captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, on edge: tensions remain high nationwide ahead of the presidential transfer of power amid threats of violence and consequences for the insurrection in washington. then, another grim milestone-- thu.s. nears 400,000 deaths from covid as the vaccination campaign continues to struggle. and, words for the moment-- the poet tapped to speak at the inauguration discusses her message during this fraught moment in america. >> i began writing the poem, and then as i was around halfway

through we had the insurrection at the capitol. those events just solidified how important it was to have a poem about unity. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to thewins. >> change in plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> the chan-zuckerberg initiative working to build a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. at czi.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals.

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: inauguration day is now two days away, and officials around the country are pulling out all the security stops. just the same, worries kept washington very much on edge today. nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> let's go move! >> schifrin: for a moment, the drill, became reality. this morning soldiers and law enforcement practicing inauguration security, suddenly sheltered for fear of attack. it turned out, the threat was this nearby fire, which was quickly extinguished. but it shows the tension in washington, d.c. ahead of wednesday's inauguration. thousands of national guard soldiers continue to arrive. more than 25,000 will secure the

city, and surround the capitol with rifles and bulletproof vests behind seven-foot-high fences. downtown d.c. is on lockdown. a normally festive inauguration week, replaced with barricades, and security checks. the washington monument, closed, behind rings of security. >> we're here to protect the citizens of the united states just as much as we are the seat of our government. so, no one should fear us unless they have ill will in their heart. >> every guardsman takes an oath, and it's to defend the constitution from enemies, foreign and domestic. and as we've seen, sometimes the enemies are a little closer to home. >> schifrin: for the military, the fear is very close to home. the associated press found that more than 20 capitol hill insurrectionists were current or former members of the u.s. military, or of law enforcement. the f.b.i. and the national guard are now vetting the guardsman securing d.c., for ties to extremists. and the guard is providing new training for how to spot anything “not appropriate.” army secretary ryan mccarthy spoke to the ap.

>> january 6th there were representatives from all of the services who were at the rally when it started on the ellipse and then migrated towards the capitol. so the question is, is that all of them? ae there others? we're continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation. >> schifrin: but a senior defense official tells pbs newshour the military remains concerned, because guard leaders don't know their soldiers well. and while the f.b.i. will check guardsmen's names in law enforcement databases, neither the f.b.i. nor the military have the time to check all soldiers' social media. outside of d.c. in state capitals, the threat remains high. national guardsmen secured pennsylvania's seat of government, and guarded the base of the state capitol in atlanta. that deterred most of yesterday's planned armed protests, except in salt lake city, where a small group did bring their guns to town. and another small, armed group

showed up in lansing, michigan, despite a weekend show of force. >> you hope for the best, you prepare for the worst, and clearly we're prepared. >> let's go, let's go! >> schifrin: meanwhile, newly released video from "new yorker" magazine journalist luke mogelson, shows how unprepared the capitol was for the jaary 6 siege. rioters told police they were following president trump. >> you're outnumbered. there's a ( bleep ) million of us out there. we are listening to trump, your boss. >> you can't be disrespectful. >> they can steal an election but we can't sit in their chairs? no! >> schifrin: inside the senate chamber, insurrectionists argue with each other, and retired lieutenant colonel larry brock uses a military term for information operations. >> it's an io war, we can't lose the io war! >> hey man! >> schifrin: but others took the space less seriously, and cited senators who questioned the election. >> hawley, cruz. i think cruz would want us to do this, so. absolutely. yeah, i think we're good. >> just want to say, this is like, the most sacred space.

>> schifrin: a lone police officer, severely outnumbered, eventually gets them to leave, but makes no arrests, despite the obvious, ominous threat: >> it's only a matter of time. justice is coming. >> schifrin: overwhelmed two weeks ago when the military presence was non-existent, the city, military, and federal government now hope an unprecedented show of force, keeps the capitol secure. >> woodruff: and nick joins me now. so nick, you've been talking to so many people today. bottomline, how concerned is the military? >> yeah, acting defense secretary krises chris miller released a statement saying there was no specific threat but as we reported, the military is very concerned according to senior officials i'm talking to. in part because, again, they're not checking these soldier's social media, and because commanders don't really know these guardsmen that well. they just don't spend that much time with them. so to try and mitigate that there has been attrition-- additional training for the guards as they arrive

