First time since ive been talking to you here, you agreed exactly with donald john trump. At what . Donald john trump were not in our living room. I forgot, were on tv. His sell for his reelection is going to hell in a handbasket and hes saying hes the one who can fix it when hes the one who broke it. I just think all the rhetoric and the lying and the misinformation and the scapegoating and the what is amanda carpenters book the gaslighting, this is going to go on and on and on until then. And then afterwards it could get worse. It could get worse. Because how does the president undo it . If he wins again, and he has refused to speak about systemic inequality, do you think there is going to be less unrest . We know the cases wont stop. That was surprising to me about the attorney general saying that he didnt think that there was any sort of bias or racism in policing. He kind of put the stink on jacob blake. Yeah. And then he said he didnt know whether or not its illegal to vote twice. Shouldnt he be the one to know . I mean i think he does know. I think these people are apologists for this president that they cant see daylight, because they are consumed by him. They are complicit. They are consumed. Sometimes people say its kind of culty. I dont see it that way. Its not kind of culty. It is. I dont believe that is giving enough credit to the honest, cleareyed assessment of people like barr, like the people around him in the white house who make a decision that they know what he is, they know what hes selling, and they stay. People like melanias friend, write the book, dont write the book, shes sour grapes or not, you make the decision. She saw things she didnt like and she left. Thats what youre supposed to do. If you dont like what its about, if you dont like what im about, leave. That i respect. I was just going to say, those are the people i respect. I dont think that there is sour grapes. For what . Im sure hell spin the book as she screwed up the inauguration and melania held her accountable and she thought she would get a break as a friend of the. There is an investigation on that that will play out and well see it in the end, but just because she is writing a book and conceivably telling the truth doesnt mean its sour grapes. Most of the time its just truth without the spin. What youre talking about is power. Its people who are consumed by power and proximity to power. I was just going to say that. Could you let me say it . I am like zip and youre like no, youre like this. I Say Something and you say it and you go like this. Its not just the hand gesture. You think youre a hand gesture away from saying it the same way i do. I say it better. And im better looking. Thats genes. You were blessed with better genes. I got to tell you, the conversations that were having that im about to talk about on this show, the gaslighting and all of that, we need to do more of it, people. You need to have these conversations. I know you like to hear me and you like to hear chris have these conversations. Its because its no holds barred. We go after each other if we disagree in person and on television, but yet were still friends. If i vehemently disagree with him, i vehemently disagree with him. But guess what, his morals, his makeup and his background convenient im attracted to a friendship with him. Lets say, chris, you were part of the cult. And i kept saying, chris, its a fact. And you kept saying, no, what about this, what about that, then i would have an issue with you. Guess what . You dont do that. So there are things as friends, right, that we have to own up to with each other in order for us to have a clear conversation that gets us to the next point. I do think, though, that among our friends, one of the things that they do say thats true about the both of us because there are a lot of differences between the two of us personally is that were okay being told that people dont agree with us. And we dont hold it personally against people, and we both love people in our lives that dont share feelings about things with us, even about our own job. But, listen, you got precious time. You have to make the most of it. Its hot in here. It is hot, right . I thought it was the covid. I want to say, can you guys please turn down the air in here. Im going to have to use some of your product to keep it glued down. The ferret is very sensitive to humidity. Don lemon, i love you. I love you more, brother. You are the man. Ill see you soon. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. Yes, i do have a lot to talk to you about. This week ive made more of a commitment just to focus on whats true and to bring you whats true and not necessarily like, oh, well, the president said something really wacky so we must lead with it because thats what he wants to you to do. So we are going to do what is important to the viewer and the American Public to educate the viewer to have an informed electorate because we have a very important election coming up. So we want to inform you. I dont want to mislead you, any of you, whoever you support in this election, but you must be armed with the facts. And the fact is you cannot trust this administration, this president , to tell you the truth. You cant trust him to tell you the truth about the virus that has killed more than 185,000 americans. You cant trust him to tell you the truth on our elections. You cannot trust him to tell you the truth on race and crime. Have you listened to him . You cant trust it. But what does he need the truth for when he has people on his side like the attorney general, who will tie themselves up in knots to back everything this president says, including trying to convince you that there is no systemic racism in Law Enforcement. Do you think black people are