can attack anywhere. get fast relief here with primatene mist. available over the counter for mild ashtma. primatene mist. breathe easy again. 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, saint paul paul minnesota's attorney general upped the charges against derek chauvin and

charged three other officers. these are the mug shots of the ex-police officers. for derek chauvin who kept his knee on mr. floyd's neck long after his heart stopped beating his charge was raised from third degree to second-degree murder. and president obama adding his voice in a virtual town hall. and tonight we will talk with kareem abdul-jabbar, a basketball and a civil rights legend. other breaks news on the military response to demonstrations, a stunning rebuke from james mattis, the president's first defense secretary and a retined marine corps four star general. general mattis not only slams the president's photo op at the church, but the entire approach to military and governing. the president he says is the first in his lifetime who quote does not try to unite the american people, does not even pretend to try. let me just repeat that. the man hand-picked by the president to be his first

defense secretary, a man who spends his life in service to this country and to this country's constitution, now says the president of the united states does not even pretend to try to unite this country. there's a lot to get to tonight. let's start with cnn's miguel marquez in indianapolis. i'm wondering how the news of the charges has been referred there today. >> with a sense of relief and uncertainty. i want to show you the spot where mr. floyd breathed his last breath. it has become celebratory this. mural has gone up, striking, this is the spot where mr. floyd was on the ground, when the knee was to his neck, with officer chauvin sitting there, as though he were standsing in line at the bank, for eight minutes and 46 seconds. people are relieved by the charges today because i don't

believe a lot of them believed there would be these charges would be coming and they are glad to see it so quickly. they were uncertain about those charges. and they don't really know that they are going to see convictions in the end. you look at freddie gray and so many other cases, where there were not convictions, and this is an audience, these are people who are accustomed to being looked at, it does feel different though, because everybody, across this city, and as we're seeing across the country, they are coming out, all ages, all races, and coming out, wanting that equality, that video tape is so unmistakable, in its evilness, and the sense that someone was dying in front of them, and not only was the officer who had his knee to his neck just so calm about it, but the other officers, said the

attorney general, stood around, made sure that nobody, witnesses, others around here, nobody could get to him, nobody could see exactly what they were doing. so while people are happy here tonight, they are waiting, they are waiting to see if there will be convictions. >> and what demonstrations, what have demonstrations been like today, what are they anticipating tonight? because obviously there are a lot of people in america who are sitting at home watching this, they see what happens late at night, what has happened in some cities, they have seen looting going on, people stealing things, and yet, you see the images today, and that we have seen day after day, of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people likely all told, going into the streets day after day after day, overwhelmingly peaceful and it is an extraordinary sight to see, city after city, just this turnout in the midst of a pandemic, no less. in the midst, i mean, you know,

people know about social distancing, they know the dangers, and yet, they are saying this is more important than my personal health. >> reporter: well, certainly the anger has driven people out as well. and to just disregard some of those social dancing rules. but there have been silent protests today in st. paul. there is a protest going none minneapolis right now, where people are gathering, maybe 500 strong or so. this area has really become the epicenter. it is, it is a place of sadness. and profound reflection. but it is also a place that has become a bit of a celebration. there is food, there's water, there are tents set up everywhere where everybody is offering a barbecue, and household needs you might have. and you can register to vote down here. so it has become a place that has brought not just this community, the people who live directly here, but people from across the city, across the state, are coming here, coming

to this spot and try to figure out to kneel, to pray, the governor has been here, police have been here, the family of mr. floyd has been here, trying to figure out, and meditate, and think about where the incident that happened here takes us next. >> and president obama spoke today. we will play some of that. miguel, thank you. more now from keith ellison, minnesota's attorney general. he spoke earlier today of the tremendous weight he feels at this moment. >> attorney general ellison, what made you decide to upgrade the charges to second-degree murder against ex-officer chauvin? >> well we evaluated all of the incoming evidence. we evaluated a lot of material. there's a range of it. medical reports. medical examiner reports. video tape. all kinds of information that we felt that the proper charge would be second-degree murder.

