Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20200824 : vimarsana.com

Mean a oneterm candidate . No. Youre leaving open the possibility youll serve eight years if elected . Absolutely. I want to turn to the attacks weve seen from President Trump this week alone on your mental fitness. His campaign called you diminished. Im curious how you respond to that. Watch me. Mr. President , watch me. Look at us both what we say, do, control, know, what kind of shape were in. Look, i think its a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not theyre fit and whether theyre ready. But i just only thing i can say to the American People, its a legitimate question to ask anybody, watch me. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. Its monday, august 24th. With us we have host of politics nation and president of the National Action network reverend al sharpton. And host of kasie dc on msnbc, kasie hunt. We have White House Reporter for the associated press, Jonathan Lemire. And columnist and associate editor for the Washington Post, david ignatius. Mika and willie have the morning off. David i want to start with you quickly this morning. You wrote a striking column last week about a bombshell of a report that the Republican Senate Intel Committee put out and perhaps it was because of the convention, perhaps people just dont want to talk about russia anymore because theyre so tired of it. But it is extraordinary because all of the questions that we had, so many let me say, so many of the questions that we had that went unanswered by the Mueller Report were actually answered by republicans, including wait, why didnt trump why werent there charges . Why didnt mueller push for charges against don junior and Jared Kushner, a lot of people had been asking that question. And we found out republicans sent a criminal referral for though two. So a lot of Unanswered Questions by mueller that were actually touched upon by rubios committee. It was a devastating report, deserves to be read much more widely than its been. Its important because as you said, this is a Committee Led by republicans, this is not a democratic hit job. This is not a partisan fight. This is an attempt thats taken almost four years to go through the facts of Donald Trumps campaigns dealings with russia. Its overwhelming, the evidence in particular about the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort and his dealings with the person identified flat out in the report as a russian Intelligence Officer who feeds over time more and more information to Paul Manafort who elicits from manafort information valuable to russia and tries at every turn to do russias business through this Trump Campaign conduit. There are other russian intelligence cutouts, people that russians have used, theyre named. The specific details of what they did are all contained in this report, and when i finished reading it, i thought this as you suggested earlier, this is what we needed from mueller. We needed a clear statement of what the russians have been trying to do with the campaign. Never came. The mueller version was very hard to parse. We needed this in the impeachment process, something more wide ranging that got to the basics of how people have tried, with some success, to manipulate the administration. Finally, joe, the most devastating piece of the report, written by republicans, authorized by republicans, was the allegation that russian manipulation through manafort and others in the trump circle continued after the election. They tried to spread a false narrative, you heard it from donald trump, that the real problem here wasnt russian meddling, it was meddling from ukraine. How many times have we heard that . Its stated here in black and white this was a russian intelligence deception, run by Intelligence Officers and we fell for it. And how remarkable that so Many Senate Republicans had been warned about that from the Intel Community and yet around the time of impeachment, a lot of republicans on capitol hill were spewing Vladimir Putins propaganda, even though they had been warned against it from trumps own Intel Committee. Well get to that throughout the show much more. But why dont we see where this race for president is framed up as donald trump goes into the rnc this week. New polling shows that joe biden continues to have a wide lead over President Trump nationally. Biden holds a tenpoint lead over trump. 52 to 42 in the latest cbs yougov poll. That was, for the most part, unchanged since before the election or before the democratic convention. But you did see some tightening around joe biden. The support seemed to be much stronger for biden. There are also other poll osthe hills of the dnc regarding favorably numbers, in the latest abc news poll, President Trumps favorability sits at 32 . 62 have an unfavorable impression of the president. Joe bidens favorability is up 5 points, now at 45 , from the previous week and 40 unfavorable. Well get to battleground polling in a moment but kasie hunt that tells quite a difference between 2016 and 2020 where you had donald trump and Hillary Clinton both fairly unpopular sitting in the low to mid 30s. Here you have joe biden about a dozen points higher on a favorability rating and you talk to people inside the campaigns, they tell you the biggest difference this is how negative politics has gotten, but the biggest difference between this year and four years ago is when you poll the people who dont like either candidate four years ago it broke towards donald trump, this year those people, and its a good number, are breaking disproportionately towards joe biden. Thats right. And this is something democrats dont necessarily like to talk about because it reminds them of Hillary Clintons loss and that was really a low point for so many people in the party, many of whom are now working for joe biden. But thats really the big difference here. Joe biden went into this race with a different perception from voters across the country. There are a lot of reasons for that. Some of which have to do with Hillary Clinton but much of which has to do with the attributes that joe biden brings, what he has brought the last 50 years, the tragedies he has endured that many have shared with him. You mentioned the cbs yougov poll that said the number of people that said im supporting joe biden because hes not donald trump dropped a little bit and the number of people that said im supporting joe biden because i like joe biden ticked upward in a significant way. Which seems to show and well see if it holds the next couple of months headed into the election, it seems to show they succeeded with what they meant to do with their convention. Theyre making the argument you should get out and support this guy not only because of who he is, you want to oppose the sitting president , but for anyone still on the fence making that positive argument in favor of joe biden could potentially make a critical difference. This has also been where the Trump Campaign has failed. Theyve tried to get something to stick to him, a negative attack, gone after his son, tried other tactics, tried sticking him to china, so far none of it is working and if that continues thats going to be the difference here. We played a little bit of the david muir, abc news interview at the top of the show. Joe biden said he would lock down the country again if Public Health officials are saying. Thats something we should watch for this week at the Republican National convention, republicans are seizing onto that thinking it could be an argument that could win for that. Thats making a bet that the americans want the economy to open over the objection of Public Health officials. Well judge whether thats the wise thing but that is something to look for. New battleground state polling came out showing joe biden with a 7 point lead over donald trump in every battleground state. A british firm shows in michigan biden holds a 12 point lead, 50 to 38 . In wisconsin a 10 point lead 49 to 39 . In arizona a nine point lead 47 to 38 . In florida an eightpoint lead, 49 to 41 . In pennsylvania a sevenpoint lead 48 to 41 . In North Carolina, statistically tied but up two points since july. Reverend al, obviously were expecting the swing states to be awfully tight. That showed joe biden up fairly comfortably in most swing states but i would expect you would guess most of the states to go down to the wire this move. Theres no doubt the race will tighten for several reasons and probably go back and forth several times. I think that the campaigns of both candidates must really watch where the concerns of people are. Where are we in the pandemic . Where are we in terms of some of the social questions like policing and like gun control . And i think the ones that read it and handle it correctly will be the ones that will drive their turnout and will have their hand on the pulse of where the country is. When we are entering this rnc starting tonight, it appears that the president is tone deaf because hes playing to an audience thats not there, awe sure ban housewives that are moving toward the urban center, playing to a couple that wave guns at black lives matter marchers, republicans have spoke at the democratic convention. I think his tone deaf is frightening for the republicans. Even though the race may tighten, it gives the edge to the democrats. It is really surprise the tone that hes taking this convention is the same tone that hes been taking over the past four years. Hes playing to his base, his most boileddown version of his base. The base that he spoke to at the inauguration when he was talking about american carnage, the base he spoke to in charlottesville when he was trying to split the difference despite what his sad and pathetic apologists say about what he said at charlottesville, david duke was praising it and saying this is why we voted for donald trump. This is why were going to support donald trump after charlottesville. You can carry that all the way through to this convention. You look at the numbers and again its baffling not only to me but i know its baffling to a lot of sitting members of the house and senate who dont understand why this president continues to do what he does. And in this case, in the issue that americans the most to americans this year, why didnt he listen to his doctors . Why didnt he listen to his scientists. Its what joe biden was telling him to do at the end of january. What a lot of republicans on the hill were begging him to do, listen to your doctors, listen to your scientists. He refused to do that then, hes refusing to do that now. And it is funny that there are people around him who thought his march to st. Johns church on june 1st was a good political move. Now its these same people who obviously just dont understand politics want to seize upon joe biden saying he would listen to his doctors and his scientists. Thats going to be the bloody flag youre waving during the rnc . Lots of luck with that. Speaking of of ignoring your scientists and your doctors and the wisest people around you, the Trump Administration has granted emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat covid19. Initially they held off on the move after top government officials, including dr. Fauci, raised concerns that data from the Clinical Trials were too weak for widespread application of the treatment. Thats what dr. Fauci was concerned about with hydroxychloroquine. An emergency authorization doesnt require the same amount of evidence as fda approval. But they fear the issue for an emergency waiver will make it harder to get to Clinical Trials and make it unclear how plasma works for covid19. It hasnt proven whether it can help patients battle coronavirus or not. There have been some studies that show it may on the margins. Dr. Fauci and other doctors said we need more information. Meanwhile, and i think this is whats so important as we talk about what hes doing with plas plasma. This is whats so important as we move forward regarding vaccines. Because millions and millions of americans are going to be following whether they believe a vaccine treatment has been rushed or not. The New York Times is reporting that trump aides met with congressional leaders last month and said the Administration May approve a vaccine before the november election. Two people briefed on the discussion said a vaccine would probably get emergency approval before the end of phase 3 Clinical Trials in the u. S. Perhaps as early as late september. A white house spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request from the times for comment. Lets bring in right now, msnbc news medical contributor dr. Vin gupta, ill get to you in a moment, doctor, but Jonathan Lemire youve been telling me and youve been hearing, and just about everybody around the white house has been hearing that the president is desperate, hes frantic for a vaccine to be put out to the American People as his october surprise. So with you actually telling us for quite some time, i would guess youre not surprised by this news that white house officials have already been rushing down to the hill saying dont worry, dont worry, were going to rush a vaccine and maybe even get it out by the end of september . The president and his advisers have put a lot of eggs in this basket, joe. There was a real hope to have a vaccine approval, probably not distributed because that takes time but some approval before the election, thinking that could be a last minute game changer that could bolster his the election chances. I think thats why weve seen that talk and speculation is why theres some concern about the approval of the blood plasma yesterday. I was there when the president came out and made the announcement, something a week before doctors urged him to caution, slow it down, were not sure were ready yet. Certainly its shown encouraging signs, a suggestion that it could be helpful but far from a sure thing. It was characterized to me yesterday as a positive Development Rather than a flatout break through, which is how the president was portraying it. How he portrayed it is part of the story. Not something just put out in the fda press release, this was a day after the president took to twitter accused members of the fda of slow walking coronavirus theory pat you cans for political reasons. Allegations theyre members of the deep state to move too slowly pr for President Trumps liking. He was able to make the announcement himself from the White House Briefing room yesterday and the timing raises eyebro eyebrows, the eve of convention, a convention he goes into down by significant margins in the battleground states and hes trying to change the momentum here. Hes appearing all four nights of the convention, and his aides believe that donald trump believes that the answer to a crisis is more donald trump. Well get to later the leaked audio from his sister, the resignation of a senior official, kellyanne conway. But he is betting this treatment is a good sign heading into the conventions and theyre telling lawmakers, allies, they believe theyll have some vaccine announcement before the election and that could be what salvaged Donald Trumps chances. Those two issues regarding kellyanne and the family personal matters there we wont touch on those. Dr. Scott gottlieb, dr. Fauci, all of them had said, doctor, that they needed to move past hydroxychloroquine. The medical community, as a whole, the Scientific Community as a whole said its time to move past hydroxychloroquine. The president still is clinging to this for whatever reason. You now look and see hes ignoring their advice again on convalescent plasma. Again, it may work. It may be a significant break through down the road but we dont have the studies yet. And i am worried that people seeing the president doing this with this sort of government by gesture in time for the rnc and what he said in the past about disinfectants, ha he said in the past about so many other things about this magically going away in april that when its time to roll out a vaccine, americans are rightly going to be skeptical that they cant trust the president that it is safe for them, their children, and their parents. Joe, good morning, good to see you. The biggest concern i had from the presser yesterday was fda commissioner dr. Stephen hahn taking the data we dont have publically and saying theres a 35 survival benefit from convalescent plasma. Listen, joe, ive been giving this, as have my colleagues, to patients since the beginning of march. Its a widely available drug so the notion this therapy is now more prevalent accessible now after this emergency use authorization is not true. Maybe incrementally so. But to your point, data shows theres probably a marginal benefit and not harmful but is this a miracle cure . Is this saving 35 of every 100 lives a statistic the commissioner kept repeating yesterday, the answer is no. He is misbilling it, misrepresenting the reality of the data here. Doctor, help me if you will, from what i say from that study and i just briefly looked at it and tell me maybe you can correct me if im wrong me, but it looked like the difference between 8 dying and 11 dying in some cases, 9 two or three percentage difference, which, of course, if you give something two or three President Trump<\/a> this week alone on your mental fitness. His campaign called you diminished. Im curious how you respond to that. Watch me. Mr. President , watch me. Look at us both what we say, do, control, know, what kind of shape were in. Look, i think its a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not theyre fit and whether theyre ready. But i just only thing i can say to the American People<\/a>, its a legitimate question to ask anybody, watch me. