robert: american cities and the trump presidency under siege. >> what cities are doing is absolute ianity. robert: the president open as new front, the streets. but his call for law and order sparksutrage. >> that kind of activity is the activity of a police state. robert: andhe pandemic remains relentless as top docto sound the alarm and lawmakers bicker over aid for struggling americans. >> republicans need to pull their head out of the sand, get their act together -- robert: next. announcer: ts is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by -- >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth management

a dedicated advisor can tailor recommendations and advice to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. announcer: additional funding is provided by -- the estate 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 byri cotions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington,ra mor, robert costa. robert: good evening.fo million. that is the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in our nation. and more than 145,000 americans have died. grim mile stones. d theyoom as heavy clouds over our politics. inside the white house, the bleak reality hd promp

president trump to cancel his plans for a big ana speech i jacksonville, florida when he accepts the republican nomination next month. and as the president slides behind former vice president joe biden in the polls, republicans arense and scrambling to address the breakdowns on public healthnd the economy. on the hill, stark divisions remain and talks have stalled. but the clock keeps ticking. the $600 a week federal benefit, it expires in days. aud earlier today, spoke with dr. anthony about the revival this week of presidential briefings onhe pandemic. >> the president has gone out there and is saying things nowh that i have to do with wearing masks, crowded -- staying away from crowded places. and also,y've been short and

crisp, which i think is good when you're trying to get amessage across. . robert: joining us tonight, weijia jiang, cbsew and rachel scott, is not yet with us. we're going to get thatudio fixed. so stand by for racl. we're also joined by peter baker, white house correspondent with the "new york times" and jake sherman from the politico. i appreciate your patience as we deal with technical difficulties. we're dealing with this pandemi in the best way we can. let's get with weijia jiang the president continues to push s. reopen scho what's the story inside the white house? weijia: you know, theresident

had to acknowledge that the optics were noto be acceptable if you were to go down to florida, one of theottest spots in country right now no have t es massivent for the sake of his re-election. at the same time, he wants y things, know, to get back to normal. and that's why he ctinues to push for schools. and the white house is arguing that these are two very different things because w th rega students and schools, you're not talking about cramming thousands of peopleer toget one place at one time. but certainly, the question still remainshy is it safe for students to go back whene there's still, you know, admittedly from the white house itself and dr. birx, not enoughw data the kids transmit ts virus? this isn't just about the kids. it's about grandma and grandpa at home, and what it could mean from them if they take it to

them. robert: peter, build on that. why the shift from the president on face coverings? peter: look, this is a moment when reality would come home to bite the president. he wanted to u tellthat the coronavirus pandemic was behind us in large part.re that tere only embers left. this week he admitted that there are big fires. that's the phrase he used about florida and some of the other states in theouth and the west. it's been a desire of the president, of course, te m beyond this in order to try to get the economy going and try to get the country in a semblance of normalcy in the fl when 's going to face joe biden. and the number is undeniable. ,000 a week -- i'm sorry. 60,000 new cases a day which is twice the re we were having back in march and april when we thought we were at e peak. 1,000 new deaths. it's lower, but it's on the rise. and these hospitals are

overwhelmed in some of these places. come back andd the of that has president to acknowledge what he would just assume not if he didn't have to. robert: peter, a quick follow-up. along on these issues inside the white house? is there anyone playing that kind of key role? peter: well, that's a great question. a lot of tm wouldell you that they have given him advice about this. he needs take this more seriously. in terms of the briefings, there was some skepticism early on, for instance by jared kushner about whether to start them. briefings should be fine. maybe they should b done at the health and human services department. were telling the president, o is look, you've got to get back out in front of this, that the country is concerned about this. the poll numbers are terrible right now for the president on the virus. i looked atalp today.

twice as many people think the virus is getting worse than a month and a half ago. 75% ofre americans convinced that the virus will keep america shutdown or partially shutdown and possible into nextear. there's a great deal of fear and excited. in president had to get o front and address it. robert: i'm so glad we figured out this connection. rachel, ys joined from troy, alabama the home of john lewis. he died on july 17th. a memorial service will be held on saturday. and we will discuss his life on our extra. alabama officials reported more than 2,200 new casesn thursday. a new daily record. people talked about the reality of the spikee. her how is this affecting the administration's app tach?

rachel reality is setting in. we heard from the president thag it's g to get worse than it gets better. some of the president's supporter who is tnk that the pandemic is a hoax, believe that it'sanufactured for a political purpose. and tha is for democratso try and defeat the president this fall. and i alsos think a i'm talking to republican sources when it comes from the prengdent bac down on his convention plans, they were breatng a sigh of relief. the optics of the president going down to florida and possibly having another headlind wheree in tulsa where his where secret service had tested positive, and also not having a ll arena not having a packed house, right? the optics of that looked b for the psident just months ahead of theovber election. robert: and down there in alabama, are people wearing face

coverings in a red state? rachel: i ameeing people wear face coverin in alabama. that was not always the case in places they traveled, notably in oklahoma where it seemed to be a political issue as i traveled there for the president's rally in tulsaoo lg ago. but down here, people seem to be taking this very seriously. ey're trying to keep their distance and wear the appropriate face coverings. robert: weijia,o you want t jump in? i talked to some members of the task force saying that's great that in certain areas people are now wearing masks. but they are conceed that is too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube because the messaging was so jumbled on this before that the president said perhaps they shouldn't do that.

