and on that note, that is our broadcast for this tuesday evening. thank you so very much for being here with us. on behalf of all of my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, good night. ♪ another grim new milestone in the coronavirus pandemic. more than 3 million cases have now been recorded here in the united states. president trump is touting the u.s. response to the virus, even as infections surge. plus, amid the rise in cases, president trump is pushing states and local leaders to reopen schools and colleges this fall. and the trump administration begins to formally withdraw from the world health organization. joe biden is already vowing to reverse that decision on his first day if elected president. ♪ hey there, good morning,

everyone. it is wednesday, july 8th, i'm alex witt. the surge in coronavirus cases sent the u.s. over the 3 million mark yesterday. in discussing the cases, dr. deborah birx, the coordinator of the coronavirus task force said officials were caught off guard. birx said, quote, none of us really anticipated the amount of community spread that began in really our 18 to 35-year-old age group, she added, quote, this is an age group that was so good and so disciplined through march and april but when they saw people out and about on social media, they all went out and about. they also told the wharton daily podcast, instead of being cautious, some states stepped on the gas while reopening. and the situation is growing desire in texas for the first time since the pandemic. the state reported more than 10,000 new cases in a single day. the record-breaking surge comes

as hospitalizations grow at an alarming rate. the associated press reports nearly 80% of the state's hospital beds are in use. and intensive care units are filling up in some of the state's biggest cities including san antonio and houston. despite the growing outbreak, all public school districts in the state must reopen campuses for in-person instruction in august, in order to continue receiving state funding. according to the commissioner of the texas education agency, this will happen, unless governor greg abbott issued a school closure order. the mandate does allow students to continue learning from home if they choose. the pandemic is also straining florida's health system. state health officials say more than 40 hospitals, some of the state's most populated counties have either maxed out of the their icu capacity or are close to running out of intensive care beds. as of yesterday, more than 5,000

patients were using 83% of the state's icu beds. according to florida's health agency that leaves a little more than 1,000 beds free and this comes as the state suffers a 30% surge in new cases from last week. florida which has more than 213,000 confirmed cases is struggled after the new york and california. governor mike dewine of ohio announced that the state will require masks in county, hamilton and butler counties, two of the color-coded counties in red. the measure is set to take in effect at 6:00 p.m. this evening. well, president trump yesterday said the white house plans to pressure state governors to reopen schools in the fall despite a soaring rate of coronavirus infections in several states and overall increase nationwide. >> and we're very much going to put pressure on governors and

everybody else to open the schools. to get them open. and it's very important. it's very important for our country. it's very important for the well-being of the student and the parents. so we're going to be putting a lot of pressure on open your schools in the fall. >> meanwhile, acting secretary of homeland security ken cuccinelli said yesterday that to take in-person classes or return home for the fall semester will encourage campuses to reopen across the country. >> if a university, let's just take your version of it, if they don't reopen this semester, there isn't a reason for a person holding a student visa to be present in the country. they should go home and return when the schools reopen. that will again encourage schools to reopen. >> u.s. officially notified the united nations it will withdraw

from the world health organization over criticism of its response to the coronavirus pandemic. the notice was submitted to the u.n. secretary-general and to congress. the withdrawal is expected to take in effect july 6th, 2021. president trump first said in late may that the u.s. will be terminating their relationship, citing the organization's ties to china and failure to make requested reforms. the u.s. played a central role in creating the w.h.o. in 1948. and has since been one of the sources of financial support. in 2019, the u.s. contributed about $553 million. lawmakers from both parties swiftly criticized the move while former vice president joe biden, of course, the presumptive democratic nominee, said he would reverse the decision on his first day in office if elected. joining me now, political reporter for the hill, julia manchester. good morning to you, julia. despite the growing pandemic, the president still moving

forward to pull the u.s. out of the w.h.o. the timing is so curious on this. what's been the reaction you've been privy to? >> well, the reaction has really been one of shock really and probably disagreement. we're seeing bipartisan reaction on both sides of the aisles. negative action. senator bob menendez, democrat, hitting back at this decision. and his counterpart lamar alexander saying this just wasn't the time. the republicans and those in the administration has been critical of the w.h.o. throughout the coronavirus pandemic citing its ties to china. and its missteps, what they believe are missteps, during the coronavirus pandemic. like you said, alex, the big issue here is timing. we are seeing spikes to the united states in coronavirus in certain parts of where i am here in florida. and it's also dangerous.

