before. my dad used to say everybody -- everybody -- is entitled to be treated with respect. and it's interesting how decent and incredible these folks are. >> is it different than you expected it to be in some way? >> you know, i -- i don't know what i ever expected it to be. i -- it is different in that -- i'll get in trouble here. i said when i was running i wanted to be president not to live in the white house but to be able to make the decisions about the future of the country. and so living in the white house, as you heard other presidents who have been extremely flattered to live there, has -- it's a little like

a guilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things. the vice president's residence was totally different. 80 acres overlooking the rest of the city. you could walk out -- there's a swimming pool. you can walk off the porch in the summer and jump in the pool and go into the work. you can ride a bicycle around and never leave the property and work out. you can -- but the white house is very different. and i feel a sense of -- i must tell you, a sense of history about it. john leech m, who you know, several other presidential historians helped me with this. i asked my brother, who's good at this, to set up the oval office for me. it all happens in two hours, literally. they move everything out and move something in. it was interesting to hear these historians talk about what other

presidents have gone through and the moments and who the people who stepped up to the ball and who are the people that didn't. and what you realize is the most consequential thing for me is although i've known this watching seven presidents who i got to know fairly well is i always in the past looked at the presidency in the terms of abraham lincoln and franklin roosevelt and george washington like they're superhuman. but i had to remind myself that they're really fine men that i knew well, the last seven presidents. and at least there are people who knew well enough to know that i play on the same team with. so, it took away the sense of this is my god. i'm not abraham lincoln. i'm not franklin roosevelt. how do i deal with these

problems? >> have you picked up the phone and called any former president yet? >> yes, i have. >> do you want to say who? >> no, i don't. they're private conversations. but, by the way, all of them, with one exception, picked up the phone and called me as well. >> i know you want to talk about him. >> no, but look, it's the greatest honor, i think, an american can be given from my perspective. and i literally pray that i have the capacity to do for the country what you all deserve need be done. but one thing i learn after eight years with barack is no matter how consequential the decision, i got to be the last

person in the room with him literally on every decision. i can make had a recommendation, but i walked out of the room and it was all him, man. nobody else. buck stops there. and that's where you pray for making sure you're looking at the impact on the country and a little bit of good luck at the judgment you're making. >> mr. president, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> in this town hall. we want to thank our audience for being here, for their questions. we also want to thank for hosting. welcome to "prime time." anderson cooper is in wisconsin. for the town hall. with president joe biden. it begins one hour from now. we received word the president

has landed in wisconsin. the big question. obviously about the big challenge. can president biden get the country on the same page about the pandemic. he's there now. this will be his first official trip as president. $1.9 trillion relief plan on the road. wisconsin. battleground state. helped secure his victory. hard hit by the weather and economy. hard hit by the pandemic. this is all a lead up to the house vote that is expected on the package next week. the presidency will be defined in large part by his job on the pandemic. also whether he can help us move past the pain of division. his predecessors ghost is haunting us post impeachment. trump's silence was strategic.

the trial is over and so is the silence. on in war mode on his own party. targeting senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. here is what he said in part, i'm not going to show you his entire thing. if you want to find it, find it yourself. he's an unpolitical hack and will never do what needs to be done or what is right for our country. trump is demanding 100% loyalty from his ranks and even mcconnell's manipulation from the impeachment trial and voting to acquit falls short. why? mcconnell said i was defending the constitution, not trump with that acquittal. our job wasn't to find someway, anyway to inflict punishment. the senate's first and foundational duty was to protect the constitution and that's why your duty was to hold the trial and your duty was to be impartial and took the oath with

your hand to god and had members of your caucus meeting with the defense on a regular basis. look, in its entirety, mcconnell's argument is bogus and does nothing to change reasonable minds about his obvious toxic political play and not enough for those going full trump, not just trump himself but like senator ron johnson. listen to this. >> you know, leader mcconnell's opinion. i don't believe it represents the vast majority of republican senators when the leader of the senate conference speaks, he has to understand what he says reflects on all of us and i think -- i didn't appreciate his comments. let put it that way. >> this from the guy who suggested that trump insurrection wasn't that bad. because they weren't all carrying guns. bats and bear spray and other weapons didn't seem like an armed situation to johnson. ask those police officers that were brutally assaulted. ask the one that died. state republican parties are

also taking action against lawmakers who dare to hold trump to account for the worst political violence in decades. the pennsylvania gop could be senture censuring senator toomy next. why? he heard from them. >> we did not send him there to vote his conscience. we did not send him there to do the right thing or whatever he said he was doing. >> so he sent him there to do the wrong thing? republicans who don't understand that in a democratic republic, you actually do elect a senator to vote their conscience. now, will this party's trump purity purge derail the president's efforts to save the country from the pandemic? let's go to the better minds. david gregory and charlie dent. charlie, i start with you. fully minted conservative, republican, former member of congress. what do you make of trump's backlash and what this means for mcconnell and what it means about your party or lack thereof?

