big of a deal but for a lot of kids in a lot of parts of this country pete was a huge role model and pete is the only person they could look to who modeled what it was like to have a gay family life and to be able to go out and leave a place like indiana and succeed. And so i think its great and obviously Kamala Harris and its a diverse cabinet, a center left cabinet. Youre right. And these lgbt firsts should be correctly noted and celebrated every time the goal posts get moved in our society. So jason, you heard what tim just said about the infighting about democrats eating their young his words not mine. I would never dare say anything like that. We have this from aoc today. Quote, you have an individual appointment here, an individual appointment there. What is the overall message from the big picture in this entire cabinet put together . A friend of mine an elected democrat immediately branded this the start of purity testing 36 days before any hands on placed on bibles and said to me in response, quote, would you perhaps prefer the trump dear leader cabinet for four more years. Jason, your answer. You know, look, this is not going to be the red wedding, right, where the democrats show up and they all kill each other and theyre fighting. I dont think thats whats going to happen. What you have is a lot of jockeying. For example aoc was on for the democratic platform this year. Im pretty sure shes okay with that. I tend to think as much as its an accomplishment for diversity, you know, look, ive always thought mayor pete sort of failed up to be perfectly honest. I think there are transportation secretaries you could have gotten out of michigan. I think theres a lot more people you could get a local level. They know a lot more about transportation than mayor pete. I also think basically some of these selections are not just about biden filling his cabinet, not just about giving favors to people who may have endorsed during the primary but also kneecapping potential rivals for senator harris in 2024 and 2028. I think all of those things are being discussed right now. But in the end the positions that matter most to me are attorney general and labor secretary because those are the positions going to be the most important in deconstructing the autocracy that trump was attempting to build and setting together a fair and more equitable labor environment for people to survive in postcovid. Those are things ps that i think are going to have the greatest influence. And those are the positions where joe biden has to pick people who are going to push for serious structural change because we cant keep going the way weve been going. And most of these picks are par for the course. Man, brian, i have to say my mother wishes i failed up like mayor pete. I mean, that guy if hes failing hes really failing quite well. Won the iowa caucus, first gay man to run for president of a major party. He seems to be doing all right to me. I dont know. You also get a decorated military veteran and a road scholar in the equation. Two good things to have, i would think, in any cabinet, any collection of adults these days. Guys, this has been a great and fascinating conversation. Lets do this exact same thing again. Jason johnson, tim miller, two long time friends of this broadcast. Thank you, gentlemen, both very much. Another break for us. Coming up, from russia with love. The Early Morning telegram from joe biden. Congrats from donalds friend vladimir on your awesome victory. Well talk about abandoning the effort by the outgoing president to be his best friend. Y the outt to be his best friend. Rvice at. At mercedesbenz, its not just a job, its our mission. From our expert technicians armed with state of the art tools and technology, to genuine parts made for the perfect fit. Whether its our place. Or yours. Were there. Rain or shine, day or night. No one knows your vehicle better. To learn all the ways we can be at your service, call, click or visit a dealership near you. Looking to save money this look at allstate. N . Drivers who switched saved, averaged 718 dollars. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. The only thing a disaster cant destroy is hope. Donate now at redcross. Org new details tonight coming out of on the scope of this massive hack on u. S. Federal agencies and companies. The New York Times puts it this way. Quote, about 18,000 private and government users downloaded a russian tainted software update, a trojan horse of sorts that gave its hackers a foothold into victims systems. One Government Official tells politico, quote, this is probably going to be one of the most consequential Cyber Attacks in u. S. History. So we have that going for us. And here with more tonight, Michael Mcfaul, former u. S. Ambassador to russia. His book is titled from cold war to hot peace. Mr. Ambassador, its great to see you again. Thank you very much for coming on. And lets begin here. What would and youll excuse the wording but i must use it. What would a normal president do in response to an attack like this in normal times . He would respond, brian. He would say something. It looks like this could be the biggest hack in American History from one of our principle adversaries in the world, and the president of the United States is supposed to defend the people of the United States and the u. S. Government of the United States. This is an attack on our government, an attack on our private companies. And he needs at a minimum to stand up and