i am 63 years old. >> engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature. >> from a woman in my office who said that i groped her in my home office, let me be clear. that never happened. >> he ran his finger from her neck down her spine and said, hey, you. >> on occasion, i do slip and say sweetheart or darling or honey. i do banter with people. >> governor cuomo's administration fostered a toxic workplace that enabled harassment and created a hostile work environment. >> my office is a demanding place to work, and it is not for everyone. we work really really hard. >> governor andrew cuomo denies the allegation, the damming

allegations laid out in a sweeping investigation by new york's attorney general. now he's facing calls for his resignation from president biden on down. there's also the threat of impeachment, lawsuits, and even a criminal investigation. we will get into all of it just ahead. plus, another reminder that democrats kind of like joe biden, a moderate member of the party just beat a progressive fire brand backed by bernie sanders in ohio, but how did donald trump's candidate do? all that as coronavirus poses new threats to public health. the american economy, and all of those elected leaders who should have the power and prerogative to do something about it. also police officers who responded to the capitol riot are being recognized by the u.s. senate with the congressional gold medal. if senators can't agree on that unanimously, why is the truth

still so elusive on capitol hill. good morning, and welcome to "morning joe." it is a packed wednesday, august 4th, and we will begin this morning with the 165-page report issued yesterday by new york attorney general letitia james, which alleges, new york governor andrew cuomo harassed women, including employees in his office, and violated state and federal laws. cuomo is denying the accusations, and has vowed that he will not be distracted from his job. but calls for his resignation are adding up. nbc news correspondent rehema ellis has the latest. >> reporter: new york attorney general letitia james calling the blistering report deeply disturbing. independent investigators alleging governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed numerous women and broke the law. >> governor cuomo sexually

harassed multiple women, many of whom were young women, by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and by making inappropriate comments. >> investigators conducting 179 interviews describing in graphic detail a sweeping pattern of behavior by cuomo against 11 women, nine of them state employees. >> the governor hugged executive assistant number one and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. >> some of the allegations made public for the first time including a state trooper on the governor's security detail saying the governor kissed her. another time, placing the palm of his hand on my belly button, and pushed back toward my right hip saying she felt completely violated because to me that's between my chest and my privates. investigators say at least one of the women faced retaliation after speaking out. >> what was the culture?

words that witnesses have used repeatedly to describe it include toxic, hostile, abusive. >> but in a pre-recorded video statement, cuomo firing back. >> first, i want you to know directly from me that i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. >> reporter: and suggesting the women were purposely targeting him with false allegations. >> for those who are using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain, i say they actually discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect. >> but there are new calls for cuomo to resign or be impeached, including from president biden. >> are you now calling on him to resign in. >> yes. >> our thanks to nbc's rehema ellis for that report. governor cuomo says he never

touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances, and has called the new york attorney general report biassed. also in the report, the governor's brother, cnn anchor chris cuomo was identified as an ongoing participant in strategy calls with the governor's inner circle. he may have even drafted one of the statements. he was also interviewed by investigators. willie. >> so what happens next is the big question? one option is impeachment. the new york state assembly is ramping up its impeachment probe of governor cuomo. after an emergency virtual meeting with assembly democrats, speaker carl hasty released a statement saying it was clear governor cuomo could no longer move in office and democrats would move to complete an impeachment inquiry as quickly as possible. according to "the new york times" things could move swiftly here. a person familiar with the process telling the times it could take just a month to complete the inquiry and to draw

up the articles of impeachment. the trial in the state senate could begin as soon as late september or early october. let's look at the legal angle to all of this with nbc news correspondent for investigations, tom winter, and former prosecutor, charles coleman. gentleman, good morning to you both. as you listen to the two outside attorneys, one of them a former u.s. attorney, lay out the findings of this investigation, it took about five months, they said that the governor violated state and federal law with his conduct. so what's the next step here? >> so what we're essentially looking at willie, is that we will likely see some sort of dissent decree entered in the governor's office and state ag's office. the reason for that is because with the governor being as high up as he is in the totem pole, you don't get higher than him. from a liability standpoint, they're automatically liable if this were to go forward in terms

of a civil suit. because of that, they're going to enter into a consent decree, which will likely include an independent monitor, someone basically put in place to monitor the culture that exists in that office, in addition to what will likely be cash settlements if these individuals decide to go forward with civil suits. >> so tom, you have covered governor cuomo for a long time, talk to anybody around him or anybody who's covered new york politics, they find it hard to believe that he will go willingly, that he will leave office, looking at seeking a fourth term as governor of the state of new york. impeachment could remove him from office. the criminal trial could take some time. in your view, what happens next here. >> an important note, when you think about this, our colleague, melissa rousseau pointed this out yesterday. in new york state, when the governor is impeached, he's immediately out of office pending the senate trial, so this is not something where he has to go through what we're used to in a presidential

setting where there's an impeachment in the house, and then at that point, the senate votes to either convict or not to convict. the governor is out right away. once the impeachment is voted on and if he is, in fact, impeached. he could come back and be governor, if the senate does not convict him. that's a little bit of a caveat from our colleague melissa. as far as things go from here, it's important to realize that we have a criminal investigation that's being conducted by the albany's district attorney's office. the district attorney spoke with lester holt, saying we're duty bound to look at this after this scathing report that came out yesterday but it's quite possible, willie, that that's not the end of it there either on the criminal front. it is certainly possible, it's within the jurisdiction, the manhattan district attorney, cy vance to look at this. they're not discussing this yet. obviously everybody is aware of the headlines, another significant part of this, and i think this is a key component of yesterday's report. the allegations about the

governor's unwanted touching and sexual harassment of a new york state trooper who was assigned to his detail i think is a very important part of this because of how much it's corroborated. there's e-mail corroboration, corroboration from statements to senior investigator within the new york state police, senior investigators are kind of the people that get things done. they're high up on the totem pole, they are important people within the organization and the fact that you have corroboration i think is very important. where did a lot of that alleged activity take place in mount kisco new york, somebody this show knows well, the district attorney there, so could she possibly take a look at it. i think those are additional things that could unfold, could the criminal heat ratchet up on the government. as you said in yesterday's statement, made it very clear from the government, he doesn't believe he needs to go anywhere. >> charles, i want to follow up on what tom said about the case of the trooper. there were several of these

incidents that the word versus the word of the government on the attorney general, not the case as far as the trooper goes. you have not only corroboration to friends, you have her going to her supervisor and saying, what do i do. you have people saying this has to remain in the car, you have other people witnessing this situation. as you look through the report, it did say that you had the most evidence in that particular case where here was a woman trying to do her job and she said the governor acted inappropriately, and she had witnesses to him doing that. >> i do think of all of the incidents that we have heard about, the case regarding the state trooper seems to be the most heavily corroborated as well as the most egregious, and i think when we're thinking

about the possible criminal prospects in front of governor cuomo, that is one that probably needs to be taken most seriously. i do quite frankly as a former prosecutor believe that when it comes to the majority of the cases going forward on a criminal level, those are going to remain remote possibilities in most cases, but here with respect to the state trooper because there is so much corroboration, if there's going to be anyone that we may see go forward on a criminal level, i would bet that's going to be the one. >> that's what it seemed with the first reading of the report. there were several of these cases that a prosecutor likely would not take up. of course the standard much higher there than it would be politically for the assembly, but you are right, that is one case that i'm sure all prosecutors will be looking at. tom, let's talk the politics of this because the political theory of the case for cuomo has been that like for donald trump and other embattled, like ralph

northam, other embattled executives, he was just going to keep his head down and plow through this. with the people i was talking to on the phone in new york and across the country, just as that was beginning to gel as the theory, you had the head of the new york state assembly come out saying he needs to be removed from office. that takes this completely out of the governor's hands. how ominous is it? how ominous for those of us who aren't in new york state, and don't exactly know how things work statewide there, how ominous of a sign should we read that to be for the governor? >> it appears to be quite ominous to me. i think when you look at the toe -- totality of this, what's the mandate going forward? he has been tarnished what happened with the nursing homes, fairly or unfairly, this has been an issue for him. you've got the assembly speaker coming forward yesterday, saying

he doesn't need to be in office anymore. the governor's attempts at framing this investigation is some sort of a political bias or political attack by the new york attorney general leticia skrams -- james as somebody who's going to run for his office or seat has fallen on flat ears. she made it apolitical yesterday at her press conference. the two independent investigators are two people that are probably completely beyond reproach. on top of that, the governor attacked this as some sort of an attempt to get him out of office, as i said, but we have to remember that the governor's own senior counsel called for this investigation. governor cuomo welcomed the investigation. the fact that we have a public report that we're discussing and dissecting is a product of the governor's office. an independent investigation like this, the governor's office actually gets briefed on a weekly basis but because the governor's conduct is the one in question here, they said you know what, no need to do that, you file a public report at the

end of this, and this is something that the governor wanted. at every opportunity that he has tried to fire salvos of this investigation or this idea of sexual harassment has not worked out for him at all at this point. it's tough to see how the opinion here could be swayed within the straight legislature. according to other reports, it appears it was nearly unanimous among other democratic members of the state legislature. there's an awful lot of support here on the political level for this to be the end of the cuomo regime. >> tom winter and former prosecutor charles coleman, thank you, both, very much for helping us with our coverage this morning. the governors of surrounding states, new jersey, connecticut, pennsylvania, issued a rare joint statement that reads, we are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the new york attorney general.

governor cuomo should resign from office. new york senators chuck schumer and kirsten gillibrand issued a statement reading no elected official is above the law, the people of new york deserve better leadership in the governor's office. we continue to believe the governor should resign. the mayor of new york city wrote he must resign, and if he continues to resist and attack the investigators who did their jobs, he should be impeached immediately. >> you know that had to hurt them to have to write that. >> speaker of the house nancy pelosi's statement reads, recognizing his love of new york and respect for the office he holds, i call on the governor to resign. let's bring in msnbc national affairs analyst, host and producer of show time circus, and the hell and high water recount john heldman, and susan

del percio. john, i would like to start with you! susan's the expert here. your thoughts, i'm focused now on hearing more and understanding more about the governor's response, this video he put out, and also his brother's involvement. is it a sign that there are still no boundaries for this governor or is that insignificant? >> good morning, guys. you know, i think that the starting point is i think with this whole thing is where, and we're seeing now the chickens coming home to roost on something we saw when this scandal broke. we talked about it on this show a fair amount. governor cuomo has -- has been a powerful figure in new york politics for a long time, but the power he accrued was driven by strong man kind of an ethos.

