good evening and welcome to "politics nation." tonight's lead, formation. all last week president trump threw darts at democrats as they convened their convention. now it's democrats' turn to execute their counternarrative during this week's republican national convention. the president trying to get a jump on his own big event with a news conference later this hour to announce what he's billing

as, quote, very good news reportedly related to a possible treatment for the coronavirus. we'll bring you that when it happens. as for the convention, only thing we can extract ahead of time from the rnc lineup is that donald trump should remain president because he's a professional or political boon to one of the speakers or a very immediate relative. in a minute, i talk to senator amy klobuchar, fresh off her dnc speech. now that the party is united, what's the strategy for the next three months? plus, a hail mary last night in washington. the house overwhelmingly passed legislation to inject cash into the u.s. postal service. the final yes votes including more than two dozen republicans despite their leaders whipping

against it and president trump continuing his attacks on mail-in voting. more on all of that ahead, but, first, with me now is senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. senator, thank you for being with us this evening. >> thanks, al. it's great to be on. >> let me ask. the let me ask you, you spoke, and it was an array of speakers. it seemed the party came out with a -- with everyone's assessment that it was a successful convention. how did you feel about the convention, and where do we go from here? now what? >> well, i felt really good about the convention. i was taking a walk today in the twin cities, and people felt really good. they felt part of it. they were excited and they especially, of course, liked michelle's speech but they loved joe biden's speech at the end. i thought he was incredibly confident. he was the leader that we've been thirsting for.

you know, he went out there and said basically like he had america at his kitchen table and help was saying, okay, this is the problem, and he's sitting at the head of the table and this is how we're going to fix it. it was very direct, and that is what we're taking out therefore convention. i loved the roll call video showing this incredible diversity of america as we know it, and it is, not as donald trump talks about it. so as we go into the week, you're going to hear all kinds of things from donald trump claiming that he is somehow -- he has fixed this problem and we know far from the truth when the latest numbers today, over is 76,000 americans dead of covid. seniors like my dad who i got to visit outside finally yesterday who are you have to see isolated in their assisted living, kids not knowing how they are going to learn next year. the case is strong for us to make, and it's on us to make that case when he says a bunch of lies to the american people

next week. >> how do the democrats plan to counter obvious moves to suppress and in many ways disxhournlg voting when they are claiming on the one hand that mail-in voting leads to fraud and on the other hand the president said he'll have law enforcement or sheriff's deputies at polling sites. how are the democrats going to counter that? >> no know what he's doing. he's trying to scare everybody, done it from the beginning from when he put kris kobach in charge of that have commission and when he went forward and we know now from the latest intelligence report once again, we see over and over again, the evidence that his campaign officials were working with russia to the current where he's scaring people, where he's telling them not to vote by mail when every republican governor and secretary of state hats been positive about this with very few exceptions, where you've got a situation where he's tried to

stop the mail from being delivered by all the budget cuts and slow it down. it's outrageous. how do we counter it? because we're on to him and the think the best words were when barack obama said don't let him take your power away from you. you have the power to vote, and a tease on us to push everything, to make sure that every state they can do what are he can. learn how who do vetting between each states. vote immediately when you can by ballot, and if you decide you don't want to vote that way go and vote early at the polls, and then if you decide to vote that day, as michele said, wear comfortable shoes and pack your lunch because we cannot let them take this foreaway from us on another issue and that is the

u.s. post-al service. the house $25 billion. when the does the senate review this? mcconnell says they are not coming back until september. we're not only talking about what at risk is and clearly that's vitally important, but people's social security checks, people's medicine. i mean, we're talking about real things for real believe. >> unbelievable. exactly. it is people's medications. the stories i've heard -- i got a text from a republican, small business owner in minnesota saying i can't pay my employees for weeks, the ones that i mail checks to. i don't know what to do. things that have died. people who actually rely on the postal service to get their eggs hand things like that and they are setting there in post offices dying and tea a very,

very saturday thing. she brought in sheeredship and now we need to put all the pressure on mitch mcconnell. i can bring everybody i have, go back to a suit says if we need to israel, we the nrmt -- there are republicans who live in states with republican senators, and they have to start by tomorrow morning telling them a their senators and telling them they need to earn. it's something i've been working on, like the iconic sieve ave to make sure people get voting and unemployment ben fet so in addition to post al remember advice so, we also want to

