good evening and welcome to "politicsnation." tonight's lead, the vote and the vaccine. urgency is in the air as we await two big milestones tomorrow. we may see possibly the first american to receive a covid-19 vaccine nearly one year after the first american was diagnosed with the coronavirus in the united states. and also tomorrow, members of the electoral college will cast votes for president based on their state's certified election results. by all means, this formal procedure should definitely stop whatever is left of president trump's bogus legal campaign to overturn the election in his favor. it's hard to resist the hope there's office for 2021 because

2020 has been a year of historic terror. the air we breathe turned against us and at a time like this, the holidays, the company we crave could literally kill us or those we love and for millions company is the only comfort they can afford as covid relief is held up in the name of cruelty. it sounds like a plot line until it isn't. more than 16 million americans have contracted this disease. 300,000 americans have died this year due to covid-19. and that is where these two milestones are linked. it is far too early to assume public salvation awaits, but i know that the nation despite its failures current and recent have learned some hard lessons and we're now seeing some courses corrected.

but the potential of the vaccine should not undermine the proof that masks and distancing are still our best weapons available at least for now and, yes, in a month. donald trump will not preside over the united states of america, but he still will preside symbolically over our divided state here in america. we should remember that our lawmakers are helping in some areas some of our lawmakers as they help to try to subvert our democracy on his behalf. and violent racists continue to valley to his banner. joining me now is one of the most powerful members of congress, jim clyburn, majority whip, head of the select committee on covid-19, and head

of president-elect joe biden inaugural committee. thank you for being with us, congressman clyburn. >> thank you very much for having me, reverend. >> let me ask you, i want to get into the vote and what is going to happen in terms of the president-elect's cabinet. let me start with the coronavirus and the vaccine coming. there is genuine concern and you head the committee -- there's general concern around the country particularly in our communities of color about the safety of the vaccine and at the same time whether it will distributed fairly. what is your view? what can you tell us about this? >> you know, the history of these kinds of efforts in the african-american community is something that leaves a lot to be desired. i don't have to tell you about

the experiment and what it did to black folks regarding trying to find a cure for syphilis. pol polio, there will be several vaccines here. there were two vaccines for polio. one was a shot in the arm. the second vaccine was a drop of serum on a lump of sugar. the shots went into the african-american neighborhoods and lump of sugar went into white neighborhoods. so all of us have to be aware of that. i think that those of us who have positions of responsibility must do the responsible thing and lead by example, not just precept. we ask people to take the vaccine but that's the precept. we're going to have to take it ourselves and do it publicly to set the example, and that's what

it's going to take. people in positions of responsibility are going to have to show the way to go, and i think that's what's going to be required here. now as for my select subcommittee, it's going to be my job to make sure that not only is it done efficiently and effectively, but it must be done equitably and what's the oversight of my subcommittee is going to be about making sure that these vaccines -- you know already what it takes to preserve them so if you're going into rural communities, we are going to have to make sure whether it's moderna or pfizer, we have to make sure we do the efficient and effective thing. >> let me go to another subject. we had congressman jeffries on

"politicsnation" last night and he had a lot of criticism for the 106 house republicans who signed on that lawsuit from texas to flip the election for president trump. you are the house majority whip. these are your colleagues. you have to govern with these people moving forward. we often talk about what leaders can do to bridge divides but what can you or president-elect joe biden and democrats do when reality is negotiable to these people? >> well, you know, that's one of the most disappointing things i've had since i've been in congress. you know, my parents were republica republicans. it was a party of dignity. what you got now is a lessening of dignity in the political process to see all of the republicans in the south carolina delegation sign on to

that, what they're asking is for the u.s. supreme court to install a dictator. that's what they're asking. we have had an election. more than 7 million votes. joe biden got more than trump. 7 million. in any other country, it would be a landslide. for these people to fly in the face of that especially when you look at the lawsuits that they've filed. they're filing lawsuits trying to invalidate votes in areas that are heavily african-american and places of color. in arizona, in pennsylvania, in georgia, in michigan. so this is so clear. i don't see how the american people can stay silent. you know, i really believe that

i am now beginning to understand how hitler was able after being elected chancellor how he was able to install himself as dictator in germany. that's exactly what's going on here and people have got to wake up. we are not going to have a dictator installed in this country. that's what they're trying to do. how do you ask the supreme court of the united states to validate your efforts to make one person a dictator? that's what they're doing. >> let me bring you to this. you know that leaders of seven national civil rights organizations met with president-elect biden and vice president elect harris this week concerned about some of the policies promised and some of the diversity of his appointments, something you raised. your endorsement of joe biden

