Drugmaker announced plans to seek approval for a third dose amid concerns of waning immunity. That prompted almost immediate pushback from the cdc and the fda saying vaccinated americans do not need a booster right now. This caused understandable confusion. Just as for the first time in a long time, the united states is again seeing an alarming increase in covid cases. Just take a look at this map. 36 states seeing cases up more than 10 in the last week. But look, states in the red again. 11 states are in the red seeing an increase of more than 50 . These increases are being driven by the unvaccinated. The Delta Variant is now the dominant strain in the united states. But i want to play for you how one doctor in missouri which is leading the nation in Delta Variant cases right now, what he said about this today. Common denominator for the parents that weve seeing that are sick enough to be in the Emergency Department is that they are unvaccinated. That is the absolute common denominator amongst those patients. The absolute common denominator. Lets begin with elizabeth cohen. What are you hearing about this Meeting Today between Pfizer And Government officials . What were hearing is that this is going to be a chance for F Pfizer to clarify why they think were already seeing some waning immunity with two doses of the pfizer vaccine. What is the proof, what is the evidence . Sort of in school when you have a Math Problem you couldnt say the answer, you have to show your math. So i think that pfizer will be asked to show their math. They previously pointed to israeli data as evident that immunity is waning but the israeli Data Shows that the vaccine does an excellent job of prevent preventing people from getting sick from covid19. So dr. Fauci is saying that the ceo oF Pfizer called him to apologize for not giving more of a Heads Up about the statement making it sounds like everybody needs to get a booster which is not the Case And Dr. Fauci made it clear this morning saying that pfizer doesnt get to make the call about when and if people get a booster. Lets take a listen. What pfizer did, understandably, they looked at what their data and they say based on the what we see, we think people should get vaccinated with a boost. Well that is fine but theyre not the recommending organization. He said based on the what theyre seeing, they think people need a booster but they havent said what they are seeing so last week the cdc and the fda put out a joint statement and the joint statement was very, very clear. It said americans fully vaccinated did not need a Booster Shot at this time. So i think that is quite clear. There is one caveat here, kate. There are some folks who are immunocompromised. People who received an organ transplant, they might benefit from a third shot. They should talk to their doctors. Thank you so much for that report. Joining me now is dr. Jonathan reiner. Hes a professor of medicine at George Washington University and advised the White House medical team under president george w. Bush. It is good to see you again. First, who do you make of the difference of opinion between Pfizer And Government officials on the these Booster Shots being needed now or when . Hi, kate, im not a fan of science by press release. And i thought that last week the Pfizer Announcement was illconceived and poorly written. I read it over and over and i couldnt tell if the neutralized antibodies waned over time and the relative effectiveness waned over time because of more potent variants. I dont want to hear this information from a corporate press release, i want to hear this from the cdc and the nih and i think that is what we need to hear going forward. It looks like something is going to come out of this meeting and in all Likelihood Theyll be on the same page with wherever they go, moving forward and well see. But now to kind of where we are sadly once again in this moment, dr. Reiner, i mean hearing from the doctor out of missouri, we played some of the sound as he spoke this morning, that everyone who is getting admitted to his hospital right now with covid, everyone, the common denominator is that they are unvaccinated. Sadly, should that be surprising to anyone at this point . No. And i could simplify this for the american people. Our vaccines work incredibly well against all of the variants, including the Delta Variant. And if you get vaccinated, you will be protected from dying. Will you not die from this. You will likely not get sick and you will definitely not die from this virus. So you could do that today. You could go to your walgreens or your cvs or anywhere and get vaccinated. But what has happen this country is that the vaccine has been politicized. And we have this red blue split. About a third of the new cases in this country are coming out of five states, florida, arkansas, louisiana, missouri and nevada. And none of those states have vaccinated no more than 70 of their adults. In each of these states you see exactly what youre seeing in missouri. Which is all of the folks coming through Emergency Rooms sick with the covid, with covid are unvaccinated. It is completely unnecessary. This country needs to get on message and the message is that we have all of the tools that we need to defeat this virus. We cant have it both ways. We cant be both unmasked and nonsocially distanced and nonvaccinated. That wont work. We have to pick sides and side is we need to be vaccinated. We could put this down this summer but the way to do this is with vaccination. And you want to talk about in an astonishing number. It is mostly people that are unvaccinated. 