people misgivings or fears or doubts. that's why we always warn you before explicit videos, we don't show you the dead when we're at war the way i believe we should. i believe that you can take it. and i believe that you are too suspicious because you know too much has been hidden from you. that's why i tell you about the dangers of this moment. because they're real. and i know that the reality is going to be a function of what you believe and what you want to be true. so thank you for watching. "don lemon" tonight with its big star d-lemon right now. okay, so let's see, who's darker? what happened? did you, "a," they put the wrong makeup in your room poweder? >> i have no powder. >> "b," you fell asleep in the tanning bed. >> i've never been in a tanning bed in my life. >> "c," you went fishing today? >> i did not fish today, as usual, "d," you are wrong, and i

cannot make a joke about it because you've been canceled. >> you will not be canceled, i'm telling you, it's over. >> i love being outside, i spent most of my day outside. >> i know. >> i've been doing more and more of my work outside, been doing stuff around the house. >> finally you're doing something. dragging your -- >> i'm trying, i'm trying. >> -- butt out of bed. >> i have growing anxiety about where we are and how things are. when you said that you're going to have a summer like you were 12, i'm always happy for the people i love to be happy and want to enjoy their lives. but i was really thinking about like also where we are. and you have to make the most of moments. because there's so little guaranteed right now. and i've never felt like this before. except after 9/11. >> okay. let me tell you this. for over the past five years, i've gone through so much sh-you

can fill in the rest -- that i don't give a you know what anymore. after the death of my sister, all of the haters and people who are coming after me, the people who make up stories about people who are attacking. it's like -- it just rolls off. because no day is promised. no moment is promised. how many more -- we don't even know -- chris, i sat here, so i had this epiphany after my sister died. and then the night after you told me that you had covid, and i realized, my friend could be gone, who is my friend, my confidant, and my co-worker, right in the best of every world could be gone. it's like, what else matters? doesn't matter what people think about you, say about you, the state of the world. i spoke today, which is going to be on my podcast -- not the one that we do together, the "silence is not an option." harry belafonte. >> he was a good friend of my father. >> 94 years old. >> and his son was like a big

brother to me most of my life. he's still got it, by the way. >> he's still got it. he said to me, you are standing on the shoulders of people like me, and i'm standing on the shoulders of people before. don't worry about any of that stuff, you are doing the right thing, continue to do what you do. >> that's a huge endorsement. >> be outspoken, you're brilliant at what you do. i was this tears, i couldn't believe it. >> huge endorsement. >> i can't wait for it to air. and guess what, we share the same birth date. so life is short, my friend. we should have more times like you and i had on saturday night, where our families are together, dancing in the living room, enjoying each other, celebrating bella's entry into college, leaving high school. that's what's important. all of this other stuff doesn't matter. we're going to roll with it. we were here before the former guy, we're going to be here after the former guy. we were here before covid, we're going to be here after covid. so let's just embrace what is positive, what is happy.

everyone should have a summer like the roaring '20s. we all deserve it, and so do you. that's it. >> listen. from your lips to god's ears. i hope you're right, d., i hope you're right. >> even though you look like george hamilton. >> i wish, i wish. i'd be in much better position personally and professionally. >> yeah, yeah. >> if i looked like him. but look, i don't fake the funk. and i don't say things that i don't believe have a basis in reality. and i got some serious misgivings about where we're at right now. i see it everywhere in everyone round me. i tell you, you're always right. you've got to make the most of the moment, tell the people you love i love you. that's why i say every damn night, i love you, d-lemon, because i do. >> i love you too. you don't want to sing the theme to "good times" again, do you? >> nope. >> you don't want to get in

trouble? >> i'm not a cat, i don't have nine lives. >> yes, you do. get in trouble, good trouble. john lewis says we get into good trouble. >> we're in the wrong business to be in good trouble. >> we'll be all right, trust me. >> talk to me, brother. name your witness. >> right now, and i'm going to get the name of the show right tonight. >> always a plus. >> this is "don lemon tonight" and i have got a question for you. chris and i are just having fun -- that was good advice i think we were giving each other. this is a very serious question. okay? if the white house, if president biden, if democrats believe that democracy is really at stake, wouldn't you want to do whatever it took to save it? wouldn't that be your very top priority? the assault on what may be our most precious right as americans? and that's the right to vote. that assault is spreading all across the country.

