robert: theio nats racial dounds reopen as it marksri g >> we n justice. we need justice. execut my brother in broad daylight. >> last night is the result of so much builup anger and sadnes t just because of five minutes of horror. but 400 years. robert: violence and deep pain. after an africanmerican man is killed in police custody.um president i feel very, very badly. a very shocking sight. and i didn't like it. >> george floyd's li matters. it mattered as muchs mine and matters as much as anyone in this country. other leadersace another reckoning. and the pandemic ravages

americans' lives and livelihoods. next. announcer: this isshgton week." corporate funding is provided by -- >> life isn't a straight le. and sometimes you can find yourself headingn a new direction. fidelity is here to help you he work through unexpected with financial planning and advice for today and tomorrow. announcer: kaiser permanente. additional funding is provided by thestate of arnold adams and koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural

differences in our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, from washington, moderator robert costa. robert: good evening. it was a week when one death in minnesota rivaled in public intensity0, 100 now dead in the united states from the pandemic. and we beg tonightith that anger and pain on the streets of minneapolis. millions of americans are alarmed about the treaent of unarmed black men by police. they also wonder what the nation's leaders will do or can do to address injustice. geor floyd, an unarmed african-american man, was killed on monday a s videowed a white minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck. before he died, mr. floyd ced out that he could not breathe.

since then protests have erupted there and acros the nation. the department of justice has announced a federal civil rights investigation. s president trud on friday that he spoke to mr. floyd's family. president trump: i want to express our nation's deepest condolences and most heartfelt sympathies to the family of eorge floyd we're determined that jusce be served. i understand the hurt. i understand the pain. robert: joing me are four reporters who are covering this important story. yamiche alcindor, white house correspondent for "the pbs newshour." peter baker, cef white house compor "the new york times," "face the nation" and cbs news senior foreign affairs correspondent and white house reporter for "the washington post." presidentrump's initial response sparked criticism for inflaming racial tensions. he tweeted inha partt the

protesters are, quote, thugs, and said he told minnesota's governor, tim walz, a democrat that if there is any dficulty we will assume control and, quote, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. twitter flagged the president's comments for glorifying violence. meanwhile, t presumptive democratic presidential nominee joe biden said this today. >> the origisinal n of this country still stains ouration today. we are a country with an open wound. and none of us can turn away. one of us can be silent. noneus can any longer can we hear the words "i can't breathe." and do nothing. robert: yamiche, you saw the split screen. what is the political dimension to those responses? >> it was quite a scritee slyn. people think pouring salt on the wound of an already reeling nation between the pandemic and niece protests.

and african-american people real being at their wits' end wh it comes to the unjustices that they're facing. i understand and want to aying sympathize with you but also i needourder. thenave joe biden who really was putting rward what he thought was a personal story and an idea that he was really trying to connect with people saying look, i understand what's going on. this is why i'm running for president. i think the president, president trump, has a really -- he'sic rea comation in when htries to say that there are sympathy for the people at arerotesting or sympathy for is family because he mself has blatched black lives matter and joked or sai at officers should not be nice and n protect people's heads when they're dealing with them. some people saw tha him endorsing police brutality. so you have a president, someone who is rlly i think fanned the flames of the racial strife in this country and then you have joe biden who is presenting himself as an alternative. president trump of course is saying that he's trying to get thease expedited, the case against george floyd who of course -- and the officer was arrested toda ay, but the a lot of people who think that it

di't --t shouldn't have taken foudays torrest this officer. and the president while he was saying t tts looks like it's inexcusable there are a lot of people who think president trump is adding to th problem of racial issues in this country. robert: peter, as a student of the presidency, a reporter, how do you compare how the president today and this week has haled thi crisis compared to presidents in the past? >> well, look, presidents, many presidents anyway have seen their role as being national healers, national unifiers. people to try to urge calm in moments of tinder box tension and furye like w have seen this week. that's not president trump's first insnct. his first instinct is to head to twitter and begin to send out pretty incendiary tweets m attacking thor of minneapolis, threatening to be anyway threatening violence with that phrase you mentioned about when the shootingrt s when the looting starts, the shooting starts. he later tried to walk itack.

