good day, everyone. from msnbc world headquarters here in new york, we're approaching high noon in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome, everyone, to "weekends with alex witt" and a series of dramatic developments in these hours since joe biden became president-elect. new today the president departing the white house just a short time ago one day after he saw throngs in the streets celebrating his loss and soon an alarming new milestone for the country at this hour. the u.s. nearing ten million confirmed coronavirus cases. right now there are more than 9,950,000, more than 238,000 americans have died, and president-elect biden's team announcing plans to work to combat that virus right away. >> on monday, we will announce the covid task force, if you will, that will operationalize the biden/harris campaign plan to address covid and to a plan

that the government can use. what i can tell you today is that joe biden is going to make good on his promises on the campaign trail. >> also new today, nbc news confirming as soon as president-elect biden takes office, he will immediately sign a number of executive orders aimed at reversing several of president trump's unilateral actions. but today democratic senator chris coons is calling for more coronavirus relief now, not to wait for the next president. >> one way that president trump can show some graciousness in the next 73 days during the transition is to publicly support a significant pandemic relief bill. we've had record new cases all this past week. it's past time for us to come together and deliver the relief the american people are waiting for. and president trump is pushing ahead with fighting the election results. his campaign with at least seven active election-related lawsuits right now including a new one filed in arizona this weekend. republican senator mitt romney

today pushing back on the president's unproven allegations of fraud. >> i understand why the president wants to keep on fighting. i do believe, however, that it's destructive to the cause of democracy to suggest widespread fraud or corruption -- there's just so evidence of that at this stage. and i think it's important for us to recognize that the world is watching. >> as to the members right now, president-elect joe biden has 279 electoral votes to president trump's 214. but that lead could still grow. we are still watching vote tallies come in from four states that nbc news has not yet called. president-elect biden leads in two of those, both arizona and georgia. as for each new development today, covering a different storyline, we have reports and reaction from msnbc correspondents and analysts. we'll go right now first to wilmington, delaware, where after a night of big-time celebration, president-elect joe biden is already gearing up for his first day in office.

let's go to alli vitaly. what is next for them? >> reporter: hitting the ground running, alex. they are already gearing up to make covid the centerpiece of this -- these next 70 some odd days into the transition. the official transition work begins monday, but it just goes to show you how important tackling this pandemic is to the ticket because immediately joe biden last night coming out saying he's going to be creating a 12-perfect task force to take on the pandemic. it's going to be led by dr. vivek murthy, going to show that they are leaning into scientists and experts on this issue, something that the trump administration or at least donald trump himself continuously eshooed over the course of the last few months. i think also important is the fact that biden made sure to mention how important tackling the pandemic is going to be. it was something that he consistently talked about on the

road. so even before tackling cabinet secretaries, key administration posts, this is something that they are highlighting already is going to be of key import. the other things we'll hear a lot about over the next 70-ish days heading into the transition, covid is one of them. concession is the otherme. you heard joe biden trying to take the temperature down a bit. listen to him at the rally that his campaign has been planning for all week. >> it's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again, and to make progress we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. they are not our enemies. they're americans. they're americans. [ cheers ] the bible tells us to everything there is a season, a time to build, a time to reap, and a time to sow, and a time to heal. this is the time to heal in

america. >> reporter: alex, it sounds like the campaign messaging that we heard throughout joe biden's candidacy. now taking it with him as he becomes president-elect of the united states. the reason that i brought up the word concession, though, is because we haven't heard one yet from donald trump. legally, that's no big deal. but tradition would tell you that by this point usually the other candidate in the race who had lost would have conceded by now. unclear if that's going to happen, but the biden team forging ahead regardless. >> great setup. we'll see if we can get an answer to what might happen on that front. thank you so much. as the president is insisting to allie's point that this election is far from over, he is viewing to fight the results. we'll go to josh letterman joining us from the white house. first of all, what can the president even do at this point, and what are we learning about the advice that he may be getting? >> reporter: he is getting conflicting advice from different people in the president's orbit, with people like lindsey graham just re-elected as head of the senate

