Member of The New York Times editorial board, mara gay. And white House Reporter for the Associated Press, Jonathan Lemire, doing Double Duty this morning. So a couple of things. First of all, its june. I mean, come on. Where did oh, my god. Im sorry, when did that happen . I thought we were like middle of february. No. Really, i need to reed the paper a little bit more. Check the calendar. And lets look on set. This is incredible. Look at this shot, joe. Here we are all the time at the top of our Apartment Building at 30 rock. Never left New York. But look at that, onset, and well see you there i think at some point. How was Memorial Day . Willie, how was your Memorial Day . What did you do . Unfortunately, i spent most of it watching the yankees be swept by the lowly Detroit Tigers and plummet to 5 1 2 games back in the al east. So it was a cold, rainy Memorial Day here in the New York renal. Its been a year and a half since weve had a group this big around the table. So things are coming back. Were coming. Thats it. And tomorrow i think it will be like mardi gras. Were going to be around the table. Were going to have yes. Were throwing beads. Its going to be fantastic. Mike, how was your memorial Day Weekend . What did you do . It was wet, it was cold, but it was wonderful, because Memorial Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It harkens back to it brings up so many memories of growing up when Memorial Day was a much bigger day in the sense of memory than it is today, but it was wonderful. It was wonderful to be with the grandchildren, my kids, they were all together. Cant ask for anything much more than that. No way. Jonathan lemire . I spent it in the cradle of liberty, wilmington, delaware, on president ial Pool Duty, where it it was also cold and rainy like everywhere else. But to furthering mikes point, the president On Sunday addressed in front of the group of Delaware Veterans not just the sacrifice that they and their families made for those lost in service, but he made it deeply personal and spoke about his son, beau, who himself was a veteran, who had died six years ago that day. Certainly, this president understands what Memorial Day is all about and the sacrifice that american families have made. Well, and you know, beau told him, beau told us when he came on the set, wherever we talked to him, it was obvious his Military Service and the friends and colleagues that he knew and lost in the war, that was he felt like that was the most important thing he did in his life. So, obviously, its very personal to the bidens, just like it is for so many families. Mara, also, were watching Joe Biden yesterday. Its so interesting that if i had heard any president talking about democracy and we need to fight for it five, six years ago, i would have said, okay, thats great, but we like, we assume thats the reality in america for over, you know, why is he talking about democracy . Almost taking offense. Why is he talking about democracy . And its another sharp reminder of where we are in 2021, that there are ill liberal, socalled democracies across central and Eastern Europe. Growing totalitarianism across the globe. And a growing number of americans who are saying that they want the Election Results overturned and theyll even resort to violence if you believe the polls, to achieve those ends. Thats right. The president is talking about democracy, because democracy is under threat at home and abroad. It was even more meaningful when you think that we spent the past four years having a president who, i think, if we remember, it wasnt that long ago, i dont want to misquote him, but i think at some point he calls veterans losers. So, you know, i think there are millions of americans, for whom yesterday was a very solemn day and a reminder that Democracy And Freedom are not free. Its not trite if youve lost someone in war, or if you were out marching for civil rights in the 60s or Voting Rights last year or this year. Look at whats happening in texas. You know, this was an emotional day for my family, as well. My Uncle Donovan died in 2013 of an Agent Orangerelated cancer that he got in vietnam, right . And millions of families have sacrificed to build this democracy and to hopefully expand it. I think a majority of americans who voted for Joe Biden want to see this democracy endure and expand to be better and include All Of Us. And there are liberal forces, as you said, joe, that dont want that. And its so well, were so sorry for your family, but its a reminder, there are so many families that were remembering yesterday. And not just for those who died in battle, but for those who died from the effects of battle. And weve certainly seen it over the past decade, the past 20 years, the numbers of Young Americans committing suicide that served our country in uniform. And its something that bears repeating every day about those remarkable sacrifices. Willie, speaking of trite, and i hate to bring this up, i really do, but speaking of trite, you look at the trite attacks of the Vice President On Friday. You want to go after somebody because of policy, Thats Something, but to use Memorial Day because she tweeted, have a nice long Memorial Weekend or whatever. By the way, yesterday was Memorial Day. Let me just educate everybody. I know some of you are new at this. Some of you maybe have forgotten what its like to be americans. I know the last four, five years have been sort of destabilizing for you. Unamerican. I didnt say that. Destabilizing for you. Memorial day was yesterday. Memorial Day Weekend is over the weekend. And willie, what was so remarkable about remarkably trite and small about the fake outrage that was aimed at Kamala Harris On Friday for a tweet was, you just i think George Conway said, oh, you want to go there . You really want to go there . You want to you want to look at Donald Trumps tweets on Memorial Day about his economy and how great everything is going, et cetera, et cetera, like nothing to do with sacrifice. A guy who for four and a half years had absolutely no idea how to connect with those who have sacrificed for this country. It made what happened On Friday all sort of the more trite. The more sad, that people were that desperate to attack on this weekend. Yeah, and as you say, Donald Trump, who many of them probably support if theyre attacking Kamala Harris that way, put out a message talking about Gas Prices for memorial Day Weekend and remember how great your president , Donald Trump, was and that the uptick in prices has taken place because of Joe Biden. It turned into an attack on the sitting president. So enjoy the long weekend from Kamala Harris, obviously, theres some hypocrisy going on there. On a day, yesterday, especially, joe, there are so many families out there, if you think about, for example, the vietnam veterans wall. My dad fought in vietnam. He had an experience with Agent Orange that affected his life and still affects it today. Mike, there are 58,318 names on that wall alone and when you stand and look at that wall, you Cant Help but think of the lost potential, the lost futures. I feel that when i look at it. I think about my dad, and obviously, if he were on that wall, theres no me, my kids arent around. Theres such a depth to a lot of families in this country for what Memorial Day means. You know, willie, first of all, the wall is overwhelming, just by itself, overwhelming to look at all the names and to be there and see people Finger Tracing the names of Loved Ones lost or friendships ended in vietnam. And the Agent Orange effect on people still today, that was mentioned by mara, and im sure it affected your dad. Yep. I know several people who it deeply affected. But yesterday, the importance of president Bidens Speech, i think, was a critical component to Memorial Day. The idea of giving a speech about democracy, sort of defining what democracy meant to him and to us has long been on his mind, jonathan. Long been on his mind. And he gave it yesterday on the perfect day to give it, especially given the Cop Influence of events around us. Texas legislature, the whole flap about voting. And i think if you speak to people and i know you do in the White House, the idea that the republicans in the united States Senate, hes sort of ignoring the house to a certain extent, but the republicans in the united States Senate, jonathan, are such a Monolithic Block, have surprised him. And democracy has been a theme of his, but also taking office. Hes really set the stakes very high, basically saying that america needs to prove that democracy can still work at home in order to be a rival, to compete with the autocracies abroad, particularly china. That he feels that we need to prove that this still works. That The American experiment with democracy still works. And certainly part of that message is to the republican party. And suggesting that democracy means voting. Democracy means what should be, you know, not an insurrection. Therefore, a commission to investigate it. Which, of course, we saw go down if defeat On Friday. And there is there has been real Surprise And Dismay when the president and his advisers sure, there have been a couple of republicans they feel like they can deal with on these issues, whether they feel like its infrastructure or certainly on the bigger picture stuff. But assist block that has been incredibly stubborn and difficult to penetrate. And the president knows the stakes are high and the republicans, he believes, need to get onboard. Mike, i want to bring these two things together for a minute. I know i sound like an old guy, but i always remembered, even well thats why im going to talk to you. Because were talking about a breakdown of republicans and democrats working together and were talking about Memorial Day and these things go together. I remember, i came in at the Tail End are of the time when there were World War ii vets, there were korean vets, there were vietnam vets, republicans and democrats alike, that had this special bond. Im thinking about John Warner. And a lot of the stories that were written about John Warner when he passed away. And this quote stuck out to me. When i began serving, John Warner said, three fourths of my colleagues were military veterans. We had political disagreements and fought on the senate floor, but at days end, we shared a drink, we talked as friends, and we found common cause. Solving problems and serving The American public. Obviously, thank god we havent had wars on the scale of the second World War, the korean war, and the vietnam war, but definitely in our lifetime and so many of these members adult lifetimes, but that was a bond that brought them together. That was an ability to work together across party lines. We really, lets take this beyond war, please. We obviously want to avoid wars moving into the future. But there doesnt seem to be the Connective Tissue. There doesnt seem to be the shared american experience in war or in peace. We seem so divided and not just in congress, but everyday life, staring at phones. 320 Million people, 320 Million realities, 320 Million gods, 320 Million religions, 320 Million world views, it seems, at times. The Connective Tissue has been torn apart. And Thats Something that John Warner and his life and his Career Harken back to. And there was a Connective Tissue civically that republicans and democrats could be held together. They could be bound by. You know, joe, so much of what you just said is so true in this country today. We have lost touch with one another. We have lost touch with the term neighbors. We have lost touch with the loose connection that once beyonded us all together. You know, towards The End of well, at the beginning of your service in congress, in the mid1990s, the collegial effect of having served together In The House and the senate, militarily, began to dissipate. It began to disappear. But for many, many years, after World War ii, the united states congress, both the house and the senate, was filled with people who served in the war. In both wars. Either in World War ii or korea. Im thinking about Andy Jacobs from india. Former congressman from indiana. You know, he was a democrat, but his friends were republicans. Forget the Tip Oneil Ronald reagan stuff. There were many, many people who served, democrats who served in World War ii and career, some in vietnam, early on. But they were friends with republicans, because they had a common bond of service to this country. And now that phrase, service to this country, has been lost, because as you said, we walk around staring at our iphones. We have all collectively become the other, unfortunately. Something well be talking about a lot more here. President biden will travel to Oklahoma Today to commemorate the Tulsa Race Massacre. Hes also expected to deliver remarks at the site of the deadly violence where a white Mob Murdered Hundreds of Black Americans. Nbc News Correspondent Antonia Hilton has more. Reporter once the site of horrific racial violence, Tulsas Greenwood District turned into a memorial as residents marched and honored civilians and the few remaining survivors. 100 years ago, 300 black members of the affluent black neighborhood were murdered by a white mob. 10,000 fled as their homes and livelihoods were destroyed. They lost their Tailor And Shoe shine shops in the massacre. I feel like this is our final chance to put pressure on the city and the state who we feel are responsible for the massacre. We feel this is our final chance to get Restitution And Repair from the city of tulsa. Reporter the question of restoration has been the question of Conversation And Tension as black Lawmakers Press for reparations. Thats why were staying out here today, reparations now for those survivors, for the descendants, and also, rebuild black Wall Street. Reporter but tulsas mayor, g. T. Bynum, say payments to survivors would divide the city. He declined to speak to nbc news. In solidarity with survivors, John Legend and Stacey Abrams backed out of a ceremony. What do you think is the overriding emotion of this weekend. For the mayor and others, i think that they are hoping that this will wash over quickly and then its back to regular business for them. For myself, for my community, i feel like its the sunshine coming in. And you know, Shining Light On 100 years of oppression and generational trauma. And you feel like youre still carrying it on your Shoulders Today . Oh, without a doubt. Reporter damian Roselles Family lost their Grocery Store in the massacre. A lot of the emphasis this weekend is on the destruction that took place, but not really the rebuilding. So holding my granddaughter right here, its all about the future, not so much about the past. Reporter and rebuild black Wall Street all together Against All Odds, just as they did in 1921. And mara, of course, weve been talking about Connective Tissue that have drawn americans together for so long. Of course, tulsa is a reminder of so many americans who never felt that connection and these pictures come back A Hundred years later, a stark reminder of what has happened in our history and what so many americans today are still fighting for. Its a really challenging story for several reasons. One of them is just, we were talking about veterans and the Connective Tissues that that can build. And thats absolutely correct. Of course, then, you look at what happened in tulsa, and you have images today of hundreds of World War i black veterans from World War i being rounded up and put into the equivalent of local Concentration Camps and many of them lynched. Its a very harsh, difficult history that is still prescient today when you think, we still have survivors from this. The other reason this is an important story is because i think americans, especially white americans, but americans in general tend to be very good at forgetting history, but also tend to think that slavery was a very long time ago and that discrimination was a very long time ago. The reality is not thats just not the case. So we have individuals. I spoke, actually, to dr. Olivia hooker, who was one of the last survivors. She died in 2018. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to interview her, both when i was in High School and then again at the Wall Street journal. And she survived the massacre as a little girl. She remembers people walking through her backyard with torches, The Mob, as she and her parents hid under their table in the Dining Room watching them. And she got the Baby Doll and had the clothes for the Baby Doll that her mother had made and they were hanging on the clothes and The Mob returned to burn the doll clothes on the clothesline. Thats a story that i got a chance to hear in person. So i think the Connective Tissue is also trauma and this is not the only town in america where this happened. Theres an image of those veterans there, i believe. But, you know, it, doesnt mean that The American experiment is for not. What it means is that its far more conflicted and has been far less inclusive than we want to believe. I think the way forward, of course, as a country together is to acknowledge this history before you move forward. It doesnt mean you have to stay there forever. You need to acknowledge it, and remedy the pain, either through reparations or other means, and then you can move on together. And that has to be part of our american story moving forward, or it will come back to haunt us in forms like Donald Trump and other ways we havent even imagined. The first step to acknowledging that history is learning the history. I went to a very good public High School in america and was not taught about the Tulsa Race Massacre that took place A Hundred years ago today. President biden traveling to Suls A where hell make a speech, not just ceremonial, hes also going to introduce some new policy changes that get at the root of what happened that day. And what you said, willie is the main event. The idea that this is a shameful and forgotten moment in american history, one that i didnt learn about in school, either. This is something that has not been given at all the attention that it deserves. The president has some policy hes going to announce in tulsa today. Federal initiatives to try to address the disparities and the value of blackowned homes. Try to help out black he have owned Small Businesses. As much as as it is about the policy, its about giving the president ial spotlight. Joe biden will be the first president to travel to tulsa to mark the anniversary of this massacre. He will be to acknowledge the pain felt by the people the survivors, yes, but also their descendants and others in that community displaced, who were destroyed A Hundred years ago. We know that President Biden speaks on the topic of grief and shows empathy like no other political figure in american history. And we should note the contrast between his predecessor, who just over a year ago, chose tulsa as the site of his Comeback Rally after the pandemic came in and was going to have it on juneteenth, even, a commemoration that marked The End of slavery. They actually changed the rally by a day. But thats the exact opposite of what biden is trying to do today. You know, mara, i love how you talked about how we need to acknowledge that. We need to as a country, we need to understand this. So many people, when they start hearing people talking about what happened A Hundred years ago or 300 years ago will take that as an affront to The American experiment. Ly i will tell you, just as in congress theres now a generation that doesnt have the Connective Tissue of fighting together for democracy against, lets say, hitler, take people like myself. And ive said this before on the show an awful lot. My first year in school was in meridian, mississippi, i grew up in the deep south, and i was in the first class that was integrated. I was in a public school, out in the country in meridian, mississippi. Going to school with Black And White kids, that was normal to me. When Barack Obama was elected president , there were older guys that were weeping, white guys who were weeping, who truthfully some of them had never seen a black person until they had went to college. And i said, what are you weeping about . I went to Law School with that guy. Not that guy, but people like Barack Obama. It wasnt a huge shock for me. And im older. There are a lot of people younger than me, white people younger than me, that just took it for granted that the moral arc of the universe is long, but it always bends towards freedom, towards liberty, towards justice. And we got a stark reminder over the past five years that thats just not an assumption that we can make. And so there is talk about Connective Tissue. There is a connection between people that fought in a war together, and those today who dont know what its like actually fighting for liberty. And also, my friend, John Lewis, a good friend of mine, and jim clyburn, a good friend of mine in congress, i sat and i talked to them and i said, oh, wow, you got that but theres no way i could ever understand that. Theres no way so many americans could ever understand what those Rights Leaders went through or what all of Black America has gone through 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago and what so many are still fighting for today and still going through today. Its remarkable. It just wasnt that long ago. I say this my father lived in South Carolina as a kid, he lived in segregated society. Yesterday, i posted a digitized video on twitter that i love, that is of my great uncle, marching through the streets of detroit in a Segregated Army battalion, on his Way To Go Fight Fascists and fascism in europe. And of course, he came home and faced extraordinary discrimination of defeating nazis abroad. And i think these are the stories that america is living with, that much of america doesnt want to acknowledge. And when you have that kind of inheritance and dont acknowledge it, it will come for you. It will come for you in ways that you cant explain, that you dont understand, and ways that really destroy and tear at the fabric of democracy. One of the things that we really, i hope, can start to understand is that Black Americans, the struggle that weve had over the hundreds of years in this country, for recognition as Human Beings and citizens, theres a direct link between the status of our citizenship and the status of our health and democracy. So the movement for equal justice, for Black Americans, for Native Americans, for women, is at the very heart of whether this is a democracy and an experiment that will work or that wont. And that is what is at stake right now. And of course, its an inclusive vision. Its not just Black Americans. Its just, this is what we need to understand. We need to start talking about how we talk about this. Instead of trying to avoid talking about it. You know, mara, youre right. And i would submit that before we can talk about this really collectively, as a country, as a people, were going to have to learn about it. We dont know about these things in america. Its not taught. Tulsa is not taught, really, in schools. It might be now, but it hadnt been for years and years and years. You could take a picture of what happened in hiroshima and match it up against a picture of what happened in tulsa 100 years ago and it would be hard to tell the difference. And the difference, of course, is rooted in race. We just dont grasp the meaning of race in this country, because its not taught in our schools. Our children really dont know the meaning of race in this country, because its just not taught. Mika, weve been playing catchup, trying to educate ourselves as a country over the last few years about this horrible massacre in tulsa, and since mara is here, ill give a plug. The New York times Interactive Reporting on this is just extraordinary. It takes you block by block, Business By business, hour by hour through those terrible 24 hours. I cant recommend it enough if you do want to educate yourself about what happened. What a great conversation this morning. And still ahead on Morning Joe, there is more. The latest out of texas where Governor Greg Abbott is threatening to withhold lawmakers pay after democrats blocked a controversial Voting Bill. Plus, My Exclusive Sitdown Interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Im ordering some burritos oh, nice. Burritos . get a freshly made footlong from subway® instead. With crisp veggies on freshly baked bread. Just order in the App Ditch the burgers choose better, be better. Subway®. Eat fresh. Welcome to allstate. You already pay for Car Insurance, why not take your home along for the ride . Allstate. Here, better protection costs a whole lot less. Youre in good hands. 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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 every bubble every scrub every spray every Day Dove and Degree Fund local youth programs. Every Day U does good Unilever Age is just a number. And mines unlisted. Try boost® High Protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. Versus 16 grams in ensure High Protein. Boost® High Protein also has key nutrients for immune support. Boost® High Protein. The city that never sleeps, i guess. New York City, home of your and t. J. s New York mets, willie geist. Last night was degrom night in america. He did it again. The man that Mike Lupica calls the best pitcher since our Sandy Koufax had another extraordinary night. He just shut down the dbacks out in arizona. I think mike can correct me, his first ten pitches, at least, were over 100 miles an hour. So Last Night was may 31st. So he ends the Month Of May with the lowest era by a pitcher through the Month Of May since 1964. His e. R. A. , mike, is 0. 71. And hes doing this without any run support. He got a little Last Night, but generally, mets dont score any runs for him. Hes in Bob Gibson Territory with the e. R. A. His e. R. A. Is obviously well under the League E. R. A. Average. Its pedro martinez. What degrom doing right now is just remarkable. And in addition to pitching masterfully, hes hitting. 450 for the chance. He got mvp Last Night on the road. They make sense. Thats amazing. Theres other news that also is in the sports world. Look at that. The first round of french open Tennis Competition continues this morning, but all attention remains on Women Superstar naomi osaka. Despite her efforts to stay out of the spotlight, the fourtime grand Slam Champion has withdrawn from the french open, Writing On Twitter that she will be taking a break from competition. One day after osaka was fined and threatened with harsher sanctions for her skipping the mandatory media obligations. The 23yearold revealed that he experiences, quote, huge waves of anxiety before speaking to the media and says she has suffered long bouts of depression. I thought this was interesting. It generated a lot of debate on twitter, some people actually being rather negative towards her. But it fits into a narrative ive been following for a long time now. Two strains of conversation. Number one, Mental Health is really important. And it is okay and take some time to work for it. I really applaud her for doing that on the international stage, showing people that you can walk away when you need to. And secondly for Young Women, you have such a long runway. You can let life interrupt you a little bit and you can come back. I thought her message was very clear, very poignant and a great example in many ways. You know, it is we just dont talk about Mental Health enough in this country and we havent for a long time. Not just in this country, but across the world. Its something that people have started to talk to. I think the pandemic has brought us a lot closer to addressing it more straightforward and headon, which weve been trying to do on this show. And i know other shows have been trying to do it as with pel. We just assume fans just assume. Somebody decides they want to go into a sport and they make a lot of money from that sport, they win a lot of trophies, they get a lot of fame. Theyre superstars. And so many people are like, you owe it to me to do the press conference. You owe it to me for this, owe it to me for that. And we just never take it too many people just never consider how difficult it is for a young woman, a young man, first of all, to endure every second, understanding that they dont ever have a second to themselves, again. But also, if youre suffering with Depression Or Anxiety before that happens, how paralyzing it would be for a young man or a young woman, possibly, to stand in front of reporters. Its one thing, you know, when you talk to a lot of people who say, hey, im great in front of 50,000 people if im playing, you know, playing my songs. But if im in front of five or ten people, even superstars will say, they freeze up. So for some 23yearold, 24yearold, ill say, because ive got kids older than that, kid, sometimes expectations are just too heavy, too burdensome. And we need to let people take a break sometimes and give them a break. Well, this issue, joe, is particularly enhanced for professional athletes. Because we see them on tv, we see them when we go to the ballpark or to Forest Hills for the u. S. Open here or wherever, wimbledon or wherever, and we see them. Their gifts and talents are godgiven. They are magical. Theres no way that we are at that level. Very few people are at that level. So when that happens and with all the collective tools we have today at our disposal, our phones, the Video Components of our phones, the Instagram Stuff and everything like that, we get to think that we actually know them. And they are ours. And why are you doing this . Why are you quitting on this game . Ive got money on you. I bet on your serve on that lost round. You can bet instantly now on things like that. You are right. We dont give them the space that a normal Human Being would get, because we have put them on pedestals. And they dont belong on pedestals. Yeah. And not everybody wants to be on camera, like us weirdos. I mean, this is hard for some people. And for some people, its a Matter Of, you know, being able to do what they do or not. Mara, i know it probably seems naive, but i sometimes wonder why do they have to do the what does that impact their game . Why couldnt she make a statement or something, read something and show up and then not have to participate in the stress of the Press Conferences . Here were losing great player because she was required to show up and answer questions from like 50 people. I dont know, straighton, that seems like an incredibly stressful situation for anyone. But i guess its part of the sport that comes with it . Yeah, you know, we dont talk about Mental Health enough, but we also seem to have as a society a sense of like ownership over some of these athletes. And i think its really unfair. But Behind The Scenes, theres often a lot more going on. And you have to wonder. And i have no idea. Did were they able to actually help her at these appearances . Did she get any Support Or Training . You know, was she forced to kind of endure dozens of questions at a time . I actually was Behind The Scenes with the Womens Soccer Team after they won the World Cup there and, you know, they came to City Hall in New York, it was really a great day. We had a Ticker Tape Parade for them. But they came with minders. And, you know, we had just ordinary kids and women and Young Women coming to them, can you sign my soccer ball, and they werent allowed to do it, and everything was very rigid and orchestrated. And its like, this should be fun and theyre human. Were all human. So lets give some grace for people. So i dont mow whats going on Behind The Scenes there. That was one of the things she said, osaka in her statement, im grateful for the opportunity, im sorry to disappoint all the