and that it would be proper to charge the other three with aiding and abetting in that. >> as you know the family of mr. floyd, his attorney, had wanted first-degree murder charges. that would have required that officer chauvin, that it was premeditated, that there was premeditation, i assume you found no evidence of premeditation. >> as of this time, no. the investigation is ongoing. if we find evidence which would support that charge, we would charge it. i'm committed to holding, you know, the defendants accountable, at the highest ethical charge, meaning that the charges have to be supported by the facts, have to be supported by the law, but if it's there, you would charge it, you would not hesitate, if we found the information to support it. >> of the three officers, what should they have done in this circumstance? i know one officer, i read the

criminal complaint, one officer raised concerns about mr. floyd, asked i guess, chauvin if, he should be turned on his side. and chauvin said, words to the effect of no, he's staying right where he is. >> well, in the case, they continue to sit on his body, which affected his ability to do so, we consider that aiding. and the fact that they didn't render aid, it was a department policy to do so, to intervene, they had a responsibility to intervene, to give aid, and they didn't do so. and then they affirmatively assisted in the assault which resulted ultimately in the death of mr. floyd. >> i find it just so stunning

that not only did mr. chauvin sit, with his knee on mr. floyd's neck, for more than eight minutes, but that more than two minutes and 47 seconds, almost three minutes of that time, was after he was nonresponsive. and after they knew he did not have a pulse, or could not find a pulse. i mean if any of the officers had at least, at that point, tried to assist mr. floyd, and the fact that nobody tried to assist mr. floyd after they knew he didn't have a pulse, is, it is just inexplicable to me. >> i think many people around the world make that same observation. >> you also point out how difficult it is to convict a police officer. i believe in minnesota, it has only happened once. and i know the prosecutor that has pointsed to this was the prosecutor who was able to get that conviction, i heard you say

earlier. can you talk about why it is so difficult? obviously for any criminal justice reform, accountability is essential and moving forward for the future, it's good to know why it is so hard to convict police. >> well, i mean weren't we all raised to believe that if you have a problem, the people you should call is the police? juries tend to resolve anecdote doubts in favor of the police. where there is a credibility dispute, they have a tendency to believe the police. there are many times when that credibility is not deserved or warranted in individual cases. and so that is one of the issues. the other is, is that there are many kind of immunities, that the police are legally authorized to use force in circumstances beyond that of ordinary citizens. all of these things kind of conspire. and then of course, in some cases, around the country, the police departments have a very cozy relationship with other

people, who hold political and economic power, so they look out for them, and so the net effect is that it is very difficult to hold police accountable, even when there's a violation of law. >> you think if you look -- >> what have you told the family in this case about the chances of getting a conviction? >> well, you know what i do, i don't really lay odds on that. what i say is that we are going to prepare, we are going to organize, we are going to make sure we put on the best case we possibly can. we are going to to check every link in the prosecutorial chain to make sure it's tight. and then at the end of the day, it's really in the hands of the jury. and so we believe that people are fair, if we can help the jury understand what is really happening here, what their their duties and obligations are,

we're confident we will get that conviction. >> attorney general ellison, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you, sir. more on making these four cases, cnn legal analyst and former prosecutor laura coates and laura marshall, a professor in new york, and author of the law and society, 16070 present. first of all, laura, your reaction to the attorney general and what he did today and the charges and where they stand? >> two things. in minnesota, people don't realize that the third degree murder charge wasn't going to be stand regardless. that would require to you have an intent, an intentional act and act with depraved indifference and you tend or didn't intend and the lawful language and in minnesota you can't think about third degree murder without thinking about the quintessential shooting in a crowded space or driving down

the wrong side of the highway. those are the types of crimes are committed when you intend to harm someone and no one in particular and third degree murder charges in minnesota, if you're only focusing on one particular target, you cannot actually charge that. it was probably an error to do so in the first place by the hennepin county attorney. the second-degree murder under minnesota law has two different ways to get to it, anderson. either intentional which does not require premeditation or unintentional which you're seeing charged here, based on a felony or the intent to commit a felony and what we're seeing the felony being is the underlying cause of assaulting mr. george floyd, close to death causing great bodily harm and in fact, death. so i think it is the right charge to make sure. the commensurate liability is one you're seeing here. and it could potentially go up higher to pre-meditated, but what we've seen right now, he's made the right call. >> we've seen what is in the criminal complaint. there is a lot we still don't

