tv Politics Nation MSNBC December 19, 2020 2:00pm-3:00pm PST
2:00 pm
good evening and welcome to "politicsnation." tonight's lead, a shot in the arm for america. the fda last night authorized emergency use of moderna's coronavirus vaccine, giving doctors a second option to inoculate against the virus. the new vaccine comes at a critical moment when the country is setting new records for daily covid-19 deaths, with nearly 3,300 americans dying per day. more than 314,000 have died since the pandemic began. vice president mike pence got his first dose of the pfizer vaccine yesterday, as did speaker of the house nancy
2:01 pm
pelosi and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. president-elect joe biden will get his shot on monday, all part of a concerted bipartisan initiative to set a good example for the nation. president trump, who was hospitalized with the coronavirus back in october, still has a few weeks before he would be eligible to take the vaccine. and while he is reportedly obsessed with taking credit for the medical breakthrough, he remains unwilling to fully acknowledge the seriousness of the threat posed by the coronavirus. instead, he remains fixated on undoing the results of an election he did not win, tweeting out baseless conspiracy theories to rile up his supporters while his cronies in the government throw up road blocks to hamper the incoming biden administration.
2:02 pm
trump loyalists in the pentagon have reportedly suspended meetings with the transition team, saying both sides agreed upon a break for the holidays. a spokesperson for biden disputes that claim. it's behavior that could be dismissed as petty and juvenile if the stakes weren't so high. intelligence officials are still trying to assess the damage from what could be the largest cyberattack ever against the united states government. the congress remains dead locked in its efforts to bring desperately needed relief to an economy ravaged by the coronavirus. last night lawmakers passed a stopgap two-day extension in government funding as they continued to debate a stimulus bill. joining me now is dr. selena gunsh
2:03 pm
gown der, a member of the covid-19 advisory board and infectious disease specialist. i want to start with a simple question. since we already know that covid-19 is devastating communities of color, can we use this vaccine to counter racial inequity? i mean, we already prioritized essential workers, the elderly, why not setting shots aside for especially vulnerable areas, dr. gownder? >> critical infrastructure workers are going to be prioritized in terms of order of vaccination. they will be the next phase of vaccination after health care workers and the residents and staff of long-term care facilities like nursing homes. and so those critical infrastructure workers are
2:04 pm
predominantly members of communities of color. that is where the profession in which many of those people are concentrated. and so while that may not be the specific intent, that is the unintended, you could say, intent or consequence of prioritizing critical infrastructure workers. >> i understand that, but it should not in my opinion be looked on as something extraordinary or something that is not needed to intentionally go in those areas where there has been an unequal burden and unequal findings of those that are covid-19 positive. i mean, why not have an intentional plan since that is where we see the results? data establishes that. >> equity is certainly going to be a through line through all of the next administration's
2:05 pm
response to covid. and we've already seen issues of inequity, for example, with coronavirus testing. there are fewer coronavirus testing sites in communities of color, less testing available through the providers that communities of color perhaps trust more. the lines at the facilities that do offer testing are longer. the turn around times are longer, and this is something we really do plan to address. so that means making sure that you have enough sites in those communities for vaccination, not just testing, and that you're working with the providers that they trust. and so that means also providers of color and the institutions that have historically served those communities. >> it seems show everything about this pandemic has been politicized, including the vaccine. a survey from the kaiser family foundation found 42% of republicans are hesitant to take the vaccine compared to just 12% of democrats.