fans at the french open, but i want to talk to the Wta And Talk to tennis about how we help people like myself with this side of it. Hopefully this will be taken as an opportunity to make those strides. The first thing to say, she is a phenomenal player, shes won a couple of the majors. Shes a radiant star, shes got all kinds of endorsements. Shes got everything going for her. Lets hope she takes this time away and keeps going in the direction shes been going. But it is good when somebody this prominent talks about anxiety in a way, even five years ago, i cant remember people talking about it, because it was seen almost as a sign of weakness. And if youre that big of star, People Cant conceive of that in you. How could you have the pressure . It never appears you do. But im lucky enough on my Sunday Show to interview to have the biggest stars you can think of. And to a man and to a woman, they are nervous wrecks before an interview with me. And i dont think people realize that. There is an anxiety that undergirds a lot of what people have to do in public life. Im glad shes talking about it and i know shell continue to be a huge star in sports. I think what was really strong was to walk away elegantly like that. That took strength. Were going to turn back to politics now and an update on the fight over a controversial new Voting Legislation in texas. Democrats were able to temporarily stop the passage of the new Voting Bill On Sunday by walking out before the vote deadline. But in a statement following The End of the legislative session, Republicans Governor Abbott called the Vote Bill a Mustpass Emergency Item and promised to add it to a Special Session. Double down, why dont you . Emergency item when actually its an emergency that black people want to vote. A Texas Congressman said that there was actually no irregularities, that this was for optics only. Jonathan lemire, texas democrats are now saying that democrats in the Senate Need to do something with Hr1 And Hr4. But the preposterousness of this, where nobody is alleging widespread voting fraud. Abbott never alleged widespread voting fraud. There was a New York times Magazine Article that we talked about, where even Allen West was saying, stop talking about some italian dude coming to texas stealing the election. Its all a sham. Its all an about optics and cleaning up a mess that Donald Trump created themselves, the Big Lie. And theyre talking about now Governor Abbott is talking about quote, an emergency. A mustpass bill. His racism is showing. This is just preposterous. Its rare when Allen West is the voice of reason, joe. Were seeing this now, this Battle Over Voting Rights Go State By state. Abbott said he wanted to pass a measure that would strip them of their pay. Because of what theyre doing here. But this all does feel like the undercards, right, for the main event, which is going to be the federal legislation, the John Lewis voting Rights Act, other measures that congress is supposed to take up likely later this summer. And that is, we know, that is going to be an extraordinarily important moment in both sides are girding up for it. Mitch mcconnell was in committee, Doing Committee work a few weeks ago on this, speaking out against the idea of expanding votinging rights, which shows you how seriously he and other republicans are taking this. And thats also partially what i this president , who knows about from his time in the senate, knows about the sequencing of legislation, is trying to do everything else first. Trying to do infrastructure first, ahead of whether because they know how pitched the battle will be over Voting Rights, theres a hope there can be maybe a bipartisanagreement on this because there wont be on the Voting Rights bill. Texas democrats are calling on democrats in washington to do more to protect Voting Rights. After defeating the Voting Bill, one Texas Lawmaker called on the president to push for a national strategy, and another called on Congress To, quote, the their part. Joining us now cofounder of punch bowl news, ana palmer, she is an Msnbc Contributor. Ana, good to see you this morning. It took this Laststraw Stunt for democrats to walk out and deny republicans a quorum to stop the bill for now at least in the state of texas. What is happening in the congress, though, on Capitol Hill in terms of Voting Rights. Whats the future of these pieces of legislation . I think jonathan laid that out pretty well. But basically, were all looking to july. Chuck schumer has said, that is when he plans to bring hr1, this kind of massive bill that would deal with a lot of the voting Rights Issues at the federal level that weve seen crop up in many of these different states where conservative legislations are trying to peel back some of the Voting Rights, at this point, there is no support in the republican party, in the senate, to try to kind of forge some kind of agreement on this voting Rights Act, that schumer is going to try to force a vote on at The End of july. The question is really going to be, i think, is this going to be the issue that tees up The End of the filibuster. Will you see senators like a Joe Manchin support this or not . Sort of, it doesnt appear that there is that Enthusiasm Or Appetite to try to take this up and say this is going to be the issue that the filibuster will blow up over. But they are willing to take the vote. And that is something youll see Chuck Schumer force. You know, i dont understand for the life of me, i just quick editorial, Side Note here, hr1 is a Train Wreck waiting to happen. I have no idea, ana, why that they dont start with John Lewis hr4. People i talk to on The Hill say, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That seems to make a lot of sense. Joe manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and a lot of other democrats this is sort of the dirty secret. A lot of other democrats are just sitting back and letting manchin take a lot of the flack for things that they dont especially love themselves and he doesnt mind it. I think, in fact, he probably likes it. But ana, i dont understand why they dont just move on hr4, the John Lewis Voting Rights bill. It will be a lot more difficult for republicans to vote no on that. Im sure they will. But still, its a lot cleaner shot at Voting Rights and following through on the legacy of one of the great civil rights heroes of our time. And it makes a difference immediately. The Supreme Court actually guided Congress To do this several years ago. So why dont they just walk through that door. Hr4. So much cleaner than hr1. Youve seen senator Joe Manchin say that he would support that along with lisa murkowski. There isnt going to be big bipartisan support. I think that is fundamentally where the republican party is. And if particularly when you look at where Mitch Mcconnell is, he is not going to let his Members Vote for this. This is not going to be a vote of conscience like we do see on some of these other issues. I think Chuck Schumer has clearly stuck his line in the Sand And Hr1 is where hes going to put his political backing. And thats whats going to happen moving forward. That will be the Issue Hell Push forward in july. It will not be the John Lewis Voting Bill. And mara, at what point does Joe Manchin understand that the republicans are just, theyre not going to give him that bipartisan vote that hes looking for. That hes not going to find those ten republicans and if he keeps looking for those ten republicans, hes going at some point look like linus in the Pumpkin Patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to rise. Its not coming. Its not coming, but in the meantime, he still appears to be holding cards, even if its not just him holding them. This is a Win Win for him in some ways. At some point, hell have to deliver something, but the way forward for democrats is to i continue to believe that they need to fight for Voting Rights on all fronts, but one of those mechanisms is to take the case directly to The American people. I think this is something that Joe Biden needs to take on personally. I think he needs to try to convince folks in Swing States that this is a pivotal issue for democracy that is important to them, not just to people in cities or people on the coast or people who dont look like them. I think that that direct democratic appeal might be the way forward. Because theres no political courage among republicans in washington. And Jonathan Lemire, i want to talk about democrats standing behind Joe Manchin, letting him take the flack. Weve talked about this before. That right now, its Joe Manchin whos saying hell, no, to ending the filibuster. It works for him in west virginia. A state where 69 of west virginians voted for Donald Trump in 2020. But also, it works for a lot of senate democrats who have told You And Me and other people, hey, theyre just not comfortable with ending the filibuster. So if manchin wants to take the flack, thats fine, but if push came to shove, they would be very, very uncomfortable ending the filibuster, too. These are several democrats sort of standing behind Joe Manchin while he takes the flack. First of all, i dont think manchin minds the attention. Hes happy to be the star of the show here. But certainly, ive had conversations with democratic senators who also say that theyre not quite willing to go there, even on an issue on Voting Rights. They think that maybe they would end up, if there is a filibuster reform, they would have a talking filibuster. Ana, i want to get your sense on that, how endangered is the filibuster really this summer . And also provide us an update on the ongoing infrastructure talks. Congress is out this week, but the president has targeted the Memorial Day deadline has come and gone, but hes targeted now i believe the week of june 7th, as coming up, to see whether or not there could be any sort of bipartisan deal on infrastructure. On the first part, ill just say, i think that you are totally right. There are many senators that do not want the filibuster to end. They are just much more quiet about it. I think you have a lot of votes that there are moderate democrats in arizona, et cetera, that would have problems voting for some of these issues that they dont want to have to take up. As far as infrastructure, we are reporting this morning that Joe Biden is Tote Meet with shelly moore capito, the republican from west virginia, whos leading the senate republican side of things tomorrow. Now, i think its important to note that they are very, very far apart. They dont even just they arent even on the same page on what actually infrastructure means at this point and really far apart when it comes to the actual monetary amount. Theyre looking to next week in the biden administration to come pathway forward. Is there going to be some momentum. Im very skeptical that they are able to get there. I think the real question will be, when do democrats turn to just say, were going to go it alone. And the fact that reconciliation and finding a way forward just by democrats alone is also going to be different. A lot of people say, were just going to dump republicans. Its time for democrats to get it together. Thats going to be extremely difficult. Ana palmer of punch bowl news, thank you very much for being on this morning. And we want to turn to something weve been gearing Up Towards for several weeks now, really months. The women over the age of 50 who are really having their momen right now. Forbes and know your value have teamed up for a 50 over 50 issue. For these remarkable, dynamic women, growing older is about getting stronger, wiser, better, bolder, more confident. Tomorrow on Morning Joe, you will meet the full inaugural class of entrepreneurs, leaders, and creators who make up the first 50 over 50 list, selected from over 10,000 nominees. But before tomorrows nominees, we will launch The List and announce one of the women who has landed right there on The List, Vice President Kamala Harris. Shes also one of the four women on the cover of Forbes Magazine Firstever inclusive capitalism special issue, which looks at how societal change can ensure everyone has equal access and an equal chance to achieve. The Vice President wrote an essay to really launch The List about the importance of reimagining entrepreneurship and Small Business in the united states, which reads in part, when i was in the u. S. Senate, i worked to secure an additional 12 Billion for community lenders. Now we are working to build on that investment. Together, we must help every american entrepreneur get the capitol they need to realize their vision and she goes on to write, for Women Entrepreneurs and all entrepreneurs, the pandemic is highlighting the importance of our nations care infrastructure. The full essay is online right now at forbes. Com. You can read it. But next hour on Morning Joe, launching The List, we will play for you My Exclusivesydown with the Vice President , where she talks more about how the administration plans on getting those hit hardest by the pandemic, particularly women and women of color back on track. Once again, the Vice President is one of 50 women on this exciting new 50 over 50 list. You will meet them all tomorrow when we announce the full list of women who are rewriting the rules of success, shattering the prevailing misconceptions about Age And Gender and the workforce, and inspiring women and men of all ages, through all stages of their clears. You know, mika, ive seen you at randall and have seen this list as its become coming together and the women youve talked to and interviewed. And theres so much i mean, its remarkable, so much that has happened. Lets just talk about 50. 50 over 50. But over the past 50 years. You look at where women were 50 years ago in the workforce, look where they were 25 years ago in the workforce. And look where they are now. Its just been an extraordinary Sea Change. And women are running well, certainly, in europe, actually, even more so than america, but its starting to happen dramatically in america, but women running military, women running banks, women running economies. Women in the united states running economist, running corporations. Again, the Sea Change in 25 years. The Sea Change even in the past decade really has been something to behold. And the interesting message here is that these accomplishments, these achievements of their lives are happening in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Which is an amazing message for younger women. That you can plan your life we were talking about naomi osaka, you can walk off the field and come back on. And your days arent numbered, until the age of 40. Its now going way past 80. And youll see when this list is revealed. Leading off The List this morning, though, Vice President Kamala Harris. And well be showing that interview. And theyre all trailblazers. What that means with that change is everybody on that list is a trailblazer. Coming up, former Fda Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will be our guest, plus the chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison. Morning joe is coming right back. E harrison Morning Joe is coming right back we made Usaa Insurance for veterans like martin. When a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa its the Memorial Day sale on the new Sleep Number 360 smart bed. Its the most comfortable, usaa. What youre made of, were made for. 