Transcripts For MSNBCW Meet The Press 20200601

Want to call our military. Well have reports from around the country. My guests this morning, keith ellison, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, washington d. C. Mayor muriel bowser, and val demings. Also, those protests happening in a country already on edge from a virus that killed more than 100,000 americans and put more than 40 million out of work. As much of the country is trying to return to some form of normalcy, often ignoring social distancing. You see no masks here. You see no fear. Were all just embracing it. Prompting fears of a second wave. Every community is one wild weekend from falling off the cliff. Joining me for insight and analysis are msnbc anchor joshua johnson, maria teresa kumar, president of voto latino. And former republican governor, pat mccrory of North Carolina. Welcome to sunday and a special edition of meet the press. Announcer from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is a special edition of meet the press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning. America is waking up today to two crises. One is so new its actually called the novel coronavirus. The second, another kind of virus, institutional racism. Well, thats been with us for some 400 years. Overnight, there were protests in dozens of cities across this country, anger erupting over Police Brutality toward africanamericans. Most demonstrations were peaceful. Others had confrontation and yes, some violence. A look around the country, from washington, d. C. To chicago to new york to where it all started, minneapolis. This, of course, comes after a black man, george floyd, was killed in police custody. When a Minneapolis Police officer kept his knee on floyds neck until he was dead. The officer, derek chavin, has been charged with third degree murder and Second Degree manslaughter. All this while the country was tallying the losses from the coronavirus. We have now lost more than 104,000 lives to the coronavirus and 40 million jobs as well. In both of those cases, africanamericans have been particularly victimized and both cases, President Trump has failed to respond in a manner we have come to expect from previous president s. It was not to glue people together, but to exploit the racial divide. He initially tweeted when the looting starts, the shooting starts, though he later tried to walk it back. He seems more interested in changing the subject, let alone addressing it. Tweeting instead about mailin balloting, barack obama, russia, china, my colleague joe scarborough, the media, the stock market, and twitter itself. So were following two hugely consequential and historic stories and were going to start with the nationwide protests. We have correspondents all across this country and well begin with Shaquille Brewster reporting on the ground from minneapolis where things were much quieter last night. Shaq, what do you got . Good morning, chuck. For the first time in four days, minneapolis residents are waking up to scenes absent of burning buildings and overnight widespread destruction. An historic activation of the National Guard insisting the local and state police have allowed officers to regain control of the city even as protests continue throughout the city. By the thousands yesterday, protesters came out to demonstrate and clean up the mess from the day before while also trying to remain peaceful in the name of george floyd. A man who we learned this week was considered a man of peace and kindness by his friends and family. But after protesters violated an 8 00 p. M. Curfew, officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd to clear the streets. Protesters say theyll continue to come out, continue to demonstrate, until justice is served. Justice for them is the rest of the three remaining fired Minneapolis Police Department Officers involved in the death of george floyd. Chuck. Shaquille brewster getting us started in minneapolis, shaq, thank you. Turning to blayne alexander. Shes in atlanta, where like minneapolis, things were also quieter last night. What can you report . Yeah, chuck. Good morning to you. Last night, what we saw play out on the streets of atlanta was a much different, much calmer scene than what we watched unfold on friday night. And thats due in large part to two things more rules and more resources. Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered everyone off the streets of atlanta by 9 00 p. M. , and we also saw National Guard troops come in to try to help contain the crowds. Atlanta police tell us they made 70 arrests overnight, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has authorized even more National Guard troops as many as 3,000 to fan out across the state of georgia as officials here prepare for another night of protests. Chuck. Blayne alexander in atlanta, thank you. Garrett haake is here in washington where hes been following the nightlong protest in Lafayette Park across the street from the white house. Garrett, it was a rough night friday night. How was it last night . Another rough night out here, chuck. Look, largescale public protests are nothing new in washington, d. C. Theres nothing more american than coming to the Nations Capital and yelling at your government, but we saw i think unprecedented levels of