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. Its monday, august 24th. With us we have host of politics nation and president of the National Action<\/a> network reverend al sharpton. And host of kasie dc on msnbc, kasie hunt. We have White House Reporter<\/a> for the associated press, Jonathan Lemire<\/a>. And columnist and associate editor for the Washington Post<\/a>, david ignatius. Mika and willie have the morning off. David i want to start with you quickly this morning. You wrote a striking column last week about a bombshell of a report that the Republican Senate<\/a> Intel Committee<\/a> put out and perhaps it was because of the convention, perhaps people just dont want to talk about russia anymore because theyre so tired of it. But it is extraordinary because all of the questions that we had, so many let me say, so many of the questions that we had that went unanswered by the Mueller Report<\/a> were actually answered by republicans, including wait, why didnt trump why werent there charges . Why didnt mueller push for charges against don junior and Jared Kushner<\/a>, a lot of people had been asking that question. And we found out republicans sent a criminal referral for though two. So a lot of Unanswered Questions<\/a> by mueller that were actually touched upon by rubios committee. It was a devastating report, deserves to be read much more widely than its been. Its important because as you said, this is a Committee Led<\/a> by republicans, this is not a democratic hit job. This is not a partisan fight. This is an attempt thats taken almost four years to go through the facts of Donald Trumps<\/a> campaigns dealings with russia. Its overwhelming, the evidence in particular about the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort<\/a> and his dealings with the person identified flat out in the report as a russian Intelligence Officer<\/a> who feeds over time more and more information to Paul Manafort<\/a> who elicits from manafort information valuable to russia and tries at every turn to do russias business through this Trump Campaign<\/a> conduit. There are other russian intelligence cutouts, people that russians have used, theyre named. The specific details of what they did are all contained in this report, and when i finished reading it, i thought this as you suggested earlier, this is what we needed from mueller. We needed a clear statement of what the russians have been trying to do with the campaign. Never came. The mueller version was very hard to parse. We needed this in the impeachment process, something more wide ranging that got to the basics of how people have tried, with some success, to manipulate the administration. Finally, joe, the most devastating piece of the report, written by republicans, authorized by republicans, was the allegation that russian manipulation through manafort and others in the trump circle continued after the election. They tried to spread a false narrative, you heard it from donald trump, that the real problem here wasnt russian meddling, it was meddling from ukraine. How many times have we heard that . Its stated here in black and white this was a russian intelligence deception, run by Intelligence Officer<\/a>s and we fell for it. And how remarkable that so Many Senate Republicans<\/a> had been warned about that from the Intel Community<\/a> and yet around the time of impeachment, a lot of republicans on capitol hill were spewing Vladimir Putins<\/a> propaganda, even though they had been warned against it from trumps own Intel Committee<\/a>. Well get to that throughout the show much more. But why dont we see where this race for president is framed up as donald trump goes into the rnc this week. New polling shows that joe biden continues to have a wide lead over President Trump<\/a> nationally. Biden holds a tenpoint lead over trump. 52 to 42 in the latest cbs yougov poll. That was, for the most part, unchanged since before the election or before the democratic convention. But you did see some tightening around joe biden. The support seemed to be much stronger for biden. There are also other poll osthe hills of the dnc regarding favorably numbers, in the latest abc news poll, President Trump<\/a>s favorability sits at 32 . 62 have an unfavorable impression of the president. Joe bidens favorability is up 5 points, now at 45 , from the previous week and 40 unfavorable. Well get to battleground polling in a moment but kasie hunt that tells quite a difference between 2016 and 2020 where you had donald trump and Hillary Clinton<\/a> both fairly unpopular sitting in the low to mid 30s. Here you have joe biden about a dozen points higher on a favorability rating and you talk to people inside the campaigns, they tell you the biggest difference this is how negative politics has gotten, but the biggest difference between this year and four years ago is when you poll the people who dont like either candidate four years ago it broke towards donald trump, this year those people, and its a good number, are breaking disproportionately towards joe biden. Thats right. And this is something democrats dont necessarily like to talk about because it reminds them of Hillary Clinton<\/a>s loss and that was really a low point for so many people in the party, many of whom are now working for joe biden. But thats really the big difference here. Joe biden went into this race with a different perception from voters across the country. There are a lot of reasons for that. Some of which have to do with Hillary Clinton<\/a> but much of which has to do with the attributes that joe biden brings, what he has brought the last 50 years, the tragedies he has endured that many have shared with him. You mentioned the cbs yougov poll that said the number of people that said im supporting joe biden because hes not donald trump dropped a little bit and the number of people that said im supporting joe biden because i like joe biden ticked upward in a significant way. Which seems to show and well see if it holds the next couple of months headed into the election, it seems to show they succeeded with what they meant to do with their convention. Theyre making the argument you should get out and support this guy not only because of who he is, you want to oppose the sitting president , but for anyone still on the fence making that positive argument in favor of joe biden could potentially make a critical difference. This has also been where the Trump Campaign<\/a> has failed. Theyve tried to get something to stick to him, a negative attack, gone after his son, tried other tactics, tried sticking him to china, so far none of it is working and if that continues thats going to be the difference here. We played a little bit of the david muir, abc news interview at the top of the show. Joe biden said he would lock down the country again if Public Health<\/a> officials are saying. Thats something we should watch for this week at the Republican National<\/a> convention, republicans are seizing onto that thinking it could be an argument that could win for that. Thats making a bet that the americans want the economy to open over the objection of Public Health<\/a> officials. Well judge whether thats the wise thing but that is something to look for. New battleground state polling came out showing joe biden with a 7 point lead over donald trump in every battleground state. A british firm shows in michigan biden holds a 12 point lead, 50 to 38 . In wisconsin a 10 point lead 49 to 39 . In arizona a nine point lead 47 to 38 . In florida an eightpoint lead, 49 to 41 . In pennsylvania a sevenpoint lead 48 to 41 . In North Carolina<\/a>, statistically tied but up two points since july. Reverend al, obviously were expecting the swing states to be awfully tight. That showed joe biden up fairly comfortably in most swing states but i would expect you would guess most of the states to go down to the wire this move. Theres no doubt the race will tighten for several reasons and probably go back and forth several times. I think that the campaigns of both candidates must really watch where the concerns of people are. Where are we in the pandemic . Where are we in terms of some of the social questions like policing and like gun control . And i think the ones that read it and handle it correctly will be the ones that will drive their turnout and will have their hand on the pulse of where the country is. When we are entering this rnc starting tonight, it appears that the president is tone deaf because hes playing to an audience thats not there, awe sure ban housewives that are moving toward the urban center, playing to a couple that wave guns at black lives matter marchers, republicans have spoke at the democratic convention. I think his tone deaf is frightening for the republicans. Even though the race may tighten, it gives the edge to the democrats. It is really surprise the tone that hes taking this convention is the same tone that hes been taking over the past four years. Hes playing to his base, his most boileddown version of his base. The base that he spoke to at the inauguration when he was talking about american carnage, the base he spoke to in charlottesville when he was trying to split the difference despite what his sad and pathetic apologists say about what he said at charlottesville, david duke was praising it and saying this is why we voted for donald trump. This is why were going to support donald trump after charlottesville. You can carry that all the way through to this convention. You look at the numbers and again its baffling not only to me but i know its baffling to a lot of sitting members of the house and senate who dont understand why this president continues to do what he does. And in this case, in the issue that americans the most to americans this year, why didnt he listen to his doctors . Why didnt he listen to his scientists. Its what joe biden was telling him to do at the end of january. What a lot of republicans on the hill were begging him to do, listen to your doctors, listen to your scientists. He refused to do that then, hes refusing to do that now. And it is funny that there are people around him who thought his march to st. Johns church on june 1st was a good political move. Now its these same people who obviously just dont understand politics want to seize upon joe biden saying he would listen to his doctors and his scientists. Thats going to be the bloody flag youre waving during the rnc . Lots of luck with that. Speaking of of ignoring your scientists and your doctors and the wisest people around you, the Trump Administration<\/a> has granted emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat covid19. Initially they held off on the move after top government officials, including dr. Fauci, raised concerns that data from the Clinical Trials<\/a> were too weak for widespread application of the treatment. Thats what dr. Fauci was concerned about with hydroxychloroquine. An emergency authorization doesnt require the same amount of evidence as fda approval. But they fear the issue for an emergency waiver will make it harder to get to Clinical Trials<\/a> and make it unclear how plasma works for covid19. It hasnt proven whether it can help patients battle coronavirus or not. There have been some studies that show it may on the margins. Dr. Fauci and other doctors said we need more information. Meanwhile, and i think this is whats so important as we talk about what hes doing with plas plasma. This is whats so important as we move forward regarding vaccines. Because millions and millions of americans are going to be following whether they believe a vaccine treatment has been rushed or not. The New York Times<\/a> is reporting that trump aides met with congressional leaders last month and said the Administration May<\/a> approve a vaccine before the november election. Two people briefed on the discussion said a vaccine would probably get emergency approval before the end of phase 3 Clinical Trials<\/a> in the u. S. Perhaps as early as late september. A white house spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request from the times for comment. Lets bring in right now, msnbc news medical contributor dr. Vin gupta, ill get to you in a moment, doctor, but Jonathan Lemire<\/a> youve been telling me and youve been hearing, and just about everybody around the white house has been hearing that the president is desperate, hes frantic for a vaccine to be put out to the American People<\/a> as his october surprise. So with you actually telling us for quite some time, i would guess youre not surprised by this news that white house officials have already been rushing down to the hill saying dont worry, dont worry, were going to rush a vaccine and maybe even get it out by the end of september . The president and his advisers have put a lot of eggs in this basket, joe. There was a real hope to have a vaccine approval, probably not distributed because that takes time but some approval before the election, thinking that could be a last minute game changer that could bolster his the election chances. I think thats why weve seen that talk and speculation is why theres some concern about the approval of the blood plasma yesterday. I was there when the president came out and made the announcement, something a week before doctors urged him to caution, slow it down, were not sure were ready yet. Certainly its shown encouraging signs, a suggestion that it could be helpful but far from a sure thing. It was characterized to me yesterday as a positive Development Rather<\/a> than a flatout break through, which is how the president was portraying it. How he portrayed it is part of the story. Not something just put out in the fda press release, this was a day after the president took to twitter accused members of the fda of slow walking coronavirus theory pat you cans for political reasons. Allegations theyre members of the deep state to move too slowly pr for President Trump<\/a>s liking. He was able to make the announcement himself from the White House Briefing<\/a> room yesterday and the timing raises eyebro eyebrows, the eve of convention, a convention he goes into down by significant margins in the battleground states and hes trying to change the momentum here. Hes appearing all four nights of the convention, and his aides believe that donald trump believes that the answer to a crisis is more donald trump. Well get to later the leaked audio from his sister, the resignation of a senior official, kellyanne conway. But he is betting this treatment is a good sign heading into the conventions and theyre telling lawmakers, allies, they believe theyll have some vaccine announcement before the election and that could be what salvaged Donald Trumps<\/a> chances. Those two issues regarding kellyanne and the family personal matters there we wont touch on those. Dr. Scott gottlieb, dr. Fauci, all of them had said, doctor, that they needed to move past hydroxychloroquine. The medical community, as a whole, the Scientific Community<\/a> as a whole said its time to move past hydroxychloroquine. The president still is clinging to this for whatever reason. You now look and see hes ignoring their advice again on convalescent plasma. Again, it may work. It may be a significant break through down the road but we dont have the studies yet. And i am worried that people seeing the president doing this with this sort of government by gesture in time for the rnc and what he said in the past about disinfectants, ha he said in the past about so many other things about this magically going away in april that when its time to roll out a vaccine, americans are rightly going to be skeptical that they cant trust the president that it is safe for them, their children, and their parents. Joe, good morning, good to see you. The biggest concern i had from the presser yesterday was fda commissioner dr. Stephen hahn taking the data we dont have publically and saying theres a 35 survival benefit from convalescent plasma. Listen, joe, ive been giving this, as have my colleagues, to patients since the beginning of march. Its a widely available drug so the notion this therapy is now more prevalent accessible now after this emergency use authorization is not true. Maybe incrementally so. But to your point, data shows theres probably a marginal benefit and not harmful but is this a miracle cure . Is this saving 35 of every 100 lives a statistic the commissioner kept repeating yesterday, the answer is no. He is misbilling it, misrepresenting the reality of the data here. Doctor, help me if you will, from what i say from that study and i just briefly looked at it and tell me maybe you can correct me if im wrong me, but it looked like the difference between 8 dying and 11 dying in some cases, 9 two or three percentage difference, which, of course, if you give something two or three Percentage Points<\/a> i think everybody will take that, but that was just one study and dr. Fauci and others want to see more studies. So why would the fda commissioner come out a couple of days after donald trump accused him of being in the deep state and sully his reputation by painting this as a miracle cure when we really dont know yet . Thats a great question, joe. Youre right. First of all, youre right. For your viewers out there, plasma in the first three days after somebody gets admitted we think theres maybe three out of every 100 individuals survive as a result of getting that plasma. Thats what we see from the initial analysis from mayo. Why the fda commissioner decided to do what he did, we see whats happening were worried about politicization of the fda. We need the fda to look at the data, look at the evidence and based on randomized control trials, somebody gets the drug, the therapy, another person does not and you compare the two. Joe, you mentioned this earlier, the deepest concern is that were not going to be able to effectively bring scientific clarity to this issue. Because i dont know if a patient or Family Member<\/a> is going to say give me the placebo or sign me up for that study because the president is saying were giving emergency use authorization for something that hasnt been sufficiently studied to