he did not build coalitions. he did not generate a lot of warmth or loyalty among democrats. when the dam started to crack, you realized that most democrats in the official hierarchy, i don't mean voters but the democratic party was quick to abandon him. this guy is not working with a net. you saw that back then. he did not have people rally around him. pretty much all of the official democratic party turned him out again. one of the few holdouts who said wait, let's see, was joe biden, and now at the national level, even is banning him. he's out there alone. he has no allies, he has no friends. i'm talking about within the democratic party. that's a tough place to be, and makes it all but inevitable, either he'll resign or get forced out through impeachment. all the cuomos, they have a

propensity to dig their heels in. even though the writing is clearly on the wall for him right now, it is still the case that he doesn't apparently see it. so could he decide, even though the rational thing would be to finally kind of acquiesce here, could he drag this out and try to fight the fight and drag others down with him, that's, i think, not impossible. but i think it's, you know, the end is in sight now. the question is how governor cuomo decides to go down, and i don't think there are going to be many people around him. one of the few people that will be around him, i think, is his brother chris cuomo, and you know, we knew about this chris cuomo thing. he got in trouble at cnn when some of this came to light early in the story. this isn't exactly new. i think a lot of people will raise questions. i don't think there's anything wrong with the governor talking to his brother. there are legitimate questions that have been raised about whether a cnn anchor should be

giving private advice to an elected official. he has been reprimanded for that. there's an ethical question on that side of the house. i don't think it's a problem for andrew cuomo. they are a fight family, i'm not surprise instead a situation like this it's all surprising that the two brothers would have been talking and there would have been advice given by the younger brother to the other. not approving of it, but not shocked. >> up until this point, was inconceivable to governor cuomo that he would have to leave office anytime than when he wanted to leave office. you might have expected humility, but he went out with this recorded statement, put up a slide show showing other times where he's hugged people, kissed people, men and women saying this is what i do. i'm a hugger, i engage in banter, maybe i did make comments to people. this is who i am. i'm not sure that's the solid defense he thinks it is. but he engaged in victim blaming, people seeking attention, this discredits

legitimate claims that women make in our culture right now. what did you make of his statement? i guess we shouldn't be surprised by it knowing him but as a defense of his actions , what did you make of it? >> there is no defense for his actions. we have a report that shows what he did and it was all backed up with other testimony, and he thought he could go out and victim blame. let's not forget how he started his statement, which was to say this has been very difficult for me and my family. well, guess what, we know at least 11 other people who this has been very difficult for. that's typical andrew cuomo. let's not make a mistake about that. no one does defiance better than he does. that video was a disgrace. my phone blew up when the charges came out from the ag's office. it was even worse the comments

about his statement, when andrew cuomo made that statement, how he could possibly do this, what's wrong with him. and yet we say this about things with trump, it's shocking but not surprising. this is how he operates, and it's consistent. i was with the governor's office back in 2014 during moreland, and it's the same kind of defiance we saw, the moreland commission was about ethics that led to one of his staffers being convicted of ethics charges but his brother was there, too, by the way. this is not an unusual thing for the cuomos to get together. i saw chris cuomo in the governor's office back then. i'm not surprised it happened now. he's very consistent. >> john heilemann, it's one thing if you are a member of let's say the new york assembly to make a statement about the

governor or if you're president of the united states and a democrat on whether he should resign. i found it really interesting and, again, i'll use the word again ominous politically for governor cuomo that governors from bordering states decided to put out a statement as well. that's kind of like swerving jr. your car into the other plane politically, going out of your way to take this guy down a couple of notches and let people know he should resign. nobody was asking the governor of rhode island, and new jersey if they wanted him to resign, and nobody probably would have. but i just thought that joint statement was fairly extraordinary. based on what i've seen in these situations in the past. >> let's be clear, joe, it's the joint statement that's kind of incredible. is it possible that a trenton reporter would ask the governor

of new jersey, yeah, it's possible that the governor of connecticut might get asked the question, possible, but the fact that they all banded together to issue the statement in a preemptive way with all of them, like, in league, we are the allied forced of the northeast, taking a collective stand against our fellow democratic governor, is an amazing thing. andrew cuomo has obvious skills and talents. he has had until this point, you know, he's in his third term as governor. he's one of the most important states in the country. he's a former secretary of housing and urban development, the guy was talked about not that long ago at the height of covid as being a potential democratic presidential candidate. i never took it seriously. i understood some of the things that we're now talking about which is to say he has gotten all of that done while making no friends whatsoever. like kind of the anti-bill clinton, right, someone who just accumulated friends and allies throughout his career.

andrew has had all of his success. he imposed it through iron will, through force, through retribution at times, through fear, and that worked for them to a point, but now when you get in this trouble, and you look up at everyone who you have steam rolled, everyone you have bulldozed, everyone you have snubbed, everyone you have threatened, everyone you have treated badly over the course of your career, when you most need allies, all of them are not only not there for you as allies, but they are happy in some ways. they are happy to let loose and kick you on the way down, and that is why this is so difficult, i think, for him to survive because who does he turn to? who is his constituency now? there are democrats in new york, voters who like him but no one in the hierarchy will be sad to see him go.

>> the governor's statement, they are the ones that cuomo dictated what their response should be to covid last year. this is not surprising. they were all having to be strong armed by andrew cuomo in that group response. going to the consistency, he strong armed them, and he has no friends when he's in need of them desperately. >> john, can you give us a little more background on that because i remember from the beginning when he first ran for governor, being surprised that somebody that was as hostile with the press, with political people, and again, sort of the antithesis of everything bill clinton was. i always tell people, politics is friend making business. it's about addition, just collect friends and keep collecting friends. help people. do what you can to, you know, be there when you they need you. it will pay you back.

he had a completely opposite attitude towards it all, and i am curious in all the years that you have seen him and followed him, how did that work for him. how did he become a popular governor of one of the biggest and post important states in the nation. how did he stay there while making no friends, while running over everybody that got in his way because of course, you are right. it's why nobody is there now to defend him. nobody is there to assume the best of him, and everybody's assuming the worst. how did he get here from there? >> to be clear, not only did they not assume, we're past the point of assuming now, as susan said, the report is devastating as an evidentiary matter. you look at report, and you're like, okay, it's much worse. people thought the report was going to be bad. it's worse than people thought.

there is a model in government. there's a model of political leadership that goes to the strong man quality. the cuomos are a family, mario cuomo, these are not dummies, they first of all have operated by being savvy, smart, then competence, right, part of what makes a governor work again, as you know, governors, mayors, people at the state and local level is are you getting it done for your constituents, and i think of a lot of people, partly because andrew was, he understood how the bureaucracy worked, how the administration worked, he would promise tangible things for state and then deliver them. when you think back to what people liked about him during covid, even back then, and this is before we knew about some of the nursing home scandal, but you think back to last march and april, you looked at cuomo and said, what everyone said was, yeah, he's a jerk but there are moments when being a jerk is a good thing, centralize authority

and get stuff done and be competent and keeping the trains running on time. if you put intellectual savvy and you put competence together, and then you understand that there is a way that's not a way of putting politics together that's not about coalition building but about divide and conquer, pull your enemies off each other, split people down the middle, power politics at its most ruthless, that's a way, if you put all three of those things together that can work, and especially for someone who has a name, who has the name andrew cuomo who happened to be, you know, someone who did benefit enormously politically from the storied reputation of his father. i'm not saying that's the only reason but it opened a lot of doors, and there was a lot of goodwill towards his father that he was able to take as a piece of political capital to carry forward on top of all the rest of the stuff. >> and joe one other interesting element of this story as we watched this unfold yesterday at the news conference and we talked about the friends

governor cuomo had and didn't v one friend he thought he had was the attorney general letitia james. he backed her, endorsed her running for office, campaigned with her, held fundraisers for her, traveled with her, and yet she was the one who initiated the investigation of the independent attorneys and stood at that lectern yesterday and talked about the bravery of the 11 women who came forward and said i believe these women. it was letitia james, thought to be an ally. he thought she was an ally, and that's why he was comfortable letting her run this investigation. it was she who yesterday perhaps began the end of his political career. >> and from the beginning of that press conference, it was also obvious that she actually had no question in her mind as to whether these women were telling the truth or not. >> yeah. we're going to show you later the response video that the governor put out. it's pretty staggering.

i thought it was like a comedy show thing until i watched it again. it just is really incredible given the allegations against him. still ahead on "morning joe," new york city announces a new proof of vaccination requirement for certain indoor activities. mayor bill de blasio will be our guest to discuss that first of its kind mandate. plus, in the fight against coronavirus president biden tells governors from florida and texas to help or get out of the way. and a weekly senate press conference turns into a race to the podium. we'll explain what happened here. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. here you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection

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just two states, florida and texas account for one-third of all the covid cases in the country. just two states. look we need leadership from everyone. some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. i say to these governors, please help. but if you're not going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. use your power to save lives. >> get out of the way. president biden yesterday singling out the republican governors of texas and florida. one of florida's largest school districts, broward county, says it will no longer impose a mask

mandate after governor ron desantis threatened to withhold funding from districts that require face coverings. this is as the delta variant is attacking young people and children. desantis on friday issued an executive order banning local school districts from requiring students to wear masks when they return to classes. a quick political aside, one new polling shows desantis could be losing support in his state, in a hypothetical match up of next year's gubernatorial election from st. pete polls, desantis trails democratic congressman charlie crist by two points, though crist's lead is within the margin of error, this marks a major change for desantis who led by double digits in previous polls. >> it's very early, republicans will dismiss a poll like that, but the governor who's already planning his run for president,

according to most sources in tallahassee has to get through a governor's race. >> he's got to win the fight against the coronavirus and actually save his constituents from dying. that would be a good start. >> it's interesting, willie that he, this guy has a history of doing victory laps in the spring. it happens every spring. remember he had that press conference than mike pence, and he was all upset and angry, then the summer came, people turned on their air conditioners in florida, and people went inside, and florida's numbers exploded. he did the same thing this year, summer comes, people turn their air conditioners on, they go inside and the coronavirus explodes, and now he has this, i mean, i don't know, it sounds like a socialist to me when you're a governor of a state, and you're telling businesses, small businesses that they can't run their businesses the way they want to run their businesses, to keep their stores

safe, the way they think they can keep their stores safe, and also when you're telling local school boards, banning them from taking safety measures in their own areas. you know, florida is like five different states. so to tell somebody in broward county, a local school board in broward county that they must do the same thing that happens in walton county, ten hours, twelve hours away, it's just ridiculous big government, one size fits all socialism. it doesn't make any sense. >> yeah, not exactly small government conservatism from a guy who wants to be president of the united states. he has seen a lot of this as governor desantis through the lens of politics, don't fauci my florida t-shirts on his campaign web site. he has some political considerations as well.

meanwhile, a lot of people say they are waiting for the fda to approve the vaccine before they're willing to take it. "the new york times" is reporting that the fda is accelerating its timetable to fully approve the pfizer covid-19 vaccine by early next month. the times reports the fda's unofficial deadline is labor day or sooner, according to multiple people familiar with the plan. the agency said in a statement its leaders recognize approval might inspire more public confidence and have taken an all hands on deck approach to the work. joining us now president and ceo of university hospital in newark, new jersey, dr. shareef el nahal, we talked to dr. collins, the head of the nih, he didn't know when the fda would approve the pfizer vaccine but hoped it would be in the next few weeks. it looks like that is the case if things stay on schedule. a lot of people remain skeptical that anyone who has said i'm not talking the vaccine on a principle is suddenly going to say, well, the fda, a governor organization has approved it, so

now i'm going to take it. how significant do you view this development to be? >> thank you so much for having me on. it's very significant, and we hear it every day in our community from folks who refuse to get vaccinated, including my own employees at my hospital. we imposed a mandate partly for that reason. i poled my employees that fda approval is no longer a factor because the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines are indisputable. it's a matter of the fda going through the processes to finally approve it, and it really can't come soon enough. we're about to see schools start in a few weeks. we have a woefully low percentage of kids, especially kids age 12 to 15 who are not vaccinated yet, and the fall is only likely to make the delta variant and the surge from that a lot worse. >> and doctor, as you know, the fall isn't some far off place.