anger last night, and frankly, from the protesters i talked to, just exhaustion theyre back in the streets again protesting another Police Killing of another black man. A lot of the protesters say they were out here for freddie gray, for michael brown. They have been having these arguments, having this anger for so long, and they dont feel like its being addressed. And speaking of those president ial tweets of the government response, i asked a number of protesters what they thought about the way the president was handling this. The reaction i got the most was just brushing him off. This is a president who a lot of these folks believe no longer meaningfully speaks for them or to them. Theyre having this conversation without him. Chuck. Garrett haake at Lafayette Park. Thank you. And finally, let me bring in priscilla thompson. Shes in houston, George Floyds hometown. How were things last night . Well, a lot of grief here in houston, chuck. You know, last night or over the course of the past couple days since friday when demonstrations began, more than 200 people have been arrested, but these protests have been by and large peaceful and nonviolent. Instead, what we have been seeing is a number of vigils popping up to honor the life of george floyd. His classmates from Jack Yates High School gathered and released balloons and told stories of what it was like growing up with him, and while theres certainly a lot of anger here and a desire to see justice, theres also an interest in remembering who george floyd was as a person and celebrating that. This comes after the governor has announced George Floyds body will return to houston for funeral services, chuck. Priscilla thompson in houston there where, again, they are mourning the death of their hometown resident, george floyd. Thank you. And thank you to all. Joining me from minneapolis is Minnesota Attorney general keith ellison. Mr. Ellison, welcome back to meet the press. I want to start with the issue of this outside instigators, i guess. Were trying to understand who are the people responsible for this violence. Yourself, the governor, minnesota, has indicated that there is some domestic terrorists out there, perhaps some white supremacists. Bill barr, the attorney general, characterized the outside instigators this way. Let me play that bite and get you to respond. Many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchic and left extremist groups. Far left extremist groups using antifalike tactics. Many of whom travel from outside the state to promote the violence. Now, its our understanding, mr. Attorney general, that according to the justice department, they got that intelligence from state and local authorities. What do you know about whos behind this . Well, heres what i know. Theres been a lot of videotape taken by demonstrators of people who are very suspicious, who really did start breaking windows, particularly at the auto zone and there have been other, you know, photographs and cars with no license plates. Very suspicious behavior, but the real point is we need to investigate it because the truth is nobody really knows. I have talked to people demonstrating. Some of them say they think some of the folks are from minnesota and some may have come from out of town. What the exact political motivation is is unclear at this point. We need to investigate it, but what i would say though, particularly as it relates to bill barr and the president , is they have not brought a single pattern and practice lawsuit against a major municipality where theres systemic Police Abuses in america. They have actually tried to walk back their involvement in key states where they existed under the Obama Administration. They have not moved forward when it comes to 21st century policing, which the Obama Administration started. So i think the federal government does have a role, but it needs to be constructing a better relationship between cities and the Police Departments that serve them and making incendiary comments about whos to blame here as opposed to actually investigating it isnt helpful. We need their help to be more constructive and less assigning, you know, blame on matters that actually we dont know the truth of yet. Do you want to see federal charges brought against these four Police Officers, and do you think that will happen under this attorney general . Yes, i do. And i dont know. I hope so. I can tell you that our local u. S. Attorney is a very constructive partner. Erica mcdonald is a minnesotan. Shes a serious prosecutor and Law Enforcement person. And i do trust her. The folks she works for i hope just leave her alone and let her do her job. Let me ask you whats your understand of whether the three other Police Officers, we heard the county attorney saying he expected charges to be brought. Where are we on that, and what do you expect those charges to be if they are brought . Well, you know, i know that were early in the process, chuck. I mean, at this point, there is the two charges of third degree murder and Second Degree manslaughter. That complaint could well be amended to include other additional charges or even higher charges. And the other individuals are not out of the woods. The investigation is ongoing. In answer to your question of what charges, i dont know. I would be speculating. Its