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tv   Politics Nation  MSNBC  December 12, 2020 2:00pm-3:00pm PST

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"politicsnation." america is cautiously optimistic this weekend because it has to be. millions of us are trying to be
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positive as we watch the daily developments around the covid-19 vaccine. and an emergency use authorization by the food and drug administration late last night means we could see shots in the arms of americans as early as monday. it's a pretentious moment that could millions of suffering americans, but the one american still charged above all with relieving americans' suffering is still centering his self-inflicted pain above the rest of us. president trump is lashing out at the food and drug administration for not moving fast enough. of course, he's demanding credit for the vaccine. what he, of course, won't touch are the pandemic's brutal numbers themselves. more than 16 millions of americans infected.
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targeted bands of lockdowns are being restored in several major cities. and then there's the death toll. nearly 300,000 dead, a disproportionate number of them still black and brown as they've been all year. and now, according to yahoo news, we have an internal report from the centers for disease control that racism is literally making covid-19 deadlier for black americans. and as we've always reported in this show, distrust over covid-19 vaccine runs high among african-americans. but black doctors are waging a battle to get the community informed and vaccinated. all of that tonight on "politicsnation." plus, the latest on the republican party's continued shakedown of our electoral process. the supreme court dismissing that ridiculous lawsuit cosigned
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by dozens of republican lawmakers to overturn the will of 80 million americans. but with all the polite options exhausted, just how low do democrats expect this president and his thousands of agrieved supporters, to go denying that he lost the election? and what are democrats going to do about it? joining me now is congressman hakeem jeffries of new york, chairman of the democratic caucus and a member of the judiciary and budget committees. thank you for being with us, congressman. >> good afternoon, reverend sharpton. great to be with you. >> now, i don't have to tell you, congressman, that many of us continue to harbor historical distrust of mass medicine, certainly mass medicine in concert with the federal government. but then this week there was this story i mentioned at the
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top. yahoo news obtained an internal update from the cdc, yet to be publicized, saying what we've all known for years, that black americans bear a disproportionate burden of covid-19 infections. the report going on to cite systemic racism as an explicit cause of that disparity. and then our own nbc reporting citing polling from the kaiser family foundation and the undefeated magazine found that only half of black americans surveyed would take the vaccine once available. now, how does the congressional black caucus of which you're a leading member attack these kinds of unique obstacles in the community? >> well, we have to first and foremost make sure we have the data that's available to inform
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our decisions. congresswoman barbara lee, congresswoman robin kelly, chair of the congressional black caucus karen bass have been leading the effort in this regard, because the acquisition of data is a fore runner to making sure that the data can drive the resources to the places throughout america where the pandemic has overrun communities. we know disproportionately and adversely african-american neighborhoods as well as communities of color, indian country, low-income immigrant communities as well. that's been a fight we've been having with the trump administration throughout the year. with the new biden administration we expect that we'll find ourselves in a better place to ensure that all americans, regardless of race or income or zip code, get the treatment, the testing, the tracing that will still be necessary as we go through this pandemic, and then ultimately have access to the vaccine in an
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effective, efficient, and equitable fashion. >> now, you tweeted early this morning, quote, more than 125 house republicans are providing aid and comfort to the trump insurrection. they apparently do not believe in free and fair elections. why exactly should they be seated in the next congress? at least one of your colleagues, bill pascal of new jersey, is on the same page. what happens now? >> congressman pascual has suggested that leadership within the house of representatives, perhaps also the chair of the judiciary committee and others take a look at the 14th amendment, which explicitly suggests that individuals who fan the flames of sedition against american democracy shouldn't be part of american democracy at the same time.