into d.c. to try an train everyone to look out for insider threats. but judy, we are talking about this as, or even after guard have arrived in d.c.. the independent analysts i talk to say it is simply too late in a comprehensive way to check whether there is any insider threats. in an ideal world this would have been done a long time ago in a much more comprehensive way. >> woodruff: and nick, those independent experts, analysts you have been talking to, how good a job do they say the military has done searching for extremists in their ranks? >> yeah, so what the military says, it tries its best and it maintains an awareness of these threats, including right wing extremists, and that on the active buttee side commanders spend a lot of time with their soldiers. and so they can keep an eye on them. but the independent analysts point out that the military is not a domestic intelligence

agency. there have been lots of problems in the past and frankly, there were veterans and people connected to the military who took part in the seige. and earlier today i talked to heidi, the cofounder and chief strategy officer of the global project against hate and extremism. she said the military is not doing well enough and that service members are targets. >> well, extremist groups are very keen on recruiting ak tough duty soldiers and veterans into their ranks. they value the skills and the abilities that these people have learned while in the military. that goes for white supremacist groups, groups that perhaps want to engage in something like a race war. they want those skills in their ranks. and in the militia movement, the american militia movement, folks with a military background are probably the most prized members of the group. you also have individuals who are involved in those dprowps before they joined the military being encouraged by the extremist groups to get those skills. >> so given those attempts, the

military-- the idea or the threat of extremists in its ranks, seriously in the past. >> unfortunately, i don't. in the military there have been fits and starts in dealing with the issue of hate groups in particular. but the regulations always seem to come after the threat has shown itself. and one of the big issues we have had recent years is that the military regulations are not up to the level where they need to be in a world in which people are radicalized online en masse including troops and in which extremist groups are recruiting from them. you know, folks in the military themselves know about them. militaries have done a series of polls that show between one-third and one half of troops in the last four years have seen wht nightism in the ranks. so the military is not doing enough to resist problem out right now. >> she says that the military does a better job of kicking out gang members, judy, then kicking out white supremacists. >> woodruff: nick, what is it

believed that the military could do to address these concerns? >> yeah, the answer to that is really fundamental, judy, and it is the key question. and the experts say that it starts at the beginning and needs to start with how the military recruits but it also goes all the way to how the military de fines the threat itself. so here again is heidi. >> there is quite a few things that could be done here. they need to tighten screening of recruits when they are coming into the military. right now the military doesn't even have a comprehensive tact 2 database that could show them when someone comes in from their tattoos that they have been involved in extremist groups, they need to monitor social media. they need to tighten the regulations to include a ban on involvement in paramilitary militia groups. that doesn't exist right now. and members of the different parts of the armed forces who worked in the investigative divisions didn't even, among themselves, agree on what they should be lacking for.

so in are a whole lost of things that need to happen to fix this problem. >> she says the military can take this more seriously, judy, and the biden administration can actually take steps to make this a priority as well. >> woodruff: and finally nick, you've also been talking to folks in the intelligence community about how they see this threat. tell us what they are saying. >> yeah, this is a particular problem for the intelligence community which ofourse on normal base kiss not actually look into or target americans but it does know that it needs to help confront this challenge. and to discuss that earlier today i had a conversation with sue gordon. the former principal deputy director of national intelligence in 2017 to 2019. and we talked about not only the insider threat but also the state of the intelligence community at the end of the trump administration. >> sue gordon, welcome back to the newshour. from where you have sat inside the intelligence community, how big of a threat is the so called

insider threat. >> great to see you, nick. the insider threat is always the most daunting and most difficult because you have people who are os tefns-- ostensibly trusted. they have access to information that helps them in their intention. and in general we don't have as many systems as we might looking at our own people. so insider threats are particularly insidious. and when they are affective can be incredibly damaging. >> do you think the u.s. government has done a good job when it comes to domestic extremist-- extremism and does there need to be some kind of strk teurl reform in order to deal with this kind of threat sth. >> i think domestic extremism is a particularly challenging issue. nom one from an intelligence perspective, remember our intelligence community doesn't typically or stat torly look at

u.s. citizens so you don't have the advantage of that craft in the way you might for other threats, to just our constitution, the rights of citizens. and then if law enforcement is the lead, law enforcement needs some sort of pred i cat. you have to-- pred cat, you have to have done something. so if nothing is man tested, it is difficult. do i think that we need a moment of considering how we're going to deal with this threat that lacks like it's going to be with us for awhile? yeah, i think you almost need a 9/11 commission kind of activity. it's got to be a combination of fbi. it has to include dhs and you've got to find a way to bring intelligence or the craft of intelligence into it. and i done think that in one organization right now z. you know, as an old intelligence hand, there are elements of this that remind me of the rise of

