rally as a former rising star in the republican party calls trump a cancer on the country and then walks away from the campaign. and that is due to our toxic politics. the fda is meeting right now to recommend pfizer's third shot. growing questions about administration's plan to fight the pandemic at home and abroad. later, a growing

humanitarian crisis with alarming speed at the border as dhs confirms over 10,000 migrants packed under a bridge in del rio, texas, all arriving on our southern border. ♪♪ welcome to "meet the press" daily. i'm chuck todd. we expect an update on capitol police ahead of tomorrow's justice for j6 rally which is held on half of the people tied in connection with the insurrection on the january 6th attack on the capitol. they expect 700 people to show up. not a big number but authorities given what happened on january

6th, are not taking any chances. so the fencing is back up around the capitol. former president trump put out a statement in support of the rally's cause even though he has told supporters the rally, itself, could be some kind of setup. whatever he thinks that means. tomorrow's rally comes amid even more evidence of donald trump's power over this form of the republican party. a new survey from pri shows just how successful the former president has been at rewriting the january 6th narrative specifically. nearly 4 in 10 americans, most just republicans, say it was left wing activists that bear a lot of responsibility what we know was a right wing insurrection and another reminder of trump's power over the republicans. he is celebrating the retirement of anthony gonzalez, one of the ten house republicans that voted to impeach donald trump for his actions on january 6th. gonzalez turns 37 tomorrow. he was once seen as a rising

star in the party and feels he has to get out in largely what trump has done to him and his family and the perfectly understandable situation he is. he did call former president trump a cancer. if you're scoring at home the ten house republicans who backed trump's impeachment, seven have been censured. now the first retirement from anthony gonzalez. whether the fencing around the capitol or gonzalez retirement or purge of members seen as disloyal to trump, these are all palpable reminder the political reality facing this country. donald trump remains firmly in control of the republican party and that has some, right now, it appears to like it has some dire impact on the democracy as it

stands right now. leann caldwell is on capitol for us' ben collins is also with us. and mark sanford, is also joining us and the author of this book. no which path he thinks the party needs to go down. let's get some facts on the road. leann, i know we are getting ready to hear from capitol police and looks like no matter what happens tomorrow, capitol police want to look overprepared and not underprepared. >> absolutely right. it's not only to prevent what happened on january 6th, but also to perhaps deter what happened on january 6th as well. with people staying away from the capitol and not attending this rally, that is good news for capitol police, especially when last time heading into january 6th, there was lots of

reports, and i have my own reporting, that capitol police and leadership around here were concerned about the optics of a fortified capitol with a heavy police presence and therapy putting those optics forward so send a message. it's interesting who was going to speak tomorrow at the rally per one of the people who are challenging representative jaime butler who is one that voted to impeach the president. >> we want to listen to this press conference that just started and then come back out to both of you on the other side. hang bus. let's dip in. >> good afternoon, everybody. thank you for being here. the u.s. capitol police department has been working around the clock for the last several weeks to ensure that we have a safe event tomorrow. perhaps, more importantly, over

the last eight months, the leadership of the u.s. capitol police department has been preparing, working to ensure that we don't have a repeat of january 6th. they have been working on ensuring that we have the adequate resources for our police officers, training, equipment, staffing, to ensure that, again, we can accomplish our mission. our mission tomorrow, is our mission every day. that is to protect everyone's rights to free speech and allow them to lawfully demonstrate. there have been some threats of violence associated with the events for tomorrow and we have a strong plan in place to ensure that it remains peaceful and that if violence does occur, that we can stop it as quickly as possible. we are not going to tolerate

violence or criminal behavior of any kind. the american public and members of congress have an expectation that we protect the capitol and i'm confidence, with the plan we have in place, that we are going to be able to meet that expectation. i want to turn it over to chief pittman to talk about intelligence and then we will talk about our operational planning. >> thank you, chief. right after january 6th, this department made several challenging, yet critical, changes on the way we go about our business. one of those substantial changes we made is the way we gather, analyze, and disseminate intelligence in order to better understand threats and to mitigate those threats.

historically this department has relied on outside agencies for intelligence information. we are predominantly consumers of intelligence, rather than producers. well, that is no longer. that was prior to january 6th. we have now grown and expanded our intelligence operations and we have dramatically changed the way that we process and share intelligence with our law formality process at every level. this includes intelligence communications and intelligence briefings to our rank and file officers. we do feel that these improvements, coupled with the other existing efforts, will help transform our department operationally, as well as from an intelligence-driven perspective agency. with that, i'll turn it over to chief gallagher.

