bipartisan infrastructure package and significant movement on the reconciliation package as well. we'll see how the week unfolds but right now i would say the biden administration, things are looking up. thanks for getting up way too early with us this tuesday morning. yesterday billionaire richard branson went to space on a rocket. the flight went more than 15 miles high to the edge of space. southwest heard and was big deal we did that last week when one of our pilots fell asleep. it was a pretty cool moment. i was a little surprised by that one part. did you see this? watch this. >> three, two, one. release, release, release. ignition. good rocket motor burn. everything is looking really good. >> just a little -- you don't need to do that. >> no need. >> it's not unnecessary. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is tuesday, july 13th.

hi, willie, good to have you back. we've missed you. >> thanks, good to be back with you. i had an eye injury the last week, wish i could say i was on a beach but i'm here, not fully recovered but as close as i can get, it's good to be back. >> we are glad to have you. among the many stories we're following, quote, they're getting laughed out of court. that's what the republican party's top lawyers said in real time about the election fraud cases of trump. and this morning, michigan is calling the claims from trump ally lawyers fantastical. we'll talk about the efforts to hold the former president and his backers accountable for spreading those lies about the election. plus a dramatic escalation over the battle of voting rights in texas as texas democrats flee the state.

they're now in washington to lobby congress. and the warning of the johnson & johnson vaccine amid a surge of covid cases. the polar bear does it again. mets slugger pete alonso wins his second straight home run derby. >> he just completely dominated this process, this competition. a lot of talk about ohtani beforehand but it was alonso's night. >> yeah, it was at coors field, the balls were just launching. but pete alonso the slugger repeating, getting that giant spinning necklace for a consecutive year. he's into it. >> i need one of those. >> he likes that necklace. let's get to the news.

we'll begin this morning in cuba where at least 80 demonstrators involved with recent protests have been arrested amid the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. nbc news correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest. >> reporter: thousands of demonstrators spilling into the streets of cuba this weekend, calling for an end of the 62 communist regime. protesters dumping trash and throwing rocks. demonstrations sparked by food shortages and blackouts. in miami protests in solidarity with havana. maria has family in cuba. >> i don't even know what their situation is right now. >> reporter: an economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic and no access to approved vaccines. a perfect storm for anti-regime

anger that spread rapidly as more cubans gained access to the internet. the cuban president today blaming the unrest on u.s. sanctions. >> translator: the lack of medicine and food, all those topics embedded in our society, what is the origin? it's a blockade? >> they simply are not hearing the voices and will of the cuban people. people deeply, deeply, deeply tired of the repression. >> reporter: president obama established diplomatic relations with cuba and removed it from the list of state sponsor terrorism but the trump administration put cuba back on the list, imposing tougher sanctions which president biden has not lifted. >> refrain from violence, the attempts to silence the voices of people of cuba.

>> let's go to havana where we find ed augusta. lay out for our viewers why we're seeing the demonstrations in the streets. we've heard reports of repression, author tear niche, covid and the lack of a government response to it. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: the scenes i saw on sunday are things i've never witnessed in cuba. i've been here for eight years in havana and across the country there were thousands of people. i saw youths throwing bottles at police, i saw one police being hit in the face before having to speed off with other policemen. police for their part beating protesters, firing not sure if it was rubber bullets or not, using batons to hit them, pepper

spray. it was a melee of violence between predominantly young protesters. i think the main driver for this has been the scarcity that cubans are living through. as you mentioned in the leadup, the trump administration hit cuba with unprecedentedly potent sanctions, over 200 sanctions against the cuban regime here in the trump time in office. and those sanctions have as fix -- strangled the economy. that's playing out in the street. i spoke to a woman yesterday who gets up every morning at 3:45 in the morning, has to hide from police because there's a curfew in place to try to keep covid limited until 5:00. she hides behind a shoe repair place and then at 5:00 she bolts

to cue up for goods she doesn't know are going to arrive. yesterday was a good day for her because she was only, she said, in the cue for eight hours and was able to get back before lunch with minced meat. it's this sort of desperation linked to u.s. sanctions but inefficiency in the state plan economy and the pandemic which has removed all tourism for this country that led to this huge amount of anger that we saw explode in the streets on sunday. >> as you know for generation, the government has squashed quickly any sign of decent against it. is this time different, this new generation of people we're seeing in the streets, is it different this time? >> reporter: i think what we're seeing right now is the government coming down hard on

the demonstrators, especially demonstrators that were violent. but also there will be some prisoners of conscience. people arrested under house arrest or currently interrogated. i think it's a mix. i'm speaking to you now from an island where the internet has been cut. the authorities likely cut that, one can surmise, to stop a repeat of the demonstrations that we saw two days ago. and in havana right now there's a very heavy police presence. driving here on the way to work you see an expanded police presence. so authorities will be keen to keep a lid on protests if they're able to. >> ed, thank you so much. we heard from the cuban government this is all because of the united states blockade of cuba, a crutch we've heard for many generations. >> i didn't see those protests in the crowd.

let's bring in white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire. jonathan, there obviously are a lot of implications to how the biden administration approaches this crisis. obviously diplomatic and also geopolitical and domestic considerations as well. the biden administration can't be seen sitting back as these protests go on 90 miles south of florida. >> no, joe. we heard encouraging words from the president yesterday in terms of supporting the protests, the demonstrators. taking a different tone that his former boss, barack obama, who sought to ease tensions with cuba to sort of normalize some relations there, even with the castro regime. that all went away under former president donald trump, who reimposed tough sanctions. many of which these restrictions, the u.s.

government under biden have not yet released, have not yet changed, rolled back. i pressed press secretary jen psaki about that yesterday and she pointed to other aid that had gone there. i asked about the vaccine, cited as one of the issues in cuba, they were ravaged by the pandemic, the economy devastated by the lack of tourism due to the pandemic. she said because cuba was not part of the international vaccine distribution organization, the u.s. was not able to send vaccines that way. so there's no obvious immediate solution to that. there is the domestic front we know how powerful the voting block of cubans is around florida, miami. we know president biden lost florida in 2020 by a substantial amount. a lot of democrats had written off florida for '24, especially if donald trump gets back in the race, thinking that's not going to come back to their column.

but there are latino populations elsewhere in the country as well and there are, of course, other democrats other than joe biden who have political interests in florida. so they're navigating carefully here and in the coming days the president promised we'd hear more from him, perhaps with more concrete promises for cuba. and the u.s. is considering haiti's request to send u.s. troops to help secure the infrastructure. when asked if it's been ruled out, press secretary, jen psaki said, no. a u.s. delegation is in haiti pushing for an accord that would enable the country to have free and fair elections later this year. to legal matters surrounding former president trump. allen weisselberg has been

quietly removed from top positions at two dozen trump subsidiaries. but a person familiar with the matter said the executive's overall role with the trump organization remains the same. according to filings with the florida state department first reported yesterday by "the washington journal," weissleburg was removed from 20 subsidiaries. nbc news reports one of the companies he is no longer listed as an executive at is trump payroll corp., which was hit with criminal charges on july 1st, along with weissleburg and the trump organization. he had been their treasure, secretary and vice president. those roles now filled by donald

trump jr. according to the filings. >> two of former president trump's most outspoken election attorneys are facing possible sanctions for their efforts to overturn joe biden's win in michigan. sidney powell and lynn wood appeared via zoom. the two filed a lawsuit in november that was littered with lies, some of which were repeated by donald trump himself. the two now trying to distance themselves from the claims, wood saying my name was placed on there, but i had no involvement, i did not review the documents. the judge asked the attorneys how long they reviewed the sworn declarations that they told the court constituted efforts of fraud and irregular laters, this according to "the washington post." the judge stated she believed

she saw election workers switching trump to biden, the judge asked if she saw anyone do this and what led her to believe votes were switched. she was greeted with silence. anyone again? i don't think i've ever seen an affidavit that made so many leaps. she also focused on a statement from a witness who swore he saw individuals placing clear plastic bags into a mail truck and believed they were ballots headed to detroit's facility. the judge called that fantastical. last week rudy giuliani had his law license suspended in washington d.c. for similar reasons. this was weeks after a new york court r took the same measure. this hearing in michigan was extraordinary, for six hours the judges peppered the attorneys

saying you put into this affidavit stuff you read online maybe in a comment section and tried to make a legal argument. >> there are conspiracy theories you can find online, whether it's russian disinformation or comes from a chinese religious cult that has a front in the united states or maybe conspiracy theories on facebook. and for attorneys to actually put that into a pleading, sign their name to it and then put it into federal court. that's shocking. it's shocking for anybody that's ever really practiced law. i always joked, when i was an attorney in florida, i would do state work but when you went in federal courts, something they taught you very early on, you better get all your facts right in those federal pleadings. again they say the same thing about state pleadings but you

hear about rule 11 sanctions. they come after you for sanctions. if it's not filed in goods faith you're going to get hammered by federal judges. i don't think there was a lawyer that started at a law firm that they didn't get that warning. that was one of the things shocking to me, rudy giuliani was filing these things and lynn wood and sidney powell, they would file these crazy lawsuits and i would keep wondering, how are they doing this? how can they get away with this? because i know if this had happened in northwest florida, in front of the three federal judges that were there when i was practicing, man, you would have lost your law license in a second. they would have disbarred you in a second. i mean, seriously, it wouldn't have been a close call.

and i know i'm -- i know i'm going on and on about this. but i just can't explain to people who aren't attorneys enough how mind blowingly wild, how radical, how reckless, how stupid it was for these attorneys to put their names on conspiracy theories and then put them in federal court in front of federal judges. i just wonder why it's taken this long. so i mean, i'm not surprised by the six-hour hearing. i guess i'm just surprised that it happened in july instead of in march but the wheels of justice turn slowly and perhaps these lawyers that made a mockery of these federal judges, made a mockery of federal courts, maybe they ultimately will pay the same price that every other attorney in america would pay, if they did the same thing. let's hope there is justice for

all. and then there's this. the republican party's top lawyer called election fraud claims by president trump's legal team, a, quote, joke. according to a november 28th email obtained by "the washington post." the republican national committee's chief counsel discouraged from posting about ballot fraud on rnc accounts. quote, what rudy and ginny are doing is a joke and they're getting laughed out of court. they're getting laughed out of court. referring to trump attorneys rudy giuliani and jenna ellis, quote, they're misleading millions of people who have wishful thinking that the president is going to win this thing. let's bring in editor for "the

washington post," gene robinson. when i talked to friends who are reading conspiracy websites, reading facebook conspiracy websites, going to websites that are run by chinese religious cults, i say, listen, rudy giuliani, he got laughed out of court. rudy giuliani never would allege in federal court widespread voter fraud. all these judges -- trump appointed judges laughed these people out of court in a minute. and still that conspiracy theory still holds. here's another example, is it not, of all the institutions that may have buckled under donald trump, our federal court system remains strong. >> yeah. you know, thank heavens for the federal court system because it did remain strong throughout this entire disgraceful process.

