this suntds sunday a divided country. in kenosha, wisconsin. >> the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> sparks outrage. >> now they have legalized vigilanteism, sports killing. >> and applause. >> i feel like they made the right choice, you know it was simple self-defense. >> splitting the country along political lines. plus, more division in washington where only two republicans vote to censure congressman paul gosar after his violent video targeting democrat

alexandria ocasio-cortez >> what is so hard about saying that this is wrong >> if i must join alexander hamilton the first person attempted to be censured by this house, so be it. >> i'll talk to democratic senator tester and senator tester. democrats finally pass president biden's social safety bill. >> they didn't get a mandate to transform america. >> now can it get through the senate my guest this morning, the transportation secretary pete buttigieg. and the new covid surge. >> i'm worried that people are going to die, and they never had a chance of getting a bed. >> new cases nearing an average of 100,000 a day, this as the government endorses pfizer and moderna boosters for all adults. joining me nbc senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, the reverend al sharpton, host of "politics nation" on msnbc, republican

pollster kristen anderson and civil rights attorney david henderson. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning. this past week we got more evidence of just how divided we've become as a country. on friday wisconsin jury found kyle rittenhouse not guilty on all counts of shooting three men at a kenosha protest last summer sparked by the shooting of a black man by a white police officer. at the same time in georgia right now there are three men who are on trial charged with an unprovoked killing of a black man ahmed arbery two house republicans joined democrats in censuring paul gosar and stripping him of his committee assignments after he posted a animated video killing

his colleague alexandria ocasio-cortez. all three episodes the trials at the intersection of race, guns, self-defense and the gop, at least the house gop, near unanimous dismissal of violent imagery against a democrat are evidence of a fraying america. politics of die vix and weaponization of grievance have helped both parties raise money and the temperature in this country. the republican vote in the house condoning gosar's actions was more than that it appears to be another step towards embracing former president trump's radical behavior the rhetoric, the coddling of the january 6th rioters, the big lie and attacking republicans for voting for a public works bill, all of it has helped lead us to this moment. what used to be dismissed as dangerous rhetoric from the far right that nobody was listening to is being mainstreamed by the man who is reshaping the republican party in his own image. >> we the jury find the defendant kyle h. rittenhouse not guilty. >> the verdict not guilty on all

counts, magnifying the divisions in a deeply polarized america. >> it was a case about self-defense, the right to protect one's self. >> you cannot claim self-defense against a danger you create. >> kyle rittenhouse came to kenosha as a counter protesters he says to protect property following the police shooting of swra could be blake last year. >> self-defense is somebody doing you wrong. he was out on the street a provocateur and had people come to him. >> you emboldened all of these people filled with so much hate, emboldened. >> rittenhouse was interviewed by fox news after leaving the courtroom? >> how do you feel >> the jury reached the correct verdict. self-defense is not illegal. >> throughout the trial rittenhouse was praised on right wing media. >> when legitimate authority refuses to do its duty, sworn duty, others will vill the vacuum. >> lionized by many politicians on the right. >> we don't defend this young

boy who defended his community when no one else was doing it, it may be your baby boy they come for. >> kyle rittenhouse would make a pretty good congressional intern. >> you have a right to defend yourselves, be armed, be dangerous and moral. >> a lot of people would have been very angry in this country if that young man was in any way convicted. >> already, far right groups are calling rittenhouse the hero we've been waiting for republican missouri senate candidate mark mcgloss ki who launched a career in politics after pleading guilty to waving his gun at protesters showed up at the kenosha courthouse photographed with two men flashing white supremacist hand signals. the verdict caps a week marked by signs of america's widening political divide. >> we cannot have a member joking about murdering each other or threatening the president of the united states. >> after house republicans all but condoned the posting of that violent video by congressman paul gosar. >> if i must join alexander

