hearings on the issue. generations fresh from being discriminated against generating ideas about strengthening hate crime laws and assisting our asian-american communities. all americans must demand lawmakers follow up on these proposals and pass the best of them into law. and yet at these same proceedings, we saw republicans dig in on a position that is difficult to interpret as anything other than anti-social justice and pro-white grievance. republican congressman chip roy of texas made himself the face of this modern-day, know-nothing movement, trying to sully the hearing about rants about the chinese communist party and bizarre and offensive references to lynching. many experts trace the latest wave of anti-asian violence and harassment to former president trump's effort to blame the coronavirus on china and distract from his own disastrous handling of the pandemic. but as this week has made clear, trump isn't the only one stoking the hatred, and we have a lot more work to do. so that's where we start "politics nation" this evening. joining me now is congresswoman grace meng, democrat of new york. she is the vice chair of the asian-pacific american caucus. and andrew yang, a democrat and former presidential candidate. he is currently running for mayor here in new york city. congresswoman meng, a lot of americans got to know you for the first time this week although we know you well in new york. but they got to know you this week because of your powerful statements during the hearing on anti-asian violence. but you've been active on this issue for quite a while. talk about what you've been doing and what you have planned for tomorrow to keep this momentum going. >> well, first i want to thank you, reverend, for the work that you've done over the years in new york and across the country and for continuing your work to bring our shared communities together. you know, when we were at this hearing and we were watching some republicans take valuable and hard-to-get time that we wanted to focus on the hurt and pain that our community has gone through and to look for solutions, we could not waste one minute. we are so thankful for this movement across the country where we have seen so many people, even beyond the asian-american community, come out and show solidarity for our community. tomorrow we will be announcing, as various asian-american members of congress, about a day of action on march 26th. we want to make sure that we are paying attention and holding in our hearts the victims and their families but also to make sure that everyday people, whether you are a first-time attendee at a rally or whether you've written a book on a subject, that you have the tools you need to be able to allow people to show solidarity and to tell people the importance of stopping asian hatred and discrimination. >> congresswoman, i want to quickly follow up on the hearings. we're not going to dignify texas congressman roy's comments by playing them again. but can you talk about how they made you feel and what you think they represent? >> i was outraged that he was so insensitive and didn't give us the time when we were trying to do, in a bipartisan way -- we have republican and democratic congress members talking about this, and we wanted to make sure that we were doing what we could to focus on the issue at hand and to find solutions and to find them fast. so i was really disappointed to hear how he was taking away the focus from the issue at hand. >> now, mr. yang, you're one of only a handful of asian-americans ever to have run for president, and now you're running for new york city mayor. if you were to win, you'd be the first asian-american mayor of new york and only the second person of color to hold the office. now, what have these campaigns taught you about the political voice of asian-americans in this country? you joined me and other candidates for mayor of new york talking about unity, but what has this moment taught you in new york that has a large asian-american community? >> well, first i want to congratulate and thank grace for being such a powerful voice. the legislation she's co-sponsored to try to elevate the treatment of asian hate crimes at the department of justice, it's phenomenal. and, reverend al, i want to thank you for gathering the candidates together to express solidarity for the victims of the atlanta shootings and the asian-american community. and as an asian-american, i am the first to say that it's incredibly welcome in part because asian-americans are not used to others coming together and sticking up for us. and that was in large part due to your leadership, reverend, so thank you. certainly i was very aware that i was the first asian-american man to run for president as a democrat, and there were many in our community that frankly told me that it would be impossible for an asian-american to run for president. and i'm so glad that as the campaign progressed, more people awakened to the fact that there really should not be some kind of limitation on anyone in this country in terms of the types of office they can seek or the levels that they think they can contribute. again, grace, you've been one of the leaders in showing people that asian-americans can do much more in public life. >> congresswoman, the anti-defamation league this week issued a new report showing that white supremist propaganda hit an all-time high in 2020 and nearly doubled from the prior year. it included racist, anti-semitic, anti-lgbt propaganda, as well as anti-asian. what is fueling this increase in hatred in your opinion? >> well, first i want to thank andrew for his kind comments. andrew