criticize president putin for doing this act against us. You know more than most civilians about the threats of hacks weve been worried about in the past. I know generically weve been worried that some overseas actor could reach into our power grid and darken new england during the height of winter or something as severe as that. This hack is seems to be more nuanced, targeted, more interesting to those in the business. What do you think the goal was here . Well, first, i want to be clear, brian, i dont know. And you shouldnt trust anybody who tells you they do know because this is classified. But what theyve done we dont know the full scope. We dont know if this is one incidence or this has been going on for years and years and years. So always remember that. Theres so much more going on in this world thats classified that we dont know about. By the way, we are doing a lot of activity in this world as well. Number two, this strikes to me what has been reported it looks more like intelligence gathering. It looks more like spying. And not trying to do damage along the lines you just described. And so far we have no evidence theyve done things like that. Nor have they done doxing, right, which is to steal information from the u. S. Government and private entities and publish it in ways that are damaging. So far this looks like intelligence but looks like a really, really big successful intelligence operation by the russians. And a reminder russia is a powerful actor in the world. Its one of the most powerful countries in the world, when it comes to cyber two two or three in the world. And weve got been treating them like the threat they are. This is just one instance, but for four years weve not been treating them that way. And i hope when the Biden Administration takes over that well begin to treat them that way. Well, let me back up and come around it from a different angle. We know that going back to the soviet union, that nation has devoted a Staggering Amount of its gdp to all things security, all things secrecy. We are fond of saying that modern day russia has a smaller gdp than the state of texas. Is it also true that the last four years have given russia under Vladimir Putin, a former professional spy, the ability, the opening to punch way above their weight in this area . Yes. But i want to be clear about something. We all love to talk about gdp of russia and say its a declining power. I want people to get rid of that notion in their minds. I think thats the wrong analytic framework. Thats what you think about after the collapse of the soviet union, people of poverty. That russia is gone. Yes, russia has a small, you know, gdp that you just described, but remember Vladimir Putin controls most of that gdp. And he can allocate it the way he wants. So he can allocate it to create cyber capabilities. He can allocate it to create new nuclear weapons, military conventional capabilities, a subsidizing and paying for rt, which is multibillion dollar propaganda enterprise around the world. That is whats been happening for many, many years under Vladimir Putin. And for four years the president of the United States refused to acknowledge it. His government did, by the way. I want to be clear about that. The Trump Administration oftentimes did, but trump never did. And so putin always felt like he had free rein to do these kinds of things knowing there would be no response from the president of the United States. Thank you for making that point emphatically and forcefully and pointing all that out. Its helpful to our coverage as you always are. Former ambassador Michael Mcfaul with us tonight. Thank you very much. Great having you back on the broadcast. Another break for us. And coming up, making sure that certain americans are guaranteed a fair shot now that the shots are going into arms. Are going into arms. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] uh, you know theres a 30minute limit, right . Tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. [ beeping ] robinwithout the commission fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. To use your vision benefits before the years up. This is us making sure you dont. Use em before you lose em, backed by our 100day guarantee visionworks. See the difference. People are saving hundreds on the most reliable in a land not so far away, network with xfinity mobile. They can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. And choose the data option thats right for them. They even get nationwide 5g at no extra cost. And since they are on the carrier rated 1 in customer satisfation, they live happily ever after. Again, again xfinity mobile. Your wireless. Your rules. Your way to stay closer together. Click, call, or visit an xfinity store today. This was day two of Health Care Workers across our country rolling up their sleeves to get the vaccine. They are the agreed upon First Priority in this country. Who among us does not view them as true warriors . Theyve been in this fight for ten long months. Theyve been caring for the rest of us and our loved ones. Well, the debate now is over the next wave of vaccine recipients and making sure certain of our brothers and sisters arent left behind in that. That story tonight from nbc news correspondent Gabe Gutierrez. Reporter today the first vaccinations of Health Care Workers at lureto hospital on chicagos west side where black americans make up 40 of covid deaths. Equity isnt part of our covid19 strategy. It is our