Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20200830

Of this, during the course of the day. Keep your arms spread out. This is a sociallydistant march on washington. Amen. This is a sociallydistanced march on washington. Amen. Today, on the anniversary of the 1963 march on washington, people wore masks. It was a requirement to attend, that you had to have your nose your nose and mouth covered by a mask. The chairs in front of the barricades closest to the stage for todays event, they were all set up at least six feet apart. Of course, that was just a small area of the march and its attendees. There werent enough chairs for everyone. But there were these reminders, throughout the day, for people to stay socially distant on the grac grass or wherever they found a spot to sit. Everybody got hand sanitizer. Everybody got their temperature checked before they came in. And i believe you got a wristband once you got your temperature checked, to show that your temperature had been checked. They were just as cautious as can be about a thing like this. But that, of course, protocols like this led to of the march area. Where people waited in very, very, very long lines so they could get screened to they could get into the site of the march. Thousands of people, onsite today, for this march on washington. They definitely did a lot to make it as absolutely safe as they could. But this really was thousands of people. We are marching together for timehonored goals and in timely ways, we are courageous but conscious of our health. We are socially distant but spiritually united. We are making masking our faces but not our faith in freedom. Modernday incanation of what my father called the coalition of conscience. And if we move forward with purpose and passion, we will complete the work, so boldly began in the 1960s. Black america, i hold you accountable. You must stand. You must fight. But not with violence and chaos. With selflove. Learn to love yourself, black people. Unify. I want now, how would the history books remember you . What would be your legacy . Will your future generations remember you for your complacency . Your inaction . Or will they remember you for your empathy . Your leadership . Your passion . For weeding out the injustices and evil in our world. My brother cannot be a voice, today. We have to be that voice. We have to be the change. I stand before you, as the proud mother of ahmaud arbery. Im carrying a very broken heart, but also a grateful heart. That god chose my son, ahmaud arbery, to be a part of this most huge movement. I want to share three words with you, that i know ahmaud would want me to share with you as well. And, that is, i love you. I love you, all, for standing with us. What america has to know about the tenacity of black people is that, even when you render us paralyzed, we still know how to crawl. And on november 3rd, no matter what you do, we gonna crawl to the polls. If you take away the mailbox, we still gonna crawl. You take away the polling stations away from our community, we still gonna crawl. Be poll watchers to protect our vote. I want you that will be signing up, early voting starts in two weeks. We, in a nonpartisan way, want to put people all over this country. They want to suppress our vote. Weve got to have foot soldiers that will protect the vote. And that will be out there. Make it plain. We are in unprecedented, uncertain times. We are challenged by the state of the nation and the crisis we face. But the state of our movement, it is strong. And another world is possible. Yes, it is possible to legislate justice and accountability. People over profits. Joy over trauma. Freedom over fear. Yes, it is possible to write budgets that actually value black lives. If it feels unfamiliar, thats because it has never been done in america. We will meet the moment. We will work towards healing, justice, and collective liberation, like our lives depend on it because they do. We will march on, clear in our conviction, rooted in our faith, grounded in our history, intentional as we build. Let me make it plain. Black lives matter. The march on washington today. The last speaker there, congresswoman i congresswom congresswoman Ayanna Presley of massachusetts. The sister of blake, the man shot seven times in the back by police in kenosha, wisconsin. We will be checking in this hour with the situation in kenosha tonight and the developments in that case. Policing concerns and outrage in that community now encompassing new anger and new concern over the policing of the protests there. Tonight, just before we got on the air, we got the news that the president will think is the most important thing to know about the political political conventions, which finally wrapped up last night. I think we know enough about him now, as president , to know that what he is going to think is of the most important outcome of the competing democratic and Republican Conventions over these past two weeks is who got bigger tv ratings . We now have that data. Turns out, the democrats got bigger tv ratings. I didnt, necessarily, expect this. Especially, because the republicans got to go second. So they benefitted from seeing what worked and what didnt work when the democrats did it. When the democrats held the firstever virtual convention. I thought that the republicans would rate higher because theyd be able to work out more of the kinks and sort of let the democrats be the dry run for them to do, essentially, a second draft of that kind of production. But the democrats outrated