03/31/20 03/31/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, the epicenter of the pandemic in the united states, this is democracy now! more than 3100. that is the number of the debts in the united states. monday marked the deadliest day of the pandemic estates demand ventilators, masks, and other medical supplies. michigan is a growing hotspot struggling to prepare for a surge in cases, but president

trump has repeatedly attacked michigan's governor, calling her "that woman." we will speak with the former director of the detroit health apartment abdul el-sayed, physician and epidemiologist. his new book just out today is "healing politics: a doctor's journey into the heart of our political epidemic." then in exclusive democracy now! tv/radio broadcast. we speak with tara reade about her allegations that joe biden, went to senator, assaulted her staff3 when she was his assistant. >> and then his hands were on me and underneath my clothes. went -- he went down my he penetratednd me with his fingers. tells her story and the

response to it at this point. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the globe with nearly 38,000 known deaths and close to 800,000 confirmed cases. here in the united states, the death toll has topped 3100, meaning more americans have now died from covid-19 than from the 9/11 terror attacks. nearly 520 of those deaths were reported monday, the highest number in a single day so far. three quarters of american residents are now under stay-at -home orders as people in at least 31 states, the district of columbia, and puerto rico have been told by officials to stay

home except for necessities, or if they provide essential services. some states have resisted such moves though, including missouri, where republican governor mike parson, hahas dend pleas from acrososs the state's medical community to issue a stay-at-home order, even as the state's coronavirus cases recently topped 1000. maryland, virginia, and washshington, d.c., enacted ther shelter-in-place orders mondada d.c. and maryland residents subject to hefty fines and imprisonment f for violating the strict measures. dr. anthony fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a member of president trump's coronavirus task force, said monday another coronavirus outbreak in the fall is likely but that the nation would be better equipped toto handle it. on monday, president trump boasted one million people in the united states have been tested for coronavirus -- weeks

after he vowed to hit that number within days. and a conference call with governors, trump suggested there was no longer a problelem with a lack of test kits despite repeated calls for more tests around the country. momontana governor steve bullock said his state was one day away from running out of tests. other governors, including j.b. pritzker of illinois and gretchen whitmer in michigan , have called out the administration's handling of the crisis and the severe shortages in medical equipment and personal protective equipment. trump has also boasted about the government's ability to produce ventilators and said the u.s. would be able to send a surplus to other nations in need as doctors and nurses around the united states sayay their hospitals need them here. during a an interview on f fox & frfriends monday, presidt t trup celebrated the fact that the $2 .2 trillion stimulus package left our provivisions by democrs

in earlier versions of the bill that would have expanded voting access. pres. trump: if you look at before and after, things they had in there were crazy. they had things, levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it, would never have a republican elected in this country again. amy: in new jersey, a nursing home in wanaque is on lockdown after a covid-19 outbreak killed at least eight people and infected many others. last week, nearly 100 residents at a nursing home in woodbridge, new jersey, were evacuated from the facility after two dozen people tested positive for the coronavirus and all residents were presumed to be infected. clusters of coronavirus cases have b been observed at nursing homes around the country, including in maryland, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia. as cases surge in the state of new york, the epicenter of the outbrereak in the united states, some nurses say they've been pressured to return to work despite having covid-19 symptoms.

meanwhile, new york congressmember nydia velasquez announced monday she's been tested positive, she said coronavirus infection." she said she likely has a mild case but experienced muscle aches, fevers, nasal congestion and stomach h upset and that lot the ability to smell or taste food. congressmember vasquez spoke on the house floor and stood alongside house speaker nancy pelosi last friday during the signing of the coronavirus stimulus bill. in more news from new york city, public transit passengers are calling out dangerously crowded subways and buses as the metropolitan transportation authority has reduced service in response to a drop in ridership during the pandemic. the mta announced over the past week that seven workers have died due to complications from covid-19. over 300 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed among mta employees.

that number expectededo be far higher if more tests were available. as cases surge in the state of new york, the epicenter of the outbreak here in the united states, some nurses say they've been pressured to return to work having covid-19 symptoms. again, nydia velasquez said she tested positive. labor rights advocates are condemning amazon for firing a warehouse worker who organized a strike at its staten island, new york, facility monday. the fired worker and dozens of others walked out to demand more protective measures and that amazon close and sanitize the warehouse after multiple coworkers tested positive for covid-19. this is an amazon worker spspeaking monday from the walkout. >> and i'm doing this because of my health and my coworkers health as well. properly be cleaned

