get started today. we are now just hours away from the house taking its final vote on president biden's landmark $1.9 trillion covid relief legislation. the final passage tomorrow expected along party lines. of course doubtful any republicans will support it. the president says he'll sign the bill into law as soon as it gets into his desk. stimulus checks will be in the hands of needy americans in the next few weeks. and queen elizabeth saying she's saddened at meghan and harry bombshell accusations. we are likely hours away from president biden's massive covid relief bill passing. that means $1,400 checks to struggling americans, billions of dollars for vaccines and covid testing. as biden once said to the former president barack obama, this is a big eff'ing dealing. >> this is the key piece of legislation they knew they wanted to -- they didn't have to scale down the scope and size. it remains a $1.9 trillion investment. it did lose some pieces. it lost the $15 minimum wage. it pared down some of the unemployment insurance benefits. but this remains a massive victory for the white house and to be clear, for the american people who are crying out for that covid relief. we can say unequivocally those georgia races had a huge impact on the scope of legislation that was able to be passed, because this required such a democratic unified effort. it would not have happened without those special elections being won in january. >> amanda, this bill has the bipartisan support for the american people but in the a single republican lawmaker supporting it. did the gop get rolled? they just haven't realized it yet? >> yeah, i think this bill is so massive. we pay attention to the $1,400 checks because that's what we think of as covid relief, but man, you look at the details of this bill, joe biden got a lot. this is practically fdr level type of reform he's getting. there's $86 billion union pension bailout. there's a complete transformation of the child tax credit, so it becomes sort of a direct payment in the form of a monthly alilowanceallowance. there's expansion of obamacare. when you talk about it it's not just the checks going out. there's so much for details. because the republicans chose to pass this with a 50-vote threshold, they essentially took a pass. like, where was the debate on all of these other details. we were talking about dr. seuss. i think it's going take them many weeks to realize how much they got rolled by choosing not to engage in this debate. >> you mentioned dr. seuss, and they're complaining and calling this bill socialist, but instead of trying to amend it they were busy talking about dr. seuss and mr. potato head and the culture wars. that's seemingly what's important to them. i'm not sure if it's a very characteristic just a the say it's not the $1,400 checks or it doesn't have anything to do with shots going directly into people's arms that that still has nothing to do with covid relief, because a lot of businesses are struggling. there's going to be children that need help. there are many aspect of american culture and society that need help recovering because of covid. >> and a lot of the bill does deal with that, but $86 million pension bailout? the problems with unions far predated what happened with covid. transforming the child tax credit, maybe that should be done. andrew yang should be dancing in the streets. might be a good idea to do that. is it related to covid? probably not. it got jammed through. i think democrats should be happy about it, but there's a lot to unpack here. >> maybe you're right, republicans don't realize how -- maybe they got rolled, right? >> big time. >> they're going to look back and go, why were we talking about those things instead of focusing on the issues? >> president biden is about to make a big push that it should be permanent. started with his primetime address thursday night. what does he need to say given we know certain aspects of the bill are popular and bipartisan? >> this is going to be the first step of democrats taking credit for these efforts. there are things the party learned since 2009 with the stimulus that obama passed. one was cutting out republicans and going for the full scope of reform, keeping that big price tag to make a fuller investment rather than pare it down to get the susan collins, lisa murkowski type vote. second peace is about messaging. they thought the democrats didn't take enough credit for what they did in 2009 and that hurt them in the 2010 elections. we're going hear democrats say over and over and over, this is what the party gave you. delivering on its promises. they hope that helps them in the midterms a quick word on the dr. seuss, mr. potato head, they think their base is motivated by the long-term question of who has societal and cultural power. that's what this stuff is really about. it's not really about the gender of the potato or the canceling of the book. it's about who gets to have a say in what is popular and what is not, what is mainstream and what is not. they think their base is worried about the long-term loss of power from the traditional and white and mainstream, and what we have determined has been the power hold center of america, and that is what republicans think motivates their section. that's what the kind of cancel culture debates are truly getting at. >> in these virtual times i must say i approach you both giving us brick wall tonight. thank you both. you guys give good brick wall. thank you very much. now i want to bring in the share aft national democratic committee, jamie harrison. experts are saying this covid relief bill could cut child poverty in half. i know this is personal for you. you grew up in poverty. what would this bill have given a kid like and your family? >> don, it's good seeing you, man. listen, i often tell the stories, i remember times growing up, looking for a bowl of cereal and going to the fridge to get milk and there wasn't any. not because somebody forgot but because we couldn't afford it. i had to put water on my cereal. this is going top a dramatic impact on lthe lives of low income kids across the country. they say -- just think about it, don, we are increasing the child tax credit in this bill from $2,000 -- you got a kid like mine that's under the age of 6, i got a 2-year-old, that will go from $2,000 to $3,600 for a poor family that is struggling right now because of covid, that's a game changer. there's so many provisions in this bill that's going to make life easier for a lot of low-income and working people. >> let's be specific. what are the most concrete ways, jamie, people will see the impacts of this bill in their lives? >> money in pockets. people will get to stay in their jobs, vaccine in arms, and kids get an opportunity to go back to school. there are so many provisions in here. in red states, don, where medicaid has not been expanded, state states like south carolina, there's a provision in here that will pay for the next two years of medicaid expansion at 100%. in essence that's $600 million to the state of the south carolina. there's a lot of good in this bill that will improve the quality of lives and the people in this country. and let me tell the american people something -- democrats were unified in supporting this, and not one republican voted for this. so in essence, they turned their backs on the american people in a time in which they needed the help the most. >> well, this bill also includes $5 