thanks for watching. don lemon tonight with the big star d. lemon starts now. >> how's it going, sir? >> peachy. >> i still am flummoxed by the misinformation over the vaccine, people refusing to get vaccinated and also refusing to wear masks. every day seems like it gets worse. and i don't mean that, i mean the people who are dying, who are actually coming down with it especially the children if you saw martin savidge's report. i mean just heart breaking. >> people seen with significant cases and hospitalizations are getting younger. part of the metric here is ignorance but part of it is also arrogance and resistance they believe is a false manifestation of freedom. this is not an issue of freedom. of course you have freedom to make choices about your own

body. let's put to the side so many of these people don't want to afford that freedom to women. but what we're saying is does it mean it's the right choice? and these suggestions i think the vaccine is safe, but you have the freedom to take it, but i don't know that the science lines up, but i don't know why they're changing the guidance. these suggestions feel resistance. and i think it's a mistake. >> you know what we don't talk about? maybe you've talked about it on your radio show or maybe you've talked about it on your show before. i don't get to see every second because i'm trying to get in the seat and get ready for mine, but just the effect it has, the toll that it takes on hospitals, taking up space in hospitals, people who are coming in now. the cost, the medical bills that people are getting. much of it going unpaid. the uninsured putting -- taking a toll on the medical system. there are lots of things that we don't talk about or people don't consider when they are vaccine resistant or vaccine hesitant, when they just don't get the

vaccine. there are lots of factors more than just it's my body, it's my freedom, i can do what i want. >> again, i think my body my freedom, okay. but i think what we're seeing here, first of all you're right. in terms of the strain on the system it's very real. and that's why so many leaders right now are freaking out and trying to get resources into hospitals before we go through the same cycle of being overwhelmed that they did before, but you also have vaccine gaps within medical staff. people -- the unvaccinated aren't just outside the medical world. they are in the medical world. because a lot of them have political feelings as well. and that's my concern. that's why i'm having members of the right onto be reasonable, and tell your people there is no advantage in resisting as some show of defiance. if you don't want to take it because fill in the blank your doctor, your family, your history, whatever, but as a going like this to the

government or giving the bird to people in power, you don't get to control me, that's a problem. and i think it's being fed by people on the right, and that's a problem. >> well, you know, a problem we're going to deal with and our time is going to be short is the treatment some of these guys are getting, all of them really after their testimony. i have this gentleman right here, this hero who's going to join me in just seconds. there he is, officer harry dunn to talk about his experience testifying and his experience since -- first interview since yesterday. >> i want to tell you something, and i don't know if the officer can hear me, he really got through to my kids, generationally. he broke through multiple generations of my family, my mom, me and the wife, my kids in terms of the pain of how he was approached and how he was spoken to and that the uniform had already been insulation from that kind of animus, but not on

that day. and what that meant to a big -- listen, dunn checks every box of tough he should have. >> you should see the picture of him standing next -- he's a big dude. >> and what does it take to talk about pain and vulnerability and sensitivity? strength. so god bless him for the message he gave. >> yeah, you want to respond? >> thank you, chris. i appreciate those words. thank you. i appreciate you. >> don't thank me. thank you for keeping our capitol safe. thank you for protecting people, and thank you for showing restraint towards the people who were coming after you. >> that's so nony -- >> that's stupid thinking. that's why the guy doesn't wear the uniform. you showed restraint and showed mercy toward people who weren't showing it towards you and that's why you're the best of the worst of us. >> he wants to respond to

everyone and i told him take the high road, don't even read it, don't respond to that. he's better than that. i'm glad you're saying the same thing to him. >> one second, one second. who picked up the check? put dunn back on. who picked up the check? >> tell him. >> not him. >> there it is. >> tell the truth. who picked up the truth? >> of course he did. >> actually the boss picked up the check. >> love you, d. lemon. >> i love you, too. thank you very much. this is don lemon tonight. america seems to be backsliding on this pandemic. cases up 65% since last week. 65%. and across the country more and more people -- more and more people just plain sick of a belligerent minority who won't follow the rules ruining all the hard-won games for the rest of us. why? the cdc wants everyone in schools to wear masks even if they are fully vaccinated yet anti-mask protests are spreading

