restrictions and the officials warn we could be headed for another spike. >> it's inexplicable you want as to pull back now. >> i'll talk to tate reeves and gretchen whitmer next. plus, i'll speak to new york governor andrew cuomo. i never touched anyone inappropriately. >> he faces mounting criticism, does the governor the support of his people or his party? hello. i'm jake tapper in washington, where the state of our union is beginning to feel a little hopeful. the pace of vaccinations in america hit 2 million per day last week. health experts warn now is not the time to relax restrictions or public health measures. for the millions of americans devastated economically, it seems more help on the way. saturday, the senate passed 1.9 trillion dollar relief bill which appears to be headed for president biden's desk after heading to the house on tuesday. the passage is a sweeping expansion of aid targeting low and middle-income americans including new $1,400 checks and boost to unemployment and aid for state aid and local governments. the package passed with zero republican support, the path was bumpy among senate democrats. on friday the senate came to a chaotic standstill for nearly 12 hours as republicans, democrats and president biden frantically tried to win the support of west virginia democratic senator joe manchin who finally voted with his party after some modifications to the bill. joining me now, the man who seemed to control all of washington, d.c., democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia. senator manchin, thank you for joining us. after changes you pushed for, enhanced federal unemployment benefits now expire about a month earlier and there's a new income cap for writing them off on your taxes, i have to say you represent one of the lowest income states in the nation. why were you fighting for less help for citizens during this cruel economic time? >> jake, first, let me just say it's always good to be. next of all, all i did was try to make sure we were targeting where the help is needed. right now we are giving $300 to people with no fault of their own. i want that to continue seamlessly. if you look what we have done in targeting how we helped the families and how we helped their children with child tax credits and so much more we were doing. we are giving more help to individuals than ever before. 300 was seamless and continues on through end of august, if needed. that's what we tried to do. when we put the cap on, chuck, this is the first time we have ever allowed for tax deduction from your unemployment benefits. to be fair for the people out there working all the time, paying their share of taxes, that was something we were concerned also. so we limited it to $150,000. we capped it that anybody over $150,000 could not use that offset. anybody below it that is struggling and working, the middle class is able to do that. that was a fair compromise. we worked through that and got it done. >> i know you're doing the round of shows today. to remind you, i'm jake. not chuck. your move forced the senate to stay up all night voting after you spent the day on calls with chuck schumer and even president biden. you were talking to senator portman on the other side. how much pressure were you under and what did president biden have to say to you? >> jake, on that, president biden and i have been friends. i have the most respect. i think he is the right person, the right at the right time. our conversations have always been cordial. the only thing he said, joe, never go against your convictions. always do what you think is right. i always appreciate that encouragement, and we work very well together. working with all of my other friends back and forth, jake, you know, sometimes can be challenging, but the bottom line is what it's about, negotiations. i work with my republican friends. i work with my democrat caucus and my friends. we try to find that middle. sometimes it gets a little frustrating at times but the bottom line is at the end result we got one tremendous piece of legislation. this bill, jake, does an awful lot for a long period of time. basically out to 2024 and getting help to every city and every municipality. every one of those will have help now and basically control their own destiny. they can fix a water line, a sewer line, internet without the kowtowing to the bureaucraticness that may be making them jump through hoops. we are helping children now more so than ever before. we are making our schools safer. we are making it basically able to get back into the classroom in the safest atmosphere humanly possible. we are helping businesses reopen. vaccines are getting in people's arms. we are going to go back to normal and get to some normal. the new normal is not like the old normal and has a chance to be even better. >> i know that bipartisanship is very important to you. president biden says it's important to him as well. at the end of the day, this legislation passed with no republican votes in the house, no republican votes in the senate. some republicans tried to offer to negotiate. it didn't happen. at the end of the day, who do you blame for the fact that this bill got no republican support in congress? >> i never do place blame. what i do place is basically we don't have the tolerance to sit down and work more. let me tell you, jake, this was more of a bipartisan bill than you might think. first of all, the president