at age 24, he became the youngest person and first african american ever nominated for academy award for best director. that was boys in the hood. he went on to direct poetic justice, too fast, too furious and a reboot of shaft. he was gist 51 years old. i want to hand it over to chris for cuomo primetime. >> i'm chris cuomo and welcome to primetime. joe biden makes his first big rallying cry promising to restore the soul of the country calling out a president that he says is all about stoking hate. now the former vp showed his strategy, let's test it, versus what his main competitor in the polls, senator bernie sanders has to offer. his campaign co-chair is here tonight. why now? why is this president trying to change what the world heard him say about both sides needing to be blamed for charlottesville? why is he playing down the threat of right wing extremism? is this a winning strategy? it will certainly be a great debate and deputy attorney

general rod rosenstein re-signs but he adds to his inigma with his last letter. what's the message? who was it meant for? what do you say? let's get after it. joe biden says he's here to fight. for whom and what. >> the country wasn't built by wall street bankers and ceo and hedge fund managers. it was built by you. it was built by the great american middle class. >> first rally as presidential candidate, he took his message right to blue collar workers in his home state battleground of pennsylvania. now he's not talking in general. everything was about him versus this president. that is different from the democratic field positioning himself as the one to be trump. team bernie might have a thing of two to say about that.

we have the co-chair of sanders 2020 campaign. congressman, good to see you. >> good to be on. >> what did you pick up from joe biden today. >> i'm glad that vice president biden spoke about unions. i think it's terrific that he stood up for the middle class and ultimately this country is going to want someone who is going to bring change and bernie sanders is the candidate that can speak about endless wars and the argument we made in getting china status and ultimately his message will be more compelling. >> now i heard senator sanders was on anderson's show before that. he likes joe biden but he was against them and biden was for it. the war again tpp again, question. bernie sanders, if he were to get in, what proof do we have

that he could make deals instead of just making demands because he's often against things that wind up getting bipartisan support. >> what we did on yemen. we passed a war powers resolution through the senate and through the house and it had bipartisan support and including senator rand paul and many republicans in the house and stopping the alliance with the saudis. and working with a coalition. >> and of all of those years in the senate -- what else can you point to. >> the raise of amazon workers. >> jeff besos credit he is directly responsible with legislation we did for 350,000 americans getting a raise to $15 and that's him being a minority senator and of course there's been numerous amendments that he has gotten through. so i do believe he will be

incredibly effectively and then you have to give him credit for having every major candidate now speaking about medicare for all and even president obama acknowledging that medicare for all should be part of the discussion. >> so it the right discussion to have or is nancy pelosi more where they're going to end up? let's save the aca. they want to go the litigation route and fight it. now we can say the aca leave medicare for all as an ambition for another day. win now. >> i agree we should say the aca but when you elect a president people don't want to save what a past president did. you can't say i'm going to say what they did. or what obama did. it's what are you going to do to take our country forward and medicare for all matters. it's going to save people cost. they get it. we shouldn't be giving the profits and the aetna ceo making $59 million a year.

and having the middle class pay for it. >> the transition cost could be crippling. you know this and there's no reason to bury people in the details just yet but i'll tell you that i invite the senator on on a regular basis. i was on the stage with him the other night at the town hall. i tell him on a regular basis, come on. make your pitch about health care. i'll give you more time than anybody because the devil is in the details. the transition costs could be crippling. how do you get around them? >> i would say a few things. first, it makes economic sense in a time of a digital age where people have to change jobs. the biggest reason you can't be entrepreneur because healthcare is by employer. if you talk to companies in silicon valley, many of whom support medicare for all, the reason is not because of the wage differential but health care costs. we're paying more than other countries. taiwan is a single payer system

and a free market economy, more free than the united states but they understand that they don want profits going to insurance and pharmaceuticals. the average american, i think, will save money. now i agree with you. it's a huge industry. it's a huge transition. it employees people and bernie sanders plan allows for supplemental private insurance and we have to figure out how we make the transition. >> you raise a good point and i respect you for bringing it up yourself which is it has become one of the top two or three depending on them and when we main employers in the country. say this is going to mean that they want more of that. it's less private sector. and they can help work in other

health care jobs created with tele medicine. le the transition is important. but the basic point is -- and do you know who agreed with the single payer system? donald trump. in 2000 he wrote that the canadian system is better because it gives more benefits and it has less cost and the average american -- here's what it's going to mean. instead of paying $5,000 to a private insurance company on average now you'll pay a much smaller fee. who's going to lose out. insurance companies. and you'll keep your doctor and have better care. i believe entrepreneurs -- warren buffet talked about medicare for all. if you talk to economists the reason is the rising health care premiums. they have been giving their money to health care costs as opposed to raising wages.

