tv Meet the Press MSNBC January 24, 2022 1:00am-2:00am PST
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through such torment. but for her, there is no choice. the surgery is to get her smile back. >> i had the biggest smile you could dream of. that's something -- that's what i wanti want back. i'm going to go for it. this sunday, year two, rereset. >> president biden acknowledges first year setbacks. on covid-19. >> should we have done more testing? yes. but we're doing more now. >> and on inflation. >> if price increases are what you're worried about, the best answer is my build back better plan. >> while taking aim at republicans. >> what are republicans for? what are they for? >> we kick off the meet the
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midterms coverage, with sobering new poll numbers for democrats. >> i think we should go back and look at how he can pick. >> i'll talk to bernie sanders and moderate democratic congresswoman alisa slot kin. >> plus no break throughs over ukraine. >> we stand firmly with ukraine with sovereignty and territory integrity. >> the government is saying moscow is planning to install a pro-russian leader in ukraine. >> antony blinken my guest this morning. >> and covid hospital lation -- hospitalizations are down in the northeast but rising in other places. the question now, who do americans trust about information about covid? joining me for insight and analysis are kristen welker,
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symone sanders, and "new york times" chief white house correspondent peter baker. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press". >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press." news in washington, this is "meet the press. good sunday morning, president biden's news conference on wednesday was designed to kick off a second year reset of his presidency. it recaptures his political identity if you will but the new nbc news poll suggests mr. biden does need a reset because he lost his identity a bit and no longer seen as competent and effective and a good commander in chief and as easygoing and likeable. 5% of adults say mr. biden has performed better than expected as president. one of the many lowest firsts and fewests in our poll. as we kick off coverage heading
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into november, the nbc news political unit developed what we called a midterm meter, on previous election cycles, basically three poll numbers you need to know best and the most important number to understand, the direction of the midterms, job approval here, the job approval rating at 43%. if you look at history, history shows that kind of presidential approval rating leads to a shellacking for the party in power. how about the mood of the nation? let me show you this, the nations on the wrong track number, 72%, second poll in a row over 70%. the only the third time in the poll's history over 30 years where we had two tracks that off, and that would put you in shellacking pairer to for the party in pour. and the one question they're holding up okay, a dead heat. and democrats have to be up to
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four or five due to redistricts to hold the house so that puts it in the middle. . two of our three most important indexes is sitting in shellacking territory right now in the democrats. a dangerous place for the party and the president to be, at the one year mark of this presidency. >> the whole work is just, it's a mess. >> with the coming midterms likely a referendum on president biden, voters are in a sour mood. this week i travel to georgia, the state that clinched control of the senate for democrats. >> i think there's still a lot of separation. a lot of divide. >> we're kind of on a tipping point of polarization. >> i wish we could just shut up and agree and listen to each other. >> and asked to describe america in their own words in our nbc news poll, voters used the words divided, negative, lost, bad, and downhill. >> i think it's just getting harder to live that american dream. >> for all this progress, i know there's a lot of frustration. and fatigue this this country. we know why.
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covid-19. >> and at a news conference on wednesday, president biden promised a reset. saying we engage more directly with americans, but he was also defensive. >> i don't believe polls. >> the two parties are deadlocked on the question of who should control congress, republicans now have a double digit advantage on interest in the election itself. disparities like that led to big one-party waves in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. there has been a significant drop in interest among the democrats core voting groups since october, young voters, down 17 and african americans, down 21 points. >> you seem to be a little bit disappointed. >> i am. the majority of his voting block, i feel that he's ignored us. >> do you think that president biden of has fought hard enough for the priorities of black voters? >> i do not. >> president biden is walking a tight rope, in addition to flagging enthusiasm in the base,
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he faces eroding support among independents. in atlanta, i sat down with biden voters who did not vote democratic in 2016. >> leaning into the argument about elections and election fair innocence either direction turns me off. >> what could biden right now to make you feel less reluctant. >> we have a lot of problem, high inflation, supply chain issues. >> the economy and jobs is the top issues for voters replacing covid-19. >> republicans have a 33 point average, driven by gains among independents. while job creation is up and the unemployment rate is down, 61% say their family income is falling behind the cost of living. >> it's almost $400 just to go to the grocery store for three people. i mean that's insane. >> 70% say america has become so polarized that the federal government can no longer save the major issues facing this country. that's up a whopping 34 points from a decade ago. 24% say biden has done a good job unites the country.