asked for ten republicans to come over and see him. that was the first visit to the white house was my republican friends and colleagues that went and sat down. they offered their -- their proposal. they didn't think it was adequate enough to do what president biden has his vision for america and coming out and making sure that we can recover. i think what he did was correct but he listened to them and guess what. for the whole month, jake, we have worked together.?. for the whole month, jake, we have worke for the whole month, jake, we have worked together. we have had democrats and republicans working together. a lot of the things that i was able to get are some changes i was able to do because of the position i'm in to hopefully help message that, if you will, made significant changes. we targeted -- in this bill we targeted where help was needed. we were able to target basically the children and schools that need help. the people on the front line, all of america, is what we were able to do. we were able to do and a lot of that was by talking with myer colleagues and negotiating back and forth and i was able to channel that through, i think. hopefully, make a bill that is a much more encompassing bill. i think it's a great piece of legislation. going to help a lot of people. >> a lot of progressives say for that negotiation, none of those people you were working with senator port man or whomever never voted for the bill and point to things left out. let me ask you this. one of the priority that got dropped from the bill was a federal minimum wage increase, and increasing it to $15 an hour was one of president biden's first campaign promises. congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez a democrat in new york and singled out you and kerstin sinema and said, quote: the fact we have two people in this country holding back a completely transformation the same people held our country together throughout this pandemic is wrong, unquote. what do you say to her? and on the issue of the federal minimum wage increase, is there anything situation where you would go higher than $11 an hour? >> well, jake, we are going to go and do something because there is not one senator out of 100, not one that does not want to raise the minimum wage. not one. with that said, we are going to make that happen. the $15 minimum wage never felt in this reconciliation. the rules of the senate and know that from day one. i know they made a big issue about this. i understand. everyone has their right. the congresswoman, i respect where she is coming from. i respect her input. we have a little different approach. we come from two different areas of the country that have different social and cultural needs. but with that, you have to respect everybody. we are going to get that but it's get sit down and i hope in more of a collaboration way. >> how high would you go on? >> let me tell you what needs to be done. joe biden has said anybody that goes to work -- i believe this with all of my heart -- if you go to work you should be above the minimum guidelines for poverty line. that should be the absolute low base. when you do it and figure out the numbers, chuck, it comes out to $11. that is how i got to 11. we can do that very quickly too within a couple of years. once we get to $11 it should be indexed for inflation so it never becomes a political football again. it should be the respect and dignity of work always above the minimum wage of what the guidelines for poverty is and being able to lift yourself way far above that by your skill sets and your determination. that is all we are saying and what we have been trying work to. this is the easiest lift you will. you have that many people want to raise the minimum wage from $725 to above the poverty guidelines let's do it and let inflation take us from the standpoint indexing it so we never fall below that. >> senator, let me ask you this. i want to ask you about one of the issues coming to capitol hill. you've not yet said whether you'll support or oppose president biden's pick for secretary of the department of health and human services xavier becerra. will he be able to expect your support? >> i've spoke to xavier. we had a great conversation and supposed to meet and sent out questions we want answers to. i haven't had time in all honesty to work on those nominations while we're in this, the whole thing with the most important piece of legislation we can have, the covid relief package. and we look forward to looking at that next week. i give discretion to the president wanting to his team together and any executive want to put their team together and try to do that together to the best of might have ability. >> you used to be a governor. let me ask you about democratic governor andrew cuomo, facing multiple allocations of inappropriate conduct or sexual harassment by a number of former female staffers. one former staffer charlotte bennett called cuomo a textbook abuser. do you believe the women come forward, should governor cuomo resign? >> jake, these allocations are serious. you should let the attorney general and others look into it. let's see and wait until that investigation is completed before you have a rush to judgment. i've seen that happen, and it doesn't work well. the rule of law is our bedrock of who we are as a country and i want to make sure that everyone has their opportunity and fair chance and let the investigation come forth and the results will be based on that and that is what it should be. >> i have more questions for you but i'm told we are out of time and you have other interviews top thank you so much, senator. appreciate it. >> jake, thanks for having me, as always. enjoy being with you. skbl democrats spent friday trying to please senator manchin. white house communications director kate bedingfield joins me next. we are so close out of this national nightmare but are decisions by some governors to loosen covid restrictions now prolong our suffering? 