2:06 pm
on top of that, you have a great deal of skepticism in the african-american community because of past injustices. what can the biden administration do to reassure americans who are concerned about getting the shot? >> i think there's a wonderful bipartisan effort happening right now, whether that is vice president pence and his wife and the current surgeon general and on monday president-elect biden getting vaccinated in front of television cameras. i think to really show that all of us trust the process by which the vaccine was developed, by which it was vetted and authorized, and how it's being distributed now. so i think that's a good, important step. i think you then do need to address the specific concerns, for example, you were saying perhaps republicans who might be more hesitant right now or communities of color. and i think that starts with, number one, acknowledging their concerns, understanding their concerns, and meeting them where they're at. so that means what can you do to
2:07 pm
concretely address those issues. in the cases of communities of color, that means truly addressing discrimination in the health care system and not just with regards to covid. >> one of the things i was on a call that we formed a group of clergymen around the country where dr. anthony fauci and dr. corbett, an african-american, was involved in the vaccine itself being put together and being -- and i believe you have credible people that i know because i have questions, like dr. valerie montgomery rice of morehouse and others that are involved. but again, i think this really needs to be taken seriously, as you just said it would b. thank you for being with us, dr. selena gownder. >> let me go now to be joined by
2:08 pm
senator bob casey, democrat of pennsylvania. senator, thank you for being with us this evening. >> reverend al, good to be with you, thank you. >> now, you sit on the health and aging committee. negotiations are under way right now as lawmakers are scratching to pass a spending bill and a coronavirus relief package before tomorrow's deadline. what is holding everything back? and is there fear that the much-needed relief may not come until next week? >> reverend al, i think what the people on both sides are trying to do is to get to an agreement on the covid relief bill. that's the main sticking point right now. the spending bill, which will be part of this, that seems like that's in good shape. but as you just indicated, we got a deadline of midnight sunday night, so there's a lot of work being done.
2:09 pm
i'm told that as of this afternoon there was a lot of good work done last night and my sense is they're pretty close. but it's one of those things until they finally agree on everything, there's no agreement. but i'd be very surprised if there was not an agreement between now and tomorrow. that's just my sense of it. i'm not physically in the room or virtually in the room, but it seems like they had a lot of progress. but the key here is that we got to get something done for sure on food assistance, on unemployment, on checks for individuals, help for health care providers and help for people who've been most adversely impacted. >> and unemployment insurance will run out the day after christmas. earlier today the president-elect biden had an event introducing his climate and energy team. as a member of the agricultural
2:10 pm
and forestry committee, what do you think about his personnel appointments so far? >> i think he's got a great team. it's obvious that a person like biden not only is committed to having a strong team around him that's diverse and reflects the diversity of america, but it's also a team just on this one huge issue, the issue of combating climate change. it's also clear to me that he's got a really good team that he's developing. whether it's the economy, epa, john kerry or others working both the domestic side of it as well as in the international sphere because there's no question that if we continue to neglect this issue and push it off for another day, we'll reach a point where we can't do anything about climate change. i think there's a strong mandate
2:11 pm
across the country to combat climate change and do it with the best team possible. seems like the biden/harris administration is developing that team. >> even with these appointments and even with the announced intentions of the biden/harris administration coming in, would the congress the way it is now, the senate -- unless the georgia runoffs evens it out, but it would still be 50/50. the house having less democratic majority than it had prior to the election, how are we going to see the congress -- will they go along with many of the undoing efforts that are necessary that was done during the previous administration in this area? can we make progress or are we going to see log jam in the senate and the house around some
2:12 pm
of these critical issues that even the president-elect's appointments may want to get through but are going to have problems getting some of it that has to go through the congress? >> yeah, that's a great question, reverend al. i think it remains to be seen. obviously i think we have a good shot in georgia. seems like those races are really close. who would ever believe we would say that even a few years ago? it's noteworthy because joe biden and kamala harris carried georgia in the election, that creates a pathway for those two candidates. so let's be optimistic and say we have -- we have democratic control of the senate. that will allow us not only to have an effort made by the administration to reverse some of the onerous actions, but allow to us move forward with legislation.