11 states are in the red, seeing 50 increase and this is driven by folks who are unvaccinated. With that in mind, and you talked about this kind of political divide, i want to play for you something that happened at the conservative annual Gathering Cpac over the weekend which gets directly to this push to get americans vaccinated. Because clearly they were hoping, the government was hoping, that they could sort of Sucker 90 of the population into getting vaccinated. And it isnt happening, right. There is a younger people [ applause ] they cheered that people are not getting vaccinated. I mean, what is your reaction to hearing that . Those people are cheering for our enemy. And it is an enemy that has killed 600,000 americans. It killed one of my cousins, that killed the father of one of my closest friends and the mother of one of my partners here at dw and 600,000 americans. They are cheering for our enemy. They are cloeging themselves in the flag of virus when you cheer for inadequate vaccination in this country. How else do these people think were going to get past this. They dont want to mask up and they dont want to close down or stay at home and they dont want to vaccinate. We need to grow up in this country. We have a solution and the solution is vaccinations. Dr. Reiner, thank you for coming on. My pleasure. Lets turn now to americas Gun Violence epidemic. This weekend alone 369 shootings were reported across the united states. And in just Hours President biden and the Attorney General will be meeting with Law Enforcement officials and local leaders from across the country to talk about this very thing. This epidemic that just wont qui quit. And among those attending is Eric Adams, the new nominee for mayor of new York City. And john is joining me now. This crisis of Gun Violence, it clearly shows no signs of slowing. Weve talked about Police Chiefs across the country have talked about the bloody Sum E Summerd but what are they expecting to get from this meeting that will be any different . Well it is not going to be a lot of different in terms of the steps the president is going to talk about. But some of the things that Hell Talk about is going to be very well received by people like Eric Adams who is overwhelmingly likely to be the next mayor of new York City. He talked about how democrats in congress devoted more than adequate attention to the issues like going after Assault Weapons which are the behind a lot of the mass shootings in the united states. Very difficult to legislate on that, impossible in the current environment. And what adams said is no we feed to focus on guns on crimes being committed with handguns and that source of Gun Violence. Well President Biden is talking about using the Justice Department and other federal agencies to crack down on unlicensed gun dealers. Also on other steps that state and local governments can take through Community Interventions to reduce violence, through trying to incorporate former felons back into society, various steps of that kind that could have an effect, including hiring additional Police Officers. Eric adams has been a big opponent of the defund the Police Slogan and President Biden built into the american rescue plan, the 1. 9 trillion plan, a lot of Cushion Money for state and local governments that the administration is now saying could be used to hire more Police Officers and many local agencies are doing just that right now. It is good to see you john, thank you very much. Coming up for us, still at this hour, remarkable scenes playing out in cuba. Thousands taking to the streets as the government threatened to crack down. And that is not all. There is turmoil in another country right off the coast of america. That is next. And also the woke debate within the Democratic Party. Are you looking at the new rise of the antiwoke democrats or is this something else altogether . H everything you see. Follow me. realtor so, any questions . wife well take it realtor great. vo it will haunt your senses. The Heartpounding Audi Suv family. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. [ Crowd Chanting ] extraordinary images of a largest antigovernment protests in cuba in decades. Thousands taking to the Streets Chanting Freedom in multiple cities in a major challenge to the islands decades long dictatorship. Cuba is one of the countries in turmoil today. The u. S. Sent a delegation to haiti to help with the investigation into the assassination of its president. Cnn has teams in both countries. Lets begin in cuba with Patrick Oppmann with the latest. What are you hearing today . Reporter well year not hearing much and that is because the internet in havana through much of the island continues to be interrupted. We dont know if the government took it down, which has happened in previous moments of civil unrest or if it is just oversaturated. But certainly that is how we found out about the protests across the island yesterday. Something that is unprecedented. And it is how many people, many cubans who are fed up with the conditions they are living in found out that their neighbors, in other cities, in other places on the island, were taken to the street an that is when they left their house to begin protests that people have not seen in decades. Calling for liberty, protests take to the streets in havana. In front of police, the crowd yells Father Land and life, a new Opposition Slogan who has gotten people arrested in cuba. But cuba On Sunday seemed a very different place. As thousands of people in cities across the island took to the streets. And took the golf by surprise. These are the largest mass protests in years. Perhaps decades. Usually any antigovernment activity leads to immediate arrest. Protesters criticizing state are simply not allowed here. But On Sunday, thousands of people voiced their anger openly and many people told us they simply have lost their fear. Police surround the the protesters and arrested some of them but for the most part they did not or could not stop the demonstrations. This is latest sign of the unprecedented crisis facing the communist island. Even as