all of these demonstrations unfold. thanks, malcolm, for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> we will continue our special coverage on cnn, lots more coming up. you can see the protests unfolding here in washington, d.c. our special coverage continues right now with erin burnett "out front." "out front" next, breaking news, protests under way across this country and curfews starting to take effect as all four fired police officers are now charged in george floyd's death. how hard will it be to prosecute them? plus james mattis out with a searing rebuke of the president calling on the country to unite without president trump. this as mark esper breaks publicly with him today and former president obama with hope in the face of anger. i'm erin burnett. protests are under way from

coast to coast. all four officers have now been charged in the death of george floyd and they are in custody, as i speak. the officer seen kneeling on floyd's neck with second-degree murder charges. he was originally charged with third-degree murder, and second degree adds intent and the other officers aiding and abetting, second-degree murder. the state's attorney general telling reporters that winning a conviction will be tough, but he believes the law is on his side. >> we gathered all of the facts that we could. we reviewed the criminal statutes. we looked at case law. we consulted with each other and we arrived at these charges. >> i strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for mr. floyd, his family, our community and our state. >> and this is the scene across the country, as i said, peaceful protesters gathering from coast to coast in cities. just moments ago what we saw,

just moments ago in minneapolis, we saw protests and the president defending his claim that he has the power to send in the military to crack down on protesters, speaking to his former press secretary in an interview, sean spicer just moments ago, president trump said i don't think we'll have to, talking about the military. he appears to be cowering. it comes as the former defense secretary james mattis just leveled a scathing rebuke of the president. we will have much more on this, but this is an incredible moment. secretary mattis saying in part, donald trump is the first president in my life time who does not try to unite the american people, does not even pretend to try. instead he tries to divide us. we are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. he also refers to that photo-op as bizarre saying the president of the united states violated the u.s. constitution, and we will have much more of mattis' incredible statement in just a moment. first, as all of this is happening, the nation is at this

hour, with protests gathering again, on edge, curfews starting to go into effect. kyung lau is in los angeles where a large group has gathered. kyung, what are you seeing? >> reporter: the reason why i'm standing here, erin, and the crowd is back there is because our live view, the technology we use to get live fails because there are so many people in this crowd. you can really see it from the affiliate aerial pictures. this is a massive crowd that has descended on downtown los angeles. there are -- you can see for yourselves to try to guess how many people are down here and they were down a block or so away from us and they have continued to fill up the streets here in los angeles, block by block, and if you can take a look over to your left, to give you a sense of why they are here, this is the hall of justice. this is where the -- where you

see the l.a. sheriff's department and this is where you see the district attorney check in for the day, the court system and they are all -- these protesters are ringing the hall of justice in los angeles, and if -- when you talk to the people who are here, you know, you mentioned all four of the minneapolis police officers have indeed been charged. they say it doesn't make a difference. that they are here not to protest, but to be part of a movement and that's really what i've noticed in the last couple of days, that there are bigger crowds and there is a change in sentiment and the determination that more and more of them want to come out, and one other protester said that what she feels here is she feels a sense of hope, that the tide has turned in the last couple of days and that the charges in minneapolis make them feel that they may be taking a step forward. others in the crowd say that what they are also learning is

that there are so many names. when you hear them chant, say her name or say his name there are so many names to choose from, and so that's why they are all out here. and so this is really an extraordinary scene. i have not seen this number of people coming out peacefully, filling downtown los angeles since the women's march. since the women's march when donald trump was inaugurated. that's the last time i saw a crowd of this size, of this sentiment start to gather in los angeles. so i think what we're looking at here is something that's changed in the last week or so, in the last days or so and what we're also seeing from the police here and the sheriff's department here in los angeles is we're sensing that they're taking a step back. the curfew here has been pushed back to 9:00 p.m. pacific time and that's midnight eastern time. we're not seeing the police or