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>> i think he's listening to too many liberals. >> he was voted in to be bipartisan but it takes two to tango and i think he's running into a bring wall with that. >> joining me now is the independent progressive senator of vermont, bernie sanders. senator sanders, welcome back to "meet the press," sir. >> good to be with you. >> give me your take on why the president and the democratic political party are in a precarious position at the second year of the presidency? >> i'll tell you why. i think the president and the democratic congress started off very, very strongly. they looked at the economic congress that was caused by covid. we set up strongly and we passed the american rescue plan, which did an enormous amount in revitalizing our economying put money into the havens of working people and money into hospitals and health care, and lowered
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childhood poverty by 40% by putting direct payments into the hands of working class payments all over this country, we were off to a great start and we passed along the way the strongest infrastructure bill that has been passed since dwight d. eisenhower in order to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges and water systems and expand broadband and expand many good-paying jobs and we were off to a good start and i will tell you exactly what happened, 50 members of the republican party decided they were going to be obstructionists, that they were going to not going to help us address the crises facing working families, not going to deal with the ex is engs threat of climate, not going to be dealing with the high cost of prescription drugs, that need to expand med cap, and home health care, et cetera, et cetera and you had two united states senators joining them, mr. manchin and senator kyrsten sinema, and then for five months now, they have been negotiations behind closed doors, trying to
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get these senators, these two democratic senators on board. that strategy in my view, chuck, has failed. it has failed dismally. we saw it last week in terms of voting rights act. we need a new direct in my view and that is to take it to the republicans, to bring important pieces of legislation that impact the lives of working families on the floor of the senate and if the republicans want to vote, to protect the wealthy and the powerful, that's their right. let the american people see what's happening. >> you see this is a process problem, if you will, tactical problem, not a substance problem, so does this mean you think from the beginning, and i hate to, i ate even using the word reconciliation, for this audience, you know, we don't want to get mired into that congress-speak there but do you think that was a amazing, lumping it all in, there -- that was a mistake, lumping it all in, there should have been separate votes? >> no, that is exactly not what
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i'm saying. what is in the reconciliation bill, and i know that's inside the beltway is enormously popular, it is what 70, 80% of the people, nbc should do the poll, find out whether the american people want us to take on the greed of drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs and expand medicare to cover and hearing and eyeglasses and home health care and deal with climate change, all those pieces of legislation are enormously popular, the bill itself in its entirety and the president deserves real credit for looking at the real problems facing this country but what we had was obstructionism from 50 republicans and two democrats and what we got to do now is take the issues to the american people and if the public wants to vote against lowering the cost of prescription drugs and continue to give tax breaks to the rich, let them vote that way and let the american people see
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what is happening and come together after these votes to put together the strongest bill that we can. >> so i was just going to say, let me play you for something that rho kanna, a progressive house member who represents silicon valley said. and i'm curious what you think. >> if he wants to come up with something, i think he will come up with something that is going to be extraordinarily much better than nothing on climate. >> are you okay with that strategy now or do you want to go through the votes first and then okay, if all i can get is what i can get from manchin, i'll take it. >> look, as a tactical issue, you know, you have been around long enough to know that funny things happen when a bill gets to the floor. clearly, we have got to deal with the enormous crisis of climate. let's put a strong bill on the floor. and if mr. manchin and ms. sinema want to vote against it, whatever, we can go from there but what we cannot continue to