>> well, chris, what is happening now in the party is it seems there is a battle brewing in that many, i put mcconnell in this category. they want to get rid of the queue in the gop. you have to get rid of qanon conspiracy because mcconnell is very smart. he understands what is going to happen going forward. if the state and local parties continue to embrace this wild trump-ism they will elect candidates after the tea party like todd aiken and sharon angel and richard murdoch and o'donnell and seats were lost. mcconnell understands that. hey, say what you will about mitch mcconnell but he's about winning, and he sees this trump movement and the qanon conspiracy theorists and other radical elements as a threat to the gop ever holding power. >> david, you can dismiss this as noise inside baseball, let them handle it and biden has bigger problems and things to deal with. he can't get him through with

the congress that doesn't want to do its job, right, and if half of them don't want to work, that is it. what does this mean to him and what finds him on this stage tonight? >> well, he's got a big challenge, right? the dog is chasing the car ultimately gets the car and challenge begins. what do you do then? you have to lead. if your argument for leadership is the other guy didn't do it, i'll lead well now the pressure is on and the pressure is on during a pandemic and economic crisis, a crisis about getting our kids back to school, a kind of different slice of the health care crisis in this country that is all of our mental health for a pandemic and the president faces that challenge and what charlie says is really important. mitch mcconnell understands trump lost. he's a one-term president. he needs to be excised from the party but he's got a lot of followers that republicans still want to keep in the fold. how do they balance that? they won house seats and senate

seats, as well because there was an argument about something beyond trump. it was taking on the left. it was taking on the democratic party. there are still people listening to that argument. that's where mitch mcconnell's head is. and i've felt for a long time that he's made the decision that the stand has to be taken against trump in particular without alienating all his supporters. >> charlie, what does this mean for the five, six, seven senators in terms of working with democrats to get a deal done on this relief bill that the president is taking out onto the wisconsin trail, not just the victory by the hardship? >> well, look, i still think the american people want a deal. i would actually urge president biden to cut this on a bipartisan basis. look, my own view is i think 1.9 trillion is too much. they can do 1.2 trillion

personally but that said, you know, these deals always sound great at the outset here but over time, they tend to smell a lot worse. so if i were joe biden, i would do everything i can to make this a bipartisan agreement. he doesn't need to do this through reconciliation. he can get a good deal that would serve the american people well. he's trying. >> david, why would it smell worse when you have the president's party saying this is what is needed, that it all connected, everything that's in there even the minimum wage is something that is designed to help promote a resurging from those who are hit hardest? right? the overly winds up being the poor and minorities are hit hardest by the pandemic and many of these things target that community. >> well, the president is making a bet that if he goes big here, first of all, that's the only play to go big, right? he wants an economic rebound and be able to reap the benefits of that and going bigger rather

than smaller is better. i also have a different view than charlie on this. i'd love to see the consensus surround a bipartisan deal and maybe the public wants that if you look at the polling. i don't think washington is working like that. i don't think enough republicans are going to work with the administration to cut some kind of bipartisan deal and i don't think administration wants to deal. they're going to deal on the margins here but they want to drive this through because they got a constituency to do that and feel like going big matters and will pay off and be the country wants it so they can roll the republican opposition. they don't want to slow down. they've seen this play before. mitch mcconnell and republicans won't meet them half way for a bipartisan deal. i don't think there are the levers in the country to do big things like this that both parties feel they have to, you know, be swept into and deliver for the american people. the country is still too divided. >> if you don't feel like you have to deliver on the pandemic,

you're definitely right. >> but congress has done a fair amount so far. not sufficient but they will make the argument -- >> they have done two. i totally get it. i'm saying if the pandemic is not enough of a motivation, maybe the process is in this way charlie, that if the president starts going out to different states that are hard hit but red, not just blue, or has kamala harris, the vice president or somebody else go, could that put pressure on the republicans that they're not used to? when they hear their own people in their home states saying we're hurting, help us? >> yeah, look, i certainly do think that could put pressure but the republicans need to abandon the $15 minimum wage.

