03/16/20 03/16/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the first thing we have got to do is to shut this president up right now. he is undermining the doctors and scientists who are trying to help the american people. it is unacceptable for him to be blabbering with unfactual information, which is confusing the general public. >> we have to do testing. we have to get the testing kits up and running. i would take advantage of the world have -- world health

organization test kits. let's get all of the test we can done as quickly as we can. amy: democratic presidential rivals joe biden and bernie sanders face off in their first one-onon-one debate -- this time and midst the coronavirus d.c. studio with no live auaudience or handshake. today we bring you excererpts of that debate on where they agreed and where they didn't. voted for it. bankruptcyinst the bill come voted board. i voted against the war in iraq, which was also a tough vote. you voted for it. , which againinst nafta cost this country over 4 million good paying jobs. you voted for it. i voted against the hyde amendment, which denied lower income women the right to get an

abortion. for it.istently voted amy: we will get response from professor keeanga-yamahtta taylor of princeton university, who has endorsed sanders, and georgetown professor michael eric dyson, who backs biden. all that and more, comining up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today, an extended coronavirus global roundup. the coronavirus pandemic death toll has topped 6500 deaths with at least 1 170,000 confifirmed s worldwide. at least 77 thousand people have now recovered d from the diseae. though some e reports suggest tt has had lalasting healthmpmpacts and that r reinfection iss possible.. sweeping m measures are e being rolleded out across s europe, wh is now consisidered the epepicer of covidid-19, the disisease cad

by t cororonavus. italy remains on lockdown as it reported 368 new deaths sunday, bringing its death toll to over 1800. the vatican announced it will close holy week celebrations to the public. spain is now also on lockdown in an attempt to slow down the coronavirus spread. spain now w has the second most cases of the disease after italy, with 8000 infections and nearly 300 deaths as of sunday. video ememerged of people inin n cheering m medical workers in the e streets as the country prepared to shut down. spanish prime minister pedro sanchez's wife has been diagnosed with covid-19. deputy prime minister pablo iglesias w went into quararantie after his partnener, also a minister, was diagnosed with covid-19.

meanwhile,rtega smsmith and ntiago abascal of the far-right vovox party haveve ted positive. the party announced all lawmakers would work remotely. in france, the government ordered restaurants, bars, and movie theaters shut down. half of the coronavirus patients in critical condition in france are under the age of 60. austria has banned gatherings of more than five people, as well as a curfew enforced with fines. germany and denmark are closing their borders. meanwhile, in britain, the government of prime minister boris johnson is under fire for limiting its recommendation to self isolate to people over the age of 70. britain's chief science adviser also suggested letting a certain number of people get infected to bubuild "herd immunity" but government officials bkeked away from the comments,ayaying itas not the official policicy. ireland d has closed a all pubsd barsrs d days before s st. pat's y y celebrionsns. iran,n, t death t tl has

toeded 720with n nrly 14,000 confirmecases. in the past 24ours, ateast 0 peoe have dd in an. officialsay manyf those who ed were herwise althy. around 1 of the talities were und 40 yearof age. lebanon is embararking on a two-week lockdown, closing its airport and borders and ordering people to stay in their homes. south africa has declared a national disaster as covid-19 takes a foothold on the african cocontinent. kenya said it wawas closing its borderer to all non-n-residentso curb the sprpread of the diseas. at least 26 african countries are now reportrting cases. in latin america, colombia and panama are blocking entry for non-residents and citizens, and requiring those re-entering the country to self-isolate for two weeks. guatemala announced the first coronavirus death over the weekend. the 85-year-old man entered the country through madrid last month. in mainland china, where the

coronavirus first emerged but has steadily declined in recent days, 16 new cases and 14 new deaths were reported sunday. there arare now more cononfirmed infections outside of mainland china than inside. china has offered to help countries, including iran,n, ir, and italy d deal with the outbreak. the youth climate strike known as "fridays for future" has moved to a digital strike. swedish 17 teen activist greta thunberg, who started the weekly strike, tweeted -- "school strike week 82. in a crisis we change our behavior and adapt to the new circumstances for the greater good of society." here in the united states, coronavirus cases have now topped 3600, though the true number of cases remains unknown more -- the actual

number is expected to be far higher. president trump held a press conference sunday. trumka relax, we're doing great. it will all pass. "relax, we are doing great. it all will pass," trump said. minutes later, at the same press conference, anthony fauci, director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases and top member of trump's coronavirus task force, appeared to contradict the president. >> as i've said many times, the worst is ahead for us. amy: president trump had stepped out of the room at that point. trump declared a national emergency friday after intense backlash to his response to the pandemic and the devastating shortage of test. a reporter asked trump if he accepted responsibility for the lag in testing. preses. trump: know, i don't tae responsibility at all because we were given a set of cicircumstances and we were e gn rules, regulations, and

