Our studies show theoretically that there is natural protective immunity to this virus. At issue this morning, can we open quickly and safely . And how soon could a vaccine be available . Ill talk to Governor Mike Dewine of ohio and vaccine specialist dan barouch of harvard and peter hotez of baylor. Plus, new protests in hong kong as china announces a further crackdown on the territory. Does beijing hope the world wont notice amid the coronavirus pandemic . This morning, ill talk to National Security adviser robert obrien. Also, the fallout from this comment from joe biden and if you have a problem figuring out whether youre for me or trump, then you aint black. Joining me for insight and analysis, nbc news chief Foreign Affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, former Homeland Security jeh johnson, and o. Kay henderson, news director of the radio iowa network. Welcome to sunday. Its meet the press and our continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Announcer from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is meet the press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning on what is one of the more unusual memorial day weekends weve ever had. This traditionally the time we celebrate the unofficial start of summer. But this year were also mashrkg the unofficial reopening of the country. The pentup demand to get out of houses, apartments, and suffocating routines sent some americans pouring on to beaches and boardwalks, pools and picnics, into their cars. Even as our trust in everything from the cdc to the w. H. O. To the president is sinking, and in some cases, sinking fast. And on a weekend when americans traditionally show the flag to remember those who died defending it, its being flown at halfstaff to remember those who have died from this virus. As of this morning, there are more than 1. 6 million confirmed cases of covid19 in the United States with the confirmed death toll approaching 100,000. And this here is the astonishing front page of the new york times, naming 1,000 people, just 1 of the nearly 100,000 dead on that front page. Our eagerness to return to normal is tempered by this question is it safe . Polls out this week showed that 54 of those questioned say theyre concerned that lifting restrictions will lead to more infections, compared with just 16 who said theyre not concerned. At the same time, theres an unprecedented worldwide sprint to produce a vaccine in just a few months, an effort that would normally take years and still might. Until then, were going to have to learn to live with the virus as we balance our personal safety with a desire to return to some degree of normalcy. A whole different memorial day, a whole different world, really, that were in. On a weekend traditionally devoted to honoring the wartime dead, americans are struggling to make sense of a death toll thats climbed to nearly 100,000 over just three months. What would you have done differently facing this crisis . Well, nothing. Reporter all 50 states are experimenting with easing restrictions in some form as the Holiday Weekend tests how committed americans are to containing the virus. I want you to have a great time, but continue using caution. Go out. Wear a mask. Stay six feet away from anyone. You can be outside. You can play golf. You can play tennis with marked balls. Reporter two studies tracking cell phone data have warning signs. Researchers from Imperial College in london find the virus may still be spreading at epidemic rates in at least 24 states, particularly in the south and midwest. Another model from the policylab at Childrens Hospital of philadelphia also identifies new hotspots in houston and dallas, alabama, tennessee, and south florida, among others. If youre from montgomery and you need an icu bed, youre in trouble. Reporter but instead of focusing on mitigation and improving Testing Capacity in those states, President Trump spent much of the week on a series of distractions. On monday, he taking the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine. A new study links the drug to increased risk of death and heart arrhythmia in covid patients. I happen to be taking it. I happen to be taking it. Hydroxychloroquine . Im taking it. Reporter on tuesday, he retweeted criticism of christopher ray, the fbi director he appointed. The russian thing was a madeup, fabricated story. Reporter on wednesday, he threatened to withhold funds from states if they expanded access to voting by mail. I think just common sense would tell you that its massive manipulation can take place, massive. Reporter in fact, fraud via mailin ballots is rare. President trump voted by mail in the florida primary in march. On thursday, he defied the michigan governors executive order by taking off his mask while touring a ford plant which requires them. I wore one in this back area, but i didnt want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. Reporter on friday, after a fox news poll showed him trailing joe biden by eight points, he tweeted, fox news should fire their fake pollster. And through it all, he is pointing fingers and placing blame. It came in from china, and it should have been stopped in china. And when i came here and you people knew it better than anybody, our military was depleted, just like the shelves were empty from medical equipment. We didnt have ventilators. We didnt have testing. We didnt have anything. Joining me now are two experts to talk about this quest for a vaccine. From houston, we have dr. Peter hotez. Hes the director of the texas Childrens Hospital center for vaccine development. And from boston, we have dr. Dan barouch, director of the center