♪ ♪ dan: tonight, a washington year in review. a deadly pandemic. >> if you look at how we have badly., we have been hit dan: a racial reckoning. >> theres a lot of us. dan: a aurbulent election. >> they can try to steal the election from us. >> the integrity of our elections remain intact. dan: as a year tested the american people comes to a cle, "washington week". looks back >> black lives matter! dan: next. >> this is "washington week." >>edorporate funding is prov

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foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.o the corporfor public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by contributors like yo thank you. once again from washington, moderator robert cos. good evening and happy holidays. as we end the year in washington, the past 12 months offer us a window into o we are and wherena thion and its leaders may go in 2021. the year began with a deadly pandemic. and in may come the brutal killing of george floyd caud outbreaks. and in november, thede harris ticket won the election but president trump keeps fighting and refuses to concede. joining us ted -- joining us

tonight iswijia jiang, errin haines for the 19th. and dan balz, chief correspondent for the washington post. let' bsin with the lessons from january and february when health officials grew increasingly alarmed about the outbreak of a highly infectious, novel coronavirus in china. president trump's response became one of the biggest stories of the year. >> china closed off will on, a city of 11 milli people in an unprecedented effort to contain a deadly virus. >> health officials in washington state repted the first death. >>'m officiallyoneclaring a na emergency. two very big words. >> we are appealing to all americans to take these steps to protect each other and ensure the virus does not spread.

>> yesterday, new york saw the highest number of deaths in a single day. >> it knocks you out in a minute. is there a way you can do >> a dozen stes reported record increases this last week. >> if we did not do cases, we would not see an increase. >> covidhe kills more in.s. and a single day than ever before as infectns and hospitalizations continue to skyrocket. >> i know that times are tough but help is on the way. >> by late december, more thans 300,000 americve died. dan, when you look t a pandemic and washington's response, do you see a collision of politics and science? dan: remarkably so. this should not have happened in

the way that it did but tragically, this whole pandemic has become highly politicized. much of that lays at the door of president trump. because of the way he did not handle it throughout the year. he w often at odds, often regularly at odds with the scienti -- scientists and officials. he sentixed signals. he pushed against the advice of many of the experts and has created an environment in which pele have taken sides over whether they should wear masks or social distance. unfortunately, more than 300,000 people have paid with their lives as a result of this and we are still in the midst of this even though hope has arrived in the form of a vaccine. it has been a terrible year and much of it lays at the doorstep of the president. house beat. are on the white

has president trump's engagement with the pandemic changed in any way since the beginning? weijia: one thing that is remarkable is that it has not. and it is ending in the same w that it began because his message has not matched the moment in the beginning and even now. as you rightfully pointed out, the president was always resistant to communicating the severity of the virus because he was givng i to his inclination to be a leader that offered hope but it did not match the science. even now, i think he had a real missed opportunity to end his presidency on a high note with the rollout of the vaccine for e american public and even now coming he is not meeting the moment because he is not out

here being the face of the vaccine and urging his supporters who we know are hesitant to get it when it is available to them. we have seen this from president trump from day one and he has been consistent in wanting to downplay how serious this virus is. robert: how do you believe president-elect why didn't and vice president-eenct -- preselect biden and vice president-elect harris will handle this pandemic? ern: if the way theyed campai is any indication, they will set the example and lead from the top to show confronting this pandemic and how they hope that americans will behave as we try to get to the other side of what has been a ry grim period in the

history of our country. during the campaign, you saw them social dtancing, wearing masks, holding campaign events in a socially distanced and responsible way even as president trump was holding hirallies wher supporters or hold and holding events at theus white where people were getting sick and where dozens of people in the president's orbit have gotten sick or even the president himself got sick before the election. and then tizzy president-elect joe biden te -- and then to see president-elect joe biden anthony fauci taking the moderna vaccine and vice president elect harris a black woman taking the vaccine,. the message that that will send

in ensuring confidence and trust in taking this sex scene and encouraging americans to really participate i what is hopefully going to be our new normal. listen, athe beginning of the spring, the mantra was that we were all in this together. that was an open question that did not bear out this year and for the biden-harris administration, that is a message they will tr pick back up. robert: the police killing of george floyd roiled the nation. within days, protests spread nationwide but nme just in his >> ahmad arbury was chased and killed by two black -- two white men while he was jogging in a neighborhood. >> it is time for us s tond up

in the name of george and to say -- get your name off our next -- >> police are trying to disperse peaceful protests near the white house. >> the investigation aerounced today he use of federal force in portland and elsewhere came as many cits pushed back on the president's actions and plans. >> standack and stand by. >> the african-amey can communitstood up again for me. they always have myac and i will have yours. robert: something erupted in 2020. i wonder, dan, was it again to something we saw in the country in 1968. dan: i think this was somewhat different then 1968.