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it's a provision that i think we all should take a look at in the context of what is taking place right now because what we do have is incredibly reckless and irresponsible behavior by on 125 house republicans. they know that joe biden won this election in clear and convincing fashion. they know this. and yet they continue to try to undermine and subvert the integrity of our democracy because they just feel compelled to bend the knee to a fake king who's sitting at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. we can't just simply continue to ignore this behavior. there has to be some consequence and accountability. what senator pascual suggested is we at least take a look at the 14th amendment. >> so let me be clear in asking this question. are you saying it is possible that there may be moves to question whether they should be
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seated, those that have come right to the line inciting sedition by trying to undermine an election that has in some of the states questioned gone through multiple recounts to establish that, in fact, donald trump lost this election and joe biden and kamala harris are the winners? >> more than 50 different lawsuits have been filed. court after court after court have made clear that there is no credible evidence of voter fraud. the trump fbi department has made clear, no evidence of voter fraud. the department of justice has made clear, no evidence of voter fraud. now the supreme court with six republican-appointed judges has rejected the latest baseless attempt to subvert the will of the american people. at some point it's at least reasonable to ask the question, if you yourself were on the
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ballot in these states and claim that the elections were fraudulent, whiesy should you b seated? it's a question reasonable people are asking. wll there will be some formal move in that direction, i don't want to get out ahead of the process -- >> but you are saying there ought to be consequences to those that push this to the point where it can become sedition? >> i would hope that it would be consequential from the standpoint electorally. but them being responsible to the subset of american people who believe the lies that donald trump is perpetrating, but at some point we can't continue to brush this off and act like it's not going to poison our future and our ability to move forward. that's why i think it's reasonable that the question has been asked by some and that representative pascual has suggested we take a look at
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whether there's some form of accountability. >> i'm out of time, but i have to ask you. covid relief, will we get covid relief? people are on the brink of absolute disarray with their lives with no fault of their own. will we get relief? >> yes, that's my view that we're going to arrive at an agreement in the next few days. mitch mcconnell, of course, remains the obstacle, but we cannot leave washington, d.c., until we provide a down payment on the type of relief that's necessary, including unemployment insurance, food insecurity, and assistance for renters and homeowners who are struggling. >> congressman hakeem jeffries, as always, we appreciate your time. let's go now to lois pace, the president of global health council and a member of president-elect biden's covid-19 advisory board. here's what dr. anthony fauci said about public figures like the president and president-elect getting the
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vaccine publicly. let me show this to you first. >> i think it would be a good idea to get the vaccine publicly so that the rest of the country who is wedded one way or another to a particular person, if that person gets the vaccine, i'll get it too. i'm sure they're considering getting it publicly. >> now, you're on the advisory board to the president-elect. do you think that's something the president-elect will be willing to do and would it help? >> absolutely. first of all, thanks for having me this evening, reverend. you know, i think we heard the president-elect actually say if anthony fauci, dr. fauci is advising me to take a vaccine, i'll surely sign up to do it, and i think it's been very powerful to hear from former presidents as well, including president barack obama say, yeah, i'm going to roll up my sleeve and i'm going to show up and demonstrate to people that this is the way to go. >> now, we learned this week that the trump administration
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actually refused pfizer's offer to provide more vaccine doses, which could delay distribution by months. what other damage could this president do to the vaccination effort over the next 39 days that he has left? >> what we're hoping over these next 30 days or so, as you said, rev, is that we can really hold the line and really get the message out to people about this vaccine in particular and help them understand why it's so important. but we also want to be sure we're spreading the message around public health principles. it's not just about the vaccine, right? people still need to wear masks. people still need to avoid indoor gatherings and keep their distance from one another until this rolls out in full. we know that's going to take weeks and even months to do so. the transition team is working mightily to understand the current administration's plans for its rollout, and that's
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going to continue to take some time to fully unpack that. but it's my hope that the president-elect and his team can come in on day one and execute those plans. to ensure that those are done seamlessly and that we can continue to try and save lives with these innovations. >> now, you know as well as i do the disproportionate impact it has had on the black community and other communities of color. how will we be able to, one, deal with the cynicism and suspicions in those communities, including people like me that have had them until we deal with the science? and then how do we at the same time make sure that the vaccine is distributed in a way that will reach those that have been the ones that have disproportionately been impacted? >> yeah, rev, it's tricky, right, because it's not just about distribution or sort of this operational, logistical
