his mother said a lot of things. >> god love you, indeed. good morning, welcome to "morning joe." it's friday, march 19th. with us, we have msnbc contributor, mike barnicle, and white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lamir. joe and mika have the morning off. it is a busy morning, though, as kasie just mentioned, we're getting fans in the stands for baseball. >> good for you. >> mets, yankees, 20% capacity, a few thousand fans in there. at least it's a start. i know how excited you are about the yankees' hot start and spring training and seeing some of those great yankees' fans populating that stadium in the bronx. >> as my mother would say -- actually, i can't say that on the air. >> you better no. >> we're going to have 12% capacity at fenway park. >> lamir, you excited for the yanks? they're looking good in the spring? >> willie, my question is, as yankee stadium fills up to 10, 15, 20% capacity, that's obviously going to leave a lot of empty seats, particularly down low behind home plate. my question for you is how will that be different than any other season? >> that's true. >> that was a nice windup to one that really hits. >> that's true, though. the seats are so expensive down there behind home plate. >> i want to hear you about the good seats, mike. let's get to the news today. president joe biden is expected to deliver on his administration's promise of 100 million covid shots in his first one hundred days in office. >> i'm proud to announce that tomorrow, 58 days into our administration, we will have met my goal of administering 100 million shots to our fellow americans. that's weeks ahead of schedule. and even with the setbacks we faced during the winter storms, i always said, that's just the floor. we will not stop until we beat this pandemic. next week, i will announce our next goal to put shots in arms. this is a time for optimism. but it's not a time for relaxation. i need all americans, i need all of you to do your part. >> meanwhile, president biden and vice president kamala harris will travel to atlanta today in the wake of the spa shootings that left eight people dead on tuesday, including six women of asian descent. so jonathan lamir, the president and vice president, as i said, this was long on the books to go down and push the covid relief package and talk about its benefits, but quickly became something different. they've canceled that part of the trip and made the focus the terrible attack on tuesday at those spas. >> that's right, willie. i'll be traveling with the president. this trip has indeed taken on a new light in the wake of the terrible spa shootings earlier this week. georgia, as we know, arguably the most important political state on the map. it went to joe biden in november. he was the first democrat to win there since 1992. and it was a pair of senate runoffs in early january. democrats captured both of those, which flipped the senate to their control, a 50/50 tie with vice president harris casting the tiebreaking vote. it's in fact georgia that allowed joe biden's administration to pass this $1.9 trillion covid relief bill. they wanted to make an early stop there on their tour to tout what's in this piece of legislation. they're still going, there'll still be a little bit of politics, as we reported last night. president biden is still going to meet with stacey abrams, which is widely credited for spearheading voter registration drives. the president will make a stop at the cdc about the latest on the pandemic response. but he will also meet with asian american community leaders, both state legislators, local leaders, other lawmakers, and community officials to talk about what happened this week. and also, how it comes at a time, a real rise of violence against asian american communities. hate crimes and bias incidents. a lot of asian americans really on edge as to what happened. and the president and the white house has said that the president will listen to them, share their concerns, and make sure he knows the federal government is behind him and look to him to tout executive orders he's signed to reduce hate crimes. >> let's go down to atlanta, where we find nbc news correspondent blayne alexander for us again this morning. blayne, good to see you. what more do we know about the shooter since we spoke to you last? >> reporter: we heard from atlanta police yesterday. we've gotten briefings every day or some portion of a briefing every day since these shootings unfolded earlier this week. what we heard from atlanta police yesterday is really making it clear that their investigation just getting started. we remember that there were two different jurisdictions, because this took place over such a wide kind of span. almost this 200-mile stretch between where the first shooting took place and where the suspect was initially -- was ultimately captured. so, we're talking about two different jurisdictions. atlanta police made the point yesterday, though, that they are facing two things. one, they are, of course, looking at a motive. they're trying to determine exactly what it is that led the alleged gunman to walk into three different locations here in atlanta and open fire, killing eight people. they also made the point that, yes, even though he was apprehended several hours afterward, even though as cherokee county sheriff's office has said, they have been talking to him, they have been kind of interrogating him, there is still a lot left to uncover. of course, the big question is, what is the motive there. was this motivated by race, motivated by hate, a hate crime specifically? so they're going to be talking to, you know, there is one survivor. they're going to be likely talking to that individual. they're going to be finding out what, if anything, was said by this alleged shooter when he walked into these different places. so those are things that they're looking to uncover, as well. another thing we learned from this news conference, willie, is remember, there were eight victims, eight people who were killed. right now we only know the names of four of them. only four of them have been publicly identified. that's because the four people that were killed here in the metro atlanta area, they're having a difficult time getting in touch with their family, their next of kin, so they've reached out to the consulate, trying to get some kind of way to contact the loved ones of these individuals to let them know what's happened. that's another barrier that police are coming up against this morning, willie. >> mike, if you look at the list of some of the victims who have been