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>> well, this is a historic and transformational piece of legislation that the senate just passed. it is going to cut child poverty in half, in part, by making a historic investment in the child tax credit. it is going to fund a vaccine program that is going to get this virus under control. it is going to get money out to schools so they can reopen so kids can go back to school and we are not losing a generation of kids to this crisis. so look. this is an incredibly transformational and frankly progressive piece of legislation. you heard senator sanders say that this was the best piece of legislation for working people in the modern history of this country. this is a bill that reflects president biden's belief that the best way to get the economy back on track and get it growing is to invest in working people and middle class people. >> right. >> so, you know, this is a -- this is a reflection of president biden's values and it is urgent aid that is going to help people across the country and making a long-term investment in helping middle class people get back on their feet. >> i get you think it's a major piece of progressive legislation. the question is what about congressman bowman? and what about congresswoman talib? i'll ask you again -- do you have the votes? >> they will make that judgment. we certainly hope so. again, i think if you look at what their constituents need and what people all across this country need, the american rescue plan addresses that and it's going to get $1,400 checks into the hands of 85% of households in this country, the second biggest direct payment i think in the modern history of the country. this is money that working people need for a family of four making $100,000, they are going to get just over $5,000 in direct payments. that is money that the people need to get back on their feet. there is money for small businesses in this package. so i think, you know, if you're a member of congress and you're looking to what is the best thing that you can do quickly to help people in your district, i think it's passing this bill. so we are certainly hopeful the house is going to move quickly. >> let's look forward. it seems clear you need 60 votes if you want to raise the federal minimum wage in the senate. that means you'll need to win over at least ten republicans, not to mention joe manchin. i know president biden supports a $15 federal minimum wage. not even 50 votes in the senate for that. you just heard manchin saying he supports $11 an hour. romney and cotton said they would support $10 an hour. if a $10 minimum wage bill came to the resolute desk, would president biden sign it? >> president biden supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. that is where he stands. that is where he stood for a long time. he believes strongly that that is the level at which people in this country who are working full time can make a living wage and not be living in poverty and i believe, that is a fundamental matter of values. he doesn't believe anyone in this country should work full time and be living in poverty. what i would say, jake, there are currently -- but currently no active discussions about lowering the threshold and details get worked out. the senate just passed our american rescue plan, a massive effort to get people aid across the country and make these investments. so the conversation is going to turn to how we tackle the minimum wage and the president is looking forward to working with congress to determine the best way to do it. the president is committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. >> raising the minimum wage is not the only thing at stake. voting rights legislation and health care, climate change, immigration reform, all these things biden laid out he wants to accomplish and all of them unlikely to pass with 60 votes. there are new calls to end the filibuster. you and i have talked about this for a long time. president biden historically has said he opposes ending the filibuster in the senate. is that still his position? >> it is. it is still his position. his preference is not to end the filibuster. he wants to work with republicans, to work with independents. he believes that, you know, we are stronger when we build a broad coalition of support. and, look. i would say look at what we have been able to do in the first six weeks that we have been in office with the filibuster in place. we just passed 1.9 trillion dollar rescue plan that is going to make a massive difference in the lives of people all across the country. >> with no republican votes though. >> but we were able to get it done. look. it's a 50/50 senate. we understand that and have to navigate our way through a 50/50 senate. that's the situation we're facing. >> reconciliation only requires 50 votes. that's how you're able to do this. other