menendez. >> hello, everyone. i'm alicia menendez. it is 4:00 at headquarters in new york. today there are new concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. the number of cases here in the u.s. and around the world continue to rise, including the first confirmed case in washington, d.c. there are also new questions about the government's response to the outbreak. political reporting, current and former officials blame president trump for stifling the effort to combat the virus. meantime, the two-man race to run against the president got another set of big-name endorsements this morning. senator kamala harris backing joe biden, and jesse jackson supporting bernie sanders. >> there is so much at stake in this election, guys. so join me in supporting joe and let's get this done. >> i stand with him because he stands with you. >> julian castro has not endorsed biden or sanders. i will ask him about that later this hour. we are looking ahead to another round of primaries on tuesday, the big prize is michigan where i've got political reporters

naraj and heidi przybyla this afternoon. and a great group, truly great group here in new york to talk about all of it. seeian sam's, the former national press secretary for kamala harris's presidential campaign. brittany cunningham is co-founder of campaign zero and jess and with the family belong together campaign. ian, ian, i thought i had seen your sweet name in my inbox for the last time. i'm sure you thought you had sent that last release. tell me, what went into the senator's endorsement? >> well, i think she'll have more to say kind of about the tiktok about how she came to this decision. the first thing, the why now. the tremendous respect she had for both elizabeth warren and amy klobuchar, female senators, colleagues in this race. how disappointing women couldn't break the glass ceiling again and become the democratic

nominee. >> she said she'll have more to say about that. >> exactly. we're all waiting, we're all waiting. >> so she wanted to wait -- >> until they left the field and senator warren obviously left the other day. obviously i think the other piece of this is senator harris's campaign was centered on black voters. she was out there every day talking about issues important to black voters, especially black women. i think the way vice-president biden has also really centered african americans in his electoral strategy and in his campaign plans was sort of a tipping point for her to come on board with him as well. >> i want to come back and talk about how that fits in. fits naraj, i want to talk about how jesse jackson's support plays out in michigan. >> joe biden has african-american support, among michigan voters. bernie sanders is trying to counter that with a town hall he held in flint yesterday. he's also held rallies in detroit and dear born and he's trying to reach out to the

sizeable arab american community here and muslim population. he held a rally yesterday in the heart of the muslim community in the south end of dearborn. in terms of jesse jackson's endorsement, it remains to be seen what effect it might have on sanders' campaign. there was a local pastor, reverend sheffield who used to be the head of reverend sharpton's group, his chapter and the council woman endorsed sanders, so that might play into that. i haven't seen other baptist pastors endorse sanders. he didn't campaign at any churches in detroit. >> heidi, it is international women's day. it feels appropriate i would lose an extra hour of sleep on international women's day. you spoke on fems for dems. what can you he will it us? >> i was lucky to spend time with a diverse group, fems for dems. they were the beating heart behind the pink wave that swept michigan in 2018.

we saul women elevated to the historic positions including the governorship and a.g. a number of them supported some of the female candidates are putting all of that aside and doing what they can to try and get the best democrat, as they say, elected. so i was honored to sit down and speak with them this morning about how they're channeling that energy. even in places, alicia, like mccomb county which went heavily for trump but is considered a quintessential swing district. it is these suburban women, not only here, but in places like virginia, in places like minneapolis, minnesota, who were the muscle and who were the people who turned out the most to make the difference for a lot of democrats. so take a listen here to this clip about why these women believe so goes michigan, so goes this primary. >> michigan definitely showed how important we were in 2016.

we are where workers have been striving for years and we're now the ones that are battling with the repercussions of a global economy. how are we going to fix it? it's going to happen here. and if you can give us a plan for how michigan is going to work, then it's a plan for how the country is going to get better. >> in mccomb county trump won by, i want to say two votes per district. and so it's so critical, michigan is so critical. they say so goes mccomb county, so goes the nation. >> michigan is so married to the great lakes, to the environment, to the water. that is going to be a big reason why it's so important, you know, that michigan shows up whether they're from detroit, whether they're from travis city. they all have a love for the green grass, for the green trees, for our environment, for our water. >> so, what's this all mean for tuesday? a lot of these women, alicia, had supported the female

candidates. and while a number of them, including elder leslie, who you just saw there, their entire families had supported bernie sanders in the last election. they're really divided now. she said her mother is strongly supporting joe biden. her children are supporting sanders, and she's torn in the middle. but many of the other women who i spoke with who supported the female candidates like elizabeth warren, they said they cannot hide their disappointment, but at the same time there is no time for being upset and that a number of them are supporting joe biden. you're seeing that in some of the early results. this is the first time that michigan has had an early absentee process, and right now those numbers are coming in strong for biden as an early indication. >> niraj, i want to bring you back in. so often when we talk about immigration policy and xenophobe i can't coming out of this administration, tend to focus on our southern border. and at the same time in 2017, the president put into effect a muslim ban.