and we should -- amy: grocery s store delivery ap instacart also staged a protest monday to demand better worker protections and hazard pay. in other new york city news, beloved transgender advocate has died after contracting covid 19 at the age of originally from mexico, bore-has 59. has been called the mother of the transgender latinx community in new york and fought tirelessly for the rights and people,ng of lgbtq immigrant communities, and sex workers. lorena borjas started a mutual aid fund for members of the transgender community who were suffering financial hardship during the pandemic. also in new york, world-renowned neurosurgeon, dr. james goodrich, has died from complications of covid-19. dr. goodrich treated countless children with neurological diseases and was well known for his surgical work on conjoined twins. tributes poured in monday from

colleagues at the montefiore medical center and the albert einsteinin college of medicine where he taught. leastladelphia, at protesters shut down traffic and 100 parked their cars in the middle of city streets surrounding city hall and other government buildings to demand the city release non-violent prisoners and d immigrant prisoners in light of thee pandemic. inin new jersey, families with loved ones imprisoned at the bergen county jail held a demonstration friday outside the jail to demand governor phil murphy free all imimmigrants in detention. in michigan, ford motor company and gegeneral electric will produce 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days to help fulfill the dire need fofor the lifesaving device at hospitals across the country. the companies say they can produce 30,000 units per month as long as hospitals need them. the announcement came as ge workers in massachusetts staged

a protest to demand the facility where they work -- which normally manufactures jet engines -- start producing ventilators and rehire thousands of recently laid off workers. ge announced last week it was firing 10% of its aviation workforce due to staggering losses experienced by the airlinine industryry becauause e coronavirus pandemic. in florida, the pastor of a megachurch in tampa bay was arrested for refusing to cancel massive church services in violation of emergency orders against public gatherings. the hillsborough county sheriff said pastor rodney howard-browne demonstrated a "reckless disregard for human life." federal judges have struck down recent abortion bans that texas and ohio enacted as part of their response to the coronavirus pandemic by claiming abortions are e nonessenal prococedures. judge lee yeakel said -- "regarding a woman's right to a

pre-fetal-viability abortion, the supreme court has spoken clearly. there can be no outright ban on such a procedure." some 7300 peace corps volunteers who were recalled amid the pandemic are now facing steep challenges, including unemployment, the loss of a regular stipend, as well as housing and healthcare benefits as t they readjust to life backn the united states. they were all fired. the first known death of a u.s. mimilitary member from coronavis was reported monday. at least 600 cases have been reported among members of the military. he was from new jersey. the justice department and the securities and exchange commission have launched a joint investigation after several lawmakers sold off s stocks aftr they received privileged briefings about the coronavirus pandemic's threat to the economy. the fbi has also contacted republican senator richard burr for information about the transactions. in other news from capitol hill,

mark meadows resigned as a north carolina congressmember monday to officially start his new position today as trump's chief of s staff. as corononavirus cases surge across the country, infectious disease and medical experts are developing new theories about the spread of the disease and its manifestations. in washington state, a gathering of asymptomatic choir singers earlier this month resulted in dozens of cases of covid-19, including two deaths. scientists say it was likely passed through the air, refuting earlier studies that say contagion via aerosolized particles is highly unlikely. meanwhile, cardiologists are warning that some covid-19 patients have worse cardiac symptoms than respiratory ones, in some cases mimicking a heart attack. spain repoported over 800 0 new deaths as authorities called for monday a period of nationwide hibernation.n. spain has now surpassed china in cases, reaching nearly 88,000.

this includes over 12,000 health care workers. the director of emergency health services has also tested positive. anti-fascist activist and former political prisoner jose maria galante, known as chato galante, has died from coronavirus. chato galante fought against the dictatorship of francisco franco and belonged to the revolutionary communist league. he was arrested and tortured multiple times under franco. galante was featured in the acclaimed 2018 documentary "the silence of others." inin hungary, critics warn authoritarian anti-immigrant prime minister viktor orban is using the crisis to pass sweeping new laws to further consolidate his power, allowing him to rule by decree and giving him authority to override existing legislation, prevent elections, and arrest and jail journalists that may be critical of his nationalist government and their response to the

pandemic. in italy, the death toll hasas topped 11,000 with confirmed cases now topping over but 100,000. italian officials have also reported the country experienced the lowest daily case count in two weeks, raising hopes that the country is slowly flattening the curve ofof infectitions. in germany, 17 peoplple have did at a nursing home e in the cityf wolfsbururg, where thehe majorif the city's 145 confirmed coronavirus cases come from elderly residents living at the facility. in f france, healtlth authoritis reported a new daily high monday with more than 400 coronavirus deathsbringing t total dea tollo more tn 3000. in israe prime misteter beamin netyahu is tering into quarantine aftean aide tested positive for covid-19. netanyahu is expected to agree on an emergency unity government with rival benny gantz amid the