cuba produced its vaccine, the number of cases have skyrocketed. On Sunday Health officials announced the highest single Day Increase in new case and deaths. For months the cuban economy has spiralled downwards. The island has been hard hit by sanctions under the Trump Administration which have continued under President Biden. The pandemic has Cut Off tourism and the ability to receive help from relative as broad. Lines for Food Stretch aaround The Block and could last for hours. For many waiting for scarce foods and medicines has become their life. Every day there are people out here for whatever there is. Some days you dont know what products theyre going to be selling rachel said you have to be out here if you want to have food. The economic misery is leading to desperation as cubans are taking to the sea on rafts in the greatest numbers since 2017 when President Obama ended the Wet Foot Dry Foot Policy allowing those who reach the u. S. To stay. Without a castro at the helm, he strapped down in april. On Sunday Cuba new Leader Canal blamed the islands economic troubles on u. S. And vowed to crack down on the protesters. The order to combat has been given, he said. The revolutionaries need to be in the streets. As cuba edges closer to the edge, neither side appears they are backing down. And Cubas President this morning said that the protesters were hooligans and vandals and would face punishment. But president Joe Biden issued a statement where he appeared to draw a Line In The Sand and warned Cubas Government about cracking down on the protests and said we stand with the cuban people and the call for Freedom And Relief of the tragic grip of the pandemic and decades of oppression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected to by thE Authoritarian regime. The cuban people are exercising rights including the right of peaceful protest and the right from freedom of their own future must be respected. The united states called on the cuban regime to hear the people and serve their needs. So neither side appears to be backing down here and certainly a very different view if you hear Cubas Government, these people are criminals, they attacked police yesterday. But of course u. S. Government is saying these are people just asking for their freedom. Patrick, it is so great that youre there. Thank you for your reporting. Joining me for more on this is joanna ferrara, a professor of history at nyu and thE Author of cuba in american history. Thank you for being here. Just the pictures, i know that you have watched them but just as we see the pictures and the scenes coming from streets of cuba, it hasnt been seen in decades. And this is throughout cuba. This isnt just in havana. What are you thinking as you see this . Yeah, kate, thanks for having me on. As you say, this is something completely unprecedented. You say we havent seen this for decades. I would say that we havent seen this since the revolution came to power in 1959. The protests appear to be spontaneous. As you said there, in cities and towns all across the island. And the people participating seem to be just regular people coming out of their homes and apartments, just voicing their very deep frustration. And it is a frustration that is both economic, because of the declining and really awful economic situation right now but also political. Theyre voicing discontent at their government and that is unprecedented. Now there are a lot of americans who will watch this and will think this came out of nowhere. And ill just get your important perspective on this. How much of this do you think has to do with the Pandemic Ant the impact the pandemic has had . There is no question that the pandemic has made everything much worse. I think the combination of the pandemic and the tightening of the embargo under trump has made an always difficult economic situation in cuba much worse. People have lost access to remittances from family because american restrictions, the pandemic has meant that travel has been Cut Off so People Cant get visits from family and friends, bringing supplies and goods and the Tourist Sector has dried up so people who are started small businesses catering to tourists have lost their businesses. So there is no question that the pandemic has exacerbated problems that were already there. You know, cuba suffered greatly when the Soviet Union collapsed and that initiated a period in cuba called a special period in which there were protests somewhat similar to this. But these were smaller and mostly in havana and you didnt have Social Media to amplify them and to encourage people across the other parts of the island and the country never fully recovered from that and now in 2021 it is a very different world than 1994. People are that much more tired of frustration. Most cubans were born or not most, but a third of the Cuban Population was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So they have no experience and no memory Of A Revolution not in economic crisis. And so i think it is a cumulative thing. It is the pandemic, it is the tightening of the embargo on top of an already difficult reality. Absolutely. And it is an Inflection Point for that island nation. Thank you, for being here, really appreciate it. Happy to be here. Well see what happens. Today and beyond. Lets turn to haiti where agents from the united states and other countries have arrived to help with the criminal investigation into the assassination of of the that countrys president. Haitian officials have arrested more than 20 suspects including two americans and a man with ties to the united states. The police say helped orchestrate the attack. Cnns Matt Rivers is live in portauprince with more on this. Matt, what is the latest . Reporter yeah, kate, that number of suspects detained now at 21 after a Press Conference last night with authorities here in