good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york, welcome to weekend with alec wit. developing this hour, democrats in congress putting president joe biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on the fast track. as we begin to utilize the reconciliation process i asked the biden administration last hour if there is still room to negotiate with republicans. >> now that joe biden is president, they came to the white house with zero in there for state and local governments. so the question becomes, you

know, is it a good-faith bargaining position? we come with good faith saying we want to do a bipartisan process. but we cannot afford to do too little too late. >> meanwhile, in just two days donald trump's secretary impeachment trial in the senate will begin. senators on both sides of the aisle giving new insight as they prepare to listen to the case put before them. >> this impeachment in the eyes of most republicans is an unconstitutional exercise. the president's behavior, in my view s not a crime. >> i think the core of this case is donald trump's own words, which are more incriminating than anything other witness could be. >> so if people want to hold president trump accountable for language, there has to be a consistent standard. to my mind, it is a partisan farce. we are also getting a new look at what americans think ahead of the trial. an abc news up success poll shows 56% of americans think trump should be convict asked bars from holding office.

and brand-new remarks from president biden, the president addressing foreign relations in his super bowl interview, which will air later today. >> will the u.s. lift sanctions first in order to get iran back to the negotiating table? >> no. >> they have to stop enriching uranium first? >> we have got a trio of nbc reporters with the latest on president biden and the impending impeachment trial of former president trump. mike, welcome. we just heard the president on iran. but we are also learning more about his views on china. what new is he saying? >> hey there, alex. from what we can all the wintry wilmington white house here. >> i love the i will literation. >> this week joe biden called china our most serious competitor in the foreign policy speech. he talked about the challenges, economically, militarily and

with regard to democratic values. all the years i have covered joe biden i have heard him say so often that he thinks all politics is personal. he brings to the table one of the longest relationships of any president with xi jinping. the vice president had the first world meetings with the then chinese president xi jinping. he told him about what those years taught him about how this relationship might work. let's listen to his interview with cbs's noro o'donnell. >> he is very bright. he is very tough. he doesn't have a democratic, small d, bone in his body. i don't mean this personally. the question is -- i have said to him all along is that we need not have a conflict, but there is going to be extreme competition. and i'm not going to do it the

way that he knows this, because he has been sending signals as well. that i am not going to do it the way trump did. we are going to focus on international rules of the road. >> alex, we haven't seen the biden administration take any stamp on the china relationship so far. like so many elements of their policy they say they are reviewing some of the policies of the trump administration before launching into their own. all personnel is policy. our colleagues reported earlier this week what could be an important interesting signal the biden administration wants to send about this relationship with china. among those he's considering as the first ambassador to china in the biden administration would be former chicago mayor former white house chief of staff rahm emmanuel. he is known for his very tough-nosed style of politics. that might be a signal of how the biden administration intends to pursue this relationship with china going forward. >> i saw that and i read it the exact same way. here's a look at this week's

impeachment calendar. how do voters feel about this second trial? let's go to nbc's amanda golden who is taking the political temperature for us in wisconsin. amanda, welcome. what are you hearing? >> alex good to be with you. taking the political temperature in sub-zero temperatures here in milwaukee county, wisconsin. i want to set a little political context. we are back in the county that we followed extensively throughout the 2020 election cycle. milwaukee county itself brought about 15,000 additional voters in turnout for the presidential election. keep in mind joe biden only won the state by 20,000 votes total. trump narrowly won wisconsin in 2016. trying i spent time talking to voters to understand what they think the repercussions should be for former president trump, if think. i wanted you to listen to some of my conversations with both democrats and republicans here in the county. take a listen. >> i think it is critical that

the impeachment move forward because the only way to unity is through. [ indiscernible ] >> i want to move forward so future president don't follow the same path. hold him accountable for what his actions were and make sure it doesn't happen again. >> if they want unity, this is not the way to get it. if they want unity, they should take the trump policies and tweak them or improve them if they wanted. >> seems like every time a republican wins they will find fault and try to get after them. >> the voices that you father this county are still politically divided with you follow a few key themes. the democrats saying they want accountability for former president trump. they think he should be held responsible for the action and the violence that we saw take place at the capitol one month ago. for republicans, they say that's