>> thanks, chief. good afternoon, everyone. as chief manger stated we have been working several weeks for the planning leading up to this weekend. the internal planning we have done has included multiple training exercises for our civil disturbance units, scenario exercises for our command staff, as well as detailed briefings for all of our officers. our officers are ready. we have already transitioned into an enhanced security posture on capitol grounds as you can see by the security fence and various other security measures that are in place. externally working with 25 pasch agencies with a seamless integrated plan this week and they will have support from number of our local, state, and federal partners. we have also conduct a large multiagency tabletop exercise in

order to test and validate our integrated others plan for this weekend. in addition to the onsite support that we will have on capitol grounds. we have extremely partnerships with our federal and state and law enforcement partners. we are hoping and expecting a peaceful event this weekend but our operations plan is scaleable so we will be able to handle anything that occurs. thank you. >> all right. we are going to pull out of there. we wanted to get to the top and find out exactly how they were going to play out the security situation, if there is any extra news we think we should bring to you, then we will do that. ben collins, you've been

reporting for the last two weeks about how it appears that there isn't going to be a huge turnout here. how important is it for the capitol police and metro police here in d.c. to be telegraphing what they are telegraphing? because i think they would like to have it serve as a deterrent for violent actors. >> you heard in the press conference they are not going to let january 6th happen again. a way to do that is not behave and take information like they did in the days before the 6th which is basically ignore it. now it's different. in terms of the vibe between those two dates, it's completely different. people are telling people not to go and saying don't fly into this, it's a trap. fascinating hearing the president call it a setup after days on these extremist forums and telegrams sake, you know, the same exact language, it's a setup, it's a trap by the fbi,

don't go. so it will work as a deterrent potentially. the people on the forums are very spooked by not just that fencing but what the capitol police have been saying the last few days. >> what else have you been seeing online, ben, with the january 6th insurrectionists as a whole? how much of a martyrdom is this narrative trying to be created on the far right information ecosystem here? chuck, the thing you have to understand, more importantly, it doesn't have to make sense. the narrative doesn't have to run in two logical lines. you put up that poll that said 38% of people think that left wing activists are responsible for january 6th. a lot of those people are the same people who are a little bit proud of january 6th saying it didn't go far enough say that this was -- you know, they need to keep doing this part of the revolution. so what you hear is january 6th was not done by patriots or

whatever they call themselves. but they also say this is what needs to be done, you know, the civil war is a foot and we need to keep doing stuff like this all the time. >> is this something d.c. will be less of a target by these folks and this will be become asymmetrical and the violent actions could be at a local polling place or where we should probably have more security concerns these days? >> absolutely. when you read ilitia telegrams they are focused on trans-protests or school board meetings is big thing with proud boys so day go to your school board meeting and speak up, maybe get on your school board and from there we can have political power so it doesn't have to be a militia any more. at least until 2024 or 2022. until then you see the localized

protests. >> mark sanford, you and i have had this discussion quite a bit. this book, it's not your first book attempting to essentially make the case to chart a different course than where the party is going. i'd like you to respond some something anthony gonzalez said and how much it resonates with you. he said this. he was talking about -- you went through this. how hard is it to be a member of the house republican conference if you're not on team trump? >> well, it proved it possible for the forum that spoke out earlier against trump and -- are all gone. i think it's incredibly tenuous. as the cheney movie plays out and gonzalez plays out, you'll see other movies play out with