specifications from a different time. amy: a politico reporter told npr trump did not push for testing earlrlier on because hee wanted to keep the official case numbers low. during his remarks friday, which trtrump delivered in the rose garden, trump repeatedly shook hands with officials, and touched the microphone more than 30 times. in the e early hours of saturda, the house of representatives passed an emergency coronavirus bill that was intended to help infected workers by mandating paid sick leave, but the bill only guarantees the paid leave to around 20% of american workers. the bill does not apply to companies with 500 or more employees, and workplaces with fewer than 50 employees can request a hardship exemption. meanwhile, "the los angeles times" reported the trump administration isn't allowing states to expand medicaid during the coronavirus pandemic, as was

done during other crises such as after 9/11, hurricane katrina, and the h1n1 or swine flu outbreak. the trump administration proposed rules last summer that would loosen regulations around nursing homes, including doing away with a requirement that nursing homes employ at least one specialist in preventing infections. the coronavirus has killed 13 residents at the kirkland life care center in washington state, and over a third of employees have been found to have the infection. the white house s said saturday trump has tested negagative for covid-19 after coming in contact with brazilian president jair bolsonaro's press secretary, who is diagnosed with the illness. it is not clear what happened with bolsonaro. rereports were he tested positi, then was announced he testedd negative. the miami mayor has tetested popositive for the corononavirus after meeting with bolsonaro and his deference. bolsonaro oppressed via son said his father has been tested and

was negagative. as states ramp up measures to stem the spread d of the virus, the centers for disease control and prevention has recommended canceling gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. at least 33 states have announced school closures of some kind. new york city and los angeles, the nation's two largest school districts, arere shutting down classes starting today. new yorkrk city mayor r bill de blasio announced the closures sundnday after intense pressure from teachers, healthcare workers, and concerned new yorkers. de blasisio said it was possibie schoolols might remain closed through the rest of the school year. 1.1 million new york city students and their famililies wl be affected. new york now has t the highest number of coronavirurus cases in 730country with at least infections and six deaths. new york governor andrew cuomo

said the state has some 3000 icu beds and that 80% are cucurrenty occupied. at least seven states, including new york, illinois, massachusetts, and ohio are closing bars and restaurants to eat-in business but most will remain open for delivery or take-out. for now. major retail chains walmart, kroger, and trader joe's are restricting shopping hours, while apple closed all its stores outside greater china. nike is also closing u.s. stores. disney is closing all hotels and retail stores. whole foods ceo john mackey is under fire after he sent out an email to workers saying workers could donate accumulated paid time off to fellow employees with medical emergencies or a death in the family during the pandemic. in los angeles, all jury trials are reportedly being suspended, and all new criminal and civil trials are being put off for at least 30 days. the murder trial of real estate heir robert durst will be postponed. in colorado, the state legislature has shut down.

the peace corps is suspending its operations and evavacuatingg its volunteers around the world. in media news, the associated press had to temporarily shut down its d.c. office after a staffer came into contact with a possible coronavirus patient. six cvs workers have tested positive for coronavirus, and vox closed their offices after a worker tested positive. the aviation industry has taken a major hit. american airlines said it would cut international flights by 75% and u.s. flights by 20% through may. delta air lines announced a system wide 40% capacity cut and plans to ground up to 300 planes. president trump added the u.k. and ireland to the coronavirus into thetravel ban united states over the weekend. people returning home from overseas in recent days were made t to wait hours for screeng tests at airports, in some cases in overcrowded spaces. illinois governor j.b. pritzker

tweeted -- "the crowds & lines o'hare are unacceptable & need to be addressed immediately. @realdonaldtrump @vp since this is the only communication medium you pay attention to -- you need to do something now. these crowds are waiting to get through customs which is under federal jurisdiction." pritzker added -- "the federal government needs to ] together now." pritzker said sunday a trump staffer called and yelled at him for the tweets. meanwhile, two emergency room doctors -- one in new jersey and one in washington state -- are in critical condition, raising more fears for those delivering front line services. the chinese experience supports the fear that health-care workers are at particularly high risk. in other medical news, scientists at johns hopkins about to announce their developing a treatment option involving blood serum from recovered patients could de just weeks away.

