Respect to George Floyd with a president who has been in continuous communication with The Family. Crump says he hopes the visit will keep momentum going towards passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Willie . And with this day, it also marks the deadline set by President Biden for congress to present a Police Reform package. The lead negotiators from both parties are mystic a deal is now within reach. We continue to work on the process and i think we had good progress over the weekend, i thought. And i think we can see The End of the tunnel. We are starting to see a frame. We made a lot of progress over the weekend. We still have a lot of work to do. Im going to be pulling long days all this week in hopes that we by the time we come out of the weekend, we have more and more of this framework being put together. Senator scott and booker there along with Congresswoman Karen Bass of california, who has been working on this, they said the anniversary of george Floyds Murder drives their work, writing in a statement, quote, this anniversary serves as a painful reminder of why we must make meaningful change. Why we still are working through our differences on key issues, we continue to make progress towards a compromise and remain optimistic about the prospects of chiefachieving that goal. One year on now, the work continues. Its been a long year in many ways in this country, but it looks like there might be progress on this front, at least. It looks like there might be progress. And Mara Gay, its so good to hear Cory Booker and Tim Scott, republican and democrat alike, talking about the good progress that was made over the weekend. You do really get a sense that that progress was made, because they knew this date was coming, and they just they felt the moral compunction to do it. Theres No Doubt about it. I think, though, that, you know, the fears among those who support Police Reform is just the understanding that there is a large significant portion of the country who is not committed to this and and part of the reason is that the issue has become politicized thanks to Donald Trump. And because of that, i think its still going to be very difficult to put meaningful reforms into this bill. You know, the whole battle over qualified immunity is just a preview of really, i think, whats going on behind the scenes. Im not fatalistic about it. I think theres a lot of good that can get done here. But i do continue to believe that significant reforms will have to happen at the local level. In conjunction, i think, with the department of justice, who will continue to increase oversight over some of these and thats actually theres a lot of room for optimism there. This is a good start, but there is a lot of of and weve done essentially so we have lets bring in Jake Sherman to the conversation to check on the progress of these negotiations. Hes the cofounder of Punch Bowl News and an msnbc political contributor. Jake, good morning. Good to see you. We know that the Floyd Family Attorney Benjamin Crump will be up on Capitol Hill today, meeting with Speaker Pelosi, among others. Where are the sticking appoints. We hear the positive messages from senator scott, senator booker, and Karen Bass. Where are these last points where Theyll Need to negotiate . Is it qualified immunity, for example . Yeah, it basically is qualified immunity, willie. And thats whats been holding us back for a long time. Theres been mixed messages, depending on who you talk to about qualified immunity and where it stands. A few things to note. Number one, the right people are in the room, right . You have the right powerful democrats that people listen to and republicans. Tim scott, Cory Booker, Karen Bass. Interestingly enough, we put in our letter in Punch Bowl News this morning, bass stayed in town this week to continue talks. Theyre going to continue this week. We anticipate that something will come out maybe next week. I just dont want to from a practical Point Of View, willie, we havent even seen the opposition on Capitol Hill mobilize. We know i would imagine, to be honest with you, if i were a gambling man, i do believe this will pass both chambers and get signed into law. I think it will take a little bit of time to get done. But, you know, were hearing the right things, seeing the right things, hearing the right information, all positive signs at this point. But qualified immunity is a big thing. Yeah, jake, lets talk really quickly about a couple of other issues that are obviously interesting to a lot of people on The Hill. First of all, the massive infrastructure bill. Republicans moved 500 you have the 325 or so thats based there there are about 800 billion. Biden is at 1. 7 billion. Is there a possibility that that ends up around 1. 2, 1. 3 billion . Yes and no, i guess ill put it that way. Im becoming more skeptical based on my reporting this a bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is going to happen. I just think like, if you strip away all of that, joe, and talk about the payfors, how theyre going to pay for this legislation, democrats will say they will never do these user fees. Republicans say they will never do the tax increases that Joe Biden wants. So i just dont see how you bridge that gap. So i do think at The End of the day, therell be something dOne On infrastructure. I think theyll be majorly pared back to be honest you. And i think democrats would be better served focusing on what Joe Manchin wants and not on what Shelly Moore Capito wants. Not that Shelly Moore Capito is a bad person. I just think, strategically at this point, they are more likely to get a bill with democrats than they are with republicans. And also, the January 6th commission, Joe Manchin has made it clear that he wants to work with republicans. Hes also made it very clear to republican leaders that you can do what you want on infrastructure, on other things, but you better not politicize the 1 6 commission. Hes sort of drawn a Line In The Sand with Mitch Mcconnell and republican leaders. Im wondering whether theyre going to stand in the way. Whether theyre going to help him get ten republicans, or whether this is going to end ugly. Because, at some point, at least i get the sense that manchin is giving the republicans all the rope he feels they need, all the slack they need to get things done. But, man, if they stonewall him on everything, hes going to say, i tried and weve got to pass some legislation with the democrats. I think that republicans are going to stonewall the January 6th commission to be honest with you, joe. I think youre going to see them this Week Dig in even harder against it. The interesting thing is, i mean, Nancy Pelosi, to her credit on this issue, is being very, very, very flexible. More flexible, possibly, than ive ever seen her in the decade or more ive been covering her. She basically said, whatever the republicans want, ill give them, besides, im not making this an investigation into blm and all these other ancillary issues. Shes already come their way on everything. Heres the reality, joe. This is a shortsighted move by republicans, because were not going to get out of this congress without an investigation into January 6th. So either its this commission where republicans have a huge amount of say over subpoenas, over everything, or its in democratic committees, which, yes, is partisan, but they are going to be able to issue subpoenas on everything, everyone, without any republican input. So i dont get strategically why they would take themselves out of the game when they could get 99. 9 of what they want. Well, exactly. Even theyre complaining about staff. They could get a compromise on the staff. They could get a compromise on a lot of this stuff. It is a bad look for them on January 6th to be stonewalling this commission. And ive got a feeling that both sides weve all looked at Joe Manchin from the democratic side and how much can he be pushed by the democrats . At some point, manchin will walk away from republicans and just work with democrats if they stonewall everything. Hes giving them a chance. By the way, speaking of a chance, willie and i want a chance to look as good use. Could you tell us Jake Weve been talking about your hairdresser yeah, i didnt you know, i didnt i didnt realize that until i just looked in the screen right now. Sorry, you know, we have a Morning Edition that should be out by now and i were late and John Bresnahan he has no hair, so hes going to make me shake my head for today. Yeah, no, no, jake, we know youre going right back to bed. You just go ahead. Im not going back to bed. I pray i could go back to bed, mika. That aint going to happen for me this morning. Or any morning. Jake sherman, Punch Bowl News whereby thank you very much. You can come on looking any way you want. We love it. Look at joe. Exactly. Other news to get to. President Joe Biden is weighing in on the forced diversion by belarus of a commercial passenger jet. The incident happened On Sunday when President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair Flight carrying a key Opposition Journalist and traveling across europe to land in the belarusian capital minsk. That reporter was then detained on arrival. President biden calls it a direct affront to international norms and condemned the action as an outrageous incident. Those are good words to use. The journalist whose flight was essentially hijacked midair has been seen for the first time since the international incident and it only makes things all the more disturbing. We have video here of raman pratasevich. It was filmed by belarusian authorities. He claims hes in good health. And he says that the police are treating him well and hes confessing to organizing protests. It appears that pratasevich has marks on his forehead. In a statement, the president says that The Statement of the 25yearold Dissident appears to be made under arrest. He says its shameful and the u. S. Joins other countries in calling for his release as well as an independent investigation. Willie . So Richard Haas, ryanair calls this a statesponsored hijacking. This was a carried out frankly by the dictator of belarus. So what is the appropriate response here . Weve heard outcry from Joe Biden, weve heard it from the eu. But what can be done about this brazen it doesnt begin to describe what We Saw, but scrambling a jet to land a commercial aircraft and pull off a journalist is something that we havent seen. This is what it is. This is hijacking, this is air piracy. Its exactly what it is. Europeans essentially have come together, banded together to isolate belarus. Flights wont go there. Theyll pay a certain price. But someone will be able to go from belarus to russia and thats the bottom line. Lukashenko is essentially president for life because another president for life, Vladimir Putin, is backing him, politically and financially. And so he will continue to give lukashenko whatever support he wants, so the European Actions will further isolate belarus. Theyll get him even closer to putin and russia, but its not going to affect the fundamentals of the situation. So Boris Johnson has said, as a journalist and Passionate Believer In Freedom Of Speech, i call for his immediate release. Belaruss actions will have consequences. What are the greatest consequences that the united states and our allies in europe can do to pressure belarus . Again, we can do economic sanctions, we can do political sanctions, isolate them, and so forth. What we cant do, apparently, is get lukashenko out of power. Mr. Putin has floated him something like 1 Billion in loans. Look, at the risk of being, you know, so negative, this is an example of whats going on in the world today. Theres a phenomenon, the term is democratic backsliding. What were seeing is across the world, its been going on for about 15 years now. Its almost as if you had a share of stock called state of the worlds democracies. This stock would have corrected, would have lost significant value now for 15 years. Belarus is one of the worst examples. Youve got the russias, the chinas, and others that are willing to come up really with an alternative support system. The u. S. , the eu, the other democracies can penalize them. We can isolate them. But now theyve got an alternative source of oxygen, like the venezuelas, like the cubas and so forth. So increasingly, the world is divided between countries that are democracies that are largely in that camp, and the authoritarians that are providing all sorts of political and economic support to their allies. Wow. A new cold war. Yeah. We are following new developments relating to the possible origins of the coronavirus. A previously undisclosed u. S. Intelligence report found that three researchers had a lab in wuhan, china, got sick enough to be hospitalized in november of 2019, just before the outbreak began. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Nbc news senior international Correspondent Keir simmons has more. Reporter Nbc News confirms the u. S. Intelligence report says that three researchers at a Wuhan Lab fell ill and even went to the hospital right before the Coronavirus Pandemic began. Theres been growing speculation the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute Of Virology, but an earlier joint study by the w. H. O in china controversially dismissed claims that the virus may have leaked from that lab. But back in march, a member of that team told us some Lab Researchers were ill. Did some researchers get sick with flulike symptoms in the fall of 2019 . There were occasional illnesses, because thats normal. There was nothing different about that. Do you remember how many researchers . Maybe one or two. Its certainly not a big a big thing. Reporter in february, a western Intelligence Official told Nbc News the u. S. Has substantial intelligence that has not been made public about the actions the chinese government took related to Wuhan Lab. And recently, dr. Fauci became the latest Highprofile Scientist to question Chinas Theory that the virus came from an animal. I am not convinced about that. I think that we should continue to investigate what went on in china. Reporter but some w. H. O scientists insist china can be trusted. Can you trust the chinese data . Its the science here, and the data dont lie. China has responded to the report im sorry, the w. H. O what is going on . I mean, weve been talking about this for a couple of years now. Mmhmm. They they really have made themselves look like theyre a wholly owned subsidiary of the chinese government. And they need to take the w off the World Health Organization and put a c in front of there. The chinese health organization, if theyre not going to before more impartial here. They do valuable work across the globe. They need to stop. Just blindly following what the chinese tell them the Party Line is. And that appears to be, if you listen to our scientists, if you look at the intel reporting, if you look at what other countries are telling us, that appears to be the case right now, certainly as it pertains to this virus. Yeah, Chinas Response to the report that three wuhan scientists fell hill, calling it completely untrue and accusing the u. S. Of hyping the lab leak theory. So, Mara Gay, so theres intel out there that Western Intel sources, we have to wait, of course, because weve seen other intel sources that ended up not being accurate. But right now, weve got the intel sources that are suggesting that we look closer to the Wuhan Lab. Scott gottlieb is saying that we have to look at this aggressively. Dr. Fauci saying the same thing right now. There are a lot of questions about what happened in that lab last fall going into december. I have a question for richard, actually, if he is still with us here. I was wondering if he might shed some light into what the strategic purpose behind releasing this kind of intel report, or at least the information about it to the public might be. Could you shed some light on that . Is there a message here that the united states is sending to china, to others. I feel like im in the middle of Spy Games at the moment, frankly. Its a great question. But lets take a Step Back for a second. Think of the coincidence. This is the only lab in china that does this kind of research. It happens to be in the same city where the virus where covid broke out. But the latest Wall Street Journal is tracing it back to when we believe this lab collected covid samples from bats from a number of years before. What leads to the theory is that weve seen an extended chinese coverup, and as joe said, the World Health Organization cant be trusted, because its senior officials have to be approved by china. A small degree of its funding comes from china. Theyre scared to lose access to china. The scientific evidence can be argued round or flat in terms of the origins of the virus. But youve got the lab there and the chinese coverup. The reason this is so significant is to get the truth out about china. Theyve been trying to position themselves as a great benefactor to the world through their Belt And Road initiative, through their vaccines. But if this turns out to be a lie and a coverup, think about the significance internationally, in terms of chinas position, all the reactions to it. Think about it even more at momentum. Remember watergate . Its not the crime, its the coverup . No ones accusing china of intentionally leaking this, but if this thing did leak, and i should tell you, i should increasingly have come around to that position, it was a kind of farout position. I think the evidence and chinese behavior increasingly supports it. This regime has now increasingly tied itself to this story, which if it is a fiction, i believe potentially challenges the legitimacy of this regime and this leadership. So this has become an enormous political story on top of an enormous public health story. Richard, can you explain for people why it appears the w. H. O Time And Again runs cover for china. As you alluded to, the united states gives vastly more money to the w. H. O. Donald trumps suspension of that funding, notwithstanding. Its not even close. In fact, based on their economy and the size of the country, china actually doesnt give very much money to the w. H. O. So why does it wield so much influence and why does the w. H. O continue to bend a knee to that country . A couple of reasons. One is china is a member of the u. N. Security council has to approve the top official of the World Health Organization. Theres that. Also, the scientists, a lot of them have grants and chinese laboratories. Theyve had cooperative relationships for years. They hope to have cooperative relationships in the future. Quite honestly, a lot of them, i think, are being taken for a ride. They are theyre just too close to the chinese and some chinese scientists. By the way, willie, these same scientists are not available for anyone to ask questions of. It just doesnt sound right. It doesnt smell right. There is something going on here. Well, you also, of course, you have to go back to see what happened in december, when the united states, people like Matt Pottinger were desperately trying to get information from the chinese, because they knew something was going on and the chinese absolutely refused to cooperate in december of 2019. Richard, though, i want to follow up really briefly on Maras Question about feeling like shes in the middle of Spy Games, which its a great question to ask. Why would the Intel Community Leak this information at this point . Do you think Theres Something strategic or do you think it was a oneoff, somebody inside of an agency . Well, i dont think this is a oneoff. I think, joe, this is a priority for the u. S. Intelligence community to understand this. This is an all hands on deck investigation. And this goes to the heart of the growing competition between the united states and china, both globally for influence, but also, its a competition between systems. Democracy and authoritarian. The big difference between the two systems is when authoritarian systems make mistakes, and we all do, all systems do, they tend to cover them up. The onechild policy. Potentially this. We make our share of mistakes and then some. The great advantage of democracies, traditionally, traditionally, a we can admit them and fix them. This has now become in some ways a competition between systems with global implication. So, richard, i just want to go back to the story about the journalist who was taken hostage in belarus, raman pratasevich. This is a commercial flight and it was hijacked and i just the american response seems strong in its wording, but should there be more leaning on russia . I know President Biden is meeting with putin next month. Should there be more leaning on belarus . Should the international community be acting more . And should the united states have a much more sharp response, given that we are sort of reinstating our place in the world. And you are right. We are watching democracies backslide, and quite frankly, america was on that slide in the past four years, with Donald Trump as president and there is a statement, dont you think, that needs to be made, in light of this hijacking of a commercial airliner . Look, mika, its awful and we can cut off all Aviation Links with belarus or even russia, if we want. But meanwhile, in russia, you have the imprisonment of the principle political challenger, mr. Navalny, thousands of others. Youve got russian troops parked in crimea, parked in eastern ukraine. Youve got all of these other things that russia is doing. At the same time, we have a nuclear competition with them. We want their support with iran. We want their support on north korea. We dont want to see them committing further aggression. This is a really complicated relationship with a country like russia. And its also economically pretty separate. Unlike china, which is much more integrated in the world, Putins Russia is much more economically isolated. We can do things, sanction individuals, sanction the country, their economy. Whether its belarus or russia. But were kind of running out of thanks to sanction. And obviously, theres a they have an ability to absorb these blows and essentially ignore us or push back. And again, i dont mean to be so negative. Of course, i wish there was more we could do to get somebody like lukashenko out of power. But i just dont its not easily done so long as putin remains his benefactor. Okay. Well continue this conversation. And still ahead on Morning Joe, New Jersey is listing its Coronavirus Mask Mandate after being one of the few holdouts to adopt new Cdc Guidance. Governor Phil Murphy will join us to talk about that. Plus, Former Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate And Voting Rights Advocate, Stacey Abrams will be our guest. Also ahead, our conversation with Ambassador Susan Rice. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Oh dont burn down the duplex. Terminix. Finding new routes to reach your customers, and new ways for them to reach you. Is what business is all about. Its what the United States Postal Service has always been about. So as your business changes, were changing with it. With ecommerce that runs at the speed of now. 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Every day in business is a big day. Well keep you ready for whats next. Comcast business powering possibilities. Its the memorial Day Sale on the new Sleep Number 360 smart bed. Its the most comfortable, duallyadjustable, footwarming, temperaturebalancing. Proven Quality Night Sleep weve ever made. And now, save 1,000 on the new Sleep Number 360 Special Edition smart bed, plus free Premium Delivery when you add a base. Ends monday tonight, ill be eating a Pork Banh mi with extra jalapenos. [doorbell rings] thanks, baby. Yeah, we bout to get spicy for this virtual date. Spicy like them pajama pants. Hey, the camera is staying up here. This is not the second date. Fans were going so crazy for mickelson, he needed a Security Escort on the greens in the final hole. Watch this. Kiawah erupts. Actually, theyve lost control of the scene. Yeah. It looks like the annual running of the khakis. Im just glad to see a mob of White People who arent storming the capitol, arent you . Wow. You know, willie, we didnt get a chance to talk about this yesterday, but identify got to say, mickelson at 50 running, it kind of got my competitive juices going again. I kind of liked the crowd. Its been a while since i won. What year was that 86. Jack was 86. Jack was 86. This is getting old. Im thinking, maybe i get next april i get in the econoline van, drive down to that parking lot, the Strip Mall where you met john daly, maybe i spend the night there a couple of weeks. They let me do it, because i won already, and maybe i try to break the record. I think you can do it. As long as there are carts involved, Food And Beverage breaks, i think, are important for you. You know, just to get to the clubhouse and get some Fried Chicken in you before you head out again. That was an amazing day. That scene was, even as a fan of sports, it was a little out of hand when you saw phil trying to push his way through. And people grabbing at him. But hep handled it great. He was just giving thumbs up as he was being pawed out walking up the 18th green. Brooks koepka, who finished tied for second, said he just came off knee surgery, he said somebody banged into his knee, it wasnt great for him. But all of that aside, this was just an amazing day for 50, almost 51yearold Phil Mickelson to win a major that way. And a guy whos so respected and so beloved by the fans, thats such a beautiful course At Kiawah island. Just awesome. Pga, though, did apologize after organizers did lose control of the crowd at the 18th Hole at the pga championship. In a statement On Twitter last night, Pga Of America Last Night said in part, while we welcome enthusiastic fan engagement, we regret a moment of high Elation And Pentup emotion of spectators briefly overwhelmed security and made two players and their caddies feel vulnerable. We always put Player Safety at the top of our list. So grateful order was restored, et cetera. Mickelson said, quote, it was a little bit unnerving, but it was exceptionally awesome, too, says Phil Mickelson. That was the first time i watched golf and enjoyed it. It was a very i thought the crowd was so the whole tournament. Everything was kind of more interesting than usual and the people were so loud and joyful. I kind of liked it. It was sort of like the running of the bulls, exactly. Yeah, you like that stuff, too. I usually turn on golf and its so boring. Its like crickets. I turned it off. This is in south carolina, man, they take their sport seriously. Look through history. But willie, it was a great event. This did remind me of when the crowds were rushing in do you remember when you and i went to one of Richard Haas Book Events when he was passing out. Well, that was amazing. He was passing out, you know, the scarves, a World In Disarray and the beach towels. It looked like that for haas, too. I was afraid haas was going to get hurt. We had to rush him out of the Back Exit there and get him out of there. And there was an announcement made by r. J. Julia, one of the great bookstores said, haas has left the building. Haas has left the building and the crowd dispersed after that. Got in his van, drove back to the hotel. So, richard so, richard, i understand that you want to be the Roger Bennett of golf, so this is this is your opportunity to take us through ive got to say, a remarkable weekend. I probably saw more of this tournament for whatever reason than i have i was there from friday through sunday, watching most of it. And mickelson had his ups and downs, never really surrendered to the lead. Koepka was there all along. This was just this was a great Tournament Front to back, and mikas right, the urgency of the fans all four days really made it something special. It was something special. What makes it special also, joe, its the only one of the majors where a number of spots are saved for club pros. They had their own separate qualifying tournament. So 20 joined the fulltime people on the door. Two, actually, made the cut. Two made the final two days. So what makes the pga special of all the four majors . Its the peoples tournament. Its played on this course. This course, the way it was done, it was the longest course, the Ocean Course ever for a golf major. Also, the toughest. The ratings of the course. This is as difficult as golf gets. And you saw the score, were pretty low. The idea that mickelson would win his sixth major, putting him in pretty rarefying technology. Hes won three of the four, never won the u. S. Open. Oldest person ever to do it by several years. This is extraordinary. And its a pattern across sports. Youve seen it with brady and others, that older athletes, if they can stay in shape, they can stay focused. They can still keep with all of these guys, particularly all of these ripped young guys. His whole career has been slightly in the shadow of tiger woods. Its so great now to see Phil Mickelson emerge. Hes now the biggest name on the golf course. Ive got to say, speaking of tiger, you couldnt help watching this, thinking about tiger and, obviously, him recovering. We certainly hope hes doing hes doing well in that recovery is coming along. Hes just such a special, special player and that guy has fought back time and time again. It sure would be great to see him, because his presence sure was missed out there, wasnt it, willie . It always is. Hes one of the only golfers that i can think of that had a scene like that, where the crowd and galleries are so excited that they filled in behind him. Not quite as unruly as this one We Saw At Kiawah, but hes had scenes like that. We hope hell be back. Look, hes five years younger than phil. Obviously, hes recovering from a terrible leg injury, but youre right, it would be great how about seeing both of them on a sunday at a major. We hope we can. I might watch for the second time in my life. All right. A couple of other stories making headlines this morning. Amazon is near a deal to purchase mgm studios. People familiar with the matter tell the Wall Street Journal. The almost 9 Billion deal is expected to be announced as early as today. It would mark the largest acquisition for amazon since it acquired whole foods for nearly 14 Billion back in 2017. Amazon is looking to build its Media Portfolio to bolster its prime Video Service to be more competitive. While mgm has been looking for a buyer for several years, the side is a coowner of the James Bond franchise, as well as other Film And Tv series, such as rocky, legally blonde, and survivor. Willie, this is just a sign of The Times. Weve seen at T And Discovery coming together, now youre seeing amazon and mgm. I suspect comcast will be looking for peacock to merge with. You just have to do that. It looks like its so interesting, when we were growing up, before your time, willie, there were, you know, you had an antenna, you had three channels, abc, cbs, nbc, and pbs, if you were lucky, you would get three or four. And then we had this explosion of cable and suddenly there were 300, 400, 500 channels and you could select. And now here we see on the other side of it, everything collapsing back down where most Industry Analysts expect us to have four or five major streaming companies five, six, seven years from now and thats going to be how we watch tv in the future. So right now, its going to be one massive merger after another. Yeah, were watching it happen. This is history before our eyes. This is reshaping of the media in the direction of streaming and gobbling up content and having best Content And Netflix sort of blazing that Trail And Everybody playing catchup a little bit. But these old Legacy Media companies know that they have to find streaming and do it pretty quickly with the Way Tv is