school goes back soon, very soon in a lot of parts of the country the next couple of weeks, especially in parts of the country where vaccination rates are very low. as we talk about mask mandates, i'll let you stay out of the politics of this, but from your medical point of view should kids be wearing masks inside schools this fall? >> absolutely. we have a situation where you have, again, a woefully under percentage of people age 12 to 15 and 15 to 17 who have not been vaccinated yet, and this virus has shown to not care about the politics of the local situation anywhere it goes. i have colleagues in florida who run hospitals who have reached out to me and others saying how do i get help from the federal government because the state is not responding to outreach from fema and the federal government and saying, hey, we see your hospitals are surging, we see cases surging, what can we do to help. the white house has a surge team

that is going into many states, republican and democratic led to try to help. and florida seems to be impenetrable to health that these folks need. it's very concerning, politics should not be a factor. these are people's lives. as somebody who runs a hospital, i empathize with that. >> dr. elnahal, we had a conversation with you talking to employees, explaining the vaccine to people hesitant to get the vaccine. it's important to underline that. there's no mystery to this conversation we have every day. it's about getting people vaccinated. so what do you tell, again, other medical professionals, perhaps across the south trying to encourage their employees or the people who have trusted them with medicine over the years that they can be trusted with this, too. what should they be saying, what is that conversation? >> i think from our experience here at the hospital, and also all the outreach we have done in

our community, with mobile vaccination efforts, going door to door to get folks to sign up to scheduled events, it's pretty clear that if the person across the table or outside your door is a trusted individual and they answer basic questions about the myths and misinformation, side effects that don't exist, adverse events that haven't happened, all of these things can be addressed quickly, even if just a few minutes of conversation, and that gets to the surgeon general's call for everybody in our communities to take up this mantel. it's not just doctors, although that's very important, it's also trusted folks in the community, people within your family, within your network, if you have struggled yourself to ultimately come to the decision to get vaccinated and you do it, please talk to your colleagues, your friends, your loved ones, and get it done. especially for minors at this point. we have a looming deadline. the deadline really is today to be fully vaccinated before school starts. i'm worried about that date coming up, and everybody has a

role to play. >> dr. shreef elnahal, always good to have your expertise. >> and vaccine mandates for certain indoor places, it will be interesting to hear him explain that. >> i look forward to that. let's bring in white house editor for politico, sam stein. there's new polling on teachers unions and the pandemic. sam, what do they show? >> they're not exactly favorable of teachers unions. right now, we measured that. >> not a surprise. >> we asked the public what they think of the job teachers unions are doing. 31%, good, excellent, 40%, fair or poor. you can see some ideological break down, even among democrats, 48% say good, excellent job by teachers unions. if you dig a little bit deeper,

favorable ratings for teachers unions, 37, favorable, 29% unfavorable. the main take away, we have talked about a lot on this show. people are frustrated, ansty about what's going on with schools. there's apprehension about whether or not schools will reopen this coming fall, and they're pinning the blame on teachers unions. at least part on teachers unions. holding up the process for reopening schools. we're trying to make it sach for our members. but you know, we spend tens of billions of dollars on school retrofitting, we have authorized a lot more in money. the public is saying get those schools open. >> you have some results on mask mandates. what did that show you? >> yeah, i mean, so there's,

what do support indoor or outdoorman date. the main take away, if you're republican you're more likely than not to oppose mandates for mask wearing. democrats and independents more even apply split. there's an appetite in the public to do a mandate for masks, indoors or outdoors or just indoors. when you ask republican voters, it just disappears, and that's what you're witnessing across the country. talked a little bit about ron desantis. he knows where his base is on this, and i think he's reflecting that attitude. >> you know, it's interesting there's not as wide of a gap on this issue as there may have been six months ago or nine months ago on other covid issues, sam, you look at the numbers for indoor mandates but not outdoor mandates.

not a huge gap between republicans and democrats. i suspect that americans are moving more toward each other on the issue of those mask mandates, as well as making sure that kids get back in school. i mean, a year ago obviously we were hearing from health officials that said getting kids back in school would be a way that the coronavirus spread. it's the way it's spread. in the pandemic of 1918, 1919, that just hasn't been the case over the last year, and parents want their children back in school, which maybe is what led to that first pole we showed. >> yeah, i think, i mean, i think people are just smarter now. we have been through about 16, 17 months of this. we see the evidence in front of us. maybe not empirical, it may be anecdotal, the disease tends to spread when you're outdoors. maybe don't need masks to be mandated outdoors, and two, it's limited spread among kids in

schools when schools do reopen. and so when you see that, when you witness that in realtime, then your attitudes will end up reflecting the reality that you see, and that's why, to your point, joe, a little bit more of a convergence on mandates for masks indoors, and real growing anxiety about schools reopening in the fall, and finger pointing at the teachers unions for being somewhat resistant to it. >> politico sam stein, thank you very much for being on this morning. and coming up under pressure from progressives, the biden administration issues a new e issue eviction moratorium. >> the democrat who bested, u.s. congressional candidate shontel joins us next on "morning joe." joins us next on "morning joe.

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all right. now to the closely watched house race in ohio where cuyahoga council member shontel brown whose campaign highlighted her loyalty to president joe biden won a special election primary tuesday in ohio's 11th congressional district, defeating bernie sanders' backed nina turner. shontel will be our guest in a moment. some background on the race as "the new york times" jeremy peters wrote, brown who vowed to be a partner with the biden administration and speaker nancy pelosi prevailed of nina turner,

a party outsider who openly rejected the idea that democrats are more effective through conciliation and compromise. the race was not as much emblematic of a liberal/moderate divide among democrats as it was a clash between an insider who rose fast in local party circles and an agitator who thrived on alienating party leaders by questioning their commitment to liberal ideals. brown drew the support of such institutions as the congressional black caucus and representative james clyburn of south carolina who visited the district and implored people to vote for ms. brown as someone who was respectful and willing to work with other democrats. many criticized turner openly, like representative bennie thompson of mississippi who referred to ms. turner as a single solitary know it all.

brown's victory is a sign of a recent trend following moderate eric adams recent women over progressives in the new york city mayoral race. terry mccall lif's victory, and biden's win in the presidential primary. shontel brown, good to have you. >> congratulations, this must be such an exciting time for you. for a long time, this was seen as nina turner's race to lose. she was ahead in early polling by big margins. how did you do it? how did you win last night? >> well, thank you very much for having me this morning. i think that this was -- this came down to results. i have been a legislator for nine consecutive years here in the district, so if all politics is local, i am as local as it

gets. long before we get the national attention, i had earned the support of more than 100 local elected officials, people who know what the needs are on the ground. those include people like city council members, mayors, school board members, precinct votes, and so that was always our path to victory. i want to be clear, i say this as humbly and respectfully as i can, i didn't enter the race with any other expectation than to win, and i'm also proudly saying i have been undefeated so to god be the glory, thank you so much. >> well, you know, what you said, really, i hope a lot of politicians young and old listen because national endorsements, really, they don't carry you over the finish line. it's your neighbors, people in your community, people in churches think of you, people in synagogues, what they think of you. that makes so much sense. that being said, it was interesting, reverend al, a good friend, reverend al sharpton

texted me this morning excited about your victory, talking about how your victory was a victory for common sense and reconciliation. of course jim clyburn, just a great guy, came in early, too. are you surprised by the national attention this race garnered? >> no, actually not. when i entered the race, and i knew that the other candidate who had been campaigning for senator sanders would be entering the race as well, we expected the national attention. she has been on the national stage for the last 4 1/2 years, and so we were prepared for this. it didn't come as a total surprise. but i think the fact that, you know, we came out victorious is probably more surprising to other folks but certainly, again, was the expectation, so i couldn't be more proud of my team and the work that they did to help get me here. yes, i am the candidate that won the race, and i'm getting all of the attention, but this was a team effort. to your point, you pointed out

some of the numbers for the cbc to campaign on my behalf. they highlighted the fact that politics is a team sport. you said it yourself, joe, this morning, you get to victories by addition not subtraction, so making friends is part of the business. >> ms. brown, it's willie geist, congratulations on your win last night, i know you were just focused throughout the campaign, and probably still this morning on the 11th district where you won last night, but many other people are projecting national implications on to this race. they were watching with great interest to see if someone like you who sided more with the biden administration, viewed as more pragmatic or an insurgent candidate would win. what do you believe this race means outside of the 11th district? does it tell us anything about where the democratic party is? >> i think you touched on it at the top of the conversation.

it is trending in that way, people understand that this takes compromise, and again, it takes delivering results, not insults. enough lip service, people want public service and that's what i have been doing the last nine years. no money, and no negative race can erase the time and effort i have put in as my time as an elected official to work with people, to focus on the issues, to find common ground and go from there. i think that we are seeing that that is what most americans want. we had four years of an administration that just was polarizing and divisive, so i think people are more focused on making sure that we can come out of this pandemic successfully. as we talk about the delta variant that is continuing to become a problem. people want to know how they're going to recover. people are concerned about their communities being safe. i couldn't be, you know, that

was another subject that came up on a campaign trail but with the biden harris administration, talking about gun violence being an epidemic and investing those resources, those are things people on the ground were concerned about when i was knocking on doors and meeting them where they were, those are the things that i think will be topics that we need to be hyper focused on in the future. >> i want to back up a bit, ms. brown, and ask you just kind of very basically to find out more about you, why you decided to run? >> so i'll try to make a long story short. i started out in the world of politics because i wanted to simply help my neighbors as the youngest homeowner on my street, the year was 2011. i found myself at my city council meeting because i wanted to know what was our evacuation plan in the event of an emergency. it's always been about people for me. the interesting thing about that story is i found out like many of our communities, we can use

some improvements, rather than complain, i'm a person that believes in being the change i want to see. i decided to roll up my sleeves, introduce myself to my neighbors, and tell them i wanted to be their city council person, and they were quick to identify issues that needed to be addressed and so i was fortunate to be able to earn the support of the administration at that time, again, those relationships are so important, and they said shontel, if you need some help, let us know, and i took them up on their offer, fast forward, election day came, the polls closed and i was down by six votes. i was down but not out, disappointed but not devastated and i thought i'm never running for public office again, but clearly you see that turned out a lot different from where i am now. there ended up being 23 provisional ballots in that race, 11 days later i learned that i had won by seven votes, and that seven has truly changed the trajectory of my life. as a child of faith, seven

represents perfection, completion in god, so i credit this journey of public service to his divine intervention, i never lost sight of the fact that i work for the people. >> shontel brown, thank you very much for being on the show. congratulations, we appreciate your coming on. >> thank you. >> congratulations. i know how exciting it has to be. that's fantastic. so john heilemann, so this morning, i went back and forth with reverend al, you watch the show, you know he has been criticizing quote latté liberals for years now as he says, woke democrats that don't talk to people in his community and other communities but talk about them. and brought up jim clyburn

endorsing joe biden, and joe biden winning, other members endorsing ms. brown and her winning, eric adams winning, and you have all of these candidates, these black leaders, who, like, from rinse, jim clyburn who has been very critical of defund the police from the very start. eric adams, the same. really, this is really been a defining year for the democratic party. i liken it no 1978 and prop 13 in california that really changed the shape of the republican party and paved the way for ronald reagan. i wonder what you make of yet another moderate democrat winning a high profile race. >> well, i think i don't even know that i would necessarily think about it. not to quibble with the terms, i mean, i think moderate in a lot of these cases kind of misstates

