Williams overheard mr. Floyd pleading for his life as chauvin, with his knee on floyds neck, for an agonizing 9 minutes and 2 9 seconds. Well speak with George Floyds brother in just a moment. We begin with Omar Jimenez In Minneapolis with the emotional start to this trial. Good morning. This is day 14, but in many ways, this week has felt like a new beginning for this trial. This true test of what criminal accountability looks like for policing in america. And Opening Statements gave us a clear indication of what each side is going to argue, either in favor of or against Derek Chauvin. The most important numbers youll hear in this story are 9 29. What happened in the 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Reporter 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Thats the corrected length of time prosecutors say Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyds neck. During day one of Opening Statements, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell played a bystanders video in full for the jury. Mr. Derek chauvin betrayed this badge. When he used excessive and Unreasonable Force upon the body of mr. George floyd. Reporter chauvin faces three counts. Second and thirddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter. The defense argues that floyd died of Previous Health conditions and his methamphetamine and fentanyl use. It listed his cause of death as Heart Failure during restraint. Derek chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19year career. The use of force is not attractive. But it is a necessary component of policing. Check his pulse. Reporter chauvins attorney also argues the crowd that formed at the scene distracted the officers. They are screaming at them. Causing the officers to gert their attention from the care of mr. Floyd to the threat that was growing in front of them. Reporter the jury heard testimony from three witnesses, including the 911 dispatcher who called the Police Sergeant while watching Surveillance Video of the scene. At one point she said even thinking the realtime video froze given how long the officers were on top of floyd. My instincts were telling me that something is wrong. Reporter the jury also heard from donna williams, a mixed martialarts instructor at the scene. Hes trained in the use of chokeholds and yeld to chauvin of the blood choke he had him in p. Hes pushing that pressure down on his neck. Reporter the nation has been waiting ten months for this trial. Demonstrators flooded the surrounding streets outside the courthouse in minneapolis. Floyds brother was in the courtroom monday. He says this trial is a test for the justice system. America is on trial right now. Minneapolis, minnesota, they would have to get this right. Were tired of people being killed and slaughtered. If you cant get justice for this as a black man in america, what can you get justice for . Reporter testimony is going to pick up with donald williams. Hes going to finish what he started yesterday. And back in may, he told cnn just days after he witnessed what happened to floyd from just feet away that he believed these officers wanted to kill that man. Speaking of floyd. And of chauvin, he said he knew what he was doing. Court gets back into session in just about an hour and a half. The judge will start by Hearing Motions involving the broadcast of the testimony from four witnesses who were minors at the time of George Floyds death. But then well hear from more witnesses in this trial that is really a culmination of everything that has been building over the last ten months since floyds death. Alisyn . Omar, thank you very much for all of that reporting. Joining us is George Floyds brother philonise floyd. Also benjamin crump. He is one of the attorneys for George Floyds family. Gentlemen, its always really nice to see you, and im sorry its under these circumstances. Philonise, tell us what that was like being in the courtroom yesterday. It was an emotional roller coaster. To everybody else, it was a case and a cause. To me, it was my brother. Somebody that i grew up with. Eating with. Sleeping in the same bed with. Going fishing with. Just watching him dance with my mother. Those are the things that i think about when i think about my brother. He was a protector. He was someone who we can go to when we were in trouble and in need, anything. Hopefully we will get justice because we have 27 million reasons why we should get justice. Philonise, many of us did not know that that video of your brother under Derek Chauvins knee was longer than we had previously known. I know so many people who are not related to george floyd who had to turn away, who cant make it through those nineplus minutes of watching that video. Have you seen that whole video . I was in court. I saw the entire video. First time i saw the video, i spoke to you awhiling backe. Every time i have a chance to even look at a partial piece of the video, i just ask myself, wheres the humanity . Life is precious. We shouldnt be killing each other. Theres only one race and thats the human race. Yeah, philonise, you and i spoke in june, right after this happened, and we talked about all of that. And you said the same thing. Of course, theres no other way for you as his brother to interpret it. Were you able philonise to see Derek Chauvins face and his reaction during that . I seen him. I