portauprince announcing the arrest of a 63yearold named christian emanu aellisonom. The asian government said they carried out this assassination in very vague terms. Police chief in haiti said that this man wanted to seize power in some sort of way without expanding on exactly what that means. But i could tell you, that just because there was an arrest last night of a central figure, there are a lot more developments that will likely come and there are senior members of the government here in haiti who believe that there will be more arrests here on the island. I dont think mercenaries colombians, from the military, would just get in the country. It is obvious. Just get in the country and kill the president. Where did they get the cars that they are driving. How did they get into the country . There is a lot of things that doesnt make sense for foreigners to just do by themselves. So i think and we believe they are mastermind behind that crime. Reporter meanwhile as the political crisis, the political vacuum continues here, were getting words there could be Protests Today and tomorrow here in Portauprince And Something were watching very closely, kate. Matt rivers, thank you so much. Coming up for us, democrats pushing back on wokeness. What started as a Rallying Call for americans to wake up and stay informed on Social Justice issues is now seen by many as a threat to the party. The controversy straight ahead. The tempurpedic breeze makes sleep. Feel. Cool. Because the tempurbreeze transfers heat away from your body. So you feel cool, Night After night. During the tempurpedic summer of sleep, save 500 on all tempurbreeze mattresses. [announcer] dearest smoke shacks, defenders of the dry rub. Thank you for giving your all to a 20pound Hunk of brisket. Whatever you serve, well proudly deliver it. Bike Rattling pleasant Piano Music Voiceover riders. Wanderers on the road of life. The journey is why they ride. When the road is all you need, there is no destination. Uh, iim actually just going to get an iced coffee. Well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually no, ii usually have a destination. Yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. Nope, just the coffee shop. 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It started as Rallying Call by black activists to be aware, alert and informed about Social Justice issues. But now more and more democrats are speaking up and saying that the left may be leaning into it too far. Take Eric Adams, a former Police Captain who just won the new York City democratic mayoral primary with a centralist and Law And Order message and now he has a message for his party. We cant be so idealistic that were not realistic and we have allowed to fall out of the Trump Administration to have an overreach in philosophy and not on the ground real issues that are facing every day new yorkers. So is it fair to call you an antiwoke democrat . No, some of us never went to sleep. That is the problem. Joining me now, jackie kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief at the daily Beast And Matt Dennman And Cofounder of third way, a Public Policy think tank. Jackie, Eric Adams said there is a message to be learned from his victory and hes laying it out there. Do you agree . I think it depends on where you are in the country. And it really seems when you step back, calling them antiwoke democrats right now, this is a problem or an issue that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party has struggled with every cycle. Trying to deal with the activist parts of the party, and balance that with the more pragmatic part of the party and what makes up a majority. It is always the people in the center, the curse of the moderate democrat or the moderate republican who always feel and always get the more of the activist left put upon in their race. So right now theyre trying to November Gate that on the democratic side because they need these activists. They need their energy. They need them to in 2020, and theyre not going to stifle them, because theyre very loud but they need them to show up. And well continue to see that as we move through this cycle. Yeah, and adams, matt, his win is the latest example of this debate amongst the Democratic Party as jackie is kind of pointing out. Your group did an autopsy after 2020 election and one thing that sticks out very clearly today as we have this discussion is that you all said republican attempts to brand democrats as radicals worked. So what does the emergence of these quote unquote antiwoke democrats mean . Well, i think theyre Learning Lessons from 2020 just as we did when we did that deep dive. You know, what happened in 2020, of course, we won the White House and got majorities in both houses of congress. So what we did wasnt really a most Port Em because nobody really died. And we did lose 14 house seats. 12 of them were freshman what did not have deep brand identities and what republicans have become unbelievably good at doing, ever since back in the 90s when i was working in the clinton White House and on the clinton campaigns, they have become extraordinarily good at weaponizing the brand of the far left in the culture wars. Now the Issues Change over time. You know, at one point it was Marriage Equality for gays and lesbians, that is no longer a thing for republicans. But now theyve found, theyve attached themselves last cycle to defund the police and now they seem to be heading towards critical Race Theory and socialism. Most is a complete lie about what theyre saying to voters about the democrats but they lie pretty effectively. And jackie, i would like your perspective on that. Because i also hear from folks that this isnt really a real Debate Or Divide within the Democratic Party, it is more problem as republicans are successfully, democrats would say coopting a new message. Kirsten