for virology and Vaccine Research at the beth israel deaconess medical center. Gentlemen, welcome to both of you. Dr. Barouch, i just want to get you to react to something this morning. The fda had dr. Stephen hahn at 6 30 this morning, tweeted the following with the country starting to open up this Holiday Weekend, i again remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet contained. It is up to every individual to protect themselves and their community. Social distancing, handwashing and Wearing Masks protect us all. Its just interesting, dr. Barouch, to see one of the administrations scientists, health experts, feeling the need to continue to remind the public of this. Do you think the public is as informed about this risk this weekend as they should be . I think the public is very well informed, and there is a tension between the need to contain the virus and peoples desire to get out of their houses. So, the hope is that through Public Health measures as well as eventually the development of a vaccine, that we will be able to contain this virus. Lets talk about this race for a vaccine. Dr. Barouch, i want to start with you on this. We keep hearing this timeline of 12 to 18 months. Is that the heart or the head speaking . The development of a vaccine traditionally is a very long process. Often it takes many years, even decades, for a new pathogen for which the human race has not seen before. So, the attempt to develop a vaccine in 12 to 18 months, or potentially even less than that, is truly unprecedented. And to be successful, multiple parameters will have to be successful all at the same time. So, i believe that it is theoretically possible. However, it is certainly not guaranteed. And if that were to be the case, then many, many things would have to go perfectly the first time. Dr. Peter hotez, youve been on the forefront of researching a vaccine for sars. And let me ask you this. On one hand, that research may help expedite this vaccine. On the other hand, we still dont have one for sars. What should that tell us . Well, thanks for having me. You know, we spent a decade researching developing vaccines for sars, as you point out. And the quick answer was that if you can elicit high levels of a certain type of antibody known as neutralizing antibody, which blocks the virus from attaching to its receptor, you can make a vaccine. And weve been able to achieve that in the laboratory in experimental animals. And what i loved this week was dan barouch wrote this absolutely beautiful paper in science magazine, more or less coming to the same conclusion about sars 2, the cause of covid19. So, that tells me that the technical challenge of developing a covid19 vaccine is not that daunting. Its kind of straightforward question that involves some oldschool virology, very established attempts at making a vaccine. So im confident that were going to have a vaccine, or as dr. Fauci often says, cautiously optimistic. Right. The problem is it does take accumulate enough safety gingand data to show that it to be the hard part. Its not a manufacturing problem. Its going to take us time to actually show that this will be both safe and effective. And i doubt well have that within a few months. And im curious, dr. Hotez, whats the likelihood that its going to be 100 effective, first vaccine . Is it more likely that were going to have an experience like we have with the flu shot, which at, you know, in some years, at best, its 50 protector from that years flu virus . Yeah, its quite possible. You know, what were seeing from some vaccines is that theyre partially protective, meaning they dont protect 100 , but they may reduce hospitalization and death, which is still very important. The point is, the first vaccines released out of the starting gate, id say a year from now or a year and a half from now, may not be the ones we wind up with. History tells us that they get replaced with newandimproved vaccines. So, this is a gradual process. Its not like theres going to be a magic bullet a year from now. It will take time. We will see newandimproved vaccines. But things will get better. Reporter dr. Barouch, how concerned in the public should we be that some pharmaceutical companies lets look at moderna, for instance they announced what looked like a breakthrough. Their stock price surges. People on the company seem to get reach off of it. They look to even raise more money after that. And i understand the way the pharmaceutical business works in some cases, and maybe this was necessary to get the money for the research. But does that impact the publics credibility into this Vaccine Research . There actually has been quite a number ofe front this week. Modernas announcement of safety and at least early i ei data in their data as well as the same in another vaccine from china and our studies in the animal models all are pointing towards increased optimism that a vaccine is likely going to be possible. However, there are many steps that remain. All right, but to follow up on that question, i hear you, the good news. Are you worried, though, that when the accompanying stories are about how and this has made them a whole bunch of money, and it looks like in some cases they want to use that hype to raise more money that it looks like someone researching a vaccine is more interested in a profit margin . Well, i think its always better to have Data Available to the Scientific Community at the time of an announcement. And so, we hope that the data from the moderna studies will be available soon. And i hear that they are preparing for that. Dr. Operation warp speed. Dr. Fauxplain to our viewers wh phrase in particular concerns