and when he finally met with reporters today and later tweet, he saide didn't actually mean that he or the authorities would begin shooting looters or protesters but that the inevitable consequence of looting was that shots would be fired and people would be hurt. and that therefore looting was bad and that they should stop it. it was -- you know, revision of what his original instinct was and it's- it puts the prident in an interesting position. because he has made a concerted effort to tr to reach out to african-american voters in this ection year who african-american voters have not been particularly supportive of him. at the same time he has positioned himself as a strong law andorder president who has been more supportive of law en enforcthan his predecessors have been and these two ings seem to be in conflict and how manages those. nuance is not really his specialty trying to sort of reconcile these two positions at this point i think is a challengfor him in the days to come. robert: whenou think about that phrase peter used to describe this nation, tinder

box and where it's at and president trump response to this tragedy, the question is, why? based on your reporting, why is he handling this moment inhis way? >> well, this is a president's motive. this is what he does. th is how he opeates. this is how he has been going back five years, even int the period before he decided to run for president when he was pushing theco birthespiracy. whenever the country needs healing, needs people to come together, the president has poured gasoline on the flames. this has been his way of operating for quite a while. and he doesn'tve seem to another speed. he doesn't seem to be comfortable with that role of healer in chief. doesn't seem t omfortable with the idea e taking a responsibilit a leader of the country when the country is in the middle of not only a massive pandemic that has led to the loss of lives of -- loss of more than 100,000 lives but alsohis racial conflagration where people are so -- as yamiche said, at ther wits' end over not only just this one case in minneapolis

but the systemic issues that have been going on for quite a while and thave been splashed onto the screens with social media. people areed so concend president trump doesn't really seem to have it in him to be ableo dig deep and essentially heal the wounds of the nation or at least speak to the broader systemic issues of the nation is facin so the president wants to sort this process. mphant person in and have enemies and have a punching bag and that seems to be where he's most comfortable. and that doesn't seem to be what the country is looking for a time whee we need national healing. robert: margar, at about former vice president biden? what did his response, just a few dayser afte had a controversy over comments he made last week, we discussed on this program, what did hisnd ng, his response reveal that his campaign? >> well, you heard i thght it was particularly specific phrase in that sech tha joe biden used which was to talk

about how this election and this moment is again about the struggle for the sl of this country. it reminded me of when he launched this campaign and casting it at the time as motivated by charlottesville, another moment of hate and divisiveness and biden saying he wants to run to restore something of amer iica. th how he has framed this. in terms of how his campaign it handlen the moment, you had fairly predictable response from the campaign which is they put him forward on cable news. they put hirwm d to answer those questions with a nod toward what you rerenced was his verbal misstep h characterized it just aeek ago. but i think the broader political moment we're in raises so many more questions about does this moment equal a political movement? is what we're seeing that in this very specific case of police brutality and racviial

on in minneapolis represent something more to the country at this moment of such heightened tension? of political movements here, a you have to wonder if this tension is bubbling over in a way that goes beyond just a week? if this becomes something more? not just in terms of the plecks six months ago -- of the electi six months ago but what is being shaped in this moment when you look at the tremendous amounof inequality that has been just deepenedy the past three months or so oft pandemic. it is black and hispanic nerica tt's b hit by the job cuts and the virus and widening the divisions we knew were ebesting. : let's get into that. because margaret's point is s important. what will this moment trigger

