it's not just about the individuals, it is about the camp community and how we make it safe for everyone. thank you for getting up way too early with us on this monday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. folks, we're unique in all of history. we really are. with those names that's on hat wall and every other wall and tombstone in america of veterans is the reason we're able to stand here. we can't kid ourselves about that. and so i hope, i hope that the nation comes together. we're not democrats or republicans today. we're americans. we're americans who have given their lives -- [ applause ] and it's time to remind everybody who we are. we have been tested and we still

will be surely tested further. but i know that we as a people are up to the task. each generation of americans receives a precious gift of liberty. and we work to share it with more people, to make our country more open, more free, more fair. >> it's a great message. we are one country. you know, coming out of memorial day weekend, i know a lot of people will try to take what one politician says and make something big out of it or take what somebody on the other side says and attack them for that. >> and that happened over the weekend. >> or claim that one party has exclusive rights to patriotism or the other is the only protector of the constitution. you know, it's just -- the thing is, we live in very divided times. we live in very political times. you watch this show, you know that. but it's good to see president biden on memorial day talking about those who sacrifice, but

also about what this country has been through. the difficult times this country has been through. and the fact that we are one nation. and if you really -- really, if you don't live inside of the political bubble, day in and day out, you actually do see that when you go out there. men and women actually, boys and girls, you know, actually getting along day in and day out, in their lives. working together as a country. and, yes, it's very charged around politics right now. it has been for 20, 25 years. but we are one country. and, you know, you look at the men and women that have given their all for this country, to give us the freedom, the right to be able to say what we want to say, whether it's on this show or around your home or in your offices, if you're working today, i mean, my gosh.

that's what this country is all about and that's what their sacrifice is all about. and we, as one people, we honor them and we thank them. >> and i think his message was wise in many ways, because he also very gently said, it's going to take a while to kind of restabilize and really get back to who we are, because it's time to remember who we are as a country. and he did that. with us on this -- >> can i just say, we are, as a country, you look at so many -- well, just look at the way that we really have approached the development of this vaccine. republicans and democrats, scientists of neither party, all parties worked together. the united states is doing better right now as far as getting the vaccine out and opening this country up. and then most of our allies are the people that we looked out a year ago saying, why are they doing so much better than us. we've really seen a lot of

american exceptionalism this year. again, it's outside the realm of politics, where you see that. and we just, right now, it's a washington problem and let's hope that our leaders can figure out how to move forward and catch up with the rest of the country. >> also working on memorial day, we have white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire. professor at princeton university, eddie glaude jr. and u.s. national editor at the "financial times," ed luce is with us this morning. and this memorial day weekend looked a lot more like how things were pre-pandemic. remember that? saturday marked the end of the covid-19 restrictions in massachusetts. and despite the rain, fans filled fenway park to watch the red sox beat the marlins. i mean, there were some empty seats, but it was pretty full. in indiana, 135,000 fans -- >> this was amazing, wasn't it? >> 130,000 at the indy 500.

>> -- came out for the indy 500 at the highest attendance sporting event since the beginning of the pandemic with vaccinations offered on-site. getting really smart with these vaccines, offering money, making it really easy to get the vax. at the movies, the sequel thriller "a quiet place 2" is set to grows $58.5 million by the end of the holiday weekend. and a pandemic best for the film industry, by the way. >> i missed the first "quiet place." >> yeah. i missed all the movies. >> was it good? >> um -- >> yeah. alex, you went this weekend, right? you went to the movies this weekend? >> i did, i went to "cruella." give us your view of "cruella." >> it was dark, it was a cross between "the devil wears prada" and "the joker." >> i'm sure your little kids

loved that. >> two and a half hours, perfect for -- >> but it was good. emma stone and emma thompson were remarkable. i'm not sure for kids, but it was good. >> emma stone, emma thompson in about any movie is very good. incredible sound track, very dark, very long. sounds great for your 5 or 6-year-old kids. >> that's like me bringing my girls to "the book of mormon." >> when they were 7. >> nearly 2 million travelers heading into the long weekend. the highest number of passengers screened during the pandemic. a lot of people on the move. >> ed luce, it looks like things are starting to open back up. looks -- this memorial day weekend really, it was that opening that we were hearing about last easter and then last memorial day and then last fourth of july and then last thanksgiving -- it's finally upon pus.

>> it is. we should never forget the speed with which this vaccine rollout has happened. you mentioned the speed with which the vaccines were developed. but the second most important thing is how quickly you get them into people's arms and we have. i don't think there's been anything like this on this scalen american public health history. we're now beginning to see the fruits of that. it's a very different memorial day to the one we had last year, where if you were, trump was saying, everything should open up again and all kinds of what can whacko theories. this is for real this time and for the right reasons. >> new numbers show president biden's approval rating sits at 62%. that is the highest mark for his administration so far. his disapproval rating also reached a new low of 38%. the same poll also shows 47% of

americans believe the country is on the right track. back in january, just 27% said the country was headed in the right direction. so joe biden banking some good numbers here in his presidency. >> there's just such dissidence here. we sit here and maybe -- >> you look what's going on in texas overnight. >> maybe we're majoring on the minor here or maybe that that -- are these polls wrong? but jonathan lemire, the national polls weren't like 20 points off. if you look at it, the national polls weren't that far off. it's usually state polls that are outliers. and i'm just looking at 62-38. we have seen quite a few up in the 60s, quite a few in the 50s. there's some varying degree. but every one of them is over

50% and this right track, wrong track number has jumped nearly 20 points. i'm a skeptic. i beat the crowd early and tweeted, probably back in early october of last year, i don't believe any polls and i didn't believe any of those polls that were saying biden was so far ahead. but in this case -- but, yeah, so in this case, so something is happening that seems to be quite different than what the house gop caucus is thinking or doing. >> certainly, you and i have had our share of poll skepticism. and i think you're right to focus on the right track/wrong track numbers. these are big picture things. we haven't seen the nation feel this good about itself in a long time. and that also reflects in very good numbers for president biden. in a range somewhere between the

low 50s and this one, 62, which is a pretty remarkable number. and all of these much higher than his predecessor ever obtained in any poll during his time. and i think the big picture stuff as we know, there's a sense of optimism. the vaccine rollout has been so successful. and, you know, we have seen americans now more than 50% of adult americans have been fully vaccinated. and the white house is on track to reach its goal of 70% of adult americans of having at least one shot by our next patriotic holiday, july 4th. the economy is showing signs of reopening. it's in fits and starts and there's still questions as to what further federal intervention the economy needs, to be sure. but those are the big things. a sense of normalcy. a sense that the country is starting to look like it was again pre-pandemic. and not just in terms of the virus, but also, of course, in terms of some of the leadership from the white house. that's something the west wing leaders have been zeroed in on. the white house was tired at the

end of the trump administration. it was looking to think less about the president. to have more of a sense of regular order, if you will, cull from the white house. and an event like yesterday underscores that. i've been on pool duty for the president. i was there yesterday for his memorial day remarks. and to hear him speak so movingly about the sacrifices of american service men and their families, to stand there in the rain for more than an hour, listening to other tributes. to make it so deeply personal as he reflects on the loss of his son, beau biden, who was a veteran who died six years ago yesterday. it was a tough anniversary for their family and he connected it to the larger sacrifices of the american service member, and that they reflect the best of a nation that's on its way back. and to hear that message from the white house is also one that's resonating with americans and we're seeing it in those polls. >> and joe, just to frame something jonathan lemire said, getting americans to think less

about the presidency. the fire hose of news coming towards americans during the trump presidency was just tons of gripping negativity and fighting and sort of a very different attitude coming from the white house. maybe americans get a break. they think less about the presidency, not a bad thing. but when they do tune in and see what he's doing, he's doing something like this, which is a big difference for everybody in america. >> and you know what people can do when they tune in and they see a president doing what a president is supposed to be doing. >> honoring people. >> honoring people, not talking about himself, not making controversial statements. you know what they can do? they can sit there, they can look at it and smile, and then they can turn over to the ball game. it's the return to normalcy. >> he's doing his job. >> again, we just don't know how much to trust these polls.

but i remember talking to so people who were supporting donald and saying, he just exhausts me. every day, i don't want to talk about it at dinner, i don't want to talk about it at breakfast, i don't want to talk about it when i'm golfing the whole 18 rounds. i don't want to talk about it when i'm fishing, i don't want to talk about it when i'm hunting. i don't want to talk about it -- okay, i don't want to talk about it all the time, right?! and i was hearing that from people that voted for donald trump twice. well, what in the world has happened since the election? the madness has gotten even more intense and in certain circles, people are talking about it more. and there is just a sheer exhaustion. you know, i'm the wrong person to deliver this message since we're hosts of a three-hour show, mika and i, about

politics. but it's not good for this country to be talking about politics. people obsessing about politics. people looking at msnbc or fox 24 hours a day or cnn 24 hours a day. i feel like, you know, then to ferris bueller, what are you still doing here? go out. like, do something! you know, get out! and donald trump had people talking about donald trump, including us, 24 hours a day. i think this return to normalcy cannot be overstated. and you look at these high numbers and the right track, i wonder if that's one of the things that's pushing these numbers up. >> joe, i think you're right in this sense, right? we cannot underestimate the importance of competence and in some ways, the displacement of spectacle. under the trump administration, every single day, as you rightly describe, we were dealing with the circus and pt barnum. and our politics felt that way,

right? and there's this sense in which the scenes of the country were coming undone. and there was this intensity. and then you combine that with the reality of covid-19, its deaf station. and of course, incompetence was on display every single day. so we cannot downplay the comfort that some of us feel in the country, that government is actually working, or at least trying to work. competence is actually at the helm. but at the same time, i want us to be mindful, even as we kind of make this shift, that memorial day is a day in which we acknowledge those who sacrificed their lives. we're acknowledging our dead. those who have made this moment of comfort possible. and that this memorial day is also part of a kind of broader recognition that millions of americans are dealing with anniversaries of their dead, people who have lost their lives because of covid. and then you combine that with the statistic, joe, i think a recent poll said that 56% of

republicans believe that the election was rigged and 53% believe that donald trump is still president or something like that. we know that there are deep divisions. we have to assert unity. but we also need to to understand that the country stands in some ways on a knife's edge and this particular feeling, we need to kind of figure out how to sustain it over time in light of the contradictions that define our current day. >> yeah. and i will say, when that 53% becomes 47%, 46%, and it's moving in that direction, i think we can breathe a little bit easier. it is important to remember if it's 53% of republicans who believe that, that's 25, 30% of the overall population, and so not saying that's great. just saying we may be moving in a good direction. mika, just look at what we talk about. look at what washington is in a

heated debate about right now. and instead of of having a president calling for the arrest, imminent arrest of his political opponent two weeks before the election and pressuring his attorney general to put him into jail or to call a news host of a tv show a murderer 12 times and to try to get him sent to jail or to be saying that, you know, you trust vladimir putin more than you trust your own intel community, the heads of which you -- instead of that, we're talking about right now about -- we're complaining about deficits, about debt, people are coming on, talking about inflationary pressures that are being -- from big spending that we may like have inflation coming up, even more. you know, we're talking about those sort of things and again, there is that return to