you. Well, what im concerned about, chuck, is you know, we have got very aggressive Antivaccine Movement out there. And you know, their central tenants are, one, that vaccines cause autism, and ive spent a lot of my life refuting that. Because im a vaccine scientist, the parent of an adult daughter with autism and wrote this book vaccines did not cause rachels autism, which has made me public enemy number one with the Antivaccine Movement. But the other thing they allege is that, one, vaccines are not adequately tested for safety, that we rush vaccines, and that there is this cozy relationship between the Pharma Companies and the u. S. Government. And so, everything thats been happening with some of the things modernas been doing and others, you know, plays right into, you know, all of the assertions made by the antivaccine lobby, to the point, and the white house operation warp speed phraseology, which is just awful. And this is supported. Reuters published a study last week saying 25 of americans probably wont take the vaccine wont take covid19 vaccines, even if theyre made available. And to the point im worried that we wont have sufficient herd immunity to achieve all of our desired effects, so that creates a lot of concerns. Dr. Barouch, you brought up the good news that we heard out of china. Let me ask you this, are you concerned if china gets the vaccine first and theyre sort of the quote unquote winner here, and theyre sharing it with the world . Will that make are you concerned the public might be leery of taking a vaccine from china . At we need is not one vaccine. The world actually needs multiple vaccines, because there are 7 billion people in the world, and we hope that the number of people who take the vaccine is greater than the 75 that dr. Hotez mentioned, but still, were talking about billions of people in the world that will need to be vaccinated. So, this is not a race to be first. This is a Global Cooperation in which multiple regions of the world and multiple Companies Need to Work Together to develop vaccines for a very, very large number of people. All right. Dan barouch from boston, peter hotez in harvard and peter hotez from baylor, with us from houston. Thank you both for sharing your expertise with our viewers. Much appreciate it. Have a safe memorial day weekend. Joining me now is the republican governor of ohio, mike dewine. Governor, welcome back to meet the press. Good morning, chuck. I want to start with look, this memorial day weekend, one of the top places to go normally in your state would be cedar point. Cedar point, an amusement park, not yet open. When do you think thats going to happen . And is that to you the real start that, okay, youre at a next level of reopening in the state of ohio . Well, that would be a next level of reopening. Chuck, i have no idea when cedar point will be able to open. Our kids and grandkids love to go there. We would love to go there, but were certainly not there yet. You know, if you look at our data, our replication rate is 11. We are now reopening. Weve got to see how this reopening is going. Reports i get back is its going well. Our restaurants are doing what they need to do, keeping the space. So, retail is doing the same thing. But were not there yet as far as, you know, Mass Gatherings of people. Do you have a metric where youll pull the emergency brake in your mind . And is that a metric youre willing to share with the public . I mean, im thinking about the next three weeks. Were going to find out how memorial day weekend went, probably around fathers day weekend. Well, chuck, the thing i keep talking to the people of the state of ohio is and by the way, they did a great job for two months keeping the distance. Now were at a different phase as we open up. And so, not only do we have to wash our hands, keep a distance, but now were asking everyone whos out in public to wear a mask. I mean, there is a recent review done by stanford of i think 17 different studies that had been done in regard to masks, and they are very effective in stopping these droplets that we put out when we talk and when we sneeze and do other things. And so, it really is going to depend, i think, on how well all of us do. I have great confidence in ohioans. And so, we are really promoting wearing the mask and keeping that distance as we open up the economy. We think we can do two things at once. You brought up the mask debate. I was going to wait until later in this interview to bring up a fellow governor in north dakota. I want to play for you what he said about the mask debate on friday. Take a listen, governor. If someone is wearing a mask, theyre not doing it to represent what Political Party theyre in or what candidates they support. They might be doing it because theyve got a 5yearold child whos been going through cancer treatments. They might have vulnerable adults in their life who are currently have covid and theyre fighting. For those of us that have covered american politics for so long, it was hard not to be moved by that governors message just now, governor dewine, because it was like, how did masks become this political dividing line . You, yourself, wanted to make it mandatory, and you decided to back off. Do you wish the president would help you out here a little bit more . Well, the governor is right. The governor is spot on. Ive watched that clip a couple times. And this is not about politics. This is not about whether youre liberal or conservative, left or right, republican, democrat. We wear the mask, and its been very clear what the studies have shown. You wear the mask not to protect yourself so much as to protect others. And this is one time when we