the other, you know, 11 folks who voted as they with regard to impeachment. if they get three monkeys, see no evil, i speak no evil, i hear no evil, this will go away and keep my head down. think about the craziness of the press conference we just heard. the fact that, you know, there have been a lot of rallies over my 25 years in politics in washington and been a lot of rallies that preceded my time in politics, but the whole idea of the british invading our country and worries in the civil war, the idea of let's make sure we guard the capitol right this time is not a conversation you normally have outside of war. it's not been a part of all of those rallies we have had over the years. so, yeah, we are living in strange times and, as a consequence, it's tough to be

republican and a conservative and speak out on the normal things that republicans and conservatives used to speak on. >> i want you to comment. give you a tom rice quote, your former colleague in south carolina one of the ten who voted to impeach. he said, quote. he said that with a chuckle. the point this was somebody who didn't, you know, this idea that if you think donald trump's character and how he conducts himself is basically un-american, un-democratic, however you describe it, even if you agree with all these voters, you're a traitor. you've said this yourself. the party stands for nothing but trump, it seems. >> well, ultimately, that is what the book was about and why i wrote the book. has to be a different way forward. if you look at my voting record prior to the president of the united states coming out and endorsing my opponent and coming out against me in my primary, i voted with him 93% of the time, but, again, tom rice is exactly

right. i was viewed as a rhino establishment, traitor down the list. >> you went down fighting. anthony gonzalez is walking away. again, i empathize with him. he has got a young family and i understand the decision he is making, what is in the best interest of his family. if you don't get enough people to fight trumpism. we know 25% to 40% of the republican party does not alie with this cult of personality wing but it seems they are more silent than ever. i get it. doesn't look like you with win but you got to fight. is there enough fighting going on for the future of the party against this trumpism cult? >> i think you see more so at the individual level than you do at the elected level. i think at the elected level too observe the name of the game is staying in the game.

but the old adage holds true which is the only way that evil prevails is when good people don't speak up. i think at a local level, i think more robust conversations like what the heck is going on? is this consistent with what the republican party used to be about? is this consistent with the overall themes of conservativism? most people would say no. at the elected level, people can get a bit confused because they want to hang on to the seat and, therefore, i got to keep quiet and look the other way. i think there are two conversations going on and one is more robust at the local level and we need more people speaking up. certainly at the elected level. but i'd keep those conversations going around the kitchen table because cumulatively, they will make a difference. >> well, look. i'm not alone here. a lot of elected republicans who don't like what is going on fear to go on the record saying it. >> sure. >> trust me, we have the booking ask to prove it. thank you all for joining me. up next, it's a critical day

on the covid front. what is going to happen with these booster shots or third shots? key meeting is taking place right now as members of the scientific community remain torn on the need for a third dose and when you need the third dose. later, we head to texas where more than 10,000 migrants are waiting to be processed in increasing desperate conditions. . if you're 55 and up, t- mobile has plans built just for you. whether you need a single line or lines for family members, you'll get great value on america's most reliable 5g network. like 2 lines of unlimited for just $27.50 a line. only at t-mobile. ♪ when you hear 'cough cough sneeze sneeze' ♪ it's time for ♪ 'plop plop fizz fizz' ♪ alka seltzer plus cold relief, dissolves quickly... instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. we are hoping things will pick up by q3. yeah...uh...

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welcome back. today is a crucial day in this decision about whether or not we are going to get a booster shot and when we need it. the advisory committee is meeting now. the question of a third dose has been a bit confusing and somewhat controversial. last month the white house

encouraged a third shot and seeming to set a goal of beginning the boosters this monday, period. two top fda scientists announced they are leaving the agency and that boosters are not needed. today's fda meeting showing a third dose restored immunity to peak levels and the fda is casting doubt on the reliability of that data. it feels like confusion is going to be the norm here. joining me from the white house is kelly o'donnell and also million contributor dr. patel. due to confusion from the president when we should get them or not and the data that we should use to make this decision. is it our own data or data from

