failed. with the 20th anniversary coming up this weekend, a joint bulletin saying foreign terrorist groups, erin, are expected to exploit this anniversary for propaganda purposes. groups like al qaeda and isis could use this in their media to recruit and radicalize. >> thank you very much. anderson starts now. good evening. two major events we are following at this moment both involving president biden and may influence american livelihoods and prosperity. one later this week involves an address to the nation about the administration's fight against the coronavirus. we'll have more on that. we'll start with the other major event, a tour of the northeast. stops in new york and new jersey where most of the at least 52 people who died from the remnants of hurricane ida. there was a chance to meet those

in need and distress and back up to try to push major agenda setting items, specifically an infrastructure bill and a separate bill loaded with democratic priorities collectively worth trillions of dollars. one of those priorities pushed climate change which the president spoke of. >> and so, folks, we've got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. they all tell us this is code red. the nation and the world are in peril. >> we'll talk to new york congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez about that. kaitlyn collins traveled with president biden. what did the president see? what was accomplished? >> reporter: anderson, it was the damage up close. keep in mind, this is his second trip to somewhere that was hit by ida in a week. last week it was louisiana. today he traveled seven or eight states up to the north and to the right to see new york and

new jersey. it was devastating, anderson. it's really hard to overstate the level of damage that we saw especially when we got our start in the lost valley of manville, new jersey. there were stacks of debris, anderson, in every single yard. some of them were taller than i am. it was rotted dry wood, ruined furniture, children's toys that were covered in mud. i saw christmas ornaments littered across the ground. every house that had been devastated by the flooding they saw last week. in new jersey and some areas turned into fires and explosions. the president was talking to one woman that we spoke with as well when they came up to the reporters and cameras, luckily she has a 4-month-old baby, anderson, they had gotten a heads up and left the area because of all of the rain. part of her daughter's nursery was still there. part of it was down the street. it had been washed away. as they were talking to us, you could see their front door with

the tv resting on it. everything is destroyed that these people had. now they are left to deal with that destruction and that was one woman that the president had spoken with. then later on we went to queens where of course we saw a lot of devastation with flooding there. we were in an alli between two rows of homes. a lot of homes in new york have basement units where it's the basement that a family used or an entirely separate unit that families live in. they were telling the president about their experiences last week, anderson. several of those people in those basement units, those low lying dwellings were trapped in their homes and died because they could not get to safety. it was just this larger piece of seeing the devastation up close of a storm that had started out in the bayou, made its way to the boroughs. you're seeing the devastation that these people have to live with and how much wreckage there is to their own homes and what they have to do now going forward to pick up the pieces. >> this is something presidents

have done. one of the things presidents do, visiting disaster areas. it obviously comes though right after afghanistan. how much is the white house or what do you hear from the white house, how much of this is hoping that the president's handling these recent natural disasters may shift attention away from the withdrawal in afghanistan? >> reporter: well, i do think to a sense they're putting the withdrawal in afghanistan behind them to a degree. there are still americans there. that is something we are asking daily about those efforts to get americans out. now that u.s. troops have left and that evacuation and the large scale that we saw was over, things are turning and you are president and different things pop up on your plate, like this storm and the devastation that they've seen. what the president said today in queens making remarks was talking about his agenda that he is trying to pass through congress which he said would make the nation essentially more climate resistant because he was warning that climate change is here.

it is undeniable. the question is it's obviously not going to get better. but does it get worse? how does the u.s. respond? he was pitching his economic agenda, domestic agenda as a way to respond to that. there are questions about what is happening in the immediate future. while we were there over traveling in new york and new jersey today, the white house did send a budget request for emergency aid for areas that have been struck by natural disasters to congress and they said part of that money, about $10 billion, is what they think they need to respond to hurricane ida. anderson, that number is only likely to climb as they continue to assess and survey the damage here. we should keep in mind, in new jersey there are still four people missing as a result of this storm. it is still very much the top of the mind of the residents there that we saw today. >> kaitlyn collins, appreciate it. thank you. want to get perspective of the president's visit. someone who was with the president today, aoc.