not my case. Its not my case. But you know, certainly aiding and abetting is a possibility. And there are others as well. So i think that that is something that the county attorney mike freeman is looking into now. And we expect to hear something in the fairly recent, near future. Big picture, mr. Attorney general. A lot of americans, minnesota has the minnesota nice image. Minnesota has an image of, you know, i know youre an africanamerican man who got elected statewide as attorney general, as the states chief Law Enforcement officer. For some people, they look add this and theyre surprised. Tell us the story of minneapolis and minnesota, why this shouldnt surprise people in your mind. Well, minnesota is kind of a tale of two cities. It really is a beautiful, wonderful place. I love it here. I have raised all four of my kids here. Theres so many great things about it, so many great people. And yet, we have very stark disparities when it comes to africanamericans. Health disparities in health care, Health Disparities in housing. Health disparities when it comes to employment. And disparities all around. I mean, ill give you a quick example. About 70some percent of minnesotans own their own homes but only about 27 of africanamericans do. Africanamericans are in a fragile economic position in this state. And we need massive investment, and what i say to people is, look, if we can have some of the highest s. A. T. Scores in the country, if we can have some of the highest voting participation in the country, highest Home Ownership in the country, for whites, we can do it for everyone. We just have to have the will to do it for everybody. I thing this sad, tragic situation might give us the energy to really, really make those kind of commitments because they are absolutely needed. Keith ellison, the democratic elected attorney general of the state of minnesota, appreciate you coming on this morning. I know its been a long week, long few months for everybody, frankly, in this country. Thanks for coming on and sharing your perspective with us. Thank you. And joining me now is the mayor of washington, d. C. , muriel bowser, and the mayor of atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Welcome to both of you. I know its been a long few days for both of you, probably very little time to sleep. Mayor bowser, let me begin with you. Report about last night. How was it compared to friday night . And do you feel as if that were going to see some calm Going Forward or not . Well, were certainly going to work for that, chuck. Were sending a very clear message to people that they have a right to exercise their First Amendment rights but not to destroy our city. So we saw a level of just destruction and mayhem among some that was maddening. Our crews are out right now cleaning up our city. And we are working with all of our Law Enforcement partners to insure calm in our city. Mayor lance bottoms, you were very passionate on friday night. You said at one point, youre not protesting anything running out with brown liquor in your hands and breaking windows in this city. Go home. You invoked your own 18yearold son, your own concerns, fears you have about him and your kids. How were things last night compared to friday night . Things were a bit more calm. They werent perfect. People were still out protesting by and large peacefully. We had a curfew last night, a 9 00 curfew. We ended up arresting about 157 people last night. So we know the frustration is still there. And all of the issues and all of the concerns and anger that were there on friday havent gone away. But this is more of a systematic issue that were facing thats going to take time for us to address. But certainly acknowledging the deaths of so many innocent people in america, and there are no easy answers, but as mayor bowser said, the solution is not to destroy our cities. Mayor lance bottoms, do you believe there were outside forces at work . We heard from the attorney general. He seemed to think there was some antifalike he said very radical left groups. We heard in minnesota the governor thought there were some very radical far right groups also involved. Have you seen any evidence of any of these outside instigators . What i know in atlanta is that this protest, even just from a physical standpoint, didnt look like our normal protest. We obviously have a large africanamerican population in atlanta. This crowd was a very diverse crowd. And that was noticeable on friday, even before the problems began. We also notice that many of the protesters even got lost when there was a detour, and many of our organizers in the city who often dont agree with me, have shared that these were people from the outside. They did not know them. And had no idea where they came from. Mayor bowser, you have a unique issue. You have one resident in washington, d. C. Who i think was back seat driving you on friday night. Im referring to the president. I know you believe he hasnt played a helpful role. You made that very clear on twitter yesterday. Can he play a helpful role still . Or is it too late . Well, i think that the president has a responsibility to help calm the nation. And he can start by not sending divisive tweets that are meant to harken to the segregationist past of our country, and he can start by doing