date. Dr. Gupta, thank you for being with us. We really do appreciate it. David ignatius this reminds me of what ross wrote about this weekend and also what marsha guessin has said, that donald trump, instead of actually governoring, getting bills passed, using the constitution as his road map to get things done, hell do sort of not even government by fiat but government by gesture. Hell do something, make a big announcement and it will never turn out to be as big as we thought. One example after another example, about emergency funding to build the wall, to do this, and emergency orders to do that. But here we have him making an announcement on the eve of the rnc, again, that his scientists and doctors dont want him to make, but it is once again government by gesture. Ill make an announcement and people will believe im doing something big. Joe, i refer to this at the beginning of the Trump Presidency<\/a> as the iron whim. These statements that would seemingly come out of nowhere but with such ferocity. Trump is still waiting for a miracle to deal with this pandemic. The greatest Public Health<\/a> crisis of our lifetimes. He doesnt have a plan, he doesnt have a systematic idea. The latest bright object shining in front of his eyes is the convalescent plasma treatment. And as dr. Gupta and others have said, theres some promising aspects to it. My fear is that by politicizing the Public Health<\/a> process, the Many Americans<\/a> who already are suspicious of medicine, there are a lot of people who dont want to take vaccine, a lot of people that dont want to use the therapies available now, they dont trust doctors, they dont trust big institutions of authorities, he just feeds that narrative. And one of the scariest things you can think of is, lets say sometime next year we do have a vaccine that works, but a lot of people wont take it because they dont trust the scientific establishment because that mistrust has been cultivated by President Trump<\/a> over months and now years. And i think that, in some ways, could be the biggest damage that his presidency does. He doesnt simply delay our response to the pandemic, he makes it impossible for people to feel confident and comfortable about the vaccines and therapies that could actually turn the corner. I think thats the hidden danger of what hes doing now. Im hearing it from one person after another, one friend after another, asking me when i talk about the possibility of a vaccine, lets hope we get a vaccine, one person after another says are you going to take it . Are you going to let your family take it . Youre right, there is that skepticism and so much of it has to do with the way, even among trump supporters, the way the president has handled himself since last moarch on this. Jonathan lemire im curious, we are going into a week where donald trump is going to be show casing his accomplishments over the past four years and trying to draw a distinction between himself and joe biden. Hes behind, he knows, his staff knows that hes behind. They need a big week to cut in on some of the leads that joe biden has right now. Whats the game plan . What should we all expect . I want to mention to davids point, the president himself expressed skepticism on vaccines as well. Thats another element to what we have as a nation facing us. In terms of the rnc it begins tonight. It will be based in washington largely, although there is a component in the day in charlotte, the original host site of the rnc, the president yanked it out of North Carolina<\/a> due to a feud with the governor, moved to jacksonville, that got cancelled as well. One piece did remain, the business, the roll call, that will be today, this afternoon in North Carolina<\/a>. Theres certainly speculation of cameos by the president and Vice President<\/a> there. And tonight in prime time is back in d. C. You can see the rundown on your schedule. Donald trump jr. And nikki haley are part of the headliners tonight. We are told the expect the president to play a role every night, that includes his major address thursday night. In terms of themes the president is saying aides are suggesting it will be a positive message this week. Theyll tout the president s accomplishments but also a vision Going Forward<\/a>. Hes had difficulty explaining what a second term would look like, what his policy agenda would be. Its also hard to justify this picture of an optimistic Convention Week<\/a> considering it come osthe heels of the president turning to dark apocalyptic cities, suggesting that joe biden is a puppet of the radical left, hates what america stands for and were looking at a bleak future if the democrats come in to me. So he has always really tread in dark territory, a pivot to a bright opt must imistic message week will be a surprise to hold if he pulls it off. Highly unlikely. Just as unlikely as Boston Red Sox<\/a> fans celebrating anything this year. We go ahead by one run, i think its 2004 again, only to have our hearts crushed in the end. You and i for a moment yesterday joe, we had dreams of october glory. Now we look at the standings and realize were 9 and 20, one of the worst records in the league and frustrated by everyone employed by the Boston Red Sox<\/a>. I put Whitney Houston<\/a> on, give me one moment in time and then we lost to the orioles. Winner of best Early Morning<\/a> tweet has to go to jake sherman, today in 1972, in berkeley, the grateful dead with a great intro from bill graham. Good time music for good time people. Of course, those kids that were at the grateful dead concerts they were just looking for a good time. Just good, clean fun, innocent time. Bill graham, i need to get heileman on her and do a segment on bill graham. Still ahead on morning joe our next guest says dont believe the story that President Trump<\/a> will tell at the convention. Steve ratner joins us with the latest on economic recover that isnt. First lets go to bill char karins he has news on two storms developing. Good news on one of them. This was the going to be the First Time Since<\/a> the 18 on 1800s. You had two storms but things are breaking up a bit . Yes. Finally good news in 2020, marco is getting sheered apart not a big event for louisiana or florida. Well have isolated problems with storm surge, i dont expect power outages. A couple weak decoupled storms. That turns focus to laura. Laura is just south of cuba still 65 miles an hour winds and has a chance to become a powerful storm tuesday and wednesday. Right now the Hurricane Center<\/a> thinks its can be 105 mile an hour. Right now its going along the beaumont port arthur area. Our european model strengthens the storm during the day tomorrow and takes it into the texas, louisiana border area around port author to lake charles, about 60 miles out. Were seeing from houston to new orleans preparing for the potential for a major hurricane to head your way because this has that potential to rapidly intensify tomorrow. Marco not a big deal today, laura has the potential to be a significant hurricane with Mass Evacuations<\/a> starting as early as tomorrow. Keep that in mind along the northern gulf coast. With the covid implications you can imagine how problematic that could be. Well keep you updated on that over the next couple of days as we watch the tropics heat up. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Morning jo well be right back. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Cancer wont wait. It wont wait for appointments to open up or test results to come back. Thats why at Cancer Treatment<\/a> centers of america, our worldclass experts give you the care you need, when you need it. With appointments in as little as 24 hours and rapid test results to get you a personalized treatment plan. Because cancer isnt just what we do, its all we do. Call today. Appointments available now. Call today. No matter where you live, where you live has never mattered more. 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Whatever your business needs, comcast business has the solutions to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward. Call or go online to find out more. Itcan it help with snoring . Le of the year on the sleep number 360 smart bed. Ive never heard snoring. Exactly. No problem. And done save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart<\/a> bed. Plus, free delivery when you add a base. Ends monday. I want free access for whto research. . Yep, td ameritrades got that. Free access to every platform. Yeah, that too. I want to know what im paying upfront. Yes, absolutely. Now offering zero commissions on online trades. Lets bring in former treasury official and morning joe economic analyst steve ratner who ahead of tonights rnc has a rebut to the message that the white house is going to be pushing. Before you go through the charts i want to ask you about this economic recovery. Again, i i the sooner the economy recovers the better. There are a lot of people suffering out there. But im looking at whats going on and i have the same sort of feeling i had leading up to september 15, 2008 and i kept reading about credit default swaps and i kept reading about all of these Financial Instruments<\/a> that i didnt understand and i said, it doesnt seem to make sense that they can spread the risk around that much. And it doesnt end up costing somebody. Theres never a free lunch. Just like the trillions of dollars of debt were accumulating now were going to have to pay for. This is what i dont get. So right now, tenants cant be evicted, and i understand why, very humane, rational thing to do during this time, this once in a lifetime event were having. But then the they cant make their payments and you hear of these big whether its the gap or victorias secret or other major stores that are filing bankruptcy or cant make their payments on their new york stores so theyre not making those payments. All right. The landlord though isnt getting that money and the larger property holder and the Larger Company<\/a> and the firms that have invested arent getting their money. And at the end, the banks, when everybody defaults arent going to get their money. Im curious, is that why you had Berkshire Hathaway<\/a> and Warren Buffett<\/a> devest from his bank stocks. And are we looking at a situation that ultimately, when this all ends up, it all all of this flows uphill to the banks and then downhill to people trying to get money out of atms. Im not trying to be a pessimist here but i dont see a good ending to all of this. No, joe, i dont think youre trying to be a pessimist, but you have to think about these things because they did happen just about 12 years ago and its possible they could happen again. So first on the question of people paying their rents and things like that. The evidence going on out there is that Office Tenants<\/a> are pretty much mostly paying their rent. People who live in multifamily and apartment buildings and things like that are paying a surprisingly large amount of their rent. The real problem, which you alluded to is with retail, it was on its way downhill before this and its become a disaster and many of those retailers arent paying their rent. So you will see foreclosures of buildings by lenders. You do see going on in the Derivatives Market<\/a> a lot of trading at stuff sometimes low levels because of the fear. But the banks have a different problem, the problem is they cant make money at 0 Interest Rates<\/a> because theres only so much you can charge people to borrow and youre making nothing paying nothing on the deposits so the interest margins are being squeezed. The short answer i think we learned a lot from 08 09 and were watching the factors you talk about because they could explode but so far the increase in number of bankruptcies up 52 year over year has been orderly and managed by the Financial System<\/a> reasonably well. Well talk about this later but first lets get to your charts and walk us through the state of the economy as you see it, as opposed to how donald trump sees it. Sure. Were going to hear a lot im sure this week from donald trump about how great it was before the virus, and how great it will be after the virus passes. But thats not really what the evidence shows. So lets start with the earlier period, which is his first three years in office. Obviously jobs were probably the thing most on the minds of americans. We see on the gray side of the chart is obamas period where he created 224 jobs a month in his last three years so a comparable period to donald trump. Donald trump created 182,000 jobs during that same or his threeyear period. Whats the net of that . 1. 5 million fewer jobs created under trump than under obama during the same threeyear period, last three years of obama, first three of trump. If you want to talk about economic growth. Trump claims had e had the greatest economy ever. He was actually 7th out of his 11th predecessors for gdp growth. That was before the virus. Now, lets talk about the virus. Trump told us we were going to have a v shaped recovery, bounce back, and thats not what were seeing out there. This shows the job report we get from the department of Bureau Statistics<\/a> you can see the drop in jobs during the shutdown. We knew that was happening and existed. Then start to recover 2. 7 million jobs in may, 4. 8 million jobs in june. But then in july the number of jobs created dropped to 1. 8 million so a slower recovery. You can see, we lost 22. 2 million jobs we regained 9. 3 million jobs and thats 42 of what we lost with the number of jobs being added each month slowing down. The need to shutdown again, i think, has taken a significant toll on the pace of the economic recovery. The economy has bounced off the bottom but if you look at the chart to take one example of whats going on out there. This is a chart of revenues received by Small Business<\/a>. You can see the bottom in the spring, right around the time the stimulus packages were enacted and spending to the Small Business<\/a>es rose sharply and steadily into july. That bump in the middle is the fourth of july but then it plateaued and its even turning down a little bit. So as we sit here today, Small Business<\/a> revenue is down 19. 1 relative to where it was at the beginning of the year. And again, we have other data to show similar factors, for example, foot traffic in stores, restaurant reservations things like that paint a picture of an economy thats not any vshaped recovery, that is recovering slowly and has a long way to go to get back to where it was even at the beginning of this year. I remember Scott Gottlieb<\/a> in april saying we needed a downturn in the summer to rest and prepare for the fall. Certainly businesses needed that badly because so many Small Business<\/a> owners are suffering and working class americans are really taking a disproportionate hit here even though apple stock may be going up, its certainly there is such a disconnect between wall street and main street right now. Perhaps as great as its ever been. David ignatius is with us steve and has the next question. David . Steve, your charts are a reality check as always. I want to ask you, following up on what joe was saying about the hidden dimension of whats going on, and thats the danger that the inequality and the distribution of income and wealth in the United States<\/a> already a big problem, part of the reason that donald trump has such strong support, angry people who feel they were left out. Is that going to be worse as we go deeper into this pandemic caused recession and partial recovery . David, yes. Theres no question that what we are going through right now, purely on economic terms has kp exacerbated the inequality, people at the bottom not doing well. If you look at job loss figures in the socalled recovery its been focused on people with College Degrees<\/a> at the upper end lost the fewest number of jobs whereas people at the bottom, without a high school diploma, lost the most jobs. The industries most effected, things like travel, hospitality, restaurants, all of those have many workers at the lower end of the wage scale who lost their jobs and who knows if or when theyre going to come back. So your question is right on, this so called recovery is definitely having disproportionate impacts on people and worse impacts on people of color, women, people toward the lower end of the income scale. Steve, following up on davids question. One of my concerns also has to do with the fact that the stock market may be going up because apple stock is going up, facebook is going up, and microsoft and other Companies Like<\/a> that, amazon are going up. But you also have some Companies Going<\/a> up on the promise that post pandemic theyre going to be able to continue to downsize as far as employees go. It reminds me of what Richard Haass<\/a> said that this pandemic is not going to bend, change history, its going to accelerate history. I fear weve seen it halfway through the pandemic that millions of jobs that have gone away in the pandemic probably arent coming back because major corporations figured out how to get by with less and making more money on wall street because theyre cutting to the bone. Joe, thats absolutely right. Every conversation i have with a ceo or business person, investment person in the course of our work, i hear the same thing. I hear ceos saying i learned from the pandemic that i dont need the same number of people when i come back as i had before. Ive heard a lot from ceos about cutting back on capitol expenditures but that means also not bringing people back to go ahead with those projects. So yes, no doubt business is going to use this as a moment to rethink their cost structures, the number of employees they have. And, of course, we also dont know if that last 10 or 20 of the economy is going to come back any time soon. When are theatres going to open . When are sporting events going to allow spectators . When are people going to travel the way they