thank you so much for being with us. appreciate it. i'm wondering what you saw today, what you heard from the president, were you happy or satisfied with what you heard from president biden today in terms of his commitment to battling climate change and providing help to new york? >> i think in the immediate sense we have been able to help facilitate and working with president biden as well as fema in getting one of the fastest ever disaster approvals from fema so we could help people on the ground and start helping people recover as quickly as possible. now when it comes to climate change, we have to do so much more and the president's a again da, yes, is important. we must pass the act but it is not done until it is on the president's desk and we also need to make sure that we're continuing to fund these priorities. right now reconciliation is really embattled and we have to make sure that we actually bring this legislation home with the

build back better act and making sure that climate is protected because the fossil fuel industry and the interests of the fossil fuel industry are very much doing their best to try to shake both this legislation and making sure that they're trying to pivot and frankly tank it compared to the infrastructure act as well. >> when talks to experts on climate change and what -- in order to respond effectively what would need to be done, it is -- when you actually start to look at the whole scope of all of the aspects of life that would be impacted and need to be impacted, i mean, the production of how concrete is made, how steel is made, you know, farming procedures, the electrical grid, it is -- it's a huge societal shift. do you think americans are ready for that or been prepared for that? >> i think we are. i think we absolutely are.

because the question is not if our entire world and our entire society is going to shift because of climate change, it's a matter of how it's going to shift so basically if we do nothing to address climate change we are going to see the continued destruction of our supply chain, we are going to see our crops not be able to grow in the same way. we will see our infrastructure begin to crumble away. we will see us not -- we will see the continuation of proliferation of future pan dem mix as well. so that is how our life could change if we do nothing. it will change dramatically but it could also change dramatically in a positive direction if we do something. we can create millions of union jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, shoring up our cities, our rural areas and our suburbs in order to prepare for the climate catastrophes that

could come to our shores but also draw down our carbon output in order to make sure we prevent future calamities from happening as well. >> you're from a more progressive wing and partly by pledging work across party lines. as you clearly know, the bipartisan infrastructure bill seems stalled because democratic moderates are balance b balking. is this split among democrats? what do you make of it? there seems to be mistrust. >> well, i certainly don't think it's healthy that exxonmobile lobbyists are bragging about how many senators, democrat and republicans, that they get to have on speed dial and enjoy exclusive access to shaping the confluence of this quote unquote bipartisan infra structure bill.

the role of dark money and fossil fuel is extremely unhealthy for our democracy. the fact of the matter is, we've got the people on our side. this is what we continue to say. you know, this he have money. these lobbyists and special interests have money but we've got people. the build back better act has popular support. going beyond that, the green new deal has popular support among republicans and independents. so what i think people are united behind is this is human cost, the burning of fossil fuel and the continued burning with line three in minnesota must be disrupted if we're going to create a better future for ourselves. we can do it by creating millions of union jobs. >> president biden was asked about one of the key moderate democrats opposing the $3.5 trillion rerk c-- reconciliatio

package, joe manchin. >> in the end he's always been there. he's always been with me. i think we can work something out. i look forward to speaking with him. >> i don't know if trust is the right word. do you trust president biden striking a deal with senator manchin or do you worry about it? is there a deal all democrats will accept exone of the interesting parts of this situation is not only manchin has leverage. the party needs to worry about the more moderate agenda in the house. as we have an extremely slim senate margin, we have a slim house margin. i as well as many, many members of the progressive caucus simply will not vote for senator manchin's infrastructure bill unless it is tied together with

the build back better act so we have an all of the above approach, so that we aren't saying it's either your bill or our bill but that both of these bills must move forward together or neither will. and for the american people, that's the best case scenario. we're able to address the needs of all communities, instead of worrying about that bipartisan group. >> i don't want to put you on the spot. you mentioned fossil fuel industries. it reminded me of something you had tweeted actually when senator manchin voiced his opposition in an op ed. you responded on september 2nd, you wrote, man chun has weekly huddles with exxon and gives lobbyists their pen to write so called bipartisan fossil fuel bills. it's killing people, our people, 12 of them last night. sick of this, quote unquote, bipartisan corruption.