2:13 pm
as you know from covering these issues, especially in the aftermath of the huge adverse impact of the pandemic, we're going to have a lot of people still out of work. i think we're going to need a new deal, works progress administration-type effort where the federal government is going to have to put dollars on the table to allow state and local communities to design job programs so we can get people paychecks. the fastest way to get the economy moving and to get families where they need to be is to get them a paycheck and for those who need unemployment assistance and food assistance and the like, we got to make sure that's there for them. but obviously with democratic control of the senate we're going to be able to enact into law some of the changes that many of us have been talking about. >> and these are funds that people really need. this is not a handout. these are funds needed and people had no involvement at all
2:14 pm
in this predicament. another point the president tweeted that senate majority leader mitch mcconnell should, quote, get tougher to somehow keep trump in the white house. but mcconnell seems to have gotten what he wanted out of the president, a complete remake of the federal judiciary in his own image. does mcconnell have any reason to back the president's latest ploy? >> i don't think so because now it's really a simple choice. it's not even a choice between a democrat and a republican or one point of view versus the other. it's a choice between donald trump and the constitution. and a lot of republicans have been really late deciding what the constitution. some are still planningaying a political game. and they should pay a big price when they run in the future. it's now a choice between the constitution and donald trump, and as i said right after the
2:15 pm
election when people said what about this challenge or that challenge, my point then was the constitution is going to roll over donald trump. and i think that's what's happened. all the cases failed and now the country knows that after a lot of challenges, joe biden and kamala harris are going to be sworn in on january 20th. >> all right, senator mark casey, thank you for being with us. joining me now is my panel of political strategists, former florida republican congressman david jolly and maya rocky moore cummings, president and ceo of global policy solutions, was a democratic leader in the state of maryland. i know and have worked with her and glad to have you on the panel tonight. republicans -- i want to raise this. republicans close to the white house are saying that the president is considering
2:16 pm
pardoning everyone close to him so biden's justice department can't investigate him, end of quote. is that tactic constitutional? and would it even be effective in stopping investigations, david? >> look, the power of the pardon is one where the president has remarkable discretion. so case by case, sure, he can pardon as many people as held like. there's also a question for the biden administration, and this is an open question still whether or not joe biden takes the tone of wanting to aggressively investigate alleged crimes of people related to trump or whether he wants kind of the clean break and to say that's behind us. but what you're seeing in trump's behavior not just around pardons but around everything else is a president whose stability is plummeting, and somebody who has our democracy on a razor's edge right now. i mean, over the next three or
2:17 pm
four weeks we may need to see joe biden begin to use the bully pulpit on a daily basis to inject stability into our economy and to our security. we may need to see congressional leaders step up as well, not one of these two to three-week holiday vacations but where is the your hands on the lever of government because donald trump could do just about anything between now and january 20th. >> maya, despite the fact that it is in my opinion ugly enough to really misuse the office and to deal with the question of pardons that the president does as david says, they have a wide range that he can be empowered to do. when you think of the amount of people that you and your late husband elijah cummings fought for that should've had pardons because they were unjustly treated by the criminal justice
2:18 pm
system, then we're talking about his cronies, we're talking about possibly his family members and himself, which makes this even more ugly. >> i think that it's a sign of the times that we're not even talking about the ethics of the scenario here. donald trump has been so public and open with his corruption that the fact that he wants to personally pardon himself and possibly his family members is just the sign of the times. it's unacceptable to abuse the office and use the institutions of our government for his own personal gain and po preemptively protect himself from, you know, the malfeasance he's practiced throughout the last four years. donald trump needs to be held accountable and so do the republicans who have molly coddled him. this is serious. we need to return to democracy, and donald trump actually needs to be held accountable.
2:19 pm
>> david, by refusing to fully cooperate -- >> just a moment. >> -- this president is endangering the national security of the united states. >> yes. >> what can joe biden do about it? >> yeah, that's a great question, rev. if you go back to the rundown of the show, you articulated so many things right now that need a president at his desk, the coronavirus numbers going crazy, the russia hack. we have a federal government on the brink of a shutdown, as you were talking about with senator casey. a stimulus bill that has to be resolved. donald trump is not attending to any of that. he's inviting these conspiracy theorists into the white house, planning an event in d.c. to topple confirmation of biden's election. if nothing else, we need joe biden's leadership in this moment to say to the world and to say to the nation there's a steady hand coming on january 20th. but we also need republican leaders like marco rubio to step up. there's a reason i'm calling him
2:20 pm
out today, rev. he tweeted out that -- it does not confront donald trump. that's what we need from republican leaders between now and january 20th to save our republican president won't do this. we will at least lead from the hill. they're not doing that yet, and we need to hold them accountable for it. >> the silence is deafening among the top republican leadership, maya, around this president not dealing. we're talking about a pandemic, we're talking about dealing with the sanctity of the vote in elections. we're talking about a cyberattack that we probably have never seen anything like it. and they're talking about conspiracies like none of this is happening, and no one in the republican leadership is
2:21 pm
emerging to even take this president on. this is adding to the instability of how we can have confidence in this government at this point. >> donald trump has been allowed to build a fantasy world relying on alternative facts for the last four years and it's led to the deaths of more than 315,000 americans. we can't allow him to actually use fantasy and alternative facts to actually undermine and contribute to the death of our democracy. and republicans who are silent are actually contributing to undermining our democratic norms and certainly our constitution. we need to holed donald trump accountable, and the republicans who are actually allowing this to happen, they need to look in the mirror and understand that his behavior and treasonous and so is theirs for aiding and abetting this kind of behavior and this kind of rhetoric. >> thank you both.