hospitality industry is flat on its back. i get making an adjustment, taking it up but with $15 with restaurants and hotels on their back, it's tough enough. we need to separate that out. sure, biden can go into the red states and he can make a case and that will put some pressure on some members but again. what do they need the money for? they need to be clear. they got 900 billion in december. i can make a case for 1.2, $1.3 trillion right now that would help them for covid related issues directly. i don't think 1. 9 is necessary with summers and them saying they are worried about inflationary. pressure. and saying it's too big. and economists saying the same thing. i don't think you can ignore that at this point. >> the tax cut, people told you you didn't pay for it and balloon the deficit and wouldn't do for the economy what the republicans said it would do. they were right. this is politics. we'll see how the president does

tonight on the big stage. david gregory, charlie dent, thank you for the straight take. appreciate you. minutes away from the exclusive presidential town hall with joe biden. it's not hype. of course, we're enthusiastic and having our main man anderson cooper moderate this. it matters. we're in the middle of a crisis. this president hasn't been able to get around the country because he's playing it the way you're supposed to play it and he's got to get out there and make the case to people. how will he be received? will be the feel after tonight? will be the feel in that room? issues and how will he pitch them to people? how will he make people feel differently about their responsibility here and about their chances and what is the right way for them to get back? that is his duty of persuasion. can he do it? we'll be live in milwaukee with a preview next.

when did you see the sign? when i needed to create a better visitor experience. improve our workflow. attract new customers. that's when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics yeah, and now business is rolling in. get started at fastsigns.com

hi, i'm a new customer and i want your best new smartphone deal.usiness is rolling in. well i'm an existing customer and i'd like your best new smartphone deal. oh do ya? actually it's for both new and existing customers. i feel silly. but i do want the fastest 5g network. oh i want the fastest 5g network. are we actually doing this again? it's not complicated. only at&t gives everyone the same great deal. like the samsung galaxy s21 5g for free when you trade in. ♪ jackson hewitt knows times have changed... ...both how and where you work. and your taxes could have changed too.

let our tax pros work for you and fight for every dollar you deserve. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home.

first up is this french onion dip. i'm going to start the bidding at $5. thank you, sir. $6 over there! going once. going twice. sold! don't get mad get e*trade and get more than just trading investing. banking. guidance.

we're moments away from a big night here on cnn. our town hall with president biden in wisconsin. 46th president making to make a connection with the american people on the $2 trillion coronavirus relief plan. let bring in kaitlan collins. good to have you out there. why wisconsin? >> well, of course, it's a key battle ground state. it's a state that president biden won by less than a percentage point so this is the white house's choosing to have this here. this is where he's coming and his first time interacting with voters since he took office directly answering their questions. of course, he's going to use this opportunity according to the white house to pitch that economic relief plan that is being crafted right now in the halls of congress and it's been after this trying to sell republicans on it and democrats

and those sorts of lawmakers in the oval office but tonight the white house is trying to sell it directly to voters. you have to look to the context surrounding this, which is that it still don't have congressional support in washington from republicans so far. that's a decision the white house implied today that those republican lawmakers could come to regret voting against a big coronavirus relief bill but also it's still got to go onto the senate after it goes to the house there are democrats that are divided over what they want the final version of this to look like including the $15 an hour minimum wage increase. president biden is going to hear from voters tonight on what concerns are not just about this but vaccine distribution. >> i want to talk vaccine distribution. quick followup, any word from the white house that there is going to be more of this? biden and/or the v.p. going out on the hustings talking to

people in red and blue states? >> i think that's going to be a lot of what your seeing. i think they are more hesitant than what you saw with the last administration to travel as much. they're trying to be very cautious about the restrictions. most people advised not to travel but he is going to michigan later this week in a few days and going to start to see more trips, an uptick from not only the president but vice president like you said. >> people are desperate to be heard. it will be interesting to see if that happens. you mentioned vaccine. there is news about the j and j vaccine rollout. what can you tell us? >> yeah, so this is the one that's been so critical. so many federal health officials and state health officials have been talking about because it hasn't been authorized by the fda yet, we should be clear. it's a single shot vaccine. it not one that requires two doses like the ones authorized so far. here is the catch. we're now hearing from federal

health officials that that rollout of how quickly that's going to be out there is going to be slower than they had initially anticipated. they believe that once it was authorized, they'd have somewhere in the single digit millions to go out. that's still the case. they thought they'd have a lot more by april and may than what they are now expecting. they were expecting between 20 and 30 million doses of that vaccine starting in april, now they think, chris, it will be fewer than 20 million. that makes a big difference because you heard people like dr. anthony fauci who said last week, april could be open season where anybody that wanted a vaccine could get one. now today on cnn he's pushing that timeline and says to mid may to late may to early june for what that's going to look like. of course, that's what so many people want to know, when they're going to be able to get this vaccine. >> that is a question the country over. everything is so different. not just by state but by community. kaitlan collins, thank you very much for being with us on a big night.

