more than anything, this pandemic has fully finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing. a lot of them aren't even pretending to be in charge. if the world's going to get better, it's going to be up to you. with everything suddenly feeling like it's up for grabs, this is your time to seize the initiative. good evening. welcome to a special edition of what we like to call "p.m. joy." if you've been watching donald trump's twitter feed, you know there is still no one who angers, enrages and triggers trump and his followers more than former president barack obama. tonight they're going to get even angrier, because after addressing hbcu college congratulations watts today, he's about to take over practically every television network, including this one. in our next hour, president

obama will dleliver a virtual commenceme menment speech to th virtual high school class of 2020, which will feature actor and activist and many more. what would think a primetime speech this magnitude meant to uplift high school seniors graduating in a time of sufficiesuch uncertainty, you would think that would be delivered by the current president of the united states. instead it former president president obama. there is no other president as wide live embraced by the culture today than the obamas. and that fact just inturates the right. when you look at the tea

partiers back in obama's term screaming no to health care, to the ones today protesting to reopen the country despite a deadly pandemic, there's a strong anger that many probably don't understand. their party, the republicans have control of the white house, the senate, majority of governorships and the supreme court. what is there to be so angry about? well, a big part of that anger stems from their alienation from the culture and their inact to contr -- inability to control it. a lot of the issues have been decisively won by the left. the resounding impact of those movements can still be felt today, and young people and people of color have shattered and rejected decades-long traditional norms and standards at media and entertainment. we now live in a world where ariel from "the little mermaid"

is black, where idris alba is a totally viable fan favorite to become the next james bond, and where more women are taking on roles originally written for men. so despite the fact that republicans rule the country, the one thing they cannot command is the culture. joining me now is staff writer at the new yorker and author of moving forward. and e.j. deon, offer of "code red." let me go to my historian first. i think about this a lot. when you see republicans, despite the amount of control and command that they have over the politics, the look on the face is always anger, rage, just pissed offness if that's a word. it feels like a sense of alienation, a complaining about the culture, people on twitter complaining about the culture.

i feel like that's where it comes from. what do you make of my theory on that? >> well, i think that's part of it. i think the culture is a significant part of it. it was written about saying the condition of the white working class, which was the subject of much anxiety and hand wringing in the 1930s and 1940s, the developing labor movement, the condition of these people is not to be understood purely in socioeconomic terms. they understand their condition not only in terms of what they have but -- one of the things they do that is one of the most

defining stats of the obama era was that significant plurality of white people who felt that whites were the most disadvantaged racial group in the united states. so if you have people thinking like that, it's not that far of a leap that you would see the kind of rage of racial entitlement that underlies so of what we've seen as the political protest and the kind of death cult, you know, that has surrounded itself around donald trump. >> you know, i think that's right. barack obama being president, corine, you know, felt like to so many people on the right like just a kick in the teeth to sort of whatever they thought of as what the culture should have been and the reaction to him was trump, right? and it's ironic that trump was the vehicle for it. at one point donald trump actually had resonance with the

culture. he was represented by 65 hip hop songs, he was the guy who was "the apprentice" and then the story that he was a vandalized hollywood star. and then he's not. once there was birtherism and showed his racism, that was the end of that. >> he showed his face in to 11. -- 2011. when he became the grand wizard of birtherism, that's when -- in the most recent current time is birtherism.

when you look at those protests, joy, of those folks who want to take over the capitol because they want to reopen the government, they're mostly white men and they're mostly angry and have so much hate. and donald trump plays into that and uses it as himself own benefit. many of those out there are not single women living paycheck to paycheck. they're not really wanting to reopen the government for us to be back where we were in january. they want us to be where we were back in the 1950s. and here's the thing, the republican party used to be or they have devolved from being a party of ideas, although i disagreed with all of their ideas, definitely did not agree with any of them, they have gone from that to a party of grievance. you know, this is what it is. they have this grievance that they need to tell us about. and so when you see them in a very hateful way, clearly, and when you see the nazi flags and