that right now. We certainly urge him to do that. We, as mayor bottoms has just said, we have systematic issues in our country to address. And its going to take us at every level. Federal and local. Its going to take community and government to heal the hurt that people are feeling. So what you see in cities across our nation, what we saw last night, people who are angry and people who are hurting, and some not doing it in ways that are helpful to our cause, but we still have to acknowledge that hurt and that anger. Mayor bowser, this is happening during a pandemic. You just started a phaseone reopening in d. C. On friday. Im curious, are you concerned that the police wont be respected when they try to enforce social distancing rules right now . Im concerned that we have Mass Gatherings in our streets when we just lifted a stayathome order and what that could mean for spikes in our coronavirus cases later. In fact, im so concerned about it that im urging everybody to consider their exposure. If they need to isolate from their family members when they go home and if they need to be tested because we have worked very hard to blunt the curve. And while i saw some people with masks last night, others didnt. While i saw some people social distancing, others were right on top of each other. So we dont want to compound this deadly virus and the impact that its had on our community. Mayor lance bottoms, i want to go back to the president. Theres some talk he might give an Oval Office Address maybe in the next few days or at least some consideration for it. What would you like to hear from him, and do you think any of his words could be helpful here . What id like to hear from the president is leadership. And i would like to hear a genuine care and concern for our communities and where we are with Race Relations in america. We know that when he spoke on charlottesville, he made the matter worse. And were already were well beyond the Tipping Point in america, and its as my grandmother used to say, if you dont have anything good to say, sometimes you just shouldnt say anything at all. So your preference would be maybe he shouldnt bother with a televised address like this . I dont have an issue with the president of the United States addressing our nation. But i am concerned that this president has a history of making matters worse. Mayor bowser, before i go, theres some talk about the fourth of july celebration. The president wants to try to have one on the mall. Where are you on this . Chuck, even for the events of the last several days, we have been very concerned about large gatherings. We will not be in a position to allow parades in our city while were still in phase one of reopening from the coronavirus. Mayor muriel bowser, mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you both. I know its been a rough week and then some, a rough few months and then some. Good luck to you out there and stay safe and stay healthy. Thank you. Thank you. When we come back, is it possible to change how mostly white Police Departments treat africanamericans . Im going to talk to a former police chief and a current democratic congresswoman and a possible joe biden running mate, val demings, next. Stay with us. A possible future joe biden possible future joe biden running mate, val you doing okay . Yeah. This moving thing never gets any easier. Well, xfinity makes moving super easy. I can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. Wow, that is easy. Almost as easy as having those guys help you move. We are those guys. Thats you . The truck adds 10 pounds. In the arms. Okay. Transfer your Service Online in a few easy steps. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. You may heard the yam val demings a lot welcome back. You may have heard the name val demings a lot lately. Shes a democratic congresswoman from orlando, florida. She began her career as a social worker, became a cop, and rose to become chief of the Orlando Police department, the first woman to do so. She is also on the short list of women joe biden is reportedly considering at his running mate. In a column in fridays washington post, she wrote, as a former woman in blue, let me begin with my brothers and sisters in blue. What the hell are you doing . Val demings joins me now from orlando. Welcome to meet the press. And let me start with simply this. We have been through this cycle before in america, a lot this last decade. An incident like the one with george floyd happens. Theres outrage. The country has some sort of collective conversation about race and inequality, and then what happens . Not much changes. Why do you think that is the case . And is there what do you think is the possibility of making this time different . Well, it looks like we have an audio issue here. Lets see if we can fix that really quick. Congresswoman, you may be hearing me. Were going to go to a quick commercial break and well fix this right after this. And we are back with congresswoman val demings. And congresswoman, you heard my first question there. Were all living in this new way of trying to get, make television. I think the viewers are very patient, so i appreciate that. Congresswoman demings, to get back to my first question simply was, we have been here before. Well have the conversation. And not a lot