during the south carolina primary is widely seen as the game changing moment for this campaign. i remember that morning you brought him to a breakfast that i was there right there in south carolina in your area and you turned out for this president historic levels, many voters giving him wins in places most of us never expected. of course, he's taken some heat from some of us, like myself. he's taken challenges from you. over his cabinet picks has been the issues of what we feel is a political moment that demands certain experience in key posts like attorney general which is yet to be filled. but you, yourself, have called concerns about diversity in the biden administration and elaborate on what you would like to see. some of us i said for attorney

general i prefer a black. i would like to see someone like tony west considered. you have said others as long as it's someone with a civil rights background, voting rights background that's there. where do you see this now because is an issue that has all of us watching with a real close eye. >> you know, when i raised ha d issue earlier, i was not just talking about substance. i was talking about style as well. i think you have to be very, very careful when you're saying, okay, we're going to get to you. we're going to do it later. i want you to get to me when you're doing everybody else. and so what i was raising was the fact that not only do i want to see you diversify the cabinet, i want you to do this in such a way that everybody would maintain confidence in the

process because the moment those first appointments were made, i started getting phone calls from people. i don't want people to be disappointed in the process. i think they recovered very well. i think that what i see so far looks really, really good to me and what i'm hearing going forward sound good to me. i just hope that we come up with people that are reflective of what the future of this country should be about and what our party is all about. now, i know tony very well. these are great people. i think doug jones is a good example of the kind of non-black person i would like to see. sally yates, i like her record. so for me, i want to be sure that we get someone who has a real solid civil rights agenda. not just somebody who would talk

about it. we have to be careful. i have seen a lot of times when it comes to the supreme court, i much rather have a marshall than a clarence thomas. they're both back but who would you rather have? >> we're on the same page there. i would want to see some blacks, but i want to see some that are going to do the right thing. i'm with you there. thank you, congressman jim clyburn. we always thank you for your time. joining me now is my panel. james carville, democratic strategist, co-host of 2020 politics war room and an msnbc political analyst and michael steele, partner at hamilton place strategies, former senior adviser to jeb bush and former spokesman for house speaker john boehner. let me go to you first, james. joe biden will make his first campaign event since winning the

presidency when he travels to georgia this coming tuesday. you are the strategist. do you think his presence will have an impact on the race either way? >> yeah. i think it will have an impact because he carried georgia. let's just start there. and trump already has been down. i think the president-elect showing up in georgia will get democrats enthused and he has lot of things he can talk about. he's got a tremendously diverse and tremendously talented cabinet that he's put in place. it's going to be close, but i think there's more good in him coming to georgia than him not coming. by how much, i'm not sure but i'm pretty sure it is a net positive. >> now, look at this tweet by a democratic congressman of new

jersey. today i'm calling on house leaders to refuse to see any members trying to overturn the election and make donald trump an unelected dictator. he's referring to the 126 republican congressional members who endorse the texas suit filed to the supreme court to overturn the results of the 2020 election. what's your reaction to that, michael steele? >> i don't think they'll get far with that. i'm focused on the future. i think the presidential election is in the past. as a republican, we lost the presidency. we lost the majority in the house. we are desperately clinging to a majority in the senate and most important thing we can do is win those two georgia senate races and the most important thing we can do to win those races is convict republican people that their vote counts so all of these efforts to undermine confidence in the result of the elections particularly in georgia are counterproductive to the goal of making sure

republicans keep the majority in the senate and keep some measure of influence in washington. >> now, james, you've been out here and as i said known as a strategist. have you seen in your career a president, incumbent president that seems more bent on trying to continue to propagate what is blatantly untrue that he won the election and in many ways discredit the system of voting at the expense of maybe senate seats for his own ego. i mean, have you seen anything like this in your experience? >> not remotely. neither has anybody else. we've never seen anything close to this. mr. steel and i do agree.

the most important political thing we got right now is georgia. there's no doubt about it. remarks of congressman clyburn, he couldn't believe they signed on to abandon democracy. this is a tragic time for the united states. it really is. this virus is awful. i hope we're able to evolve from this and evolve stronger, but i'm not at all certain that's going to be the end result. >> michael steel, how does the republican party pick up the pieces and even go forward after trump? he's not going anywhere. he'll be looming over this party for a while. are we seeing demise of the republican party for the next decade in terms of being able to get a majority of americans to go their way as we see the continue ed marched like yesterday, violent rallies

around this president. are we seeing this party come apart at the seams? >> i don't think so. and i hope not. i think the two-party system is one of the enduring strength of the system. i hope the republican party can build on the areas where the president has time period into a genuine vain of populous anger and frustration but respond rather than with angry tweets with policies that make things better for the american people. that's the challenge of the party going forward. >> all right. i'm glad to have you both. i must say one of the highlights of my life was the night that we roasted james carville at the kennedy center washington a couple years ago. he's the only one that would have both myself and tuck eer carlson on the same stage roasting the same person and not each other. james carville and michael steel, thank you for being with me. up next, some republicans