like this one. this is outside a school board meeting in broward county. take a look at your screen. i don't consent, no more masks. this is where they set masks on fire. anger spreading to capitol hill where the resident doctor ordered the house to remask to prevent the spread of covid among members and staff. kevin mccarthy tweeting masks are not based on science and making the ridiculous claim that government officials want to live in a perpetual pandemic. i want you to listen to the house speaker nancy pelosi and what she has to say about that. >> leader mckrcarthy says it's against the science. >> that as on the house floor reportedly threw a mask back at a floor staffer as she was offered one as she walked out maskless. she then sat on the house floor, the only member refusing to wear a mask today. and that's what this is all

about. it's because so many people refuse to save their own lives. well, the rubber is about to hit the road, okay? because president biden about to announce a requirement all federal workers be vaccinated or submit to mandatory testing. i think you should just have to do it, but, okay. companies like google and facebook requiring vaccines for all office employees. one of the largest real estate developers telling employees they'll be fired if they're not vaccinated by labor day. yes. some people are angry about putting masks back on just when they were getting used to going without them. some people are even angrier, frankly, about the spread of the delta variant and counting on masks to protect them and their unvaccinated kids from the people who just don't seem to care. and speaking of not caring to follow the rules, there is

republican andrew clie who according to one of his gop colleagues has been evading thousands in fines for refusing to wear a mask. you may remember him calling those people at the capitol tourists. he also got into a heated exchange with jamie raskin late last night comparing the attack at the capitol january 6th to what he called, quote, a normal tourist visit. now congressman raskin getting him to admit he still stands by that even after four hero police officers testified under oath calling the rioters at the capitol terrorists. here's how it went down. >> i want to ask you this. they were asked a question by several of our colleagues including ms. cheney about statements that you made saying that the january 6th violent insurrection against congress

was akin to a normal tourist visit. and those officers said they weren't tourists, they were terrorists. do you standby your statement that they were tourists? >> i would like you to quote my exact statement. not your interpretation of my statement. >> okay. >> for the record. >> watching the tv footage of those who walked through the capitol and those who walked through statuary halls showed people in ordally fashion standing between the stanchions and ropes. if you didn't know the tv footage was a picture from january 6th you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. those are your words. >> and standby that exact statement as i said it. >> okay. do you agree or disagree with the officers who spent four or five hours battling that medieval mob that had baseball

bats and led pipes and so on, do you stand by the statement the people they were fighting were tourists, or do you agree with them they were terrorists? >> that statement did not say those people were tourists. >> okay. the fact is the statement said you would actually think it was a normal tourist day. dude, what does that mean? if it's a normal tourist visit, rather, a normal tourist visit -- you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. that means you thought they looked like tourists. what kind of logic -- okay, whatever. officer daniel hodges said this to the select committee yesterday. >> why do you call the attackers terrorists, and what do you think about our colleagues who

think we should call them tourists? >> well, if that's what american tourists are like i can see why foreign countries don't like american tourists. but i can see why someone would take issue with the title of terrorist. it's gained a lot of notoriety in our vocabulary the past few decades, and we like to believe, no, that couldn't happen here. >> yeah, we might like to believe it couldn't happen. maybe we should call them tourists or just terrorists. maybe we'd like to believe that it couldn't happen here, but those four officers who fought nearly to death, they know the truth. they know the price of freedom, real freedom not just the performative fake but, freedom,