hamilton the first person a attempted to be censured by the house so be it. >> what do you believe the action against paul gosar accomplished yesterday >> making the house more bitter. i think you can't let somebody threaten to kill another colleague even in guest. >> kevin mccarthy who joined all house republicans two years ago to strip steve king of his committee assignments after king's white supremacist comments. >> that is not the party of lincoln and definitely not america. >> now defends gosar >> i do not condone violence representative gosar had echoed that sentiment the video was deleted. >> gosar reposted the video after his censure before taking it down again. >> and joining me now is democratic nor jon tester of montana. welcome back to "meet the press," sir. >> good to be with you, chuck. >> let me start with the fallout of the rittenhouse trial and i think you actually can provide a unique perspective you come from a rural state, one

that would describe themselves as a pro second amendment state. a lot of so-called pro second amendment folks hailing this as a victory. explain that divide as you see it. >> so look, i wasn't in kenosha and certainly wasn't in the courtroom either, but we are a nation of laws and there was a trial, and it ended in the jury issued its verdict i can't imagine the pain that families have gone through that lost loved ones in this incident but nonetheless, i think we need to respect what the jury has done here and respect the decision, protest but i would say protest peacefully if you're going to protest. >> what's the issue here in your mind is it bad laws >> no. i mean look, i think everybody has the right to keep and bear arm, law abiding citizens, and i believe that everybody has the right to protect themselves. i think the debate on this issue, like i said i wasn't

there, so i can't tell you what actually happened, but the truth is the whole debate is was it self-defense or provocation? >> right but we've also seen a redefining of these laws in the last 20 years. there's two trends that are all over the country more open carry laws and more laws written essentially to allow self-defense to be used to defend using your firearm. how much do those laws do you think contribute to the situation that we saw in kenosha? >> look, chuck, i am in a situation where for 20 years i made my living with a gun as a custom butcher shop operator every day i got up and used a gun as a tool, which is what it is it has to be used responsibly. if it's not used responsibly, you can see a lot of bad things that can happen with it. and i can tell you some of the

laws that are put out in the last few years are laws that i think enable people that are criminals, not people who are law abiding citizens, and quite honestly, as a gun owner, somebody who has, you know, fewer guns that i want, the fact is, is that we need to have laws that protect law abiding citizens to have guns, but when used improperly, we need to enforce a law. the other thing i would say is this, there was a background check law put up a few years back to keep guns out of criminals and mentally ill folks and that bill did to the pass and i cannot figure out why. background checks are key to law abiding citizens to be able to keep their guns. >> some of this is the larger cultural divide between rural america and suburban and urban america when it comes to the gun issue. and it -- i'm curious if you

think it's at the root to why democrats are bleeding support, and you know this well and you can look at it, the virginia result, i can put up here and show you the 2008 results in montana for president and the 2020 results for president, you know the numbers well, it's gone from a battleground to a 16-point edge for the republicans. is this going to be fatal to the democratic party if you don't bridge this divide >> well, i think it's very important to bridge the divide it's a divide that's been put up to divide this country quite honestly as many hot button issues are, but in the end i think common sense gun laws are important to be able to enforce. i think if democrats got out and spoke about things about enabling people, law abiding citizens, to be able to protect their gun rights, i think it would help us win in rural america. unfortunately, what folks in rural america hear a lot about

is want to take away the guns, that's not what most democrats want for sure, and so i think it's an important issue in elections because it's been made into an important issue. >> do you think race plays a role in the democrats' problems in rural america >> look, i think the biggest problem the democrats have is they go to work and i think getting the bipartisan infrastructure package is part of it, go to work, get a record of accomplishment, get out and talk to folks about what your vision is and what you've done you've got two areas, listen and react. i think part of the problems with democrats in rural america we haven't talked enough about what we stand for and accomplished and we haven't shown up in many places. those things are going to be very important as we go into 2022. >> you're going to be the senate -- the senate has the build back better. it's up to you guys. is this a pass anything that can get 50 votes

is that where we're at at this point or are there some, hey, i'm only going to support this, this gets taken out i can't support this bill, where is your head and the democrats' heads? >> look, i think there's -- we have a great opportunity to do great things with child care and affordable housing and climate and lowering prescription drug costs and health care costs overall. i think we can do it i don't think there's any doubt about that i think people need to be open to compromise. i think if we compromise like we did in the bipartisan infrastructure package where we have five democrats and five republicans, that, you know, argued and fought and came to a bill that would work, i think it's the same thing with the 50 democrats. we don't all see the world the same way, so let's negotiate and let's come up with a bill that lowers costs for families and cuts taxes and gets things done to help move the economy forward to stay the premier power in the world. china wants to sue plant us. if we don't tend to business