know about this interaction, something happened in a police vehicle, because mr. floyd was inside the backseat of a police vehicle for a while before being brought back outside and put on the ground and killed. i assume that will come out in the trial. and who knows which way that will move any potential juror or jury. but i'm wondering what you make of what we saw today of the new charges. >> i was concerned about minnesota attorney general ellison's kind of neutral stance. he seemed more of a politician than the kind of advocate i would want to zel ously defend the rights of mr. floyd. i mean my concern is that he's bringing in the prosecutor who is not trusted within the black community, and someone who has yet had one conviction of an officer, but that was a black

officer who accidentally shot a white woman. so the problem, the prosecutor has been one that has been under the microscope of the black mount for what he has been seen of oppression of black people in that county so i'm concerned about this cozy relationship between ellison and freeman. >> laura, is there anything that can be done about that? i mean at this point, obviously, i mean ellison said about, how difficult it is to get a conviction, and as the professor was just saying, the fact that the only police officer who was convicted was black. >> well, hennepin county freeman was wrong to bring the parallel in a racially tone deaf way in that they woulden analogous or it would have an impact on a new jury with new sets of facts with a black victim and white officers and some were officers

of color. but remember keith ellison is not new to the people of minnesota. the first african-american elected statewide in minnesota. he served in congress for more than 12 years. he is also somebody who represented indigent defendants in the criminal justice system. and frankly, a lot of people are talking right now about many attorney generals would actually look at a power grab and say i want to be the face of this and i want to do the entire prosecution and you're the institutional knowledge and pipeline of otherwise seasoned and career attorneys. he himself said today, i have done these cases on the other side. so i think part of his stance is based on the acknowledgment that it is highly appropriate to rely on people in the office who have experience. however, she is right when she say, professor, the idea of there being healthy skepticism largely around the hennepin county attorney for his failure to charge the officer in the jamar hart kate and past is prolong and people are well

aware, even when they are in charge, justice is a multiflow system in when it comes to the flow chart of officer-involved shooting, figure cindictment, t, and it will be met with skepticism until people have full confidence in the criminal justice system. >> the new criminal complaint said that one of the officers was ready to employ a different restraint but the other officers involved chose not to use it. do the different accounts of the officers come into play? i mean is it possible they could flip on each other? >> i think it's necessary. i think that also was part of the motivation to support the higher charge or more serious charge. i think also the relationship between george floyd and derrick chauvin, at thwhere they both

worked, it will take both coming out and seeking and the last thing i want to add, the necessary part of what an officer was supposed to do, officer lane pulled a weapon when george floyd was sitting in the car. that was in the initial charge report. so we see that these, and the fact as you point out, there was no resuscitation at all. even the ambulance, when they arrived didn't attempt to resuscitate. i mean the system failed george floyd on every level. but then web dubois says the system was never meant to protect us in the first place and that's what we're seeing here. the system failing after 400 years of failure. >> gloria, laura coats, thank you, appreciate it. coming up, retired marine corps general james mattis, the president's first defense secretary breaking his silence weighing in on how he believes the president, mad daus mattis, the president loved to kaug him

and talking about how the president is dividing and misusing the nation's armed forces. we will talk about that. and later, kareem abdul-jabbar mar and what he sees in what we're all watching unfold. claritin-d. while the leading allergy spray is indicated for 6 symptoms... claritin-d is indicated for 8... including sinus congestion and pressure. claritin-d. get more.

are made with farm grownal apples as the first ingredient. and key nutrients you want. so you can have a daily multivitamin free of stuff you don't want. one a day natural fruit bites. a new way to multivitamin.

hey. [ snoring, indistinct talking on tv ] you fell asleep with your sign again. "you fell asleep with your sign again." no, i didn't. okay. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. noticks and fleas?o simplifies protection. see ya! heartworm disease? no way! simparica trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection. and simparica trio is demonstrated safe for puppies. it's simple: go with simparica trio. this drug class has been associated

with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures; use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. protect him with all your heart. simparica trio. there's breaking news tonight that raises all kinds of uncomfortable questions about what country we are living in and what it might become. don't take that from me. that's from president trump's former secretary of defense marine four-star general, james mattis, a man who dedicated his life to protecting, serving the constitution and the country. i say this about mattis because it's inevitable the president will soon directly or indirectly through minions smear general mattis. very possibly his current defense secretary as well. a lot of people wonder why general mattis lasted so long with this president or how he lasted so long, and why he never