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question, so we should break it down. we absolutely need to be sure -- this is something the congressman was speaking to as well. we have to understand who's being affected where and ensure the vaccine goes to the right places. it actually absolutely reaches these at risk communities and individuals who need it most. but then we have to be sure that these people are ready and willing to take it. >> as you see this unfold, are you afraid in the next 39 days that this president and his administration can put impediments in the way? we're seeing 3,000 people plus dying a day, and so many of us are waiting for biden and harris to take office. anything can happen any day in the next 39 days that could impact us. do you feel -- do you fear this administration will put road blocks in the way that will make
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your work and the advice you give the incoming administration even have a more hideous time and a difficult time, i should say, in trying to deal with turning back this pandemic? i mean, i can't get over saying over 3,000 people a day are dying. >> that's right. and many of those lives are in communities of color. unfortunately we're being disproportionately affected by this disease, by this tragedy, and we absolutely have to get ahead of it. but i have to put my faith in the american people, hornnestly and these individuals knowing the power they have to help us toe the line. that's why we improper peoplore wear those masks, to keep their distance, to ensure they're not gathering. and then when the time comes to line up for this vaccine, it's fine because i do also believe in the science around this vaccine and it wouldn't be out there for us to take advantage
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of if these advisers, if these career officials didn't believe that it was safe to do so. and so i trust that this is one more tool we can have in our toolbox to address the tragedy of covid-19. we do have a long road ahead. >> all right. loyce pace, thank you. joining me is my panel, christina greer, author of "black ethnics" and political editor at the grillo, and susan del percio, republican strategist and senior adviser to the lincoln project. christina, let me go to you first. let's start with one more question about the coronavirus here in new york. new york governor andrew cuomo has characterized the federal
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vaccine distribution plan as discriminatory against blacks. your reaction? >> covid doesn't discriminate, neither should the united states of america. we're all anxious to do the vaccine. let's do the vaccine fairly. let's do it justly. i believe to leave out those communities is illegal, is unconstitutional, and is discriminatory by effect, if not intent. and i believe this administration knows that. i believe the incoming administration of president biden will correct it. >> now your reaction, professor greer. >> yes, rev. i mean, i think two things need to happen at once. yes, i do think that black and latinx communities need to be targeted more specifically and explicitly to make sure that the virus is given to people with pre-existing conditions, sort of
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so many decades and generations of essentially a racial apartheid system within our medical system and our health care system. and it's had adverse affects on the black community. but the second piece has to be an education piece, because we do have generations of black americans who've been abused by the federal government in the health care practices. obviously we always talk about the tuskegee syphilis experiment. >> and polio. >> the list goes on and on, rev. when we talk to black people who a live in communities where it's either the ivy league or major universities, there's a long-standing era of distrust, whether it's led paint or you name the major city and the black community was adversely affected. as we try to push out this vaccine as your previous guests laid out, we need to also make sure there's an educational
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piece there because the distrust is real and the distrust is warranted especially within the black community, knowing the history of abuse we've suffered at the hands of medical professionals. this is a time where we must do both to make sure we curb the tide of so many black americans dying from the coronavirus. >> now, susan, let me go to another subject. last night the supreme court rejected the texas lawsuit attempting to overturn the election results in four states. what do we do now about the hundreds of elected republicans who supported this blatant attempt to overthrow american democracy? >> well, rev, unfortunately the only thing that can be done is to vote them out. these are people who are anti-democracy, who are against the very values of our country. they are sellouts, and worst of all, they are pathetic, scared,
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small people who just want to play up to donald trump. even if they don't like him, they think they have to because of a primary. well, you know what? sometimes you just have to take a stand and say no, democracy is a pretty good thing. that shouldn't be a reach, rev. it really shouldn't. >> as we deal with this overthrow of democracy, professor greer, you teach at fordham about politics. you've written best-selling books about it. where are we in american history where you have these amount of state attorneys, state attorneys general going to the supreme court supporting texas in something that blatantly undermines what we have been begging citizens to do, and that is vote, let the will of the people to be heard and they heard it this year. we had the largest vote in a presidential election in american history, and the answer to that is having elected state