watched him. I watched the reaction when the witnesses were responding to questions that they were asked. Pretty much hes in there. Hes fighting for his life, just like im fighting for my brothers life. We have seen the video. We have facts. They are in there trying to assassinate his character when. When you dont have facts, thats what you have to do. I want to ask you about that, ben. So the defense has tried to introduce all of these other contributing factors, they say, that would have led to George Floyds death. His Underlying Health conditions, his drug use. You know, in terms of the assassination of character, millions of americans struggle with substance abuse. I personally dont know a Single Family that isnt touched by addiction of some kind. So do you think that still works . The introduction of his drug use. Do you think that will work to acquit Derek Chauvin . Well, i know the rules are different when its a marginalized person of color that is killed unjustifiably by the police. History has shown us, you and i have talked many times about these type of cases where Police Kill People in some of the most unbelievable ways, but yet, because they are a black person, they engage in the intellectual justification of discrimination, and you are absolutely right. Opioid use in america is an epidemic. And so we are now going to say because george floyd had a Dependency Issue like millions of other americans that what we saw in that video was acceptable . I think were better than that, america. We have to have equal justice under the law for all americans, whether they are black or white. Philonise, whats it like for your family to hear those things brought up about your brother . Its troublesome just hearing everything. But the fact that my brother was upright and before he was on the ground with his hands behind his back in the prone position, that guy had his knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, he tortured my brother to death with a smirk on his face, with his hands in his pocket. 9 minutes and 29 seconds. 9 minutes and 29 seconds. But the thing about it is, nobody tried to render aid. None of those officers, the people who tried, they were trying to mace them. He was trying to mace them. So it shows you what he was doing to my brother. He didnt care. He didnt care my brother was lifeless at one time. And philonise, to be clear, did your did you know it was 9 minutes and 29 seconds before yesterday . They didnt the video, every time i watched it, i only just hear 8 minutes and 46 seconds. I never try to watch the entire video. Its not something that you want to watch your brother tortured and screaming and asking for our mom and saying tell my kids i love them. I cant breathe. He was basically like A Fish Out Of Water gasping for air. Yeah, and that was a great analogy that don williams made, comparing a Fish Suffocate and watching a human being in George Floyd Suffocate from lack of oxygen. Ben, one of the things that the Defense Attorney said was, you know, chauvin didnt do anything he wasnt trained to do. That was his training. Whats your response to that . Isnt there some sort of legal code or playbook that we can go to to find out, are you supposed to stay on someones neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds . Yeah, i think youre going to hear as the prosecutor said in his opening argument, alisyn, that the police chief himself is going to come in and testify that those things that were done by Derek Chauvin was inappropriate. That it was contrary to their policy. Not only to police policy, but it defies all common sense, logic and moist of all as philonise said, humanity. Wheres the humanity . And i have to say, they are coming up with every excuse in the book other than what we saw in that video. They are saying it was trace amount of drugs in george floyd a system. They say it was some alleged health condition. Alisyn, they are even say it was the by standers fault the police kept his knee on George Floyds neck. Its just asinine. And we rebuke when they come and say that this is a hard case. This murder case is not hard when you watch this Torture Video of george floyd. And if george floyd would have been a White American citizen, nobody would be saying this is a hard case. Everybody would be screaming bloody murder and would expect justice to come swiftly. I want to play a moment of that. The defense said officer chauvin was distracted by the crowd. I know this is very upsetting to have to watch a moment of this video again, but i just want to play what the crowd was doing and saying to Derek Chauvin during this. Heres just a moment. You got him down, man. Let him breathe at least. Let him breathe. Okay. Okay. Ben, i have never heard a more rational sounding crowd. What the bystanders are saying is, please, man, let him breathe. They are so i actually cant believe how reasonable and rational they were. They were begging him to get off the neck. How is that distracting . You know, alisyn, it flies in the face of all common sense that people who are trying to express humanity, trying to say, please, hes dying. Everyone could see that they were killing him, even the 911 dispatcher who said, you know, she said they may call me a snitch but what im saying on this video is not right. And for them to have the audacity to come and say people regular everyday, Good American