here they will do that this build back better is an important piece of legislation. >> sounds like you're going to be a supporter of it regardless of what it looks like in the details? >> oh, no. no, no, no it's going to come over from the house. there's going to be some changes. i'm going to compare it to what montana needs and that's going to be where i focus on and -- but look, we're dealing with reasonable people here i think we can come up with a bill that's a very, very good bill that works for montana and other states in the union. >> in september you expressed support for the president to reappoint jay powell is -- if the president goes a different direction, do you think that puts the current economic situation at peril at all? >> i think jerome powell has a proven track record and chairman powell should get reappointed. we've got issues that revolve

around inflation he can't do much about as long as he's not confirmed. he needs to be appointed, confirm had him and would be confirmed by a large margin if the president appointed him and get to work as chairman of the fed and do a good job as he's done in the past i think he deserves reappointment. >> senator jon tester, democrat from montana, appreciate you sharing your views with us this morning. thank you, sir. >> thank you, chuck. >> enjoy turkey week. joining me is republican senator kevin cramer of north dakota welcome back to "meet the press." >> good to be with you thanks, chuck. >> the rittenhouse verdict is pretty divisive in this country. in some ways you and senator tester share similar constituencies and can help explain the divide between suburban and urban america why is he being hailed as a hero on the right >> chuck, i don't know that he's -- he's probably being hails a hero by some what he's been hailed as is an

innocent person involved in this case the symbolism that surrounded it i think is not reflective of the facts on the ground. i think, frankly, jon tester explained it well. justice has been done bay jury of his peers and i think frankly that when you look at the videotape, the videos and things that became more apparent later in the trial you find a kid that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, should not have had a gun with him probably but didn't provoke what was happening to him, and he responded in self-defense. i think people should be reminded that the people that he shot were also violent criminals and and at that. it's not like he just snuck up on some guys so the problem is, i think justice was done, but the rhetoric surrounding it probably on both sides is inappropriate to the actual event itself. >> i want to read you something from david french what he wrote this week. a political movement that turns a deadly and ineffective vigilante into a role model is a

movement that is court morgue violence and encouraging more men to brandish weapons in dangerous places and that will spill more blood in america's streets. he's not the only one concerned about this do you have concern people will get the wrong message from this verdict? >> well, what i get concerned about is a political movement that devalues police officers, that then cuts their funding, makes them into the bad guys in this in keeping our streets safe and our communities safe that kind of rhetoric i'm afraid leads to the same violence we're talking about. a lot of people talk about having a discussion. the very first public event i had after i got to congress was having a discussion around guns that included lots of people including people of faith, people from schools, practitioners, pastors we don't do that anymore i think with we need to have that discussion. both sides need to want to have that discussion, not just use it

for their own political gain >> the rise in open carry laws and in stand your ground laws, is it sending the wrong message of almost encouraging folks to use their weapon in public places >> no. i think it's -- it sends the message you have a right to defend yourself against increasing violence. let's get back to supporting our police officers and supporting solid laws that protect innocent people so innocent people don't always have to protect themselves they have the right to defend themselves, especially in their own homes, which is largely what some of the laws you're talking about are about, particularly a stand your ground. >> but the public spaces do you think there's a point where this goes too far stand your ground at homeis on thing, anywhere else in the community it seems that expansiveness is what's got some folks troubled. >> i don't know, chuck

there are an awful lot of stories about people who are grateful that the person next to them at a public space was carrying when there wasn't anybody else there to protect them against another violent criminal i don't think this is so much about guns as it is about the heart of people. there is no question that we are living at a time in our country where the congress that you see that appears very divided is really a reflection of our communities that are very divided. we all have a role to play in this it's not just top down or bottom up we all have a role and we ought to use our platforms to do that. >> i say congress is a mirror to seat society and people need to see that you've been the subject of attacks from the former president for simply supporting a public works bill on november 7th, the former president wrote all republicans who voted for democrat longevity should be ashamed of themselves. november 9th, old crow mitch mcconnell voted for a terrible infrastructure plan and induced others in his party to do