2:22 pm
david, i know you are a republican who was not supportive of the president. i did not know you had a progressive beard. that's a new addition. david jolly and maya -- >> wait till trump concedes. >> well, until he concedes, you may have a beard much longer than that next time you're on. maya cummings, thank you for being with us. my thanks to you both. coming up, some americans found themselves homeless during the pandemic and next month trump will be no exception. i'll explain where the lame duck can go next after the white house. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's top news stories. richard? >> good day to you, rev. some stories we're watching, covid cases now total over 17.5 million and over 315,000 deaths, this while the first round of vaccinations continued
2:23 pm
today. in new york approximately 19,000 people vaccinated there. in texas, over 15,000 also getting vaccinated. cases continue to spike due to holiday gatherings and travel, though. california hospitals, they say they're past their breaking point. as of friday the state had over 41,000 new cases and 300 new deaths in one day. millions of california's have been put under a state stay-at-home order. it forbids nonessential travel and closes salons, bars, and movie theaters. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton right after the break. it's true, i will rescue you oh, i will rescue you
2:25 pm
it's velveeta versus the other guys. clearly, nothing melts like velveeta. ♪ (announcer) do you washed pounds? stress? like velveeta. do you want to flatten your stomach? do all that and more in just 10 minutes a day with aerotrainer, the total body fitness solution that uses its revolutionary ergonomic design to help you to maintain comfortable, correct form. that means better results in less time. you can do an uncomfortable, old-fashioned crunch
2:26 pm
or an aerotrainer super crunch. turn regular planks into turbo planks without getting down on the floor. and there are over 20 exercises to choose from. incredible for improving flexibility and perfect for enhancing yoga and pilates. and safe for all fitness levels. get gym results at home in just 10 minutes a day. no expensive machines, no expensive memberships. get off the floor with aerotrainer. go to aerotrainer.com to get yours now.
2:27 pm
2:28 pm
take up residence at your club in south florida, but this week your would-be neighbors made it clear they do not want you in a way of a formal letter. you lost the right to keep mar-a-lago as a private residence when you turned it into a club in the '90s. if you want to live in palm beach, it will have to be elsewhere. meanwhile, i know you don't want to come back to your hometown. while celebrations broke out all over the world after you lost to joe biden, new yorkers displayed the most glee from your downfall, which makes sense because manhattan had one of the biggest margins for your opponent in the country. okay, here's what you had to say on the subject before the election. >> could you imagine if i use in my whole life, what am i going to do? i'm going to say i lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. i'm not going to feel so good. maybe i'll have to leave the country, i don't know.
2:29 pm
>> leaving the country may seem like a good idea, but your coronavirus incompetence means fully two-thirds of the countries on this planet are currently not accepting american travelers, and that's before you subtract the ones you have personally insulted by bad-mouthing their leaders are calling some of them s-hole countries. so let's see if we can find an overseas option. you could head to the u.k., but be prepared to face protests and merciless mockery there, just like you've seen during every trip since your election. and this time you won't have the presidency to insulate you. perhaps you could establish residency in north korea with your good friend, kim jong-un. but you'd have to give up your addiction to mcdonald's. the golden arches don't shine
2:30 pm
under military dictatorship. but they do have mickey d's in brazil, and you've expressed kinship with brazil's strongman leader in the past. but since he's already congratulated biden on his win, that's probably not somewhere you'd like to be. even russia's vladimir putin has acknowledged biden as the winner. all those years of ignoring russian malfeasance, and your pal vladimir turns on you quickly. maybe you can find it in saudi arabia. you bragged about protecting crown prince mohammed bin salman after his lackeys dismembered a journalist with a bone saw. just be careful what you say or tweet over there. you know what they do to those who speak their minds. on balance, it's probably safest for you to stay in the united states for the foreseeable future, even if you are facing
2:31 pm
unpardonable legalities and those liabilities across multiple jurisdictions. after all, even in the worst case scenario you'll always have the opportunity to move from one public housing location, the white house, to another, prison. maybe they can get you a jumpsuit to match your spray tan. we'll be right back. tired of overpaying for your prescriptions? try optum perks. it's a new way to save up to 80%. and everyone can do it.
