almost over. plus, the coronavirus outbreak as bad as it's ever been with cases, hospitalizations, and deaths hitting record levels. with the united states once again in a full-blown crisis, the question is, will we see more lockdowns? and progress in covid relief talks, as mitch mcconnell and nancy pelosi are finally negotiating again. the question is, are the sides too far apart to strike a deal by the end of the year? it's "way too early" for this. good morning! welcome to "way too early," the show that has had plenty of time to practice online shopping ahead of the holidays. we're ready for it. i'm kasie hunt on this friday, december 4th. we will start with the news. the president is disappointed in his attorney general for not looking hard enough into why he didn't win the election. bill barr said this week there wasn't enough evidence of fraud to overturn the election, making him the top administration official to speak the truth. but will barr, whose job is not to be the president's personal attorney -- let's remind everybody -- will barr remain at the justice department? >> do you still have confidence in bill barr? >> ask me that in a number of weeks from now. they should be looking at all of this fraud. >> okay. trump has just 47 days left in office. nbc news reports that the president has not ruled out firing the attorney general but that a sudden departure is not seen as imminent. i guess we'd better just watch his twitter feed for that. and despite what they are saying in public, it sure seems like a lot of republican senators are quite aware joe biden will be our next president. >> there have been more than several sitting republican senators who privately call me and congratulate me. and i understand the situation they find themselves in. and until the election is clearly decided in the minds where the electoral college votes, they get put in a very tough position. >> biden believes that in ten days, most republicans will start to publicly acknowledge his win. that is, of course, when the electoral college members formally meet to vote. according to our tally, biden has 306 electoral votes and has now received over 7 million more votes than donald trump did. meanwhile, there is new reporting on the justice department investigation into that alleged bribery scheme involving a presidential pardon. two people familiar with the investigation tell "the new york times" that it concerned efforts of the attorney to jared kushner, abbe lowell, and republican fund-raiser elliott broidy, who pleaded guilty earlier this year in a different lobbying scheme involving the trump administration. it's kind of hard to keep them all straight sometimes. the "times" reports this -- a billionaire san francisco real estate developer -- sanford diller -- enlisted their help in securing clemency for a berkeley psychologist who'd received a 30-month prison sentence on a conviction of tax evasion and improperly claiming social security benefits. under the suspected scheme, they write, diller would make a substantial political contribution to an unspecified recipient in exchange for the pardon. citing court documents, the "times" reports, quote, as part of the effort, someone approached the white house counsel's office to ensure that the clemency petition reached the targeted officials. an attorney for broidy release'd a statement, saying his client was asked by mr. diller to refer him to a d.c. lawyer who could assist on a clemency petition. mr. broidy sent him to abbe lowell. that's not lobbying, the attorney claimed. lowell's attorney said that his client's role was, quote, honorable, predictable, ethical lawyering. it was utterly predictable, given the task he was given to accomplish. lowell's attorney also said that if the client approached the white house counsel's office for clemency, it was, quote, utterly routine. he said lowell's involvement was in the early days of the trump administration in early 2017. diller died in february of 2018. the white house isn't commenting and has referred inquiries to the department of justice. a justice department official told nbc news earlier this week that no government official is or was a subject or target of the investigation. when your lawyer needs a lawyer, you know you're in a little bit of trouble. meanwhile, politico reports that the president is still considering preemptive pardons for up to 20 of his allies, but there's concern -- gee -- that it would look like an admission of guilt. it's been reported that the president has discussed pardons for his family and personal attorney rudy giuliani. according to politico, some around the president are worried that he could tarnish his legacy or harm a future campaign if he expands pardoning power in this way. republicans have expressed frustration, but they have not confronted him over it. the president has not made any decisions about pardons, as he and his team contemplate the legal considerations and political consequences. according to three people familiar with the discussions. joining us now, political correspondent for business inside insider, sonam sheth. we know that the president is very focused -- and i'm understating -- focused on his public image, how he is perceived, but we also know he is worried about what might happen to him and his family after leaving office. and it seems like in this pardon situation, those two instincts may be colliding. if he wants to run again in 2024, how does potentially pardoning his close associates and his own family on the way out affect that? i mean, it does -- it really seems to me that it would send a message, yeah, we're guilty of something. >> yeah. good morning, kasie. so, the