power was on this morning and taking babout the labels, listen to this. It is now been really misprmostly appropriated by the right and democrats are doing it as well to turn it into this Boogeyman Word and that is not really what it is. I just dont think democrats should get involved in this antiwoke thing. Because it is something that has really been driven by the right. So jackie, if that is the case, is it clear to you that democrats, that they have a plan to, i dont know, get the message back . I mean they should lean on matt first and foremost. But how do you they get the message back. It seems that one of the things that has been working in democrats favor in terms of trying to put the far left or the more liberal side of the Parties Position on the party at large, is Joe Biden. Joe biden has not been someone that has been backing some of the more leftleaning or left word proposals. Hes not putting political capital behind them and so it is harder to make it stick. That said, they like to elevate certain parts of the party to put it on other parts of the party. We saw this at the end of 2020. There was the call with democrats where you had moderate democrats speaking out saying defund the police is killing me in my district. So it is how the message that is delivered rather than the nuance of the message. Nuance goes out of the window in campaigns. We all know this. So i dont know that they have settled on a message quite yet but that is something that theyre going to be working on. You have to imagine every day and trying to get the advantage on that. And even before that, matt. It could be a big this could be a really big challenge for bidens big debates on Reform And Infrastructure that were in the middle of it right now. This is a here and now, not just a 2022 conversation obviously. It is good to see you both. Matt and jackie, thanks, guys. Coming up for us, unrelenting heat is fuelling a severe drought and dozens of wildfires. The latest in a live report next. To make my vision a reality. I have to take every perspective, and see clearly from every point of view. With my varilux Progressive Lenses i seamlessly transition from near to far. And see every detail in sharp focus. When you see no limits, there are no limits. Book now at your local essilor experts to push the limits of your vision. Varilux lenses by essilor. [narrator] at southern new hampshire university, were committed to making college more accessible by making it more affordable, thats why were keeping our tuition the same through the year 2021. I knew snhu was the place for me when i saw how affordable it was. I ran to my husband with my computer and i said, look, we can do this. [narrator] take advantage of some of the lowest online Tuition Rates in the nation. Find your degree at snhu. Edu. Limu emu. And doug. So then i said to him, you oughta customize your Car Insurance with liberty mutual, so you only pay for what you need. Oh um, doug can we talk about something other than work, its the weekend. Yeah, yeah. [ squawk ] hot dog or. Chicken . [ squawk ] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Only 6 of us Retail Businesses have a black owner. That needs to change. So, i did something. I created a black Business Accelerator at amazon. And now we have a program thats dedicated to making tomorrow a better day for black businesses. I am tiffany. And this is just the beginning. Dont settle for products that give you a sort of white smile. Try new Crest Whitening emulsions for 100 whiter teeth. Its highly active Peroxide Droplets swipe on in seconds. Better. Faster. 100 whiter teeth. Crestwhitesmile. Com [relaxed summer themed music playing] summer is a state of mind, you can visit anytime. Savor your summer with lincoln. Do you have a Life Insurance Policy you no longer need . Now you can sell your policy for an immediate cash payment. Visit coventrydirect. Com to find out if your policy qualifies. 18 Million americans are under heat alerted this morning as a dangerous and recordbreaking Heat Wave just wont quit in the western part of the country. There are parts of the southwest where it isnt even letting up in the middle of the night. Overnight temperatures in some places not dipping below 90 degrees. The heat is also contributing to extreme drought, wildfires anz new concerns about the strain all it is putting on the electrical greed. Stephanie elum is live at the edge of the angeles national forest. Reporter this is exactly why we need people to understand how deadly this could be. And this heat will persist for the better part of the week here and these temperatures setting records in all of the wrong ways. Even utah tieing an all time State Record in st. Georgia on saturday of 117 degrees. So youre seeing really high temperatures and that leads to the ripe conditions for wildfires and right now were seeing there are some 59 large fires that are burning and this is some 12,000 plus wildland firefighters that are battling them. It is also worth noting too that fires have burned nearly 864,000 acres and that would encompass four times the amount of land that there is in new York City and this Burn Area that were talking about is throughout 12 states. The issue that is really of concern here is that these super high temperatures, obviously they lead us to think about drought and then the drought leads to more high temperatures and right now to give you an idea how bad it is, 12 states have declared a full or partial state of emergency, as far as a Doubt Declaration so they could handle it. This is a huge problem. And when you look out right here now, i just pulled this off of a tree behind me, it is brittle and it is dry. This is the ripe kindling for a wildfire. And that is why fire officials are so concerned about this Fire Season. Theyre saying Fire Season is getting longer every single year. By this point