truly are all in this together. What we do directly impacts others. And were not saying if youre in a car, youre driving by yourself, you dont have to wear a mask. You dont have to wear a mask if youre out, you know, away from people, hiking or doing all kinds of different things, or in your own house. But when you go out and interact directly with people, were asking ohioans to do this. And so, it doesnt its not about politics. Its not about conservative or liberal. Its about helping other people. Is there a point that youre going to reissue your executive order, or do you feel as if the pushback you got, youre like, okay, ill just publicly keep telling you that i think you should do it . Well, our order does say that every employee in every business, unless there is some reason that they cant wear that mask, every employees wearing a mask today. So thats a fundamental change in ohio. As we go out, you know, a lot of stores, youll see 90 of the people who do have customers are Wearing Masks. But we want to continue to up that throughout the state, because it is really what we need as we open up the economy. Look, chuck, this is a risk, but its also a risk if we dont open up the economy. All the down sides of not opening up the economy. We can do both these things. Let me ask you quickly about congress and the lack of debate right now about the next round of funding, of aid, rescue money, whatever you want to call it in this case, if its still rescue or stimulus. What does the state of ohio, what do you need in your budget from the federal government . Well, we need from the government, the federal government, an extension of our ability to use the National Guard. Thats very, very helpful. We have National Guard next week going out into our nursing homes. Theyve done a phenomenal job. More flexibility is important. Look, chuck, were processing the money now. I think congress will come up with something. And again, the flexibility for the cities and our towns, our villages, our counties as well as for the state. We have, because of the economy down and the tax revenue down, you know, were very concerned about our ability, frankly, to fund our schools. So, these are basic things that we need the flexibility for. Do you think its good policy to let a government go bankrupt if they dont have the funding you know, look, were focused on getting the job done. We dont intend to go bankrupt in ohio. We have to balance our budget every single year and we just made 760 million worth of cuts, and we did what we have to do. And its the same way with local government in ohio. Theyre going to do what they have to do. All right, governor diviewin republican from ohio, thank you for coming on, sharing your views. And i hope you have a safe memorial day weekend. Thanks, chuck. You got it. When we come back, china, the coronavirus, and the crackdown on hong kong. 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Ambassador obrien, welcome back to meet the press, sir. Thanks, chuck. Great to be with you, as always. Let me start with the hong kong issue. What is the United States government prepared to do if beijing goes through with basically this crackdown on hong kong and moves hong kong away from an open marketplace and an open democracy . Well, as you know, chuck, the communist party of china promised Great Britain back in 1984 with the sign of the british declaration that hong kong would have a degree of autonomy and would maintain their way of life through 2047. So, now 27 years before that deadline, it looks like with this National Security law, theyre going to basically take over hong kong. And if they do, under the 1992 Hong Kong Policy act and the hong kong human rights and democracy act of 2019, secretary pompeo would likely be unable to certify that hong kong maintains a high degree of autonomy. And if that happens, there will be sanctions that will be imposed on hong kong and china. Its hard to see how hong kong could remain the Asian Financial center that its become if china takes over. Do you want that to be the response . If china does this, do you hope that the Financial Services community, that Global Corporations pull out of hong kong immediately . I just dont see how they can stay. One reason that they came to hong kong is because there was the rule of law there, there was a Free Enterprise system, there was a capitalist system, there was democracy in local legislative elections. If all of those things go away, im not sure how the Financial Community can stay there. And i think youre also going to have a terrible brain drain. I think hong kong citizens, many of whom can travel under certain circumstances, can travel to the United Kingdom or seek refuge other places, theyre not going to stay in hong kong to be dominated by the peoples republic of china and the communist party. So, i think if china goes through and imposes this law, which i think would be a big mistake, i think its going to be very difficult for the people of hong kong. Do you really think china is going to be nervous about sanctions and thats going to stop them at this point . It seems as if hes so nervous about the demonstrations. Is a threat of sanctions enough to get china to pull back . Well, i think what we can all be proud of are the people of hong kong have taken to the streets to show all of us who enjoy democracy and the rule of law in our countries how precious that is. And theyre out in the streets this weekend demonstrating that they want to be free people, that they want to elect their own leaders and have the right to worship as they see fit and earn a living the way they see fit. So, look, chinas dependent on capital from the rest