so straight ahead after this show, you'll have the first cnn town hall with president biden in the first trip as president. of course, only here. now, you're not going to want to miss the next guest. he just filed the first civil action against trump over the capitol attack. it is a top house democrat on a lawsuit that could pave the way for many others or not. interesting conversation next.

your next celebrity cruise is ready for takeoff, with our biggest air offer ever. save on every flight, from every gateway, on every sailing. and, with drinks, wi-fi and tips always included for everyone, you have everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. celebrity cruises. sail beyond. research shows that people remember commercials with exciting stunts. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance,

here's something you shouldn't try at home. insurance is cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ at fidelity, you'll work with an advisor to help you build a flexible wealth plan. you'll have access to tax-smart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. tonight, i'll be eating the al pastor burrito from boca burritos right here in aurora. (doorbell rings) excellent as a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants. right cardi b? yeah! eat local! (trill sound) yeah! eat local! hey kim! with 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase from freedom unlimited, you can now earn even more. book that hotel kim, because you are worth it. i am worth it. now earn 5% on travel purchased through chase and so much more. chase. make more of what's yours.

we're minutes away from history. the first town hall from joe biden's presidency. he's in wisconsin making the case to people in the hard hit state his relief bill is the right way and that they must take the pandemic seriously and take it on together. anderson cooper, our man will be hosting it only on cnn straight up at 9:00 p.m. eastern. while that's going on, one of the challenges to president biden is what's happening on the other side of the aisle. donald trump is there. he's making trouble but he has trouble of his own certainly of the legal variety.

he's facing a civil lawsuit accusing him of conspireing with rudy giuliani and proud boys and oath keepers to incite the january 6th insurrection. one response from trump's spokesman is to point out giuliani is no longer representing trump in any legal matters. we heard that before. now mississippi democratic congressman benny thompson filed the suit in his personal capacity. the naacp is representing thompson in court. congressman, good to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> let's talk strategy then we'll talk merits. why this way? >> it an option available to us and clearly, the actions of january 6th we should be able to shut down completely if we're successful in our lawsuit and hold those individuals accountable, i think from a

punitive stand point, we'll put them out of business. we can't allow the rioters' activities just because people disagree with the outcome of an election. people should not have over run the capitol to stop the confirmation of the election, that's just not who we are. so my lawsuit takes on the ku klux klan act of 1871, and we bring that forward to this day to get us some remedy. >> right, you don't take on the act. you're actually motivating the act. i get the grievance but it about the method and the law, you know this, but for the audience, benny thompson and his private capacity as a citizen has a right to sue. what is your right to sue these parties for what happened on january 6th? >> well, i was in the gallery at the time it was -- the

confirmation of the votes was taking place and all of a sudden in the midst of the process the capitol was raided. individuals, they broke windows, broke doors, someone was ultimately killed before my very eyes. all those kind of things and i'm carrying out my congressional duties but those members, the oath keepers, the proud boys spurred on by trump and giuliani and his other people want it to stop. members of congress are doing their constitutional duty. >> the kkk act is a very interesting mechanism. it was meant to provide civil remedies for federal officers who were kept from doing their

job, and so therefore you have to make the point that trump didn't do his job in his official capacity because of his intentions towards insurrection. so, in the lawsuit you saw trump delayed delivering remarks to the crowd at the eclipse in order to afford the defendant proud boys an opportunity to arrive at the capitol and overcome its initial defenses. how do you prove that? >> well, i think we'll prove it in court. we're one of the first persons to enter into the capitol was one of the leaders of the proud boys, they broke the window with a shield. it's clear from the photos we have so we'll have our day in court. i'm clear, this insidious behavior played out in front of millions of people, and, you know, it's all because of the stage that was set by donald