like you, i'm surprised that this hearing didn't happen in march or april as opposed to in july. but it's really important. it's important because federal courts are not -- are not to be trifled with with just out and out lies. with rumor and comment section nonsense. the way that rudy giuliani and lynn wood and sidney powell did, and they are officers of the court. they are -- they have a responsibility and a duty not to do what they did. and i just hope that they face the most severe punishment possible, because it's -- it's just important for the nation to

see this. to understand just how ridiculous, how fantastical, as the judge said, these arguments were and these pleadings were. there has to be some fact basis for this -- for this government and this nation to survive and to move forward. and the courts, thankfully, are sticking up for that principle, that there have to be facts. it can't be whatever you want to make up about alleged voter fraud that never took place. >> joe, you, mika and i have talked so much about the institutions holding in the trump era. in this case we've seen again and again the courts around these conspiracy theories, these ridiculous lawsuits about the election holding. we saw it in michigan. part of the damage done, perhaps

irrep rep blah bli, the courts held but through the media ecosystem that so many in the country live in, they still believe there was something afoul about the election, despite what the courts and judges said. >> look at all the people who stormed the capitol. >> yeah. >> and you would have -- that's because rudy giuliani and other -- >> donald trump. >> -- of these scam artist attorneys would be outside of a courthouse and they would be spinning conspiracy theories and then go inside the courthouse and maybe they would pull back on what they were suggesting. >> but again, maybe 63 out of 64 cases, trump lost 36 out of 64 cases there. you still had those press

conferences that were still causing the damage. so again, you can only hope that if these attorneys are sanctioned, that that will make headlines, and that there will be enough information that at least that will move some people, 75 million people, no. like i'd settle for 100,000 right now. this is so, so crazy. and again, i just -- i pulled it up, rule 11, just to let people know, and every attorney knows about this. by presenting to the court a pleading, written motion or other paper, an attorney or unrepresented party service to the best of the person's knowledge, information, belief, reasonable under the circumstances it's not being presented for any improper purpose such as harass, cause unnecessary delay, the claims defense are warranted by

existing law are nonexisting -- it goes on and on. it says if you violate rule 11, you will be sanctioned by the court. it's hard for me to believe that all of these attorneys not only will be sanctioned by the court but also at some point, like bill clinton after impeachment was disbarred in arkansas and in front of the united states supreme court. if these attorneys literally tried to undermine the united states elections and under mine madisonian democracy, certainly they deserve to be disbarred in front of every court that they're still able to argue in front of. it's not a close call. let's hope again that the same justice that would apply to a lawyer on the streets of pensacola, florida walking to a

federal courthouse apply to the same attorneys who tried to subvert american democracy and overturn an election. >> still ahead on "morning joe," texas democrats flee the state in an effort to stop republicans from passing a new voting law. we'll talk to one of those lawmakers who's now in washington d.c. digging into president biden's plan for tackling the surge in violent crime across the country. also this morning, a new warning about johnson & johnson's coronavirus vaccine. the fda says it's been linked to a serious, but rare, side effect. and nominations for the 73rd annual prime time emmy awards will be announced this morning. and we have some predictions. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right. back.

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it is 29 past the hour. it's a beautiful day in washington as the sun comes up over the white house. the fda announced a new warning on the johnson & johnson covid vaccine, and a possible link to a rare neurological disorder. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: among 12.8 million recipients of the johnson & johnson covid vaccine, the cdc now says federal officials have identified about 100 suspected cases of guillain-barre syndrome. it's a neurological disorder which the body's immune system damages nerve cells causing muscle weakness or in some cases

paralysis. >> that analysis that these side effects are rare is pivotal. we risk it having an effect on the mnra cases. >> reporter: it occurred in mostly men over a age of 50. the fda warning is the latest blow for a vaccine that was highly anticipated because it was easily administered and stored at a higher temperature. in april, the cdc said it identified rare blood clots linked to the vaccine. the company is working with regulators and it happened only slightly more often than in a population that hadn't taken the covid vaccine though the cdc does not show a similar side effect for the pfizer and moderna shots. despite this, public health experts stress that vaccine

benefits far outweigh the risk as hospitalizations and deaths are now occurring among the unvaccinated. the pandemic continues to impact professional sports as well. zach johnson tested positive for coronavirus, before getting on a charter flight for the tournament, forcing him to withdraw and ends his streak at 69 consecutive majors. this -- and bubba watson has also withdrawn. new york mets slugger pet alonso successfully defended his home run derby crown last night

in denver. >> walks it off. what a finish. alonso defends his title, the 2021 champion put the belt on again. >> get that belt. >> he topped tray mancini, a great story in his own right, recovering from cancer last year. alonso the third back-to-back champion in history. and shohei ohtani could not power past the first round, ousted after a swing off with juan soto. he has a 520 home run. the longest derby blast to have been a 524 foot shot by sammy sosa. that means he can save strength for tonight's all-star game. he'll be the starting pitcher on the mound and lead off as the

designated hitter for the american league. that makes ohtani the first two way hitter in the history of the all-star league. the derby was a blast last night. but ohtani is going to go on the hill, throw 100 miles an hour, then race to the dugout, get his bad and lead off. we've never seen that. >> it's exciting. i will say i'm not sure if fonzi didn't jump the shark yesterday when "the washington journal" posted a piece ohtani is better than babe ruth. obviously he played in an all-white league and obviously was playing in the teens, in the 1920s and into the early 1930s. still, if we're just compaing numbers, we're just comparing an arc of a career, i don't know

who in the world you compare to babe ruth. babe ruth, just seems from those who played in that time, babe ruth was the greatest hitter of all time. and if you believe people, satchel page was the greatest pitcher of october. >> by october ohtani may have had a better single season than ruth ever had. but you can't compare their careers. when we talk about ohtani, how long he keeps this up. babe ruth was only a pitcher and hitter for a couple years before they realized he can hit, let's focus on that. watching that derby last night brought the magic back. it'll be fun to see ohtani play tonight. >> that was fun last night. i'm glad you mentioned the trey mancini story coming back from

cancer. have you seen the grids where the pitches go? every pitch was in the same sport, remarkable. ohtani is the story here. he's someone who up until the season the angels have babied, when he pitched they gave him a couple days off. he had tommy john surgery and missed a season. but this year they took the leash off of him and he's having an all-time season. there's chatter about whether he's a good face of baseball. baseball is lucky to have him. i will say walking around streets, whether it's what, if anything, washington, new york, others, you're seeing ohtani jerseys.

he's a spectacular story, let's hope he stays healthy. the numbers at the end of the season could be eye popping. >> he's emerged as a superstar that everyone is talking about. kids are rifted by him. jack is a huge red sox fan and we usually only talk all things red sox over the past several weeks i'm hearingo ohtani. he loves all the red sox, whether they're in the all-star game or not, but he was looking forward to ohtani. babe ruth, here's lifetime statistics. we know 714 home runs, held that record for my gosh were 40 years until hank aaron hit 715. but lifetime average, home runs, 714, batting average a cool 342

batting average. 342. a guy hitting for power like that. runs over 2,000. rbis over 2,000. ops, 1.164. good luck finding anybody that's going to have two or three years back-to-back better than that given an entire career. >> that's the trick. to make a whole career out of it beyond a season. don't forget it, he did it ordering hot dogs from his position on the field. not the same physical conditioning we see today. >> coming up, pushing back on the narrative that facebook simply lost its way as it became a channel for disinformation and propaganda. our next guests reveal what they claim are dangerous flaws built into the platform by design.

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welcome back to "morning joe." it is 42 past the hour. live look at capitol hill this morning. social media giants facebook and twitter are being criticized over their failure to act quickly enough to stem the racist abuse of three black players who failed to score penalties in england's shootout loss to italy in the european championship final. a facebook spokesperson said the company moved quickly to take down the racial abuse aimed at england players on its instagram photo sharing app. twitter removed more than 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts for violating rules. the racist abuse has led to calls for social media companies

to do more in hunting down the perpetrators of the abuse. all three players targeted are part of an england squad that has been widely praised for its diversity and social conscience. british police opened investigations into the abuse on monday. gene robinson, you know, you worked over in britain, obviously, in london, i'm just curious what your experience was. you know, we americans often overgeneralize and we think of britain, we think of europe as being more progressive, more liberal, on many fronts. i talked to business people, especially over the past several years whenever we talk about them living in europe, going to football matches, and they're shocked by a lot of the racism they hear from the stands, bananas being thrown out on the

field at the feet of black players. and so what's going on there? is that just a small segment? and they talk about at times there really is just that sort of outright racism but also a lot of blind spots on racial matters in europe. what was your experience? does this terrible chapter in football -- does that surprise you? >> it does not surprise me. yes, there is a lot of racism in europe. and there is -- the difference is, here in the united states we fight about it. we talk about it. it's more sort of up front. we sort of work on it. it's a grinding uncomfortable process. over there, in my experience,

there's much less open acknowledgement that there is a problem. that there are racial issues in france, for example, has long sort of declined to count people, basically, to acknowledge that there are -- there are multiple racial groups in france. and the official position has been everyone is french and there's no difference between anybody so we're not going to study like disparities and inequalities in a way that we do here in the states. so the result, in my experience, and this is anecdotal, but i think right, is that it sort of gets papered over and then you see these eruptions in -- particularly in the stands at