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, now 1,799. Only for a limited time. Look at that. Willie, were of course looking at our Apartment Right at the top above 30 rock. So weird. Dont look in the window. Few people understand, weve been here the whole time. Well come down the Elevator Tomorrow and well be joining you. Whats crazy about that apartment at the top of comcast, its a walkup. New York Living is tough. Nobody said it was easy in this town. Nobody said it was easy. Well be back in the studio tomorrow. Were very excited about it. And i was just thinking, willie, about, you know, the past 87 years that weve been doing this. And i was just thinking this morning at 5 56, as i was rolling out of bed about the morning that Chris Licht called me up at 5 54 and said, joe, Wake Up. I dont know how he knew i was still asleep at 5 54, but he did. Maybe it was a Star Trek thing, but i was on set by 6 00. Im not saying i looked great. I may not have had like the right jacket on, but, yeah, yeah. That was the infamous nopants showed when you just rolled in hot. You had the boxers on, suit Up Top, and the alabama boxers. And what makes that different from every day . And of course, i forget what guests said when they saw me coming in one day and i was wearing something, oh, this is like waistband wednesdays. And i go, what do you mean . Youre wearing your pajamas still, joe. Its a comfort fit. It is. Just for people waking up, we were talking Jake Degrom had another incredible night Last Night, willie. Maybe the best pitcher over the past 30, 40 years. Weve heard Bob Gibson and pedro martinez. His e. R. A. Through may is 0. 71. Which means hes giving up less than a run a game. He threw 10, 12 pitches to start the game over 100 miles an hour. Theres no question hes the best pitcher in baseball, and on the way to being one of the greatest of all time. Mike barnicle and the aps Jonathan Lemire are still with us. And joining the conversation, we have bbc Anchor Katty Kay and Columnist And Associate editor of the Washington Post and msnbc political analyst, Eugene Robinson joins us this morning. So gene, mara and i last hour were talking about tulsa and talking about how much has changed. I think you may be one or two years older than me. Im not sure, but i know, i was saying, my first year in school, 1969, first grade, i was in an integrated school out in the country, Northeast Lrmt Skill in meridian, mississippi. And Black Kids and white kids went to school together. And im thinking, you know, yeah, went to Law School with that guy or ive known that quite growing up and it ends up that so many of us that are younger took for granted thetha things arent always going to just get better. And tulsa is a good reminder, thats of course, A Hundred years ago. But i talked about the life that John Lewis lived and the life that so many others hell, the life that you lived. What happened in orangeburg in the 1960s. This is for some of us who are younger, we make assumptions that are faulty assumptions based on our own Life Experiences and we forget what happened just before our time. Yeah, you know, i didnt go to school with white kids until High School. And the schools were segregated in orangeburg when i was a little kid and by the time i got to High School edge, there had been a black High School and a white High School. And the white school had finally integrated. I think i was in maybe the Seconds Class where a few black students went to orangeburg High School, and so i vividly remember the days of racial segregation in the south, jim crow segregation, and the thing about it, the thing that perhaps younger people dont remember, but what we choose to remember, tulsa is an example of history that a lot of people didnt know, because it certainly wasnt tulsa was not taught in the schools when i was growing up, what happened in tulsa 100 years ago. And if you dig just a little deeper, you see that tulsa was not a oneoff. Tulsa was part of a pattern of these violent, deadly, white riots against almost black prosperity and advancement, basically. And cities around the country, basically in a lot of northern cities, it was because africanamericans who had participated in the Great Migration were competing for and winning jobs and thats the underlying tension that led to these riots that were like Eastern Europe pogroms. Therm deadly and terrible hi violence. And the other reason was that africanamerican businesses were competing successfully against White Mississippi and atlanta in 1906, there was a deadly white Race Riot against, in which the white Business District Downtown was smashed up and destroyed and eventually, africanamerican businesses were banished from that part of atlanta, in addition to well, we dont quite know how many people were killed. Its part of the pattern until hopefully now. Thank you, gene, for that. We turn now to the push to reopen the country. And americans eager to get back to normal. Things are picking up at the nations airports and restaurants. The New York City subway is getting busier. Ride sharing companies like Uber And Lyft are also responding to the increase in demand, investing 250 Million into rehiring and recruiting new drivers. And as the number of new covid19 Cases Drops in the united states, new polling shows more and more americans are once again planning normal summer activities. Can you believe that . 83 of respondents to a new Ipsos Poll said they are likely to dine out this summer. 64 say they plan to enroll their kids in Youth Sports or other group activities. As for traveling, 64 said they are likely to take a long trip by car. Fewer americans are comfortable traveling by air, though. 46 said they plan to fly domestically this summer and just 24 have plans to fly out of the country. Joining us now, former Fda Commissioner, dr. Scott gottlieb. He is a member of the pfizer board. Hes also author of the fourthcoming book, uncontrolled spread why covid19 crushed us and how we can defeat the next pandemic look forward to that book. Dr. Gottlieb, where does america stand in terms of the pandemic and it being behind us . Well, were in very good shape right now. I dont think this is mission accomplished, but i think we can clear a nearterm victory. And well have a very good summer. I think the prevalence will be very low this summer. We will have to contend with this virus again as we enter into the late fall, probably more likely the winter. We could see some risk of a resurgence of infection as we get into february and january. But right now for the summer, the risk should be very low. Well see prevalence levels continue to decline. And even in Summer Camps, Summer Camps should be able to take precautions to protect children in those environments. And as we move more activities outside, that will lower the risk as well. Dr. Fauci said, we have a long way to go. Were doing very well, but dont want to celebrate prematurely. As he looks inside those numbers and you do the same, what do you think hes thinking about as we says, we have a long way to go. Anybody in central Park Yesterday could see that here in New York City and on beaches across the country this weekend. But what does it mean to say we have a long ways to go . What else could turn this back in a bad direction . There are still pockets of this country where Vaccination Rates are low. Where there isnt as much immunity in the population. You have the potential for outbreaks, particularly in the south, as we get into the warm summer months, like we saw last summer, where we saw epidemics in places like phoenix, houston, and miami. You have some of those cities where Vaccination Rates are lower. There is some risk. But tony is probably thinking about the variants and the propensity for this virus to form new variants that could pierce some of the immunity that weve acquired. Thats a risk for the future. We are seeing variants around the world that seem more contagious. But right now based on the evidence that we have, so far the vaccine seems to cover the new variants that have arisen quite well. We havent seen a situation where we lost the vaccine to one of these new variants. That risk is always out there, were consequencing a lot of samples right now. So well have time to pivot and get a new vaccine into the market if something arises that really is fundamentally different. So dr. Gottlieb, what are the odds well be looking at and getting Booster Shots this fall and why is there seemingly so much difficulty in getting people tested. Should we make more of an effort to enhance the advertising about getting tested . Well, i think that with respect to the boosters, i think there is a chance that certain people will be getting boosters. There was a good danish Landmark Study who looked at people who had been infected, seven to eight months after infection, and protection from reinfection was about 80 overall. But if you look at people 65 and older, it was only about 47 . In the older population, we saw a decline in Neutralizing Antibodies to the point they were vulnerable to reinfection. We believe the vaccines are more effective in terms of the immunity they provide, but its likely to be the case that the vaccines also follow the same contours as the immunity, which means that older individuals probably will see declining protection over time. And if you remember, the older individuals were the ones who were vaccinated first. Many of them were vaccinated in december and january. So theyre going to be going into this winter with a vaccination thats now a year. There could be a recommendation from acip, the group that advises the cdc, the recommend boosters, especially in older individuals who are more than eight, nine months out from finishing their original vaccination. In terms of testing, theres pretty widespread text around the country right now. I think whats going to happen is the number of tests that get conducted on daily basis will look like its going down, because fewer people are going in to get pcr tested right now and more people are testing themselves at home with these rapid diagnostic tests. Theres actually much more testing going on. I think fewer of the negative results are now getting captured. So in a way, were overstating the Positivity Rate in the country. Dr. Gottlieb, that brings up a great point about immunity. A lot of people early on and obviously, so many people have done a remarkable job in the medical and science community, pharmaceutical community, doing all of this on the fly. Doing this on the run. But obviously, a lot of these tests for immunity, for first generation, are going to be a bit more crude than what well be able to do a year or two from now. So its always led these discussions. Okay, i just got covid. How long does my immunity last . Weve heard six months, weve heard three months, and wait, its not showing up on my next anymore, so i dont have immunity. There have been a couple of recent studies out that have shown you look at wlapd the sars, some people still have smart cells that are working 17 years later. Right now, isnt there an understanding, that especially if youve had covid and the vaccine, you may mika talks about long runways, you may have a very long runway as far as either immunity or safety from covid and its variants. Thats right. We think that this virus probably sits somewhere in between seasonal coronaviruses and sars 1, which you referenced. The immunity from sars 1 was very durable. The immunity we get from seasonal coronaviruses doesnt last long. It lasts a year. We think that the immunity thats induced here will probably last longer than seasonal coronavirus, probably not as long as sars 1. But tl different correlates for immunity. You could still have tcells that are programmed to attack this Virus And Memory B Cells that will activate when they come in contact with the virus again, but have lost a lot of your Neutralizing Antibodies, which means you might be prone to reinfection, but youll be protected against getting severe disease. The question is what kind of immunity do you want to induce . Do we want to protect vulnerable people from getting infected in the first place, you want to maintain a sufficient number of Neutralizing Antibodies, and to do that, you might immediate to provide boosters shots on some kind of semiregular basis points. But that doesnt mean those Individuals Wont have tcells and bcells that are program to attack this virus that will give them residual virus. Theres different correlates of immunity that we should look at right now, im talking about levels of Neutralizing Antibodies which protect against getting protected in the first place. Were seeing obviously a real success here in the united states, battling this virus. Were seeing Cases Drop in europe as well. But thats not the case everywhere. There are parts of the globe that are still really struggling with this pandemic. Give us A Assessment as you look across the earth in terms of what concerns you the most . Could the variants give rise to a new strain that could outsmart our vaccines. As long as this virus is circulating around the globe, theres continued risk that could pierce the immunity produced by prior vaccine or infection. But it doesnt necessarily need to be circulating around the globe. Were seeing these mutations spontaneously all around the world. It doesnt need to necessarily be the case that variant 6. 7 comes to the united states from india. 6. 7 is probably a rising spontaneously here in the united states as well. These mutations are rising spontaneously in multiple markets. Theres no question that we need to quell the infection globally, not only to protect ourselves from new variants, but to reduce the Death And Suffering were seeing around the world from this virus. I do believe that theres going to be more than sufficient amount of vaccine available to vaccinated the world very soon. I think the challenge will be delivering it. Were going to have billions of doses available by The End of this year, probably, that could be made available around the world, and i think companies will be willing to step up and make that vaccine available. Were going to have challenges distributing it. I think thats where we need to start focusing on it as well, not just the supply, but also the distribution. Theres lots of parts of the world where its hard to get and get vaccines administered. Europe saw the largest decline in new cases and deaths last week compared with any other region. This after a major spike in cases in the latter part of 2020, where europe had the highest Sevenday Average for new cases in the world. Katty, it seems that theyre responding, at least seeing the issue and bringing numbers down. The European Union was pretty slow in getting vaccines. They messed up the Procurement Stage of this. Now theyre picking up, which is what we expected them to do. So youre getting higher Vaccination Rates. There is a bit of a worrying spike in the uk over whats being called This Indian Variant and the uk is meant to open up fully in the middle of june. There are some medical officials saying, maybe thats not such great idea, so the government is weighing that carefully. But everybody looking at these new variants as the doctor was suggesting, and i was just wondering, dr. Gottlieb, so far, we havent had a variant that looks like its escaped the vaccine. Can we start feeling a little bit more confident that there wont be a variant like that . I know in vietnam at the moment theyre looking at a variant that is a mixture of the uk1 and the indian1, or do you think its only a Matter Of time that there is a variant in the World And Asia is seeing quite a Big Spike at the moment that does escape the vaccine and that would be seriously worrying to everybody here in the u. S. Its hard to know. Right now, youre right, we havent seen variants that have fully defeated the vaccine. I think that we could have a higher degree of confidence that theres not going to be a situation like we have with influenza, where All Of A Sudden a new mutation arises and the Vaccine Isnt effective at all. I think well see variants that emerge where the vaccines werent as effective against the Origin Form of the virus. The vaccine doesnt seem to be as effective as it was against the Origin Wuhan Strain of the virus. Sometimes you get a phenomenon in virology where you can have two mutations that individually arent really that concerning in terms of their ability to defeat the vaccine. But