bills you won't be able to do that. >> well, but we also got it done with the support of 75% of the american people, including over 50% of republicans, you know, american voters who heard president biden lay out his proposal, believed that he had the right approach, that this was the right plan. and they rallied behind it. so, you know, we were able to pass this legislation with massive bipartisan support across the country. you had i think 400 governors and mayor yours, republicans and democrats, come out in support of the rescue plan. as i say, president biden's preference is not get rid of filibuster. we have been able to rejoin the paris climate agreement. repeal the muslim ban. >> only a minute left. president biden will not directly sanction saudi arabia crown prince bin salman for his approval for -- for approval of the operation to "the washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi. it's clear president biden believes maintaining america's relationship with the saudis is more important than holding the crown prince directly responsible. i have to say, didn't the crown prince already make that calculation, that murdering khashoggi was more important than the u.s./saudi relationship? isn't that decision the -- >> i would dispute the way you frame that. president biden has been very clear this was a horrific unacceptable crime. it is not something that the americans -- that we as americans are going to tolerate moving forward. he made that clear to the saudi government. we have made that clear at all levels of the administration and taken concrete steps and sanctioned individuals and networks in that crown. >> but not mbs. >> but, but, what we have done, we have been transparent and we have put forward the report that equivocally details his role in this crime and made transparent and accountable and that is important but we have to make decisions that, you know, benefit the united states' interests in the region. and we have to make decisions that help us do things like end the war in yemen and end the humanitarian crisis there and defend against iran and its proxies. we have to make those decisions. we are recalibrating our relationship with the saudis and made it clear to them this is not tolerable and put the report forward detailing their specific involvement in the crime and we have taken concrete actions to sanction individuals who were involved. >> kate bedingfield, the white house communications director, thank you for joining us this sunday. we really appreciate it. >> thanks for having me, jake. i appreciate it. president biden accused my next guest, among others, of neanderthal thinking. the republican governor of mississippi tate reeves will respond next. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo! great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. the harry's razor is not the same ♪ because some of us are not the same ♪ our close shave comes from our 5 german-engineered blades designed to start sharp and stay sharp. and we never upcharge you for high quality. so for those of us who don't want just the same, harry's razors are here. harry's. not the same. available in store and at harrys.com. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, harry's. not the same. your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. see every delivery... every yikes... and even every awwwwwwww... wait, where was i? introducing self protection from xfinity. designed to put you in control. with real-time notification and a week of uninterrupted recording... all powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. gotta respect his determinatio. it's easy and affordable to get started. get self protection for $10 a month. welcome back to "state of the union" i'm jake tapper. texas and mississippi's governors are facing criticism this week after the decisions to roll back statewide mask mandates, despite advice from health experts who warn it's still too soon to back off such safety measures. joining us to discuss his decision is the republican governor of mississippi, tate reeves. thank you for joining us, governor. i want to start with your decision to end mississippi's state-imposed mask mandates on businesses and take a listen to what dr. anthony fauci had to say that about this this week. >> it's just inexplicable why you would want to pull back now. i understand the need to want to get back to normality, but you're only going to set your set back if you push aside the public health guidelines. >> the cdc just released a study saying areas with no mask mandates and dining experiences increased rates of infection and death. health experts believe because of your decisioning mississippians will get sick and die. what is your response? >> well, jake, thanks for having me on today. i always appreciate the opportunity. the fact of the matter is that all of these individuals who, for a year, have said follow the science, follow the data, now want me when things are going down to completely ignore the data. the fact is in america we are seeing approximately 70,000 cases a day and mississippi is 1% of the u.s. population and, therefore, we should be seeing about 700 cases a day if we were on par with the u.s. the fact is our seven-day average is under 450 cases. but, jake, i'll tell you the total number of cases, even though we are about 40% below the national average, i'm less concerned about number of cases and more concerned