it, joe. what we have learned, right, if you dial back to two years ago after the 2018 midterms when you saw the squad get elected and they were, you know, aoc, and rasheed talib, and ilhan omar, and ayanna presley, people thought the democratic party was moving to the left, progressives are taking over. it was overstated in 2018, it was a lot more center left than far left. people made a big deal out of the camera friendly representatives. i'm not attacking them but they are not where the mainstream of the democratic party is. that was true in 2018, into the 2020 presidential election, people said the left, elizabeth warren, bernie sanders, they are on the march. they are on the rise. and then it turned out to be joe biden. not a moderate. not a progressive. a center left mainstream democrat who appealed to old

conventional liberals, and moderates, ended up winning the nomination, and winning the nomination crazily, it turns out, and more easily that hillary clinton's fight with bernie sanders four years earlier, and accumulates more votes than any democrat in history. we are seeing yet again in a lot of cases you just mentioned, what is the lesson. the democratic party has an important progressive wing. it has driven the party on policy. the party has moved further and further to the left on policy. but on politics, the mainstream of the democratic party is older, more moderate, and this conception that we have of the far left. that's just the numbers are showing it in race after race, year after year, even as we hear the rhetoric, amplified, particularly on twitter, the party is moving left, moving left. the party when it speaks to the poles says no we're not, our policy agenda is gradually

movement to the left, just as the republicans has movement not gradually but radically to the right, and our voting preferences are, you know, more or less center left, that's the mainstream of the democratic party. >> there was another closely watched race in ohio, susan del percio, donald trump's choice, republican primary, mike carry is his name, he won his race last night, the coal industry lobbyist credited trump with his win, amid doubts over the former president's staying power in the party after a trump-endorsed candidate lost in a special mouse election in texas last week. in a statement, trump congratulated carey and thanked ohio's american patriots. this was a special election primary in the middle of the summer. you don't want to read too much into either of these. but what do you see here, donald trump gave his full endorsement to carey, called him on stage, funneled money through his super

pac to support carey, who won in a big field. what do you see in these results last night. >> i see donald trump is the heart of the republican primary voter. with the candidate having his support, it's not financial, donald trump isn't spending money of his pac money. it is clear that among the faithful of the republican party, they are going to stay with the most trump-like candidate. in some ways, this could be very good news for democrats in the midterm elections in swing districts because i think we're going to see very extreme candidates win in the republican primary that will most certainly lose what could be a viable race in the general election to a moderate democrat. >> right. and of course last week, somebody that donald trump endorsed lost the republican primary. one loss is a not a trend, and there were many people saying, let's wait and see what happens next week.

well, next week came, and donald trump at least over the past few weeks is one for two. so far too early to attach any trends about donald trump's power in the republican party. >> for sure. it's a few minutes past the top of the hour. our lead story this morning, new york governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed almost a dozen women, including employees in his office, and violated state and federal laws according to the findings of an investigation by the state attorney general's office. the investigation found cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, nine of whom are current or former state employees. >> the independent investigation has concluded that governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so, violated federal and state law.

specifically, the investigation found that governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed current and former new york state employees by engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women. >> on november 16th, 2020, in the executive mansion, the governor hugged executive assistant number one and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. the governor also several times inappropriately touched a state trooper assigned to the unit to protect the governor. employees recounted a pattern of similarly offensive comments and conversations, such as the governor repeatedly asking executive assistant number one whether she would cheat on her husband, saying to her if you were single, the things i would do to you. >> none of them welcomed it.

and all of them found it disturbing, humiliating, uncomfortable, and inappropriate. and now we find that it was unlawful sex-based harassment. culture of fear and flirtation, intimidation and intimacy, abuse and affection, created a work environment ripe for harassment. >> cuomo is denying the accusations, and has vowed that he will not be distracted from his job. he has called the new york attorney general's report biassed. >> i want you to know directly from me that i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. i am 63 years old. i've lived my entire adult life in public view.

that is just not who i am, and that's not who i have ever been. >> the governor displayed a series of photographs illustrating some of his physical interactions with people over the years. he also attempted to draw a parallel to other politicians, including past presidents who were pictured embracing victims of natural disaster. >> i do kiss people on the forehead. i do kiss people on the cheek. i do kiss people on the hand. i do embrace people. i do hug people. men and women. i do on occasion say ciao bella. i do on occasion slip and see sweetheart or darling or honey. >> following the release of the report, president biden called

on governor cuomo to resign. >> back in march you said that if the investigation confirmed the allegations against governor cuomo then he should resign. so will you now call on him to resign, given the investigators said the eleven women were credible. >> i stand by that statement. >> are you now calling on him to resign? >> yes. >> john heilemann, so hard for any governor, any democratic governor to get around that, and of course the assembly moved after that. i'm sure they felt like they had cover from the white house and everybody else. let me go back, a recount had posted the montage of hugging and kissing and everything else that governor cuomo put out there. it certainly seemed like an interesting defense in the least to try somehow justify what happened in his office. >> yeah, i think, joe, it's a --

i mean, it's legally meaningless. of course the whole question is about consent, right, so you could have the -- you got thousands of pictures of people that you have touched, kissed, hugged, et, and none of them would speak to the question of whether you had in other instances, the ones detailed and documented in letitia james' report, to people who had not given their consent, and thereby committed sexual harassment. it's a legally irrelevant and politically, i think it's cringe-inducing to a lot of people, right, because not only is it kind of comical, like mika earlier in the show said it's almost like a parody, something you would see on "saturday night live," here, look at me, i'm the touchy feely guy. that somehow exonerates you, but it includes joe biden in the

montage. you would think if cuomo was hoping maybe to maintain although, i think it was impossible. but if cuomo was hoping by some way that biden would continue to maintain neutrality, and not call for him to resign, you would not drag joe biden into the middle of this political fire storm. it was a ham handed, ineffective and now is the subject of great mockery, which is the last place you want to be when you're facing the problems that andrew cuomo is facing. >> i mean, it's just a little invalidating, at the very least, he should feel sorry for hurting people. and not say, oh, this is the way i am. sorry. let's bring in white house reporter for the associated press, jonathan lemire, former chief of staff to the dccc, a senior aid to the hillary clinton and joe biden

presidential campaigns, and msnbc legal analyst, christian gibbons fedden joins us, and it's great to have all of you on this morning. adrian, i would like to start with you. how bad is this for governor cuomo? >> it's hard to think of it being worse. i don't understand the defense of putting out photos of himself hugging other people, other elected officials. it doesn't seem to go very well, and it certainly is not going to, i think, elicit any sort of support from some of those said elected officials. look, the bottom line is this, he has been disavowed. he has been told to -- called on to resign by some of his fellow governors in neighboring states. he has been called to resign on by both senators from new york, and of course he has been called on to resign by the president of the united states. he cannot effectively govern the state of new york at this time. this will be an ongoing distraction. he's not going to be able to

overcome this. so you put all of this aside. if you cannot effectively govern your state because of distractions that you have put in place, you should no longer serve, and i think that's going to be the real issue for him. how long does he decide to stick this out, and he may not have a choice, of course, as we know, if the state legislature decides to move forward with impeachment, which is what appears to be happening. >> as you look at governor cuomo's career, he's often kept his head down through scandal. he's often plowed ahead. many of these people who called for his resignation yesterday already had called for his resignation months ago when the allegations came down. he put his head down and tried to plow through the nursing home scandal. more than 15,000 people died in new york state nursing homes. what do you view as happening next here? this is not a man who is conditioned to giving up to walking away, governor cuomo often believes that he can just walk through the fire and come out the other side.

what happens from here? >> there's potentially several things that could happen civilly, and politically. you have the civil implications because he engaged in misconduct, particularly with two women where he touched their intimate parts, that is a violation of criminal laws in new york. there's civil implications, so when you engage in that sex-based pervasive and severe workplace harassment, unwelcome misconduct, and touching, that is a violation of title 7 and a violation of federal and state laws in new york. in addition to that, and i think this is the most egregious part, too, and it really belies what he said in his response, is the failure to follow the old governor's policy, in the one case as pointed out in the investigative report, one lady actually did make a report, and instead of doing what they were supposed to do, which was refer it to the governor's office of employee relations, his office worked together to kind of cover it up, and engage in a smear

campaign, and that kind of goes into the third element, which is the retaliation. so there's several implications that can actually occur here, notwithstanding the potential impeachment as well if he does not resign. >> and jonathan lemire from legal to the political, let's talk about joe biden yesterday who didn't look exactly comfortable in that press conference, deferred at an earlier press conference about calling on cuomo to resign. this is a guy who has lived what i was talking about his entire life, the politics was about collecting friends, making friends, making alliances, helping other people, being with other people when they were down, i would guess this is something that didn't come naturally to joe biden. what can you tell us about biden calling on cuomo to resign? >> well, let's start with the idea that joe biden and andrew

cuomo are friend and political allies. they were really close. when biden was vice president, he would hold events in new york with cuomo with some frequency. there was talks that maybe cuomo would be a running mate. there's a real political alliance there. they both fashion themselves as working class folks, and appealing to those sort of voters. yes, and you're right, i was in the white house yesterday. in fact, i asked president biden the question early in the day, right after the report was released if cuomo should resign, and that's when he deferred and said i'll talk about it later. when he did, as you said, it wasn't a full throated call for a resignation. it took him a couple of times to get there. he did, indeed, call for cuomo to step down, and we'll certainly be pressing white house press secretary jen psaki, will there be a phone call with the governor, is he going to let the impeachment process play out, whatever it might be. but there's an extraordinary amount of political pressure on cuomo to do so. people i talked to in the governor's orbit said he's not

inclined to step away. he wants to fight this. he was working the phones last night from the governor's mansion in albany, but the walls are closing in. every significant democratic lawmaker in new york state has now called for him to be impeached. those proceedings are going to start potentially within a month that could lead to a trial by september or october and it's certainly a distraction for democrats, not something the president wants to do right now. after his remarks, his investigation led to this point, there was nowhere for him to go, he had to called cuomo to go. >> i'm curious, just moving forward, given that there's an allegation here, many, that the governor engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment under federal and new york state law, what issues in this report do you see could drag out in the legal realm, and really stick. >> to be honest with you, that i

think that really all of them could potentially stand out. one of the things that was really important in this investigation is that it was so comprehensive and so thorough. they investigated 179 individuals and they reviewed over 74,000 pieces of evidence, and as a result of that thoroughness, they were able to make really sound assessments, piecing together all of the pieces and finding that when you looked at everything in the totality, they were able to look at the demeanor, the intangible evidence that corroborates the accounts and be able to say when they looked at everything in its totality, they were able to substantiate the allegations made by all of the young women. what does that mean, that they found these young ladies credible, and that's really important because when you have a governmental entity doing an independent investigation, making clear and concluding that they found these women credible, it makes the allegations stick.

from a civil perspective where the burden is not as high as it is in the criminal realm, that is going to be powerful if this goes to court, specifically for the state and federal violations that were made. when you come from it from the criminal angle, there has to be not just unwelcome harassing, lewd comments, there has to be forcible touching and when you boil it down to more significant charges such as the forcible touching under new york state criminal law, where it carries with it a class a felony up to a year in jail, what you want to look at is there's two women's allegations that really stand out. that is the one where he pinched one lady's butt, and the one where he put his hand up the blouse and fondled the breast. >> thank you very much for being on the show this morning.