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do from my view is these endness back room negotiations. the american people have to see where we are and after that happens, we can do the best we possibly can. >> can that be healthy to highlight the division in the party? >> if you look at senator kyrsten sinema, she was censured by the arizona democratic party over what some would say are tactic, not over substance, tactics, do you think that was an appropriate action? >> yes, i do. and on the issue of voting rights, this is something almost different than anything else, you have a republican party under trump's leadership what is perpetuating this big lie that trump actually won the election and you have 19 republican states that are moving very aggressively into voter suppression, into extreme gerrymandering, some of these states are doing away with the powers of independent election officials, and they are moving in a very, very anti-democratic
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way. and it was absolutely imperative that we change the rules so that we can pass strong voting rights legislation. all republicans voted against us. two democrats voted against us. that was a terrible, terrible vote. and i think what the democratic party did was exactly right. >> we will have congresswoman slotkin my next guest and part of a swing district who wanted retooling but in a different way, more compromising, focus on the inflation and covid issue right now. essentially while agrees with you that the ideas are popular, voters are worried about near term issues and that's what is better for the midterms, what do you say to her? >> i think in a sense, that's right. we can chew bubble gum and walk at the same time. and my own view, if you want to do things that are important, and are politically effective,
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what you got to do is talk to where the american people are. they want action on covid. that is exactly right. let's do it. they want action on prescription drugs. they want action on home health care. they want action on climate. we have got to revitalize the senate, and we got to bring these bills to the floor. we got to debate them and i think at the end of that debate, when we see how things shake out, we can then pass strong legislation, which will help all democratic candidates because you have a republicans party right now which is playing the obstructionist role, they stand for nothing, except for wanting to cut social security, medicare and medicaid. >> very quickly, perhaps the leading progressive voice in the democratic coalition, can president biden count on your vote in the senate, with almost any compromise he comes up with, with manchin? >> no, you got to look at -- no, absolutely not. you're going to have to look at what that so-called compromise is. if it's strong, if it protects the needs of work can people, --
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working people, if it deals with the climate, i'm there. but we have to look at the details. >> congressman bernie sanders, congress man from vermont, appreciate your perspective. >> thank you. >> joining me is alyssa slotkin of michigan. welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks for having me. >> you're one of house seven house democrats representing a district that trump won in 2020, i want to show you numbers from independents on president biden, that is on the issue of compromise, and has he been too willing, too unwilling, right balance among independents, a large majority, 55% believe the president has been too unwilling to compromise. you're a district that obviously has an independent mind. you won. trump won. is this what you're hearing? >> i do. i think that people in general are kind of questioning whether government still works for them. and so we should be doing a
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couple of things really, really well. and in talking about it, over and over and over again, so people know we did it as opposed to we're going to do everything, promising the world, and then not getting all of that done. people leave feeling like look, my government isn't doing anything for me. so i think we're in a crisis when it comes to people believing in government and the best thing we can do is govern effectively. >> what do you want the president to do in the next six weeks? because you could argue because it is an even numbered year, you know this, many only have until april 1 to truly get some legislation done. what should the focus be? >> i think for me, the issues that are always going to resonate, the cost of prescription drugs, right? just allow medicare to negotiate for drug prices. it was in different versions of bills, a common sense thing. >> this unites the democratic coalition. >> it's not a democratic coalition, by the way. it doesn't make any sense that medicare can't negotiate drug
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prices. >> president trump wanted it. >> let's do that. >> universal pre-kindergarten for three and four-year-olds. right now you're worried about the economy and not enough people working, and you unlushe -- unleash a large amount of people in the economy if we can do child care. and looking at under promise and overdeliver. and we haven't been doing that. >> you weren't crazy about having to air some of this dirty laundry but what is happening, what is happening to kyrsten sinema, is this happy for the party, having her own state party censure her, and it is over a disagreement on tactics not on the issue. >> i don't come from a school where you're constantly airing dirty laundry. there are really big divisions in washington right now.