in puerto rico, governor wanda vavasquez signed an executive order, shutting down most businesses and imposing a 9:00 p.m. curfew on the island. restaurants that offer delivery or takeout, pharmacies, gas stations, and banks will be spared. in financial news, the federal reserve cut the interest rate to near zero, plunging dow futures by 1000 points sunday, triggering to keep the stoxx from falling further. the fed also says it will inject money into the markets by buying $700 billion in bonds. trump congratulated the fed d on the move sunday. he said it made him very happy. a federal judge has blocked a trump rule that woululd have thrownwn 700,000 people off of food stamps, known as snap or supplemental nutrition assistance program. the rule would have required affected recipients to work at least 20 hours a week in order to qualify for food stamps beyond the first three months. u.s. district court judge beryl howell wrote -- "as a global pandemic poses widespread health risks,

guaranteeing that government officials at both the federal and state levels have the flexibility to address the nutritional needs of residents and ensure their well-being through programs likike snap, is essential." in immigration news, new york city congressmember alexandria ocasio cortez confronted an n ie agent at laguardia airport, who helped t transport six immigrant childrdren from texas to new yo, amid the pandemic. the congressmember intervened after immigrant rights group new sanctuary coalition sounded the alarm on the transportation of minors. senator bernie sanders and former vice president joe biden faced off and their first one to one debate sunday. the debate took place in cnn's studio in washington, d.c., with no live audience. it was originally scheduled to take place in arizona, ahead of the state's primary on tuesday, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. the candidates greeted each other with an elbow bump as they took the stage and sparred over healthcare, climate change, campaign funding, social security, their past vototing

record, and how best to fight pandemics like the coronavirus. cnn jake tapper asked the candidates about whether a revolution was the best path forward for the country. >> we have problems we have to solve now. now. what is a revolution going to do? disrupt everything in the meantime? the senator talks about his medicare for all. he still hasn't told you how he's ever going to get it passed. he hasn't told you how there's any possibility of that happening. he hasn't told you how much it is going to cause. he hasn't told you how it is going to apply. we want a revolution, let's act now. has the biden health care plan, which takes obamacare and restores all the cuts made to it, subsidizes further, provides for lower drug prices, make sure there's no hidden bills. invests in diabetes and alzheimer's and cancer. make sure we have a medicare option that is in a public

option providing medicare. we can do that now. i can get that passed most of >> if you want to create an economy that works for all, not just a few, guarantee quality health care to all, not make $100 billion in profit for the health care industry, do you know what you need? you need to take on wall street, take on the drug companies, and the insurance companies and the fossil fuel industry. you don't take campaign contributions from them, you take them on and create an economy that works for all. amy: four states are set to vote tuesday. ohio, arizona, florida, and illinois have all said they plan to go ahead with their primary despite the pandemic. louisiana and georgia have postponed their states' primaries as part of efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus. puerto rico also said it plans to postpone its primary to next month. in arizona, officials in maricopa county -- by far the largest county in the state, making up over half of arizona's population -- announced over one third of polling stations will be closed due to concerns related to covid-19. we'll have more on last night's

debate and the presidential primaries after headlines. inin iraq, rockets struck a base housing u.s. troops saturday, following u.s. airstrikes on iranian-backed militia groups last week that iraqi authorities say killed six people. the u.s. said the attacks last week were in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed two u.s. soldiers and a british army medic two days earlier. president barham salih warned such attacks from the u.s. could cause iraq to descend into a failed state and hand power to the islamic state. in brazil, the two men accused of assassinating rio de janeiro councilmember and activist marielle franco will face a jury trial. a brazilian judge also decided retired military police officer ronnie lessa and ex-military police elcio queiroz will be tried for the killing of franco's driver and the attempted killing of a former franco aide who were in the car at the time of the ambush. in february, another one of the hit men suspected of being involved was killed by police. marielle franco was assassinated just over two years ago. she was a vocal black lgbtq rights activist and a longtime critic of police brutality.

in new zealand, as communities across the country mourn the first anniniversary of t the christchurch mosque e massacre,a commemoration for the victims that was expected to draw large crowds was canceled over the weekend over fears of spreading the coronavirus. a smaller crowd still came together to sing and dance in honor of the 51 dead and dozens wounded. on march 15, 2019, a white supremacist terrorist attacked two mosques during friday prayers using an assault rifle. the suspect has since been charged with the murder of 51 people, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one terrorism charge. his trial l is expected to start this summer. amid the national emergency over coronavirus, president trump tweeted sunday he is considering pardoning former national security adviser michael flynn. "so now it is reported that, after destroying his life & the life of his wonderful family, and many others also, the fbi, working in conjunction with the justice department, has 'lost' the records of general michael