normalcy. there still are republicans that are trying to talk about, as eddie said, how the seams of this republic are being ripped apart. most americans just aren't buying that. and right now, at least, they're in a bubble talking to themselves. >> no, i appreciate what you're trying to sort of figure out what this moment feels like and this relief, almost, from the tension of the past four years, and to eddie's point, i think people are taking comfort in what appears to be a normally functioning administration, even if they didn't vote for joe biden. and i think he is achieving his goal to try and be a president to all people. even those who didn't vote for him. there are over 600,000 people who died of covid. s there ptsd from the past year. and a lot of issues gripping this nation. but those numbers show that people are feeling like someone

at least or something better is in control of the situation. >> and there are republicans who oppose almost all of his policies, a great majority of his policies. and we recognize that. you can turn -- if you want to hear that the sky is falling and the world is coming to an end, there are a lot of cable channels you can turn to that weren't saying that a few months ago and a lot of podcasts you can listen to, a lot of websites you can go to that will reconfirm those pre-existing biases. they are out there. of course, facebook pages that are out there, just saying overall, generally, the guy is sitting somewhere between low 60s and mid-50s. that message is not penetrating the vast majority of american people right now. it's just sort of over in a bubble. >> today, president biden will partake in the annual memorial

day wreath-laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery. and that's where we find military correspondent, courtney kube. courtney, what can we expect today? >> reporter: so we will hear from president joe biden. this is more than 150 years, the tradition of having this ceremony at arlington national cemetery. in addition to president joe biden, we'll also hear today from the chairman of the joint chiefs, general mark millie, and secretary of defense lloyd austin. they'll both make very brief remarks and we'll see the wreath laying at the tomb of unknown soldiers and hear "taps" play. this is a ceremony that goes back to just after the civil war, more than 150 years ago, when the united states began recognizing this day. a lot of people don't realize, but back then, it was actually called decoration day. the idea was that people, men and women would go to the graves of the men who had been killed in the civil war and decorate their graves. over the years, though, decades

and decades passed, and the u.s. was involved in more and more conflicts, more and more men and then eventually men and women began to be killed in those conflicts, and in the late 1960s, the u.s. renamed it memorial day and made it the last monday in may. so we will see that ceremony today. it will have a very different feel than the ceremony just last year. we stood in this exact same location, actually, last year on memorial day, when then president trump spoke at the ceremony. but this year for the first time in more than a year, arlington cemetery is now open to the public. men and women can come and pay honor to the men and women who have been been killed, more than the 4,000 men and women who have been laid to rest here. and we will hear from president joe biden in every year what is a very solemn and somber ceremony. >> nbc's courtney kube, thank you very much for that report. and still ahead on "morning

joe," in the absence of new clues about the origins of coronavirus, a lab leak theory is getting more and more interest. we'll have the very latest from beijing. plus, in texas, a controversial voting bill gets blocked after democratic lawmakers stage a walkout. former texas congressman beto o'rourke will be our guest to weigh in on that. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. i'm dad's greatest sandcastle - and greatest memory! but even i'm not as memorable as eating turkey hill chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream with real cocoa. well, that's the way the sandcastle crumbles. you can't beat turkey hill memories.

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it might take more than 90 days, but if this thing came out of a lab, there are people in china who probably know that. even the wuhan institute of virology said her first thought was, was this a leak from my lab? those people have been systemically silenced by their government. now that the world knows how important this is to the united states, the united states, when we lead, the world follows, that

might also provide moral courage to many of these ethical scientists in china, for whom i think this is weighing on their consciences. i think we'll see more information come out result of this inquiry. >> that was former deputy national security adviser to donald trump, matthew pottinger, on the investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. >> and we can't underline it enough, because, of course, we have all the documentation of trump officials, administration officials that came up short, that failed, that were asleep at the switch when all of this was going on. that didn't -- matthew pottinger, not one of those. he called it right time and again. he warned everybody inside the administration early on about what was coming. that guy, if you haven't read up on him, you need to read up on him. that's how a government official

is supposed to respond in a time of crisis. like, this guy should have a movie written about him, running around, begging people to pay attention. not just to what was coming to america, but what was happening in china at the time. so when he says that, he's standing on very, very firm ground. >> so former fda commissioner scott gottlieb says the theory it leaked from a lab, the virus, is growing more likely. joining us from beijing, nbc news foreign correspondent, janis mackey frayer. janice, is there any indication that china will cooperate with all of this, the latest investigation? >> reporter: well, there isn't any indication and there probably isn't any hope of that happening, either. from china's perspective, they did their part with the w.h.o joint study that released that report, suggesting that the lab leak was extremely unlikely.

because from china's view, not only did the virus not originate in a lab in wuhan, they don't believe that it started in china at all. and so, if there is going to be mounting pressure on china to have investigators on the ground, u.s. scientists come to look at any audits, we expect there should be a discussion around reciprocation. at the same time the lab leak theory has been refloated, china has been fighting back with what is -- could be called the ft. detrick theory. this belief that the world health organization needs to start looking elsewhere at other labs in other facilities in other countries, in particular in the u.s. so the thing is that nothing has really changed in that position, from china's perspective, except that now this lab leak theory

has what we can call a mainstream variant, with the u.s. intelligence community now having 90 days to try to come up with something. but that, too, will be a challenge. the intelligence gathering capabilities on the ground here in china are not what they used to be. and so president biden is likely going to be relying on international partners to try to come up with something that might help steer things in a better direction. >> and janis, do you have any reporting on this new variant that we're hearing about in vietnam? >> it's a troubling new variant. i mean, they all are, but this one, health officials are saying is very dangerous, because they believe that it spreads very quickly by air. there have been no cases reported yet in the u.s. however, vietnam, which is a country that until this point had avoided large outbreaks, is now in lockdown. people are being told to stay

inside. that this is highly transmittable, and they see it as almost a hybrid between the india variant and the uk variant. and so they're sending out an alert. they're saying that they'll have the coding sequence up and available sometime soon. but again, it adds to the urgency, as we see these new variants driving a surge in infections, in particular across asia with this urgency, there again is more fuel in this debate about what has caused covid-19 to begin with. it all goes back to the origins of the coronavirus. and ultimately, that will come back here. but again, it's unlikely to be a very receptive or productive discussion with chinese officials. >> all right. thank you so much, janis. that's nbc's janis mackey frayer in beijing.

we thank you so much. jonathan lemire, how important is it right now to the biden administration to get to the bottom of this? how much pressure are they going to be putting on our own intel community and also on china to get some access and figure out what exactly happened here? >> it's becoming far more of a priority, joe. this was on the back burner for a while, as the administration is more focused on managing the pandemic here. but as the white house put out last week, they feel like it's important to know how this pandemic started, so they can be better prepared to prepare for the next one, wherever that might be. and let's hope it's not anytime soon. the biden administration, the president has ordered the intelligence agency 90 days to do this review. there have been some reports of some new intelligence, some new information that has come to light to u.s. officials, that spurred this review. it's not quite clear what that is. that has not been publicly disclosed. we pressed jen psaki, the white

house secretary at the end of air force one at the end of last week and she was not able to answer that question. but i think it is also, in addition to the short-term, in addition to this moment where they're going to push china, it's going to be the most complicated relationship of the biden administration, in terms of an overseas partner or adversary at times. and that's china. this is the most important relationship that this president is going to face. rightly, a lot of attention on the putin summit coming up in a few weeks. this is a white house that's still putting together its strategy on china, trying to figure out what to do on tariffs. how much international pressure they want to place. what should the president's message be on human rights in places like hong iconic and taiwan and so on. and we hear from him knowing this is going to be the economic rivalry of this next century and his message is that we have to take care of matters at home to compete abroad. but this is the backdrop to -- this is the first step in this relationship that is going to be at times very tense. and this administration will be putting a lot of energy into managing. >> all right. jonathan lemire, we know you

have to go. thanks so much for being with us. go, sox. >> oh, boy. >> a good weekend. we won't get into why. just a good weekend. thank you so much for being with us. >> okay, to the -- >> i want to ask ed really quickly before we go to the next story. ed, you know, there was -- during the first six months of this pandemic, obviously, it started in china, but there seemed to be a spin from china. hey, we're getting -- you know, we're getting help out there. we're going to help other countries. the united states is mired down in its own internal disputes. and i actually started seeing articles in "the new york times" and other publications saying that this was actually going to be a huge public relations win for china. and that really -- that was -- i don't know if the chinese were getting that out. i don't know. but they were trying to spin this as a victory for china that they were able to manage it much better, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. so there was always going to be this propaganda battle about

what happened. i, of course, gasp -- i almost passed out when i read that, how could this be a win for china. but that's what the spin was six months in. talk about how important it is for the chinese to obfuscate the facts here, to stop people from finding out that this escaped from a lab, if, in fact, it did escape from a lab. >> it's a really good question, because if china changed it feathers and just announced, look, okay, we've not been transparent, we're all unclear as to the origins of this virus. let's open up wuhan again, the virology lab, the wet market, the doctors and lab technician who is didn't get properly questioned by the w.h.o. let's really try to get to the bottom of this. that would actually be a major public relations win for china. but i think there's pretty much zero chance.