spoke up publicly. well, he has certainly spoken up now and it's impossible to overstate the intensity and the stunning nature of this rebuke. writing the atlantic about the president's crowd clearing and erratic walk in order to pose with the bible, a book he's unlikely read, and say nothing of substance while standing and preening in front of st. john's episcopal church, mattis wrote, i have watched this week's unfolding events angry and appalled. 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. he goes on to liken this moment to the one 76 years ago this week as troops, including some from the unit stationed outside washington right now, prepared for d-day. some were expected to be returning home tonight, but now "the washington post" is reporting that they're not. elements of the same 82nd

airborne that parachuted into france, i'm quoting mattis, instruction given by the military department to our troops before the normandy invasion reminded soldiers the nazi slogan for destroying us was divide and conquer. our american answer is in union there is strength. we must summon that unity to surmount this crisis, confident that we are better than our politics. donald trump, mattis writes, is the first president in my lifetime 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 consequence of three years of this deliberate effort. we are witnessing the consequence of three years without mature leadership. that's the former defense secretary who served under this president. now, as you might expect this is bound to get the president's attention. in anticipation of the attacks he's sure to level against general mattis, here's a sampling of past praise the

president has had for mattis. though even at the time he said this stuff, we knew the president knew nothing about mattis other than his nickname. >> we are going to appoint mad dog mattis -- [ cheers and applause ] -- as our secretary of defense. >> jim is a marine corps four-star general. >> i have a general who i have great respect for, general mattis. >> general mattis is the living embodiment of the marine corps motto, semper fidelis >> he's devoted his life to serving his country. >> he led the sole battalion in operation desert strong. >> i think he's a terrific person, he's doing a fantastic job. >> mad dog plays no games. >> he's a man of honor. a man of devotion. >> american people of fortunate >> the american people are fortunate that a man of this character, and integrity will

now be a civilian leader atop the department of defense. >> the backdrop to what general mattis wrote is the drama surrounding the man who now occupies the chair he left, the president's current defense secretary mark esper. at his briefing today, esper said he did not support using active duty troops against protesters as the president has threatened to do, and he said he regretted using the word battle space to describe american cities. he talked about dominating the battle space. the streets of america. the president, as you know, has urged governors to use national guard forces to, "dominate city streets and he warned he would send in the regular military if they don't. that threat seemed to be dissipating much of the day. according to the post, not any longer. and it's a threats other officials are speaking out about. former joint chiefs of staff mike mullen writes, it sickened me jed to see security personnel, including members of the national guard forcibly and violently clearing the path through lafayette square to accommodate the president's visit outside st. john's church.

i have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding president trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point. the events of the past weeks have made it impossible to remain silent. admiral mullen spoke out after seeing the current chairman of the joint chiefs, the man in uniform right there, the joint chiefs general mark milley alongside the president in battle fatigues, no less, not the dress uniform normally worn when meeting at the white house. seeing the defense secretary taking part in the church photo op, that's the defense secretary in between those two. secretary esper at first denied he even knew where he was going. then he admitted today, yeah, he knew he was going to the church, but not that it would be a photo op. no, no, no, certainly not that. a short time later he and chairman milley spent about two 1/2 hours at the white house and now the troops that were expected to head home are reportedly not. today white house press secretary kelly mcenany compared the president's publicity stunt to winston churchill touring the

bombed out streets of london. let's pause for a moment. kayleigh mcenany, used to be a commentator at cnn, a person of strong faith. maybe she believes what she's saying. but comparing the president of the united states to winston churchill? winston churchill was a child of privilege. on that sense, yes, you can compare them. donald trump was born into privilege. he was able to start his business because he got a lot of money from his daddy. church hill joined the military, saw combat. the president avoided all that, as we know. bone spurs, we're told. church hill wrote books. the president -- the president, he's had books ghostwritten for him. churchhill was actually a p.o.w. he was a war correspondent after leaving the military during the war. he was taken as a p.o.w. he escaped. the president says he doesn't like p.o.w.s. he likes those who haven't been captured.