is one of the many people who understands what fueled and who fueled these sorts of increase in hate incidents in many communities, not just this past year but across the country. our former president wasted no opportunity to make sure that people that looked like you and me knew that we weren't american enough and we weren't good enough for the former president or for many leaders in his party. but i want to say that we will be victorious over hate because of what he has said and done in the last four years, our communities have come together stronger than ever. the asian-american community has traditionally been quite silent and sometimes invisible in our struggles and voicing what we need to do to advocate for our communities. but because of our solidarity and more opportunities to work together with black, latino, native american communities, immigrant communities, we are now stronger than ever. and we know that the answer to racism is solidarity, and i'm proud of what we've accomplished so far and how much more progress we will make together. >> you know, along those lines, andrew, last april when the anti-asian rhetoric surrounding the coronavirus was just getting started, you wrote an op-ed that sparked some controversy. you said, we asian-americans need to embrace and show our american-ness in ways we never have before. we need to step up, help our neighbors, donate, give, vote, wear red, white, and blue, volunteer, fund aid organizations and do everything in our power to accelerate the end of this crisis. do you still believe embracing the american part of being asian-american is the solution, and how do you handle people who refuse to see you as anything other than being other? i know blacks, we could sleep with red, black, and green pajamas. it wouldn't stop racists, or red, white, and blue pajamas, and it wouldn't stop them. do you still believe that could help, or are you saying that we ought to respect them as americans? explain to me what you were driving at in this op-ed. >> the fundamental message is that we have to do more, and there have been many asian-americans who have stepped up in ways big and small throughout this past year, whether it is risking their lives as essential workers, working in the health care context or others, or distributing ppe, or giving out hot meals. really the message right now is you can either shrink and feel afraid for a place in american life, or you can assert ourselves, as grace is suggesting, account for these problems, where they exist, try and address them, but also bring in people from other communities. and earlier today, i was at this incredibly heartwarming rally in new york city that brought black and asian community members and activists together, and it was wonderful. that's the kind of thing that i was driving at, reverend, which is just that we all need to do more. and i am someone who says that asian-americans are waking up politically. you saw it in georgia where asian-american voters may have been the difference in the victories of both reverend warnock and jon ossoff. i hope we see the same here in new york and around the country. >> all right. congresswoman grace meng and andrew yang, i thank you both. joining me now is michigan senator gary peters, chair of the democratic senatorial campaign committee. senator, let me start with the recent tragedy in georgia in which people were killed, six of them asian women. according to pew research, 31% of aapi folks report experiencing a hate incident, which means these situations are grossly underreported. is there a legislative remedy for this kind of hateful environment? what are you hearing from your asian-american constituents? >> well, certainly they are very concerned. we have a very dynamic, a very vibrant asian-american community here in the state of michigan. they have been increasingly concerned particularly with the former president and his rhetoric related to the coronavirus. they saw the escalation of those incidents. they have experienced episodes of hatred that they've never been able to experience in the past before. so certainly they are concerned, and that's why we all have to step up as americans and condemn this in no uncertain terms but also understand unfortunately this is a broader trend that we're seeing of anti-supremist groups, violent extremist groups. as chair of senate homeland security committee, i'm very focused on what we are seeing in terms of hate groups coming together, coalescing in an organized way and attacking folks. in fact, i secretary mayorkas has said just recently that the number one terrorist threat in this country is domestic terrorists, and it's from white supremist groups. so we need to look at this as a law enforcement issue as well. >> now, the president and vice president had planned friday's georgia trip as part of their post-american rescue plan victory tour. do you think this kind of tour will help democrats keep the covid relief legislation on voters' minds in the midterm elections next year? >> i think it is incredibly important, but right now clearly this rescue plan would not have happened had we not had the democratic majority in the house and in the senate. and as i'm looking at senate races, had just one senator not been elected in 2020, this would have never happened. people would not have received the stimulus check for $1,400. folks on unemployment wouldn't have seen the extension. restaurant owners wouldn't have gotten help in order to stay in business. and you wouldn't see additional resources coming in to make sure that we are more efficiently distributing vaccines so we can get to the other side