changes. Can you make it different this time . Chuck, i really do believe that we can. You know, when i think about the extraordinary work that dr. King did, for example, in the Civil Rights Movement and those who were with him, look at where we are. It is an ever changing, ever you know, commitment, that we always have to make to deal with the systemic racism in our country. I think before, as we have dealt with misconduct involving Police Officers, that we have always tried to deal with it as an individual department or an individual city or an individual state. But i do believe the time has certainly come, we are overdue for us to look at the problem as a nation. I think we all need to pause, and every Law Enforcement agency in this nation, whether they are ten persons or 35,000 persons, need to review their hiring standards, their training standards, look at their deescalation training that theyre doing within the department, look at those officers who train other officers, because we know our training officers are the ones who set the standard for whats acceptable and unacceptable on the street. And we have to continue to work with our Community Leaders to build relationships, to foster trust. And we dont wait to do that until when were in the middle of a crisis. We have to continue to do that every day. And i do believe we are long overdue for every Law Enforcement agency in our nation to review itself and come out better than before. Let me ask this. It does seem look at minneapolis. A lot of people have praised the police chief in minneapolis. He was brought in after they had they have had some issues in the past. He was brought in to institute these reforms. But you have dealt with this as a chief. Its very hard, if you have got a Police Officer that you think isnt on isnt good in certain situations, its very hard for you to get rid of one of those Police Officers, is it not . Let me say this, chuck. As you know, i spent 27 years at the Orlando Police department. Had the honor of serving as the chief of police. I have worked with some of the brightest, the best, and most courageous men and women that america has to offer. Certainly, they were not all that way. But the overwhelming majority were. And so i commend the chief in minnesota because he did one thing that i certainly think helped to bring charges against one officer. Were waiting to see others, but that was to immediately fire that officer, which allowed the chief to do some things that otherwise they would not have been able to do. And so, you know, while i know that it seemed like the days that passed before the officer was arrested, if you look historically, that was a pretty swift arrest that was made. And so i do believe working collectively, every sheriff, every police chief throughout the nation working together and facing racism and other issues head on to make sure what are they dealing with it. Is it a bad mind, a personal who should have never been a Law Enforcement officer in the beginning, is it a bad heart . Because you certainly have to have the heart for this job. Or is it bad policy . And while i know the federal government does not have direct jurisdiction, i certainly believe that we do have a major role to play in terms of helping Law Enforcement agencies throughout the nation maybe come up with some standards for hiring and training, especially use of force training. I want to go a little Bigger Picture here. In some ways, the last three months have been particularly hard on communities of color. But particularly the africanamerican community. You look at the impact of the coronavirus on health outcomes, impact of the virus on the economic picture. Now throw in three more just brutal examples of Racial Injustice on the Law Enforcement front. Im referring to georgia, kentucky, and minnesota in particular. What does that mean for governing Going Forward . Congressman Anthony Brown said to me one of the things that has to change, you cant have raceneutral policy right now. There actually has to be direct help, direct aid to africanamerican communities to sort of fix these injustices. Where are you on this . Well, you know, lets think about it. President johnson looked at policing, for example, in america over 50 years ago. And what he said, basically, is what i just said. Hire the brightest and the best. Make sure theyre well trained and they have the tools to do an effective job and work closely with the citizens. But he also said, but we have to address those social ills that cause decay in africanamerican communities in the first place. We have to look at economic development. We have to look at jobs. We have to look at wages. We have to look at education. And you know, some believe that, you know, in order to be fair, if you will, that you treat communities the same. Well, its not that simple. Unless communities all start in the same place, and we know thats not true. Look at the coronavirus. Its something we have never seen before that requires us to do some things we have never done before. But racism in america and the injustices that comes with it is nothing new. And so we have to get serious about, number one, admitting there is an issue, and number two, working together, and chuck, it certainly would help if we had leadership at the top. If there was ever a time