judiciary committee, telling the president he should not concede during a television interview. and now a source close to jared kushner telling nbc news that the president's son-in-law is encouraging him to pursue his legal remedies. and that seems to be exactly what the president intends to do. even as other people like governor chris christie, the former governor of new jersey, encouraged him to look at considering moving on if he doesn't actually have evidence of fraud to be able to back up the claims that the president has been continuing to make over the last 24 hours or so on twitter. now according to the president's attorney, rudy giuliani, the campaign does plan to pursue a number of new legal options tomorrow as they try to take advantage of this time before the states have actually certificate tied the results of those elections. the president's campaign now soliciting contributions from president trump's supporters to help with that legal defense. then you volley doscroll down te

print on the emails and it says they can use some of the money to retire old debt from the campaign. that raising a lot of eyebrows this morning and early this afternoon. but as the president golfs for the second time at his golf course in virginia today, alex, the reminders of what is now under way are all around him. just outside the white house at black lives matter plaza for the second day in a row, a street party has broken out with people celebrating what they see as the end of president trump's presidency. and just behind the trees behind me, construction has now started on the viewing stands that will be used when the inaugural parade takes place the third week of january. >> i got to tell you, distance there on the golf links will not protect the president from seeing what he has to see there, lafayette park, lafayette square, the area as he drives home from playing golf. thank you so much. back in pennsylvania, the state that delivered joe biden enough electoral votes to put him over the top just 24 hours ago, nbc has more live from par

isburg, p.a. welcome to you. let's get to the latest in terms of remaining ballots and the sentiments of voters with whom you're speaking. >> reporter: hey, alex. yeah, pretty quiet at the capitol this morning. we are starting to see some people trickle in here. but we were right here yesterday when the state of pennsylvania was called, putting joe biden over the edge. there was a count every vote rally here that erupted into a joe biden victory rally with dancing. there was also a counterprotest here from trump supporters, a stop-the-count protest. so a little bit of tension there. look, this is a state that has been deeply divided. we've been spending a lot of time here for the past year for our county-to-county series, particularly in western pennsylvania, an area that donald trump turned deep red in 2016. we've been looking to see if joe biden could chip away at some of those margins there. take beaver county, a place we've zeroed in on. in 2016, donald trump won there by about 20 points. in this election, he won by

about 18 points. and that 2% or so difference is significant when you see those trends in those areas. it's that plus, of course, the major turnout that we saw in philadelphia, in pittsburgh, particularly from voters of color, that really put joe biden over the edge. but alex, i touched base with some of the voters in beaver county that i've been talking to for the past year, i wanted to get some closure on their stories. i want to tell you what i heard because it was a little bit surprising. i spoke to a republican county commissioner there, jack manning, who told me that for him this is maybe the best possible outcome. to have a president-elect willing to compromise in what in his view will likely be republican control of the senate, to be able to get things done in a bipartisan fashion after this country has seen so much division. and even more surprising, i heard similar sentiment from trump voters. i talked to two voters who went in and voted for donald trump on tuesday but told me that this morning they woke up with a sense of relief. even a sense of optimism, alex.

they told me that they are hopeful that even though joe biden is not their guy, they're hopeful there can be unity, they're hopeful that maybe the wounds of this nation will begin to heal. of course, this is just anecdotal, just a few voters. but maybe, maybe this is a sign that people are breathing a collective sigh of relief regardless of who they voted for, just over the fact that this process is now completed. and perhaps we can begin to move forward as a country. alex? >> let me tell you, i got that exact same sentiment in new york from a neighbor who voted for trump but expressed that same sentiment about unity and also saying at least for now the senate stays in republican hands for those checks and balances that this country's known for. so thank you very much for that, i appreciate your input. joining me now susan del persio adviser to the lincoln project. don calloway, democratic strategist and founder of the national voter protection fund and david jolly, former

republican congressman from florida and nbc news political contributor. welcome all three of you. appreciate you being here. david, you first here. we've heard biden emphasizing the theme of unity. it's happened throughout the campaign, it happened last night. so the country may have a new president-elect but it is still so starkly divided. how can this country come together in our current political climate? >> yeah, you know, it's a great point. the narrative of 2020 kind of fed directly into who joe biden is as a person and as a candidate. this was an candidate who ran on a strong ideological platform. in fact, he largely rejected some of the stronger idealogy within the party. but he ran on a healing message, a unity message. frankly, this sets up perfectly for president-elect biden's first term. you know, i think we often conflate being ideological, you know, being moderate with being bipartisan. that's not the case. joe biden can lead with being bipartisan and choose the