america sure that we get that bill lit. we were it about the -- that and the john lewis voting rights bill, things of real concern can, and mcconnell has not brought any of them to the floor. we need to keep them front and center because many of the republican senators that are in lock step with mcconnell are up for re-election. their constituents need to know what they are not allowing to come to the floor. >> right, and so many of them have hypocritically talked about john lewis and how much they admired him and then they didn't do that bill. you know, i wish they were with us at the george floyd memorial service, and i will never forgot your beautiful, beautiful eulogy to him in minnesota as well as across the country, and we made a pledge to that family, and

there was a lot of talk at the time that we were actually going to do something when it came to police reform. our next captain kamala harris and i was a spencer of it, to make sure put in planning lick hold, that a police officer that does bass thing should show -- what the american public want is reform. the that's another reason that just seen all the talk and no action. it's the reason we've got to tampa bay cake the senate and a reason we also want to make sure we win the presidency. >> thank you, amy klobuchar. >> with me right now is

republican strategist susan deforcia and fordham university professor and politics editor christina grier. let me go to you first. give me your view, susan, on the democratic convention, and what is the challenge the republicans will have to do in terms of the big names, even big-name republicans, governor kasich, colin powell, come and say i'm republican but i'm voting and kamala harris. we saw former president president obama. former first lady michelle obama. former president bill clinton and hillary clinton, former secretary of state in tonight. how does the republicans match that with four nights of donald trump? >> i mean, they don't. what we saw at the democratic convention was something that took a lot of time and planning. it was thoughtful. there were great speeches. it was inclusive, and -- and it

was -- it was logical. one step followed the next, and it was overall especially going virtual for the first time widely reviewed as a very positive event. on the other hand, you have the republicans led by donald trump so you must express chaos and things not to go as well. there was no way donald trump would give up being on primetime air for four nights in a row and the fact that he came out and announced he's doing all four nights is no surprise. at the end of the day no one can sell donald trump hike donald trump sells himself. he's a showman and crowd pleaser, and i wonder how he'll respond to not having the crowd to riley him up, because that's going to be pain from unless, of course, rev, they have hike canned applause i wouldn't put it past. and i think they are really

behind where the wremts were. i think the expectations are really low, and i don't think the republicans will motor those low expectations. >> the production was very impressive at the dnc but now the rubber sits the road. the president is there's a president who tried to scare people away, we're talking begun law enforcement at the poll, messing with the postal service. how do the democrats turn out their vote and turn them out in -- with impedments clearly in the way and with a possible pandemic continuing into november if we have a second wave. >> how do the democrats get over all of these challenges, they started with the national convention, to figure out the laws and reveryious states.

if you're an proper to register as voters. i think this system has to be communicated to everybody across the country. every state has laws about when you can receive an absentee ballot, what provisional ballots and what your polling stations look like on the day off soy think education is key for a successful democratic turnout. i think also the down ballot races have to really make sure that they go out into their communities and inspired people to vote. it's not just about -- we've got senators in the states of gentleman, south carolina, kentucky, immediate to make sure that people want to turn out so that they have a man so you're really ortic hating what is your voting plan? not that i'll vote on november 3rd but how will that look.

>> according to poet the independent president trump told several black lives leaders in 2016 quote, maybe, blacks went out to vote for ailary because they liked me. this is great. this is on type, christina. let me stay with you and then i'll go back to susan. how do they deal with the black vote? the fact is i don't think many blacks stay at home because they didn't like him. a lot of of it was how the campaign has run, various reasons that you and i have talked about. how do they get past that this time? how are they mindful of that, especially when you have all kind of scenarios out there there i believe had it not been the purging of voters or moving of sites in georgia stacey abrams would have been governor.