did before . So this has a longterm effect on unemployment and well see high unemployment for a while, several years at least ahead of us. Steve ratner, sobering news but thank you for being with us. What steve said about hearing from ceos, i heard the same thing. This pandemic has shown them they can get by with fewer workers, fewer capital expenditures. And this income disparity that we had was an economic crisis of our time even before the pandemic. Whoever wins this november is going to be dealing with this. In fact, were going to be de dealing with this as a country for the next 20 years. Now to protests in wisconsin overnight after video posted on social media showed a Wisconsin Police<\/a> officer shooting a black man in the back multiple times at close range. The man is identified as 29yearold jacob blake. The Police Department<\/a> said officers were responding to a call for a domestic incident yesterday afternoon when the shooting happened. A warning that this video is graphic. Dont you do it. Dont you do it. Seven shots fired. Blake was air lifted to the hospital. A Family Member<\/a> says hes out of surgery and stable. The officers have been placed on leave. Officials say the Wisconsin Department<\/a> of justice criminal investigation will investigate. And reverend al, i you know, i have not made a lot of friends on either side, the right or the left, many times here on these sort of discussions, because first of all, i dont i dont like to second guess what Police Officers<\/a> do. If there are ambiguities on video you never know unless you were on the ground, just like troops in war. But this looks just like what we saw in North Charleston<\/a> back in 2015. This looks just like what we saw on Staten Island<\/a> with eric garner, and yes, this looks like what we saw not quite as premeditated as what we saw in minneapolis. But this looks really bad. What can you tell us about these officers firing seven shots at the back of a black man who was yes, not listening to them, but trying to get into his car . They not only shot him as he was trying to get in his car. One was holding his garments. Obviously he was moving away from the officer, which means he was no threat. You only supposed to use deadly force if there is a life extenuating circumstance. How was he a threat constituting a life extenuating circumstance if he was literally moving away from you and you were chasing him . He may have been disobeying you, resisting you if you want to go that far . But there was no life threat there for you to shoot seven times. Obviously were looking into this. Thats why this friday, i have called a march on washington around these issues. George floyds family will be there. Eric garners family. All these family. We need federal legislation on policing. Not because were antipolice but how do you, in this climate, still have officers feel they can hold a mans undershirt and shoot at him at his back seven times . The only way we stop this, they know theyll be accountable by law and good policemen are not in any way shape molded in the image of these kinds of police behaviors. Thank god were told this young man is stable. But think about them in the last several months during this pandemic that died and there has to be a response. Were doing that friday but the congress and this president must respond and we must put the pressure on. Too much is too much. Its beyond enough is enough. Kasie hunt has a question for you, but kasie this reminds me also of what happened in atlanta, georgia at that wendys restaurant where a black man was shot in the back when he was running away from Police Officers<\/a> who could have easily gotten control of him without shooting him in the back. And what had actually transpired was, you know, this is at the fundamental root of all of this was not something that was deserving of the response that happened, whatever crime may or may not have committed was not deserving of what police delivered in these cases. And i mean, reverend al, thank god mr. Blake, his family is reporting, that he is stable. We obviously are thinking of him. But again the reports here, initially, are saying that he was actually trying to break up a fight after police were called. What should happen now to the officers that are involved in this . Is there anything has the Police Department<\/a>, in your view, done the right thing . What are you and your National Action<\/a> network looking at taking in terms of steps in terms of the next 24, 48 hours . Were looking into it and well be talking to lawyers of the family obviously. But you have to look at the fact, yes, its correct to suspend the police and you have to look at whether or not there should be prosecution. You cannot have policeman that decide to be the judge, the jury, and executioners on the scene. We understand this man was breaking up a fight, was not in the fight. Even if he was, policemen come to restore order, not to institute disorder. And in this case it could have been deadly force. This is why, again, we must keep putting attention on this, and this is why, even in a pandemic, people are risking themselves with all precautions to go to washington and say you have to do something about this on a federal level. Thank god, some states, including Governor Cuomo<\/a> in new york, have signed state laws. We need National Laws<\/a> on policing. This is too much. Tell us more about friday and how people can get involved. Friday is the 57th anniversary of the march on Washington Well<\/a> be at Lincoln Memorial<\/a> at 9 00 a. M. We are giving everyone face masks, theyll be social distancing, and taking temperatures as they come in. Its at Lincoln Memorial<\/a>, go to National Action<\/a> network dot net to get information. We want people of all races and ages to come and say we need to deal with policing at a federal level and we need to deal with restoring Voting Rights<\/a> with the john lewis Voting Rights<\/a> bill and we need to do it safely but firmly. Now to developments regarding the Postal Service<\/a>. The house passed a 25 billion bill for emergency funds if for the service. The money aims to reverse a cost cutting and operational change that many fear could jeopardize mailin ballots and take the vote away from millions of americans. The vote passed in the house, earning some support from republicans who expressed concerns about delayed mail ahead of the election. Its likely to meet opposition from the senate and the president. With us now, a political forecaster and analyst, rachel b bitcoffer. Also with us, Army Combat Veteran<\/a> and host of angry americans podcast, paul r ryekroft. Hes going to have a look at the impact the Postal Service<\/a> changes will have. Rachel, whats fascinating about your poll, it was rural voters, mainly republicans, in pennsylvania. I thought it was a brilliant move, you went to actually a Republican Polling Firm<\/a> just to make sure the results were straight up. What did you find . Yes, i did d. It was only possible to run the poll by the benefits of a do nor who stepped up to fund the cost. What i found, at 57 , republicans said they would be less likely to support these republican districts would be less likely to support members that want to defund or privatize the ups. So thats something that the gop members should note when theyre looking at the house and eyeing potential action in the senate. And number two its a notable finding because 57 in the swing disstri d district is a majority. But in a survey where 56 of the respondents are responsibilipubt the equivalent of 90 . That means the post office is popular, people dont want to see it defunded or privatized. To say ironic it seems to be an understatement that republicans are fighting right now to undermine the United States<\/a> Postal Service<\/a>. I remember in 2000, during the bush gore recount debacle i was going across the state of florida fighting for to make sure that every republican vote was counted for george w. Bush and our biggest battle ended up in northwest florida, my home district, making sure that all military ballots that had been cast and mailed in were counted. The military i mean, the United States<\/a> Postal Service<\/a>, especially during an election, but throughout the year, every year, is a lifeline for so Many Service Members<\/a> to their friends and loved ones and families and Young Children<\/a> back in the states and across the world. How do these cuts how does this chaos impact our vets . Tremendously, joe. Trump has done some pretty stupid and damaging things, this one is epically and stupidly damaging. About 100,000 veterans are employed at the post office, make up 15 of the workforce. About 50 of those veterans are also disabled. The post office distributes medication to veterans across the country. Our troops vote via the post office. This cuts to the heart of america. Its an attack on our troops, the national defense. The only people celebrating this are our enemies. This is a losing political argument for trump, for the republicans, it and should be ended immediately. I think its going to hurt us deeply, for a long time and in swing states, places like ohio, florida, pennsylvania where he needs to make headway. So its damaging and longlasting joe. I want to pick up on that point there and bring it back to you, rachel, the idea how this post office fight can be damaging in states the president need to win particularly pennsylvania where you studied and i went with the president last week outside of scranton. They feel the biden camp will do well. They need to really animate the rural voters. What impact are you seeing beyond the post office but in terms of how those voters think about the president right now . Well, i actually did it was really strategic to choose pennsylvania. Three completely rural districts with no population that was suburban urban. What i found was a pretty weak approval of the pandemic for his pandemic handling. It does suggest some areas of softness and this usps issue is an area that could be exploited to offset that overall trump enthusiasm he does have out there. Its definitely their only path to victory is to exploit and enhance that rural exurban advantage. Theyre not going to be able to offset his negatives in the suburban urban areas because hes always daily his own worst enemy in terms of calling women suburban housewives and making gaffes that set them back in that regard. I think this poll, if you dig into the restotort on the websi which i urge you to do, its going to show there are exploitable weaknesses in the electorate. And these are voters you dont usually get to see because usually theres not enough in a stand alone survey for us to look at. David ignatius has a question for you, paul. David . I want to ask about a polling issue that clearly is one that trump and his supporters think about a lot. And that is the idea that people, when theyre asked questions by pollsters dont tell the truth. Theyre embarrassed to say they support trump or trump policies. Its argued there was some of that happening in 2016, thats why the numbers for Hillary Clinton<\/a> never captured the decline in her support. Do you see any evidence that people are not giving honest answers to pollsters when they ask about the 2020 race and trump . Yes. But not yes. Sorry. Sorry. I would say, yes. Im not a polling expert but i have a good feel for the country and talk to folks across the country in the military and veterans community. I think a lot of folks are not honest about support for trump, theyre not honest about racism until they go to the polls. You hear people say the post office isnt profitable. You know what else isnt, the army, marine corp. , department of defend thats not what we care about, its about getting the job done. The post office should be thought of the same way. I called President Trump<\/a> president mayhem all the time. The only thing this benefits is the people that want to rip us apart. It hurts our vets and our entire country. Rachel were are there hidden voters in 2020 like there were in 2016 . What i was going to say is, davids question are voters lying in polls . They are but not in the way he means. They lie because they know what theyre answering when asked a question like is donald trump doing a good job on the pandemic, theyre answering for their team or tribe. The way i wrote the report, i wanted people to see the power of partisanship and polarization in response. You can see rural voters pretend they dont need the post office, and that shows like if im answering for trump as a republican, i know that this poll is going to show more than the actual objective reality of the pandemic, its going to show that Party Allegiance<\/a> and so voters do lie to pollsters but in terms of like underweighted trump support there has not been a lot weve done a lot of diagnostic work in the Public Opinion<\/a> realm for that, that is not one of the diagnosed major contributing factors to 2016, i have actually looked a that the pretty robustly. That is such a great point, rachel. Because you can look and see how people have responded during this pandemic. You can even look rat polls tha show 85, 90 of republicans think donald trump has done a great job on the pandemic and they dont believe that as many people have died and this and that and the other. But you look at how theyre voting with their feet, how theyre keeping their families like in the state of florida, voters were way ahead of ron desantis. They stayed in place. You see the same thing with schools. You see the same thing with people going to donald trump rallies. They arent going. They havent been going in as large a number and in large part because they know this disease, this pandemic is deadly. And yet they will lie to pollsters and will say its not as bad as the press or democrats are making it out to be because, like you said, if they said otherwise it would be seen as an attack on donald trump. Paul and rachel, thank you for being with us. We greatly appreciate it. A great discussion. We are now at the top of the hour, a few minutes past at least. Jonathan lemire and reverend al sharpton are still with us. And joining the conversation, political reporter for the Washington Post<\/a>, and political analyst robert costa. Also with us historian john meacham, his new biography on john lewis entitled his truth is marching on is officially out tomorrow. Cant wait to talk about that. And former chair of the New Hampshire<\/a> Republican Party<\/a> and cofounder of the Lincoln Project<\/a>, Jennifer Horn<\/a>. The Lincoln Project<\/a> is out this morning with a new ad and here is the first look. Evil is real. We ignore it when it seems educated, polite, superficially charming, even sophisticated. We trivialize it, ignore it. Trumps covid team, led by Jared Kushner<\/a> decided to ignore testing in states with democratic governors, evil was in the room. It looked like any other bureaucratic meeting there were power points, spread sheets, briefings and estimates of the dead. It was that meeting that led to policies that led to more killings than pear harbor, vietnam, and world war i. It was premeditated. Some people say trump and kushner were incompetent when it came to covid but lets call it is it is what is. What it is, its evil. Its hard to let that pass Jennifer Horn<\/a>. Why focus on a soninlaw instead of the president , and secondly, thats about as tough of an attack ive heard against anybody in the Trump Administration<\/a>, why . Good morning, its great to be with you joe, because its truth. Its honest. Jared kushner has a tremendous amount of influence over the president and the policies that come out of the white house. Weve seen that over and over again since he became a member of the administration. What we know is that the president decided to listen to Jared Kushner<\/a> to bring him in on the covid the Pandemic Response<\/a> team and they made a conscious decision to pursue policies that have led to the unnecessary death, the otherwise avoidable deaths of 176,000 americans. You know, i was chairman of a state party for several years up here and i used to warn our activists against overheated rhetoric, getting too big. Focus on the truth i would tell them. In this particular case, evil is the truth. Jennifer, this seems like a good time to ask you this question. I talked about how in 2000 i was working on the bush recount in florida and spent entire time going around the state. Youre here this morning, it reminds me of the times i was in New Hampshire<\/a> talking to you when you were not only a member in Good Standing<\/a> of the Republican Party<\/a> but you ran the Republican Party<\/a> in New Hampshire<\/a>. When i went up and visited some of your events i saw people who i see now quoted on tv and they are unrecognizable. Their words are unrecognizable from the groups and the meetings that i sat through just four, six years ago. So i guess as we go into an rnc that looks like, you know, a south american strong man celebration of his family speaking at some event, have you come to grips yet, have you come to terms yet, with what happened to our Republican Party<\/a> . Again, were not im not talking about the Republican Party<\/a> of 2000. Im talking about even the Republican Party<\/a> of 2014, 2015. I dont know if i will ever fully understand what happened and where it came from. Like you, there were a lot of people in my life for whom i had not just respect but great affection. And to watch them today protect and defend and try to advance a donald trump Republican Party<\/a> is its a little bit heart breaking. Its shocking. But it doesnt matter it doesnt matter why. It doesnt matter anymore where this came from. What matters is that we stop it and have a path Going Forward<\/a> for our country that sends a clear and loud message to future generations that the United States<\/a> of america completely and soundly rejected donald trump and the bigotry and racism and misogyny