ideological direction he wants. tuesday was an affirmation of how divided we are politically, but it doesn't mean we are a divided nation. it just means our politics are. i think what joe biden has tried to do with his closing message in the campaign and his speech last night, what he indicated he will lead with, is trying to heal the nation. and the opportunity to do that is right in front of us on covid. it's not a divisive ideological pitch. it is simply solving a public health crisis that affects everybody. he is kind of perfectly suited for this moment to be a public health president. the idealogy, the platform, that will all get take not care of in the first year. this public health pandemic is something we all share, and joe biden is determined that that will be his lead issue as he takes officers. >> yeah, 100%. my question to you, don, is how realistic is this unity message that biden keeps talking about, especially when you have most democrats in 2016 who never fully accepted this trump presidency? how do you then expect the, what, 70 million-plus americans who voted for trump this time to

react? >> you know, i think that it's pretty realistic when you consider the general sentiments of the american people which is one inasmuch as we consider ourselves rugged individualists at our core. the presidency still does matter. the bully pulpit and that can be used for good or for evil. what we've seen over the last four years is that the president really does have a unique power to kind of set the tone and the mood for american behavior across the board. a lot of the uglier elements we saw normalized over the last five years really since the president descended from that staircase in trump tower, a lot of the uglier sendments have been a manifestation of the president communicating that this type of behavior is okay. whether or not it translates to a legislative agenda, particularly under a mcconnell-led senate, what appears to still be in republican hands, whether or not that happens, i still think that the president has a remarkable opportunity to unify the country based upon his general tone and demeanor. i'm looking forward to that. >> but susan, to the point about

70 million americans having voted for donald trump, i mean, he's still obviously a very powerful force in the republican party. so moving forward, will trumpism exist in the republican party without donald trump? and as don put it, the bully pulpit of the oval office? >> well, we don't know what to expect from donald trump. we know he's not gracious and will not resign properly. not resign, excuse me, concede properly, and he will not go quietly into the good night. but what joe biden has offered, president-elect biden, is an idea. like he said, we're opponents, we're not enemies. and that's got to dilute some of the trump rhetoric of us versus them, you -- you lose, i win. that's how you start forging a path forward. but the trumpism question is a really good question because as someone who worked with the political project, i really thought that we'd see more of a

turn on republicans that were enablers to donald trump, and we didn't. look at susan collins. it tells me that they're not necessarily just about the president and what he is saying, but they want to have some core republican values which, fran y frankly, they didn't get from this president, but maybe they still believe it. >> don, what is it that pushed joe biden over the edge with black voters in the battleground states, especially places like milwaukee, detroit, philadelphia, atlanta? i mean, how does a bidenonstration -- biden administration deliver to those voters? >> i think they have a very aggressive opportunity, agenda, and urban agenda for cities, an agenda for black opportunity, homeownership, debt, retirement, all of that is involved. i think ultimately what put african-american voters over the edge was the realization that sitting out is unacceptable given what we saw for the last four years. whether you were entirely inspired by joe biden or kamala harris or not, you were definitely inspired by the

memories of the exhaustion and just the everyday head explosions of the last four years. that stuff gets tiring. black folks are in front of it, a lot of it. so they were not -- we were not willing to sit this one out even if you were not entirely inspired by either of the candidat candidates, even if joe biden didn't represent your primary candidate. i think that everybody kind of got together the last quarterly meeting and said, you know, in is unacceptable. >> yeah. susan, given your affiliation with and your mention of the lincoln project, i want to play the latest ad from them. here it is. >> the end is coming. the end of the noise and lies. the end of the chaos and division. the end of the hate. in its place, a new america is ready to stand tall again, ready to restore the goodness in the heart of our nation, ready to put people before politics. ready to lead, to innovate, to grow, to heal. it won't always be easy. there are tough times to come.