2:32 pm
it's from optum, a health care company that's trusted by millions of people. you don't have to sign up for anything. just go to optumperks.com. and get a coupon to use at your pharmacy. that's it. i opted in. i opted in. you can, too. opt in and save big today. [yawn] you. look. stunning. want the truth to why i wake up feeling...
2:33 pm
[growls softly] ...so darn awesome? [makes playful sound] i take care of my skin. not this skin. that skin. and when you've got incontinence, you sure need to. tena intimates pads lock liquid in, and are now 100% breathable to care for your intimate skin. are you still here? kind to skin. protects like tena. dreya! hey! how are you so good at this? relax. get into it! aw, yeah! i've got it! rated everyone.
2:35 pm
a new era is dawning in los angeles county with a new district attorney. george gascon announcing big changes on his very first day in office. these moves include longtime criminal justice reforms like end to cash bail, a ban on prosecutors seeking enhanced prison sentences, and more lenience for lower-level
2:36 pm
offenders. joining me now is l.a. county d.a. george gascon. thank you for being with us this evening, d.a. gascon. let me start with this. you pushed to end cash bail and it has proponents over the country but has faced backlash even here in new york. why is this issue important to you, and what do you say to cash bail proponents? >> sure, absolutely. greetings, reverend sharpton. you know, the problem with cash bail is, one, that it really comes down to using wealth as a proxy for somebody's freedom. when you use a cash bail system, whether you're dangerous or not is not the ruling criteria, the ruling criteria, whether you have enough money in your bank account to pay for your freedom. so we see poor people, mostly people of color staying in jail
2:37 pm
for extended periods of time, sometimes being forced to accept a plea deal in order to get out of jail. and you see people that have the capacity to post bail getting out of jail and going out and hurting others. so the concept of using your wealth or your bank account as the determinant factor as to whether you're going to get out of jail or not is something we need to end in this country and i'm working hard to do to do so in l.a. county. >> i watched the campaign closely and many did not expect you to win. a lot of the issues raised by black lives matter l.a. and others, our national action network folks really raising questions on your opponent. but you already are facing resistance to some of your reforms from judges and even your own prosecutors. what's the plan moving forward? >> well, look, i mean, the plan
2:38 pm
moving forward is, first, i say we because we are a team and the community, we have to stay focused. we're on the right side of history and we have -- i believe it's important we do not lose sight of what we're trying to do is the right thing. number two is continuing to educate people within the office. i'm seeing more and more people coming over and saying, hey, how can i be helpful and join this effort. century we have a tremendous amount of community support. what you see outside quite frankly is a move by police unions and prison guard unions and the bail industry, basically people that have benefited both economically and politically from mass incarceration for the last three or four decades. and they don't want to give up, so we understand that many of that is coming from that angle. the push is coming from that place. we, our team and movement need to continue to stay focused and
2:39 pm
do the right things. >> the cdc has advocated for prison staff to have priority access for the covid vaccine. but it has made no such suggestion for incarcerated folks who are crowded together and at high risk. do you have a plan of giving up priority in terms of vaccinations in the l.a. county correctional facilities? >> so a good point, reverend. so i don't control the vaccination, but the plan that we do have is we're working to expeditiously release as many people as we can, especially those that have proven to be high-risk, vulnerable people and people that are not a threat to society. so we're going to try to remove as many people from that confinement, which puts everybody at risk. not only does it put a risk to custody personnel, but the rest of the community because when other prisons get released, they often are taking the disease with them and spreading it to
2:40 pm
the communities. in this case, it's not about criminal justice. justice is really about public health and keeping our communities safe. >> do you feel the reforms that you are putting in place could be a model for prosecutors around the -- to really reform how district attorney officers could be used in a more progressive and fair way of dealing with criminal justice without being soft on crime? >> unquestionably. there are men and women around the country that are trying to do the same things. we coalesce together. i was drone for niistrict attore years in san francisco. >> you have also done a lot of outreach with community leaders
2:41 pm
and community groups. is part of your effort to also have prosecutors work more with people in the community to understand what's going on on the ground and have them understand what needs to be done in terms of using prosecutors officers not as their adversary, but as someone that is protecting their rights as well as protects their lives? >> unquestionably. one of the biggest components of my platform was to open up the office to our community and bringing people quite frankly that often have not had a place at the table. so it's bringing the communities, bringing all the people that want to participate, not necessarily those that only agree with me but people that disagree with me. but making everybody understand that this is a people's office. that is people's lawyer, and everybody has a place at the table that wants to have a place at the table. >> all right.