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period. democratic, republican, within even party, but i just don't believe that the way that you get back at other people is by putting that on air, airing that publicly, so i don't love that, i don't think that, you know, if we disagree with someone, that's a normal part of governing. people just want people to be responsible. so i don't love it. but i also, that's not what people in my direct are worrying about right now. >> do you question the motives of senators manchin and sinema for their agreements? >> no, i think someone once told me when i started congress, you can question policy choices, don't question their motives, because we're all here to do the right thing, at least we should be. >> and the biden coalition got in the primary, union folks, ended up being a working class folks, african americans, what you are hearing, let's start with union members, and african americans, what are you hearing from them, on what they're saying about either of the
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democratic party these days. >> people don't wake up in my district real political people. they're not here in washington, they're probably not watching this show right now. they're waking up and they're talking about the price of groceries, the price of gas, they're talking about crime, right? and concerns about security. they're talking about whether their kids are going to be able to stay in school. those are the things that people are talking about. and i think that's in my mind what the white house should be laser focused on. and i get it. there's a big coalition. we got a lot of people that are interested in a lot of different things. but in my mind, where's the war room on the cost of living? where's the task force on inflation? where there's the energy around. that because that's what everyone is talking about when i sit down with them. >> and when it comes to covid, covid we know for everybody is the wet blanket. for different reasons, it's the wet blanket. is there anything the administration can do more proactively on covid? or the fact that they're taking a little bit of a step back the right call in terms of the
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politics of covid? >> if we could, i would say let's enter a new phase on covid, and keep our kids in school, keep our businesses open, focus on keeping our world open. but our hospitals are like war zones right now. we don't have enough subs, when our teachers get covid. so we can't forget about it, we can't change and sort of say that's not our business, when the institutions that hold our communities up -- >> so that what congress is focused on, covid relief necessary, what's happening, i mean school bus drivers, it's not just that, it's across the board here, should congress step in with more release? >> honestly, the covid relief, at least in my state that we passed back in march is sitting in the bank account of the state of michigan, the state of michigan has literally $4 billion -- >> should they be using this for substitute teachers. >> yes, hello. the michigan state senate, yes. move, get off your duff, you know, get that money out. so that we can pay more for subs in our schools, that we can get more folks, nurses and doctors,
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and i don't know that we need another package, because that's money we've spent, it hasn't been used already on the ground. >> elissa slotkin, democrat from michigan, thanks for coming on. >> thanks for having me. when we come back, new accusations that russia is set to install a puppet leader in ukraine. to install a puppet leader in ukraine.
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comcast business: powering possibilities. welcome back. the british government announced last night that russia is plotting to install a pro russian leader in ukraine. russia is denying the accusation from the british. the news came the day after secretary of state antony blinken met with his russian counterpart lavrov. the u.s. agreed to provide written answers that ukraine pull back from eastern europe and that ukraine never join the
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resolution. secretary of state, welcome back to meet the press, sir. >> thank you, chuck. hello to you. >> let's talk about the meeting with the british. how reliable is it, as far as you're concerned, and why was it necessary to go public with it? >> well, chuck, i'm not going to comment on specific intelligence reports, but what i can tell you is this. we've been concerned and have been warning about exactly these kinds of tactics for weeks. we talked about that publicly, that russia would try to in some way topple or replace the government. just a few days ago we sanctioned for russians in ukraine. this is part of the russian play book. it's important people look at the whole rash of things that russia could do in ukraine. >> the u.s. intelligence committee released information that he was trying to create sort of a false flag operation. this is from british intelligence. again, this seems to be an unusual move to make so much of this stuff public. who are you trying to send a message to, and i'm not going to
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be subtle here. is this sending a message to our other european allies that this is real and this is serious? >> chuck, it's mostly making clear, first of all, to the russians that we know all of the tactics and techniques that they can bring to bear. they're massing a huge number of forces on ukraine's border. people rightly are very focused on that but there are a whole series of other actions they've taken in the past and are preparing to take potentially in ukraine. it's important they be put on notice. it's also important that people around the world, whether it's in europe, the united states or beyond understand the kinds of things that could be in the offing. false flag operation to try to create a false pretext for going in. it's important that people understand that's in the playbook, too. >> what does an exit ramp for putin look like that allows him to save face and not compromise ukraine's independence? >> well, look, ultimately you would have to ask that of president putin.