the sheriff's department immediately moving in or using the tactics that we saw over the weekend so quickly. they're giving them a bit more space and in west hollywood where i was a short time ago, erin, what the protesters were doing was they were asking to push beyond the police line and the sheriff's department and the police were allowing them to do so, and if you think that this is ending at all, i want jordan, if you take a look around, there are more people coming. so if you think that this crowd is going down at any time soon, erin, that is not the case by all -- everything that i'm seeing, it looks like this crowd is just going to continue to grow. erin? >> all right. kyung, thank you very much. it's pretty incredible, those aerials are stunning as you see those people all filing by kyung and almost all of them masked and heading into that rally, but thosary yals are pretty stunning.

we will keep watching that. as this nation is reacting to the four officers you heard what kyung just said, some people happy about that and this is now so much bigger than just that. sarah sidner is in minneapolis. >> all the world is watching. >> reporter: calls for justice met with an answer. charges against minneapolis police officer chauvin who kneeled on his neck, killing him will be increased to second-degree murder and the three other officers are also being charged. >> george floyd mattered. he was loved. his family was important. his life had value and we will seek justice for him and for you, and we will find it. >> the announcement came just hours after george floyd's family paid an emotional visit to the spot where floyd took his last breaths. >> no man or woman should be

without their fathers. >> at the center of this, a family's grief. >> my father shouldn't have been killed like this. we want justice. >> plain and simple. >> plain and simple. justice. >> the family and their attorney responded to the charges. >> i saw what everybody in the world saw a man being tortured to death while he asked for them to take the knee off the neck because i can't breathe. [ cheering ] >> the mother of floyd's young daughter said she is still struggling to explain to their child how he died. >> she wanted to know how he died, and the only thing that i can tell her is he couldn't breathe. >> other signs of solidarity today -- i have to personally and viscerally feel this. >> tim wall paying his respects at floyd's memorial. >> i don't think we get another chance to fix this in the

country. i really don't. >> in new york city, police commissioner term on the shay meeting with floyd's brother terence. >> it should be a wake-up call for this entire country for justice, to look in the mirror, to work together about what we can do together. >> reporter: in new york last night protesters were mostly peaceful after nights of violence and looting caused some businesses to take extra precautions. a senior nypd official tells cnn more than 500 people were arrested last night. >> across the country, protests were mostly peaceful from seattle to boston and even outside the capitol in washington, d.c. >> and this just coming to us as we were just finishing that report, erin. we have now the mug shots, pictures of the three officers who have been arrested. i will show them to you as best i can.

this is jay alexander keung. he has been arrested and you will see that picture there. and you will see the picture of mr. thomas lane. officer lane, all of these officers have been fired already so they are former officers and then someone you will recognize from the video, he was prominent in the video tou thao and their mug shots sent out for everyone to see and just like in any case, in any criminal case weal see those normally and people expect that the police be treated no differently, but i do want to give you just a quick view of the scene right now. this has grown exponentially since i've been here over the past few days. you will see all sorts of signs and of course, as you heard from kyung, say their names is the rallying cry and there are dozens of names and dozens and dozens of people here who are saying them. so it is quite a scene here,

still very emotional, just because this is the area where george floyd lost his life. erin? >> all right. sara, thank you very much. i want to go now to stephanie rawlings blake, paul martin, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor and president-elect for the people of the american way and also former president and ceo of the naacp. i am glad to have all three of you back today. you dealt with the police brutality case when you were the mayor of baltimore with the killing of freddy gray. you are also a lawyer. the minnesota attorney general, keith ellison, we saw him there in the piece, we made these decisions based on the facts since these matters occurred and he added, winning a conviction will be hard. how hard? >> i think any case against the police officer is difficult and the expectation of anyone when there is a case involving a police officer is that it is an