biggest thing, the biggest takeaway from the string of media reports that we've seen about the president considering pardoning 20 of his associates, his personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, his three eldest children, his son-in-law, jared kushner -- the biggest takeaway from that is, despite what the president says publicly, the reality of his election loss is very much sinking in for him and he's sort of eyeing, you know, what's going to happen after he leaves office on january 20th, and especially what happens after he loses the presidential immunity that he has right now from being indicted, right? we've repeatedly seen him express concern not just about the federal probes targeting him, but especially about two new york fraud investigations, because the pardon power does not apply to state-level offenses. we saw him specifically single out those probes in the sort of 46-minute rambling white house speech that he gave the other day that he posted on facebook, and he specifically was talking about those two new york investigations which shows that these probes are weighing on his mind. we know that his children could potentially be ensnared in them because the investigations primarily focus on the trump organization and the president's business dealings, which his kids are all intricately involved in. so, yeah, it certainly raises questions about not just the potential criminal exposure that trump and his kids could face post presidency, but also, what does this mean for his potential 2024 run? what we do know is that the public statements he's making about not conceding the election have a lot to do with his posturing for 2024, but all that could be up in the air if he and potentially those around him are indicted after he leaves office. >> well, of course, it's worth pointing out and underscoring that a federal pardon doesn't insolate you from those state-based investigations that you focused on. so it's a smart point. sonam, i want to talk about joe biden here for a second and what he had to say about republican senators who have called him. i mean, this is something that i track a lot on the hill, and it's very clear when you have private conversations -- and i know a lot of people are frustrated by that reality -- but private conversations are completely different than the public ones. what's your sense of -- it's clear that this is kind of a personal move by joe biden to try and give these republican senators the space that they need. he's talked about not embarrassing people and how that's helped him get deals done. what's the sense behind the scenes of whether that's a strategy that's going to pay off in the long run or whether the partisanship in washington has changed so much, even since joe biden was in the white house as vice president, but certainly, since he was in the senate, that those kinds of gestures aren't enough to bridge that gap anymore? >> yeah, it's a really good question. the first thing i would say is joe biden has a record more so than a lot of other democratic lawmakers and democratic officials of, you know, being a bypass vice president, being bipartisan when he served in the senate, and he has a personal relationship with a lot of these republican lawmakers who have been unable to publicly acknowledge his victory, but who according to him have called him privately to congratulate him. and so, a lot of what he's saying may have to do with his efforts to, like you said, bridge, potentially bridge those divides between a democratic white house and a republican senate. and that's why so much of biden's agenda weighs on the upcoming georgia runoff elections. it's also interesting because we just saw reporting yesterday that one of the republicans running in that election, senator david perdue, has privately acknowledged joe biden as the winner of the 2020 election. he did so in a private video call with other republicans. and so, you know, with that tacit acknowledgement of biden's win, it also raises questions about, you know, what's going to happen when trump visits the state over the weekend, given the gap in messaging. >> a lot of nerves about that visit on the republican side. business insider's sonam sheth, thank you so much for getting up early with us this morning. we really appreciate your insights and your reporting. and still ahead here, georgia is expected to recertify joe biden's election win today, but rudy giuliani went before state lawmakers yesterday in another effort to change the results. plus, what joe biden is saying about the possibility that president trump won't attend his inauguration next month. we'll have those stories and a check on your weather when we come right back. check on your weather when we come right back. find your rhythm. your happy place. find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. did you try it yet? comparing plans? oh yeah. they sure can change year to year. i found lower premiums - and lower prescription costs. and those new insulin savings! hundreds of plans, $35 a month. that'll save you money. so uh, mark? on medicare.gov now. open enrollment ends dec 7th. comparing plans... ...really pays. paid for by the u.s. department of health & human services. welcome back! time now for sports. coastal carolina and byu have revived their opportunities to reach a major college football bowl game. the two undefeated teams both ranked outside of what's typically new year's six bowl range, will square off on saturday after coronavirus concerns canceled coastal carolina's originally scheduled matchup against liberty. coastal carolina has already clinched a berth in the sun belt conference championship game. the