football matches. but you see it elsewhere as well. in the -- you know, the council estates. the public housing in england or in the -- the -- the racially mixed suburbs of paris. you see sort of real eruptions of a kind of racism that's always there. it's just -- it's just not acknowledged as much. and, therefore, not dealt with. and i ultimately from all my time abroad in europe and in south america, i came to think that our way of dealing with these issues is better, it's much less comfortable. it's a pain for all of us. it's difficult, it's -- it's not fun. but it actually does get us

further, i think. >> yeah. we -- we talk through it. it was first woke, then that battle, another network was talking about, and they change every three months now it's critical race. but we talk about it, we debate it. sometimes like you said it's uncomfortable, but the debate is out there, has always been out there. i'm thinking about my experience that i told you about. we integrated in mississippi in 1969. they're battles. there's constant battles going on. but we talk about it publicly. willie, a lot of times it's not just people from projects in the stands in an england match that do this. i've had business people that have been in board rooms that have been shocked, again, by the insensitivities. i'm not saying this as a negative statement generally

towards europe. i'm just saying, there are blind spots there that we americans wouldn't normally associate, again, with countries that are often considered to be far more progressive, far more, some americans would think, advanced socially than the united states of america. blind spots. but we certainly saw it after the england match. but we also saw a beautiful outpouring. we saw the marcus rashford mural that was defaced and it's now turned into this wonderful tribute not only to him but that great england team. what about garrett southgate, that guy has shown dignity and class throughout this process. >> england's coach putting responsibility all on him, taking heat off the three players getting so much of it, particularly on facebook. let's talk about facebook with

reporters who are out with a new book today titled "an ugly truth, inside facebook's battle for domination". congratulations. we were talking about there have been so many books written about facebook, what else can you say? but turns out there was a lot in your book. we can talk about the insurrection of january 6th, the attack on the capitol and how much of that poison, how many of those conspiracy theories collected and gathered steam on facebook. and as you both write in the book, this is a feature of facebook that the platform is effectively created to get people engaged at whatever cost. >> absolutely. we could see for months leading up to january 6th that movements that called themselves stop the steal were spreading this emotive content, designed to misinform people and tell them the election was stolen from

president trump. this was being amplified by the president itself. facebook saw it happening. while they did take action on some groups, there were many other groups they left online. >> facebook will tell you we took down the posts any time we saw violence or a threat we took it down. how seriously do they take this stuff, conspiracy theories? are they compelled because it does go against their business model, are they compelled to go after them? >> they're trying. they're hiring thousands of content moderators, expanding their security team but this is a company with 3 billion users, they're really playing catch up. what we found in our book, our reporting, really surprised us. we thought this was a company that had really gotten out of control. but it's a feature, not necessarily a bug, that engagement is the core thing that they're looking for. that means eyeballs there, checking back over and over and

coming frequently. >> a spokesman from facebook released a statement on the claims that the company didn't do enough to stop the attack before january 6th. as we've said including before congress, our teams were vigilant in removing content that violated our policies against inciting violence leading up to january 6th. we were prepared for this and have been more aggressive than any other internet organization. we banned hundreds of social movements, took down tens of thousands of qanon pages and banned former president trump for two years. are they saying they're not responsible legally but

certainly general for what happens on our platform. have they changed at all? >> it's the smartest business move they can make, see themselves as a neutral platform because it absolves them of responsibility. that's what we saw in the early years of facebook and mark zuckerberg continues to hold it because it's the right move for him business wise. i think anyone can say you're neither. you're not a media company, you're not a platform, you're something else. we have to define that. until we do, you're not going to hold yourself responsible and the government is going to struggle to hold you responsible. >> joe has a question to you. >> i listened to that statement from facebook and they set the fire and then they brag about putting the fire out but the fire continues to spread while they set other fires. i just wonder, when you hear that statement and think back to the black lives matter protests and you think back to the

federal agent that was assassinated in oakland by somebody associated with the boo ga loo boys, suddenly somebody looked and decided to look at what facebook did. if you go on a page, they start directing you towards right wing fanatics, and it's the -- isn't it the algorithms that push people in more radical directions, which then causes violence and then they go we cleaned it up. when, in fact, they're the ones that, like you said, are driving engagement. even if that means pushing people to extremist sites. >> the algorithms and the tools they have are all designed to boost engagement, to get people to engage more with the site and that means pushing into groups with like minded people who are

oftentimes pushing conspiracy theories in the far right and the most dangerous rhetoric occurring in the groups that are harder to patrol by this company. when i heard this statement i was thinking this is a whack a mole approach they have and they're taking credits for the things they've done, and they have done the things. but in the whack a mole the hammer is so small compared to what they're up against. the scale of what facebook is t at, they've created something that's harmful for content and misinformation. >> there's a piece of the reporting that mark zuckerberg himself considered whether he should call the president of the united states and say what are you doing about this on january 6th. despite the fact that many gathered on facebook and facebook had a hand in this, what was the decision to not make the phone call? >> they were afraid it was going to go to the press. finally, people within the company are speaking up, they're

calling reporters such as myself and celia and trying to blow the whistle. in this case if we have him call trump it's going to leak to reporters, and better not to do it. >> facebook released a statement on this, whether it's executives considered the phone call, no such discussion took place with mark, nobody suggested that he call, he didn't. if trump ignored the pleas of his own vice president, nothing mark zuckerberg could have done would influence him. >> this started as a dorm room project 17 years ago at harvard and now it has such influence, power, why would they be compelled to change? >> i don't think any change

would come in. there's nobody that has oversight over the most powerful person in the company, mark zuckerberg. it's unusual in that mark zuckerberg has so much decision over the stock. when a court threw out the lawsuit, an anti-trust lawsuit, the company's stock soared and the company was valued at $1 trillion after that news break. >> it turns out there's much more to the story than we knew about, inside the book "an ugly truth". thank you both and congratulations on the book. >> thank you. gene, they were talking about how facebook would talk about all they were up against in trying to chase down all these extremists online. what they're up against is an algorithm, what they're up against is a frankenstein

monster they created themselves and refuse to have any meaningful oversight. mark zuckerberg refuses to have any meaningful oversight. their lies that they let spread on their platform have led to antivaxx conspiracy theories. the plandemic, they allowed lies to spread during the black lives matter protests that led to the assassination of a federal law officer in oakland. they spread lies that led to january 6th. they are the conduit for these lies. they publish these lies every day. and it's their algorithms that push it. what they're up against is what

they created and what they refuse to regulate. and american democracy and the health of americans is what's put at risk because of their recklessness in tracing a trillion dollar valuation. >> my question is, what do they do now? how -- because you're right, this whack a mole approach is never going to work with 3 billion uses out there and an algorithm that boosts engagement in ways that, as we've seen, are damaging and harmful and sometimes violent. so what do they need? a million people to vetting content instead of the tens of thousands that they have now. do they need -- a sort of uber

algorithm that regulates the algorithm itself. something big needs to be done with this company that is now so big and so influential. 3 billion users, that's a substantial portion of the people on the planet. and it just strikes me that it's out of -- it's out of their control and out of our control. and it's very difficult for any of us, including them, i think, to get our arms around this phenomenon now. so you can call it frankenstein's monster or whatever, but, you know, a few ten thousand content moderators is not going to make a difference. >> no and for a company that's now valued at a trillion dollars they can hire more. eugene robinson, thank you so

much. appreciate you being with us as always and just your -- just important incites, greatly appreciated. but you know, if they can't control it, which by the way, is just garbage. they can control it. they can fix the algorithm so the algorithms don't push people. >> they can do whatever they want. >> but they don't want to do anything, they want to keep making money. if the argument is, this is too big for us to handle, then they need to be broken up into a million pieces. they are a monopoly, they are crushing young entrepreneurs, the facebooks of the future. so why aren't they broken into pieces just like the bells were broken in -- bell telephone was broken into pieces back as they continued to grow in the '60s

and the '70s and the '80s. if it weren't for the fact that bell was broken up, then we wouldn't have cell phones. we probably wouldn't have cell phones. bell controlled everything. absolutely everything. so the federal government -- actually, they did something pretty radical. they actually applied anti-trust laws to break up the bells. and we are all better off for it. and i just -- i'm just seeing what's going on on capitol hill and washington d.c. and you just hear the sloshing of money going around for republicans and democrats alike. facebook just passing out thousands and thousands of dollars to congress people, to senators, trying to do anything they can do to stop actually being held accountable. and trying to stop anti-trust laws that were put in place to

stop companies like this. to stop them from continuing to damage american democracy, continuing to damage a free press, continuing to damage america's health care. continuing to spread lies and claiming, it's just too big for us. it's just too big. sure we -- we actually we're probably the main promoters at facebook of what happened on january 6th. sure we've probably led to millions and millions of americans not trusting vaccines because of the lies that facebook spreads. sure. but we just can't control. federal government, do your job. apply the anti-trust laws that are on the books and apply them the way they're supposed to be applied. the way they were written. >> yeah. >> because at the end of the

day, yes, american democracy is being hurt. america's health is being damaged. but at the end of the day, if you give adamn about the free market if you believe like me in the invisible hand of capitalism, if you believe in the idea that young people, young entrepreneurs should be able to start a company in their garage and grow it into something like, i don't know, microsoft, which is exactly what happened, well, then you want to break these monopolies up and the tech monopolies keep getting bigger by the day, more powerful by the day, they keep getting more dangerous by the day. but again, forget that. let's just talk about american capitalism. they block the entrance to thousands and thousands of new entrepreneurs. new small business owners. new people with new ideas that can create thousands and

thousands of jobs and make this economy stronger and make this country more vital and make our tech industry more cutting edge. even more cutting edge. instead of just having these plotting five or six monopolies that we're still allowing to rule over the earth like dinosaurs. enough is enough, congress, do your job. >> yeah. you also hear, along with the money sloshing around, people driven to the capitol to impale people with the american flag and trample over people killing them, trying to create an insurrection at the capitol all fuelled by messages send around on social media and the like. more now as we're just past the top of the hour. on january 6th, a federal judge released two more videos yesterday at the request of nbc news and other news outlets.

this video contains graphic images and they are disturbing to watch. the video are evidence in the case of michael steven perkins of lakeland, florida, who can be seen attacking two police officers with a flagpole during the capitol riot. according to court documents after another suspect slammed into a police line with a stolen shield. perkins can be seen on body cam video, thrusting a flagpole into an officer's chest and then raised the flagpole over his head to strike an officer with him. among the charges are assault and theft. this comes on the heels of what we showed you yesterday, new video released by the justice department of officers brutally beaten by capitol rioters while

trying to help someone, a rioter, who had collapsed. [bleep] [bleep] [bleep].