this is why we have to make the economic argument for medicare for all. >> you'll have to find ways to make this digestible for the american people and see if you get the ticket to take it to the president. we'll watch it all along the way and you are invited here to make the case when you can. i appreciate the opportunity. i'll tell sanders he can come on too. >> he knows. >> be well. bernie or biden or another? this is different. he came out. i'm going at trump. i'm going at trump. we haven't seen that. that's not what bernie sanders does. he talks about ideas. beto o'rourke is talking policy. what do you make of that posture? we have two political experts. one is who biden must win over and the other is the kind of person he wants to peel off from the right. how do they feel? the state of play and there's no need to debate if the president

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and feeds so grass can thrive, guaranteed. our backyard is back. this is a scotts yard. i am not one of many. i am the one and only. that's what i took from joe biden's message today, he was talking about taking on trump, one-on-one. and the president seems to have taken the bait on twitter at least. today he gave the former vp who held his first major campaign rally a big turbo boost. mentioned him in several tweets despite his advisers warning him not to. what a theme that has become. they represent the group biden must win and the one he wants to appeal to from the right. thanks to both of you. let's start with posture and what he staked out in his original position. so paul the idea of what i just said in the intro, i'm not talking about anybody else in the field, it's just me.

how do you feel about that? righteous or reckless? >> very smart, chris. it won't last. he'll have to engage his opponents at some point but i think i am a life long democrat and i have no candidate in this field. first time in my life i've not had a candidate i preferred in the primaries. this is what i'm looking for. i'm a jfk democrat. i'll pay any price, bear any burden, oppose any foe to ensure the defeat of donald j. trump. you can be medicare for all or not. you can shoot my dog and if i think you can beat trump i'll be for you. >> that's very mainstream of you. we all know how you feel about the president. however. you represent a strain of compassionate conservative. that biden is hoping will listen to his message. does he have a chance of that? >> absolutely, >> i think people like me, disenfranchised republicans, people that don't want to vote

for trump, in my case, who will not vote for trump, want to have somebody that they can vote for enthusiastically and without feeling like they are betraying our ideology or or principles and our convictions. joe biden for me is such a person. i'm biased. i have known him for 20 years. i knew him as a senator and vice president. as a candidate the first time. i knew him as a regular citizen and candidate. he's never changed. he's been the same guy i have known for 20 years. and there are some people in the democrat field that are rather scary to right leaning independents and disenfranchised republicans like me. antitrump republicans. you start talking about 70% tax rates that scares us. the idea of a joe biden who has the experience who is calling to

a better angels, who is talking about unity but i, like paul, there's no way i will vote for trump. >> i get it. >> even if he shoots paul's dog because he better not shoot mine. >> no shooting of dogs. >> no animals will be harmed in the making of this democracy. >> the field of candidates the democrats have. there is like one of everything. every age, every gender, every sexuality, color, shade, language, it's an amazing kind of celebration of diversity. let it play out. see who does best. there's no reason why -- this is not an arranged marriage. enjoy it. >> there's something to be said by that. the only problem they have is

they have to win and democrats have a problem of falling in love with the idea of what a democrat is supposed to be. everything for everybody and the dream is alive. and you get your butt whooped. and then you didn't think about the xs and the os and that takes me to this. the economy is going to be the president's and i can argue the numbers all night but it's about the feel of it. here's joe biden on that. >> the stock market is roaring. but you don't feel it. there's $2 trillion tax cut last year. did you feel it? did you get anything from it? of course not. all of it went to folks at the top. >> now ordinarily, paul, feel versus facts played to this president. he's going with the feelings even if the numbers don't match up. you look at the growth rate of this economy over the last two decades it's always around 3%.

we're not breaking any records right now but it feels like it. can feel work for biden on this issue? >> absolutely. if you're speaking like he does right to the middle class. 62% believe he works for the rich not the middle class. 62% and 2-thirds of the country when we're supposedly booming. i give free advice to biden and all the democrats, very important to litigate the tax cut. it's very unpopular. the dip in the president's approval came not only after the mueller report but after april 15th when lots of middle class families didn't get the tax rebate they thought they would get. if i were the democrats, if i were advising them, i'd stitch together that $2 trillion tax cut with get this, i looked at the trump budge, there's a $2 trillion cut in medicaid and medicare social security.