islamic extremism. and what it looks like. and there are probably a fair number of lessons that we learned in the fight against foreign terrorism that can be applied here and some lessons that we probably don't want to apply. so you have to get some of the people that know about extremism and we need to bring it tho there domestically. because this is just one of those issues that must be addressed. because it's not just a fly by night activity right now. >> i want to expand out to the state of the intelligence community, in the last few days michael ellis, a trump loyalist an political aide was installed into the career and crucial role as counsel il-- counsel general of the national security agency and u.s. official confirmed to me that president trump came very close to installing cash patel, another loyalist into cia as dep tee director leading to gina haspel resignations making

cash patel the acting director of cia. what is the impact of those moves? >> so furs think about what intelligence really is. it is a discipline that is while it is responsible for assisting policy determination and assisting policy execution, it is independent from policy. and you get into troublehen you start trying to use intelligence either to be shaped by or to influence policy directly. and so given that back drop, when you put in people who appear to be politically motivated, the risk you run is that they will pursue an action without the foundation of understanding what the impact is. and again, intelligence is a pretty arcane craft. you don't want to just de classify things because you want to tell a story. you have to understand an impact. the impact, the method. you have to understand what part

of the story you are telling. and so what happens is if you put people who appear to be political into these kind of positions, the american people who have given a lot of authority, intelligence apparatus can worry about whether they can be, they can trust that those authorities will be protected. so that has nothing to do with michael or nothing to do with cash, that is a whole different issue. but when you start mixing politics with a craft of intelligence, you run the risk of politicizing this very independent discipline. >> you raise the word de classification. let me ask you about a specific de classification that administration officials admit to me is still being debated even just two days before inauguration. and that is the de classification of material that could reveal sources and methods when it comes to russia's interference in 2016, but president trump believes would benefit him politically.

what would be the impact if that material is de classified? >> so it depends on what the material is. so you go through a pretty easy conversation to have. number one what i would say to the americanpeople is the american people do tallly have access to all of the information, the intelligence community, we're a representative republic. the oversite committees have access to all of the information we have. so it is not that it is being hidden. the question is does-- the question is does it need to be made unclassified. the second is what purpose is being served because there is always a cost of de classification. sometimes it's really good. election security, a lot was de classified to try and show that threat. but it has to be done purposefully. and then the last thing is which pieces of intelligence are you going to de classify. what part of the story are you going to tell, do they stand alone. is it data that has credibility. and so you just can't do this

cash allly-- casually and it should never be done for other than the nation's purpose. >> i have been told that the director of the c, a gina haskel has resisted that particular attempt to de classify. has she been right to resist? >> i've known gina a long time. there is no more steely-eyed professional. she would absolutely feel her responsibility and excuse-- execute it to the best of her abilities. both working to be responsive to the president. because remember the cia has a very special relationship with presidents over history. and she would want to make sure that no matter what pressure she's under, she is using her knowledge of the cost and the benefit to be able to weigh that out. but the same answer i gave before is it is not that information can't be shared with the president. he could receive any

information. the question is is there advantage in making peace part in the raw available to the public and my guess is she is weighing it out, her responsibility and the interest of the president. and she has come down on this side. >> when it comes to intelligence, there is also the question of a former president getting it. you wrote this weekend in "the washington post" that after inauguration president trump should be blocked from receiving security briefings that other former presidents typically receive. they said they would consider that. why do you think it is necessary? >> so i wrote it from the perspective of an intelligence assessment, just looking at the security profile ofhis president, at this time, with his stated intentions to potentially run for office, to do business overseas. and this isn't a time that you necessary leigh have to give him more access to classified information because there are those who would try and do him

harm. and the neat part is i think i'm seen as relatively nonpartisan even since departure so i so i hope it had a weight to it and the second is all i was advocating was using the traditional standard of need to know. and my assertion is i don't think this president needs to know at this time. if he does in the future, the administration can grant it then. >> sue gordon, thank you very much. >> thanks, nick. >> woodruff: among fears of threats and plans to celebrate, we check in with our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: so hello yamish-- yamiche. i know you have been folding the biden transition team very closely. what more can you share with us about the concerns and plans to deal with any threats, any worries about security on