fossil fuel corps and dark money is destroying our community, and public. are you suggesting that senator manchin is more interested in pleasing lobbyists than in saving lives of the public? >> i think that in the year 2021 if any member of congress, whether it's a member of the house or whether it's a member of the senate, continues to aid the fossil fuel lobbyists in advancing their agenda, and they are disconnected from the reality on the ground. that is simply a fact. you know, what we've been doing over the last four days, first responders in my community have been pulling out bodies from apartments, basement apartments in new york city because of these flash floods and the idea

we're going to continue building fossil fuel, continue to build things like peeker plants, pipelines for that gas. it is unconscionable. we know the science is in and the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure will endanger people. it will make the storms worse. we have the capacity to transition to clean and reniebl energy. in order to transition to our infrastructure and energy system as well as our power grid. i do believe with all of that evidence that we have, with all of the opportunity that we have, economic opportunity that we have, if we continue to listen to the fossil fuel lobby, if we continue to allow them to have this infrastructure -- have this influence in washington, we are

endangering our constituents and we have to choose the science ahead of the lobbyist industry. >> do you support nuclear? a lot of people say the capabilities of transporting solar and wind power, i mean, our electrical grid needs to be completely altered and upgraded but even then transporting it long distances and storing it, nuclear is the only answer, at least for in the short term. >> yeah. you know, there's -- we've addressed some of this issue, senator markey and i, in the drafting of the green new deal. which is that i don't think that -- there's no position of whether we are pro or anti-nuclear. can we get an energy mix

constructed in the 10-year time line with the ipccs. it doesn't rule out nuclear. the issue is the construction, the time line and making sure we can focus on investments like, for example, battery storage and energy storage in our power grid so that we aren't completely reliant on continual generation. so we can store energy when it's available. >> i want to ask you about something texas governor greg abbott said. by forcing a -- this is how he responded. >> a rape or incest victim during a pregnancy? >> it doesn't require that at all because obviously it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an

abortion. one, it doesn't provide that. that said, let's make something very clear. rape is a crime and texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets. so goal number one in the state of texas will be a victim of rape. >> i'm wondering what you thought when you heard that. >> well, i find governor abbott's comments disgusting and i think there's twofold. one, i don't know if he is familiar with a menstruating person's body. in fact, i do know that he's not familiar with a woman -- with a female or menstruating person's body. he would know you don't have six weeks. i'm sorry we have to break down biology 101 on national

television, but in case no one has informed him before in our life -- in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period and two weeks late on your period for any person, any person with a menstrual cycle can happen if you're stressed, if your diet changes or for really no reason at all. so you don't have six weeks. that's first things first. the second area of this when he talks about going after rapists and this language of -- that he uses about getting rapists off the street, the majority of people who are raped and who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by someone that they know and these aren't just predators that are walking around the streets at night. they are people's uncles, they are teachers, they are family friends and when something like that happens, it takes a very long time, first of all, for any victim to come forward and second of all, when a victim

comes forward, they don't necessarily want to bring their case into the carceral system. they don't want to retraumatize themselves when they go to court. they don't want to report a family friend to a police precinct let alone in the immediate aftermath of the trauma of a sexual assault. so while some victims do use that recourse, and that is something that is completely available and if that is part of their process, that's great, but this idea that we're going to quote, unquote end rape when the same type of race culture and ma soj nis stick culture that informed this to be formed, those beliefs are held by the governor himself and the texas state legislature. frankly, there are many people in power as we know from the me too movement that commit sexual assault, that help their friends

cover up these crimes and some of them even serve in the same state legislatures that are voting on the anti -- you know, just these anti-choice bills. it's awful. he speaks from such a place of deep ignorance that -- and it's not just ignorance, it's ignorance that's hurting people across this country. >> you cited rape culture and misogynistic culture are behind this texas bill to begin with. can you just explain that, how you feel about that to people? >> sure. so when we talk about the law that was passed in texas, we know that antichoice bills are not about being pro life because if they were about being pro life, then the republican party would support frankly an agenda that helps guaranteed health care, that helps ensure that