of the world, to build their economy and grow their middle class. Theyre dependent on liquidity in financial markets. If they lose access of that through hong kong, thats a real blow to xi jinping and the Chinese Communist party. So i hope theyll take that into account as they contemplate their next step. You know, over the last six months, when these demonstrations began, the president was in negotiations on a big trade agreement with xi and china. And during that time, he, himself, never really got tough, never stood up in support of the demonstrators. Others in the administration did, but he was careful and a lot of reporting said he didnt want to upset the trade deal. Did that turn out to be a mistake . No, i dont think it was a mistake. We want good relations with china and with the chinese people. But unfortunately, were seeing just action after action by the Chinese Communist party that makes it difficult. And with respect to the trade deal, well see if they live up to it, but were dealing in a new world now with corona. They unleashed a virus on the world thats destroyed trillions of dollars in American Economic wealth that were having to spend to keep our economy alive, to keep americans afloat during this virus. So were in a very different world. The coverup that they did of the virus is going to go down in history along with chernobyl. Well see an hbo special about it 10 or 15 years from now. And so, were in a different place with china as we speak today, chuck. I understand that, but its interesting you bring that up because i want to put together for the first three months of this year when this virus first poked its head up, the president was pretty soft when it came to pinning the blame on china. Take a listen, ambassador. Ed to know from china . I do. I do. I have a gre relionship with president xi. President xi loves the people of china. He loves his country. And hes doing a very good job with a very, very tough situation. Our relationship with china is very good. Maybe its closer because of whats happened here. It came out of china, and its one of those things that happened. Nobodys fault. Now, that last quote was from march 14th, and the president s rhetoric has changed since then, theres no doubt. But are you concerned that that sort of soft relationship with xi, publicly praising him all the time, gave xi comfort that he could do these things in hong kong without a lot of, other than rhetorical retribution . No, i dont think so. And i think the thing we have to focus on with the virus and what the president did is for the first time in the oval office briefing, on the 28th of january, when i raised with the president that this was a significant National Security threat, he immediately gernsion the advice of many of his other advisers, he immediately imposed a travel ban on china on the 30th, two days later. It was a profile in courage and it was something that he was criticized for by his political opponents and by many in the media. That saved countless lives, and i think thats the thing that we have to focus on with china. Now, we were hoping that china would allow cdc doctors into china. We were hoping that china would give us more information on the virus and give us some of the Genetic Information we needed. Unfortunately, china did none of that. And so, look, were in a very different place with china right now and the president s made that clear. But you know, the chinese didnt do what they said. Weve also learned that at the time that they cracked down internally and refused to allow people from hubei and wuhan to travel throughout china, they allowed those folks to travel to europe. And a large part of the infection that came to america didnt come from china. It was when we closed off china. And i asked my fellow nsas in European Countries to cut off travel, they didnt, and the virus spread to europe and then back to the u. S. China should have cut off all of the travel out of hubei and wuhan like they did internally in china. So weve learned a lot of things and its disconcerting, but well move forward. Well defeat this thing Going Forward and america will come out stronger. Should the public be reassured or concerned about this relationship with china when it comes to the vaccine . So, for instance, if china has a vaccine first and our relations are as heated as they appear to be right now, is it possible we dont see the world doesnt see that vaccine, we dont see that vaccine, or would you trust a vaccine out of china . Well, were going to get to the vaccine first. Were doing tremendous work on therapies and vaccines. And once we get them, well share them not only with america, but well share them with the world. One of the things that it wont do, though, is bring back the 90,000plus americans, grandparents, parents, Frontline Health care workers, First Responders who have died as a result of this virus. And we mourn with their families. Our heart goes out to them. The president mourns with them and grieves with them. And were thinking of them. So well get this virus under control. Well have vaccines. Well have therapeutics. Were moving rapidly using american innovation. Were going to stop the chinese from hacking into our universities to steal that information. And were going to get the vaccine and were going to get it out to the whole world. And i think americas going to come out on top on this one, chuck. Very quickly on the mask debate. It seems that the president is the one debating. I know one of your deputies is a big proponent of wearing a mask. Are you concerned that an example isnt being set by the president . Chuck, this is my mask that i wear at the office every day. Im