2:42 pm
george gascon, thank you for with us this evening. let me go to this issue. chicago police department is under fire for a botched operation from two years ago. that is just now coming to light. officers raided the wrong home with a search warrant. surprisingly, social worker anjanette young, who was naked at the time, and was put in handcuffs for several minutes before being covered up. video of the encounter, which occurred in february of 2019, was released this week during ms. young's lawsuit against the city. the footage was taken from officers' body cameras. the city is apologizing to ms. young for the incident. joining me now is the mayor of chicago, lori lightfoot, who i want to know, entered office in may of 2019 and was not mayor when the incident took place. mayor lightfoot, simply put, why have the officers involved not
2:43 pm
been fired or faced disciplinary action, not whanithstanding the civil lawsuit, why are they still on the job? >> that's a good question, reverend al. what happened to ms. young is utterly unacceptable. i saw that video this week and as a black woman, it was impossible for me not to go there. you watched the way those officers invaded her home, denied her her dignity, didn't heed her pleas. it just -- it just shatters all your confidence that we have made any progress in police reform. and there has to be accountability. it's unacceptable that those officers haven't been held to account yet. and so, believe me, i'm putting my foot on the accelerator to make sure that happens. but reverend, truly there's a
2:44 pm
larger systemic problem. the fact that they treated with her such utter disrespect, i'd like to say she was the only person that suffered that. but as i dug down, i know it's deeper and bigger and larger than just this one incident. and of course happening zpldispy in black and brown communities. there cannot be more anjanette youngs, not on my watch. >> i see your sensitivity and your courage. you walked into schoolyards and stood up to people in the community that deal with gun violence. but why can't you walk in the police station and fire these policemen? >> we have an elaborate process here in chicago.
2:45 pm
we have independent civilian oversight. they haven't done what they needed to do. i'll tell you, i had very tough words for the head of that organization to get the job done and get it done quickly. they had that case open for more than a year, no excuses. here's the thing that's -- nation to what ms. young suffered, and there's no question she's a victim here. but other people saw that video along the way, and particularly the folks who were doing -- supposedly conducting an investigation. why did they sit on their hands for a year? it makes no sense. there were people all over city government who answer to me, who saw -- there were people i know who have had to have seen that video. have we really gotten to the poircht whe point where we lost our humanity? that someone has been mistreated as badly as ms. young was? that's the answers that i'm
2:46 pm
demanding because we got a larger systemic problem, and i intend to fix it. >> now, this incident reminds me of the botched raid on another black woman's home, breonna taylor in louisville. if black americans can't feel safe in their own homes, this has got to stop. your office states it has changed the search warrant protocols for future police raids. please tell me how you intend to do this. >> so i have to credit local reporting here over the course of the summer and fall of 2019. we were seeing these wrong-raid cases pop up. so i directed our chief risk officer, a black woman, to dig into this and recommend any changes that were necessary. so there's a couple of key things that exist now that didn't exist back in february 2019. number one, you cannot get a search warrant on the basis of information from a paid informant. we're not incentivizing people
2:47 pm
to give us the wrong information. if somebody gives you a tip, you have to corroborate it with a third party who's not being paid. that's an important distinction. and you know how important that is, reverend al. also, like in this instance, you knew you were in the wrong place, we now require there's an immediate internal investigation opened into the who, what, where, and when of how that happened. that didn't exist in february of 2019. the other thing we've done is ensure that before a search warrant application is presented to a prosecutor and a judge, there have to be two supervisors, two sets of eyes, look at it and certify that the information the true and correct before we even present it to a prosecutor and a court. now, that change has been in existence since january of this year.