wednesday? >> well, the inauguration team of president-elect biden and president-elect vice president-elect harris are projecting confidence that they believe this will be a safely held event. they also believe that these two will be able to hit the ground running, specifically on the inauguration team and security. they say they have been working with their security partners for months and that they are confident that they are assessing the situation. this is really a key thing. because they say, and officials i talk to say inaugurations have a long, long period where they are assessing security matters. and that is just going to be heightened in the aftermath from the seige on the capitol. another thing, joe biden while preparing for inauguration security, he also has in mind on his inauguration speech. i talk to a biden official who said he will be focused on the theme of unity, on talking about where we are now and where we are going to be going. and vice president-elect shared,

she was she resigned from the senate today and was questioned about security. she said she was confident and she said she looked forward to taking the oath. she said she would proudly have her head up and shoulders back. that std bied enteam's stance on security. >> woodruff: and we know yo have been following both the president coming in and the president leaving. so tell us what more are you learning about what president elect biden plans for his first few days in office and what president trump has in mind for his last day or two. >> that's right. well president-elect biden has an ambitious plan to get things started. and president trump is also mulling a few things to try to leave his legacy on the white house in this country. the first thing is that in the first day that joe biden takes office he will be doing a number of executive actions. his chief of staff listed them so i want to walk through some. the first is he will issue a mask mandate on federal property

and interstate travel. he is also going to be extending a pause on federal institute loan payments and interest. he plans to try to help, he says millions of americans where federal student loans. he did also going to rejoin the paris climate agreement, between the united nations framework and deal with climate change. president trump very famously pulled out of that. and also planning to rescind the travel ban on muslim majority countries. that again was a signature president trump ban and it was something that critics called discriminatory. joe biden is also in the days after that going to be focused on covid-19 in particular, trying to do actions related to the vaccine rollout as well as testing. and president trump, i'm told, is looking at pardons, really angry and frustrated at still not having any public events. from my understanding they are gearing up for some sort of long list of pardons as well as the president also possibly having a big sendoff on the day, the morning of inauguration. because as we reported, he will not be going to the

inauguration. >> woodruff: that's right. in a precedent-breaking move. yamiche alcindor, reporting as we said on both the incoming and outgoing president, thank you, yamiche. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the united states neared 400,000 deaths from covid-19, with numbers rising in nearly two-thirds of the states. in all, the country has recorded more than 24 million confirmed cases, out of 95 million worldwide. as the winter surge continues, the head of the world health organization warned today that rich nations are buying up vaccines, leaving poor nations wanting. >> ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, prolong our pain, the

restrictions needed to contain it, and human and economic suffering. >> woodruff: we'll return to the pandemic after the news summary. president-elect biden has named his choices to lead two major regulatory bodies. he will nominate rohit chopra for director of the consumer financial protection bureau. chopra is a progressive ally of democratic senator elizabeth warren. and, gary gensler is tapped to chair the securities and exchange commission. he's now at m.i.t. after spending nearly 20 years on wall street. the president-elect also joined in a national day of service, honoring the legacy of dr. martin luther king junior. mr. biden and family members spenpart of the day in philadelphia. they filled boxes with canned goods at a hunger relief organization. vice president-elect kamala harris volunteered at a food bank in washington, d.c.

in russia, opposition leader alexei navalny will spend 30 days in jail, after a court hearing moscow today. he was arrested sunday as he returned to russia for the first time since being poisoned with a soviet-era nerve agent. jonathan rugman of independent television news has our report. alexei navalny broadcast the drama to his millions of social media followers. he was sentenced to 30 days jail before another hearing about supposedly violating his probation. >> the criminal procedure code has been blatantly torn up and thrown into the garbage. it is the highest degree of lawlessness. >> it was last august that mr. navalny was taken ill on a plane, with labs in three countries later concluding he had been attacked with nerve agent. he and his wife knew he would be arrested upon his return last night. yet he also knew he had no

credibility in exile and could pose no real threat to president putin from foreign soil. so he has help identify the russian secret service man accused by investigative journalists of trying to kill him. >> speaking to one of them who confessed to the poison on plot. news broadcasters ignored today's hearing, apart from this daytime crime show which announced that navalny had it coming. and that his fleet of cars in berlin show he was being bank rolled by western spies. navalny himself wants more sanctions on moscow as he told the european parliament in november. >> russian oligarchs, not just all oligarchs but also new ones like these of-- mr. putin. >> tonight navalny tells his supporters that they should take to the streets with protests