>> you're gonna die tonight. >> and, willie, these are the people who spent all last year talking about supporting the police, defending the blue. would repeat it, i guarantee you, all of those people that were brutalizing those police officers, those law enforcement officers that right now the republicans won't fund, these protesters, so called protesters who were actually rioters, insurrectionists, were using american flags to brutalize police officers, law enforcement personnel, hypocrites on supporting the blue. hypocrites on supporting the american flag. defending the american flag. raising hell any time they believe the american flag is not shown the proper respect. but you saw american flags all

over the ground in the video, picked up and then used as weapons of instruments where they beat police officers within an inch of their lives. so many police officers talking about how they were lying on the ground thinking they were going to die while american flags kept being smashed into their heads. >> it makes your stomachs turn to watch the officers surrounded on the ground completely overwhelmed just as it did on january 6th when we knew officers were on the ground beaten to within an inch of their lives, saying i have children, accepting fate thinking about his daughters. luckily he survived despite a heart attack from this incident. if you're still defending january 6th you can spare us the backing of the blue. if you believe police are heroic, i agree with that position, that video ought to make it sick to your stomach,

appall you as you watch that. the lies persist, donald trump was out in an interview two days ago saying these were peaceful people, there was love in the air. i go back to the statement from senator ron johnson back in march where he said these are people who truly love the country, respect law enforcement and that's why i wasn't afraid. watch those videos. watch those videos and stop lying to the people who follow you. >> right. well, they watched the videos and donald trump calls them patriots, he says they're good people. they're peaceful. ron johnson said he wasn't concerned, there was no reason to be worried. we had other people who were actually helping police officers barricade the insurrectionists from coming in and killing people inside the house of representatives saying it was just another day. it was just a -- and they won't even talk to police officers. i'm like you, willie, i support the police. i've always supported the

police. i'll always support the police. i support them on the streets, i support them at the capitol. it's not situational. yeah, i support police reform, too. but i back the blue. and i back the blue whether it's on the streets of america or around the capitol of the united states. what these people did to law enforcement officers is grotesque. judges should keep them in jail to the fullest extent of the law. if you can get 20 years for sedition but there for 20 years and then add assault, battery, whatever you can add and send a message that abusing our police officers, using the american flag as a blunt force instrument against them, beating them within inches of their life, it's just not acceptable in this country. >> joe, you have members of congress -- >> ron johnson supports this, by the way. he says this is cool.

ron johnson says this is nothing. these people are patriots. donald trump says these are good people. >> how about members of the media, radio commentators saying this was a chill day. >> a chill day. >> these people were here to be chill. >> does this look like a chill day? >> doesn't look like a chill day to me. >> because i heard that. >> i heard that too. >> people continue to spread the big lie. and it doesn't matter if you're a conservative, a moderate or a liberal. you got to call this out. i don't care what your ideology is, you should be an american first, and you should call this out. and if you support the blue, you need to support the blue even after your guy loses an election. when your guy loses an election, it's not a license to batter and abuse law enforcement officers with american flags. it's just grotesque. >> we're going to move to cuba

where at least 80 demonstrators involved with the recent protests there have been arrested. amid the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. nbc news correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest. >> reporter: thousands of demonstrators spilling into the streets of cuba this weekend calling for an end to the 62 year communist regime. chants of we want freedom echoing through the streets. protesters dumping trash and throwing rocks, demonstrations sparked by chronic food shortages and blackouts. in miami, protests in solidarity with havana. >> we've been waiting for change for so long. >> reporter: maria has family in cuba. >> i don't even know what their situation is right now. >> reporter: an economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic and no access to approved covid vaccines. a perfect storm for antiregime anger that spread rapidly as more cubans recently gained

access to the immigrant. cuba's president blaming the unrest on u.s. sanctions. >> translator: the lack of medicine and food, those topics embedded in our society, what is the origin? it's a blockade. >> they simply are not hearing the voices and will of the cuban people. people deeply, deeply, deeply tired of the repression. >> president obama established diplomatic relations with cuba with removed it from the list of state sponsored terrorism but the trump administration put them back on the list, imposing sanctions which president biden has not removed. >> it's trying to silence the people of cuba. >> let's bring in manny diaz and

senior editor for national review, jay nordlinger. who wrote about the cuba protests yesterday. thanks for joining us. >> jay, thanks so much. you followed this like me a very long time. 62 years of oppression in cuba, 62 years in political persecution in cuba. 62 years of religious persecution in cuba. what did they do a few days ago, did they round up military? no. they rounded up, poets, journalists, religious leaders. they rounded up everybody they could round up. my question, to somebody who's covering this for so long, could this be different? could we be seeing a crack in the armor of the communist regime that has ruled like a force over cuba for 62 years?

>> possibly. when people lose their fear, a dictatorship is in trouble. and when cubans lose their fear look out if you're the dictatorship. of course, the dictatorship is powerful and there are lots of people in exile, which is way the dictatorship likes it. but there are also a lot of fed up people on the island. i thought the protests were stirring and worrisome, too. it's dangerous to protest in cuba, even in great numbers. >> they're finding that out now. you watched the decent, you watched it squashed quickly in the last 62 years. do you see anything in the streets, in the faces, that make it feel like this could change the power dynamic in cuba this time? >> a lot depends on the government and forces within the government. are they sympathetic to the people? what about the military, how will the military tip?

will they do the necessary so called as in beijing in 1989, you recall the regime had to call forces from outside beijing because the beijing forces wouldn't fire on those people. so a question for a long time has been what will the cuban military do when the hour comes, when the revolt comes? >> manny, let me ask you, what should the biden administration do? what should congress do at this critical time in the history of cuba? >> well, the president has already done what i think needed to be done, and that is to declare absolute decisive and firm support for the cuban people. you know, make a plea to the government that they should not use repressive tactics. we will frown on any kind of attempt to silence the people. what i'm hoping is that this

statement and this position that our country has taken will be well received and will be joined by allies around the world and international organizations. the people of cuba need to understand that we are with them. that we are with them in the their struggle and that, you know, we're going to stand by them. i think that's essential. they're not alone, thank god for social media that we've been able to get some of these videos, and i think we should all be outraged. i think we should continue to put that kind of pressure on them. >> if the government doesn't respond to the pressure, what else can the biden administration do? >> i think we should continue the pressure. for now, i think what is important is that we continue this pressure, that the people know that they're not alone. you know, this is all new. the last time we had a substantial demonstration was really back in the 1990s when we

had the rafter crisis and we didn't have any of this. so you might have had 50 people on one side of the island protesting but 50 people on the other side of the island wouldn't know that protest was going on. now we have people we think back to the arab spring where people are learning others are revolting. to your earlier question when people say we are not afraid. that's the kind of thing you can say on any street corner in america, but in an oppressive autocratic system, that statement can lead to a beating, an arrest, or maybe killed. what that was telling me, it was an emotional day on sunday as a cuban american, that's telling me that people have had enough. they can't take not just the food shortages and the medicine, medical shortages, but also the fact of just common decency and dignity. they've had enough and they're

willing to risk their lives today, regardless of the consequences to push back on the government and demand the freedom they've been asking for. >> so jay, i'll ask you the same question. if the cuban government is unresponsive to any and all pressure, what's the next step for the biden administration? what's the next step for congress? >> well, i think of the phrase all of the above. what can you do? economically, diplomatically, in terms of moral support? make it an issue. make it a cause. cuban dissidents ought to be famous. the way the soviet dissidents were. there's a man named antunas a woman named marta, on and on, i

say, make cuba an issue, a cause. this is a brutal dictatorship 90 miles from our shore. it's been going on since 1959, new year's day. they've had 62 years, the chinese dictatorship, that dictatorship in beijing had 72. the soviets had 74. i was looking this up. the assads have been in power for 51 years. i mean, enough. cuba ought to be an issue, a cause. these people are suffering terribly. the soviet union expired a long time ago, 1991. yet this one client state presses on. the castros have now departed the scene, although raul is still breathing, he relinquished the reins in april. can this dictatorship survive the passing? i hope not. >> thank you so much as always. we greatly appreciate you and

love reading your pieces in national review and thank you to manny rodriguez. please come back soon. >> thank you, both. let me ask jonathan lemire. we talked about this last hour a little bit. what's the biden administration's plans for cuba? what pressure do they plan to put on cuba moving forward? >> to begin with, it's rhetorical pressure, we heard from president biden yesterday, put out a statement and addressed reporters on the top of his event about crime in policing, saying he stood with the cuban people they would not tolerate any sort of oppression or suppression of the protests there, that they would be carefully watching and we'll hear from him more this week about this had, perhaps with more substantial policy proposals. there's also some talk behind the scenes of linking the -- making some sort of connection between what's happening in cuba versus our own country they say

in terms of restricting access to the ballot. we'll hear from the president later today, he's giving a speech in philadelphia in a few hours. but cuba and haiti, both in america's back yard, they've been throw in a mix for an administration that hoped to focus on domestic issues this summer but now need some sort of response and want to, encourage the protests, those it should be denied, the cuban leaders saying the u.s. is behind them. that's not the case. they did not start them but they're supportive of the demonstrators in the street. still ahead on "morning joe," texas democrats make a last ditch effort of republican voting bills, they've left the state of texas and fled to washington d.c. we'll talk to one of those

democratic lawmakers next on "morning joe." plus with coronavirus cases on the rise, pfizer is working on a booster shot but u.s. health officials say they aren't necessary. and senator sherrod brown of ohio will be our guest as democrats make progress on a second infrastructure package. you're watching "morning joe," we'll be right back. ," we'll be right back. like many people with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease, i was there. be right back. but my symptoms were keeping me from where i needed to be. so i talked to my doctor and learned humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for people with uc or crohn's disease. and humira helps people achieve remission that can last, so you can experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,