uphill climb. i am glad that ellison is being honest with the public about the charges, but also about the fight ahead, and i know that he would not have charged if he did not believe he had sound evidence to be able to go forward, and i'm confident that he will -- i am very hopeful that he will prevail. >> so, ben, you know the minnesota attorney general ellison personally. he said this is going to take months. obviously, this is going to be a long process. he said i feel a tremendous sense of weight. do you think he's the best person to get a conviction here? >> i do. i do. he's excellent in all that he does. he has a very strong criminal vision and he is probable the only person in the entire state government who could have gotten such a broad consensus, a broad sigh of relief, a real sense that the state is going to take this absolutely seriously and

that's part of the legacy of these cases is top prosecutors who are in with the cops and top prosecutors who do not represent the full interest of all of the people. keith ellison is a uniting figure in our country, and in the united states politics. i was with him as recently as two months ago, visiting the capitol where his office is right across from the governor. he's exactly the right person. >> so paul, you know, originally these charges were third-degree murder and manslaughter. now they're saying second-degree murder while committing a felony. usually we would describe second-degree murder as intentional, but without premeditation which would, of course, become first. they're adding that homicide is listed as unintentional. does that make sense to you in terms of what they're doing and what does it make of upping this charge? >> it does make sense and you

look at the facts and circumstances of this case and this officer, and i would rather call him the defendant, in making the decision by keeping his body on mr. floyd's neck and, told over and over again that he was in distress, knowing that his body had turned limp and he had no pulse and continued to stay on this man's body, what else than his actions other than the cause of death? so i thought when the case was originally brought that the prosecutors that brought forth that case weren't charging the highest charges for the facts as we knew them. >> so you're comfortable with this. the floyd family lawyer ben crump, he's still saying it would be first-degree murder which is intentional and premeditated and he's basing that premeditated that you hear no pulse and two minutes later you're still holding your knee down and whether that would count as premeditation in the context of first-degree murder

or not? >> under the facts as we know them it would be appropriate it would be premeditated and i don't think that the police officers or the defendants when they went to that location were intending to cause the death of mr. floyd, but during the circumstances of holding him down, intentionally acted in a manner which caused his death, therefore murder in the second degree is the appropriate charge and which should have been charged initially. >> the other three officers, former, obviously, have now all been charged, right? with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. they were standing there and did nothing to intervene and according to the charging complaint at 8:21, the video appears to show mr. floyd ceasing to breathe or speak. lane said want to roll him on his side.

kueng checked mr. floyd's wrist. and at 8:27:24, officer chauvin removed his knee from mr. floyd's neck. he was dead. he keeps his knee and none of them do anything. as an attorney mayor rawlings-blake how strong is the case against the other officers. >> think the case against the other officers is strong, but it's still challenging. there are so many -- so many unknowns when it comes to charging police officers. we know for sure what we were able to see with our own eyes with the first officer who had his knee against -- against mr. floyd draining the life out of him, but it's really shameful. the actions or the inactions of the other officers. i think it is symbolic of the shame that i feel the national fraternal order of the police is

with their silence, as well. i think that we should be expecting them to call out officers who are bad actors like the four officers involved and i really wish we would hear more from them. we need to. >> and ben, you know, you have here these charges, but this now is bigger than that. you know, when you hear them saying say the names. you know, this is as it should be much bigger than that, and it also raises the point that originally here they weren't sure they were going to charge at all and then it was third-degree and then as protests rose then it became second degree and then they rose more and now we'll charge other officers. it doesn't seem like this would have happened at all had we not seen what we're seeing across the country which is pretty incredible to say. >> this is all a reminder that we are a democracy where the people's expectations matter, and quite frankly, that we have a rising generation in this country that is eager to see us

make real advancements for justice, real advancement to finally reform law and order in this country so that we truly all experience that, we all experience justice, and i think great things will come from this. we are at the apex in my lifetime of public consensus, but we have to create a future where apartments can be counted on to respect the safety of all of our lives. >> thank you all very much. i appreciate your time. the president is trying to re-write history after cnn reported he was taken to an underground bunker last friday when protests started to escalate. >> and i was there for a tiny, little short period of time and it was much more for an inspection. >> plus more on the incredible statement that i mentioned from trump's first defense secretary james mattis unleashing on the president tonight in an unprecedented manner and protests growing in washington, d.c. and the city has pushed back that curfew and the