coronavirus outbreak, in a blow to many who hoped to see netanyahu losese political p por after fafailing to win recenent elections. in afghanistan, authorities began releasing hundreds of prisoners as part of an effort to limit outbreaks of the coronavirus. up to 10,000 older prisoners could be frereed. afghanistan has reported over 170 cases and four deaths. in other news from afghanistan, at least 28 afghan soldiers were killed in taliban attacks across the country in recent days, postponing the release of around 100 taliban prisoners. in nicaragua, fears are mounting that a devastating outbreak could overwhelm the healthth system as the government of president dadaniel ortega s neglecteted to put i in place pr mitigation measures, encououragg political l rallies and otheher gatherings. onlyly four known cases have ben reported thus far. in el salvador, thousands gathered outside a government building in the capital san salvador monday to demand the $300 government checks president

bukele promised to some 1.5 million households who work as street vendors and other jobs in the informal economy. el salvador has been on a nationwide lockdown for nearly two weeks. in mexico, the government declared a health emergency monday and issued stricter rules aimed at stemming the spread of covid-19 after cases nationwide topped 1000 and the death toll is nearing 30 people. mexican president andres manuel lopez obrarador has come under fire for floututing social distancing guidelines and attending rallies and other crowded publblic events. in india, footage has surfaced of health workers hosing migrant workers with disisinfectant asas they try to makeke their way hoe following a nationwideocockdown announced last week. many m migrants have reported harrowing jojourneys home followining the order, includidg several reports s ofeaths along the way. acroross asia, couriries and

regions that have been able to control the number of coronavirus infections -- such as china, hong kong, and singapore -- now fear tourists who begin n traveling baback to thesese places will trigger a wawave of outbrereaks. second china, hong kong, singaporore have all b barred foreign travelers from entering to stem the spread of coronavirus. inin south africa, a police officer was arrested for allegedly killing a man who violated recently-enacted lockdown measures. the man was reportedly shot to death on sunday after a group of police officers followed him home from a bar. this comes as south africa's dedense ministster on monday condemned police brutality by ---- zimbabwe has embarked on a 21-day coronavirus lockdown. this is a harare resident.t. >> the majority of these people survive from hand to mouth. when it was announced, most people did not have enough money. in the meantime, people will not have food to e eat and we e areo afraid ato how we will survive by the timime 21 days have p pa. they may c come back in the unid states, democratic presidential candidate and former vice president joe biden has doubled

down on his rejection of single payer healthcare as the coronavirus pandemic has already created record levels of unemployment, which is costing many their employer-sponsored health care and millions of americans face economic devastation. ththis is joe biden speaking on msnbc. >> single payer willll not solve that. the thing that is needed, for example, we have a whole number of hospitals that are being so stretched, including rule hospitals, they will need moree financing. that does not come from a singlele-payer system. thatat comes f from the federal government stetepping up and dealing with the concerns t they have. amy: exit polls at primary voting sites show democrats largely favor a single payer system, such as medicare for all, including in conservative states. as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, a number of states have quietly passed laws to criminalize protests against the fossil fuel industry. kentucky, south dakota, and west virginia rececently approvoved w laws imposing harsh penalties, including jail time, on protest actions that damage or block

so-called critical infrastructure, such as pipelines that are used for the production and transport of fossil fuels. in media news, gannett, which ownsns usa today, has announcedt is cutting pay and furloughing workrkers after a major loss in advertising revenue amid the economic downturn spurred by the pandemic. meanwhile, the "tampa bay times" said it is reducing its print publication to just two days per week and is furloughing workers during the crisis. in idaho, republican governor brad little signed into law two bills monday, attacking the rights of transgender people. one measure prohibits transgender people from amending their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity. the other bars trans women and girls from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identity. the anti-trans bills were signed on the eve of the international transgender day of visibility, which is today. rights groups have vowed to challenge the legislation.

and the mashpee wampanoag tribe said it will fight back after the trump administration announced its reservation would be disestablished and it would lose its land trust status. trump's move will halt plans to build a casino, which would have competed with nearby casinos in rhode island that have well-established ties s to trum. and one clarification from earlier, new y york congssssman burton nydia velasququez annound monday she has been diagnosed with presumed coronavirus infection, but unclear if she has tested positive. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic in the united states, new york city. i am joined by my cohost juan gonzalez, who is wonderful to see through a virtual medium, joining us frorom home from the number two state in the country,