covid to be defeated, an economy to restore, but that new day is coming. >> so that ad may not suggest what i'm going to ask you, but with trump out of office, will republicans like those in the lincoln project and other, will they revert to being the opposition party, or are they going to remain locyal to joe biden? >> it's not either/or. it was more first let's not forget the purpose of the lincoln project, to defeat trump and trumpism. so we're halfway there. there is still those we want to hold accountable, and -- and as enablers to president trump. so the best way, though, to move forward after, you know, having this wonderful victory with joe biden is to in fact call for unity and look and be optimistic. optimism is a good thing. donald trump tried to beat it out of us for four years, and you know what, let's enjoy it a little bit. that's how we keep moving forward and stop being jaded. >> yeah.

yeah. david, as a former republican congressman, if republicans maintain the senate, what happens? we know that biden has a working relationship with mitch mcconnell back the days when he was the veep. do you think there's a possibility of seeing that in a biden administration, or is it just going to be more gridlock? >> yeah, if republicans are able to keep control coming out of the two senate races in georgia, the power couple in washington, d.c., for at least the next two years is mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer. and i say that joe biden will be working with a friendly house. in fact, he'll probably feel some pressure from the house because it will be a little more progressive than perhaps what a biden administration would naturally look like. and i think biden will reach across the aisle to mcconnell. but it all depends on what mcconnell and schumer can work out. otherwise we will see a very similar situation now where nancy pelosi and house democrats have their agenda, mitch mcconnell has his, and little actually gets done. you know, it's a broader question, alex, about what does tuesday mean.

you hear the word mandate, i would suggest this was not a mandate in historical terms because you did have house republicans pick up seats. perhaps the senate remains in republican hands. but they gave -- america gave the white house to democrat joe biden. it's important to recognize that. joe biden gets to set the agenda, and he can lead in whichever direction ideological or otherwise that he wants. but he will have to work with competing forces in the senate, and he will always have to keep an eye on what his re-election looks like four years down the road. >> absolutely. want to give you all a nod there and show you that we were looking at black lives matter plaza live. and a lot of the reason we want to bring that up and talk to don about that is because yesterday was a big day for you. you got married in black lives matter plaza, amidst all the celebration. you and your gorgeous bride. i mean, what was that like for you, my friend? >> it was pretty amazing.

deanna dorsey is just -- an amazing blessing. and we were getting married at a hotel right next door, right -- actually which sits on black lives matter plaza. we stepped out to take photographs. before we knew it there were all types of folks around. it was a little embarrassing. still, best day of my life. >> clearly you've done good. she's beautiful. i'm sure you're the couple of the moment. i'm taking issue with what you're doing on your honeymoon. you're here talking to me. why are you not jetting away someplace? i know covid may be doing something with that -- dude, got to step up your game, just saying. >> thank you. >> susan, don, david, good to see all three of you. thank you very much on this sunday. the president saw thousands dancing, rejoicing in his loss, but does the president really think he hasn't lost? is there a single person telling him the truth? peter baker of "the new york times" has been covering this and has thes answers next. we started by making the cloud easier to manage.

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new today the president and his team filing a lawsuit in arizona alleging in-person ballots were improperly rejected in maricopa county. this after suits in other battleground states where biden holds narrow leads. to my colleague vaughn hilliard joining us from scottsdale. how are officials responding to the lawsuits this hour? >> reporter: there's one lawsuit that's been filed here in the state of arizona. it wasn't filed until late yesterday afternoon. we should note six hours after our network and other news organizations called the presidency for joe biden. that of the big question in the state of aides. and -- of arizona. and i asked myself, a trump ally and arizona gop chairwoman kelly ward late thursday if there's any evidence that concerned them that could leasd to litigation. there was no evidence or now

suggestions of any concern were lifted up until yesterday, six hours, again, after the presidency was called. the lawsuit that was filed by the trump campaign in the arizona republican party here in arizona was on the part of two particular voters who said on the electronic voting machine on election day they had to push a button that essentially overrided their vote because they double voted on a particular race. i was just talking with a lawyer who is represented -- has represented republicans here in the state in the past. the big question here is whether this will actually hold up the certification which is slated to take place on november 30th of the election. of course, here in arizona, we still do not know the winner. it is down to just the 19,000-vote lead for joe biden as the last 10,000 votes continue to -- 108,000 votes continue to trickle in. there are been conversations the last 24 hours since the race was announced, and here in arizona there are folks that were fighting on the ground, particularly latino