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with a jaw-dropping statement. this is pretty stunning, right? this is a person who had come into this administration in the beginning and stood by him and his words will stop you in your tracks. let me read some of the real meat here. he says, quote, when i joined the military some 50 years ago i swore an oath to support and defend the constitution. never did i dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens, much less to provide a bizarre photo-op for the elected commander in chief with military leadership standing alongside. we must reject any thinking of our cities as a, quote, battle space that our uniformed military is called upon to, quote, dominate." at home we should use our military only when requested to do so on very rare occasions by state governors. militarizing our response as we witnessed in washington, d.c., set up a conflict, a false

conflict between the military and civilian society. it erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect and of which they themselves are a part. mattis goes on to say, quote, donald trump is the first president in my life time who does not try to unite the american people, does not even pretend to try. instead, he tries to divide us. we are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. we are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. we can unite without him, drawing on the strength inherent in our civil society. this will not be easy as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens to past generations that bled to defend our promise and to our children, and he concludes, quote, we know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in lafayette square. we must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our

constitution. at the same time, we must remember lincoln's better angels and listen to them as we work to unite only by adopting a new path which means in truth returning to the original path of our founding ideals will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad. it is a stunning thing the president's former defense secretary calling for the rejection of the president and it isn't just mattis. over the past couple of days two former joint chiefs of staff have criticized the president's threat of using the military and overruling governors to put u.s. military troops in american cities and retired mark mullen and dempsey both saying, quote, our fellow citizens are not the enemy and it comes as mark esper split with the president today saying he does not believe the y military should be intervening to stop the protests. >> the active duty resources should be used only as a matter of last resort and only in the

most dire of situations. we are not in one of those situations now. i do not support invoking the insurrection act. >> again, stunning. he did appear with the president by st. john's church episcopal church, but the president didn't know he was going to hold that press conference. i want to go to barbara starr, pentagon correspondent, it is hard to everstaoverstate how significant this moment is when you hear the standing up with this president starting with the incredible statement from mattis. >> it is, erin. i suspect mattis will face criticism now from the president because of course, no active duty troops have been deployed, but that is, of course, not the point. what mattis is actually saying here is americans in uniform serve the american people. they do not serve a political agenda, and him saying we can unite without the president,

without the commander in chief is an extraordinary development, jim mattis more than anybody has had a military career based on military discipline, on obeying orders on deferring to a commander in chief, whoever that commander in chief is, and he tonight is sending all of the troops around the world and americans a message that this country can unite without its commander in chief. that's an extraordinary thing. he has not wanted to speak out because he didn't want to send any message to the troops that might make the job of pentagon harder. well, that apparently, has changed. his words couldn't be no more -- he could not be more blunt and this is the defense secretary and a retired four-star general, of course, marine corps who is absolutely idolized by young

troops, even those who have never met him. they are so enthusiastic about him. he is someone who is known to them, who they admire and respect and tonight he is saying that this country can unite without the commander in chief. we've had plenty of retired four stars be critical in the past. they all talk about what they don't like that the current administration is doing. this tonight is something quite different. it is something the president may be very critical of, but i'm not sure that that criticism is going to stick with the troops and with the american people. mattis very much saying if you're in uniform you serve the american people. you do not serve the politicians. >> and it is -- it is a pretty incredible and abuse of executive authority that the president violating the