of this pandemic. >> just one senator would have stopped that. just one senator short would have stopped that. is that your message going into the midterms, that if we just see the democrats lose one seat or not grow, we are on razor edge to losing what they are clearly going around the country letting people know and peopling getting their monies in the mail or by direct deposit? is that the message? >> well, certainly it is, and it shows that elections matter. it is as clear a demonstration of that as you can get that just one senator not getting elected, one democrat senator, this would not happen. so as people get through this pandemic, both the health care crisis and get the economy back up and running, we have to maintain that majority, and we have to expand that majority. so we continue to make a positive impact in people's lives. and right now what we're demonstrating, which is a clear contrast from what we saw from the previous administration, is that government can work. we can put out mass distribution of vaccines in an efficient way instead of what we experienced with the last administration where every state was left on their own. there wasn't a coordinated response. that's not the way you deal with a national emergency. you need to have vigorous, strong federal response to address this crisis. we're seeing that with the biden administration, and we're able to move an agenda because we have majorities in the house and a razor-thin majority, just a 50-50. we need kamala harris to break that. so we need to extend that next year. >> the democratic national committee reported its highest fund-raising haul ever. you're seeing similar success with the dscc. how do you plan to deploy this money to hold the senate? >> well, you're right. we are seeing great success and that's because of enthusiasm. people are really recognizing the fact that elections matter. we've got to make sure we hold this majority, we expand this majority. so my first job as the chair is to make sure our incumbents come back to the senate, and when they do, we will continue to hold 50 seats. but we're looking at opportunities to pick up seats, particularly in open seats where we have a republican retiring. pennsylvania, for example. north carolina. we also think we've got a really great shot in wisconsin. so we're going to be focused on those states where we know we're going to have great candidates and we're going to be able to win with the -- >> so pennsylvania, north carolina, wisconsin, you have republicans retiring, but you know that traditionally the party that has the white house usually loses seats during the midterm. you're hoping to counter that because there's open seats and by direct messaging, senator? >> that's right. we have the two open seats in pennsylvania and north carolina. we aren't sure what's going to happen in wisconsin. we're still waiting to see what the incumbent does. but bottom line, it's about showing the american people that we are having a meaningful impact in their lives. this rescue plan is a clear sign of what democrats will do when we're in the majority. when people are in need, we are there. and it's a contrast that every single republican voted against this help, every single republican. there's a clear contrast. >> all right. thank you for being here, senator gary peters. coming up, it's time to rise up and come together with our asian-american community, and i'm going to tell you what you can do to help. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top news stories. richard. >> rev, thank you for that. a very good sunday to you. some of the stories we're watching for you this hour. covid concerns and the chaos of spring break collide in south florida this weekend. thousands of maskless partiers gathered on beaches and streets with little social distancing. so miami beach imposed an emergency curfew closing restaurants and bars from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. but community leaders criticized efforts to disperse crowds. they say police used unnecessary force, particularly against people of color. jury selection for the derek chauvin murder trial resumes monday. on friday, another injure was selected, adding to a total 13 so far. derek chauvin is the former minneapolis police officer involved in the killing of george floyd last may. opening statements are expected to begin march 29th. defense secretary lloyd austin makes an unannounced visit to afghanistan today, his first trip to the country as pentagon chief. the biden administration must decide to withdraw troops or not by may 1st, which is part of the u.s. agreement with the taliban. more "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton right after the break. pair of jeans that fit just right ♪ ♪ and the radio up ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. ♪♪ the thing about freedom is... freedom has no limits. there's no such thing as too many adventures... or too many unforgettable moments. there will never be too many stories to write... or too many memories to make. but when it comes to a vehicle that will be there for it all. there's only one. jeep. are you packed yet? 