2:48 pm
we're digging down deep to see have we stemmed the tide ordained. i instructed my police superintendent to look again and if there's more changes to be made, we'll make them. we got to make sure that we do everything possible to avoid this kind of thing from ever happening again. reverend al, you made the point. our home should be our sanctuary. when we walk inside our home and close the door, we should be able to keep the rest of the world out. and even if they did a search warrant and the person was involved in criminal activity and evidence of that criminal activity was found in a home, they still deserve to be treated with dignity as any human being does. this was a failure and we have to fix that. >> yeah. and i certainly agree with that. i want to go to the vaccine, but i agree with that and i think these reforms are good. but again, i've been talking -- you know i work with leadership
2:49 pm
council there, the leadership network there, and i join them. the biggest message is the firing these policemen, and as you mentioned, make those accountable that have seen this tape and allowed this despicable act to go unreported and not made public until it was forced in the courts. but let's turn briefly to the vaccine. it's a known statistic that covid-19 has disproportionately impacted black americans compared to those who are white. what financial and racial challenges does chicago have to solve in order for all residents to safely and effectively gain access to a vaccine as soon as possible? >> financially there's none because the vaccine is free. we do not want that to be a barrier. that's really a federal mandate which even if it wasn't a federal mandate, we would have made sure the vaccine was available to anybody for free. but the larger problem, which you certainly recognize, is,
2:50 pm
first, in the black community. you know we have a history of not trusting the health care system because of the way that our people have been treated by the health care system very muc present right now and that is a messaging and education challenge that we have to meet and overcome. we are doing that with trusted community voices, educating those folks on the ground and then using them as ambassadors to talk to our people about why the vaccine is important. similar challenges in the latinx community. many of the people in chicago in the community come from other countries where there's no trust of the government, where there's no trust of health care system. they don't want to be connected up with anything related to a government operation so we have got to overcome those challenges with the same approach.
2:51 pm
trusted community voices. it's one thing for a mayor to say something. it is something different for somebody you recognize and identify with in your own community so we're using every lever that we can think of to reach people where they are, educate them about the safety of the vaccine and then talk to them about how important it is for them to be vaccinated and of course we have to do all of this with an eye towards equity and inclusion. >> all right. chicago mayor lori lightfoot, thank you for being with us this evening. up next, our final thoughts. stay with us. ♪ if only in my dreams ♪ ((boy)r) hhelping kids.s. (dad) helping families.
2:52 pm
(women) helping pets. (vo) these are the lives subaru retailers have impacted in our communities, through our support of over fourteen hundred hometown charities. in fact, subaru and our retailers will have proudly donated over two hundred million dollars to national and hometown charities through the subaru share the love event. (vo) get 0% for 63 months and subaru will donate 250 dollars to charity.
2:55 pm
earlier this week major league baseball announced the records of negro league players will finally be included in the game's official statistics. the league called the move long overdue recognition. that's a bit of an understatement. this is a home run for the great black ballplayers that came before giants like jackie robinson and willie mays and a learning moment for fans of america's national past time. had it not been for the league being pushed by people like reverend jesse jackson and others that raised down through the years i do not believe they would have done it now. i only wish that many of those
2:56 pm
players that have now deceased had known that they finally were given the recognition by the league that they should have had all along. justice delayed we say sometime is justice denied. at least children will know of their records. and know that sometime agitation will pay off in the long run. thank you to those leaders like reverend jackson that kept fighting. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern. up next any colleague alicia menendez picks up our news coverage. get an iphone 12 with 5g, on us, on every plan! and if you're 55 and up, switch to our essentials 55 plan and save 50% on your bill vs. the other guys. that's right, iphone 12 on us! holiday on with t-mobile.
2:57 pm
2:58 pm
...this one's for you. you inspired us to make your humira experience even better... with humira citrate-free. it has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, there's less liquid, and a thinner needle... with less pain immediately following injection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. and you can use your co-pay card to pay as little as $5 a month. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,... ...including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common... and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. the same humira you trust with less pain immediately following injection. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help.
2:59 pm
if you can't afford your medicine, we have to find somethingust else. good luck!ut it. what does that mean? we are doomed. [ laughter ] that's it... i figured it out! we're going to give togetherness. that sounds dumb. we're going to take all those family moments and package them. hmm. [ laughing ] that works.
3:00 pm
i'm alicia menendez. tonight round two of the rollout. a second vaccine approved. when it will ship and when americans will start getting it. the states suffer the first big hiccup in the distribution process and the pandemic rages again. a new record of infections just today and as you'll see california hospitals are near a breaking point. plus shutdown averted but a deepening stalemate in congress to get a second round of covid relief to the people. tweets, denials and red herrings of the russian hack
95 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC WestUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=569728822)