biden, under tremendous pressure to get the voting rights act across the finish line, facing steep odds in the senate -- republicans and the party of the big lie are resisting at every single turn. do you really want to be the party or the person who got in the way of voting rights for everyone? that so many people fought and died for? do you want to be that person? you want that to be your legacy? if you do, go on, republicans. i'm talking to two people specifically, don't get me wrong. do you really want to be those two people? when the history book opens and they say, wow, voting rights changed and it was restricted for african-americans who fought and died and many of them were lynched, lynched, for the right to vote. but you stood in the way of it. is that what you want? if you're okay with that, fine, your grandkids and great grandkids reading that about

you, go on and do it. and more and more democrats are waking up to the very real possibility that the only way they're going to get anything done facing a republican minority that is digging in its heels is to blow up the filibuster. president biden's frustration on display when he took a swipe at two unnamed senators, presumably he meant joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, who claimed vote more with republicans. >> i hear all the folks on tv saying, why doesn't biden get this done? well, because biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the house and a tie in the senate. with two members of the senate who vote more with my republican friends. but we're not giving up. >> so listen, facts first here, right? that's not entirely accurate, but the president's message seems pretty clear. i see you, get on board. that's what he's saying. the white house press secretary,

jen psaki, defending those comments today. >> and just to follow up on your comments on what president biden said about senator manchin and senator sinema, are you saying that that was not a criticism of the two of them? >> it was not, no. that he considers them both friends, he considers them both good working partners. and he also believes that in democracy, we don't have to see eye to eye on every detail of every single issue in order to work together. and he certainly thinks that reflects their relationship. >> senator sinema, despite all evidence to the contrary in the senate, says the filibuster promotes bipartisanship. >> the idea of the filibuster was created by those who came before us in the united states senate to create comity, to encourage senators to find bipartisanship and work together. while there are some who don't believe bipartisanship is possible, i think i'm a daily

example that bipartisanship is possible. >> before us, the key phrase that she said, that was created before us. that's who it was created for. that's not what it's been used for, she's wrong. she's wrong. bipartisanship? president biden has an uphill battle to get any real bipartisanship with a gop that now worships at the altar of the former guy. they're all in for a former president who lost the white house, he lost the house, he lost the senate. and we're learning tonight that he is more obsessed than ever with the 2020 election. one former aide telling cnn, trump is so focused on the big lie that the election was stolen that he is listening to, quote, the bottom of the bottom of the crazies in the barrel. the bottom of the bottom of the crazies in the barrel. let me say it three times because they say that sticks when you say things three times. the bottom of the bottom of the crazies in the barrel that's who he's listening to.

like i said, the gop is all too. if that means playing hear no evil, see no evil, when he airs his delusions, that he'll be back in the white house by august, as maggie haver man reports? they're in. >> he is saying things that his supporters will take seriously from him in a way that others will not, and he has been trying to get other people to put in writing that the election really was stolen. >> if it means carrying on a nationwide assault on the right to vote, making it that much harder for people of color to get to the polls, people who, no coincidence, tend to support democrats, they're in. if it means shoving what happened on january 6th into a giant memory hole and killing the commission that was supposed to investigate, they're in. they're all about the big lie and the biggest liar.

and that's how you get someone like michael flynn. michael flynn saying a coup, his words, should happen here. >> i want to know why what happened in minamar can't happen here. >> no reason. it should happen here. no reason. that's right. >> again, i said it last night, minamar -- that should tell you the level of knowledge that they have about what that all means. it's myanmar. and tonight, two democratic members of congress say, if you're shocked by what michael flynn said, you haven't been paying attention. representative christie haol la hoon and jason crowe both served in the armed forces, "flynn's comments are just the latest in a deliberate string of attacks against democracy and our rule of law, furthering dangerous

conspiracy theories, none of this is an accident, it's part of a strategy to erode the democratic safeguards that undermine our democracy. the timeline and coordination speak for themselves." with all of this dangerous, undemocratic talk of coups, let's remember, we all saw, we all saw an attempted coup. we saw with our own eyes, heard with our own ears. there it is in front of your face, if you don't believe me, look at your screen. it's like nothing that's ever happened in this country before. you see it. you hear it. we can never forget american heroes, like officer michael fenow. you're looking at his body camera video as he fought off that attempted coup, was dragged down the capitol steps by the mob, tased with his own weapon .