citizens, saying, hey, police officers, you cant do that to this black man. You cant do that to a human being. You have to preserve his life, not take his life, but yet they would have the audacity to come in the courtroom today and try to tell us that the police are im sorry, the bystanders are part of the problem. That he kept the knee on the neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Its asinine. So philonise, ive asked you this before, but today as you sit in the courtroom, what does justice look like for your family. If somehow you know, Derek Chauvin escapes the full murder charge but theres some lesser charge, what is justice at the end of this . At the end of the day, justice is a conviction. So many times i have seen africanamerican People Killed and nobody gets a conviction. We all fighting across america. Not just me. You see protesters all around the world, theyre all standing up for george floyd. Thats why you see all the signs saying, i cant breathe. We want justice. All different types of things. He had a family. You know, he has kids. Hes on the ground. We love him. Thats my brother. Ill never get him back. Derek chauvin, he can go home. Hes bonded out of jail. Hes living his life. But im fighting for my brothers life. Im fighting for whats right. We will get justice. If you cant get justice in america for this, what can you get justice for then . Philonise, ben, thank you very much for your time. We are watching, obviously, very closely what happens, and well speak to you both again. Thank you alisyn. Thank you. President biden pleading with states to bring back mask mandates as the cdc director warns of impending doom. The president s Senior Adviser on the pandemic joins us next. So you only pay for what you need. Thank you hey, hey, no, no limu, no limu only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. You need a Financial Plan that can help grow and protect your money. An annuity can help cover Essential Expenses in retirement. Have the right financial professional show you how. This is what an annuity can do. Priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60 . These are all great. And when you get a big deal. You feel like a big deal. Priceline. Every trip is a big deal. Im reiterating my call for every governor, mayor and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate. Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down. President biden urging local and state officials to reconsider their reopenings. Just hours after the cdc director warned of impending doom. Coronavirus cases are on the rise in nearly half of u. S. States and puerto rico. Some by as much as double digits in the last week alone. Joining susandy slavitt, white house Senior Adviser on the pandemic. Dr. Slavitt, good to see you, sir. Question, what is driving this surge that is so evidently concerning both the president and the cdc director . Well, thanks for having me. Good morning, john. I think we all see it around us. We see signs of hope, signs of optimism. But the vaccine rollout, with spring. The thing we dont see around us is the invisible thing thats been with us for the last year which is that this virus is still spreading. It finds its way to the people that it has an opportunity to hospitalize and kill. And we take our guard down and see whats going to happen. The really interesting question is, are we going to just wait for science to rescue us, or are we going to participate in our own rescue. And thats going to be very simply done if we decide to be part of this. This is a story of our last year which is were waiting for some hope around the corner when we have the opportunity in our own hands to effect this outcome. Whats going on with younger people . Why are younger people getting sick, in particular, michigan, the cases of 40somethings are up 800 . The cases of 30somethings up Something Like 600 . Is this variant affecting younger people and making them sicker . This is really an important point. Theres a lot of people that feel, if i havent gotten it so far, im immune or im relatively healthy. Im potentially immune. We dont understand this virus as well as people pretend to who think theyve lived with it for a year. Older people now are increasing lear vaccinated. Thats the great news. That means those Hospital Beds are still there and theyre there for people who are going to get infected. Weve got a more virulent variant of the virus now. A more contagious strand of the virus now. And just like we were a year ago, we think we are lulled into this false sense that this thing cant get to us. But as michigan is showing, as other states are showing, its not true and its not done yet. Is the white house and the cdc pushing for teens to get vaccinated . Does the Science Support that move . Well, look, the science is determined by the scientists, not the white house. So it will be in this case the food and Drug Administration that will finish up the work on the ongoing clinical trials. And then as hastily as possible well do everything we can, just like we are now with adults to get people vaccinated. But we want to make sure that the scientific process takes the time it needs to take. Sometimes that can be frustrating. But i think weve demonstrated that once thats done, we are going to be capable of a very quick execution and rollout for teenagers. In the meantime, people