israeli or other places? >> reporter: so many issues with how the administration has talked about, communicated, and set parameters for the public with respect to covid and the vaccines and so forth and masking and all of that, they have some self-inflicted wounds, either getting ahead of themselves or having a message they then pulled back. part of that, the administration talks about is a desire for preparedness. remember when vaccines were first available, there was a supply issue. there was the instance where people were driving three hours to get a shot. they wanted to resolve that. now they assure us there is ample supply if there is a third shot required for those who have immunocompromised issues and a booster as to tend coverage later. if the administration spent the money to buy those and putting that in motion is there a political pressure on the scientific community to go ahead with boosters because all of that groundwork is there. that is one of the things we have asked the white house.

they say they will adhere to the outcome of the science and health process, even with all of that preparation. so there are these tension points that have existed and a lot of questions among the public. today at the covid briefing, one of the issues that came up are those americans who are already sort of self--boosting by going and getting a shot without necessarily being eligible. again, separate from those with a situation who are eligible with immunocompromised situation. and how would they police? that the answer is try to talk to providers so they know the rule who is eligible and try to keep track of when people have had previous vaccines. there is a lot to this. the real question is does it ultimately become a case where everyone who is vaccinated will eventually need to support that with additional shots? and then the still 70 million or so americans who have not had any shot. chuck? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you.

doctor, let's build on what kell was talking about there. i'm curious where you come down on this. i think it's very possible that this is a genuine disagreement and the motives are good, but they are coming from opposite ways. you've got the fda going we got to do this the same way we do with everything. you've got a biden covid task force fearing that they are going to be a month behind on the recommendation for a booster rather than a month ahead. i want to take everybody at face value. i can see where maybe how we got to this situation. you sort it out for us, dr. patel. why are we in this confused space on boosters? >> no, chuck, this is exactly the hard conversation we need to have much more kind of public and in the open. i would actually add to that an event third layer of tension that does resonate with me, as a public health person, and that is the global inequity.

it's not coincidence the white house announced a hundred more million doses they are purchasing from pfizer to donate to the world so we have that tension. data presented by israeli, a smaller country, of course. i would argue a much more aggressive stance on boosters and vaccination in general. they presented evidence that it's not just older people but a sliver of population is at risk with the entire population, including young people, they are authorizing boosters there for 12 and up. even with young people you need to have widespread boosted immunity to decrease the threat of variants like delta. so that is number up with. i think that creates a little bit more clarification. number two, i think as you point out, boosters are confusing because people feel like if we don't get one, then we are disabled against dealing with any of the coronavirus variants. that simply is not true. but, chuck, the question is we

keep seeing alpha and now delta, determinant variant to be determined that they keep escaping a little bit potentially of our immunity, causing more deaths and more severe hospitalization. do you want to be on the preventive side of that or the reactive side of that? i say i don't want to be on the reactive side of that. that is why i think the convergence of these conversations are tough and i do think the fda is going to stick to what they have to do. i do think that the issue before the committee today that they are going to vote on later is do you believe the data is sufficient to support the safety and efficacy of a booster dose at the ages 16 and above? six months or greater after a second dose. the data is there to support it. the big question will be what will the cdc advisory committee which means next wednesday and thursday will they add on this a prioritization scheme and i project they will and give who

will get the booster shots before a healthy 40-year-old who might be due for it but doesn't need it. >> should this be geographic, too? i've been compelled by the metaphor said a vaccinated person in south carolina is as likely to get covid as an unvaccinated person in new york city. meaning we have got a good vaccinated umbrella in new york city. an umbrella with a lot of holes in it in south carolina. it seals to me my mother in florida should get a booster before anybody up here in the d.c. area. i guess should there be a geographic element to this? >> yeah. chuck, you're absolutely right. by the way, i do hope your mother in florida does get a booster shot because i'm so -- >> if she is listening, mom, get it now! i tell her to jump in the car and go! >> yes. please think about getting a booster now, chuck's mom. in all seriousness. we saw a trump administration and even with the biden