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health crisis, i see a lot of people giving in to the temptation to call this rash of hate incidents a, quote, pandemic of racism. but the word "pandemic" implies a distinct period of time, a clear beginning of the problem and, god willing, an end. and while it might be comforting to think that this particular strain of anti-racism of asians is a recent development, the truth is that it's just another variant of white supremacy this country was founded on. anti-asian discrimination was enshrined into law from the moment large-scale immigration began, even as the american government encouraged that immigration in order to exploit asian labor in the building of major infrastructure like the trans continental railroad. this kind of legal discrimination included segregated schools, gender and race specific immigration quotas. the interment of japanese-americans during world war ii and much more. if all that sounds a little familiar to black folks and other marginalized groups, it's because white -- american white supremacy is behind it all, and american freedom fighters of all races recognized the symptoms. the civil rights movement of the 1960s were full of examples of interracial solidarity, a tradition we must carry on to this day just as asian-americans marched with us last summer to affirm that black lives matter, this week at national action network, i spoke with community leaders about ongoing solidarity. we will continue to stand together to stop hate because there is no clear beginning to the plague of white supremacy in this country, and so far no end. this hate is not a pandemic but a chronic problem in which those most infected by white supremacy embrace hatred and victimize innocence, yet we can build the kind of herd immunity for this social disease because only by rising up together and declaring our solidarity with one voice can we finally begin the process of eradicating the scourge of racism and white supremist hatred in this country. heart racing, 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minority rights in the society. colleagues, no senate rule should overall the integrity of our democracy, and we must find a way to pass voting rights whether we get rid of the filibuster or not. >> democratic georgia senator raphael warnock used his first senate floor speech this week to urge his colleagues to do whatever it takes to pass voting rights legislation. he hinted at the elimination of the filibuster, a senate tactic that has for centuries been used to enforce racial status quo. my next guest goes a bit further in his criticism of the filibuster. he's warning of a, quote, election armageddon if the practice isn't eliminated, not only for democrats but for the communities they represent. joining me now is senator jeff merkley, democrat of oregon. senator, explain, quote, election armageddon. >> well, right now republicans are trying to establish new barriers to people voting and they're directed at black americans, college students, tribal americans, and the poor. and the goal is to say if we can keep these people from voting, we can win elections in these swing states. and we see this going on in new hampshire. we see it in georgia. we see it in arizona and some of the potential swing states like ohio and iowa. it is -- if we don't address this effort to block the ballot, then we fail in two dramatic ways, and one is we fail to protect what is really the central, pulsating heart of our republic, the right of every american to participate in the direction of their country. and second of all, we fail because we're just throwing up our hands and say we're going to let the powerful win over the people because we don't have the guts to get a bill passed. we know that mitch mcconnell has struck down the filibuster on his priorities already, the supreme court and tax cuts for the rich. so how could you explain to the democratic base that we failed to get things done on our priorities for the people? we can't. >> no, i don't think you can. every single democratic senator, though, would have to vote to change the rules in order to reform the filibuster. but we know your party has some holdouts such as arizona's kyrsten sinema and west virginia's joe manchin. how do you change their minds, and what do you think compromises such a forcing lawmakers to actually stand up and talk if they want to hold up a bill? >> well, so in addition to the possibility of getting rid of the filibuster or carving voting rights out of the filibuster, you do have the option of the talking filibuster which you're referring to, make people stand up and speak. that is the robert byrd filibuster. you can't obstruct without doing it in the full light of day and spending enormous time and energy to do so. so i think we have to get into a room with all 50 democrats, talk about these various options and come to a plan that all of us can support. but what isn't acceptable, as we say to our grassroots, well, we're just sorry we let mitch mcconnell have a veto over voting rights, housing, good-paying jobs, infrastructure, equality. i mean to do so is simply to say that we've given up on the vision of government of, by, and for the people and we're just going to have let the powerful have it their way, get their tax cuts by simple majority and just lick our wounds. i find that absolutely unacceptable. it's a conversation we have to have in our caucus. >> senator, you said the surge of migrants at the u.s. border with mexico is approaching a crisis. while the white house has declined to use that label, you place the blame on trump-era policies. but what do you make of how the biden administration is currently handling the situation unfolding at the border? what immigration reform do we need to see from the white house now? >> yeah. so we do have a significant challenge at the border, humanitarian challenge. the trump administration shut down much of the machinery that was in place. they tolerated corruption in central america that has now made life so miserable for so many millions that they're just willing to try