these there are also global pandemics. and pulling out could hamper the u.s. response and one of the nations that are experiencing one of the higher increases in covid right now. >> yeah, but for someone alarmed at this, julia, i think it has to be eiterated that this does not take effect until 2021. if he gets elected, things will seamless, correct? >> things will seem seamless. and rebuilding relations with organizations as well. president trump campaigned in 2016 on this skepticism that international organizations like nato may be parts of the united nations. i think you're going to see a biden administration, if he's elected, try to rebuild those organizations because they look at foreign policy so

differently. president trump is more of an isolationist president, in that he wants america, obviously, any president's first priority. but he would rather have americans go at it alone, versus in a group like the united nations or nato. >> yeah, for sure. okay. so given the number of soaring cases of coronavirus, this is also most curious as the president is pressuring governors to reopen the schools right? similar to when he pushed states to reopen for business early in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic hitting those states. how about lawmakers, what are they thinking of this? >> i think you're getting mixed reaction from lawmakers. i think we're seeing a lot of republicans saying, look, we need to get back to normal. or semblance of normal. and saying hold on, let's see

which areas are appropriate to reopen right now. and i think the trump administration signaling at this level, alex, has a huge impact on these governors. remember, in florida, for example, ron desantis has essentially taken most of his cues from the trump administration how to move forward. however, after ron desantis opened the state and pushed for reopening, we saw a dramatic spike in cases and we're still in the middle of the state. i think the decision from the trump administration and the rhetoric you're hearing from betsy devos and the president could impact immediately if they continue in this direction, a lot of areas still in the midst of this first wave. >> okay. julia, time for a cup of coffee. that's about it. we'll see you later in the hour. thank you so much. still ahead for all of, nbc news has received a copy of the new tell-all book within by the president's niece. we're going to take a look at some of the shocking claims

inside, the ongoing look at keeping that book published. and later, dr. anthony fauci said this week that the u.s. is son-in-law knee deep in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. that's sobering, right? those stories and a check of weather, when we come right back. ck ♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪ ♪won't wait♪ ♪we're taking everything we wanted♪ ♪we can do it ♪all strength, no sweat

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nbc news has obtained a copy of the new book by mary trump, the president's niece, and it paints the president as a, quote, emotionally damaged narcissist who cheated his way to success. nbc's white house correspondent peter alexander has the story. >> reporter: in her new tell-all book, president trump's estranged niece mary trump explains, i had to take trump donald down about the tax documents on "the new york times." clinical psychologist insists her uncle meets all of the

criteria of a narcissisnarcissi. in her book details a dad who was so domestic domestic domine fred trump dominated. fred junior died of an alcohol related illness. >> i had a brother fred, great guy, best looking guy, but he had a problem, he had a problem with alcohol. >> reporter: miss trump also said his sister said at his presidency, he's a clown, this will never happen. and about the president's boast about his brilliance -- >> i think i'm a smart person. >> reporter: miss trump claimed that president trump cheated on this s.a.t. paying a friend to take it for him.

mary trump blames her own relatives for not getting a larger inheritance. the white house dismissing the book saying it's written in her own financial interest, saying the president's brother was warm towards him. >> it's a book of falsehoods. rrl t >> reporter: the president's brother is trying to block the book in state court. alex. >> joining me now, msnbc legal analyst, danny cevallos. dani y danny, good morning. you heard meter mentioned president's brother. it will be published, preordering this thing, those orders have gone through the roof. what's the problem with a gag order? >> you can't really let after the cat's out of the bag.

most of this book appears to have leaked already. people have copies but they at least have to spike the public release of this book and the arguments they're making is essentially not that the government or the court is restraining mary trump's voice. but they said that mary trump agreed many years ago to keep confidential what she knew about the family. it's not so much the court restraining speech and enforcing a contract, and one that mary trump willingly entered into, according to the robert trump side. >> isn't that weird in itself, something to talk about before the president was put into office, she had to sign a nondisclosure agreement? and the reason she says she's not bound about it is because she said that her family lied about the finances when making the inheritance settlement that she believes she was cheated out of. did lying nullify an dna?