identified, it's important to tell their stories. there was a woman who was a customer there, who had an 8-month-old baby who was killed. there was a woman who worked there whose child just graduated from the university of georgia, the woman would have turned 50 yesterday. we need to hear about their stories, as well. >> as usual, willie, those stories are so deeply touching, because the lingering effects of this heinous hate crime will go on for a long, long time, with the victims. and blayne, there was one victim in particular, a young man from guatemala, who was just walking past one of the places that was shot up and he is hospitalized in very serious condition. do we know anything more about the condition of that lingering victim? >> reporter: we do, actually. you know, we understand that he is expected to make a full recovery. that's the good news. we spoke with the niece of that individual that you're talking about last night. and she kind of walked us through what she knows about those harrowing moments. she talked about the fact that her uncle was, in the moments afterwards, just called his wife and essentially said, i've been shot, come here, repeatedly, saying this to her in spanish. and she described the fact that as his wife listened to him on the phone, his voice seemed to continue to fade and get softer and softer and softer. but the good news is, he will make a full recovery, but as you mentioned, eight people will not. their families will never be the same. i'm glad you brought up the victims. i spoke to the sister of delana on, she was the mother of two, including an 8-month-old baby girl that was born last july. her sister told me and everyone that i've spoken to of the family has said she was the rock of the family. she would open up her home and let people stay there if they needed a place to stay. this is one snapshot of the many, many lives that have been fractured from tuesday's events, guys. >> nbc's blayne alexander. asian american lawmakers and academic experts testified yesterday about the recent spike in targeted hate crimes across the united states. the hearing that had been scheduled weeks before the has shooting in georgia focused on the increased anti-asian rhetoric during the coronavirus pandemic. >> last year, i heard at the highest level of government, those people used racist slurs like china virus to spread xenophobia and cast blame on innocent communities. it was all too familiar. comments like these only build upon the legacy of racism, anti-asian sentiment and insensitivity that seeks to divide our community. >> blaming the api community for a public health crisis is racist and wrong. >> asian americans must not be used as scapegoats in times of crisis. >> i'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like kung flu, the wuhan virus, or other ethnic identifiers in describing this virus. i am not a virus. >> the house recently passed hr-908, but i was disheartened to find that a bill that requires no money or resources, 164 members of, all republican, voted against it. if this was a synagogue or black church, would we be asking if this were a hate crime or not? >> we have no free speech to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. and what is happening right now, the asian americans are in a crowded theater where we are being endangered. >> if america were such a hate-filled discriminatory, racist society, filled with animus against asian americans, how do you explain the remarkable success of asian americans in our country. it deeply saddens me that instead of uniting as americans, this hearing seeks to divide us as americans. >> when california republican speaking there. let's bring in nbc news correspondent jo ling covering yesterday. this was on the books for a long time. also brought to a head, they have not established a motive in georgia by the events down there. what was your takeaway from the hearing, and what are next steps? what's the progress that can come out of this? >> willie, good morning. when you think about it, there has not been an anti-asian american hearing in nearly 40 years. it got really personal very quickly for these lawmakers and for those activists and experts, and daniel dae kim, the actor and producer sharing their stories. but what kept coming up was this deep sense of partisan divide. and you had a moment with congressman chip roy from the state of texas, who was criticizing the very existence of the hearing. i'll let you hear what he had to say and it is quite controversial and you'll hear from representative grace mang and her response. >> we believe in justice. there are old sayings in texas about find the rope in texas and the fall esttallest oak tree. my concern about this hearing, it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society. now we're talking about whether talking about china the chicoms, the chinese communist party, and some people are saying, hey, we think those guys are the bad guys. >> i want to go back to something that mr. roy said earlier. your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want. but you don't have to do it by putting a bull's-eye on the back of asian americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids! this hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community, and to find solutions and we will not let you take our voice away from us. >> congressman grace meng's emotional response very much reflects what most of the asian american community feels. the coopting of american identity, of americanness, of otherization that continues to be pervasive, regardless of what the motive may or may not have been in atlanta. so we checked in with congressman roy to see if he really did mean that. and we got this statement back from his office, saying in part, apparently some folks are freaking out that i used an old expression about finding all the rope in texas and a tall oak tree about carrying out justice against bad guys. congressman roy goes on to say, i meant it, we need more justice and less thought policing. no apologies. but of course, if you look at the data of why this rhetoric is so dangerous, willie, it is clear a majority of asian american women are reporting hate incidents, ranging from verbal assault to shunning to physical assault on the streets. there's been no shortage of videos showing us what's been happening over the last year. so a lot of lawmakers pushing back forcefully. congressman roy saying "words matter," and this kind of stuff is not productive. to a lot of criticism within this. as congress tries to figure out the next step forward, which could