freedom, liberty, democracy. they know the real price of freedom of democracy and they know the price they paid, the physical and emotional wounds, physical and emotional price they're still paying to this day. so it's really disgusting some people are calling their bravery into question, mocking them for a perceived lack of toughness, right? people can sit, you know, protected by the tv studio or keyboard warriors or, you know, security guards and all that. over on the fox propaganda network people like tucker carlson and laura ingram who love to tell you just how patriotic they are, performative, fake. how they support law and order, performative, fake, transactional. well, it seems they have just forgotten all about that when it comes to those four police officers who risked their lives to defend our democracy from the attacks by bloodthirsty trump

supporting rioters, terrorists on january 6th. insurrectionists not tourists. just listen to tucker carlson mocking sergeant gonell. he's an iraq war vet wherein, by the way. >> watch as gonell compares what happened on january 6th to the iraq war. >> and we were not letting them in. they tried to convert us. they tried to persuade us to let them in. my time compared to iraq, totally different. this is our own citizens, people who we swore an oath to protect but here they are attacking us with the same flag that they claim to represent. it was bad. >> actually what happened on january 6th according to the video we do have does not look a

lot like a rock. it's not fulugea. >> this from someone who has never served a day in uniform, someone who will never know the kind of bravery it takes to put your life on the line for democracy. and how about i show you another piece of video? how about you take a look at what it was really like for the police who fought to stop the mob of rioters who stormed the capitol, the mob that hunted lawmakers and the vice president in the halls. and i want you to listen to this guy, this guy scoffing at mike fanone for being brave enough to talk about the trauma he's suffering nearly seven months after that horrible day. >> watch fanone cite the psychological trauma he endured as an excuse for ditching our bill of rights. >> i've been left with the psychological trauma and the emotional anxiety for having survived such a horrific event.

>> trauma. i want to show you another piece of video. laura engram mocking those hero officers with a disrespectful gag award show, and i do mean gag. >> the award for blatant use of partisan politics when facts fail, the award goes to capitol police officer harry dunn. >> i'm a law enforcement officer and i do my best to keep politics out of my job, but in this circumstance i responded, well, i voted for joe biden. does my vote not count? am i nobody? >> that is some twisted you know what. and that is what her audience obviously wants to see.

you know what she left out of officer dunn's testimony? you know what happened next, right? you know i know you remember. officer harry dunn was subjected to an onslaught of vile, racist abuse. and if you think this is tough to hear, if you are offended by this racist language, well, you should be. >> one woman in a pink maga shirt yelled, you hear that guys, this nigger voted for joe biden and then the crowd perhaps around 20 people joined in screaming, boo, fucking nigger. no one had ever, ever called me a nigger while wearing the uniform of a capitol police officer. in the days following the attempted insurrection other black officers shared with me their own stories of racial

abuse on january 6th. one officer told me he had never in his entire 40 years of life been called a nigger to his face, and that streak ended on january 6th. yet another black officer later told me he had been confronted by insurrectionists in the capitol who told him, put your gun down and we'll show you what kind of nidgger you really are. >> hey, laura engram, tucker carlson, cowards. officer harry dunn is an american hero, and i'm proud to say he's here with me now in his first interview since that hearing. he's going to tell all next.

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. capitol police officer harry dunn speaking out about the racist attacks he endured while defending the capitol on january 6th, and i'm honored to talk to

officer dunn tonight about his powerful, emotional testimony before the select committee. thank you for joining us. it's good to see you and spend time with you in person. i wanted to spend time with you in person here so i get to interview in person instead of by satellite. hearing you describe what happened, 20 rioters calling you the n-word on january 6th, a powerful moment and shows there's obviously a clear racial aspect to this insurrection, and you wanted to get that across yesterday. >> i can't believe that -- you know what hurts more than or just as much as what happened on january 6th? the attacks on our credibility and that we're lying and that we don't love our country and we're fake police officers and we're

not real cop -- just the stuff you were playing there, the laur laura ingrams and the tucker carlson. that was an act? it's frustrating. it's more than frustrating. it makes you so angry. but unwavered and i'm still going to go do my job tomorrow just like i'll do for the last 13 years. >> you were so speechless when i played that, and you said during the commercial break i wish i had worn my usa shirt today. why? >> we're not americans because we don't agree with their political views? everyone's allowed to have a different political view. that's what makes america america. that's what makes america a democracy. what are they doing to preserve d democracy? i know what i'm doing. i know what i did to preserve democracy. i protected republicans, democrats and independents for the last 13 years of my life.