that came along with him. So as i see some of my friends getting together to prepare for this Rnc Convention<\/a> this week, im shocked, frankly, at the participation of some of them. You know, john meacham, i hope more people will go out, if they want to understand whats happening on the right, in the United States<\/a> of america, i hope they go out and read ann applebalms book, because it is chilling what Jennifer Horn<\/a> just said in New Hampshire<\/a> is identical to what ann said about her Close Friends<\/a> that were conservative in poland. And as ann points out all too well, this is not just a phenomenon in the United States<\/a> of a breakup on the right. This has happened its happening in poland, its happening in hungary, its happening in france, its happening in spain, its happening in the uk, its happening here. It seems to be happening on the right across the western world. People who have been friends and fellow travelers their entire life and conservative causes now on polar you know, politically, on polar opposite sides. Yeah. There are two buckets here, right. Or i would say basket, but that didnt work out for secretary clinton going on. There are forces of nativism, nationalism, tribalism, people confronted by chaos, what they see as chaos or a shifting world respond viscerally. And one of the projects of the enlightenment and one of the projects of america, however flawed in the beginning, was that that visceral passion, that fear of the other of some changing circumstance in which you would feel dislocated that that passion could, in fact, be managed by reason. By understanding that, in fact, democracies work when more people have a stake in them. Prosperity is essential to the survival of democracy. The rule of law, religious tolerance and liberty. Thats the product of thats what reason gave us as they examined the human experience. So thats the broad, global thing. The other more individual one to go to jennifers point, and i dont want to put this in her mouth by any means, but what youre about to see in this convention and what i think were seeing among a lot of your former members of your former party is this odd combination of that leads to power over any kind of principle. Im not asking folks to be Margaret Chase<\/a> smith every day or Martin Luther<\/a> saying here i stand, galileo on trial. You dont need that level simply to say this candidate in 2016 and this president is in no way what the Republican Party<\/a>, at its best, represents. So were about to see a convention that is this fascinating combination of nepotism and narcissism wrapped up in nationalism. And i think the choice couldnt be clearer, right. Last week was about you, this week is going to be about them. So what do you want in charge of your affairs . And its its just its fascinating, bob costa, you certainly reported on National Politics<\/a> for some time for the post but you also followed conservative politics as well. There was a consensus among conservatives four years ago, five years ago well say, and that is we were the government of we were the party of small government. We were the party of at least at least we said we were, for balanced budgets, we fought for balanced budgets, we did at least when i was there, we supported a strong nato to stand against communist, the soviet union and afterwards, standing against the authoritarian putin regime, and yet all of that has radically changed. And so, as we move into this rnc Convention Week<\/a>, tell us how different will this convention be from any pretrump republican convention. Its a convention unlike any other, joe. I was looking at my notes the other day from the past decade. Think back to what john was saying. As a reporter i can trace it back to at least 2013 to what jennifer was saying after the mitt romney loss, and in 2013 you had the government shutdown, the push on the right, the hard line immigration policy. You started to see with my top sources a resignation in the highest echelon of the gop they could longer guide their core voters. They also felt the map was elusive to them, if romney couldnt do it, who could. You started to see in the 2013, 2014, 2015 period the swirling storm of nativism and national im start to rise, the rise of breitbart and other outlets and the belief that the jeb bushes of the world could bring together a coalition to keep power. But there was an acceptance building in 2014, that the base was in control as much as they wanted to deny it. So when donald trump effectively took control in 2015 of the party they were in a position to accept that reality. And five years later here we are, the culmination of that process, the republicans accepting their reality. They dont know how to control or guide their party so theyre going along, those who remain, with President Trump<\/a>. Theyre going along for the ride. Very few, though, are actually going to speak at the convention who are in tight senate races. I think joanie ernst may be one of the only ones. Lets look at the polls, theres a poll that was out and not really notable, its still a 10point lead for joe biden. And, of course, the National Polls<\/a> are National Polls<\/a>. So certainly the old republican me would remind everybody that a rising tide lifts all boats. So biden being up by ten actually means hes probably got a better gap for him and his team in some of the swing states. The most important thing, though, here, what we saw is that people more people after the convention said they were voting for joe biden instead of simply voting against donald trump. Theres another poll regarding favorability regarding joe biden and donald trump. The latest poll, President Trump<\/a>s favorability sits at 32 . Thats kind of been there for four years. 60 of adults have an unfavorable opinion of the man who is our president. Joe bidens favorability is up 5 points from the previous week. Theres that positive bump. It may not have moved the polls much but moved his Favorability Ratings<\/a> up five now at 45 with 40 unfavorable. That is different than four years ago where Hillary Clinton<\/a> and donald trump were both sitting in the low to mid 30s when it came to Favorability Ratings<\/a> when it came to whether americans considered them to be honest and trustworthy. We must say, joe biden sitting at 45 also after the Trump Campaign<\/a> has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to trash his character. Im sorry i called him teflon joe months ago. I think its a label that does stick because so far nothing theyve thrown at him has stuck. Remember the death star, Brad Parscale<\/a> used the death star imagery to suggest a weapon to drag down joe bidens numbers. It hasnt worked. China hasnt worked, hunter biden hasnt worked. And theyre focused now on painting him as a puppet of the left. It obviously hasnt had a wide impact. I think weve been on this for a while, joe. It was one of the key things about 2016 where voters didnt like either candidate, clinton or trump. For Hillary Clinton<\/a>, of course, someone who had been in the eye for decades. Those voters that didnt like either broke heavily for trump in the races final days, particularly after the james comey letter that suggested the fbi investigation into secretary clintons emails were going to reopen. Joe biden has always been in the public eye for a long time but is largely well liked. Popular as Barack Obamas<\/a> Vice President<\/a>. Got a lot of goodwill among voters, not just democrats if that role. The Trump Campaign<\/a> says they believe in the next two and a half months they can teach voters more about joe bidens record and the more they know him, the less theyll like him but to this point that hasnt worked so far. What in the world are they going to do that they havent done already because maybe theyll get more personal. Are they really going to attack beau biden . Are they going after joe bidens dead son now . They already tried his son thats alive. I have to say, how stupid are the people behind you . I know you report on them every day so you cant answer that question. But these are the people that told you and others that they thought that the june 1st event was a positive event when all of us watching it knew that was going to be one of the defining moments not only of this campaign but of his presidency. Where are they going they cant attack him on china, they cant. Because donald trump has said so many things about president xi that are humiliating to a sitting president. They cant attack him on, what, nepotism . Look at the lineup this week. I seriously am curious where do they think he has a weakness . Where is his weakness in his record . Theyre going to point to some of his positions like support for the crime bill in the early 90s that they hope will make democrats fall out of love with him. This isnt donald trump trying to win over joe biden supporters, its donald trump trying to keep joe biden supporters home, getting them to not turn out to vote, particularly in a pandemic and with the obstacles placed in front of them. Its about depressing joe bidens turn out rather than winning the voters over. Thats always been the theory of the case. Theyre pointing at that. Joe as a final point, though, the family, you bring up a great point. We have not been told of any attacks on beau biden. Think about last week how the biden family was used to tell the story of joe biden, the empathy. And its about the branding, the trappings of the office, its little about donald trump. And how he has seized control of the Republican Party<\/a>. Right now the Republican Party<\/a> is having an event in charlotte, North Carolina<\/a>. Last night the Republican Party<\/a> voted they would not be adopting their own platform. There is no Party Platform<\/a> for 2020 but simply they would support the Trump Administration<\/a>. Basically, the republican platform is whatever donald trump wants it to be. And you know, reverend al, Jonathan Lemire<\/a>s point about trying to depress voters from voting for joe biden reminds me of a couple of things. First of all, it reminds me of the efforts the Trump Campaign<\/a> had in 2016 to do that and also the Intelligence Community<\/a> told us later that the russians were also sending out negative Hillary Clinton<\/a> messages to black voters and other minorities and, of course, you heard the news last week from politico that donald trump was celebrating the fact that black turnout was the lowest it had been in 20 years. And so, i guess the question at hand, one of the most important questions in this election, considering it was after all black women especially but black women and black men that after we had our two woke primaries decided in South Carolina<\/a> that they were going to be heard and they supported joe biden. Joe biden owes his m nomination to black voters nationwide. The question is, are black voters going to turn out the way they did in 2008 and 2012 . Or is this going to be a repeat of 2016 . Black voters, in my opinion, are energized and mobilized. The question is, can we protect their vote so that when they turn out their votes will be counted and if there is the mailin process that will not in any way be hindered by tampering with Postal Service<\/a>s. If this is a fair election, i think i will see overwhelming turnout from the black community, which is why people are rallying and galvanizing. The trump strategy is clearly not to try to appeal with black voters or their interests, its to suppress them. When you see the audio come out that hes celebrating a low back turnout for voters in 2016 saying thats good for me. Anything that i have seen thats shown the energy went up over the weekend. When people heard him say out of his own mouth what we always felt, out of his mouth hes celebrating, they didnt vote therefore its a vote for me. It couldnt have been a better gift for the Biden Campaign<\/a> than for him to say to blacks, your knock voting not voting is a vote for me. Donald trump said that. He can say what he wants about criminal reform in the era of george floyd, in the era of yesterday a shooting in wyoming, him not to deal one time with policing and interest of blacks being disproportionately affected by covid19 and other issues in our community, his only way is to try to suppress the vote at the post office and at the polls, purging voters, moving voter sites and thats why we must rally and do all we can to stop that from happening. Again the president asked four years ago to black vote es what do you have to lose . A lot of black voters would say four years later, a lot. I willett them go down that list. But we all could just looking at the news. So lets go around really quickly before we end this block and just get some final thoughts. Jennifer youre in a swing state of New Hampshire<\/a>, a poll came out the other day showing an eightpoint lead for joe biden. Im curious in that swing state that has bounced back and forth, and i talk about bush in 2000, george bush barely winning New Hampshire<\/a> ended up being as much of a difference maker as anything else. Whats New Hampshire<\/a> looking like right now as they we move towards labor day and the official launch of the campaign . Shl donald trump is coming back to New Hampshire<\/a> at the end of the week after the convention and hes doing it because he knows hes not positioned to win New Hampshire<\/a> right now. And frankly its not just amongst New Hampshire<\/a> democrats and independents that hes suffering. I think what we see as we go forward this week is looking at this convention, i cant help but be struck by the difference between last weeks convention where democrats were clearly going out of their way to unite the country, bringing republican voices in, bringing, you know, a broad array of a broad range of speakers in, women, minorities, representing the full fabric of our country. And you compare that to the lineup that the republicans have offered for this week its a very different looking stage, a different story thats going to be told. And i think the difference in those stories is what you see reflected in the polls of New Hampshire<\/a> and a lot of other swing states as well. Bob costa, what are you covering this this week . What stories are you following specifically . Ill be on duty today for the Washington Post<\/a> covering the first day of the convention. Im watching for is there any pitch from these speakers to reach out to new voters. Voters who may be skeptical of President Trump<\/a>, or is this all about a culture war, a political war, rallying Republican Voters<\/a> who have long been with President Trump<\/a> and well know early on where thats all going to end. And also listening carefully to the president and his allies talk about the pandemic. Everyone says privately the president is not only running again against Vice President<\/a> biden, hes running against the virus, whats his answer as he makes his case to the nation. John meacham well have you back tomorrow to talk about your incredible book but give us a preview right now about john lewis . The spirit of john lewis would tell all of us now, the spirit and substance, is that you have to vote. That is the great act of nonv nonviolent protest. Its the great insight of the american experience. For our conversation about reaching this audience and that audience and making a case to the nation. The president isnt trying to make a case to the nation. Hes trying to make a case to a slice of the country, not the whole country, not in the hopes as john would have said that we might be able to become a beloved community, we might be able if we put our hearts and minds in the right direction, the direction shaped by the gospel and by the attitudes, you dont have to be a christian or jewish or anything to believe that you love your neighbor as yourself. And that is a good starter, and it might end up being a good finisher. Thats what john lewis meant. He was going across a bridge to a reality. The other thing quickly, the fact that Donald Trumps<\/a> favorability rating is 32 , i want bob to get in his newspaper archives today, 34 of the country favorably viewed joe mcarthur after the censure in early 1955. Thats been my number. 