people are adopting their views and their behaviors. even if the president leans into the science, there concern that it is too little too late. robert: i asked dr. fauci, ould there be a national mandate.he didn't lean into the this point. he left it up to local ficials. but jake, take us on to capitol hill. this is a realyo issue. re writing the playbook at 4:00 in the morning. this is whether people are going to get $600 in unemployment. why did this break down and will they come together? jake: why did it break down? it's interesting because senate republicans right now are not to put this in context, senate republicans can't agree with them wlves ont should happen next, on what they should

topose. they wo put on a marker for their negotiations. they have failed to dork so. meadows and steven mnuchin have been meeting with senate republicans. they meet with the speaker of the house and chuck schumer. they can't get it together there's no way the currentlyen nced unemployment can peop are not going to get there are other formulas that are under consideration. but the current formula which expires one week from today is done. now, the larger question will be whether senate republicans can get l once they coalesce with omething. there's an anecdote where meows and mnuchin said we're going to give you $50 billion. we're going to give you even more. and nancy pelosie said w need $400 billion -- not $100

billion. th illustrates the gap between the two sides before the august recess which is goi to b delayed this year. this has real worldmpacts. at this point i would beretty bearish on a quick resolution to aka coronavirus p. robert: what do the republicans want? is it liability insurance for businesses? why are they holding back onid for schools and states? jake: well, like everything else, there are some republicans who want to spe more money. many replicans want to spend, there are some republicans who believe they only need $200 trillion. ere are skepticsbout state and local money. some want to give flexibilion for that they already have. so there's just a huge, huge gap between the republicans within

the senate republican conference, liability reforand a liability overhaul.tc mcconnell said no bill will pass without it. so that is something that is going to be critical to see how congress rewrites these laws that would prevent people from ing if they get coronavirus when they go back to work. robert: all that is happening on capitol hill. but as the president strain, he's taking aggressive steps to contain american cities. a use of executive power and his moves have alaed democrats and some republicans. >> there's no conceivable scenario that i think that this massive invasion basically should be done or can be done effectively without local support. >> this is ara dem, not a dictatorship. we cannot have secret police

ducting people intond putting them in unmarked vehicles. >> that's what we call tyranny and dictatorship. and we are not having it in chicago. robert: weijia, weeve federal agents work with local officials are drug taskorces. we've seen coordination. but this is a situation where federal agents are coming into cities without coordination often, with the mayors, withhe governors. will the white house, will the president listen and back off? weijia: no, don't think so, bob, because hs made clear that despite all the pushback that he's received from sending the federal agents to portland specifically that he's ready to send up to0 75, more to cities across the country even when the city and state and local leaders are sayin we don't want the help. president often cited federalism

when he was urging the states to take control and thers gover to do their own things with regard to covid-19. butis now, h interfering in places that, again, are saying, please do not get invold with, you know, our policing of our streets.and so i think what's i that this is part of his is campaign. he's trying to portray himself as the law and order president who can, you know, reduce crime in this country. an so i don't thinknge's g to back away from that despite house isting. ism that the white robert: peter, let's pse on that word "w." are these federal agents working legally constitutionally in these cities? and the other question i have r you, peter, who are these agents? they're not wearing any kind of insignia on their uniform. who arehey? peter: most of them are homeland

curity security and that includes the secret service, ice and border patrol and immigration services. they're hoping out with the federal protective service, which isf he police forcee federal government. and we've got two different things here. there's the intervention in portland where they're sending federal law enforcement agents to proct federal property, ght, against these protestors or rioters, whatever. you're seeing them justify -- there's law that spefically allows the federal government to protect prorty agents like these. then they're talking about basic crime and getting control of t streets. that's a different legal situation. re supposed to work with the local authorities. the mayor of chicago has accepted on some level a degree of help. but you hear like the

prosecutor, the chief district attorney of philadelphia threatening to f sue teral government if they send troops in there without permission from the local authorities so it's a real legal murky ground because you're talking about a couple different purposes and a couple different missions in effect. robert: rachel, wha does that mean for black and brown communities? these are urban areas that are reeling from the pandemic. now, they haventederal a coming in. what's the reality on the ground based on your rorting? rachel: activists that i've been talking to point out that fighting crime and fighting violence and fighting protest. that's the message that they want to get across as there are more presence from the federal government on the ground in some of these studes. listen, protestors want to be heard. they want theresident, they want the federal government to come and listen to their stories, to understand what ise hag in their communities. they do not want to see more