planned for >> woodruff: that report from jonathan rugman of independent television news. extreme cold and snow blanketed much of europe today. temperatures in parts of poland dropped to 18 degrees below zero, the lowest in 11 years. in warsaw, the deep freeze cracked railroad tracks. far to the south, in turkey, cars and buses in istanbul skidded on icy roads, forcing traffic to a standstill. hundreds of migrants bound for the u.s. are at a standstill in southeastern guatemala. they've been stopped near the village of vado hondo, part of some 8,000 people who crossed from honduras. on sunday, security forces beat back the migrants with sticks and tear gas. some were forced back into honduras, whilothers were bused back voluntarily. and, back in this country, the n.a.a.c.p.'s legal defense and educational fund announced a $40

million-dollar scholarship program on this king day, to educate new civil rights lawyers. a single anonymous donor gave the group the money. the selected students must commit to eight years of racial justice work across the south. still to come on the newshour: the u.s. approaches another grim milestone in the ongoing pandemic. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political news. and the national youth poet laureate discusses her message at the inauguration. >> woodruff: as part of inauguration week, there will be tributes tonight and tomorrow on the national mall to remember the 400,000 people in this country who have died from

covid-19 it was just about a year ago when the first confirmed cases of this novel coronavirus were found in the u.s. but the scope of the problem has accelerated dramatically this fall and winter, with the last 100,000 deaths occurring in just the last month of so. william brangham looks at where we're at, and the ongoing efforts to get vaccines into the arms of americans. >> brangham: judy, as you said, the numbers over just the last several weeks have been staggering. each day, we're averaging about 130,000 hospitalizations and more than 3,000 deaths. that's every single day. states reported more than 23,000 deaths over the past week, alone. that's 25% higher than any other week since the pandemic began according to the covid tracking project. in fact, the project reported that last week's total number of deaths exceeded the c.d.c.'s estimate of total flu-related

deaths from last year. vaccinations remain a key hope for eventually finding our way out of this pandemic. but distribution remains slow and confusing and disorganized in many places. colorado's democratic governor jared polis is one of several governors who've been publicly critical of the trump administration's work on that front. he joins me now. governor great to have you back on the newshour. before we get to policy questions, i wonder if you could just reflect on this year that we have been through. you only had a year in the governor's office before the pandemic hit. we've now lost 400,000 americans. i know you have lost i think it's 5,000 coloradoans. can you just give us a sense of what this year has been like for you and for your state. >> well first, condolences to all those who lost a loved one. first and fore most, 400,000 number is seared into the

collective soul of america. an unprecedented level of loss. beyond that it is loss of our elderly relative's ability to socialize and see one another, even those who weren't affected by the health crisis, senior homes where there is no poker night, no movie night, in the golden years of their life. to see kids who have only been able to go to school spore addically, small business owners who are risking everything they have. some are loose losing their is abouts, furs and fore most the human toll, the loss, the death, beyond that the economic toll and the psychological and social toll of this pandemic. >> bangham: so let's talk about this issue with regard to vaccine distribution. last book the hh secretary alex azar said the federal government would release all of its reserve doses. the doses they had held become, the second shot. and then later in the week you were told that that actlly wasn't going to happen, that the reserve wasn't really there. you referred to this as gross

incompetence. you said you had been lied to. help us understand what actually happened. >> well, so yes, based on the announcement from secretary azar, a call at the white house including vice president pence and others, we had expected that there would be a second dose that had been held back that had been given to states eck pe i will-- expeditiously, presumably this week. doing the math that would have come out to about 200,000 plus for colorado. i was just shocked, a couple days later, it was revealed th in fact that was false. there was no national stock pile. however, whatever level of distrust or dislike i might have for the current president, i really thought that the people that were running this would be straight forward with information. so i don't know why we were lead to believe that. that incompetence is the most likely excuse, i don't think it was deliberate sabotage.

