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tv   Politics Nation  MSNBC  June 30, 2015 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT

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disease. let me finish. >> all right. >> that's all the time we have for this. i apologize. we'll have both of back to talk more about it. it's certainly a huge issue. that's the ed show. i'm ed schultz. "politics nation" with the reverend al sharpton starts right now. tonight on "politics nation," president obama's best week ever with a big bounce in the polls. he's talking about the road ahead including a pay raise for millions of americans. also better late than never. chris christie looks to shake up the 2016 race. but did he already miss his best chance? and it's a bromance. ted cruz and donald trump are in a mutual admiration society, and it's bad news for the gop.
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thanks to you for tuning in. we start with president obama. loose, energized and with momentum coming off what many are calling the best week of his presidency. today a reporter asked him about it. >> in terms of my best week now, my best week i will tell you, was marrying michelle. that was a really good week. ma lee malia and sasha being born excellent weeks. there was a game where i scored 27 points. it was a good week. >> it was a light-hearted moment but the momentum is real. the president signed a major trade deal. his charleston speech was stirring maybe even healing. two supreme court rulings cemented his legacy on obama
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care and gay rights. we saw the white house lit up in rainbow colors after the ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. >> i did not have a chance to comment on how good the white house looked in rainbow colors. that made it a really good week. to see people gathered in the evening outside on a beautiful summer night and to feel whole and to feel accept eded and to feel they had a right to love, that was pretty cool. that was a good thing. >> and the president talked about his plans to build on the momentum. >> i think last week was -- was gratifying. in many ways last week was the culmination of a lot of work that we've been doing since i
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came into office. how am i going to spend whatever political capital that i built up? you know, the list is long. and my instructions to my team and my instructions to myself have always been that we are going to squeeze every last ounce of progress that we can make as long as i have the privilege of holding this office. >> he mentioned political capital. and today we're seeing it. his job approval is at a two-year high 50%. a strong number for a president at this point in office. >> one of the things i learned in this presidency is there are going to be ups and there are going to be downs. but as long as my focus and my team's focus is on what is going to make a difference in the lives of ordinary americans.
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are we going to give them more opportunity so that if they work hard they can get ahead? are we going to make this a more inclusive economy, a more inclusive society, a more fair just society? if that's our north star and we keep on tacking in that direction, we're going to make progress. and i feel pretty excited about it. so i might see if we can make next week even better. >> a more fair just society. that is a pillar of the obama presidency. and today he revealed his latest fight for fairness. a new plan on overtime pay that could give 5 million american workers a raise. he's doing this without congress. who knows? maybe next week will even be better.
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joining me now is former pennsylvania governor and dnc chair ed rendell and jack bernstein, former chief economist to vice president biden. he's writing today about the new overtime pay rules and his research helped drive the new initiative. thank you both for being here. >> thank you, rev. >> rev. >> governor the president looks as confident as frankly, i've ever seen him in tackling his agenda. whatever happened to lame duck? >> he's not a lame duck. the president is enjoying actually having not to run again because it gives you a sense of freedom. in my second term i was free to say and do whatever i wanted and accomplish my agenda. last week when the affordable care act was affirmed it meant that 8 million americans would keep their health care subsidies. that's the only way they were
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going to keep health care. with the president's new initiative raising the income level for people who get mandatory overtime for work more than 40 hours from a low $23,000 a year to $50,000, as you said 5 million americans are going to get a significant opportunity to earn more money. that makes you feel terrific. it's a high like none other and it spurs you and drives you on. the president's right. i said the same thing. he's going to use every single day he's president to push the agenda forward, and he should. >> well it's a high jump for the president, but it's certainly a high for 5 million workers as they gets this done. the president wrote about his plan to raise overtime pay today, and i'm quoting from what he wrote. "that's good for workers who want fair pay, and it's good for business owners who are already paying their employees what they deserve since those who are doing right by their employees are undercut by competitors who