just need to be wary of the fact that even if they dont feel at risk, there are other people at risk if they get the virus. Andy, alabamas governor said shes going to go forward with her plans to remove the mask mandate, despite President Bidens plea. The cdc director will be speaking with governors today. What message will she be sending, and what can the white house do to help encourage governors not to let off the focus right now at such a critical Inflection Point . Well, i think the governors know better. I think the governors know theyre not helping the cause. Theyre actually weighing down the cause and that they may think its a popular thing to do. I dont think thats the case. I think people want to be told what the truth of the matter is. The mask to me, a mask feels like a very small price to pay to protect peoples lives, to save peoples lives. Were seeing death rates go up, even with more vaccinations because we have millions and millions of people that havent yet been vaccinated. So i think the cdc is going to press this point very clearly. Her job is to speak the truth, even if people dont like it. I dont think were naive enough to think that everyone is going to agree with us, but i dont think the facts are hard to grasp. Apparently President Trump, former President Trump, watched the cnn documentary on the pandemic with great interest. Hes had a lot to say about that overnight. In particular, he seems exercised about what dr. Birx and dr. Fauci said in the documentary. And dr. Birx was, you know, really, i think, outspoken about she said that she believes that about 450,000 american deaths could have been, in her words, mitigated, had there not been so much mixed messaging and confusion and dysfunction in the white house. And had President Trump, you know, complied more with their mask mandate, et cetera. So does the white house agree with her numbers on that . Well, President Biden has asked one thing of us. Focus on getting this country safe again. Focus on getting the vaccines rolled out again. And just be very single minded about that. There will be plenty of people who will provide that kind of commentary. Theyll evaluate the prior administration. Theyll evaluate this administration. And, you know, so i dont really think we have the time for the infighting and the finger pointing and all of those kinds of things right now. I think the public would be disappointed in us if they felt we were looking at this in anything other than a competent, businessminded like way. Thats what were trying to do. The w. H. O. Report was finally released. A draft has circulated. Youve seen the reports of its contents. Does the white house view its conclusions with skepticism . I think we have to understand the methodology of that report better. Were the investigators who wrote the report given Police Access to everything . Were they in any way influenced by the government in china when they wrote this report . Until we know the answers to those questions, i think its best that we view the report with some healthy skepticism. Not necessarily cynicism, but just important to make sure that these reports are done right. These afteraction reports are really, really important. Its how we prevent the next pandemic. Its not about just who is to blame. Its about how to make sure this doesnt happen again. Dont we already know the researchers were not given complete access . Well, thats certainly been the suspicion of the state department, and if thats true, thats very troubling. It does indeed seem to be true. Andy slavitt, thank you for your time. Thank you both. So the Georgia State trooper seen in this video who was arresting a lawmaker for knocking on the governors door, while he was at that Signing Ceremony of the voting law, well, that officer is now telling his side of the story. What he says he was most afraid of, next. We made usaa insurance for members like martin. An air force veteran made of doing whats right, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa youre strong. You power through chronic migraine15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. 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All in one place. Expedia. [sfx psst psst] allergies dont have to be scary. Spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. Psst psst all good so youre a small business, or a big one. You were thriving, but then. Oh. Ah. Okay. Plan, pivot. How do you bounce back . You dont, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. Powered by the largest gig Speed Network in america. But is it secure . Sure its secure. And even if the power goes down, your connection doesnt. So how do i do this . You dont do this. We do this, together. Bounce forward, with comcast business. The Georgia State trooper seen here on video arresting State Representative park cannon, after she knocked on the governors door during a bill signing, is now telling his side of the story saying that he was afraid of a januarystyle january 6th Style Confilligration at the capitol, telling his story. Cnns Ryan Young Live In Atlanta with more. Good morning, john. Weve got a first look at this 13page report. In it youll see some of the details. This video has gone viral from the State Representative knocking on that door. So many people surprised shed be charged with two felonies. For the first time, were hearing from that State