that's him screaming. that's him screaming. mike was at the scene of the crime last week, trying to convince a handful of republican lawmakers to step up, do the right thing, to stand up for the truth of what happened to officers like him and what happened to america. i am honored to be joined by d.c. metropolitan police officer michael fenon who defended the capitol on january 6th. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me again, good to see you. >> good to see you again. this is the first time i've been able to get your reaction on the show after you went to the capitol to talk to republican senators to ask them for an investigation into what we saw on january 6th. now we hear new calls for a coup

from trump supporters. isn't that exactly what was attempted on january 6th, a coup? >> absolutely. i mean, it's insane to hear that type of rhetoric being used not six months out from the insurrection at the capitol. or attempted insurrection at the capitol. >> listen -- let me ask you this. i know that this was so emotional for you. you were supposed to come on last week, if i can be honest with our viewers, and you just didn't have the bandwidth to do it because of how emotional it was. talk to us about that. >> yeah, i -- i mean, it was exhausting. spending the day on capitol hill, really reliving like the most traumatic day of my entire life. to people who most of which i thought were really devoid of compassion or empathy.

why did you say that? why do you think they're devoid of compassion and empathy? >> again, like i don't -- i have no idea how you can watch what happened to me, hear my story, talk to brian sicknick's mother, who was also there, and vote against a commission to investigate the circumstances which resulted in mrs. sicknick's son's death, a united states capitol police officer, and then resulted in my injuries, as well as over 140 other law enforcement officers' injuries. not to mention the fact that, you know, it happened at the united states capitol. but yeah. >> did you really think that

you -- because you were there with harry dunn, with mrs. sicknick. did you really think that you might be able to, for lack of a better term, talk some sense into their heads, really make a difference, get them to change their minds? >> no, i mean, again -- i really just -- i went there to support mrs. sicknick as a police officer, and you know, as an american i went there to advocate for this commission, which i believe is necessary, really to get to the root causes of january 6th. i don't -- like i -- i guess i have, like, more of a cynical outlook on whether or not, you know, i was going to be able to change hearts and minds. but i did want them to go in there and cast their votes with the images of my body-worn camera footage on their minds when they did so. >> so this is what we've come to now, mike.

we have reporting from "the new york times," maggie haberman, that the former president is claiming he is going to be reinstated by august, while former national security adviser michael flynn is saying coup should happen here. he's walking those comments back somewhat. but as someone who almost got killed fighting this mob, are you worried this could incite another one or something similar? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, again, this is the exact type of rhetoric which ultimately resulted in the attempted insurrection at the u.s. capitol on january 6th. >> you met with congresswoman liz cheney. someone attacked for speaking the truth about the insurrection. do you feel comfortable sharing any part of your conversation? can you please talk to us about it? >> yeah, i mean, again -- we've talked before. i'm not here to -- i don't want to endorse politicians. but i do endorse people.

and liz cheney is someone who early on has been very gracious towards me and my family. and i respect that. and i also respect the fact that she continues to talk the truth about what happened on january 6th, despite, you know, losing her job. >> while you were on capitol hill talking to senators, were you -- you were told, i'm sure, that mitch mcconnell was calling his colleagues saying to vote against the commission as a personal favor to him. how did that make you feel? >> i mean -- i don't -- that -- i was absolutely sickened. you know, here i am escorting the mother of a dead policeman, while she and myself advocate

for the formation of a commission to investigate the circumstances which resulted in her son's death. and you have a leader on capitol hill who's making phone calls asking for personal favors and doling out political capital to push for, you know, a no vote on that commission. it was absolutely disgraceful. >> mike, i want you to stay with me, i've got a lot more to talk to you about. like your conversations with house speaker nancy pelosi and the options she still has on the table to get to the truth about what happened on january 6th. short break. we'll be right back.