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attorneys general, members of congress who act like they cheated on the top of the ballot, but they were not cheating when they elected or re-elected them on the same ballot. >> right. rev, it's two things at once. one, we have our three branches of government, legislative, executive, and educational, but the fourth quiet branch is the media, and sadly donald trump immediately attacked the media when he was running for president and what he became president. so he weakened that fourth branch. even when the media presents facts to the people, donald trump is convinced the media is not to be trusted. the second piece is, the framers really tried to work out an authoritarian president. we know that initially the role of the president was incredibly small. george washington was essentially a step above a secretary. that was intentional. we know that the legislative branch is presented as the first article of the constitution. the executive branch is the second. so what's crucial about that,
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though, is when we read the federalist papers, they were so concerned about an authoritarian president, they didn't dissect when congress completely abdicates to the executive branch. so the crisis we're seeing is not just on the executive level, it's on the executive and educational level. and that's what makes this moment so severe because we cannot have an authoritarian president in someone who has dictatorship ideologies and leanings, but then an entire party completely abdicating to someone who refuses to put the american people first. and then luckily we've seen the supreme court step up yesterday and reject the baseless claims of donald trump and his campaign officials to try to overturn a very free and fair election, as far as we've seen it, but it's the legislative branch and the failure of republicans within the senate and now the house, which makes this moment incredibly dangerous. the dates we have to be on guard
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for is december 14th when people going on to their state houses and january 20th. donald trump made it clear he's going to fight tooth and nail until those two dates have passed us. >> susan, proud boys leader visited the white house this morning, calling it a last-minute invite. the white house says his presence was part of the a public christmas tour. white house tours are usually secured through members of congress months in advance. how does something like this happen? >> well, while they a right-wing, you know, anti-semitic fascist want to visit the white house? he probably feels he would be welcome there. i'm not sure how the tour was arranged because you're right, you can't just hop onto a tour at the last minute. he also continued to go and antagonize protesters at the trump rally where, actually, mike flynn said smgs, you're
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probably not going to believe your ears, i with mike flynn. they said courts will not decide this election. he's right. they won't because the election has been decided. the courts will not intervene. what he was pointing to was a third date, if i may add to christina's list, is that january 6th, when the electors are formally recognized by congress. that's where they're looking for another stunt. could it happen? absolutely in the house. unbelievably, senator ron johnson from wisconsin has said, oh, i may support that, which is just -- the election is over. president-elect biden is going to be there, thank goodness to oversee the delivery of this vaccine to everyone in this country who needs it. he's capable and donald trump simply is not.
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>> all right. susan del percio agreeing with mike flynn, that's a news flash. and professor greer, emailer me where i can get some colored glasses that i can yours. i could rock them too. thanks to both of you. coming up, trump refuses to embrace his loser status in the 2020 election. next, i'll school him with a little history lesson from presidents past. glbut first, richard lui wi the top news stories. >> good day to you, rev. stories we're watching for you, covid cases now surpass 16 million. the death toll moves closer to 300,000. friday the fda gave the green light to the pfizer vaccine for nationwide rollout. the emergency authorization allowed a first round of close to 3 million doses to be prepared for shipment this weekend. vaccinations are planned to start within days. now, the justice department moved forward with two usual
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lame duck movements. alford bourgeois and brandon bernard were executed. the trump administration resumed federal executions earlier this year after a 17-year pause. legendary country music singer charlie pride died from implications of covid-19. the 86-year-old was the son of sharecroppers and became the first black member of the country music hall of fame. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton right after the break. to support a strong immune system, your body needs routine. centrum helps your immune defenses every day,
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. for this week's memo to trump, i want to address the lame duck president's increasingly pathetic sore loser syndrome. mr. president, it's been over a month since the election results
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became clear. you lost. even your favorite network, fox news, knows it's true. and in the weeks since that call, your losing margin has only grown. joe biden's popular vote lead now tops 7 million, and in the all-important electoral college, well, biden enjoys the same lead that you had over hillary clinton four years ago. you know, the lead you called a landslide? despite the fact that clinton walloped you with the popular votes, she provided a lesson in grace that you could learn from, mr. president. she gave a concession speech the very next day, and even dutifully applauded at your inauguration in her capacity as a former first lady. but all clinton has gotten out of her post-political life is a best-selling book, rewarding