the republicans on night one. And then, that held true for the whole week. The Democratic Convention had a lot more eyeballs on it. Millions more. President trumps long, long, long, long speech last night from the white house. That was the highestrated thing in the whole Republican Convention. But the president s speech, last night, rated lower than his own, previous Convention Speech in 2016. It rated lower than mitt romneys speech from 2012. It rated lower than john mccains speech from 2008. It even rated lower than george w. Bushs speech in 2004. But the president s speech last night rated lower than joe bidens did last week during the Democratic Convention. And you just know that is going to make him absolutely crazy. As is this. Make America Great, again. Again. Great again, again. Make America Great again, again, is actually i think kind of a spectacular idea for the Trump Pence Campaign because that wouldnt just be maga, it would be magaaaa. But despite the fact that Vice President pence actually did say that in his speech this week, make America Great again, again. The what weve seen, more often, as a Campaign Slogan for the Trump Reelection Campaign is this idea. Keep America Great. You see that on the signs, on the flags, on the hats, the masks, and all the rest. But its interesting. The whole keep America Great Campaign Slogan for the campaign this year, its not on the website because the Trump Campaign, apparently, forgot to buy the domain name keep America Great. Com. They didnt buy keep America Great dot com. So, the Biden Campaign bought it. Anybody going to keep America Great. Com, tonight, will find what sort of looks like a trump website but its actually a Biden Campaign website about trump breaking his promises and messing stuff up. But they did it, in this case. And again, that has got to drive the president nuts. I mean, every time he looks out there and sees somebody holding like a keep America Great hat or wears one of those shoiirts, a little part of hims going to go joe biden has that website and its all terrible stuff about me. As controversy continues to swirl about the president using the white house and federal property and federal resources to benefit his campaign, which is supposed to be illegal. Some of the highprofile stunts that they pulled this week at the rnc are already unraveling. Before the week is even out. First, there was that odd, long scene. It was like a tenminute video clip where they acted out a naturalization ceremony. A citizenship ceremony. At the white house. They filmed it and they showed it at the rnc. Included both the president himself and the acting secretary of homeland security. Well, it turns out, at least some of the people who were sworn in as new citizens of the ceremony, they didnt know that was going to be used for the Republican Convention. They werent asked if they wanted to be part of the Republican Convention. They werent warned thats what was happening. They didnt know about it, until they were told after it was done. That, we learned over the course of this week. Now, tonight, theres more. Tonight, the wothe new york ti reports that one of the antidemocrat videos that aired at the rnc last night. It was kind of a weird one. Attacking the mayor of new york city. As if joe biden is the mayor of new york city. Turns out, three of the four Public Housing residents who appeared in that video had no idea that that was for the rnc, either. Now, you might remember one Early Trump Administration scandal about President Trump appointing his son, eric trumps, wedding planner to be the top federal housing official for the northeastern United States. Trump really did that. And that is the official. That is the trump appointee who, apparently, personally shot these videos with these Public Housing residents. She conducted these interviews, herself. And then, used them in this film that was broadcast at the rnc to make it appear that these publichousing tenants in new york were very protrump. And very against all democrats. Heres how the times phrases it tonight. Quote. It started with an unexpected call last week from lynn patton, a longtime trump associate who oversees federal housing programs in new york. Four tenants soon assembled in front of a video camera, and were interviewed for more than four hours by ms. Patton, herself. By this federal official. Quote, they were never told their interviews would be edited into a twominute video clip that would air on thursday night at the Republican National convention. One of the tenants telling the times, quote, i am not a trump supporter. I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. Im a firstgeneration honduran. It was my people he was sending back. The times says, quote, the episode represents another stark example of how President Trump has deployed Government Resources to further his political ambitions. Ms. Patton is head of the new york office of the department of housing and urban development. Under the hatch act, she is barred from using her government position to engage in political activities. Like, say, shooting a video for the Republican National convention, with unwitting Public Housing tenants, who werent told they were going to be used for an rnc propaganda video. I mean, it is one thing to try to showcase regular people as part of your convention. The republicans bragged, in advance of their competition, that would be a hallmark of what they did. Except to the point where they did that by tricking regular people into being there, without getting their