$845 billion cut in medicare. $25 billion cut in social security. that matches up well. mr. trump and his party want to cut the middle class and give it to corporate america and the wealthy. that is the message that can stitch together the base my party needs. the swing voters in the suburbs and yes the rural voters that we sadly lost. that can be a issue. >> the president is at about 90% in your party. do you think that you can find a democrat talking economics that wins over the head of a republican? >> yes of that 10%. trump's base is loyal to trump. they think he does no wrong and they're going to stick with him no matter what. we have already seen that through the last three years. god knows he has done and said enough things where most traditional republicans should have stayed away from supporting him but that's not happening.

and the reason joe biden is getting under his skin and in his head is he can appeal to the same people that trump appeals to. people that have fallen through the cracks of the economy. joe biden appeals to them from an optimistic angle. one of the things he said today was hope over fear. truth over lies. unity over division. that is what we are in the united states of america. those words stuck with me. with joe biden is not delving into the weeds and the policy weeds of taking on his other democrats. things that i hope was a lesson learned from 2016 for democrats and people that didn't want trump elected is some things in life are binary choices so i hope this primary is such that it doesn't leave, you know, bitter feelings where folks

don't end up voting for the even actual nominee like what happened in 2016 where you saw bernie bros and whatever the female equivalent is say okay hillary didn't fill my love tank. i'm going to sit home and vote for joe stein or the pot head from new mexico or write in mickey mouse or whatever. some things in life are binary choices. it's going to be trump and whomever is running against trump. don't make enemies to the point where you can't then kiss and make up. >> thank you for that slew of nicknames. i'm sure it will make twitter very happy. i appreciate it. >> i did forget his name. >> no one is going to remember his name now. thank you. another synagogue attack. another beautiful life stolen. does the president still think white nationalism isn't a threat? that it's not a problem? why is he trying to revise his record on charlottesville all of a sudden?

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for the reality of what happened in charlottesville, forget left and right just for a second. let's just be reasonable. this is how the president describes the controversial answer he gave during the charlottesville situation. >> and if you look at what i said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. >> we can't argue that it was answered perfectly because it was so controversial. so it couldn't have been perfect. what did he say? here is the exact context of how it came up. >> excuse me. >> and you had some very bad people in that group but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. >> now that's how it came up. it was about the violence that happened in charlottesville. that's the truth. there's no other version of this conversation that is more accurate.

however now that a re-election is coming or maybe that white nationalists are tacked are more out in the open and more obvious, the president and his people are saying the answer was twisted. they say he was talking about something else. listen. >> people were there protesting the taking down of the monument of robert e. lee. everybody knows that. >> he was talking about the debate over removing statues. >> here's the problem. >> the president was not asked about the debate on monuments. please listen again. >> they showed up in charlottesville to protest -- >> you had some very bad people in that group but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. >> now again if you're talking about the violence that took place in charlottesville, there

was no protest going on that was nice and not nice. it was 100% an outgrowth of a march organized by white supremacists like richard spencer, featured speakers like david duke. it was not part of any peaceful anything. fact. this is what was happening. >> jews were not replace us. >> enough of that, trump's own doj is charging four men in connection with the unite the right rally. they call them serial rioters. they train and deploy the various political rallies to engage in acts of violence. not about monuments. not about good people, not about both sides, okay? and robert e. lee. it was a nazi rally. period.

here's why it matters. as jews are attacked in san diego and pittsburgh, muslims targeted in new zealand, black churches burned in louisiana, this potus says white supremacy is not that big of a deal. >> i think it's a small group of people that have very very serious problems. >> compare that to what his own fbi director says. >> the danger i think of white supremacists, it's a persistent pervasive threat. >> the only time he really talked about both sides is when he was equating the nazis with those there to fight him. what he called the alt left. that's when he was saying that and that's the only time its applicable because those are the two fights we were having, right? however, what do we see? this president goes after extreme islamist terrorists all the time. never qualifies like he just did

about the white supremacists. he even says islam hates us. never said anything that big. that aggressive. but the fact is, white supremacists, far right extremists, 2018 was the fourth deadliest year on record for home grown extremists. those are the facts. this deserves the volume. but it doesn't get it. why would a president with no fear of exaggeration falsely minimize this problem? why does he call himself a nationalist? it's a term stained with prejudice. why does he target latino immigrants exaggerating the same crime and violence stats as certain neo nazi groups? why was he silent about congressman steve king when the rest of his party finally spoke out against his hate? i don't know that this president has a good answer for you on any of this.