when you combine those two mutations in a new strain, suddenly that virus behaves a lot differently. Weve seen that evolve, theres a strain in vietnam that has two different mutations in it that weve seen independently in different strains now combined in one new strain. So sometimes those combinations could be very concerning, because you get a much different virus that emerges as a result of those combinations. Dr. Gottlieb, you mentioned camp a minute ago. I want to ask you more about kid, because i think part of the celebration in this country, when adults could get vaccinated, now 12yearolds and up can readily get the vaccine, people feel like theres been some liberation here. But for kids younger that that, not the case. Obviously, they havent been vaccinated yet. Dr. Fauci said, probably The End of the Calendar Year before you can get down really to vaccinate young kids. What is your message to parents who have young kids about Summer Camp and looking ahead to school in the fall. How should they be feeling and handling their kids . I think in Summer Camp, the risk is manageable. Kids outside are at low risk of transmitting the virus. As they move into indoor settings and Summer Camp, it should take precaution, maybe wearing your mask in stuffy spaces. We need to remember the basics in the summer, respiratory pathogens dont spread very efficiently in hot, humid weather. As kids who return to school, kids who are unvaccinated, as you get back into the classrooms, schools will take certain precautions. I would fully expect all schools to be open, but i wouldnt be surprised if districts start using masks at the beginning of the year until they wait and see what happens. What the Infection Levels thereby, what the prevalence will be. If Infection Levels stay low, a lot of those measures could be withdrawn. But people will take a cautious approach as we reemerge into the school year. But kids are less likely to get the infection, less likely to transmit the infection, less likely to get very sick from the infection. The kids have been at lower risk at overall. Final point, were not going to be able to be able to prevent one child from being asymptomatically infected and spreading the infection to another child in a Summer Camp setting. Well need to try to prevent Summer Camp outbreaks. And i think we have the tools and know how to manage the flow of children in a way that can prevent outbreaks in a Summer Camp setting. Okay. Dr. Scott gottlieb, thank you very much. His forthcoming book, uncontrolled spread why covid19 crushed us and how we can defeat the next pandemic is out in september. Thank you very much for being on the show this morning. Still ahead on Morning Joe, dnc chair Jamie Harrison will join us us an the potential impact of the controversial bill in texas that democrats have blocked for now. Plus, My Exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. From Prom Dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for Meningitis B. Although uncommon, Up To 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. Now as youre thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing Meningitis B vaccination. Welcome to allstate. 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And mines unlisted. Try boost® High Protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. Versus 16 grams in ensure High Protein. Boost® High Protein also has key nutrients for immune support. Boost® High Protein. You love rich, delicious Ice Cream. But your stomach doesnt. That disagreement ends right now. Lactaid Ice Cream is the creamy, real Ice Cream you love that will never mess with your stomach. Lactaid Ice Cream. I think the intent, and im not in the state legislature, is to restore confidence in the elections that Fraud Isnt taking place. Now, you make a great point. Im a federal prosecutor. In a court of law, you know, that hasnt really been born to bear, this may be more of an optics issue, restoring confidence with The American people, and in my state, you actually do believe there was tremendous fraud. That was republican Congressman Michael Mccaul of texas, who thinks theres a need for a new Voting Bill that republicans are pushing in the state. Its not really fair in a sense, mika, to just keep replaying him, because what he says is is what every elected american across america thinks. Its are what trumpappointed judges said. Its what the u. S. Supreme court, in effect, said, by not finding widespread voting problems, so there was no Landmark Case that was decided upon. So this is what republicans are saying and thinking and thinking behind the things that they know that there was no widespread voter fraud. Its whats Liz Cheney has been saying. They all believe it. They just know they cant utter those words out loud or theyll get in trouble, because Donald Trump will turn on them and a lot of their primary voters will turn on them. Joining us now is Jamie Harrison. And Gene Robinson has the first question for you, jamie. Jamie, from your seat as head of the dnc, im wondering, do you see these prepressive Voter Laws as an existential threat to the democratic party. Do you see that as how theyre intended . Good morning, everybody. Good morning, gene. I dont think about it as a threat to the democratic party. I think about it as a threat to our american democracy. Weve been down this road before. You and i grew up in the same hometown. My grandma and i just had a conversation. We went to visit her this weekend and had a conversation about these laws that are being enacted across the country. And she remembered these types of laws that are targeted towards communities of color, specifically black communities. So weve been down this road before. We see all of these things happening. Not only the attacks at the ballot box, but also these attempts to change and rewrite our history. And we cant stand for it. This is one of those break the glass moments, because our democracy really is in balance. And weve god to do everything that we can. And i applaud the texas democrats In The House who utilized the only thing that they had, which was their ability to walk the hell out and say, were not going to stand there and allow you to take away the most sacred right of the texans in the state. So weve got to do everything we can to stop this craziness. Just to follow up on genes question, on the the Ground Level as a practical question in the state of carolina, and now in the state of texas, georgia, and across the country, are you concerned that the changes in some of these laws might cost you important elections . Those Set Seats in georgia were won by the slimmest of margins with new laws in place. Are you concerned its going to hurt your party . Well, willie, at The End of day, im not sure about that. But this is the thing. Its going to make it harder for americans who are eligible to vote to vote. I would love to see 100 voter participation, because im confident enough in the democratic principles and values that we stand for and the candidates that we have to get into the arena and make the case to The American people. The republicans arent confident enough in that, because at The End of the day, they know the only way they can win is to cheat. And that is why they are changing their laws. This texas bill is so bad. It is probably worst of all of these bills were seeing from Georgia To Arizona to florida. This bill lowers the threshold for courts to throw out elections. It allows the political goons to come to black and brown communities and intimidate them while theyre voting. It goes after souls to the polls. This is the most blatant attempt to really curb black and brown voting that ive seen in my lifetime. So weve got to do and Stand Up. And this wasnt be partisan. This shouldnt be democrats versus republicans. Americans should all Stand Up and say, enough is enough. Weve been down this road before. Why the hell will we go down it again . There are two pieces of federal legislation pending. Hr1 and hr4. Both deal efficiently and effectively with the issue that youre talking about here. Which one do you think would be of more immediate benefit to you . Hr1 or the John Lewis Hr4 Act . I dont know if we can separate the two. We need both. We need both. Hr4 which is the John Lewis voting Rights Act strengthens the Preclearance Part that john robertsons Supreme Court gutted, which basically allows the Justice Department to review these laws to make sure theyre not discriminatory in that practice. And it opened pandoras box. And it was the most shortsighted decision that weve seen in a long, long time out of the Supreme Court. And there are a lot of shortsighted decisions. But its created chaos around the country. At the same time, we still need some efforts to push back against these efforts that, you know, hr1 takes the dark money out of politics. Hr1 allows inflation. It allows The American people to make the decision on who they want to remembers them. Lets not curb that. Its so sad to see these same republicans, they were on the floor of the House Of Representatives and they were applauding those moments where iraqis dipped their fingers in that purple paint and said, oh, look at how america allowed this democracy to thrive once again. Well, why are we doing everything that we can in this country to take away the right to vote of american citizens. Thats whats on the republicans . This is not about integrity, this is about them taking political power and i would be damned, we will not allow them to do that. Mr. Chairman, Katty Kay has a question for you. Katty . Jaimee, thank you. Weve had a delay from the White House in terms of getting legislation through the senate, having had a kind of rapid start to this administration. Some of that has been about reaching out for bipartisanship, increasingly, it sounds like thats not the way that the White House thinks its going to get things done. But i hear so much frustration from democrats over the role of Joe Manchin. What do you think could be the thing that gets Joe Manchin onboard with the White House agenda, including on Hr1 And Hr4 . Im sure Senator Manchin said he was very disappointed in seeing the fact that republicans filibustered an bipartisan commission to look into the roots of the insurrection that we saw on our capitol on january 6th. You know, its almost unfathomable, that i think back to when i started watching politics and looking at the democrats and republicans and people you could respect. Yet you would have a congress who basically had people breaking into the sacred halls of congress looking to lynch and kill the speaker of the house, and not have one voice to research that and find out what happened and how to make sure it wouldnt happen again. I hope they understand that history is going to look at All Of Us to determine what we did in order to protect our democracy. This is that time that you have to break the glass and do what is necessary in order to keep our democracy in this great nation. Dnc chairman Jamie Harrison, thank you very much for coming on the show this morning. Up next, My Exclusive Sitdown Interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Morning joe is coming right back. La harris. Morning joe is coming right back im here and suddenly. My migraine takes me somewhere else. Where theres pain, and nausea. But excedrin pulls me back in a way others dont. And it relieves my symptoms fast for real migraine relief. Im evies best camper badge. 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And i want to put the world on notice, america is back. The competition of the 21st century, the future, will be built right here in america. Doing nothing is not an option. Magenta . Magenta crying Magenta Announcer the epson ecotank. No more cartridges. Just lots of ink. Print whatever makes you happy. The epson ecotank. Just fill and chill. 41 past the hour. Now to My Exclusive sitdown with the Vice President of the united states, Kamala Harris. The 56yearold is a lot of things to a lot of people. Wife, mamala, Vice President , and trailblazer. The Vice President is one of four women on the cover of forbes and its the first cover in the magazines firstever, inclusive capitalism special issue, which looks at how societal change can ensure everyone has equal access and an equal chance to achieve success. She is also launching The List of those being recognized as part of know your values special 50 over 50 initiative with forbes to celebrate women who have achieved notable success at Midlife And Way beyond. So first of all, congratulations for being like the head of the first club and this list, but first, first, first, its got to be wonderful and stressful. Well, you know, my mother had many sayingings, and one of them, she would often say was, kamala, you may be the first to do many things, make sure youre not the last. And thats so much of what your work has been. Thats a lot to carry, for sure. Were so excited about this list because there are so many of us. And im just wondering, when you were in your 20s and 30s, did you ever imagine your career after 50. Nope. I know. Me neither. But by that, i mean, ive never thought of that and ive never been one to do a fiveyear plan. Like, never. I havent ever evaluated myself based on my age. Its been based on a task. Mmhmm. And thats really how ive kind of lived. You know, i just think that i will say that i think that there is so much that we still need to do to encourage girls and women of every age to know and internalize their capacity and internalize their strength and their gift, whatever that may be and to not be burdened by other peoples limited views of their capacity based on who has historically done what. And pace yourself, youve got a long time. Do what you need to do. And do whats in front of you well and the next thing will come. I mentor a lot of Young Women and a lot of the things i believe and i say is figure out what kind of gives you your brain a tingle. The thing that you want to read more or you want to debate it. The thing that makes you feel something, because youre going to work hard, whatever you do. But if you have the luxury and it is a blessing and a luxury, to be able to follow your passion, but if you can follow your passion, do that and the other things will come. Was there a point in your career where you thought maybe you had a longer runway than you thought . No. I mean, listen, like, i again, tell a lot of people i mentor, i eat no for breakfast. So have i been told many times during my career things from oh, youre too young, its not your turn, theyre not ready for you, no one like you has done it before, ive heard all of things many times over the course of my career, but i didnt listen and i would encourage anyone whos been told that, whatever their gender, to not listen, because again, dont be encumbered by Tin Ability of others to see the potential of who you are. I think its really important to recognize the limitations that other people have based on their expectations and not to impose that on ones self. We get set back by nos, i think. You get a no and a lot of them take it really personally. I love that you eat them for breakfast. Heres the piece of it that is at its core. Who has the authority to tell you who you are . You know, you dont let people tell you who you are. You tell them who you are. Thats how i feel about these things. Minion moore submitted the nomination for you for forbes 50 over 50 list. She wrote this. Vice president harris believes that everyone, no matter what their circumstances in life may bring, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Her vision is an america where everyone sees the themselves and everyone is included. With so many Small Businesses, especially run by women, shut down and brutalized by the pandemic, how do you envision getting access to capital to marginalized entrepreneurs . Im so glad you brought this up. This is one of my areas of focus, i care so deeply about