Illegal attempt to silence their candidate client. So, what happens now . And the new groundbreaking and long awaited findings that prove once and for all the mysterious condition known as long covid is a real biological illness. What that means for the millions of americans who are suffering and for the chances of one day finding a cure. But we start in michigan where President Biden is set to do what no american president has done before. Walk the picket lines, in a conspicuous show of support for autoworkers and by extension with unions and middle class americans nationwide. It is a stark break from past president s and even bidens own strategy in past disputes. Were staying neutral, which is considered critical to steering negotiations. But the political opportunity here may have been just too good to pass up. President biden getting the chance to do three things at once, lock down votes in the must win state of michigan, boost its poll numbers among American Workers, and launch a preemptive strike against donald trump who is set to meet with the same Union Workers tomorrow. Gabe gutierrez is on the scene in wayne, michigan. John nichols is National Affairs correspondent at the nation. And Cornell Belcher is the democratic pollster, founder of Brilliant Corners Research and msnbc political analyst. So, gabe, set the scene for us where you are. Reporter hi there, chris. Good afternoon. First, i want to talk about something that just happened a few minutes ago. Not sure if we have been able to turn the video around. President Biden Landing here in michigan, on the tarmac, being greeted by uaw president shawn fain. A show of solidarity from the uaw president , which, over the past couple of weeks there had been some questioning about exactly how close the relationship was between the uaw and the white house. The Biden Administration always saying that President Biden does support Union Workers, but early on in this strike, which is now 12 days old, there was some indication by the white house that they didnt really want to antagonize the Big Three Automakers as you hear the horns in the background, people going through this main road here outside of the plant in wayne county, michigan. The president , again, expected to meet with autoworkers in just a short time expected to head to the picket line with the uaw president. This is a very politically sensitive topic for President Biden, who, of course, considers himself the most pro Union President , but there is some Political Risk here because analysts warn if this strike drags on, it could cost the u. S. Economy billions of dollars. And according to recent nbc news polling, just 37 of registered voters approve of President Bidens handling of the economy. When the president was asked yesterday whether he supported the unions demands with the Big Three Automakers, he says i will always support the uaw. By the fact that hes here, basically very signaling his support, strong support, for Union Workers, just as former President Trump is also expected here in michigan tomorrow. Chris . John, you know the politics of labor unions as well as anyone. Give me your take on the significance of President Biden making this unprecedented move, marching with the workers, and we see him now arriving and shaking hands with a few of the Union Workers. It is hugely significant. Franklin roosevelt was thought of as the most pro labor president in history. Other democratic president s im going to interrupt you for a second. The president is on a megaphone. Lets listen. [ applause ] since 1973. Ill tell you what, first timive ever done it as president. The fact of the matter is that you guys, the uaw, made a lot of sacrifices, gave up a lot. And the companies were in trouble. Now theyre doing incredibly well. And guess what, you should be doing incredibly well too. [ cheers and applause ] stick with it. You deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits. Shawn fain, your president. [ applause ] all right. Good afternoon, uaw thank you i want to thank local 174. [ applause ] thank you to the leadership and director lloyd dickerson. [ applause ] youre all the reason were here. This is all about the membership. This site, it holds a Historic Place in the history of our union and our country. This was part of the Arsenal Of Democracy during world war ii. It is where they built the b24 liberator bomber. That bomber, they built one of those per hour when they were at their peak. It is what helped us win the war. So, today, 80 years later, we find ourselves here again, with the democracy. It is a different kind of democracy and different kind of war were fighting. Today, the enemy isnt some foreign country miles away, it is right here in our own area. It is corporate greed. And the weapon we produce to fight that enemy is the liberators, the true liberators, and so Working Class people, all of you working your butts off, on those lines, that deliver great product for our companies. Thats right. Thats how we are going to defeat these people thats how were going to defeat corporate greed is by standing together. [ cheers and applause ] this is a historic moment, the first time in our countrys history that a sitting u. S. President has came out and stood on the picket line [ cheers and applause ] our president chose to stand up with workers in our fight for economic and Social Justice. [ applause ] also a historic day, historic moment in time. It is about the