>> lying, you can cancel out the contract that mary trump is arguing that the robert trump side, the elder trumps, lied about the value of properties. of course, robert trump is arguing to the court that the value of properties is something that people can disagree about. she willingly and knowingly entered into the confidentiality agreement. and she's not even challenging the terms of the confidentiality agreement. and that's why they argued it should be enforced. it will be really interesting to see how the court handles this argument. >> yeah. so, last question, with regard to a gag order, that would only be applying to mary trump. like, maybe, i guess, putting her ability to go out and do a book tour to sell this book, is that what it would affect? as you said, the cat's out of the bag, the horse has left the barn, that's another way to say it?

this thing is out there. >> yeah, robert trump is arguing both sides, not only that mary trump should be restrained but also that the publisher should be restrained. the argument is that the publisher knew all about the confidentiality agreement when they tried to release the book. and the publisher should not be considered a news-gathering part of the press. but publishers are different because publishers enter into agreements with that person. if that person is unlawfully published information then the publisher is essentially a cooperator in that process. unlike a reporter who makes that distinction. we'll see if it holds water with a judge. >> thanks, danny. supreme court justice john rockets was hospitalized last month after a fall that required stitches. "the washington post" has learned that the 65-year-old was taken to a hospital in the june

after injuring his forehead at maryland's chevy chase club. robert stayed in the hospital overnight and released the next morning. they believed the chief justice was dehydrated and ruled out seizures as the source of the fall. still ahead, health officials across the country issue a new warning about protective gear as coronavirus cases surge in several states. we'll be back in a moment.

medical workers across the nation are warning of yet another desire short avenue of personal protective equipment as coronavirus resurges. according to the associated press, a doctor's association said that physicians offices are closing because they cannot get masks and other necessary protective supplies. a national nurse's union is concerned that the gear will

need to be reused. citing the results of a survey, the president of national nurses united told the ap, quote, we're five months into this and there's still shortages of gowns, hair covers, shoe covers and masks. they're being doled out and we're told to reuse them. a national strategy to require and distribute gear in answer of the crisis worsening into the fall. secretary of health and human services alex azar claimed yesterday that health care workers do not get infected by the coronavirus because of the appropriate safety precautions they take. >> we have health care workers. they don't get infected because they take appropriate precautions. they engage in social distancing. they use face covering. they use good personal hygiene. this can work. you can do all of this, there's no way schools have to be any different from the rest of us reopening ourselves up. >> well, let's see, in reality,

765 front line medical workers have likely died from coronavirus after helping patients during the pandemic. this according to a study by kaiser health news and the guardian. let's get to weather and a look at your forecast. to do that, we're joined by meteorologist, bill karins. hello, my friend, what's it look like other than hot and summery? >> yeah. it's july. the only thing i like to watch this time of year as we get deeper into our hurricane season, these things can pop up more quickly. we've been watching the tropical depression moving through the southeast. right now, it's just a tropical disturbance. here it is behind me. it's not causing a lot of problems actually over the top of south carolina and barely raining in south carolina. all of the rain is off the coast. the hurricane center is saying right now, a 50% chance this develops over the next few days into what should be a tropical depression. if it does get a name, it's an

"f"-named storm. here's the zone, we're watching that area off the southeast coast, especially from the outer banks all the way off to the mid-atlantic. here's what the forecast means for the storm. as we go through the day, on and off downpours, myrtle beach, and wilmington, up through cape hatteras. then it gets stronger by the time we get into thursday morning. i think if it does become a tropical depression, maybe a tropical storm, it will be on thursday. heavier rains from norfolk, all the way back up to the delmarva, to the chesapeake. and washington, d.c., late friday night. and heavy rains into areas of new jersey, eastern pennsylvania and hudson valley, potentially friday night and southern new england on saturday. the rainfall forecast, it doesn't look like we're going to have a lot of flooding out of this. we could see the official of 2 to 3 inches of rain. the other story today, very hot forecast for texas all the way