anything to come north. so it is a challenge created during the trump administration. but this administration is doing some things to try to increase capacity, and able to get the children to families, and they're coming from a completely different place of the heart. the trump administration was coming from the viewpoint, if we abuse migrants and particularly children, rip them out of their parents' arms, we will send a message not to come. that is completely against every ethical, religious, moral code in the universe. in this case, the administration says we're going to do everything we can to get the machinery in gear, to treat these children, these migrants with respect, give them a full, fair chance at making their asylum case, and that's the right perspective to come from. but no question it's going to be a big, significant challenge. >> all right. thank you, senator jeff merkley. up next, the atlanta shooting spree provided something we already know, hate crimes on the rise. but why does america have a problem with admitting it? stay with us. hey, i'm alicia menendez. on tonight's show, combating hate and the attacks on america's asian communities. we'll talk with actress and activist olivia munn about it when "american voices" gets under way at 6:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc. i'm draymond green. with my subway sub with tender steak and melty cheese. my sub will help you put points on the board, unlike some other subs. why would you say that, jayson? hey man, i'm just talkin' about subs here. oh c'mon. my sub is gonna throw down on your... my sub has more rings than your sub. my sub has bacon. choose better, be better. and now buy one sub, get one fifty percent off in the app. subway eat fresh. but not jayson's sub. with relapsing forms of ms, there's a lot to deal with. not just unpredictable relapses. all these other things too. who needs that kind of drama? kesimpta is a once-monthly 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as we have time for. let me bring in my panel. president and ceo of global policy solutions maya cummings. the former chair of rnc michael steele. and msnbc legal contributor katie feng. let me start with you, katie. president biden urged congress to pass hate crime legislation in response to the horrible shootings in atlanta. what is wrong with our hate crime laws right now, and do you think it's possible that this incident might slip through the cracks and not get treated as a hate crime even though it has clearly caused so much pain and fear for so many asian-americans and their allies? >> so, reverend al, the problem is that the hate crime statutes themselves, including the one that's on the books in georgia, you know, they cover a lot of bases. i'm happy to see that it not only covers race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender, which is key in this particular case in atlanta, but the reality is, you know, you have to get into the mind of the shooter or the killer, and you have to be able to prove as the prosecutor not only the elements of the crime itself but that a specific protected class of people was targeted. now, it may seem super easy to do, and let's be frank. he could have picked anyone to kill, but he drove miles. >> right. >> to be able to kill these particular victims. i think that it is not going to be difficult for a hate crime enhancement in this case. but i do think, though, because we had two victims out of the eight, tragically, that were not asian, that perhaps gender may be the reason why the georgia hate crime statute is employed in this particular facts and circumstances. >> he literally travel 237 miles, you're right. michael, republicans have not been nearly as vocal in condemning this anti-asian violence as they have been in defending and even doubling down on racist comments of people like texas congressman chip roy. what is going on in the party right now, and what does it mean for the rest of us who want to stop all this hate? >> well, rev, i think what it means in the main is that we have to be vigilant as many of our fellow americans look past this because it involves the asian-american community, second-guess it, don't want to confront the realities that, you know, we live on the streets and in our communities every single day. so it's easy to be dismissive of it or not give it the full breadth of, you know, attention that it deserves. so i'm less worried about what republicans are saying or not saying about this shooting. look, you know, ron johnson said his crazy last week. that was enough for me. that just -- that tells you everything you need to know when a united states senator stands up and says, hey, you know, if they're white people who are committing insurrection, that's okay because i know they love america. but if it's black folks, well -- >> right. >> -- i'm going to be scared. you roll in the asian community. you roll in the hispanic community. just fill in the blank with whatever ethnic, gender, or other group there is that's not white, and you've got your answer. so let's worry less about what republicans are going to be thinking on this matter and focus more on what we as citizens and as a broader community can do to support the criminal justice system in prosecuting this case as well as those elected officials on capitol hill who will move legislatively to do something. >> let me stop one minute. the president, joe biden, is arriving at the white house. let's listen for a minute. oh, he did not -- he did not say anything. he kept going, so we will not go to him. he must not have wanted to interrupt you, maya. so let me go to you. we've