addition of a quality opponent boosts byu's weak schedule, which was rebuilt when power five conferences decided to play mostly league games because of the pandemic. this weekend's game could position the winner for a chance to reach a major bowl early next year. two of college football's top bowls, the rose bowl and the fiesta bowl, have announced that they won't allow fans to attend. the rose bowl, home to one of college football playoff's semifinal games, it will be played on new year's day in pasadena, california, requested special permission for limited attendance but was denied because of covid-19 restrictions. and the fiesta bowl, which is going to be played january 2nd in glendale, arizona, won't allow fans but will allow families of the teams playing to attend. meanwhile, alabama head football coach nick saban has cleared covid-19 protocols and will travel with the top-ranked crimson tide for saturday's game against lsu. that's a big one. the 69-year-old saban tested positive for the coronavirus on november 24th and said he received a plasma treatment during his ten-day quarantine that worked wonders. must be nice to have access to that kind of thing. we do wish him the best. there is a bright future on the horizon, meanwhile, for the nba champion los angeles lakers, after the team's two most important players agreed to new contracts on consecutive days. with lebron james signing a contract extension that locks him in for two more seasons beyond this one, free agent anthony davis will also reup in los angeles on the longest possible deal. davis' agent tells espn that the all-nba forward has formally agreed to a five-year, $109 million max contract to stay with the defending champs. wow. meanwhile, the big baller brand can now boast three brothers in the nba after the detroit pistons signed liangelo ball to one-year nonguaranteed deal. the contract allows him to try out for the team in training camp and then join detroit's g league team in the event that he's waived. outspoken father, lavar ball, tweeted that he's proud of his sons as liangelo joins his brothers in the nba. lamelo ball was the last in the draft last year, joining the hornets, and the oldest, lonzo ball, is currently heading into his fourth nba season, his second with the new orleans pelicans. and the win streak for the top-ranked south carolina women's basketball team has been stopped at 29 games. the gamecocks lost their first contest since november of last year, falling in an upset, obviously, to eighth-ranked nc state last night. the 54-46 victory marks the wolfpack's first win over a number one team since 2007. time now to take a look at your weather. let's go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. bill, i think our saturday plans for a socially distanced outside visit with santa claus have been dashed for this saturday. what have you got? >> yeah, just kind of depends on where you are. certain areas are going to get hit by this storm and certain areas aren't. let's get into it. right now the storm is in the southeast, just bringing rain to you on this friday from areas of alabama also to georgia. as we take the storm tonight, we intensify it, more rain for virginia, mountainous areas of tennessee and also north carolina. then on saturday. now, the storm's trending a little closer towards the coast, so note that i paused this at 7:00 a.m. you'll wake up to rain most areas of new jersey, connecticut, also from boston southwards. and then the storm's going to go right over cape cod, and that means a rainy forecast for coastal areas of boston, but snow inland. so, we have winter storm watches for much of massachusetts, new hampshire, and maine. and here's your snowfall amounts, kasie. this is not a big snow-producing storm, unless you're in maine or new hampshire. it's just going to be too warm and too rainy from boston down to new york city, so the kids are not getting their snow from this one. >> all right, well, i, for one, hope that snow days in general survive this pandemic with all the virtual schedule. there seems to be some concern about that, but i guess we're going to have to wait to find out. >> yes. >> bill karins, thank you so much. have a lovely weekend and we'll see you on monday. still ahead here, we'll take a look at where stimulus negotiations stand on capitol hill as nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell resume talks about a coronavirus relief deal. we'll be back in just a moment. . we'll be back in just a moment every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. tget an iphone 12 with 5g on us on every single plan. switch now and save 20% on your bill vs. the other guys. that's right. iphone 12 on us. it's time to holiday on with t- mobile. you can crush ice, make nismoothies, and do even more. chop salsas, spoon thick smoothie bowls, even power through dough, and never stall. the ninja foodi power pitcher. rethink what a blender can do. don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin ♪ ♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪ ♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪ ♪ as long as i got you then baby ♪ ♪ you know that you've got me, oh! yea...