likewise rhino sellouts and known losers what saving america needs to do by saying the gop from would you have supported this bill if the vote had been in november instead of august >> oh, i would have, chuck i happen to be the ranking member of the transportation infrastructure subcommittee, so i helped write a good part of this bill and advocating long before mitch mcconnell announced his support for it he didn't induce me. president trump and i had a pretty healthy conversation about it after a previous national television appearance where i talked about the mefr rites of the bill. -- merits of the bill. i don't make my decision on legislation based on whether it hurts or helps donald trump or joe biden. unfortunately, right now, there's a lot of rhetoric centered around as much as anything this gave joe biden a victory. whether he gets a victory or not, i happen to believe that every transaction -- not every transaction in washington requires a loser if joe biden looks good in the

process i'm more concerned about -- >> where are we headed if we end up -- you see what's going on in the house. they want retribution for people that voted for the bill. what happens to governing in america if essentially each party punishes anybody who votes with the other side? >> no. what happened is you're going to have a bunch of reconciliation bills if the same party has the white house, house and senate and our founders created a fantastic system of self-governance that works really, really well until it doesn't. so i do worry about that, chuck. i think, frankly, i think that we need to think more strategically, political adversaries are a means because our founders, again, created these three coequal branches of legislature on purpose they did not want a king they did not want one party or one philosophy governing this country. i worry about that i think the senate has been pretty exceptional for the most

part but now we're getting forced with this crazy big government socialist agenda driving up inflation and driving up our debt and deficit coming at us by the democratic party that's gotten comfortable with that that's a problem we all need to get together again and have this conversation about where -- what's good for america not weihat's good for tweets tomorrow. >> i see what you're worried about on the left. on the right folks worried what you're seeing -- the fact that paul gosar, that republicans didn't condemn it the way two years ago steve king would have been condemned, looks as if it's being condoned bad look for the party >> i don't know. i think, chuck, the problem is, i don't think that was right i don't -- what paul did probably wasn't right. i never seen the meme myself i did an op-ed criticizing marjorie taylor greene, negative met the woman but her rhetoric

early on i want to make sure the party was distanced from that. ilan omar spews cross anti-semitic language and barely gets a slap on the wrist of that we have polarizing parties, at least parts, so polarizing and i think there's a tendency to run to those corners rather than stand in the gap and have a better conversation and use our influence both ways. you know when you're sitting and you can do one of two things, yield to that or use your influence both ways. i tried to listen as much as i can and engage people as much as i can, come on "meet the press" when others are afraid to and then -- but also facilitate discussion. >> kevin cramer, you do, indeed, accept our invitations appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> thanks. >> you got it. >> have a happy thanksgiving. >> when we come back what the kyle rittenhouse verdict tells us about guns, self-defense

claims and this divided country you heard both senators talk about. the panel is next. ♪ my work has been viewed by 100 million people. ♪ my work helps save lives. ♪ my work has gone platinum. ♪ my work gives people hope. ♪ i work at fedex. ♪ take your career to the next level with one of our many open positions. ♪

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they learned how on youtube. what will you learn? welcome back. the panel is with us. nbc news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, david henderson, reverend al sharpton, house of politics nation on msnbc, and republican pollster kristen soltis anderson. i want to start to talk about the rittenhouse verdict, beginning with statements from president biden and vice president harris. >> i stand by what the jury has concluded. the jury system works, and we have to abide by it. >> i've spent the majority of my career working to make the criminal justice system more equitable. clearly there's a lot more work to do. >> reverend sharpton, i heard two very different statements there, not necessarily as in

sync as i thought they might be. >> i think when you deal with the fact that, as vice president harris said, she has dealt with criminal justice cases directly whereas president biden hasn't. he's respecting the decision of the jury. i think the jury had to deal with bad law, and i think you can question the prosecution and certainly the judge who sounded in many cases like he was part of the defense team. but notwithstanding that, i think she has a background that has dealt with a lot of this. when i was listening to both senators this morning, i think we are forgetting that the whole context of rittenhouse coming there was around a protest of a police brutality situation. this was not like a guy was defending himself at his house. he came to confront a situation