we need leadership in the white house, it is now to help heal our nation. But i dont know why i would expect this president to do something that he has never done before, and we have never seen before. All right, let me ask the question this way about President Trump. If he called you up tonight after watching you here and said look, help me Say Something to fix this. What would you tell him to say . I would tell him to begin with showing some compassion for the persons who the families that have lost their loved one. Lets start there. And then continue to talk about america is great and wonderful because of the beautiful diversity that we have in this country, that we are a nation of immigrants. Were a nation of laws, were a nation of immigrants, and we have to work together. And lets look at our history. This country has already solved some of the toughest issues because we have been able to come together and work together. We can do that now, and maybe if he look, if he called me today, i would welcome the opportunity to help this president get it right, and maybe we begin today by acknowledging the sins of the past, and even said things that he has said and done that caused harm and brought pain to the american people. All right, congresswoman val demings, i have to leave it there. Like i said, the new technological challenges in our work from home environments these days. Thanks for the patience on your end. Thank you to the viewers for your patience as well. And thanks for sharing your perspective with us. Thanks, chuck. So with that, good news. No commercial break. Were going to go right to the panel. Get my eyes checke d . Ready . Absolutely not. See, having the wrong coverage can mean you get the wrong care, or youre paying more than you have to. Thats why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. They make sure you have the right coverage, health insurance, medicare, and yes, dental too. Wow, think thats painful . Wait til he gets the bill. A cavity can cost as much as 350 and a root canal, whoa. But with healthmarkets, for less than a dollar a day, you can save a bundle every time you go to the dentist. Exams, cleanings, and xrays, those are covered at 100 . That sounds free to me. Plus healthmarkets has plans with coverage for fillings, crowns, dentures, even root canals. With over 200,000 dental providers to choose from, its easy to get the care you need. Heck, theres even options with no waiting periods. Call today, and you can save tomorrow. 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Almost as easy as having those guys help you move. We are those guys. Thats you . The truck adds 10 pounds. In the arms. Okay. Transfer your Service Online in a few easy steps. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. Visit xfinity. Com moving today. So with that, good news. No commercial break. Were going to go right to the panel. Panel is here. Joining us from their remote locations, msnbc anchor joshua johnson, maria teresa kumar, and former Republican Governor Pat Mccrory of North Carolina. By the way, if anybody wonders if we tape this live, you now have proof that we do do this live. I want to begin with hearing what we heard from the president on friday in his sort of longest remarks about the situation in minnesota. Take a listen. Well, i think that Police Brutality certainly is something we have been hearing about, reading about, studying, i have, for many years. And we all have to say, and i think most people would admit that most of the policemen and women i have seen have been outstanding. When you have Something Like this happen, you really you look at it and you just say, how does a thing like that happen because it just seems so bad to watch. So that was President Trump, and i want to compare it to what former president obama said. He put out this statement. Its natural to wish for life to, quote, get back to normal. As a pandemic and an economic crisis upend everything around us, but we have to remember that for millions of americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically painfully maddeningly normal, whether its dealing with the Health Care System or interacting with the criminal Justice System or jogging down the street or just watching birds in a park. Joshua johnson, i felt like in those ways you could tell those were the remarks of two people with two very different life experiences. Two people with two very different life experiences, but each one makes a valid point, i think. President obama certainly makes a very valid point in terms of the treatment of africanamericans. President trump also makes a point that most policemen and women are probably outstanding, at least at following their orders. What i saw from last night from anchoring some of our coverage on msnbc is the issue may be with the orders. The heavy handedness i think comes from higher up than just the officers. I would love to know from every governor and mayor in the country whether any of their Standing Orders to any of the uniformed officers on the street included protect the protesters. Those protesters were exercising their First Amendment rights. As were my colleagues, including some who were hit with tear gas canisters. And im wondering whether or not the right to protest for improved Law Enforcement was lost in