hell will freeze over before china agrees to do that. in this case, we're going to get, as matt pottinger just talking about on that show, i mean, matt pottinger, as you rightly emphasize, reported on earlier sars outbreaks in china and east asia. he's got some form on this issue. he's got some history. and knows the details of how china covered up previous sars origins, which they did. that if china doesn't cooperate with the w.h.o, this is going to increasingly look like china's chernobyl, which was a disastrous public relations blow for them. so i think it's very hard to extract any geopolitical victories from 2020. the change of administration in america certainly helped america's reputation, as does

the vaccine rollout and development. but you can see a major geopolitical blow coming out of 2020. and that would be china. the word "chernobyl is, of course, associated with the beginning of the end of the soviet union. it was a devastating blow in the eyes of the soviet people. i don't think the chinese people will be trusting what the government says about this. >> let me ask you this, ed. it's been fascinating to see what's happening in china over the past few years. president xi has been consolidating power. many say that he's consolidated power there more than anybody else since chairman mao. donald trump, of course, congratulated him on that for some reason. but we -- i think sometimes, we don't understand that china's

government isn't a dictatorship. there are so many complicated cross-currents going back and forth. and there has been a rising concern about president xi's actions over the past year or so. among many quarters in and out of the government, inside the party. i'm curious, what's at stake for him inside the communist party, as this, as this possible scandal unfurls. and could this be a real challenge to his leadership, if this keeps developing into, as you say, a chinese chernobyl? >> well, as you rightly say, he's evaluated himself up there with chairman mao and with deng jaoping. of course, he wasn't around when the chinese revolution happened. he's immortalized his thoughts

in the xi jinping chinese party constitution. he's also given himself pretty much every title and earned the head of every military commission going. he's got more titles than any other chinese leader. deng jaoping was vice chairman of the chinese bridge playing association in the last few years of his life. he didn't have to display his power, because he had it. so xi jinping is showing some fragility here by putting every medal he can find on his chest. and he's clearly made a lot of enemies within the chinese system. corruption investigations are never quite what they seem. there are usually ways of getting rid of rivals rather than corruption. and he's been conducting a lot of those. so i think what we see here is a much more brittle chinese leader than might at first seem to be

the case. so chinese politics will be very interesting going forward. we should be watching it closely. >> so we'll move now to the middle east. another story we're watching closely, where israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu could be replaced after leading the country for 12 years. leader of the yamina party, former aid to prime minister nefally bennett announced he would work with opposition leaders to force netanyahu to leave office. for more on this, let's bring in nbc news foreign correspondent, matt bradley. matt, what is the latest? >> well, mika, i mean, the big headline here is that after four elections in two years, the vaul option to benjamin netanyahu has finally, apparently, gotten their act together and they're posing a very real challenge to benjamin netanyahu, israel's

longest-serving prime minister. he's been in office for the past 12 years. and so that's why we heard from benjamin netanyahu last night, as this plan was coming together, and guys, the negotiations for this new coalition, they're going furiously. right now, they ran into the early hours of the morning. they're still going on today. they have until wednesday to form this coalition government. and so benjamin netanyahu, big friend of president trump. he had a television news conference, kind of like a news conference, kind of like a temper tantrum last night. he called this new coalition plan an opportunistic government, a government of capitulation. a government of fraud, a government of inertia, and he even compared the new coalition to bashar al asad's regime in syria, and the mullahs who run iran. so why is it that benjamin netanyahu is so sensitive about this? of course, it's not just that he doesn't want to leave power, after all of these years, as the

prime minister. it's also because he's really quite literally fighting for his political life, or rather, his political freedom. he faces three charges of corruption and three separate cases, bribery, breach of trust, and fraud. if he is removed from the premiership, and he was indicted on these last year, he could open himself up to quite a lot of legal jeopardy. he could, as israel's longest-serving prime minister, also go to jail, which would be rather shocking. now, all of this is going on amidst, of course, the conflict in gaza. that 11-day conflict that just wrapped up. now, negotiations for a more permanent cease-fire are ongoing right now. egypt is leading that. and that is running in the background alongside the rise of joe biden in the united states. and i mentioned before, benjamin netanyahu is a close friend of president trump and joe biden, you know, he showed that the united states isn't necessarily going to be sticking in israel's

camp. there was some small but very perceptible shifts towards the left from the biden administration, especially compared to other previous u.s. presidents. so, when you look at the situation in israel, it looks almost, if you squint, as though there's going to be a real changing of the guard on the israeli/palestinian conflict. if the u.s. changes and the israeli government changes. but if this is the beginning of the end for israeli netanyahu, this is certainly not the beginning of the end for new west wing. this is a new coalition government that will be cobbled together. it will be a very flimsy, a very fragile thing, and it could easily break up at any time. guys? >> all right. nbc's matt bradley, thank you so much. we appreciate it. ed luce, i have been to this show before, several times, and at the end, the political houdini somehow always slips the chains and swims up to the surface and lives to perform at

another show. >> he does. i mean, he's not just -- netanyahu is not just the houdini of israel, he's really the houdini of the western democratic world. there's no one who really begins to compare. even italy's berlusconi wouldn't match bibi netanyahu's ability to wriggle out of trouble spots. he is, i think, the pioneer of western populist -- the successful western populist electoral models. parties all over the west have gone to netanyahu and maepd alliances with him, learned lessons from him and forged pacts with him. parties that were anti-semitic like marine la penn's party in france, like victor or bann in hungary, they learned from netanyahu how to demonize george

soros, a very anti-semitic trope that netanyahu himself used about do-gooding, interfering, globalists. so he's without any real inner moral limit as to what he's prepared to do to keep power. and this latest crisis with the gaza strip was part of that. it led initially to the collapse of coalition talks to form a government without him. which of course would then lead to his prosecution since he's no longer prime minister for the various crimes of fraud and corruption he's been indicted with and it looks like even maybe now that has failed, that finally we'll get a reckoning from netanyahu. but i would never count him out. he is not just highly skilled, but he's without moral limit. >> ed luce, thank you very much. we'll be following this. and coming up, tulsa, oklahoma,

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i don't choose to be uncomfortable. reality has made me uncomfortable. >> houses destroyed, businesses destroyed. yeah, you know, we resilient, we rebuild. it makes it seem easy that it was easy to move my business within a month, but i feel like i was destroyed. so i can just imagine how they felt. >> our country may forget this history, but i cannot. i am 107 years old and have never seen justice. i pray that one day i will. >> we aren't just black and

white pictures on a screen. i was there when it happened. i'm still here. >> i am asking you today to give us some peace. please give me, my family, and my community some justice. >> that was a clip from the new documentary, "blood on black wall street: the legacy of the tulsa race massacre," examining the traumatic impact of the 1921 tragedy. today marks 100 years since white mobs terrorized the predominantly blacktown of greenwood, killing an estimated 300 people and burning down the thriving business community known as the black wall street. the riot began after armed members of the black community attempted to prevent the lynching of a young man accused of assaulting a white woman.

president biden is expected to visit the city tomorrow. we're going to get to trymaine lee live in tulsa in just a moment. but first, eddie glaude, why is it important to remember this today and also to put it into context, as we address the struggles today? >> well, mika, i think it's important, because we're trying to imagine who we are, who we aspire to be. it seems to me to connect with how joe opened the show. if we're going to assert that americans are one, we're one nation, we're going to have to confront this ugliness. we're going to have to confront the incompleteness, the injustice of our failure to respond to it. 107-year-old woman has never received justice. the wiped out generations of wealth in two -- 48 hours. it so seems to me, this is not a matter of wallowing in guilt, it's not a matter of self-flagellation, it's a matter of confronting the truth so we might release ourselves as a country of a new way to being

together. to go back to what joe said at the beginning of the show, if we are one america, we have to tell the truth about what we've done in order to release ourselves into the future, of actually being a unified country. >> let's go to trymaine lee, live in tulsa right now. his documentary aired on msnbc last night. tremaine, how will the city be remembering this today? >> good morning, mika. for the last few days, this community has been coming together in fellowship because of the ache of what happened a hundred years ago, which began a hundred years ago today is still being felt in the heart of those in this community. they dealt with the violence of that day, but the violence of the economic disposition that followed. the violence of urban renewal. and the violence of gentrification. so a hundred years later, this community is most desperately looking to be made whole. not just for the financial aspect, but also, there's a sense of trauma that has been inherited where wealth was denied. this community has come together on this commemoration to

remember what happened, but also try to center their narrative and make sure they're pushing the ball forward and hopefully, finally, that they may be made whole. there are people in this community who are calling for reparations and those calls are most certainly getting louder, even though it's certainly politically divisive in this community, for sure, but this community is coming together to remember what happened. >> eddie glaude, jump in. >> trymaine, it's great to see you this morning. no one was really held to account for over 300 dead, 10,000 people displaced, homeless. what do you make of the relationship between not holding white rage accountable a hundred years ago and not holding white rage accountable on january 6th. kind of connect these two moments. this anniversary and the current political reality. >> reporter: well, certainly the

psychic pangs of that kind of dynamic of what you're talking about is still being felt, where people had to live in proximity to those who tried to murder them and steal their wealth. and you think about what happened on june 1st of 1921, the white community was deputized by law enforcement. they literally dropped bombs from the sky. and again, no one being held to account. that sent a loud and clear message that the state was not only not there to protect black bodies, but there to weaponize whiteness and weaponize the racism. so when you think about the violence of january 6th and how that mob was allowed to push its way into the citadel of democracy. and think about the way the mobs here pushed into the black community, the citadel of block prosperity, 35 blocks, 12 miles of greenwood avenue with hundreds of black-owned businesses, theaters and beauty salons and barbershops, all up in flames in an instant. i think there's a clear connect and i don't think that's lost on any of the folks in this

community, ed. >> trymaine lee, thank you very, very much for being on this morning. still ahead, former texas congressman beto o'rourke joins us. he will be talking about democrats in his home state staging a walkout to put a stop to a new voting bill. we'll be right back. to a new voting bill we'll be right back.

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welcome back to "morning joe." it is the top of the hour. it is monday, may 31st, memorial day. princeton's eddie glaude jr. is still with us and joining the conversation, we have editor at large for the nonprofit newsroom, the 19th, erin haynes. she is an msnbc contributor. good to have you with us. let's get right to the news. president biden drew on his own experience to comfort those in grief while honoring america's war dead at a ceremony in his

home state of delaware yesterday, which was six years to the day that he lost his son, bo, an iraq war veteran, to brain cancer. >> beau didn't die in the line of duty, but he did serve in the delaware national guard for a year, that was one of the proudest things he did in his life. thank you for allowing to us grieve together today. i know how much the loss hurts. i know the black hole that it leaves in the middle of your chest that feels like you may get sucked into it and won't come out. greetings like this and gatherings help. and while i know nothing, i can say to ease the pain, i know each year it gets a little bit better. i promise the day will come when the mention of the name of your son or daughter or husband or wife, it will in fact bring not a tear to your eye, but a smile

to your lips. folks, i hope that day comes sooner than later. >> today, prime minister will mar take in the annual wreath-laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery. >> a search is underway this morning for three gunman who opened fire outside a concert in miami early yesterday morning. two people were killed and more than 20 others were injured in the mass shooting. sam brock has the latest. >> a miami crime scene canvassed by investigators as parents forced to face the horror once again of their children reeling from gunshot wounds. >> he called us frantic, telling us that he had been shot, that it hurts, it hurts, and he loves us. >> i don't even know. words can't explain how i feel right now. >> reporter: at a shopping center in northwest miami-dade, police say an suv waited in a parking lot for at least 30

minutes around midnight with three men leaving the vehicle and then raining gunfire on those outside a banquet hall, injuring 20 and killing two. >> i think that it was probably targeted on a specific person at that event. and they really didn't care about who was standing around. and as a result, innocent people were shot and lost their lives. >> reporter: miami-dade's police director said it's possible a hundred rounds were fired, as the assailants carried assault-style weapons. the rise in gun violence putting cities on edge across the country, as covid-19 restrictions continue to lift. in fact, 57 of the biggest cities saw a 36% increase in gun homicides between 2019 and 2020, the biggest jump on record. gun violence often worse in the summer. >> we are at place that the frequency of these shootings, the duration of how long they're lasting in these events, it should be concerning to all of us as americans now. >> reporter: chicago's police superintendent saying the city