permission. And against what would have been their objections, had they known thats what you were using them for. But, you know, its its hard to know. Honestly, its hard to know how to cover the election, writ large, in the context of everything going on in the countly. Its also just hard to know, on a daytoday basis, what deserves attention in terms of electoral impact. I mean, nothings normal. Nothings normal, right now. Theres no we dont have a number line on which we can calibrate the size of relative electoral stories. Literally, thousands of americans died over the course of the past week. Thousands of americans died. Over the course of this past week. While the Republican Convention talked about covid19, in the past tense, as if its over. And repeatedly declared victory and talked about all the lives that were saved by the president s decisive action. Which is an alternate reality we would all love to have a chance to visit sometime. But it is not our reality, despite what they put on television. I mean, in the real world, in iowa, tonight, the state of iowa es in theannounced that the state of iowa right now is 79 . Just to put that in context, theres been nationwide freakout over various states hitting 15 or 20 Positivity Rates over the course of this summer. According to the world health organization, what youre shooting for, ideally, to be able to open schools and stuff is a maximum of 5 positivity for your testing. Iowa is at 79 . Iowas republican governor, kim reynolds, who spoke at the rnc this week. She has, nevertheless, mandated that iowa schools must reopen, in person. Individual communities in iowa that have really high Positivity Rates and really big numbers of cases have asked for waivers for that. Iowa governor, kim reynolds, has told them, no, you must open in person. Shes also refused any sort of iowa rule for people to wear masks. Dont need it. Why would we need it . 79 Positivity Rate in iowa and the highest per capita new infections right now. There she is speaking at the rnc which is, writ large, devoted to the idea. Boy, china did a terrible job there. Today, today, fired two pr people. Public relations people. They got from the one America Network, which is the protrump tv network that, among other things, airs the stuff that the Intelligence Community just warned is direct from the kremlin, to interfere with the 2020 election, too. She worked for the one America Network and thats what qualified her to become the spokesperson for the fda during a Global Pandemic . She was working as the main spokesperson for the fda during this past week, when this debacle happened over convalescent plasma. With the fda including the fda chief, spouting wildly inaccurate, wildly exaggerated, just false, information about the efficacy of convalescent plasma as a treatment for covid19. You heard many of those wild exaggerations echoed this week at the Republican Convention, including from the president , himself. The Republican Convention basically bragged, over the course of four nights, that trump had this thing cured. This convalescent plasma thing, weve got it cured. They do not have this thing cured. The fda has authorized emergency use of convalescent plasma but what they said about its efficacy, publicly, was false and not at all supported by the data. Including what was said at the white house by the head of the fda. Rather than replace the head of the fda, who screwed this up, theyve replaced the pr people, instead. This is not a pr problem. Meanwhile, the other Publichealth Agency that the world and our country ought to be depending on right now to find our way out of this. The cdc. Theyve spent this week trying to publicly eat their most recent recommendation, that americans shouldnt actually get tested if weve been exposed to somebody whos positive. Cdc quietly announced this new testing guidance which said which said that you dont necessarily need to be tested if youve been exposed to a positive person, which is insane. Unless youre trying to just reduce the amount of testing we do in the country because you dont like all the positive test results because it makes us recognize that we got a lot of cases. States and local Health Authorities have been announcing, all week long, that guidance from the cdc is insane and they will defy it. Meanwhile, leakers from the cdc have been rushing to tell reporters that this insane testing recommendation didnt, actually, come from scientists at the cdc. It came from the trump administration, and they just made the cdc put their name on it. The cdc director, director redfield, is now, sort of, taking back that testing recommendation. Saying, testing, quote, may be considered if a person has had contact with somebody known to be positive for covid19. Oh, thank you. It may be considered, now . You may consider getting tested if youve been exposed to somebody whos got this . Thats the recommendation now . Or are we supposed to go with what you said, in print, even though, apparently, the cdc didnt write that, either. That just came from the trump administration, and you put it out under your own letterhead . Youre the cdc. You used to be the premiere Public Health organization in the world. Tonight, over 181,000 americans are dead from covid. The cdc says well have 200,000 americans dead from covid, by the end of two weeks from now. The university of washington says, today, to expect nearly 320,000 dead americans from covid by december. We have the worst covid epidemic, on earth. We have 4 of the worlds population, and 25 of the