constituti constitution lacks maturity and three years of trying to divide america. kaitlan collins is outside the white house. kaitlan, have you heard anything yet from the president or his team responding to secretary mattis' incredible statement and also what about secretary esper who went ahead without the president's say so and went against him on this idea of using u.s. troops in american cities? >> reporter: we haven't heard anything from the white house yet, erin, on mattis' statement. i think barbara is right, that we are likely going to hear from the president on this. we a we are hearing from plenty former officials saying this is going to leave a mark. it is stunning to hear the former defense secretary saying this. the current defense secretary is on thin ice right now. he already was before that press conference today where he came out, broke with the president and tried to distance himself from that photo-op that we saw happen on monday night outside st. john's church and now, of course, he had been at the white

house and defense secretary esper, and the current defense secretary for a few hours today. we had not gotten word on the indication of his job after that. the press secretary would not even say that the president had confidence in him. that was really striking in an administration where you've seen the president have these tense relationships with officials and now they won't even say they have confidence from mark esper. this statement from mattis has made it worse and the focus is going to be on that and this statement from mattis also not only criticizes the president, but by saying what happened in lafayette park last night was an abuse of authority and he's also criticizing mark esper. the president will be so distracted by presidesecretary and it is very striking to hear hum say this about the current president. >> i want to go to anthony brown of maryland. he is the vice chair of the

house armed services committee. this is a stunning moment. a former chairman of the joint chief criticized and you've now had aesecretary esper step up a go against the president and mat sis just incredible. i wanted to read you one other line. we do not need to militarize our response to protest. we need to unite around a common purpose and it starts that all of us are equal before the law. instructions given to the military department to our troops before the normandy invasion was reminded the soldiers that the nazi slogan for destroying was divide and conquer, we are confident that we are better than our politics. he then continues, congressman to say, donald trump is the first president in my life time who does not try to unite the american people and he tries to divide us. that is in the very next

paragraph after he uses the nazi slogan. divide and conquer and he is very careful with his words and that is a clear likening of president trump acting like the nazis. >> erin, i think also in that letter secretary mattis, general mattis may also be characterizing president trump as a danger to the constitution. secretary mattis is well regarded on capitol hill, in the pentagon, in academia. he studies history and he knows warriors and he knows the use of force that's proper and improper and he spoke truth, but today to the president. i've always respected him, the fact that he resigned because he had a fundamental disagreement with the way that president trump made decisions regarding our troops, regarding national security in a haphazard way, the way that president trump sent our military to the border to solve a problem that was better served with better policy and

not with troops, the fact that the president wants to put our military on parade literally in washington, d.c., i respect -- we all respected secretary mattis saying enough is enough and we certainly respect this letter calling out the president's both abuse of authority and his authority in office and the moral authority of the presidency. >> and he certainly did. violating the constitution, abusing executive authority and calling out his leadership. this comes, of course, congressman as the current secretary of defense mark esper split with the president. he now says he didn't know that trip to st. john's episcopal church was going to be a photo-op. he thinks it's wrong to use the insurrection act and deploy troops on u.s. soil against protesters. what happens here to secretary esper? he is obviously criticized as well -- secretary mattis who criticizes military leadership for standing alongside the president at what he calls that

bizarre photo-op. should secretary esper resign? >> look, i read a letter, erin, signed by 18 of my colleagues in congress, many if not all on the house arms services committee to secretary esper and we essentially called him out. we said you fumbled and stumbled throughout the last week in response to what's happening across this country, using language like we have to dominate the battle space. that's militarizing the response to peaceful protests and an expression of anger and frustration by people who had been aggrieved, the african-american community aggrieved by law enforcement and local government throughout this country and for decades. so i was very disturbed with secretary esper. the fact that he appeared with the president in a photo-op, he should have known better. his staff should have known better. it was avoidable. it was a mistake. now i am pleased that he has

clearly pointed out that the insurrection act does not apply, cannot be invoked. this is not an insurrection. it's not a rebellion and not the kind of civil unrest contemplated when that law was passed and i'm glad that he made that point, but i am equally disturbed that while he was sending soldiers back home and active duty military he's now reversed that decision, keeping them on standby at joint base andrews and that's problematic and that's escalating tension in this country, not de-escalating and not unifying and not preserving the important relationship between the military and civil society. >> congressman brown, i appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> thank you, erin. next, huge protests in washington, d.c., the city has pushed back that curfew and we will take you live to see the situation at this hour and president trump speaking out tonight with a message for the thousands who have taken to the streets.