not wearing it here because the camera mans six feet away from me and youre in the studio, so were safe. Ill put it on when we leave. But we wear the mask in the white house. And the president s wore a mask where necessary. He did so at the ford plant. But when the president s out speaking to the American People or when hes speaking and if we meet with him in the oval office, our seats are always moved six feet or so away from the resolute desk. Then there are times when you dont need to wear the mask. But i think governor dewine was spot on when he talked about Office Workers wearing the mask. And mask usage is going to help us get this economy reopened. And we do need to get the country reopened because we cant get left behind by china or others with respect to our economy. But look, im a proponent of masks. Matt pottinger, who you referenced before, is a proponent of masks, and many, many people in the white house and west wing are wearing them, and we hope thats an example for other folks that when they go back to work, theyll wear masks at their offices as well. Ambassador obrien, i appreciate you coming on, sharing the administrations views, and i hope you have a safe memorial day weekend. You, too, my friend. Thank you, chuck. You got it. When we come back, 50 states are reopened. vo our communities need help like never before and wells fargo employees are assisting millions of customers across america through fee waivers and payment deferrals, helping people stay in their homes through mortgage Payment Relief efforts and donating 175 Million Dollars to help hundreds of local organizations provide food and other critical needs. When you need us, wells fargo is here to help. Welcome back. The panel is with us from remote locations. Nbc news chief Foreign Affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, former Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson, and o. Kay henderson, news director of radio iowa. And kay, im going to start with you, because believe it or not, of the four of us and i include myself i believe you are the only one residing in a place without many restrictions versus were still living a lockdown life in d. C. And new york, while the rest of the country opens up. Iowas open. Does it look open, kay . It depends where you go. There are still restrictions on restaurants, which were able to open in phases. First phase was in the 77 iowa counties where the virus activity was deemed not substantial at the beginning of the month. And then in the middle of the month, haircutting businesses opened. And at the end of this month, last friday, the governor said that if you run a museum, a movie theater, you can open those facilities up. The one thing that is still not open in iowa, bars. She said shell make that decision next week. The other significant thing thats happened this week in iowa is that on thursday, governor kim reynolds said that if you want a test, you can get a test. Previously to that, the standards for being tested for covid19, the diagnostic test, were either that you had to have symptoms, you had to have someone in your household who was diagnosed with covid, or you were an essential worker. Its unclear how soon everybody who wants a test can get a test because the state is still trying to ramp up to 5,000 tests a day. And as some of your viewers may know, iowa is one of three states that signed a 26 million deal with a group of businesses in utah to provide 500,000 test kits. Andrea mitchell, one of the things that i think is already a theme from just this show this morning is how, very gently, whether its republican Governor Mike Dewine, the National Security adviser they want to make the point that, lets not politicize the mask debate. But the president has politicized the mask debate. The president is the one who is fighting his own medical guidelines from the cdc and others, sidelining the medical advisers. We havent seen very much of them with the one exception of dr. Birx the other night briefly, and she was in a very a. Mbiguous situation at that lat briefing. So, the president is fighting his own government, and his rebellion tweets. I mean, he is the one who has made this red state blue state, and it is really horrifying in a pandemic to be making it a political issue. It should be a medical issue, a health issue, not a political issue. Yeah. And jeh johnson, i mean, when the governor of north dakota was in tears over this, i sort of got it. It was very moving because youre just like, my gosh, were politicizing everything right now. Chuck, youre correct. Its disheartening to watch. The president , whether its the issue of the mask or things he says in his daily briefings, it is sending the message, explicitly or implicitly, that he doesnt believe his scientists. He doesnt always believe dr. Fauci, and that we need to get back to business, we need to reopen our economy. The president oos the most vise person in america. He sets the example. He sets the standards. And a lot of people, particularly in his base, look to him for guidance on this. And so, he has the power to influence the debate. You know, kay, im curious in iowa, because if you watch this debate on social media and you watch this debate on cable news, it looks like the countrys divided 50 50 on this. The polling indicates theres not that divide. And frankly, the results of people moving around the country shows that theres a lot more caution out there than maybe were portraying plolitically. Is that what you see in iowa . Well, one of the interesting things is at the beginning of this month, the governor encouraged churches to resume worship. And youre just now seeing the States Catholic