will commit more resources to combatting shootings as summer approaches, shifting police officers' work hours and canceling their vacation days. and in new york, more units will be placed in high-crime areas. the fallout from this vicious wave of violence, more families seeing their sense of safety shattered. >> my son, my only son, he's my only child. he's not a statistic. he's a graduate. >> our thanks to sam brock for that report. mika, this is something that we've been seeing especially since the pandemic has lifted, just one mass shooting after another mass shooting. but that actually comes on the heels of one of the most violent crime-ridden years that this country has seen in decades. a lot of gun violence, especially in cities. numbers have skyrocketed around the country over the past year of gun violence. and a lot of gains that have

been made over the past years have been wiped out in 2020. >> and it's gotten to the point where even last friday, california's governor was like, here i am again. and what is wrong with us? what is wrong with us that this happens every day. there's no country in the world that's dealing with a problem like this, to this extent, and the -- you know, facets of it are very obvious, and yet nothing happens. opinion columnist maureen dowd sat down with former nypd commissioner bill bratton and recounts the conversation in her latest piece. some of it is here. sitting in a manhattan hotel room wearing a crisp white shirt, khakis, the rolex his wife gave him that's a ring of his nypd commissioner's badge, bratton, 73, remembers when gotham was considered beyond saving. now with murder rates up by double digits in my cities, he

warns, be careful what you wish for, because sometimes it's going to come back and bite you in the ass. that's effectively the defund the police movement. they got what they wanted. they defunded the police. what do they get? rising crime. cops leaving in droves, difficulty recruiting. now they're waking up to the fact that our cities are unsafe. and that's the tension, joe, that we're dealing with in terms of our cops, who have been through a lot of scrutiny and rightfully so, in the year that was the derek chauvin conviction and the murder, which bratton calls it now, now murder of george floyd, but within the middle of all of that, there are policing issues that could be addressed, but it needs the funding and cops need the respect that they deserve when they are walking the streets. it's a fine balance.

a very fine balance. and bill bratton tries to address that. >> it certainly is. we've been talking about it for years now. you went through body cam, through -- whatever it's through, bad cops have to be called out, have to be taken off the force, if they commit crimes, they have to be arrested and they need to go to jail and good cops need to be respected and evaluated. right now, what we've seen over the past year, eddie glaude is, we've seen skyrocketing crime and unfortunately, and you can see it in new york city, there are some representatives from, let's say, some of the more -- well, some of the cleaner -- what would you call it? more pristine parts of the city, the wealthier parts of the city, that may chant defund the police, and then you've got parents, family members, loved ones who send their kids off to school in some of the more

dangerous parts of new york city, saying, no, no, we don't want less cops, we need more cops where our children go to school. we need more cops on the streets where our children are walking to school. so this isn't some clear left/right, black/white issue. this is a very complicated issue, and unfortunately, it seems that it's truly disadvantaged, who more often than not, are the ones that get the disproportionate share of these crime waves. >> well, it seems to me very clear, joe, that our communities, those particular communities, those underresourced communities are often overpoliced, undersurveilled, and under protected. even when we're not in the context of defund the police in some way, that rhetoric of defund the police, there is that reality that you've just described, that defines, in many ways poor, black, brown, and poor white communities around the country.

i think it's really important -- i understand that we have to keep track of this uptick in gun violence, but we also have to be careful in how we account for its cause. it seems to me that there's simply no data, joe. and i know we might disagree on this. there's just no data that there's a relationship between calls for defund the police and an uptick in gun violence. why are we attributing the uptick to that phrase? you can help me -- i just don't understand why we're doing it? and it seems to me that mika framed the conversation in a very interesting sort of way, right? that there is a sense to hold policing accountable. that there has to be some kind of reform. but as we've been talking about, the nature of that reform, there have been some senses in which we've handcuffed the police from doing their jobs. injust need to understand more clearly, why are we placing this at the feet of a slogan that really hasn't evidenced itself

in policy. >> well, if you're asking why, i mean, again, if you talk to police officers, if you talk to bratton, if you talk to commissioners, if you talk to other people that talk to police, they will tell you that over the past year, they've been back on their heels. that they've -- that they have been concerned, they've been afraid to go in and do their jobs. and unfortunately, again, you say that a lot of areas where there are people of color, in areas where truly disadvantaged live that they're overpoliced, you know, i would -- that's not what i'm hearing from representatives that represent those areas, that they are overpoliced. over the past year, they felt like they've been underpoliced. and that is -- you know, again, you go to the more gentrified

parts of brooklyn, i suspect they probably don't have the same complaints, as the south bronx and other areas of brooklyn that, again, aren't getting the police resources that they feel like they need. >> well, when i say overpoliced, joe, i'm talking about stop and frisk. i'm talking about the philosophy of broken windows. i'm talking about what happens day in and day out in these communities in the name of stopping violent crime, where we see the civil liberties of black and brown and poor white people infringed upon every day, right? so part of what we do in these moments, when we have a police-involved killing, when we see something like george floyd, and we say, oh, my god, what has happened here, that's actually the consequence of a form of policing that happens daily. so when i say overpolicing and overly surveilled, i'm not talking about the absence of actual bodies on the ground. i'm talking about a type of

policing that ensnares a particular community. that's what i mean. but i think it's really important, just really quickly here, that what does it mean for police officers to be back on their heels, when folk are just trying to have them do their jobs justly, right? so that they don't engage in excessive violence. that they don't infringe upon the rights of the poor and the like. what does it mean for them to stop doing their job under such conditions? i just want us to be very, very careful in this moment, before we pull back, because we need to change policing in this country, before we pull back, not to account for the rise of violence, gun violence in our communities by linking it to a slogan. we need to understand this moment, the mental health issues, all sorts of things that are happening in this moment that have led to the uptick. i want us to be careful, so that we don't fall back into what has led to a pile of bodies, joe. and that might be aed by

melodramatic, but that's where i'm coming from. >> i don't think it's melodramatic at all. over the past four years, we've talked about the tragedy of what happened in north charleston. we talked about the tragedy, the murder, we think it's murder at least here, what happened to eric garner. of course, everyone saw what happened to derek chauvin. we have seen that. and erin, it's interesting, eddie brought up stop and frisk. there's a great example of a policy that was put in place and as bill bratton said in his interview with maureen dowd, the numbers skyrocketed to such a massive degree that black new yorkers were up in arms for good reason. and it actually set the police force back. >> well, joe, i actually want to address some of what former chief bratton was saying in there. this is -- the uptick in crime

and in violence in communities is certainly not what the activists and folks on the ground that i talked to say is what they want when they call for defunding the police. but for those for whom this slogan or this mantra chafes more than the idea of police reform, you know, this is what they would say. you know, this is what you all asked for. and you know, be careful what you wish for. this is not what people wish for. people are wishing for, to eddie's point, to, you know, law enforcement that protects and serves their communities in a way that is equal to the protection and service that you're seeing in communities that don't look like theirs. and you know, listen, if you asked a plurality of americans, you know, are now more in favor of the black lives matter movement than they were previously, but also are in favor of things like not having police and first responders on issues like mental health, who

would want, you know, these communities to have more economic opportunity that might prevent some of the gun violence, which is the other issue that we have to be talking about. instead of defund the police, this is really a conversation about the mass shootings that are happening on a regular basis in these cities, albeit not necessarily in a day, but over time. you have mass shootings in some cities. and memorial day, the start of summer season, most of us consider memorial day the start of that season, it is also the start of summers, that do see an uptick in gun violence. but that, you know, tying that to eddie's point, to the defund the police effort or movement that it's calling for police reforms that really focus on some of these underlying issues that are the cause of gun violence in these communities is -- i mean, it's a false equivalency and it's putting a lot of the people in these

communities in a position to really have us talking about this as a false choice. >> yeah. and that's the thing, i think, that as this discussion moves forward, mika, we have to move beyond the false choices. it's going to take -- it's actually going to take, as bill bratton said, he was in los angeles, the only way l.a.'s policing was improved at all was a complete and total engagement in all communities. there has to be that engagement in all communities for the police to be effective. it's interesting. you look at a lot of the numbers. erin brings up great points. a lot of people don't want police officers to have to be first responders in mental health crisis. guess what? i bet most police officers don't want to be first responders in mental health crises. we ask our police officers to do a lot of things that they aren't trained to do. so this is a great conversation

to have. it's also important to look at new york city's mayor race to see what an important issue this is, because the top issue, whether it's in the wpix poll or the other new york city polls is safety, public safety. figuring out how do we move forward, how do we make streets in new york city safer, but also as erin said, how do we get both sides together and move fast false choices that too often this debate seems to be framed by? >> all right. we want to move to texas now, where democrats blocked the republican push to overhaul voting in the state, at least for now. texas democrats successfully stopped the passage of the senate bill 7, a voting package that would have made texas one of the most strict states in the country when it comes to casting a ballot. nearly every democrat walked out of the house chamber overnight,

making it impossible for the gop to vote on the bill before the midnight deadline. senate bill 7 would ban mobile voting booths and drive-through voting. it would also include new mail-in voting restrictions and empowers partisan poll watchers. the bill bars early voting on sunday mornings, potentially ending souls to the polls, the program, which is run by predominantly black churches to get worshippers to vote after services. "the washington post" reports the bill also includes language making it easier to overturn an election, no longer requiring evidence that fraud actually altered an outcome of a race, but rather only that enough ballots were illegally cast that could have made a difference. texas governor greg abbott tweeted shortly before midnight that the election bill would be added to a special session of congress, where it is expected to pass. let's bring in former democratic

senator, beto o'rourke of texas. he represented the el paso district and also ran for president. it's good to have you on the show this morning. what more can democrats do to block this? it ultimately is going to go through? and this bill based on the big lie? >> democrats in texas did a lot. they bought us some time and stopped one of the worst voter suppression bills in the country. but when you link what they were trying to pass in texas with what passed in georgia, iowa, montana, what's pending in more than 40 other state legislatures, you see that we have the biggest attack on american democracy hour lifetimes. and it requires a federal response and intervention, which we have pending in the united states senate, the for the people act. and that's how you push back and defeat the big lie, mika. that's how you ensure that we have multi-racial democracy in

america going forward. that's how you protect the right to vote on this memorial, when we remember the americans who gave their lives to preserve and protect that right to vote. let's honor their sacrifice and commitment by making sure that bills like these do not pass and we have protection against them by having the united states senate and president joe biden do everything that they can to pass this voting rights bill and protect that right forever more. >> congressman, this is one of the best risks to democracy in our lifetime. what provisions specifically do you consider to be -- pose one of the greatest risks to democracy in our lifetime? >> i think the most chilling aspect of senate bill 7 in texas was this provision that was literally just introduced in the last 48 hours that would allow an election to be overturned based on the allegation of fraud, even if the alleged

fraudulent votes would not have meaningfully changed the outcome of that election. when you connect that to the big lie that there was widespread voter fraud in 2020, somehow joe biden's an illegitimate president, you can see state legislatures like the one here in texas not accepting the results of future presidential elections. imagine what would happen with our 40 electoral college votes in 2024 if the allegation of fraud was made and the rightful winner was not recognized. that's not an unbelievable scenario after january 6th, and the almost violent overturn of election, or what josh hawley or ted cruz and others voted to do on that very same day. that's what concerns me the most, joe. >> yeah, you know, that is a concerning provision there. you know, a lot of times, we'll have -- we'll be talking about this and there will be a discussion about the grave dangers and people will talk about, no more drive-up voting or all of these things that actually just came about in