34 of the country you can get them to believe anything. The fact that trump is below where joe mccarthy was after the United States<\/a> senate said no, you have to stop tells you something about where, god willing and the spirit of john lewis willing, were moving p but its going to be the closest run thing you ever saw in your life. John would tell us to keep marching. By the way, speaking of joe mccarthy, larry tie has a biography coming out. Well have him on the show to talk about that. Ive been reading some of it, its chilling. Meacham, im going to get killed by alex, but i just one of the things that i found shock g shocking and i heard about it before, one of the things i found shocking in larrys book was just how horribly one of my political heroes, dwight eisenhower, responded. What a coward he was. And i had always known he bit his tongue but to sit there and endorse him in 1956 52. Im sorry 1952. Yeah, 52. Of course, 56 he wouldnt. But in 1952, and to actually have his staff begging him to put in a few words defending George Marshall<\/a>, one of the great general and one of the great statesmen of his time of all time was just when we look at these republican senators that are remaining silent, its its good to remember that even some of at least my heroes acted abhor rently in the face of the mccarthyism. He bit his tongue and said it will pass. Theres a big debate about this as you know. But in 1952, he has a paragraph in a speech defending George Marshall<\/a> in washington, eisenhower did. And lets be clear here, George Marshall<\/a> created dwight eisenhower, eisenhower was a not particularly prominent military officer. Marshall should have had the command of over lord. Marshall gives the command to eisenhower. Eisenhower becomes eisenhower not least because of George Marshall<\/a>s generosity. Joe mccar thur and people of the right wing were calling George Marshall<\/a>, the conscious agent of the communist conspiracy. Eisenhower had an elusion to it, an attack a defense of general marshall. Heres a moment the staff did the right thing but the candidate didnt. They released the speech to the press but by the time eisenhower got to the stage he had been talked out of it. So the speech is in the hands of the New York Times<\/a>, eisenhower wouldnt say it. Its we have to judge everybody on the totality of their lives, but thats a moment where i wish every republican, every republican, every american would think about that. Do you want us to be talking about you as how you took somebody on, or how you took a dive . And here we are talking about how he took a dive. It bothered president eisenhower the rest of his life. The rest of his life. And by the way, im going to tease i promise im going to move forward. Just to let everybody know how George Marshall<\/a>s character was, at least publicly, in politics, there was one moment during the fdr presidency where fdr, who was not used to being crossed. Nobody crossed fdr, especially in public. He turned to George Marshall<\/a>, and said george, dont you agree with me . And he turned to him and said, no, actually mr. President i dont agree with you at all. That is the last time fdr called his general by his first time, but guess what, he kept him around because he always knew particul marshall would tell him the truth. John meacham we will see you tomorrow. Jennifer, always great seeing you, thank you for being with us. And bob costa well be following you all week and following your great reporting all week. So, coming up, can joe biden make america decent like him . A political analyst asks that, and joins us next. Cant wait to talk to him. Youre watching morning joe. Well be right back. Well be right back. Im looking for my client. Im his accountant. Im so sorry. [ sighs ] hey hey man youre here. You dont trust me here is vegas, do you . Well. I thought we had a breakthrough with the volkswagen. We did. Yes. We broke through. Thats the volkswagen thats the cross sport. Wow. Seatbelts. Please, just tell me where were going. Tech when youve got. Safelite can come to you. Tech and youll get a text when were on our way. Tech just leave your keys on the dash and well replace your windshield with safe, nocontact service. Tech schedule at safelite. Com. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Welcome to the rnc. Republican national chaos. Because trump is moving the covid moment with job destroying incompetence and deadly mismanagement. Students and teachers left to themselves, grandparents left to die alone, an economy left to perish because trump has no plan for covid. Nothing will change because trump wont change. It is what it is. Enjoy the convention. Im joe biden and i approve this message. Thats a first look at a new add from the dnc as republicans take their turn starting. It comes as more than two dozen members of congress are throwing support behind joe biden, among them jeff flake who urged lawmakers to abandon the president and save their stooul. With us now susan dell prior record score susan delpersio, and anhan, and best selling author and novelist kurt anderson, his new book evil geniuses the unmaking of america. I saw her recent interview in the New York Times<\/a> and i always thought you were a cool, hip dude. You are mistaken. I always assumed, though, that carter had always looked the way he looks now with the wave and the way he looks but graden was once a young man as well. We were all once young and 34 years ago, quite young. Exactly. Anond, one of my favorite conversations that i had on the show in years people ask whos your favorite guest. I say billy graham was probably my favorite guests but one of my favorite conversations was one we had after donald trump was elected. I heard you talking about it too and it was whether the institutions will hold under the coming threat of donald trump. I argued it would. You argued that perhaps they were, but you were certainly more skeptical. Whats that report card three and a half years in . I think its a mixed picture and what none of us would have expected. I feel far more respect, even than i did then for our judiciary. Just the at all levels not the Supreme Court<\/a> we all focus on but i think judges have been very resilient and brave in the face of this. I think there are sections of the media that have obviously done extraordinary work Holding Trump<\/a> to account. I think a lot of us in the media have also not done as good a job and understanding these are not normal times and a lot of the media, traditional media the kind of reluctance to call racism, racism or call white nationalism, white nationalism. Reality is not polite right now. I think, above all, the civic organizations in this country, grass root organizations that have mercilessly held trump to account and put political pressure on people and raised the price for republicans capitulation has been remarkable and may continue to be a remarkable role to play in a potential biden presidency. Kurt, anan brings up so many great points, and its theres a mixed report card, the media, donald trump and his reporters would say its response has been ferocious on issues of russia, corruption, many issues swirling around the Trump Presidency<\/a>. You look at the judiciary and even federal judges seem to have as little use to him as his own sister does, a well known famous federal judge. So the courts, the media, a lot of institutions that are under attack in poland and hungary and other countries, are but look at the gutting of the state department. Look at the gutting of the state institutions, the administration. We really do that is im always skeptical when people say were suffering damage we can never recover from. Were america, i think we can. But i look at Something Like<\/a> the state department and have real fears that the state department, Intel Community<\/a> may be damaged for some time to come. Indeed and the Justice Department<\/a> may be more profoundly. Exactly. We dont want to go yet to the speculative what happens after november 3rd, but an institution i have my fingers crossed on, if it comes to this, is the military as well. And as i was hopeful about the judiciary and an anand says theyve come through with flying colors, i hope the military will as well. But beyond the institutions of government, i think we have to, of course, look at the nongovernmental institutions like the Republican Party<\/a> and like its like its rational, sane leaders on the economic right who are the subject of my book. And the capitulation and the falling down on the job of that institution. Of our conservative party is it remains to me, as it must to you, the most Extraordinary Part<\/a> of what has happened. And frankly, the most surprising part. We see these ads of all the correct and savage things that people like ted cruz said about donald trump four years ago. But look at what donald trump was saying four years ago about wall street is the problem well take care of banks. Four years from now, which is why annes piece about joe biden being decent, so its important because we need something to bring us together even if its decency. Thats what we need right for you. You know, rev, i dont want to oversimplify this. I ask anybody here to please push back on me, hard if im oversimplifying when i say one of the real threats to american democracy, its not donald trump, im just going to say it. I think facebook is a real threat to western style liberalism, to our democracy, because we dont have a common set of facts we discuss anymore. You have conspiracy theories flying left and right and its not just here. Other authoritarian regimes, and we saw it over the weekend, a buddhist monk, i believe in cambodia, who spent his entire life fighting for the rights of people in his country. Had tlo flee the country because facebook allowed the posting of horrible, scandalous false lies against him. This is a real threat. The naacp sees it as a real threat. The Antidefamation League<\/a> sees it as a real threat. How do we get across facebook makes billions. Its a threat because when you cannot have the regulators that does have some power in terms of television and media, but has not really grappled the misinformation that a lot of people if not most people are getting the information, you are fighting to put out myths, laws, conspiracy theories before you with get to the truth. One of the things i was listening to about this in terms of those that are in the Resistance Movement<\/a>, whether its established organizations or organic, is that you end up with so much misinformation that people like the russians can give out information and act like they are a Civil Rights Group<\/a> or black lives group. We talk about whether institutions have been permanently altered by this president , movements of resistance have been challenged by this presidency. Im very interested in you addressing that, because the Resistance Movement<\/a> has now had to deal with the fights of intergenerational fights or misinformation fights or do you overreact and, therefore, you get in the way of your own victories by going too far in a way that would turn off people that are potentially your supporters. I think the Resistance Movement<\/a> has also been challenged by this president. You know, what i would say is there is one institution were not talking about, which is the institution of american political economy. Whether america is working for most americans. And here the story is not really trumpism as a departure from history, but as a continuation, an exaggeration of history. America has continued to not work for most americans as it hasnt for 40 years with growing ferocity in the trump era. So i think the question with biden becomes, is he willing and able for the sake of actually animating not some centrist republicans to come along with him but way more fashion on his own side than he has right now. Is he able to do more than just unity, u. N. Fy for a purpose, for a thrilling national purpose. Is he willing to go beyond personal decency and actually fight for structural decency so that america actually gets back to working for most americans. And that is such a perfect segue into using and your book and a conversation i had with steve radner earlier and i talked about how the pandemic is not changing history, its accelerating history. I asked steve, millions of these jobs that are going away, are they going to come back, because the ceos are saying, hey, the pandemic has shown us we can get by with less, we can get by with fewer workers, we can get by with fewer capital expenditures. Yeah, wall street is going up because what does wall street love more than anything else, a ceo making an announcement theyre firing people, usually because theyre cutting major capital costs. Boy, whats good for wall street right now may really be bad for main street. It feeds into your book. It does, indeed. I second everything anan just said. We see the stock market at close to an historical high as both the extreme inequality thats been building for decades, by no accident, and we have this ravaged economy with historical historically huge, high unemployme unemployment. As you say, jobs are not coming back as ceos have been saying for years now, and more emphatically that automation and a. I. Are going to mean we can reduce our workforces even if we manufacture things down to the level of facebooks and googles. We can become more digital companies. As we plunge forward into that jobless future with this incredibly unequal, insecure, unfair system for the masses of americans, the stakes are being doubled and tripled. As anand says about the republicans and democrats effectively be the last living liberal on economics. They have to have a distinct vision for Going Forward<\/a>. All right. Kurt andersen, new book called evil geniuses the unmaking of america. And anand, i hope you can come back. I would love to talk about the ink and continue this conversation, get kurt and susan. Would love to continue the conversation. Still ahead, republican donor turned postmaster general, louis dejoy is on capitol hill testifying before the oversight committee. Well talk to the chairwoman of that committee, Carolyn Maloney<\/a>. The American People<\/a> remember Ronald Reagan<\/a> was 77 when he left office. You would be 78 entering office. You have said yourself youre a transition candidate. Are you a oneterm absolutely not. You could serve eight years . Absolutely. I wa i want to turn to the blistering attacks from President Trump<\/a> on your mental fitness, whether youre up for the job. His campaign has called you diminished. Im curious how you would respond to that. Watch me. Mr. President , watch me. Look at us both. What we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape were in. Come on. Look, i think its a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether theyre fit and ready, but i just the only thing i can say to the American People<\/a>, its a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. Its monday, august 24th. With us we have host of msnbcs politicians nation, reverend al sharpton. Nbc news news capitol hill correspondent and host of kasie d. C. , kasie hunt. Reporter for associated press, Jonathan Lemire<\/a> and columnist from Washington Post<\/a>, david ignatius. David, i want to the start with you really quickly this morning. You wrote a striking column last week about just an absolute bombshell of a report that the Republican Senate<\/a> Intel Committee<\/a> put out, and perhaps it was because of the convention. Perhaps people just dont want to talk about russia anymore because theyre so tired of it, but it is extraordinary because all of the questions we have, let me just say so many of the questions we had that were unanswered bit Mueller Report<\/a> were actually introduced by republicans, why didnt trump why werent there charges. Why didnt mueller push for charges against don jr. And Jared Kushner<\/a>. We found out the republicans sent a criminal referral for those two. A lot of Unanswered Questions<\/a> by mueller that were actually touched upon by rubios committee. Joe, it was a devastating report that deserves to be read much more wildly than it has been. Its important, first of all, thats a Committee Led<\/a> by republicans. This is not a diment hit job, this is not a partisan fight. This is an attempt thats taken almost four years to go through the facts of Donald Trumps<\/a> campaign dealings with russia and its overwhelming. The evidence in particular about the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort<\/a> and his dealings with a person who was identified flat out in the report as a russian Intelligence Officer<\/a>, who feeds over time more and more information to manafort, who illicits from manafort information thats valuable to russia, who tries at every turn to do russias business through this Trump Campaign<\/a> conduit. There are other russian intelligence cutouts, people that russians had used, their name, the specific details of what they did are all contained in this report. And when i finished reading it, i felt as you suggested earlier, this is what we needed from mueller. We needed a clear statement of what the russians had been trying to do with the campaign. Never came. The mueller version was very hard to parse. And we needed this in the impeachment process. We needed something more wide ranging that got to the basics of how people have tried with some success to manipulate the administration. Finally, joe, the most devastating piece of the Senate Intelligence<\/a> Committee Report<\/a> written by republicans, authorized by republicans, was the allegation that russian manipulation through manafort and others in the trump circle continued after the election. They tried to spread a false narrative. Youve heard it from donald trump. The real problem here wasnt russian meddling, it was meddling from ukraine. How many times have we heard that and its stated here in black and white. This was a russian intelligence deception run by Intelligence Officer<\/a>s, and we fell for it. And how remarkable that so Many Senate Republicans<\/a> had been warned about that from the Intel Community<\/a> and yet around the time of impeachment, a lot of republicans on capitol hill were spewing Vladimir Putins<\/a> propaganda. Even though they had been warned against it from trumps own Intel Committee<\/a>. Well get to that throughout the show, much more. Why dont we see where this race for president is framed up as donald trump goes into the rnc this week. New polling shows joe biden has a wide lead over President Trump<\/a> nationally. Biden holds a tenpoint lead over trump, 52 to 42 in the latest cbs yougov poll. That was, for the most part, unchanged since before the election or before the democratic convention. But you did see some tightening around joe biden. This report seemed to be much stronger for biden. There are other polls on the hill of the dnc regarding favorability numbers. In the latest abc news ipsos poll, favorability for President Trump<\/a> is 32 . Joe bidens favorability is up five points from the previous week. Now at 45 , and 40 unfavor aun. Well get to battleground polling in a bit. Kasie hunt, that really tells quite a difference between 2016 and 2020 where you had donald trump and Hillary Clinton<\/a> both fairly unpopular sitting in the low to mid30s. Here you have joe biden about a dozen points higher on a favorability rating. And you talked to people inside the campaigns, they tell you that the biggest difference, and this is how negative politics has gotten, but the biggest difference between this year and four years ago, when you poll the people who dont like either candidate, four years ago it broke disproportionately towards