administration on monod clonal antibodies. we know we are in a red situation with most of the country. but it's hard to do that on a moving basis. so i do think we have to, as national policy people, have to resort to thinking about easy apply to across state borders. you're right. if we had a more robust system and a way to say chuck todd's mom in her age and her demographics and where she is, yes, she needs to be prioritized absolutely. we don't have that to support it. so likely have to go with age and time second dose might be the best we do. >> you point out something a problem from the beginning. our government surveillance on the virus. you pointed this out a bunch of times, doctor. it's tough to play catch-up at this point in the pandemic for sure. thanks as always for your

expertise. the homeland security department homeland security secretary talks about growing crisis of refuges and mostly haitian refuges under a bridge in del rio, texas. you're watching ""meet the press" daily." you're watching ""meet the press" daily." toms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. we are hoping things will pick up by q3. yeah...uh... doug? [ding] never settle with power e*trade. it has easy-to-use tools and some of the lowest prices. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete! with 30 grams of protein.

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you booked a cozy vrbo mountain cabin. with a kitchen where everyone can chef. but the thing they'll remember forever? watching the game together once again. the time for getting back together is now. find it on vrbo. welcome back. in south texas, more than 10,000 migrants and refuges and most of them from haiti, are crowded under a bridge near the border town of del rio, t. the number is doubling from 5,000 the past 48 hours and video shows they are in unsanitary conditions. agents are struggling to keep up with the surge of folks coming over the border in this area.

our reporter spoke to the secretary about this situation earlier morning. >> i'm sure you've seen the scenario 6,000 del rio, texas. hundreds and more huddled under a bridge. that is what a fair and inhue maim organization system supposed to look like? >> a fair and humane situation is how we address the situation of a large number of haitians arriving at our border and we will address it accordingly. >> i'm joined now by nbc's own reporting who covers the homeland security department. it feels we are not getting out of dhs how they are dealing with the situation. i guess you could argue they have been overwhelmed since they

took over. i want to start with who these folks are. they are mostly haitians. are they haitians just fleeing? you seem to have indications it's not just haitians who just fled what is a disastrous situation over there both the natural disaster situation or political situation. >> the people i'm talking to on the ground processing the situation said they left haiti. essentially right now cartels are exploiting the biden administration administration that now is the time to be a haitian trying to come to the united states. >> there are protective status for people in south florida? >> that is prior to those who arrived in may. after the earthquake we stopped deportation from the united states to haiti because they didn't want to deport people back to an incredibly devastated nation. that message got out. more people start coming. now you have over 10,000 people

packed under this bridge and a sector that is not used to seeing a surge like this. i was at that bridge in august and probably 75 people there. now you have this situation. what we are learning now is ice is starting the deportation flights and saying about two weeks we will see the numbers go down here. you're right. it's the next and what has been a series of different crises you would call them humanitarian or political on the border for this administration. >> it seems like the root cause is the same. the perception that there is going to be a friendlier or more humane way, that the u.s. is dealing with anybody crossing the border has turned into a magnet saying more people saying let me see if i can get in. >> i was at a conference this week where mayorkas was ask the question do you regret any of

this? he said we acted according to our values and we will have to just see how things play out from there. but, of course -- >> sounds like that is an interesting thing. sounds like he is doesn't want to agree those were good policies. >> he is acknowledging that at least the policies and how they were interpreted by the people deciding whether or not to leave their country, that that is the fallout of it. >> let's check in on the ground there. we got morgan chesky with us. we describe the scene the federal government doesn't want us to have aerial shots with drones any more. what have you learned since being there? >> we just rolled up on the scene. the faa shut down the air space over the bridge about a quarter mile from i'm standing and national guard humvees are behind me and flanking the fence here. you can see according to the

mayor of del rio, he said he has signed a disaster declaration officially shutting that bridge down. we don't know how he would go about enforcing that as the mayor of this city, but we are waiting to hear back from the state and from the biden administration as well. we do know that according to these internal documents obtained by nbc news through the work of my colleague that ice is planning to increase the deportation flights to cut down on this group, according to the mayor, 12,000 mostly haitian migrants under this bridge here, chuck. we know some of the deportation flights resumed last night and that will only increase in the days and weeks ahead. keep in mind, every flight carrying about 135 people, you have a group here not too far where i'm standing now numbering about 12,000 strong. that is one of the reasons the mayor of del rio issued this disaster declaration saying not only is he concerned about basically safety being