going right now, network tv, certainly. But youve got to be streaming. Thats why youve seen these deals like the huge Discovery Deal last week and now this one with mgm and amazon. Theyre all going to come back together, as you say, and create these sort of titanic companies that are racing to have the best and the most content. And Ron Desantis signed a law gives the power to penalize media companies. He said it was a blow against Silicon Valley elites who he said were looking to censor conservative views. He said that Florida Media companies may not permanently delete or ban a candidate for office. Suspensions of up to 14 days are allowed and a site can remove individual posts that violate its terms of service. If a companys actions are found to violate the law, The States Elections Commission could fine a social Media Company 250,000 a day for statewide candidates and 25,000 a day for other candidates. Individuals in florida may also sue for violations of the law. The law to prohibit deplatforming is the first of its kind in the nation. A similar proposal is making its way through the texas legislature. And i just want to make sure that, like, Ron Desantis i mean, is he being clear here when he talks about conservative candidates versus candidate that is dont Tell The Truth . That make boldfaced lies. Because theres two different things, right . Well, thats what thats whats so cute about this political stunt. This political gesture. First of all, its most likely unconstitutional. It violates the first amendment and how a private company chooses to moderate content on their platform. But secondly, saying they believe in Free Market and Free Enterprise and the power of companies to run things they want to run, deciding they are going to be use the power of The State to tell facebook or to tell twitter how to run their first amendment policies. Its just thats a bizarre thing for an alleged small Government Republican to do. Totally, joe. The reality is that desantis is taking advantage of, i think, what is a pretty fundamental misunderstanding of the first amendment. And it really goes to this quote unquote cancel culture, red Meat Culture War issue. You know conservatives just like Everybody Else in the country need to understand that you is a right under the first amendment to speak your piece. You do not have an entitlement to speak that piece on a private platform or, for example, in the New York Times. Nobody has a right to publish a Guest Column in the New York Times. I think thats kind of maybe the better example. You do have a right to say what you like in a town square. And thats really why this is perversion of the first amendment. The real issue here is that these Tech Companies like facebook are also content platforms. And they have not actually been regulated as such, which has allowed them to spread disinformation or allowed disinformation to be spread on their platforms. And that is a much bigger and far more serious issue that weve discussed on this show before. And Thats Something thats going to have to be taken up by congress. And i hope Theres Buyin on a bipartisan basis for that. This is really just, you know, about the victimhood, i would say, of some rightwing Conservative Americans who feel that they are being canceled, because their views, which are in many cases repugnant, no longer allowed in mainstream private companies on their platforms. All right. Mara gay, thank you very much for being on the show with us this morning. See you soon and Coming Up, the violence in the Middle East stirs up a new wave of antisemitism here at home, both online and on The Streets. Well talk to the head of the Antidefamation League next on Morning Joe. Antidefamation league next on Morning Joe. Im evies best camper badge. But even im not as memorable as eating Turkey Hill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough creamy Premium Ice Cream and chasing fireflies. Dont worry about me. Im fine. You Cant Beat Turkey hill memories. Ive got the brains youve got the looks lets make lots of Money Youve got the brawn ive got the brains lets make lots of uh uh uh oohhh theres a lot of opportunities with allstate, drivers who switched saved over 700. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Allstate click or call to switch today. Never run dry of. Allstate killer attitude. Or hydration. Neutrogena® hydro boost. The 1 hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer delivers 2x the hydration for supple, bouncy skin. Neutrogena®. Antisemitic attacks are rattling the Jewish Community in brooklyn. Men chased and punched jewish teens on The Street. And in another case, they circled people while yelling antisemitic slurs at them, sending the victims running into a nearby synagogue for safety. New details now on a Weekend Incident at a hallandale beach synagogue. New video shows a Man Spitting on a menorah. In new York City, police charging a 28yearold man with a Hate Crime after he allegedly beat a jewish man. That freshman was violently attacked this weekend at a Party Offcampus and he says it all happened because hes jewish. A Restaurant Attack is now being investigated as a Hate Crime. Witnesses say the people involved were targeting several jewish diners. Harassment, vandalism, assault, and even zoom meetings and services being disrupted by graphic and racist messages. Antisemitism has been on the rise in America And Sunshine state is seeing a surge in incidents. Its just disgusting. Its absolutely disgusting. Not only across this country, but across the world. Yeah. Authorities across this country are investigating a rise in antisemitic incidents, including physical attacks, antisemitic slurs and graffiti involving swastikas that comes amid the latest wave of violence between israel and hamas. According to the Antidefamation League, a Twitter Analysis from May 7th through the 14th found more than 17,000 tweets with variations of the Phrase Hitler was right, and ceo and national director of the Antidefamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt joins us now, along with columnist for the New York Times and an msnbc contributor, Michelle Goldberg joins us. So, jonathan, thank you so much for being with us. You know, antisemites really dont need a conflict between israel and hamas to preach the sort of hatred that weve seen rise up over the past few decades. Its actually been with us in the west for thousands of years, but talk about the latest round and how disturbing theyve been. Yeah, i mean, its certainly true that conflict in the Middle East can often catalyze an uptick of antisemitism here In America. But what weve seen in the last two weeks, joe, it exceeds anything weve seen in recent memory. Literally, over the previous twoweek period, We Saw a 63 spike in incidents all over the country. 63 . And you know, just to characterize it a bit. I mean, Number One, as youd showed in your opening segment, the breadth of these incidents. They are coasttocoast, from California To Arizona to illinois to michigan, wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, south carolina, florida, pennsylvania. Theyre spreading like wildfire. Thats Number One. Number two, the brazenness, the brutality of it, people being assaulted in broad daylight. Sometimes by individuals coming from, say, propalestinian protests and then literally assaulting individuals with those flagpoles. We saw in Los Angeles, you know, men driving through jewish neighborhoods with megaphones. You know, yelling, were going to kill the zionists, were going to rape your women and daughters. By the way, We Saw the same thing happening in london. So the sheer Boldness And Audacity is scary. And then, thirdly, joe, something else you alluded to. This is being amplified by Social Media. I mean, what We Saw, from tiktok to twitter, to instagram to every other platform, just, you know, again, as was noted, an ugly torrent of tweets. 17,000 claiming hitler was right. We tracked almost a 450 increase on 4chan of ugly, you know, again,xaggerated claims, inflammatory rhetoric, the kind of conspiratorial claims that led to violence against asian americans, while unsubstantiated claims about china, made by leaders and people in positions of Authority Led to attacks on asian americans, now were seeing wild, unsubstantiated conspiracies about the Jewish State leading to attacks on jewish people. Its ugly and its got to stop. And Michelle Goldberg, you note that by conflating jewish people with the israeli state, in effect, what happens is, a debate, a meaningful debate on israeli policy is effectively Shut Down, because of that conflation and because of these scenes of antisemitism that weve seen more in broad daylight in europe than we have here in the united states. Well, and one of the ironic things is that this is something that the most rightwing zionists have in common with the most antisemitic antizionists, is that both conflate the jewish people with the israeli state. Both think that you can sort of attack jewish people to get revenge on the israeli state. You know, when Donald Trump talked about israeli as being your country, when he was talking to american jews, thats not that much different from these sort of thugs who were out attacking random jewish people, because they think that theyre somehow complicit in whats happening in israel. And yes, i think its similar theres a long history of the violence against Jews In Europe, obviously. You know, going back many decades. But just more recently, Jews In Europe have traditionally been more vulnerable, as jonathan has said to me and others. They are often, you know, feel more reticent to display their Jewishness Or Display theyre taking a risk by doing that. That didnt youd to be the case in the united states and its really a crisis if its becoming so. You know, michelle, i want to circle back to something you said, because i think its so important, that on the far right, the most extreme zionists will suggest that any criticism of israeli Foreign Policy or israeli Domestic Policy is antisemitism per se. And now you have, of course, enemies of jews doing the same exact thing. And something that Progressive Jews in the united states not just jews, but Progressive Jews among others have tried for years and have finally, i think, lately have some success at is breaking this extremely tight identification and changing the discourse so you can talk about what are very real, in many cases, israeli human rights abuses, without being accused of antisemitism. So you can talk about the interests and aspirations of the palestinian people. And this really threatens that. Because the most rightwing forces in Israel And America have always claimed that to talk about palestinian rights is to engage in antisemitism, when you have these highprofile violence in the name of palestinian rights, its obviously going to be used by republicans and other figures to try to Shut Down this whole entire conversation. Yeah, jonathan, i live in new York City a few doors down from a large synagogue, and over the years, ive had to explain to my children on Saturday Mornings why there are new York Police officers in tactical gear standing out in front of those places. Its a hard conversation to have, but its an important one. So do you think were seeing something new and something different in this moment, or is it just a continuation of where weve been, sadly, for so long . Look, from the extreme right to the radical left, unfortunately, these jews have been under siege for years. And i can tell you stories of shootings at the jcc in kansas city, the jewish federation in seattle. An encounter in atlanta. The Holocaust Museum in d. C. And you know, let alone the pittsburgh shul. So weve seen again and again, jewish houses of worship, Community Offices attacked and this feels like an amping up. And keep in mind, if youre looking for organizations that will critique israeli policies without being antisemitic, ill direct you to adl. Org. Because weve done plenty of that. But i think the the vast majority of people who argue about Middle East policy, theyre not engaging in antisemitism. And serious critics dont say that they are. But the reality is this conflation thats happening with people with Antipathy And Violence in their hearts is, i think, whats frightening jews across the political spectrum. Ive heard from people who have said to me, willie, is it safe for me to walk to synagogue this Saturday Morning . Can i send my kids to jewish Day School or will they be a target . Theres a lot of fear right now, which is why we need people in positions of authority to stand up and speak out without Egive Kuwaiting or qualifying, and say, clearly, if youre from the political left, that antisemitism is unacceptable. And there is no when you attack people because of how they pray, that isnt politics, if you will. Thats prejudice plain and simple and its got to stop. And you know, there has been so much progress and jonathan, ive seen you and Al Sharpton talk about the importance of bringing the community together, after, it seems, every antisemitic attack, i see you on Al Sharptons show. He said this yesterday. We must be concerned with the antisemitic attacks and they must be condemned as strongly as attacks against blacks. We must speak out against all wrongs or else we have no standing when we, ourselves, have been wronged. And thats Al Sharpton. We have Richard Haas with us, michelle. And he has a question. Richard . Michelle, we were just talking before in terms of Social Media. Do you think there has to be more policing of antisemitism . Jonathan was speaking about all of the hashtags, hitler was right, and so forth. How does one handle that . And how have jews been the target of a double standard. Language that would never be with other persecuted groups has stopped, but language that traffics in antisemitism is being tolerated . Well, i would say one thing about Social Media is that actually an enormous range of bigotry is tolerate, you know, On Twitter, on facebook. This has been an ongoing problem. And in some ways, it ties back to what mara was talking about earlier with this new law in florida. That free speech doesnt mean you have the right to say whatever you want on a private platform. And the owners of these platforms have been extremely reluctant and really remiss to really exercise any responsibility. They dont want to be seen as publishers. And yet they are publishers. You know, their decisions about algorithms, about promotions, about engagement decide what people see. They decide whats going to be highlighted. And theres no reason why some of these things should be allowed to be trending topics. Even if you dont want to delete it all. Some of it you can just delete. They delete things quite freely. Even if you dont want to do it, you dont have to highlight it. And i also think that i talk about what politicians are saying, but i would assume that when you talk about these people who are out there committing these haynes acts, you know, theyre not getting their messages from the democratic party. I would bet theyre getting their messages from the dark corners of the internet. Michelle goldberg and Jonathan Greenblatt, thank you both very much for being on this morning. Richard haas, thank you, as well. Its just past the top of the hour now. Welcome to Morning Joe, everyone. By the way, joe, you have a 64 12yearold hes not 64 he is so tall jack turns 12. I cant believe it. We all remember and this tells you how old we are, we remember 12 years ago, jack, of course, was a premie, born pretty darned early and it was a pretty rough month that first month for Poor Jack and i remember, we actually you told me that a guy named Jack Scarborough was going to be okay, but it was touchandgo for a while. And now 6 feet tall and, man, he is active. But, its been a long, long time. I remember like it was yesterday. I hate to use the cliche, but i cant believe hes 12 years old and i remember what a tough time that was for jack and for you and for your family and to hear that hes this Big 6 dude now, given how tiny he was 12 years ago in this moment, its a credit to all of those doctors and a credit to you and your family and a credit to the big guy, Jack Scarborough. I remember Dennis Leery came on our show and we were in the middle of it. And dennis came up to me and he said, hey, i have a premie, i want to show you a picture of him. Of course, jack was like this, and had wires all of him. And showed me a picture of this 64 guy with Hockey Gear on. And i started breaking down and crying, because it seemed so far from that, right . And sure enough, here he is. Here you are. Hes 6 feet, hes strong hes perfect. What a blessing. A great guy. So many kind people said so many kind things along the way back then. If you have a premie or if you or a Loved One has a premie, there is you know, youre going to get through it. Its a miracle of science, too. What they can do. It really is. And can you guys believe that weve been on the air this long, between jacks entire life and beyond. What are we . 