donald trump. This year those people, and its a good number, are breaking disproportionately towards joe biden. Yeah, thats right. This is something democrats dont necessarily like to talk about because it reminds them of Hillary Clinton<\/a>s loss, and that was a low point for so many people in the party, many of whom are working for joe biden. Thats really the difference here. Joe biden went into this race with a different perception from voters across the country. There are a lot of reasons for that. Some of which have to do with Hillary Clinton<\/a>, and many have to do with the attributes joe biden brings, the person he has been in our public life for the last 50 years, the tragedies hes endured in his private life that many people in the public life have shared with him. You reference that new number in the cbs yougov poll, that essentially the number of people who say im supporting joe biden because hes not donald trump dropped a little bit and the number of people who said, im supporting joe biden because i like joe biden, ticked upward in a pretty significant way, which seems to show, and well see if it holds over the course of the next couple of months heading into the election, but it seems to show they succeeded with what they set out to do with their convention, which was to make a positive argument to say, hey, you should get out and support this guy because of who he is, not only because you want to oppose the sitting president. We know democrats are motivated to do that, but for anyone that is still sitting on the fence, making that positive argument in favor of joe biden could potentially make a critical difference. This has also been where the Trump Campaign<\/a> has failed. They have tried to get something to stick to him, a negative attack. Theyve gone after his son. Theyve tried other tactics. They tried to tie him to china. So far nothing is really working. And if that state continues through, i think that that is that is potentially going to be the difference here. One thing we are seeing, joe, we played a little bit of that david muir interview, the cbs news interview at the top of the show. Biden, former Vice President<\/a> joe biden said he would lock down the country again if thats what Public Health<\/a> officials are saying. That is something im told we should watch for this week at the Republican National<\/a> convention. Republicans are seizing that, holding onto it and thinking that may be an argument that could win for it. Thats making the bet that the americans want the economy reopened over Public Health<\/a> officials. Well have to be the judge if thats the wise thing. Still ahead, well run through polg of key battleground states where joe biden is r winning by more than 12 points. S book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Did you know prilosec otc can stobefore it begins . Urnaded, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. Prilosec otc uses a unique delayedrelease formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. It then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Reinventing. Its what with comcast business, your Small Business<\/a> can work faster, with powerful internet from the nations largest gigspeed network. Work safer, with all your connected devices automatically protected by securityedge. And work anywhere, with comcast business at home, our new businessgrade Internet Solution<\/a> for remote workers. Whatever your business needs, comcast business has the solutions to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward. Call or go online to find out more. New battleground state polling has come out showing joe biden holding at least a sevenpoint lead over donald trump in every battleground state hes ahead. The polling firm redfield and will t wilton, a british form, shows biden holds the lead. In wisconsin, a tenpoint lead, 49 to 39 . In arizona, a ninepoint lead, 47 to 38 . In florida, an eightpoint lead, 49 to 41 . And pennsylvania, a sevenpoint lead, 48 to 41 . And in North Carolina<\/a>, the president is statistically tied with joe biden, but up two points and up four points since july. Reverend al, obviously were expecting these swing states to be awfully tight. That showed joe biden up fairly comfortably in most swing states. I guess you would expect most of those states to go down to the wire this november. Theres no doubt that the race will tighten for several reasons, and probably go back and forth several times. I think that the campaigns of both candidates must really watch where the concerns of people are. Where are we in the pandemic . Where are we in terms of some of the social questions like policing and like gun control. And i think the ones that read it and handle it correctly will be the ones that drive the turnout and will have their hand on the pulse of where the country is. When we are entering this rnc, starting tonight, it appears that the president is tone deaf because hes playing to an audience thats not there. Suburban housewives moving towards the urban center. Hes talking to people that wave guns at black live matter marches, were marching peacefully, being speakers. Contrasting that with colin powell or governor kasich. I think hes tone deaf is frightening for the republicans. If he doesnt catch up, even though the race may tighten, it gives the edge to the democrats. You know, it is really surprising the tone hes taking this convention is the same tone hes been taking over the past four years. Hes playing to his base, his most boiled down version of his base, the base that he spoke to at the inauguration when he was talking about american carnage, the base he spoke to in charlottesville when he was trying to split the difference, despite what is sad and pathetic apologists what he said at charlottesville. David duke is praising it, saying, this is why we vote for donald trump. This is why were going to support donald trump, after charlottesville. You can carry that all the way through to this convention. You just look at the numbers. Again, its baffling, not only to me but i know its baffling to a lot of citying republican members of the house and senate who dont understand why this president continues to do what he does. And in this case, in the issue that matters the most to americans this year, why didnt he listen to his doctors . Why didnt he listen to his scientists . Thats what joe biden was telling him to do at the end of january. Thats what a lot of republicans on the hill were begging him to do, listen to your doctors. Listen to your scientists. He refused to do that then. Hes refusing to do that now. And it is it is funny that there are people around him who thought that his march to st. Johns church on june 1st was a good political move. Now its these same people who obviously just dont understand politics want to see. Joe biden saying, he would listen to his doctors and his scientists. Thats going to be the bloody flag youre waving during the rnc . Lots of luck with that. Speaking of ignoring your scientists and your doctors and the wisest people around you, the Trump Administration<\/a> has granted emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat covid19. Initially the fda held off on the move after top government officials, dr. Anthony fauci, raised concerns that data from the Clinical Trials<\/a> were too weak to support widespread application of the treatment. Remember, thats what dr. Fauci was concerned about with hydroxychloroquine. An emergency authorization doesnt require the same amount of evidence as the fda approval. According to bloomberg news, researchers fear the fdas decision to issue an emergency waiver just in time for the rnc, by the way, will make it harder to get patients into Clinical Trials<\/a> and get a clear picture of whether and how convalescent plasma actually works to treat covid19. So, for the Clinical Trials<\/a> havent proven whether plasma can help patients battle the coronavirus or not. There were some there have been some studyiies show it mayn the margins but dr. Fauci and others have said we need more information. Meanwhile, and i think this is so important as we talk about what hes doing with plasma, this is whats so important as we move forward regarding vaccines, because millions and millions of americans are going to be following whether they believe a vaccine treatment has been rushed or not. Tthe New York Times<\/a> reports te president met with congressional aides last month and said the Administration May<\/a> approve a Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a> before the november election. Two people briefed on the discussion briefed the times saying a vaccine would probably get emergency approval before the end of phase 3 Clinical Trials<\/a> in the u. S. , perhaps as early as late september. A white house spokeswoman did not immediately respond to question from times for comment. Well talk to a leading doctor about the president s new Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a>, dr. Vin gupta joins us next on morning joe. Joe. Sometimes you want to go where Everybody Knows<\/a> your name and theyre always glad you came you want to be where you can see the troubles are all the same you want to be where Everybody Knows<\/a> your name applebees. All your favorite burgers, all just 8. 99. Now thats eating good in the neighborhood. All your favorite burgers, all just 8. 99. Find your getupandgo. Find pants that arent sweats. Find your friends. Find your sense of wander. Find the world is new, again. At chevy wed like to take you there. Now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15 of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. Thats over fiftyseven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. Its time to find new roads, again. Am null. Welcome back. Weve been talking about the Trump Administration<\/a>s granting emergency authorization for a Covid Treatment<\/a> despite recommendations from a lot of his top doctors and top health officials. Lets bring in nbc news medical contributor, dr. Vin gupta. Dr. Gupta, first of all, whats your initial reaction . Good morning. Good to see you. The biggest concern i had from the presser yesterday was fda commissioner dr. Stephen hahn taking the data we dont have publicly and saying theres a 35 survival benefit from con voe le convalescent plasma. Its a widely available drug. So the notion this therapy is now more prevalent, more accessible now after this emergency use authorization is just not true. Maybe incrementally so. To your point, mayo clinic data and other data suggest theres probably a marginal benefit and this is not harmful. But is this a miracle cure . Is this saving 35 of every 100 lives. A statistic the commissioner kept repeating yesterday. The answer is, no, there is no evidence to that and he is misbilling it, he is misrepresenting the reality of the data here. Thats really key because, number one doctor, help me, if you will. From what i saw from that study, and i briefly look add at it, and maybe you can correct me, but it looked like we were talking about a difference between 8 dying and 11 dying in some cases. 9 and 12 two or three percentage difference, of which of course if you give somebody two or three Percentage Points<\/a>, i think everybody will take that. But that was just one study. And dr. Fauci and others want to see more studies. So, why would the fda commissioner come out a couple of days after donald trump accused him of being in the deep state and sully his reputation by painting this as a miracle cure when we really dont know yet . Thats a great question, joe. Youre right, first of all, youre right. For your viewers out there, plasma in the first three days after somebody gets admitted, we think theres probably a 3 out of every 100 individuals survive as a result of getting that plasma, at 30 days maybe that number bumps up to five, which is what we see in the initial analyses from may crow. Why the fda commissioner decided to do what he did. We see whats happening. Were worried about the politicalization of the fda. These decisions that get made because the president is tipping his hat. Thats deeply concerning because we need the fda to look at the data, look at the evidence and based upon randomized control trials. Somebody gets the drug, somebody gets the therapy, another person does not and you compare the two. Joe, you mentioned this earlier. The deepest concern here is were not going to be able to effectively bring scientific clarity to this issue because i dont know a patient or a Family Member<\/a> who will say, yeah, give me the placebo or sign me up for that study because they see the president saying were going to give emergency use authorization for something that hasnt been sufficiently studied to date. Dr. Gupta, thank you so much for being with us. We really do appreciate it. Coming up, the House Oversight<\/a> committee is set to hold a hearing on protect mailin ballots. The chair of that committee, Carolyn Maloney<\/a> joins us straight ahead on morning joe. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. So heres to the strong, who trust in our performance and comfortable, longlasting protection. Because your strength is supported by ours. Depend. 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The fire, now the second largest in california history, has claimed the lives of six people, including a 70yearold man found in the mountains. 250,000 people remain evacuated or under evacuation orders as firefighters keep battling the blazes. Experts say the wildfires are largely responsible for some of the worst air quality on the planet in the bay area. President trump has declared a major disaster in the state. Now to the state of michigan, which has agreed to pay nearly 600 million to the victims of the flint water crisis. It will be designated for children poisoned by ladytainted tap water after the officials changed the citys water supply in 2014. Tens of thousands of Flint Residents<\/a> are expected to be eligible to receive the money under the settlement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge in michigan. With us now, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the flint water case, corey stern and susan del percio is back with us as well. Corey, thank you for being with us. Talk about the settlement, what kind of relief is it going to bring to the people of flint . Thank you so much for having me. Mostly its going to bring significant relief for children. Its a community that as most of your viewers know is impoverished, hit very hard by coronavirus. Most of the kids in flint start out life as pretty big underdogs. For the last six years have kind of woken up every day with water that wasnt good to drink and a community thats been greatly affected by the crisis. And now many of them will receive money that will change their lives for decades. Its a really good day for kids in flint. Corey, what have you uncovered . Of course, practicing law, i would read things in the newspaper, but then when i dug into the discovery of a particular case, i was always shocked by what i found. What did you find that shocked you and just the question, why did they change the water supply in 2014 . Did they ever come up with a good justification for it . To answer your first question, i was shocked by how easy it was for people in power to not tell the truth and effectively lie once they realized that something bad had happened. You know, the old adage about the coverup is worse than the lie. In this instance, before they made the switch there was no reason to think anybody was doing anything bad or intentionally to hurt the kids, but ultimately, once they realized that the water was bad, it took them forever to take corrective actions. Instead, they took every effort to try and cover up the things they had done. In terms of why they made the switch, the answer to most questions people dont know the answer to is money. The reason why ultimately the switch was made, it was to try and save money for a city that was under Emergency Management<\/a> because it had a very difficult time managing its own funds. So, when you combine the desire to save money with the result of saving money, really poisoning an entire community, the government there was left in a lurch because they couldnt go back or felt they couldnt go back because it was more expensive. Simultaneously, they didnt want to admit any of their shortcomings. Corey, you mentioned that money is a big factor for the decisionmaking on the michigan side. You did a great job getting money for the plaintiffs. But a lot of people are still wondering, wheres the justice . Whos going to be held accountable . Are there next steps to give people the justice they so well deserve . Justice comes in many forms. One in our world is money, is relief, is to try to compensate folks for what theyve lost. Theres a parallel criminal investigation taking place simultaneously as well. Prior to Governor Whitmer<\/a> taking over as the chief executive for the state and her attorney general, there were criminal prosecutions, cases had been bound over for involuntary manslaughter. When the new administration came in, they sort of wiped the slate clean and decided to begin their own investigation, restart the investigation. So, how people feel about justice in terms of money, it may not feel as though theyre given justice, but i think in the coming weeks, there will likely be some tandem, some parallel information that comes out from either the a. G. s office or the Governors Office<\/a> as part and parcel of that criminal investigation. All right. Corey stern, thank you so much for being with us. Of course, thank you for your hard work for the people of flint. We greatly appreciate it. On a rare saturday session, the house passed a bill that would reverse recent costcutting and operational changes that many fear could jeopardize mailin ballots and send 25 million to shore up the agency ahead of the