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but what we're doing is two things. even as we're building up deterrence, even as we're building up defense for ukraine, we're also engaged in diplomacy and dialogue. i met, as you know, with russian president sergei lavrov in geneva a few days ago to try to find out if there is a path forward on diplomacy and dialogue. the russians have put concerns on the table that they say they have about their security. we exchanged some ideas we'll be sharing with the russians in writing, not only our concerns but some ideas for a way forward that could enhance mutual security on a reciprocal basis. look, that is clearly the preferable path forward for everyone. it's the responsible thing to do. we'll pursue it as long as we can, and at the same time we'll try to build up deterrence as necessary. >> why do you think putin is insisting the u.s. response is put into writing? and i'm curious, while you verbally expressed there are no plans soon to have ukraine join
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nato, are you willing to say, look, it won't be considered for ten years. are you willing to put a time stamp on that, or is that capitulating too much? >> there is no question of capitulation. the question is whether there are ways to advantage our collective security. as parts of our policy, we meet with meme, we talk to people, we put things in writing all the time. in this case we're doing it in full consultation of allies and partners. it's a way of being as clear as you can, putting ideas on the table. but, chuck, one thing that's important to remember as someone who engages in diplomacy. engaging in diplomacy doesn't take the word yet out of your vocabulary. >> i want to play something the president said in the press conference. this created a bit of a stir. this is what he said. >> i think you will see that russia will be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does.
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if it's one thing if it's a minor in curious and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. >> what did the president say that's not true? >> chuck, we have been clear that, first, in the event there is a renewed encouragement of russian forces going into ukraine, there will be a swift and severe united response. but we were also clear that there are other things that russia could do, short of putting forces in ukraine again, cyberattacks, hybrid means, et cetera, and there we've also been clear. there will be a swift response, a calibrated response, a united response. what we've been doing, and i've been engaged in close confrontations with our allied partners to make sure that across all of these scenarios we have a clear and united response, and we will. >> why does it look like america is more concerned about your security than europe? >> i don't think that's the case.
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i think in my own engagements with my european counterparts that have been intensive and extensive over the last couple months, i think there is a deep-seated concern across the board. by the way, this is a concern that should extend not only to europe and the united states, but in a sense it should concern the entire world. because what's at stake here is not simply the relationship between ukraine and russia or even between europe and russia or the united states and russia. what's at stake here, chuck, are very basic principles of international relations that have kept peace and security since the last world wars and the cold war, the idea that one nation can't simply change the borders of another nation by choice, can't dictate to that country the choice of whom they will associate, that they will not subjugate the nation to its will. >> i want to bring up germany specifically because the head of their navy had a response when he said in the conference,
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essentially, that putin deserves more respect. there is no way that crimea is ever going to go back to ukraine. he resigned, but it seemed to simply put a spotlight on what everybody seems to know: germany is the sticking point here of a united, tough response against putin. is there something we can do to alleviate those economic concerns that germany has to get them on board? >> first, chuck, that's simply not my assessment. i sat with chancellor schultz just last week for an hour and listened very carefully to him. i've been on the phone and saw my own german counterpart, the foreign minister, and i can tell you the germans very much share our concerns and are resolute in being determined to respond and respond quickly, effectively and in a united way. i have no doubts about that. >> the diplomacy -- the consistent calls for meetings