churchhill was one of the great oest orators of modern times. he stood in front of a burned church holding a bible and he couldn't think of anything to say. burned out church, a bible in his hand, the country divided, and he couldn't think of anything to say. except to ask a bunch of other white guys from his cabinet to stand around him and just take a picture. churchill rallied britain in the face of evil. he faced down tyranny and fascism. he united the world against it. this president praises tyrants. he seeks to emulate them. the press secretary compares the two men -- i mean, she's right. they're both leaders of countries. they're both old. they're both large. and both walk through rubble. one did it for his country. trump did it for himself.

more now on all this, let's go to cnn political analyst and white house correspondent maggie haberman. cnn's chief white house correspondent jim accosta and retired general clark. a cnn military analyst. general clark, i'll start with you. i wonder what your reaction is hearing from former secretary mattis. >> very pleased to see his statement. i do think this is a very important time in america. many of us have wondered why, why jim hasn't spoken out sooner, but he was waiting. he bided his time and he spoke out at a critical time. i think he'll have a big impact. but he didn't only talk about this event. he talked about dividing america. he talked about immature leadership. this is a very broad powerful statement, and he's one of the few people who can really speak on authority because he was there in the president's cabinet for almost two years. he saw it firsthand. >> and now, i mean, he's clearly going to have his reputation

attacked by this president who will, you know, has already labeled himself a failure and things like that. general, can you talk about the reticence military leaders have about speaking out in a case like this? because to hear from mattis, to hear from mullen, you don't -- >> it's very hard, anderson, to get military leaders to speak out. occasionally someone will run for office as i did and have to speak out. but mostly they don't speak out. and that's just the tradition of the military being apolitical. we want to keep the active duty military apolitical. they work for the commander in chief. they take an oath to uphold the constitution. it doesn't matter whether it's democrats, republicans or somebody else in the office of the presidency. the military must be loyal. but there comes a time when the retired military, at least, i

believe does have an obligation to speak out. in 1965, the retired army -- former army chief of staff general could have spoken out and warned america, that his studies a decade earlier showed it would take a million americans to deal with vietnam. they asked him to speak out. he said no. so it's important what general mattis said. he spoke out. he's going to have an impact, when our other former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, like marty dempsey and mike mullen, when they speak out, america should listen. these are men who don't speak out easily. they hold in out of respect for the current leaders, out of concern for the troops that are in uniform. but when they speak out, it's from the heart and they speak from experience. >> jim accosta, has the white house responded about this criticism? >> reporter: not yet. i did talk to a trump advisor, trump campaign advisor earlier this evening. i don't think this is a huge

shot in the dark he's going to respond with great anger. this adviser was observing the president loves his generals is how this adviser describes it. he liked having people like general mattis around, the former chief of staff john kelly, the former national security adviser h.r. mcmaster. but, anderson, on a day when the president himself compared himself to abraham lincoln, on a day when the press secretary, as you mentioned, compared the president to winston churchill, former secretary mattis is making some very dark comparisons. at one point during this statement, he talks about how instructions were given to soldiers storming normandy during world war ii and how they were told, they were reminded of how the nazis believed in divide and conquer, and how the american answer to that was, in union there is strength. and the trump adviser i spoke with this evening said that will leave a mark with the president, being -- having a reference dropped in this statement to the

nazis is not going to sit well with this president. i think general mattis, former secretary mattis has gotten the president's attention and we're certainly going to hear from the president, i think, in short order. >> maggie, i'm wondering what you make of this. the president obviously has criticized mattis several times since he left the administration. also, i'm just wondering about that and then i want to ask you about the whole bunker stuff because the president talked about that today. >> sure, anderson. look, i think two things can be true at once. i think this can be a pretty extraordinary statement from jim mattis who the general said tried to stay out of the fray. to his detriment he's been criticized for it. he is clearly speaking out and i don't think this is the extent of what he would like to say, but it is a pretty dramatic statement, is an extraordinary moment. whether it will matter, whether there is anyone in the country who will be influenced at this point, will hear it or

break through at this moment of incredible turmoil when so much is going on and there are three simultaneous crises, i don't know. i think it remains to be seen. i am confident the president is going to attack mattis. i expect that he will attack him in the manner in which he has attacked him before. and as we discussed here, that gets pretty old. people are familiar with how the president attacks people. it doesn't penetrate. i think the president, it's more than that he's angry. i think the president is going to be wounded by this. this is an actual general. the president likes to project this image of strength, but he has had trouble making that clear in his own resume and i think this is going to, going to pierce him in a way few events have. >> i want to ask you about the bunker. just for a minute, i want everybody -- these pictures on the screen are just extraordinary. i mean, i know we've seen these kind of pictures of peaceful protests all day long.