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aren't." tell me about the president's new overtime plans. how significant is this? >> very -- highly significant. and what you just articulated is something that we call labor standards, okay? there are a set of rules that were put in place in the 1930s under the fair labor standards act. the minimum wage is one of them. we talked about as well while overtime pay is part of that too absent these standards being updated to the modern economy, the threshold for the salary as was mentioned, is just too low. and that means that there's something like 5 million workers out there who are working long hours per week and they're not getting overtime pay. now, they should get overtime pay. certainly the standard that was embodied in the original law said they should. but inflation eroded that threshold and the president took
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a step to bring that threshold back into the current labor market thus making sure work pays for a lot more middle class people. >> you know, governor the president has been talking about his intention to take action on overtime pay for a few months. listen to this. >> what we've seen is increasingly companies skirting basic overtime laws calling somebody a manager when you know, they're stocking groceries and getting paid you know $30,000 a year. those folks are being cheated. >> folks are being cheated, he said governor. isn't this really about basic fairness, governor rendell? >> it's about basic fairness and it's a very important step to doing something about the income inequality that's eating away at the heart of this country. reverend it's a tremendous move by the president, and i would just make a plea to those
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businesses out there. they might think that they can avoid this by dropping their workers down to 34 35 hours a week and hiring additional workers. don't do it. don't do it. america works best when all of us are taken care of properly, when all of us make a decent living, when all of us can be good consumers. don't do it. what the president has done is the right thing, and you should abide by it. >> jared, another thing the president talked about today was the next step on obamacare, expanding medicaid medicaid expansion. let me show that. >> if we can get some governors that have been holding out and resisting as expanding medicaid primarily for political reasons to think about what they can do for their citizens who don't have health insurance but could get it very easily if state governments acted, then we could see even more improvement over
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time. >> if state governments acted, jared, now that we have the supreme court ruling will we see a shift in the politics at a state level with some of these governors? >> i certainly hope so. and my guess would be that we're going to see some of that. you know in some states you've got governors who want to do the right thing, take the medicaid expansion, cover millions of workers with a very important health coverage under medicaid and the states themselves don't even have to pay for it for the initial few years. after that they never have to pay more than 10%. so this is a program that is a huge and important benefit for their citizens. now, i thought your connection vis-a-vis the supreme court case was an important one because, as time goes on and this affordable care act takes hit after hit after hit and keeps on going, why does it keep on going? because it's working. it's working well. and people are recognizing this
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is now embedded in the system. as that becomes the reality of the land i sure hope more governors put down their ideology and take this medicaid expansion. >> governor you know the president ticked off a number of agenda items today taking action on overtime pay which he's doing, rebuilding infrastructure criminal justice reform, job training programs and two years of free community college. how much of this can he realistically get done? >> well he can get a lot of it done. some of what he can get done as you reported rev, without congress like the overtime pay, some of it will be hard. there will be pressure on republican governors who only as mr. bernstein said for only political reasons have avoided expanding medicaid. but then there are republican governors like governor kasich of ohio, christie of new jersey who took the medicaid expansion because not only is it good for hundreds of thousands of their citizens it's important for
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their hospitals as well. hospitals do well when medicaid is expanded. i think the president has got the wind at his back he's got momentum. just like in sports momentum is often the key to getting progress. >> no doubt about it. >> i'm looking forward to the next few months. >> big, huge weekend, maybe even better weeks to come. governor ed rendell and jared bernstein, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you rev. >> thanks rev. coming up down but not out. governor christie jumps into the presidential race trying to make a splash in a very big field. >> i think the biggest problem with so many people is getting attention. i never had any problem getting attention. i think i'll do okay. plus we'll tell you why the new ted cruz/donald trump bromance could spell big trouble in 2016. also the woman arrested for taking down the confederate flag is breaking her silence. and america's most famous
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right now new jersey governor chris christie is in new hampshire for the first official town hall of his presidential campaign. these are live pictures from the event. this morning he made his home town of livingston new jersey vowing to tell it like it is. >> i am not running for president of the united states as a surrogate for being elected prom king of america. i'm not looking to be the most popular guy who looks in your eyes every day and tries to figure out what you want to hear, say it then turn around and do something else. when i stand up on a stage like this in front of all of you, there is one thing you will know for sure. i mean what i say and i say what i mean and that's what america needs right now.