people that do give birth can have that care for a child. we know nuchone this have is ab supporting life. what this is about is controlling women's bodies and controlling people who are not gender men. someone like me who is a woman or any menstruating person in this country cannot make decisions over their own body and governor abbott and mitch mcconnell want to have more control over a woman's body than that woman or that person has over themselves. what that shares in -- what that shares with rape culture is that sexual assault is about the abusive power and sexual assault is about asserting control over another person and the ease with which these men seek to do that to other people is atrocious. it is morally reprehensible and

they don't -- they cannot even begin to understand the agonizing decisions that people have to make in cases of miscarriage, rape and incest. >> alexandria ocasio-cortez, i appreciate your time. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> more details about the president's speech devoted to the still rising threat of the coronavirus. and more breaking news. more reaction to what texas governor greg abbott said about the state's new highly restrictive abortion law and the women who are survivors of rape.

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during the news conference as you saw earlier, the governor was asked about another restrictive law signed under his watch. here's that exchange once again. >> it doesn't require that at all because obviously it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion. for one it doesn't provide that. that said, however, let's make something very clear, rape is a crime and texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of texas by aggressively going out and arresting them, prosecuting them, getting them off the streets. goal number one in texas is to eliminate rape so no woman, no person will be a victim of rape. >> joining me now, jeffrey

toobin and wendy davis. senator davis, the governor did acknowledge that many women, as congresswoman ocasio-cortez don't know they're pregnant in the first six weeks. >> i agree with the congresswoman, that his comments were completely repulsive and absolutely unacceptable and not at all with the understanding of how mechb snstruating people's s work. when i was in the texas senate, we had the largest backlog of untested rape kits of any state in the country, over 20,000. i had to fight like hell to begin the process to start testing the backlog and to

prevent a future backlog. that problem has still yet to be completely resolved although other legislative members have worked incredibly hard on it. so number one i want to challenge that statement. number two, in our state right now there was an article in the paper recently that rape crisis centers are afraid to refer their clients to abortion clinics for fear that they are personally going to be sued by one of these vigilante anti-abortionists under senate bill 8 that just passed into law. and number three, so many of our abortion clinics now across the state of texas are no longer providing abortions at all so even if you are a rape survivor, incest survivor and you realize in the first two weeks of your

pregnancy that you are pregnant and you had time to get to an abortion clinic, there probably wouldn't be one available to you. >> jeff, all those points -- did the governor say anything today that would be relevant in a legal arena? >> his comments about rape are ridiculous. rape has been illegal in texas since texas existed. the idea that texas is going to start prosecuting rape is absurd. the important thing to remember about this law is this is not some speculative thing. this is the law on the books now. so today, now, victims of rape and victims of incest in texas are being forced to carry their pregnancies to term. this law is on the books now. because of the way the supreme court handled this, this is not

speculation. this is the law and i thought it was revealing that the governor chose to display his ignorance or simply lie about this because in the many indefensible aspects of law it is the most politically toxic that rape and incest victims are being forced to carry their pregnancies to term. that's the law now and the law the governor signed. >> sarah davis, you make a good point about backlogs on testing kits. that's a nationwide problem, not to take anything away from the state of texas. it's a bigger problem than the state of texas. there are many states which have not taken sexual violence against women seriously. >> that's absolutely right, anderson. let's talk about the potential spread.