>> let's bring around the mayor of new york city, democrat mayor bill de blasio. no secret, you and andrew cuomo have had some issues in the past but obviously this attorney general's report actually supersedes all of that. many public officials have called for andrew cuomo to resign. in fact, almost every relevant one that would matter in new york, and washington, d.c. have. talking about why you made the call for him to resign. >> joe, look what these women went through. they were put through hell by a very powerful man. 11 women, including a state trooper, harassed, in some cases assaulted, and he thought he could get away with it. he created a culture where he thought he could treat these women any way he wanted and that no one would ever stop him, and he used his power. remember, he could have destroyed people's careers, and

reputations and that's the atmosphere he created consistently throughout his career that he would use that power and you have to do whatever he wanted and look at how corrupted it became, and look at what these women went through, the fear they lived in, it's absolutely unacceptable and this is just the sexual harassment and assault element of what we're talking about here. if we were talking about the nursing home scandal, the people who died and then cover ups. if we were talking about his use of vaccines as a political tool, giving vaccines to allies withholding them from folks who questioned them. or using government staff to write his book. it goes on and on and on, it's over, joe. he has to leave. there's nowhere for him to turn. >> mr. mayor, you know this man very well. and a lot of people around him that i talked to yesterday you cannot see him walking out willingly of the governor's mansion on his own. if he doesn't resign, what do you think should happen next?

>> i think ultimately he will have to resign, either because of a prosecution wherein he makes some deal around giving up his office or because an impeachment is imminent. i remember in 2002, and you're right, i worked with him for years. once upon a time considered him a friend before i saw how bad things had gotten. but in 2002, he ran for governor when it looked like he wasn't going to win that primary, he got out of town before the election happened. he literal pulled out of the election rather than suffer a defeat. so i think that is a very likely scenario here. when it gets to the ultimate moment, he will find some honor in pulling the plug himself. but he really should be doing it today, out of respect for the 11 women he wronged and all of the families out there from the nursing homes who lost their loved one, he should just have the decency to do one thing where he thinks about other people rather than himself and

step away today for the good of the people of new york state. >> mayor de blasio. you've had other issues with this governor over the years. i remember very well the legionnaire's crisis in new york. which was another example that the governor always wanted to be at the press conference before you or whatever, which seemed very trivial, but there were real implications for this behavior and i think it's important to discuss it, it does reflect the culture that was mentioned and highlighted in the report, especially of retribution. >> yes. >> so can you perhaps expand on some of the serious issues or at least one that really kind of hit home that makes everything just crystallize for you that this is the man and this is his behavior. >> it's endless, the number of examples i could give, again, nothing more important than focusing on these 11 women and what they were put through. if you talk about the pattern,

the threats, and every leader in new york state could tell their own stories. the constant threats, take away your funding, attack your administration or your reputation, he demanded once one of my press secretaries issue a critical statement, he demanded i fire her as a way of showing she was wrong. it's endless, and it's small, and it's petty, and it got worse, and i think this is part of the tragic kind of shakespearean reality here. power corrupted this guy more and more each year. it was bad enough in the beginning, but it got a lot worse. and he got away with it, and bluntly, you know, there was a certain strange willingness in this state for people to say, okay, well, we just got to deal with it. he's so powerful. i hope this becomes a moment where people say never again. not only in terms of never accepting sexual harassment in the workplace but also in terms of saying this is not democracy,

when someone rules like a tyrant and threatens bullies, tries to take away funding from city governments, nonprofit organizations, whatever it is, it's this constant use of power for personal gain, far beyond the boundaries of what we should ever accept. i'm hoping all of the other leaders in this country are watching this right now, and realizing, this catches up with you, it's unacceptable, don't even think about it. >> mr. mayor, i want to ask you about an announcement you made yesterday. in a couple of weeks, vaccines required, proof of vaccination will be required if you want to go into a new york city restaurant or fitness center. explain a little bit about that decision because it has implications for the rest of the country. obviously this is the biggest place this will be attempted. requirement of a vaccine, proof of a vaccine before you step inside. explain it if you would. >> sure. willie, right now, we have to fight covid like never before.

the delta variant has changed the game. unless we want to run the risk of going back to restrictions and having our freedom taken away, and people losing their jobs again, it's really clear what they have to do. people have to get vaccinated, and we had a long period where it was voluntary. there was incentives. it was compassionate and kind. but now it's time to get a little blunter about the fact that everyone needs to get vaccinated for the good of their family, their community, their country and a lot of people, i think, are close to that point, but they needed a little more of a push. here's a clearer message. we're saying, you want to go and enjoy great restaurants, amen. you want to go to movie theaters, go to the gym, that's great. we want all of that. you got to get vaccinated. you want to work in those places, you have to get vaccinated for the good and the health and everyone around you. it's not that tough to do. get the first vaccination, and you're in. come back later obviously, and get the second one when it's time.

here's the bottom line, we have heard from folks in the business community, they said amen. they said this is helpful because it makes the rules clear and it's the way to stop covid once and for all. joe biden said clearly, he would like to see more people do this. i'm urging mayors, governors, county executives just do it because this is how we're going to get that final push of vaccination we need to end the covid era once and for all, and bluntly, willie, i think if you're doing the right thing by everyone else around you and getting vaccinated, you should enjoy everything in life, but if you are not getting vaccinated you're not going to be able to do some of the things you love, and our young people in particular, i guarantee, has the father of two 20-somethings, young people don't want to be left out of restaurants, bars, concerts, this is going to inspire a lot of young people to get out there and get

vaccinated. >> we heard from restaurant groups who say this is a burden on restaurants already struggling. i walk into a restaurant. is it like a bouncer at the door, i show my vaccine card. >> willie, i know you have a lot of experience with bouncers. >> unfortunately, yeah. >> the bottom line is when you go to a restaurant, you check in before you get to your table. and you go to a movie theater, you get a ticket or you scan and get your admission. there's always that point where you come into a place and people engage you. that's the point where you simply have to show your vaccination card or one of the apps that show that you have been vaccinated. it's really quite positive and straightforward. it's easy and in the end, think about it this way. this is a way to create a single standard, indoors, now, outdoors, we have said, people can go and dine outdoors. we're saying that's a different

reality. indoors, be vaccinated and then the whole world opens up to you. there's 5 million vaccinated new yorkers right now. plenty of folks to be commerce for the restaurants, even higher percentage of folks vaccinated in the suburbs and among the tourists coming to visit. there will be plenty of business, but guess what, now people will be safe. everyone in there will be safe. willie, you remember when mike bloomberg, my predecessor, different but bears recognition, he did the smoking ban, and for every single person that had a respiratory problem or asthma like i have, you could go into a restaurant and bar and not be coughing all the time, it made the experience positive. this is the parallel on a much higher level. you go into a place and you don't have to worry because you know everyone is vaccinated. you can be in peace, enjoy, have some freedom. everyone deserves that.

>> so let me ask you about children. what are you doing with children under 12 who can't be vaccinated yet. >> they should be able to come along with their families. we're looking forward to children 5 to 12 being able to be vaccinated. come along, wear a mask as a precaution. >> was there any consideration on your part of waiting until the fda granted final approval to the vaccines or did you have enough evidence before. >> we had plenty of evidence. it's great question, and obviously worth thinking about. 160 million plus americans vaccinated successfully. justice department said a week or so ago, it's absolutely appropriate to move forward aggressively with mandates, with the current authorization, but really, joe, it was the urgency of the moment. we have been watching these numbers, the case numbers are crazy because of the delta variant. thank god hospitalizations are

still low in new york because we've got 5 million people who have gotten at least one dose. that's saving us right now. we got to win this race against the delta variant. we had to go into a higher gear with more vaccination. that's why the mandates are so important, and we need everyone to do it. >> what did your lawyers tell you, are you expecting a number of legal challenges to this, and if you get the legal challenges do you expect to prevail? >> joe, lawsuits are part of my every day life, but i'll tell you, we absolutely expect to prevail because what's so clear, the justice department decision, the actions that companies are taking and universities are taking all over the country. the fact about public health, we're going to have a commissioner's order of the health commissioner, executive order that i'm going to sign. this is airtight legally it's going to save lives, and also, joe, it's going to save people's livelihoods. if we don't stop delta, watch

out people, we could go back to the days we went through in 2020. >> you brought up colleges. i personally think it makes sense for colleges, universities, to have vaccine mandates, not just for the students' safety but also for the professors' safety, and administrators' safety. i'm curious will this law also apply to the colleges and universities in new york city. >> a lot of them obviously already have made the decision to be vaccinated folks only. this is about indoor dining, entertainment, fitness, we're going to look at other options beyond. we have heard from so many private companies already that they appreciated in move, and they're planning to do things like this to protect their employees and their customers. >> yeah, and one final question, a lot of talk over the past few days about teachers unions.

randy wine garten said there's more hedging every week that's gone by. i want to ask you, how determined are you to make sure that children, if they want, and if their parents want them to be back in classes in new york city, how determined are you to make sure that those teachers are there, they're vaccinated, and that children can learn in person without fearing for their safety? >> joe, 110%. our kids need to be back in school. we have lost a lot of ground in terms of education but i'll tell you, our health care folks, they need to be back in school for their health and well being as well. their mental health, physical health, nutrition, we need our kids back in school. we're bringing them back 100%, september 13th. we're going to have a safe environment. we're going to have a huge vaccination drive between now and then, telling parents of kid 12 and up, get your kids

vaccinated like we have done so many times as parents for other diseases to protect our kids. we're coming back, 100% in september. >> and is there that vaccine requirement. are you going to have a vaccine mandate for any public schoolteacher that teach school in new york city. >> joe, at this moment, we don't have that mandate in the plan because we have a high level of vaccination with teachers and staff. we're going to focus on getting everyone vaccinated and we were able to keep schools safe without vaccines. that's important to remember. everyone wore masks, lots of cleaning, and careful measures. new york city public schools were extraordinarily safe against covid. we're going to do it again. >> why wouldn't a teacher who is teaching in front of 25, 30 children get a vaccine? >> i think they should. i don't think there's any question. i think they should and by the way, the unions have been pretty clear about this, too. we're going to push every teacher, every staff member, we're going to encourage

parents, make it easy. it's free, it's really fast and easy. i think we're going to have a very high level of vaccination in our schools with our current approach but of course all options are kept on the table because with the delta variant, the ball game changes every few days. we're going to be looking at every option as we move forward. >> so let's go from one hot political plight to holding another hot political plait, since you're talking about restaurants, what about cops? i have been very outspoken on this show over the past year, yes, we need police reform, but we need to support police officers and get them off their back heels, do everything we can to help police officers, good police officers do their jobs without having to look over their shoulder. police reform, you know, hold police accountable, but let them know that you've got their backs. i'm very clear about that. i'll tell you what i don't understand is why every new york city cop, why every cop in the

state of florida, why every front line person isn't required to get a vaccine, as you and i both know for some reason, law enforcement officers are reluctant to get vaccines. first of all, why is that? secondly why isn't every new york city police officer required to get a vaccine? if they're knocking on doors to come and protect and defend new york city residents, shouldn't those residents also know their health is protected? >> great question for sure, joe. look, i have issued a mandate for all city workers including our police officers that they have to get vaccinated or tested weekly, and honestly what we are finding already, we have started with hospital workers, we're going to include all city workers soon, we're finding that's sending a clear message and lot more people are getting vaccinated. i have also said we're climbing the ladder. we have a lot of tools. we'll eyes them as we need them. i think our officers, you know,

i fought for the right of our officers to get vaccinated when here we go again, andrew cuomo would not allow the city of new york to vaccinate police officers. i stood shoulder to shoulder with our officers and our police unions to get them the right to be vaccinated and a huge number of officers stepped forward and wanted the vaccination to protect not only themselves, but their families, parents and grandparents. i think now you've got one reality, of course a lot of police officers are younger and younger folks in better feel a little impervious, a little bit like they can do with anything. i think we have to show folks tat delta variant, a whole new ball game, and don't take it lightly. maybe there's some ideological considerations for some but what we're going to do now is increasingly say get vaccinated for the good of everyone around you, get vaccinated for your partner, the people you love. or you're going to go through a lot of testing and we're certainly keeping other options available as well if we need to take stronger measures.