up through the northern plains. i guess the bottom line, alex, with the tropical disturbance, bad beach weather moving up the east coast will probably cancel a lot of plans for the next couple of days. >> that's a bummer. thank you, bill karins. still ahead, a good number of republican lawmakers are planning to skip next month's republican convention. we'll tell you what that could mean for president trump's re-electi re-election. and dr. anthony fauci is warning the u.s.' complacency, as the president touts the mortality rate. we're back in a moment. we're back in a moment and dermatologist recommended. new tide pods plus downy free. safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. in a highly capable lexus suv at the golden opportunity sales event. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $339 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer.

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welcome back. i'm alex witt. as cases of coronavirus in this country surpass the 3 million mark, scientists behind the influential forecasting model at the university of washington predict the u.s. could pass 200,000 deaths by november. scientists, however, say that number drops to fewer than 163,000 deaths, if at least 95% of people out there wear masks in public. a difference of more than 45,000 lives. president trump is touting the dropping death rate among coronavirus patients as evidence that the united states' successfully response to the pandemic. >> again, mortality rate, the lowest anywhere in the world. and we want to get this done. and we want to get our country going again. >> he also tweeted last night, death rate from coronavirus is down tenfold. but during a news conference yesterday, dr. anthony fauci, the nation's top infectioc infe

disease expert had this to say. >> it's a false count to take comfort in a lower rate of death. there are so many things about this virus don't get of course into a false complacency. >> and yesterday, the president criticized fauci's expertise and downplayed the challenges on the road ahead in the effort to stem the spread of covid-19. >> i think we are in a good place. i disagree with him. dr. fauci said don't wear a mask. now he says wear them. he said numerous things, don't close off china, don't ban china. i did it anyway. i sort of didn't listened to my experts and i banned china. we would have been in much worse shape. you wouldn't believe the number of deaths more we would have had if we didn't do the ban. and italy also and various

countries also. we've done a good job. we are going to be in two, three, four weeks by the time we next speak, i think we're going to be in very good shape. hospitals, i think florida, basically, florida, california, more than any other place, many other states are in very fine shape. they're doing very well. we have areas that look like they were going to escape. all of a sudden, they become hot like florida, california, like a couple others. i think you're going to see with all of the things we're doing and with all of the therapeutics coming out and ultimately, the vaccine, we're going to be have very good shape very soon. >> in fact, the president will travel to florida on friday as the state continues to experience record high numbers of covid-19 cases. the white house confirmed trump will equivalent the u.s. southern demand in doral to take an advanced look at the counteroperation in the caribbean. the visit was first reported by the miami herald. the president is expected to

attend an event in broward county just a couple miles from his resort. the visit puts it in the center of the coronavirus outbreak as miami-dade's republican mayor begins to restore previously listed businesses and restrictions amid the spike in confirmed coronavirus cases. at least five republican senators say they will not be attending next month's republican convention in jacksonville. so far, only senator grassley, chuck grassley, that is, has explicitly cited concerns of the coronavirus as his reason. a spokesperson for senator lamar alexander said he would not be attending when asked if the 80-year-old's decision was because of covid-19, he declined to comment. and senators susan collins and lisa murkowski plans to skip the convention.

and a spokesperson for murkowski said she spends the august recess in alaska every year. and finally a spokesperson for senator mitt romney who also skimmed the convention in cleveland told "the washington post" he does not intend to attend this year. and due to a recent spike in florida, he appears to be malleable when it comes to next month's gathering. >> we wanted to be in north carolina, that almost worked out, but the governor didn't want to have people use the arena essentially. we said, too bad for north carolina. and then we went to florida, and when we went, when we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good. now, all of a sudden, it's spiking up a little bit and that's going to go down. it really depends on the timing. look, we're very flexible. we can do a lot of things but we're very flexible. >> joining me one again, political reporter from the hill julia manmanchester.