and i'm going to do it for 13 more god willing. this is my country, too. i'm allowed to have a political opinion. that's what makes america great, makes america great, right? that sounds familiar. >> yeah. when they say -- you know for right wing media you've really become a punching bag. people say you're not like everyone else, basically saying you're not a real police officer, almost like you're not a real american. >> i'm not a street cop. i'm not going to pretend to be. the officers in portland and minnesota and seattle and across the country that went through hell, my heart goes out to them. they didn't deserve any of the stuff they went through. and a lot of people want to say what about those guys? they are freaking heroes, too. they deserve credit. they deserve honor. they deserve respect.

every single cop this summer met against antifa and the vicious rioters this summer, they absolutely deserve the credit and respect, those officers do. they don't deserve it. just like on january 6th -- it seems like it can't be this and this. it has to be this or that. it's both of them. why can't both things exist? both things are true. >> you think they're shifting the blame or at least trying to shift the focus from what happened? listen, we can deal with many things in this country at the same time, and if something happens it doesn't mean you go what about this, what about that? can't we focus on what happened on january 6th where our democracy was in jeopardy? >> we should be. >> this wasn't just people who were -- some of them were exercising their right to protest. others went way too far. that's a different story than trying to undermine democracy and stop an election. >> and that kind of what bothers me a little bit even just the footage they just played and you just showed from the fox news

clip. laura ingram showed footage and tucker carlson showed footage oof the individuals walking through the stanchtions, but they didn't show footage out of the outside, the hours of combat the officers faced. i am so fortunate i was not physically assaulted. i didn't get my ass whooped, and i'm so thankful. but you know who did? so many of my coworkers, so many of the mpd guys. those guys still out of work because they got their ass whooped physically. if i came in here with my arm in a sling would that give me credibility? sorry i can't put a band-aid on my brain, my psychological mind-set. all i've got is my words. >> when i talked to officer fanone tonight -- it was only

100 violent people at the capitol moch they're still down-playing it. what difference does it make if it was 100, 200 or 1,000? it was still people beating up police officers with blue lives matter flags and american flags, bear spraying officers, pepper spraying them. it still happened, so what do you think of this new talking point, it was just a couple hundred or a hundred people? >> 100, 1,000, it doesn't matter -- they're goal was to disrupt democracy. how many terroristic acts are carried out by one person that defined the way going forward for countries, the way they operate? one person can change the whole direction of countries. 100? their goal was -- >> it doesn't look like 100 people right there. >> think about this. what if they succeeded, though? that's the thing. everybody said, well, it wasn't that bad?

okay, what if they did get to mike pence and pelosi and the congressional, the electoral college votes? what if they got to those? were they just going to say, yeah, we did it. this is a warning, we could have done it but we didn't. shouldn't that be serious? at what point does it become -- i don't even know what to say, man. it's infuriating. >> you know what i noticed about -- listen, i thought it was important to come to d.c. during the hearings and to meet you guys because i'd never met you in person. i'd met you on television and to actually spend time with you guys. and the more i've spent time with you guys, i realize this is 24 hours a day for you. you're constantly getting on your social media messages from people, hate. people are finding your phone numbers. people are reaching out to you in ways. people are saying things to you. this is -- it's not over for you. this is 24 hours a day, and you're not used to that sort of