a big constituency there in michigan. what are muslim voters in michigan looking for when it comes to this primary and looking forward to the general? >> well, the muslim community here is very concerned about the muslim travel ban. it's affected a lot of people in terms of connecting with their family and them trying to immigrate here. they're concerned about the issue of profiling. there have been a lot of investigations that they feel have targeted unfairly the community. there is also concern about the restrictions in immigration that are affecting a lot of the middle class professional class that wants to come here from the arab world. so all these things are playing into how they're looking at this election. bernie sanders has made an aggressive effort here. he held a rally in the south end of dear borne that attracted hundreds of people. he's been endorsed by yemeni arab american groups. at the same time there is a large christian community within the broader arab american community. vice-president pence was here in metro detroit a few weeks ago

meeting with iraqi catholic leaders. they are known as caldeans. they are in mccomb where they have a sizeable population. trump himself mentioned the caldean community a few weeks ago. >> brittany, i want to come back to senator harris's endorsement. a moment from earlier in the cycle when she was asked about being joe biden's running mate. she said, yes, he has a wonderful experience doing that before. a lot of people have that question top of mind, whether that was the role that she is suited for, whether attorney general is a role she is suited for. what do you make of this endorsement given that i noeian can only veer so far from his talking points? >> listen, i think senator harris is perfectly capable of telling all of her intentions. but i do think that it's critical that we recognize two things.

one is that as people are talking about what the future can hold, folks want to see women of color in power. folks are talking about people like kamala harris, people like stacy abrams in that vp seat, in that a.g. seat. talking about people like senator kathryn cortez masto. this is a conversation that centers on women of color. folks realize women of color have not only played a major role in democratic politics, but a role in changing america for the better. that's the kind of wisdom people want to see in the next white house. the other thing that i know is true, listen, we were talking about the amount of black pastors that were visited in michigan or not. i am the child of not one, but two black baptist ministers who are also activists from missouri. midwestern black folks are my people. and what i know to be true is that a lot of the prevailing ideology black people do not believe in progressive politics is false. reverend jackson is in line with

his politics his entire career. in his campaign in the '80s he was running on a progressive platform. policies certainly matter to black folks, but so do relationships. and the question is whether or not they trust either one of these candidates to actually do the things that they say they will do. it's not just about what's written on a website. it's about whether or not i can believe what you're telling me and what you're selling me. and i think that black voters across the country, even though it is not a monolith, have been displaying whether or not they trust one candidate or the other. >> i want to go to you with this, jess, but i want the rest of the table to weigh in on it. you have bernie sanders giving many in flint what they thought was going to be a speech directed at the black community. this from "the new york times." sanders campaign aides billed it as an event to talk directly to black voters why they should vote for him over mr. biden. the audience ended up being

overwhelmingly white. they seemed unlikely to pull black voters away from mr. biden. if you are the sanders campaign, you recognize that both for the primary and then even more so for the general, you are going to need to find a way to breakthrough with this important electorate. where do you start, how do you do it if not in flint? >> yeah, well, we just came out yesterday, they hired philip agnew senior advisor. he is a very well regarded african-american activist. >> especially with florida right on the map right there. >> and with young voters. i think that's where the sanders campaign is thinking that they're going to see black voters coming with them, is with young people because they've done so strongly. frankly, he's a little bit late to be trying to find african-american outreach strategy now. ideally he would have found it before super tuesday. maybe he would have had this race wrapped up. now he really has to be aggressive. it's not great optics that a speech that was supposed to be about race he didn't talk about race. kind of unfortunately the