organizations, that were a part of this grassroots ground effort long before national democrats ever invested heavily into this state. i think that's why -- i want to let you hear directly from the vice president last night. one particular line that stuck out here in arizona. take a listen. >> too many dreams have been deferred for too long. we must make the promise of the country real for everybody. >> reporter: that line was not lost on anybody out here in arizona, alex. when he talks about the deferment of dreams, daca, this was a trump administration that intended to up-end protections, legal protection for dreamers here. children of undocumented immigrants. and i was there in the heart of the summer when the supreme court ruled against the trump administration this summer, and i talked to multiple dreamers there who said this is more than about elections, this is about our fates in this country, but our families' destiny here.

when the trump administration made that active effort to undermine daca protections for these young people, this victory for joe biden is at the very heart of what their fight is. and of course this is joe biden who throughout his candidacy not only guaranteed daca protections for those young individuals, but also a pathway toward citizenship for millions of others. alex? >> okay. vaughn hilliard -- can i also say mr. arizona with the bolo tie looking good. thank you so much. chief white house correspondent for "the new york times" and nbc news political analyst, peter, welcome to you. i want to let everybody know we're getting our first reaction, a statement from former president bush talking not only about the call to the vice president and president-elect but also he's saying his congratulations to donald trump on a very hard-fought campaign. he makes the really cogent point that more americans voted in this election than any other election in history.

it was a hard-fought campaign. but he spoke very highly about joe biden and talk about the differences that they have but that he knows him to be a good man who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country. juxtapose that with the fact, peter, that president trump golfing now for the second day in a row, we understand that he was told about his election loss officially while on the golf links, at least heading there yesterday. what does this say, though, this action, the fact that the president's out on the golf links, what does it say about the seriousness and the standing of, first of all, his allegations about the election? >> well, look, you know, as we've said before, of course, there are no substance to this -- these allegations of any consequence that would actually overturn the results of the election. there's no evidence of widespread kind of fraud that he has alleged that would actually make a difference in terms of who won the election. there may be some individual instances where they have grievances about whether observers should have been six feet away or 20 feet away or

what have you, none of which would mean that joe biden didn't win. that's what george w. bush saying here. he's trying to speak out for the party, he has not before. trying to say, look, this election is clear. the election victory is out -- is clear, and i congratulate joe biden. it's time to come together as a country. he says in the statement that the president, of course, has the right to any legal recourses, any recounts that he chooses to pursue. but i think fact of the statement and the fact. his phone call to joe biden is meant to say we understand who won here, and it's time to begin bringing the country together. apparently. >> apparently that sentiment is not necessarily shared within the white house. as you know and nbc news has learned from a source close to jared kushner that he has, quote, advised the president to pursue his legal remedies to the election. is there, peter, anyone in the president's close intercircle that's giving him the reality of the situation or is kushner's view the one shared by most everyone? >> look, i think most people in

the white house understand that this is over, understand this is just flailing in the wind at this point. but you're right, there's not a lot of people with stature in that white house whose ear, you know, sorry, whose advice the president tends to listen to. you've had chief of staff mark meadows who's encouraged his grievances about the election process. that hasn't actually, you know, discouraged the president in any way. i think it's only a matter of family perhaps, and perhaps some old friends outside the white house who he might listen to at this point, perhaps, you know senior elected officials like mitch mcconnell or lindsey graham who's been pretty good as an ally of his. for the moment he's stubbornly resisting. i think he just is going to continue to do so for at least a little while. >> yeah. in terms of those outside the white house, there's one person that is close to the president who's speaking out. that is former new jersey governor chris christie. here's what said just this morning, peter. >> if your basis for not conceding is that there was voter fraud, then show us.