include a couple of pieces of legislation, the no-hate act currently being considered. and a piece of legislation from congresswoman meng and hirono about beefing up the way hate crimes are reported, willie. >> we heard some republicans in particular downplaying what's happening to asian americans in this country. police departments from new york to l.a. to san francisco and all over the country aren't making up these statistics about the spike in the surge in violence and rhetoric against asian americans. did you see as you watched the hearing or hear at any point, joe, any contrition or at least an acknowledgement that some of the rhetoric the very people in the room have used when talking about coronavirus in particular. of course, the rhetoric that president trump used that may have contributed to this spike? >> largely, that was not the case from the republican side. we did see representative meng talk about how this moment is extremely important and we need to come together as a country to stop this from happening. but you're absolutely right in the sense that police departments have been on alert, communities are now taking it within their own hands to have volunteers escort elderly asian americans to do their routine tasks like go to the grocery store, get on the bus. and these are things that we haven't seen in a long time. and i think there was a moment that really struck me. congresswoman matsui who was during in a japanese internment camp during world war ii here in the united states warning of her own family's personal history and experience with this type of charged language and action. and really, what it can lead to, that history is not so far behind us, that these are issues that we continue to grapple with as a society. and i think for so long, especially over the past 30, 40 years, a lot of people, asian americans in our community feel that there's been this otherization. that there's a lot of the issues have been swept under the rug. so you can see why this hearing was so emotionally charged and there's a lot of hope within the community that some change will come as a result of the past 13, 14 months. but again, it takes a political will to get that done and we didn't necessarily see that unfold on the hill in this virtual hearing yesterday. >> and powerful testimony, though. nbc's jo ling kent. thanks so much for the report. let's bring into the conversation, former chairman of the republican national committee and msnbc political analyst, michael steele. and professor at the lyndon b. johnson school of public affairs at the university of texas, msnbc contributor victoria d'francesco soto. michael, let me ask you first about that hearing. we heard from kevin mccarthy afterward who said he did not regret using the term chinese coronavirus. he said, that's just a statement of fact, it's where it came from, but it's some of the other rhetoric that we've heard from president trump and others that we know has been tied to some of the violence and attacks against asian americans over the last year. >> here's the thing, if your asian american colleagues come to you and say, please would you not use that term, mr. speaker at the time or minority leader, would you not use that term, why wouldn't you just do what they asked? if they say to you, that's offensive to us. so this lack of sensitivity, this lack of, i don't care, i'm going to double down, triple down. we've seen it with marjorie taylor greene, we've seen it with congressman roy here. and you see it most disturbingly from the leadership, which continues to soft pedal, soft step, not engage on these things, sort of turn their head and pretend it's not happening. but the testimony of citizens and asian american leaders in congress as well as around the country, you can't overcome that by turning your head. that's the problem here. it doesn't go away just because you want to ignore it. and the fact is, if you don't account for it now, you will account for it later. because you don't get to come back on the back end and pretend it didn't happen while you're asking the asian american community to support your candidates and your party in the upcoming cycle. at the end of the day, that's what it still remains all about, willie. how do we position ourselves to avoid getting wiped out in an upcoming election with all the baggage that we're carrying? and this is one more massive amount of baggage that the party is adding to its back, as it goes into elections. because now candidates around the country are going to be asked, so, do you agree with congressman roy? do you agree that, you know, the way we execute justice in this country is to find the tallest oak tree and put a rope on it? because i know that's not going to sell in my neighborhood. and i know it's not going to sell in a lot of neighborhoods, including some white neighborhoods. that's the problem. this thinking that this is going to fly because, you know, it's out there in the ether and people understand. no, we don't understand what you're saying. and you're not clarifying it at all. you're making it worse. and i think the comments from the members, the asian community in congress and around the country, you have to lean into it and understand what they hear when they say, let's put a rope out and it on a tree, that's our justice. >> victoria, obviously, this has been a year when many, many lives, most lives in this country and around the world have been disrupted and many, many lives have been badly damaged. and when you look at the damage incurred by the virus and you add rhetoric that purely enflames specific numbers of people in this country, it's no wonder really that this happened to a group of asian people in atlanta. and yet, the victims, the rhetoric that we've heard specifically and largely over the past year adds to the burden and the numbers of people, different kinds of people, people of color, people at the border. and people in massage parlors in atlanta. it's incredible. >> we've had so much pain, mike, this year. and what we saw in georgia just adds to that pain of this country. and i think that when we're looking at what happened in georgia in particular, it reinforces the notion that words matter, they have consequences, and in the case of georgia, they have deadly consequences. and it's this otherization that has been hammered home over the last couple of years. regrettably, our country has a troubling history of otherization. and in particular with the asian american community, we can go back historically to the chinese exclusion acts of the late 1800s that were on the books until th