♪ ♪ ♪just washed 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election fraud. trump's campaign has continued to solicit donations under the guise of supporting his legal challenges related to the election. but according to "the new york times," 75% of those donations are going to a new political action committee that trump formed in mid-november. the other 25% is going to the republican party. only if a donor gives more than $6,000 do those funds go toward trump's formal recount. the "times" notes that the trump campaign didn't release a breakdown of how the $207 million was divided with funds split between the new pac, paying off campaign debts, the rnc, and two committees operated jointly by the party and the campaign. it's really not clear where your money's going, folks. meanwhile, president-elect joe biden is weighing in on the possibility that president trump may not attend his inauguration in january. here's what he said last night in an interview with cnn's jake tapper. >> president trump has not said if he's going to attend your inauguration yet. do you think it's important that he's there? you're laughing. >> i think it would be important only in one sense -- not in a personal sense -- important in a sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that he's created that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there, shaking hands, and moving on. i really worry about the image we're presenting to the rest of the world. look how we're viewed. they're wondering, my lord! these things happen in tin horn dictatorships. this is not the united states. so, in that sense, the protocol of the transfer of power i think is important, but it is totally his decision, and it is of no personal consequence to me, but i do think it is for the country. >> so, that's where we are, folks. still ahead here, with coronavirus cases skyrocketing across the country, we'll bring in msnbc medical contributor dr. kavita patel to discuss the ongoing race for a vaccine. but before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake? email us your reasons to [email protected] or drop me a tweet @kasie. use #waytooearly, and we'll read the best answers coming up later on in the show. and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. let's be honest. quitting smoking is hard. like, quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so try making it smaller, and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. she's confident, protected, her strength respected. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. our own hopes and dreams. we'll pass many milestones. moments that define you. and drive you. to achieve even more. so, celebrate every one. because success isn't just about where you want to get to. it's also about how you get there the all new 2021 cadillac escalade. never stop arriving. it's also about how you get there vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. trusted soothing vapors, from vicks ♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:30 here on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm kasie hunt. since the start of the pandemic, the u.s. has set several grim records, and yesterday, the country once again surpassed its record for coronavirus-related deaths. according to nbc news' tally, more than 2,800 people were confirmed dead from covid-19 on thursday. the previous record came just one day earlier, when the country also saw the highest number of new infections and hospitalizations. yesterday was the third straight day our nation reported more than 2,000 deaths in a single day. and so far, nearly 277,000 people in the u.s. have died from the virus since we first started dealing with this pandemic. president-elect joe biden told cnn's jake tapper yesterday that he is in full support of getting vaccinated as soon as it's deemed to be safe. >> do you plan to get vaccinated before inauguration day? and will you do it in public, the way that presidents obama, bush, and clinton have suggested they're willing to? >> i'd be happy to do that. when dr. fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment at which i will stand before the public and see that, look, part of what has to happen, jake -- and you know as well as i do -- people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. already, the numbers are really staggeringly low. >> former president jimmy carter and his wife, roslyn, are also showing support for the covid-19 vaccine. in a statement, carter's spokesperson says the former first couple are in full support of covid-19 vaccine efforts and encourage everyone who is eligible to get immunized as soon as it becomes available in their communities. carter joins the list of former presidents -- barack obama, bill clinton, and george w. bush -- who volunteered to take the vaccine on camera, if it will help promote public confidence. joining us now, physician and fellow at the brookings institution, dr. kavita patel, a former obama white house health policy director and an msnbc contributor. dr. patel, it's great to see you again. thank you so much for being here with us so early in the morning. i actually want to start with what we were just focused on, which is this question of public confidence in the vaccine and the best ways to build that confidence. obviously, we saw these former presidents come out and say that they would do it. i'm personally wondering, is president trump going to do something similar, especially considering how his followers seem to pay so much attention to what he does? i mean, the mask-wearing, obviously, became such a political act. they want to take credit for the "operation warp speed," so it seems like he may be willing to, but i'm not sure he's gone so far as these other presidents. what do you want to see from president trump and from other public figures on this front? >> yeah, kasie, good morning. and i completely agree. i think that public figures need to lead by example. so, because the presidents, the former presidents, and the current president, actually, meet some of what we expect to be early criteria, based on age and co-morbidities, chronic conditions, i do think