2020. and i say, be very careful to separate out the special exceptions that were made for pandemic voting and go back and look at 2018. and so, yeah, drive-up voting and 24-hour voting, those are things that were only put in place because of the pandemic. those aren't grave threats to democracy, if you take those away. obviously, i would want them there, only because we want as many people to vote as possible. but i think you've really zoned in on the most concerning part of this legislation, just like the georgia legislation and it's -- people are always distracted by these provisions. drive-up voting, the ballot boxes, the mobile ballot boxes. when in reality, it's giving legislatures, republican legislatures or democratic legislatures, whoever is trying to change the outcome of the election, the power to overturn

an election even if there's not evidence of widespread voting fraud that changes the outcome of the election. like georgia who made some of these challenges, here you have texas trying to do the same thing. >> that's absolutely right. and it's worth remembering that our democracy is the rule, not the exception. and as hard fought as this democracy was won, we can so easily lose it with provisions like this one. but i also want to call attention to some of these seemingly innoculous provisios like closing apology places in texas, or quote/unquote standardizing elections. the poll tax 100 years ago was somewhat innocuous sounding. the literacy test, the counting the number of jelly beans in a jar. but in every instance, they were used to try to stop black texans and african-americans throughout the former confederacy from

being able to use their rights to vote. and in that same way, ending souls to the polls and closing polling places in predominately african-american neighborhoods is doing the exact same thing in 2021. and i think if you connect it to all of these other provisions in all of these other states, you see the greatest attack on democracy since lyndon b. jones signed the voting rights bill into law. so it requires a response that can only be found in the united states senate. >> you know, it would sure be nice if democrats in the senate would focus on hr-4 and pass john lewis' bill. and then get to hr-1 and they can debate that. there's a lot to debate there. but it's very interesting, mika, that beto brings up again this

provision. it is so transparently focused on stopping black people from voting. making it harder for black americans to vote. actually, this souls to the polls program that the congressman's talking about has been highly effective across america, where people going to church, in black churches, after church, they go vote as a community of faith, which is, of course, isn't that -- i think that's what we conservatives have always said. we want communities of faith to get out and be more engaged, voting in the polls. that's what the moral majority and jerry falwell always said they were before. but what they're doing in texas is what they proposed in georgia

and dropped. but it's so transparently aimed pat black americans, where they're pushing the opening time to 1:00 p.m., saying, they'll get out of church, leave church, and there's no way they'll be able to bring black americans, organize in the way white americans organize through churches. won't be able to get them back to the polling booths on sunday at 1:00. it's really -- it's just transparent. it's embarrassing. and it's so targeted towards black americans who are people of faith that republicans should be humiliated. >> it's just another thing that -- well, not just in texas where the republican party, you know, adding to their brilliant brand of insurrectionist and whatever else, is they want to be the party that keeps black people from voting. that's the message they're sending. here's what republican congressman michael mccaul of texas said yesterday about the need for the new voting bill.

>> i think the intent -- and i'm not in the state legislature, is to store confidence in the elections that fraud isn't taking place. now, you make a good point. i'm a federal prosecutor and in a court of law, you know, that hasn't really been born to bear. this may be more of an optics issue, storing confidence with the american people. and in my stay, you actually do believe there was tremendous fraud. >> i have so many questions, joe. what was he talking about in terms of restoring confidence? >> he's talking about optic and restoring of confidence, but why is there a lack of confidence among republicans in the state of texas and across america? because donald trump has been lying about election fraud for six months. because republicans are going along with him, because they kicked liz cheney out, because

she wouldn't go along with the big lie. because she called out the big lie. and so, this is -- you talk about circular logic. we're going, as a party, we're going to spread lies that are going to shatter american's faith in their own democracy, in the voting process, and then we're going to pass more restrictive bills to take care of a problem that doesn't exist. but we'll take care of the optics problem that we created. >> that's correct. >> talk about some twisted logic. but i've heard that from one republican after another. well, americans don't trust -- well, why don't they trust their own democracy. because there has been an assault on american democracy, not just on january the 6th, but beto, there's been an assault on american democracy and the confidence americans have on peaceful transition, on our elections process, about our voting process, about our very democracy itself.

you can't burn down the village and say, hey, here i am to save it. let's rebuild it, guys. >> -- trying to put out the fire that they started in the first place. you are more likely to be struck by lightning in the state of texas than you are to encounter voter fraud in the state of texas. this is a solution in search of a problem. and it's going to hurt a lot of voters in texas in a state, joe and mika, which is already the toughest in which to vote bar none in the country. they're going to make it even harder. last thing i wanted to share with you, those texas house democrats that stopped this voter suppression bill, even though they are in a fairly deep minority here in texas, i hope that senate democrats in the united states senate who are in a majority are watching their example. these guys in texas were able to stop a bad bill. we need the senate democrats, the united states senate to pass a good one. they have the numbers to do. when democrats stick together, stand up and fight, we win.

and i hope those senate democrats will do that while they have the chance. >> congressman beto o'rourke, thank you so much. >> thank you! >> it's always great having you with us. we appreciate it. >> erin, so we heard congressman o'rourke. we heard congressman mccall, and, my gosh, here we once again have somebody admitting that there's -- that they have a solution that's searching for a problem that doesn't even economist. and you look at -- the congressman admitted it. you look at the supreme court, you look at the trump appointees to the supreme court. you look at trump appointees to the federal court. you even look at what rudy giuliani said inside of a federal court, there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud. time and time again, trump lawyers would not admit in federal court, where they could be sanctioned for lying, that

there was widespread voter fraud. none of the trump judges, not one of them supported any of their allegations, any of their claims. and yet here they are, claiming now they have to restore confidence in the american electoral system. >> yeah, exactly to your point, joe, you heard representative mccall say the quiet part out loud. this is not about election integrity, this is about the optics, right? this is about the optics. so what is emerging here? the objective fight between voter -- those who are [ inaudible ] those who are pushing, you know, expansion to the ballot is where we now find ourselves. and just as congressman o'rourke said, you had texas democrats pushing back last night and claiming the latest victory in that fight, but that is a victory for now, right? governor greg abbott was denied his photo op for for signing --

you know, this senate bill 7 into law in texas, as he had a photo op just recently in signing abortion legislation into law with, you know, a phalanx of law men behind him, most of them white and male. but he's already call for, you know, another session around this voting legislation. so he's going to bring lawmakers back to the texas legislation to continue to debate this. but look, another point that congressman o'rourke raised is that just as texas democrats got creative in the 11th hour last night to stave off this legislation, with you know, they are calling for democrats at the federal level to get creative and do what they asked voters to do in 2020. you know, do whatever it takes to do what it is that we sent you to elected office to do, right? i mean, these -- this is the fight that those voters voted

for. this is the fight, frankly, that both sides elected their voters to do. republican lawmakers certainly seem to understand that continuing to push for the big lie and to continue to push for the -- against the false threat of election interrogate is to prepare voters more. and for democrats, understanding that their mandate is not to try to seek compromise on this issue, really get something done on voting rights, and voting acts. >> all right. erin haynes, thank you very much for being on this morning. still ahead on "morning joe," former republican senator and defense secretary chuck hagel supported the push for a bipartisan commission to investigate the january 6th riots. he joins us with his reaction to senate republicans blocking the legislation. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ."

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did you just yawn at me? >> no, i just didn't yawn at you, i tried to yawn away from you. i'm sorry, but you know what it's like when you feel a yawn coming on and you don't want to yawn and you try not to yawn. you know what it's like, don't you? >> yeah. >> see, you just did it yourself. >> why are we wasting my time talking about your yawns. i just had to apologize to ted out there. i don't like to apologize to ted. i like to chew ted out. and i don't like it when i chew ted out and find out i'm wrong. am i boring you. will you stop that?!

>> gavin macleod, as news wrir murray slaughter in the iconic "mary tyler moore show," macleod died on saturday at the age of 90. he also played captain steuben on "the love boat." he appeared on every one of "the mary tyler moore show's" 168 episodes. in a sweet tweet, his co-star on the show, ed asner, who you also saw in that clip, called macleod his brother and partner in crime. asner noted that he and the 99-year-old betty white are now the show's only surviving cast members. >> what an extraordinary tv show. >> truly. >> "mary tyler moore" was. >> yeah. >> it really was one of the best in tv history. and he was such an important part of that. and then moved on to a show that may not have gotten the critical acclaim that "the mary tyler moore show" did, but "the love

boat," obviously, viewed by millions and millions of americans over the next decade. i bet you watched that? >> i watched "the love boat" for sure. i'm julie mccoy and i'll be cruise your director this morning. we're also remembering american music legend b.j. thomas who lost his battle with lung cancer over the weekend. he transcended genera, winning awards for pop, country, and gospel music. the five-time grammy winner and hall of fame inductee was the genius behind the hit songs "hooked on a feeling" and "raindrops keep falling on my head," which was featured this classic scene from "butch cassidy and the sundance kid." ♪ raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red ♪ ♪ cry not for me 'cause i'm never gonna stop the rain by

complaining ♪ ♪ because i'm free. >> thomas' iconic songs also appeared decades later in films lightning "forrest gump" and "charlie's angels" in 2003. >> and if you listen to casey kasem growing up or listen to us on saturdays, he also had the number one song later on after that with the longest title, "hey, won't you play another somebody done somebody wrong song." >> i remember that one. >> he was 78 years old. and coming up, among those honored this memorial day, a war veteran and late president george h.w. bush. we'll talk to historian jon meacham next on "morning joe." n meacham next on "morning joe."