bishops tell their parishioners that were going to sort of phase this in, and this is how its going to look, and were going to practice social distancing. The Vice President visited iowa in the middle of the month to talk with a group of faith leaders about how to safely resume worship in person. The other thing that has happened here in iowa is that the executive branch has a republican in reynolds, and the legislative branch in iowa is also controblreans, so there hasnt been that sort of conflict that you see in some other states. The other thing is that we had a group of conservative lawmakers in late april who said its time to reopen the state, and they made an argument that churches should be able to resume worshipping in person. So, those debates really havent raged here among republicans. Jeh johnson, i now you wanted to chime in. Yeah. Chuck, as you probably know, the governor of new jersey has asked me to think about this issue for our state here and for the region. Clearly, theres no one size fits all solution to when to reopen, and we have to reopen in stages. So its not a surprise that a majority, almost all the states are now beginning the process of reopening, but youve got to do it carefully, youve got to do it in phases, and testing and Contact Tracing are critical to this effort. Andrea mitchell, very quickly, on the issue of hong kong. And im curious if you heard what i heard from ambassador obrien in that, look, if they go through this, were going to probably organize, were going to sanction them, were going to do some things, but there are some things we wont do. Is china going to get the message that theyre probably going to get away with this . Probably, because they see this as a National Security issue. But that signal to investors, that investors should leave if they go through with these new laws, thats really a very important thing. I was there for the handover and i was there in 97 and watched all of that as we covered it. And to watch martin lee, their lead democracy advocate, being arrested earlier this month, this is really serious. I dont think that xi is going to back down. Yeah. It looks like if hong kong may never, ever be the same from what it once was. Anyway, im going to pause the conversation here. When we come back, some very familiar names that have already declared bankruptcy because of this virus. And as we go to break, as we do every memorial day weekend here at meet the press, we want to remember the American Service members who died in the line of duty protecting this country since last memorial day, including two who died of the coronavirus. Sometimes the challenges of todays world make it tough to take care of yourself, thats why you can rely on natures bounty. To give you the support you need. To stay motivated keep active and sleep well. Add a little more health to your day. With natures bounty. Right now, there are over a million Walmart Associates doing their best to keep our nation going. Because despite everything thats changed, one thing hasnt and thats our devotion to you and our communities. Our priority will always be to keep you and our associates safe, while making sure you can still get the essentials you need. Welcome back. Data download time. Just this weekend, hertz, a car rental giant for over 90 years, announced it filed for chapter 11, and its far from alone. In just the first few weeks of this month, we saw household brand names like golds gym, j. Crew, Neiman Marcus and jcpenney all file for some form of bankruptcy. Companies that employed thousands across this country, most with hundreds of locations from coast to coast. Now, many of these companies will ultimately survive in some form, but even before this month, there were signs of trouble for pretty much every brickandmortar retailer in the world. From january to march, we saw these familiar names file for bankruptcy, companies that also employ thousands of people and have lots of locations around the country. In other words, even before the covid19 pandemic hit, 2020 was shaping up as actually another tough year for anything brickandmortarrelated, particularly retailers. 2018 and 2019 saw more than 15,000 Retail Stores shutter, and that was in a booming economy, folks. So, the biggest Economic Impact so far from covid19 may be simply that it is pushing the economy into the future farther and faster than before, and that means its striking hard at businesses that already were suffering under these underlying techdriven conditions. When we come back, well turn to vo we are ready to serve on the front lines. To fight an invisible enemy with courage and compassion. To comfort and to care, to hope, to press on, to do whatever it takes to beat the odds. We are the men and women of americas hospitals and health systems. And were here to care for you in every way every day. Than Rheumatoid Arthritis or Psoriatic Arthritis. When considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis or active Psoriatic Arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. It can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; dont start xeljanz if you have an infection. Taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. As have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. Tell your doctor if youve been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if youve had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Dont let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. Welcome back. The president ial campaign poked its head up this week, suddenly almost rivaling, at least for an hour or two, the headlines on the virus, and it was all thanks to this exchange that joe biden