going to further divide what they feel the country should be focused on and they would rather move forward and get beyond this. i want to note i asked a number of republican voters here in milwaukee county if they felt that president trump instigated any of the violence that they saw. if his rhetoric promoted the actions and the violence that took place. most did not feel he had outright blame for this. they felt he was a leader, but that the violence took place. it was weeks this the making and he didn't tell them to be violent. we know that's not the case. he did tell marchers to storm the capitol. while he was not physically there. but many feel he should be held accountable and have that blame associated with him. >> thank you. congressman tim ryan democrat from ohio and former 2020 presidential candidate and a good friend to us here joins us here. what do you think of amanda golden just reported, that most

people there in wisconsin that she spoke with, republicans, said he's not responsible for the -- what we saw, the crimes, the riots, on january 6th? >> i think it comes down to two things, alex. i think, first and foremost, it comes down to they are getting their news from a different source. you know, they are in the rabbit hole with fox news and all of the others. so that's one. but the second point is, okay, even if you concede that, he did nothing from the time the violence started until hours later. this is the chief executive of the united states military, right? this is the commander in chief. and he did nothing to stop it. he's the most powerful person in the world. and so if concede and say okay maybe he didn't do it. but while it was happening he did absolutely nothing until hours later when he was basically forced to. and i think that in and of

itself is something that he should be impeached for. why -- can you think of any other president in the history of america, george w. bus worge p.w. bush, ronald reagan that would allow a mob. >> no. >> an insurrection, a domestic terrorist attack happen to the capitol and do absolutely nothing? i don't either. >> the "new york times" reporting, suggesting he was watching everything unfold, watching it on sneeflgs right. >> and did so -- i'm not sure what the quote was but the implication was it was somewhat gleefully watching it. look of the all of these supporters, they have got my back. they want me to stay the president. it was extraordinary reporting. i wonder if that will be part of the case against donald trump. let's move on to your constituents. are you hearing the same kind of divide? >> i think so. not as many republicans. i think the republican party can

probably be split into two now. you have the hard core people like the ones that are just interviewed in wisconsin. and then you have others that really just don't want to talk ashamed they voted for him and they just want to, you know, pretend it goes away. but i think a lot of them do think he needs to be punished. i think for their own political purposes they don't want him to run again because they don't want to have to deal with it. >> some of those folks you are describing might be those who say we just have to move on, there are more important thing to focus on, trump isn't even the president anymore, this isn't going the unite the country. how do you impress those people on the concept of accountability. >> well, we don't want this to happen again. i mean, we don't want another president to be able to come into office and do what donald trump did. and that means there has to be consequences. what i say to people like that is, this is not how we raised our children. you know, the one thing we say is you have got to be consequences or their behavior is going to continue.

now, clearly, donald trump never had consequences. and this is the end result of years and years of not having consequences. but i think our country needs to make sure that we hold firm. i -- you know, i can't even stand to lip to some of these republican senators get all twisted around the axel on this stuff trying to defend the indefensible. i just -- the lack of courage, you know? we used to have a -- we used to have the lions of the senate. now we have the cowardly lions of the senate in there, just kowtowing to the president. >> the way you describe it. i am thinking donald trump would have benefitted from a few time-outs as a kid and beyond. covid related. you indicated you think checks should be $2,000 and should be monthly. president biden has gotten criticism for his relief plan. folks say that it is too big. but you think it doesn't go far enough? or do you think that?

>> well, no, i don't. >> okay. >> you know, i am going the support the $179 billion, no questions asked. i mean, we are trying to push as hard as week. but i think there are a lot of people, alex, that are caught in the middle. they are not on unemployment benefits. they are still working, probably the same hours f not more, and getting about half the pay. that's where that $2,000 a month -- if you are a waitress or a waiter or a bartender and you are not flipping tables like you used to. we need to get them through this pandemic without ruining their credit, without -- you know of course making sure they don't get evicted. all the things we are trying the do. i think this is the cleanest shot direct lee into the pockets of the american people who are working hard, playing by the rules, doing nothing wrong. we are going the keep pushing for it. again there are a lot of other interests here and i know there is -- you know, we only have 50 votes in the senate. so we have got to see what we can do. i think the $1.9 billion is where we have got agreement. and i will support it.