show us. because if you can't show us, we can't do this. we can't back you blindly without evidence. and that's why i said what i said on wednesday morning and on thursday night. and i'm hoping that more republicans move in the direction of saying, not that we don't support the president, he's been a friend of mine for 20 years. but friendship doesn't mean that you're blind. >> do you think more republicans will heed christie's advice, sneert. >> well, you know -- peter? >> well, you know, many republicans trying to straddle a line. unwilling to basically say what governor christie said as bluntly as he did. some of them, you know -- very few if any senior republicans are actually embracing the widespread conspiracy claims of the president basically is outlining here, where they're trying to avoid crossing him by saying the president has the right to pursue any avenues he has, every legal vote should be counted, without directly contradicting him. that's an awkward position for

them to be in. at some point they have to come off the fence and say whether they think that joe biden's going to be the president or not. >> yeah. what about the reports that the president may now go on a firing spree, potentially that includes cia director gina haspel, christopher wray, mark esper, whom nbc news has confirmed that he's prepared his letter of resignation already. what is the feel being this in and around the white house? >> yeah. you've got a president who's very angry, obviously. he's been angry for weeks if not longer at some of these people. he blames chris wray for not backing him up on his claims of voter fraud prior to the election. he blames a variety of people around him for not supporting him more. he's upset at bill barr for not prosecuting his enemies. he's upset at dr. fauci for, you know, emphasizing the seriousness of the covid pandemic. at the same time the president was trying to say it was almost over, rounding the corner. so he's -- if he does these things, he will lash out. he's already fired three agency heads quietly on friday and

shown it doesn't matter that he has, you know, apparently lost his election. going to keep, you know, lashing out while he can. >> all right. will. you always matter to us, my friend. peter baker, thank you so much. look forward to seeing you again. the president's legal strategy as he fights the election results. one expert describing it as throwing the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks. can the legal wrangling delay an inauguration? you work hard for your money. stretched days for it. juggled life for it. took charge for it. so care for it. look after it. invest with the expertise of j.p. morgan, either with an advisor or online, through chase. after all, it's yours. chase. make more of what's yours. - ( phone ringing )es offers - big button,lized phones... and volume-enhanced phones.nes. get details on this state program.

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well, the streets of new york city are a little bit quieter today, but still abuzz as thousands celebrate in the streets of times square well into the wee hours. nbc's kathy park is there for us on this sunday afternoon. new york was an extraordinary place to be yesterday. what are you hearing there today? >> reporter: hey, alex, good afternoon to you. yeah, i mean, you saw the scenes from last night. it was just electric. i mean, moments after the networks made the call, people were out on their balconies, on

rooftops, they were banging pots and pans, reminiscent to what we saw and heard just a couple of months ago at 7:00 when people were coming out here in the big apple supporting our frontline workers. this time around, people were celebrating the election results. and of course, the party moved here to the crossroads of the world, times square. i have to say that the celebrations were scattered all around new york city, throughout the boroughs. but perhaps the most iconic party was right here in times square. and it was just electric. you saw people just packing the streets here. at one point when we heard the president-elect and the vice president-electr president-election giving speechts, they were glue -- speeches, they were glued to the monitors. people were excited. and the mood has shifted. we had the chance to talk to visitors to new york city who described the excitement and the

change they're seeing here and beyond. take a listen. >> it was empty and literally the next day after the election, after we won -- biden won his candidacy, presidency, the streets are filled again. it was like everyone's out. everyone's just so happy. it's just huge weights off their shoulder. now we can progress to the next stage of rebuilding our country. >> we finally made a change. i mean, in philadelphia, you know, the black community is one of the biggest votes. and to actually have a voice, it was very outstanding. and to see that -- to come here and see that everybody was on the same page, it was amazing. >> reporter: and alex, over my shoulder you can probably see the large digital monitors, it says congrats biden/harris. it switched after the results were called in.

the street are really alive. you might remember, new york city, we were the epicenter of the pandemic. i life here in manhattan, and from march and i would say early on into the spring, the streets were desolate. i mean, you had a handful of people walking around. but this is -- is very different. i mean, you have tourists who are back in the city, you have people in costumes. so it seems like the old new york is slowly coming back alive. >> can i tell you, i can see the smile on your face despite that mask, kathy park. thank you very much for reporting for us from times square. the trump campaign is vowing to fight the election results in court. so far the president has filed lawsuits in several key battleground states where he claims without evidence voter fraud cost him the election. joining me now, david boyce chairman of boyce, schiller, and flexner. big welcome to you. first question out of the gate is if you were donald trump's lawyer, what would you be telling him? >> i think it would be a tough