attention. you asked me -- you said, don, how do you handle all this criticism and hateful messages? you're not used to that. this is 24 hours for you. >> you asked me at dinner are you hungry because i literally started picking up my phone and started scrolling through the hate messages, the apps, the mention i'm a traitor, i'm a cowered. i had to turn it off. like, it sucks man. >> do you -- go on. >> it sucks, but mike said something great. i think he said it this morning about once they're at their end and they have nothing else left -- >> he said it tonight. he said that people were -- and i believe the same thing -- that they are fighting tooth and nail because it's a dying breed. it's basically a dying breed. >> and we can't give up now. we got to keep fighting for

democracy, justice for everybody, everybody. right wing people, left wing people. nobody should be criticized or called less americans because you have a different political belief. that's not democracy, right? >> yeah. and he was talking about the racists and the bigots, saying that they are fighting tooth and nail right now because they realize that their time is up soon. and i've said the same thing, but it was very profound he even recognized that. i want to play this for you, and then i'm going to ask you about it after we come back from break. let's play it. we'll go to break, and then i'm going to ask officer harry dunn about this moment in his testimony. >> if a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, the hit man goes to jail. but not only does the hit man go to jail but the person who hired them does. there was an attack carried out on january 6th, and a hit man

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finding something and the us takes gold! ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ ♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ back now with officer harry dunn who defended the u.s. capitol on january 6th and testified about it before the select committee yesterday. so officer dunn, i just want to play that important moment again from your testimony yesterday and then get your response. here it is. >> if a hit man is hired and he kills somebody, the hit man goes to jail, but not only does the hit man go to jail but the person who hired them does. there was an attack carried out

on january 6th, and a hit man sent them. i want you to get to the bottom of that. >> the hit man and the person who hired them, who ent sent them there do you think? >> i'm not one to speculate so i like to stick to facts. there was literally a rally at the white house saying to go down to the capitol, fight like hell. that's not my words. and that's what they did. >> are you confident that this committee is going to get to the bottom of the answers that you're looking for? >> call me crazy, but i kind of believe in government in the long-run being successful, being able to -- even if i disagree with the outcome, like, if this committee investigates it and they say you know what we -- everybody did -- the people who attacked we're prosecuting them, the people who may have agitated

them and it's not enough to -- okay, i can accept that. but i can't accept the brushing off of it and nothing happens. look at it -- and i've been painted as this left-wing activist or whatever. that's what tucker carlson said. their talking point is nancy pelosi was responsible for capitol police and the failures. okay, okay, say that she is, investigate it. and if she was wrong, accountability needs to be held by any and everybody not just the left, not just the right. any and everybody who had anything to do with the failures of january 6th needs to be held accountable. >> do you -- do you want the committee subpoena trump and his allies on capitol hill? >> i don't know. i don't even know how that works. i've got nothing. i can talk about what i know and what happened to me. i just hope they -- they know what they're doing. that's why they're on the committee. >> you know, we were talking

about whether folks were armed or not, right, and there's been this whole thing about people weren't armed with firearms, but they were armed as you guys said with other weapons besides firearms. there was this virginia police officer who was fired after storming the capitol, and he was jailed today because he ordered a large stockpile of guns and ammunition after his january arrest and posted support for future political violence. and you spoke yesterday about all the people who still believe the lies that led to january 6th. how much danger do you think that we are still in now? >> i said this and i continue to standby it, that as long as people are emboldened by people in power, then they're still a threat for things to happen. that's why we need to make sure we're prepared and we continue to shoot down all rhetoric that could possibly lead to violence. like i say, it's okay to have different opinions. but don't fight like hell or

march down to the capitol -- first amendment protest is what this country is about. first amendment, the constitution. that's the democracy of it. but once you start attacking people, attacking things, then that's wrong. and that -- you know what? that goes to the riots this summer. they were wrong. if you peacefully protest, then sure. but the riots and the violence and the damage this summer, they were wrong. they were wrong. and that's the exact same thing that happened at the capitol. but their goal was to overthrow democracy, which is a bigger threat to america. >> the department of homeland security is warning about the possibility of more violence in the next few weeks because as you know there's this right-wing conspiracy theory out there saying, oh, trump's going to be reinstated in august. do you think that we are prepared after january 6th of this year? >> i'm no security analyst.