-- than 1968. there were tremendous protests in the wake othe assassination of dr. king. this was different. this was an awakening of a different type in 2020. when everyone saw what had ppened to george floyd as ly watched h being killed in broad daylight. it set a different message. it sends a message that desomething waly wrong in this country. and what we saw in the early days of those protests thakept hi going was the diversity of the people in the streets. lacks and whit, young and old, latinos and asis come all kinds of people all calling for action. a were calng for a recognition that there has been persistent racism in the country that has ugoreated or at least not resolved.

this is a very difficult challenge for the country and has been for as long as we have been a nation but i think what happened in the summer was a signalha there was a greater commitment at least in the short term to try to begin t do some things. whether it was in the private sector or the politicians, they are making different commitments. it is now in the hands of president-elect joe biden and vice president elect,ri h and to take all of that and turn it into some kind of action that we have not seen in the past and that is a big challenge. when you are reportin on the biden-harris team, are there leaders that are pleased with their choices? errin: what civil rights leaders and activists and others committed to racial equality and real for the systemic change to racial equality that

existed longic before the pand and that has been addressed only incrementally really in the history our nation -- what they are saying is that they are cautiously optimistic. joe biden became the primary nominate because of black voter and his election was largely because of the black voters who came out numbers even in the midst of a protestingd who were racial injustice and the unrelenting killinof black americans by law enforcement even in the midst of a global public health and economic crisis. the stakeser high for these voters and they plan to hold this administration accountable. president-elect joe biden said in his acceptance speech that he understood that black voters this point.ethat got him to he said racial inequalitis one of the four crises that he and

vice president elect harrisil they will be meeting withice. biden and harris along with members of their admistration who they expect to use their positions to relay, fally, and fully address racial inequality in this country. robert: what was t linchpin moment for president trump? ttlafa square when he walked across? is that why, and if not, why not? aijia: that is one of them it was really defining for the president to do that. enen to this point, the pres was unable to acknowledge why the protesters to acknowledge what it is that they we asking for. president trump,wa much like the

he handled the virus, was unable to acknowledge the problem of systemic racism and racial inequalities that have plagued this nation from its birth. and that is one big difference between him and predent-elect jo biden as was just pointed out. and taking the bible to lafayette square, even faith leaders and community actists have said the same thing, that he was using this as a prop to illustrate what is america. and that is having a country of law and order that he was the president of and it was really showing his support for law enforcement rather than his understanding for why these people were risking their lives in the middle of a pandemic to ma a statement. and so, i think in that moment

en without saying it, he has -- he was taking azide. and he has said other things about police officers and law enforcement making the case that ere are only a few bad apples in the bunchome again refusing to acknowledge that there are problems that go far beyond one robert: when you step back and look at these first two topics, the pandemic and race and a pandemic that has affected people of color in a troubling and significant way, has anything changed at this year's end in terms of how the country operates and how it things about dan: bob, i think we all hope that the country has changed somewhat and there has beenen se ev that there has been some change. there is broader support for some of the goals of the black lives matter movement. there is controversy over that. awwehat in the issue of the

"he funding the police" matter. -- "dedfunding the police" matter. the i revealed through the pandemic and the economic problems as wells the racial injustices that persist i think there is a peater willingness on thet of the country to address those but finding the right solutions is very difficult. president-elect joe biden has a huge challenge ahead and one reity is that there are young african-americans who are rather skeptical of him,keical of the entire political process. they have lived through many years in a post-civil rights environment where the first african-american was elected president of the united states and yet the problem of police brutality and violence has not

subsided in any snificant way. that is the dilemma that the country faces. robert: let's dig into that a little bit more. president-elect joe biden got a boos from congressman clyrn that howard him towards the democratic nomination. >> i want the public to know that i am voting for joe biden. >> a dramatic turn on the road to the democratic national nomination. >> joe bidenasked in the glow today of his stunning return to front runner status. >> pleaseelcome joe biden and laarris. >> she is tough and smart and experienced. >> i'm chris wlace of fox news