14 years . I dont even know at this point. Getting old all right, joining us, we have pulitzer prizewinning Columnist And Associate editor of the Washington Post and msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson. And former u. S. Senator now an msNbc News and nbc political analyst, Claire Mccaskill joins us. Good to have you both. As we start off this hour, today marks the Oneyear Anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by former Police Officer Derek chauvin. Attorney for the Floyd Family, Ben Crump, tells Nbc News The Family will meet with house speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Karen Bass this morning, as well as several senators from both parties. And will then meet with President Biden at the White House. Crump told Nbc News he views the white House Visit as, quote, an opportunity to pay proper respect to George Floyd with a president who has been in continuous communication with The Family. Crump said that he hopes the visit will keep momentum going toward package of the George Floyd just in Policing Act. Let me ask. Gene robinson, i want to bring you in. I want us to try, and it may too soon to put perspective on this, historical perspective on this. But i look back over the past year, and im just wondering whether we are dont put that tragedy of one year ago today up with the birmingham bombing, the edmond pettus march. Im just wondering if 50 years from now, there arent three or four events that reawakened america to racial disparities and im just wondering if people dont look at george Floyds Murder, again, because we all saw it over nine minutes with the Birmingham Church bombing that killed four little girls. Well, joe, you know, as you said, it is early, we know how the broad sweep of history can make things look different when you look back from 20 or 30 years hence. However, i think you can go all the way back to the brutal Murder Of Emmett Till and the publication of the photos of his battered, destroyed face when his mother insisted on an open coffin and a photographer for Jet Magazine took the photos that shocked the nation and showed the brutality of Jim Crow of Racism And Oppression in the south. And opened a lot of eyes and i think, you know, my guess is that we will look back on george Floyds Murder as that sort of event that opened eyes and you can look back at the past year, you can see some concrete changes that have happened in terms of policing and some Consciousness Raising that according to polls have taken place in terms of consciousness of racism. But, you know, this has to roll through year after year. I just think this will be looked back on as a watershed moment, a really, really huge event that sort of marked a before and an after. I really do. Claire mccaskill, war you hearing about the possibility of really both sides Coming Up with something that can make a difference and to do it together, bipartisan . Im hearing theyre very close. And you know, heres the thing we have to realize. If Tim Scott is expressing optimism and hes in the room, then theyre going to get a bill, because the republican caucus will back Tim Scott, end of discussion. Mitch mcconnell will back Tim Scott. So having Cory Booker and Karen Bass and Tim Scott working on this, around the clock, trying to find the sweet spot of compromise that gets this bill the fullthroated support of the united States Congress i think is very important. Now, having said that, theyve got to make sure that they dont weaken it to the point that its meaningless. But i dont think cory will let that happen and Karen Bass is not going to let that happen. The bill that Tim Scott referred to when he gave his response to the wasnt technically The State of the union, but people need to remember that his bill was pretty weak tea. It didnt even ban choke holds. So i think theyre in a much better place right now, and everyone i talked to on The Hill thinks this is going to happen. Maybe not before Memorial Day, because, you know, the house is already gone for Memorial Day recess. By Bet Right after Memorial Day, they get this cross the finish line. The New York Times is marking one year since George Floyds death with a new series on the movement that was born out of Floyds Murder. The new series features essays on a number of issues. One, arguing against qualified immunity. Another explaining how grief can be channeled into justice and peace. And another asking if the movement will last. The topic we want to hone in on this morning is based on a Focus Group of 14 trump voters, who shared their thoughts about George Floyd. Heres what some of them had to say. When i say George Floyd, i wonder what afraid comes to mind . Tragedy, murdered. I listened to how you heard about Donald Trump and the election fraud, the response was immediate. There was no fraud. I asked you about George Floyd. I know you all know who he is, i know you all know what happened, yet you were very, very slow to give me just a Word Or Phrase to describe him. Why were you pondering for so long . With trump, even though he was president , is much less of a controversial figure than George Floyd was. Im a mother and a grandmother and the mention of his name recalls that video. If i had a couple of sentences, it would have been a lot easier. Who was he . He was a Drug Addict who was a criminal who resisted arrest and put himself in a position where he was what happened to him happened. Lets bring in the moderator of that Focus Group, longtime political strategist, Frank Luntz and deputy Opinion Editor at the New York Times, patrick healey, who sat in on the session. Fascinating answers. Thank you so much for being with us. Good questions, too. I looked through this On Sunday, and there were answers that were shocking, to me. I think it would be shocking to a lot of people. And yet, there actually is when you got to The End of it. Patrick, there seemed to be a spirit actually in some of the answers of people saying, weve got to figure out how to get on the same page. Weve got to figure out how to be less divided over issues like this. Despite some of the reactions to your questions and your prompts, there were quite a few of these people who were saying, weve got to do better. Not them, all of us, have got to do better, the media included. I think thats true, joe, of some of them. Not all of them, but some, from the getgo were saying that they thought that George Floyds death was a strategy. Several of them said that. They were really grappling, it was clear, with what had happened over the last year In America. And i think at The End, when they were sort of asked that question, sort of, what had changed in terms of race of america, you heard real discomfort with the divisions that they see on Social Media that they see to some extent in their own lives. One woman talked about how she and her husband were unsure if they wanted to bring a baby into the world right now. And you didnt have that kind of flamethrowing attacks that we got, unfortunately, used to with president trump, that sort of constant sense that everybody was in their corners. You did get the sense that they were really grappling with what kind of america they wanted to live in right now. And you could also see that there were some people that lived in a part of the country that seemed isolated from what many of us believe in. And as i said at the time, im surrounded by trump supporters. But that one clip we had that said, George Floyd was a controversial figure, Donald Trump wasnt. So, frank, i want to key in on a couple of answers that you go. I think that would be stunning to most people that watch the show. 13 of 14 of the people you talked to believed that George Floyd was responsible for what happened to him. Were you surprised by that . I was surprised by it. And its really difficult and i appreciate the New York Times and patrick allowing us to do that. And the response from New York Times readers from this, ill add one bit of color to this. Were not used to hearing points of view that we dont agree with anymore. Those who watch the different Cable Networks tend to agree with what theyre watching, because thats what they choose to watch. We now collect our news to affirm rather than to inform. And i saw the excellen comments in the New York Times and some of the online comments, as well. And there was a real anger among some people that trump people were allowed to express their Point Of View. And Thats Part of the problem right now. And im grateful for The Times for offering the space and frankly, my condolences to patrick for people who did were so angry that The Times had done that. It shouldnt be that way. We should want to hear. We have every right to disagree. And what trump people said, im okay with. And there are a couple of moments with in that Focus Group that they got agitated with what they had to say. But they should be heard. If were not going to create another Donald Trump situation. If were going to find some way by the way, those are great kicks that youre showing. I would gladly pay for them and donate to any charity to get them. We need to know we have to say, we need to know what they think even if we violently, emotionally, morally disagree, weve got to hear. Because in hearing, you can solve, you can actually heal. And yeah, i was surprised, but i think your viewers need to hear that stuff. There was another surprising one. 13 out of 14 people said that George Floyds death did not change the way they thought about policing. And patrick, talking about how, of all the things that i saw on here, that some were surprising, some werent surprising, i think the one there was an exchange between you and evelyn that i thought was just fascinating, because its what i hear all the time. Where the media said that the protests were mostly peaceful. Every Trump Person i talked to, when they look at last summer, they look at the riots, they remember the looting, they remember the chaos in The Streets with Kyle Rittenhouse shooting people. Therm cities burning, they remember minneapolis burning. And heres the back and forth. You say its a fact that black Lives Matter protests In America were overwhelmingly peaceful, do you disagree . And evelyn said to, i just want to say, is this a joke . I mean, are you serious . Really, they were peaceful protests. Youve got to be kidding let me just say right now, if evelyn doesnt speak for the 75 Million people who voted for Donald Trump, she speaks for an overwhelmingly large percentage of it, because thats what i hear all the time. Patrick, talk about that exchange. It was really interesting, joe. Look, the reality that a lot of us live in different kind of bubbles. And a lot of these trump voters live in a Fox News News max, oem bubble. And they talk about how they just see all of the time sort of what bleeds, it leads. And they were particularly talking about the sort of scattered violence that we could see last summer. And the reality is Fox News and others were playing this over and over and over again. They werent showing the largely peaceful protests. They were showing the scattered acts of violence and so a lot of these of these voters were replaying, when i asked that question and tried to come at this in a good faith way. We werent doing gotchas, there wasnt that kind of antagonism. We were really trying to have a back and forth. Soy asked that question with some suggestions going on that protests were so violence and black Lives Matter was a violent hate group, which its not. And made that point. And evelyn, he was so clear that that was one of the moments in the Focus Groups when she was living in a completely different reality than i was living in. From her poifr last summer was a very, very violent time In America and that even though you had as many as 26 Million people marching in those first weeks after Floyds Murder, that really it wasnt about 26 Million people getting arrested or marching peacefully. They were marching peacefully, but it was about violence. You know, willie, really quickly, the thing is two things can be true at one time. There were 26 Million marches. The overwhelming majority of those marchers were peaceful. There were there was looting, there was rioting. There were times where i saw in Los Angeles, i saw things on The Street in Los Angeles that made me really angry, while i was watching it last summer, too. But, again, that if youre watching a channel that does nothing but show these violent outbreaks on a loop instead of showing how 90 of the protests go, you were obviously going to think that there was nothing but violence last summer during the protests and thats these two worlds that people live in. Its the filters that patrick was talking about. Were seeing it, by the way, as we talk about this January 6th commission, you have republicans saying, what about last summer . What about the riots of last summer . What about antifa. What about black Lives Matter . They want that to be part of a conversation, which is completely separate and distinct from the one we should be having about January 6th. And frankly, it was interesting to hear you talking to this group, just about the idea of having a conversation about race. I think one of the benefits of the last year for a lot of us, a lot of people in this country is that we actually have broken down some walls and started having honest conversations. And when you talk to some people in that group, they said, well, you know, lets talk about critical Race Theory being taught in our schools, but others said, you know, White People think weve come a lot farther than we have and the opinion of this one person was, black people dont think weve come as far as we actually have. So what was your sense just of having the conversation. Were they comfortable talking about race . And its one of the reasons why they were so quiet and so careful in responding about George Floyd. Its easy to come up with a Point Of View about Donald Trump. Theyre thinking that whatever they say may cancel them. Whatever they say may be used against them. But after 15 or 20 minutes, they suddenly became comfortable. And they were answering patricks questions as easily as they were answering mine. I know my politics have changed. I know what i believe has changed. And im trying, desperately. And thank you to Morning Joe to get this kind of dialogue out to the public, because we will not heal unless we hear. And thats my mission right now. Well, lets hear more from frank Luntzs Conversation with this group of trump voters. Here it is. Are you afraid, In America, to voice your Point Of View about issues of race . I have been very vocal in my opinion about the breakdown of Race Relations inside the united states, especially with critical Race Theory being taught in our schools. Yes, i am. I feel like if you have an unpopular opinion on black Lives Matter or whatever, that youre discriminated against, no matter what