Trooper. In fact, lets put some of his words on the screen there. He said, i felt like if i did not take action the other protesters would have been emboldened to commit similar acts. The events of january 6th were in the back of my mind. This is not the only thing it triggered. According to this incident report, it also says that a staffer told two other State Troopers on the inside of that signing that something was going on. They thought that someone was going to try to breach the doors where the governor was signing that bill, and they evacuated the governor and his wife during this incident. Two other State Troopers, they felt they had to move the governor. Now that State Trooper goes on to say, his name is lieutenant lankford, while they were taking the representative out that his foot was stomped on by her heels. He reports bruise to his foot and he was injured. Theres been a lot of conversation back and forth about this arrest because people felt like it was just one woman knocking on the door who was a State Representative. Yesterday was sort of a dramatic return as she came back to the capitol. Representative park cannon walked into the capitol yesterday and they said they plan to fight this. Obviously, a lot of conversation about this. But the full 13page report incident is now out there for people to read. Alisyn . Okay, ryan, thank you very much for all of that reporting. Joining us now is state senator butch miller, the Top Republican in the Georgia State senate and sponsored the Election Bill just signed by governor kemp. Senator miller, thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. Good morning. Can we start there with what ryan just reported on. Do you think that the officer there who arrested Representative Park Cannon had any reason to fear that your fellow local state georgia lawmakers would start some sort of insurrection if they couldnt get into the Signing Ceremony there . Frankly, everything that youre telling me about this, i heard in the media just like you did. So i wasnt a party to it. I didnt witness it. I didnt play a role in it. We were in our chamber conducting business. I dont know exactly what happened with representative cannon. I know, but just from the video that weve all seen representative cannon has a history of arrests and runins with State Capitol police. And other Law Enforcement. Thats all i know about her. Im sorry. So tell us about that. Youre saying that representative cannon has a history of Law Enforcement runins . I think you should check the record and youll see for yourself. But i didnt realize that was what this discussion was going to be about, but i only know about park cannon what i read in the papers. And you know what mark twain said. If you dont read the paper, youre uninformed. If you do read the paper, youre misinformed. So i really dont know much about her. Okay. All right. Well, we will look into it. But it sounds like you know a headline that you did want to say about her, but look, i dont want to get too bogged down in this, but it seems absurd that the officer would think would liken what she was doing by knocking on the door to the insurrection. Do you see the parallel . I think that we would all have our opinion. I wasnt there, so i really dont i couldnt pass judgment on him. Everything i know about it is third hand. So lets talk about help those of us outside of georgia understand why this law, this voting law in georgia was necessary, and in particular, some of the elements. Let me dive into some of the ones questioned the most. This law changes it moves the Ballot Drop Boxes which were so convenient in 2020. I used a Ballot Drop Box myself. Inside. Why. Why not keep them the most accessible position outside . If you are familiar with the Ballot Drop Boxes, youll know that they were not permitted or codified in georgia law. The drop boxes were only a function of the pandemic. So drop boxes are popular. We kept drop boxes. We did not outlaw drop boxes. Drop boxes are 1 for 100,000 registered voters, and they are asigned to precincts based on population density. We tried to have an even, calm, measured approach across all measures regarding the drop boxes. But wouldnt outside be more convenient . 55 of all voters 55 of all voters in georgia, as reported by the Atlanta Journal constitution believe that the Election System in georgia was broken. Were the drop boxes so hold on, senator, for a second. The outside drop boxes, how was that broken . Arent those more convenient for people to vote . I said the process was broken. We still have the drop boxes. We have the monitored. They should have been monitored all along. So now we have them inside. Theyre open many, many hours. In fact, we expanded the hours of voting in georgia so there are many Good Measures to this. Okay. Let me move on to the next one. You restrict early voting hours from 9 00 a. M. To 5 00 p. M. Isnt that when most people are at work . Actually, we increased early voting hours by 33 hours over the entire period that early voting is available in georgia. Right, but those particular hours you will find that there are 33 more hours. Okay. But i have the law specifies that early voting hours must run from 9 00 a. M. To 5 00 p. M. Thats the language in the bill. But isnt that shall. Beg your pardon. Shall run from 9 00 to 5 00 but may run from 7 00 to 7 00. Okay. So there are