how do they deal with all of that as donald trump said for plax not to vote is to vote for donald trump. >> right. that's definitely the case, and i think that that's a real world scenario he's hopefully banking on. i think the real deis there's not information. we've seen organizations have done a post pore tim of 2016 number, when it was facebook misinformation campaigns whether they were coming from overseas or somehow planted in other communities. the biden/harris campaign needs to deputize black leaders and i'm not talking about clergy. i'm talking about people who work in barber shops, hospitals, service industries who have communication with so many members of their community so that the information that actually gets out is accurate information so we're not talking about conspiracy theories or,

you know, theories that have no real basis but actually prevented people from turning out the last time. secondly, biden and harris really need to make sure that they articulate policies that are key for communities. not all times in all ways. i know we've heard that donald trump is an existential threat but communities need to lay that out and biden and harris need to do that and need surrogates who do that as well. >> susan, i want to ask you this. you talked about how president trump is on every night. he's also got family members on every night. isn't that awkward when his sister now has -- a tape has come out saying some of the most disparaging things one would ever want to hear from a family member to another family member? you have a niece who fell out with him saying somehow there

was a mishap in terms of what she's supposed to get with money and she's written a best-selling book with her uncle and released a tape with her aunt just totally saying that donald trump should not be believed, that he lies. you're going to put family members out there when you have two family members very publicly saying the opposite about him. >> well, i guess those were the two family members that didn't rely on donald trump for money and could tell the truth, rev, because that's exactly what these two women were doing. they were telling their truths. now, mary anne trump did not know she was being taped which is even -- shows you further what she really thought, and i just think it's amazing that we saw an interview recently with biden's sister valley, and boyden's sister to what trump is going through with his sister. it's a from flektion and reflection frankly of the values

>> thank you both for being with us. coming up, the fight against racial injustice more than half a century after the first march on washington. many are expected to gather this week to do it again, but, first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top news stories. >> thanks, rev. stories we're watching this hour for you. we're tracking severe weather in the tropics as two storms are headed for the gulf of mexico. marco is now a hurricane and heading west while tropical storm laura heads east. preparations are under way in several states from florida all the way to texas. marco is expected to make landfall in louisiana. by monday laura will make landfall by wednesday. record wildfires in california. nearly is million acres have been destroyed so far. more than 14,000 firefighters also trying to stop the flames and federal aid was released for

ongoing recovery efforts right there. as of this hour, confirmed cases now total more than 5.7 million. the number of fatalities are also growing to over is 77,000 people. colleges continue efforts to continue the virus on campus. meanwhile, georgia tech reports 33 new cases, 17 of which came from one from a tefrpt house. university officials say that frat first reported cases last week. residents are now under a mandatory breakdown. more reverend al sharpton come up right after the break. d al se up right after the break we support memorable moments,

concentration - in hectic times . and focus to win the day. unlike ordinary memory supplements... neuriva's clinically proven ingredients fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. take the neuriva challenge with our money-back guarantee!

reinventing. it's what with comcast business, your small business can work faster, with powerful internet from the nation's largest gig-speed network. work safer, with all your connected devices automatically protected by securityedge. and work anywhere, with comcast business at home, our new business-grade internet solution for remote workers. whatever your business needs, comcast business has the solutions to help you not just bounce back,

but bounce forward. call or go online to find out more.

but 100 years later the knee grow still not free. 100 years later, the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by

the manicles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. >> 57 years ago dr. martin luther king famously spoke about racism, discrimination during his i have a dream speech as part of the march on washington for jobs and freedom. later this week on friday the action network will be joehnck other organizations around the co-convened by his son and heir martin luther king spearheading another march on washington that will center on the continued fight against police brutality and voting rights. joining me in that effort is my guest, now human rights, global human rights activist martin luther king iii and civil rights attorney, i call him the attorney general of black america benjamin crump. let me go to you first, martin.

we are talked become the the back and forward and i kind of jumped out at the funeral store and announced that you are willing to convene. we're in area in the galfully shull be counting and we see continuing, brianna taylor, aor boy, and rayshard brooks and the list goes on and on. even right now lafayette, louisiana, and why we say. stand with your family or loved one 50 years ago. tell us how you feel and making

sure that every covid-19 protocol is being reflect. we'll talk to the mayor and everyone is given a face mask and everyone will be dev dribd. day frahm, how does it feel to stand where your father has stood and we've now down it in this george floyd era. >> you know, rev, my mother would say every generation has to earn its freedom and its keep. you would think that in 2020 that we would have about -- the fact of the are we aren't. we are where we are at the nokes

because i believe people booinging to, black americans, native americans, hispanic americans are going to continue to represent the. number we have to practice for rights, and clearly what is happening in this country is very wrong for names. and that's one of the reasonablor reasons that we're coming to cab ton fpg. it is going to say that we are going to change these incomes. not great again because many of us don't know what that means. >> attorney crump, you ripped george floyd's family, breonna