it would be a great example to see many people -- this includes, kasie, members of congress, trusted leaders, people of faith, people of color -- i think it would be an incredible example to be as visible and as public as possible. and by the way, kasie, that's in line with what we've done in past vaccination campaigns for really difficult things like the measles and the polio vaccine. so, i think there is some real credibility when you see leading figures. and i'll just say it, kasie. last night, a group of doctors, myself included, who were texting back and forth that we all want to be part of that. so, we were literally thinking of, you know, could we come up with creative hashtags and try to get a social media movement where we, hopefully, will be in this first of 25 million people who get the vaccines, and we would roll up our sleeves and show people, this is safe, i'm doing it, and it can spread the message. >> well, that's certainly something that we would be interested in here. and i think, you know, obviously, here on our platforms, but also media organizations across the country, hopefully, can also play a contributing role in helping you all get this incredibly important message out. what do you want to see from social media companies? there was some news this week that facebook was going to delete antivaccination messages from its platform. it's taken them a while for them to get there, but that's where we are, headed into the covid vaccination phase of trying to get this out to the public. how important is that? and how problematic do you think the antivaccination movement is right now as we head into this? has it been growing? >> it has been growing, kasie. i've already had just even with kind of very limited, you know, social media presence of many physicians and nurses, there has already been backlash on platforms such as twitter and facebook when doctors and nurses and technicians have said, you know, we're excited to get this vaccine. one doctor i know put it bluntly and said, tears welled up in her eyes when she thought about the prospect of getting the vaccine, in a good way. and she was immediately met by backlash on social media -- how do you know this is safe? and here's what i have to say, kasie, social media platforms, tech companies in general, do have a part to play, but we need to be incredibly transparent with the public. we should not hold back any information, including what we don't know about vaccines, because that will be the way to deal with the antivaccination movement, and we need to kind of shift this to identifying the real enemy here, the coronavirus, not each other. and that's going to be one of the, i feel, on social media, that will be a credible way to talk about this as well as showing that, you know, i'm ready, i'm going to roll up my sleeve and get two doses whenever i can. >> it's a very -- such an important message that i'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot more over and over again on our air, certainly. dr. kavita patel, thank you so much for being here this morning. really appreciate your insights. and still ahead, how the pandemic has led one major motion picture company to change the way hollywood does business. we'll have those details next in "the cooler." "way too early" back in just a moment. ooler. "way too early" back in just a moment my husband and i have never eaten healthier. shingles doesn't care. i logged 10,000 steps today. shingles doesn't care. i get as much fresh air as possible. good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age, increasing your risk for getting shingles. so what can protect you? shingrix protects. for the first time ever, you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about protecting yourself with shingrix. shingles doesn't care. shingrix protects. shingles doesn't care. you can crush ice, make nismoothies, and do even more. chop salsas, spoon thick smoothie bowls, even power through dough, and never stall. the ninja foodi power pitcher. rethink what a blender can do. if you have postmenopausal and a high risk for fracture, now might not be the best time to ask yourself, 'are my bones strong?' life is full of make or break moments. that's why it's so important to help reduce your risk of fracture with prolia®. only prolia® is proven to help strengthen and protect bones from fracture with 1 shot every 6 months. do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it, or take xgeva®. serious allergic reactions like low blood pressure, trouble breathing, throat tightness, face, lip or tongue swelling, rash, itching or hives have happened. tell your doctor about dental problems, as severe jaw bone problems may happen. or new or unusual pain in your hip, groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. speak to your doctor before stopping, skipping or delaying prolia®, as spine and other bone fractures have occurred. prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections, which could need hospitalization, skin problems, and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. don't wait for a break, call your doctor today, and ask about prolia®. ♪ welcome back. time now to gather around the water cooler for some of the things that will have people talking today. a family in australia had quite the surprise when, after returning home, they found a little koala hanging out in their christmas tree. i love this so much. the mccormick family's teenage daughter was the first to spot the little stowaway. and the juvenile koala, who was eventually named daphne, apparently wandered into the house because it liked the look of the tree. the family's matriarch told "the guardian" about