beyond this week? tragedy after tragedy, will this floyd case, this tragedy, trigger something?e, and yamiou spoke with the floyd family, rodney floyd, mr. floyd's brother as well as his cousin, charita tate, let's listen a little bit. is a start. cers but ultimately we would like to see them charged, arrested, arged and convict of murder. they had no compassion, any sort of remorse, no level of humanity. they executed him in front of us. and we watched his life leaving his body. robert: on friday, as yamiche said, the n former officer who used his knee to pin down mrfloyd was arrestednd charged with third degree murder. yamich does th family, to justice?'s point, expect >> this family that is reeling of course from the loss of george floyd, a 46-year-old father, they are hoping for justice. but they also have seen so many

justice, theynk, was not e served. you think o eric garner whoeo manye saw be strangled, who said i can't, breat some 11 times, no conviction. in that case. then you see george floyd. the criminal complaint for the officerays that the officer kneeled on his neck for eight an minute46 seconds. and that for two minutes and 53 seconds of that, he was unresponsive. i was talking to the lawyer of the family today and they said en with those facts, they also look at the fact that complaint says that not only was his death partially dealing with the asphyxiation, there was also possibly underlying health conditions. so his family and the lawyers are already feeling like his existence as a black man is already being used against him in the criminal comp where the officer is being charged with his murder. they also say that the officer is beinitcharged wthird degree murder when they think that this video, the0-minute video that was posted on facebook shows pretty much first degree murder and don't

understand why any other officers weren't charged. there were four officers fired but own one officer carged and this family is looking at the criminal justice system which has incarcerated african-americans and latinos and people of color at higher rates and sayg is ts the justice system that's going to work for us? we're not sure. the lawyer tells me that they thinkhere's tw justice systems. one for black america and one for white america. that's how the family is to feelinght. they're very, very hopeful that this officer might be con but they're not at all thinking that this is a slam dunk. because video they say has not changed anything. the fact that so many years o, he w oasffers, see those officers then acquitted so black america especially this th family're not convinced that video evidence is going to make a difference. robert: peter, wt'sour sponse to that point about what's next on the federal hvel? you see attorney general, bill barr, moving forwarwith an investigation. but what have we learned from the past, from this administration, from previous civil rights cases are handled

at the federal level and what kind of action is really taken? >> well, that's a great questid . and it k depends on where things end up with the local prosecution of course.de the l government stepped in historically in cases where either unable or unwilling to prosecute cases that seemed -- u so i got the counhaty prosecutor, p belatedly according to his critics four days later but pressing chargers against one. officers and asked why not the other three office s and they'rll looking at it and that may yet come later t may be the federal role is a --o keep that pressure on the local authorities until they act. and it may be that they decide to take it on themselves beyond that. there's not -- there's plenty of precedent for the federal government t come in with sism rights charges on top of local charges of murder. rder is generally in this kind of circumstance a local crime or a state cre. t they can charge under federal sism rights statutes

privation of your civil rights. and the question then becomes, you know, broader than these o individufficers. is there a larger question about this policepa dement? is -- is the training there adequate? is there a larger pattern of behavior? s that's where y the federal government come in and -- in ferguson, m usourer prident obama where they took a look at the broader pattern of behavior by the police depament there. and that's what i think a lot of people would expect to see out of aa justice depment that wants to take a serious look. we'll see whether this administration proceeds in that direction. robert: margaret,ou're sitting down on "face the nation" this sunday with the superithntendent o chicago police department and the floyd family's lawyer. i saw you wanted to jump in. so jump in. >> no, we wl be digging into -- i think it's actually a big decision because up until now, there has been vtually no story that has broken through thec. pande this has really ignited something within the american

public. it has broken through. the violence got a lot of attention. this was well beforehe esident himself weighed in. and i think that's why we are going to be trying to ask that broader question of what -- what does thi mean in this moment? doeshis represeomething more? is this -- is this about the floyd family? is this broadly about race in america or is this also sort of a catalyst for a lot of pent up anger on a lot of different issues? does this have -- is this t beginning of something more? we want to talk tos a there, th attorney about where we arey sunday. because this has actually been fairly fast moving. in terms o the pubc statements. and for all the president's miteps in his free agency of that tweet and then what he that it wasn't actually what he