november election. This comes as postmaster general dejoy is expected to return to capitol hill to testify before the House Oversight<\/a> committee. With us, the chair of the oversight committee, democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney<\/a> of new york, who is the author of that house bill and gave the who will give the Opening Statement<\/a> for todays hearing. Also with us nbc news correspondent Heidi Przybyla<\/a> and former Senior Adviser<\/a> for House Oversight<\/a> and government reform committee, now a morning joe contributor, kurt bardella. Congresswoman, its always great to see you. Always great to see you, joe. I hear youre working on a new book. I am working on a new book. That is that will keep you busy, along with a threehour show. Tell me, what do we expect to hear today . What do you hope that the senate will be able to get out of or you guys will be able to get out of dejoy . Well, my goal, my north star, is to pass the bill and fund the Postal Service<\/a>. What is this, a twostandard country . We help everybody else, big businesses, large businesses, but not the post office . And to try to put Humpty Dumpty<\/a> back again. Not only stop the actions that were slowing down the mail, but repair the damage that the postmaster general already made. I want to know why he did it in the first place. We now have facts that show that all major areas of the post office were slowed down in the first two months of his tenure either 6 to 10 . Any ceo who had such a performance would already be out the door. What in the world was he thinking about, coming in, making these changes, not telling congress or the Postal Service<\/a> or anyone, just coming in and wrecking machines that speed up the mail. We want to hear some answers. Congresswoman, a lot of americans are very concerned about what dejoys doing. Theyre also concerned about a system, were just learning this morning, that threw out 500,000 ballots, mailin ballots previously. And also i want to know, im sure youre in a better position to answer this than anybody, why in new york state did it take so long, even for your race, to be determined on your reelection . If its going to take that long in new york state in congressional elections, how much worse are we going to see things in november . Well, first, i would urge everyone to vote early. One of the problems in new york is people were coming in the day to vote or to put in their absentee ballot and it did not have a chance to be processed in some cases. But then we extended the time so they could be processed. He also have to fund the Postal Service<\/a> so they can do the job. I would say everyone should vote as early as possible if they know who theyre voting for. At least two weeks before, maybe a month before. As soon as you can vote early or vote by ballot, vote. We are also moving forward with other changes. The new york state has come forward with a reform package of bills to reform the election process and make it easier and more efficient. One of the problems in new york is that we never had a pandemic before like this where so many people did not want to vote early or vote on election day for health reasons. And theres a huge amount of ballots. They were not prepared to process them. But the way to process them is to get prepared, to fund it. To not cut back processes that help you process the mail faster, which is what this postmaster general has been doing. Heidi przybyla is with us. Hi, heidi. Heidi has a question for you. Hi, congresswoman. Yes, you said you want to know why dejoy did it in terms of removing these machines. On friday he told us they were, quote, not needed. Shouldnt there be some kind of documentation for that, that he provide you with that they were not needed . Secondly, as you know, the president has been talking openly about using Law Enforcement<\/a> around the november election, giving that usps has its own elite police firm in the postal inspection, do you have any concerns there . Well, first, heidi, the Postal Police<\/a> do a good job protecting the mail. Theyll continue doing a good job. Im not concerned about that. I think that that will happen. But his whole changing everything without any documentation, without any proof, is highly unusual, to say the least, if not extremely damaging. And now we have facts. We have proof from the post Office Professionals<\/a> that say very clearly that his actions have slowed down the mail. So, we want to reverse that, speed up the mail. He says it that these machines are not needed. The professionals who work in the post Office Every Day<\/a> are alarmed. They say it is needed. They want them back. They want new ones or the other ones replaced if they can find them. They have thrown some away, if theyre in closets or just unplugged, lets try to get the post Office Working<\/a> so we can handle this large amount of mailin ballots coming for the november election. The bottom line is you dont come in with major changes that slow down the mail in the middle of a pandemic and right before a major election. You dont do that. So, thats what my bill did, that stopped it. Now, the president said he would support first he said he wouldnt support the money for the post office but he would support a standalone bill. Well, we have given him a standalone bill. We have passed it with significant republican support in the house. Its now in the senate. And i hope the senate acts quickly for the American People<\/a>. As you know, our veterans depend on it for their medicines, our seniors for their checks, every american depends on it for their mail or businesses to conduct business. Its vital to the american system. And it needs to be funded. It needs to be supported. Thats what my bill does. Its interesting congresswoman, hes going to fight you on these changes, though. Pardon me . Im sorry. One followup. Shouldnt he have to document these changes and why they were needed . Hes telling us these changes or these machines are not needed. Shouldnt he have to provide you with documentation to prove that . Heidi, absolutely. We have sent him numerous letters, including one that was ten pages long, that im going to send to you, both from the leadership and major committees that were involved in the Postal Service<\/a>. We sent them asking for the documentation, asking him for information and facts. The only facts weve gotten are from the professionals at the Postal Service<\/a> that show that his actions have slowed down the mail an astonishingly 6 to 10 in every major category. Thats an undisputed fact. Facts speak for themselves. What he did harmed the delivery of mail to the American People<\/a>. We hope he will deliver this information. Weve asked for it. The senate asked for it. Ill ask for it again today. Im very disturbed, heidi, i truly do not believe that the postmaster general should be a political appointee. And he was a major donor to President Trump<\/a> and the Republican Party<\/a>. He has no experience in the post office. Hes already under an i. G. An inspector generals investigation for possible conflicts of interest in his financial dealings with competitors of the post office. Most postmaster generals believe in the post office and want the post office to succeed. Theyre not investing in their competitors. All right. Chair of the House Oversight<\/a> committee, congresswoman Carolyn Maloney<\/a>. Always great talking to you. Thanks for being with us. And National Public<\/a> radio recently analyzed data of rejected absentee ballots from this years primaries. Listen to this. They found out that an extraordinarily high number of ballots, more than 550,000, had been rejected in this years president ial primaries. Thats far more than the 318,000 ballots rejected in the 2016 general election. Its also raised alarms about what might happen this november when millions more are expected to be casting their ballots by mail. And many for the first time. Election experts said firsttime ab sentee voters are much more likely to make the kind of mistakes that could lead to rejected ballots. Studies also show voters of color and young voters are more likely than others to have their ballots not count. Most absentee or mailin ballots are rejected because required signatures are missing or they dont match the one on record or because the ballot arrives too late. So, kurt bardella, what are you looking for in the hearing today . I mean, you know that committee very well. You know this issue very well. What does the House Oversight<\/a> committee need to hear from dejoy . You know, joe, i think in any investigation, any hearing, you want to start at the beginning. I think one of the key questions the committee will dive into today is how did dejoy get this job in the first place . We just heard chairwoman maloney talk about how he wasnt qualified, a political appointee, a donor and fundraiser for donald trump and the Republican National<\/a> committee. How did he get this job at the first time at this extraordinary moment of time when we were dealing with the coronavirus . We have the upcoming election. Why would you install somebody like this in this position now if not for the desire to try to subvert the elections . One of the other witnesses at the hearing will be the chairman of the postmasters board of governors who is the person who recommended dejoy in the first place. I think the committee will want to know of this entire process f selecting dejoy. Why was he wanting updates from the board of governors about this process . What was the relationship there . What role did he play . I think the committee is going to look at the documents they currently have that theyve received that show that dejoy knew that postal operations were causing delays. Despite what the public posture has been from usps and dejoy, denying there was any delays, denying theres a problem. Weve heard republicans say this is nothing but a democratfueled conspiracy theory. Why were the briefings dejoy was getting saying something very, very different. What did he know . When did he know it . Why does he have the job . Lets bring in the executive director of center for Election Research<\/a> and evaluation. Thanks for being with us. So we had Carolyn Maloney<\/a> in and shes talking about what she wants what we need to run an efficient election this fall. But i look at her own race, a congressional race and it took such a long time. We have a friend that ran for an office in Westchester County<\/a> and it took well over a month to figure out who won there. Are you concerned about novembers Upcoming Elections<\/a> . Do you believe that its too late for us to correct some of the problems . Or can we have an orderly process this november . Well, i, of course, im concerned. Weve got to be worried to some degree based on the fact well have probably record turnout in the midst of a pandemic which is hard to fathom. But im inspired by the Election Officials<\/a> working hard. Well have more mail ballots than ever before. A lot of states like new york that dont have a lot of experience with mail ballots and that can cause some challenges. But mail voting is a really good option. Its a good option for people, particularly those who have voted by mail before, frequent voters or people who may be at risk. Well need a lot of people to vote in person and to vote early in person. Thats how im personally going to vote. And representative maloney is exactly right. 550,000 or so ballots were rejected, and ballots are rejected by mail often because voters make a mistake or it or arrive too late. If voters want to be sure their ballot is going to be counted and counted on Election Night<\/a> or shortly thereafter, the best way to do that is to go vote early. Give me some perspective here because i hear the sky is falling, that this is going to be a rigged election. You hear it from the president. You also hear it from the president s antagonists. We hear the post office is going to be overrun. You get three mail sorting machines in one area thats being disconnected and you hear thats the end of westernstyle democracy. On the other sort of side of the ledger, were also told that the United States<\/a> post office can handle this load. If you just look at the number of letters that flood through there during peak christmas season. They handle a lot more sort of incoming. So how do you sort through all of this in making recommendations for this november . Well, we know they can handle the load. They handle this volume all the time. We also know weve been doing mail voting before the civil war. That hundreds of thousands of men and women who are serving in our military rely upon the Postal Service<\/a> to vote. So we know they can handle it, but i think there were legitimate questions raised about the letters the Postal Service<\/a> sent out to nearly every state at the end of july saying the deadlines theyve had on the books for a very long time might lead to delays for the first time in our nations history. I am encouraged, however, that the postmaster general said on friday and hopefully will reiterate that today, that ballots and election mail will be treated at least as well as first class mail, perhaps even better than first class mail and prioritized for delivery. Thats a really good thing. And election offices are preparing for the influx blof ballots for sending out all of those ballots. Some of the best things voters can do right now is plan. Nbc has a really good website on this. Plan based on dont look at the deadlines. Look at when things start. Request your ballot as soon as you can. Many of you can request it now if you choose to vote by mail. If you want to vote early, find out the first day of voting and go vote early. Its going to be very important to plan to vote during this election cycle and that will help ease some of the burdens on Election Officials<\/a> as they count those latearriving ballots by mail. And one of the other things we need to realize. Well not count all the ballots on Election Night<\/a>. There will be ballots coming on election day that take several days to count. Thats not something unusual. Thats normal. Thats what happens. That is the Election Officials<\/a> doing their job to make sure every ballot is properly cast and counted appropriately. So find out when you can vote. Go as early as possible and make sure that your voice is heard. All right. Very good information. And youre right. We may not know who the winner is for several weeks. Executive director of the center for election innovation and research, david becker. Thank you for being with us. We appreciate it and hope you can come back. Lets get final thoughts. 30 seconds, susan del persio. What are you expecting from the rnc this week . I think the bar has been set very low and i dont think donald trump will even meet that low bar. I think its going to be fumbled. I think President Trump<\/a> will be at a loss as he speaks every night without having the feedback from the crowd. And look for a lot of sycophants and Family Member<\/a>s. Kurt bardella, what are you looking for . Im looking at what we looked at in 2016. The cast of americas most wanted. Look how many people in 2016 up there with trump that have been arrested, indicted, in prison. How many of these people are going to be set up for the same thing. Arrested, indicted, serving time for the crimes theyve committed. All right. Ill tell you what im looking for. The president figuring out a way to cut into joe bidens lead. Im looking for a president who has to somehow figure out against all instincts, figure out how to add to his coalition instead of taking away. Thats his challenge for this week and that does it for us this morning. Stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right after this final break. Thanks for watching. We made usaa insurance for veterans like liz and mike. An army family who is always at the ready. So when they got a little surprise. Two . They didnt panic. They got a bigger car for their soontobebigger family. After shopping around for insurance, they called usaa who helped find the right coverage for them and even some muchneeded savings. That was the easy part. Usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it easy. Im looking for my client. E im so sorry. Accountant. D it [ sighs ] hey hey man youre here. You dont trust me here is vegas, do you . Well. I thought we had a breakthrough with the volkswagen. We did. Yes. We broke through. Thats the volkswagen thats the cross sport. Wow. Seatbelts. Please, just tell me where were going. Book two separate qualifying stays and earn a free night. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels<\/a> is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Neutrogena\u00ae rapid wrinkle repair\u00ae. Weve got the retinol that gives you results in one week. Not just any retinol. Accelerated retinol sa. One week is all it takes. Neutrogena\u00ae. Five dollar. Five dollar footlong. Piled high with veggies. The new barbecue rib, or any footlong, is just 5 dollars when you buy 2. Only in the subway\u00ae app. Hi there. Im stephanie ruhle. Its monday, august 24th. Lets get smarter. Its a huge monday. Weve got wildfires out west, two tropical storms threatening the south and the race for the president entering a new phase. All of this happening in the middle of a global pandemic. Weve got it all covered for you this morning. Front and center this hour, the Republican National<\/a> Convention Starting<\/a> right this very minute in charlotte, North Carolina<\/a>. In just one hour from now, the postmaster general, louis dejoy, testifies again in front of a congressional committee. This time it is in person in the house of","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601705.us.archive.org\/1\/items\/MSNBCW_20200824_100000_Morning_Joe\/MSNBCW_20200824_100000_Morning_Joe.thumbs\/MSNBCW_20200824_100000_Morning_Joe_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240619T12:35:10+00:00"}