flynn," trump said. he went on -- "how convenient. i am strongly considering a full pardon!" it's unclear what records trump was referring to. flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi during its investigation of russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. and in los angeles, a group of unhoused mothers is trying to take over a vacant house and demanding the local government use all publicly owned vacant homes, libraries, recreation centers, and other properties to house people immediately. this comes as the coronavirus is putting unhoused people and other vulnerable communities at a higher risk of infection. in january, another group of unhoused moms in the bay area, known as moms 4 housing, were given an offer to purchase the property in oakland they occupied for months with their children. for our interviews with oakland's moms 4 housing, go to democracynow.org. and ththose are sosome of thee headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the death toll from the

coronavivirus pandemicic has tod with at least 170,000 confirmed 6500 cases worldwide and 77,000 people now recovered. in the united ststates, amid an unprecedented d national criris, with 3600 reported covid-19 cases, 61 deaths so far, 33 states closing schools, and mass shutdowns in major cities los angeles new york city. democratic presidential candidates joe biden and bernie sanders faced off in the one-on-o-one debate sunday nigh. first they clashed on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, medicare-for-all, the climate crisis, joe biden's record, and whether or not the u.s. needs a revolution. practicing social distancing, that would have been unimaginable even a week ago, did not shake hands. they touched elbows when they greeted each other, and stood six feet apart at the cnn-univision debate, which was

held with no audience in washington, d.c., instead of phoenix, arizona, due to concerns about the coronavirus. in the course of the two-hour debate, joe biden promised his running mate would be a woman. bernie sanders said in all likelihood, so would his running mate beat. dedicated toet was the coronavirus pandemic. the two also faced off on immigration, authoritarianism around the globe, and appealing to african american and latinx voters. they did not discuss the upcoming primaries in arizona, illinois, florida, and ohio this tuesday, where elections will go on despite all four states having confirmed coronavirus cases. georgia and louisiana have already pushed back their primary dates due to the pandemic. puerto rico has also said it plans to postpone its primary to next month. we are turning now to two guests to respond to last night's debate in the situatation we'ren today.

keeanga-yamahtta taylor and michael eric dyson join us. keeanga-yamahtta taylor is assistant professor of african-american studies at princeton university and the author of "race for profit: how banks and the real estate industry undermined black homeownership" and "from #blacklivesmatter to black liberation." she has endorsed senator bernie sanders for president and just wrote a piece for "the new york times" headlined "why sanders isn't winning over black voters." and michael eric dyson is a georgetown university professor, political analyst, and author. he has endorsed vice-president joe biden for president. his books include "jay-z: made in america" and "what truth sounds like: rfk, james baldwin, and our unfinished conversation about race in america." we welcome you both to democracy now! we originally both scheduled you for studios in philadelphia as well as washington, d.c., but

you're about that home now because of this pandemic. i was wondering before we even respond to the presidential debate last night, if you could just talk about your t thoughtss right now about yourselves, your family, and the community.. lelet's begin with p professor michael eric dyson. thank you so much for joining us and taking this time, speaking to us from youour home. >> always great to be on with equallyly brilliant -- [inaudible] the result of f this pandemic hs us to notaws, forced only distancee oururselves frote situation thahat causeses harm,t also the reality is that we live

those --ure where distancing themselves from the workplaces faced are consequences. amy: professor dyson, we're going to go to keeanga-yamahtta taylor because we are having a little trouble hearing you and we are going to fix that situation. profesessor keeanga-yamamahtta taylor, you are talking to us from your home as well. talk about what we are facing today. not in we are certainly normal circumstances right now. in fact, i would venture to guess that the majority of people who are watching and listening to this broadcast are going to be readading it a are w at homome. >> eggs, amy, , for having me o. glad to be able to talk toto you ,,ysnder thehese strange

surreal circumstances. unprecededented , the situation n th iss afctining ery singngle persosonn ththis country. some more an others.s. myself, m my child'd's daycarare e ended on f friday. evereryone is doioing everythind two-we i intervals. i i thinmost of us knowow the situatation isoioing to probably get a a lot worse beforere igets better. ththis will not be r resolved ie nextwo w weeks,o we arere dealing withth that. i haveve an underlying respipiry condition,n, which means i a am being particucularly mindful a n alert in staying at home. my wife and i arere both working from home. .aparentining our child

amy: a and princetonon universis now online only? >> yes. we have spspring break this week and then resume next week. acrs --ratitions college univerersity admiministration's across the countrtry have had t to improro. we will l see how it works.. i am not s sure how itit is goio wowork. i justst got an email from a g got aemail from a studt ofof me ththisorningng frfrom tokyo, was s in prieteto, new jersey last t week and now s in tokokyo askining me how is he suppososed to tune in to the class. these are unprecedented situations that we are going to