that is new jersey. joining us from new brunswiwick, where he teacheses at rutgers university. a all of ourgs to listeneners and viviewers acrose world as we dodo our best to maneuverer through this terrible tim that -- pandememic andnd tro chronicle the responses from government officials and the public health community and most important, as we seek k to expoe the inenevitable attempt by the worst elements of our society to exploit and profit from the crisis. are when we come back, we going to michigan. we will be joined by a epidemiologist, by a man who ran for governor and was the former head of the detroit health department, to talk about, well, what looks like is one of the major hotspots in this country -- detroit, michigan, and the state of health care in this country in the midst of the pandemic. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: singing in their homes, in one case in the shower come as part of a national campaign encouraging people to slow the spread of the coronavirus during the lockdown by sheltering at home. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic i in new york, , cohosg is juan gonzalez, broadcasting from his home in new brunswick, new jersey. the deadliest day of the pandemic in the united states with more than 500 deaths reported. the total death toll in the united states has now passed 3100 -- a number that's tripled since thursday. medical workers are bracing for that number to soar in the coming weeks. in new york state, the current epicenter of the pandemic, the

peak of the crisis is expected to come around april 10, when one study estimates 827 people will die of the virus in a single day. more than 1200 people here in new york have already died. in michigan, a growing hot spot for the virus, the death toll is expected to peak a day after new york with 164 deaths on april 11. nearly 200 people have died already in michigan as the city of detroit prepares for a swell of cases. michigan state representative isaac robinson dieied of the vis in a detroit mic he was only 44 years old. detroit's police commissioner has tested positive for the virus and 500 officers are in quarantine. detroit's hospital system is already overwhelmed. the city has high rates of

asthma and chronic illness. meanwhile, president trump has repeatedly attacked michigan governor gretchen whitmer, who is calling on the federal government to offer more medical supplies and who is expected to shutter the state's schools for the remainder of the school year by the end of this week. they are already closed, but announced they wouould be closed for good for this semester. well, for more, we're joined by the former director of the detroit health department and a recent candidate for governor michigan, abdul el-sayed. he's a physician and epidemiologist and the author of "healing politics: a doctor's journey into the heart of our political epidemic." the book is just out today. his recent piece for the guardian is headlined "coronavirus is exploiting an underlying condition: our epidemic of insecurity." thank you so much for joining us , doctor, from your home. again, to protect your family, yourself, and community spread.

how critical this is. can you u talk overall -- i mea, every time i see president trump talking about "that woman," meaning the governor of michigan, saying hehe told vice president pence not to call her because he does not like her, also talked about the governor of washington state as well, talking about him as a terrible person. and yet your governor continues to say things like they had just gotten a federal shipment and she said, this shipment is not enough for one shift at one hospital in my state. talk aboutut the state of michigan, , dr. abdbdul el-saye. >> thank youou for having me. what we are seeing is just an utter lapse in federal leadership.. it is cleaear the individudual d ththe white e house is more of d of a political party, whose job it is to dividee the country between himself and leaders and other states whilile you have

governors in places like michigan or washingtonon or new york you realize that that isis the responsisibility rightht no. michigan is ththe state with 10 million people, one of the most diverse states in the country. also, we have had is very devastatining history of what hs been a level of leadership that has taken from communities like detroit to pass tax cuts for major corporations across the state. when you think about the momovement of a a pathogen like coronavirus, it isis easy to fos on the pathogen. epidemiologists thinink not just about the pathogen, but the h ht anand the environmnment. we have seen people left in community's like detroit fundamentalllly v vulnerable tos disease. that is why we are seeing the spike we're seeing now. in the absence of federal leadership to coordinator response, we are seeing suffering that did not have t to happen.. juanan: dococtor, you talk often that this is not j just a questn of the epidemic of covivid-19

itself, but t that there is also an epidemic of insecurity in n e country. could you expand on that? >> i spent 18 months during m my state. i thought when i walked into my campaign that the c challenges that p people faced in places le detroit or flintnt had to be different than the ones they faced in plalaces like kalkaska. then i i toward the statate. as it you but, i'll just, my job is to understand how disease moves between people. one of the most interesting but inspiring things that i found was that people who were talking about the same set of issues, why water is so expensive and esestate thahat is surrounded by freshwater and why our educati system is been corporatized and profited oftenen by people like betsy devos, white is that people still can get health care in the richest, momost powerful country in the world. i realize that all of us are living in this system that has moved more of the means of

wealth off to the very top, leaving all of ththe rest of us, whether it is becausee of health care or an insecure gig job in a gig g economy, where the forest barrier between corporate andnd governmement, have leftt us ininsecure and that t has consequencnces for all off us sn prprofound ways. it is what has left us so vulnerable as a society did this. when we say we are number one, the united states, it ususually means a good thing. it should not t mean we are numr one in the case of a global pandemic and that is what we're sing right now. that was written for us well before this pandemic hit. if it wasn't this, h he might ba climimate event. as a society we aree ill-p-prepd for these things because our people are liviving at the slippery edge of o ourconomy and bebecause we havave tororn our c service in our public infrastructure apapart to sell t to the higighest bidder. juan: i wanted to ask you, you mentioned president trump.