i would also add there is still some question. when you look at the stairmts that pfizer put out, it seems like some of these reserve doses might in fact resist, not in government custody but in fact in the custody of fiez esch-- pfizer itself. so i can't wait until the new administration gets to the bottom of this and gets all availables doage out so we can put in f and help start protecting people. >> brangham: so i know your goal is to vaccinate 70% of 70 year olds in your state by the end of february. does this hiccup affect those plans in anyway? >> no, we'll get that done. we were hoping that it would be accelerated significantly. we have about 530,000 people over the age of 70. if we had a week with 200,000 plus, vaccines available. we would get upwards of half of the 70 and up and we could move on to people 65 and up, teachers and others even sooner. the conservative date, goal that we have by the end of february, 70% is based o be our current modeling supply. any additional supply we get, could accelerate that. i'm really hope that--ful that we will find, that the

administration will find additional supply perhaps at pfizer, at moderna get it shipped out and in people's arms to protect them. >> brangham: i know that in colorado you had a very bad fall november in particular. but currently your numbers seem to be moving in all the right directions. the hospitalizations, the deaths, the case levels. i know you extended your mask mandate statewide now for the ninth time. do you have a sense for why you are doing well right now? why is that? >> well, coloradoans are doing the right thing. that means wearing the mask around others it means avoiding socializing with people outside of their home and trying to keep a distance where they can. how well the virus spreads is simply a function of human behavior. we have done our best to help educate coloradoans about what they can do to protect themselves and their family. and when people make the right decisions collectively as a people, it can move us in the right direction. >> can we shift gears, i want to

ask you about the inauguration. given what we saw in washington on january 6th, i know the fbi sent a memo out to all of the governors that you all should be on the lookout for armed protests at your own state capitols. is that something that you are worried about? and what kind of precautions are you all taking? >> well, i was proud yesterday morning to go to buckly air force base where colorado, we sent off 220 of our members of our national guard to help protect our nation's capitol and are honored to do that. i know over 40 states have done so as well. we are also, of course, coordinating the protection of ouown state capitol working with the denver police department, state troopers and others to try to make sure that while of course people are always welcome to ex-- express their free speech, that we are able to protect the institution of our republic in the state as well as in washington d.c. >> brangham: i know there was supposed to be a protest yesterday in denver and i guess turned out that more press showed up than protestors. is it your sense that wednesday

is a real concern or do you think that the aftermath of january 6th has made a lot of these groups at least dial back their plans for big armed protests. >> i think the precaution that both the federal government and states are taking absolutely are really sending a message that people will be held accountable for their actions. the fact that the fbu has been actively investigating the failed insurrection takeover of the united states capitol, a number of arrests have be about made. i am confident that that, now that people know that we in the state, the federal government is talking this very seriously, that can serve as a major deterrent to this kind of lawlessness an aggressive behavior. >> brangham: and lastly, governor, you are the governor of a purple state. i wonder what your sense is of how we go forward as a nation, when so many people have been convinced that this election and this inauguration is a fraud.

that they have brn fed this lie. that show this is an invalid election that has been stolen. how do you counsel us generally to go forward with that? >> we really do need to come together as a country, look i'm a democrat, i wasn't thrilled when donald trump was elected. you know, hillary clinton got more votes but donald trump won by the rules. he won the electoral college, became president, is a member of congress, i producedly attended his inauguration and was part of wit j be-- witnessing the peaceful transfer of power. we done win, nobody wins every election. elections don't turn out the way that everybody wantsk by the nature of a democracy. but it is a far better system than the alternative, the all tern tfer of ignoring the votes of the people. by and large most american, republican, democratic, independent, really understand thatment i think this is time for us to redouble our dedication to our republic and to our constitution. >> bangham: gover polis of colorado, thank you very much for being here.

>> thank you. >> woodruff: just days after the second impeachment of outgoing president trump and days before the inauguration of incoming president biden, it's time for our regular politics monday duo. that's amy walter of the "cook political report," and tamara keith of npr. it is so good to see both of you. and this is the last time the three of us will be gathering on a monday during the trump presidency. so tam, let's start by talking about that. so much has happened in the last days of president trump's time in office. but when you think about his legacy, what are you thinking at this point? >> you know, every time we think we know what his legacy will be, more things happen. and you know, in the end his

presidency ended with him denying the results of the election, leading his supporters into believing something that caused an insurrection. and he also did oversee the loss of the house and the senate for republicans. so he-- and he was impeached a second time. so in the end, there is a lot of stuff on that last couple of months resume that tarnishes what many of his supporters say were good things. like passing the tax cuts or building the wall. i mean you talk to supporters of the president and they still love what he did on policy. that is what they will say again and again. but in terms of the overall picture, gosh, there is a lot to tarnish what his supporters like. >> woodruff: yes, there is. and people will point to foreign policy and say there are aspects of that that they like.