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all the signs say telling it like it is but there's a reason for that. we are going to tell it like it is today. >> but the reality is it's very unlikely he'll win the party's nomination. three years ago he was a political star on the right. many republicans wanted him to challenge romney. but a lot has changed. his approval rating in new jersey is at an all-time low, just 30%. after his announcement, nbc asked him about it. >> how do you explain your poll numbers at home falling? >> you know listen i think part of it is you've been around for a long time. part of it is we had the bridge-gate situation which turned out not to be anything about me but the coverage was overwhelming and the last thing su make hard decisions for a long time. if you look at the history of my poll numbers they've gone up and down in this state. i earn political capital to
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spend it. not to put it in a drawer or put it in a frame on the wall. when you do that people get upset when you make hard decisions. whatever you do, you're making someone happy and someone angry, usually more people angry than happy. i don't worry about that stuff. >> will you qualify for the first debate? >> sure. >> we'll see what happens, but i think that bridge-gate situation might come up on that stage. let's welcome back political analyst erin mcpike and political strategist angie loo ryan. he's in. does he have any shot at this? >> not a chance rev. the song that comes to mind is "the thrill is gone" by b.b. king. his moment and come and gone over and over again. christopher james christie just does not have a chance here. he called it right when he was interviewed in the clip you just
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showed. there was bridge-gate which absolutely had something to do with him, it had everything to do with him. and he also had these abysmal poll numbers at home in new jersey. if you can't win your own home state, where can you win? that's the biggest issue here. >> erin you know governor christie talked a lot about his record in new jersey today. listen. >> we balanced six budgets in a row, we refused to raise taxes on the people of this state for six years. we made the hard decisions that had to be made to improve our education system. in new jersey as governor i've stood up against economic calamity and unprecedented natural disaster. we have brought ourselves together. we have pushed back that economic calamity and we're recovering from that natural disaster. >> but here's the reality in new jersey under christie. the unemployment rate is 6.5% that's 44th in the country. he cut education funding by
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around $1 billion. and the state's credit rating has been cut nine times since he took office. how will he run on this record erin? >> well it's spotty. he's had some colossal setback, but he's had successes as he mentioned. he also has a lot of experience as a two-term governor. i have to disagree a little bit with angela. i do think he has a chance and his chance is in new hampshire. and i think he does fit stylistically and ideologyically with the voters of new hampshire. i don't think he's necessarily a policy heavyweight. he really focusing on his leadership style. some voters may like that. i say he's in the a policy heavyweight because you might remember that mark leeb o vich wrote a cover story in 2014 and he asked christie a lot of questions about foreign policy and immigration and other big national issues and chris christie said that he wasn't ready to talk about that.
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>> right. >> i think he needs to be ready to answer a lot of these questions and new hampshire voters are going to ask him a lot about that. it depends how well he answers them how well he'll do in new hampshire. >> hee went straight there first stop after announcing. he's up there right now. you know angela nbc's matt lauer has an exclusive interview with christie today. talking about what comes next. listen to this. >> back in april when we got together, you said here's the great thing about politics. none of it matters until the game starts. none of it matters until you see how people perform under these lights. all right. so the game has started. >> yep. >> how do you think you'll stack up against those other 13 candidates? >> i believe in myself and i believe in what i have to offer the american people and i believe i've always been able to connect with real people. and i think if i do those three things over the course of the
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next 18 months i'll be the next president of the united states. and if i don't, i won't. >> it's very crowded. advantage or disadvantage to you? >> hard to tell. but the biggest problem with so many people is getting attention, and i've never had any problem getting attention. i think i'll do okay. >> angela put on your strategist hat. he is ninth in the polls right now. how does he break away from the pack? >> so, rev, there are a couple things. one is the only person whom he's beating right now in the polls is donald trump and those are the two candidates who tell it like it is. you need far more than telling it like it is whatever that really means because it's certainly not the truth. we know that donald trump is loseing things left and right because of him telling it like it is. that doesn't get you far enough. the fact that 555% of the gop won't support chris christie speaks volumes. you need far more than new hampshire. the only candidate that's been to new hampshire more times than
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chris christie is john kasich. he better win new hampshire, erin, you're right. but he's going to need 49 other states. >> erin i have to disagree with angela. he's not beating donald trump. some polls has trump up at number two in the polls. but again, how does he break away? at one point the attack on him is that he's policy light. you referred to thatp about at another point if he gets too policy oriented in terms of his presentation, how does he break away from the pack? >> well i would remind you that back at this point in 2007 going into the 2008 presidential election we were all watching john mccain's campaign and many stories were written about how he could not possibly continue running and would he drop out of the race. and he buckled down and he was in a campaign bus through new hampshire for the rest of the summer and the fall and he
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worked his way back up into the top of the polls in new hampshire and then he ended up winning new hampshire and, of course, won that nomination. >> he didn't have 13 other people in the race including donald trump. >> that's absolutely correct. but christie was right about one thing. he's never had any trouble getting attention. people have been talking a lot about his style on the campaign trail and that he's brash and that he yells at people all the time but it does allow him to stay in the news. there are 14 candidates now by the end of july there will be 16 candidates. and you have to be able to break through and make news in order to keep yourself alive in the polls. i think we'll see him rise a little bit again come this fall. >> well we'll be watching erin mcpike and angela rye. thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you, rev. >> thank you. >> coming up look who's coming to donald trump's defense. ted cruz. what could possibly go wrong on
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it feels like just yesterday i held a "politics nation" funeral for so many of those dead gop talking points on obamacare. one of the talking points i laid to rest that night was this one. >> of course there are death panels. >> death panels. this is how they're going to manifest themselves. >> we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma. >> it will be very unpleasant if the death panels go into effect. >> that long-ago buried death panel talking point is back!