conversation. i think i'd be telling him it's over. the lawsuits that have been filed are more representative of primal screams than they are conventional legal claims. the serious lawsuits were filed and dismissed before the election. the lawsuits now based on voter fraud. people have been asking for days what the evidence -- there isn't any evidence there that anybody can see. people have a right to bring a lawsuit. and if somebody believes that there's something wrong that's going on, they have every right to go into court -- that's how we solve disputes. in courts, not in -- not in the streets. we are not a society that solves elections in the streets. we do it in the courts. people have a right to go to court. if you're going to go to court

and challenge the democratic process to allege fraud, i think you've got an obligation to come forward with the evidence. so i would be saying to the president is there any evidence? if you don't have any evidence, it's over. if you have evidence, let's bring it out. let's give it to the courts and let the courts decide. >> yeah. and you are echoing the sentiments. a lot of wise attorneys with whom we have spoken with the past few days. there is this -- because the trump campaign as you know is already asking for a recount in wisconsin and several other states. so far the vote, of course, very tight. so do you expect more recount requests? and how long does it take for those kind of processes to play out? >> i think there will be recount requests. there will be recounts. the election is very close. and i think that in a close election it's entirely appropriate to have recounts. but the thing to remember is that recounts today are very different than they were 20 years ago during bush v. gore.

today because the modern voting machines that exist, the chances that a recount is going to change the election by more than a few votes, at most a few hundred votes, is very small. so the chances that there's going to be any change in the election even in states that are very close, 10,000, 15,000 votes, that isn't going to get changed by a recount. >> given the fact, sir, and you brought this up, that people should know that you represented al gore in the disputed 2000 election. how is this different than all the confusion -- if you can give us a macro picture of that. >> well, remember, in 2000, what we were trying to do is get the votes counted. and what happened was the supreme court unfortunately stepped in and stopped the vote count. here other than an odd case here or there, there's no allegation that any votes weren't counted.

there are allegations that votes -- counting should have stopped. that's an entirely different kind of approach. the other thing is that in bush v. gore, the argument was that voters in the same state were being treated differently. voters in different states are always treated differently because it's left up to the individual state how to proceed. and here all that anybody's complaining about is that different states have different porters. that's something -- different procedures. that's something that's up to the individual states, up to the individual state courts. i think the supreme court has been very wise in leaving it there. >> david, do you see anything that could push back the inauguration on january 20th? >> no. no, no. this is going forward. this has been actually a very smooth election. more people voted, as you said, than any election in history. and it went very smoothly. and it didn't make any difference whether you were in a blue state or a red state.

didn't make any difference whether the secretary of state was republican or democrat. every state went to work, counted the votes, did it in an organized, fair, reasonable way. >> yeah. >> i think this was a great day for our democracy. i think you looked around the country and you saw all of these people in a nonpartisan way in there counting the votes, didn't make any difference if they had problems with covid-19, didn't make any difference if they were staying up late. they got there, and they counted the votes. they did it whether they were republicans or democrats because they realized that as americans, this is the heart of our democracy. >> absolutely. >> i think people can be very proud of what happened this week. >> there are a number of heroes in this country, whether they are those battling the coronavirus pandemic or those counting votes at elections headquarters across this country. david boyce, thank you so much, sir, for your time and insights. so with the balance of power at stake in the senate, you might not be surprised to see what's about to unfold in georgia. inside those numbers next. side r car insurance

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i have to say what i'm about to share with all of you is very difficult and sad news. alex trebek, the longtime host of en"jeopardy!" has died after his long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. he never gave up. he was a real champion for those that were also battling pancreatic cancer and for bring funding and focus to the issue

of pancreatic cancer around the world. he was so beloved by so many. myself included and my family. for many people watching "jeopardy!" in the evenings was almost like religion. and i know that it's a very difficult thing for so many of you to hear. we did get official word from the show. it tweeted a short time ago, "jeopardy!" is saddened to show that alex trebek passed away peacefully at his home early this morning surrounded by family and friends. thank you, alex. you, alex. ♪ it's still warm. ♪ thanks, alice says hi. for some of us, our daily journey is a short one. save 50% when you pay per mile with allstate.