about our objective. our objective in mississippi has never been to rid ourselves of the virus or make sure that no mississippian actually gets the virus, because we don't think that is a realistic goal. our goal is to ensure we protect the integrity of our health care system such that every single mississippian that gets the virus receives quality care. therefore, we look much more closely from a data standpoint at hospitalizations and number of mississippians in the icu and on vet laters. all of those numbers have plummeted in our state the last two months. plummeted. >> i don't think anybody is saying ignore the data. i think they are saying we are not there yet. we have through this before in september when cases were roughly the same level they are now. you lifted mississippi's statewide mask mandate then and relaxed social distancing requirements then. at the time you said, quote, it was a very turbulent summer, but we have come out on the other side but then cases began to rise again. you ultimately went through an even worse surge over the winter, more than 3,000 mississippians lost their lives during that time. we know more people are likely to get sick and die without mask mandates and that is what the science says. why is this a tradeoff you're willing to make given the fact that we have really been here before? >> well, the fact is that in our state, throughout this pandemic, our approach has been to not only protect lives, but to also protect livelihoods. we have to get our economy rolling so individuals can get back to work, and i think that is critically important. let's talk a little bit more about the data. the fact is that at our peak, we had 1,450 mississippians in hospital beds because of the virus. today, that number is below 400. at our peak, we had 360 mississippians in icu beds. at this point that number is below 120. the fact is we have seen significantly reduced levels. and, oh, by the way, unlike president biden, who wants to insult americans and insult mississippians, i actually trust mississippians to make good decisions. they have proven throughout the last year that they can do so. that is something that i think is very important. the fact is the numbers don't justify government interaction at the levels that we are seeing in other states. >> mississippians are watching right now. i understand you're lifting the mask mandate, but do you still think it's a good idea for them to wear masks when they're in public, indoors, around other people? is that something you would recommend even if you're not mandating it? >> i not only recommend it, i encourage it. if you have not received the vaccination and you're going into a large crowd or if you're going out to dinner, i strongly encourage mississippians and people across the copuntry to wear a mask because i believe that it does, in fact, reduce the ability of individuals to spread the virus. no question about that, jake. >> only about 9% of mississippi residents have been fully vaccinated. 9%. the governor of neighboring alabama, republican kay ivey is extending her mask mandate another month. why not do the same thing so you can get more people vaccinated before relaxing your measures? we all want to go back to normal. the fear if you do this, it will take longer to actually get back to normal. >> well, i should start by saying i love and appreciate governor ivey over in alabama. she's a great friend of mine and has been for many, many years. but when you look at the numbers in mississippi, it doesn't justify government intervention. it just simply does not. it doesn't justify statewide mask mandates. you've made a very valid point earlier that statewide mask mandates have been in effect in our state over the last six months and we are not going back to that. let's talk about vaccinations and particularly as the numbers look at it. in terms of vaccinations, in america over the last week, we have done on average 2 million vaccinations per day. again, mississippi is 1% of the u.s. population. on friday, we did 28,000 shots in arms. we are 40% above the national average. so it's the combination of the virus spreading in our state at about a level that is 40% below the national average. total number of inoculations 40% above the national average. it matters how effective you are in your state in terms of getting shots in arms and, right now, our number one -- number one tool against the virus is putting shots in arms, and we are doing it as well as anyone in the nation. >> well, i hope in my heart that you're right and that dr. fauci and dr. walensky are wrong. they strongly disagree with you. i want to move on to other issues. more than two weeks after that historic winter storm wreaked havoc across the south, thousands of residents in your state capital of jackson, mississippi, still don't have access to running water and those who do are under boil water advisories. why hasn't been crisis yet been resolved? what are you doing to fix it? >> well, first of all, let me say this about dr. walensky. i will say she is wrong about getting kids in school in mississippi. our kids have been in school since the first week of august and every kid in america deserves a quality education and the best way to do that is have a kid in the classroom. with respect to the water crisis in jackson, this is something that has been in the making for not only years and years, but actually decades and decades. it's the