communities, we need to have better access to things, we need more than one grocery store. this has now devastated entire community and surrounding communities because of the closes as they have to everything that i need to survive. so we just need to listen to the people who are actually saying, this is what we need and give it to them. another part of my conversation with buffalo residents today, a short time ago president biden addressed the mass shooting in buffalo during a police memorial event at the white house. nbc s just honestly the president for us. josh, good to talk to you. thanks for joining us on this. what did the president say in his remarks about the buffalo shooting and really just the epidemic of gun violence that we re dealing with in this country? yasmin, we ve got a chance to see the president once again playing that role of consoler -in-chief as he has so many times unfortunately throughout just the first year and a half of so of his presidency. trying to sh
nation find that purpose as well. in the souls of those you love. and those we serve. rest in peace. raise in glory. god bless you all. and may god protect our police and our troops. god bless you. [applause] there is very good reason why joseph biden has called our consoler -in-chief, it is because he can relate to many of the 563 families who are honoring their loved ones. police officers lost in the line of duty. just in this last year we should note that also includes officers who died of covid. that is also something that congress added to this particular 41st annual national police officers memorial.
especially of democrats in the house who feel like with the president is proposing isn t doing enough to try to mitigate the impact of climate change. it is always difficult where you play the role of consoler-in-chief to mix in politicians. to the members, to not talk about what the president is proposing here may seem abstract and a lot of subject for primary debates for a year ago or more and is now tangible to the lives of these individuals who have seen devastation in their communities. mike, really great to have you as our partner as we keep an eye on president biden as he is joined by phil murphy, the governor of new jersey, as he hears the accounts from the people who have lost it all to the storm. we will take you to texas.
everywhere, and we ll leave that tragedy to the professionals who need to take a look at it. and the president and first lady are on their way at this very moment. gina mccarthy, thank you so much for being with us. new day continues right now. announcer: this is cnn breaking news. good morning. i m john berman with erica hill this morning. we have two stories breaking right now. president biden and the first lady on their way to surfside, florida, wheels up moments ago. the president no doubt will summon his skills as consoler-in-chief when he touching down. he plans to meet with family members of the victims. there is new video of the water gushing into the garage moments before the building collapsed.
joining us now, democratic congressman, eric swalwell of california, a member of both the intelligence and judiciary committees. congressman, thanks so much for joining us. what do you think of the way the president has been dealing with all these crises over the past few days? remember, we re a week away from the midterm elections. we need a consoler-in-chief right now. and i think back to the different presidents in my lifetime. whether it was reagan after beirut, president clinton after oklahoma city, george bush on september 11 or barack obama. they brought the country together. and to see so many people protesting at a tragedy is heartbreaking. because the office of consoler-in-chief is vacant right now in america. and i think the president certainly didn t send the bombs. he didn t fire the weapon that was used. but he has created a permissive environment in our country where he stokes hate, and it looks