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so i'm back now with d.c. metropolitan police officer michael fanone, who defended the capitol a january 6th. mike, thank you for coming on, thanks for sticking with us here. we were just talking in the break about whether we have the country we once thought we had.

you're worried about that. explain that to me. >> yeah, no, i mean -- i think that -- so i've had a lot of conversations post-january 6th, and really where i've come to is that we ultimately, americans, are responsible for our country going forward. in a lot of cases we can't look to our elected leaders anymore. we need to make a decision, a conscious decision, as to what type of country do we want to live in? and do we want to send people to washington who espouse hateful, vitriolic rhetoric, and fearmongering? or do we want people who lead with and are guided by principles like honor, integrity, compassion, and empathy? i'd prefer the latter. and i know that in the future, i'll use my vote to send people

like that to washington. but it really starts with us as individuals. you know, one of the things that i've tried to do post-january 6th is every interaction that i have with anyone that i encounter is to, you know, to be compassionate and to have empathy. i had a really interesting conversation with a reporter, peter herman from the "washington post," the other day. he was talking to me about, do i have concerns about returning to policing, having experienced what i did, and does it make me an angrier person, does it make me, you know, like hateful against the people that injured me at the capitol? and i actually feel like it's the exact opposite. i've become much more compassionate person, and i, you know, try to really just live my life that way. and i hope that, you know, me

continuing to, you know, use the platform that's been afforded to me helps other people, you know, to kind of, i don't know, reimagine their relationship with americans, with their fellow countrymen. this just isn't the country that i want to turn over to my children. >> well, let me -- you mentioned the conversation you had. let's talk about what we talk about. i don't know if you want to share this or not. but these are the conversations that we have off television. when you watch these efforts to restrict the vote -- i talked about this in the opening of the show, about the weight of what people who are standing in the way of this, what they should be feeling about people who fought and died for that right in this country, especially people of color. when you look at these efforts to restrict the vote based on the big lie, what do you see, mike? >> yeah, so i mean, like we talked offline, it's a little

outside of my wheelhouse, but hell, i'm an american and i'll chime in. i think it took us a long time to get to a place and a country where we,ed the ideal that, you know, one man, one vote. and the idea that you would want to restrict anybody's ability to, you know, to live that or to cast that vote is the most unamerican thing imaginable. >> is that your phone ringing? >> maybe. >> you can stop it if you want it, you can get to it. so let's talk about senator ron johnson. senator ron johnson voted against the january 6th commission. but this is what he -- this is what he's saying now, watch this. >> i'm doing my own personal investigation. i'd like to completely reconstruct what happened on january 6th so we have an accurate historical record.

>> mike, i heard you let him have it when you were there on the hill. can you share what you said? >> i don't know if i would characterize it as having let him have it. >> you gave him a piece of your mind, how about that. >> i told him what happened that day. you know. again, like many of the senators that i went there to advocate before for this commission, i think most already had their minds made up. and so, you know, there was like a lot of talk about like what type of question, or you know, what answers was i looking for? and i really just saw it as a way to deflect from, you know, ultimately the, you know -- the goal of a bipartisan commission, which would look into, like, the root causes of the january 6th insurrection. again, like most of the

senators, they were interested in forced mobilization, like how our officers deployed that day, or they wanted to address physical security concerns at the capitol. that's all fine and dandy, you know. there's investigations that are going on, i'm sure, that will address those factors, just like there's a criminal investigation, you know, to investigate the individuals who committed acts of violence or destruction. but what i'm really interested in, what i was advocating for, was, you know, a broad look into what led us as a country to get to a point where, you know, individuals felt that they were, you know -- their behavior was sanctioned to attack the capitol? >> you have been having conversations with the house speaker, nancy pelosi. she is promising to get to the

bottom of what happened on january 6th. are you confident that the truth will come out? >> i mean, i have -- again, like i -- i have had some conversations with speaker pelosi. i'm very confident in her abilities. she's, you know -- she's pretty damn amazing. again, like i said, i don't endorse politicians. but she's a hell of a person. and yeah, no, i believe that she's going to -- going to get to the bottom of this. >> mike, before you go, i just want to -- look, i know that it's important for you to tell your story. and it's been important for a lot of the officers to tell their story. i know that some are hesitant to do it. but you feel, i know, that this

has been cathartic for you, it's actually been therapeutic for you, and it changed somewhat how you felt about what happened because it's giving you a different outlook and some autonomy. what do you want -- what do you say about that? do you think it's important for the officers and the people to speak out about what happened at the capitol? consequences be damned? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, i think that. >> first of all, for the entire country, for those that live outside the beltway, you know, aren't familiar about what happened that day, unfortunately, you know, we send -- you know, we send leaders to washington in the hopes that, you know, they would bring back the truth about their interactions on capitol hill. and unfortunately, that's not the case in a lot of instances. you have, you know, elected leaders who are going back to their constituents and lying about the insurrection.