a lot of details here that apparently maybe we need to review to make sure that youre clear on. Sorry. This is what senator, this is what were trying to do. The point is that it sounds like, with some of these things, that you are making it less convenient. Well, we certainly dont want to make it less convenient. We want to have a clear, accessible, accountable, transparent process for voting in georgia. One of the things early voting, Weekend Voting, early voting and Weekend Voting were maintained. Theres no the nofault senator . Sorry, i think youre breaking up a little bit. Sorry about your satellite for a second there. A lot of georgians are. Im sorry . Very quickly because this is one thats gotten a lot of attention. The food and drink. Sure. Oh, yes. Thats a great point. Lets go over that. Lets go over that. Tell us why, why not give elderly people who are waiting for hours in line a bottle of water . Here again, as reported by Political Science department at massachusetts at mit, this is a false narrative that you cant give food or drink. You can have a water station. You can have a comfort station, an umbrella station, a food station. You can have all these this stuff thats accessible for those that are waiting in line. But what you cant do is go from person to person, electioneering and intimidating and persuading voters in the voting line. But the Water Stations are available. Food stations are available. Umbrella stations are available. Blankets, chairs, whatever you like. But you cant go person to person electioneering. Sure. I know you already had laws on the books about electioneering. We have to let you go. Butch miller, thank you for coming on to explain your perspective on the new law. We appreciate it. Actually, im trying to explain the law, not my perspective, thank you. The giant tanker ship that blocked the suez canal is finally free. We now have pictures of how it got out. Thats next. This is a nononsense message from three. Small Business Insurance is usually so complicated, you need to be a lawyer to understand it. Thats why three was created. Its a better kind of Business Insurance. Its only three pages. Straightforward. If you own it, three covers it. Got a cheese slice for spokesperson . Thats me. I dont even need to see whats happening behind me to know its covered. screaming this commercial is now over. Logo. Three. No nonsense. Just common sense. The suez canal is finally open again. The vital passageway was blocked for nearly a week after a giant cargo ship ran aground. Ben wedeman has the incredible pictures. Reporter one final push and the enormous stern of the ever given is afloat. God is great the ship is floating, they shout. As the little tugboats that could blare their horns in celebration. Rescuers had been pushing, prodding, prying day and night for six days. Trying to dislodge the 224,000ton behemoth stuck solid in the suez canal. Damming a shipping lane crucial for world trade. Monday it floated free. Not a moment too soon. We hoped it would not take this much time says the man in charge of the suez canal. For days, machines could dredge but nobody commands the tide. Sunday night offered a High Water Mark and an opportunity to refloat the stricken ship. The tugboats pushing with all their might. Finally, monday, 11 00 a. M. Local time, movement. The engines revved. The tide began to float the ever given, the stern was lifted, pushed 50 meters toward the center of the canal. The bow freed a little from its entrenchment in the clay bank. But again by midmorning, the tide was going out. One more great tug was needed, and by a quarter past 3 00 local time, she comes free from the shore. The ever given was guided away. It leaves an almighty bottleneck in its wake. Billions of dollars of cargo stranded on the ships all backed up and waiting. In three days or 3 1 2 days, i might make up for the loss, osama says. Well work around the clock until we get the ships through. Time, of course, money for the Shipping Companies waiting to get goods through what should be a shortcut from the Mediterranean Sea to the indian ocean. The ever given now taken to a place called the Great Bitter Lake where it will wait to be deemed sea worthy. A joyous farewell to a ship that could continue to fuel much bitterness as an investigation gets set to determine who foots the bill for this great big blunder. Ben wedeman, cnn. Thanks to ben wedeman. President biden is warning americans not to let their guard down on the pandemic. We have the bottom line of what that means, next. To prove our aa battery is the worlds longestlasting, we tested it against our competitors best battery. meowing clicking and energizer ultimate lithium wins again energizer, backed by science. Matched by no one. 