her daughter's claim of a koala in their tree, saying, quote, i thought, is this a joke? i thought, one of my kids may have put a soft toy in there, but no, it was a live one. the koala rescue hotline operator also thought the story was a prank, and the rescue's co-founder said, quote, apparently, it took a little bit of convincing that, no, amanda really did have a koala in her christmas tree. it was just so gorgeous seeing it sitting there, just looking out. the rescuers responded quickly and released little daphne safely into some nearby trees. aw. now i want a koala in my christmas tree. i'm glad daphne is safe now. meanwhile, warner brothers is shaking up the way hollywood traditionally does business. this is big. the company announced yesterday it's going to be simultaneously releasing its entire 2021 motion picture slate in both theaters and on hbo max, blowing the usual 90-day exclusivity window for theaters out of the water. the caveat is that the new films, like "the matrix 4" and "in the heights," will only be released for a month on the streaming service, and then they'll cycle out to films' usual at-home release schedule like dvd and on demand, before making its way back to the service. the announcement comes as the coronavirus pandemic rages on and fewer people are going to movie theaters, which have obviously been hit very hard. toby emmerich, chairman of the warner brothers pictures group said the decision comes as the world takes the pandemic on day by day, saying, quote, it's not clear that full normal will return, even well into the fourth quarter of next year. the epidemiologists who have been consulting with the company have painted a cautious picture. the company claims that this is a pandemic-only response, but many industry experts are speculating that once the traditional old rules are broken, it's going to be hard to go back to the way things were. i think that's probably right. still ahead here, we're going to get the latest from capitol hill on the push for a new coronavirus relief package. and as we go to break, let's take a look at this date in history. in 2000, a pair of legal setbacks for al gore after a florida state judge refused to overturn george w. bush's certified victory in florida, and the u.s. supreme court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts. >> a florida state judge, little known outside his courtroom until last week, may have finally settled the presidential election, almost one month after voters went to the polls. judge sanders sauls turned back every argument made by vice president al gore's legal team in its contesting of the election. gore's legal team in its contesting of the election did you know that 70% of the soils on your clothes are invisible? 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"we had a good conversation," mcconnell said, after his discussion with pelosi. "i think we're both interested in getting an outcome, both on the spending bill and on a coronavirus package." both sides returned to the negotiating table amid growing support for a $908 billion bipartisan senate proposal that pelosi called a, quote, basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiation. the plan, which includes an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits and sends funds to cash-strapped state governments, is gaining support among senate republicans, despite early opposition from leadership. the white house spokesman said yesterday, the president is in favor of the more narrow measure that was introduced by mcconnell. joining us now, former acting secretary of labor under president obama, seth harris. he's also currently advising president-elect biden's labor department transition team. seth, good morning! it's great to have you here on "way too early." i want to talk about the economic ramifications here, because, clearly, this package is smaller than what democrats wanted, and it's taken months to get this far, to get to the point where we finally see some light at the end of the tunnel in these negotiations. there's a lot of damage that's been done in this time. what do you think is the task that's going to face joe biden, even if they can get this covid stuff out the door before the holidays? when biden takes office, what's at stake? what are -- how bad is it going to be in the economy? >> we're still going to be millions of jobs short of where we were in february, before the pandemic hit. we're still going to have tens or hundreds of thousands of americans online at food pantries, waiting to be able to feed their families. we're still going to have, perhaps, tens of millions of americans still collecting unemployment benefits. the economy is still in a hole, and we need to start the effort to get it out of that hole and start pushing it forward. and let me say, this $908 billion bill is a start. in my view, it's not enough, but it's an important start to get us going in that process. >> so, what do you think the first thing is going to be that biden's going to need to do when he takes if us? mcconnell said, essentially, this is only a piece of what's likely to be done, that there's likely going to be another large package that will come with the new administration. it's the first time he used the phrase "new administration." what do you think that needs to look like, to try and shore this up? >> well, i think the senate majority leader is right, and president-elect biden has been talking about this extensively. this coronavirus relief package that's being discussed right now and that we hope will be passed during the lame duck, is just the start. you know, again, we're going to be millions of jobs short, so we're