maybe it starts to look like wallpaper or just, oh, that's what's happening. these are just incredible images. i mean, look at the diversity of people out in these streets, washington, d.c., los angeles, new york, minneapolis, cities large and small. you have people outside risking their own lives in the midst of a pandemic. look at this picture, atlanta. this is what's happening day after day in the united states of america. i know bad things have happened in cities at night and there's been looting. i live in new york city. i've seen it down where i live, too. but this is really what has happened. this is the outpouring of americans that is occurring here. yes, some are taking advantage of it and, yes, that is being dealt with. but this is the news. this is the headline. and it may be doesn't make headlines like violence makes headlines. and maybe that's a commentary on society and us.

but these pictures are just extraordinary. a thin line of military and police and blocks and blocks of peaceful citizens. sorry, maggie, to interrupt you. maggie, let me just ask you -- sorry, jim, go ahead. >> reporter: the only thing i was going to say was just to the point that you're making is that i think, you know, perhaps history will be written a different way after all this is said and done. but i think the president missed a massive historic opportunity this week. he decided to respond by force. he decided to throw his weight around in ways he thought would impress the generals and people like the generals when, in fact, i think had he taken the opportunity to show these protesters that he understands what he's going through and, yes, perhaps show some of them some love, that this entire situation might have turned out differently this week and he might be in a better position politically. but i do think -- and general mattis gets to this in his

statement -- the president chose to divide in this moment instead of unite. and that's why, you know, it just seems to be a massive missed opportunity for the president. >> leaving people -- >> can i just say something there? we really need to stop referring to this as a choice the president is making. i agree there have been times where he has been able to show a different side of himself or at least a side -- he is capable of -- lots of people talk about he's capable of acts of kindness, he's different behind the scenes. that's not what he has done. when somebody doesn't do that at almost every single turn, you have to stop thinking it's a choice. i don't know why it is this is the way that he has reacted, but this is how he reacted. i don't think there was ever going to be another option for him in this moment. and the thing that i have heard from a number of people around him over the last several days is they are privately acknowledging and they are not doing it publicly, but they are privately acknowledging that the limitations on his ability to be

in this job are apparent in moments like this. >> and just, maggie, the president today is denying that he ever was rushed to the bunker and that he was going to the bunker. he claims he went to the bunker for an inspection. it seems laughable to me that all of a sudden on a day when the country is being ripped apart that he would decide, oh, yeah, it's a good day to have an inspection of that bunker i keep hearing about. >> it was interesting, anderson, he said -- >> if i could. >> i just want to get maggie on this because she is reporting on it. maggie? >> reporter: what he said was it was a false report. it was not a false report. we were correct and other people confirmed our reporting. peter baker on our reporting. the president was whisked down to the bunker after a status at the white house was changed from yellow to red because there had been a barricade or we had been told -- maybe there are other things we weren't told. there was one barricade pierced near the treasury department. this was not -- the president said it was a false story. he said well, i was there 2 1/2 times, something to that effect. he just went down to inspect it

on friday. what he's saying is not true. i understand he was very angry about the reporting. but, you know, his issues are not our issues and our job is to report. >> churchill spent time in a bunker. >> right. >> it's not like -- >> it speaks to the situation. it doesn't speak -- it's not talking about him. it's talking about a moment in time and a moment in the presidency. >> given his bone spurs, it must have been very painful to be rushed down to a bunker. you could almost give him props for being willing to undergo that pain. but the idea that he views it as a sign of failure of his masculinity, that just seems so absurd to me. and the fact that he then decides to lie to the american people about it seems absurd as well. i'm out of time, way over time. maggie haberman, jim accosta, general clark. thank you very much. we'll have more on the protests. we'll talk to kareem abdul-jabbar who wrote a great piece in the l.a. times i want

to talk to him about. i thought was really beautifully written and important, so many important thoughts in it. we'll talk to him when we return. us. it's what this country is made of. but right now, our bond is fraying. how do we get back to "us"? the y fills the gaps. and bridges our divides.