compromised, but also with the pandemic going on, it is a public health threat as well and with that many people in that confined space, the mayor is saying that they are afraid that should anything drastic happen, there could be some sort of a potential stampede and people could get injured in the process. >> a fair point. morgan on the ground for us there, thank you. julia, number one, i know -- what are we doing? are we sending -- at this point are we vaccinating the people. >> they have to be tested before they can be deported and we don't deport positive people. normally half of the people scheduled on one flight were pulled off, 90% pulled off because they were covid positive so they need to be quarantined here. they are not tested in border patrol custody but tested when they leave. 12,000 people under the bridge, we don't know how many might be positive. >> we are going to send these folks back to haiti as it stands

now? i understand the deterrence. we are knowingly sending people back into essentially a war-torn country that may be about to see hot civil war? >> absolutely. for many of them who have not called this country homes in years, chuck. >> very complicated story for sure. julia, thank you. we know our political system can handle complicated so well. up next, so many school districts are working so hard to get kids back into the classroom safely but we have a shortage of school bus drivers and it's making it even more difficult for in-person schooling. now one state is having to call in the national guard. you're watching "meet the press daily." daily. ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel ♪ [man: coughing] ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day... ♪ no matter how you got copd it's time to make a stand. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good ♪ start a new day with trelegy.

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making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. amid the focus on coronavirus in the classroom and whether kids have to wear masks at scheme and vaccine mandates another complicated subject. how do we get kids to school in

more than half of the country's school districts say they have a shortage of bus driver answers so severe and desperate in some places, they are having to resort to tough decisions. in philadelphia the school district is offering parents $300 a month to drive their kids to school than put them on bus. one is offering $7,000 signing bonus if become a school bus driver in windsor. ron allen is with us in lawrence, massachusetts. members of the national guard are learning to be bus drivers. ron, look. some of this is covid and some of this is the pay. is there any one explanation, though, as to why we have this shortage? i guess it's a lot of drivers lost their job over the last year. >> a lot retired and some took better paying jobs and some are relying on more generous -- some

don't want to deal with the masking or risk their health because most of the bus drivers are elderly retirees doing this part-time. yes, it's a complicated problem. in massachusetts 200 national guard soldiers are behind the wheel as soon as today out there driving kids back and forth to school. all this has sent parents scrambling and educators are saying this is the national emergency like a flood or any other disaster. that is why they are glad to see the guard coming in. here is what the superintendent of the chelsea school system had to say here in massachusetts. take a listen. >> we worked so hard in chelsea to bring our students back. we have covid, mitigation strategies, we are still wearing our masks inside. we are making sure we are cleaning. we have socially distancing as much as we can at lunch, so we need to get our kids to school

on time and hasn't been happening for everybody. and a lot of times the buses that -- the vans the national guard are driving are students with the most need. and so it's important to get our students with the most need to school on time. >> reporter: so how long will this last? it's unclear like any other military mission. they say they will be here until the job is done. there are other offers of incentive pay and other ways to recruit drivers and some expectation that maybe with the end of those unemployment benefits happening a week or so ago that more drivers will step forward. but like so many other things in this covid pandemic, it's unpredictable what is going to happen and remain to be seen. >> that theory on government benefits hasn't played out in the data in the states that cancelled it a while ago. we will see. but we will find out. ron allen on the ground in massachusetts, thank you. senator ben cardin joins me after the break.