but we have got to keep pushing because i think there are so many families that are still going to be hurting because that 1,400 may not be enough for them. >> do you have agreement on the $15 minute mum wage? the president said he doesn't think that will make it into the bill. do you? if not, why not. >> i don't know if it is. i am hearing on the senate side it may not have the votes. i think there is a lot of us who support the $15 minimum wage. i think some. issues now are these small businesses who are hanging on by a thread right now. you know, now may not be the best time are what some people are saying. again, a lot of us support the $15 minimum wage and we have got to figure out how to do it, how to do it over time. how the make sure the smaller businesses can absorb it. and i think there has to be some regional accounting as well. i mean $15 in new york city

isn't nearly enough. and in some areas, you know, it could put businesses out. we have got to be thoughtful on how we do it. but i think ultimately if you work hard and play by the rules you should be able the survive in the united states and have a middle class lifestyle. >> looking at a really interesting article from the "new york times" on monday. you know where i am going with this. ohio senator rob portman announced he is retiring 2022. there is a lot of buzz. this and all that's been generated since then, buzz in the political circles about you running for this seat. picking up that seat would be huge for democrats. are you going to run for senate next year? >> we are not going to break any news right now, alec. i'm sorry to say. you know i love you -- >> but. >> i'm very, very interested in it. this is a heck of an opportunity for us as democrats to get a seat that we haven't held in decades in ohio. and so we are excited. my phone has been ringing off

the hook from labor and business and men and women and a lot of the african-american leaders in the senate. so we are giving it a really, really hard look, talking it over. it's a big decision. you know? i have a beautiful wife and three young kids. you know, it is a family affair here. we are going to talk it through. but i am excited about the opportunity that's there, and we are giving it very, very, very strong consideration. >> good. i am sure you appreciate the generous kind comments that the former ohio governor strickland said about you. folks can look all of that up. when you want to make more news, just come back here. >> you got it. you probably watched it but what about the view from parler? an immersive first person glimpse as the chaos unfolded. n. (woman) off-road trip. (man) how hot is the diablo chili? (waitress) well, you've got to sign a waiver. [loud laughter]

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we are getting a new look today at the capitol rioters from the rioters' point of view.

video is being preservedan line by propublica. it went off line when the social app parler was taken down. and the videos give us a sense of how intense the attack was on january 6th and what was being said inside. >> that's right, we did it. >> where are the [ bleep ] traitors. drag them out by their [ bleep ] hair. >> glory, glory, hallelujah. >> can i speak to employsy? yeah, we are coming for you [ bleep ]. >> woo! joining me now, a.c. thompson, staff reporter with pro publica.

his latest documentary "american insurrection" airs on pbs on april 13th. that will be something to view. when i think -- ac as i say thanks for joining me, many words come to mind, one as i look at this is illuminating. you have gone through these videos in detail. what have you learned about how this was organized on line? >> you know, i think one of the things that's most interesting about how far right has been organizing for years is there is this sort of public level and what you see through apps like parler, facebook groups, through twitter, all of these sorts of open platforms is one level of organizing that will be saying hey we are going to storm the capitol, it is an insurrection, it is time to take back our country. it is all kind of vague. what you see on another level is off line and in encrypted and private considerations much more

detailed and organized plans. >> a.c., have you found any concrete links of any kind relative to donald trump? >> you know, what the reporting is showing and a.p. reported on this and others who reported on this is that campaign staffers for the president's 2020 campaign were involved in securing permits and were involved in the process of setting up the rally. it's not clear how far their involvement goes beyond that but that is a thing that we know. we also know that campaign, sort of independent expenditure committees that were supporting the president were involved in all of these stop the steal rallies. >> hmm. i know you were one of the very first reporters to spot members of white supremacist groups in that mob. what did you think of that when you saw it? were you surprise of the at all? do you know the extent of their involvement? >> you know, from what i can tell, the militia groups, the white supremacist groups that