the ak-47s, that is where they are. they are angry, there's the hatred. and it's not about coronavirus and the government. it's about this fomenting the us versus them and this is where we are with this party. >> joy, can i add something? >> judge mcintosh made the point they're not protesting to demand to be meat packers. they're demanding that meat packers go back and get them their states. e.j., you've written about the right and sort of the way that it has gone. and this sort of alienation culture that i think both jelani and karine are talking about is sort of baked into donald trump as a human being. he is alienation embodied. i wonder why his having succeeded to power didn't even soothe it a little bit. >> because i think it's been a politics of grievance going all

the way back to the civil rights years, to the george wallace movement, to richard nixon's southern strategy and it's been said often because it's true that there was a lot of racial politics being played on the right and in the republican party before trump, but it was a dog whistle and he uses a bull horn. but you still have to ask yourself why the world is he going after barack obama right now? because barack obama is actually very popular. i looked today at a ugov poll. it shows that 55% of americans have a positive view of obama. this was an average of polls, 1919 to early 1920. only 33%, basically the trump base, are negative on him. and i think that picking this fight is really sort of risking nuclear conflagration. i think trump -- i think obama, as you suggest, represents a whole series of things that

trump is trying to demonize. he wants a cultural war about race, about generation because young americans across racial lines like obama about culture and just about the fact that baum's co obama's cool. so why is he doing this? i can think of only two reasons. one is he knows how much trouble he is in on the virus and he needed something really big to distract aattention. and going after obama is about as big as he can go. the second is he is losing support among older white people. older whites are his most important constituency and they have heard what republicans and trumps have said, well, maybe we're going to sacrifice some people to get the economy moving. they are the people. by picking a fight with obama by picking a cultural war, he's pulled back some of those folks who have looked at him and said you, mr. president, you are not

operating in my interests. >> the shiny black key strategy. i thisnk one of the other issue is on the issue of competency. "the first white president" written about donald trump, we'll take any guy who was white and make him president and he'll be a better president than obama. no. on the pandemic in particular it shows his competency extremely lacking here is president obama warning back in 2014 about pandemics. take a listen. >> there may and likely will come a time in which we have both an airborne disease that is deadly. and in order for us to deal with that effectively, we have to put in place an infrastructure, not just here at home but globally, that allows us to see it quickly, isolate it quickly, respond to it quickly. >> karine, you worked in the

administration. that is what gets them, right? he would have been prepared. >> he would have been prepared. he had a pandemic office ready to be -- to deal with these issues, this pandemic clearly that we're in now that donald trump dismantled because anything that is connected to president obama donald trump dislikes and takes down. i want to say one more thing about the republican party that i was saying earlier. in 2011 when birtherism came around or went to it's full-fledged kind of strength and donald trump led that, in 2012 it was mitt romney, after donald trump showed his racism, who was the republican nominee who went begging for donald trump's endorsement. the republican party are so tied into this. they so own this. and now they can't run away from this. >> yeah. let me play a little bit more -- absolutely. they also can't run away from obama. he is speaking. here he is speaking to students in their graduation earlier

today. take a listen. >> now, look, i know this isn't the commencement any of you really imagined because while our hbcus are mostly known for an education rooted in academic r rigor, community, higher purpose, they also know how to turn you. the timing is not ideal. let's be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. >> jelani and then e.j., what do you think the political outcome will be across the country once president obama speaks? >> first i'd be remiss if i i didn't mention i was a proud

graduate of howard university. so i was very proud to see barack obama give that address today. on the other side of it, i think that this is the kind of damning by comparison. we see what a president, what a statesman looks like, a person who can unite the country in a time of crisis and address students who are feeling like they've had to make a sacrifice that they didn't intend to make or never anticipated making and give up a day that's very momentous and very significant to them and their families and he's there to soothe them in a way and to talk about the bigger objectives and to do the thing that leadership does. and so implicitly -- i mean, he doesn't have to ever say the words of donald trump, he doesn't ever have to say anything of what's going on right now. just by the mere comparison of what he's able to do and what donald trump, quite frankly, is completely incapable of doing