treated differently by Law Enforcement than white people . I think there are some situations where statistics would suggest that they are treated differently, but i dont think that thats necessarily racism. What is it . Didnt Jesse Jackson say that when he looks behind him and he sees a group of young black males walking behind him, hes more scared than when he sees a group of white kids walking behind him . Does that make him a racist . Does that make him a racist . I dont know. Ill let him speak for himself, but the attorney general right there unknowingly made the case for bias in our society. Whether its Jesse Jackson or attorney general bill barr, if i am the black man walking behind them, i dont want to be treated a certain way. How do you think that makes me feel or any black man feel who is walking behind someone, whether theyre black, white, puerto rican, brown, whatever . So you just made the case for implicit bias and unconscious bias and racism. So the attorney general of the United States, the top Law Enforcement official in the country admitting that black people are treated differently by Law Enforcement. That was the admission. He claims thats because of stereotypes. Still, thats a bias. Knee jerk reactions that black people are scary. Again, a bias. When you rely on stereotypes and when youre afraid of someone simply because the person is black, thats biased and thats racist. Definition of. And its for those comments by the reverend Jesse Jackson again, i said ill let him speak for himself he was speaking in 1993 about blackonblack crime, and heres what he said. Again, 1993, all right . Quote, there is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see someone white and feel relieved. He said he finds that painful. When our show reached out to him tonight, he told us that he was saying we should not be living in fear of each other. And he released this statement. The attorney general took his quote out of context. Attorney william barr made a quote from the 1990s out of context and a quote out of context is a pretext for something else. If mr. Barr wants to know what i said in context and is willing to talk with me and not just about me, we can have that conversation. I look forward to speaking with him. So instead of pointing to something else, maybe he should just admit it or said, no, its not so. Instead of saying, but look over here at the black guy. Thats what happens a lot. And, by the way, one doesnt have to be white to be coopted by a system that is white. You can be any ethnicity. Okay. Thats why you see black officers who treat black people horribly, because they have been coopted by a system that is in some ways corrupt. Not the entire system, not all Police Officers. But people can be influenced and coopted regardless of their ethnicity or racial makeup. Facts. But in the wake of the president s repeated attempts to minimize Police Violence against black people calling it choking, i want you to listen to what joe biden says today. The vast majority of Police Officers are good, decent and honorable women and men. They put on that shield that morning and they have a good reason to go home that night. A vast majority. But those who are not good cops, all the police ive dealt with my whole life, and ive gotten overwhelming support from Law Enforcement through my whole career, theyre the ones that want to get rid of the bad cops even more than anyone else does because it reflects on them. So i said you cannot trust what this president tells you. And you sure cant trust what he says about what may be the most sacred right of americans, and thats voting. The president who has been railing against voter fraud even though fact check after fact check has shown it is extremely rare in this country. Again, facts. Well, today he appeared to encourage voter fraud, telling people to vote twice. Theyll have to go and check their vote by going to the poll and voting that way, because if it tabulates, they wont be able to do that. So let them send it in and let them go vote, and if the system is as good as they say it is, obviously they wont be able to vote. If it isnt tabulated, theyll be able to vote and thats the way it is. Thats what they should do. Why is he giving an interview on the tarmac okay. What he said, thats nothing but a blatant attempt by the president to sow doubt about the election, an election that he is afraid he will lose. Encouraging people to fraudulently cast two ballots apparently in an effort to challenge the system of mailin voting itself. And the attorney general bill barr is right. Hes right where the president wants him, thats where hes right, claiming that voting by mail in the middle of a pandemic is, in his words, playing with fire. There are several states that only have mailin voting, including a republican this is playing with fire. This is playing with fire. Were a very closely divided country here. If people have to have confidence in the results of the election and the legitimacy of the government and people trying to change the rules to this methodology which, as a matter of logic, is very open to fraud and coercion, is reckless and dangerous, and people are playing with fire. I will point out there are five states that only have mailin voting including utah, colorado, washington state, oregon, hawaii, and theyve reported over the years theyve had virtually no problems, but who is trying to change the rules right now . I would say the people who want to go to mass mailin ballots. Hes right, that is playing with fire but not for the reasons that he says. People worried about a pandemic and their health . The attorney generals job is to do everything in his power to protect the integrity of our free and fair elections. Thats what his job is. His job is not to double