were a key part but not the overwhelming biggest part of the groups that were there. so we know there were white nationalists. we know there were militia groups like the oath keepers and 3%ers. we know there were a valid armed revolt groups like the boogaloo boys that were involved. i think they were key but not the overwhelming -- also, the proud boys were very much involved, the ultranaturalist street fighting gang. >> the ones who president trump called out and said stand by. how widespread is extreism in the military in your esteem? >> it is much bigger, i think, than people realize. and we now have the secretary of defense saying, hey, we need to have a standdown in the military in the next 60 days. all the branches need to explain for a day what the problems are with extremism. what extremism is, what it looks

like, and how to deal with it. i have been reporting on this for years. and i think we know that there have been prohibitions against joining anti-government extremist groups, racial extremist groups, criminal gangs, but it's also not been clear that the branchs are actually really taking action against people who are involved in these groups. >> yeah. you know what's interesting, though, a.c., is for people who are interested in going into the military, right, it is hard to fathom how they don't understand what extremism is. i mean, i wonder how effective this 60-day standdown is going to be. educating them on extremism? i mean you have gone to the military theoretically because you want to protect your country. >> right, i mean, i think the thing that's important is this is the first time we have seen anything like that happen in -- as far as i can tell ever. >> yeah, yeah. >> i think that's crucial. i think what we have seen in the last couple of years is we have seen these sort of militia

groups and anti-government groups like the boogaloo boys recruit from the ranks of military. their pitch is, hey, you joined to serve the constitution, defend the constitution, and we are just an extension of that serving. so i think there is sometimes a confusion about mission with some of these young soldiers, airmen, and marines and sailors. so i think it will be a useful thing. but i think, also, we are going to really need to see what cops out of this inspector general's investigation into extremism within the military that's going to be going on over the next year and how they have been implementing the rules over the past several years. >> okay. a.c. thompson, good chat. thank you so much. they were once an ver sears but no longer. up next, michael cohen talks about his new interview with stormy daniels. how did they patch things up in and why did she agree to speak with him in the first place?

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we have this sad news to report. former statesman george schultz has died. schultz served three american presidents. he's one of only two americans to have held four different federal cabinet posts, state, treasury, labor, and office of management and budget. under president ron reagan, schultz was a key player in using diplomacy to bring an end to the cold war n. december schultz wrote an opinion piece for the "washington post" called the tep most important things i have learned about trust over my 100 years. his biggest take away there -- trust is the coin of the realm. when trust was in the room, whatever room that was, the family room, the school room, the locker room, the office room, the government room, or the military room, good things happened. when trust was not in the room, good things did not happen. everything else is details. wise words and perspective there. george schultz dying yesterday, saturday, at his home in california, at the age of 100. in just two days, the second

senate impeachment trial of donald trump gets under way. let's go to monica alba in west palm beach with more on the unprecedented event. monica, welcome on this sunday. how do both sides plan to plead their case? >> alex, house democrats and those impeachment managers are going to make the case that donald trump is singularly responsible for the events that unfolded on january 6th when those pro-trump rioters breached the grounds of the u.s. capitol and engaged in that deadly riot. they are going to say n their words, that donald trump engaged in an act that's tantamount to betrayal of, quote, historic proportion. that's the case they are going to lay out using realtime video and images. and also lawmaker accounts of what they experienced a month and a day ago today. for the trump legal defense team part, they are going to answer that, they say, with a

three-pronged defense. they are going to argue as a private citizen you can't impeach someone who is no longer in office, since donald trump is a former president. they are also going to say that the totality of this is unconstitutional. that they believe on the merits of that law that that is not something that can happen or really should happen, since this is unprecedented, as you mentioned. thirdly, they are also going to say that this entire trial subject be happening. and they are going to point to democrats' own words about unrest that unfolded last summer. and they are going to say that when donald trump told his supporters to quote fight like held health and go to the capitol that that's something that should be protected under first amendment rights. we have heard this morning from actual senators, republicans, who are going to be weighing both sides to consider whether they should convict or acquit donald trump. and really as it stands right now it doesn't seem like there are 17 republicans who are going to join their democratic colleagues. for now, it seems the outcome is

