♪ ♪ dan: tonight, a washington year in review. a deadly pandemic. >> if you look at how we have been hit, we have been hit badly. dan:re a racial ckoning. >> theres a lot of us. dan:ct and a turbulent elen. >> they can try to steal the election from us. >>he integrity of our elections remain intact. dan: as a year tested the american people comes to a close, "washington week" looks back. >> black lives matter! dan: nex >> this is "washington week." >> corporate fundings provided

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foundation. committed to bridging cus ural differen our communities. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by contributors like yo thank u. once again from washington, moderator robert costa. >> good evening and happy holidays. as we end the yr in washington, the past 12 months offer us a window into who we are and where this nation and its leaders may go in 2021. the year began with a deadly pandemic. and in may come the brutal outbreaks. george floyd caused and in november, the biden-harris ticket won the election but president trump keeps fighting and refuses to concede. joining us ted -- joing us

tonight iswijia jiang, errin haines for the 19th. and dan balz, chiefor correspondent the washington post. let's begin with the lessons from january and february when healthials 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 million peopl an unprecedented effort to contain a deadly virus. >> health officials in washington state reported the first death.>>'m officially deca national emergency.two very big. >> we are appealing to all americans to take these steps to protect each other and ensure the virus does not spread.

>>ay yestenew york saw the highest number of deaths in a single day. >>a it knocks you out i minute. is there a way you can do something like that? >>en a dtes reported record increases this last week. >> if we did not do cases, we would not see an increase. >> covid kills more in the u.s. and a single day than ever before as infections and hospitalizations continue to skyrocket. >> i know that times are tough but help is on the way. >> by late december, moren t 300,000 americans have died. dan, when you look act the pandemic and washington's response, do you see a collision of politics and science? dan: remarkably so. hothisd 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 tru. because of the way hdid or did not handle ithrghout the year. he was often atft odds, regularly at odds with the scienti -- scientists and officials. he senixed signals. he pushed against the advice of many of the expasts and created an environment in which people 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. robert: you are on the white

house beat. has president trump' 'sagement 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 sameat y t began because his message has not matched the moment in the beginning and even now. as you rightfully pointed out, the presidenwas always resistant to comnicating the severity of the virus because he was giving in 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 missedo opportunityd his presidency oa high note with the rollout of the vaccine for the 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. presideseen this from trump from day one and he has been consistenttin w to downplay how serious this virus is. robert: how do you beideve prt-elect why didn't and vice president-elect -- president-elect biden and vice president-electars will handle this pandemic? errin: if the way they campaigned is anyndication, they will set the example and lead from the top to serw americans they stand on 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 very grim period in the

history of our country. during the campaign, you saw them social distancing, wearing masks, holding campaignin events a socially distanced and responsible way even as president trump was holding ralls where his supporters or some number of them were htting hold ading events at the erwhite house where people getting sick and where dozens of people in the president' orbit president himself sickn the before the election. and then t joe biden take -- and then to see president-elect joe biden getting the vaccine o en dr. anthon fauci taking theer m vaccinepr and vicident elect harris a black woman taking e vaccine,. the message thathat will send

in ensing confidence and trust in taking this sex scene and to realing americans participateop in what isully going to be our new normal. listen, at the beginning of e spring, the mantra was that we were all in this together. that was an openuestion that did not bear out this year and for the biden-harris administration, that is a message theykill try to p back up. robert: the police killing of georgeloyd roiledat then. within days, protests spread nationwide but not just in his name. killed by two blac -- two white men while he was jogging in a neighborhood. >> it is time for us to stand up

in the name of george and to sa -- get your name off our next -- get your knee o our nec>>. police are trying to disperse peaceful protests near the white house. >> the investigation announced today over the use of federal force in portland and elsewhere came as many cities pushed t bak president's actions and plans. >> stand back and stand by >> the african-american community stood up again for me. they always have my back. 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 assassinaon of dr. king. this was different. this was an awakening of a fferent type in 2020. when everyone saw what had happened to george floyd as people literally watched him being killed in broad daylight. it set a different message. it sends a message that something was deeply wrong in this country. and what we saw in the early days of those protests that kept oihim was the diversity of the people in the streets. lacks and whites,ng ynd old, latinos and asians comell kinds of people all calling for action. a were calling for a recognition that there has beenerstent racism in the country that has gone untreated or at leastot resolved.