fact that a large number of municipalities in our state and around the country have ignored routine maintenance and because you do that over many years, you put yourself in a very difficult position. it is terribly unfortunate that so many good people throughout the city of jackson have had struggles getting running water. but i want you to know something, jake. that includes the residents that i live in. for three days i had no running water. for a week after that, it was very limited in terms of water pressure. that is just inexplicable and inexcusable. what we are trying to do now, we are in response mode and we have delivered almost 1 million bottles of water to the state of mississippi. i've activated the mississippi national guard. we have tankers that have been moved from our military installations around the state into the city to provide non-potable water and i think something we have to work on. long-term the solution, jake, is we have got to invest in our infrastructure and it was very interesting to hear senator manchin say that in this covid relief bill that we could actually use some of the money to invest in water and sewer systems. now, while i think that is ridiculous that they spent $1.9 trillion on things other than what needed for the virus, if that is an option, we are going to certainly do everything we can to utilize it. >> before you go, governor, former president trump and his allies for months and months have continued to spread the false and dangerous lie that the election was stolen. you were not part of that campaign. i want ask you a yes or no question. your answer a few weeks ago to a colleague kind of raised my eyebrows. do you accept that joe biden is the legitimately and lawfully elected president of the united states? >> president biden is the president of the united states. >> was he legitimately and lawfully elected? >> in our state we do not allow mail-in voting, and the reason is because we don't think -- we think it allows for lots of opportunities for fraud and other things. and i don't think mail-in voting should be allowed in other states around the nation. president biden is the duly elected president, and we will do everything we can to work with him to help the citizens of mississippi. >> there are lots of states that trump won where there is mail-in voting including florida and including ohio, including utah. i hear you saying joe biden is the president. i do not hear you say he was legitimately elected. they have said there was no widespread voter fraud, none that could have affected the outcome of the november election. republican after republican do see in arizona, kemp in georgia, your colleagues, judge after judge have rejected this argument. this is a dangerous conspiracy theory that tens of millions of people believe and inspired domestic terrorism attack on the capitol. yes or no. do you accept that the 2020 presidential election was free and fair? obviously, every election has some questions but i'm talking about free and fair legitimately. yes or no? >> as you said, every election that questions and this was no difference. joe biden is the duly elected president of the united states. he was certified by all 50 states either won or lost and he lost my state by 20 points but he was certified in each of the individual states and certified by the u.s. congress and he is the duly elected president. that doesn't mean we don't have bad laws in the books in other states. it's just a fact. >> all right. some people might point to mississippi laws and point to bad laws. i hear you. you did say he is duly elected so i'll take that as an answer. governor tate reeves, thank you for your time today. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me on, jake. always a pleasure. i'll ask another powerful democratic governor gretchen whitmer next about new york's governor andrew cuomo. so, you can have open window freshness... even with all the windows up. enjoy fresh, any time, with febreze. ♪ if you have moderate to severe psoriasis... or psoriatic arthritis, little things, can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream... ...it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable... ...with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, ...otezla is proven.... to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an... increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts.... ...or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. start your day with secret. secret stops sweat 3x more than that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. ordinary antiperspirants. the new provitamin b5 formula is gentle on skin. with secret, outlast anything! no sweat. secret. so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. welcome back to "state of the union." i'm jake tapper. a third covid vaccine distributed across the united states public health experts saying they are beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. gov no, sir from south carolina to north carolina have been beginning to relax the restrictions, but how do those square with dr. anthony fauci for the u.s. could be headed for another spike? joining me now, democratic governor of michigan, gretchen whitmer. you've been easing capacity restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in michigan and allowing nursing home visitations to resume. the cdc director, dr. rochelle walensky, says now the time