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rising from the dead like a zombie apocalypse. since the supreme court's decision protecting the law, right wingers bringing back their favorite obama scare tactic. >> and i'm telling you, death panels will exist. because you know what that death panel's going to be? it's going to be called a morphine drip. you get your morphine drip. it depresses your respiration and, guess what you die. >> it's not just the right-wing media. this zombie infestation has made it to the halls of congress. >> the independent payment advisory board, that's going to be the entity that decides whether a group of people live or die. people are going to be dying because of obamacare because they're going to be denied coverage. the kinds of illnesses that threaten to kill people that are expensive to treat, that's where they're going to tell you to get your affairs in order because they're not going to provide coverage and you're going to die. >> people will be denied
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coverage and die? that's the exact opposite of what's happening under obamacare. 17 million have gained insurance under the law. and insurance companies can no longer set lifetime limits to coverage. i think it's time the death panel talking point goes right back to where we buried it. did they think we wouldn't notice this zombie was running wild? nice dry. but here's my talking point. we got you. ohhhhh... whoa whoa whoa! who's responsible for this?!? if something goes wrong, you find a scapegoat. ...rick. it's what you do. ahhhhhhhh! what'd you say? uh-oh! kelly! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. rick. don't walk away from me. ahhhhhhhh!
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motivated attempt to suppress mr. trump's freedom of speech. things are getting tense. but one person sticking beside trump, senator ted cruz. >> when it comes to donald trump, i like donald trump. i think he's terrific he's brash, he speaks the truth. >> should he apologize for what he said? >> i don't think you should apologize for speaking out against the problem that is illegal immigration. i recognize that the pc world of mainstream media, they don't want to admit it but the american people are fed up. >> are they mostly drug dealers and rapists coming across the border? >> they're not mostly that. but donald trump has a way of speaking that gets attention. i credit him for focusing on an issue that needs to be focused on. >> cruz loves trump and apparently the feeling is mutual. trump tweeted a thank you to senator cruz this morning. they're all buddy buddy, but right before that thank you,
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trump tweeted, quote, i love the mexican people but mexico is not our friend. they're killing us at the border and they're killing us on jobs and trade. fight fight. he's got a funny way of showing it. he's not just alienating himself from the latino community, the poll showed him in second place meaning trump will be on the debate stage this summer. so who on that stage will condemn his offensive remarks about immigrants? will they stay quiet or will they praise him like ted cruz did? let's bring in abby huntsman. >> hello, rev. >> how are you doing, abby? >> i'm good. >> so who is going to stand up to trump? he's on the stage if these polls hold. what happens? >> i hope he's on that debate
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stage. that's great for entertainment purposes. it's great for cable tv. it's interesting to see these two gearing up together because i think in the long run trump is going to be stepping on the toast of someone like ted cruz because he's speaking to this far right, the base that craves the language that he's speaking to them. so if he's on the debate stage, i think it will be interesting to see the dynamics. who it helps is jeb bush. >> why? >> in my opinion. because i think jeb bush is leading the polls right now and he can say i'm the adult in the room. i'm going to rise above the fray and you guys all fight it out below and i'll be the winner. it allows him to remove himself from the nonsense being said. it puts him in a good position. he should be grateful for it. >> you got trump, you got cruz you got a bunch of people that kind of get out there and go wild in terms of rhetoric and style. they kind of collide above each other and jeb plays above the
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fray. >> absolutely. that's what we could see happen. there's a lot of people running, as you know chris christie announcing today. he's number 13 i believe. they're trying to get an audience to get enough votes to keep going. >> you need a big highway for these lanes, 13 to 14 candidates and still building. let me show you, you brought up an interesting point about jeb bush which i happen to agree with. let me show you what he said about trump maybe we'll have a chance to have an honest discussion about it on stage somewhere, who knows? >> here are some of the headlines about trump. nbc is cutting ties with him. mexico is pulling out of miss universe and the miss universe
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usa co-hosts are stepping down. are these the headlines the gop party leaders want to see right now? >> no i honestly think donald trump is far more dangerous than many realize at this moment. i don't know if you've met trump in person. >> oh yeah many times. >> but off the screen he's somewhat normal decent he's a nice person. you see him out here and he's saying these crazy things because he wants this air time. it's all about show business for donald trump. he'll keep going as long as he can. these comments dominate the air waves for days after. we are talking about it right now. people will think this is the narrative for the republican party. i have a theory here which if he's not the nominee, which he won't be, he'll say i'll run as an independent now. and what's going to happen then? all out 1992 which helps the democrats. >> the problem is will anyone take him on?