down on the president s outrageous attacks on voting by mail. As if this is not there arent extenuating circumstances in the time that were living in right now. Because for them, it does not exist, this pandemic. They speak about it in the past tense. It was a democratic hoax, remember . I said this president is afraid that he is going to lose the election. Thats why he is painting himself as the law and order president while encouraging fear and division in america. But guess what . That is a strategy that may not be working, everyone, because we have a brand new cnn poll out, and it finds more americans think joe biden will keep them safe from harm. And there are more numbers that are going to get under this ratingsobsessed president s skin. Today he tweeted a false claim that more people watched the Republican Convention than the democratic convention. This sounds familiar, right . Remember the inauguration . He said, nope, it is not true. Nielsen ratings said 26 million watched joe bidens convention, 20 million watched the Republican Convention. This is the most to witness the Republican Convention, period, around the globe. Sean spicer, whatever happened to him . The attorney general now saying he does not believe there is systemic racism in this country. And that was just the beginning. Evan perez, laura coats, were going to settle this, right after this. Ent, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. Thats the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. And tailored recommendations. I have the power to lower my blood sugar and a1c. Because i can still make my own insulin. And trulicity activates my body to release it like its supposed to. Onceweekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. Its not insulin. It starts acting from the first dose. And it lowers risk of heart attack, stroke, or death in people with known Heart Disease or multiple risk factors. 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So we have the breaking news tonight, the president threatening funding to democraticlike cities, claiming their leaders are allowing unrest, okay, plus an eyeopening exclusive with attorney general william barr saying he doesnt think there is systemic racism with police in the United States and he doesnt believe there is a lack of justice in america. We have evan perez and our senior legal analyst, miss laura coats, a federal legal prosecutor. Good to see you both. Evan, you first. Can you tell me about this white house memo to target cities run by democrats . What is this about . Well, don, this is a memo that specifies four cities in particular washington, d. C. , new york, seattle and portland. And what it says is that the administration, including the Justice Department, are going to take a look at the federal funds that these cities receive from the federal government with a view to cutting them off, essential essentially, because of their handling of protests and anarchy in the words of the white house, the fact that the cities are struggling with some of these protests, or at least in the case of portland are still struggling. In washington and new york, i think there is a different scenario altogether. But what you have the white house doing is essentially, as you said, targeting these cities to cut off the funds, defund, essentially, the police and any other City Services that get federal funds as punishment for some of the protests that weve seen in the streets. That is a real defund the police right there if they want to defund these cities. Laura, lets talk about the attorney general, william barr, and what he told our wolf bli s blitzer. He doesnt believe there is systemic racism in this country. Watch this. I dont believe there are two Justice Systems. I think the narrative that the police are on some epidemic of shooting unarmed black men is simply a false narrative and also the narrative that thats based on race. The fact of the matter, its very rare for an unarmed africanamerican to be shot by a white police officer. What are the facts, laura . The facts are ive been inside of a courtroom more recently than attorney general william barr and have prosecuted cases, my colleagues will tell you that there are, in fact, two Justice Systems, not because prosecutors have some ill intent, but because you often see that as a result of Police Practices and profiles that you will have a disparate impact and disparate people of color in our Justice System. We know about the crack cocaine incidents that still linger on today, and this is all derived from our systemic nation in the 13th amendment. The case can be that overwhelmingly Police Officers dont wake up in the morning with the intent to kill unjustifiably just because they have the badge, but you can recognize that those who are engaged in behavior that is absolutely antithetical to what their charge is, when they engage in criminal behavior, and to simply ignore those cases in deference to trying to pander or cater or placate Police Officers really is bewilderring when youre looking at this person being the head of the Justice Department when we have a Justice Division that actually prosecutes color law crimes. Is that whole thing irrelevant . I think not. Were you watching, laura . I was watching saying this man is not living in reality and he just has to make excuses for the president and this administration. Thats because you and i live on planet earth right now. I know it feels like mars with the covid19 pandemic. We live on planet earth. With our eyes and our ears and actually reading and looking at whats going on, i certainly was agasp. I was looking at my children back and forth and they didnt understand the full context, but i was asking myself, is this really the attorney general of the United States