we have been watching day after day as the president has h his dadaily press briefingsgs in the evenening just before t the 6:00 news is gegetting ready to star. he brings up a parade of corpororate ceos one afterr anotheher, calling thehem all by first t names -- i donon't knowf that is becaususe he is on a fit nameme basasis or he j just ca't remember their last t names. but he brings ththem up one or another, yet we have seen very few health professionalsls. you are a doctor, a public health professional. people at nih top and d the cdc, we are not saying any of the doctors and nurses and people who are on the frontlines fighting this diseasase. i am wondering what your reaction to that is? >> we are suffering a public health emergency, not a private health emergency. itit is rather clear t this is t and parcel of the kikind of leadership t that unfortrtunatey

coconservatives and repubublicas have offered for a very longng time, which is to say, the best way to respond to a public crisis is not to empower the government infrastructure that is intended to solve it. any say the cdc or hhs or of the infrastructure that is focused on public health. but instead, to bring in corporate ceos as private solutions to the problem. almost saying that is why we failed is because we failed to privatize. the fact of the matter is, the reason we are suffering where we are is because wewe haveve guidd the public healtlth infrastructu in this country. if y you look k at the state and local level, we have seen a 45% drop in public health funding over the p pt 15 years. the cdc has had its budget cut, proposed to be cut every year of the trump presidency. they were proposing to cut the 2021 budget which they are negotiating right now during this pandemic. we need a public response. donald trump's thing he does not believe in the government he

lead to solve it. because of the failure of federal leaeadership acacross te country, have governorors and mayoyors competing againinst eah other for resources s we shoulud have h had stockpileled. we s should have it reready for this.. when y you look at a pandemic, t is notot like a a hurricane. the thing about a pandemic, itit starts small. it is almost like a fire. when you put it out when yo it's in your toaster, will not be fightining it in yourr house. unfortunately, it is like we haveve taken the battetery out f the fifire alarm will ststop wee pulled all of the firehouses to go home. when this thing g is raging in r neighborho, we''re wonondering why it is happening and everyone is left toto themselves to try o put out their own fire. that is s why we have seen sucha massive failure in the response federally. ago, and others newspapers as well, but running water will be temporarily restored to thousandnds of poor detroit residents disconnected

due to unpaid bills. disconnected to the water supply of detroitit. amidst an outcry about public health threat posed by the pandemic. at least 141,000 detroit households were disconnected sincnce 2014 as part of a widely condemned debt collection program according to records that were obtained i the bridge newsmagazine. were turnedar, taps off in more than 23,000 homes ,3/5 were still without water mid-january. can you talk about the significance of saying they are temporarily being read -- re-hooked up? you so well described in your book the way this pandemic has exposed the fishers of inequality anand heah inequality in this couountry. >> whehen you look at community suffering the most, they are communities on which environmnmental injustice structural racism, and their

implications on povoverty havave alreadyy softenened this space r the incoming of this virus, you think about s something like water. the fact that a mayor or governor have to be thinking ababout turning water back on suggest ththeir already plplaino the back that t because water should never have been turned off.f. it is one of the most frustrating things about the system of corporate capitalism in communitities like michigan. because what we do is we in effect ask for peoeople to pay exorbitant rateses for basasic things like water to pay off debts that governments well before them incurred. lookok at the situatioion in detroit.t. the reason people have their water shut off h his bececause during the municipal bankruptcy in the city of detroit -- which, by t the way, had a a lot more o about the resulting life of a tax base ---- durining that banknkruptcy, it was agreed upon

ththat detroit had to pay debts further water authority thatat n effect has actually purified water for the entire region. so there were literally having to pay back the dedebt that the entire region incurred because dedetroit was the sisingle utily purifified water for everybody. then they just raised rates. when people could not pay them, they shut off the water. think of the logic. the realization that water should just be human right for people. he should just be there. you fast or to think about the incoming pandemic and we'rere telling people to wawash their handss for 20 0 seconds with wa, soapy water. if you don't have water in your house, you can do that.. that is seated by y decisions me around race and weaealth for a very long time. that is why talk about this epidemic of insecurity laying the groundwork for the incoming pandemic. if it was not a pandemic like this, it might have been a climate event. wewe are not well situateded to handle these challengingng circumstanceces that we e are gg to see pitched at us. it is the reason why we have to build a robust federal govevernment t that can take the