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rnc chair reince priebus was asked about trump. >> those particular comments not helpful. but you know -- >> do you find them discriminatory? >> i do say that -- listen they're not helpful, but i think you have to look at every candidate as a package and not everything is going to be i think a hundred percent copacetic all the time. >> now, here's a guy that had an autopsy to rebuild the party, to reach out. now when you have a glaring statement he says you have to look at the whole package? >> i think they want to broaden this to everyone possible. and they say this debate is a good one and probably secretly hoping that he'll bow out at a certain point because they know ultimately this doesn't look good. if anyone will stand up to him, it will be jeb bush or chris christie. imagine the two of them going at it. that's what i want to see. >> abby huntsman thank you for your time tonight. be sure to watch abby on "the
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but the idea that a child may never be able to escape that poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care or a community that views her future as their own? that should offend all of us. and it should compel us to action. we are a better country than this. >> it's a crippling problem. poverty in america. today 45 million people are poor in this country. 51% of america's public school children come from low-income households. that's nearly 15 million kids living in poverty. these kids are living in cities in the country, in suburbs all across america, and to show this stark reality, msnbc has launched a project called "the geography of poverty." over the next several months msnbc is following photographer matt black as he takes a
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cross-country journey taking portraits of america's poorest places. he'll visit more than 70 communities considered poverty areas, meaning that more than 20% of the people living there are poor. along with msnbc reporter trymaine lee, he's documenting the stories of people he meets along the way, people who have been marginalized and who don't have a voice. it's one thing to talk about poverty from some think tank in washington. it's quite another to put a face to the problem and give a voice to those who need it most. joining me now is msnbc national reporter trymaine lee who has been reporting for this project and photographer matt black joins me on the phone. he's traveling across the country and just left new orleans. thank you both for being here.
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>> thank you. >> thank you. >> matt let me go to you first. what's this journey been like so far? >> well, you know i'm about a month into it now, and in a lot of ways it feels like i haven't left central valley california which is where i'm from. the same sorts of conditions which i've been photographing there for about 20 years. >> this is a personal journey for you. you wrote on your webpage that quote, for most of my adult life i've witnessed and photographed the impact of poverty. to grow up poor is to grow up in a world that tells you that you don't matter. how has photographing people in towns affected by poverty impacted you personally? >> well i've taken that as you know, my role as a photographer is to document these communities and document these things.