i'm not. i'm not going to even pretend to be. >> you work there. >> correct. i can speak to this. the officers i work with, the capitol police officers, specifically the first responders unit, those guys will be ready to face whatever is thrown at them. that's a brave, heroic bunch of guys and i'm so proud to work with those guys. and we'll be out there ready to serve and protect democracy and fulfill our oath that we took. >> yeah, i want to play something for you because we talked a bit at dinner but officer michael fanone last night talked to me who also testified yesterday, that he felt he wasn't being protected or supported by the frutarnal order of police. my colleague jake tapper spoke with the national president earlier today. take a listen to this. >> maga -- media, maga politicians are smearing police

officers who are members of your union. they're smearing harry dunn, the capitol police officer. do you feel that you cannot be as supportive of the capitol police officers, of the metropolitan police department officers as you would want to be because trump supporters make up most of your union? >> i don't recognize or accept that characterization. i can tell you and i can provide documentation if you'd like of just how involved that the labor committees and the national has been involved. i don't think there's been a week that has gone by since january 6th that we've not been engaged in meaningful discussion and actions on behalf of that incident on that day. to suggest somehow we're ignoring it is not true. >> jake went onto ask him -- i wish we had played that part. jake went onto say but you're not doing it publicly. you issue statements all the time, which michael fanone said,

on behalf of police officers who are -- who may be getting unfair treatment in the media. but you haven't really done that when it comes to these police officers. and you guys have been vilified in the media. do you think you're getting the support that you need? >> no. and i don't say that to be an ass or nothing, but like you said people make statements all the time about we support -- i mean, let's be frank. in 2016 to 2020 the f.o.p. put their support behind a presidential candidate. so they interjected themselves in politics. so you don't want to mix police or political pawns now, well, yeah we injected ourselves -- and i say we because i'm a member of the f.o.p. i'm a dues paying member of the

f.o.p., so i say we injected ourselves into politics. you can't have it one way or another. keep it consistent. if something is wrong, come out and support people that you're supposed to support. >> you're supporting the wrong people? >> we're not supporting anybody. silence is -- your silence speaks volumes or something. by them not saying anything we're forced to make our own assumptions. >> and that assumption is? >> we're not being supported. >> anything else you want to say? >> i did three, four hours of testimony. i said all i had to say. >> you're a good dude. >> thanks, man. >> it's really an honor to meet you and spend time with you. thank you so much. thank you for what you've done for the country. thank you for the person you are. thank you for serving. thank you for just -- thank you. >> thank you. appreciate you having me on.

>> officer dunn and his fellow officers all demanding an investigation into what happened on january 6th and who was behind it. what does this investigation say about the state of this democracy? we'll talk about that. welcome back to milkshake mustaches, high fives and high dives. to 3-on 3s... 2-on-2s... and 1-on-1s. at aspen dental, we see all the moments that make us smile so we make it easy to share your smile with convenient, total care - all in one place. and flexible hours that work with your life. right now, new patients get a complete exam and x-rays — free without insurance, and everyone saves 20% on their treatment plan. welcome back to life's best moments. call 1-800-aspendental or book online today.

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so there's an infrastructure deal in the senate. you heard that right. the vote 67-32 to move forward with debate on president biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill. 17 republicans voting with all 50 democrats. is it a sign of things to come in washington? a lot to discuss now. matthew dowd is here, the former chief strategist for former president george w. bush. thank you, sir. good to see you. before we talk about the infrastructure and all that, i have to get your reaction to officer dunn who made it crystal clear in his testimony that what happened to him and other officers of color on january 6th was a racist attack.