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right now that the russians are doing, do you think they're genuine about diplomacy, or do you think they're just essentially playing out the calendar here because he's not going to upset xi in the olympics, and essentially we're making it look more legitimate by negotiating? are you worried he's playing us a little bit? >> look, it is certainly possible that the diplomacy that russia is engaged in is simply going through the motions and it won't affect their ultimate decision about whether to invade or in some other way intervene or not in ukraine. but we have a responsibility to see the diplomacy through as far and as long as we can go because it's the more responsible way to bring this to closure. but, chuck, we are not sitting still, even as we're engaged in diplomacy. even as we're engaged in dialogue, we're building up defense, we're building up deterrence. we have provided to ukraine more security assistance this year than the previous year, we have rallied our partners around the
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world, we are preparing mass consequences against russia if it invades ukraine again. you have to do both at the same time. you build up your defense and deterrence on the other, you engage in diplomacy and dialogue on the other. that's the way that i think makes the most sense to carry this forward. ultimately we've given russia two paths. it has to choose. >> there's been reports that our embassy in ukraine has made requests to send non-essential personnel home now, begin that process. have you approved that request yet, and if not, what are you waiting for? >> chuck, this is something that we look at every single day. i have no higher responsibility than the safety and well-being of the folks who work for the state department and who are under my care, in a sense. so we're tracking this very, very closely. we're looking at it on really a daily basis, and if we need to make a determination that we should draw down some of the folks at the embassy, we'll do
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that based on the security needs. >> but right now you feel like kiev appears safe, at least in the near term? >> this is something, again, we're tracking intensely hour by hour and certainly day by day. >> secretary blinken, really appreciate you taking some time and sharing. >> thanks, chuck. when we come back, one of the biggest reasons president biden is struggling in the polls, here's a hint. it's all about that base. that's next. that's next.
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how is it possible this new guy that came in the last time, the maverick, saying i'm going to do something different, he was able to do a lot of things, good, bad and ugly. he was still able to accomplish that. are you saying the longer you're a politician, the less you can get done? >> that was one of the disappointed georgia voters we met last week. symone sanders, former
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spokesperson for michelle obama. d spokesperson for michelle obama. kamala harris. chief correspondent kristen welker and chief correspondent baker and carlos curbelo. i'm going to put up the breakdown of the president's approval rating. everyone in the coalition is not happy, from bernie sanders to john kasich, right? everybody in between here. with independents, he fell 25 points, with african-americans, 19, with 18-year-olds, 10. this is basically the first four months to now. what is your take on this? let me put it this way. how is the white house handling this moment? >> i think the clip that you played, chuck, really illuminates what's happening across the country and how the white house, and i would argue the democratic apparatus is doing it as a whole. there is a disconnect, to state the obvious, between what voters
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and the american people think their elected leaders have done and what the elected leaders have actually done. i'm sure that's very frustrating and scary for the white house and the democratic party apparatus. because the first year of the biden/harris administration was designed to say that the government can work for the american people. president biden talks about it all the time, vice president harris has talked about it, and you can see that in the 200 million vaccinated, the passage of the rescue plan that allowed for the monthly ctc payments and lower health care premiums and sometimes eliminated them for folks across the country, but there is a disconnect. the white house has to figure out a way to bridge that gap, and that's what you'll continue to see from him, i think. >> do you agree it's a message problem and not a substance problem? >> i think joe biden's biggest challenge is he's not being himself. he has 50 years of a pragmatist
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and census builder, and they have pulled him back sometimes because he was too willing to negotiate. all of a sudden he became the face of this policy in a generation. the same joe biden who ran in the primaries as the mainstream or moderate candidate, the same joe biden who told independents, and we saw the big drop, that he was going to help heal this country, and the president of the republicans and democrats and independents. i think a lot of voters have found him to be a partisan, and that was a surprise because he was supposed to be different than donald trump. donald trump was divisive, joe biden was supposed to bring us together and to heal us. >> peter, it did strike me that the president was aware that he lost his political identity. when he brought bernie sanders to say -- remember, he's the