of protests. those kind of protests i think vice president harris is familiar with. i think many of us that do protests -- as you said, with national action network, are concerned that you can send a signal that people can come to a protest and exacerbate a situation or get involved in a situation and kill people and say i was just defending myself. that's very frightening. >> kristen, this is part of this divide. is this an issue about guns or an issue about social justice? >> it can be a little bit of all of those things. it's also an issue of where people are getting their information. this is part of why you're going to see such division in this country over this case. depending on where you get your news, there's somebody who thinks everybody who attacked kyle rittenhouse that night was armed. it's the case that the first man that came at him was throwing a plastic bag at him. on the other hand, there are people who never would have known from what they watched the man was not there calling for reform at the police, he was

throwing racial slurs at the protests before he got into it can kyle rittenhouse. neither is the full view that that jury got over the days and weeks of that trial. >> kelly, i just noticed the white house has not wanted to get so involved in any of these cases right now. >> i was there asking the president for his reaction. what was also notable, he was very careful and cautious about honoring the jury system. later there was a written statement that came out under his name that went a little further and said many americans felt fear and concern and anger, myself included, meaning the president himself. he didn't say that on camera in person. he went on with a written statement talking about wanting to tone down the divisions in the country. that's what he leaned heavily into. the white house felt they needed the president to echo the anxiety in the community and in the country about that which the president himself did not do at

that time. they want to turn down some of the divisions, and on cases like this, the president is not going to be the first one to step into the fray. when you talk to advisers about it, they say it really is about his predecessor having been someone who stoked some of these things. they want him to take a different position. >> david, when you and i were talking on friday in the immediate aftermath, we were talking about what's going to be the fallout. you pointed at there are a lot of new laws that have been written. stand your ground laws, not a single state had a statute on the books before 2005 for the stand your ground law. now we have 30 states that have it. there were some that had court-ordered stand your ground initiatives. 32 states that have added open carry in this century. the combination of open carry, stand your ground, you seem to think maybe the debate about guns ought to turn into public safety as well. >> first of all, there's inherent conflict when you have

stand your ground laws in open carry states where you have political division. as reverend sharpton pointed out, voting rights and police reform won't have any progress without activism. when you have activism you'll have people showing up with guns and situations will get volatile enough for people to begin firing. what stands out to me is not the existence of the laws so much as the fact that people fundamentally don't understand them. when i hear the commentary about the rittenhouse verdict, it demonstrates that people fundamentally don't understand the laws as relates to self-defense. this was a winnable trial. >> you think it was a winnable trial? i think some look at the way the law is written and think maybe it wasn't winnable. >> the law isn't the problem so much as the system is the problem. systemic injustice. as we discuss the law, let me acknowledge full outright, this was a very difficult case to win. i said that from the beginning. based on these facts, this is a

difficult case to win. let's think what happened with the law of self-defense. people understand fists for some reason better than we understand guns. if i said somebody was running at you aggressively. what did you do? i punched him. i beat him to death. what other choice did i have. that's what the rittenhouse team did. never physically touches you, never touches your gun, which is strapped to your body. the law in self-defense and stand your ground in wisconsin actually allows the jury to consider, when you're assessing whether or not what rittenhouse did was reasonable, the law allows you to consider whether or not he should have backed down. >> rev, what does this mean for your movement? what should you be fighting for when it comes to the specific issue of preventing vigilanteism? >> i think you need federal laws that would super seed these state laws.