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australia to build nuclear submarines for the first time. the biden administration is taking aim at iran and just approved sanctions on iran after they trucked more than 1 million gallons of fuel to iran which is a violation of the sanctions. so i am joined by ben cardin who is a senator from maryland. and before i get to your wheelhouse there on all of the developments on the purview, i have to ask you about the situation in south texas with those haitians and the migrants, and look, i understand it is a series of bad choices where it comes to where do you take these folks, and how do you process them? do you believe they are refugees? are you comfortable with sending them back to haiti? where else would you send them is the other question. and what is the sense why we can't get our arms around this

southern border issue? >> well, these people are desperate, and the circumstances in haiti are unacceptable, and trying to survive, so yes, i do believe they are trying to have safety for their families and recognize that in haiti that it was not safe for them. i think that we have to figure out the humanitarian answer to this. we have a program known as temporary protective status that can be used in regard to the haitians, so there are programs available, but it begs the broader question, that we need immigration reform, and we need immigration reform to deal with the southern border and deal with people who are in the country who have been here in a long time as to their status and pathway to citizenship, and controls on the border to make sure that only the people who come in through the proper means are allowed to come in through this country, and you have to make sure that we protect the national security, and we also need to be the leader in dealing with the humanitarian needs of the people who are forced to leave the country such as the

haitians. >> do you think that we are only in this situation because we have not passed immigration reform? it seems as if we could, you know, if is it that we have to pass immigration reform to best handle this situation before we can handle the southern border issue? >> well, the situation has mushroomed over the years because of the failure of the basic immigration reform, but the problem with the haitians is the result of the circumstances is in haiti. it is not as a result of the southern border, i recognize that, the but we don't have the proper facilities, the proper policies is, the proper procedures for the people showing up at the border, and that has to be changed and it is a fundamental problem of the immigration system. >> let me move to this dispute with france. i want to ask you how serious you think this is, because france seems to be, you know, that they are canceling the party and stuff like this, and how concerned are you, and did

we mishandle this relationship when we essentially went behind their back, i guess in their minds to steal a client from them which is that we are now selling the zubs to australian instead of france? >> well, i think it has to do more with the commercial transactions than anything elsewhere there is competition, but remember, australia and u.k. are having a historic connections, so it is only natural that australia would want to partner with the u.k. and the united states. i understand that france is disappointed from the point of view of having a commercial client, but it is the right decision, and they understand it, but they are raising a fuss, because they have lost an economic partner. >> the french president emmanuel macron has said whether it is trump or biden says they need to

chart their own partner. is he right? >> well, the eu relations are very, very important, and nato is extremely important, but let's remember that france is having a national election, and i am sure that some of it figures into what sells locally in regards to the elections. >> to go back to the decision with australia here, they are now getting grief from china. this is clearly our way of trying to strengthen the western alliance in the pacific here. where does this go next? >> well, you are exactly right. for a long time we have been focused on the threat of russia or the threat coming from the middle east. we now recognize that we have a major threat coming from china and not necessarily a military confrontation right now, but they are clearly increasing the military capacity. i think that getting a stronger alliance among our pacific partners is critically important

to the united states security interests and we will have the quad meeting to strengthen the interests to make sure that there is free commerce on the china seas and we are not intimidated with the chinese tactics in regards to what is going on with the chinese commerce. >> so you think that the riff with france is going to go away as long as the elections are over? >> france is a key partner of this united states, but i think that they are just upset with the timing of this announcement. >> democrat from maryland and former chair and ranking member himself, and thank you for coming on the share your perspective with us, and thank you all for being with us this hour, and if it is sunday, it is "meet the press" on your local nbc station, and get it wherever you want to watch it, and msnbc coverage continues with geoff bennett right after this break. bennett right after this break.

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it is great to be with you. i'm geoff bennett in los angeles today. as we come on the air, we are awaiting a critical vote on booster shots that could come at any time today. an fda advisory panel is currently debating the data, the research and the need for a third round of covid shots which the biden administration had hoped to begin offering on monday. but what happens at the end of this marathon day-long discussion could derail that plan or limit it to far fewer americans. pfizer which would be the first booster made available says that the research supports the booster shots, because of the waning effectiveness, but top scientists are divided. there is pressure from the world health organization which is calling for the wealthy countries to stop boost