trump after he lost the november election. he encouraged people to come to washington indicated that it was going to be wild, and in his speech just before people left that area, he encouraged them to go to the capitol. >> i understand. i understand it and i covered it. your burden is different. your burden is to show that he delayed in a way to give opportunity and advantage to who you name as defendants. do you have proof that he delayed? >> we absolutely have. we'll provide it in court, and that's why we're pursuing it like we are. i'm convinced that he acted irresponsibly. we're bringing this action. i look forward to having my day in court. >> the kkk act obviously, that is the name that was born out of that time but it also puts a feel to this entire civil

action. what do you personally believe that that insurrection was about when it comes to race, when it comes to white fear and white hate? >> well, when i look at what was said by the people breaking into the u.s. capitol, they had confederate battle flags, which, as you know, was a symbol of the confederacy that was fought over slavery. so people coming in calling themselves patriots, breaking into the quite capitol we can't condone this kind of action and we have to put a stop to it. one of the ways we can put a stop to this kind of action is by taking those individuals to court and if the court sees our way, they'll have to pay. clearly, we're looking to have our day in court. i appreciate the naacp joining

me and representing me in this instance. they're the oldest civil rights organization in the country. they've fought for fairness and equal opportunity so this is one of those measures. i disagree with trump but i'm not going to try to break in the white house or anything else. we settle our differences in america at the ballot box. the trump administration could not accept defeat. they went to court. lost in pretty much every court in the land, but they still somehow wanted to stop the election, the confirmation of the election and we just can't have it. so this lawsuit is my humble way of giving accountability to somebody who has put a real stain on the reputation of the united states of america. we can't go to other countries talking about the goodness and greatness of our country when

they see people over running our halls of the capitol. this is not who we are. so we have to fix it. >> as a human reminder of that, your reputation precedes you. anybody can google your name and see what you've been through. what was it like in there? how bad did you think it was going to get? >> well, it was getting bad, and as time went on, when we saw the vice president, the speaker and other leadership being wicked out of the area and the only people left were members of congress who didn't have security details and we could hear the glass breaking, the doors being beat on. we could see the furniture being moved to block the doors from the people who had broken in. my wife called me wanting to know what was going on, and i really couldn't tell her because i'm unable to see on the outside. she said when i'm looking at

people breaking into the capitol right now. i said well, i'm inside the capitol but i can't see it. so for that time, all of us with our gas masks on trying to follow advice of security to get out of this area but we're unable to get out because of the rioters who had broken in and tried to stop the counting of the electoral college votes. you know, emmet teal, a 14-year-old young man was killed in my district. a lot of atrocities have occurred in my state, and so all that was going through my mind at that time that is it coming to an end over an election? i thought elections were a way that civilized people resolved

their differences. but obviously, those individuals who attempted, while succeeded breaking into the capitol had a difference of opinion. i resent that. i know this country is greater than what i experienced that day, and i'm prepared to go to court and defend that greatness. >> well, congressman, i'm very sorry what you had to be through that day. i'm even more sorry for what you might -- your wife must have experienced because she knew what kind of people were breaking in there and what they were saying and she knew you were on the inside. send her our best and our regards and we'll see what happens with your lawsuit congressman. benny thompson, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> all right. we're ticking closer to the big town hall. man, this country is in pain and president biden has to take it all on and it starts on that stage tonight. this is his first trip out on the hustings.

wisconsin is hard hit. they have economic problems. they have pandemic problems and this january 6th reverberated across this country. everybody is afraid. everybody doesn't know what happens next. how will he handle it? tonight is a first step. you don't get a second chance to make your first impression. what will the president do? we'll be covering it. stay with cnn. fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. tracfone wireless gives you more control. just swap your sim card (whistles) you can also keep your phone, keep your network, keep your number, $20 a month, no contract. don't keep that case though... this is your wake-up call, people. tracfone wireless. now you're in control.

how do we ensure families facing food insecurity get access to their food? we needed to make sure that, if they couldn't get to the food, the food would come to them. we can deliver for food banks and schools. amazon knows how to do that. i helped deliver 12 million meals to families in need. that's the power of having a company like amazon behind me. ♪ ♪

charlotte! charl! every day can be extraordinary with rich, jackson hewitt knows deliyour job descriptionurt. may have changed this year. to say... account manager... third grade teacher... and senior vice dog-walker. don't add tax preparer. let jackson hewitt do it for you, so you can be certain your taxes are done right, guaranteed. with unitedhealthcare medicare advantage plans, there's more to take advantage of. pick up your prescriptions here. and get free delivery there. ♪ wow, uh-huh ♪ unitedhealthcare medicare advantage plans. take advantage everywhere. ♪ wow. ♪

covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first.