taylor's family, the list goes on, trayvon martin, you can name it, and those families are come, and just the thought of those families standing there in the shadows of abe lincoln the staeps that john lewis, and you talk about this almost on a baileyiesies. this is real life to these people. these people loved a loved one. >> twernl. it f. this was the big brother that they grew up with. they shared a bed with him. it was their hero. breonna taylor was her mother's first born child, and so, thank you, reverend al, for convening so that we don't lose this moment. this moment where we have the

world saying we have to change the culture and the behavior of policing in america or we will see more #s like we just saw less than 24 hours ago in lafayette, louisiana, with trayford pellerin, and that reminds me of kwame mcdonald. he's walk away and you have so or 11 officers, and they shoot 11 bullets into his body. >> i'll have to break in and hold it right there. we have breaking news from the white house. richie lui is following that for us. >> yeah, rev, we're watching the white house because we learned this afternoon that the president would be coming to the microphone to update us on what we expect to be an issue related to covid-19 and that's the emergency use for convalescent plasma and the fda authorizing

the use of convalescent plaza within that emergency use definition, and we expect that to happen very shortly. just got the 2:00 warning. the efficacy of this move by the fda, we alsoens that the wows to potential little be contacting the fda and the timing, of course, as we've been motor noting on our broadcast today is of relevance to about to what we're about to hear from the white house and from the president as well as about this might mean in tomorrows of who receives this treatment. we understand two booth beautors

over the covid-19 throughout the last five off six minutes. dr. gupta. let's start with you waiting for the net. goes out. from what we've heard from the fda and reduces the amount of use as i'm that you need toe have if diagnosed with covid, what does this mean? >> okay. i don't believe that we have dr. gupta as of yet, but, again, this is the announcement that we do expect to be coming down the pike very, very soon as the fda authorizing the emergency use. this has been a their puttic that's been used before. it is not necessarily new to the arsenal that doctors have been using across the country frpgs let's g straight to the

president who is about to announce the details on all of that. >> good to see you all. hope you had a great weekend at your convention, and we're going to have a operate contention coming up let meet provide an update on the recent wildfires in california and the storms in the gulf of mexico. yesterday i approved a major disaster deck had aration for california. spoke to governor gnu com. as the battled the worst wildfires in the history of their state. that continues. the federal government lags already deployedful of and personnel to battle the wildfires looking very close to.

we'll take care of the situation and we have $26,000 who as we grieve for the families of two first responders and first residents who have drajically lost their lives in a very horrific fire. one of the biggest we've ever season. my administration is also closely monitoring hurricane marco and tropical storm laura which are coming in rapidly. hurricane marco is expected to make landfall in louisiana tomorrow and tropical storm laura is expected to hit louisiana two days later. this is what unprecedented. the scope of the tomorrows amend also the fact this they come quickly one agent -- it could cause significant draj across

the golf course and everyone stationed and ready to go. fema is lined up. we have the coast guard ready. the coast guard has done a fantastic job. they do so many -- they do such good work, and we want to thank our great coast guard. i'm asking all americans in the storm's path to follow instructions of your state and local governments very closely, and i've approved emergency declarations for puerto rico and for louisiana. fema is mobilized on the ground and is ready to help. they will be in there very, very quickly, and -- and i spoke to governor john bel edwards also of louisiana, and i've informed him and at his request also, a major disaster declaration is signed and ready to go. we have everybody ready in puerto rico, the gulf coast, louisiana and also on the forest

fires in california, so we have a great team. unfortunately, we have some very, very powerful natural tis asters on the therapeutics front, when is what i've about looking forward to a long time. today i'm truly pleased to make an historic announcement in the battle against the china virus that will save countless lives. the fda has issued an emergency use authorization, and that's such a powerful term, emergency use-at-ization for a treatment known as can have a less ent plasma. this is a powerful therapy that diffuses antibodies from the bodies of recovered patients to help fight infection. it's had an incredible rate of success and today's action will

dramatically, and access to this treatment and i want to thank dr. hahn and secretary aczar. i want to thank the fda, all of the people who have been working very hard on this. it showed tremendous potential. this has been made possible only by operation warp speed. we're horse ahead of approval if we went by the speed levels of pat administration. we need be two years, three behind what you'll be regular. to glifrmt, we're removing barriers and delays, not by cutting corner but by marshalling the full power of the federal government. we provided $48 million to fund the mayo clinic study that checked on the efficacy of