things out andnd take them on wn they are small, and build the kind of social infrastructure for people, safety net that says you're not going to lose your water simply because you can pay exorbitant r rates, that your kd willll not have to take hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans toto go to college that you can get hehealth care if a and whenu are sisick. one i i want to ask about the lt point, h health care when you're sick. we just played a headline earlier of jill b biden talking ababout why medicare for alall d not hahave been a solution to te current problem. but the reality i is, our health care system is this world of for-profit hospitals, nonprofit hospitals, some community nonprofit some viewed change where the executives make multimillion dollar salaries. they are all c competingng for resoururces. if there was a single-payer system withh some rationale or

planning to reresponding to an epidemic l like this, with the situation have been easier to deal with? >> absolutely,y, no doubt. the idea that 1 10% of your populatioion doesn't have hehealth care at all or anotothr 5050% on t top of that have aa dedeductible that is s so high t theyey have learneded to o ignoe symptoms like a fever and a drive cough -- - which a are the symptomsms of covid-19 -- bebece hey knew if they seek care, they will be hit with a bill on the back in.. bebeyond that, think about the structure of our health system. hospitals make money in the system on n elective surgeries. that is how thehey get reimbursd from insurance companies. if you have a global endemic, what is the first thing you cancel? elective surgeries. hospitals not only trying to staff up and be ready for one of the most serious public health crises of our time, but also battling bankruptcy on the

backend because they have lost their main source of paid and that is because the system is run for profit. we keep hearing about doctors going without ppe and part of the reason why is becaususe -- business consultants told them the best way is meaning you don't want to have a bununch of stuff layiying around because yu don't knowow when you're going o losuse it. is of the sun come everybody trying to get the resources they need. just in time is a classic page out of a business consulting manual. when you run a hospital like a business, forget the fact they are supposed t to be thehere toe lives. ththe third poinint, there is no incentive for prevention in our system. why? systemax many young people getting sickck. you can't builild thinkk it somebody d does not get sicick o you can bill them for the care. ifif you look at the way t the syststem is set up, , there is little insist -- incentive.

that is why we keep seeing budgdgets getting cutut becauset does not fit with the incentive structure. imagine yet a system that rewarded keeping people healthy rather than taking care of them after they get sick. that is what medicare for all would have done. we keep hearing this comparison between us and italy. since when do we start comparing oursrselves with italyly? when was t that the comparison? italy is a farar smaller countr. even then, we just surpassed them in terms of the number of covid cases and looking likee over thehe long-term our cases e gogoing to skyrocket well beyond what italy experienced. we have a responsibility to learn from t this moment a and realize we h have to guarantee everybody in this country health care. if we don't, we will continue to be vulnerable to these kinds of massive health crises. thank dr. abdul el-sayed, you for being with us. we hope to talk to you in the future more about your book and your work as an epidemiologist.

his new book is out today "healing politics: a doctor's journey into the heart of our political epidemic." when we come back, and exclusive democracy now! tv/radio broadcast. we speak with tara reade about her allegations against joe biden. she says he sexually assaulted her in 1993 when he was a senator and she was his staff assistant. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "til it happens to you" by lady gaga. this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman.

as we turn now to new developments in sexual assault allegations made against prpresidential candidate joe biden. last week the intetercept repord time's s up legal defense funun, set up to help survivors of rape and sexual assault, refused to fund a #metoo investigation into allegations against biden. the charges were brought by tara reade, who worked as a staff assistant for then-senator biden in 1993 when she was in her mid-20's. tara reade told journalist katie halper in an interview published tuesday that biden repeatedly touched d her without her conset and sexually assssaulted her. a warnining to listeners and viewers,s, her account is graph. >> and then his hands were on me and underneath my clothes. then he went -- he would down my skirt but then up inside it and

he penetrated me with his fingers. amy: tara reade approached the time's up legal defense fund in january looking for assistance, but was reportedly told the fund could not help her because biden is a candidate for federal office and p pursuing a case cod jeopardize the fund's nonprofit status. the intercept reports the public relations firm representing time's up legal d defense fund s skd knickerbocker, whose managing director, a anita dunn, is top adviser to biden's presidential campaign. democracy now! emailed biden's press team for response to the allegations and to join us on the show, but they did not respond. joe biden's deputy campaign manager kate bedingfield said in a statement -- "women have a right to tell their story, and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims. we encourage them to do so, because these accusations are false." well, in this exclusive democracy now! tv/radidio broadcast, we are joined by tara reade, t the former staffer in e

biden who came forward with the allegatitions that biden sexualy assaulted her in 1993. democracy now! welcome todemocracy now! go backry difficult to over something like this. but if you would not mind telling us about how you came to decide at this point that it was important for you to tell your story. you had come forward last year when others talked about senator joe biden, the former vice president -- the presidentntial candidate being sexually inappropriate with them, but you did not go as far as to tell this story that happened in 1993. so why don't you tell us what hahappeneded. >> i i actually tried to telllle 1993 in some extent inn the sense that i wanted to talk about it, but i was too afraid.