had with the breakfast club. Take a listen. Its a long way until november. Weve got more questions. Youve got more questions. But i tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether youre for me or trump, then you aint black. It dont have nothing to do with trump. It has to do with the fact i want something for my community. I would love to see take a look at my record, man i extended the voting record for 25 years. I have a record that is second to none. Well, the comment of you aint black went viral in the wrong kind of way for joe biden. And before the end of the day, he was out with an apology of sorts. Take a listen to how he walked back those comments, jeh johnson. I shouldnt have been such a wise guy. I shouldnt have been so cavalier in responding to what i thought was anyway, it was i dont take it for granted at all. And no one, no one should have to vote for any party based on their race, their religion, their background. Jeh johnson, i dont know if this is one of those, i guess you view, some might view through the prism of just being generationally out of touch, the sound of a 20thcentury politician. What did you hear, jeh . Well, to his credit, joe biden recognized within minutes that he had gotten carried away. And ive watched politicians stumble with this for years now. Chuck, ten years ago this month, whcretary of defenses office, bob gates. And he had a proud look on his face. He had been invited to give the commencement address at morehouse college, the only allmale hbcu in the country, where i went to school. I said, boss, the bar for good rhetoric at morehouse is hot. This is where mlk learned how to preach. And he basically said, dont worry, i got this. And to his credit, he gave basically the exact same address he would have given at duke or at william mary, and the students there recognized the authenticity and appreciated that, rather than talk to them as 300 black men, bob gates spoke to them as 300 intelligent americans. And the feedback i got from that was enormous. It was a good event. And so the lesson for joe biden on that is what . Dont try to talk a culture you dont belong to . Be yourself. Just simply be yourself, whether youre joe biden, whether youre bill clinton, whether youre barack obama, or jeh johnson, just be yourself. And most people will appreciate that. Most people will appreciate that you have the confidence in yourself and your listening audience to hear what you have to say about being yourself. Andrea mitchell, i want to put up on screen the Trump Campaign is already spending 1 million in digital ads, trying to take advantage of this. Theyre selling tshirts with a hashtag on it. I dont know whether that is showing a Trump Campaign that is nimble or a Trump Campaign that is searching for anything to chip away at joe biden. Theyre searching for anything negative, and they are nimble and far more nimble than biden. The Biden Campaign was taking credit for having responded around 3 30 friday afternoon, but that interview was taped the night before. They really wasted way too much time. And the africanamerican biden supporters whom i had on my program at noon just lashed out about it, that no white person, no white politician, should tell any black person what it is to be black. The fact, though, is that the biden people i think correctly point out that Donald Trumps record on Race Relations is so awful compared to joe bidens. But joe biden shouldnt be reaching back to the crime bill, where he is vulnerable, or the Voting Rights act. He should be talking now to africanamericans, and particularly to millennial black people about what he can do for them now and talk to them about his record on the pandemic, when africanamericans are among the most, you know, the most vulnerable on the front lines. Kay henderson, theres a debate about whether biden needs to get out and campaign, or is he better off staying in the basement . What do Iowa Democrats want . Well, Iowa Democrats are right now focused on a primary election thats happening on june 3rd. They are referring to it, even republicans, as voteathome absentee. Iowas secretary of state, whos a republican, sent out absentee request forms. 475,000 people have asked for them. It will set an alltime record for turnout. Democrats look to iowas most populous county, where theres been an eightfold increase in absentee activity. In regards to iowa being a swing state in the fall, we dont yet know what the margin will be. Just remember that Hillary Clinton lost the state by 9. 5 . Trump won it by 51 . In 2018, kim reynolds won the state by 50 , but she only won by a 3 margin. Right. Now, well see if it is truly a swing state or not. Youre right, well find out in the fall. Jeh johnson, memorial day takes on special meaning for folks who have family members who serve or have served. I know you have someone whos serving. Yes, thanks, chuck. Memorial day weekend, we also acknowledge those who are serving today. Id like to give a shoutout to all those in uniform of our nation day, including my son and his unit deployed overseas. Son, your mother and i look forward to you coming home soon. Thanks, chuck. And we look forward to you having that reunion. Thats all we have for today. Thanks for watching. Thanks for trusting us. Well be ba next on this memorial day, crowds are gathering. Packing parties on streets, on the water and on the beaches many people who have been staying home feel they can break out. Could this lead to second peak white house implements travel ban on visitors from brazil as outbreak surges. Creative ways families are making memories from home. We pause to honor americas bravest. Early today starts right now