convalescent plasma for patients with the virus. through this saudi over 1,700 americans have enrolled to receive this treatment and it's proven to reduce mortality by 37. mt. sinai and m.i.t. hospital among others have found plasma to be an effective treatment to the disease. base on the science and data the fda has made the independent determination that this is very safe and very effective. recently we providedp to 72 million to support the collection of up to 360 thoush units of plasma. in late july we launched a nationwide campaigns, to ask stwlfrmt -- those are patients that have been incredible the way they have donated, but these

are people recovered from the virus to donate plasma. since then we cannily plasma donations have doubled and today i once again urge all americans who have recovered from the virus to go to coronavirus.gov and sign up and donate plasma today, please. it's really been an incredible, incredible people. the condition try has united so strongly behind us, and i'll go over the numbers, but if you look at what's happening. the experienced a lower rate but you don't here that. the european union fatality rate is estimated to be three times higher than in the united states. europe has seen 33% more fatalities compared to a typical non-pandemic year that be the united states, and -- and i just

want to ask two of our people that have been, alex azar and steven hahn to stay a few woortsz and i recall. the efforts have been incredible, and i think you'll see the results could up very substantially. maybe i'll ask alex to go first and then steven. thank you very much, alex. >> thank you very much, mr. president. thanks for the bold lead shor that allowed us to deliver the very happy news today. thanks to your all of america approach has not any more to battle cloefd 19. thanks to your early efforts americans have broad remember access to these treatments including could have have a less ent plaza than nishts anywhere else in the world. in early april, early in our

fight against covid-19 the faa and mayo clinic sprang into action to set up a protocol for that promising treatment. president trump is the right-to-dry at the present time and has fought hard to ensure that americans can have actress to covid-19 treatments. can have a less ent has been a tried and tried. this fda authorization is one result of our efforts. the data we gathered suggests that patients who were treated early in their disease course within three days of being diagnosed with plasma containing high levels of antibodies benefited the most from treatment. we saw a 44% chance of survival which were patience under 80 and not on art kashl regulars piration. i don't you to keck nice this

point. we dream of drug involvement of something like a 45% mortality reduction. this is a major advance in the treatment of patients, this is a major advance. convalescent plasma is one new tool that we've added to our arsenal against covid-19 alongside remdesivir, steroids and a number of other promising options currently being studied. because of the president's operation warp speed we expect to have other new results and new options reaching patients as soon as this fall. operation warp speed is supporting experimental therapeutics all the way through to manufacturing so that if they immediate fda's gold standard for safety and efficacy they can begin reaching patients without a day wasted. americans who have tested positive for and recovered from covid-19 can go to coronavirus.gov to find out a quick, convenient way to play a potentially life-saving role in our fight. know if you donate plasma you

could save a life. we've also provided guide ants so health care providers can contact patients who have recovered covid-19 and give them information on how they can donate, so thank you again, mr. president, for supporting this remarkable progress against covid-19, and i want to thank dr. hahn, dr. marks and the entire team at fda for the speed with which they have approached this, the diligence to ensure that this meets the standards at fda and i'll turn it over to dr. h ha hn if it's okay, mr. president. >> please. >> thank you, mr. president, for your leadership. it's good to be here today to announce fda's recent decision. from the beginning of this pandemic the president has asked fda to cut back red tape to try to speed medical products into the hands of providers, patients and american consumers, and i just want to echo the president's thanks to the more than 17,000 men and women who work at fda. they worked day and night to in fact do that. so plasma is the liquid portion

of the blood. that liquid porgts contains the natural immunity that someone develops in response to development, in this case covid-19 and that liquid portion can be extracted, and for many years, as the president and secretary aysar said, it's been given to patients winfectous diseases for more than 100 years so there was a really good rationale for why this might work, and, in fact, as was mentioned in early april an expanded access program was started at the mayo clinic with support of the federal government under president trump's leadership, and that has gone on for the last four months. more than 90,000, close to 100,000 americans have enrolled in this program, and over 70,000 have received treatment. this is one of the largest expanded access programs in the history of fda, so very successful approach to evaluating how convalescent plasma would work. so in the independent judgment of experts and expert scientists