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and you know to try to give a voice to places that really don't have a voice. this is a part of america that you know i know i understand, but i feel like a lot of americans think we do not recognize as out there. >> that's the point. a lot of americans don't realize it's out there. there's a lot of misperceptions about poverty in this country. take a look at these stats. here's who the poor are in this country. nearly 15 million children over 4 million seniors, 11 million black people nearly 13 million hispanics and nearly 19 million white people. poverty doesn't discriminate. aren't there a lot of misperceptions about poverty in this country? >> because we live in such segregated worlds and live so far apart there's always issues that it's their problem. but when you take a look at this
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geography of poverty from the southwest in places along the border with mexico you look at the south between new orleans and baton rouge, you look through the rust belt in the northeast, and every shade is represented here. unfortunately, because of stereotypes and these institutional racism it always seems to be focused on black and brown. >> they make the face of poverty black and brown when it's not that way when you look at the stats. >> that's what's amazing about matt black's work. if anyone hasn't gone to our website msnbc.com/ msnbc.com/geographyofpoverty. you see people who go to their refrigerators and there's no food there. they're scraping by and grinding. people have the misperception that poor people are lazy. they're the hardest working people. especially in the southwest, these migrant workers running from the law. they're working in your fields taking the fruit that we take
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for granted for eating every single day. this is america. this is it. >> matt anything out there in this journey for this particular project surprised you? have you encountered anything that surprised you? >> the most surprising thing really is what i said earlier and that it all feels connected. and i think that's what we're looking at here is many different ways to slice poverty into different communities, different ways of looking at it but this continuous journey that i've been on one mile after another it feels like one america to me. and the degree to which that feels true you know into this trip, that's what surprised me. >> trymooin, dptrymaine it really is another america, outside of those who clearly the superrich but even the comfortable even middle class, there is another america that does have no food in the refrigerator, that are
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struggling to make it and work every day. >> that's right. many of them we call the working poor. you talk about 45 million people living in poverty. there are countless other millions that dance along that federal poverty line who don't necessarily fall below the poverty line to where they can get federal benefits but are working every time. spend time on a native american reservation where they're geographically isolated away from everything. but you go to that baton rouge to new orleans where folks are suffering because of big industry. they talk about mysterious deaths sores that won't heal all these small poor black towns clustered around what is more refineries and big industry than anywhere in the western hemisphere. so often people don't care because we view it as us and them and that's part of the problem. >> trymaine lee and matt black, thank you for your work on this project. you can see more photos and
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reporting at msnbc.com/geographyofpoverty. check out the msnbc instagram feed @msnbcphoto. coming up the ku klux klan plans to rally at the south carolina statehouse in support of the confederate flag but we're also seeing a lot of positive steps today. that's coming up.
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misty copeland is dancing into history. today she got promoted to principal dancer at the american ballet theater. the first african-american to do so in the company's 75-year history. another dancer posted this video of the reaction to instagram. >> misty, take a bow. [ applause ] >> earlier this month copeland performed in the lead role of "swan lake" in new york. the first time an african-american woman assumed the iconic role at the met. copeland drew a huge crowd and a big ovation. it's the same reception she got for the role earlier this year in washington, d.c., when a new
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generation of dancers talked about how she's inspiring them. >> i want to be the future misty copeland. >> i just want to -- just to spin around and be like her. >> i can finally see what it would look like if i were to be on stage or something like that. >> congratulations to misty copeland and to all the tiny dancers out there following her lead. put your hand over your heart. is it beating? good! then my nutrition heart health mix is for you. it's a wholesome blend of peanuts, pecans and other delicious nuts specially mixed for people with hearts. i said people with hearts. because hearts health is important. that's why i've researched optimized and packaged this mix just for you.
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finally tonight, moving past the symbol of hate. the protester who was arrested for taking down south carolina's confederate flag is breaking her silence. she told the blue nation review quote, it's the banner of racial intimidation and fear whose popularity experiences an uptick whenever black americans are appear to be making gains. this flag has sparked a lot of
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soul searching in this country but also some backlash. the kkk has obtained a permit to rally at the south carolina statehouse next month to protest the confederate flag being taken down for, quote, all the wrong reasons. but they can't stand in the way of history. two-thirds of state lawmakers have said they'll vote to take it down. one of those, the son of the late senator strom thurmond who i talked to just last night. >> this flag symbolized racism and hatred. these radical groups continue to take this flag and use it in such ways to really perpetuate racism and hatred and so it's time for it to come down. >> on social media, we've gotten a lot of positive comments about that interview. ricey says we need to lead the
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way to change and healing process. sidney says truly an amazing time to be alive to see both the end to the symbol and the beginning to a better america for all. yes, we must end the symbol and we must address the substance. to start the healing process, we must be determined to do all that is necessary to deal with what makes us separate and unequal and unfair. the symbol is the beginning. the substance will make us harder stronger and a better nation. and we must be determined to go from the flag to changing the base of unfairness that the flag rests on. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. the main event, trump versus christie. let's play "hardball."
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good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. p.t. barnum creator of the greatest show on earth says if you want a crowd start a fight. well today chris christie and the donald trump of new york. what do you think these two pugs will do when they get out there? they'll go toe to toe with trump shouts insults in every direction, christie throwing them back with attitude. can you see either of them ducking a punch from the other pretending it didn't happen? give me a break. they'll go at each other big time. this is the cute part guaranteeing each a piece of the front page. they won't stand a chance making hay when these two guys are out there throwing their sunday punches. tonight we look at the matchup of the biggest fight card in august, the republican debate with the main event matching the big little guy from jersey and the mouth from