and so i think it's important for americans to be able to hear from the rank and file officers like myself that went there, fought, in many cases were injured significantly, so that, you know, they can understand that what's being told to them is crap. >> mike, thank you. did you get everything you wanted to say out? i honor and respect what you did and the other officers did. did you say everything you want? >> yes, sir, i appreciate that. >> you're good? >> i am. >> till the next time, my friend. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, i'll see you soon. so he's off twitter, he's off facebook, he is shutting down his blog after less than a month. but trump's delusions about the election are still spreading among his loyal followers. how seriously should you take it? we're going to discuss that. and what a great guy. that is as real as you can get.

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president trump's delusion he will be reinstated as president this summer. before we talk more, let's be clear, there is no pathway in the constitution or elsewhere for anything like that to happen. joining me now, cnn's senior political analyst john avalon, cnn political commentator ana navarro. i mean, i can read both of your faces before i even get to you. it is the height of absurdity. but this is -- we are tasked with discussing this. good evening. john, you first. maggie haberman from the "new york times" detailing her reporting to erin burnett about trump's delusion he is going to be reinstated as president, watch this. >> the question is always, is this real or just something he is saying in the answer is, i don't know whether he genuinely believes it. sometimes when people talk to

him, they think he does, sometimes he seems to be a little more aware there actually is no mechanism for what he is talking about. there is no mechanism in the constitution for a president to be, quote-unquote, reinstated, as he is describing. home have tried explaining to him, even if the election results did somehow get overturned, he would not end up becoming president. but he is listening to mike lindell and other allies, the ceo of mypillow, who have been offering him this timeline just based on these controversial audits. >> how seriously should we take him, john? >> we shouldn't take him seriously at all. he's delusional. i mean, this is a guy who's insisting on recreating the emperor's new clothes every day. on the surface of his own towering yet fragile ego, he's willing to try to undermine our democracy. what we should take seriously, though, is the people trying to coddle his crazy for political gain. republicans who are willing to go along with this insanity

because they're afraid to confront the base, because they're afraid to confront him. because what they're saying is, they're willing -- they hate democrats more than they love our democracy. they're willing to indulge these pathological fantasies and pretend they're ideas. they're not. and that's what we've got to take seriously as hell. >> ana, dana bash is reporting that a former adviser to trump says that he is listening to the bottom of the bottom of the crazies in the barrel. i mean, trump disciples like michael flynn, sydney powell, are out there indulging coups and reinstatement. you know. maybe it shouldn't be surprising, considering what's happening. you know, they backed the big lie, all this stuff about dominion and the voting systems and all of that. if that's who he's listening to, isn't that a recipe for disaster, isn't that how he lost the first time? >> frankly, i care less about who donald trump is listening to than i care about the people who are listening to donald trump. and look, we didn't take it very

seriously, a lot of us thought, this is so absurd, back when they were talking about january 6th. we thought, this can't really happen. but it is irresponsible for anybody who witnessed january 6th and the entire world did, despite republican efforts to try to whitewash it. the entire world saw insurrectionists, terrorists, attacking democracy. after we've seen that, it is impossible, it is the height of irresponsibility, not to take these things seriously. because you don't know what the people who listen to him, albeit it's a smaller number by the day. i mean, his blog had less viewers than my dog's instagram does. but that doesn't mean -- she does have a very good instagram. that does not mean, you know, they're not capable of inflicting injury and death and pain and wreaking havoc and

causing destruction. we've seen this movie already. so we need to take it seriously. despite my -- you know, it requires alcohol. >> let me ask you this ana. i want to get this in. george p. bush, the son of jeb bush, you know the bushes, that's why i'm asking this. nephew of the former president george w. bush. launched his run for texas attorney general. he said he would love to have trump's support, but when asked by cnn about the attacks trump made against his family, he said this. >> politics is a full-contact sport. we're at a stage in our state where we can't let a mean tweet get in the right way of doing the right thing. >> so it's okay to look the other way on mean tweets against your own family when you need trump's support to win? this is beyond mean tweets. that is the understatement of the year. but go on. >> oh, god, don.