donate to your local y today. because where there's a y, there's an us. introducing tide power pods with cat & nat. that is such a large load, don't the stains sneak through? new tide power pods can clean that... whole situation.

it's like two regular tide pods and then even more power. even the largest of loads get clean. it's got to be tide. uh, i need a price check on honey. [sigh] don't get mad. get e*trade and get more than just trading. investing. banking. guidance.

get e*trade and get more than just trading. the xfinity voice remote will find exactly that.for, happy stuff. the group's happy, i'm happy. you can even say a famous movie quote and it will know the right movie. circle of trust, greg. relax, the needles are jumping. you can learn something new any time. education. and if you're not sure what you're looking for, say... surprise me. just ask "what can i say" to find more of what you love with the xinity voice remote.

want to turn our focus back to the protests occurring in cities across america tonight. and not the protests so much as the reasons behind the protests. and what we all see when we look at peaceful protests. after minnesota's attorney general announced new charges today in the death of george floyd, tonight i spoke to minnesota attorney general keith ellison. he says his office will prepare, organize and put on the best case possible. but, quote, at the end of the day it's really in the hands of the jury. joining me now is nba legend kareem abdul-jabbar. thank you so much for being with us. as i said you wrote a piece in the l.a. times a few days ago i thought was so well done. i wanted to talk to you about it. first, though, i'd like to get your thoughts on the news the other three officers involved in mr. floyd's death, his murder, have been charged. and former, ex-officer chauvin, his charges have been upgraded

to second degree murder. is that a step toward justice in your mind? >> i think it's certainly a step toward justice. and i think that just the fact that the governor and the mayor really acted quickly and decisively and set a tone for how we should react to this horrible incident. >> it's so interesting to me how different people in this country react differently to not only what they saw in the video of the killing of mr. floyd, but also what they see in the videos we're showing right now, protests, people protesting on the streets. you wrote in the l.a. times -- a bit of a long paragraph, but i think it's an important one i want to read. you wrote, yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage just as when fans celebrating the hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy store fronts. i don't want to see stores looted or even buildings burned. but african americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. racism in america is like dust in the air.

it seems invisible even if you're choking on it until you let the sun in. then you see it's everywhere. as long as we keep shining that light, we have a a chance at cleaning it where ever it lands, but we have to stay vigilant because it's always still in the air. can you just talk about how different people see different protests and why you wrote that paragraph? >> well, i wrote that paragraph because i tried to set up an analogy that people could understand. you know, there's another way of describing it. it's like, you know, the united states is this wonderful bus with great seats in the front of the bus. but as you go further to the back of the bus, the seats get worse and the fumes from the exhaust leak in and really wreak with people's health and their lives. but the people at the front of the bus, they have no complaints. it's kind of like that. when i described the dust in the air, that dust accumulates in the lives of black americans, and it eliminates all the

mechanics of democracy. democracy doesn't work for us. we are last fired -- last hired, first fired. we have a different set of expectations from the criminal justice system. so many ways of american life discriminate against black americans. and finally, i think we've come to a moment of clarity here where it can result in such a horrible incident that we saw with mr. floyd's death. >> president obama spoke today about -- i'm paraphrasing because his words are far more eloquent than my memory of them. essentially channeling the energy that we are seeing, this extraordinary outpouring and sustained outpouring to real systematic change. and i wonder how you think that is possible. i mean, do you think it's possible?

marching in the streets is extraordinarily powerful. where does it lead to that makes real change? >> i think it's possible, anderson, if it leads to forming a political will within our country to do something. something has to be done. it's not enough to say, that was terrible and my thoughts and prayers are with you. that's not getting anything done. we have to, we have to change the circumstances. incident. did you see that as a routine traffic stop? if any white-american had a relative get drunk and get stopped by the police, and have that relative beaten like that, those people would be up in arms. but yet, 30 years pass, nothing has changed. there's been a lot more other dead, black, americans. and they've died, really, for no good reasons. misdemeanors. eric garner died because he was