i think we'll be facing ten years with trayvon martin where the stand your ground law became an issue. we never dealt with it or legislated it on a federal level. i think we must as a movement make the congress and the senate deal with new law here because we are right now looking at the fact -- we just had -- we just had the big rally and prayer vigil in georgia, brunswick georgia, around the case of ahmaud arbery. now i would be concerned this week of having a prayer vigil with somebody saying i'm coming to defend something, and if they get an an altercation with somebody on the side, a verbal altercation, could take a gun, an ar-15 at that, and shoot somebody. we're under real threat so we have, in my opinion, we're mandated to try to make laws to protect people that are very kwleer. >> kristen, it does feel as if

gun right supporters have shifted. gun owners in america have pulled the nra to the right. >> i think in this environment today, you are unlikely to see at least any state where republicans hold any levers of power, a winding back of these laws. when you ask voters do they feel more concerned about crimes, about their own personal safety, the answer is yes. after big shootings, after big crises, you see sales of guns go up. so two years ago, we had talks of bipartisan criminal justice reform and these sorts of things. we're a long ways away from where we were two years ago. >> i'm going to assume in about a month we're going to all hear about gun sales and what happened after this verdict. i have a feeling we all know which way the arrow is going to move. when we come back, covid cases back on the rise. has the government done enough ♪ music ♪

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maybe it's a jump or eating something green. or taking mom to get that vaccine. ♪ healthier means bringing stuff to the folks ♪ ♪ that really need it. ♪ ♪ like help at 2 am or care that's right at home. ♪ ♪ believe it. ♪ ♪ and caring for them all means ♪ ♪ we're doing healthier right. ♪ ♪ so, let's do it all together people, ♪ ♪ 'cause this is what healthier looks like. ♪ welcome back. the government announced on friday that americans 18 and older, all americans 18 and older are now eligible to receiver a pfizer or moderna

booster shot. cases on the rise, seven-day average approaching 1 '00,000 a day. the other big news on friday, house democrats finally passed the president's social safety bill. it now goes to the senate where it faces an uncertain future. you heard the optimism from senator jon tester, one of the moderates in the caucus. joining me is president biden's transportation secretary pete buttigieg. welcome back to the show. >> good morning. good to be back. >> i want to talk with you about the president's agenda, but the mandate for vaccines for federal workers goes into effect tomorrow. i know tsa, while a part of our transportation infrastructure is technically under homeland security, but there have been concerns that we're not going to have enough tsa agents meeting the vaccine requirement. it kicks in tomorrow. i know there's reassurances about travel this week. how concerned are you about a low rate of vaccination among

tsa agents? >> i have seen no indication that vaccine requirements are going to impact travel in any way, certainly in terms of our ability as a federal administration to provide the services that are needed. i can tell you my agency, we see numbers approaching 99% have gotten in their information per the requirements, either they're vaccinated, in the process or have put in a request for an exemption. i expect the numbers are similar across the board. look, let's remember what this is about fundamentally which is ending the pandemic. all of us are ready to be done with this pandemic, to be done not just with the death and the hospitalization and the grim headlines, but also to be done with the restrictions and requirements and the masks. putting all that behind us means getting everybody vaccinated. that's what these requirements are about. from a federal perspective, the deadline tomorrow, that's not a cliff. people aren't getting immediately pulled off their

posts. it's part of a process to make sure everyone in the federal workforce is safe. >> there's not a vaccine requirement for air travel. why not? >> well, there is when it comes to international travel. when it comes to domestic travel, we found other strategies are highly effective including masks and those protections. meanwhile, we have employers both inside the travel industry and across the country advancing vaccines. that is creating a very safe travel environment for americans. >> it sounds like you don't want to implement a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel. i guess, why not? other than you're worried about doing something politically divisive i guess. if we're trying to get to the end of this pandemic, continuing to have loopholes to avoid a vaccine seems to elongate this pandemic. >> what we're doing right now is working to make air travel safe. again, it's a little bit of a

different picture, of course, when you have international travel because different countries have different standards which is why, as part of opening our travel again for international travelers, something i was delighted to see happen earlier this month, we did include the vaccine requirements. look, between the masking and other mitigations we're very confident in the safety of air travel and travel in general in this country. >> we're all used to things taking time to be implemented. we have the new infrastructure bill. i've heard you and others say, hey, this is going to unclog the supply chain. this is going to help to lower inflation. it just doesn't come across as realistic for something like this to have an impact in the next three to six months. how is it that the bill right now that just got passed is going to untangle the supply chain in the next three months? >> well, here is the way i would explain it. we have to take a look at the big picture and the long term, and we have to take short-term