it's anti-abortion requirements state by state by state across the south and it looks like it will march across the south. there's not something we can do, stop before that happens. and each of those states, state by state by state we are creating a climate where people who have been victimized by sexual assailants are going to be forced to be victimized, to be traumatized even more because they are going to be forced to carry that pregnancy to term. i cannot even begin to tell you how horrifying i and so many people, not just in our state but all over the country, find that idea. and the fact that governor abbott and others who passed this horrid law into effect claim to be pro life, to

reiterate the point that the congresswoman made knowing and not caring that people are going to be traumatized in this way, and once again that it is going to have a predominant and disproportionate impact on women of color and low income in our state, don't you dare say that you are pro life. there is nothing that is pro woman in those actions. >> chip, the attorney general merrick garland has said he's, quote, exploring all options. realistically, what options are there? >> well, there are not many. this just shows when you control the federal judiciary, federal legislatures and state governments, there's a lot you can accomplish. that starts with abortions. you know, the justice department can protect abortion clinics and people walking in from

harassment. there has been an idea that the justice department could try to intervene in these cases where abortion providers were sued by private parties. you know, i think the supreme court let this law go into effect, it really signaled where the law is headed. i think the only answer really to this is fights at the state level and political -- these political fights now if roe v. wade appears to be on the way out as the supreme court indicated by voting 5-4 to let this law go into effect. it means in all 50 states it will be up to the state legislators and up to the governors and that's where the fight is going to be now because it looks like the federal courts are lost on this. >> jeffrey toobin, wendy davis,

thank you both so much. really appreciate it. coming up, a leading conservative on the right spreading vaccine misinformation and the stark rise in cases and deaths ahead.

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coronavirus. last year on labor day 9 average number of deaths was 804. this year it's 1,449. last year there were 39,355 cases, this year 137,270. that's more than three times the number of cases. that despite three adults who have had one shot. 40 million infections total since the pandemic began. children according to the american academy of pediatrics make up one in four cases. one conservative with enough of the disinformation is erick erickson. this is just a sample from his radio show last wednesday. >> i don't care that you don't want to get vaccinated. i really don't. i don't care that you don't want the vaccine. if you're out there spreading lies, misinformation, disinformation and willfully undermining people's trust, i don't care. shut up, i'm not trying to offend you. if you're offended by that,

you're an idiot anyway. >> joining us now is erick erickson. it's good to have you back on the program. very empassioned case you made. i'm wondering what motivated you to speak out? >> kbosh, a lot. my wife lost a cousin. lost a cousin. he wasn't vaccinated. i have lost several friends. lost my mom's best friend who i consider my aunt. multiple friends. my sister has lost several friends and i keep encountering people in the online world who act like they don't know anyone. it's very real. anderson, my wife has an incurable genetic fear of lung cancer. it puts her at a high risk of death. our kids wound up getting it despite all of our precautions. we've seen how the vaccine works so well. and to keep encountering people

particularly in talk radio, what about the israel study, that was misrepresented. what about this study? these are well-meaning people relying on their friends and their network of friends online who have been misled and i feel badly for them and i am really angry at the amount of disinformation that's out there. >> i want to talk about that. one thing you said really struck me, that your kids got it, which is awful, but the fact that you and your wife are vaccinated, you really feel that that protected you both, particularly your wife, when your kids got infected? >> right. this is one of the things we're dealing with. to be fully transparent. both of my kids tested negative for having had it. we thought they had it. they tested negative. later one of my children started having very weird things that fit into post covid side effects. sure enough, i mean, in a test that should have taken 15 minutes, they spiked pretty

pronounced. the nurse was pretty adamant that, yes, they've had it. my wife with a profoundly increased risk of death of getting covid never got it. a better case in point. i was with my father. he wound up getting it, fought it off like a champ. i never got it after sitting in a hotel room with my dad for three days. the vaccine does work. today "the new york times" says a break through case is rarer than we thought. he's 81, 82. has co-morbidities. it would have been bad for him but for the vaccine. my whole family is living proof when it comes to the vaccine. >> what happens with people. misinformation is out there. it's an important point. good people get misinformed and then get dug in on believes and it's hard to change somebody's mind or admit -- it's hard for any of us to admit -- you know what?