selling cigarettes, illegally. you know, these are trivial things to take someone's life over. and we have to -- we have to get to the point where we have to do something about that. and i think this -- this will cause the political will, maybe, to grow. and maybe we can get something done. >> yeah. you talk about eric garner. mr. floyd was accused, not convicted of anything. accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill and -- and the man is dead. when you saw -- >> what -- what was that about? you know, passing a bad bill? you get killed for that? that's horrific. >> the -- it is interesting to me, how, you know, you also wrote -- and i think it was in the start of your article -- about when, perhaps, a white reader was, you know, is looking at the protests and thinking, wow, they're not six feet apart. and then, thinking -- and then, seeing looting and thinking, well, you know, that's terrible. and that's going to hurt their cause. and maybe an african-american

reader, seeing the same images, and thinking something different. and i just thought that sort of putting yourself in the mind of different people watching this, it's a really interesting thing because i do think we all, you know, it's why eye-witness testimony is so problematic. we all see different things, in the same images. >> yeah. we see different things. and i've seen people who have no power to -- to change things, trying to get people to listen. i remember seeing a very significant sign on display in minneapolis. well, two of them. but the first one said, can you hear us now? and the second one said, not all black people are criminal. not all white people are racist. not all cops are bad. and ignorance comes in all colors. and, you know, we -- we have to understand those realities. and -- and react in a sensible way. and, you know, it seems like maybe we -- we've had a moment

of clarity here. where we can do that. and we can really make it so that bad cops do not have the leeway that they seem to have had, for so long. >> kareem abdul-jabbar, in addition to all your other accomplishments, i think you're an extraordinary writer. and i really appreciate you coming on to talk tonight. thank you. >> thank you, very much, anderson. and i think you've done a great job covering all of this. keep up the good work. >> i've got a very good team here. i'm just a small part of it. thank you very much. just ahead, a contrast in leadership. president obama's far more hopeful message to protestors today and what he says they need to do, to make politicians listen.

hey you, yeah you. i opened a sofi money account and it was the first time that i realized i could be earning interest back on my money. i just discovered sofi, and i'm an investor with a diversified portfolio. who am i?! i refinanced my student loans with sofi because of their low interest rates.

thanks sofi for helping us get our money right. ♪ who've got their eczema under control.rs, with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. that's a difference you can feel.

don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within. and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. just a short time ago, former president obama made his first on-camera comments about the protests in the death of george floyd. comments came during a virtual town hall held by my brother's keeper alliance. the program that -- it's a program the obama foundation. they were very hopeful, positive, and addressed not only the tragedy that has happened but the change that could come, as a result. >> in some ways, as tragic as

these past few weeks have been. as difficult and scary and uncertain as they've been, they've also been an incredible opportunity for people to be awakened to some of these underlying trends. and they offer an opportunity for us to, all, work together to tackle them, to bring about real change. we, both, have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable. but we, also, have to translate that into practical solutions and laws that can be implemented and we can monitor and make sure we're following up on. there is a change in mindset that's taking place. a greater recognition that we can do better. and that is not as a consequence of speeches by politicians.

that's not the result of, you know, spotlights in news articles. that's a direct result of the activities and organizing and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country. >> joining me now is former obama administration senior advisor and cnn senior political commentator david axelrod and cnn political commentator, bakari sellers, also the author of the recently released memoir, which i am really enjoying and look forward to talking to you about it more. david, you know president obama well. the way he rationally breaks things down, point by point. i'm wondering what you thought of his address today. >> i thought it was great because it pointed out what was a fact. it i it's easy to get swept up in the horrific nature of some of what we've seen to how the government has reacted, particularly the

president has reacted. but listen, anderson, i've been around a long time. i am old enough to remember 1968. and as a young reporter, i covered police brutality as an issue, 47 years ago, in the city of chicago. and i know how long we have been grappling with this issue. and, in all that time, i've never seen a moment like this, where the entire country seems to be focused on this. and he's right that young protestors have had a lot to do with it. but those protests also have been much more diverse than i've ever remembered seeing. and there was a poll out today from reuters that said 64% of the country said they're sympathetic to the protestors. and their message. despite everything that we've seen. so i think these are hopeful signs and the question is, as he -- as he challenged these young people to think about, how we translate that into, at the local level, changed policies that will make these kinds of incidents less and less common. and that is the big challenge of the moment.

>>