this year weve burned Por Acre than were burned last year and last year was a Record Year in and of itself. It is an unending Fire Season, thank you for that report. Coming up for us, a look at some of the most powerful people to help shape american history. None of them elected. That is ahead. Every customer like we would treat our own moms, with care and respect. To us, the little things are the big things. Which is why we do everything in our power to make buying a car an unforgettable experience. Happy birthday. Thank you. We treat every customer like we would treat our own moms. Because thats what they deserve. Ive got moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Now, theres skyrizi. With skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90 clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. Skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. Nothing is everything now is the time to ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. Jess when you have auto glass damage. Schedule safelites new drop and go service. Just drop off your keys and go enjoy your day. Well send you text updates and let you know when its ready. Schedule drop and go today. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. 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. Theres a new book out that dives into some of the most influential people in american political history. Not the President S or their spouses. Instead, a fascinating group of people who were not elected and are largely unknown. But have had the President S ear and have helped shape history. First friends is what im talking about. The best friends of american President S. The new book is called First Friends the powerful unsung and unelected people who shaped our President S. Joining me is thE Author of the book. Gary well knows, but for everyone out there, i had the fortune of a early read on the book. Thank you for that. The book focuses on nine different relationships between President S and First Friends. How did you choose these nine . Thank you for having me, kate. I knew when i conceived to the book i wanted to write about president client. President clinton. I worked for him. I saw how important his friends were to him. It was the only time in my book to ask the president himself who his first friend was. He chose a civil Rights Icon vernon jordan, thats the last chapter. In the case of John Kennedy who also had a lot of friends, i asked his daughter and she told me thankfully she didnt give me the obvious choice of a ben bradley. But she suggested David Ornsby gore. The ambassador of the united states that i discovered was not only his closest friend but his closest foreign policy adviser. Some are obvious like bee bee ribosy. I grew up with him. Some were total surprises like th E Author inathanial haw thorn. These are personal relationships i found in the book. They impacted american policy. And what were some of the moments that you uncovered that where the friends changed the Arc Of American History . I think the most consequential example of that was Eddie Jacobson who was a 45year friend of Harry Truman. In 1948 he walked into the Oval Office uninvited and speaking like only a friend could with that kind of history with Harry Truman convinced him to do what he didnt want to do which was recognize an independent state of israel. About two months after that harsh conversation where they basically really had it out with each other, truman listened to his friend. And the 11 minutes after the state of israel was declared in May Of 1948 was the first foreign lead tore recognize the state. That is the most consequential. There are so many others i write about in the book that i didnt know about until i actually did the research. You dive into the impact these friends have on the presidency, but so what about President S who dont have any close friends . Well, i think we saw the example of that with our last president. Obviously donald trump. I asked somebody very close to him who his first friend was. We went around and around for about two months. I wanted to write about it. What this close confidant of trumps admitted to me ultimately was he didnt have a first friend. He wasnt constitutionally built for a first friend. And i think we saw the implications of that in the last two months of hi presidency when there was nobody around him to speak the blunt truth and possibly prevent him from the second impeachment. Look, theres only one woman featured in the book, and its one of my favorite stories. Fdrs friend, a distant cousin. You describe it in the book as a friendship unlike any others in this book and perhaps even in the history of the american presidency. Why is that . Well, you know, just to step back, fdr loved to be around women. He had awful women around him his whole life. But daisy earned her role not by advising or speaking hard truths to him but by being his constant and loyal kpan yan. What i found surprising was how lonely he felt in the White House. Its hard to believe hes fighting a Depression And War but had no emotional relationship with eleanor. He once side im either Exhibit A or left entirely alone, and dazy was the anecdote to that loneliness. She gave him comfort she needed during his lonely moments and could read his emotions better than anyone else and was his favorite person to relax with after long days at work. I wrote about how he had 22 separate meetings in one day. After that i wanted to crawl into a hole. He wanted to have dinner alone with daisy. When historian said he would have been a less natural president had he not had daisy in his life. I enjoyed the book. I hope you all do, too. Thank you. Thank you for joining me. Inside politics starts after this. 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Plus the Drug Maker Pfizer meets with officials today. And Trump Worship in