makes the point for itself. >> yeah. e.j. >> i think there are two overwhelming facts that hit people in the face in this period. one is we simply need strong, competent government. i thought the most devastating line obama spoke today, you played it earlier, "a lot of them aren't even pretending to be in charge." that's how a lot of people, including people who support him, feel about donald trump. but the other is the inequalities we knew that were there in our country of race and economics are devastating our country right now because people at the bottom of suffering so much more, and that's a point obama also underscored and will probably underscore later. >> absolutely. lebron james, shaquille o'neal, alycia keys, they weren't trying to roll with obamdonald trump, they're rolling with baobama.

coming up, apologizing to the man who failed to become a one-term president. o become a one-term president there are so many toothpastes out there, which one should i use? try crest pro/active defense. it neutralizes bacteria for a healthier mouth than even the leading multi-benefit toothpaste. crest.

we hope you find our digital solutions helpful to bank safely from home. deposit a check with your phone or tablet. check balances, pay bills, transfer money and more. send money to people you know and trust with zelle.

stay safe. stay home. together, we'll get through this. pnc bank "the retur"drafting"ing" "the return of the slide job" "ripping the wall" "gas-n-go" "bump-n-run" "the return of loud" "nascar is back, and xfinity is bringing you the best seat in the house."

i think president obama should have kept his mouth shut. i think it's a little bit classless, frankly, to critique an administration that comes after you. >> senator mitch mcconnell is big mad at president obama for daring to critique crutrump's coronavirus response, calling it an absolute disaster in a leaked private call. we've now known there's something, just something, i don't know what it is about president obama that just gets under trump and company's skin and just stays there, which is perhaps why we saw republicans this week turn to the old ploy of attacking president obama's legacy, rather than, i don't know, try to defend president

trump's handling our historic pandemic crisis. >> clearly the obama administration did not leave to this administration any kind of game plan for something like this. >> well, of course none of that is true. not in the very least. and it was mcconnell who had to snap his mouth shut after admitting he was wrong. >> you said that the previous administration didn't leave a plan. they pushed back against that. >> i was wrong. they did leave behind a plan. so i clearly made a mistake in that regard. as to whether or not the plan was followed and who's the critic and all the rest, i don't have any observation about that. >> oops. joining me now is jonathan capehart and michael steele. let me read your your tweet. you tweeted "i'm sure mitch is aware that a grown ass -- i'm on

cable -- grown ass black man is able to speak his mind on how his successor is managing this crisis. and classless? you're talking about mitch mcconnell being angry that president obama is still speaking. what do you think happened to had him walk back his little no plan statement? >> he had to. the reality and the truth belies the comment. the fact is that the prior administration did leave not just a plan but it left a department to deal with it. so, you know, he had a pandemic agency that was set up to deal with it, which was summarily shut down in 2018. so, you know, the reality of it is this continued looking backwards towards the obama administration instead of dealing with the truth that has

long since emerged about the current administration has run its course. not just with me and folks who have to deal with this every day, but i think also with the american people. but the -- >> yeah. >> for me, that comment was the height of an insult because any white man of a certain age, and mitch mcconnell, like donald trump, is of that age, knows that stating that a black man should keep his mouth shut has more than just connotations behind it. and i think that we as a country need to be very clear about the fact that that comment would not have been said or applied to george bush. if george bush had made a comment, there's no way in hell he would come out and say that george bush should keep his mouth shut or that he was acting classless. so let's be clear about this. and that's why the backtrack was as quick as it was when he

realized, oh, i done stepped not just in it but i'm all up in it. >> he's a man of the south, mitch mcconnell. i won't take credit for this but somebody on twitter said president obama and the administration left the plan in the one place that trump would never find it, in a book. that's not me that said that. i'm just repeating it. jonathan capehart let me let president obama keep on speaking. here he is earlier in his hbcu graduation speech. >> let's be honest, a disease like this just spotlights the inequalities and burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. we see it in the disproportionate impact of covid-19 in our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn't submit to their questioning. >> jonathan, first of all, his room is almost as nice as yours.