my motother had encouraged to fe a police report and i did not. and i should h have. so i i found sexual harassment claim where i justst filled outa paper and thenn did not hear back. amy: can you give us the circumstances, how you ended up or what was the day, how you ended up a alone with joe bibid? explain n what happepened that . >> i was approached by my supervisisor. she hahanded m me a gym bag andd said, hurry, joe once this s so get it to him. he will meet you done for the capipital. i went d down the stairsrs and i don't reremeerer exactly w wre i was because there are connections between the russell building and all of that and -- but we were in a semi private location. it was n a a room. not his office, it was otother quararters. . handed him the gym bag

as i described, o one fluid moment. he was talking to me and he said some things that i don't recall. i was up against the wall. i remember the cololdness s of e wall. i remember his hands underneath my blouse, underneath h my skirt and his fingngers penetrating me as he was trying to kiss me and i was pulling away. people back and d he said, "come on, man. i heard yoyou like to me." he was angry.. itit was lika titight voicice. he tended to smile when he was angry. he is unlike the uncle j joe lie everybody talks about now. he was younger. he was my dad's age at the time. he was v very stro. he l looked d insulteded a angny ii remember feeling like i had done something wrong when he said that statement. and then i was standing there , "you'rere nothingng to

me. you are nothing.g." and he walked away. i donon't remember exactly wheri went afterer. i think i went to the restroom to clean up, but i i don't remember precisely. the next memory ii have is sitting on thehe cold statairs n the russell building where the big windows are. i rememember m my whole bodydy shakining. knowing that i had made him angry and that my career was probably over. i i did not comply and d i did t comply when i was askeded to see drinks at a cococktail p party r donors because, purely, jojoe biden said, according to legislative staffer, that i i hd pretetty legs and he thought i s pretty andnd i should serve the drininks. my s supervisor d d encouragagee to do so, and i did not.

so sitting on those stairs, the reality hit m me. the next thing a remember it was that night and talking to m mom and she was likeke, you need to fifile a pololice reporort. i did n not think of it as sexul assault. i did not really undnderstand.d. i was trying to just get over the shock ofof it because i lood up to him. he was supposed to be a champion of womenen. i was so thrilleled to be that offifice and so honored, and it shattered my life and changedd the trtrajectotory of mymy whole carereer and life. iost t my j b after i complained and i was fired. amy: how exactly did you complain, , tara? >> you filed a complaint of sexual harassment against senator biden at the time? 1993,be c clear, this is two years after he led the senate judiciary committttee

around the anita hill charges against t clarence thomas. so this is soon after that. you fifid a complaint. did you tatalk about tss happening? >> no, i did not talk about the sexual assault. i went through office protocol, whichh would be to go to your supervisor and if you're not happy, go to the neck supervisor and the nexext one would be the chief of staff. i dodo go upup the chainin verb. ththere were a couplple of meets -- more than a couple, actually. there were people tataking noto. i know they tookok note. some w were more informal and te hallway with marianne. hads b basicalally -- afafter i not served the drinks, that whwhole episode, i was immediaty told within a fefew days by mamarianne'ss assistant that i dressed too provovocatively, tht i needed to be l less noticeabl,

and then mariaianne got me in te hallway ---- i was annoyed b byt and she said, you want to k keep your head down and do as you're toldld if you want to last here. i told him m i was uncomfortata. "sexuxual use the term harassmement" a lot back t then. rememember saying i w was uncomfortable and why, but nothing happppened. in fact, i wasas put i in a windowless office and i had my duties taken awaway from me. i was s given a deskududit. i w was told to cl l one of m my upper r level supervivisors evef i went to the restroom. i wawas not to call or talkk to other staffers or go to lelegislative hearings. i was told i wasas given a month to find d another job. i i sent out my resumes. before i did that, because of this retaliation, i i toldyy mother, who gave me the term