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socialist and i'm the capitalist. >> he is struggling to define himself, right, and he had run as the anti-trump and the coalition was unified by this one thing, they all hated trump, they wanted him gone, but that didn't mean they had agreed on a lot of important issues and they hadn't settled those just because they elected joe biden. they elected him in a 50-50 senate and the house only slightly more democratic, and didn't give him the wherewithal necessarily to accomplish some of the biggest things they wanted to see here today. even senator sanders said let's find a way to break down the package and see what will pass and won't pass. that's a big change. >> kristen, you've done a lot of reporting. what is next? is it the electoral account act, the universal pre-k? what does he do next? >> they are going to work on the electoral account act, which would fortify the way electoral
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votes are counted but i do think there will be a scaled back version of the build back better package. what you were talking about with congresswoman slotkin. i think they'll go where they can find bipartisan support, like lowering the cost of child care, expanding health care. prescription drugs will be a big piece of that as well, but there is also going to be a reset in messaging. that's one thing the president can control. i'm told he'll be at shovel ready projects, talk about his infrastructure law, what he's already done, he'll be at schools working on broadband, so i think it's messaging and policy. so much of this lack of being able to get out of the white house, obviously covid had a lot to do with it. i look back, you guys got to go through a campaign where you really didn't go across the country. how much did that hurt that you can't really calculate? >> i think a lot.
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during the campaign, biden wanted to go around the country. he loves making his case directly to them, being in the beauty shops, the barber shops, in the diners with folks, hosting a town hall and taking their questions, he has been unable to largely do that due to covid. i think the implications of covid have not been explored by tables like these, in a very fullsome way. if the president or his staff gets covid, they are down for ten days. that is a fact. we have to go with the facts. so a lot of things that are happening are happening under the umbrella of, okay, what can we do to make sure it's still safe. >> i want to bring up a quick troubling number in our polls. 76s, there and four of everyone we surveyed, said our democracy is under threat. but look at the differences why. that was basically republicans and democrats agreeing with this statement now.
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republicans say it's because of democrats and liberals and it's socialism and they're going too far to the left. you don't see the election fraud even come up. democrats basically agree on one reason why they think democracy is under threat. it is donald trump. but this is, peter baker, a pretty concerning overall -- the rationales may not matter if everybody agrees that our democracy is crumbling. >> we're in a moment in our society i don't think a lot of us ever expected to be. we're questioning the very foundations of things we took for granted for decades, for generations. i don't think we ever thought growing up -- i didn't, anyway -- that we would ever be at risk, not the fundamental nature of who america is would be in question. i think a lot of people are questioning that today from different idealogical points of view and different angles, but it's a different moment than we've seen. >> it's a bit scary especially because it isn't for the same reasons, and that's what makes it even harder. >> no consensus on what to do
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information about the virus. our poll asked a simple question. do you trust what a certain person or group has said about the virus? some of the answers may surprise you. look overall, and here's what we saw here. the closer you are personally to the entity, the more you trust them. so right now our most trusted entity when it comes to the coronavirus, our employer, at 57%. then comes your child's school at 51%. as you go to government entities, the trust goes down, cdc down, fauci down, your governor down, president biden, then former president trump. there are some political divides here a little bit. among your employer, there's not. as you can see, a majority of the democrats and a majority of republicans trust their employer when it comes to information, a little less on independents. to show you how the political side of things has gotten. the cdc trust problem is not good at 44%.