this. One, lets be clear about where we are. Half of Americas Workforce works for a Small Business or owns a Small Business. Sadly, during the course of our pandemic, one third of our Small Businesses have closed. Lets add on to this, if you lift up the economic status of women, lift up the economic status of families, all of society benefits. And womenowned Small Businesses range from the Child Center to the Software Company and what i have seen in my travels is that womenowned Small Businesses, many of them, these two of them, is running a restaurant and one is running a catering business. I met with them and said, how did it go in terms of starting out when you had this vision. And both of them said, i heard a Word Id never heard before. I was told i was unbankable. So they went to a bank to start their business and they were told that they were unbankable. That they basically were not worth the investment. And so what ended up happening is both of them found a way to actually have people who believe in them and one of the things that we should do more of is invest in Community Banks called cdfis which are in the community and have the ability because theyre in the community to see the vision of these incredible entrepreneurs. Thats some of the work im doing. And ive met Community Bank cdfis, theres one thats run in south dakota thats focused on the native american community there. And the banker, the person who runs the Small Business, which is a Community Bank, said, you know, there are Native Americans in the community who have a vision for opening an operation to make quilts. Because ceremonial quilts, quilts for special occasion. People buy those, they want them, theres a market for it. And they may go to a traditional bank get the investment, but traditional bank doesnt see the vision, right . But the Community Bank does. So im focused on working with Community Banks to make sure that Women Entrepreneurs who have a vision, that they are respected and can go to a place where they are bankable. Im thinking of the women over 50, especially, who have been forced into early retirement, who dont want to be done. Who cant afford to be done. Thats right. What do you say to them and what can businesses and government do to help these women . Well, theres a lot. First of all, there is the whole issue of right to return, right . So to your point, i have spent a great deal of time working with women who work in the hospitality industry, culinary workers, hotel workers, in las vegas, for example, and a big issue going on there is that they were laid off during the pandemic, because, of course, theres no business, but now theyre fighting to get their jobs back. And the older the woman, the more fear she has that she will not be rehired. And so theres a whole Push Legislation and for people to support those womens right to be able to return to work. So, there has to be a perspective on behalf of every branch of government that recognizes these women lost their jobs through no fault of their own, they should not be penalized for a pandemic they did not create and they absolutely should not be penalized for their age. Because, by the way, they bring experience to the job and they have an investment in the work theyve been doing for in many cases a couple of decades. And theyve got many decades to go. Absolutely. What is your advice to women in their 20s and 30s who feel like they have to pack it all in and stressed and feel like there is a Clock Ticking and there is a time shelf on their life. One, continue with your ambition and dont apologize for it. And continue to believe that you can do whatever you want to do but also know you have a right to expect things like affordable childcare, you have a right to expect paid family leave when you need to take care of your children or your elderly parents. That you have a right to expect that you will be seeing in the full dimension of who you are and your responsibilities. And that they should be supported. These things could coexist. So when i say do not accept false choices, that you have to choose either this thing or that thing, that is a false choice. Dont accept it. She eats no for breakfast. Thank you to the Vice President and to mignon moore for nominating her and tomorrow on Morning Joe you could meet the class of leaders and creators who make up the first 50 over 50 list selected from over 10,000 nominees. And ive written an essay about this on know your value. Com and our time is now. Katy kay, it sure is and what i love about this entire enterprise and it is much more to announce about this later in the week, about some events in the next few months, but i love the message for younger women, because i always felt like i was in some sort of mad rush at the beginning of my career. And i feel like this message said plain and clear to women, youve got a long Runway And Tomorrow you will meet these incredible women who have cemented it. Yeah, i love this. I love this notion that youve got a long runway. Because youre might when i was in my 30s and early 40s, having kids, i was constantly frazzled and as a society and families we havent figured out that whole thing of how to be able to balance kids with careers. We just havent fixed it. The Childcare Isnt there, men arent pitching in enough. And i think if you could say to younger women in that stage, take a breath, it is okay, you have all of these years afterwards, and by the way, that experience that youre building up when your kids are young, actually the process of being a parent, of being a mother, that is super valuable experience. Youre doing crisis resolution, youre doing negotiations, youre fixing problems on the fly, all of that actually i think increasingly about be recognized as valuable Work Experience when we go back into the workplace. And we have a bunch of women and i cant wait to see those in their 50s Tomorrow who say we are going to look down and help younger women, too. It is a really exciting moment. It is great. 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, these women have paved the way. That message of pace yourself, slow down and the value of it is really res nant when you meet this group of beautiful and incredible women tomorrow. Kati, thank you. And still ahead, President Biden delivered a forceful defense of Democracy And Today he heads to oklahoma to mark 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre. How the victims of that racial violence are being remembered a century later. Morning joe is coming right back. G right back with Voltaren Arthritis Pain gel, my husbands got his moves back. An alternative to pills, voltaren is the first full prescription strength gel, for powerful arthritis pain relief. Voltaren. The joy of movement. This is a gamechanger, who dares to be fearless even when her bladder leaks. Our softest, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected, and undeniably sleek. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. 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 . As your business changes, the united states postal service is changing with it. With ecommerce that runs at the speed of now. Next Day And Twoday shipping nationwide, and returns right from the doorstep. Its a whole new world out there. Lets not keep it waiting. So, you have diabetes, here are some easy rules to follow. No. You know what you want . No fettuccine. No fries with that. No foods you love. No added salt. No added sugar. In a can . You cannot. No pizza. Have that salad. Unless theres dressing. Then, no. Remember, no skipping meals. But no latenight snacking. And no sleepless nights is this stressing you out . no stress stress. Is bad exercise. But no overdoing it and no days off easy, no . No. No. No. No. No. Or. You can know. with Freestyle Libre 14 day, know your glucose levels and take the mystery out of your diabetes. Now you know. Sir, do you know what you want to order . Yes. Freestyle libre 14 day. Try it for free. Breyers is always so delicious. Yes. I can tell that they used your milk, matilda. Great Job Moo youre welcome. Breyers natural vanilla is made with 100 grade a Milk And Cream and only sustainably farmed vanilla. Better starts with breyers. Empathy is the fuel of democracy. Our willingness to see Each Other, not as enemy or neighbors, even when we disagree to understand what the other is going through. Democracy must be defended at all costs, for democracy makes all this possible. Democracy. Thats the soul of america. And i believe it is a Soul Worth Fighting for and so do you. A soul worth dying for. President biden yesterday, a beautiful shot of the White House this morning. That was the president speaking at Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day. Good Morning And Welcome to Morning Joe. It is tuesday, june 1st. Along with joe, willie and me, we have Msnbc Contributor mike barnicle, mara gay, and white House Reporter for the Associated Press Jonathan Lemire doing Double Duty this morning. Wow, so a couple of things. First of all, it is june. Oh, my god. Im sorry. When did that happen. I think we were like in the middle of february. I really need to read the paper a little bit more more. Check a calendar. Lets look on set. This is incredible. Look at this shot, joe. Where were all of the time, at the top of our building at 30 rock, never left New York. But on set and well see you there. I think at some point how is Memorial Day, willie, how was your Memorial Day, what did you do . I spent most of it watching the yankees be swept by the lowly Detroit Tigers and plummet back in the a. L. East so, it was a cold rainy day in the new York Area for many reasons but im excited to be around the table today. Its been a year and a half since weve had a group this big around the table so things are coming back. Were coming. That is it. And i think tomorrow it is like mardi gras. Were going to be around the table and have yes. Were throwing beads, it is going to be fantastic. Mike, how was your Memorial Day, what did you do . It was wet and cold but it was wonderful because Memorial Day is one of my favorite days of the work. It brings back so many memories of growing up when Memorial Day was a much bigger day in the sense of memory than it is today. But it was wonderful. It was wonderful to be with the grandchildren, my kids, we were altogether. Couldnt ask for anything much more than that. Jonathan lemire. I spent it in the cradle of liberty, wilmington, delaware, on president ial Pool Duty where it was cold and rainy. But to further mikes point, the president On Sunday addressed in front of the group of Delaware Veterans not just a sacrifice that they and their families made for those lost in service but he made it deeply personal and spoke about his son beau who had died six years ago that day. And certainly this president understands what Memorial Day is all about and the sacrifice that american families have made. Well, and you know and beau told him and bowe told us when he came on the set whenever we talked to him, it was obvious his Military Service and the friends that and colleagues that he knew and lost in the wars, he felt like that was the most important thing he did in his life. So obviously it is very personal to the bidens just like it is for so many families. Mara, also, were watching Joe Biden yesterday, its so interesting that if id heard any president talking about democracy and we need to fight for it, five six years ago, i would have said thats great, but we assume that is the reality in america for over why is he talking about democracy. Almost taking offense. Why is he talking about democracy and it just really it is another sharp reminder of where we are in 2021, that there are ill liberal socalled democrats across central and Eastern Europe, a growing totalitarianism across the globe and a growing number of american bhoz are saying that they want the Election Results overturned and theyll even resort to violence if you believe the polls, to achieve those ends. That is right. The president is talking about democracy, because democracy is under threat at home and abroad. It was even more meaningful when you think that we spent the past four years having a president if we remember wasnt that long ago, i dont want to misquote him but i think at some point he called veterans losers. So i think there are millions of americans for whom yesterday was a very solemn day and a reminder that democracy is and freedom are truly not free. It is not trite if youve lost someone in war or if you were out marching for civil rights in the 60s or for Voting Rights last year, or this year with what is happening in texas. This is an emotional day for my family as well. My Uncle Donovan died from an Agent Orange like cancer that he got in vietnam. So i think the families have sacrificed to build this democracy and to hopefully expand it. I think a majority of americans who voted for Joe Biden want to see this democracy endure and expand to be better and to include All Of Us. And like you said, joe, there are many that dont want that. And it is so were so sorry for your family. But it is a reminder there are so many families that were remembering yesterday. And not just for those who died in battle, but for those who died from the effects of Battle And Weve certainly seen it over the past decade, the past 20 years, the number of Young Americans committing suicide that served our country in uniform. And it is just, again, it is something that bears repeating every day about those remark sacrifices. Willie, speaking of trite and i hate to bring this up, i really do, but speaking of trite, you look at trite attacks of the Vice President On Friday, you want to go after somebody because of policy that is something but to use Memorial Day because you tweeted have a nice long Memorial Day, let me just educate everybody out there, yesterday was Memorial Day. I know some of you are new at this, some of you have forgotten what it is like to be americans. The last four or five years have been unamerican destabilizing, i didnt say that, destabilizing. Memorial day was yesterday. Memorial day is over the weekend. And willie what was so remarkable about remarkably trite and small about the fake outrage that was aimed at Kamala Harris On Friday for a tweet, was you just i think George Conway said you want to go there. You really want to go there. You want to look at Donald Trumps tweets on Memorial Day about his economy and how great everything is going, et cetera, et cetera. Nothing to do with sacrifice. A guy for four and a half years had absolutely no idea how to connect with those who have sacrificed for this country. It made what happened On Friday all sort of more trite, the more sad that people were that desperate to attack on this weekend. Yeah. And as you say, Donald Trump who many, many of them support if their attacking Kamala Harris that way, put out a massage talking about Gas Prices for memorial Day Weekend and remember how great your president Donald Trump was and that the uptick in prices is taking place because of Joe Biden, it turned into an attack on the sitting president. So enjoy the long weekend from Kamala Harris, obviously there is some hypocrisy going on there in a day, yesterday especially, joe, when there are so many families out there if you think about for example the vietnam veterans war, my dad fought in vietnam and he had an experience with Agent Orange that affected his life and still does today, mike, there are 58,318 names on that wall alone and when you stand and look at that wall you Cant Help but think about the lost of potential and the lost futures. I feel that when i look at it. I think about my dad and if he were on that wall, there is no me or my kids arent around. So there is such a depth to a lot of families in this country for what Memorial Day means. You know, willie, first of all, the wall is overwhelming just by itself. Overwhelming to look at all of the names and to be