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charity work, and more time with the family that loves her. if none of those things interest you, mr. president, let's take a look at other presidential losers. maybe you might be inspired by one of their examples. al gore actually had much more reason than you to whine about a stolen election. the supreme court stepped in and stopped the recount in florida while george w. bush was ahead by fewer than 600 votes. but as outgoing vice president, gore welcomed bush to the white house in the transition period and applauded his rival on inauguration day. gore went on to live one of your dreams, mr. president. he ran a television network and even won an emmy award, something you've what kind about never accomplishing. but maybe you need a republican example. the last one-term president was george h.w. bush. when it became clear that bill
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clinton defeated him in 1992, he welcomed the clintons to the white house and attended inauguration in clear support of the will of the people and a peaceful transition of power. and when ronald reagan ended jimmy carter's bid for a second term in 1980, the carters welcomed the reagans to the white house and attended the inauguration. do you see a pattern, mr. president? the losers of the elections behaved that actual adults, accepting their loss with dignity and were welcomed back into polite society as respected statesmen. if that's not enough for you, we'll go all the way back to 1960 and the election between john f. kennedy and richard nixon. kennedy, of course, defeated nixon, and the outgoing vice president nonetheless participated in the transition and attended the inauguration. nixon went on to be elected
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president eight years later. so mr. president, at the risk of asking you to follow in the footsteps of richard nixon, you'll see by his example that all is not lost. if and only if you behave like an adult. drop your hopeless lawsuits that have been tearing at the heart of american democracy. stop spinning conspiracy theories about an election you lost fair and square. if you must inflict another trump presidential campaign on the world, at least have the dignity to wait until after the inauguration to launch it. if you want the spotlight, your best bet is to attend the inauguration and hope joe biden is gracious enough to shake your hand for the cameras. we'll be right back. strong foundation. the same is true for building a business.
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there's more to come on "politicsnation."
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up next, minorities have already been devastated by the pandemic. but there's another public health crisis playing a role, and one man has finally decided to acknowledge that. louisville mayor agreeing fischer will join us after the break. but first, be sure to catch the new additions to the msnbc lineup on weekends. "the cross connection" can tiffany cross every saturday at 10:00 a.m. and the sunday show with jonathan capehart premieres tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. you're not going to want to miss it. let me say, it was announced this week that phil griffin, the president of msnbc, is leaving in february. he created "politicsnation" with al sharpton and has stood by us for the last nine years, never censoring us but supporting us all the way.
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we welcome ra sshida jones, who will be the new president in february. she's the first black woman in history to be president of a cable network. i've known for for the nine years i've been here. she's a professional. she is at the top of the line, and we know her. we will continue to do what we do at msnbc under her leadership. we'll be right back.
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many of america's mayors were doubly tested this year, a pandemic that thrives on closeless, taxing under hospitals to their utmost, followed bay generational protest and unrest over police killings of black americans. while those protests have in large part abated across the country, the city of louisville, kentucky, is still trying to turn the corner as protests continue around the police shooting death of breonna taylor earlier this year. louisville mayor greg fischer took the much publicized step of declaring racism a public health crisis earlier this month. this in addition to the tangible crisis of covid-19 as louisville, like many cities, prepares for a vaccine rollout filled with questions. among them, tragically, there will be political interference
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from the top. joining me is agreeing fisher, mayor of louisville, kentucky. mayor fisher, according to your city's first chief equity officer, the black poverty rate in louisville is nearly three times that of white residents. black home ownership is nearly half of their white peers. same with the median income family level. how does this declaration of racism as a public health crisis begin to undo these metrics? with ms. taylor's death still driving protests in the country, including me, what does this mean for police reform efforts in your city? >> thanks for having me, reverend a. what it means is intentionality. you cannot sweep racism under the rug. this country has done it for far too long. america failed in 1968 with the kenner commission and we have an opportunity not to fail and take
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on these challenging issues that you spoke about that lead to this undeniable fact that a black persona largely low-income community versus a white person in a largely affluent community that, black person is going to live 10 to 12 years shorter than the white person. it's all across the country. government's purpose should be to allow people to create a platform for human potential to flourish for a prosperous, healthy life. we have to attack the systems that have created it, public safety systems, supporting children, college scholarships, black employment, to me it's unconscionable from an economic standpoint. >> mayor fisher, you joined by colleagues on morning joe this week to share your assessment as the head of the u.s. conference of mayors of where things are