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. A vast majority of americans, 72 , approve of President Bidens handling of the coronavirus pandemic. So what will he do with that Political Capital . Lets get the bottom line with cnn political director david chalian. David, with that 72 that we just put up on the screen approval, what can he do now that we now that dr. Rochelle walensky seems to be very concerned that were facing a possible, horrible surge. I think we saw some of the ways he wants to spend that Political Capital yesterday when he came out and urged some of the states that had opened up not to go too quickly when he urged americans to get masks back on. Alisyn, you know, and we discussed this the morning of his Press Conference before the Press Conference. For this white house, dealing with the pandemic and seeing it through to its complete defeat is issue 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Everything else rests on that. And so what that 72 approval on handling the pandemic represents is that joe biden has a bunch of credibility with the American People at large. By the way, that number, 44 of republicans approve of how hes handling the pandemic. When is the last time you saw 44 of the opposition of a party approve anything. That doesnt sort of speak to our thats the credibility biden has built up on dealing with the virus. So hes using that credibility to try and urge the American People to not go too quickly with getting rid of the mitigation efforts because there is this potential surge out there. David, obviously, the flip side to that is theres a real danger for the Biden Administration and the president s Political Capital if we start seeing a serious uptick. Were already seeing it in a lot of states. Michigan numbers in particular are very troubling. So does that really mean that if we do see a new surge, because people are taking their focus off the ball, that the biden overall agenda could be impaired. Potentially so. You know this, that thats why Everything Else i was saying sort of rests on this. If, indeed, we, as a country, go back into some really bad place with the virus, its hard to imagine how that wouldnt impact the president s popularity and, therefore, impact his ability to get through the rest of his agenda. Im not suggesting thats why the Biden Administration is saying what theyre saying so he can stay popular. They want to see an end to this crisis, but theres no doubt if we see a real rise in cases again as were beginning to see and if it is a fullon surge that shuts society down again the way we were a year ago, its hard to see how that wouldnt have an impact on his approval numbers. Sure. I want to talk to you about the statement that former President Trump put out overnight. He apparently watched with great interest the cnn documentary on the pandemic, where dr. Sanjay gupta interviewed the six Top Health Officials on the pandemic. And President Trump takes great issue with some of the things that dr. Fauci and dr. Birx said in that. I mean, they were really unequivocal, at least dr. Birx was, in terms of saying how President Trump could have done things differently. She believes had there not been so much dysfunction and chaos and mixed messaging that we could have saved or mitigated the deaths of 450,000 people. So its just, i think, noteworthy that hes quite upset about this documentary. Oh, i mean, surprising nobody, right, because we know that donald trump does not take criticism well at all. What i find so interesting in the statement he issued is a tacit admission of his failure in containing the virus because he says in that statement that he had to go in an entirely different direction than doctors fauci and birx were recommending. He had to go against their advice because of how bad he thought their advice was. Well, that decision seems to have resulted in part into this nearly 550,000 deaths in america due to this virus. To his loss in the president ial election, no doubt. So you see, i think its an odd statement. Hes pushing back on criticism, but while doing so, kind of admitting that he took the country in a direction that ended up not being so good. Two selfpromoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations which i fortunately almost always overturned. And so, to your point, david, hes saying i proudly ignored the scientists and the doctors and look at where we are. Yeah, and, therefore, by implication, im culpable for that delta of 450,000 deaths. Without a doubt. You remember from the Republican Convention in 2016, i alone can fix it. We saw he couldnt alone fix it. David chalian, thank you for the bottom line. Great to see you. 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Im jim sciutto. Poppy harlow is off this week. This morning, the nation is on the brink of normalcy or another surge. Its up to americans like us to decide. Covid infections, hospitalizations and deaths in the u. S. Are now on the rise. And the white house is pleading with people, dont let your guard down yet. President biden urging states now to halt their Reopening Plans as well. Im reiterating my call for every governor, mayor and local leader to maintain the mask mandate. Please, this is not politics. Reinstate the mandate if you let it down. And more people are about to be eligible to get a vaccine. This may include you. The president has announced that 90 of adults can get a shot within the next three weeks. Thats remarkable time line. We are following all the news on coronavirus and this as well. Day two in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. The man charged in the death of george floyd. Today more testimony after a dramatic first day of video and witness accounts. Some of it very moving. We begin with Jeremy Diamond at the white house on this new pledge by the president. Weve seen, jeremy, a rapid expansion, really, of the administrations goals here, right . The number of people to get vaccinated but also when it will happen. Tell u