we called it wrong, we should get it. >> yeah, you know, that's the hardest part. people bring up they got this wrong, what about this, what about this? some people you're never going to persuade. i'm not a very patient person. i had to learn patience. trying to lovingly walk people through. not to get philosophical. we talk about you've got your truth, i've got mine. >> i hate that using that phrase, speaking your truth. there is a thing that -- >> i do i think. it requires us to be more relational than we've ever had to be at a time when we're more divided, tribally, loyally. trying to break through and talk them through it. it takes time but it works if you are willing to lovingly walk through it with them. >> it seems like all of the studies and common sense, if you try to shame people, it doesn't work. >> right. yeah. you've got to be relational.

we are less and less of relational people because we're all online now. your online facebook or twitter isn't going to feed you if you're sick. if you make in roads, stop worrying about the rest of the people, worry about your community. >> eric, i appreciate you being on. good viewpoint to have. i wish you the best. >> thanks. always good to hear from you. >> you take care. coming up, california's governor gavin newsom facing a retrial. tax-smart investing, what's new? -audrey's expecting... -twins! ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.

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we're one week away from california's gubernatorial recall election. president biden will travel to california early next week in support of gavin newsom. vice president harris will travel. they're building up enthusiasm for newsom. lucy cavanaugh has the latest. >> reporter: with just seven days left to convince californians that he deserves to keep his job. >> are we goings to vote no on this recall? >> reporter: democratic governor gavin newsom -- >> economic justice is on the ballot. social justice is on the ballot.

>> reporter: striking a national tone. >> we did not defeat trumpism. it's still alive all across this country. it has come to the state of california. >> reporter: with help from high profile people in washington. >> i'll fight with everything i have to keep donald trump out of office. >> it is part of the same thing, addressing the vote, going not capitol, stopping democracy. >> reporter: newsom is going to turn it into a referendum. ppac month. >> you saw what happened in texas. >> reporter: on the other side of the recall effort. >> just a few more days you're going to have a new governor.

his name is going to be governor larry elder. >> reporter: conservative radio host larry elder not shying away from national implications. >> god forbid he replace dianne feinstein. >> reporter: on the campaign trail elder talking up local issues. >> homelessness is up, crime is up. where has this man done anything right? >> touting that as a support. it's the personal appeal. >> he's like donald trump. i voted for donald trump guys. >> reporter: the former president has refused to concede the 2020 presidential election making false claims it was stolen and fraud. elder taking a page from that. >> the 2020 election in my opinion was full of shenanigans. i'm afraid they'll try this.

we'll file lawsuits in a timely fashion this time. >> reporter: california democrats out number republicans two tot is the name of the game. >> let me be explicit. either we vote no on this recall or in a matter of weeks the next governor of the state of california is larry elder. >> we're joined now. there's some new voter data just released today? >> reporter: that's right, anderson. it seems governor newsom's strategy by nationalizing this recall election seems to be working, at least when it comes to the early returns. the new numbers that we got today indicate up to 6 million ballots cast so far, more than 53% of the ballots returned came from democrats and 24.5% came from republican voters. that said, there's still a ways to go before voting ends on september 14th. anderson? >> lucy cavanaugh, appreciate

it. let's get perspective from carla marinucci and john king. anchor of >> why should they care what happens in california? >> a long leist of reasons. race itself, a democratic governor in the nation's most popular state at the forefront of the pandemic trying to keep his job in this recall election with coronavirus on the ballot as well as the other issues he listed. dr the drama and the quirkiness much the recall law. then there are national implications. governor newsome is trying to make this a referendum on him and democratic governance, on mask mandates, vaccine mandates. those will be the issues in 2022 as well. we will learn about voter motivation, exhaustion. 2-1 democratic voting advantage. governor newsome should not

lows. if it's close, that's a message for democrats. >> tied the republican frontrunner larry elder to donald trump. what's the governor's perspective on this recall one week out? >> i mean, this has been a nerve-racking number of months for gavin newsom, anderson, and democrats are in a panic a couple of weeks ago when polls suggested this was a dead heat. the bottom line is, i mean, covid got newsome into this recall and it looks like covid is going to get him out of it. his performance, the mask mandates, the vaccine mandates, these are very popular with californians right now, and newsome today pointed to the fact that california has the second lowest positivity rate in the nation. he talks about florida and texas and he talks about how california has some of the highest vaccine rates in the nation. that is working with him in the polls. he has a 19 point lead at this point. and on his job approval rating,