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i felt this whole plane jolt

forward and soon it was a lot of smoke. it was a traumatic experience, but no different than a lot of kids went through in world war ii. and that's the point i want to make. because people, you know, talk about, i'm your hero. there's nothing heroic about doing your duty, trying to serve with honor. and there's nothing heroic about getting shot down. i always wonder how they honor you if you've been shot down, but if you land your plane safely back on the ship, you're just another pilot. >> that was president h.w. bush recounting his harrowing world war ii experience when the plane he was piloting was shot down over japan. bush later returned after his presidency, which our next guest describes at length in her new book. joining us now, former chief of staff to george h.w. bush, gene

becker. she is the author of the book, "the man i knew: the amazing story of george h.w. bush's post presidency." also with us, historian jon meacham, who is also a biographer of the late president. it's good to have you both on this memorial day. >> gene, thank you so much for being with us. i can't look at your title, "the man i knew" and not think of a 1988 op-ed i remember called "the george bush i knew," after it was "newsweek" that had some ridiculous cover, talking about the wimp factor and other people trying to tear this man down. somebody that had known bush a long time talked about riding with him in a plane where the door flew open, everybody panicked, he quietly reached over, closed the door, talked about walking out of a big contributor in west texas that was going to give him a ton of money, but wouldn't do it

because they thought he was too racially insensitive and wouldn't take his money. time and time again, you hear that character is what you do when nobody's looking. time and time again, that's the man whose character shown, especially during those times. >> joe, mika, thank you so much for having me on. you sort of just captured the heart and soul of george herbert walker bush. part of the reason i wrote the book is, one, he left me so many amazing stories that really have to be told. he was funny and we had so much fun for 25 areas. but the other reason, the more substantiative reason is that he really left us a blueprint on how we should all be living or lives. he knew how to live life with joy, with principle, with substance. the book is full of great

stories about how until the day he died, he never quit loving this country and quit giving back. so thank you for letting me talk about my favorite person i'll ever meet. >> jon meacham is with us and he has a question for you. john? >> june, president bush referred to jean as simply the great becker, so the great becker. jean, i have to ask you, one of my many unresolved issues as friends is that you kept the story from me. so tell us about bandar? >> well, before -- i want this segment to be full of life and joy and happiness, but i do want mika and joe and all of your listeners to know that on page 195 of this book, in a chapter called "the worst of times," i

literally wrote, "the hardest decision i had to make had to do with jon meacham. >> uh-oh. >> and you're going to have to read the book, everyone will have to read the book to understand what that means, but this was all about mymeachum pr diaries that no one had read. some people thought i was crazy. you have to read the book. yes, jon, there are stories in this book that i held out on you. i'm so sorry. not really. i'm not sorry at all. you want me to tell the whole story? do we have time? >> do it. >> at some point around 2004, 2005, margaret tutweiler called me and said, jean, we are hearing rumors that bandar has been assassinated by the

syrians. he was the ambassador to the united states from saudi arabia for something like 30 years, all through president bush's presidency. they were very close. margaret said, we think bandar has been assassinated. have you heard anything? i had not. margaret said, can you check your sources? i called the cia. the cia always had someone dedicated to president bush to ask many questions. they loved him. so i called. they said, we have heard the rumors. we are very nervous they are true. he has not been seen for months. we have boots on the ground. we are checking. we will let you know. the next morning, margaret called me and said, the french press is going to go -- is going to report this in about a half hour. if you haven't told him, you have to tell him. because it's going to be on cnn in about an hour. so you need to tell him.

so i really didn't want to. he was going to take it really hard. but i told him. i said, sir, we think prince bandar has been assassinated. he said, did you try calling him? the answer to that would be no. it had not occurred to me to call him. i would not call prince bandar. president bush said, get him on the phone. i hollered to his young aide. i said, jim, could you call prince bandar's cell? he said, have you told him what's going on? i said, i've told him. dial his number. about five seconds later, jim hollers, prince bandar on line one. president bush picks up the phone. this is the conversation. george bush. dead or alive? uh-huh. then he covers the phone and looks at me and says, he's

alive. i said, yeah, i thought that. bandar assures him, i'm okay, the syrians don't like me. they are after me. i'm in hiding. everything is going to be fine. don't worry. he gets off the phone. he says, jean, this is a good life lesson for you. this is something to remember. if there's confusion about whether someone is dead or alive, call them on the phone. if they answer the phone, they're alive. there you go. >> that's hysterical. >> i learned something from the man every single day of my life. what can i say? >> greatest statesman of our time. there you have it. this is memorial day. you had the remarkable experience of going to where on september 2, 1944, of course, lieutenant george h.w. bush was shot down, lost two crewmates

whose lives we honor today. he would want us to mention them. >> thank you. >> talk about what it's like, what that was like to be -- it's a little like being with eisenhower at normandy. >> it was amazing. it was such an honor to go with him. he came into the office on january 2, 2002 and sat down in my office and said, jean, i've been thinking over christmas, i have to go back. it's something i have been thinking about. he would not like this term. he would think this is a cliche. i think he needed closure. those two men had weighed heavily on his mind ever since september 2, 1944. it was logistically complicated to get there. ironically, who got us there was the japanese government and the

japanese navy. the country that shot him down while he was bombing them was key to getting him back to that island. it was an important journey for him to make, jon. he at one point -- we're all on this boat going out to where he was shot down and where he was rescued. he wanted to get rid of all of us. he wanted to get -- we had cameras, a documentary crew with us. me, the secret service, everybody. he asked to get in a life boat by himself. he says, i need to be alone. he gets in a life boat and paddles out away from the bigger boat that we were all on and just sat there for a while. he needed closure on that. the interesting thing -- you are going to have to read the book. he met a japanese man who saw him being shot down and saw him rescued.

it's just a great, great story. wonderful story. he met another pilot who was shot down and survived. most of the pilots did not survive. the commander of that island, the japanese commander, would cut their hearts out and eat them, would eat the hearts of the pilots. president bush used to torture mrs. bush by saying, i almost was an entree. >> jean becker, thank you. i'm going to be jumping to page 195 to figure out the jon meachum problem. jon, thank you as well. great to have you both. great conversation this morning. up next, former national security advisor michael flynn uses this memorial day weekend to call for a military coup here

in the u.s. reaction from former defense secretary chuck hagel. "morning joe" is coming right back. ♪welcome back to that same old place♪ ♪that you laughed about♪ ♪well, the names have all changed♪ ♪since you hung around♪ welcome back, america. it sure is good to see you. discover card i just got my cashback match is this for real? yup! we match all the cash back new card members earn at the end of their first year automatically woo! i got my mo-ney! it's hard to contain yourself isn't it? uh- huh! well let it go! woooo! get a dollar for dollar match at the end of your first year. only from discover. i'm so glad you're ok, sgt. houston. this is sam with usaa. do you see the tow truck? yes, thank you, that was fast. sgt. houston never expected this to happen. or that her grandpa's dog tags would be left behind. but that one call got her a tow and rental... ...paid her claim...

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folks, we are unique in all of history. we really are. but those names that's on that wall and every other wall and tombstone in america of veterans is the reason why we are able to stand here. we can't kid ourselves about that. so i hope -- i hope that the nation comes together. we're not democrats and republicans today. we are americans. we are americans who have given their lives. [ applause ] it's time to remind everybody who we are. we have been tested.

we will be tested further. i know that we as a people are up to the task. each generation of americans receives a precious gift of liberty. we work to share it with more people, to make our country more open, more free, more fair. >> it's a great message. we are one country. coming out of memorial day weekend, i know a lot of people will try to take what one politician says and make something big out of it or take what somebody on the other side says and attack them for that. >> that happened over the weekend. >> claim that one party has exclusive rights to patriotism or the other is the only protech -- protector of the constitution. the thing is, we live in very divided times. we live in very political times. you watch the show. you know that.

it's good to see president biden talk about those who sacrificed but also about what this country has been through, the difficult times this country has been through and the fact that we are one nation. if you really -- if you don't live inside of the political bubble day in and day out, you actually do see that when you go out there. men and women actually -- boys and girls, you know, actually getting along day in and day out in their lives. working together as a country. yes, it's very charged around politics right now. it has been for 20, 25 years. we are one country. you look at the men and women that have given their all for this country, to give us the freedom, the right to be able to say what we want to say, whether it's on this show or around your home or in your office, if you are working today.

my gosh, that's what this country is all about. it's what their sacrifice is all about. we as one people, we honor them. we thank them. >> i think his message was wise in many ways, because he also very gently said it's going to take a while to kind of restabilize and really get back to who we are. because it's time to remember who we are as a country. he did that. with us on -- >> can i just say, we are as a country -- you look at so many -- just look at the way that we really have approached the development of this vaccine. republicans and democrats, scientists of neither party, of all parties worked together. the united states is doing better right now as far as getting the vaccine out and opening this country up than most of our allies or the people that we looked at a year ago going, why are they doing so much better than us? we have seen a lot of american

exceptionalism this year. it's outside the realm of politics where you see that. we just -- right now, it's a washington problem. let's hope that our leaders can figure out how to move forward and catch up with the rest of the country. >> also, working on memorial day, we have white house reporter for the associated press jonathan lemire, professor at princeton university, eddie glaude, junior and ed luce is with us. this memorial day within looked a lot more like how things were pre-pandemic. remember that? we saw it. saturday marked the end of the covid-19 restrictions in massachusetts. despite the rain, fans filled fenway park to watch the red sox beat the marlins. there were some empty seats. it was pretty full. in indiana, 135,000 -- >> this was amazing. at the indy 500.

>> came out for the indy 500. highest attended sporting event with vaccinations on site. smart with the vaccines. offering money, making it really easy to get the vaccine. at the movies, "a quiet place 2" is set to gross $58.5 million by the end of the holiday weekend. the pandemic best for the film industry. >> i missed "the first quiet place." >> i missed all movies. >> was it good? alex, you went this weekend? you went to the movies this weekend. >> i did. i went to "cruella." >> give us your review. >> it was dark. it was a cross between "a devil wears prada" and --

>> i'm sure your girls loved that. >> perfect. it was quite good. it's good. i'm not sure for kids, but it was really good. >> emma stone and emma thompson, those two in any movie is great. incredible soundtrack. very dark, long, yes. sounds great pore your 5 or 6-year-old kid. >> not really, actually. that's like me bringing my girls to "the book of mormon". >> when they were 7. >> nearly 2 million travellers heading into the long weekend. the highest number of passengers screened during the pandemic. a lot of people on the move. >> ed luce, it looks like things are starting to open back up. looks -- this memorial day weekend really -- it was that opening that we were hearing about last easter and then last memorial day and last 4th of july and last -- it's finally upon us. >> it is.

we should never forget the speed with which this vaccine rollout was done. the second is how quickly you get them into people's arms. we have. i don't think there's been anything like this, on this scale, in american public health history. we are now beginning to see the fruits of that. it's a very different memorial day than last year. if you remember, trump was saying everything should open up and all kinds of whacko theories. this is for real and the right reasons. >> new numbers show president biden's approval rating is 62%. that's the highest mark for his administration so far. his disapproval rating reached a new low of 38%. the same poll also shows 47% of

americans believe the country is on the right track. back in january, just 27% said the country was headed in the right direction. joe biden banking good numbers here. >> there's just such dis -- >> look what's going on in texas overnight. >> maybe we are majoring on the minor. look at these and go, are these polls wrong? the wisconsin poll and some of the other polls, state polls that were wrong. jonathan lemire, the national polls weren't 20 points off. if you look at it, the national polls weren't that far off. it's usually the state polls that are outliers. we have seen quite a few in the 60s. some in the 50s. there's a varying degree. every one of them is over 50%.

this right track/wrong track number from this harvard harris poll has jumped nearly 20 points. i'm a skeptic. i beat the crowd early and tweeted. i probably -- back in early october of last year, i don't believe any polls and i didn't believe any of those that were saying biden was so far ahead. in this case, something is happening out there that seems to be quite different than what the house gop caucus is thinking or doing. >> yeah, joe, certainly, you and i have had our share of poll skepticism. you are right to focus on the right track/wrong track things. we haven't seen the nation feel this good in a long time. we are seeing good numbers for president biden. a range somewhere between low 50s and this one, 62, which is a remarkable number.