almost predetermined if you ask these republican senators. but we got more insight from senator pat toomey, republican, of pennsylvania, who is also retiring, on his take about what is going to be happening at the end of the trial. take a listen. >> i think it is very unlikely, right? i mean, you did have you know, 40 republican senators vote to suggest that they didn't think it was appropriate to conduct a trial. so you can infer how likely it is that those folks will vote to convict. i disagreed with their assessment. i think it is constitutional. i think it is clearly constitutional to conduct the senate trial with respect to an impeachment. my job is going to be to listen to both sides of this, evaluate the arguments, and make a decision. >> senator toomey has also said that donald trump's behavior on january 6th was quote inexcusable but that doesn't necessarily equal a vote to convict him. alex. the one thing that nobody could speak to this morning on any of

the morning shows was how long this trial is going to last. it could last a week. last impeachment it was three weeks. we are not sure. but we do know that david shone and bruce castor, who are representing donald trump have requested for the trial proceedings not to occur on friday evenings or on saturday to respect the jewish sabbath. upu chuck schumer said he is happy to accommodate. if that happens, the trial may not go past friday but then would resume the following week. we are waiting on all the details and guidance on just how that's going to unfold and this question whether there will be any witnesses or anyone else called in for testimony. >> good heads up thank you. >> joining me now, trump's former personal attorney, michael cohener thou of the best seller disloyal and host of the podcast mea culpa with michael cohen. which is particularly interesting this week. michael we will get to that in just a second. let me ask you about your former

boss. why do you think he has gone mostly radio silent? i mean it is not like him to vanish from public view? do you think he'sage gating to speak out about the impending skbeechlt trial? >> well, he's very upset about the obviously impeachment trial. he doesn't believe that it is fair. he doesn't believe it's constitutional. he doesn't believe that anybody has the right to silence him. the only person so far that has silenced him so far is twitter, which is why none of us are really hearing too much from him. that was his mode of communication with the american people. that was -- that was how he created the divisive rhetoric that was going on starting at 5:00 a.m. when they would wake up until the time that he finally put that phone down. >> so how do you think he's going to get his thoughts out? i mean, does a press release -- it seems rather mundane by comparison. >> yeah, well it is mundane to him because he can't reach the same number of people that he would instantaneously reef. that includes media.

so they are going to have to do a significant amount more of work in order to get the same message out when all he had to do before is just put out a tweet and media ate it up. a lot of this is because the media was just eating up everybody that donald trump said. the more outrageous things that he said, the more people just covered it. >> let me say in defense of the media, while he was president of the united states, i think we had an obligation to do so. but any time other than that, 100% agree with you. let me get to this. trump's lawyers -- you heard monica laying it out. they plan to argue impeachment, that it is unconstitutional because trump is no longer president. also approximate president exercised his first amendment right to question the election results. they also said they are going to use video from the summer protest and his own words towards maxine waters. are these strategies going to be effective? >> i think so. not because of the strategies. not first of first amendment

rights. donald trump had no problem with bill barr violating my first amendment rights when they remanded me back to prison because i wanted to publish the book "disloyal" and he didn't want it to come out. i of course am not entitled to first amendment rights but donald trump is. he is a very unique individual as i am sure all of your view remembers attesting to. but when it comes to this entire impeachment trial this is merely them going through an exercise in futility because there are not enough gop members that have enough gumption that -- they were just going to ignore all of the things that they know that they are supposed to do to protect the constitution. instead, they are just going to play party politics and they are never going to -- they are never going to find -- you are not going to get 17 republicans that are going to impeach donald trump. it is a shame. it is a dereliction of their duty. my feeling is those people that do not uphold the constitution

and that they do not protect american democracy should never be voted back into office ever again. >> taking a look at this "washington post" headline, trump's lie that the election was stolen has cost $519 million and counting as taxpayers fund enhanced security, legal fees, property repairs, and more. what's your reaction to that, michael? what do you think it says about donald trump's respect for lack thereof, for the american taxpayer? >> he certainly doesn't care. the only thing that he wants is that the american taxpayers should continue to foot the bill for him and his family. i have never heard of such a thing, that post a loss in an election he now gave his children six months more on our dime. so, you know, secret service, protection. meanwhile, i saw in the newspaper jared kushner, as an example, made over $120 million last year. i am certain that he can afford his own security. i don't think it's right that