but also, in a time when you have disproportionate deaths monday black people, people of color, it is striking to not have that kind of compassion that can speak to that. i think that's one of the things that feels like it's so lacking. >> listening to that clip, i thought of that time when i was in the white house press briefing room in the days after the zimmerman verdict and zimmerman was found not guilty. and the president came to the white house briefing room and spoke from the heart about what it meant for that to happen and what it meant to a significant portion of the country that was dismayed by what happened there. and so, you know, we are like a dry to the bone plant that's been sitting out in the desert, we as a nation. and we have our former president, who when he speaks,

every time he speaks because he's a decent man and a man of empathy, he's like water on that dried up plant. and it's in high relief because we don't have a president who has empathy. you know, i want to jump in on michael steele, chairman steele's excellent comments about the majority leader and what he said and the connotations of what he said. i've read lots of books about the forgotten people who president trump reached out to and pulled out to vote, but there were two books in particular that i found very helpful in understanding what we're going through. one is "white rage" by carol anderson. and the other one is "white fragility." carol anderson argues, quote, the trigger for white rage inevitably is black advancement. it is not the mere presence of people that is the problem, it

is blackness with ambition, drives, purposes, aspirations and demand for full and equal citizenship. it is blackness that refuses to accept subjugation. the truth, is quote, despite all this, a black man was elected president of the united states, the ultimate advancement and thus the ultimate affront. that perfectly crystallizes everything that happened during president obama's tenure, everything that donald trump was saying as a private citizen and as president of the united states against barack obama. >> amen. amen. i'm going to play one more clip of president obama really quick and then i'm going to come to the chairman. >> rather than just say what's in it for me or what's in it for my community and to heck with everyone else, stand up for and join up with everyone who's struggling, whether it's

immigrants, refugees, the rural poor, the lgbt community, low-income workers of every background, women, look out for folks whether they are white or black or asian or latino or native american. >> and, you know, chairman steele, i will say there were a lot of people who were not too amused by having a black man be the chairman of the republican national convention at the time either when president obama was in the white house, and i want to just say to you -- that's me saying that. that's not you. i won't put that on you. but you did at least try to say that there should be some outreach to the community that you just heard named there, that the republican party should stand for something other than simply white fragility and victimization. what is it like to have that message gone from the republican party along with what jonathan said earlier? >> well, i appreciate that. it's a powerful loss.

i mean, it's a loss of perspective, it's a loss of history, a loss of understanding within the party itself, what our journey from our founding in 1854, our first presidential election, which 160 years ago today began the convention that nominated abraham lincoln. so this is an historic perspective that we've lost sight of and what it means ultimately as a nation. but more specifically as a party to play a role in the very things that barack obama said. i had as national chairman my political as well as policy battles with the obama administration, but it never got to the point where we see it is now and that's what's so hurt fall and harming to the party as a whole. >> thank you both. we'll be back a little bit later

on. coming up, trump america's science-free drive to reopen the economy. what could go wrong? that's next. o wrong? that's next. come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. 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. to putting your true colors on display. roundup for lawns is here to put unwelcome lawn weeds to rest. so, draw the line. roundup for lawns is formulated to kill lawn weeds to the root without harming your grass.

roundup brand. trusted for over 40 years. what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks?t smell clean? now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. they are compelled to step to the front lines. and into the unknown... for all of us.

hi. uh, can you tell me how to get to i-70, please? o-okay, are you -- ah, yes. thank you. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says.