seen an outpouring of emotion this week about anti-asian violence and much more dialogue and awareness. and i think that it is correct what the chairman just said that, you know, one week it's the blacks, the next it's the asians. that's why everybody has to come together and deal with all kinds of hate and awareness. >> coalition building is number one. you're absolutely right. blacks, asians, lgbtq, you name it, the hate is pouring down as a result of the last four years and the rhetoric from the top of our government. republicans have become the party of racism. they talked about democrats being identity politics people, but they are the ultimate. they're playing the culture wars, and it's just shameful that they have failed to actually respond and to mourn with the country. i think what's happened to the community in georgia. that being the case, there are a lot of dynamics we have to pay attention too, how police officials in particular are shaping the language of the prosecution down there. we don't need anyone talking about sympathizing with a potential murderer and having that be put out there. and certainly what we need to do at the national level personally, i think that we need to create a declaration of interdependence and inclusion so that people who are racist, who are white supremacists, understand that this country is for everyone despite what may have been in the original constitution. now is the time for us to talk about how we need each other as a nation in order to get stronger. >> katie, switching topics, we've been hearing a lot in recent days about the manhattan district attorney's probe of former president trump. investigators have reportedly had multiple conversations with relatives of trump's chief financial officer, allen weisselberg, and trump's former fixer, michael cohen, says he met with them eight times. where do you see this heading? >> i think if you meet with somebody eight times, you're getting something from that person. i also think that if you're meeting multiple times with allen weisselberg's soon-to-been ex-daughter-in-law, you're getting something from that person. why would anybody like park pomerantz, who prosecuted john gaty, who was brought on board by cy vance as a special assistant district attorney, why would he be wasting time meeting with people like that, issuing new subpoenas, and remember, reverend al, we also have the accounting records, the tax returns from 2011 to 2019. millions of pages of documents have been turned over as a result of the supreme court ruling that it had to be done. you're going to see a lot of a picked up pace in terms of the investigation over in cy vance's office. >> maya, "the new york times" is reporting today that inquiries into law enforcement's handling of the george floyd protests last summer found insufficient training and militarized responses, a widespread failure in policing nationwide. basically that in city after city, police mishandled black lives matter protests, and just hours ago some black leaders in miami have expressed concern that police used unnecessary force in imposing a spring break curfew just last night when miami beach police turned away throngs of people, many of them black and brown, from the world famous ocean drive using a s.w.a.t. truck, pepper balls, and sound cannons. your reaction. >> it's a recipe for disaster when we have police forces across the united states who have hand-me-down military equipment, some of the state of the art technology when it comes to militarized equipment, and yet they are poorly trained and poorly educated on how to use that equipment and when to use that equipment. and what we know about police forces across the nation is they're not trained in implicit bias. and ron johnson notwithstanding, we know that police officers across the country are also looking at black and brown communities with fear. and that fear translates into overly aggressive responses even to peaceful protesters. and it's time that we get a handle on this. it's time that we pass the george floyd policing act at the federal level and do everything that we can to actually train these officers to have a better response. >> michael, president biden's homeland security secretary took to the sunday shows today to defend the administration's handling of the border, pointing out that they are trying to rebuild an immigration infrastructure that trump and the republicans literally burned to the ground. it's clear that the gop wants to make this humanitarian catastrophe a political issue for the midterms. will it work? >> it has the potential if the administration does not aggressively get in front of it, which i think you've seen over the last week, reverend, that effort afoot among a number of agencies, not just homeland security and border control, but state department and elsewhere. so the administration is clearly focused on this. they know it is a problem. they know what this looks like relative to what the previous administration had done, and president biden's position at that time and the realities he's confronting right now. so i think they can handle it, but you know, transparency, forth rightness, and a commitment to addressing the humanitarian aspect of this up front, i think, can be in the long term something to the advantage for the administration. but it's a tough spot to be in right now. >> all right. maya, michael, and katie, my thanks to you all. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. here you go, let me help you. hi mr. charles, we made you dinner. ahh, thank you! ready to eat? yes i am! 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