seem to be coming to their senses as trump refuses to admit his election defeat. i have some words of wisdom for gop lawmakers after the break. but first, my colleague richard louie with today's other top news stories. >> a good day to you. some of the stories we're watching for you, breaking this afternoon, the white house national security council confirmed to nbc news it is investigating a possible security hack on the treasury department. a division of the commerce department. national security counsel spokesman tells nbc news, the united states government is aware of these reports and we're taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation. to covid, this weekend the u.s. surpassed 16 million cases. the death toll now exceeds 300,000. to battle the surge, the pfizer vaccine today loaded into fedex

and u.p.s. trucks from facilities early this morning part of a massive distribution effort nationwide. the first vaccine should be given as early as monday. health care workers ander who high-risk americans are at the top of the list. "the new york times" also reporting this afternoon that white house staff members in close proximity to the president will be among the first to be vaccinated according to two sources familiar with the distribution plans. nbc news not yet confirming those reports. in wisconsin, the state's death toll there has now reached over 4,000 in just 24 hours this week the state reported on saturday a single day total of 50 deaths. that's lot for that state. this comes as state officials urge residents to postpone or cancel holiday travel plans. more details on these stories as we get them. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton right after this short break. ♪ chicago!

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i'm taking aim at mitt romney and any other republicans suddenly wringing their hands over the anti-democratic behavior displayed by the other members of their party in the wake of donald trump's defeat in last month's election. mitt went so far to call the gop schemes to challenge the will of the voters, quote, madness. welcome to the party, mitt. better late than never. the republican party has been an anti-majoritarian members for over 20 years without a peep from you. he's talking to me? but if you're finally ready to fight for democracy, welcome.

here's some issues you can take to your fellow republicans for reform. let's start with the electoral college. a recent study laid out the republican advantage in stark terms because of the electoral college in an election where democrats and republicans get 50% of the vote, the republican party would take the white house in 65% of scenarios. speaking of madness, a republican only won popular vote for president once in the past 30 years. that president was george w. bush who won a popular majority in his 2004 re-election after his initial narrow electoral college victory in 2000 was secured not by the voters, but by unprecedented intervention of supreme court. it's not just presidential elections where your party has built an advantage. in 2014, republicans got 52% of

the senate vote and gained nine seats. in 2018, democrats got 54% of the vote and lost two seats. and republicans for statewide congressional advantage has been going on for decades. in 2010, republicans gained a slight majority in state lu legislatures that were previously blue and then chopped up districts into frankenstein mess. and it worked. in 2018, democrats won more votes statewide than republicans in michigan, north carolina, and pennsylvania but republicans somehow won the majority of seats in those respective

legislatures and if all those underhanded and anti-democratic tactics were madness enough, let's talk about what happens when democrats overcome them and win. in 2016, north carolina elected a democratic governor and republicans in the state legislature immediately moved to strip the governor's office of established power. two years later faced by incoming democratic governors of their own, gop legislatures in wisconsin and michigan pulled the same stunt and now that a democrat has won the presidency by a landslide, 126 house republicans backed a texas lawsuit intended to throw out the votes of millions of americans to install donald trump in a second term and this is finally the last straw of that so-called moderate

republicans like mitt called madness after four years of republicans indulging in a authori whims of tantrum and after 20 years of getting their way even when they don't cast the most b ballots, why would you be surprised that republican voters feel entitled to power even when they hasn't earned it. the violent threats bubbling up from the base may be a reaction to president's false claim of fraud. make no mistake, the current climate has been a longtime coming and every republican, moderate, conservative and anywhere in between is complicit. roll up your sleeves. this is the party you built. i'm glad you're finally waking up to the anti-democracy crisis

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coming out of this last election the congressional black caucus was able to celebrate some visible milestones. a number of leading members have been elevated or tapped for jobs in the biden administration. richmond, fudge, and of course vice president-elect kamala harris. but the districts they represent remain among the hardest hit by covid-19 and even as the vaccine teases some public health relief, black lawmakers have to

overcome disinformation around it and damage done to their local economies. but with half of congress now living in a fact-free america and refusing to condemn racist demonstrations as they did protest against black debt, where do cbc lawmakers even begin? here to tell us is the new chair of the congressional black caucus, congresswoman joyce bady, democrat from ohio. welcome, madam chairperson. >> thank you so much, reverend al. always good to be on your show. >> now, let me ask you this. in addition to those biden administration picks i mentioned from your own ranks, he's nominated several women and people of color to what are in some cases firsts. earlier this week i and other