campaign sort of sounded like it's not his experience. he can't speak to that. the pathway to the democratic nomination is through african-american voters. if he doesn't feel comfortable speaking to that whether he's talking to a room full of white people or african americans, he's not ready for the general election. >> i think this is a really incredibly made point. i will say that after the speech last night, a town hall continued and there were several prominent african americans, organizers and activists who got the mic. i think that kind of amplification is what we need to see more in this country. jess is absolutely right. it's not just about passing the mics to the folks draektly impacted in the community. it's also about showing yourself as a leader who can hear those things and then translate that into policy. translate that into strong management, into the ability to actually create policy. push it through the legislative process, use all the tools that you have to actually impact the community. it is one thing for a people to talk about what affects them. it is another forays presidential candidate to directly address the needs of the most marginalized and all

candidates need to be able to do that effectively in order to win our vote. >> heidi, i'm going to live you the last word as a michiganers. speaking of fems for dems. what are you looking for as the primary results start to roll in? >> there is a generational divide. what the other panelists say is true about a lot of black democrats being progressive. what i heard was that a lot of the older ones, and even some of the younger ones view this like any other american. white, black, brown, asian -- they just want to beat trump and they're going to pick the person who is going to do that job. and it's not even close if you look at the polling, alicia, it's by 20 points. michigan voters are prioritizing beating trump over everything else including health care, early read of that is a lot of them are going to joe biden, but remember, this is the state where bernie sanders had his shock upset over hillary clinton in 2018 and the polls did not reflect that. i'm being told this time it's different. you can kind of feel that in

talking to a lot of these women. but don't count him out because he has a very big base of support here. >> all right, niraj and heidi, thank you so much. the coronavirus continues to spread across the u.s. there is new reporting about the white house's response and the president as big goal to keep those numbers down. and a little later in the hour i'll talk to former presidential candidate julian castro when he 2kr07d odropped went on the stump for elizabeth warren. who is he stumping for now? we'll ask on msnbc live. r live. (vo) dayquil severe with vicks vapocool. the daytime coughing, stuffy head, vaporize your cold, medicine. [sfx: bikes passing,] [sfx: fire truck siren, ambient sounds] onstar, we see them. okay. mother and child in vehicle. mother is unable to exit the vehicle. injuries are unknown. thank you, onstar.

my son, is he okay? your son's fine. thank you. there was something in the road ... it's okay. you're safe now. until i found out what itst it actually was.ed me. dust mite droppings! eeeeeww! dead skin cells! gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty dusters. duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha! and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweeper's on it. the textured cloths grab and hold dirt and hair no matter where dust bunnies hide. no more heebie jeebies. phew. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. unlike ordinary memory wsupplements-neuriva? has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference.

that's it. i'm calling kohler about their walk-in bath. [ sigh ] not gonna happen. my name is ken. how may i help you? hi, i'm calling about kohler's walk-in bath. excellent! happy to help. huh? hold one moment please... [ finger snaps ] hmm. the kohler walk-in bath features an extra-wide opening and a low step-in at three inches, which is 25 to 60% lower than some leading competitors. the bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders. kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. are you seeing this?

the kohler walk-in bath comes with fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassage. everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohler-certified installer. and it's made by kohler- america's leading plumbing brand. we need this bath. yes. yes you do. a kohler walk-in bath provides independence with peace of mind.

a the coronavirus is quickly becoming one of the most urgent public health emergencies in recent memory. it is spread across the u.s. and 21 deaths already recorded. governor andrew cuomo has declared a state of emergency in new york, the latest of a dozen states to do so. meanwhile cruise ships are now work ing with health officials to develop new protocols for testing passenger ands evacuating those who are sick.

officials warn the elderly to avoid ships entirely. >> if you are a person with an underlying condition and you are particularly an elderly person with an underlying condition, you need to think twice about getting on a plane, on a long trip. and not only think twice, just don't get on a cruise ship. >> but this this moment of crisis, there are fears of a serious disconnect between the white house and public health officials. "the new york times" reports, quote, even as the government scientists and leading health experts raise the the los angeles rams early they faced resistance and doubt at the white house, especially from the president. about spooking financial markets and inciting panic. i'd like to bring in dr. sarah mark, former medical advisor at hhs, nasa and the response to other outbreaks like zika and the swine flu. thank you for being here. as i said, you have been through these crises before. how does coronavirus compare? >> well, we have been through