strategy. Reporter in washington, d. C. More vaccinations at Howard University hospital as Public Health officials including the surge Surgeon General are now hoy lighting the critical need to reach communities of color in the months ahead. Just over half of states with publicly available plans for Vaccine Distribution have at least one mention of incorporating racial equity. Its not just ethically permissible but its an ethwa ethwalkical imperative. Theyve suffered historical and inconstionable deficits of health. Theres a distrust which is definitely valid because of some of the things that happened to our community in the past. Reporter in newark, new jerseys multiethnic iron bound neighborhood where the covid Positivity Rate tops a staggering 40 perez told us shes scared of the vaccine even though her father has been hospitalized with covid for about a month. Vicki hernandez runs a Community Center here. Black and brown communities primarily make up essential workers, and they have been disproportionately affected by covid. And so for that reason they should be prioritized. Reporter she says a survey of her members shows only 1 in 3 plans to get vaccinated right away. Our thank tuesday Gabe Gutierrez for that report. Coming up for us, remembering a time, perhaps returning to a time when the u. S. Would respond after being attacked. Er being attacked the only thing a disaster cant destroy is hope. Donate now at redcross. Org may your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. Visit your local mercedesbenz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedesbenz winter event. And through the woods this holiday season. Remember, safe drivers save 40 with allstate. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Stnarrow it to all thes ikarate moms. In desperate need of brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. Hiya get 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com five blades and a pivotingglide flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. Before we talk about taxsaudreys expecting. New . Twins wed be closer to the twins. Change in plans. At fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. Last thing before we go tonight is in light of the news this week that russia apparently hacked our government up one side and down the other. Another way of saying russia and putin havent changed a bit, our last guest the former u. S. Ambassador to russia under obama, Michael Mcfaul, said this today. Quote, even after the latest news of russian Cyber Attacks on us and the navalny poisoning which we covered here last night, it looks likely that trump will complete his term without ever once criticizing putin. Incredible. Well, indeed, it is especially considering the outgoing president took the oath that joe biden will take on january 20th. That oath swears to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. Instead and from the very start the intelligence analysts have theorized our president is at worst somehow compromised and at best is willing to ignore National Security in exchange for a compliment, something he has made mow attempt to hide. I think id get along very well with putin. I got to know him very well because we were both on 60 minutes. We were stable mates and we did very well that night. For instance, putin said trump is brilliant. Putin did call me a genius, and he said im the future of the Republican Party. If he says great things about me, im going to say great things about him. Youd rather have a puppet as president of the United States. No puppet. Putins a killer. Weve got a lot of killers. What . You think our country is so innocent. President putin called me up very nicely to congratulate me on the win of the election. Its an honor to be with you. Thank you. I believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. He just said its not russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. President putin, did you want President Trump to win . Thank you. Yes, i did because he talked about bringing the u. S. Russia relationship back to normal. Reporting that you went to unusual lengths to keep your conversations with president putin under wraps. Anybody could have listened to that meeting. That meeting is open for grabs. Russia paid bounties or offered to pay bounties to taliban fighters to kill american soldiers. Frankly, thats an issue that many people said was fake news. And youve never discussed it with him . Ive never discussed it with him, no. At the same time we get along. I like putin, he likes me. We get along. The president on putin and russia. Americans, by the way, can expect a change very shortly in how our president and our government talk about both. That is our broadcast for this tuesday night. With our thanks for being here with us. On behalf of the men and women of the networks of nbc news, good night. A busy news day. A lot going on today. Today was an even bigger vaccine rollout day than yesterday was. Yesterday it was about 140, 150 places around the country that received their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine. Started administering those vaccines mostly to front line health workers. As i said yesterday, just around 150 sites around the country. But today it was more than 400 sites around the country that got their first vaccine deliveries. And it was in bedford, massachusetts that the first va patient, the first patient at a va facility got a vaccine. A world war ii veteran, a woman named margar