but you definitely deserve one and we will ask those questions every chance we get. in fact, we have two big defenders of the president ahead. they say he has been mistaken. they say he is right on this issue. we'll test those answers next. who doesn't love a deal?

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the president says he gave you the perfect answer about charlottesville. the idea that he was talking about both sides being to blame for violence and good people on both sides was misunderstood and taken out of context by people like me. this is going to be a big part of the culture battle in this election and it's important to note. this president didn't make this appeal when he said it. was he just biding his time or was this about joe biden hammering him with an ugly reality. let's discuss.

cnn political commentators steve cortes and rob. they're both supporters of the president. one request, i know you both well, if we get too loud, too hostile in having this discussion we will sound like what we are all supposed to hate. so let's keep it in check and make the points and i'll give you both ample opportunity. so steve, i start with you. i read your piece. we talked about this before. why do you believe the president said the right thing during charlottesville? >> well, i'll tell you, the main reason is because i can read and i have read the transcript. rather than believing in a fairy tale narrative, if we deal in the evidence and the transcript that was said it's impossible to determine anything except for his intention which is to totally condemn racism and i have to say the way you edited that segment that you showed

just before that was misleading because you cut the quote off at a critical juncture. if you continue the quote, i want to cut directly here because i want to be precise. he said you had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of to them a very, very important statue. and the renaming of a park from robert e. lee to another name. he then continued in the next answer, i am not talking about the neo-nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally, end quote. so he was unequivocal that he was not talking about racists or neo-nazis but the way you edited what you showed made it look as though he was. >> you said early on what the president said wasn't helpful. i want people to know you are on the record for saying that unlike steve. now anybody can go look at this. i just layed it out. there's no battle here over context. were people down there arguing about confederate statutes in part? yes.

were there good people? not good people? i don't know. depends why they want the statues to stay up, right? there's a lot of bigotry involved in some of those monuments. it's not just about the general. put it to the side. the day of the violence, counselor, was there any protest of good people talking about the monuments? the answer must be no. it was an organized march by neo-nazis. nobody marching along side those people were good people. it was single truth. -- turp purpose. isn't that the truth? >> i agree and disagree with steve on this one. i do believe in the larger context of what he said people would come to different conclusions. that wasn't the context where he should have had something as pinpointed as what he said about both sides. that was the wrong time.

we could have had a didn't debate about that on a broader school. i'm here in atlanta and i walk through the state capital today and they had the history of the state and they have exhibits and in those exhibits they have photos of past governors and everyone and the confederate flag is still in the pictures because it's very much part of georgia's history and the south's history so yes there are emotional bonds for other people and it creates emotions on other perspectives and the thing that bothers me the most on how this is being played out. the left. and the media is try to conflate the absolutely abhorrent people. and white nationalists -- the a fringe group. on their own island. media is trying to conflate them with the right and republicans. and conservatives. i and steve and everyone refute them and they have nothing to do with our party. they should be out cast. >> you haven't heard me say that. >> no, but many other people have.

>> whose show is this? >> yours. >> well let's deal with that. he said two things. i do want people to remember he one on this correction campaign back then. he had plenty of opportunities to do it. he didn't. he says two things, one, there's blame on both sides for the violence. now steve you can talk alt left all day long and that's fine with me. i have no problem with it. people that are rogue actors and criminals deserve the harsh treatment of the law. whether you want to talk about any of the groups that assembled that day to fight against neo-nazis you make a moral equivalent between those two actions you're making a mistake in america. the president did it that day and you know it was a mistake. i don't know why you don't own that. >> i do not make any differentiation between neo-nazis and antifa. because they claim in the name