steps. when we're talking about something that will make a difference next week, i'm more interested in things like the 24/7 ops in long beach and or the sweeper ships. it's also true that the sooner we make investments in and around or ports, that's what's going to make a difference. we are supporting a process to create what are called pop-up container yards. you take the containers taking up that precious container space at the port, you move them further inland where there's more space and things flow more smoothly. we are supporting short-term action. this isn't a stimulus like we had in 2009. this is about making sure that america is competitive for the rest of this century. we are funding repairs that could begin almost immediately that mayors and states have been

wanting to do for a long time. we're building cathedrals here in terms of some of the bridge replacements, major projects, airport terminals and other things that will happen over the years, thanks to this generational investment. >> what do you believe is going to be the heaviest lift in the senate for the senate version of build back better? >> that's ultimately down to the senate and the process between the senate and the house. what i will say is you can tell that the vast majority of this legislation is cooked. what it amounts to, even as details get resolved and negotiations continue, it's an historic investment in making it easier and more affordable to be a family in this country. this turning point we're about to create -- >> even if paid family leave is not in it, are you still going to be able to make that claim? >> of course. cutting child care costs in half, delivering free pre

kindergarten education for 3 and 4-year-olds, that is an absolutely historic achievement, even if there are more things we'd like to do and will continue to try to do. there's no question that the framework the president put out that we're confident will pass the senate as well as the house represents the historic achievement and, of course, worth mentioning, given the news of the day, that is going to be very helpful in the long run and not so long run in cutting costs for families facing inflation. >> every time something is written about vice president kamala harris' political standing, you name seems to be in every one of those articles. has it at all impacted your relationship with the vice president, that it seems as if there's this narrative of a rivalry developing between the two of you? >> no, because she and i are part of a team that is disciplined and doesn't focus on what's obsessing the

commentators. we're too busy with a job to do, she as the leader in this administration -- in her leadership role and i and the president and in the cabinet and across the administration are getting the job done. that would be demanding in any administration. in one like this where we've been assigned by the president to take on literally projects and legislation of generational significance, there's no room to get caught up in the parlor games. i'm proud to be part of the biden/harris team. >> i'm not asking you this as secretary of transportation. i'm asking this as a person who ran for president. what was your reaction to the kyle rittenhouse verdict? >> there's a lester holt of pain in this country. that pain and that frustration was aroused by the entire case, including the verdict. for a lot of us, a lot to be upset about and concerned about, but we'll move forward as a

country. this president continues to believe, and this administration continues to believe in america. we've got to continue working to bring americans together. >> pete buttigieg, secretary of transportation, we got you on a lot of different topics. appreciate you coming on and sharing the administration's and your perspective. >> thank you. >> have a good thanksgiving. when we come back, why wre mass general brigham. when you need some of the brightest minds in medicine, this is the only healthcare system in the country with five nationally ranked hospitals, including two world-renowned academic medical centers, in boston, where biotech innovates daily and our doctors teach at harvard medical school, and where the physicians doing the world-changing research are the ones providing care. there's only one mass general brigham. this is the planning effect from fidelity. ben isn't worried about retirement

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welcome back. data download time. a closer look at the rising gas prices. you might think of them as something that impacts every america. if you look closely, you can see democrats and republicans are experiencing this year's pain at the pump a bit differently. this is a real-life unintentional impact of the self-sorting that's come to define modern american politics. it will explain why the two parties seem to be focusing on the issue with different urgency. the average gas price is up, $3.38, the highest it's been going back to 2013. so this is real what we're seeing. but people are experiencing this pain at the pump differently.

check this out. this is most vehicles miles traveled per capita by state. top ten states, eight of the top ten are trump states. the only two blue states, this is the one rural state democrats still carry, new mexico, if you will, and then there's georgia. you ever driven in and around atlanta? yes, you have a lot of vehicle miles traveled. republicans traveling more miles, buying more gas. how about the type of vehicle republicans are more likely to have? guess what, new pickup truck states, top ten states all red states. the pickup truck a necessity to do work. add all this up, the type of vehicle you need, the miles traveled. you can see why the issue of gas prices really is more of a republican issue than a democratic issue which may explain why the white house urgency on this has been a bit less and the republican urgency a bit more. when we come back, the growing speculation over whether vice president harris or pete