joe biden is facing growing calls to tap a black woman as his running mate. tomorrow on "a.m. joy" i'll talk to stacey abrams to discuss her fight to protect voting rights ahead of the 2020 election and whether she's the right pick to be the former veep's veep. veep'. or is it? what if business as usual means putting people first... and understanding their needs? if that's your business. 365 days of every year, then business as usual is precisely what these times require. which is why your lexus dealer will do what we've always done. put you first. find out how we can service your individual needs at lexus.com/peoplefirst.

let's be honest. quitting smoking is hard. like, quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so try making it smaller, and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. be the former veep's veep. be the former veep's veep. looks like they picked the wrong getaway driver. they're going to be paying for this for a long time. they will, but with accident forgiveness allstate won't raise your rates just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. cut! sonny.

was that good? line! the desert never lies. isn't that what i said? no you were talking about allstate and insurance. i just... when i... let's try again. everybody back to one. accident forgiveness from allstate. click or call for a quote today. and people you can rely on. i'm a dell technologies advisor. me too. me too. me too. and if you're a small business, we're with you. we are with you. we're with you. we want to help. so we'll be right here. at home. answering your calls. providing support. and standing by you every step of the way. bye bye. be the former veep's veep. is off be the former veep's veep. home is playground,gym, and concert hall. and cvs health is helping, with free home prescription delivery,

telehealth from aetna, and support for caregivers. we're doing all we can to help you stay well, as you stay in. because now more than ever, home is where the heart is. cvs health. truly transformative sleep. so, no more tossing and turning. because only tempur-pedic adapts and responds to your body... ...so you get deep, uninterrupted sleep. during the tempur-pedic summer of sleep, all tempur-pedic mattresses are on sale!

that was the scene at a restaurant outside of denver, colorado on mother's day. no physical distancing and hardly anyone wearing face coverings. the japanese news outlet teamed up wito show just how easily ges and viruses can spread at a restaurant. yeah, that fast. that should be required watching for every state official who is weighing when and how to reopen their state economy. scary. congressman, colorado has already had more than a thousand fataliti fatalities, more that 21,000 people infected. i want to show you the governor

talking to donald trump this week. >> when are you thinking of opening? explain what you're going to do. most businesses are open in colorado. pretty much everything except for those social businesses like bars and night clubs. a few places have restaurants open, we're working on the rest soon. offices, manufacturing, salons, pretty much all people are back in a safer way. >> he whips off the mask, he's leaning back like it's all good. what is going on with your governor and what's going on in your state? >> well, it's good to be with you, joy. look, i think the governor has done a great job. i think he's tried to approach this in a very thoughtful way. he was practicing what we preach in terms of wearing his mask in that meeting, unlike the president of course. >> well, he was for a minute before he took it off. >> well, i would say this. i think the approach he's taken in colorado has been a

data-driven approach. he is following the advice of epidemiologists. the order has enabled the state to open in part. the video you showed was in violation of the order that the governor had issued. my understanding is the license of that particular restaurant has now been pulled. look, in colorado right now, restaurants by and large remain closed. commercial employers are able to reopen but are only able to have 50% of their workforce in their offices. and there are, again, very rigid and robust safeguards that are in place in terms of social distancing for those employers. and the governor has also may it very clear that to the extent that the data shows an increase, if the curve begins to go back up, it may be important for us

to then change the safer-at-home guidelines and perhaps go back to a stay-at-home order. doing this in a step-by-step approach has been a thoughtful, balanced way to approach some very tough choices and tough decisions. >> let's hope that he does a little bit better with his own personal mask use policy. let's talk about denver public schools. i grew up in colorado, went to denver public schools. donald trump is talking about reopening schools this fall. what is the outlook? >> you know, i don't know that there's a solid answer to that question as of yet, joy. i think the governor is going to work in close coordination with the school superintendents, school boards and state department of education. no official pronouncements have been made as of yet as to what the school year will look like in the fall. he's going to rely on the data and we will see over the coming

weeks just how much progress we make in terms of overcoming the challenges that have been presented by the covid-19 pandemic here in our state. >> congressman, thank you for spending time with us this evening. stay safe. >> coming up, a burn of celebrities and president obama will be on almost every tv in america as a lonely old man eats a big mac in bed. ...adventurous people... and survivors. it was interesting to think about their lives... their successes... and...their hardships. i think that's part of what i want my kids to know. they come from people who... were brave. and took risks. big risks. no pressure. [short laugh] bring your family history to life, like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com ...little things... ...can become your big moment.