billion in aid to pay off the debt of disadvantaged black farmers and to help fund a racial equity commission in the usda. senator lindsey graham who you ran against in november is calling this reparations. here it is. >> let me give you an example of something that really bothers me. in this bill, if you're a farmer, your loan will be forgiven up to 120% of your own, not 100%, but 120% of your loan, if you're socially disadvantaged -- if you're african-american, some other minority. but if you're a white person, a white woman, no forgiveness. that's reparations. >> well, so jamie, that takes some mental gymnastics. just because it helps black farmers, senator graham thinks this is reparations. >> what you got right there was an example of a senator who doesn't work for all of his citizens, don. lindsey should be ashamed of himself. donald trump during his administration gave out $28 billion to farmers. and ask how many black farmers in south carolina dbenefitted from that, he was as quiet as a church mouse. this guy was reprehensible in terms of who does he represent? he doesn't represent all the people he's supposed to in the state of south carolina. a state where almost a third of its population is african-american. it's time we got rid of the deadweight in the senate like lindsey graham. there's plenty of it in 2022. we are targeting them and we'll make sure we're going get folks to fight or all their people, not just select people. >> jamie, thank you, sir. >> thank you, my friend. >> see you soon. >> thank you. talk about race may be the last taboo in britain, but it seems like everybody answer finally talking at it in the wake of harry and meghan's block buster interview. well, not everybody. >> can i ask what did you think of the interview? 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>> it was a large part of it. >> reporter: the interview stirring emotions across britain. reactions raging from shock to visi rants by a popular white tv show host. >> they portray the royal family as racist and i don't think it's fair to the royal family. >> reporter: to angry and protective headlines. why does racism provoke such defensive reactions in britain? >> atin the months after prince harry and meghan stepped back, britain faced its own moment of racial reckoning. black lives matter protests in the u.s. spread to the uk. tens of thousands directed their anger at the country's elite institutions of power. toppling icons of british colonialism that ignited a national debate. yet the topic of race is considered culturally awkward if not taboo. >> the british like to think of themes as -- and the british get -- there's something about black women, i think, that some people in this country find particularly triggering. i don't know why, but it's a combination of -- and racism and they're triggered. and meghan came in. >> reporter: from the moment meghan's relationship with a member of the royal family became public, her race became the subject of constant tabloid fodder and discontent. during the couple's engagement, the queen's cousin's wife apologized after wearing a controversial broach many considered racist when she met meghan for the first time. the couple's multicultural royal wedding offered hope of societal change, but soon after the racist backlash continued. meghan endured attacks for things as mundane as avocados while her white sister-in-law was praised. when meghan became pregnant with her first child, a wave of racist online abuse followed from social media trolls. after her son was born, one television presenter was fired for liking him to a picture of a chim chimpanzee. through the barrage of racist attacks against his wife, harry said he came to terms with his role in historically white institutions. >> my upbringing in the system of which i have been exposed to, i wasn't aware of it. sad to say, it takes living in her shoes. >> reporter: there's only one person in the world who knows what it means to be a british royal of color. >> growing up as a little girl of color, i know how important representation is. i know how you want to see someone who looks like you in certain positions. >> cnn's salma abdul aziz joins us now. what's the reaction been? what's the statement from the public? >> reporter: in some ways it's been a relief to see a statement. people had been waiting. this came directly from the queen, so that is significant and it seems to show a sense of understanding that there's something there that needs to be discussed. for those who want to criticize the statement, they'll tell you this is not a familial matter. this is an institution. there's a reason why prince harry and meghan did not name any specific individuals. they talked about a system, an institution, about a firm, about the day-to-day life of the lived experience of meghan markle as the first royal of color. so you have to ask, what does that mean for this larger institution that holds on to these traditions so dearly? how are they going to address the question of systemic racism entrenched, again, it's an institution that prides itself on the colonial -- does it say it is starting a conversation that could lead to change, diversity, and adoption of a more inclusive mind set? or will they remain steadfast, will they remain tied to the past, and how will they fit with the modern britain if they do? >> thanks for your story. you put it all in context. joining me now, cnn royal historian kate williams. meghan says she spoke up and went to buckingham palace h.r. about it. it was not a secret. >> yes, of course. statement is so short. -- damaging national global conversation, particularly about the race, the concern raised about archie's skin tone, and also meghan's revelation that she had a severe mental health crisis. she was distressed particularly about the racist coverage of her. she went to the palace h.r., told them she wanted to go to hospital, and she was told, no, it will make the institution look bad. there's a lot not said, and that is ironic, isn't it, because they couldn't speak. were you silent or were you silenced? and it was the latter. and meghan couldn't speak out about her mental health, she couldn't speak out about the barrage of mental health. this wasn't being dealt with. the institution was told, begged for help. it wasn't ginn to her. in the 1990s, diana was desperate. she was isolated. she, too, had a mental health crisis. no one helped her. the question we're asking now is that, if in 20 years time, one of the younger royals, the children of will and kate wishes to mary a person of color, is this going to happen all over again? the racist abuse, the ice las vegas, and indeed the lack of -- as you were saying about systemic racism in institutions. again, i don't know if at the moment it's going to be sorted out. >> as i said, you mentioned the statement, i said it was masterful because it addressed the problem without addressing the problem. it acknowledged it was aware -- they're aware of the problem, but didn't address it. thank you, kate. we'll see you soon. i wrote something that i think can help a lot of people especially with these issues. it's my new book. it is coming out next week some you can preorder now. i hope you will check it out. we've got a lot more on the royal family fallout, and which famous host predicted trouble ahead before the wedding? that's next. boca burritos right here in aurora. 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