to double down on health measures and not ease up. why aren't you listening to her? >> we do listen to her, actually. i think she is doing a great job. here in michigan, we have been really aggressive in combating covid. to liken moving restaurant capacity from 25% to 50% to what some states are doing dropping mask mandates altogether, it's just not a fair comparison. we are kind of at the 10 yard line and taking another 10 yards ahead and some are at the 50 and dropping the mask mandates and that is a dangerous situation. because we have made progress and our numbers a low and vaccinations are high, we feel we can do this responsibly but no question we will keep tethered to the science to keep people safe. >> detroit mayor mike duggan turned down an initial allocation of more than six dozen johnson & johnson vaccinations. here is how he explained it. >> johnson & johnson is a very good vaccine. moderna and pfizer are the best. and i am going to do everything i can to make sure the residents of the city of detroit get the best. >> health care experts say that is not the right support and say the johnson & johnson vaccine is very effective at preventing serious illness and death due to covid and everybody should get whatever vaccine they can. mayor duggan has since tried to clear up those comments. was it a mistake for him to turn down the vaccine shipment from johnson & johnson. >> it is nothing short of miraculous that we have three safe and effective vaccines on the market in just a year from when we saw our first cases here in michigan. we are going to commemorate the tough year we had on wednesday. we will be around 16,000 deaths. we have done incredible work and the fact we have got these vaccines is a miracle. that is really a testament to the commitment of the industry and our ability to come together to solve this problem. mayor dugan is doing phenomenal work in the city of detroit. he is trying to do the best he can for the people he represents and what he does always day in and day out. i think that acknowledging this j&j vaccine is another great tool in our arsenal is kind of where they are now, and deploying them is something they're going to do as well. that's our philosophy across the state. let's use every tool we have to get to that 70%. >> let's say there is a resident of detroit who gets an opportunity to get the johnson & johnson vaccine and says, oh, i don't know. mayor dugan said i should hold out for the moderna or pfizer vaccine. what is your message to that resident of detroit? >> take that vaccine. you know, i am going to take whatever vaccine is available to me when my category comes up. we are dropping our ages to 50 and up. if you have some sort of a health condition, starting tomorrow they are now eligible and 50 and up for everyone two weeks later. we want to make it easier for people to get vaccines and when my number is up, i'll be in that next group after that. i will get whatever vaccine is available to me because they all have high efficacy and they are all incredibly safe and the quicker we can get to 70% of our population vaccinated, the quicker we have more normalcy in our day-to-day lives. i know we all want that. >> willing lawmakers are calling on the justice department to investigate your handling of patients in long-term care facilities. as long as the facilities had dedicated isolation units and ppe for staff, you set up regional hubs for those that did not. i know you stamped by the policy decision. "the detroit news" policy board is calling for you to release all data related to nursing home cases and deaths. will you do that? >> we have released an incredible amount of data. we have followed the federal requirements every step of the way. i think that is why when you look at michigan, compared to other states, our nursing home deaths are less than most. aarp has acknowledged that and the university of michigan put out a study that shows our policies in that space actually saved a lot of lives. we have been very focused on helping our nursing homes and residents of nursing homes. the nature of this virus is that older adults who are in congregate care facilities are more at risk. that is something that has driven a lot of our policy work. stocking them up with ppe and tests and vaccines, i mean, we have done good work in that space and we are going to continue to because it's important. >> your fellow democratic governor and the leader of the national governors association andrew cuomo is facing multiple accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. charlotte bennett, a former aide gave a rather devastating interview this week and said governor cuomo who was a mentor to her repeatedly made unwanted advances. take a listen to this quick clip. >> i thought he is trying to sleep with me. the governor is trying to sleep with me. and i am deeply uncomfortable and i have to get out of this room as soon as possible. >> governor cuomo is not denying her account but saying she misinterpreted it. assuming he said what she said he did and he doesn't deny it, does that constitute sexual harassment? well, i think the allegations here are very serious and need to be taken seriously. and i do think that an impartial, thorough, independent investigation is merited and appropriate. >> other female former aides have gone on the record to allege inappropriate conduct or sexual harassment by him. in 2017 you tweeted sexual harassment