higher than his predecessor obtained during his time. i think the big picture stuff as we know is there's a sense of optimism. the vaccine rollout has been successful. we have seen americans now -- more than 50% of adult americans have been fully vaccinated. the white house is on track to reach its goal of 70% of adult americans to having at least one shot by our next patriotic holiday july 4th. it's fits and starts. there's questions as to what further federal intervention the economy needs to be sure. those are the big things. a sense of normalcy, a sense the country is starting to look like it was again pre-pandemic. not just in terms of the virus, but also in terms of the leadership from the white house. that's something the west wing ai aides have been zeros in on. america was tired at the end of the trump administration. it was looking to think less about the president, to have more of a sense of regular

order, if you will, coming from the white house. an event like yesterday i think underscores that. i'm in wilmington, delaware, and have been on duty. i was there yesterday for his memorial day weekend remarks. to hear him speak so movingly about the sacrifices of american servicemen and their families, to stand there in the rain for more than an hour listening to other tributes, to make it so deeply personal as he reflected upon the loss of his son, who was a veteran, who died six years ago yesterday. it was a difficult day, that anniversary, for the biden family. he connected it to the larger sacrifices of the american servicemen and saying people, as they reflect the best of a nation that's on its way back. to hear that message from white house is one that i think also is resonating with americans. we are seeing it in the polls. we will turn overseas where china is facing stepped up scrutiny over the origins of coronavirus. we will get a report from beijing next on "morning joe."

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♪♪ it might take more than 90 days. if this thing came out of the lab, there are people in china who probably know that. even the wuhan institute of virology, was this a leak from my lab. those people have been silenced by their government. now the world knows how important this is to the united states, when we lead, the world follows. that might provide courage to many of the ethical scientists in china for whom this is weighing on their conscience. >> that was matthew pottinger on

the investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. >> we can't underline is enough. of course, we have all the documentation of trump officials, administration officials that came up short, that failed, that were asleep at the switch when all of this was going on, that didn't -- matthew, not one of those. he called it right time and again. he warned everybody inside the administration early on about what was coming. that guy -- if you haven't read up on him, you need to read up on him. that's how a government official is supposed to respond in the time of crisis. this guy should have a movie written about him running around begging people to pay attention. not just to what was coming to america but what was happening in china at the time. when he says that, he is

standing on very, very firm ground. >> former fda commissioner scott gottlieb it leaked from a lab is growing more likely. joining us from beijing, janis mackey frayer. is there any indication that china will cooperate with this, the latest investigation? >> reporter: there isn't any indication. there probably isn't any hope of that happening, either. from china's perspective, they did their part with the w.h.o. join study that released that report suggesting that the lab leak was extremely unlikely. from china's view, not only did the virus not originate in a lab in wuhan, they don't believe that it started in china at all. if there is going to be mounting pressure on china to have the investigators on the ground, u.s. scientists come to look at the records, look at the

databases, look at any safety audits, we can expect there would be a discussion around resip -- resip indication. china is fighting back. this belief that the world health organization needs to look elsewhere at other labs, at other facilities in other countries. in particular, in the u.s. nothing has changed in that position from china's perspective, except that now this lab leak theory has what we can call a mainstream variant with the u.s. intelligence community now having 90 days to try to come up with something. that, too, is going to be a challenge. the intelligence gathering capabilities on the ground here in china are not what they used to be. president biden is likely going to be relying on international

partners to try to come up with something that might help steer things in a better direction. >> do you have any reporting on this new variant that we are hearing about in vietnam? >> reporter: it's a troubling new variant. they all are. but this one, health officials are saying, is very dangerous. they believe that it spreads very quickly by air. there have been no cases reported yet in the u.s. however, vietnam, which is a country that until this point had avoided large outbreaks, is now in lockdown. people are being told to stay inside, that this is highly transmissible. they see it as almost a hybrid between the india variant and the uk variant. they are sending out an alert. they are saying they will have the coding sequence of this

particular strain available sometime soon. again, it adds to the urgency as we see these new variants driving a surge in infection, in particular across asia, with this urgency, there is more fuel in this debate about what has caused covid-19 to begin with. it goes back to the origins. ultimately, that will come back here. again, it's unlikely to be a very receptive or productive discussion with chinese officials. >> janis mackey frayer, thank you so much. staying overseas, we will zero in on the middle east and a major new challenge for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley has those details next on "morning joe."

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♪♪ we will move to the middle east. another story we are watching closely. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu do be replaced after leading the country for 12

years. the leader of an opposition party, announced he would work with opposition leaders to build an alternative government to force netanyahu to leave office. for more on this, let's bring in foreign correspondent matt bradley. what is the latest? >> the big headline here is that after four elections in two years, the israeli opposition to benjamin netanyahu has finally gotten their act together. they are posing a real challenge to benjamin netanyahu, israel's longest serving prime minister. he has been in office 12 years. that's why we heard from him last night as this plan was coming together. guys, the negotiations for this new coalition, they are going furiously right now. they ran into the early hours of the morning. they are going on today. they have until wednesday to form this coalition government.

benjamin netanyahu, big friend of president trump, he had a television news conference kind of like a news conference, kind of a temper tantrum last night. he called this new coalition plan an opportunistic government, a government of capitulation, a government of fraud, a government of inertia. he even compared the new coalition to assad's regime in syria and those who run iran. why is it that benjamin netanyahu is so sensitive about this? it's not just that he doesn't want to leave power after all these years as the prime minister. it's also because he is quite literally fighting for his political life or rather his political freedom. he faces three charges of corruption in bribery, breach of trust and fraud. if he is removed from the premiership and he was indicted on these last year, he could open himself up to quite a lot

of legal jeopardy. he could, as israel's longest serving prime minister, also go to jail, which would be rather shocking. all of this is going on amidst the conflict in gaza, that 11-day conflict that just wrapped up. negotiations for a more permanent cease-fire are ongoing. egypt is leading that. that's running in the background alongside the rise of joe biden in the united states. i mentioned before, benjamin netanyahu is a close friend of president trump. joe biden, he showed that the united states isn't necessarily going to be sticking in israel's camp. there was small but perceptible shifts towards the left from the biden administration, especially when compared to other previous u.s. presidents. when you look at the situation in israel, it looks almost, if you squint, as though there's going to be a real changing of the guard on the israeli/palestinian conflict.

if the u.s. changes and the israeli government changes. if this is the beginning of the end for benjamin netanyahu, it is certainly not the beginning of the end for the israeli right wing. this is a new coalition government that will be cobbled together. it will be a fragile thing. it could easily break up at any time. guys? >> nbc's matt bradley, thank you very much. coming up, our next guest is among the high ranking officials calling on congress to investigate the january 6 insurrection. former defense secretary chuck hagel discusses that and the importance of memorial day straight ahead on "morning joe."

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♪♪ 32 past the hour.

welcome back to "morning joe." with so much focus on life after covid, it's a jarring reality to recognize that millions of women may never fully recover when it comes to their financial position. far fewer women are employed now than they were at the start of the pandemic. by one measure, the financial fallout could cost the typical american woman nearly $600,000 in lifetime income, with the impact following them throughout retirement. i sat down with vice president kamala harris where we discussed how the administration plans to get american workers back on track, particularly women. she also shared her advice to women embarking on a career. this is what she tells those she mentors. >> i eat no for breakfast. so have i been told many times during my career things from,

oh, you are too young, it's not your turn, they are not ready for you, no one like you have done it before, i have heard all of those thing many times over the course of my career, but i didn't listen. i would encourage anyone who has been told that, whatever their gender, to not listen, because, again, don't be encumbered by the inability of others to see the potential of who you are. >> i eat no for breakfast. i didn't listen. this sounds very male and successful. >> it's really important to recognize the limitations that other people have based on their expectations and to not impose that on one's self. >> let's see here. the egg mcmuffin, cross that out. >> tomorrow, my full exclusive interview with vice president harris will air here on "morning joe." it was fantastic. a lot going on tomorrow. >> i love that saying.

to the latest with the attempt to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the january 6 assault on the u.s. capitol. on friday, six republicans voted in favor of establishing a commission. senators bill cassidy, susan collins, lisa murkowski, rob portman, mitt romney and ben sass. it fell short of the 60 votes needed. the mother of fallen u.s. capitol police officer brian sicknick met with several republican lawmakers ahead of the vote last week. she said she was disappointed senate republicans blocked the january 6 commission. here is how she described those meetings. >> it was tense. we just made believe everything was fine. we were very nice to them. for the most part. >> it is just tense because -- >> because we knew -- i think

because we knew they weren't sincere. they weren't sincere. >> they didn't want to get to the bottom of what happened? >> no. i don't understand it. they are elected for us, the people. they don't care about that. they care about money, i guess. their pocketbooks. so they will be in front of the cameras when they feel like it. they just don't care. it's not right. >> joining us now, former republican congresswoman barbara comstack of virginia. also with us, former defense secretary and former republican senator chuck hagel of nebraska. last week, he wrote an op-ed urging his former colleagues to pass the legislation. "washington post" columnist max boot joins us. he is a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations, eddie glaude is with us as well.

>> mr. secretary, why do you believe a bipartisan commission is so important? >> joe, it's the only way for this country, for all americans, to understand why january 6 happened, what were the influences, who were involved. we had active duty military involved, national guard, veterans, policemen, people from all walks of life in this country. this was an historic event. never happened before. the american people deserve an honest, independent evaluation to tell us what happened, to get to the bottom of it. you can't do it just by the congress or by committees. it has to be a 9/11-type commission, independent of the congress, half republican, half democrat. that's why we need it. that's what i think the senate failed in doing a couple of days ago.

i think it's painful that they did not -- the republicans did not put the interest of this country ahead of their own republican political partisan issues and donald trump. >> mr. secretary, like barbara, like myself, you have worked closely with many of these colleagues, former colleagues of yours and of barbara and of mine. these are people that we were on the same side of a lot of arguments, getting to the bottom of many things, especially barbara and i were on the government reform and oversight committee together. can you imagine in your time any party, but especially our former -- my former at least republican party, killing a commission to figure out what happened when there was an attempt at an insurrection on january 6? >> no. it's really irresponsible.