have to try to figure out. but i think the main thing is it thely is pointing to complelete absurdity a and dysfunctionalili of the entire aspects s of our society that we hahave to begin to deal with ina seriouous way. amy: professor michael eric dyson, i believe we have you back. we're going to go to break in just o one mininute. but if you could pick up where keeanga-yamahtta taylor left off . your choice of presidential candidate in the democratic party. but overall, the situation we're in right now with t this growing pandemicic. >> no question about it. the reality i is as profeoror taylor said, the absuity of vast reaches of our public sector that has failed fundamental -- the fundamental rights of citizens and put us at greater risk. it has exposed gaping holes in the logic of supplying those

most vulnerable, shredding the safety net in the most who are most capable to retreat into our wombs of protection revealed the economic disparities that need toto be e addressed of the health-care crisis that has been revealed to the pandemic also revealed a crisis of capital, i, -- crisis of conscience, and a crisis a provision for those are most vulnerabable, no question about that. our choice of different candidates here is a matatter of strategy and pragmatism, not about the philosophical commitment to the reconstruction of american sociciety along once that would benefit the most vulnerable. amy: we will go to break and then be rejoined by our guests and play clips from the democratic presidential primary that was held last night in a cnn's studio instead of before a live audience with the candidates bernie sanders and joe biden standing six feet apart from each other for safety reasons in this coronavirus

pandemic. stay with us.. ♪ [music break]

amy: that is quarantined italian singing singing "none child slid" from his balcony in florence, italy. while italy is unlocked out from the coronavirus. at the end of the song, his little boy jumps into his arms and put his hands on his ears and his father stops singing. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are spending the hour discussing sunday night's democratic presidential debate. it took place in the studios of cnn and washington, d.c., instead of in phoenix, arizona, before a live audience because of the pandemic. at the beginning of the night, senator sanders and vice president joe biden, after doing elbow bumps instead of handshakes, were asked about how they would respond to the coronavirus pandemic and quickly began to debate medicicare for all. this is a part of their exchange beginning with joe biden. >> with all -- with all the respect to medicare for all, have a single-payer system in italy will stop it doesn't work there. it does not have anything to do with medicare for all. that would not solve the problem at all. we can take care of that right now by making sure no one has to pay for treatment period because of the crisis, no one has to paper whatever drugs are needed period because of the crisis, no one has to pay for

hospitalization because of the crisis period. that is the national emergency and that is how it is handled. it is not working in italy right now, and they have a single-payer system. now, with regard to what else i would do, the fact is that we're in a position where i would bring together the leading experts in the world. instead of doing this -- in the united states -- instead of doing this piecemeal, sit down and do what we did before with the ebola crisis, what is needed and have one voice, one voice, like we did every day we met in that crisis in the situation room, laying out -- so we lay out overall, for all nation, what the best proposal is and how to move forward. in the absence of that, governors are making some sound decisions. they're doing the best they can by going out and getting the health care experts in their communities and their states to move. but it should be directed from the white house, from the situation room, laying out in detail like we did in the ebola crisis. and we beat it. >> thank you. senator sanders, your response?

>> well, first of all, the dysfunctionality of the current health care system is obviously apparent. as i said earlier, there are people who hesitate going to the doctor. you're going to have a maze of regulations -- well, if this is my income, if that's my income, can i get it, can i not get it? clearly, we are not prepared. and trump only exacerbates the crisis. when we spend twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation, one might expect that we would have enough doctors all over this country. one might expect that we would have affordable prescription drugs. one might expect that we are preparing effectively for a pandemic that we were ready with the ventilators, with the icus, with the test kits that we need. we are not. and bottom line here is, in terms of medicare for all, despite what the vice president is saying, what the experts tell us is that one of the reasons that we are unprepared and have been unprepared is we don't have a system. we've got thousands of private

insurance plans. that is not a system that is prepared to provide health care to all people. in a good year, without the epidemic, we're losing up to 60,000 people who die every year because they don't get to a doctor on time. it's clearly this crisis is only making a bad situation worse. >> that has nothing to do when you're in a national crisis. the national crisis says, we're responding. it's all free. you don't have to pay for a thing. that has nothing to do with whether or not you have an insurance policy. this is a crisis. we're at war with the virus. we're at war with the virus. it has nothing to do with co-pays or anything. we just pass a law saying that you do not have to pay for any of this, period. >> that's not true. as a matter of fact, that's not true. that law has enormous loopholes. i understand that nancy pelosi did her best, republicans prevented it. >> no, i'm -- >> what -- what you're talking

about, joe, here is enormous loopholes within that, that, in fact, it is not necessarily covering treatment for all people in america and that people are going to be stuck with the bill unless we change that. and we're going to offer legislation to, in fact, change that. >> if i may, i offered legislation. i laid out on my plan that it would cover exactly what is not covered by the house. i laid out in the plan that i laid out for how we would deal with this crisis. nobody -- nobody will pay for anything having to do with the crisis. this is a national emergency. there isn't a question of whether or not this is something that could be covered by insurance or anything else. we, out of the treasury, are going to pay for this. it's a national emergency. amy: so that is joe biden and bernie sanders at last man's debate. we continue with keeanga-yamahtta taylor caresses professor and michael eric dyson georgetownwn university profess.