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welcome back. reverend sharpton, i want to start with the issue of the vice president here a little bit. i'll be honest, i'm mildly surprised she didn't do your show this weekend, we didn't see

her this weekend. this goes after all these little stories, whatever you want to call it, a whisper campaign. you were quoted in the cnn piece. are you surprised to not see her today? >> i would have liked to see her today. i think there's no one in my opinion more qualified to address these times than the vice president, as a woman, first woman vice president, as a black and minority, and one with a criminal justice background. i think when she walks in the door, she's the example of why we need to bring the country together and has over come great odds to get where she's gotten. the downside she has to look at is, if she pushes too far ahead, then does the same media -- the same media who says where is she, you're getting ahead of the president. she's almost damned if she does, damned if she doesn't. you want her to be the vice president in a supportive role

so you say, okay, do that. if she's more assertive than many of us want -- she spoke three weeks ago and the crowd was roaring, three or four standing ovations. if she keeps doing that, you'll say stay in your place, you don't know how to be vice president. i think it's that kind of real problem of getting her to walk that line because she's not going to be able to satisfy everybody. if it was up to me, she would be on every day. but then people on the other side would be saying, see, she doesn't know how to be vice president, that's what you get when you put a woman or a black woman there. >> are the stories overhyped or revealing something that a lot of people have been whispering about. >> there's a tension there. it's a tightrope. when you talk to people in her circle, they say she hears this chatter, she knows there are these concerns. she's trying to avoid that noise and focus on the work.

they point to her trip to france. they talk about her hosting world leaders, doing speeches and working on behalf of some of the legislative things. at the same time, we often hear president biden talk about how barack obama chose him to be the front man on the recovery act years ago and how pivotal it was. he didn't choose the president on infrastructure. he did give her volatile topics like immigration and voting rights which right now don't have the votes to move in legislative ways. so those are all magnets for more criticism from the right. so she has a proef that makes her perhaps drag in more criticism, and she's trying to not outshine the president, and at the same time she is struggling with that noise. they say she's going to focus on working, focus on a good relationship with president biden. could he do more to help her? perhaps he could.

>> david, you seemed to imply earlier when we were talking off camera, you think it's harder to be a candidate of color today running for office than ten years ago. >> absolutely. look at the statements released from the white house by the rittenhouse verdict. it's difficult to say something meaningful and at the same time not set you self up for fire from the other side. you asked about public safety earlier. let's stop and think here. i would have loved to hear more from her because i think she has a message to deliver that only a prosecutor who is a person of color could deliver. let's be reasonable about keeping each other safe. she can say i respect the jury's verdict but we have a long way ago. i have several statements from officials celebrating the loss of life. elected officials should never do that regardless of how they feel about the victim. >> kristen, kamala harris is a favorite of the right to beat up on. i think there are some that think maybe that enthusiasm on the right is what makes her more

cautious. what makes her more of a magnet to attack than president biden? is it just race? >> i think -- take a look at the proef she's been handed. for instance, an issue like the border, that's an issue that conservatives are very fired up about. when this becomes an issue in her portfolio, it adds fuel to the fire. i think another reason there's so much focus on her, our praetsz, i believe turned 79 years old yesterday. happy birthday, mr. president. there is a lot of talk about what republicans are going to do in 2024, if it's not biden. >> how much should the party be rallying around biden? >> i think they should rally around biden. i would take biden at 79 any day before i'd take trump at 75 or 76. >> he says he's running. >> yes, he did. that's all we have for today. it was a busy show. have a happy, safe and healthy thanksgiving.

we'll be back next week. if it's sunday, even after the leftovers, it's "meet the press."

this week on "press here" what it's like to ring the bell on the new york stock exchange, as a ceo takes his company public. a trucking school leader tries to figure out the cause behind the trucker shortage. and one of the world's experts on electric cars tells us what you need to know before you buy. that's this week on "press: here." good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. we've heard lots of reasons for the log jam at the ports, too many ships, not enough cranes, no place to put the conta