and i welcome you to the first of the debates. >>r 'm not going to ansat will you shut up, man. >> joe biden is declared the 46thed president of the un states. >> it was a rigged election. >> we now know that nothing, not even a pandemi or an abuse of power can extinguish that flame. robert: it was not just congressman clyburn, it was black women in south carolina at lifted joe biden at that critical moment. you chronicled that moment in the -- in the campaign for the 19 why does that matter? errin: the story of black women as the backbone for ourcr dey started to come into focus in the wake of 2016 when we saw black voters overwhelmingly voting for

hillary clinton., in alaba got judge jones into the senate and in virginia na the crucial gubrial contest, following that. teack voter -- black women as voters and candi don't just vote on behalf of themselves or their households. they vote for their race, their community, and the country to make it more free and warfare. inhis centennial year of suffrage, in recognition of the black women not given access to the ballot and wouldth not get right for nearly another half-century, it is important to see them being valued not just for their output buffer their input. that was kind of th story of 20 especially for those voters. i -- when joe biden got into the campaign in the spring, he said of america.battle for the soul

heading into this year, even before the pandemics of the coronavirus and the systemic racism which really plagued the seeing lack women respond to that and really wield their power in a way that we have not seen so forcefully in the spotlight before is definitely one of the storylines of this year and this very consequential election. robert: ather story line is that while joe biden and, harris won, president tru's defeat is lingering. weijia: the president will continue to fight. this is his legacy of his choosing. he believes that if he continues to really lean into this coming he will have an impact a be able to convince the country that he is leaving office after

aigged election and in some ways, he gave us a sneak preview of this even before november 3. for alnths, he had beenng about widespread fraudnd how mail-in ballots would lead to yhat but the disclaimer was o if he lost he refused to answer -- what if heon, what would that mean regarding widespread fraud? he really wt all in with this false narrati that he will continue to spin,, i belieor the rest of his presidency because the goalpost for a concession continues to move and how come it looks like he is not going toive one at all. in the days after the election, his advisers both on the campaign and in the white house insisted that if the president exhausted all of his legal options and it was clear the

outcome was not going to change, the president would acknowledge lost and he would the right thing. as time went on, it became car that was not going to happen. if there is one thing we have p arned about president tr the last four years, it is -- there is not much morhat he dislikes than a loser. this is his final attem to save face and control the story as best hcan't even though the facts and history tell a different version. robert: d, what is the cost to american democracy? dan:heost is very serious, certainly. the effort to question the integrity of an election and to do so against all of the evidence and after all of the court cases that the trump campaign and allies threw up over the course of weeks and weeks, all of which were rejected including two from the supreme court.

the fact that he is continuing on this is damaging to democracy. the overwhelming majority of people who voted for donald y think that jo biden was elected illegitimately according to some holes and that is a very worrisome situation. there is n indication thate ic likely to drop any of this once he leaves o robert: do you think that biden-harris can meet the moment? errin: that is an open queion, bob. someone that wanted to be the president not just forth those voted for him. and yet, we know that this welection has shown us th have an electorate that is more divided than ever. reaching out to those supporters , it is an open question. robert: t

and that is where we believe it tonight. manyrs thanks to our repor tonight and thank you to you for joining us. we will take you as close to the our as we can and conversation will continue on our extra including social media and our website. happy holidays to you and yours. 'm robert costa and good night from washington. ♪ [captioning preformed by the national captioning institute, which is responsiblets caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪ >> corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >>al before we tabout your investments, what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> grandparents. >> we want to set money aside

for them. >> let's see what>>e can adjust. changing plans. >> mom, are you painting again? seyou could sell t >> at fidelity, a change in plans is always the plan. >> consumer cellular. boeing. additional funding is provided byno the a statef adams and the human ftendation, comm to bridging cultural differences in ouromnities. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewe like you. thank you.

queen elizabeth, the queen mother, known affectionately to millions as the queen mum. for many she's the most popular royal figure in recent history. well, sha was what i would call life enhancer. you know, she'd walk into a room and light it up. i thought she had a delight in life, p delight ineople and things. i think it's a great gift. she's on my list of originals. nearrator] born a com she married a prince. she had no choice inatter.ed she just jolly well had to be. she didn't want to be one little b. when the abdication happened and her shy and stammering husband was forced to be king, she had to step up to the mark.ep she would de resent it if i said to you that she was the power behind the throne, but that's exactly what she was. in 1952, crisis hit againr when her husband, george vi,