, let's begindyson with you. if you can explain how you came to t the decision to support v e president biden and his response on the issue of medicare for all -- which he said, only recently in the last few weeks, that if he was president, he would veto if it came to his s desk as presidenent. >> well, look, i have great respecect for both of f thesee n to are b battling g it out become t d democraticc nominee for the president of the united states of america. i came to my d decision about je biden because i thohought he had the best and most effective methodology to deployed to become successful to becocome president of t the uniteted stas ofof america, to embody some of those progressive principless that i i hold and that we hold n common. obviviously, nobodody agrees compmpletely w with the person r

she selects as a nominee, but i think that joe biden possesseses the a ability to get elelected - whicich is critical -- then to work with the vast numbers of people in consultation to make certain that t the widest rangef ideas s are available under the "big umbrella" of the democratic connections to forge and conversations with those people to get things done. even on stage lalast n night whn you saw bernie sanders and biden exhibiting come in some cases, sharply contrtrasting methododologies,s, philosophiesd approaoaches to what they might do, the ultimate goal they share in common, that something is wrong in america, that trump, his hostility to the vulnerablb, his indiffererence to those who are most likely to suffer, and his racist, s sexist, xenophobic practis have e to be defeated. and i think k we have more in common in that sense than we do

that divivides us -- though, , e yawning abyss that divides us on some issues is undeniable.. mine is a very pragmatic and practical approach is a black progressive in america to suggest t that j joe biden posss the electabilility, the foresig, the insight, and the ability to vastate a consensus among numbers of african-american peopople. now, we know the black vote is not homogenous. we know therere is -- ththat olr black southerners madade believe one thing ththat black sisters hahave one thing in mind, that a another,essives have but we canannot stereoeotype. we know therere are youngnger pe are morere moderate and d olderr are progressive. the reality is there is a broad variety of contingencies constituted witithin black amera

alone and more broadly within the democratic -- i think joe biden n has the best possibility of artrticulating nuananced conceptions of phihilosophical ideas that a person n like a bernieie sandersrs would hold tt bernie has p pushed him i think and progressive fashion, but also invited biden to articulate what it is about his own particular practices that would get him elected. so in thatat sense, i think i se withth joe biden becauause joe n has ththe possibility of b becog president t and enactiting in real-t-time the ideals, some of which he sharess with bernie sanders. if: keeanga-yamahtta taylor, you would respond, you are a bernie sanders suppoporter, on both issues as -- respond on the issue of medicare for all and also that joe biden recently said he would veto medicare for on hisl if it landed desk as president -- but also you did just write this piece and "the new york times" that

says why sanders isn't winnnng ov black v voters. >> yeah. a couple of thinings. i came to support sanders because e i think hisis politicd his politicacal program actually cacaptes the depepths of the prproblem in crises in the unitd states rigight now, , even befoe the corononavirus hit t u u.s. the problems with the ote desksk amount -- grotesquee a aunt of ininequality in this cououry, te way thatat manifest itself particularlyly and black cocommunities in t terms of underemployment, the issues with raracial j justice -- ininjustih the criminal justicece system in this country, issueses with housing anand security. the entirety of the sanderers prograram captures the abiding

prproblem of ineququality in the united states riright now that s disproportionate impmpact in african-americanan communieses. so for me, t this was not a difficulult d decision.n. i am someonene who is deeply cynical about electal politics and have b been for r some time. in many ways, i remain atat way. 2016 o oders canandidacy in someone who identifies as a socialist for the e firstime inn a mainstreream election garnered 13 million votes that i think problems in deep the society. in the deededesire to dodo sosomeing a about them. but be on n issue of the progra, i think - -- of sanders p progri think that there are two things that are really important. his commimitment to solidarity that is simplplified byby his

m me,"ign slogan,n, "us, not oror -- and d the political revolulution, which h is reallyt abouout saying, understanding tt in order to pass the kind of dramatic legislation that t is necessary y to t transform t ths ofof people in t this country, t it i is not just g goi to o co from wasashington, d.c. it most likely won'tome from washington, c.c., but itit actually hasas to be purursu bya social movement t on t ground. it has to o pursued butut organinizing on the grground. and bebernie sanders is byby fae only candidate that understands that. so when n people t talk abt his polilitical program iss pie-in-t-the-sky, unreisistic, t only is that t traying ththeir n cynicism -- for that matter, ignororance -- about the way