that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. while most of the world is being asked to stay inside, there are people out there giving it their all. so, to everyone who is helping keep us safe against covid-19 day in and day out, all of us at amgen say... thank you.

alwe hope you find our digital solutions helpful to bank safely from home. deposit a check with your phone or tablet. check balances, pay bills, transfer money and more. send money to people you know and trust with zelle. stay safe. stay home. together, we'll get through this. pnc bank and life's been put on hold, what do you do?stopped

at mercedes-benz, we got to work. mercedes-benz usa and its dealers have quickly mobilized to help our local heroes. by giving front liners a lift, contributing to relief efforts, making vehicles safer for first responders and customers, and sometimes simply serving up a hot meal. coming together to lend a hand is what this country's always been about. americans have never wavered in crisis nor hid from responsibility. and this time was no different. this was our calling. mercedes-benz usa is proud to be a part of this great american fabric and take inspiration in seeing the best emerge in all of us. america never rests until the job is done... and the race is won. and until then... we won't either.

class of 2020, this is for you. ♪ toast to the ones here today >> i'm hear to get a chance to be here and celebrate with all of you tonight. >> thankfully being a senior is so much more than just your senior year. >> you've pushed the bounds of what it means to be a hero. >> we did it together. >> take the torch and leave your mark. [ speaking foreign language ] >> when so much uncertainty and

suddenly everything up for grabs, this is your generation's world to shape. >> in just a few minutes, president barack obama will be delivering a commencement address to the nation's graduating high school seniors in a multi-network special called graduate together. the special will have music performances and appearances from tons of celebrities, but the real draw is the man that some call our forever president. ka ka karene jean-pierre and jonathan capehart are back with us. > >> the president tweeted "michelle and i are excited to

celebrate the nationwide class of 2020." >> we needed this so much, a competent president that could call to our better angels is so missed. this is unprecedented. we essentially have a former president, president barack obama, giving a national address that will be aired on almost every network. i do not know what president obama is going to say but having worked for him, i will bet that he is going to try to unite us, give us a unifying message, call on our better angels but do this call to action that he does better than anybody else really, and that is speaking to our own individual agency, making sure that we are doing everything that we can to change the world. in other words, it will be completely opposite from what we hear from donald trump, which is hate, which is divisiveness, which is erratic ramblings that we see in person or on twitter.

so, you know, we are about to be treated i think for something that we all missed and needed. i will say this, after obama speaks, i think the country will be looking back and longing for a day where we had a president that could actually make sense in one sentence and just care about people and unifying people. >> oh, full sentences, how we miss you. full sentences! jonathan, as if to make it the most it can be, lebron james is executive producer of this. alycia keys is part of this, jewulianne moore, shaq, dia, y a yara shahidi.

it is literally the culture combined with the president. this is what makes the right so mad. >> right. i responded to a tweet earlier. i can't remember who, but sent out a tweet saying this is going to drive trump crazy. i retweeted and said i predict live phase tweeting and post-eventually phase tweeting. >> he's going to act like he's not going to sit there and watch it but he's going to sit there and watch it and live tweet it. >> yes, yes! just to draw attention to himself. >> his worst nightmare. >> it is. >> i agree with everything karine just said. what president obama does better than everybody else is he reminds us of who we are as a

nation. he reminds us of, you know, we're not a perfect nation but we are better than where we've been, we can always be better than who we are, and because of who we are as americans, because of the history of this country, because of the importance of this country in the world, that we are called to a higher purpose. that is why we are called to a higher purpose. so i agree with karine. he's going to get out there and tell the class of 2020 that, yeah, we're going through a hard time but, you know, there are things that you must do. your country needs you. your culture needs you. and to have someone that hopeful, that optimistic. remember, one of the complaints about president obama was always he's relentlessly optimistic, even when the news around him is bad. and it's worse than at any point ever in this country's history but certainly during his