we will keep climbing that ladder as much as we have to to stop this delta variant. this delta variant, we got to get it straight. it will take away all of our gains and our recovery if we let it. so let's not let it. i say that, mayors, governors, everyone, start with indoor dining and entertainment, put that vaccine mandate on. it's going to cause a lot of people to just come forward and get it done. let's save lives and keep our recovery going. we need it. >> new york city mayor, bill de blasio, thank you so much. and watch out mr. mayor, the yankees are coming. the yankees are coming. only six out now. >> joe, i'm feeling the back of my neck, there's that tingly feeling, i'm worried, joe. i'm worried. >> same here. same here. >> okay. thank you, mr. mayor. moving on now, the u.s. military michigan in afghanistan is set to officially end in 27 days, and attacks around the country continue to increase. just hours ago, a bomb detonated

near the office of afghanistan's main security agency in kabul. it came just hours after a car bomb and gun attack at the home of the country's acting defense minister. the taliban has stepped up attacks since may when u.s. and other foreign forces began their withdrawal after 20 years of war. joining us now democratic member of the foreign relations committee, senator chris murphy of connecticut. senator murphy we have a lot to cover with you, but let's start with the repeal of the authorization of military force that's being considered by the senate foreign relations committee this week. where do you stand, and what are your concerns? >> i support it, we're talking about repealing military force in iraq. we're not at war with saddam

hussein any longer, and we should recognize that. these authorizations have been perverted by democrat and republican presidents to bring and drag the united states into war in all sorts of place that have never been contemplated by the american public. we launched attacks a few weeks ago in somalia, justified by an authorization of military force that's 20 years old. i think it's time for congress to take some of these old authorizations of military force off the books, update the ones that still are relevant, and make sure anytime we're sending forces in harm's way, the american public have a say. we make better decisions when the american public get to debate war, afghanistan, iraq, libya, somalia, but often presidents get to make the choice by themselves. >> senator murphy, it's jonathan lemire, i wanted to switch gears and talk about where things stand with the infrastructure bill, the bipartisan agreement.

first and foremost of course we know there was covid outbreak among one of your colleagues, senator graham tested positive. some of your other colleagues have been getting tested since then. all appear to be negative. if you can give us an update as to where things stand in terms of when the vote will be held, and also how do you feel about the size currently of the reconciliation package, the dems only bill that some have said could be 3.5 trillion or more. what do you want to see in there and what concerns do you have? >> so president biden has two priorities, both of which i share. he wants to pass economic relief that's big enough to actually transfer and shift the balance of economic power in this country away from corporations and billionaires to regular average middle class families but wants to do as much of that with republican votes as possible. that is what we're doing, passing a $500 billion bill with republicans, and pass a bill that will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 trillion, likely just with democrats. all of it will be wildly

popular. it will be investment in infrastructure, roads and rails, it will be investment in people, help for families to afford child care, improvements to medicare. i'm comfortable with the size of the overall package which looks to be about $4 trillion, about the same size as the republican tax cut for the wealthy passed in 2017, and my hope is that we'll get the first part of this done this week or this weekend. we're going to stay in washington for as long as it takes. we're not going on any august recess until all of this is done. this weekend i hope we'll be able to wrap up a vote on the $500 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill that will be the biggest one-time investment in american infrastructure in the history of this country. >> adrian elrod has the next question. >> hi, senator, great to see you this morning. i'm curious about the care economy, and how you see that playing out. i know there has been some concerns from some of the

progressive groups that perhaps paid leave might be on the chopping block or might be reduced of course there's also a big belief this is the time to do it, and if we don't get it passed now, it may be a decade or so until we have a chance to pass paid leave. i'm curious to your thoughts on whether or not you think paid leave is going to continue to remain in the reconciliation bill and if you think it's going to pass? >> i do think it will be in the reconciliation bill, and just a reminder what we're talking about here is a requirement that if americans need to take a short period of time off work to care for, for instance, a sick child or a sick parent, that they are compensated in some way for that period of time and that they can go back to their job. america really is the only high income nation in the world that doesn't have some kind of policy to support care giving. and it matters, i think, most for what we call the sandwich generation, and i'm a member of that generation, you know, right now, my parents are relatively healthy, at some point, i'm going to be caring for my

parents and my kids. and while i have a job that's pretty flexible, i want to make sure every american has the ability to provide that care. i think that will be in the bill. it's a recognition that, you know, infrastructure isn't just roads and bridges that a lot of people need help to pay for child care, need help for care giving for their elderly relatives in order to get to work. that's the infrastructure necessary for many families to get to work, just like a railroad is or a highway. >> senator murphy, we were just talking to new york city mayor, bill de blasio about a vaccine requirement inside restaurants in his city. your state of connecticut is one of the national leaders up over 70% of your population, eligible population with at least one dose of a vaccine. what is your view of some of these mandates we're hearing about? let's start with that, is it a good idea in connecticut to require vaccination to be inside a restaurant or a gym? >> i would be very open to that if governor lamont and the state

legislature considers it. we obviously have had more success in other parts of the country with respect to vaccinations, it's apolitical in connecticut. some high profile republicans have been out front in supporting the vaccination campaign, and supporting mask wearing. i think that's been a key to our success. but listen, ultimately we have to make sure that we keep our restaurants open. we can't go back to lock downs. we got to make sure that all of our schools are fully open this fall. and if it requires some vaccination requirements to get that done, we should consider it, why? because that's nothing that's unfamiliar to americans. you have to get your kid vaccinated for all sorts of other diseases and viruses in order to get them to go to school every fall, so we shouldn't act like this is some brand new requirement if it's what becomes necessary for states to stay open. >> what about teachers, senator murphy. should teachers get vaccinated

to be in the classroom this fall? >> again, i think if it's necessary to get our classrooms back open and operating, then we should consider it. i don't see any reason why any teacher shouldn't be vaccinated. we were able in connecticut to open up our schools earlier than almost any part of the country last year and our hope st that -- is that we can do it without mandatory vaccinations. if it turns out schools are shutting down because teachers are refusing to get vaccinated, we need to be open to that. our kids need to come first right now. i'm a parent of two public school kids, neither of which who were in school more than a half day a couple of days a week last year. my family can figure out how to patch together the child care necessary to do that, but most families can't. our priority needs to be kid in school full-time in the fall and doing whatever is necessary to make that happen. >> senator chris murphy, thank you very much for being on this

morning, and adrienne elrod, thank you. president trump is sitting on a multimillion dollar war chest but so far he hasn't given a penny to any of his fellow republicans running in the midterms. plus, arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates , a the lowest vaccination rates the lowest vaccination rates in the country. we'll get a live report from that hard-hit state as hospitalizations reach anhi all-time high. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪♪ i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred.

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hopeful that it is what will help 11 million people stay in their homes. 6 million families to be secure

in housing. and let me say, activists are in congress. so, let's be clear. activists are in congress. so expect, expect for things to be different than what maybe people are used to. >> all right. congresswoman cori bush, she had slept on the steps of capitol hill for days to really shine a light on the issue of the eviction moratoriums coming to an end, jonathan lemire, you say there might be some movement on that? bring us up to date, up to speed? >> yeah, mika, there certainly is. first of all, this is a rare moment when the house democrats and really the at odds of how

the original moratorium had expired, both point to it and both have different interpretations. the white house feels congress had to take the lead because of a supreme court ruling. congress, speaker pelosi, thought it was the white house that had to do this by executive authority. and pelosi lobbying biden behind the scenes in the last couple of days. credit there, it caught the white house attention, the media attention and know they don't have to alienate the reconciliation. so what the government did, lobbied all to do this. the cdc issued guidance say ig any areas that had substantial or high levels of transmission would qualify for a moratorium. a vast majority. biden himself hinted to that himself yesterday when he made the announcement. it's unclear there are challenges. it's not locked in certain.

at least now, the moratorium extends to october. wow, coming up two primary elections in ohio, serving as potential bellwethers ahead of the midterms. what those results say about where the major parties are headed. plus, much more on the bombshell report about new york governor andrew cuomo that is fuelling calls for his resignation, including from president biden. "morning joe" will be right back.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the independent investigation has concluded that governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed multiple women. >> i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. i am 63 years old. >> engaging in unwelcome and

nonconsensual touching and making numerous comments of a suggestive and sexual nature. >> from a woman who said i groped her in my home office, let me be clear, that never happened. >> he ran his finger from her neck down her spine and said, hey you. >> on occasion i do slip and say sweetheart or darling or honey. i do banter with people. >> governor cuomo's administration created a hostile workplace. >> my office is a demanding place to work. and that is not for everyone. we work really, really hard. >> governor andrew cuomo denies the allegations, the damning allegations, laid out in a sweeping investigation by new york's attorney general. now, he's facing calls for his

resignation from president biden on down. there's also the threat of impeachment, lawsuits and even a criminal investigation. we will get into all of it, just ahead. plus, another reminder that democrats kind of like joe biden. a moderate member of the party just beat a progressive race backed by bernie sanders in ohio. but how did donald trump's candidate do? all that as coronavirus poses new threats to public health, the american economy, and all of those elected leaders who should have the power and prerogative to do something about it. also, police officers who responded to the capitol riot are being awarded with the congressional gold medal. if legislators can't agree on that unanimously, why is it so

elusive on capitol hill. good morning, good morning and welcome to "morning joe." we will begin with the 165-page report issued by new york attorney general letitia james. which alleges that new york governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed almost a dozen women, including employees in his office, and violated state and federal laws. cuomo is denying the accusations and has vowed that he will not be distracted from his job. but calls for his resignation are adding up. nbc news correspondent rehaima ellis has the latest. >> reporter: new york attorney general letitia james calling the blistering report deeply disturbing. independent investigators alleging governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed numerous women and broke the law. >> governor cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, many of

whom are young women by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging and maybe be inappropriate comments. >> reporter: investigators conducted 179 interviews describing in detail a sweeping pattern of cuomo against 11 women, nine of them state employees. >> the governor approached assistant number one and reached under her blouse grabbing her breast. >> reporter: including a state trooper on the detail saying the governor kissed her another time placing the palm of his hand on my belly button and pushed back towards the right he. saying she felt completely violated because to me that's between my chest and my pirates. one women faced intimidation after speaking out. >> what was the culture, words

that witnesses used repeatedly to describe it included toxic, hostile, abusive. >> reporter: but in a prerecorded statement, cuomo firing back. >> i want you to know directly in me, that i never touched anyone appropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. >> reporter: and suggesting the women were purposely targeting him with false allegations. >> for those using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain, i say they actually discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect. >> reporter: but there are new calls for cuomo to resign or be impeached including from president biden. >> are you now calling on him to resign? >> yes. >> our thanks to nbc's rehema ellis for that report. governor cuomo said he never