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just ask "what can i say" to find more of what you love with the xinity voice remote. >> breaking news. live pictures right now. this is minneapolis. you see people there standing just hours after three more officers were charged in george floyd's death.

the primary charge against derek chauvin was upgraded to second-degree murder. alex marquardt is out front in washington. the curfew has been pushed back to 11:00 p.m. which is more reflective of the reality on the ground night after night. have you notice good change after these new charges in minneapolis and the later curfew? >> reporter: erin, first of all, i'll keep my voice down because there's a moment of silence going on right now and the speaker up there is listing the names of the african-americans who were killed by police officers. if anything, there is a lot of happiness about those new charges against those three other officers. it is something that protesters out here have been asking me about. it is certainly something that has been at the forefront of their minds during these protests and this moment right here with everyone sitting on the ground, erin, is really emblematic of how peaceful the protests have been over the past few days here in washington,

d.c. now i'll ask my cameraman jamie michael to pan down. you can see the sea of protesters that stretch back three city blocks and it is an immense crowd. erin, last night we were past the curfew. tonight the curfew has been extended to 11:00 because of how peaceful these protesters have been. erin, this is as close as protesters can get to the white house. over the past few days lauchl has pushed the crowd back from the white house. first, protesters were in the park and then they put up a fence at the edge of the park and now the protesters have been pushed back here to this line. you can see right there, that is st. john's church and that, of course, is where the president staged that photo-op after law enforcement forcibly removed all of the protesters from that area. erin, i was speaking to the rechtor of st. john's just a short time ago. he was saying that worshippers are not alolowed at the church

and the last time that happened was 9/11. most of the forces here in the riot gear, they're from the bureau of prisons. a number of them are all of the way from texas and that is h street. in essence, erin, the white house is now being guarded by prison guards, many of them from texas. now this is setting up. this patchwork of federal agencies and different law enforcement authorities that have descended on washington is setting up a showdown and a confrontation with the city government of d.c. which it should be controlling these streets through their local police force, and i was speaking with the mayor of washington earlier today. she told me that that is just another reason that d.c. has to be a state, and she said also, that they are looking into the legality of the president being able to call up national guard and the military to come here.

she said, erin, that it was unconscionable. >> all right, alex, thank you very much. you need to see the size of those crowds growing night after night. out front, attorney general -- i'm glad to see you again. >> good to see you, erin. >> the curfew in your city now pushed back by four hours. you had less than two dozen arrests made last night during the protests, obviously, and there were other nights when the unrest were much more significant. what do you expect now that you have moved the curfew. >> i think we expect another overwhelmingly peaceful night in the district of columbia. as you indicated the protests have been strong, consistent and heavy ever since the unjustified killing of mr. floyd, and i want to tell you, having gone down to be with the protester, they are overwhelmingly peaceful, multi-generational, multi-racial, and as you see the protests are happening

throughout this country, and protesters want change. there's another way of policing that america should embrace and that's the de-escalation that your presenters have been talking about earlier today. >> so you've said you will prosecute criminal conduct, you will prosecute assault, and you will prosecute destruction of property and not people who violate curfew. what is the message, just to be loud and clear that you're sending with that policy? >> think the message is really clear. folks who are out there expressing their first amendment rights should go about doing that in a peaceable way. to the extent that people active and are aggressive with each other or damage property and look to steal thing, that's when you're going to be prs cuted. i don't think it's a good use of prosecutorial resources to prosecute people for simply being out in the street in a peaceful way minutes after a curfew and we're not going to spend our resources that way.