several different epidemics and pandemics over the last 20 years. it's very consistent with what we see happening across the globe. i think it is extremely important that we have all hands on deck so we can handle what is in front much us and what is going to come. >> we had on "meet the press" chuck todd ask dr. anthony fauci about when he'll have a better idea of the spread of the disease. here's what dr. fauci said. >> you know, i think we're getting a better sense as the day goes by. unfortunate, that better sense is not encouraging because we're seeing community spread. and whenever you see community spread, you can do contact tracing. but as more community spread becomes logistically difficult. >> doctor, at what point do you stop focusing on community spread and start focusing instead on mitigation? >> well, initially you talk about containment and then you move into mitigation. i would love our viewers to realize that during h1n1 in the early days we focused on numbers. in fact, every day a new came

up, a new death rate razz processed through the media. i think it gets to a point where we have to focus on what we from the public health side, from our local and state government side, what we individually can do. i think we're at that point right now. >> i do want to ask you, senator sanders just announced he's going to hold a round table on the virus tomorrow. here he is this morning talking about where we currently stand. take a listen. >> we don't have adequate test kits right now. we don't have icu units, enough of them. nurses will tell you they have not received the kind of instructions and preparations that they need. there's a lot of work to be done. but bottom line is from washington, the american people need to know that there are scientists, there are doctors who are running the operation, communicating with people all over the world because this is a global crisis. we're not seeing that in washington from trump. >> doctor, are we as unprepared as the senator explains? >> so, i think it's important what we do is we take, first of all, politics out of this issue.

we need to have all hands on deck. this is a global issue. it doesn't impact democrats, doesn't impact republicans or even just americans. it impact everyone on this planet. i think what we have to also realize is we've had a period of time where there has been sort of a -- an erosion of public health services. but there is some good news here, and that is because we have faced so many different public health crises over the last 15, 20 years, we have a pretty robust system. with that said, again, we need all hands on deck. i think what's also very important, and the senator did bring it up, that's the issue of communication. we have to talk about the messengers and we have to talk about the messages. so, for example, our politicians are very important here. we want to ensure that the advance policy and programs and they convey those messages. we want from our clinicians that they're caring for patients and they talk about the science as well as our public health experts. i think the challenge we've had is that there has been a level of miscommunication. it's extremely important that the messages are cogent, that

they are consistent with facts and that they are coordinated across all these various stakeholders. >> to that int to, since we've been on air, the state department tweeted out they want u.s. citizens especially with underlying conditions should not travel by cruise ship. how much will we continue to see warnings like this coming from these organizations? >> i think what we're seeing right now is a world where there isn't a vaccine for what is in front of us. i think we have gotten so comfortable thinking that there would be a magic bullet, whether it be a vaccine or a pill one could use or take to prevent disease. now we are having to go back to basic public health maneuvers. what we are hoping for is that we can slow the spread so we can do that by, as you've mentioned earlier in your programs, by infection control such as hand washing and being aware where you are and the surfaces you're touching now moving into an area where we're probably going to move more into social distancing to slow the spread. i think what is extremely important is that we actually

have one of the most powerful tools to fight this, and that's within our own bodies. that's our immune systems. we need to ensure that we try to keep as healthy as possible through basic life-style measures, such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, de-stressing if possible so we can provide the immunity to protect those who may not be able to mount an immune response, elderly and those with co-morbid conditions. >> on our front lines are those who provide care. during the ebola crisis you were inspired to start a company looking at protective gear for women. how much does that come into play when you're talking about something like coronavirus? >> thank you for bringing up the issue about the impact of sex and gender on health. we know sex and gender plays a significant role. when i define sex it's usually defined by the basic chromosomal psychosocial, we know it impacts every aspect of our lives.

what he with saw in h1n1 women were resistant to infection. they mount a robust response. pregnant women lost a little of that immunity so we saw higher morbidity, mortality. i was at the white house during ebola. i received many reports of our clinicians, female clinicians who were infecting themselves because the gowns and the protective equipment they were using didn't fit them properly. some described having to use duct tape on their gowns and their gloves. they talked about their goggles and their boots. i was inspired to create a nonprofit called i-giant, an acronym. it's an accelerator across all sectors, across all health care as well as transportation retail and i.t. sectors. >> all right, dr. sarah mark, thank you so much. tonight richard engel goes inside the fight to contain the coronavirus from hong kong, to washington, d.c. watch on assignment, outbreak at 10:00 p.m. eastern here on

msnbc. up next i'll talk to a former cabinet member who knows how the government should respond to a crisis. former presidential candidate julian castro will be here. i'll get his thoughts on the coronavirus and chat about the race for the democratic nomination. tion no. uh uh, no way. ♪ come on. no. no. n... ni ni, no no! only discover has no annual fee on any card. which is why when it comes to his dentures only new poligrip cushion and comfort will do. the first and only formula with adaptagrip cushioning technology. choose new poligrip cushion and comfort.