the american people should be paying for their security. i mean, it just -- to me, once again -- donald trump's motto, if it's free, it's for me. that's what he's doing here. he's just taking advantage of whatever it is that he can take advantage of, even after he lost the election. >> okay. let's get to the newest episode of your podcast. it is featuring your interview with stormy daniels, the william you of course paid hush money to on behalf of your former boss. you have called a truce. the podcast has all the details but please share some of the highlights. what did you take away from it. >> she's actually a very nice person. it was very easy to speak to her. it was informative, the entire episode. you are going to learn a lot of things. there is some new stuff that actually she was like oh, my god, i probably should have put that in my own book. it's not only about the

salacious relationship between her and donald. it goes further into that. it talks about about michael avenatti. it talks about how he basically stole money from her, and how he manipulated her throughout their entire relationship to do thing and to say things about many, many individuals, myself, of course, included. >> i am curious how this interview even came about, michael. i mean, how did you get this put together? and do you have a relationship with her now? is she someone you would welcome back on your podcast? will you communicate about things in the future? >> yeah. so, we actually agreed that if, in fact, i'm able to get out of this home confinement pursuant to my habeas corpus motion that i filed that she and i would go to the sentencing of michael avenatti together and sit front row. that i thought was actually fun. it was her idea. how it all happened.

i was watching american agreed on television and i saw all of the things about michael avenatti, how he had stolen money from people, mistreated people. to me, it was basically he's like a little mini donald trump, a narcissistic sociopath that wants to deflect his frailties onto somebody else, which is what he did to me. so i then reached out to audio up, who are the production company, and then live by live, which is part of podcast one. i spoke to them, and i said, you know what, i would really love the see if we can get stormy daniels onto the show. she tried for me to come onto her show when i first got out of prison the first time. my head was unfortunately not into it. otherwise i would have done it. 100% i would welcome her back again on the show. it's an extremely informative conversation. and i think it's -- i also think it is important that people understand exactly what was going on on the other side, the things that you don't know,

because avenatti wasn't out there in front talking about her. he was of course talking about himself. >> yeah. let me just say that the reason there is going to be a trial is because allegations naed to be proven in a court of law. thus far, these are allegations by stormy daniels and subsequently your opinions as well. let's make sure we don't convict michael avenatti on the show before he has a chance the stan trial on all of this. what of these headlines. headlin. what do you think about this, michael? should these probes be taken up again? >> 100% they should. when i was forced to plead guilty by the southern district of new york, their obligation, considering they actually wrote the al accusing and they were insistent that we name, you know, individual number one with

the hush money paid. so why they wouldn't now go ahead and convict him or at least indict him on it. again -- i am going to use the same word. it is a dereliction of duty. i believe they are obligated on behalf of the american people to indict not just him but otherwise. you will find don jr.'s signature on there. allen whitesellberg from the trumped aization. -- from the trump organization. why is it i went to prison for trump's dirty deeds? i was not the one who had the affair with stormy daniels. it was at the benefit of donald trump. why aren't had he pursuing this? if they don't. i suggest that the new attorney -- god willing, merrick garland gets confirmed through. when he does, i would like to see them then go ahead and investigate what's going on there at the southern district of new york.

because their failure to indict donald trump, alan whitesellberg, don jr. and all the other individuals that were responsible and participated in this hush money payment -- they need to stand before the judge the same way that i did. >> i am curious because you have trump and some of his allies who could have legal fights on the horizon. how do you think donald trump reacts from the three headlines i just read to you from yesterday. all front and center -- to our podcast putting two former we will call it associates together who swore him off and appear to be doing a lot better because of it? do you think that makes this verr interview all the sweeter for you, michael, thinking this is really going to get under his skin? >> i don't care if it gets under his skin or not. this isn't about him. donald trump has become like teflon done. he has become almost like what john gotti was. it is about time that the southern district, the attorney

general, cy vance, our district attorney, you have to start peeling that teflon off, because the ban -- look, according to the democrats -- what was their call sign? that no one is above the law. well, donald trump is showing that he is above the law. to me, i truly just don't understand why they are not peeling off the teflon from him one case at a time. if this gets under his skin, good, i'm glad. but it's not about him. this is really about a conversation between two individuals that got stuck in different places as a result of his dirty deeds. >> hmm. i always appreciate our conversations. and hope you will come back and see me again soon. thank so much, michael cohen. imgoing to be on my walk tomorrow and listening to your podcast. for all of you who want to join that as well. listen to michael's interview with stormy daniels, it will be on tuesday on his mea culpa podcast. coming up, how far