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we took a stand and we left the state of texas because that was the best and the right thing to do at the right time. >> i am tired of sitting as a hostage in a house of representatives -- texas house of representatives while republicans strip away the rights of my constituents to vote. >> we have courage, conviction, and a little bit of defiance. and we are here today to rally

the nation. and we hope that the u.s. senate will hear us. >> democratic lawmakers in texas left the state yesterday and are now in washington. in an effort to block republicans from passing a new voting law. here is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams to explain what is happening. >> reporter: democrats brought a special session in texas to a halt by depriving it of a quorum, republicans are pushing to end drive by voting and adding an id requirement but about 60 democrats left headed here to washington, to urge congress to pass a federal bill. a similar walkout by texas democrats in may shutdown the legislature so governor greg abbott called this 30 day special session. >> and here's what governor greg

abbott said last night about the democrats' move. >> isn't that the most untexan thing you've ever heard, running from a fight. this is not over. i will call special session after special session. once they step back into the state of texas, they will be arrested and brought to the capitol and we will be conducting business. >> joining us now one of the lawmakers who's currently in d.c., texas representative jasmine crockett. also with us nbc news capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt. jasmine, i'll start with you. what do you make of the governor's threats to arrest you? >> i'm not worried about it. to give a little background, what i normally do is practice criminal law as well as civil rights. so there is no law that he can make up by himself to somehow

make it a crime that we did everything we could under the constitution. we are out of the state so that we could get out of the jurisdiction of dps just in case there was a call put on the house, which the governor doesn't do, the house speaker has to do that. and so at this point in time, the governor is without any options. >> so what's going to happen today? what are you guys -- as a group, when are you headed back to texas, and what's the plan? >> so i won't go back to texas, nor will my colleagues, until the special session ends. each session can only last 30 days, so august 7th is when this special session will end. we will not be in the jurisdiction of texas before then. what most people aren't talking about is the governor decided to defund the legislative branch of government. that means that the legislative

branch doesn't have the money to function come september 1st. so technically he can call special sessions but up until september 1, after that, they're out of money and we can't function anyway. so the governor has really boxed himself in. and, you know, we're prepared to fight. what we're now seeing is a crumbling of our democracy. you guys talked about earlier the insurrection. that was kind of like that fever pitch, right now the next move has been to strip as many voting rights away from citizens here in the state of texas and throughout this country. and we're prepared to fight back. >> representative crockett, it's willie geist, good to see you this morning. aren't you delaying the inevitable here? you get through this session but eventually you have to go back to texas at which point this law likely with republican votes will pass. what's the end game here?

>> the end game is to move the senate. as you can see our governor is being aggressive, so is our house and texas senate, they're all republican controlled. the opposite of d.c., a democratic controlled house, senate and white house. we're asking for that level of aggression to do good because right now the republicans in texas are doing everything they can to do bad. so we want that backup. historically, texas always gets in trouble by the time they pass a law, they are determined to be intentionally discriminatory. so we don't have that backup right now. we're impressing upon d.c. to do their part to give us backup. that way, once they pass this intentionally discriminatory bill we know we can have those portions struck down. >> representative, it's kasie hunt. what do you say to critics who argue that, you know, you're

shirking your responsibility, you're supposed to be legislating, texas voters did send republicans to control these chambers and this is the will of the people who elected them, what do you say to critics who say you should have stayed in the state to fight? >> yeah. you know, i don't represent anyone other than the people in district 100. i can tell you in house district 100 they are so happy that i got out of the state. they were calling and encouraging me to leave the state. sending emails. we actually received calls from from all over, not just in the state of texas. we received calls from everywhere p. i am doing my responsibility. i am doing what is allowed for under our constitution. just because it's not what the governor wants doesn't mean that i'm not doing my job. in fact, i would argue just the opposite. i wasn't elected by the governor of texas, nor were the other republicans but they failed to listen to texans. when you go back and look at the

testimony on saturday on the house and senate side. the majority of the people that at the last minute drove from all portions of texas, when they testified, the majority of them said they were against this bill. they told their very stories, first responders talked about the benefit of having 24-hour voting after coming off a 24-hour shift knowing they would not have to stand in line and they could cast their ballots but those lawmakers they didn't care, they didn't listen to the testimony, because they are taking their marching orders from the government and that's not who puts us in office. it is the people. it is time for this government to start working for the people and not the governor. >> texas representative jasmine crockett, thank you very, very much for being on this morning. really appreciate it. jonathan lemire, we know the president headed to philadelphia, he's going to be talking about voting rights. do you think he'll be touching on this?

and if so, how? >> we think the president will make mention of what's happening in texas. he has said that defending voting rights is the central cause of his presidency but he's received a lot of pressure from civil rights activists, other democrats who say he has not done enough. white house officials said they'll be welcome to talk to the texas representatives in the coming days while they're in washington but the focus today is the president's speech in washington, what's supposed to be a public relations bill pushing the need to defend the rights. but for now talking about it is the only thing the president can do because with the filibuster intact and senate math being what it is. there's not an obvious path right now for a legislative solution. we talk on the show a lot about the two big voting rights bills before congress, one more narrow perhaps a slightly better chance of passing, the jon lewis bill but at the moment wouldn't

without republicans coming on board or a change to the filibuster. that's what everyone is listening for today. does the president talk about the filibuster. in the past he said he was open to modifying it, going to the talking filibuster. but we're not sure enough democrats in the senate would go to filibuster reform. right now they're saying the legal remedy is the best, pointing to the department of justice, ways to increase turnout next fall to hang onto the slim majorities put in place, even if they're put in by republican members. but there will be a lot of activists looking at the president saying that's a good start but we need to hear more from you if you want to get more things done. >> coming up, a warning from the new u.s. commander in afghanistan amid the u.s. troop withdrawal. plus women's activism on the

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get me xfi pronto. that was fast. yep. now we just self-install. and we're back baby. do more of what you love when you upgrade to xfinity xfi. baby ninjas? i love it. yesterday the united states' longest serving commander in afghanistan handed off command. nbc news correspondent covering national security and the pentagon courtney kube reports from kabul. >> a ceremony marked the end of the war in afghanistan. general scott miller handed over the reins to general frank mckenzie.

>> you can count on our support in the dangerous and difficult days ahead. we will be with you. >> reporter: with them but in dwindling numbers. president biden declared the military would be out of afghanistan by august 31st. but nearly all equipment and troops have left already. at the same time a taliban offensive has been sweeping across the country as the after gan military no longer has military advisers. >> if this government is overthrown we can expect a return to medieval standards here in afghanistan. >> reporter: the general with a stark warning saying the al taliban has their sights set on taking over kabul. you've been here for almost three years what does it feel like to be leaving for the last time? >> it's different to be leaving for the last time certainly.

that will be something to process overtime. >> reporter: after nearly two decades, america's longest war coming to a solemn and uncertain close. >> reporter: i'm richard engel, the taliban took over another base from afghanistan security forces. the taliban have not been this strong since the u.s. drove them out 20 years ago when the militants ran afghanistan and hosted osama bin laden. one unit is fighting against the return of the taliban and new bin laden's, afghanistan's commandos. we recently saw them in action. their general says foreign extremists are rushing back to join what they see as the victorious taliban. >> these people who are coming to create trouble and problems for the world, for the future as

they did in 9/11. >> even worse than 9/11 i'm telling you. >> reporter: she's a member of parliament and a negotiator with the taliban. extremists tried to assassinate her twice. >> you have been in war and in war people don't distribute sweets, they kill each other. do you think those who actually have been killed, they will not go for revenge and hostilities? they will. >> reporter: i put that question to a former taliban leader who new bin laden. >> will afghanistan once again be a base for international terrorist attacks? the taliban signed a peace deal with the main point and they will not allow any terrorist groups to operate in afghanistan he says. >> one group is seeing the effect of the taliban's resurgence. new reporting reveals women in afghanistan are facing harsh restrictions in the areas where

the taliban has taken control. during america's time in the country one major area of growth was women's rights. girls were allow today go to school and work. that progress now seems to be in serious je jeopardy. joining us is the co-author of the new book "awakening, me too and the global fight for women's rights". definitely want to talk about the book as it relates to this but let's talk about women in this afghanistan. how much of a setback will they endure over the coming months? >> look, we know the situation on the ground is incredibly fraught. there are attacks happening around the country and it's particularly dangerous for women who have been under assault. afghanistan is a different place than it was 20 or 30 years ago. it has a constitution, girls have returned to school, women are in the work place.

this is the afghanistan of today. and for the country to be in good standing in international community, women's rights must be fundamental. >> so in "awakening" you talk about the global impact of me too can it help the women of afghanistan and tell us about the book. >> the book tells the remarkable story of the global impact of the me too movement. most people are familiar with the movement that swept the united states in 2017. but it's now spread to over 100 countries around the world, including countries like afghanistan and what started as an online campaign against sexual harassment has now triggered the most widespread cultural reckoning on women's rights in history. >> so rachel, one of the stories you tell in the book is from pakistan where one celebrity's courage could lead to removing the stigma around naming

accusers. you write, meesha was the first famous pakistani woman to make public allegations against another leading celebrity, zafar, was also a pakistani singer and actor on television in bollywood. zafar has insisted on his innocence, releasing his own statement on twitter, i am deeply aware and in support of the global me too movement and what it stands for. i am the father of a young girl and a young boy, a husband to a wife and son to a mother. he rebutted meesha's allegations saying i categorically deny any and all claims lodged against me. i intend to take this through the courts of law.

those proceedings are ongoing, however the case is instructive in challening faced by women making allegations of abuse in pakistan. the women had seen the me too movement's global power online but worried about the backlash they may face for speaking about sexual harassment, a taboo in the country. for two household names to be involved was momentous and emboldening. within that, perhaps more will come hopefully in pakistan. and i wonder, in your book, how you cover women speaking out, finding their voice, being heard, being believed with due process. >> you know, due process is critical. it is the corner stone of any reputable justice system. but if we want women to litigate

these harms in a court of law rather than in a court of public opinion, we need to ensure that access to justice is actually available. too often the court system is stacked against accusers and social norms questioning the voracity of those who come forward stand in the way of justice. so ensuring that women can actually obtain redress in the criminal justice system is a precondition to addressing concerns about due process. ondig concerns about due process extensive example from pakistan that we'reex looking at here. where else across the world do you seeth the #metoo movement having an impact, especially in places where historically there's been more violence, perhaps, against women than we see inin other areas? >> i think it will surprise people who read the book to see how this movement has spread to some of the corners of the world where it's hardest to be a woman. and in just three years, we've seen remarkable victories.