>> tech: don't wait for a chip like this to crack your whole windshield. with safelite's exclusive resin, you get a strong repair that you can trust. plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. >> customer: really?! >> singers: safelite repair, safelite replace.

unlike ordinary memory wsupplements-neuriva? has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference.

on this big endorsement sunday, could another announcement be on the way? joining me now is julian castro. he's a former 2020 presidential candidate, turned elizabeth warren supporter. also the former secretary of housing and urban development under president obama. you cannot shake me. appreciate you being here. lots of endorsements rolling in. when will you decide who to endorse? have you decided who do endorse? >> i have not decided who to endorse. as you know, alicia, i kicked off my campaign in january of 2019 and i got out this year

january. money was on the road again supporting senator warren. i believed she would be the best candidate to be president. of course, so many of us are disappointed that she dropped out of the race, but i feel like i finally have a little bit of time to breathe and to spend time with my young kids. i have a daughter who is about to turn 11 next week and a son who just turned 5. so right now i'm focusing on that and i have no doubt that, like a lot of other people, i'm going to get out there in the fall and make sure that we come together to defeat donald trump. but in terms of primary, right now i haven't made a decision about who to support or if i will get involved in the primary. >> you do deserve a nap and a vacation. but i have to ask you, what would go into that decision whether or not to endorse, and what would you be looking for as you make that decision? >> well, i respect both of the people that are left in the race, senator sanders and, of course, vice-president biden. i know tulsi gabbard is also still in the race. but of the two people that are

going to be on the debate stage, both of them are very accomplished. obviously both have resonated in 2020 with voters out there. what i'm looking for is somebody that speaks to the best aspirations of our country and who builds a broad diverse coalition that i believe can get off the sidelines and into the voting booths and beat donald trump in november. i think it's fair to say that both candidates have worked at that. it's also fair to say that in their own different ways both candidates have challenges to complete that coalition. neither one of them has yet built up the kind of all-encompassing coalition that i think barack obama built up in 2008 or even hillary clinton built up in 2016. both still have work to do. a i want to ask you specifically about that. the sanders campaign made inroads with latino voters specifically young latino voters. is there still time to make an investment in this primary? >> of course. i mean, it's better late than

never. i think the lesson to his credit, senator sanders made the investment. he started last year and really probably has been doing that, reaching out to the latino community since his 2016 race. so this whole time, but they started making big investments i think in those communities last summer, last fall. the lesson there is it takes getting out there. it takes actual outreach and making the investment so that folks in the community know what you stand for. and also understanding that as you know very well, it's not a monolithic community at all. and so you have to speak to the different concerns where you find them. and i think that senator sanders has done well with the latino community. vice-president biden has done very well with the african-american community. i mean, we saw what happened in south carolina and that win basically saved his campaign. if he had not won and been powered by the african-american community there in south carolina, we wouldn't even be talking about vice-president biden in this race any more.

and so he has done a good job to his credit. i think that they could take lessons from each other and making sure that they fill out their respective coalitions. >> secretary castro, you were among the first and the loudest to be critical of the primary process and the primary calendar. where do you believe that democrats should go from here? >> well, our immediate challenge is we need to come together in november and we need to defeat donald trump. i do think that no matter what wins this primary, we're going to be able to do that. i think there are enough people who recognize that we can't afford to sit on the side lines. folks can't afford to vote third-party. donald trump has been a spectacular failure and a dangerous president, historically irresponsible president and we need to make sure he's defeated in november. but as we look at contests to come and this is a point that i raised in the race in 2024, 2028 and so on, we do need to take a

long hard look at how we do these presidential nominating contests. iowa and new hampshire should no longer go first. the people there are wonderful, but our party has changed a lot since 1972 when iowa held the first contest. the problems with we saw with that caucus this year put an exclamation point on the fact we need to change that going forward. same with new hampshire for different reasons. the first state or for states need to truly reflect the diversity of our party. that would be a good thing no matter who the candidate is. on top of that, we need to fully invest in communities that have not been registered, not been turning out at the rate that they should, like the latino community. it's going to take a 365-day-a year effort, not just an effort a few months before every big election. >> all right. secretary castro, thanks so much for joining us. >> good to be with you. >> okay. so, i want to of that latino