going to need substantial investments in job creation throughout the economy. the president-elect laid out a plan called the build back better plan, to invest in infrastructure and manufacturing in the energy sector, in education, and the caring economy, in order to create good-quality, middle-class, union jobs. that's what we need in order to bring the american economy back, is to grow it from the middle out with good, solid, middle-class jobs. that's going to be one of the early tasks of the biden/harris administration. tasks of the bi administration, but the first task is crushing the coronavirus pandemic. as long as this pandemic is out there and tens of thousands of americans are getting sick every week and thousands are dying every week, we are not going to be able to overcome the economic challenges we are facing. >> yeah, very clearly that's the case. quickly, what's the disconnect? the stock market is doing so incredibly well. billionaires are making so much money. that's supposed to reflect the actual productivity in the economy, but we all know looking around at our daily lives that it doesn't. >> there is no connection between the stock market and the real economy anymore. the federal reserve has flooded wall street with money so that's what they're doing. they're buying stocks with it and it's growing. it is not a reflection of what's happening on main street in the least. >> all right. seth harris, thank you so much for getting up early with us. we really appreciate it. earlier on in the show we asked why are you awake? we got this, getting ready for the icu shift caring for covid-19 patients. definitely way too early. thank you for everything you're doing, samir. we really appreciate it. curtis emailed i'm up because me and my wife celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary today and i'm wide awake. happy anniversary that's a big one. and from tisch, we are tweeting at you because my cat noodle is hoping to see himself on tv. well, here you go, noodle. your television debut. thank you for watching. i feel like you don't necessarily look like you want to be awake at this hour but we're very happy to have you. i also got this note from jackie on twitter. no f'ing idea, says my husband, happy friday. i feel that way sometimes too. coming up next, we'll look at the axios "1 big thing" and then we'll have a check-in with acting director dr. richard besser after the u.s. posted the most coronavirus deaths ever yesterday. don't go anywhere. this holiday at t-mobile, get an iphone 12 with 5g, on us, on every plan! and if you're 55 and up, switch to our essentials 55 plan and save 50% on your bill vs. the other guys. that's right, iphone 12 on us! holiday on with t-mobile. 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>> it's always tough, because there's not a ton of organization around what trump wants to do. one, he's raising a lot of money, he's raising a couple of hundred million bucks since the election and he's using it to challenge the results but a lot he can stay relevant politically. he's talking about doing rallies and such post presidency to keep him in the mix. if he announces that he's going to run, he's just going to naturally take a lot of attention anyhow and his favorite person, his ally, will be running the republican national committee and that's infrastructure. that gives you power. that gives you relevance. so there is a vigorous debate happening behind the scenes about whether or not he starts to fade or whether he's done a lot of damage to himself post election by challenging all this stuff and always a faulty logic and law, but like you talk to the other people who want to run in 2024. how are you going to do it and carve out a new identity for the republican party if donald trump still commands their attention on facebook, newsmax, fox news. there's almost nobody. if you and i debated who's the second most powerful republican i guess mitch mcconnell but he's not going to run in 2024. that's nobody out there in the lead as long as trump wants to be president and he'll always want to be president. >> that's where i get totally hung up. you can't beat nobody with nobody and it's unclear if there's anyone. do you think what happens in georgia matters in answering this question? if what the president has done essentially causes the republicans to lose the two races because people don't show up, does that change the calculus? >> to be honest, i just try to look at what the recent history has shown us. he never gets blamed by the people. he might get blamed by the politicians and lots of people in washington that you and i talk to have had it with him and want him to move off stage, but 90% of the party is still supportive of him, they're probably going to blame somebody else and his power comes from the fact that he can still command the attention, the money, and the affinity from most of the republican base. as long as that exists, that gives him power. this idea that you could rewrite the story of the republican party and chart a new direction, like how? like where? i guess you can do it legislatively, but you won't control the agenda and you have him controlling the media and whoever has the microphone or the stage tends to have a dominant role in how people think about the party. >> and the republicans are still afraid of that base that gives him all of that power. jim vandehei, thank you for being here on "way too early." next week is the critical week as to whether or not americans will get the help they need in congress. don't go anywhere. thanks for getting up "way too early" on this friday morning. 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