legacy civil rights leaders had a virtual meeting with president-elect biden to make our concerns known after the historic black support that he enjoyed last month only decisive action and targeted appointments of black talent to top posts will do. no half stepping. speaking as best you can for a diverse group which is what the assessment of the president's picks must come about or what do you feel thus far in regards to his inclusion of black talent and where would you like to see it go in those that are still unfilled? >> well, thank you for that, reverend al. of course we want to see him to continue with the same momentum he has now. as you mentioned earlier, we're pleased that congresswoman marcia fudge will lead hud and when we look at housing what black folks have been faced with, whether that's evictions, whether that's losing the

mortgages on their home, thus why we put forbearance in our relief packet. we also know that he has appointed an ambassador to the united nations, a brilliant black woman. we know on the click team there's another african-american. but we have a lot of major cabinet positions still out there. we also have attorney general position out there. we have congress. we have labor. so we have a lot of positions yet to go. when you look at having congressman richmond there as a key adviser to the president, i feel very comfortable with that and, of course, we have one of our own. kamala harris as vice president-elect who will always be in the room. so i think he's off to a good start. i was very pleased to see he had the courage to also put the general's name forward when you look at general lloyd austin, someone who has an impeccable

record with what he has done. that will be a hurdle for confirmation. we know it will be a hurdle with the waiver. i think president-elect biden is doing what he said. so right now we have a transition team so he has kept his word with that. we have weekly meetings. i want you to know, reverend al, we're not letting up but i don't want to condemn him right away because he has made a good effort and a good start. as i said earlier, it's only the beginning. we'll still continue to monitor. we will continue to meet with him. i have to tell you, he's had a very open process. those who are close to him on his transition, his chief of staff, i've actually had a number of calls with ron, so i would say they're doing very well at keeping us informed, hosting meetings as the meeting he had with you and several other civil rights leaders.

>> i think as we continue to do our job in terms of the civil rights community keeping the pressure on, i will say that cedrick richmond has been exceptional in terms of staying in touch and he is in the room and he should be noted for that. a former chair of the congressional black caucus and credit to biden to begin these meetings as president-elect because most presidents don't even have these meetings until after the inauguration. >> absolutely. >> let me ask you this on another issue, how concerned are you now that with his legal options exhausted that the president will further escalate his grievance campaign drawing radicalized supporters like the proud boys and giving us the kind of violence we saw last night in washington? reports of multiple stabbings, black lives matter signs burned

in the streets and according to the lawyers committee for civil rights, friends of this show, they had targeted vandalism of black churches. you were part of the big commitment march that we co-chaired in august and we had over 200,000 people there. you were on stage with us. not one incident of violence and we saw much less number last night and all of this violence and how much do you think we are in for this as this president seems to keep stoking this fallacy that he, in fact, was robbed of the presidency? >> i think you hit it on the head. stoking is the right word. we'll see more of this unfortunately. because not only did we have his followers and proud boys out there armed and vandalizining b he was out there with two of his colleagues that he recently

pardoned. when you think of roger stone and when you think of flynn actually going out there with him, you also will notice different than your march, hundreds of thousands of people, we were not wearing masks. they were not trying to social distance. i think we're in for a lot more of this unfortunately. i think this president is devastated at his loss and he's going to continue to try to excite his base and get them to come out there to take the attention off of the real victory that we had, president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect come kamal harris cleaning up the mess that he has left us. >> as you take over the congressional black caucus with numbers historic within itself, what is your main agenda items that you want to push as chair of the caucus? >> right now i think when you look at the number of black

americans who are dying disproportionately, we have to start with the coronavirus. we have to start knowing that they now have a vaccination that's coming out. we have to also look at jobs in economy and certainly the social injustices. i put them on the same platform. too many people are dying because of guns or at the hands of police officers. too many people are dying because of covid-19. i'm also worried that we have to do a better job of educating those about should they take the vegas nati vaccinati vaccination. the congressional black caucus represents 17 million black americans and 82 million individuals in the united states population. so we'll have a big voice. but education and awareness. i want to make sure if we're in the front line for this vaccine,

what about healthcare? what if there's a side effect? how are they going to be covered? we know we're traditionally not in clinical trials. so i'm very concerned about it. but i also want to make sure if we're getting it from the scientists, if we're getting it from the physicians, we need to make sure because many of our folks are going to be in that first 2.9 million that they give out. i want them protected. i want them covered. i want to make sure if you work somewhere and your insurance is in jeopardy, that we need to make sure that they will be covered for whatever medical expenses that they have. we have a lot of work to do. i can tell you we're ready to roll up our sleeves because we have a great foundation to stand on. >> congresswoman, our thanks for being with us this evening. coming up, a snapshot of one of 2020's most powerful moments.

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the year 2020 has been by