this is aery 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 signal that there was a greater commitment at least in the short term to try to begin to do some things. whether it was in the privat sector or the politicians, thefe are making dnt commitments. it is now in the hands of ecpresident- joe biden and vice president elect, harrisnd to take all of that and turn it that wme kind of action have not seen in the past and that is a big challenge. robert: when you are porting 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 really for the systemic change to racial inequality that

existed long before the pandemic an has been addressed only incrementally really in the history of our nation -- what they are saying is that they ar cautiouslyptimistic. joe biden became the priaury nominate b of black voters and his election was largely because of the black voters who came out and voted in reenrd numbers ev in the midst of a pandemic and who were ptesting racial injustice and the unrelenting killing of black americans by law enforcement even in the g midst of abal public health and economic crisis. the stakes were high for these voters and they plan to hold this administration accountable. president-elec joe biden said in his acceptance speech that he understood that black voters were the ones that got him to this point. he said racial inequalitis one of the four crises that he and

vice president elect harris will take on when they take office.l they w meeting with biden and harris along with members of their administration who they expect to use their positions toal relay, f, and fully address racial inequality in this country. robert: what was moment for president trump? lafayette square when he walked across? is that why, and if not, why not? weijia: that is one of them and it was really defining for the president to do that. en to this point, the president was unae to acknowledge why the protesters were in the streets. to acknowledge what it is that they were asking for. presid trump, much like the

unable to acknowledge the was problem of systemic racism and necialalities that have plagued this nationrom its birth. and that is one big difference between him and president-elect joe biden as was just pointed out. and taking the bible to lafayette square, even faith leaders and community activists have said the same thing, that he was using this as prop to illustrate what 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 make a statement. and so, i think in tha moment

even without saying it, he has -- he was taking azide. and he has said othelithings about officers and law enforcement making the case thaf there are only bad apples in the bunchin come a refusing to acknowledge that there are problems that go far beyond one or two officers. 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 whas anything changed at this year's end in terms of how the country operates and how it things about these issues and itself? dan: bob, i think we all hope that the country has changed somewhat and there has been some evidence that there has been some change. there is broader support for some of thgoals of the black lives matter movement. there is controversy over that. uewe saw that in the if the

"he funding the police" matter. -- "defunding the police" matter. the issues that have been revealed through the pandemic and the economic problems as well as the racial injustice is that persist, i think there is a greater willingnofs on the part he country to address those but finding the right solutions is very difficult. president-elect joe biden has a huge challenge ahead and one reality is that there are young african-americans who are rather skeptical of him, skeptical of the entire political process. they he lived through many years in a post-civil rights enronment where the first african-americanle wased president of the united states and yet the problem of police brutality and violence has not

s bsided in any significant way. thate dilemma that the country faces. robert: let'o s dig iat a little bit more. president-elect joe biden got a boost from congressman clyburn that howard him towards the democratic nomination. >> i want the patlic to know am voting for joe biden. >> a dramatic turn on the road nationaemocratic nomination. >> joe biden basked in the glow today of his stunning return to front runner status. >> please welcome joe biden and kamalaarris. >> she is tough and smart and experienced. and i welcome you to the first

of the debates. to answer thatn will you shut up, man. >> joe biden is declared the 46th president of the united states. >> it was a rigged election. >> we now know that nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of poweris can extinthat flame. robert: w it not just congressman clyburn, it was black women in south carolina that lifted joe biden at that critical moment. you chronicled that moment in -- in the campaign for the 19th. why does that matter? errin: the storyac of women as the backbone for our democracy started to come into focus in theak of 2016 when we saw black voters erwhelmingly voting for