there and see people Finger Tracing the names of Loved Ones lost or friendships ended in vietnam. And the Agent Orange effect on people still today that was mentioned by mara and im sure it effected your dad. I know several people who were deeply effected. But yesterday the importance of president Bidens Speech i think was a critical component to Memorial Day. The idea of giving a speech about Democracy Sort of defining what democracy meant to him and to us has long been on his mind, jonathan. Long been on his mind. And he gave it yesterday. On the the perfect day to give it. Especially given the confluence of events around us, the texas legislature, the whole flap about voting and i think if you speak to people and i know you do in the White House, the idea that the republicans in the united States Senate sort of ignoring the house to a certain extent, but the republicans in the united States Senate, jonathan, are such a Monolithic Block has surprised him. Yeah, no question. And defending democracy has been a theme of his starting with the campaign running against Donald Trump but also taking office and hes set the takes very high saying that america needs to prove that democracy could still work at home in order to be a rival, to compete with the autocracies abroad particularly china, that we need to prove this still works that The American democracy still works and part of that message is to the republican party and suggesting that democracy means voting, democracy means what should be not an insurrection and therefore a commission to investigate it which we saw go down in defeat On Friday. And there is there has been real Surprise And Dismay from the president and his advisers, sure, there have been a couple of republicans that they could deal with on issues, whether it is infrastructure but certainly on the bigger picture stuff, but it is a block that has been incredibly stubborn and difficult to penetrate and the president knows the stakes are high and republicans, he believes, need to get on board. And still ahead, a preview of President Bidens visit to oklahoma to commemorate the anniversary of one of the darkest chapters in american history. What his trip to tulsa says about race relations today. Youre watching Morning Joe. Well be right back. Well be right back. Im here and suddenly. My migraine takes me somewhere else. Where theres pain, and nausea. But excedrin pulls me back in a way others dont. And it relieves my symptoms fast for real migraine relief. As your business changes, the united states postal service is changing with it. 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Sir, do you know what you want to order . Yes. Freestyle libre 14 day. Try it for free. Another day, another chance. Yes. 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. Welcome back. President biden will travel to Oklahoma Today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Biden will tour the greenwood cultural center this afternoon alongside several of his top cabinet members and advisers. Hes also expected to deliver remarks at the site of the deadly violence where a white Mob Murdered Hundreds of Black Americans. Nbc News Correspondent Antonia Hilton has more. Reporter tulsa Greenwood District transformed into a Community Memorial as residents and visitors marched and honored descendants and few living survivors. 100 years ago an estimated 300 estimates of the Greenwood Neighborhood were murdered by a white mob. 10,000 of them fled as homes and livelihoods were destroyed. One family lost their Tailor And Shoe shop. This is our final chance to put pressure on City And State who we feel are responsible for the massacre so we feel that this is our final chance to get Restitution And Repair the city of tulsa. The question of restitution has been the center of Conversation And Tension as black residents and Lawmakers Press for reparations. That is what were saying out here today, reparations now for those survivors and the descendants and rebuild black Wall Street. But p. T. Bineam said he declined so speak to the news. John Legend And Stacey abrams backed out of a ceremony. What is the overriding emotion for the ceremony this weekend. I think that they are hoping that this will wash over quickly and then it is back to regular business for them. For myself, for my community, i feel like it is the sunshine coming in. And Shining Light On 100 years of oppression and generational trauma. And do you feel like youre still carrying it on your Shoulders Today. Oh, without a doubt. Reporter Damans Family lost their Grocery Store in the massacre. He believes the best hope is to lean on Each Other for support. A lot of focus is on the reconstruction and not the rebuilding so holding my granddaughter it is about the future and not so much about the past. And rebuild black Wall Street together Against All Odds just as they did in 1921. And mara, of Course Weve been talking about Connective Tissue that have drawn americans together for so long. Of course, tulsa is a reminder of so many americans who never felt that connection and these pictures come back 100 years later as a stark reminder of what has happened in our history and what so many americans today are still fighting for. Yeah, it is a really challenging story for several reasons. One of them is just we were talking about veterans and the Connective Tissue that that could build and that is absolutely correct. Of course then you look at what happened in tulsa and we have images today of hundreds of World War i black veterans from World War i being rounded up and put into the equivalent of local Concentration Camps and many of them lynched. It is a very harsh, difficult history that really is i think still present today when you think about today we still have survivors from this. The other reason this is an important story is because i think americans, especially white americans, but americans in general tend to be very good at for getting history but also tend to think that slavery was a very long time ago and that discrimination was a very long time ago. The reality is that is just not the case. So we have individuals i spoke actually to dr. Olivia hooker, who was one of the last survivors, she died in 2018. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to interview her both in High School and then again at the Wall Street journal and she survived the massacre as a little girl. She remembered people walking through her backyard with torches and she and her parents hid under the table in the Dining Room watching them and she had just gotten a Baby Doll and she had the clothes for the Baby Doll that were hanging on the clothesline and the rob returned to burn the Doll Baby clothes on the clothesline. That is a story that i got a chance to hear in person. And so i think that the Connective Tissue is also Trauma And Wonder and this is not the only town in america where this happened. There is an image of those veterans there, i believe. But it doesnt mean that The American experiment is for not. What it means is that it is far more complicated and has been far less inclusive than we want to believe. I think the way forward of course is a country together is to acknowledge this history before you move forward. Doesnt mean you have to stay there forever. It means you need to acknowledge it and remedy the pain through reparations or other means an then you could move on together and that has to be a part of our american story moving forward or it will come back to haunt us in forms like Donald Trump and other ways that we havent even imagined. Coming up, Kennedys Avenger legal analyst Dan Abrams joins us with the forgotten trial of Jack Ruby. Morning joe is back in a moment. 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Although uncommon, Up To 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. Now as youre thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing Meningitis B vaccination. vo this is more than just a building. Its an aipowered Investment Firm with billiondollar views. A cuttingedge datasecurity enterprise. Yes, with a slide. A perfect location for the worlds first onehour delivery. An inspiration for the next workout cult. And enough space for a pecanbased nutrition bar empire. It could happen. This is where dreams become brick and mortar. Find yours, on loopnet. Were going to turn back to politics now and an update on the fight over controversial new Voting Legislation in texas. Democrats were able to temporarily stop the passage of the Voting Bill On Sunday by walking out before the vote deadline. But in a statement following The End of the legislative session, republican Governor Abbott called the Vote Billet Mustpass Emergency Item and promised to add it to a Special Session wait, wait, Emergency Item when actually yes, an Emergency Item, black people want to vote. A Texas Congressman said that there was actually no irregularities, that this was for optics only. So Jonathan Lemire, of course texas democrats are now saying that democrats in the Senate Need to do something with Hr1 And Hr4. But again the preposterousness of this where nobody is alleging widespread voting fraud. Abbott never alleged widespread voting fraud. There was a New York times Magazine Article that we talked about where even Allen West was saying stop talking about some italian dude coming to texas stealing the election. Its all a sham. Its all about optics. It is all about cleaning up a mess that Donald Trump and the republicans created themselves by lying and the Big Lie and theyre talking about now, quote, an emergency, a mustpass bill. His racism is showing. This is just preposterous. It is rare when Allen West is the voice of reason, joe. Were seeing this battle of Voting Rights go state by state. Abbott wants to strip the legislature of pay, prevend them from being paid of what theyre doing here. But this all does feel like the undercards, right. For the main event. Which is the federal legislation, the John Lewis voting Rights Act and other measures that congress is likely to take up later this summer. And we know this is going to be an extraordinary important moment and both democrats and republicans are gearing up for it. Mitch mcconnell was Doing Committee work a few weeks on this, speaking out against the idea of expanding Voting Rights which shows you how seriously he and other republicans are taking this and that is partially why this president who knows from his time in the senate knows about the sequences of legislation, is trying to do everything else first. Trying to do infrastructure first. Ahead of because they know the Pitch Battle will be over Voting Rights there is a hope there could be maybe a bipartisan agreement on this because there certainly wouldnt be on the voting Rights Issue and that more than anything else is where the future of the filibuster is in doubt. And as john just mentioned, texas democrats are calling on democrats in washington to do more to protect Voting Rights. One Texas Lawmaker called on the president to push for a national strategy and another called on Congress To do their part. Anna malmer is a Msnbc Contributor. It is good to see you this morning. It took this last Straw Stunt for democrats to walk out and deny republicans a quorum to stop the bill for now at least if the state of texas. What is happening in the congress though on Capitol Hill in terms of Voting Rights . What is the future of these pieces of legislation . I think jonathan laid that out pretty well. But basically were all looking to july. Chuck schumer has said that is when he plans to bring hr1 of this massive bill that would deal with a lot of the voting Rights Issues at the federal level that weve seen prop up in many different state wheres conservative legislations are trying to peel back some of the Voting Rights. At this point there is no support in the republican party in the senate to forth some kind of agreement on this voting Rights Act that schumer is going to try to force a vote on at The End of july. The question really is going to be i think is this going to be the issue that keys up The End of the filibuster, will you see senators like Joe Manchin support this or not. So far it doesnt appear there is that Enthusiasm Or Appetite to take that up and say this is what the filibuster is going to blow up over but they are willing to take the vote and that is something that youll see Chuck Schumer force. I dont understand for the life of me, i just quick editorial Side Note here, hr1 is a Train Wreck waiting to happen. I have no idea if they dont start with John Lewiss hr4. And people i talked to on The Hill, sa yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Joe Manchin Andker stin cinema, others are sitting back and letting manchin take a lot of the flack for things that they dont especially love themselves and he doesnt mind it. I think in fact he probably likes it. But, you know, anna, i dont understand why they dont just move on hr4, the John Lewis Voting Rights bill. It is going to be a lot more difficult for republicans to vote no on that. Im sure they will. But still it is a lot cleaner shot at Voting Rights and it is following through on the legacy of one of the great civil rights heroes of our time and it makes a difference immediately, the Supreme Court actually guided Congress To do this several years ago so why dont they just walk through that door. Hr4, so much cleaner than hr1. Youve seen senator Joe Manchin say that he would support that along with lisa murkowski. There is not big bipartisan support. I think that is just fundamentally where the republican party is and when you at where Mitch Mcconnell is, hes not going to let his Members Vote for this. This is not a vote of conscience like we see on other issues. I think Chuck Schumer has stuck his line in the Sand And Hr1 is where hes going to put his political backing moving forward and that is the Issue Hell Push forward in july. It is not the John Lewis Voting Bill. Coming up, the Memory Thief. A new book reveals the secrets behind how we remember, why the author calls it a medical mystery. Morning joe is coming right back. Right back before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. Now no fruit is forbidden. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . [sfx kids laughing] [sfx bikes passing] [sfx fire truck siren] onstar, we see them. Okay. Mother and child in vehicle. Mother is unable to exit the vehicle. Injuries are unknown. Thank you, onstar. My son, is he okay . Your sons fine. Thank you. There was something in the road. Its okay. Youre safe now. 