vote gap you see for vice-president biden. is there time to make it up? >> absolutely. i think one thing we have to take in consideration is outside of florida over the next month of just electoral math, there aren't a lot of high population hispanic states that are going to the polls. i think that one thing that the secretary mentioned about the coalitions these candidates are building is really important. consistency is important in politics, but so is evolution. if you don't change and evolve and get better as a campaign or candidate as you go on, you're probably going to lose. one thing we've seen from bernie, he's not changed very much from four years a gfrmt one of his great strengths is his message consistency. but one of his fatal flaws in this race is inable the 0 to grow and seek out new coalition of voters. >> those who launch the critique is the latino peaks. that is one of the places they made an investment and i do -- i know you have a lot to stay andi only have 30 seconds. if you are team biden, what do

they do? >> they're late. they need to super charge the latino vote in a big way. talk about immigration and not run away from t. he needs to answer for the obama administration on immigration and he needs to talk about our families. when joe biden talks about his family, it's actually a really authentic experience. so i think that's a place where there could actually be overlap with our community. but it might be too late. >> all right. so the race for the nomination is down to two major candidates and that means the next debate will have a different dynamic. we're one week away from seeing biden and sanders go head to head. we'll talk about who might benefit from the one on one format. i can save you... lots of money with liberty mutual! we customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! only pay for what you need.

♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ and i don't count the wrinkles. but what i do count on is boost high protein. and now, introducing new boost women... with key nutrients to help support thyroid, bone, hair and skin health. all with great taste. new, boost women. designed just for you. which is why when it comes to his dentures only new poligrip cushion and comfort will do. the first and only formula with adaptagrip cushioning technology. choose new poligrip cushion and comfort. just a blur when they jumped the median. the corner of my eye. there was nothing i could do. (daughter) daddy! (dad vo) she's safe because of our first outback. and our new one's even safer. (avo) welcome to the all-new subaru outback. an iihs top safety pick plus.

the highest level of safety you can earn. nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nightime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. and mine super soft? with the sleep number 360 smart bed, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable.

and snoring? no problem. ...and done. so, i'll wake up ready for anything? oh, we've got your back. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. prove. and now, save up to $600 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, free premium delivery & setup when you add a base. ends march 15th charmin ultra soft! it's softer than ever. charmin ultra soft is softer than ever, so it's harder to resist. okay, this is getting a little weird! enjoy the go with charmin.

the next democratic debate is a week away and it will look dramatically different than any that came before it. it will feature only joe biden and bernie sanders, making this the first time they have faced off one on one. all right. i watch a lot of these debates but now i feel like i'm refocused and excited. sanders has said he doesn't want this to be a trump-style debate. take a listen. >> medicare for all is wildly popular with working class and lower-income people who understand that we have a dysfunctional health care system. we are spending twice as much. and by the way, i would love to debate joe bide not on this issue. give us an hour on msnbc, all right. >> different clip than the one i was looking for. the point he is making there is he wants this debate to be all about one issue, medicare for

all. you understand why that's strategic. >> it's just not going to happen. i think we have a little whiplash going from ten candidates on the stage to two candidates on the stage like that. i mean, how many debates did we have with ten candidates? >> a million. >> probably a million. now we have two. suddenly there's a lot of time for these two guys to engage each other on substantive issues and their campaigns, who they're strong with whatever. >> you've been on these meetings and prepped. >> yes. >> if you are on either of the teams how are you prepping them to make the most of the time? >> if you're on bernie sanders, team, it's attack, attack, attack. it's the only way he's going to make up the gap is to dislodge the status quo. if you're joe biden's campaign, your strategy is survive, you know. you've got to lead. you look strong in the contests to come. so i think there's like miss aligned incentives a little there for joe biden. i don't really want to get into these long one-hour debates on