hillary clinton. es alabama, we got judge j into the senate and in virginia in the crucial gubernatorial contest, following that. black voter -- black women a voters and candidates don't just vote on behalf of themselves or their households. they vote for their race community, and the country to make it more free and warfare. in this centennial year of suffrage, in recognition of the black women not given accesse to allot and would not get that right for nearly another ithalf-century is important to see them being valued not just theireir output buff input.that was kind of the stor0 especially for those voters. i -- when joe biden got into the campaign in the spring, he said this was a battle for the soul

of america. heading into this year, even before the pandemics of the coronavirus and the systemicll racism which r plagued the black community in 2020 t seeing lack women respond to that and really wield their power in a way that we have sot se forcefully in the spotlight before is definitely one of the storylines of this year and this very consequential electi. robert: another story line is that while joe biden and, harris won, president trump's defeat is lingering. weijia: the president will continue to fight. this is his legac of his choosing. he believes that if he continues to really lean into this coming he will have an impact and be able to convince the country that he is leaving office after

a rigged election and in some ways, he gave us a sneak preview of this even before november 3. for months, he abd been talking t widespread fraud and how mail-in ballots would lead to that but the dclaimer was only if he lost. he refused to answer -- what if he won, what would that mean regarding widespread fraud? he really went all in with this false narrative that he will ntinue to spin,th believe, for rest of his presidency because the goalpost for a concession continues to mot and how comeooks like he is not in days after the election, his advisersoth on the campaign and in the white house insisted that if the president exhausted all his legal options and it was clear tot

outcome wasoing to change, the president would acknowledge that he had lost and he would do the right thing. as time wentt became clear that was not going tohe happen. if is one thing we have learned about president trump in the last four years, it is -- there is not much morehat he dislikes than a loser. this is his fina attempt to save face and control the story as best he can't en though the facts and history tell a different version. robert: dan, what is the cost to da the cost is very serious, certainly. the effort to question the integrity do so against all of the evidence andft 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 t democracy. the overwhelming majority of people who voted for donald trump say they thinkhat joe biden was elected illegitimately according toom holes and that is a very worrisome situation. there is no indication that he is likely to droany of this once he leaves office. robert: do you think that biden-harris can meet the moment? errin: that is an open question, b. joe biden has said thathhe is someon wanted to be the vesident not just for those thated for him. and yet, we know that this election has shown us that we haven electorate that more dividedever. reaching out to those supporters , it is an open question. robert: that is an open qus tion

and thatere we believe it tonight. many thanks to o reporters toand thank you to you for joing us. we will take you as close to the news as we can and our conversation will continue on ourlu extra ing social media and our website. happy holidays to you and yourss i'm robert and good night from washington. ♪ [captioning preformed by the national captioning institute, which is rescansible for its ion content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪ >> corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> grandparents. >> we want to set money aside

for them. >> let's see what we can adjust. >> changing plans. >> momare you painting again? sell these. >> at fidelity, a change in plans is always the plan. >> consumer cellular. boeing. additional funding is provided by the a ste of arnold adams and the human 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.

queen elizabeth, the queen mother, known affectionately to millions as the qen mum. for many she's the most pular royal figure in recent history. well, she was what i wou call a life enhancer. you know, she'd walk into a room and light it up. i thought she had a delight in life, delight in people and things. i thins it's a great gift. sh my list of originals. [narrator] born a commoner, she married a prince. but she never expected or wanted to become queen. she had no choice in the matter. she just jolly well had to be. she didn't want to be one little bit. when t abdication happen and her shy and stammering husband was forced to be king,d she to step up to the mark. she wo sd deeply resent it if iaid to you that she was the power behind the throne, but that's exactly what she was. in 12, crisis hit again when her husband, george vi,