>> so president bush tonigtrumpo longer believes he will have to follow through on sending the military in to stop violent protests. here he is. >> will you send in the military to any cities in particular to restore that law and order? >> well, it depends. i don't think we'll have to. we have very strong powers to do it. the national guard is customary and we have a very powerful national guard, over 300,000 mn and women and we can do pretty much whatever we want as far as that. going beyond that, sure, if it was necessary. >> of course, the governors beg to differ. he's saying oh, he doesn't think he has to. this comes as even his own secretary of defense came out today and said he thinks the president is dead wrong. do you think the president thinks he doesn't have to or do you think he's trying to back off of this because he's lost the support of his own military? >> i think it's the latter point. i think you have a president who

has got a really large bark, whose bite is actually quite timid and he's heard from his secretary of defense that he doesn't believe the military should be utilized in our cities and counties where protesters are and general mattis spoke very clearly as general mattis did after charlottesville. he made clear that racism had no role, no part in his armed forces and he made clear again that what we're dealing with is an immature leader who acts by fiat and this is a country that instead respects the rule of law. i also want to tell you that the district of columbia is looking very carefully at the federal government's actions. we have grave concerns about the legality of it. we don't appreciate being used as a stage for the president to act tough. there's a real problem when you

have texas bureau of prison folks guarding the white house. they're not as well trained as the metropolitan police department is. >> all right. well, thank you very much. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, erin. attorney general racine. president obama calling for reaction in the wake of george floyd's death. >> to bring about real change we both have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable. hot! hot!

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pictures from los angeles where a large crowd is marching through the street. president obama striking a hopeful tone a short time ago as these protests are taking place tonight across this country. >> there is a change in mind-set that's taking place, a greater recognition that we can do better. that's a direct result of the activities and organizing and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country, who put themselves out

on the line to make a difference. >> out front now, phillippe cunningham, and senior advisor to president obama, his point person on so many things including justice reform. councilmember cunningham, let me start with you. president obama chose you as the only representative from minnesota to speak on this panel. what did it mean to you to be that voice to be the person he selected, to be "the voice" of the community and to speak to the president? >> erin, thank you for having me. i'll just say it truly was an honor to be able to speak on behalf of my community here in minneapolis and minnesota. i've been doing a lot of work for sometime around expanding what public health, what public safety looks like from a public health approach, so i was really grateful to be able to have that platform to inject that hope in the conversation we're having as a nation right now.

>> so, president obama talked about how change on race is so difficult to achieve, which, of course, we have seen time and time again. here's part of what he said today. >> we don't have the capacity to eradicate 400 years of racism in one fell swoop. i've been known to quote dr. king -- i've said frequently, the arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. we bend it. >> obviously, phillippe, the protest has shined a bright light on these issues. today we soldaw derek chauvin's charge upgraded and the other officers as well. how do you see this as a good thing? that thing is only happening because you have mass protests across this country. and i think on one level everybody would say that should not be what it took to get to

this point on justice. >> the reality is that while it should not be what it took for us to get here, it is what got us here. and so as we are holding this space, what really we need in this country is to be able to develop language around being able to talk about race, about our history as a country, race relations. we as a country do not have the skill set to be able to have productive conversations around race, and that is because we are also a country that forgets our history. so as we are navigating through this time of big social upheaval, let's use that as an opportunity to really learn, learn how to talk about race, learn about our history, and learn how to do better. >> all right. thank you very much. i appreciate your time, phillippe. i want to turn now to valerie jarrett. valerie, president obama has been very careful about what he says since he left office. he's been, you know, quite

reticent at times, many people were surprised, but he's been very careful. he chose this moment. this is obviously about a cause where he's dedicated his foundation and his time so we would expect he would speak out. but yet he was -- he's very careful in how he chose to do so. you know, what sort of went through his mind -- and i know you've been in communication with him -- as he prepared to do this? >> it was important to use the platform he has to bring people together, to try to excite people about the possibilities of change, recognizing that this is an inflection point, and hopefully a turning point in our nation's history. to give a little context to say that change has only happened when people disrupt the status quo and that makes everyone a little uncomfortable, but that's how change happens. then the question is what are the constructive solutions, evidence-based strategies to bridge this gulf between police and communities of color.