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and that is the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic began. white house chief of staff mark meadows, trump campaign aide and at least three other white house staffers have recently contracted coronavirus. meadows was among the dozens of people at trump's election night speech seen not wearing a mask. president-elect joe biden is expected to announce members of his coronavirus task force tomorrow, and he says that team of scientists and experts will create a covid-19 plan that will include ramped up testing, thousands of new public health workers, and boosted vaccine distribution and ppe production. >> it will be built on bedrom science, constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern. i will spare no effort, none, any commitment to turn around this pandemic. >> joining me now, msnbc medical

contributors dr. kavita patel and habib madia. doctors, what are the first thing on that list that needs to be done? dr. patel, you first. >> the first thing that needs to be done is talking about science from a national and scientific standpoint, and second how to restore treatments and vaccines, because when president-elect biden takes office, he and the vice president are going to have a significant challenge with much of the country, unfortunately, alex, questioning the validity of vaccines and treatments, which is going to be a big part of 2021. >> dr. bedelia, same question for you. and given that the president has

counteracted dr. fauci over these last months, how has dr. fauci been damaged? >> hi, alex, great to see you again. i think dr. fauci did an excellent job of striking that middle path, and if you look at the polls, has actually maintained a pretty good reputation with both sides of the aisle. that's important, because with the extension of what dr. patel said, the biggest challenge in our public response is disinformation, disinformation that at times this administration has pushed, which is that you have to make a choice between economic survival and pandemic response, or the part that conflate use of masks and physical distancing with lockdowns. that's basically divided the country to the point where when you look at the polls of people leaving last week, half of the country felt we had the pandemic under control as we're moving

through the worst surge. so this period of time between the election and inauguration when we're predicted to potentially lose another 120,000 souls, 120,000 americans, the biggest challenge for the biden administration is actually going to be working on that disinformation, disspelling that disinformation, and getting everybody to follow the simple measures so we don't realize those horrible numbers. >> what dr. bedelia has just articulated, dr. patel, has been around for months and months now. how long will it take to accomplish these proposals that joe biden has put forth? >> look, alex, nothing is easy, and certainly trying to do something as ambitious as making sure that we keep the affordable care act, ensuring health care coverage, paid sick leave. people aren't talk about that enough, that's been part of the baden/harris covid strategy. starting tomorrow, clear messaging. we've seen how the lack of clear messaging has undermined so many

efforts. we've resorted to hearing dr. fauci in podcasts and interviews, and that's it. imagine, if you will, an actual coronavirus task force that lets the scientists and the public health officials stand not just at a podium, alex, but in clear english. and imagine if you had questions from reporters that weren't meant to just be discussing the nasty and trying to insult people or insult doctors, but if people actually listened and somehow heard until their last question was answered the pieces that they need. alex, it sounds crazy, but that's what we did in the obama administration. acting director cdc director richard bussret did not get off the phone until he determined something. it feels like somehow a breakthrough, and that will change starting tomorrow.

>> your thoughts on restoring the public trust and where it's been. >> there is a history of infectious disease outbreaks, everything from ebola to polio. what works in these situations is community engagement. when you have a fast-moving pandemic where data is changing so policies have to change, you need the type of transparency dr. patel is talking about. so my hope is that starting tomorrow, this covid task force that president-elect biden is putting together becomes that source of information, becomes that access to really transparent information about what's going on with this pandemic that starts disspelling those myths, that brings us together, that starts fixing the fracture of the pandemic. >> i hope to bring you both back many times to this broadcast. thank you, doctors, for that. biden has a to-do list of executive orders, next. i'll be speaking with michael cohen to get his read on how the

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good day and welcome, everyone, to "weekends with alex witt." americans predicted joe biden as our president-elect. today different parties emerge

with views from president trump's inner circle about whether he should keep fighting or concede. >> i think that is way premature. at this point we do not know who has prevailed in the election. the media is desperately trying to get everyone to coronate joe biden as the next president, but that's not how it works. the media don't get to select the president, the american people get to elect our president. >> if you say there is voter fraud, then show us. if you can't show us, we can't do this. we can't back you blindly without evidence. >> the president, meanwhile, has arrived at his golf course in virginia, his second straight day of some r and r after his election loss, and the groundswell celebration of joe biden's victory, but he is not done fighting. his campaign with at least seven active election-related lawsuits right now, including a new one filed in