sports worldwide have reinterpreted existing doctrine and handed down sentences reflecting definitive cultural shifts that metoo has set in motion. even in countries like sweden who are perceived to be gender equal yet have many challenges. in all of these countries we've seen landmark cases with movement for survivors. in morocco, we saw metoo also with sexual harassment but stalled marriages. >> the new book is "awakening." rachel, thank you so much. willie?

president biden is urging local>> officials to use covid relief money to combat rising violence we're seeing across the country. msnbc's kelly o'donnell has the story. >> reporter: violent crimel on the rise. the president feeling the heat to react. >> let's keep each other safe. >> reporter: convening his own crimeon summit to hear from big cityhe leaders. >> these parents and families are looking for real relief right now. >> reporter: in philadelphia, 77 people struck by gunfire during the first eight days of july. smaller cities hurting, too. rochester, new york, with 37 homicides this year. >> a sense of urgency. what can we do now? >> reporter: police superintendent david brown is from chicago. meagan fitzgerald was there. >> reporter: 35 people shot, 11 people killed. residents are calling onle the mayor, the governor, even the president to do something about theve violence. >> reporter: bute critics slam

democrats saying they make policeyi recruitment harder. >> we declared war on the police and that is backfiring on those who have done it. >> that was kelly o'donnell reporting there, by the way. this was part of the campaign when activists wanted to defund the police, and they said, no, we have to make them better, we have toet fund the police. so there is the message that democrats are trying to project to voters t with midterms a yea and a half away. >> it's a tricky balancing act for this white house. the president himself is pretty much inoculated against the defund the police. he made it clear in the campaign he did not support that even as other democrats tdid, and they point to his long record on being tough on crime, in fact, with the '94 crime bill. so they think he's okay on that, but they do worry about

democrats rrgenerally. crime has gone up in a number of cities across the country, particularly shootings and violence, and there is a concern it couldgs drag them to crack dn in midterms next year with how thin their margin is. it was thegi second time in thr weeks the president has reconvened an anti-crime event. that shows you how seriously they're taking it. h eric adams is the frontrunner to be the next mayor of new york city. he's a democratic nominee. he's likely to win. he strikesik a similar balance almost to biden, almost a representation to the compromise they're trying to stick.yi he is not someone wanting to defund the police, in fact, he wants to increaseic police in n york, try to combat the surge they've seenom in shootings, bu at the same time calling for reform. he was part ofe al a group, 100 black law enforcement officers who care. he talked about his own experience of being abused by a police officer. so he is someone trying to do

both, thread that needle, and that's why his presence yesterday wasat so important. but the white house, again, much like their voting discussion, and i'll be with the president in philadelphia today, there is a limit to what they can do on theirha own. the president has increased funding to local police departments from the covid relief bill, but the onus is on congress to pass some sort of gun legislation, and that doesn't seem like it's happening any time soon. >> andme you will be traveling, like you said, with the president today. ahead, a legal reckoning with president trump's attorneys who pushed his fraudulent claims of election fraud. and senators appear to be at a stalemate over funding that agency.ng "morning joe" will be right back. agency "morning joe" will be right back

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yesterday billionaire richard branson went to space on one of his virgin galactic rockets. the flight went more than 50 miles high to the edge of space. southwest heard and was like, big deal, we did that last week when one of our pilots fell asleep. it was a pretty cool moment. i was a little surprised by that one part, though. did you see this? watch this. >> 3, 2, 1, release, release, release. ignition. good rocket motor burn. everything is looking really good. >> we don't need to do that. we don't need -- >> that's funny. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." it is tuesday, july 13. hi, willie, good to have you back. we missed you. >> thanks, guys. good to be back. i had a little eye injury last week. i wish i could say i was on a sunny beach, but thanks to a good ophthalmologist, i'm here.

it's good to be back. >> among one of the many stories we're following this morning, quote, they're getting laughed out of court. that is one of the republican party's top lawyers said in realtime about the election fraud claims by former president trump's legal team. and this morning a federal judge in michigan is calling the claims from trump allied lawyers fantastical. we'll talk about the new efforts to hold the former president and his backers accountable for spreading those lies about the election. plus, a dramatic escalation in the battle over voting rights in texas as texas democrats flee the state. they're now in washington to lobby congress to take federal action. we're also following the new warning about the johnson & johnson vaccine amid a new surge in covid cases. and the polar bear does it again. the mets' slugger pete alonzo wins his second straight home run derby.

okay. >> wow, willie, he just completely dominated this process, this competition. a lot of talk, obviously, about tani beforehand but this was all pete alonzo's night. >> yeah, it was in denver, too, with that thin air, the balls just absolutely launching out of there. you're right, joe, pete alonzo, the new york mets slugger repeating, getting that giant spinning necklace. he's into it. he's into it. >> he likes that necklace. okay. let's get to the news. we're going to begin this morning in cuba. he does wear that. where at least 80 demonstrators involved with recent protests have been arrested amid the worst economic crisis the country has seen in decades. nbc chief news affairs

correspondent andrea mitchell. >> chants of "we want freedom" echoing through the streets, protesters throwing rocks, and blackouts. in miami, protests in solidarity with havana. >> we've been waiting for change for so long. >> reporter: maria figueroa has family in cuba. >> i don't even know what their situation is right now. >> reporter: an economic crisis expanded by the pandemic. a perfect regime for anger as more cubans gained access to the internet. blaming the unrest on u.s. sanctions. >> to lack of medicine and food. all of those topics are embedded

in our society. what is the origin? it's a black aid. >> they simply are not hearing the voices and will of the cuban people, people deeply, deeply, deeply tired of the repression. ♪♪ >> reporter: president obama established diplomatic relations from cuba and removed it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. but cuba put themselves back on that list, citing sanctions which the president has not lifted. >> can the cuba governor refrain from violence in an attempt to soften the voice of cuba. ed augustin, ed, it's good to see you. lay out why we're seeing these demonstrations in the streets.

authoritarianism, we know economic conditions contribute to that, and also covid in a spread there and the lack of government response to it. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: well, the scenes i saw on sunday are things i never witnessed in cuba. i've been here for eight years in havana and across the country, there were thousands of people. they were throwing bottles at police, ripping up paving slabs. i saw one policeman almost running over protesters. police for their part beating protesters, firing -- i'm not sure if that was rubber bullets or not, pepper spray. so it was a melee of violence between predominantly young protesters, many of whom are rioting. a police car is upturned. i think the main driver for this has been the scarcity in

privation. the president has hit them with over 200 sanctions in the cuban regime during the trump time in office. those sanctions have ruined the economy. the government does not have the money it needs to import the medicine that people need, it doesn't have enough money to import food, and that's playing out in the street and adding to the tension. i spoke to a woman who gets up every morning at 3:45 in the morning. has to hide from police because there is a curfew in place to keep covid limited. she hides behind a shoe repair place, a cobbler's, then at 5:00, they bolts to the queue for goods she doesn't even know if it will arrive. she was in the queue for eight

hours and came back with minced meat. of course, the pandemic, which has removed all tourist revenue in this country that has led to a huge amount of frustration and anger that we saw explode on the streets in cuba on sunday. >> ed, as you know, for generations the cuban government has quashed very quickly any signs against it. is this new generation of people in the streets that seem to be fed up with their government, is it different this time? >> reporter: i think what we're seeing right now is the government coming down hard on the demonstrators, especially demonstrators that were violent, but also there will be some persons of conscience. there will be people arrested on a house arrest or being interrogated because of that. i think it's a mix. i'm speaking to you now from an island where the internet has

been cut. the authorities have likely cut that, one can only surmise, to stop a repeat of the demonstrations that we saw two days ago, and in havana right now there is a very heavy police presence. just driving here on the way to work you see an expanded police presence. so authorities are going to be very keen to keep a lid on protests if they're able to. >> n bnbc's ed augustin in cuba. ed, thank you very much. and we're hearing this is very much because of the blockade in cuba that we've heard for many generations. >> i didn't actually see those protests in the crowd. let's bring out the white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire. jonathan, there obviously are a lot of the implications to how the biden administration approaches this crisis. obviously diplomatic and

geopolitical, but also domestic considerations as well. the biden administration can't be seen sitting back as these protests go on 90 miles south of florida. >> no, joe. we heard pretty encouraging words from the president yesterday in terms of supporting these protests, supporting these demonstrators. taking, frankly, a markedly different tone than his former boss, barack obama, who sought to ease tensions with cuba, to normalize some frustrations there, even with the castro regime. of course, that all went away with former president donald trump who reimposed sanctions. many of these restrictions the u.s. government under biden have not yet released, have not yet changed, have not yet rolled back. i actually pressed secretary jen psaki about that yesterday and she pointed to other aid that had gone there. i also asked about the vaccines, which is, of course, cited as

one of the issues in cuba. they've been ravaged by the pandemic. the economy never great to begin with, but devastated by the pandemic. she said they are not part of covax so we were not able to send vaccines that way. so there is no obvious immediate solution to that. but there is the domestic situation, of course. we know how the voting block is in florida, particularly in miami. we know president biden lost florida in 2020 by somewhat of a substantial amount. a lot of democrats have written off florida for '24, especially if donald trump gets back in the race thinking that's simply not going to come back in their column. but, of course, there are latino populations elsewhere in the country as well, and there are, of course, other democrats other than joe biden who have interests in florida. so they're navigating carefully here, and in the coming days the president has promised we'll hear more from him grappling with proposals on cuba.

still ahead, the federal government blasts donald trump's attorneys for their fantastical claims about the collection. will there be sanctions? you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ing "morning joe. we'll be right back. psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. tremfya® is approved to help reduce joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

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now to some legal matters surrounding former president trump. nbc news has confirmed that allen weisselberg, the trump organization chief financial officer indicted on tax fraud charges earlier this month has been quietly removed from top positions at more than two dozen trump subsidiaries. but a person familiar with the

matter says the executive's overall role with the trump organization remains the same. according to filings with the florida state department that were first reported yesterday by the "wall street journal," weisselberg was removed from positions with at least 28 trump subsidiaries. the "washington post" reports his removal from more than 40 subsidiaries, citing british corporate records. nbc news reports one of the companies he is no longer listed as an executive at is trump payroll corp, which was hit with criminal charges on july 1st along with weisselberg and the trump organization. weisselberg had been on the trump payroll corp, their treasurer, secretary and vice president. those roles now filled by donald trump jr. according to the filings. so junior has those jobs now.