but you are right, so much of that getting overshadowed right now. amy, you have taken a look at the public opinion poll here at the very e. what do the american people say when they look at president trump? >> judy, we've had a lot of polls that have come out this week. you know, this is the sort of typical time when the final moments of the presidency, the check-in as you said about how people feel about the outgoing president and the incoming one. and these of course were all taken since the event at the capitol on january 6th. what we find is there has been a drop in the president's overall approval rating, on average, about 6 points across all of these different polls. you have some polls that show the president at historically low ratings, pe-w had him at 29% job approval rating. others like the nbc "the wall street journal" poll show him basically where he has been for most of his presidency, right around 43 percent. but what is notable, judy s that

in almost every single one of these polls, 75 to 80 plus percent of republicans consider-- continue to give the president high marks. think that he has done a good job. is currently doing a good job as president. and that matters because this impact on the people that are siing in congress right now. there is not a political incentive for republicans to disdance-- distance themselves from the president. as tam pointed out, this is a legacy that certainly not only is if right now not looking very good, he has one of the lowest overall approval ratings in gallup history leaving office but it also means that he is going to have a legacy i think that is going to continue to evolve even in these next few months. every president right over time sees his legacy change and evolve. but in this case, just in the next few months' with have these impeachment hearings, as we have

hearings run by a democratic controlled congress, opinions of this president could look very different at the end of the year. even than they do right now. >> woodruff: and as we see how his loyal followers are prepared to work or not with president biden. and tam, you've done a lot of reporting on what we should expect from joe biden, the president-elect once he takes office. what are you hearing, wht should we expect in the way of messages from him both in his inaugural speech and what he does in the first few days in office. >> right, as yamiche was saying, unity was expected to be a theme. of course that is something that biden ran on. the idea of restoring the soul of america and unifying the country. it is a tall order. i spent a lot of time talking to historians. one former speechwriter over the

past few days. and this is a unique moment, uniquely challenging. and none of them thought that a single speech could really change much. but in terms of pressure, the fdr had the great depression but he didn't also have a pandemic. though they say that there is a model there in leveling with the american people. and the other example that they thought of was potentially richard nixon, which is ironic because his legacy is not one of unity to say the least. but he came in at a time of great social and racial division in the country. in essence biden doesn't have a guide book to follow here, there isn't a play book for this, it is going to be a challenge. and then will come in and do a lot of executive actions, as presidents have come to do, reversing much of, as much of what his predecessor did as he possibly can. >> and amy, i mean all we can think about at this point are

the challenges facing joe biden, is it pretty much an uphill situation that he is facing as he steps into the white house? is it all, is it all uphill. he gets up every morning and thinks about, you know, the tough moves he has to make, the tough decisions he has to make. i want to ask you this. but i am also curious how receptive do you think the american people are? how open are they to see what he does? >> well, that is what i was going o say. it is one thing to come into officeith all of these challenges in front of you it is another to come in at a time where we are as polarized as we are. you look back not that far, back to 2000-- 2009 when barack obama was coming into office with the financial crisis. but he had a really deep well of good wil. overwhelmingly positive, favorable rating. right now it looks at least in the most recent polling that while people feel generally good

about biden, it's not off the charts good. it's fine. and as i said, republicans overwhelmingly, not only supportive of the president, the current president, but not feeling very good about the incoming one am but the most important thing judy i think and it is how, the how important it will be for joe biden to prepare unity, of course, coming through in his speech. but it will be effective if he is able to make government effective. making this vaccine rollout work is going to do more, i think, to unify the country or at least to minimize our partisanship and polarization than any speech could ever do. because part of the challenge we are in right now as a country is the loss of faith in our institutions, boft being one of them. government failing to do the things it should be able to do, is what has gotten people to lo faith and believe in many of the conspiracy theories out

there. so i think that would go a long way not just in helping the country but in also helping te opinions that americans have about their institutions. >> woodruff: we will see. we'll be talking about it next monday and for mondays beyond. this is the last time we will see you both during the trump administration. thank you both. amy walter, tamara keith, thank you. >> woodruff: finally tonight, the poet who will carry on a tradition and present a new work at the inauguration this week is quite accomplished, yet only 22. she sounds many of martin luther king's themes, and follows in the footsteps of poets including robert frost, maya angelou, elizabeth alexander and richard blanco. jeffrey brown talked to amanda gorman as part of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas.