it's painful. the interests of this country was on display here. that was the only issue that should have been forefront for each of the senators who voted. this is not about republicans, not democrats. it's about an american issue. what the hell happened? they failed. theymiserably. i hope it comes back. i don't know what procedures the democrats, schumer has to obviously try to regain some vote or some commission that they can put back together. it was a dark day in the united states senate. they failed this country. >> barbara, it's interesting, we showed a clip earlier saying there was no vote are fraud in georgia. they think it was rigged because

that's a message that the party and the president was pushing for six months. now we find ourselves in a situation where there was an opportunity to have a bipartisan commission to study this. instead, we hear from republicans for the next two years about nancy pelosi's biased investigation or chuck schumer's biased investigation. it seems again that you burn down the village and then you complain about the after affect of it. >> as you know from our investigations, documents tell the story regardless of who subpoenas them, whether it's phone records or travel records. the records of people who have been charged. i would, of course -- today is memorial day. brian sicknick, lying in arlington national cemetery because he was fighting to protect all of these members of

congress, i would like to ask all americans to say a prayer for him and his beautiful mother and his partner sandra who was so powerful in speaking to the senators about why we needed that commission. it was because they understood that this can happen again, that this is still a real threat. the people who were there that day, the people who attacked brian with bear spray and -- as he was fighting for hours, hand to hand combat, they were trump supporters. they were very longstanding trump supporters. the same thing with the officer who accompanied us who was assaulted with his own stun gun 12 times in the back of his neck, traumatic brain injury. he had a heart attack. he almost died. daniel rodriguez who attacked him and who has charged with his assault was a known trump rally attender, very active in trump supporting. they don't want to hear that.

that's the reality. here you have all of these republicans who think something else happened there when, in fact, this was a trump-inspired mob that came down there, that organized for months. scott mcfarland of nbc is doing wonderful investigative work. as you may know, he was a former staffer on the government reform committee where we both served. he is going meticulously through these charging documents. even those documents don't show all the political connections that these people had. that's not part of the criminal process, what their politics were. we need to know that because of this domestic terrorism problem that's very real. that chris wray, the fbi director, that i served with with john ashcroft, he told us that is a threat. that's why we need this commission one way or the other, whether this commission or a bipartisan investigation in

congress. these facts are going to come out. as you know from the investigations we did, when people try to stop the investigations, it may drag it out longer, but the truth comes out. >> hopefully, they will. we would normally ignore an event like a qanon conference. when it's attended by a former national security advisor who calls for a military coup against the u.s., it is worth noting. while attending a conference of far right trump supporters this weekend an attendee asked trump former national security advisor, michael flynn, why what happened in myanmar can't happen here. he said, it should happen here. a reminder the military seized power in february and detained the country's democratically elected leaders over false allegations of fraud.

>> max, this does bear repeating. i'm glad we are showing pictures of general flynn in the white house five years ago -- four years ago -- maybe just actually a little over four years ago. he was national security advisor. before that, very respected career in intel, military intel. now he is calling for a military coup in the united states. a reminder, again, that we are hearing calls like this. for those who think that things are settled because donald trump is no longer president of the united states, they are whistling past the political graveyard. we still seem to be in the thick of this madness. >> absolutely.

obviously, you know, general flynn is not a mainstream figure, even within the republican party. we ought to pay attention to what people like him are saying. he is not entirely outside of what the republican party has become under trump. sure, there's not a lot of people calling for a military coup right now. about 20% of republicans in a recent poll said they supported the actions of the mob that attacks congress on january 6 and about the same number say that they endorse the crazy stuff the qanon conspiracy theorists are saying. it's less the party that we once join and more like authoritarian parties in places like poland or hungary or turkey. this is deeply alarming. you see before -- in plain sight, republicans are plotting to rig the outcome of the 2022 and 2024 elections.

you see -- you had a segment earlier about the voter suppression legislation, which is advancing in texas and advancing across the country. you see that the republican elected officials who stood up for an honest count last year in places like arizona and georgia republican party. you are having redistricting going on. the message going out to republican members of congress with the purge of liz cheney is, you cannot resist the big lie. my concern is, what does that mean for 2024? what if there's a close election again? what if republicans once again refuse to acknowledge a democratic victory? i suspect that even more republican members of congress will be voting not to certify electoral college results. already you had a majority of the house republican caucus voting in that way, including their entire current leadership. this is an alarm bell ringing in

the night for american democracy. this is something that's really concerning. >> absolutely. >> mr. secretary, let's talk about whether you are hearing those alarm bells for american democracy as well. we have ann applebaum on a great bit here. she wrote a book. now she's warning about what's happening. for instance in hungary. that country is a one-party state. democratic institutions have been chipped away at. how deep is your concern that that could happen here? >> real concern. i think everyone who has spoken here in the last ten minutes has referenced it. gallup does a poll for the last

16 years. they take the leading 15 institutions in this country, and they ask the question of the american people, how much trust and confidence do you have in each of these institutions? these are the institutions that keep a society together. organized religion, education, journalism, congress, politics, military -- only the military rates in the low 70s. everyone else, except small business over 50, everyone else is in the 20s, 30s, teens, congress is in single digits. what that means is that our society is losing confidence and trust in our institutions, in our governing institutions that really are the catalyst of our society. when that happens, then, of course, what's going to happen politically is going to be a reflection of that. we don't trust anybody. you can't trust anybody. it breaks down further from

that. then you have people like trump and those who support him who use this and use this to divide the country further and polarize the country further. this is a real threat. not internal. we know what the russians and chinese are doing. the real threat is internal. that is so important. only an independent commission with respected independent commissioners, not under the authority of the congress or any political people, can start to break through this and give the american people some honest answers, because the future, i think, is in jeopardy. i have always been an optimist, but i'm a realist. i see danger signs out there. certainly what the texas legislature is doing, other legislatures. this is not good for our country. we better wake up.

>> congresswoman, eddie glaude is with us and has a question for you. >> congresswoman, it's great to see you. i want to ask a question. in light of the five alarm fire with regards to democracy, senator langford, after not voting for to democracy. senator langford asked her not voting for the commission tweeted a lot of stuff was happening in the senate already. can you explain to the american public why this cannot happen at the level of senate committees or congressional committees or house committees, so we can understand the scale and depth of the problem and why we need such a commission? >> the reports that are already being done in congress is really about how do we harden the capitol so an assault can't happen again, so you can't have like a terrorist attack on the capitol building. we're looking at why did we have a fire in my house with the building not good. but you still have to look at the arsonist. the criminal cases are looking

at individual people and what they did. and that has to go through all of the rules of the criminal process and get everything just right beyond a reasonable doubt. what a congressional investigation or what an independent counsel would do is look at the whole list tick threat to the american people. and often i forget to point out to people, brian sicknick and his partner emphasized this to republican members, brian was a remember. he loved you guys, he voted for donald trump. this isn't republican versus democrat. it's really the rule of law and backing the blue versus letting these insurrectionists and this whole culture that is going on continue. so also officer personio, he was a republican. as those of you who worked on capitol hill know, these capitol

hill police often lean center right. they were there fighting to protect the members of the congress. he said something very important to them, i don't think a lot of you guys appreciate how dangerous it was that day because we did our jobs so well. and they did. it was hours -- we still don't know. that's why their needs to be public testimony from people like that officer and harry dunn, who got all kinds of racial slurs from people who were on the front line and kept going out even when they were injured to fight this mob back that wanted to come in and hang mike pence. we haven't heard from mike pence. when are we ever going to hear from mike pence? and all of the threats made against him from november on asking him to, you know, go along with this insurrection.

fortunately, he said no. but there was back and forth at the white house. joe, you know, and all of you know, his subpoenas should have already gone out from congress. subpoenas themselves to bring in documents are not partisan. you can still hand it over to an independent commission but all of this material was in the hands of people who, you know, whether sidney powell, all of the people who were going in and telling the president about how they could do this insurrection, those records are there. the white house on that day saying do something, get out in front of the cameras. we don't have that yet because none of the bodies looking at it yet are looking at that. and that's not a partisan agenda, that's telling the american people we have to know the whole picture so this never happens again, and getting everyone to understand the nature of this domestic terrorism threat that is now spread to our states. as mentioned we have these

threats against republican officials in georgia and arizona because they won't adopt the big lie. and when you keep lying to people for two months, telling them these things are true, what happened on that day could still happen again in the threats of the officer explains to the members threats against these members of congress have gone up exponentially because of this big law. >> barbara comstock, chuck hagel, thank you all very much for being on today for this important conversation. we are following developing news this morning as president biden prepares to pay his respects at arlington national cemetery on this memorial day. msnbc will have live coverage of that straight ahead. keep it right here on "morning joe." before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice.

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the point is, ladies and gentlemen, greed, for lack of a better word, is good. greed is right. >> one of the relevant lines from the movie "wall street" that echoed the riches of that era. in a sense, americans have only grown even richer. but a new look exploring how one formed a contrast with that ethos with its commitment to so-called sustainable capitalism. or as the next describes it, a belief to no individual or firm could ultimately thrive against the wider society thrives as well. joining us now, best-selling author, zachary car bella. his new book "inside money: brown brothers, harriman and the american way of power."

well, i would like to know about them but first i want to ask about that concept, why would only one firm understand that perhaps it's important for all to rise up? >> that's a great question. and i'm so glad you showed that with michael douglas and michael mel kin. it's the key moment when financial firms, goldman sachs, ill-fated lehman brothers all went public in the '70s, '80s and '90s and transformed finance capitals and capitalism at large from partnerships and companies from shareholder capitalism, which means you could bet other people's pln. it meant risks got put on to the public sectors and gains were privatized. if you lose money, the federal government could bail you out. if you make hundreds of billions of dollars, you get the rewards, other than what you pay in

taxes. and that's a major change in capitalism but it's a change. it means capitalism is just that, it's what it's become, not what it's supposed to be. >> tell us about capitalism, the consolidation of power. you go back and read history books about titans at the end of the 19th century and when they talk about their net worth, $400 million, which is a lot of money, but we're talking about people worth $40 billion now. the numbers are staggering, even by the last gilded age's measurements. >> right, and it's not just that. in brown brothers, i read this book that the public has to thrive so the private to thrive. you can't beg the public independentlessly.

the average differential between worker and ceo, and guys covered this for years, was about 30-1. they're exclusive, elite, reach. the average today is 300-plus-1. and the more democratic capitalism today and we like to talk about the most democratic capitalism and elite one is the gap between the huge wealth and the rest is far narrower. i think it's because they may not have understood it consciously but there's a relationship between the public and private. you have to serve the public good in order to serve the private good, and that's the idea. >> zachary, we're a little short on time this morning. we want to have you back. this is an extraordinarily important conversation to have. so we will get you back this week. but for now, thank you so much for being with us and we look forward to continuing this discussion very soon. >> the new book is is "inside money: brown brothers, harriman and the american way of power."

that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. hi, there, i'm stephanie ruhle. it's monday, may 31, memorial day. a day to honor americans who sacrifice their lives in defense of our country. more than 14,000 of them buried at arlington, where president biden will be just an hour from now. but today we want to make sure we recognize all of the veterans who have given their lives as well as their families and loved ones. today also marks the unofficial mark of summer. masked mandates are going away and country is opening up. but we still only have half of all americans fully vaccinated. so the big question this morning, how safe is it? and breaking news out of the state of texas, where overnight democrats walked off the floor of the house in a dramatic last-ditch effort to kill a controversial new voting bill. now the governor is stepping in. lots to get to this morning,