>> and trump's most outspoken election attorneys are facing possible sanctions for attempts to overturn biden's election in virginia. they appeared for a federal zoom hearing in court yesterday. they presented documents that were littered with lies, some from trump himself. trump attempted to distance himself from those claims. he said, my name is on there but i didn't review any documents. they spent hours asking the attorneys to explain how closely they had viewed vetted information submitted in hundreds of pages of sworn declarations that they had told the court constituted evidence of purported fraud and irregularities. this all according to the "washington post." the judge noted one observer stated in an affidavit she saw -- believed she saw election workers switching votes from trump to biden.

parker asked whether any of the lawyers had spoken to the witness and inquired what exactly she saw that led her to believe votes were switched. she was greeted with silence. anyone, she asked again. i don't think i've seen an affidavit that made so many leaps, said the judge. there was another statement from a witness who swore he saw individuals putting plastic bags in trucks and he believed they could be ballots heading to a facility. the judge called that really fantastical and speculative. last week another trump attorney, rudy giuliani, had his law license suspended in washington, d.c. for similar reasons. this is weeks after a new york court took the same measure. this hearing with the federal judge was extraordinary. for six hours she peppered these attorneys, and it boiled down to, you put into this affidavit a bunch of stuff you read online maybe in a comments section and tried to make a legal argument without vetting any of it.

>> they're conspiracy theories you can still find online, whether it's russia information or whether it comes from a chinese religious cult that has a front in the united states, or maybe conspiracy theories on facebook. and for attorneys to actually put that into a pleading, sign their name to it and then put it into federal court, that's really shocking, willie, and it's shocking for anybody that's ever really practiced law. i've always joked about when i was an attorney in northwest florida. i did state law work, but man, when you went into federal courts, and it's something they taught you very early on, you better get all your facts right in those federal pleadings. again, they said the same thing about state pleadings, but you would always hear about rule 11 sanctions. they would come after you for sanctions.

if it's not filed in good faith, you're going to get hammered by federal judges. i don't think there is a lawyer in america that started at a law firm where there were older attorneys that didn't give them that warning. that's one of the things that was shocking me in november and december, when people -- rudy giuliani, he was filing these things. len wood and sidney powell, they would file these crazy lawsuits, and i would keep wondering how are they doing this? how can they get away with this? because i know if this had happened in northwest florida in front of the three federal judges that were there when i was practicing, man, you would have lost your law license in a second. they would have disbarred you in a second. i mean, seriously, it wouldn't have been a close call. and i know i'm going on and on about this, but i just can't

explain to people who aren't attorneys enough how mind-blowingly wild, how radical, how reckless, how stupid it was for these attorneys to put their names on conspiracy theories and then put them in federal court in front of federal judges. i just wondered why it's taken this long. so -- i mean, i'm not surprised by the six-hour hearing. i guess i'm just surprised it happened in july instead of in march, but the wheels of justice turn slowly, and perhaps these lawyers that made a mockery of these federal judges, made a mockery of federal courts, maybe they ultimately will pay the same price that every other attorney would pay if they did the same thing. let's hope there is justice for all. coming up, we've seen many disturbing images from the january 6 insurrection at the

capitol. and these ones come directly from one of the senators who was targeted during that riot. ohio's sherrod brown released these firsthand pictures, and he'll join us straight ahead on that, and the ongoing fight against infrastructure, coming up on "morning joe." joe." when subway® opened they changed the fast food game. but sometimes you gotta refresh ...to be fresh. welcome to the eat fresh refresh. refresh where there is so much new, some say that it can't fit in one ad. i say... ...we're talking a new all-american club, deli-style oven-roasted turkey and... oh, that's the new steak & cheese. oh yeah, i knew that. that's the one with the new... ...seasoning.

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♪ dream on ♪ - yes! ♪ ahhhhhhh ♪ ♪ dream until your dreams come true ♪ the republican party's top lawyer called election fraud claims by former president trump's legal team a, quote, joke. according to a november 28th e-mail obtained by the "washington post," the republican national committee's chief council, justin ramire, discouraged staff from posting claims about ballot fraud on accounts. a spokeswoman in part, quote, what ramire and jenna are doing is a joke, and they're getting laughed out of court. they're getting laughed out of

court. referring to rudy giuliani and jen na ellis, quote, they are misleading millions of people who have wishful thinking that the president is going to win this thing. let's go to nbc political analyst eugene robinson. gene, when i talk to friends who are reading conspiracy websites, who are reading facebook conspiracy websites, who are going to websites that are run by chinese religious cults, i say, listen, rudy giuliani, he got laughed out of court. rudy giuliani never would allege in federal court widespread voter fraud. all of these judges, trump-appointed judges, laughed these people out of court in a minute, and still that conspiracy theory still holds. here is another example, is it not? of all the institutions that may

have buckled under donald trump, our federal court system remains strong. >> yeah, you know, thank heavens for the federal court system because it did remain strong throughout this entire disgraceful process. like you, i'm surprised that this hearing didn't happen in march or april as opposed to in july, but it's really important. it's important because federal courts are not to be trifled with with just out and out lies, with rumor and, you know, comment section nonsense. the way that rudy giuliani lynn wood and sidney powell did. they're officers of the court. they have a responsibility and a

duty not to do what they did, and i just hope that they face the most severe punishment possible, because it's just important for the nation to see this, to understand just how ridiculous, how fantastical, as the judge said, these arguments were and these pleadings were. there has to be some fact basis for this government in this nation to survive and to move forward. and the courts, thankfully, are sticking up for their principle, but there have to be facts. there can't just be whatever you want to make up about alleged voter fraud that never took place. >> coming up, you might not have heard about it, but it's a

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34 past the hour as we look at capitol hill this morning with u.s. capitol police and the national guard close to running out of money for their salaries. lawmakers on capitol hill appear to be at an impasse over how to replenish those accounts. weeks after warning of depleting fund, senate chair patrick lahey

proposed funding. it would offset issues in the wake of the insurrection on the capitol. senators unveiled a $6 million bill. democrats considered it a non-starter, saying it doesn't fully address all the costs incurred around the january 6 insurrection. joining us now, democratic senator sharrod brown of ohio. also with us, nbc contributor mark barnacle. >> what is the difference between the senate version of this bill? >> what's the difference between them, you say, joe? >> what's the difference, yes. >> the difference is funding the whole complex which is what we need to do.

i was just talking to msnbc staff here about how you guys, 24 hours a day, you have staff, you have a live camera here just in case, and it's not like the country has settled into bipartisan happiness and that there aren't still verbal and pretty nasty attacks on the system, on biden, on politics on staff, whatever. so it's important we do this right. that's why i spoke with senator leahy on the floor last night. he wants to do it right. he knows we need to go fulsome on this and make sure funding is done in a way that makes government run smoothly. >> after january 6, you would think everybody up there would agree with that position. i'm curious, what is the stated objection you hear from republicans? and can you all bridge the gap? >> well, i'm hopeful we can bridge the gap. i think we'll find a way to get this done close to the way that

senator leahy wants to do it. i think the opposition from republicans, from your old political party, joe, is pretty inexplicable, just like all the votes against the january 6 commission. i was in the capitol, as most of my colleagues were. i spent the night in my office that night. i didn't really want to walk home 20 minutes away, and i wandered around and saw what damage had been done. that's not counting the human damage because everybody was already taken to the hospital, and the people who had been terrorized, the food service staff, the custodial staff who aren't paid very well, were terrorized in their little cubicles or holes in the wall offices or their supply closets during all that, and yet one party doesn't seem to think that much matters. >> senator, you posted some pictures last week, just a few days ago for the first time. you said, this is what i saw in the capitol. you took those six months ago on

exactly the evening you're talking about walking around the capitol. they're pretty stunning images. you began to answer my question which is your republican colleagues, your republican counterparts want to turn the corner and walk away from these pictures. they want to walk away from the images we're seeing again and again come out of courts across the country of police officers being beaten with american flags. when you talk any of them privately, people you've known and worked with fire long time, how do they justify their position on january 6, which seems to be to turn the page? >> well, they say let's move on, we have big problems to solve. of course, they're right as far as that goes. those pictures, that is now my office in the capitol. that was not my office at the time. and there is a half moon window you saw in those pictures where the rioters came in with their flagpoles, with trump flags and confederate flags and american flags breaking that glass entering that room and just

destroying everything in their wake. i was obviously not there then, and nobody was in that office then, but that's the kind of damage. and my colleagues all know that. i think the politics of it, i think they're still -- i mean, there's still a fear that donald trump will attack them. i'm seeing that play out in a senate race in ohio now for my colleague senator portman's open seat where they're like kids in a playground sticking their tongues out at each other saying donald trump loves me more than he loves you. it doesn't get us far as a nation, and it's so important what president biden is doing and the senate and house are doing on the child tax credit, on the pension bill we passed. as you know, this week 39 million children -- 39 million families will get a check from the government, $250 or $300 per child every month starting this week that will make their lives better. they're doing the hard work in trying to raise children right. i did roundtables all over my

state and heard these stories last week, or two weeks ago, of what these children face and these families face, and this is going to make a huge difference in the lives of literally tens of millions of families in this country, and that's what we need to be focusing on. but don't forget what happened six months ago, either. >> mike barnacle is with us and has a question for you, senator. mike? >> sure, mike. >> senator, you built a successful political career in the fact that you have a relationship and knowledge of what white working people, all working people, actually, do for a living, how hard they work in a paycheck-to-paycheck economy. so with regard to this bill by the capitol police, is there a single amount of money that would restore a capitol police officer's faith in the system, in the people who he reports to, congress? >> that's such a good way to pause at this, mike, because the

fact that the republicans and democrats are fighting over how much we fund these police officers in this capitol security sends a message to these police officers, do they really care about us? i think we're getting that message around the country. i know police in ohio increasingly understand that it's democrats on their side because we're the ones that put dollars in the local governments so they didn't lay off police and fire. and i think that -- that's not what really matters. what really matters is that these police officers know that we have their backs. capitol police and police in my home cities of cleveland or where i grew up in mansfield or toledo or anywhere in my state. >> let's talk about the child credit expansion a little bit more. it's interesting that in one lump payment, perhaps at the beginning or end of the year, this is a bit more unique from what i've heard on these tax credits. they're monthly payments, and they're up to $300 per child.