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with the vaccine rollout. and of the economic pain left by the pandemic. where your city is concerned, can your city make it economically speaking long enough to get there with covid relief still in limbo on capitol hill? >> well, this is just the issue. when you think about americans and looking to washington for hope right now, reverend, they're just, like, why can't you all get it together? we made it to this point. we're looking at december 30th. if d.c. does not get a federal stimulus package together, you're looking at tens millions of people who are potentially evicted. food insecurity is at an all-time high. don't fumble the football, provide additional assistance so people can stay in their apartments, moratorium needs to be extended on evictions, and provide unemployment insurance so people can continue to put food on the table. we're talking about the basics. we're supposed to be the richest country in the world but people
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are struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. that is wrong. right to the point where we're starting to administer vaccines now. we need this federal relief to cities, to states, to individuals so we can get through this crisis right now and make sure it doesn't doubly impact the people that are on the short end of this from an equity standpoint. our plan is to make sure we get the vaccine to our health care workers, our long-term care facilities, our first responders, which include teachers, and then go by age and equity so those that have been most impacted by this virus get the vaccine the quickest. we've been fortunate here in louisville that our death rate is not disproportionate for our communities of color, and we intend to keep focus on that like we have with our testing. we'll do that with our vaccine strategy as well to make sure there's not disproportionatety. >> your state attorney general,
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who i feel and members of the grand jury said, that they felt mishandled intentionally most likely the breonna taylor investigation. and we see him, cameron, go to the white house to help support the president trying to undermine in the election. as an official in kentucky, how do you feel about your state office-holders acting and behaving in this way that the detrimental to the citizens of your city? >> no, it's like a strange tale, rev. it's like how did we get ourselves in this position when especially elected officials are supposed to be helping the people that they serve? it's as basic as that. we should run every action we take through that filter. what we're doing in louisville and what mayors across america are doing in our cities is focusing to make sure we're getting through this pandemic right now. we're all addressing equity issues in our cities also. and then we're trying to deal
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with the economic fallout of all this. that's why we need leaders at all levels to say that's what the focus should be. it shouldn't be politics right now. we're talking about life and death issues right now. we need to get by that. we've had very good meetings so far with president-elect vice president-elect harris, surgeon general vivek murthy to focus on one common team goal. it's been very refreshing to see this unified america first from a team standpoint. everybody embracing the diversity that we have as a country as our strength. so we'll be turning the page here shortly. >> all right. thank you, louisville mayor greg fischer. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. this christmas...
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celebrate less risk. added cardio protection. talk to your doctor about adding protection with vascepa. this week, the leaders of seven civil rights organizations that had meetings with vice president, then former vice president joe biden met with he as president-elect and vice president-elect harris as he committed to in the meetings he had when he was candidate biden and even after he won the nomination. we wanted to push for diversity among the top level cabinet positions, and we wanted to know promises made on policies, protection, police reform, dealing with the economic racial disparities would be promises kept. now when you make any move that you're dealing with a president,
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we know we always look there is going to be some pushback from the right wing and others. and someone leaked a tape. and i don't know the news of the tape because what president-elect biden said to us, he said in public about questions of things. and what we said to him was things that we say in public. there was the other saying well, some of the younger groups should be in. well, many of us agree with that. if you listen to the tapes since it was leaked, i gave him the suggestion of people, that young people that should be. i even named one. and we did that with president and vice president under the obama administration and vice president biden. so let us keep focused on the fact that we are in the middle of a crisis in this country with race, and whether it's older or younger and mostly older groups include mine have huge youth departments. but whether they're older or
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younger, let's stay focused on the fact that people have been killed wrongly. that's why when we have the huge march in washington on august 28th, over 200,000 people, we had the families up front, the families of george floyd, breonna taylor, ahmaud arbery and others do the speaking because don't get in the way of the issue, and that's what is most important that this new administration deal with. also, this week the president of the tennessee state university, dr. glenda glover announced she is bringing me on next semester as a distinguished lecturer. maybe before phil griffin leaves, he can get the show to say "politicsnation" with professor al sharpton. you think? that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern. up next, my colleague alicia menendez picks up our news coverage. i have been suffering with migraine for years and years.
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hello, everyone. i'm alicia menendez. tonight the roll-out. the feds give the final green light for getting the first covid vaccine to the american people. where the vials are, where they are going and who gets them fist. also tonight, the risks. are there any? what we know about this pfizer vaccine and expert advice on if you can trust it. and a reality check. why now is the time to actually double down on