touched anyone inappropriately and called the new york attorney general report biased. always in a report, the governor's brother cnn anchor chris cuomo was identified as an ongoing participant in strategy calls with the governor's inner circle. he may have even drafted one of the statements. was also interviewed by investigators. willie. >> so what happens next is the big question? one option is impeachment. the new york state assembly is ramping up its impeachment probe of governor cuomo after an emergency virtual meeting with assembly democrats speaker carl heastie released a statement yesterday saying it was clear governor cuomo could no longer remain in office and that democrats would move to complete an impeachment inquiry, quote, as quickly as possible. and telling the "times" it could take a month to complete the inquiry and draw up the articles of impeachment. a trial in the state senate

could begin as soon as late september or early october. let's look at the legal angle with nbc news correspondent tom winter and former prosecutor charles coleman. charles, let me begin with you, as a former prosecutor, as you listened to the u.s. attorney, one a former u.s. attorney, lay out the findings of the investigate that took five months. they say the governor violated state and federal law with his conduct. so what's the next step here? >> so what we're essentially looking at, willie, we will likely see some kind of decree between the governor's office and the state a.g. office. the reason for that, with the governor being as high up on the totem pole, you don't get any higher to him. because of that, they're going to enter into a consent decree which is basically going to

contain signature injunctive relief that will likely include an independent monitor that is put in place to monitor the culture that exists in that office. in addition to what will likely be cash settlements if they decide to go forward with civil suits. >> tom, you've talked to governor cuomo or anyone who has covered politics find it hard to believe that he will leave. he's seeking a fourth term as governor of new york. impeachment would take him out of office but in your view could take time. >> our colleague melissa russo pointed this out yesterday, in new york state, when the governor is impeached he's immediately out of office pending the senate trial. so, this is not something where he has to go through what we're used to until a presidential setting where there's an impeachment in the house. and then at that point the senate votes to either convict

or not convict. the governor is out right away. once the impeachment is voted on and in fact impeached. now he could come back and be governor if the senate does not convict him. that's a caveat from our colleague melissa. as far as things go from here, it's important to recognize that we have a criminal investigation being conducted by the albany district attorney office. speaking with lester holt last night saying we're duty bound after a scathing report yesterday. it's quite possible, willie, that's not the end of it either, on a krill front. it's certainly possible for the manhattan district cy vance to potentially look at this. we reached out to his office yesterday. right now, they're not discussing this yet. obviously, everybody is air what of the headlines. a key component of yesterday's report, the allegations about the governor's unwanted touching and sexual harassment of a

new york state trooper assigned to his detail is an important part of this because of how much it's corroborated. there's email corroboration. senior investigators get things done. they're high up on the totem pole. they are important people within the organization and the fact that you have corroboration there is important and a lot of that activity took place in mount kisco new york, and the district there, could she possibly take a look at it and those are things that unfold could the criminal heat ratchet up. but, willie, as the statement from the governor he made it very clear he doesn't believe he needs to go anywhere. >> so, i want to follow up on the case of the trooper because there were several of these incidents that were the word of the woman versus the word of the

governor. and the attorney general drew conclusions on who she believed. not the case as far as the trooper goes. you have not only corroboration to friends, you have her going to her supervisor and saying what do i do? you have people saying this has to remain in the car. you have other people witnesses that situation. as you look through this report, it did seem that you had the most evidence in that particular case where here was a woman trying to do her job and time again, she said that the governor acted inappropriately, and she had witnesses to him doing that. >> well, joe, i do think of all of the incidents that we've heard about, the case regarding the state trooper seems to be the most heavily corroborated, as well as the most egregious. i think when we're thinking about the possible criminal prospects in front of governor cuomo that is probably one that

needs to be taken quite seriously. i do, quite frankly, believe as a former prosecutor believe when it comes to the majority of these cases going forward on a criminal level, those are going to remain possibilities in most cases. but here, with respect to the state trooper, if there is such corroboration, if there's any that we see going forward on a criminal level, i think that's the one. >> charles coleman and tom winter, thank you for coming on. coming up what the loss of president biden's support means for the governor. john heilman weighs in and the conversation continues straight ahead on "morning joe." ♪♪ this is a hero, walking his youngest down the aisle, which to his bladder, feels like a mile. yet he stands strong, dry,

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♪♪ welcome back. more now on the political firestorm surrounding andrew cuomo, the governors of surrounding states, new jersey, pennsylvania, connecticut and rhode island issued a rare joint statement that reads, we are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the new york attorney general. governor cuomo should resign from office. new york senators chuck schumer and kirsten gillibrand issued a statement, we continue to believe that the governor should resign. and then mayor bill de blasio saying he must resign and if he

continues to resist and attack the investigators who did his their jobs, he should be impeached immediately. and speaker pelosi writes i call on him to resign. let's bring in author of "hell & high water, john heilman. and the governor's involvement, a sign that there are still no boundaries for this governor. or is that insignificant? >> good morning, guys. the starting point, i think with the whole thing is where, we're seeing now the chicken coming on to roost, we saw when the scandal broke. we talked about it on the show a

fair amount, right? you know, governor cuomo, as a governor is a powerful figure in new york politics at one time. but the power that he accrued was driven by a very -- a very -- a very strong, kind of an ethos. he did not build coalitions. he did not generate a lot of warmth or enduring loyalty among other democrats. and so when the dam starts to crack and the scandal broke, he very quickly came to realize that most democrats, in the official hierarchy, i don't mean voters, but the democratic party in new york was quick to abandon him. this guy is not working with a net. you saw that back then, he did not have anybody rally around him. pretty much all of the democratic party turned around him back then. one of the few holdouts that said wait, let's see what happens in the investigation was joe biden. and now at the national level, that, too. he's now out there all alone.

he has no allies, no friends. i'm talking within the democratic party, that is a tough place to be. and makes it all but inevitable that one of two things will happen, either he'll resign or get forced out of impeachment. now, we know cuomos, not just andrew, but all cuomos have a propensity to dig their heels in. even though the writing is on the wall right now, it's still the case that he doesn't apparently see it. so could he decide, even though the rational thing is to kindly about ky acquiesce here. the end is in sight now. the question is how governor cuomo decides to go down. i don't just think there's many people around him. and one of the people around him is his brother chris cuomo.

chris cuomo got in some trouble at cnn when this case came to light earlier in the story. this isn't something new. i don't think there's any questions, raising questions with the governor talking with his brother. legitimate questions have been raised whether a cnn anchor should be giving advice to his brother. i think chris cuomo has been reprimanded already. there's a question on the ethical side of the house. and it's not at all surprising that those two brothers would be talk that there might be advice given from the younger brother to the elder. not approving of it. coming up from one governor to another, how ron desantis is mixing politics into pose when policy when it comes to the pandemic.

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just two states, florida and texas, account for one-third of all new covid-19 cases in the entire country. just two states. look, we need leadership from everyone. if some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. i say to these governors, please help. if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way of the people trying to do the right thing. use your power to save lives. >> get out of the way. president biden yesterday singling out the republican governors of texas and florida. one of florida's largest school districts, broward county, says it will no longer impose the mask mandate, after governor ron desantis threatened to withhold

funding from districts that require face coverings, this is as the delta variant is attacking young children. desantis lifting a ruling requiring students to wear masks when they return to classes. a quick political aside, one reporting shows desantis could be losing. in a matchup from st. pete polls, desantis trails charlie crist by two points, though crist's lead is within the margin of error, this marks a major change by desantis who led in double digits. >> it's very early. very, very early, republicans will dismiss a poll like that. but the governor who is already planning for his run for president, according to most sources in tallahassee, has to get through a governor's race.

>> well, he's got to win in the fight against the coronavirus and actually save his constituents from dying. that would be a good start. >> well, it's interesting, willie, this guy has a history of doing his victory laps in the spring, right? it happens every spring, right? remember, he had that press conference with mike pence, we did better than -- you know, he was upset and angry. then the summer came, people turned on their air conditioning in florida, people went inside, and florida's numbers just exploded. he did the same thing this year. summer comes, people turn their air conditioning on, they go inside, and the coronavirus explodes. and how he has this -- i don't know, it sounds like a socialist to me, when you're a governor of a state, and you're telling businesses, small businesses, that they can't run their businesses the way they want to run their businesses to keep their stores safe. in the way they think they can keep their stores safe. and also when you're telling

local school boards banning them from taking safety measures in their own areas. you know, florida's like five different states. so to tell somebody in broward county, a local school board until broward county, that they must do the same thing that happens in walton county, you know. ten hours, 12 hours away. it's just ridiculous big government one size fits all socialism. it doesn't make any sense. >> not exactly small government conservatism you'd expect from a guy that wants to be president of the united states. but he has seen a lot of this, has governor desantis through politics. remember, he's the guy selling don't fauci on his campaign site. coming up what a pair of races in ohio stay about the

state of play for midterm elections. plus, why democrats are so concerned their message on the economy is not sticking. and a live report from northwest, arkansas, where covid patients continue to fill hospitals. how that state's republican governor is dealing with the backlash to his call for stepped-up vaccinations. "morning joe" is back in a moment. [relaxed summer themed music playing]

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majority leadermen mcconnell at the podium yesterday, proving the long-running joke that the most dangerous place in washington to be is between chuck schumer and a microphone. for sure, willie. >> senator chuck schumer, the quick first step, apparently. let's turn now back to the democratic primary in ohio's 11th congressional district where moderate shontel brown prevailed over the bernie sanders-backed nina turner. here is some of turner's concession speech follow by what shontel told us on "morning joe." >> it's evil to do this. to work, to ensure that something like this never happens again. >> this was -- this came down to results. i was tapped into the legislation into the district,

if politics is local, i am as local as it gets. long before the national attention, i had earned the support of local officials, people who knew, city councilmembers, mayors, precincts, and that was our path to victory. i want to be clear. i will say this respectfully, i didn't enter this race with any expectation but to win. and thank you so much. >> shontel brown there earlier on "morning joe." joining us to talk about the race and "the new york times" report jeremy peters, author columnist political analyst, jeff greenfield. and white house correspondent for politico and co-author of the book eugene daniels. you've been covering the race, jeremy, until the results came

back last night. shontel brown was reluctant to project on the race but about the campaign race she ran in the 11th district. what should we takeaway from what we saw there in ohio? >> i believe anybody who believes in the progressive movement is going to fold up its tent and go home after this is mistaken. you listen to what nina turner said last night where she's essentially calling her opponents evil. that's an indication of fire that burns inside of the insurgent left right now. that said, what yesterday proved is that the appetite that voters have, voters in democratic primaries have for that kind of burn it all down talk is limited. and a vast amount of resources from the left that went into organizing people to come out and vote for nina turner. and they didn't, apparently, because they were swayed by the message that democrats --

establishment democrats, washington leadership democrats pushed that if you elect somebody like her, you're going to have to worry about her. you're going to have to worry about what she says. it's too much drama, and we had enough drama after four years of president trump. some ads explicitly linked nina turner to burn politics. that could be the message. i know the democrats i've been talking to have made that point. that's their takeaway. if you can convince voters that the bernie sanders/aoc insurgent left is too much headache, too much division in washington than you can win races. and last night certainly helped make their case. >> eugene, shontel brown touted her relationship with the biden administration, during the