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this afternoon, join yasmine voss voss and the sister-in-law legal experts, voice vance, barbara mcquaid, and jill line banks. they will get a look at trump's second impeachment trial. that's today at 4:00 p.m. on msnbc. bloomberg calculates it is going to take seven years to reach herd immunity and end the

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histories of voter suppression. i'm joining by jane tim. jane, welcome, it is good to see you, my friend. let's get into this. because there was no evidence of voter fraud in the last election. how much of the strategy is to prevent voter turnout? >> you have to wonder when there is no voter fraud and republicans are advancing, countless bills to fight voter fraud, and often when they cite voter fraud, the bills they advance aren't things that would stop the anecdotal very rare voter fraud that happens. there is a half a dozen trump supporters who did try to vote fraudulently and were stopped by authorities and these bills wouldn't do anything to stop that because the system works. our election system is set up to work and to be as easy as possible. but when you put more barriers in the ballot box, you do make it harder for people to vote, especially voters of color. and that is something that experts are worried about. georgia, texas, arizona, fastly

diversifying communities and when you make is harder to vote, you make it harder for certain people to vote. >> and those states are now trending blue so how likely is it that you'll see a resistance to those bills in these states or do you think they're going to try to get pushed through fairly easily? >> you know, it depends. some of the republican legislatures, republicans control the majority of state legislatures around the country so some of them will be interesting in dos that. but i will say that americans are better educated about voter systems and mail voting and vote by mail and all of the earl i have voting. so i do think there is a reticent that people will give up and a lot of people voted early by mail and enjoyed it. >> so voting restrictions, we know often target black voters and i'm going to use them as an example here. because say the bills do pass. what are some of the new

requirements expected and how would this affect black voters in particular? >> yeah, so let's talk about georgia where they want to get rid of things like automatic voter registration and get rid of mail votes. so particularly people, black people are distrustful of mail voting and there was an effort to over come that distrust. if you put your envelope in the mail, it will be cast and your ballot will be counted and if you take that away it is one more step harder to vote. only limiting -- in georgia they want to limit mail votes to people who are very old or disabled or out of the precinct. it doesn't mean that it is easy for to you vote. if you have a job that keeps you at work until 8:00 at night, it is hard to go and vote after that. especially when the lines are as long as they are often in georgia. >> yeah, i want to -- >> it makes it harder. >> i want to look at flip side of this. there are 400 bills across 35

states pushing to make voting easier. what do you think the federal government, their approach is on that end and what do they need to do to take on voting accessibility? >> yeah, so you see democrats championing hr-1 and getting the vote rights act reinstated, gutted by the supreme court, and those make it harder for straights to disenfranchise because they have to prove the laws aren't discriminatory. and the numbers are early. so while there is say huge energy to restrict the vote as well as to expand the vote, we'll see this getting more laws, more bills coming out. so keep your eyes peeled. 400 hills and 100 restrictive bills are early numbers. it will get more intense. >> it means you have your work cut out for you. thank you for staying on top of all of that that. super bowl superspreader. and tampa has safeguards in

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good day, from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome to weekends with alex witt. here is what is happening as we approach 2:00 p.m. eastern and 11:00 a.m. pacific time. there are more than 27 million

confirms cased in this country after adding 112,000 and more than 446,000 have passed away. 30 million people have gotten at least one dose of the vac while 8 million have gotten both doses. dr. fauci said they are working to make the vaccine available to anyone struggling to access it. >> we now have an equity task force that is looking specifically at what i think you're referring to. namely, people who, because of a variety of reasons, economic status, where they live and who they are, which have difficulty getting accessibility to vaccines and we're aware of that and that is why the reason why the task force is working hard to eliminate that inequity. >> and daily numbers declining by several thousand last month. according to the covid tracking project, the daily average on january 18th was 2.1 million tests aday.

on thursday that number was down to