prprogressss has been achihieven this country, but itit dismisses what i t think is very differert and fundndamental a about how he sees the enactment of ththese policies, , which is t through d social movements on the groun that have e the ability to politicallyy coerce a congress that is filled withh millionanaires, that is s filled politiciansterestst who have very ttle interest - -- many of whomom have ryry little- have disisplayed very little interest in n the condiditions f the peoeople who o are woe off n this countryry. and i i think nonow more t than, we see t the absolute cessity for univerl l health care e in this country. thatat joe bididen can show hise in public and talk stilill out affordablele health c care en we have a convergence of a public health care crisis s and an

econonomic crisis and the s soln to the public health care crisis is what wiwill drive thehe econc quarantntine,ation, putting g the country on lockdon will exaxaceate the economic that is about t to be leashed d in this ununtry. so t the notion that health care should b be affordable, that prescriptions shshld be affofordable in a time where people's ilility tofffford anything f f ordinaryy working class peopop their ability t afford anythingg w will bebehron into absolute p peril, mamakes o sense. and d i think what sananders sad over the w weekend, that we are safe a as the leased insuredd peperson, has never m made more sense than it d does in t ts moment. thahat we the cririsis are coconfronteded with as a a e rightt nowow, not t only highlit the vastst inequalitity that ise

ununderbelly of u.s. society, tt is usually and ticically hididd, ththe lives of popoor people are almost a always papered over and hidden in this country, and aa moments s of cririsis, they come bubbling to the surfac socieiety, areas s a we going to o use this opppporty or use this moment to a actually imimplement fundamental c changr are we goioing to contntin to kk the cacan down the road and actg as if there e is somee normall o get back to. thisis thing is gogoing to forer alter the way we interactctith eaeach othther, forever aerer t- probably life e as we know it ad ununderstood it toto be in the unitited states. amy: we're going to go to break -- we have to think about things fundamentally different. amy: we're going to code to break and come back to this discussion with keeanga-yamahtta taylor, endorses bernie sanders,

speaking to us from her home in philadelphia. so many are now at their homes all over this country and around the world. in many cases, their countries are lockdown. in other occasions, they are in self-quarantine and in other cases they are simply protecting themselves and their communities. speaking to dyson us from his home, georgetown university professor, endorsing joe biden. we will be back with them in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: "flowers on the wall." this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. the hourending discussing sunday night's democratic presidential debate in the midst of the pandemic and playing highlights of joe biden and bernie sanders. at one point, joe biden said if he wins the nomination, he will pick a woman to be vice president. debate moderator asked sanders if he would do the same. this is the exchange beginning with biden. >> if i'm elected president, my cabinet, my administration will lookok like the coununtry. and i commit that i will in fact appoint -- pick a woman to be

vice president. there are number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. i would pick a woman to be my vice president. >> just to be clear, you guys committed here tonight that if you are elected -- nominated, your running mate will be a woman? nomination,t the will you? >> in all likelihood, i will. for me, it is not just nominating a woman. it is making sure we have a progressive women -- and there are progressive women out there. i very strong tendency is to move in that direction. amy: we are joined by kekeeanga-yamahtta taylor of princeton university and michael eric dyson of georgetown. when you heard this, keeanga-yamaht t taylor, whatat was your response? mattersn, you know, i it whatat the woman's popolitics a.

is joe bididen picking condoleea ririce? is h he picking kamal harris?? woman whosecking a arere,s reflect his, which you know, based in the lologic f mamarket capitalalism? g gave a mo sanders honest answer. i think k is imporortant he is thinking about choosing a woman asas a runnining mate, but thaht actually matters what her politics would be. amy: michael eric dyson, your response to joe biden, the man you're supporting for president, sayingng he would absolutelyly choose vice presidential running mate, a woman? close i think ironically enough, aboutby y professor till

the vast inequalities that exist, the rising rates of unemployment, even ostensibly strong economy, and heard from her previous administration that is now -- whose coattails have been written by presesident tru. when we look at fracking and health care and medicare for all, when we look at the best educational disparities that exist in this country to the therese which the fundament of inequality continue to punish those at the lower end of the totem pole come all of that is true. the reason joe biden can show his face, so to speak his joe biden has been trusted by the very people who have beeeen the victims of whitete supremacy socialal injustice, economic inequality in america. the irony y that the very people whose backs havave been against ththe wall, those are te most vululnerable citizensns ins by and large seem to orieient themselves towaward a n who isisapable of transmittingng thee ideals, the vision, the