autoworkers who are part of the fabric of the Working Class of this country. Were the people that make the world run. It is not the billionaire class. Not the elite few. It is the Working Class of the billions of people who have been left behind. Thats what this battle is about. Changing that. You know what is going to move this is not some executive that owns our future. It is us. It is Working Class people from all walks of life. It is what we decide to do together that is going to change it, shape the future of this earth and for future generations. And thats the economic reality that Corporate Executives dont want us to recognize. Trying to justify a system where they take all the profit and the workers are left to fight for the scraps and live paycheck to paycheck. Thats got to end. They say they deserve all the profit because they say theyre different. You know what, they are different, they have different degrees, they have different responsibilities, they have different titles, different positions. You know what, i agree, though, theyre different, we just talk about some of that. These ceos sit in their offices, sit in meetings and make decisions. But we make the product [ cheers and applause ] they think they own the world, but we make it run. [ cheers and applause ] the ceos think the future belongs to them. Today belongs to the autoworkers and the Working Class [ cheers and applause ] and the difference between them and us, solidarity forever, without our brain and muscle, not a single wheel would turn. Thats whats different about Working Class people. Whether were Building Cars or trucks or running Parts Distribution centers, whether were writing for movies or tv shows, whether were making coffee at starbucks, whether it is nursing people back to health, whether it is educating students from preschool to college, we do the heavy lifting, we do the real work. Not the ceos. Not the executives. [ cheers and applause ] and though we dont know it, thats what power is. We have the power. The world is of our making. The economy is of our making. This industry is of our making. And as we showed, when we withhold our labor, we can unmake it. Thats what were going to continue to show when we win this fight with the big three, were going to remake it. [ applause ] in this union, the members are the highest authority. In this country, the people are the highest authority. And so today i want to take a moment to stand with all of you, with our president , and say thank you to the president. Thank you, mr. President , for coming. [ cheers and applause ] thank you for coming to stand up with us in our generations defining moment. And we know the president will do right by the Working Class, and when we do right by the Working Class, you can leave the rest to us. Were going to take care of this business. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for being part of this fight. And lets get back to winning solidarity for all of our members and economic and Social Justice for all of our members. [ cheers and applause ] wall street didnt build the country, the middle class built the country. Lets keep going. You deserve what you earned and you earned more than what you get paid now. Thank you very much. [ cheers and applause ] the president of the United States, we have never seen anything like this before. But he earned the nickname union joe when it comes at a politically fraught time for joe biden, make no mistake about that. But this is different in the sense that this is clearly not a president working behind the scenes, trying to see what he can do to get two sides together to reach a deal. This is a president who said unequivocally, you save the Auto Industry to those Front Line Workers and the companies are doing incredibly well, you should be doing incredibly well. Let me go back to you, john, if i can, you heard what the president of the uaw shawn fain had to say. He said, this is a generation defining moment. Talk about that and the significance of this president going here now. It is very interesting that president shawn fain took the mic and gave a very strong speech there, in many ways saying more than what the president said, but drawing the president into this message, and the core message is that we have for a very, very long time in this country had a circumstance where ceos made an awfully lot more than workers. To some extent, thats understood. You get to 40 or 50 or 100 or 200 times what a worker makes, there seems to be an inequality there, an injustice. What i think fain was pointing to is reality we could come into a moment where ceos and investors are not paid as much and workers are not paid a lot more. Thats kind of The Deep Division at this point. And what is interesting is that joe biden came and appears to be getting very good reception here from a union that has not yet endorsed him. He said you deserve what you earned. And also talked about you made this industry, you made this happen. And so that combination of what fain is saying as a union leader and what biden is saying, it really is a powerful moment. We have never, ever seen a president , democrat or republican, do what joe biden has just done. That was joe biden, cornell, in his element. The very last appearance he made before Election Night and i was there in pennsylvania was a union hall. He thrives in that setting. Having said that, i wonder if it is the messaging of the uaw president that will