he thought today was the platform to layout those concrete suggestions. he asked me earlier in the day to call around to many of our 0 nation's mayors to see if they would be willing to take a pledge to work with their community on the use of force. the mayors of san francisco, minnesota, my hometown chicago, washington, d.c., new york, atlanta, all the mayors i reached today said absolutely. and many of them are already implementing the recommendations that were in the 20th century task force that was created under president obama. so i think it's important that everybody add their voice to this equation. and given the respect and the popularity that president obama has in the country, and that he has been the unifying force, a voice of reason, a voice of inspiration and hope, what better person to speak today than he. >> so, you know, he, of course, was not the only one who spoke today. the current president, president trump spoke as well. and these were two very, very different tones, valerie. let me just play them side by side. first president obama, then president trump.

>> this country was founded on protests. every step of progress in this country, every expansion of freedom, every expression of our deepest ideals has been won through efforts that made the status quo uncomfortable. >> do you think that right now the nation needs you to express that same sort of comfort and healing that some people need to heal? >> right now i think the nation needs law and order. >> loud and clear, that was stark. right now this country needs law and order from president trump, and president obama, this country was founded on protest every step of progress has been, you know, made the status quo uncomfortable. what's your reaction to that? these could not be more starkly different. >> well, obviously i agree with president obama. law and order only works if the

justice system is just. and what we have is concrete evidence of ways in which it is not just. it is not fair. it is not meted out equally and that's really the pillar. i think you spoke earlier, erin, about the comments that came from the former defense secretary, the current defense secretary. so it is unprecedented for military leaders to speak out. and what it shows is their commitment to our constitution, their commitment to protecting the american people. their questioning of president trump's strategy of law and order, i've never in my lifetime seen the government of the united states come after law-abiding citizens who were exercising their first amendment right to protest the way that was done in lafayette park. and clearly now our military leaders are very uncomfortable with that. so it is an inflection point. it is a time for us to not be silent. it is a time for us to all do our jobs just as the media is doing. and i should pause to thank you, erin, you and all your colleagues in the press who are putting your life in harms way, going out onto the streets,

taking the risk as you have been confronted with law and order, arrested, your own reporters who have been arrested. this is what we have to do in order to have change in our country. it should be law abiding, it should be peaceful. i do not support the rare examples that we've seen where there has been looting and arson. and i'm heartened to see that that is dying down. but the voices of thousands and thousands of people around our country and now around the world are only getting louder. >> and before we go, will we hear more from president obama on this topic? >> i'm sure we will. his ongoing work through the foundation, my brother's keeper, is in the space -- you mentioned in the context of a broader criminal justice reform that has been a passion for him. part of what we want to do is change the trajectory of lives of boys and men of color and give them an equal footing and opportunity in this country. that commitment is one he's had for as long be as i've known him, nearly 30 years, and certainly will continue.

>> all right. well, i appreciate your time, valerie jarrett. thanks very much for being with us tonight. >> of course. >> and thanks very much to all of you for being with us as always, as our breaking news coverage of these protests across the country continues now with anderson. >> erin, thanks. good evening. we are seeing some of the largest demonstrations yet in cities across the country. overwhelmingly peaceful, not rioting, not looting. we're seeing protesting. in philadelphia, washington, here in new york and minneapolis where george floyd was murdered last week, and where today just down the river in the state capital, st. paul, minnesota's attorney general upgraded charges against derek chauvin and the other officers involved in the killing. keith ellison, the attorney general, bringing charges the first time. these are the mugshots of the ex-police officers. derek chauvin kept his knee on his neck long after the heart stopped