campaign. saying she can get things done with the administration. that she's more pragmatic than nina turner. what is your reaction from your point of view, and the white house, and shontel brown who won the race was backed by jim clyburn of south carolina. >> yeah, very close friend of biden and the white house. and jeremy is right, it's about making sure even in washington, they want people come here and do the work, right? they want to make sure the people coming are a little bit -- even some folks in this white house want to make sure people are a little more moderate, right? joe biden won because he's a little more moderate, he's a little more pragmatic. and we're seeing this in some of these special elections and these primaries as they're happening. you look at the new york mayoral race and eric adams won mostly because of a biden-style

democrat. that's something is that we're watching. as all of the evidence piles on top of each other, is in fact that voters after four years of donald trump really do want to continue, as we started with biden, making sure that more moderates who are going to come here, can compromise and get work done as opposed to completely flip the table over and come here in washington and do that work. it's also important to note that yesterday, progressives mounted a huge -- got a huge win with cori bush, kind of forcing this administration to add in some of those eviction moratoriums. so they're having some wins in boxes here, but obviously, it's the white house. >> and house democrats are concerned about the party's chances in the 2022 midterms. in a closed-door lunch last week, first reported by politico and confirmed by nbc news new york congressman and chair

sean patrick maloney parented unless democrats change their message on the economy, they will likely lose the majority. maloney reportedly presented new polling from 48 battleground districts that indicate that democrats are not doing enough to promote joe biden's agenda. incumbents are reportedly alarmed by new data that shows it on bellwether issues such as the economy, and biden's generally steady approval rating. and they worry that maloney's stark warning once made public could significantly impact fundraising and recruitment. jeff greenfield, i mean, history isn't usually kind to the majority during midterms. isn't that the case? >> that's an understatement, yeah. you can go to 1934 and 1988, where the in-party picked up

seats. and you haven't even factored in there what gerrymandering will do. >> right. >> i think what the two reports relate the progressive battle and your report today is that biden's entire message that would work perhaps to help an incumbent party is, a., i can get things done, and, b., i'm a uniter. i can get people to do important things that will help people. and for me, the real thing to watch now is what are the progressives going to do about these battling over infrastructure and the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. i mean, if they do what has been threatened, we will vote against and sink the infrastructure bill unless we get from reconciliation. what does biden have to bring to the country? and one of the questions, i thought eugene put it very well, are these progressives part of a big democratic movement to protect their president from

historical consequences of midterms. or are they prepared, you know, to burn the place down if they don't have what we want. right after the disappointing 2020 congressional results. there's a big fight between progressives and moderates. one of the arguments in the moderates, you can run as a socialist in the bronx. you can't run as a socialist in suburban ohio. that, to me, is a lot of what's going to shape the midterms that you quite accurately characterize as very fraught for democrats. >> meanwhile, six months after leaving office, former president donald trump is profiting off the big lie in a big way. according to politico, the former president's political committees have raked in $102 million since january. but not a penny has gone towards supporting republican candidates in the midterm elections. despite this, trump has sought credit for republican fundraising efforts writing in a monday statement, quote, i am

pleased to see the entire party benefit from trump. instead, a review of the former president's political committee shows more than $4 million spent on legal fees. one person not on the receiving end of that money, trump's former personal attorney rudy giuliani. according to friends and maggie haberman, giuliani's friends say he's close to broke and knows he's in legal trouble. giuliani liked a tweet in response which referred to him as, quote, just another example of loyalists being left to the slaughter. a lot in there, obviously, the candidate who won, carried ohio in that race, a special election, immediately thanking donald trump for it. looking forward to the report. touting his own win there in the 15th district of ohio last night. >> he did indeed.

he said donald trump is the face of the republican party and the future. coming at a time when we wonder what the former president will do in 2024. he certainly has a war chest but hasn't been inclined to spend much of it yet. jeremy peters i know you cover it very, very closely. what are you tracking here? how much has president trump won, one he won, one he lost. a couple weeks ago in texas. how involved is he going to be in the races beyond an emailed state? are we going to start seeing him hit the road often and the war chest, and what does it mean as he starts looking at the landscape, deciding his own political future? >> well, look, i think anybody who underestimates or doesn't take seriously the possibility that trump could run in 2024 is really making a mistake. and i say this not because of any keen insight i have into his mind or crystal ball that i

have. i've spoken to him recently, i've interviewed him twice for the book that is coming out early next year. and trump sounds very serious about this, not just serious, but aggrieved. and angrier and angrier each time i've spoken to him, about the sense that he would be avenging this grave injustice that was perpetrated against him with this stolen election. that's a very powerful motivator, not just for him, but for his base. and the question is how much does trump make the, quote/unquote, stolen election, central to his and republicans' efforts to take that power? i think in 2022, we've already seen, so far, for the upcoming midterms that this is the issue that raises the most money. republicans tell you time and time again, it's the only thing that raises money. so is it would just -- let me think about that, that's friday

mind blowing, that the president, the former president has convinced a good chunk, if not the majority of his voters that the last election was a sham. and they need to come out and correct it. and i think that that could be a much more powerful undercurrent in the upcoming elections than a lot of people would give it credit for. >> so, jeff greenfield, i'm just wondering as we look at historical trends and the really strong trends against the majority for midterms, could trump and covid bend history differently this time around? >> i think in a couple of different ways, one of the things i think -- it's awkward to talk politically about covid. but one of biden's big hopes i think was that he was going to preside over a happier country. a country that was coming out of a dreadful year and a half and was reopening. and what's happening now, people are beginning to say, really?

again? and one thing you do not want as an incumbent president's party is to face an election in which the mood of the electorate is sour. and that the irony here is a lot of what the republican governors are doing, in my view, at least, is exacerbating the problem. but the fallout may happen with the democrats. the trump thing, you know, once again, he just sucks all the say are out of the room. because you get this debate of, well, he's poisoned gradually the moderate voters are going to get disaffected. they'll turn against republicans who have his brand. and you have at least evidence that trump has a strong amount of drawing power that keeps him and his party competitive. i mean, who thought in 2020 that trump would wind up so close in the electoral college to taking a second term. so, the idea that trump is going to be a weight on republicans, i think is overstating the case by

a fair amount. >> all right. jeff greenfield and eugene daniels and jeremy peters, thank you all very much for being on this morning. the senate unanimously voted to award the congressional gold medal to members of the united states capitol police and d.c. police. for their efforts to protect the capitol during the january 6th attack. new legislation comes the same week police officials announced two more officers who were involved in the insurrection have died by suicide, bringing the total to four. senator amy klobuchar spearheaded the bill which is now expected to be signed by president biden. if neb, the senate voted to reward officer eugene goodman, the gold medal for his role in leading rioters away from the senate chamber. the house in june voted to expand the measure to apply to all members of the capitol p.d.

and d.c. police who were involved in the response to the insurrection on january 6th. willie. a pentagon police officer died yesterday after he was stabbed several times in the neck outside the pentagon metro station. the officer opened fire on the assailant after the attack began. and the attacker was shot dead by police. not yet the suspect. defense secretary lloyd austin had flags lowered to half staff and issued a statement that reads, his fallen officer died in the line of duty helping to protect the tens of thousands of people who work in and who visit the pentagon on a daily basis. this tragic death is a stark reminder of the dangers they face and the sacrifices they make. we are forever grateful for that service and the courage with which it is rendered, end quote. the fbi is investigating the incident yesterday. coming up, a live report from northwest arkansas where coronavirus hospitalizations continue to rise, but some

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(burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) hmm, that is really something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. see ya. (kid) may i have a balloon, too? (burke) sure. your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right? ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ (burke) start with a quote at 1-800-farmers. for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48 hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin. states with the lowest vaccination rates, and its hospitals continue to fill up with covid patients, especially in the northwest part of the state. last week, arkansas republican governor asa hutchinson head a town hall on the virus, where he pushed for people to get

vaccinated. here was some of their responses. >> it's very real, the hospital shortage. it's absolutely very real. i think what we agree on is that covid is real, people get sick -- [ audience reacts ] >> i was there saturday. there was one person. you know it's true. >> what's in the vaccine? give me the answer sheet. >> if mr. doctor gives me a vial and says trust me, i'll give you a vial and you trust me. >> if doctors were allowed to tell the truth and treat their patients with these therapeutics, we would not have hospitals full of sick people dying, okay. what works, what will save lives, governor? it's not the vaccine. >> wow, that is stunning. joining us now from

fayetteville, arkansas, correspondent allyson barber. where are these people getting their information? i think we start there, because there seems to be some confusion. >> reporter: i can tell you where they're not getting it. they are not getting it from health officials in this state. that is nonpartisan health officials, as well as the governor, other partisan officials, they're not getting it from those people. they're certainly not getting it from the doctors or the nurses in this area, doctors and nurses that we have spoken to. the ambulance providers. this state saw its largest increase in covid hospitalizations on monday, since the pandemic began, and those patients being hospitalized are largely unvaccinated. if you look at the numbers here, they are using more ventilators right now, they have more people in the icu because of covid-19 than they did a year ago.

you heard the governor there trying to tell people that this is a very big problem here and that hospitals are struggling to keep up, and he was mocked, he was jeered, he was laughed at, and he was called a liar. but i met one family who experienced the hospital shortages firsthand. last monday, ashley mcfadden's brother, trey, got really sick. he is immunocompromised, he has a host of health issues. he needed to go to the hospital. she told me at one point she thought her brother was going to die in her arms. she called 911, but when the paramedics arrived they told her they didn't have anywhere to go. the closest hospital was diverting ambulances, so was another hospital down the road. it took 14 hours for them to find an available bed. by the time they got to this hospital and her brother was admitted, it was the fourth hospital they tried to find an opening at. listen to some of what she told

us. >> are you confident, if it wasn't the pandemic, if infection rates weren't increasing and vaccination rates were higher that there would have been an available bed for your brother? >> 1000%. we would have been at washington regional within 20 minutes. whenever there's whole units in every single hospital with covid floors that also need all medical personnel to assist, you know, there's not enough to go around. >> reporter: when we are talking about hospital capacity, it is not just square footage, it is not just the number of beds, it is staff, it is equipment and those are not unlimited resources. if you are choosing not to get a covid-19 vaccine and are hospitalized because of it, which we know based on the data is largely preventable if you take one of the authorized

vaccines in this country, it's not just going to impact you and your health and potentially those around you. that's the obvious impact. it's also hospital capacity and that impacts people that you might never know, that you might not ever meet. the mcfadden family say they are one example of that. her brother does not have covid-19. he is fully vaccinated. their entire family is. but when they needed help, when they called 911, her brother had nowhere to go and they and the doctors here say it is because the system is so overburdened with covid patients hospitalized, in addition to their other patients. mika. >> what an incredible story. thank you so much. willie geist, in our final minute here on "morning joe," the delta variant thriving on disinformation. >> yeah, and you saw it right there. what a scene playing out. asa hutchinson, a staunch republican governor m the state

of arkansas, making the case for vaccinations and you heard the poison straight from facebook and other social media sites thrown right back at him, a man saying, you can't inject me with something unless i can inject you with something that i also say is safe. what do you do with that? there are people who are reachable in this country and can be convinced to take the vaccine, but the truth is, there are a lot of people who aren't. that does it for us this morning. we'll be right back tomorrow morning. for now, stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage. hi, there. i'm stephanie ruhle. it's wednesday, august 4th, and this morning we are watching several major stories. new york governor andrew cuomo facing mounting pressure to resign from office, after an investigation by the new york attorney general's office alleges he sexually harassed a total of 11 women. the lawyer for one of those women will be here in this hour. and a new safety net, for millions of americans the biden administration issuing ano