is not a partisan issue and is unacceptable no matter who does it. do you think governor cuomo sexually harassed charlotte bennett? >> as i said, jake, i have to tell you i think these are serious allegations. and if accurate and true, i think we have to take action. but we also need to make sure that there is that thorough investigation. i know the attorney general is moving forward, and that's something that i know everyone who has weighed in acknowledges that's an important piece to then determining what accountability looks like. >> i mean, you have been very outspoken on these issues. look, it is not fair for me to hold you responsible for governor cuomo's behavior. he wouldn't come on our show today. you would. i just wonder. you are a prominent woman leader who has been very outspoken on these issues in a great way. what was your reaction emotionally when you watched that interview with charlotte bennett? >> well, you know, i mean, i think every -- i think that there are a lot of american women who have felt how she felt, and i think that that's something that resonates and why we need to take this seriously and why there needs to be an investigation. and whatever is appropriate in terms of accountability should follow. i think -- it wouldn't help anyone for me to prejudge where this is headed. but i had the same gut-wrenching reaction that i'm sure a lot of women in america did. >> governor, thank you for being with us today. best of luck to you and the state of michigan getting out of this pandemic. i'm sorry you are on the wrong side of 50, but hope you get a vaccine soon. >> thanks, jake. have a good one. to be honest, i'd rather be on her side of 50. anyway, the thing about politicians, is they always manage to see themselves as the good guys. we'll have more on that next. still a father. but now a friend. still an electric car. just more electrifying. still a night out. but everything fits in. still hard work. just a little easier. still a legend. just more legendary. chevrolet. 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files containing information that would eventually show the world how much the fbi was not only spying on americans but harassing them, disrupting their lives, trying to destroy their fellow citizens because j. edgar hoover, the fbi director, and his henchmen did not approve of them, did not approve of their push for civil rights or their push to end the war in vietnam, a war that the generals were still lying to the public about at that point by claiming it would be won when they knew that it could not. the burglars began mailing these stolen documents to newspapers. the newspapers began reporting and researching and learning more. it all started as a trickle, and it became a flood, revealing, for example, coin tel pro, a massive intelligence program to spy on civil rights and anti-war leaders, revealing fbi agents telling the reverend martin luther king jr. that they would expose his extra-martial relationships if he did not take his own life. it began the process of what will bunch recently called, quote, the government's war on lawful dissent. one of the eight burglars later explained their operation as a way to bring accountability where there was none. >> the people that we elected to oversee j. edgar hoover's fbi were either enamored of him or terrified of him. nobody was holding him accountable. that meant that somebody had to get objective evidence of what his fbi was doing. >> it was revelatory and exposed the fbi involvement in the killing of black panther leader fred hampton whose story came to the big screen recently in "judas and the black messiah" in theaters and on hbo max, a sister company of cnn. that's all part of this. >> black panthers are the single greatest threat to our national security. our counter intelligence program must prevent the rise of a black messiah. >> it is difficult to explain this now in 2021, but the fbi under j. edgar hoover, it was revered. they were untouchable, and they thought they were the good guys, which is something i want you to think about. most politicians, whether donald trump or andrew cuomo, they also think that they're the good guys. and they're often drawn to do the wrong things by that faith in themselves and their cause. an adversarial press and an informed public, not to mention assertive, legislative and judicial branches of government, that is all part of a check on that power. keep that in mind next time anyone challenging those in power with facts annoys you, because it's the only way any of this works. happy anniversary to the eight heroes of that pennsylvania break-in. thanks for spending your sunday morning with us. the news continues next. that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. hi. so you're the scientist here. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. this prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. impressive! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ try the body wash, too. let us take you to a place you've been craving. where the aroma of authenticity turns into the scent of home. and the warmth of friends and family is in every bite. here, there's a story behind every meal. with cacique, you'll be inspired to add your own flair. so you can tell a story of your own. cacique.your auténtico awaits. this is gps, the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria coming to you live from new york