color you are. I have one grandson and i will tell you this, i highly doubt that they will ever see any type of or very, very small, obviously, you cant say not racism, sexism, or whatever because i just think that we all learn, okay, from each generation. I think its fair to say that most White People think weve gone farther than we actually have. And most black people think we havent gone as far as we actually have. And somewhere in the middle is the truth. How many of you agree with Marthas Statement . Almost everybody. So, gene, im curious your thoughts on what you heard right there, because i can tell you again Thats Something that ive heard growing up, an awful lot, that we havent gone as far as most White People think weve gone, but weve gone further than what most people think weve gone as a country. Im curious what you think about that and everything else that youve been hearing in patrick and franks Focus Group . Well, i think its very interesting. I think these people ought to talk to some White People. And maybe, you know, would have, yes, you know, everybody needs to listen to Everybody Else. And i think if theyre not willing to listen to africanamericans and others, who attempt to explain what our reality is and has been in this country, then, again, we dont have that sort of communication and we dont get very far. And so, you know, you heard the woman talk about critical Race Theory. They have it seems thats another of these Fox News phrases that has come to mean kind of whatever people think it means and it means something bad when, actually, a lot of what theyre talking about is just like teaching u. S. History and teaching what actually happened in this country or on these shores for the past 400 years and that history is not black history, its american history. And i havent heard the whole Focus Group, so i dont know, but im actually curious. Is there any appreciation of that history and any willingness to understand it better that they apparently understand it now . And frank, while i totally understand and support this incredible effort to listen more and to solve problems that way and that there are real challenges to having a healthy conversation today, what do you do i mean, i know you said you got agitated when you heard a few things that the folks were talking about, im more concerned about when people are speaking based on misinformation, and, you know, between democrat and republican, theres a great conversation to be had. Different groups, theres a great conversation to be had. But if were going to bensurrec people who are members of it, those are people who are getting their information and it is wrong or it is based on violent beliefs, backing up a president who is no longer in power. And thats where i think it gets complicated. And i wonder if you can help me walk me through that. Its one of the things im going to ask right here on live television. Patrick, i think you did a great service. I recognize that probably 25 or maybe 30 of your readers were mad at you for doing that, but lets put both sides at the same time. Lets put strong biden supporters and trump supporters. Lets put progressives and conservatives in the same session, because i want to show you how bad it will be. And it will be bad. But ill offer it to the New York Times, ill offer it to msnbc, because weve got to figure out how to get over this. Misinformation, correct. Wrong information, correct. But how do you engage people and inform them accurately if they wont even listen to you . If they wont turn on the channel or go to the website. Thats the problem we face right now. [ inaudible ] feedback that i got about it was quite positive in terms of the piece. So i realize that twitter can make a lot of noise and that there were some people who were troubled by it. But the response that we got from readers and, you know, and some colleagues was, i think just sort of a sense of appreciation in terms of bringing some of these voices into the mix. Mika, in terms of your question, i think it is a really good one and a powerful one. The reality is that so many people live in a state of misinformation. And including some of the people in this Focus Group, that i felt the need to say in the introduction that many of the people were trading in false claims about the election being stolen or black Lives Matter being, you know, neither of which is true. So we had to ask ourselves, did we want to do a Focus Group with folks who maybe, you know, making these false claims. Who certainly some of them were defending trump to the max, but i think for me, what i was most interested in was that there was a moment a year ago this week when republican support for black Lives Matter spiked. It spiked notably, it spiked briefly. And a lot of us spent part of last summer asking our attitudes about Race And Racism in this country changing . Are republicans talking about the reality of racism in this country differently than usual. Is this a lasting change . And Thats Part of what, you know, the piece was right to explore. Fascinating. Actually change for you and how. And i would just encourage people to go to the [ inaudible ] and listen to the whole thing. So, thank you, patrick. Were having a little trouble with your audio. But we greatly appreciate you being on. You can hear the full Focus Group online at newyorktimes. Com. Patrick and frank, thank you both. Claire, this is a i was reading through the sunday times, this jumped out at me, this piece, and it was so important, because, yes, there were some answer that really aggravated me and really concerned me, but there were comments in there that i heard from friends and Family Members who supported Donald Trump. And you know, i see that 75 Million people voted for Donald Trump. I dont understand it. Even though, again, they are my friends and family that did it. And i have started conversations with lifelong friends and they have been painful conversations and it took us three or four conversations to get through where we can actually talk about the facts and were making progress. But its not easy. And thats just One On one with somebody that ive known and loved for, you know, most of my life. This is going to be a really difficult process. Well, its not going to get better if we all retreat to our respective corners and throw up our hands and say, were done, those people are idiots, they dont know what theyre talking about. On the other hand, joe, i also think its important to keep this in perspective. Weve put some numbers up on the screen that talk about the percentage of republicans that are believing the Big Lie. But back that camera up and what you see is only 25 of america believes it. And that Number Hasnt changed that much since a few weeks after november. So the number of people identifying as republican has shrunk. The number of people within the republican party who believe Donald Trumps Big Lie is not anywhere near the number of that you need to win national elections in this country. So the more they keep going back to worrying about their primaries and worshiping at the altar of Donald Trump and maralago, the more they are identifying with independent voters, the 25 of republicans who know this is a Big Lie. Longterm, i think the democrats could be in good shape as long as Joe Biden keeps pushing policies that are widely popular with the american people. You know, thats another thing i saw in there, nobody criticized Donald Trump, but a couple of times, i did see there were people talking about, okay, well, lets see who our next leader is going to be and the party will heal. But i want to double down, mika, On What Claire said that we need to have that conversation. Its a long conversation, its a frustrating conversation when youre dealing with facts and people have been told lies. But its a vital conversation to have and we get nowhere by just staying in our corners and get nowhere with people who may believe in these election theories. Even though were angry. And ive been guilty in the past of getting angry about it. You have to calm down, get back in there, pick up the phone, talk to your friends, talk to your neighbors and just keep working. To at least try to argue over this same set of facts. Thats a great start thats all we want. Thats great start for this country. Still ahead on Morning Joe, our conversation with former national Security Adviser, Susan Rice, in her new capacity at the White House as director of the u. S. Domestic policy council. Plus, voting Rights Advocate Stacey Abrams will also be our guest this morning. But first, Governor Phil Murphy will join the conversation as New Jersey prepares to lift its indoor Mask Mandate for fully vaccinated residents. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Watching well be right back. Before Nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable Nights Sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. Now, that dream. Is her reality. Nexium 24hr stops acid before It Starts, for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . Na na na na na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na na na na na. The worlds first sixfunction multipro tailgate. Available on the gmc sierra. My plaque psoriasis. The itching. The burning. The stinging. My skin was no longer mine. My psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen. Painful. Emerge tremfyant™. With tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. 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Neck and Injection Site pain. Fatigue, and headache. Dont receive botox® if theres a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, Muscle Or Nerve conditions. And medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious Side Effects. Most patients may pay as little as 0 for botox®. So, text to see how you can save. Botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for 10 years. So, ask your doctor about botox® today. New York City Mayor Bill de blasio announced on our Show Yesterday Morning that new York City public schools will return to full time Inperson Learning in the fall, without a remote option. Across the country, Los Angeles public schools will start the School Year next fall with Inperson Learning, while also offering an online option. The announcement comes as Emergency Pandemic guidelines that have allowed districts to operate online expire at The End of june. The superintendent of Los Angeles schools said middle and High School students would have a normal fulltime schedule and afterschool programs would be available until 6 00 p. M. , on school days. Students who do no want to attend the traditional Inperson Schedule will have a remote option that will be mostly online. The superintendent said Safety Measures were still being worked on, but most likely, social distancing would be relaxed while mask wearing would continue. Willie . Now to The State of New Jersey, where Governor Phil Murphy will roll back the mandatory indoor Mask Rules for those who are fully vaccinated. And Governor Murphy joins us now. Governor, good morning, its good to see you. You obviously frustrated some people, i guess, ten or 11 days ago when you said, were going to stick with these indoor masks despite the new Cdc Guidance at the federal level. What changed since then for you to say this memorial Day Weekend, people in New Jersey who are vaccinated can take off those masks inside . Yeah, its good to be with you, willie. I think one of the persons i frustrated, im told, was yourself. Listen, more time on the clock here in a pandemic is your ally. We just werent ready to lift that mandate on May 13th. But if you look at the Progress Weve made even in the past ten days or so, viral numbers going down, hospitalizations, positivity rates, et cetera, rate of transmission, and it allowed us further to push out our Vaccine Program of something called operation jersey summer, that had just taken hold. Weve now got a bunch of programs including knocking on folks doors in undervaccinated communities. That time on the clock has been really valuable. As of this friday, the amount of time between May 13th and may 28th, we were able to make a lot of progress on both the viral numbers going in the down direction and the Vaccine Numbers going up. So what are, Governor Murphy, the exact numbers youre looking at in terms of vaccinations. One of the things we talked about last week when we were discussing is that New Jersey has done pretty well in terms of vaccinations. I think youre close to 60 having at least one dose. Are those numbers significantly greater today than they were several weeks ago . They are. Were over 70 right now in terms of one dose. Thats a big deal. We want to get to everybody fully vaccinated by The End of june. Weve got a really aggressive program out there. I think among big states, its about as penetrated a program as youll see. We still have a lot of work to do on the equity front. Were making progress in black and brown communities, but we have a ways to go. I mentioned that doorknocking campaign. Yesterday, for instance, that was in trenton, camden, passaic city, jersey city, bayonne. Those are overwhelmingly communities of color. Thats where we have the most work to do. As you say, we cant go back. Most people agree that you want to be somewhat tempered into how you get entitle. I didnt think this would survive boo memorial Day Weekend at the jersey shore. But what are you looking at in terms of keeping this where it is. When these masks come off, im sure youll be watching a little bit nervously to see how things go. Theyve gone pretty well in places like texas and New York so far. What will you be watching for in terms keeping the rates of hospitalizations down and vaccination up . Well continue to watch the public health metrics like a hawk, thats positivity rate, amount of folks in the hospital that are severely ill. Well look at the socalled cali scores. We have a whole colorcoded set of metrics. Well keep our ear to the ground on any outbreaks. Well continue to enforce any violations of this, although theres not much left to violate. But we will stay very, very close to this, because youre right. We are one of the very few states In America that did not lurch. We did not, you know, stumble forward and then have to pull something back. The last thing we want to do right now is to go back. Governor. I think people need to remember that education is primarily a state and local responsibility. I want you to speak for a minute about what you have planned to deal with those students who just tuned out for a year. Who didnt have the support at home. Who didnt really keep up with their education over this past year. This is a huge problem that youre facing as public schools reopen in the fall. How are you going to deal with it in New Jersey . Good to see you, claire. It is a big challenge for us. As it is for any state. And its a particular importance for us, because we have the Number One rated public Education Program In America. We view that as a crowned jewel in our state. Right now, about 92 of our kids are either in hybrid or full inperson. We fully expect well be at 100 inperson in the fall. But we have taken a significant amount of the federal misunderstand we had already received and put them up against both Learning Loss programs after school, professional development for our educators, summer programs, as well as misunderstand into mental health programs given the enormous amount of stress. Well continue to do that, i would suspect with the american Rescue Plan money. So not that money or resources is the only answer, but i think the budget does speak of priorities. And this is a big one, youre absolutely right. The Learning Loss is real. In some cases, its enormous. Again, its an equity issue. The loss is steeper in black and brown communities than on average in our state and well do everything we can to get our kids back up to par. Governor, this is gene robinson. Speak with that general topic for a second. What are you telling parents who themselves might be vaccinated, but whose children are too young to be vaccinated now and who might have some degree of lingering concern about sending them back to school, sending them back into that environment, even though we all know the numbers. But what do you say to those parents to reassure them. Gene, good to see you, as well. A rightful concern, Number One. Well put guidance out for what school looks like in the fall. Weve got a very good early takeup in the 12 to 15yearold cohort, which is the newest cohort able to get a vaccine. As we all know, we dont have a vaccine yet, although there are vaccines and trials for the under 12yearolds. My guess is, as a result of that, if i had to bet today that well have masking in schools in the fall as a result of that. And i suspect that well continue with some of the public health protocols inside the classroom and inside the school buildings to try to mitigate the concern. The concern is a legitimate one. I do think based on what were hearing, we will ultimately get vaccines that will go south of 12yearolds, which will be a huge step, perhaps not by september. So well continue to keep a fair amount of the steps that weve got in place, i would suspect, in the fall. Governor Phil Murphy, thank you. I noticed in the fine print that the dance floors of New Jersey are officially reopen, so well see you at djs on Friday Night in belbelmar. Thats a deal. Look forward to it. Governor, thanks so much for your time. Up next, from president obamas former national Security Adviser to Joe Bidens top Domestic Policy adviser, our conversation with White House official Susan Rice is ahead on Morning Joe. E house official Susan Rice is ahead on Morning Joe. 