you got those five saying, nope, we're not going to jacksonville next month. but are there more republican senators pushing back? are you hearing about more going awol, if you will, in terms of attending the convention? >> yeah, it is very possible that some may go awol, it's not only republican senators who are considering not going to the convention. you're also hearing about some republican donors who are feeling a little unsure about whether they should give money to this convention, while this convention is being held in a state where we're seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. you know, this is a big safety concern right now. obviously, a lot can happen between now and in august. it sounds like the president is rather optimistic that cases in the state will go down. however, we're really continuing to see them to rise. and if we get this sort of rock star-like mt. rushmoresque rally that the president has in the

convention, i think that's going to bring major issues of having people in large crowds spaced closely together whether that could contribute to the spread in the local area. >> you have to wonder if it's going to have the same look, as the president kconsiders the optics of tulsa, and you remember the mostly predominantly empty arena. >> right, right. some of the president's allies, and the president himself, saying they were happy with it, however it was not good for optics. president trump has campaigned ever since 2016 on having these big rock star receptions from all of his supporters. he wants to portray this message to the media. that despite low poll numbers or maybe drop in poll numbers, his base is very much still intact. and that he very much feeds off of this energy from his base. so the optics are very, very important. >> yeah. >> and i think you want something as normal or as close to normal as possible. >> look, at least with these five senators, you know, no

one's gone on record saying it's because of coronavirus that they don't want to get there. but when you listen to the president, breaking once again from dr. anthony fauci and his assessment of the pandemic, how do you interpret this mixed message from the administration? >> you know, it's something that we've seen throughout the coronavirus pandemic. we've seen president trump sometimes not as explicitly break with dr. fauci, but you know, sometimes kind of offer his own take on the virus and such. but, you know, when president trump was talking about fauci kind of constantly changing his mind whether it was over masks or the travel ban -- or china and such, i think a lot of that was because of the fact that we didn't know much of anything about the coronavirus. i mean, this is a very new strain of the virus. health officials like dr. fauci are still figuring it out. so he was very much trying to figure out the best proper way to proceed as a medical official. and to advise the president on

that. however, president trump's comments tell me that he wants to go his own way. that he wants to be the leader of the response to the pandemic. and essentially, you know, not necessarily take all of these by health officials. president trump is very focused on the economy. that has been a strong suit for him throughout this presidency. he wants to see it recover ahead of his re-election bid in november. and if that involves opening up early, then you might see that. >> look, you say the president wants to be the leader on the coronavirus response within the administration. do others with whom you speak within the administration want that, too? do they want the voice of fauci with his vast credibility to still stay out there? >> i think it depends who you talk to. i mean, obviously, a lot of, you know, those close to the president, want the president to be a central focal point in the response. however, you do see this need for him to maybe communicate with hem like dr. fauci and

dr. birx on his issue. remember, in the begin of this, march, april, spring, you saw a united front at those daily coronavirus presses, with fauci, birx, president trump and vice president pence. however, that hasn't happened. and now you see fauci giving his own interviews and rarely appearing with the president. it's been months since he appeared with a high person like vice president mike pence. still to come, biden said president trump is a pet for vladimir putin. we'll show you the full comments coming up. meanwhile, your "first look" at "morning joe" is back in a moment. when the murray's started using gain ultra flings

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joe biden is speaking up for senator tammy duckworth in the latest dustup between president trump and his allies and one of

biden's potential running mates. speaking at a virtual fund-raiser that duckworth also attended biden said it was disgusting, sickening of trump to question her patriotism and it's a question of depravty of what's going on in the white house. duckworth said there should be a national dialogue when asked in an interview about activist's demands of a statue of washington. that forced tucker carlson to attack duckworth on her show calling her a deeply silly unimpressive person. duckworth a former helicopter height who lost both legs in the iraq war fired back on twitter and said does tucker carlson want to walk a mile in my legs and tell me whether or not i love america? last night, joe biden sounded off on president trump's relationship with russian