any of these issues. i want to get through this and get back to campaigning and win the states. bernie's incentive is to get as much attack. >> those of us who have been in this the last four years, we're tired. >> it's a long race. >> and yet there will be so many people who will tune in and that will really be the first debate they're watching. they're entering at a different point. what are they looking for, how do you make the most of the time? >> i'm with you. i wish this ran for six weeks and everybody had the same amount of money. that's a different conversation for another day. in my perfect utopia, these conversations exist where there is time for substance and we finally, finally get that. i'm looking to hear from bernie sanders on the things that people feel like they're missing. people want to hear plans for how he wants to get his big ideas passed. people want to hear him talk -- his theory of governance and speak more directly to issues of

race. folks want to hear from vice-president biden about his history. some of the questionable decisions there. people want to hear about some of the relationships he's had over time. >> let me ask you about that specifically and i want you in on this, too, jess. what do you do with that? whether it is immigration policy under the obama years, whether it is a question of bussing, the crime bill. is it contrition and then a pivot to evolution? i mean, how do you really in a heartful way deal with these questions? >> i believe it is contrition and the showing of evolution, right. i think there are so many voters out there who, yes, want consistency, but they also want to see people can grow, people can learn from their mistakes and they want people who have honest to god humility in their spirits. if you say, look, i went the wrong direction here, so who better than me to fix it because i understand very clearly just how wrong it went. and then get specific on what those fixes are going to be. that's what folks are looking for. i think people, though, are looking frankly for a model of

how to engage in the rest of this process. again, in my perfect utopia, the two of them stand up on that stage and don't have a trump-style debate but they actually show us how people with substantive policy disagreements can engage with one another in a way that moves all of us forward. i know if might be an impossible ask but i'm hopeful to see that on the 15th. >> inasmuch as there is substance, they argued about what -- >> who cares? >> i was pushing 80, i would pump weights on that stage. do a few push ups. >> maybe do some elizabeth warren dance. >> a little bit. >> so it is biden or sanders, but what if neither of them is your cup of tea? my next guest has some advice coming up after the break. (snoring) what's going on? it's the 3pm slump. should have had a p3. oh yeah. should have had a p3. need energy? get p3. with a mix of meat, cheese and nuts.

so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix.

but when allergies and congestion strike, take allegra-d... a non-drowsy antihistamine plus a powerful decongestant. so you can always say "yes" to putting your true colors on display. say "yes" to allegra-d. stay two nights and get a free night for your next stay. one night, two nights, free night. book now at bestwestern.com. free night. frustrated that everyday activities cause wrinkles and there's nothing you can do about it? now there's a solution! downy wrinkleguard is a fabric conditioner that helps protect you from wrinkles all day. just pour the dye free liquid into the rinse dispenser. after a day of wear, pants washed with downy wrinkleguard

and detergent are virtually wrinkle-free. it even comes unscented. if you don't love downy wrinkleguard, we'll give you your money back. ahoy! gotcha! nooooo... noooooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent. bounty, the quicker picker upper. but don't want to spend $2000 for a single share? with stock bits on sofi invest, you don't have to. stock bits lets you buy a fraction of a share, instead of buying the whole thing. that means you get to choose the piece of pie that fits your finances.

you can even buy in for as little as one dollar. so start investing in more of the companies you believe in with stock bits on sofi invest. download the sofi app to get started. what to do if you hate the democratic nominee. my next guest, ross, co-founder of run for something, gives us this advice. go local. he writes, with your time,

money, attention and most importantly, your vote, you can help beat trump and build sustainable power for democrats without ever saying the democratic nominee's name. ross joins us now. he mostvote, you can help beat trump and build sustainable power for democrats without ever saying the democratic nominee's name. we're joined by ross and his better half. tell me why this matters. >> the first thing we're saying is you should not be voting for the democratic nominee. we're telling people they absolutely should, but there are 5,000 state and local contests around the country. these are people who decide things like voting rights. these are such important decisions, and there are people down that ballot. if you can't be inspired by the people at the top of the ticket, one of those 500,000 people is

definitely going to inspire you. >> i wonder if there is real concern on the part of democrats in general that this has been such a divisive primary, or is that things people say and then you tend to unite? >> we saw that in 2016 with sanders, who didn't come together for hillary clinton's campaign. if you look at your smartphone, the only thing you'll be seeing is presidential race, presidential race, presidential race. if you can't google a local candidate and get excited and involved in some capacity, i would encourage you to check yourself and actually go do