worlds deaths. We have the largest number of cases. The largest number of deaths. The worst National Testing regime of any major country. We have the highest Unemployment Rate since the great depression. We are rocketing toward quadruple the number of americans killed in vietnam, before election day. Reopening schools isnt working. And theres no plan coming to make it make sense, at the national level. And meanwhile, here comes the election. Like i said, this week was 47 days long. Every week, from here on out, is going to be even longer than that. Stamina, everybody. Lets get to all of it. Eyes open. Lots to cover tonight. Steve schmidt joins us next. This selenite grey is so pretty isnt it . Wow. Jim could you pop the hood for us . There she is. Turbocharged, right . Yes it is. Can you change the color inside the car . Oh sure. How about blue . Thats more cyan but. Jump in the back seat, jim. Act like my kids. How much longer . Exactly how they sound. Its got massaging seats too, right . Oh yeahhhhh. Oh yeahhhhh. Visit the mercedesbenz summer event or shop online at participating dealers. Get 0 apr financing up to 36 months on select new and certified preowned models. Priceline can save you up to 60 on top hotels. And when you save up to 60 . Lets play. Youre always a winner. You got. Up to 60 off your hotel but isnt that the only one . Youre a winner priceline. Every trip is a big deal. But isnt that the only one . Youre a winner start your day with secret. Secret stops sweat 3x more than ordinary antiperspirants. With secret, youre unstoppable. No sweat try it and love it or get your money back. You know when your dog is itching for a treat. Itching for an outing or itching for some cuddle time. But you may not know when hes itching for help licking for help or rubbing for help. If your dog does these frequently. They may be signs of an allergic skin condition that needs treatment. Dont wait. Talk to your veterinarian and learn more at itchingforhelp. Com. Is a friendly neighbor. Theyre teachers, retirees, vets, people committed to doing right by getting the count right. If you havent responded yet, theyll be stopping by to ask some simple questions that will inform how billions in federal funds are spent on local Services Every year for the next decade. So when they come knocking, say hi from a safe distance and do your part to support your community. Time is running out. Shape your future. Start here at 2020census. Gov. You say that customers make thelets talk data. 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 400 off when you buy the new Samsung Galaxy note20 ultra 5g. No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical democrats america. Crime, violence, and mob rule. Crime, ravaging our streets. That is what america would see, if it allowed biden harris to run this country. Trump was elected to protect our families from the vengeful mob. They want to abolish the suburbs, altogether. Nightmares are becoming real. Cops killed. Children shot. Drug addicts. Guns on the street. The mob will try to destroy you. They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent, liberal, victim ideology. Burn down the foundations of our country to the ground. Spawns of satan. You will not recognize this country or yourself. The american way of life is being dismantled. Anarchy and chaos on our streets. This election is shaping up to be church, work, and school. Versus, rioting, looting, and vandalism. The police arent coming when you call. They want to steal your liberty, your freedom. Theyll disarm you. Empty the prisons. Lock you in your home. They want to control what you see and think and believe, so that they can control how you live. Its a horror film, really. Its madness. That was just night one. That was nice. We were all hoping that it would get slightly less terrifying over the course of the week. But that was, pretty much, the theme song, all week long. No one will be safe. Socialists poisoning our schools and burning our cities. Disrespect our flag. Burn the stars and stripes. Murders, shootings. The lawless destruction. Leftwing anarchy and mayhem. Overrun by violent mobs. They close our churches. But keep the Liquor Stores and abortion clinics open. People beaten shot, and killed. Police officers, routinely, assaulted. Good, hardworking americans, are left to fend for themselves. Their radical, socialist agenda. You wont be safe. It has been an unnerving week. With what the republicans sold to the country this week. But its also been a radical week, on its own tempers. Including, these just previously unthinkable images of the white house being used as a Trump Campaign sound stage for a televised pardon and televised citizenship ceremony, which some of the people there being sworn in as new citizens didnt know they were going to be used this way. There were also the prime time speeches from the president and first lady, and his daughter, who he made a senior aide, all coming from the white house, itself. Steve schmidt had this to say. Quote, the desecration of the white house for trumps perverse political use is an abomination. Trumps convention was a pageant of breathtaking dishonesty and demagoguery. It was an exposition of lawlessness. Profoundly abused in the name of trumps vanity and narcissism. Joining me now, steve schmidt, and a man who does not mince words. Thanks for being here. Ive been wanting to talk to you all week. Nice to see you, rachel. Thanks for having me. I wanted to ask about this phrase from you today. An exposition of lawlessness. What