the push to reclaim the streets. Its amazing how much power a handful of people in the context of a whole nation, a handful of people who broke a handful of windows and set a handful of cars and shops on fire militarized the entire Law Enforcement apparatus of the entire nation. Well, i would say exactly do understand underestimate them. Once the police move, theyll be elsewhere. They are very dangerous. They burn down the city hall in nashville, tennessee, and theyll play the media, also. And i encourage them to protect the rights of our nations and cities and these people while theyre protesting. To bring it back to the larger issue, i think theyre indicating lets not let the actions of a few violent perhaps instigators get in the way of the Bigger Picture here. Between the big picture, know Racial Injustice, the pandemic, in some ways, this eruption should have been expected in some form. I think the country is tired of seeing racial inequalities especially among covid. But the challenge is that President Trump saw what happened in ferguson and he created the 21st century task force. He bavengsly scrapped it, he gutted it. So a lot of Police Departments who said we want to modernize it, we want to see how we make culture change dont have it any more. So when we see the president saying what can i do . Lead. Just like he took away the playbook on how to actually deal with the pandemic and lets take the stuff off that playbook and figure out how do we modernize and talk about the importance of police reform. We need it. Pat mccrory, mark meadows, you know, with a former North Carolina congressman and now chief of staff for the president thinks this is a time to do a Oval Office Address. We expect from this any previous president. We know this is not always a comfortable thing for him to do on this front. How would you advise the white house or President Trump to talk right now . I would show empathy and show strength against the antifa type of individuals, whether the left wring or right wing, i dont know. Id also talk about solutions. We also have to recognize the police, the progress we have made in the past 25 years from police just riding around in cars and responding to crime to Extensive Community policing over the last 25 years. We still need more training but we also have to recognize the progress and the progress still needs to be made. Joshua johnson, let me ask you this. If president called you up and said what should i say in an on the floor office address, what would you tell him to say . Can his words still matter . President s words always matter, for sure. I cant really tell the president what to say as an anchor but i would the president if there is ways that he can dovetail with the police reform. If the goal is to make America Great again there are certain ways if we harken back what Great America once was, i think in perfect line what the protesters are asking for. When streets are safer area communities feel cared for, there are more jobs and prosperity on the streets and what the president and protesters have wanted. And the protesters may agree on more than what they think. Thank you all. Pause it there. When we come back, the coronavirus where its been and where its going. Ronavirus wher where its going. Welcome back. Death toll from the coronavirus in the United States now passed 100,000. We wanted to see if the virus is on the decline and where it is on the decline. It turns out its complicated. There were fewer new cases of covid19 this past week than the week before. Almost 22,000 fewer according to a nbc news tally and number of null reported deaths down about 1900 and by state when you break it down some see big declines in new cases, texas, illinois, massachusetts, and new jersey saw their cases decline over a thousand the last week. Number of deaths dropped sharply in many of those same states. In all cases, declining by 130 or more. Even with so many people still dying on a daily basis, there are some positive signs. Not all states are moving in a positive direction. Some even seeing a steep increase. In these states, the number of new cases last week climbed by more than 450 and the number of newly reported deaths up in this small set of states as well. While the overall picture is improving, thanks mostly to the northeast, there are still many trouble spots around the country, even as governors try to slowly reopen their states. When we come back, did joe bidens calculus for picking a running mate just change . Welcome back. Lets talk a little veep stakes here. To the panel, i want to read to you what my colleagues wrote over the weekend. The death of a 46yearold george floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis Police officer has thrust issues of criminal justice to the forefront and revived one of the biggest questions surrounding bidens choice. Will he choose not just a woman but a woman of color . I want to add a comment than jim clyburn, perhaps the person credited most with getting biden this nomination, he said this, we have to some someone on the ticket who can complement the candidacy rather than comp complicate the candidacy. He was referring specifically to amy klobuchar. Could joe biden get away with picking say a white running mate in Elizabeth Warren or amy klobuchar. Would this create some