two-thirds of californians, they back him on proof of vaccines and they think he has done a good job on the vaccines. so going into this, it's covid, covid, covid. that's where -- that is a number one issue from california voters. it is no longer a referendum on newsome. it is a referendum on covid. >> john, how much political capital do the vice president and president have in the race? >> this is about the issues in california. and also about democratic governance. gavin newsom is on the ballot this time. joe biden will not be on the ballot next year. kamala harris will not be on the ballot next year. can they get democratic voters who are exhausted, frustrated, who have a bone to pick with politicians. any politician. we have all had moments where we feel powerless. what do people do? take it out on the powerful, meaning the politicians. they kick them. gavin newsom is the pin yad a. this is about gavin newsom. can joe biden help turn out vote sers? if he helps in california,

democrats will feel better about the tough climate next year. >> does the governor believe this recall is happening because of blunders he made during the pandemic like eating dinner unmasked or does he think -- >> yeah, that -- >> go ahead. >> that didn't help at all. he has had self-inflicted wounds in this. no question about it. but the bottom line is the recall, he has defined it as a republican recall, a trump recall and he has gotten help on that front with larry elder entering the race. he has been able to make this race about larry elder. he has been a gift-wrapped, custom-made sort of campaign for gavin newsom to use as an illustration of republicans wants to seize california. he said it today in san francisco. what will happen to the biden agenda, to nancy pelosi if the republicans are able to take back california. so, yes, he is using it on a

larger ush picture. at the same time, republicans have helped hit out with the entry of larry elder in the race. >> larry elder probably surprise add lot of people even on the right for how well he has done compared to the other candidates out there. is a lot of it name recognition? people know him from radio? >> some of it is trump. the emergence of larry elder has helped gavin newsom because he has someone two run against. back in the last recall where arnold s afternoon schwarzenegger came on, he was consistent, very focused in saying it's about cleaning house in sacramento, cleaning house in sacramento, all about gray davis. now you have this trump conservative radio host who is not representative of the entire california electorate. can he pull it off? maybe. but that has helped gavin newsom. there is not an organized republican party in california. the state republican party has been in disarray more than a decade. if larry elder is the next

governor of california we will be spending at lo of time analyzing this race. i think carla is right. the indications are not so. but that's why we count votes. >> and any other republican candidates even close to larry elder? >> no. i mean, at in point larry elder has bigfooted just about every other republican in the race, including some considered to be the future of the republican party in california like former san diego mayor kevin faulconer, a moderate republican. he is now down to 5% in the polls. caitlyn jenner had 1%. at this point larry elder is it. republicans are putting their hopes in him. but the polls suggest how big the victory is going to be for gavin newsom, how big of a landslide it might be. >> carla, john, thank you. up next, ethel kennedy weighs in on the recommendation of parole for the man who killed her husband robert f. kennedy.

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his killer free. last month a california proarol board recommended sirhan sirhan's release. she issued a statement, our family and our country suffered an unspeakable loss due to the inhumanity of one man. we believe in the gentleless that spared his life, but in taming his act of violence, he should not have the opportunity to terrorize again.

a 93-year-old avid in her own handwriting, he should not be paroled. she joins six of her children in opposing. two have signaled their support for his release. sirhan assassinated robert f. kennedy in a los angeles hotel in 1968 at a time kennedy was running for president. sirhan told the parole board he values his life and would never put myself in jeopardy again. let's hand it over to chris. >> appreciate it. hope you had a good weekend. >> i'm chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." happy new year to my jewish brothers and sisters. sadly, there is no similar fresh start to celebrate in afghanistan. we don't even know how many americans and allies are being kept from leaving. now, that's the phrase we are going to focus on. kept from leaving. some by the taliban as expected. and in the latest development here's our troubling