they are antifascist. their tactics are in fact totally fascists. >> one is to kill people they don't like. >> the other group has abhorrent actors within their ranks but the groups were not created to destroy parts of humanity. >> it's not abhorrent within antefa. they put on masks and helmets and show up with clubs to damage property and hurt people. they are america's brown shirts and there's no difference between them and the neo-nazis. both sides are thugs and reprehenceable. a lot of nasty people showed up there intending to do harm and there was also good people on both sides. you said there was no one good protesting. who would disagree with you is the new york times that quoted in august they interviewed michelle percy that showed up

with a group of people who according to the new york times had no interest in racism but they did have interest in free speech -- and preserving. >> did she march along side the neo-nazis? >> they were in charlottesville together. >> that is the confusion of it. >> yes she was there. >> no, she did not march next to neo-nazis and you know it. >> here is what is not confusing. the president said i am not talking -- quote, i am not talking about white nationalists and neo-nazis because they should be condemned totally. which part of that can we not grasp and understand. >> he wasn't being asked about the protests when he said the good people on both sides part. so even if you want to chalk it up to he was talking about a different aspect of it at that time but he didn't mean what you think he meant, fine. people fighting against the

nazis are as bad as the nazis. >> we had this debate many times. you're trying to tell me that simply because they're leftest violent leftest. that they are somehow morally superior to violent far right and both of them are reprehenceable. >> you can't say they're designed to kill the people they don't like. >> it doesn't matter what they're designed for. it's what they're becoming. they're becoming not just radical but violent. they are going to kill people. that's condemned just as harshly as any other hate group out there. >> they're becoming and may be some day. >> no, what they are now. >> no, they have taken over portland. when they had that incident the police won't even respond because they have become so violent. these are areas of concern. >> nobody is disagreeing with the criminal activity. as soon as a protest becomes a riot, you're criminals and you

shall be treated that way. that's the law. >> i have been with those people, you can talk about them, i have watched them in the streets protesting in different situations. there's certainly aspects of them that are true to a cause. that's a good cause. they want social justice and whatever they want in that context. >> you tell me when that has ever happened with neo nazis. >> it's not a good cause. they don't have good aims. antifa they want political power taken through force. that's what they're all about. >> i am not here to espouse any group on the political spectrum. >> sounds like it because you want it to be simple and you want to say cuomo loves the alt left. he loves them. you know it's not true. you know it's b.s. what i'm saying is this, you

don't draw a moral equivalence between neo-nazis and the people there to fight against them. you don't do it in that context. it's not what we're about in in country. a president that refuses to call out steve king. a president that says the problems with domestic terrorism with right wing extremism is not a big deal but he talks about islam hating all of us when they are nowhere near responsible for what we're dealing with here in terms of death and attacks. as the right wing extremist. when you put it all together it makes you wonder why is he so soft on one and so loud on the other? help me -- >> soft. he said condemn totally. he does not talk about the people that attack the synagogues and muslims the way he does talk about muslims who do the attacking and you know it -- >> do you know who would disagree with you -- do you know who would disagree with you about that is rabbi goldstein today.

>> i heard him and i respect his pain and his message. >> and the consolation that the president brought him with his words of compassion and that is not -- that is not the story by the way of a man that hates jews and who praises nazis. as a matter of fact, quite the opposite. >> i didn't say he praises nazis and hates jews. if you can only resort to the absurd. you're not worth the position. i'm saying he's quite when it comes to how he condemns the right. >> he's not quite. -- quiet. i just read you the quote, chris. he said condemn totally. >> he also said there were good sides to blame. good people on both sides. he never talks like that about muslims and you know it. he says all of islam hates us. have you ever heard him go after any of the right wing extremists the way he does go after muslims. you know the answer is no. the question is why not? >> chris, here's the argument that i'm hearing right now and i see it all the time in the media and the democrats love to push

this, that neo-nazis and white supremists equals republicans. >> i'm not saying any of that. i'm asking why he's so quite. quiet on it and loud on other. >> i'm telling you what the narrative is that's being pushed. >> don't blame me for a narrative. >> i'm not saying you. >> just answer my question. why is he soft and quite about this. >> i don't think he is. i don't think he is soft about this. not at all. >> you just said right wing extremism, i don't think it's a big deal. >> it is a big deal. clearly it's a big deal. he said that. >> why does he say that. >> let's deal in quotes instead of just narratives. why don't we deal with the quotes. >> it's a small group with big problems. they killed 70 people this year. >> the group that did 9/11 was a small group too. >> two days after the charlottesville, the president also gave a white house speech