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The day where everything goes right. Or the one where nothing does. With Comcast Business you get the network that can deliver Gig Speeds to the most businesses and advanced cybersecurity to protect every device on it all backed by a dedicated team, 24 7. Every day in business is a big day. Well keep you ready for whats next. Comcast business powering possibilities. Yesterday began on a numbing note of horror. With millions of americans as spectators. It built to a moment of intense Grief And Hearttugging emotion and continued on a high emotional note throughout the evening and the morning hours of today, monday. It began with a fatal shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, by Jack Ruby in the basement of dallas police headquarters. Here is how it looked and sounded on live television. The voice of that of tom pettit. Hes been shot. Hes been shot. Lee oswald has been shot. That was a 1963 Nbc Today show report on the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Four months later it took a Dallas Jury about two hours of deliberation to find Nightclub Owner Jack Ruby guilty of murder. His conviction later was appealed but ruby died in prison of Lung Cancer before a new Trial Date could be set. The entire ordeal is part of a wide network of conspiracy theories surrounding president kennedys assassination. Joining us now the author of kends avenger, the forgotten trial of Jack Ruby written by Dan Abrams. It is great to see you. Youve written a series of books where you dive head first into a piece of history that doesnt get a whole lot after tension so how did you arrive at this trial . Well and this one in particular is amazing that it hadnt gotten more attention. Because as you showed right there, this was the story of the early 1960s. And this trial was the story of 1964. I mean, the Worlds Meefdia was at this case. And it was it was so highprofile, the fact that its become a Foot Note to history, Jack Rubys case, yes, the deliberation was relatively quick, but the trial itself was fascinating. I mean, there were celebrity witnesses, there were celebrity lawyers. There was at one point a Jail Break that occurred literally in front of the media that was gathered there at the courthouse. This trial was a spectacle and as you pointed out, Jack Ruby died an innocent man, meaning this conviction was overturned and he was preparing for a new trial where i think he would have presented a very new defense than the one that he presented in the case that did exist. Dan, what threats have pulled on for a new trial, for a new defense. I mean given there are so many threads to Jack Ruby, to the trial, to his case, to the event that propelled him into eternal memory, there was so many threads to it, his criminal or his associations in the background. What threads would he pull on if there had been, if he had lived and had been a new trial. So the new trial would have been a defense of effectively what we know as manslaughter. He would have said i acted in the heat of passion. There was no malice of forethought. I wanted to protect jackie from having to testify. John kennedy was a beloved president to me and he would have gotten less than five years if that had been the case under Texas Law at the time. Instead, at this trial, he pursued an Insanity Defense and not just insanity, he pursued a defense that he did not remember the event itself. That he was an epileptic saysure and in what is called a Fug State and he has no recollection and the jury quickly rejected that. The much smarter defense in this case would have been the one he likely would have pursued in a new trial which would have been dont convict me of murder, dont sentence me to death, just give me this lesser crime where i get five years or less in prison. So Jack Rubys lawyer chose to use that defense strategy, many suggested he might be the crazy one but he had fought enough battles in enough courtrooms to remain confident he could convince a jury Jack Ruby was a sick man and not in control of his senses when he had committed what would ordinarily be considered a murder by laying out his approach in the Bail Hearing he had provided prosecutors with an early Road Map of the case to come. But belle isle felt disclosing his defense to help in the court of public opinion. The venue in which the jurors would but selected. The defense has commissioned Jay Clemons to poll dallas residents about whether they believed Rube Yif was sane. In december 66 answered yes but after intense coverage of the two Bail Hearings, the firm asked the same question again and this time only 40 responded that they thought ruby was sane. The gamut appeared to have paid off. That is interesting as a defense but tell us more about Jack Ruby, who has been shorthanded in history as dallas Nightclub Owner and then we see the Video Clip that we just saw again this morning. Who was this guy . Take us to what led him to that moment. He was a never do well. He was a bunch of failed clubs an never able to succeed in anything that he had done. And a lot of people looked to his background to say that is the key, right. This is a guy who had low Level Mob connections and been to cuba in 1959 and that shows he was probably part of a conspiracy to kill John Kennedy. But when you actually dig into who Jack Ruby was. He was a loser. He was one of lifes losers. And increasingly he did develop some level of mental issues. The question is how severe were they and what was the cause of them, et cetera. But the notion that sort of The Mob or cubans or somebody else would have hired Jack Ruby of all people to be the assassin to kill the assassin is kind of absurd when you get to know who Jack Ruby was. Well, dan, you let me to my next question was over all of the years of conspiracy theories, the argument has been that Lee Harvey Oswald had to be silenced and Jack Ruby was the guy that someone Behind The Scenes chose to silence him. Did you see in the research for your book and your investigation any evidence that he was doing anything other than acting alone . So we dont draw a conclusion in the book about that. The book is about the trial. But i will tell you that having now researched this, i dont think there is i chance that Jack Ruby was acting with anybody else. It is clear to me that Jack Ruby was acting alone. And how do we know that . I think there are three key factors. Number one is the timing. Lee Harvey Oswald was supposed to be moved at 10 00 in the morning on the day he was killed. All of the media was there to watch him be moved. Jack ruby is still at his home. He eventually gets near there at 11 17 a. M. , an hour and a 15 minutes later because Hes Wiring money to one of his someone who worked at one of his clubs and happens to stroll over to the Police Station and low and behold within a Minute Oswald is walked out. And he takes that opportunity to kill him. And he was there as an assassin. You get there on time. You dont take the advance of being an hour and a 20 minutes late and say oh, look at that, low and behold, we got lucky. He had another opportunity two days before when oswald walked right past him. If he was an assassin why dent he do it two days earlier. And finally he referred to his beloved dog, in his car. Knowing Jack Ruby, he would not have left beloved sheba in the car. Sheba, wow. Dan, one element of this thing is striking to me, The American judicial system, so John Kennedy is killed on november 22nd, 1963, Jack Ruby kills oswald or shoots oswald on the 24th and this trial is held early in 1964. The speed, the pace of the judicial system then on this one trial compared to what happens today. Today if it happened it would be probably tried two years from now. It is a really good point. And when you think about the fact that there was also a ton of expert testimony in the case about the his psychological state. And those cases take even longer to allow the experts from both sides to spend time with the defendant, to write reports, et cetera. But youre right, this case moved very quickly. But ill tell you, that is in part because the defense wants it to move quickly. Rubys attorney wanted it to move quickly. And typically in the cases the defense could be asking for the extra time. An it is a fascinating story. The new book is Kennedys Avenger, Assassination And Conspiracy and the forgotten trial of Jack Ruby. Congratulations on the book. Always good to see, you my friend. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it. Mika. Thank you, dan. Another story, police in miamidade are still searching for those responsible for a shooting at a Banquet Hall that left two dead and 20 injured. Three people were shown getting out of a white suv with guns and a few minutes later they return and drive off. Police later found that same suv in a canal not far from the scene and it had been reported stolen about two weeks earlier. Police believe an ongoing rivalry between two groups was likely the cause of the shooting. Police are offering a reward of 30,000 for information that would lead to an arrest. And up next, the fda nears a decision on whether to approve a muchneeded alzheimers drug but critics say it should be rejected. Well explain that just ahead on Morning Joe. You love rich, delicious Ice Cream. 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Were at the top of the hour and less than a week from the deadline from the administrations controversial alz alds drug. The fda has until monday to decide whether or not to approve it. This would be the first treatment since 2003 and the only ever to slow the deterioration in Brain Function caused by the disease, not just to ease the symptoms. However, critics say the Drugs Trial data Shorts Proof of proving the drug actually works. For now though, a cure for alzheimers remains illusive to medical researchers and our next guest explores why. Joining us now, awardwinning Science Journalist Lauren aguirre. Shes author of a book described as a medical mystery described the Memory Thief the secret behind how we remember. I want to get to that but first i want to ask you what inspired you to focus in on memory and to write this book . So about ten our so years ago i had a sudden Memory Loss that was really terrifying and really complete. Just out of the blue everything i knew slipped away. I didnt know who i was, where i was. I had no connection to the past or future. So this really left me with an abiding appreciation for how surprising the brain can be and how devastating it is to suddenly lose your memory. For me, it was just a collection of neurons that were firing incorrectly and i took some medicine. It was a type of seizure, and im fine. Of course, for many, many, many, people, Memory Loss is an ongoing and devastating injury and condition. And do you look at actually kind of a case, a mystery really it really is, in this book the Memory Thief, what is the Memory Thief . The Memory Thief in my book is sentinel. We know how many people died of opioid overdoses but in some tiny percentage of people who survive, they wiped up with a tragic Brain Injury because fentanyl zeros in on the hip owe campos, the Memory Center of our brain. If you look at the Mri Scan of these people right after the overdose, the Hippo Campus, the two structures in the back grow bright right, and because we hit the part that forms new memories, they Wake Up this the in the Hospital And Cant remember anything new. They still know who they are and know who their mother is but they say again and again and again, why are you am i here . You overdosed. 30 seconds later, why are you here . You overdosed. Its very, very sad. They went home with a Brain Injury, needing support and not getting support. Its a very tragic and rare injury. And you tell the story of how one neurologist noticed this on i guess an Mri Scan, something about it, that stood out . Yes. But how did that become ultimately the thief that you chase throughout this book . So this neurologist was someone i turned to for a second opinion when i had my seizures and hes a sensible, reasonable person. He said youre fine. Just take your medicine, and you will be fine. So im lucky. He noticed he and several other neurologists noticed this first case in 2012 and gradually went around and looked for help and identified many other cases. Theres now cases across this country and other countries. But they wanted to sort of turn this tragedy around and say, okay, now that we know in some rare cases opioids can damage the hippo campos, how can we turn that tragedy into something better and say how can we protect our memory . Lauren, how much of alzheimers is her ridtary . Most cases are not ha redtary. Its a small percentage. 95 of cases are just alzheimers, alzheimers no clear gene causing it. What would we be doing today treating alzheimers without the sophistication and increasing sophistication of mri machines . So its very difficult. Any Brain Disease is difficult in alzheimers in particular, because it starts so early, 15 to 20 years earlier than you even have symptoms. There probably are many causes. One of the reasons its been so hard to find a treatment is because it happens so early. And without knowing what the cause is, what do you do . So but i think as ive gone around and researched and spoken with a lot of alzheimers researchers, despite all of the failures and there have been 25 failures of clinical trials for the dominant theory of what causes alzheimers, its called the amyloid beta hypothesis, theres now really a renewed sense of optimism. People talk about a renaissance in the field, new technologies where they dont necessarily have the answers but they can see how to get the answers and theres also a willingness to look outside the spotlight. So, lauren, in this book though, you track two narratives in this mystery, trying to figure out these matching mris first found by Jeb Barrish and then matched and it goes back to one narrative, which is opioids and what causes that Memory Loss. The second is the treatment of the Hippo Campus for Memory Loss and potential connections with perhaps progress on alzheimers . Right. So this is very early days, but this is the value of looking at strange cases and saying, okay, what did we not understand before about the brain . So the idea here is to say, okay, now we know opioids damage the brain. Can we create a new animal Model Or Mouse alzheimers model for testing drugs . Thats the foundation for developing new treatments. Another idea to look at is to say, what about people who are taking opioids as prescribed long term for chronic pain . Are they in subtle ways damaging their memory . And this would be particularly a concern for older people who are already vulnerable and who are given opioids long term at higher rates than other people . And the third and more hopeful idea is to say, okay, if opioids can damage the hippocampus, what about an antiopioid . This would be something like nall trexen,s which used to block opioids. So is there a way to stave off the Memory Loss, the kind of Memory Loss people get early on in alzheimers and even just getting a few more years of fewer symptoms can make a huge difference . Solving the mystery leading to many, many important questions, the Memory Chief the secrets behind how we remember is how today. Lauren aguirre, thank you very much for being on the show. Finally, we have been talking all morning about signs across the country americans are eager to get back to life as close to normal. Things are picking up at the countrys airports and restaurants. New York City subway is busy again and hollywood is hoping for a Blockbuster Summer as well. Nbc News Correspondent Steve Patterson reports. Reporter for movie lovers across the country first time in a long time. Reporter this holiDay Weekend marked a mile stone. The Movie Biz on track to break 100 Million in ticket sales, something that hasnt happened in more than year. Now with more than 70 of theaters back open, audiences are racing back to the big screen. We like to get the popcorn, get a soda and just have that experience theyre looking of making. Run reporter a quite Place Part ii expected to make in 60 Million over the weekend. Disneys cruella expected to make more than 40 million. This will be important, it will tell all of the naysayers despite having all of this great content available at home, theres nothing like the bigscreen experience. Reporter three major chains cinemark, amc and regal are all dropping mask requirements for fully vaccinated movie goers but they say they will still keep procedures like Sleet Blocking and enhanced cleaning in place. While we may be a long way from normal, leave it to the Box Office to offer hope for a hollywood ending. Thats a big number for a quiet place ii. We will see if it continues through the summer. That does it for us. Stephanie ruhle picks up coverage. Hey, steph. Hi, there, im stephanie ruhle. Its tuesday, june 1st, the start of five month. Heres whats happening. Travel is Up To its highest levels in over a year as americans are turning home from the holiDay Weekend. As scenes at stadiums, family gatherings and beaches a sign things are returning to normal. But theres new concerning data for unvaccinated americans. Meanwhile, down in the state of texas, the battle over a new re