administration. so, yes, we need to hear him, we need to hear his message tonight. >> yeah. karine, you've got "becoming," which is out there on netflix, i think the national review is tearing up all the your reviews, you've got president obama tweeting vote. they are back. the obamas have decided the whole being quiet and letting the next president do their thing, that's fine. but they are back big time. i think the culture actually is yearning for that kind of a president again. so what does it mean sort of big are picture? especially these poor high school kids. they can't even have a graduation. these poor kids but they are back in a lot of ways. >> yeah, they are. we have to remember michelle obama is going to be also speaking this evening, as you just read from the tweet that he put out weeks ago. but look, i think that he will say to all of those young people who feel like they have lost so much in this moment, which i understand they have, there is

no better time for them to change the world, right? with technology, with what we have, to reimage and , reimagin i think that's he will speak to them and touch them right there in their hearts and use that to lift them up as we go into the rest of this year, which has been, as we know, tremendously difficult. >> can you just speak to that a little bit, too, jonathan. this generation, they've had it rough. this generation experienced the great recession and watched their parents really struggle in that. then you had this hopeful eight

years of the obama presidency. this is generation that's they've taken a few punches. >> right, but again to echo -- you know, why have me on? have karine on. she's got all the great points. there is no better time to take the leadership -- >> but you have the beautiful background, jonathan. >> jonathan, you know we have you on because we want to see your room. we want to see your room, jonathan. we love it. room raters is like writing down -- i did ask jonathan who made those shelves. i texted him, where those shelves come from? go on. >> anyway, this is the time for them to -- they want to change the world, well, guess what, the world is basically on fire. it is in desperate need of leadership, it is in desperate need of people who are innovative, who are entrepreneurial in the sense that they see a problem and they

dive in and they try to solve it. for as long as i've been alive, i've never witnessed a time when the white house was completely awol from protecting the country. pitting governors against each other for ventilator and masks and ppe? it's insane. so class of 2020, here's your opportunity. >> yeah. absolutely. karine, we're almost out of time. i want to just say that i won't even ask another question. i'm going to say that karine jean-pierre jean-pierre's book is in an extremely, extremely hopeful tone. it's a great book to give to your graduate and i think it delivers a lot of the messages we'll see reflected tonight. and jonathan capehart and that room. thank you very. your room is cute, too, karine. e how about no

no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. 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.

subut when we realized she wasn hebattling sensitive skin, to putting your true colors on display. we switched to new tide plus downy free. it's gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. new tide pods plus downy free. safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. we're finally back out in our yard, but so are they. scotts turf builder triple action. it kills weeds, prevents crabgrass and feeds so grass can thrive, guaranteed. our backyard is back. this is a scotts yard. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take h-i-v treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit h-i-v through sex.

serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. yeah. this moving thing never gets any easier. well, xfinity makes moving super easy. i can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. wow, that is easy. almost as easy as having those guys help you move. we are those guys. that's you? the truck adds 10 pounds. in the arms. -okay... transfer your service online in a few easy steps. now that's simple, easy, awesome. transfer your service in minutes, making moving with xfinity a breeze. visit xfinity.com/moving today.

thank you so much for joining our special edition of " "p.m. joy." join me tomorrow morning. coming up next, a very special edition for all the high school seniors by former president

barack obama. it's called "graduate together." and it starts right now. ♪ >> seniors. tonight is for you. tonight, we honor 12 years of your hard work. the studying. the tests. early mornings. and late nights. and we honor everyone who got you here. your friends. your family. your community. class of 2020, this is for you. every student you see, the videos in our show, the pictures you see around me now, are all part of your graduation class and sent in by you guys. before we get to the show, there's something i want to say to each of you. thank you. you should have had a real graduation.