so he could be more clear about this issue and he said quote racism is evil. those that cause violence in his name are criminals and thugs including kkk and neo-nazis and white supremists and groups that are repugnant to americans. everything we hold dear as americans. >> you know why he did that? because he screwed up in charlottesville. >> i'm providing that quote to push back. >> i'll say it again. if a muslim bombed a synagogue or tried to kill the people. you'd see a different president. and i don't understand why. that's my question. i'm not blaming your party. i'm not going after each the man, i just want to know why he's different. >> let me end with what i started talking to you before. here's the narrative that's being driven by the left -- >> don't use that answer again. >> i want you to answer this question. why didn't he call out steve king? >> why. >> i did and many people did.

>> but he didn't, why? >> let me get back to what i was saying. >> all right. then i have to go. >> you have the new york times. >> i'm asking a specific question. >> we're a country of 320 million people and these lunatics, these crazy hateful people are small amount of us. >> a lot of who endorsed the president by the way. and rhetoric about immigrants. >> all right, chris, see. >> those are the facts. >> that's completely wrong. >> what about representative omar? does she represent all the democrats? >> she says things hateful and wronged on our party should go after her wrong. >> she one even condemn by her party. >> she should be. they should go after people that say things that tear america's fabric. it should be the role of most parties. let's deal with what i say. i appreciate you being here. >> thank you. >> look, i gave it more time than we were going to because it matters.

this is going to be a big part of the campaign. and i still don get the answer. why is he so loud about it when it's a muslim? why is it so much of a quiter concern when it's a right wing extremist? i don't get it. it's not an indictment. it's a question. rod rosenstein run at the justice department is ending. we saw it coming. i don't get the letter. i'm going to bring in d. lemon because i don't understand what was in this letter. what was it for? who was it for? i'll read it to you next. featuring three new dishes that are planked-to-perfection. feast on new cedar-plank lobster & shrimp. or new colossal shrimp & salmon with a citrusy drizzle. tender, smoky, and together on one plank... ...but not for long- so hurry in!

ten detailed acts of obstruction of justice. robert mueller's report lays out a roadmap for impeachment proceedings against this president and challenges congress to do its job. i'm tom steyer and we can't let this president destroy the public trust, break his oath of office and get away with it. congress has to do its job and hold him accountable. please call them at this number. tell them to get going.

that i never would have imagined. ancestrydna was able to tell me where my father's family came from in columbia. it's just been a reconnection to my roots. 20 million members have connected to a deeper family story. order your kit at ancestry.com. deputy ag rod rosenstein officially submitted his resignation today effective may 11th. he's out. the move was long anticipated but not the letter he hand delivered to the president. i want to read you a little bit of it. we enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan and truth is not determined by opinion polls. we ignore fleeting distractions and focus our attention on the

things that matter because a republic that endures is not governed by the news cycle. so he gave it to the president, but who's the message directed at and what is its intention? you know, rosenstein had been an enigma before and this is another layer of the mystery that surrounds him. let's bring in d. lemon. what's your take? >> to give a big wet kiss to the president if he wrote a whole letter putting in -- that's all fine and dandy. we know he's been partisan when it comes to the mueller letter and concerned about his own firing during the entire process, he's been on the good side of the president, reportedly, and on the bad side of the president. but frankly it comes as no surprise. we all knew he was going to step down after this. >> he's the guy who picked mueller. he created this whole situation. it seems like he's talking to us, more about the media and

really nothing about the president even though he's the guy who thought we needed a special counsel. >> i've been wanting to ask you this. there have been reports about him, right. do you think he's a double agent type? >> i don't know what to make of him. i say enigma. i don't get it. they brought him to be an ax on comey, then he picks mueller, the vindication of comey, you needed an outside source to process this because the president's actions were so shady. then he winds up taking the decision from mueller and winds up in this letter talking about the news isn't what matters, it's, you know, our job. >> i think you're right because we often use that we report the news without fear or favor. >> right. >> and now he's saying that about the law without fear. maybe he's talking to the media. >> polls, news cycle. i can't wait to see him interviewed. >> i saw him this weekend at the white house correspondents dinner, one of the events for the white house correspondents dinner. he's a lot taller than i thought and a lot of people were wanting