policing. and i think just a few weeks ago when the protestsap werening just outside of the white house and we saw every singl w day,e saw the people get further away from the people's house, the gates, t military presence that was on the ground, people they thought t president was missing the message. they want to see a community. investme it's important to know here that i we talk about all of this happeningn the backdrop of the president's campaign and painting himself as the law and order candidate and he's painting joe biden in defunding the police, which is not true. he does n belie in defunding the police. increase in violence. they're seeing one of their deadliest years in the past decade. robert: that point rachel just made aboutpa the cn, when you're talking to republicans on capitol hill about the president's move with.h.s. and other agencies, is it all quiet on the g.o.p. front?hi do they see as an effort to win over suburban white voters

in the suburbs? jake yeah, there's a dynamic that i thi a lot of republicans in the house of representatives represents a different slice of the american people. in the h tse,re's widespread comfort with this. and people believe -- republicans in the house believe that these cities have gotten ouof control and the voters they represent want to see the federal government get ahold of this. and in the senate where they represent large diverse states with moderates, independents with suburban and ruraloters, it's not welcomed. they were making the point that within the president's base this is widely popular. this is reminiscent, bob, of something we all remember when the president sent troops to t border before the 2018 midterm

election because he said there was a dan wave of immigrants coming into the country. we'll see if this c tinues the pace just like this. but it does have that reminiscenteeling. meanwhile democra are plus 10 onen theic ballot, which lead voters want democrats over the generic republican. so democray are rea on the congressional level pulling a serious andfound way. in a very robert: weijia, we saw that the presstary was following up on the president's message showing image of protests and these different scenes in american cities. weijia: yeah, and i think it's important to note that her own argument kin ofell apart because she was focused on what was happeningnd in port where she had alreadyaid thaton the rehy, you know, these troops could go in waso

specifically protect federal property a peter so importantly pointed out. but then these images showed clashes with police, and, you know, -- you know, some burning things that were on fire. said those w peaceful out she protests at all. but with regard to the federal trps in portland, the adminiration is not saying they'rehere to make sure the protests are peaceful. they're saying they're there to protect t federal property, which again, did not jibe with but overall, you know, they continue to say that the prident is just focused on safety and that's why, you know, he launched this newat inie called operation legend as petee ment to go into other cities and try to reduce crime in general terms. but you know, jake brings up really important points that whenever you're talking about cities that just simply do not want the help,as it's a harde

to make. robert: peter, you covered president george h.w. bush and t who start department of homeland security. now, we're seeing d.h.s. evolve into something new? peter: one thing that's important here is to rememberlio en to what the president himself is saying. he's using this -- he's framing in veryly ove partisan terms. he's using terms like democrat cities and he makes the direct connection to biden by saying if biden winsahen all of amer will be unsafe like these cities. president bush would not -- if he were trying to estab osh contro cities who were having trouble with crime or out of control protestors,e would not talk about the politicaln affiliatf the mayor or governor he was trying to work with. and he would not make it a

confrontation. he wants to say these demarrats ruining our cities and we have to vote out at least j biden it's a very open political argument. i heard the press secretary refer to democrat streets. i wasn'tware tha streets in america were democrat or republican. i thought they were american streets. that's the t wy're talking about this issue. it's very partisan i don't think we've heard in other white houses. robert: does this whole ment inform the biden campaign and thinking about the issue of race an politics and these issues and from the. area, how doesnia this play out in the biden world? rachel: they're ctainly keeping the time in which we are here in h mind ase narrows down his selection for his vice pick.ential it's important to note on the

republican side the trump campaign sources they're hoping and betting on biden picking something that's to the left of progressive? what they're trying to do is paint biden people know biden but they don't know biden so they're trying to paint this picture of what biden they believe can be. but there's no doubt about it. voters are on the edge of their seatsaiting to hear -- i was just speaking to one voter in minnesota, he said it's goingo come down to two things. one, w biden picks for v.p. and then the debates. robert: wheo you talk t top advisors, and i know you talked to them this week. what is their view on the president's efforts on the ties in this country? jake they think it's strong. it shows his strength, his resolve, and sho his ability to get control of the situation. i would be inaccurate to say

they all agree. but they believe these scenes around the country are aboar rent. -- apore rent. it plays into this re-election effort. robert: that's all the time we have. many thanks to our reporters for a nig that had a little bit of techcal difficult, but everyone hel steady. appreciate it. weijia jng, rachel scott, peter baker, and jake sherman. four of the best. thank you for joining us. on our extra, we will pay tribut to congressman john lewis. a whife. what an american. whenever his country called, he stood up on a bridge in selma, in the stree and in congress. i'm robert costa. good night from washington. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.vis ncicap.org]

announcer: corporate funding for "washington week" isrovided by -- >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your with fidelity wealth management, a dedicat advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your le. that's fidelity wealth management. announcer: additional funding is provided by -- the estate of arnold adams, and koo and patricia yuen, through t yuen foundation committed to bridging culturalifferences in our communities, the corporation for public broadcasting, and byco ributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. welcome to sunny somerset.

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