>> while we might feel small, separate, and all alone, our people have never been more closely tethered. the question isn't if we can weather this unknown, but how we will weather this unknown together. >> brown: in her poetry amanda gorman explores topics such as race and marginalization. and often, american history, as in a reading at the library of congress. >> there's a poem in this place- a poem in america a poet in every american who rewrites this nation, who tells a story worthy of being told on this minnow of an earth >> brown: she was named the nation's first youth poet laureate at age 19. now, she's part of history, on a monumental stage. how did she feelhen the invitation came? >> a lot of screaming, a lot of dancing around my apartment. but after that, i mean, it's

such a huge honor to be able to participate in such a historic moment, so there was that as >> brown: she spoke to us friday from her los angeles home, where she continues to work on her inaugural poem, titled “the hill we climb.” i asked what she most wanted to convey in these divisive times. >> it's interesting because i began writing the poem in early january and then as i was around halfway through we had the insurrection at the capitol. and i don't want to say that my poem took a drastic left turn because it was already going towards a location, but those events just solidified for me how important it was to have a poem about unity. and the new chapter of america in this inauguration. >> brown: who are you reading to? who are you speaking to? >> that's kind of the challenging thing about writing an inaugural poem. you're speaking to everyone, but you don't also want to speak for everyone.

so for me, it's trying to make a poem that is both robust but also accessible to anyone who might be watching, that they can feel that they are represented and well established in this poem. so it's a really difficult dance to do. >> brown: gorman grew up in l.a., raised by her mother, a teacher, and with two siblings including a twin sister. she had a speech impediment as a child and not only overcame it to perform as a poet but at 16 started her own youth literacy program, “one pen, one page,” to help and encourage others. >> one of the most rewarding moments of my career is when i'm speaking to a child who tells me they have the same speech impediment that i had to overcome and they're going to keep writing or sharing their voice after hearing my story. so it's a huge aspect of who i am. writing wasn't just a form of expression, it was a form of

pathology by, you know, embarking on spoken word over and over and over again and reciting my poems. no matter how terrified i was, because i had the support of others, i was able kind of to slowly climb my way to the place i am at today. >> brown: it's something it turns out you share with the president-elect, with joe biden. >> it's something i not only share with the president-elect but with a previous inaugural poet, maya angelou, who also was mute growing up. so there's a lot of historicity in overcoming that. >> brown: what is the power of poetry for you? >> well, the power of poetry is everything for me. poetry is, you know, it's an art form, but for me it's also a weapon, it's also an instrument. it's the ability to make ideas that have been known, felt and said. and that's a real, i think, type of duty for the poet. one of my favorite writers, audre lorde, has said there's no new ideas, just new ways of

making them felt. and that's what i try to do. >> brown: she's written for a july fourth celebration featuring the boston pops orchestra. a tribute to black athletes for nike. an inauguration at harvard, from ich she's a recent graduate. a children's book, “change sings,” and a poetry collection will be released this year. and she has some high political aspirations of her own. i saw an interview where you said you yourself wanted to be president. you even pinpointed the year, i think. >> 2036, because that would be the election year in which i'll be old enough to run, so. >> brown: you're getting close now, at this point. >> getting close! i feel like i should just tap joe at the inauguration, be li“" i'll be back! let me know how this goes for when i come on.” but, you know, honestly it began i remember being really young and i was just ,as i am today,

very passionate about social issues, and a teacher said to me, kind of maybe half jokingl¡' you should become president.' and i was like, ¡that's not a joke. let's do it.' definitely doing it: hashtag commanda-in-chief. >> we ignite not in the light, but in lack thereof, for it is in loss that we truly learn to love. >> woodruff: and before we go, we want to take a moment to look at an art display to celebrate the inauguration and a call for unity. it is called "field of flags." it shows 56 pillars of light, representing all our states and territories.

signaling joe biden will be our 46th president. this continues to be a moment where we all need to reflect on where we are and where we are headed. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned.

>> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to “amanpour & co..” here's what is coming up. >> we are seeing an extensive amount of concerning online chatter. >> the fbi director sounds the alarm about the potential for armed protests around the u.s. with hate speech percolating online for years before the u.s. capitol was ever stormed, we hear from the former fbi agent ally you -- ali soufan and margaret sullivan. and then -- this is the darkest part of the bureau's history. the fbi's action from more than 50 years ago coming under new scrutiny in a film about dr. martin luther king jr. why did the bur