meant by using those phrases that he wasn't trying t glorify violence, the administtion around him and e trump campaign were very themselves ance from anything happening in minneapolis. that the trump campaign actually interestingly even said that now ann reporter was treated was wrong and they condemned it.n, network that has been in the trump administratn characterization unfair and an enemy today, the trump campaign wa defending them. a very, very strange -- sorry. go ahead. robert: please. that cnn reporter was eventually released. good to hear tha that news. >> he was. and credit to the photographer for keepingin the camera ro throughout that. and to the reporter himself f keeping his cool. this could have gone very differently i the course of a few hours. robert: tolu, tonight, we alsoi

more than 100,000 americans dead due to the coronavirus. over 40 million americans have filed unemployment claims. as we're ting this live tonight, in washington, there e protests on nnsylvania avenue, across washington, d.c., explosive fires in wntown atlanta. and you're inside the white house as a reporter. what is this president going to dothe economic front, on nt? health f >> yeah.if you look at the chal facing the country, an then if you look at the president's twitter feed, you couldn't see a more stark contrast between the bi grand cllenges we're th on. he's picking fights over the io past administr he's picking fights with twitter itself saying he would tlike to shut downtter if he had the chance. he's picking fights withable news hosts and making conspiratorial claims and charging them withr when there's no evidence to back up those types of clas. so t president has sort of

met the moment with sort of the small types of petty fights that he has engaged in over the past 3 1/2 years while the cotry is going through these massive, traumatic issues ranging from a pc that has killed so many people including disproportionately killing and harming people of color and economic crisis which is really depression level unemployment, 40 million people peotspler unemployment andpropy bed peoplene of color have also been negatively cted by the recession and the depression era, unemployment that weeen. so it's not clear what the president is going to do. it's not clear if he's able to meet the moment. it's not clear if he h a plan to bring the country out of care crises.conomic and health right now he seems to be focused on much smaller issues. robe: peter, qckly, based on your reporting, congress, the president, does this spark anything o racial justice, on a stimulus? >> you know, look, there will be talk.

i don't know that that ha ssarilyged the thamontics -- dynamics on that. ew. there's a fourth package that's been passed by the house. the democrats on their side, the republicans have said no, not interested. it's filled with all kinds of libel wish dream, wish list kind of dreams. we're not going to embraceth . and there doesn't seem to be any serious movement toward -- near term new legislation. so i think we're still several f weeks awm anything like that. robert: yamiche, in the final minute here, i followed your work when you were on the ground in ferguson, to s this again, wt does it mean to you? >> i think for a lot of people, i think black and white americans and people of color,at t feels like is that you're in a car accident. and you're looki around and u survived. but there are airbags that have gone off all around you. andou keep onetting into that same accident. and you keep on seeing those sameirbags. and you keep on walking on egg shells.

i thin that's what this feels like. it feels like everyone is exhausted. we're in the middle of ndemic. and now we also have to really reconcile again with the ideave that when someone is lot of people who just see that police officers can kd of do what they want to do with black life. i think margaret said it was -- it was poise on omar's part to not go off. robert: we have to go. >> calm but in reality --oh, sorry. robert: don't apologize, yamiche. you're so right, yamiche. and i apologize this is a short show. due to pledge week at some stations across the country. so we have to leave it there. many thank to yamiche alcindor , peter baker, margaret brennan. >> do i need to call the? be:o there's so much more to say about this critical topic. so thank you allor joining us. we will keep taking you as close to the news as we can. andll w itnu airs live on you are a facebook page anis later posted on our website.

i'm robert costa. good night from washington. announcer: corporate funding for "washington week" is prided by -- >>e lifn' a straight line. andou sometimes y can find yourself heading in a new direction. fidelitys here to help you rk through the unexpected with financial planning and fad tceayorod announcer: kaiser permanente. additional funding is provided by the estate of arnold ada and koo and patria yuen through the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.

the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station fromiewers like you. thank you. ♪

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