weve heard from the white house and from the campaign is, yeah, technically, its illegal. But everybody expects to see political events from the white house. Anybody complaining about this is an elite beltway person. Were going to do it more and more because it bugs you. Its not a serious law. But youre describing this as something that is, basically, showing off an ability to break the law, in a way thats dangerous. Of course, it is the the president is constitutionally bound to faithfully execute the laws that are dually passed by the congress, had been signed into law by previous president s. Its the law. Theyre blatantly breaking the law. So we saw three things this week, rachel, that all come together. We saw breathtaking dishonesty. We have never seen, at any prior, political convention, any prior quadrennial convention, weve never seen such breathtaking dishonesty. We have never seen such lawlessness, such breaking of tradition tradition, norms, and the law. The abuse of the United States marine corps. Those Young Marines in uniform, made into stage props for donald trump during the citizenship ceremony. A sacred event that was politicized. And lastly, we see donald trump trying to coop these symbols of the country, that belong to all of us. Were government of the people, by the people, for the people. The white house belongs to all of us. He is a temporary resident, a custodian. He resides there because its the greatest honor a citizen can receive in this country. But what trump is essentially saying, this week, is i am the truth. I am the law. And i am the state. This is dangerous in a liberal democracy. He is openly flaunting the law, and it will only get worse. And he will not stop, until someone stops him. And the elected Political Class in the country is incapable of doing it. So, its up to the voters. Steve, i think, as a student of history and as somebody who looks at things, often, from a global and Foreign Policy perspective. I know that you know that one of the things that is a hallmark of electoral autocrats and electoral authoritarians is that they get reelected. And the reason they get reelected is because they have no qualms, whatsoever, about using the fact that they hold power, now, to make sure that they get reelected. Using the power of the government and their control over the levers of power, to ensure that the election goes their way, by hook or by crook. And thats true, all over the world. Weve seen that with modern authoritarian states, all over the place. Where they have fig leaf elections but the bottom line is that the ruler always stays there. If the Political Class, as you describe it, is incapable of stopping this. If, you know, the hatch act isnt going to be enforced, for example. Do voters have the power to stop it, as long as this president controls enough levers of power, that he may be able to control the election thats supposed to be the referendum on him, in the first place . I cant believe im saying this, out loud, but im legitimately worried about this countrys ability to conduct a free and fair election. I think donald trump will do everything he possibly can to sow as much chaos, as much confusion, to try to do everything in his power to delegitimize the election. That that being said, he will not be able to steal the election from the American People. And i think that the will of the American People is enough of this. Every person that you showed in that clip, rose in defense of a vile cause. They rose to defend the most inept and incompetent president of the United States. A man, whose white house purposely made the decision we would have no National Strategy on covid because it was a problem they thought they could stick on the bluestate governors, as a result. At least 130,000 americans are dead that did not have to be. We have a wrecked economy that did not have to be. Weve seen the ending of american life, as we knew it. The schools are in chaos, and theyll close again. Well have no football this autumn. And the things that we once took for granted are gone, and theyre gone because of trumps profound incompetence. And this is a really important moment, rachel, for joe biden. It is a decisive moment. Donald trump is a factional leader, whos trying to pit the country against each other, and stoke a cold civil war. And out of that confusion, to eke out a narrow victory, again. To pull that inside straight. This is a moment for joe biden to lead. The cities of this country, nobody wants to see the violence. Joe biden has to condemn the violence. He has to speak out for justice. He has to lead, in a moment where donald trump is fueling hate and division. He has to joe biden has to lead with love. He has to talk about the country. He has to talk about unity. He has to offer the opposite vision. He should go to kenosha. He should lead, from the front. He should find where the trouble is, in this country, the trouble that donald trump is stoking, the trouble that donald trump is making worse. He should go there and make it better. Thats what this elections going to be about, over the next two months. We have two starkly different visions for the country. And what we saw, over this past week, was a dark, dark, dark message of division and hate. Thats really, very dangerous for the future of this country. Lincoln project cofounder, former republican strategist, steven schmidt. Steve, you dont know this, but behind you, you had a very good dog who was helping you make those points, even more effectively than you could with the power of your voice. And i i commend you i commend your pooch. I dont know which one that was. Brown and white. Up and down off the couch. I think thats lola. Good. Good dog, lola. Thank you, steve. Much appreciated. Take care, rachel. Weve got much more to come here tonight. Including, a former top u. S. Health official who was sounding the alarm on what went very, very wrong with the nations two major Public Health agencies this week. Stay with us. Stay with us st, i appreciate what makes each person unique. Thats why i like liberty mutual. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Almost done. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. And the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums and possibly tooth loss. Help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. Leave bleeding gums behind. Parodontax. Thousands of women with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. Ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr her2 metastatic Breast Cancer, as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. Tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Be in your moment. Ask your doctor about ibrance. Be in your moment. The freestyle libre 14 managday system. Etes can be hard. A continuous glucose monitor. Makes it easy. Easy to check your glucose without fingersticks, and easy to share your data with your doctor. And for those who qualify, the freestyle libre 14 day system, is also covered by medicare. Ask your doctor for a prescription. You can do it without fingersticks. Learn more at freestylelibre. Us its not going away. Covid19. More than ever, california needs rapid coronavirus testing. Robust contact tracing. Support for Community Health clinics. Masks and ppe for those saving lives. For teachers and School Personnel educating students. These heroes are doing their jobs. Now government must do theirs. Keep working through a special session to combat this crisis right now and provide the revenues to solve the problems we know are coming. Iowa, today. Right at the top of quad city times today. Also, the Des Moines Register led today coronavirus with two stories on the left. You see there. A local mask mandate in des moines. On the right, Governor Reynolds shuts bars and clubs in six counties. Virus rates spiking in younger adults. Yes, this is the morning paper after the president accepted the Republican Partys nomination for a second term in office. And that got headline treatment all over the country. But in iowa, that story is relegated to page a4. Cant be on the front page, now. In iowa, the big newspapers have coronavirus up top because iowas back to having one of the highest infection rates in the whole country. Only South Carolina and mississippi are up there with iowa, in terms of Positivity Rates. Earlier today, iowa reported a 79 positive rate for its tests, now. Which is insane. Part of what seems to be going wrong in iowa is they appear to have a screwed up testing system. In april, republican governor, kim reynolds, signed a 26 million nobid contract with a Company Whose ceo said, quote, none of them knew anything about lab testing. When they started up that company. Nevertheless, the governor gave that company a nobid contract for something called test iowa. This week in iowa, the local news has been all about how messed up iowas testing is. Quote, iowa cant track the number of positive, negative, or inconclusive tests performed by test iowa. Quote, the state has no way of knowing if a specific test from any manufacturer is giving a disproportionate number of positives or negatives or incon ch inconclusive test results. That doesnt help you control an epidemic, especially, as schools and colleges start to reopen. And as governor kim reynolds has mandated that they must do so, in person. Since monday, alone, the university of iowa has seen 500 new cases reported among its students. Iowa cannot get its epidemic under control, if the statewide testing is screwed up. But if statewide testing is screwed up, and that screws up one states epidemic. You can say the same thing for the country. For months, nationally, the cdc has said any american whos been in close contact with somebody infected with covid should be tested. Thats one of the reasons you should be tested. If youve had contact with somebody whos positive. Thats been their advice, all along, until monday, this week. When the cdc quietly and inexplicably changed their guidelines to say people who have been exposed to someone positive, quote, do not necessarily need a test. Why would they do that . Since then, the current cdc director, director redfield, has attempted to walk back those comments. Saying, okay, maybe, people whove been exposed could be tested . But the genies already out of the bottle and confusion is failure when it comes to Public Health guidelines. Already, widespread backlash from the community about these changes. That backlash, tonight, including some of the very people who used to run the centers for disease control. Joining us now, dr. Tom frieden, hes former director of the cdc. Hes now the president of resolve to save lives. Global Public Health initiative. Dr. Frieden, its nice to see you. Thanks for making time for us this evening. Good to speak with you again, rachel. The cdc is and has been a goldstandard Public Health agency for much of its time on earth. How unusual is it for the cdc to put out guidance, that doesnt appear to have scienfic support . And for them to waffle, then, publicly, on whether or not they really mean it . Statements from people in washington make clear that this was something that was imposed on cdc. This was a decision made in washington, not at ccdcs headquarters in atlanta. And its not based on science. Its very important to test the contacts of people with covid. Not only because they might have covid, themselves, but because if they have the infection, you then have to find their contacts. To make sure they get warned so that they can be quarantined, and not spread the disease further. If you dont do that, you allow covid to spread more. If this was improperly delivered advice. If, as you say, this was advice that was generated in washington, not at cdc headquarters. It was, nevertheless, put out under the banner of the cdc, with all of the authority that should grant it. The backlash that we have seen, not only from former officials, like yourself, but from people who are Running Health departmen departments in states and cities around the country has been absolutely its loud, and getting louder, every day. Can the cdc fix this . I mean, director redfield sort of softening it and saying the guidance shouldnt necessarily preclude people who have been exposed from getting tested. See seems how should they fix this . It feels quite dangerous. Its not hard. They just have to change a sentence on their website. Im sure cdc would like to do that but theyre not being allowed to by hhs and the white house. And thats really unfortunate because we need to follow the science. This is not about politics. This is about controlling an epidemic. You do that by testing people the most at risk and stopping chains of transmission. Rachel, over the past couple weeks, we have gotten some good news that it does appear that people can develop immunity against the virus that causes covid19. But, this past week, weve gotten bad news that it doesnt look like the fda or the cdc have immunity from the virus of politics infecting science. And that is really concerning because we have tough decisions coming up. Not just on plasma or testing. But on vaccine. And unless science rules, were not going to be able to maintain and strengthen the trust that people have, in any measure we have. Whether its a vaccine or a treatment or testing. Or the recommendation to mask up, which is so very important, and not being done as much as it should be. Thats exactly right. And theres no theres no substitute for the nih and cdc. We can either believe them and turn to them for sciencebased, direct, nobs guidance on these things. Or we cant. And they have to they have to repair themselves and their reputation for those difficult decisions coming down the pike. As you say. Dr. Tom frieden, former director of the cdc. Now, president of resolve to save lives. Dr. Frieden, its an honor to have you here tonight. Thanks for your time. Thank you. More ahead here tonight. Stay with us. More ahead heret stay with us when our daughter and her kids moved in with us. Our bargain detergent couldnt keep up. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. Daughter slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. And mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein. With 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus only 16 grams in ensure® high protein. And now enjoy boost® high protein in new cafe mocha flavor. Were continuing to follow the developing story out of kenosha, wisconsin, after the Police Shooting of jacob blake there on sunday. Mr. Blake is reportedly paralyzed after being shot in the back seven times. Nevertheless, his family said this week that the police had handcuffed him to his hospital bed while he continues to recover and be treated. That apparently changed this afternoon after widespread outcry. Mr. Blake is still in the hospital but he is no longer technically in Police Custody and hes apparently no longer shackled to his hospital bed. Also today the teenager accused of killing two protesters and wounding a third in kenosha had a hearing today in his home state of illinois where he was arrested the day after the shootings. A judge there delayed a decision on whether the 17yearold should be sent to wisconsin to face felony homicide charges. His extradition hearing will now be set for september 25th. Meanwhile, the protests sparked by the shooting of jacob blake are continuing for a sixth night tonight. Last night of course that meant Peaceful Demonstrations with protesters marching and singing as they called for justice. Tonight we go to wisconsin to be joined by william sulton, the president of the board of directors for the aclu of wisconsin. Hes an attorney in private practice in milwaukee. Thank you so much for making time to be here. I appreciate your time. Thank you for having me. From your upclose view of this matter in wisconsin, i wonder if i could just start by asking you if you feel like there are things the National Media is getting wrong, if this ongoing situation in kenosha, the reaction to mr. Blakes shooting, the protests since then, this apparent vigilante murder that happened, double murder that handed at wasn happened at one of the pretties. Are there things were getting wrong from a National Perspective that you can see better from close up in state . Well, you know, rachel, my grandfather was from kenosha. I never thought that the entire world would know where kenosha, wisconsin, is. And unfortunately what were seeing happen in kenosha is endemic to whats happening in wisconsin, and the media has properly covered the story. I know the wisconsin aclu has called for the