at fda who have reviewed the totality of data, not just the data from this expanded access program but more than a dozen published studies as well as the historical experience associated with this, those -- those scientists have concluded that covid-19 convalescent plasma is safe and shows promising efficacy thereby meeting the criteria for an emergency use authorization. in the optimal treatment -- optimal patients as described by secretary azar treated with convalescent plasma at the heist titers there was a 35% improvement and that's significant. the we're waiting for more data but this clearly meets the criteria we've established for emergency use authorization and we're very pleased with information. many of you know that i was a former cancer doctor and 35%

improvement is a very significant benefit. if that continues to pan out, 100 people who are speak with covid-19, 35 would have been saved because of the administration of plasma. we've seen a great deal of demand from this for doctors around the country and what this emergency use authorization does today it allows us to continue to do that and meet the demand. again, i want to echo the president's and the secretary's ask of the american people if you've recovered from covid-19, please donate. the it could save a life, and mr. president, thank you again. >> thank you very much. the. >> mr. president. >> any questions? >> mr. president. >> thank you, mr. president, i first want to the ask you about the covid-19 drugs that are in phase three. are they going to be available to the american population? you and i talked previously about this idea about right to try. >> right. >> can we assure the american people that if it's being

studied and in phase three you have that right. >> that's a great question, and i'm not sure a lot of people have been thinking about right to try. we're all waiting for the final answer, and maybe i could ask stephen, but i would say that right to try is exactly -- if somebody is virtually terminal, in other words they are not going to make it and we have these incredible therapies and drugs that are happening, alex, i think it's a very interesting question. i congratulate you for that question because we're all waiting for the final end point. what about that. >> we have all these seemingly great answers that are ready to come but because of the process -- can we use that early under right to try? >> that's a really good question, and, of course, it all depends on the clinical circumstances and what a doctor and what a patient together decide with respect to the administration of any agent, but if you think about what happened with convalescent plasma and the expanded access program, this is exactly what happened.

this program -- so we have ongoing clinical trials that are placebos or a randomized product and plasma. expanded access program is actually a way of doing that and fits perfectly with what the president just said about allowing people to be able to use something that we've now determined to be very safe. >> i think it's something that we have to really consider very strongly. i think it's fantastic. you should get credit for that. >> thanks, mr. president. >> thanks, that's very good. >> thank you, mr. president. convalescent plads ma as a treatment has been around for 100 years. you mentioned operation warp speed which enabled this process to move along a lot faster. what went into the effort for this to be approved for covid-19, and was that holdup political in nature? >> well, i think that might have been a holdup but we broke the logjam over the last week to be honest. i think that there are people in

the fda and actually in your larger department that can see things being held up and wouldn't mind so much, it's my opinion, very strong opinion, and that's for political reasons. this has nothing to do with politics. this has to do with life and death so we are being very strong and we are being very forthright, and we have got some incredible answers and we won't let them be held up because every day is lives, and we're not going to let that happen. very good. thank you. >> mr. president, in announcing this today, you said that the fda has made the independent determination that the treatment is safe and very effective yet dr. hahn just said it was showing promising efficacy, so which of the two is correct? >> well, i think i'll let dr. hahn answer that question. >> so under our legal authority for emergency use authorization, this is not the same as an approval but it's an authorization and allows us to expand the access to this, and

our data we know we're going to continue to collect data. we know that for all of our emergency use authorizations, so, for example, remdesivir which was approved or authorized on may 1st, we're still collecting data, and we will continue to do that with plasma as well so it's the nuances of the language around the authorization that we use and the legal aspects. >> it's a promising treatment. it's not -- you can't say it's very effective just yet. >> i would say -- if you're one of those 35 out of 100 people who these data suggest or show survive as a result of this, this is pretty significant for that person and their family. >> this is a very big day. it's a day we've been looking forward to. thank you. >> was there pressure own, dr. hahn, to authorize this? was there pressure on you to authorize this? >> president trump come to the microphones there, there for about 15 minutes, describing the emergency use okay by the fda for specifically convalescent

plads ma with a 35%, that's the number that they were quoting several times improvement in survive. i want to go straight to our contributors. let's go to dr. vin gupta as well as dr. gupta. dr. gupta, i guess if we want to really simplify this and we look at the unfortunate fatality count that we face today over 177,000, if this were to be applied in that scenario how many more americans would be alive today based on the numbers they have put out for us from the white house? >> thanks for the important question. great to be here. the answer to that question is i have no idea because i don't know where they get the 35% number from. the data that is out there for all of the viewers watching this. there is no great study