"retaliation" and d explained to me what was happenining and said to march in there and file a sexual harasassment claim. she used the word. i sasaid, wewell, don't just mah into their office stoplight, that is not w w this is s done. i had gone through that protocol. whwhen i didid not wor i w wen o the outside, whicich was light - theyey headed d to paris officit senatate personnel or something like that and housekeeping a clipboard. i filleded out a form and filled ouout the incidident of the sexl harassment, feeling uncomfortable.e. i was told att t the window that somemebody would calll back,, b. anand they nevever did. i ended up looking f for work ad could not find i it. i i volunteered d for the robobf kekennedy memorial. i was fortunate enough to work in the vip tent. it was helping me emotioionally. because e i was trying to o recr

frfrom the traa of w what hadd happppened that day. i didid not share it t with many peoplele at all at t that time. it is just not somemething that was easy to talk about. itit is not easy to ta a about now. i in april, ie outt starteted again -- - i had th intentnt to tell the whole histy with biden. but one of the first questitions out of a reporter mouth was, yeah, but it was nonsnsexual, riright? it shut meme down. ththat is not hifafault. itit is mymy responsilitity, i , to be brave and to be courageous and say the wowords. but t it just put o off from being able to talk. and ththen when the story was hitting, there was so much blowback and smearing on social media that i just did not feel comfmfortable. so i was trying to find a way to tellll my stotory to a legitimae news agency.

i did nowantnt it sold or sensationalidd a anything, a any nonsense like that. i wanteded to hahave the d deepr conversationon of hohow hard i s for survivivors of sexual assaut anand sexualal harassment in the workplace to go up against powerfrful men because i have nt received any payment foror this. i have not received any compensation. because the effects a are, you know, women are not paid toto talk.. they are paid to stay silent. a women'stedd orgaganization aroround me, andt is why went to times up. e, can you talk about your extremes with times up and when you were to them and hoping they mighght be able to assist you i in this? >> yes. i went to times up. they were e very gracious. i filled out a fororm, first of all, online.

then i was called about january 24-ish,, right around there, and i mailed back and we had a phone interview. there are about 20 ememails between us. there were several meetings on the phohone. what thehey did was they prepard a paragraph describing my case and they were going to g give me attorney refeferrals. if you're economically challenged or you n need help wh fines, they will help you with a public relatnsns platftform forr one month. so access a a public c relatios firm.. you tetell your storyry with thr platfoform and also to have an attorney, , which h is whahat is seeking bececause of the social media smears. i wanted cease-and-desist for some of the things being sasaid. i want to protection of some sort and not to be alone. amy: described then what happenened. i mean, this report in the

hearcept of you waiting to from times up and then what you learned afterwards about its links to the biden campapaign through ththe pr firm. > it was absolutely stunning. in the 20 plus emails and the multiple c conversrsations we h, not one timime -- not once did they say that they were connected to o anita dunn, who workrked for harvey w weinsteind k keep him and helelped him -- silent some o of th w women t came forward. not one titime didid they tatalt the payments t that were made to the joe biden campaigngn. ar in mind comome in their defense, they said that isis second rememoved. that part of theieir services ws to provide a platform, a public relations platform. i don't undnderstand as a survir -- and i'm not an investigative reporterer, i'm not an

investigator, i'm just speaking as a survivor. hehe violated my trust whehen id ryan graham's article. i found out with everyone else. i am still processing that. i shared my story within again and again, the attorneys they sentnt to me. and eacach time i i was rejectey each attorney. m metattorneyey said, we have as a firirm and we have decided there is no legal strategy to safely tell your story because i is joe biden.. and what i want to say is that is wrong. that is unconscionable. anyonene who has a claimim or an assertion of something g that is happened o of misconduct shoulde able to speaeak freely without reprisal. and as you can see in the s socl memedia, i am being g ripped ap. i've had my family and my friends contacted. i haveve had my bankruptcy popo. i have had the fact that i had a

naname changnge, which was seaed and a sealed d social securitity changege for safety becae i amaa domestic violence sururvivor ani have been dragged d through it - bubut i don'cacare. i don't care about that.t. they can try to strip away everything about me, but they won't take my dignity a t they won't get my silence because all that does is make me more detetermined to tellll my story. and it doesn't change the e fact of w what h happened in 1993. throughout allade, of this s time when youu w were engaged in discussions with the times of folk, they never mentioned the relationshipip wih anita dunn or -- how did they fifinally notifyfy you that they could not t be invololved? >> they started in n email. i called d ellie asking herer wt was going on. it was taking some time and i

kept getting rejecteted by attornrneys. she said, i was just going to email you but i have to tell you, they arare 5013 c status would be at risk. we can keep referring attornrnes to you, but we cannot provide you funding. so then i wanted to escalate it tohehe dirtotor so we had a meeting witith the director a ad the program managager and i pusd back a little anand i said, i i can't help w who did this. where dodo i go? how do i get help?? how w do i get a woman's organization to help m me? w was, keep ine commununications with us. our attorneys have advised us our 5031 c could b be at risk because of the presidential election and we cacannot appear biased. so i accepteted that response at the timime. whwhat i wld say is s there is been no access to juststice fore andd there -- in t the fall thee isis no democracy for me. amy: tara reade, thank you for

being with us, former stata staff assistant to joe biden who alleges joe biden sexually assaulted her in 1993. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.or