it seems to be such a helpful, better way to approach this. talk about it and how you all came to that view. >> thank you, i would love to. i sat on the floor of the senate on march 6. i turned to senator casey when we passed that by one vote and over the course of 13 hours of voting on that friday night and saturday. i said, this is the best day of my political career, and something i've worked on for eight years joined by senators bennett and booker and warnock. we decided -- we were able to get the treasury department to do these checks monthly. the most important set of one lump sum. and the important thing is we trust families to make this decision on their own. when i was doing these roundtables, a woman in cleveland said to me, you know, i'm going to be able to pay for child care now so i can go back to work more hours. another woman said, i can send my son to summer camp now for a

week. a number of people in plays like sandusky or places like fremont and columbus and dayton said to me that, you know, i need -- the last week of the month i struggle with how i'm going to pay my rent this month, now i know i'm going to be able to pay my rent this month. think of that. 25% of americans right now, before the pandemic, 25% of americans who rent spend more than half their income on rent. that means if one thing goes wrong this their lives, their car breaks down, whatever. so this is going to make a huge difference. it's going to lift 40% of people out of poverty, but it's also going to make a difference for people who are on the edge, that this will make their lives a little easier and take a lot of that stress and let them focus on raising their children and going to work and paying for daycare. >> sherrod, if you've got a minute, i would love to talk to you really briefly about

politics, about your stay. you know, when you and i first started working together, ohio was a swing state, iowa was a swing state. you would see swings of republicans controlling it in two years. two years later democrats would control it. ohio seems to be a state that is broken more red than any other state in america, and you're one of these exceptions to the rule, it seems, in american politics where you're winning. you're doing well. you're thriving politically in a state that's not necessarily breaking your way politically. you talk about the clown show of people going from hating trump to embracing trump in your state to try to win his approval. can you explain why you succeed as a progressive in the state of ohio when the state seems to be getting more red by the year,

and what lesson other democrats can take from you? >> i'm not sure of that. i go back to barnacle's question about workers. my focus is unrelenting on workers, on how do we make low-income workers' lives a little better. how do we lift people out of poverty? a woman in virginia said to me where i chair the housing committee, she said the words poor and working should not be in the same sentence. she's a woman who has worked hard her whole life and she can't get ahead. how do you reward work? how do you talk about the dignity of work? how do you help people who are working hard -- no offense to anybody on the panel, you or me or rachel or any of us, how hard we're working, we work hard but so do a whole lot of millions of americans who don't get much of a break. my job is to help those people get a little more of a break, to strengthen the middle class, to enhance people's ability to get to the middle class, and i think

that's -- you know, there's some people who won't vote for me because of guns or won't vote for me because i'm pro choice always, i understand that. that may be 40% of the vote, but everybody else is available, and those who won't vote for me, i fight for them in the workplace, too. i always will. the child tax credit is the most important thing i've ever done, working on this for a decade, but there are so many other things with the overtime rule, with all that matters, helping unions organize so they can collectively join a union and raise their living standards, have more flexible schedules, all the things that carrying a union card means. >> all right, senator sherrod brown, thank you so much for being with us, and congratulations on fighting for as long as you have on the child tax credit. i know that means a lot for working americans across america. we appreciate you being here

today. >> thanks so much. mika, we have some breaking news. inflation jumped at 5.4% in june. that's the biggest rise since 2008. it's interesting, economic analysts keep bouncing back and forth on whether we should be concerned about inflation or not. a couple weeks ago the answer was yes, we should have been. last week a series of articles came out in the "new york times," the "wall street journal" suggesting that maybe inflation wasn't as big of a problem, that we needed to worry more about continued growth. well, these new numbers today -- and there were some articles yesterday warning about inflation being with us for quite some time. these numbers, the biggest inflation jump since 2008, suggests again that inflation is something that americans are going to be worrying about for quite some time. >> for sure. up next, new reporting on what health officials are saying about the need for covid booster

shots. plus, president joe biden is clearly proud of his irish roots, but some of his past comments about the politics there are not sitting well with some, especially amid growing tensions in northern ireland. matt bradley is live in belfast and joins us to explain. to exp. [relaxed summer themed music playing] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ summer is a state of mind, you can visit anytime. savor your summer with lincoln. from prom dresses to workouts summer is a state of mind, you can visit anytime. and new adventures

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so we have a coronavirus development to tell you about, after meeting with vaccine maker pfizer, u.s. health officials yesterday reiterated that americans who have been fully vaccinated currently do not need to get a booster shot. pfizer announced last week it planned to seek authorization for a booster dose of the covid vaccine because of the new delta variant. based on evidence that there's greater risk of infection six months after inoculation. willie? a story out of ireland. a centuries old conflict between catholics and protestants is simmering. joe biden this time is in the middle. joining us, foreign correspondent matt bradley joining us live from belfast. >> reporter: good morning. i am in a catholic neighborhood. this is a protestant

neighborhood. the police regularly close the gates to keep the communities apart when there's hiegt ened tensions. they saw some of the worst rioting the past couple years here. it goes to show in northern ireland, sectarian tensions, violence, they're not just in the past, they're very much in the present. you can still hear drums of war, rumblings of a disat that particular time past. a sectarian battle they have been fighting. tensions between catholics and protestants are rising again, thanks to brexit, the vote to leave the european union. it drew a customs border between northern ireland and great britain. angering protestants who see themselves as more british than irish. that seaboarder cheered on by an

american president who wears his irish catholic american heritage on his sleeve. >> if you're lucky enough to be irish. >> my mother's father's name was finnegan. >> anyone wearing orange is not welcome. >> reporter: the comment in 2015 was a joke, but orange clad unionists, it wasn't funny. joe biden, what do you think of him? >> interesting character. sorry, see him as a hit figure because his remarks aren't welcome here. we are the orange. >> reporter: he has the orange order, they organize the marches. >> want to be seen as supporting something tiresome, i don't think he supports it, but the ira murdered innocent people. >> reporter: that was during the troubles when catholics and protestants fought in the streets three decades. this is from a terror attack. >> how do you think i feel?

i lost friends, so let's get this right. people can watch from afar and think they know it, they know nothing. >> reporter: depends on who you ask. catholics support the republic, see biden as an ally. >> grandfather, finnegan, left from that port there on a ship for america. farming homesteads there with the church speiers there. >> reporter: he farms oysters he exports to european union, a catholic nationalist for sure but says the border deal is just good for business. >> reporter: when you hear joe biden talk about how irish he is, quoting irish poets. >> he's just been so good for ireland, it is fantastic. all our christmas came at once. >> reporter: northern ireland can seem like a zero sum gain. what's good for one side is catastrophic for the other.

the sectarianism is symbolic, massive bonfires protestants burn every year. loyalists that built this wood pile say it is the largest. on top, symbols of irish republicanism, they say they don't want war but they're ready for it. >> hoping it doesn't return. but if it does return, we are ready. >> reporter: it is already happening. protestant loilists staged street riots reacting to the brexit trade deal. northern ireland is like a big pile of tinder. all it will take is one spark to set it off. it is a particularly sensitive moment. 2021 is the 100th anniversary of northern ireland founding. this place was forged in flames, many worry with brexit and joe biden, belfast could burn again. the white house says they're not bias in favor of catholics or

republicans, they support the good friday agreement, the 1998 agreement negotiated with a lot of help from former president bill clinton. they want to see a prosperous northern ireland, despite all these comments from joe biden that make it look as though he is more in favor of the republicans. guys? >> eye opening state of play, matt. thanks for bringing that to us from belfast. mike barnicle, you covered this over the years, troubles lasting about three decades. most thought the '98 good friday agreement was the end of those. look at what's happening now, it is clear centuries old tensions are right near the surface. >> oh, yeah. it is very thick, willie, and it is lasting. it is right now as matt's piece just showed a part of it what they call marching season in northern ireland. stems from beginning of june through end of august. both sides, protestants and

catholics, have bans and maran bon fires. but there's something else going on in northern ireland that's important to remember. matt alluded to it, the issue of brexit, which turned northern ireland, many northern island protestants against great britain feeling they have been betrayed by brexit and new tariffs extended on goods coming into northern ireland. the other issue and it is a big one, the demographics of northern ireland. according to statisticians and people that study this in depth, within three years, catholics will outnumber protestants in northern ireland. that's going to renew in the next two to three years the push for united ireland, north and south finally united. >> well, that is obviously a dream of many in ireland. had been for awhile. i will tell you, looking at that

reporting, seeing the news over the past several months really takes you back to what bill clinton accomplished in striking a peace deal in northern ireland. it was really a remarkable achievement, an achievement that sometimes does not get the play that it deserves. in the short time we have remaining, willie, mike, quickly, what are you looking for tonight at the all-star game? >> mike, i'll be looking for mr. otoni, show time for the homerun derby. he was good first round even though he won. to have a player, starting pitcher for american league, go to the dugout, get a bad, lead off as designated hitter, never seen it. >> we pay a lot of attention to it. joe, you know we pay a lot of attention to it. given the historical aspect of

what will happen tonight, don't pay enough attention to it. it hasn't happened in 100 years. babe ruth was the last person to do this, and ohtani who can hit it out of the park with average speed of 102 miles per hour, froze the ball from the mountain, might hit 100 miles per hour throwing the ball. incredible. >> all right. another night of joe screaming at the tv. yay. all right. that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up coverage right now. >> that sounds terrible. hi there, i am stephanie ruhle. it is tuesday, july 13th. here is what's happening this morning. a brand new setback for johnson & johnson, the fda putting official warning label on its covid vaccine, but telling americans the benefits still outweigh the risks. cases and hospitalizations are rising in states with no surprise ver