in about 20 minutes, president joe biden is going to take a first step in trying to get this nation to refocus on the pandemic and see it as a collective, common cause. you'll see it here live, only on cnn, in the first town hall of biden's presidency. after a week of impeachment

proceedings and just the pall of trump, we all need to take stock of where we are in the fight for our lives. nick watt is tracking it all. >> this is a little bit of a shock. >> reporter: snow and subzero temperatures. slowing vaccinations from illinois to texas. and delaying the delivery of doses. >> sometimes by a day, sometimes by two days. >> reporter: a momentary blip. >> the critical issue is that the demand far outweighs the supply. that's the issue. >> reporter: dr. fauci had said everyone would be eligible for a shot by the end of april. now says johnson & johnson will deliver fewer initial doses than the administration thought, so -- >> that timeline will probably be prolonged maybe into mid to late may and early june. but it may take until june, july and august to finally get

everyone vaccinated. >> reporter: meantime, over 53,000 new cases logged yesterday, lowest tally in four months. new case counts and hospitalizations are falling faster now than at any point in this pandemic. >> we've just got to be careful about getting too excited about that, because we do have the challenge of variants. >> reporter: that faster-spreading variant first identified in south africa now detected in eight u.s. states. the variant first found in the uk now confirmed in 40. we're told masks and mitigation still required to keep overall case counts falling. >> we've got to continue until we get it so low that it's no longer a threat. >> reporter: but is complacency creeping in, despite warnings not to? more than 5 million people flew in the five days over the holiday weekend. this and east los angeles is a newly opened vaccination site

run by fema and the governor of california's office. they hope, when they're up to capacity later this week, to be delivering 6,000 shots a day into people's arms. this part of the biden administration pledge to speed up this vaccination rollout. chris? >> all right, our thanks to nick watt. as for why dr. fauci is saying it could take longer for most people to get a shot, johnson & johnson won't have as many of their one-shot vaccines ready by the time they get emergency authorization in the coming weeks. why? well, we got to find out. but here's what we do know. they're going to start off with less than 10 million doses available. they planned on having between 20 and 30 million by april, but now it doesn't look like they'll hit the lower end of that target. the disconnect is that while dr. fauci is pushing things back, the white house is saying more supply is coming to states next week. they still aren't saying where that increase is coming from.

questions like that have a by sport an group of governors saying they need better communication from the biden team. more details about the numbers and a better explanation about the plan to send some shots straight to pharmacies instead of state health departments. let's dig into what we're facing with chief dr. sanjay gupta. good to see you, brother. >> you, too, chris. >> let's work a little bit in reverse. this is going to be something we hear a lot of. pharmacies versus state-run vaccination places what's the plus/minus? >> well, i think the pharmacies, for many communities, not all, but for many communities, it is something that people are used to, it is a place they can make appointments and it's easy accessible. but -- and we know there's about a million doses initially planned for around 6,500 pharmacies. so, it's not a huge sort of percentage of the overall allocation of those vaccines, but the numbers are likely to go

up. the down, in particularly hard-hit communities may not have access to the communities. you don't want to rob peter to pay paul here. you want to make sure community health centers and places where, you know, communities that don't have a large pharmacy are located, can still get access to the vaccine. they figured that out in west virginia. it's a model that a lot of people are now paying attention to. got to see if that works in other states around the country. >> best reckoning as to why we have confusion around supply? johnson & johnson, but also this issue of more than the biden administration is saying is coming. from where? >> yeah, so, i -- it's interesting. i spoke to the chief medical officer of johnson & johnson right when they announced the phase three data and asked about supply. and the answer was vague. we'll have several million doses at the time if an authorization is given. they said they could ramp up quickly after that. there does seem to be a disconnect there. i don't know why the projections are coming in lower than they

originally thought. you know, that's something that we need to dig into and see if it's a manifestation of a larger problem here. i think overall, if you look at the numbers, they still say 100 million doses of the johnson & johnson vaccine by june. a total of 600 million at the end of july. as far as why they ramped up to now 13.5 million doses a week, that's what they're saying they're allocating to the states, when you talk to people like andy slavitt about that, they say it's mostly forcing efficiencies in these vaccinemakers. there were other problems, in the beginning, there was just not enough people to administer the shots, but on the production side, i keep hearing the same answer that it's really about getting rid of bottlenecks, forcing more efficiencies and seeing how much they can ramp up the production. >> what do you make about governors saying they're not getting good enough information from the biden atr