four, five, turn, kick. we got chased by these wild coyotes! they were following her because she had beef jerky in her pocket. (laughing) (trumpet playing) someone behind me, come on. pick that up, pick that up, right there, right there. as long as you keep making the internet an amazing place to be, we'll keep bringing you a faster, more secure, and more amazing internet. xfinity. the future of awesome. thank you very much. a big things to discuss, so we must go to the big show cnn tonight, and the big star d. lemon. i love that conversation you were just having. >> why? >> because there's so much about colorism and shading and, you know. these are the talks that we have all the time, you and i have all the time. and, by the way, let me just say something about friday. do you mind if i talk about that? >> no, i'm sure people will love it. in truth, leave it alone. let's stick with the positive. >> all right. you don't want to do it. >> stick with the positive, we don't need to cause problems that don't exist. we have enough that do exist. >> i thought it was much ado about nothing. look, i know you don't want to talk about it. this is why -- this is the reason i wrote the book. this is why you have conversations with people who don't look like you so that you can have a degree of comfort with them to be able to discuss these things and you know their intentions. so as i always say and i've said to you since i met you, and you know that, if you don't have a friend who looks -- doesn't look like you, you're not doing it right. >> i hear you. look, i got a lot of black friends, but none like you. one of one in my book. i tell you why i thought it was relevant, one, always happy to talk about what i say. i'm more inclined to talk about what i do versus what other people do when they want to talk about what i said. but we'll leave that to the side. people don't follow these issues. the reason i thought meghan markle was really impressive to me was, one, talking about your pain ain't easy. >> it's not. >> even with oprah winfrey who may be the most empathic person i've seen on television. but still. >> were they -- they said what to get you to say yes, oprah, they said that. you can't believe it, right. >> she's real. she's real, beautiful to watch. why is the right coming after meghan markle? i thought they were about anti-elitism. i thought they were about 1776 again. why are they coming after her for saying that the royals didn't like the shade of the baby? why doesn't the kid have any standard? why would she lie? what does this do for her, what does this do for her husband? >> because they're absolutely willing to believe that -- i think they believe that the mental health angle of it may be correct, right, that the maybe postpartum depression part of it may be -- >> why would harry feel that way? it's not contagious. >> but they're not willing to believe the racism or racist part of it. what does it say about the people who are coming after her? and there are a lot of people who are -- a number of people out there coming after her. they're doing it because they want to be relevant. that's it, nothing more, nothing less. >> it's more pernicious than that to me. there are always people looking to hate. as opportunity, it works great on the internet. but it just didn't -- it was so weird to me -- >> it says more about them than it says about her. >> look, again, i didn't -- i'm a pretty good judge of credibility. i've been trained observer of human behavior for 25 years. she had no motive, nothing to gain. she's not suing. why would so many people on the right think it's so important to say that this brown person was messed up for saying how these white people didn't like the color of her baby? and then, look, the mental health stuff to me was a home run. to discuss pain -- forget illness. to discuss pain that your husband was worried about, he didn't know how to handle it, he felt weird about it, that the institution of royals didn't want you to get help. so many people live with that here. the institution is your family, your friends, your job, your social standing. there it was the royals. i was knocked out by it. i hope it helps people open up. >> people don't want to believe it. listen, people don't want to deal with the original sin of this country. people don't want to deal with racism. there are racism deniers all over. we're living in a racism denier time in the united states and in i think in the uk as well. people don't want to deal with it because -- and that is, as i say to you, chris, that's the height of privilege. for you to be able to live in a world where it does not exist, or that you can deny it is the height of privilege, until harry, sadly, had this very rude awakening when all of of a sudden he got a black fiancee and the black wife and black baby. he had a rude awakening i'm glad he had this epiphany because now he knows. most people don't have to deal with it because they don't. it doesn't exist to them. so they, if it doesn't exist, what does that mean? you can absolutely deny it. >> absolutely. and there is a comfort that people take -- and i've seen it in and around me. look, i'm not like that. so that's enough. >> no. >> no, only the majority can change racism. the minority can't change it. they don't have the power. it has to be that it is unacceptable to the majority on every level of systemic inequality. and now that's called an ally and there is still a lot of reflex ugliness. oh, look at them. look at cuomo trying to do anything he can, you know, to be with the black community, the brown community. there is still a stigma attached to that, too. it was like stigma fest watching that interview for me. it was. it was like -- wait, why are these conservatives attacking her for lying about the royals? it has to be a color play. how can it not be about it? >> as i said, it says -- sometimes when people speak up and say things, it reveals more about them than they want to reveal or that they should. so i think all those people who are coming after her, rather than saying -- rather than doing it with empathy or with an open mind or saying, well, rather than being -- they're being judgmental and accusatory >> accusatory. >> about why does she feel that way, why might she feel that way? >> why won't she say the name? i'm glad they didn't say the name. she's hurt, but why would she want to destroy the person? >> perhaps she has an issue. perhaps i