to talk to him. >> he's been crunched down hiding waiting for this to end. >> i observed him from a distance, him and kellyanne conway, rudy giuliani, and he says you always cut him off and don't let him say his piece. i'm like, really, chris? i don't believe that's true. i'm so glad you did the fact check on the very fine people on both side. jemele hill, formerly of espn, very outspoken, a cultural critic and we'll have her on to talk about what people are talking about. george slim from the adl to give us stats and michael higginbotham, the history professor who can tell us what this all means and put it in context for us. >> beautiful, all sides represented. good to have you. >> see 'ya. fear and loathing, that seems like the president's strategy this past set of elections. didn't work. but it does seem to be the way

forward more his election as well. he's got the economy but there's a culture war, and it seems he has a three pronged attack. and tonight i make the argument of what it is. through the at&t network, edge-to-edge intelligence gives you the power to see every corner of your growing business. from managing inventory... to detecting and preventing threats... to scaling up your production. giving you a nice big edge over your competition. that's the power of edge-to-edge intelligence.

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i think there's blame on both sides. you look at -- you look at both sides, i think there's blame on both sides. >> this isn't about the people who like confederate statues. are people standing up to white supremacists, ever their equal, in moral blame? groups on the left can be lawless and dangerous, but against nazis? right after one of them killed one of the people there to

oppose them? is that the right message? the context that matters is this, we've had more of these right wing attacks since this potus came in. there's been a spike for the last five years but there have been more of a spike in the last year. and yet this president, he says it's not a big concern, small group. >> white nationalism a rising threat around the world? >> i don't really. i think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, i guess. >> the numbers say it's up. and by the way the group that pulled off 9/11 was small too. didn't stop this president from indicting all of islam of hating us. he doesn't go after these attacks, not the actual threat to domestic terrorism the way he goes after muslims. why? why so quiet about congressman steve king?

sure the party condemned him, not him. can't talk about enough about illegal entrants who commit crimes. why? exaggerating the threat and the number and the problem, saying the biggest domestic threat is not a big deal. you really want to compare threat profiles of illegal entrants versus right wing extremists, so why so loud on one and quiet on the other? since when does this president undersell? the third leg of what i see as a trump trifecta is the most disgusting. this president knows what he's about to say to you a damnable lie, maybe his worst of all 10,000. >> the baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor. they take care of the baby. they wrap the baby beautifully. and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby. i don't think so. >> just when you think you can't be shocked.

that's called homicide. it would be a murder. no law anywhere allows a newborn baby to be swaddled and killed, shame on him for even suggesting that. now, think about what's going on here with these three issues. why would you torture a defense on what you said about charlottesville now? they could have made the clarification back then. but you heard those two guys they couldn't explain that. did we mistake his meaning then? didn't it bother him then? abortion hasn't changed either. the law is roe v. wade, states are trying to codify it. what has changed about abortion for this president since he said he was very pro-choice. i'll tell you what's changed. he decided to run for president and this is all a sell, the trump trifecta, culture wars that push hate and division, abortion, immigration, right wing extremism.

i'm not calling him a bigot. don't cheapen the argument. this is about more than that. it's about the truth and seeing which way we are headed. this is not a coincidence that the president is saying these kinds of things on these kinds of issues. they are not separate. they are the same. thank you for watching us tonight. now time for cnn tonight with d. lemon, looking good. thank you, sir. so let me ask you this, chris. so this whole idea about, well, there are people who were protesting the dismantling or the removal of a statue, okay, you're just a normal person who's there, you don't like the statue being taken down and then all the sudden you see people with signs calling people, you know, the "n" word and making monkey -- you hear them making monkey noises, calling out the black folks in the crowd saying jews will not replace us. if you're a very fine person, you do what?

>> you leave, you leave. >> so jake tapper, very brilliant question to kellyanne conway, who were the very fine people? she didn't -- couldn't answer it. >> today they went back in the "new york times" and said they interviewed this woman at the time who said i'm about free speech but she wasn't marching with the nazis, she was there to say i think we should have this discussion, these things mean something in the south. that's debatable. i don't know what the relevant cultural value of something that represents slavery in a country that fought against it. it's a debate you want to have, fine. but they're conflating it. and i don't know why, don. i know what the suggestion can be, well, he does it because he likes this. i think it's something worse. i really do. because people who you grew up with who judged you that way because of the color of your skin, in