take this and put it in the political realm if he wants to put it in, which is so show himself as the fighter for the Working Class what we heard shawn fain say, you know, this is about social and economic justice. They make decisions, we make the product. He also used a phrase, corporate greed, speaking to what john said, that when you have this kind of disparity, a lot of Traditional Democratic voters respond to it. Is there any downside for this president making this unprecedented move . I dont see a lot of downside. It really is historic. The uaw saved the Auto Industry. They did. When the Auto Industry was flat on its back, the workers gave up a lot to help the Auto Industry get back on its feet. Now that the Auto Industry is back on its feet, what theyre saying is we want a share in the profits too. And to lean into the point being made earlier, look, we have we have seen a middle class shrink as a top 3 , 4 that grow their wealth. The uaw is saying, you know, we are the workers and we want to benefit from the work we put into it. The Auto Industry is now profitable and we, the workers, want to benefit that. When you counter oppose that with what republicans are saying on the campaign trail, senator from South Carolina said the other day, you know, if the workers go on strike, fire them, right . Thats a hard contrast to show you who is on the side of working people and who is on the side of corporate america. Right now, three in four americans support the uaw negotiations. It is a clear contrast of who is on the side of the American Workers and who is on the side of big corporations. In this political space right now, you want to be on the side of the workers. Let me show the numbers. We have a graphic to what you referenced, cornell, the poll found that 67 of americans approve of labor unions generally and this is a record high, 61 say unions help rather than hurt the economy. There is a Bigger Picture here or maybe i should ask you, john, is there a Bigger Picture here about the resurgence of unions . As i looked at that, i remember being in the late 60s and early 70s, a girl who grew up in ohio where everybody i knew had some fascination with the plant. It almost seems like what were hearing from shawn fain and when you go to hollywood and look at their leadership too, i think we are at a critical moment for the future of unions. Do you see it that way in. Of course, no question. Like you, i grew up near union town, near kenosha, wisconsin, a uaw town for a better part of the century where the plant is now closed. Many decades of attacks on unions where they have been weakened and undermined in many ways and i think americans have woken up to the fact they need unions. Maybe not everybody will be a member, but as a country we need strong unions that can make strong demands, that helps members of the unions, it also peoples who may not be in a union. It did show 67 of approve of unions, 61 think they help the economy. But polsters were asked directly in the strike situation, where are you at . What do you think about that in they got a number of 75 for the union. People who dont approve of unions are excited about the strike. They feel good about it. Why is that . I think the answer is in ray broader sense there is a feeling in this moment if there are Working Class people that step up, if they go out on the picket line, there is a feeling of invigoration, someone is pushing back against an economy in which republicans are frustrated. Kwht president of the United States goes and joins the picket line, this becomes a pivot moment. Historians will write about today. This day will form the basis of chapters in history books. Chapters in history books, but will it be joe bidens chapter. Is my question. The polls have been brutal on joe biden on the economy. Can this help him turn the corner . Well, there is no such thing as a Silver Bullet in politics. You got to work at it. I worked on obama and folks were anxious of the economy back then as well. But biden has biden and Vice President harris have a story to tell about how they have been working for america. There is no Silver Bullet. Over the next couple of months, they have a story to tell about how they have been standing with the people of the country and fighting with the working people of this country and i think it will resonate. All the material right now is too early because they have to unpack. Today was a good step in the right direction. Where is the president going now . Well, the president is after he leaves michigan will be heading to california later on today for a series of fundraiser and events tomorrow as well as heading to arizona later this week for a speech about the threat to democracy following the gop debate. The video we were just seeing of President Biden and shawn fain as we watch that Motorcade Head to another location in michigan, it was extremely significant, but lets take a step back and think of how far we have come here in the last several days. The Biden Administration had talked about how they were sending some Administration Officials to help with negotiations. The Biden White House is essentially acting in some ways trying not to antagonize the auto companies, trying to not be involved closely in negotiations here. That has completely changed today with the full throated endorsement. Were on a bullhorn and President Biden just had talking side we side, shoulder to shoulder, with the waw workers. S