that. the maximumization maximization and money is what's needed right now. >> what do you tell a voter who says, i don't know enough, i should sit it out. >> one of the things, they should learn about the candidates in their area, but also google. you can literally google, my state legislator, my state counsel for my local area. every single person in 2020 is going to have a candidate running for office that is not the president within one hour's drive of their zip code. so there is no excuse. everyone is going to have one of these elections coming up, and, you know, these are the people who, like, make up a huge difference in their communities. if you want to see the quality of your life increase, this is the part of the ballot you really need to be looking at. >> i want to be candid with our viewers that part of the reason

i have invited this lovely couple on today is because they were on twitter uncharacteristically disagreeing about whether or not there are moral victories in politics. i wanted to give you both a chance to make your case on television. i have judge and jury right here. you're each getting 30 seconds. you kicked this off, so, jess, you make the case to me. >> you either win or lose in any election. democrats are trying to be like, we won-ish, but if you lose, you don't get to put your vision for america and we need to win. i want to talk about why we're losing so we can start winning all the time. >> you didn't get the ding. you have ten seconds left if you want to fill it. >> i yield to my husband. >> this is great. no, but seriously, she's right in that, you know, if you don't win, you don't get to govern.

the thing that i'll say is there are ancillary benefits around the ticket to having state and local candidates knocking on doors that have never been knocked on by a presidential candidate before. on top of that, a lot of the folks that we see as leaders today and leaders in our past lost elections, whether it's president bill clinton or president obama or, you know, whether it's senator sanders himself. >> isn't this moment different? [ buzzing sound ] >> my concern is that this moment is different and that that sort of long arc, people are beginning to feel impatient. >> i think this is different because of the level of desperation people are experiencing right now. like i said earlier, everyone is experiencing some kind of injustice under this administration, so all of it feels so urgent. but i actually can't pick a winner. >> they became oddly agreeable.

>> i'm fine with it, because i'm one of those folks who will give you a participation trophy. it's an election and i want you to participate. over the long haul, i worry about turnout not just for 2020, but because voting is a habit. it's a habit if you do not build and you do not practice, you're not ready to call it when the time comes. we're look beiing to take back senate. maybe elizabeth warren could be that senate leader. people like jesse jackson could help. i think if you participate, you could make things happen. whether or not they love the candidate is half the ticket. it's continuing to vote in voter franchise and suppression. we're having all these conversations about who the nominee will be. none of it matters if people are silent. there are elderly and disabled people who are receiving false mailers right now. there are people who are being told they are not registered anymore because they didn't vote

in the last election, and the targeted communities are the very ones that have the power to change the outcome. so, yeah, if you don't like your local races, if you don't like the person at the top of the ticket, love yourself and your community enough to make sure that we stop suppressing votes and we get everybody's voice heard. >> we have about a minute. we have about 15 seconds. this is the core question demes will be up against. >> absolutely. i think what she said is right, what they said is right. we're all in agreement that everybody has to get out and do something this year. get out and do something in your community in some way, shape or form to affect change and expand people's rights and get this country on the right track. >> and wash your hands. >> and wash your hands. >> and make sure you buy purell, because that's a good one. that wraps it up for this hour. i'm lisa menendez. reverend al sharpton takes over at the top of the hour with "politics nation." of the hour "politics nation." dawn powerwas.

spray, wipe, rinse. you wouldn't accept from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. we do things differently and aother money managers, don't understand why. because our way works great for us! but not for your clients. that's why we're a fiduciary, obligated to put clients first. so, what do you provide?

cookie cutter portfolios? nope. we tailor portfolios to our client's needs. but you do sell investments that earn you high commissions, right? we don't have those. so, what's in it for you? our fees are structured so we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. ♪ ♪ you work hard for your money. stretched days for it. ♪ ♪ juggled life for it. ♪ ♪ took charge for it. ♪ ♪ so care for it. look after it. invest with the expertise of j.p. morgan, either with an advisor or online, through chase. after all, it's yours. chase. make more of what's yours. >> tech: don't wait for a chip like this to crack your whole windshield. with safelite's exclusive resin, you get a strong repair that you can trust. plus, with most insurance a safelite repair is no cost to you. >> customer: really?! >> singers: safelite repair, safelite replace.

unlike ordinary memory wsupplements-neuriva? has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference.

good evening and welcome to "politics nation." tonight's lead, tuesday tactics. tuesday another swath of diverse states goes to the polls in the now two-person democratic primary race. 352 pledged delegates in play