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Florida is the latest state that will stop giving residents an additional 300 in weekly Pandemic Unemployment benefits. Ending the program in june. Several months before its September Expiration date. The Sunshine State is the 23rd State to stop participating in the federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program early as part of the return to work initiative. Florida has added nearly 800,000 private sector jobs since the beginning of the covid19 pandemic. However, governor Ron Desantis is not ending two other federal unemployment programs that provide benefits to freelancers, self employed workers, independent contractors and other certain groups affected by covid19. Claire mccaskill, your thoughts on this. Governor Redant Isis is not the ome one doing this. But it is feeling like it is more of the same if terms of the very negative brand. Although what would be the argument that perhaps theyre having a problem getting people to come back to work. Well, their argument is there is a Labor Shortage and they want to pin that on the extra 300 a month that people are getting or a week rather. I actually have never really met very many people who dont want to work. You know, the people ive always talked to that were unemployed were looking for work and wanted work. So i do think there is an issue of some Labor Shortages in some sectors but there are other issues here. Childcare is an issue, and regardless of what any studies say, that is a real issue for a lot of people who have left the workplace. There is a reason why more women have dropped out of the workplace than men. So there are many factors here. The Number One predicting factor on whether or not theyre turning this money down on behalf of the citizens of their state is whether or not these governors or republicans and whether the legislatures is republican. Is that money going back to the treasury or are they going to spend it on something else . That is a good question, actually. Where the money will go. Gene robinson . Yeah, i think there are a lot of different reasons why some people are not going back to work. And workers in the Restaurant Industry for example who decided after that industry collapsed at the beginning of the pandemic that they took a look at their lives and decided that, well maybe this isnt what i want to do. Tipped workers in the Restaurant Industry make less than 3 an hour, plus tips. And a lot of other jobs in that industry back in the kitchen are essentially not much more than minimum wage jobs. So you could try paying people more and you could get them back to work. That is the bottom line. I talked to folks in the White House last week and the issue is first of all some companies have to step up and actually pay people more. It is just going to have to happen. It is long over due when you look at the minimum wage and what some people are paid. But the second issue is that it is not so easy to just jump back into work when your life is turned upside down. You may have been homeless now or turned into childcare at home. It is not it is just not like you could snap your fingers and go back to work. And i think that is the part of this the White House is really trying to communicate to critics of the these payments that their trying to help people stay afloat as they reconstruct their lives. Coming up, a look at where negotiations over Police Reform, legislation, stand on Capitol Hill, exactly one year after the murder of George Floyd. Morning joe is coming right back. Theres interest you accrue, and interests you pursue. Plans for the long term, and plans for a long weekend. Assets you allocate, and ones you hold tight. At thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. And with the right guidance, you can get the financial clarity you need, and live a life rich in meaning, and gratitude. To learn more, text thrive to 444555, or visit thrivent. Com. Are the color cartridges in your printer ready for another School Year . boy whats cyan mean . It means cyanora, honor roll. mimics missile dropping the Ink Dad Dad im so hosed. Yeah, you are. shaq the Epson Ecotank printer. No more cartridges. It comes with an incredible amount of ink that can save you a lot of trips to the store. Get ready for the deans list. Whos dean . The Epson Ecotank. Just fill and chill. Texmex. Texmex. Termites. Dont mess up your deck with texmex. Terminix. Here to help. Good Morning And Welcome to Morning Joe, it is tuesday, may 25th, a long with joe, willie and me, we have member of the New York Times Editorial Board Mara Gay and president of the Council On Foreign Relations Richard Haass. Tomorrow marks the one Year Anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by former Police Officer Derek chauvin. Attorney for the Floyd Family Ben Crump tells Nbc News that The Family will meet with house speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Karen Bass this morning as well as several senators from both parties. And then they will meet with President Biden at the White House. Crump told Nbc News he views the white House Visit as an opportunity to pay proper respect to George Floyd with a president who has been in continuous communication with The Family. Crump said he hopes that the visit will keep momentum going toward passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Willie. And with this day, it also marks the deadline set by President Biden for congress to present a Police Reform package. While they will miss that date, the lead negotiators from both parties are optimistic, a deal is now within reach. So we continue to work on the process. I think we have good progress over the weekend i thought and i think we are starting to see a we maefd a lot of progress over the weekend. We still have a lot to do. Im going to be pulling long days all this week in hopes that we, by the time we come out of the weekend, we have more and more framework being put together. Senator scott and booker there along with Congresswoman Karen Bass of california who has been working on this. They said the anniversary of george Floyds Murder drives think work writing in a Statement Quote this anniversary serves as a painful reminder of why we must make meaningful change and we continue to make a compromise and remain optimistic about the prospects of achieving that goal. So one year after the conviction of murder a few weeks ago. The work continues. It is a long year in many ways in this country but it looks like there may be progress on this front, at least. And it looks like there may be progress and Mara Gay, it is so good to hear Cory Booker and Tim Scott, republican and democrat alike talking about the good progress that was made over the weekend. You do really get a sense that that progress was made because they knew this date was coming. And they just, they felt the moral compunction to do it. There is No Doubt about it. I think that the fears among those who support Police Reform is just the understanding that there is a large, significant portion of the country who is not committed to this. And i think part of the reason is that the issue has become politicized thanks to Donald Trump. And because of that, i think it is still going to be very difficult to put meaningful reforms into that bill. The whole battle over qualified immunity is just a preview of really i think what is going on behind the scenes. So im not fatalistic about it. I think there is a lot of good that could get done here. But i do continue to believe that significant reforms will have to happen at the local level in conjunction, i think, with the department of justice, who is going to continue to increase oversight over some of the police departments. And that is actually a lot of room for optimism there. This is good. This is a good start. But there is a lot of work to be done with the Commission And Weve done essentially nothing lets bring in Jake Sherman to the conversation to check on the progress of these negotiations. Hes the cofounder of Punch Bowl News and an msnbc political contributor. Good morning, it is good to see you. So we know that the Flood Family and Benjamin Crump will meet with Speaker Pelosi among others but where are the sticking points. We hear the Poz Sieve positive messages where do they need to negotiate, is it qualified immunity for example. It is basically qualified immunity. And there has been mixed messages depending on who you talk to about qualified immunity and where it stands. A few things to node, the right people are in the room. You have the right powerful democrats who people listen to and republicans, Tim Scott, Cory Booker, Karen Bass. We put in our newsletter in Punch Bowl News this morning, bass stayed in town this week, house is out on recess, to stay in town to continue talks and theyre going to continue this week. We anticipate something will come out maybe next week. I just dont want to from a practical Point Of View, we havent even seen the opposition on Capitol Hill mobilized. We know, i would imagine to be honest with you, if i were a gambling man, i do believe this will pass both chambers and get signed into law. I think it will take a little bit of time to get done. But were hearing the right things, seeing the right things, hearing the right information, all positive signs at this point. But qualified immunity is a big thing. Jake, lets talk really quickly about a couple of other issues that obviously are interesting a lot of people on The Hill. First of all, the massive infrastructure bill. Republicans moved 500, you add the 325 or so, theyre about 800 billion, biden is 1. 7 billion, is there a possibility that ends up around 1. 2, 1. 3 billion. Yes and no. I guess ill put it that way. Im becoming skeptical based on my reporting that a bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is going to happen. I think if you strip away all of that joe, and you talk about the pay for, how they will pay for this legislation, democrats say they will never do these user fees, republicans say they will never do the tax increases that Joe Biden wants. So i just dont see how you bridge that gap. So, i do think that at The End of the day there will be something dOne On infrastructure. I think it will be majorly paired back to be honest with you. And i just think that democrats at this point would be better served focusing on what Joe Manchin wants and less on what shelley Moore Capito wants. But not that shes a bad person but strategically theyre more likely to get a bill with democrats than they are with republicans. And right. And also the January 6 commission, Joe Manchin has made it clear that he wants to work with republicans. Hes also made it very clear to republican leaders that you can screw around on infrastructure, you can do what you want on other things, but you better not politicize the 1 6 commission. Hes sort of drown a Line In The Sand with Mitch Mcconnell and republican leaders. Im wondering whether theyre going to stand in the way, whether theyre going to help him get ten republicans or whether this is going to end ugly. Because at some point, i get the sense that manchin is giving the republicans all of the rope that he feels they need. All the slack they need to get things done. But, man, if they stonewall him on everything, hes going to say i tried, and we got to pass some legislation with the democrats. I think that republicans are going to stonewall the January 6 commission to be honest with you. I think youre going to see them this Week Dig in even harder against it. The interesting thing is, Nancy Pelosi to her credit on this issue is being very, very, very flexible. More flexible possibly than ive ever seen her in the time the decade or more ive been covering her. She said whatever the republicans want, ill give them besides im not making this investigation into Blm And Otherance illary issues. Shes come their way on everything. And this is the reality. This is a short sighted view by republicans because well not get out without an investigation into January 6. So republicans have a huge amount of say over subpoenas or it is in democratic committees which yes is partisan but theyll be able to issue subpoenas on everything, everyone, without any republican input. So i just dont get strategically why they would take themselves out of the game whether they could get 99. 9 of what they want. Still ahead, a strong man in eastern europe is challenging the west and Vladimir Putin is all for it. Well run through the latest on the international incident involving an Opposition Journalist next on Morning Joe. T on Morning Joe. Na na na na na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na na na na na. The worlds first sixfunction multipro tailgate. Available on the gmc sierra. Eh uh, eh uh the worlds first Sixfunction Flow oh my gosh where man go oh my gosh if a man see me oh my gosh i guess you never know what you got til its flow oh my gosh where man go oh my gosh if a man see me oh my gosh i guess you never know what you got til its eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh keeping your Oysters Business growing has you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a Resume Data Base claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo youre strong. You power through chronic migraine 15 or more headache days a month,. Each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. So, if you havent tried botox® for your chronic migraine,. Check with your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if samples are available. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing,. Speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness. Can be signs of a life threatening condition. Side effects may include allergic reactions. Neck and Injection Site pain. Fatigue, and headache. Dont receive botox® if theres a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, Muscle Or Nerve conditions. And medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious Side Effects. Most patients may pay as little as 0 for botox®. So, text to see how you can save. Botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for 10 years. So, ask your doctor about botox® today. Another day, another chance. So, ask your doctor it could be the day you break the sales record, or the day theres appointments nonstop. With Comcast Business, you get the network that can deliver Gig Speeds to the most businesses, and you can get the advanced cybersecurity solutions you need with Comcast Business securityedge. Every day in business is a big day. Well keep you ready for whats next. Get started with a great offer, and ask how you can add Comcast Business securityedge. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Call today. President Joe Biden is weighing in on the forced diversion by belarus about a commercial passenger jet. The incident happened On Sunday when President Alexander Lucashenko ordering a flight carrying a journalist and traveling across europe to land in the capitol minsk. That recorder was detained on arrival. President biden calls it a direct Affront Tonight norms and condemned the action as an outrageous incident. Those are good words to use. The journalist whose flight was essentially hijacked midair has been seen for the first time and it only makes things all the more disturbing. We have video here of roman prot eich. He claimed hes in good health. He also said that police are treating him well and that hes confessing to organizing protests. It appears that he has marks on his forehead, in a statement President Biden said the video appears to have been made under duress. He calls it shameful and said the u. S. Joins other countries in calling for his release as well as an if independent investigation. Willie. So richard haus, the ryan air, the commercial airline, called it state sponsored piracy. This is a high jacking carried out by the dictator frankly of belarus. So what is the appropriate response here . Weve heard outcry from Joe Biden and from the e. U. , but what could be done about this brazen, it doesnt begin to describe what We Saw, but scrambling a jet to land and pull off a journalist is something that we havent seen. Well this is what it is. This is hijacking, this is air piracy. It is exactly what it is. Europeans come together and banded together to isolate belarus, flights wont go there. Theyll pay a certain price that someone will be able to go from belarus to russia and that is the bottom line. Lucashenko is president for life because another president for life, Vladimir Putin, is backing him, politically and financially. So he will continue to give lucashenko whatever support he wants so the European Actions will further isolate belarus and get him even closer to putin and russia. As a journalist and Passionate Believer In Freedom Of Speech i call for his immediate release. Belaruss action will have Consequences Wlaxt are the greatest consequences that the united states and our allies in europe could do to pressure belarus . Again, we could do economic sanctions, we could do political sanctions, isolate them and so forth. What we cant do, apparently, is get lucashenko out of power. Mr. Putin has floated him something like A Billion dollars in loans. Look, at the risk of being so negative, this is an example of what is going on in the world today. There is a phenomenon, the term of Art Show is democratic backsliding. What were seeing is across the world it is been going on for about 15 years now, it is almost as if you have a share of stock called state of the worlds democracies. This stock would have corrected, it would have lost significant value now for 15 years. Belarus is one of the worst examples so long as youve got the russia and the china and others that are willing to come up, with an alternative support system, the other democracies could personalize them and isolate them but now they have oxygen like the venezuela and the cubans. So increasingly the world is divided between countries that are democrats and the authoritarians who are providing political and economic support for their own. Wow a new cold war. Coming up, two important voices in a struggle for a more equitable america. Conversations with Stacey Abrams and Ambassador Susan Rice still ahead on Morning Joe. Ead on. Life. Doesnt stop for diabetes. Be ready for every moment, with glucerna. Its the Number One doctor recommended brand that is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar. Live every moment. Glucerna. 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There is a great deal that is begun to change because President Biden has made it clear from his very first day in office that hes committed to racial justice and equity. He named it as one of the four major crisis along with covid and the economy and climate that his administration and our nation has to tackle. And that is why from his very first day in office he signed a whole of Government Executive Order to make it clear that we will work to advance all forms of Equity And Justice throughout the federal government. The legislation that he has put forward starting with the american Rescue Plan has embedded Equity And Justice at the center of it. It will reduce africanamerican poverty by 34 this year. It will reduce overall Child Poverty in this country by 50 . And it will tend to communities of different respects that have not benefited fully from the fruits of our society. So when we talk about equity, mika, we talk very much about racial equity but other forms of equity. Concerns for our disabled community, veterans who have not benefited despite their extraordinary sacrifices. Rural america which has been underinvested in and too often left behind. So this is a broad approach. And when it comes to issues of race, whether it is the economy, whether it is Health Care and making sure that for Example Covid vaccines are distributing equitably and reached communities that have often been left behind in our health system, whether it is education and historic investments that the president has proposed in our nations historically black colleges and universities, our other minority serving institutions. This is a broad based comprehensive approach. And we will of course talk about criminal justice and policing, the president has been very clear and forceful in his call for the senate to pick up and embrace the house passed version of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act which he strongly supports because it will make an important dent in the very urgent challenge of Police Reform. Ambassador rice, i was just going to ask you, how important is it that congress passes legislation that it moves on what the house has done, whether there is a bipartisan approach, or whether the democrats go it alone. How important is the passage of that legislation . Well, joe, it is very important legislation. It is not a cureall. Lets be realistic. But it is a very important step. And the house passed version was robust, obviously in the senate there needs to be bipartisan compromise. We need 60 votes which is why were encouraged to see senator Cory Booker and senator Tim Scott, congresswomen Karen Bass and other negotiating seriously and in good faith to see if we could get a meaningfulfully Reform Bill out of the senate that will move the ball forward as far as we possibly can. From your different jobs that youve had in the past in administrations for this job, susan, what are you personally focused on, what would you like to see accomplished maybe in the first year of your work with this administration . Well, mika, im on the overall team that is trying to ensure that we are building back this country better. We played the Domestic Policy council played a important role in crafting and implementing the american Rescue Plan which is put shots In Americans arms and checks in their pockets. We are instrumental on the work on the american Jobs Plan and the american families plan which will make transformational investments in our workers, in our young people and our children and families. Making sure that were able to compete in the 21st century in cuttingedge technologies as well as dealing with the critical challenges we face like the climate crisis while creating millions of new Highpaying Union jobs. So were very much focused on that. That is my Principle Effort as well. As we work on racial justice and criminal Justice Reform as we deal with our broken immigration system, as we work on education, k through 12, getting all of our kids back in school, building up our higher Education System and ensuring that it remains the most cuttingedge and competitive in the world. All of these are issues that fall within the work of the Domestic Policy council, Health Care. One thing, mika, i want to point out is weve been making enormous progress on expanding access to affordable Health Care through a special Enrollment Period that opened in february and will close in august over 1. 1 Million americans have newly signed up for Health Care under the affordable care act. And when we pass the american Rescue Plan we reduced the cost of Health Care that you could purchase on healthcare. Gov. So now an average person will save 50 per person per month when they sign up. And four out of five families will have their costs be very, very dominimous. So this is a big deal. It brings Health Care to americans who need it most. And makes Health Care for all who have signed up far por affordable. So those are on top of my plate and foremost on the agenda. On tuesday you strongly condemned the antisemitic attacks around the country but for those that didnt see that, what would you say about the attacks that unfortunately weve seen from Los Angeles all the back to New York. Well, joe, these are horrific. Theyre despicable. We have to condemn this in the strongest possible terms. We cannot tolerate hate against any community. Antisemitism has a long and brutal history in our country and around the world. We have to fight it and stand up and say there is no safe harbor for hate and no safe harbor for hate against anybody which is why last week the president proudly signed the Covid19 Hate crimes legislation which passed congress on a broad bipartisan basis. It was particularly inspired by the horrific attacks that weve seen against asianamericans in this country over the last year but it also included very important provisions to deal with other forms of Hate Crimes, including antisemitism and racist Hate Crimes. We have to be One On this, joe. We cant accept violence or attacks or bigotry against any segment of american society. And what we have witnessed in the last few weeks with respect to antisemitic, antijewish attacks is something we cannot tolerate and we have to combat with everything we have. Our thanks to Susan Rice for that conversation. And Coming Up, Lawmaker And Voting Rights Advocate and now novelist Stacey Abrams joined us with her brandnew legal thriller. Shes our guest straight ahead on Morning Joe. Ah, she thought that squirrel on your brandnew flat Screen Tv was an actual squirrel. Leave it. Purchase protection for what you didnt see coming. One of the many things you can expect when youre with amex. [ Crowd Cheering ] [ Engine Revving ] [ Race Light Countdown ] when you save money with allstate you feel like youre winning. Safe drivers save 40 saving is easy when youre in good hands. Allstate. Click or call for a quote today. My plaque psoriasis. The itching. The burning. 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That as a republicanled Hand Recount of ballots cast in Arizona Maricopa County resumed yesterday after a week long hiatus caused by High School graduations in the arena where the socalled audit is taking place. The associated press reports more tables and counters were added this week but the operation has still not reached the full capacity and the recount is taking far longer than expected. It was supposed to be completed by may 14th. And in georgia, Fulton County will undergo another audit of 020 absentee ballots following claims of fraud. A ruling by a Georgia Judge last week allows for the ballots to be unsealed and reviewed by a group of lectors claiming they counted fraudulent ballots. Review will be done under the guidance of a special master appointed by the court. Joining us now minority leader Stacey Abrams. Shes the founder of the voting Rights Advocacy Organization fair Fight And Author of the new novel, while justice sleeps and well get to that in just a moment, stacey. While youre saving democracy, youre writing books, youre pretty appraising. It is great to have you back on the show. Thank you. What do you make of these socalled audits still happening and recounts in Arizona And Georgia . These are schemes designed to perpetuate not only the Big Lie but more concerning it is to perpetuate the insurrection. What caused that behavior on January 6 was an attempt to rewrite history and to the notion that all voters should have the right to be heard, that the Election Administration that occurred was done correctly and that the outcome of the election was correct. And instead of seeing us move on as a nation, what were watching instead is this concerted attack on our right to vote by heritage action, by the republican national committee and unfortunately by elected republican officials who know better but refuse to do better. Stacey, it is willie geist. As you know very well, the votes for from the 2020 election in The State of georgia have been counted not once, not twice, but three times. So my question to you is why do groups of conspiracy theorists, and that is what they are, have access to voting machines in arizona, or absentee ballots in georgia, what is happening at the State Level and in the legislature and the governor mansions that is allowing conspiracy Theorists Access to our voting systems. Were seeing Conspiracy Theory and power hunger. Were watching republican officials who believe their own way to stay in power is to cater to the rightwing and lets not say it is on the right wing, these fundamentally flawed conspiracy theories as a way to Harness Power and to hold on to what they want to see. Which is that they want to see certain voters kept out of the process and they want to rile their voters in a frenzy so they could use that as a galvanizing force into the next election. But the problem is, when you break democracy for any group, you break it for everyone. And what were seeing sadly happen in Maricopa County and coming to georgia, were seeing a fracturing among republicans while this may win you immediate result, it will harm fundamentally the ability of our nation to conduct democracy fairly. As you know, there is a movement among republicans in The State of georgia to separate itself from the insurrection of January 6. To separate itself from the conspiracy theories that in fact it was republicans in that State Brad Raffensberger and others who held strong in the face of Donald Trump. Do you see the push and pull inside of the republican party in georgia and who do you see prevailing. There is a bit of a push and pull with jeff duncan, disavowing this behavior. Unfortunately last week Brad Raffensberger issued a hallowed statement refused to recorrect what has happened, trying to sub born the notion that Fulton County was wrong while taking credit for everything else being right and the reality is the single largest County Voting in our state it was done properly or it was not and for months he vowed that it had been done properly and to walk that back in order to hold on to his office in 2022 is deeply disappointing. It is not surprising, but it is disappointing. But my hope is that republicans watching this play out in arizona, in georgia, knowing it is coming to a state near you, people will realize that this is a power grab a opposed to any access to our democracy and that is an issue of patriotism, not an issue of partisanship. How does this get communicated effectively, stacey, when you look at the numbers that i just read before our interview began, about the numbers of republicans who truly believe that Donald Trump is the true president , that the election was stolen. Why is that happening . And how do we counter that . How does one counter that . Well, i would say i actually give a great deal of credit to the media for refusing to pete with this falseness the arg that there are some question about the legitimacy of the elections. We have to keep saying this was it is not true. But we cant keep repeating the people who are posing the lies. One of the most effective ways to combat disinformation is to refuse to repeat it and focus on telling the truth which is that the Voter Suppression laws sweeping this country and that the criminalization of the election workers and now the insurrectionists who are standing for office to run the secretary of state offices across this country, that this is part of a concerted effort to hold on to power. This is not about a concern about our democracy or voting. It is about holding on to power for a group of people who do not believe that they could win fairly if they have to simply present their ideology to the people. All right. And while we have you, we want to hear about your new book, while justice sleeps. Tell us about about it. I got the idea from a dear friend who is a lawyer Teresa Wynn mentioned this quirk in the constitution. The only people who have a lifetime appointment have no way to remove them from their job so i wrote about a Swing Justice that falls into a coma and the person who has to figure out what to do to save his Life And Country is his Law Clerk Avery keen. Wow. So where did you get you got the concept from a friend but i love this sort of side of you. You have so many different things that youre talented of. How much did you enjoy writing the book and do you see more in your future . I wrote it a decade ago in the midst of a contract on writing for romantic suspense, and i couldnt find a publisher for ten years now that is in world im proud theyve ordered two new avery keen novels. Amazing. The new novel is while justice sleeps, Stacey Abrams, congratulations on book and thank you for being on the show. Thank you. Fake up. Up next, Chuck Schumer said he will call a vote, quote, very soon on whether to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the capitol riot. But will republicans block it . That is next on Morning Joe. Facing leaks takes strength. So heres to the strong, who trust in our performance and comfortable longlasting protection. Because your strength is supported by ours. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. In the Romo Household we take things to the max oh yeah honey, you still in bed . Yep bye thats why we love Skechers Max cushioning footwear. Theyve maxed out the cushion for extreme comfort. Its like walking on clouds big, comfy ones oh yeah i order my groceries online now. Shingles doesnt care. I keep my social distance. Shingles doesnt care. I stay within my family bubble. Shingles doesnt care. Because if youve had chicken pox, youre already carrying the virus that causes shingles. In fact, about 1 in 3 people will develop shingles, and the risk only increases as you age. So what can protect you against shingles . Shingrix protects. 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But even im not as memorable as eating Turkey Hill Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream with real cocoa. Well, thats the way the sandcastle crumbles. You Cant Beat Turkey hill memories. Limu Emu Doug hey limu [ squawks ] how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need . I mean it. Oh, sorry. [ laughter ] woops [ laughter ] good Evening Meow nope. Oh. What . Im an emu ah ha ha. No, buddy buddy, its a filter only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty i will bring the bill forward for a vote very soon. The prevailing view among republicans seems to be that we should sweep the Big Lie and all of January 6 under the rug. Im sorry that some republicans believe that a bipartisan investigation of the attack on our democracy is inconvenient for their midterm campaigns. Were going to vote on the January 6 commission in the senate and the american people will see where every member stands on the side of truth or on the side of Donald Trumps Big Lie. That is Chuck Schumer vowing yesterday to bring a bipartisan bill on the January 6 Riot Commission to the floor for a vote despite continued republican resistance. The fbi has arrested 440 people tied to the attack so far. Joining us now from the fbi counterintelligence division, frank figliuzzi. Congratulations on the podcast. Well talk about that in just a moment. Im interested for your thoughts on investigation that continues this morning almost five months out from January 6, 440 people have been arrested as i said, painstaking work by the fbi. You still see it every day. Theyre posting new photographs online, help us find this person. How is this investigation going from where youre sitting . From those i talked to, this has indeed become the largest, broadest investigation in fbi history, rivaling that in the aftermath of 9 11. Why . Two reasons. Every single Field Office is involved. Theyre all got subjects i think with the exception of honolulu. But more importantly, it is the volume of data, willie, on Social Media that we were posting, before, during and afterwards an pouring over that has become a monumental digital forensic task. Were going to hit over 500 but it is bigger than just numbers f. It were just about numbers it wouldnt be meaningful. They seem to be flipping people who will cooperate including the founding lifetime member of oath keepers. That is significant. And we dont even know who is not who is cooperating but hasnt been made public yet. So for accountability purposes, it is my Desire And Hope to see this roll up into even lawmakers who possibly aided and abetted. That is where the public might actually see some justice and some real accountability. And were seeing many of these lawmakers standing in the way of a January 6 commission at least. There is going to be some kind of look back at what happened here. But republicans by enlarge say 35 of them last week voted against the establishment of a January 6 commission. It appears they dont want to look backward. In your eyes what is the value of a commission like the one that has been proposed . Yeah, the an Eck Tote to Extremist And Radicalization is repeated exposure to the truth and a commission like this would be about getting to the truth in a public fashion. I keep hearing members of the gop saying look weve got all of these investigations, the fbi is wrapping up people and what is the problem. That is not for public consumption. We need an accounting publicly just as we had for 9 11. It allows country to coalesce and see what happens transparently. That is the key value. It needs to happen sooner rather than later. I dont disagree, frank. I wonder how much the information, how valuable the information collected from the arrests that are being made will be to a commission that analyzes what happened and what analyzes happened and what caused this, and how useful and can it be used, the evidence that is going to be used in court . We have history and legal precedent of the fbi allowing its records to be used in commissions, so this notion that somehow a commission would interfere with ongoing investigations really doesnt hold water with me. Of course, grand jury would apply and there will be secrecy to that but once things are through the process, the details can be moved over. Look, we know a little hint about what they are receiving. The bulletin, what did it say . The ongoing investigation showed a threat of violence moving forward, moving forward. Theyre uncovering things about plans, weapons, and coordination still to this day. Frank, i want to sort of wrap around an overall problem that might have been caused by the previous administration and is sort of undermining our institutions, letting so much go by, it usually is addressed and confronted and given oversight to, especially from even morale and the function of the federal bureau of investigations. What are you finding in terms of from this riot to other things that have happened in the past few years that has really undermined this important institution . Yeah, weve talked about accountability, right . And were still even as recently as the last 48 hours. Were learning about this little Intelligence Spy Unit inside the department of commerce. Were learning every day about abuses and exploitations at doj, the previous attorney general, getting records of reporters not telling them per regulation. What we need is this kind of repeated exposure to the good our institutions do. Morale is low. Thats why i wrote a book called the fbi way, and thats now why today were launching a podcast called the bureau with frank figliuzzi. What does it do . Unprecedented access every week to fbi personnel who tell us about their cases, their missions, their lives. They need this, and we need this as a public to restore our Faith And Trust in the premier national law enforcement agency. I dont disagree. Former white House Counsel don mcghan has agreed to testify before the White House congressional committee before next week about former prz Donald Trumps efforts to obstruct the russian investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter. The New York Times reports and Nbc News confirmed that mcganns testimony will take place behind closed doors under a deal he struck with lawyers for house democrats and the justice department. According to a court filing, there will be strict limits on the testimony mcghan will provide. He may only be asked about information attributed to him or events involving him in the publicly available portions of the mueller report. So with all of those constraints, what could don mcgahn provide to help us understand what might have gone wrong, frank . It would be hard to overemphasize the potential value of mcghans testimony. This is the guy who was in the room, this is the guy who would be able to tell us why the president wanted people fired. He talked the president out of things that never happened, and it goes to the heart of the president s motivation to obstruct. So in my mind, he provides evidence, further corroboration of what mueller found, which is there are charges of offenses related to obstruction. Thats where i see the value in mcghan. Dont rule out the possibility he points to possible obstruction charges, lying under oath in the president s submission of written responses to mueller. This is significant. The new podcast is the durio with frank figliuzzi. Thank you very much so much. We appreciate you being on this morning and for the podcast. Antony blinken is meeting with israels Leaders Today following the deadly conflict with hamas. In addition to visiting israel, the State Department says he will have discussions with leaders in the west bank, jordan and egypt. As for whats on the agenda, the White House says blinken will affirm, our, quote, ironclad commitment to israels committee. He will also take part in Humanitarians Aid to gaza that benefits the people there and not hamas. Blinken will not be meeting with hamas leaders since the u. S. Labels the group a terrorist organization. This trip comes five days into a ceasefire between israel and hamas, after an 11day Conflict where more than 250 people were killed. And less than two months before the start of the olympic games in tokyo, u. S. Health officials and the State Department yesterday warned against travel to japan, because of a surge of coronavirus cases in the country. According to the ap, the twin alerts dont ban u. S. Citizens from visiting japan and could have an impact on insurance rates for travelers and may factor into decisions by athletes and spectators on whether to compete in or attend the games. The japanese government this morning denied the Travel Warning will have an impact on olympians and the u. S. Olympic and paralympic committee said it still anticipates that american athletes will be able to compete safely. Meanwhile, as japan ames to inoculate its 36 Million elderly people by The End of july, two mass vaccination sites opened yesterday in tokyo and osaka, which remain among provinces under a state of emergency until at least The End of this month. Only about 2 to 4 of japans total population has been vaccinated so far. Thats a little ominous, willie. It is. Were also following new developments relating to the possible origins of coronavirus of previously undisclosed u. S. Intelligence report found three researchers at a lab in wuhan, china got sick enough to be hospitalized in november 2019, just before the outbreak began. The news first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Nbc news senior international Correspondent Keir simmons has more. Reporter Nbc News confirms the u. S. Intelligence report says three researchers at a Wuhan Lab fell ill and even went to the hospital right before the Coronavirus Pandemic began. Theres been growing speculation the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute Of Virology but an earlier joint study by the w. H. O. In china controversially dismissed claims that the virus may have leaked from that lab. Back in march a member of that team told us some Lab Researchers were ill. Did some researchers get sick with flulike symptoms in the fall of 2019 . There were occasional illnesses because thats normal. Nothing that stood out. Do you many how many researchers . Many. Certainly not what they said. In february an official told Nbc News the u. S. Has substantial intelligence that has not been made public about the actions the chinese government took related to the Wuhan Lab. Recently, dr. Fauci became the latest Highprofile Scientist to question Chinas Theory that the virus came from an animal. Im not convinced about that. I think that we should continue to investigate what went on in china. But some w. H. O. Scientists insist china can be trusted. Can you trust the chinese data . The scientists take the lead here and the data dont lie. The chinese government had responded to the report that three wuhan scientists fell ill, calling it completely untrue, accusing the united states of hyping the lab leak theory, mika. All right, we will continue to cover that story. That does it for us this morning. Stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. This is the kitchen where the new boyfriend will unofficially become family. These are the Vrbo Vacation homes waiting for your family. Good morning. Im stephanie ruhle. The truth between israel and hamas falling apart. Also new clues to one of the big of the mysteries out there, where exactly did covid19 come from . When did people know about it . Nbc news learned theres new evidence pointing to a lab in wuhan, china, where researchers started coming down with covid symptoms all the way back in 2019. And today, today marks one year since George Floyd was murdered, starting an encounter with police in minneapolis, minnesota. His death touched a nerve across the world and sparked a push towards justice in Policing And Race relations. Today his family will mark the first anniversary of his death in washington, d. C. , meeting first with house speaker Nancy Pelosi and some senators, and then with President Biden and Vice President harris at the White House this afternoon. I want to bring in nbcs chief white House Correspondent Peter alexander. Shaquille brewster is in Minneapolis And Garrett haake on Capitol Hill. Peter, the Floyd Family would like to see a bill that helps save lives and curbs bad policing. Theyre not going to get that, at least not today. What will they get . Theyll certainly have a meeting here with the president the first time theyve been face to face with mr. Biden since he was there for them during the funeral last year. Earlier in the day, as you noted, they will visit with house speaker Nancy Pelosi later this afternoon with the u. S. Senators. And the senators said President Biden wants them to hear and listen to perspectives on this issue. And i spoke with Ben Crump, The Family attorney. He will be here