have a shortcoming. perhaps i have an unconscious bias. until you do that, it's never going to change. >> i hear you. >> you live in that world. >> i want to tee something up for you then leave you alone. covering this trial is going to be a bear with derek chauvin because there is going to be a flood of conflicting testimony from the officers at the scene. >> and? >> the problem for a jury is, what are you doing? you're trying to assess whether any other explanation other than the prosecutors' makes as much sense as their story. that's beyond a reasonable doubt layman's version. when you're in the room. does anything else make as much sense as what they're saying? when you have a flood of testimony from all people involved in an event, it can get confusing fast. them adding the third degree murder charge -- i've been looking into it -- they were -- removed it -- laura coates was spot on as always, so smart. it really goes to like almost terrorism without the political motivation, where you drive into a crowd. that's third degree, in new york they call it a deprived mind. often supplied as middle ground. they want to add it back. i think it is a window they know they have a tough case. >> i think beyond that it's also going to be the character assassination on -- during the trial. >> you'll hear that in the testimony. he seemed like he was on drugs. you know, he seemed like -- >> it doesn't have anything to do with anything except for the court of public opinion, and maybe it could sway a jury. >> if it gets into a trial, we're going to cover it, we're probably going to cover it together at some point. it will be a bear. people have to focus, they have to listen, be open and see what happens. >> i have to run. like ten minutes ago. >> i love you, d. lemon. >> i love you, too, my brotha. talk to you soon. this is "cnn tonight," i'm don lemon. look, we went on, we've got a lot to talk about. go with me here. no matter how you feel about this meghan markle, prince harry interview, whether you think she should have stuck it out with the royal family longer, she wasn't a royal long enough, whatever you feel, they're profiting, whatever you feel, okay, fine, i've heard all of it today. but i want to bring this to human terms, okay? okay? so, i want all of you as people who have family and children, i want you to just imagine this. imagine, right, put yourself in someone else's shoes. just imagine being told your unborn baby won't have the same privileges, won't have the same protections as everyone else in the family. imagine one of your in-laws asking questions about the color of your unborn baby's skin. >> in those months when i was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, he won't be given security, not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born. >> what? >> and -- >> who is having that conversation? with you? what? >> so um. >> there is a -- hold up. >> there are several conversations. >> there's a conversation with you -- >> with harry. >> -- about how dark your baby is going to be? >> potentially, and what that would mean or look like. >> conversation like that about your baby. imagine people talking that way about your baby. before your baby is even born. it's awful. but sadly it's not shocking, not at all, not to people of color. i don't think anybody who watched harry and meghan's interview with oprah or who watched how meghan was treated, how people talked about her, could really be surprised about that. remember the racist lie about meghan being almost straight out of compton? right, that's the daily mail. straight out of compton. racism is racism. doesn't matter whether you live in a shack or a palace. prince harry says that he will never share that conversation about his son. but he tells oprah it wasn't with the queen or prince philip. >> it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were a part of those conversations? >> so, and harry says racism directed at meghan and their son archie, racism especially from the british press, he said, was a big part of why they stepped away from the royal family. >> did you leave the country because of racism? >> it was a large part of it. i remember that from the fund-raiser, one of the people at that dinner said to me, please don't, please don't do this with the media. they will destroy your life. >> so, let's be clear about this. the monarchy, the british monarchy is a caste system, hierarchy based on blood lines. think about that. and ask yourself again if it is a surprise that they wondered, you know, what would baby archie's skin color be. skin color has really been whispered about, talked about right out loud for centuries. as i just talked to chris about, i write about it in my book "this is a fire." what do i say to my friends about racism. i just want to share the words that i've heard and wrote about. people who were three quarters black were grifts. mull ought so on, down to oso on, down to . these anachronistic terms offend our ears now. but the old paper bag sliding valuation of skin tone versus stature still whispers in the subconscious mind of the job interviewer and the job applicant, the loan officer, and the loan applicant, the teacher and the student, the cop and the citizen. we'd like to think that we have moved beyond all that, but have we really? now we can add, duchess, princess and prince to that list. meghan and harry's story is a story of how hard it can be to change institutions, to change societies and cultures. how hard it is to talk about race sometimes. now, we haven't heard from the royal family since meghan and harry's interview with oprah aired there tonight, but some people will say we haven't heard from the other side. but they didn't listen to one of their own. they let him go. and somehow this painful story for a real couple, their son, their unborn daughter, somehow it's just because it's another chapter of a culture wars on the right, it has become that. fox news, of course, fox news, apparently thinks that racism magically disappears if you have enough money. >> although the royal couple now lives in a $14 million mansion, duchess meghan maintains they are just trying to get back to the basics. >> it's hard for me to believe they are the victims in this. >> we know that prince harry got $20 million when his mother died. there is so much money it's hard to pity them. >> they're going to have plenty money the rest of their lives. i don't know what