president vladimir putin. saying he's coddling putin, like carrying around putin in one of those puppy cages. and putin could potentially rule until 2036 since peter the great. >> good morning to you, alex. this is the time we track the numbers. today is going to be a very interesting day with the fatality numbers when they come in, because now the holiday weekend is behind us. and the spike we had yesterday could have been related to, you know, a lag in the lower number of reporting over the holiday weekend. let's go and take a look. so here's what happened yesterday. new cases, 55,442 on the world meter site. that's a tuesday record. it was the third highest total for any day so far. again, those numbers could have been up a little bit because of the reporting of the lower numbers we had over the holiday weekend. and as we mentioned now going

over 3 million total cases and we're nearing 1% of the u.s. population. that would be roughly 1 out of every 100 people in the country has now tested positive. so, the seven-day average is up to 52,000. that's how many cases per day right now. two weeks ago, that average was 30,000. that increase began about june 14th. so we're about a month into our increase. here's the interesting part with fatalities yesterday, 994 new deaths reported yesterday. you can see that little bar, that little spike, in the far right there. again, that was the highest total we've had in about a month. so, today it will be interesting to see if that is up higher than yesterday, or similar to yesterday. seeing now if we're seeing an increase in the number of deaths. in california yesterday that led the way with 118 new deaths. arizona breathe their single day record with the most deaths in one day for 117. just to show you how much of a lag there is, new jersey is still on this list, fifth, with 50 new deaths yesterday.

and again, new jersey has been low on the total numbers for about three or four weeks. those were people that were sick from months ago. so severe storm threat today, 18 million people at risk. a very hot day out there, alex. 35 million under heat alert. it's interesting, alex, agency we go throughout date with fatality numbers to see if we're seeing the uptick after the surge in new cases. >> it's something we don't want to see, thank you for showing us anyway, bill karins. still ahead, the government awards its largest grant yet for the coronavirus vaccine. plus, how one movie theater is staving off bankruptcy amid the pandemic. the stories driving your business day are next. ay are ne.

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the u.s. government has granted a sixth major company, novavax $1.6 billion as part of operation warp speed in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine. let's go to cnbc's karen cho joining us live from london.

good morning, karen. what you can tell us about this big deal? >> alex, what we're seeing the u.s. government continues to spread its bets on coronavirus vaccine hopefuls. the $1.6 billion is a large contribution to of its vaccine trials. the u.s. wants to make sure that americans have quick access to any vaccine, if it is successful, and this deal is the largest so far under "operation warp speed." the deal would see novavax produce 100 million doses of a new vaccine by the beginning of next year, so the money is slated to go into late-stage clinical trials. the manufacturing and delivery of any vaccine. keep in mind, this is a maryland-based company that has never brought a product to market, so it's hard to see how there would be a seamless delivery of any vaccine down the track. the u.s. government, though, has so far put about $4 billion into vaccine programs run by six companies. the others include astrazeneca, the british company. it's received $1.2 billion so far. so the other big allocator of

money. moderna therapeutics, pfizer, j&j, and merck rounds out the list of companies. meanwhile, in other news, there is a big, fat paycheck for banks that have been handing out emergency relief to businesses under the pandemic program. what we are hearing is that jpmorgan and bank of america corporation are expected to split between $1.5 billion and $2.6 billion in fees for administering and distributing ppp loans, or the paycheck protection program. the lenders have been at the forefront of that relief program, but there are also 4,000 other lending institutions that are likely to be spending up to $25 billion in processing fees. this is a windfall for the community banks that have effectively received the same amount of money for handing out the loans as all of their revenue last year, so they've been incentivized to hand out that money, haven't they? >> yeah. karen, for those of us who remember going to the movie theater, what about the amc chain that is now avoiding bankruptcy? how are they doing that? >> well, i've almost forgotten

what that feels like and the company is almost out of cash. behind the scenes, there's been clashes about a deal, but they're close. we are told a deal has come down from senior lenders, including apollo. bondholders are likely to provide $200 million in a senior loan facility and swap out their unsecured claims for lower-tiered debt, but this is hope to tie the company over, given that it won't reopen the bulk of its locations until the 30th of july because major movie cinema thrillers like "newland" expected to be delayed. back to you. >> i do want to see that one. karen tso, see you tomorrow. thank you so much. >> so do i. up next, a look at axios' "1 big thing." then, coming up on "morning joe," after announcing this week she had tested positive for coronavirus, atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms will be our guest. plus, representative debbie mucarsel-powell will discuss the cases of covid-19 in her state. "morning joe" moments away. cove "morning joe" moments away

♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪ ♪won't wait♪ ♪we're taking everything we wanted♪ ♪we can do it ♪all strength, no sweat

we're right on time and joining us now is a look at "axios a.m.," political reporter hans nichols. good to see you! let's get to your "1 big thing." what is it? >> sure, alex. the one big thing we're looking at is how the news terrain is shifting and isn't favoring president donald trump. when you look at google searches, what americans really care about are the coronavirus, they care about racial injustice, and they also care about foreign policy. those are all issue sets that don't favor the president. now, you almost get the sense that the white house is aware of this, because they want to shift the conversation. they clearly want to move it more towards the economy, where polls do show that president trump has an advantage over joe biden, but it's exceedingly difficult, even with the power of the white house and even with donald trump's different channels, it's exceedingly difficult to try to change the conversation when the country is partly under lockdown, they care so much about what's happening on racial injustice, the coronavirus, and also foreign policy on this potential

bounties being paid by russia on american troops. so, we'll see to what extent the white house does shift this. one way they're appearing to do that, talking about schools. it's a way for them to get the conversation on coronavirus to a place that they might think favors them, and that is, schools should be open. alex? >> yeah, except if the health and the coronavirus situation doesn't allow for that safely. that's a whole other big kettle of fish to deal with. but let's talk about republican minority whip steve scalise. he's inviting lobbyists to a four-day summer meeting at disney world. what is this event about? what do you expect? why is it important during this time? >> well, republicans, democrats, they all do these big weekend getaways, right? >> right. >> and they usually have one or two events where lawmakers can pull aside, and it's usually with corporate lobbyists. big people have big pac money. and it's a way for republicans and democrats to raise money. what's different is that steve scalise is actually doing it in the middle of a pandemic. and the invite that you see on

your screen, that got forwarded to me by someone who is like, this seems a little off. they're doing this, a, at disney, which is just starting to open, and b, in florida, where cases are surging. but alex, this tells us something about the mentality inside the republican party, and that is, they are not -- some of them are not overly concerned about contracting the virus. so, this invite from scalise, if he goes forward with this event at the end of the month, it will put republican lobbyists in a difficult position. because for their jobs, they have to go to these places. they have to show up. they have to give the $10,000 check. but they might not want to, but scalise is essentially saying, put your money where your mouth is, come and join me, because he's essentially signaling -- and there's no mention of coronavirus in the invite -- he's essentially signaling that he doesn't think it's much of a threat to travel, to go to florida, and to go to disney wor world. so, we'll also look for divergences on what other house republicans do, because

mccarthy, the top house republican right now, has something planned similar in jackson hole, but he may end up canceling that. that event is scheduled right now for august. alex? >> let me tell you, jackson hole cannot bring it with the ho hoopdy-hoo musical or the breakfast -- >> nor the pore nielynesian vil >> thank you for adding that. quickly, 30 seconds. the republicans' money chase, what have you learned about that? >> look, this is always part of a cycle at this point. people are going after the money. we'll see to what extent republicans are able to pull level with joe biden, at least on a month-to-month basis, because when we look at what's happening, at least in the presidential level, joe biden has had a couple of very good months. we'll see whether or not it pulls even. what no one really disputes is that there's going to be a lot of money sloshing around in this election. you want to own a local broadcast network somewhere in a swing state because a lot of money is going to come pouring in. alex? >> yep. you've got that right. okay, hans nicks nik yolz.

thank you so much. awfully good to see you, my friend, hans nichols. i'll be joining you as we read "axios a.m." in a little while. you can sign up for that newsletter at signup.axios.com. that's a wrap for me this wednesday morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. i look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning, but stay right where you are. "morning joe" starts right now. again, mortality rate the lowest anywhere in the world, and we want to get this done and we want to get our country going again. >> it's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death. there's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus. don't get yourself into false complacency. >> dr. anthony fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, with that word of caution for those taking comfort in a lower death rate due to the coronavirus, people like president trump. by the way, we should add, the united states does not have the