Police Chiefs immediate resignation in kenosha. Theres been a lot of outrage and i think observation and discussion about whether or not Kenosha Police have in fact condoned and encouraged the kind of vigilantism that appears to have led to the killing of two protes that is correct, rachel. The aclu of wisconsin is calling for the resignation of the police chief as well as sheriff, both of whom have responded very poorly to what has occurred, and it is clear from the evidence that we have thus far that they have coddled the vigilantes that were responsible for the killing of two people and serious injury to another person. And we think its critical that the governor remove the sheriff and that the entire Police Commission in kenosha the chief of police. In terms of the ongoing protests, does the aclu and do you and other observers in the area have concerns about the way that the protests, the ongoing protests have been policed, especially in the wake of those shootings . Yes, rachel. It is just unbelievable that Peaceful Protesters who are protesting Police Violence are being met with Police Violence. On monday, we saw protesters shot with rubber bullets. One seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Were seeing protesters being teargassed. Were seeing protesters hit with impact munitions. This type of affront to the First Amendment right of these protesters is just horrible, and it must stop. Wilt yam sulton, the president of the board of directors for wisconsins American Civil Liberties union. I really appreciate your time tonight. Obviously the eyes of the nation are still upon wisconsin and will be for a long time as this resolves and continues to develop. Thanks for helping us understand tonight. Thank you for having me. All right. Well be right back. Stay with us. Right back. Stay with us im a verizon engineer, and im part of the Team Building the most powerful 5g experience for america. Its 5g ultra wideband, and its already available in parts of select cities. Like los angeles and in new york city. And its rolling out in cities around the country. With massive capacity, its like an eight lane highway compared to a two lane dirt road. 25x faster than todays 4g networks. In fact, its the fastest 5g in the world. From the network more people rely on. This is 5g built right. Only on verizon. Its an important time to save. With priceline, you can get up to 60 off amazing hotels. And when you get a big deal, you feel like a big deal. priceline. Every trip is a big deal. I got it with cash back from rakuten. What . I get cash back on almost everything i buy when i use rakuten. I used rakuten to get lisas birthday present. Its free money. Oh i could use it to get takeout on the ride home. Im making food. Im a vegan. Since when . Since now. Rakuten sounds cool. Shop. Get cash back. Repeat. Sign up today and get cash back with rakuten. Shop. Get cash back. Repeat. Welcome to camp tonsafun on xfinity its summer camp, but in your living room. Learn how to draw with a minions expert. How to build an indoor Obstacle Course plus. Whatever shes doing. And me, jade cattapreta. The host of es the soup camp tonsafun. Its like summer camp, but minus the poison ivy. Unless you own poison ivy. In which case, why . Just say summer camp into your xfinity voice remote to join. Its totally not the same without you. We miss your lets do this look, the sound of your laugh cry screams, and how you make every day here the best day ever. We cant wait to get you back so weve added temp checks, face coverings, social distancing and extra sanitizing to get the good times going again. Its time to roll out the red carpet and kick open the universal gates. Were finally back. And cant wait until you are too. Something to keep an eye on over the weekend. Amid fears that the white house might have organized a Superspreader Covid event last night for the president s speech with over 1,000 people closely packed together with no masks in sight, today we learned that at the actual Republican Convention, the charlotte, North Carolina event that preceded all the stuff in d. C. This week where they actually did the roll call and formally nominated the president , today we learned that four people who showed up for that rnc event tested positive for covid. Amid lots of public consternation about how the rnc has handled Covid Concerns this week at their many events, one senior white house official told cnn that none of it really matters because, quote, everybody is going to catch this thing eventually. Well, thats true if we keep going to events organized by the Republican Party and the white house, if they keep doing it like this. Watch this space. That will be a developing story as we continue to see the implications of what they organized in multiple locations over the course of this week. Ill see you again on monday night. Now its time for the last word where the great katy tur is filling in for lawrence tonight. Good evening, katy. Its good to see you. Hey there, rachel. How cynical for them to say everyone is going to get it eventually. Also, by the way, to you, congratulations on making it through that entire convention, especially last night when you had to do that giant fact check. It was a herculean effort. It is very nice of you to say that. You are you have been misled or you are mistaken if you think i made it through. I am not okay, but im going to take a weekend to get myself okay, and i will be back in my human skin by monday. I hope it includes a nice large cocktail. Rachel, thank you very much