the point of that interview was. >> what does money have to do with -- what does that -- money takes away racism and makes it not a thing? come on, y'all, all of you. when you're living in privilege you don't see racism. even when it's happening right before your eyes. even when you see a white police officer with his knee on the neck of a black man begging for his life, 8 minutes 46 seconds. by the way, the trial of police officer derek chauvin in the death of george floyd set to begin tomorrow morning. a new poll finds that 64% of black americans describe it as murder. only 28% of white americans said this was murder. i'm going to talk to a member of floyd's family later on in the show, and all of this is happening as president joe biden, his $1.9 trillion covid relief bill goes back to the house wednesday for a final vote. a bill that could give desperately needed aid to people who can't pay rent or put food on the table. cut child poverty in half, bill that passed without one single republican vote while the gop was stoking the outrage machine over dr. seuss. what has happened to the gop? what are they running on if not relief for desperate americans? they're running on empty, pointless culture wars and tying themselves up into knots over a former president who is in the rearview mirror. >> i could say, you know, that's it, it's over, it's done. that's just too easy. >> that's exactly what you said. remember? >> we've had a hell of a journey. i hate it being this way. oh, my god, i hate it. from my point of view, he's been a consequential president. but today, first thing you'll see, all i can say is count me out. enough is enough. >> that was then. that's when the capitol was still being cleaned up after a deadly riot. this is now. republicans like lindsey graham are back in thrall to a twice impeached, disgraced, one-term former president. >> there is something about trump. there is a dark side and there's some magic there. what i'm trying to do is just harness the magic. to me donald trump is sort of a cross between jesse helms, ronald regan and p.t. barnum. >> magic? it is nothing but an empty trick. it's a con. the last administration brought us insurrection, division and racism. and that's the last thing america needs. president joe biden is about to give one of his top priorities, his covid relief bill without support from even one single republican. is the gop making a big mistake here? plus the palace in turmoil over meghan and harry's interview with oprah. >> they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband. to support local restaurants, we've been to every city. including little rock and even worcester. and tonight... i'll be eating the chicken quesadilla from...tony's tex mex...in... katy. (doorbell) (giggle) do ya think they bought it? oh yeah. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. our son says, since tide antibacterial fabric spray kills 99.9% of bacteria, that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. he wants us to spray everything every time we walk into the door. it's just to be sure. just to be sure! tide antibacterial fabric spray. president biden hoping he can sign his top legislative priority into law this week with the house on track for a final vote wednesday on his nearly $2 trillion covid relief package. the massive bill could give all kinds of help to struggling americans, including the $1,400 stimulus check for families that qualify. it also continues the $300 weekly unemployment benefit through september 6, provides more money for small businesses, and provides billions in funding for vaccines and testing. the package also providing an extraordinary amount of help for families with children, including a big boost to the child tax credit that will actually put monthly checks in families' pockets, and it provides significant funding and subsidies for child care. let's discuss now. cnn chief political correspondent and co-anchor of state of the union, dana bash, and cnn's senior commentator former ohio governor john kasich. good evening to both of you. so glad to have you on. dana, i'm going to start with you. democrats are on the brink of getting this relief package into law, not one republican is backing this bill. is that a big miscalculation on their part? because the bill has the bipartisan support of the american people. >> it does. i mean, most polls show more than a majority, vast majority of americans say that they support this, which is almost certainly why republicans were not out there railing against the bill. they weren't railing against the substance -- i mean, you certainly heard some around the margins talking about the size and the scope and about the extraneous things that they said were in this bill that didn't belong in this bill. however, for the most part the republican talking points over the past week have been about something completely different, which is the culture wars, which is dr. seuss and things that they know really galvanize, particularly the trump base, especially at a time when this same base was told by the former president that they should support big direct payments. in fact, bigger than what the democrats had in their bill. so that's a big reason why, for the most part, we heard them side stepping the criticism of this bill. >> governor kasich, you said the bill is overstuffed, no one expects republicans to sign onto a massive spending package, but a lot of the party would rather focus on dr. seuss, on mr. potato head, fanning the culture wars. i mean, it's not even red meat for the base. it's a steady diet of cancel culture. >> no, i mean, look, don, my sense of this is i would really hope we could have been at 1-2, 1-3, with republicans, a group, ten of them, committing to vote for that. that's how a negotiation starts. republicans say let's trim it back. you can't go back to what you originally proposed as republicans, after all biden was elected president. on the republican side, i don't think they had the votes people willing to stand up and say we support a package. on the democrat side they weren't interested in a compromise. we are where we are. i believe we live in an "i" culture, not "we" culture. in a culture where it's all about me, what i want, what my ego is, my re-election, instead of a we culture to pull together. as teddy roosevelt said, at the end, we go up or down together. i think the republicans made a mistake. there are a lot of peopl