problems in the Democratic Party . The Vice President already said hes not going to decide until august 1st. I believe hes going to continue vetting every person he believes is qualified. What i encourage him to look for is who can bring the young people out on the streets into the Democratic Party. The majority of democrats right now recognize that the house is on fire. They recognize we need to change the people in leadership in order to actually address the issues that the pandemic has so eloquently revealed in the last 40 days. And what were going to need is to increase that electoral base. And the only place to do it, chuck, is among young people. For the very first time, were going to have 12 million more young voters potentially than baby boomers, so who is that candidate that speaks to their truth, to their experience, and to the economic and social injustices that they have basically grown up their whole life with. Pat mccrory, is there a running mate on the list there of the dozen women we put up there that reportedly the former Vice President is consulting about, is there one on the list that you think, boy, she would help. She could help him in North Carolina . I thought the congresswoman you spoke to from florida has a pretty strong background that would worry me as a republican. You know, a week ago, we were having debates on whether to arrest people on beaches or Michigan Lakes or getting haircuts. This week, were talking about arresting people looting stores. By august, who knows what the new criteria will be for president ial election. Because things are changing so dramatically at this point in time. But i tell you who it has to be is someone who can be ready to step into the presidency. And i think thats going to be looked at because of Vice President bidens age. You know, joshua johnson, i had a lot of people say what pat mccrory said right there, which is that is going to matter to them or at least the perception of that is going to matter. Good i had an old friend of mine remind me, yeah, running mates mattered a lot in 1988 with dan quayle and lloyd bentsen, too, meaning it didnt matter add all on that front. But joshua johnson, whats your take on this as far as biden is concerned . Obviously very briefly, i think its going to be after what we saw this weekend, its what the running mate represents, particularly with africanamerican voters. We know health care, the economy, and Law Enforcement are huge issues. After this weekend, Law Enforcement, if not Law Enforcement reform, is going to matter a great deal. I wouldnt be surprised if you started hearing Bernie Sanders talking about the convention and saying, you know, these delegates i have, if were going to have a unified platform, i think we need to talk more about Law Enforcement. Some of these people on the list may have a little more credibility than others to talk about reforming Law Enforcement instead of just improving it. I think thats going to matter a lot. Well, im curious, val demings, youre a floridian, you followed her a little bit. The knock on her is going to be, you know, we havent had a member of congress go directly to the presidency or the vice presidency in over 100 years, i think even on the vice presidency directly. But is the other life experiences, executive experience, enough . We havent had a Real Estate Developer go right to the presidency ever. Its a fair point. Maria teresa kumar, does val demings have that does she meet the ready on day one bar or whatever that bar is in the minds of some voters . I think that she has incredible experience. I have had the opportunity to work with her when she was working with emilys list as a candidate and before, and she brings in not only the experience but the Law Enforcement that perhaps is going to be on the ballot, but i believe what were going to need is someone who will be ready on day one, not just on the National Stage but on the interNational Stage. Quickly, pat mccrory, the rnc convention, is it going to be in your home state or not . You know, were in a political tussle. The question is who makes the rules for the virus for a convention . Does the governor make the rules or the rnc make the rules . The governor wants the rnc to make the rules. Who knows. Its a political battle right now. A fair way to put it. Before we leave you, i would like to mention our new meet the press College Roundtable series. Each week, ill be joined by journalism students who will get a chance to interview newsmakers we help connect with them. Episodes will be available every friday streaming on nbc news and other platforms. Thats all for today. Thank you for watching. Thank you for trusting us. Well be back next week because if its sunday, its meet the press. Good morning, everybody. It is monday, june 1st. Im yasmin vossoughian. We have a lot taking place overnight. Were going to begin with a nation in crisis. Amid a Global Pandemic and record unemployment now comes unrest unlike anything we have ever seen in a generation. The death of george floyd exactly one week ago by a Minneapolis Police officer now charged with murder has lit an already combustible nation on fire. Mass protests have hit all 50 states over the last few days as tense, mostly Peaceful Demonstrations during the day give way to violence at night. Those who