i didn't know you were going to ask about this. i hate talking about this. it's painful for me. i love jeb bush, he's a mentor for me. i've known george p. since he was a kid. i think this is embarrassing. frankly, it's a terrible reflection on george p. bush. i keep thinking about george herbert walker bush and how much family meant to him and how much loyalty meant to him and how much civility and bipartisanship meant to him and how much the institution of the presidency meant to him. it's not a good look. i'm really glad i don't live in texas. not only having ted cruz as a senator would be painful, voting in this election would be painful. >> thank you, that's all we have time for, for this particular subject. thank you very much. prosecutors asking for 30 years, the defense wants probation. laura coates is going to way in on how long derek chauvin could spend in prison. that's next. ♪

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tonight we're learning minnesota prosecutors want a 30-year sentence for the ex-officer who murdered george floyd. that is according to a sentencing memo filed today. joining me to discuss, cnn's senior legal analyst laura coates. good evening, thank you for joining us with this breaking news. so break this down for us, if you will. 30 years. is that a lot in a case like this if it didn't have this much degree of significance? >> well, remember, the maximum is actually 40 years for a crime like this. what they have in minnesota are sentencing guidelines, as they do in every state, essentially. it gives you a range of possible penalties in the form of the years in prison. they give this range because they want the judges to have some level of uniformity in the application of their actual sentences. they want them to have discretion as well. they give a range between 10 and 15 years for a nonviolent offender or somebody who has

never committed a crime before, never had a conviction. or somebody who just simply has not had a criminal history. that's recommendations under the guidelines. but the prosecution is saying here, don, no, 15 years would not be enough, we want double that because of aggravating factors. remember here the facts of this case. it was done in a group of people, including other officers. it was done in front of children. it was done with particular cruelty, the judge found, because he was indifferent to the pleas for help and knowing george floyd, knowing he was likely to die. finally, probably the most important one, he abused his position of authority as a police officer. so because of those aggravating factors that the judge found exist, he can go beyond that 15 years and upwards to the 30 to the maximum of 40. this is where you are right now. of course, the defense team, don, is saying, on the other hand, those aggravating factors, even if you found them to be true, there are mitigating factors here. he's a former police officer, a 19-year veteran.

they claim of course he has had heart damage and was likely to die younger, as many ex-law enforcement officials are. also, he did not believe, he says in his report, he was even committing a crime. he acted on the good faith reliance of his experience that he was doing nothing wrong. >> laura coates, thank you for your perspective. 166 students in graduating class at one college graduating with $375,000 of debt to the school. but take this. >> the university board of trustees has authorized me to forgive any debt -- [ cheers and applause ]

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take this. graduates of an historically black university getting the surprise of a lifetime at their graduation ceremony. watch this. >> because you represent the best of your generation, we wish to give you a fresh start. so therefore, the lilberforce university board of trustees has authorized me to forgive any debt -- [ cheers and applause ] your accounts have been cleared. and you don't owe willber force

anything. congratulations! >> now that is worth shouting over. like a baptist church in the south on a sunday morning. amen. congratulations to them. the university canceling student debt for all of its 2020 and 2021 graduates. the amount of debt cleared will be more than $375,000. the relief to be covered by various scholarships does not cover federal or bank loans. up next, a trillion-dollar deal. biden meeting with the gop but they don't play ball. this bipartisanship strike out?

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the former president is more obsessed than ever with the 2020

election. advisers saying trump is listening to those around him who are the crazies at the bottom. barrel. at the same time, sources telling cnn there's growing concern among law enforcement officials over heightened chatter on right wing social media platforms about overturning the election. they fear it could lead to more violence. we have a special report. meanwhile, president joe biden meeting today with republican senators who are leading negotiations on infrastructure as the talks reach a critical point. more than the infrastructure bill is at stake here. we're talking about the president, excuse me, his entire governing philosophy. i bring in now a former republican congressman and from demand justice. he was press secretary for hillary clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. i still want to call him vice president sometimes. i called him vice president so much for eight years. but now he is the president. so my apologie