regarding convalescent plasma ands it therapeutic benefit in covid-19, especially critically ill patients that i care for in the i.c.u. there is no randomized control trial. one patient gets it. another doesn't. you compare the difference in outcomes. we don't have that. dr. hahn and others says the evidence suggests 35% benefit. they are basing that off of imperfect data and this is a gigantic exaggeration. i have been using this since march. it is pretty widely available. do we think there is possibly a benefit, yes we do. do we think it is harmful? probably not. is it a miracle cure, definitely not. making it seem to the american people like we have come across an amazing cure is smoke and mirrors. >> all of this as americans hope for a breakthrough but it is

aren't to have the two of you here. doctor, same question to you. what might have it meant for that unfortunate number of 177,000 plus american souls lost? >> richard, i think dr. gupta captured the gist of this in that there is hope for this but we don't know the efficacy of the drug is because large randomized control trials are still ongoing. while i am glad the expanded access program could make it available to more americans there is a cost to this and having more people use it under expanded use. fewer people would take part in randomized control trials and it would take longer to figure out the drug or if the treatment is

effective or not. but there is a more damaging part of this which doesn't dean with convalescent plasma. you see him put a finger and alter the balance of the decision for a new drug creates cynicism of the process of the fda for other products and vaccines in a time we are experiencing vaccine hesitancy and the vaccine coming out for coronavirus, even if that is not what will happen in reality. every time the president politicizes any type of public health institutions he erodes the trust in those public health institutions. he has done it with the cdc and nih and by this political move they are potentially doing that to the fda as well. >> which way is up, based on the politicalization of such issues

which are clearly about medicine? when we look at what is reportable and what we heard from the white house and from other reporting agencies, they have moved to an emergency use okay meaning as early as three days they can apply the therapy again of convalescent plasma. what peter march, the director of the fda center told "the wall street journal" is that the hospital -- hospitalized patients that received the plasma within three days of diagnosis are under the age of 80, not on mechanical ventilation, benefitted the most with a 35% improvement in survival 30 days after receiving the transfusion compared to patients that got plasma with low antibody levels according to dr. marx from the fda. dr. gupta, still facing the

problem of what is the control group and the details around that for smart folks like yourself. you give them this cplasma. >> the reality across the country is that it won't change a lot. maybe slightly easier for certain hospitals to get access to convalescent plasma but this is largely widely available and in most cases i think i infuse this in my patients that are critically ill on ventilators within 24 hours. we think that maybe there is marginal benefit. is it a miracle cure, absolutely not. it is going to say give me the

placebo now. it will be harder to convince people to say let's get science first and move on to clear therapies with evidence. >> doctor, what was the news conference about. what will you tell them in 30 seconds? >> the best thing we are developing the knowledge base. we are still waiting for the final answer. it is positive news. unfortunately it still means that every day we will have to take the measures that we have to take to make sure that we don't get the disease because it is not guaranteed that if you get the drug you will survive the disease. >> so great to have both of you. dr. vin gupta. appreciate your ability to give us context. my colleague continues our news coverage. stick around. our news coverage stick around -always have been. -and always will be. never letting anything get in my way.

not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. new voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving. and it can help you too. feel the joy of movement with voltaren. we see you.y of mov♪ment looking out...for all of us. and though you may have lost sight of your own well-being,

aetna never did. we're always here to help you focus on your health. because it's always, time for care. - i'm szasz. ♪ [norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. we do consulting, but we also write. [szasz] we take care of ourselves constantly; it's important. we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

(woman chattering) - [narrator] ordering dinner for the family? (family gasps) rewarded with a side of quiet. (baby murmuring) grubhub rewards you, (scooter horn honking) get a free delivery perk when you order. (doorbell rings) - [group] grubhub.

for spending a perfectly reasonable amount of time on the couch with tacos from grubhub? rewarded! get a free delivery perk when you order. - [group] grubhub. hello everyone. thank you for joining us on this sunday evening. new developments out of the white house where where president trump announced the emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a treatment for covid-19. >> this is a powerful therapy have transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to treat