powower, the energy for social revolution a and transformationn that bernie e sanders has appli, that he certainly h has evoked, that he has s stoped up and the masses of people who support him ---- that those people have contended that joe biden might be -- when it comes to gender, how is thihinot the same business as usual that professor taylor spoke about? joe bibiden is giviving an break must've only two womemen, geraldine perraraun 191984 and hillary clilinton in 2016, have been on a national ticket -- and of coursrse, sarah that -- so thehe reality is innocence, bernie sanders inability to grapple with the existential dilemmas produced by the scourge of identity politics has been one of the v veins of s political existencnce. wants toe revolutution he

imagine occurs, it seems to place an unrestricted embrace of a class of issues of gender and race and the like was the what ends up happening is that gender exacererbates class. race exacerbates class. yes, you want to find d a woman who is in ideological s sabbatil withth you. no queststion about it. but why presume only a man would fill that spot. amy: let's put that question to keeanga-yamahtta taylor. >> let me just quickly say -- dyson, 10ssor seconds. >> resesumption that women will autotomatically do that, that yu automatically have a woman who will find ideological equivalents with you is part of the problem of toxic masculinity and unconscious bias. amy: let's put that question to prpressor taylylor. >> there are a couplple of thin.

one is the a actual irony y is t jojoe bididenwho spent t his eni career up until ththis very m mt -- really comeme up until hehe s o obama, whether it is blesessing, whetheher it is ther onrugs, whwhether it is his authorshship of the c crandall, whetether it was his fervent support for bibill clinton''s wearare refo in 1996, is mamapulating t the racial voters by --of whitee in order to cucurry favor with white suburban n voters at the expense of african-ameriricans. that has b been the re o on joe bideden before obama picked him. in fact, you know, most people -- manany people think t that bn actuly d does or obamama picked

bideden as a signalal to the sae voters that heheasn'as dangerououas the repepublicans were makaking him out to be. this kindnd of resurrected history of joe bididen as the kd of mouththpiece for black a amea actutually makes no sense. bidenen has noe discscernibl policy that anyone can a actually s state. african-american v voters in particular, those who voteded fr biden i t think do so b becausef hihi formemer proximityy to bark t to questions s about elelectability. manyn politically, african-amererican voters suppot bernie sanders prorograms.. the story that t was hit in

febrryry because o of the way tt michael l bloombererg crashed io the primary w was the wayn which bernie s sanders suppoport among like voters had dramatiticay increased, with one pole having himm overtakenen joe biden. a yearar ago, , joe biden had a0 point lead o on bernie sandeders among g black votersrs. thatat had a almost disappeaear. for a variety of reasons, that inclcludes the onsetet of the in theavirus as the thining united states s thatncluluded te consolidatioion of m moderates aroundnd joe biden a and that unfofortunately y also incncludd izabeth wararren for weeks talking about how bernieie sands can n get ananything d don-- all coalesced at the sameme te to ise this question of electabibility. but i thinkk thahat is different from s saying that blalack votes haveve gravitated d to joe biden because of his political programs. no onenows what his s tual

politicacal program m is. it is s honest iosossibltoto fid aa siningle policycy that jojoen stands for. soso they're a all of these e oe rereasons that have been attacad to b biden that a are i think explainened does explain his popularity among black voters now. amy: michael eric dyson, your response? >> i would dismiss the legitimacy of africacan-american voters. i i would not unundercut the aby of african-american voters to make distinct ruinsns -- distinctions between candidates. this is a re-articulation of logic i i think i is perninicio. the doubt and skepticism about black intelligence and the ability of black prudence to be able to adjudicate them -- complains about what is good and bad for black america. undercuts the ability to believe that black voters know what thehell they're doing. when black people were salted, oh, my god, a candidate who has

no understanding of what the existential dilemmas have been a black people, nonene of the political hurts and hardrdships they have endured. so to o reduce black peoplple support for joe biden to his proximity toto barack obama is - professor taylylor has laid out the fact she thought for the argument was that obama was signaling to white resentment and the cast of white people -- amy: we have 10 seconds. >> you c can't have it both way. you're undercutting black voters either way. i think like voters are intelligent. they are wise. they understand -- the sanders idealism cannot trump with what joe biden has been able to d doo convince that very constituency -- amy: we're going to have to leave it there but this is a discussion we want to continue and we will certainly get you both back on as we deal with this pandemic. we thank you both for spending

this time from your homes. michael eric dyson has endorsed vice president joe biden. keeanga-yamahtta taylor we want .o thank democracy now! is looking for