the abuse that he is receiving after sharing his story, racist. the big lie is racist. all the restrictive voting laws targeting cities with large minority populations, racist. where does this end, matthew? >> well, i don't think it ends -- first, great interview with officer dunn, and i -- for him just standing up speaking truth to power is phenomenal. this is what we need in this country. i don't think it ends until we till the soil and get the poison out of the soil of america because this has been something as great as america has been and as a wonderful experiment in democracy as it's been with our u.s. constitution, in our soil of our country has been racism. and until we remove that, scrape the soil and remove that poison from our soil, we're going to be dealing with this. we fought a civil war over this where more than a million people died. we've had past amendments on this. we've had civil rights on this.

we've given women the right to vote. every step of the way as the country becomes more diverse -- and it not only has to do with race, don, it has to do with a 1try becoming more diverse in every way from sex to sexuality to race to belief in different religions. as it becomes more diverse there's a backlash, and you said recently, there's always been a significant portion of america that has resisted full democracy and freedom. >> we have to look at our history. that's what i'm talking about, keep in mind, during the revolutionary war, a third of the country wanted to support the monarchy, in the civil war, a third of the country wanted to keep slavery as it was and break up the union. during the push for women to get the right to vote, a third of

the country was opposed to it. during civil rights, a third of the country was opposed. and the same for the expansion of rights for gays and lesbians. so a third of people pushing back, what is usually white, anglo-saxon, protestant, heterosexual. until we establish that every man and woman is created equal, we're going to be fighting this battle all over again. >> there's a report saying that america is not racist, it's becoming the mantra for the gop in 2024. what do you make of that? >> i'm a person that believes

countries aren't racist, but people are racist. and parts of groups of people in a country that are racist. there's no way they can deny that has existed in our country, and there has been systemic problems of racism in our country. this is just another thing to feed their base, just raw meat in the midst of this. i don't think it's going to work. most americans are open-minded, want the broad rights and values of america to apply to everybody. but it does feed the base of the republican party in this time. and the easy counter to this, they don't want to deal with the fact that whatever the number of people in this country that are racist, pick a number, they want to deal with less than 1% of the country that commits violent crime. they don't want to deal with 30% of the people, but constantly talk about the 1% of the people

involved in violent crimes. i don't think it works politically, but it helps them with their base. >> also something that may be helping them with their base, maybe not, we shall see. but i want to talk about what is going on with covid, the rising numbers getting sick, including young people, when we come right back. >> okay, great. icy hot. ice works fast. heat makes it last. feel the power of contrast therapy,

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them. and the vaccinated folks are angry that it didn't help. so what is going on here? where do we -- we're divided on everything, even mask wearing. >> well, i think all of these things are related. what is happening on voting rights, on democracy, what happened on january 6th, and what is happening in our public health. it has to do with this, don. democracy is supported by two pillars. the common good, and a common set of facts. we're in the midst of this pandemic. we can't get people to agree on a common set of facts, mainly the republicans, to agree on a common set of facts. and the inability to go to the common good. they believe that individual libb liberty is more important than the common good. the first few words of the constitution say, we the people, in order to form a more perfect

union, we need to put emphasis on the we. and until we establish something that is to the common good, and agree on a common set of facts, we're going to be fighting this battle. >> there's always a first where you see things start to bubble up. some companies say, get vaccinated or don't come back. what do you think about that? >> companies have a perfect right to say that. not only do they want to protect their customers, but they have an obligation to employees. i think all companies should go towards that. again, we're not going to beat this pandemic until we all agree that the common good of public health requires us to do certain things. whether that means get vaccinated, if you don't want to get vaccinated, wear a mask, and follow certain protocols. until we get people off the i and more on the we, we'll be in the midst of this fight all the

time. >> matthew dowd, always a pleasure. thank you, sir. >> thanks. 17 republicans supporting president biden's $1 trillion infrastructure plan. plus, the pandemic of the unvaccinated is surging with hot spots all around the country. companies mandating covid vaccines. one saying employees will be fired if they're not vaccinated by labor day. and elizabeth warren joins me. the final vote, 67-32, it's not easy to get 67 votes for anything. but you don't think this bill goes far enough. why is that? >> look, this is only a sliver