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still good with democrats. look at this. below 40% with independents and below 25% with republicans. it really has polarized or politicized the cdc. as you can see, that's led to a lot of problems, which is why it's employers and schools that parents and individuals have had to turn to because they don't trust the government these days. when we come back, donald trump is clearly the leader of the republican party, but there are some signs his grip may be loosening. stay with us. stay with us
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welcome back. so is the president losing his grip on the party? it depends who you ask. we have this poll question we've been asking, carlos, for some time. anybody who says they're a republican, we ask, are you more a trump supporter than a republican or the other way around? towards the end of the presidency, he had a majority of his party saying they were trumpists before they were
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republicans. we have a positively going back to 2006 saying they were more republicans. i had two republicans from emery saying one who was more of a trump republican and less of a trump republican agree on this issue. take a listen. >> i like trump, but i'd like to see these more popular republicans taking over the party. >> i'm more in favor of a populist regime for a republican. i think especially with glenn youngkin we can show a republican who values free market principles. >> these are individuals who are still shell-shocked the former president made in basically costing the senate seats, and you can hear the tension in there. do you buy the idea that trump's grip is loosening? >> chuck, as trump has become less visible, the republican party has actually started to grow into what it is next.
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i think you've seen that in florida, opposing covid restrictions, opposing government restrictions, big tech, for example. embracing cryptocurrency. you're starting to see what a young republican party can look like. the question is, when trump comes back, if he does, if he runs again, do we stop talking about all these things and does it once again become exclusively the party of one man? >> chuck, leader mccarthy is very clear, he thinks he needs former president trump in order to win back control of the house. look at all the races the former president is asserting himself into, not just government races but gubernatorial races, as well as you have these moderate republicans governors that are really becoming a dying breed.
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i think he still very much has a strong grip over the party. it's notable that that voter referenced glenn youngkin because glenn youngkin walked a very fine line. he did not push trump away altogether, he said i'm going to accept his endorsement, i'm going to espouse some of his ideals. at the same time i'm not going to appear with him in public. it's really that tension that republicans are dealing with. by the way, republicans are saying they're bracing for a trump nomination. >> bracing or hoping? >> well, that's a good point. >> even though he's not as visible, he's just as influential, why, because republican officials fear him and they have to check with him before they do anything. >> if donald trump were on twitter, joe biden's ratings would be five points higher. do you think his lack of visibility has made people forget about the threat? >> no, i don't think so. i think the reality is, and you heard the congresswoman talk about this this morning, that top of mind for people across
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the country, she says folks in her district probably aren't watching the show. i think they're watching, chuck. i do think they're watching. the top of mind is inflation, is, in fact, the effects of the pandemic, how they're going to put money in their pockets, put food on their table. that is something the white house is focused on but they do have to talk about that in very practical ways, and it's not just voters in the congresswoman's district, it's black voters, latino voters, and that's what they want to hear, too. the kyrsten sinema news? that will be a big question, whether they support her? >> they don't get involved in the intra-democratic party squabbles, so they'll let the folks do their thing, but the democrats did propel kyrsten sinema to senator. >> the irony is kyrsten sinema is being attacked for serving in the tradition of senator, as
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joe bidden, senator john mccain concurrently. >> by the time he ran for president, he said, i'm not going to give you where i'm at on the filibuster. but he held the same position sinema did about three years ago. this is a censuring motion now in the democratic party? >> it used to be a criminal violation, someone who did something to children, someone who did something to a spouse they shouldn't have done. now republicans are voting against infrastructure -- i'm not saying it's not important, i'm just saying the motion -- >> i need a clarification, though, because in arizona if you ask democrats in arizona, they will tell you that this goes back to senator sinema voting against the minimum wage in covid-19, voting against it is things she said she stood for in the party. i think it's a little more complicated, it's not as black and white. >> nationally it's going to look like, oh, the democrats are
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kicking up the middle. i get what you're saying but it's what this picture looks like. >> i think you're right, and i think that's why you're not going to see the white house come out and support what happened. at the same time privately, if you talk to administration officials, if you talk to democrats on capitol hill, their frustration with senator sinema, particularly when it comes to those policies they just laid out, they don't know where she stands in the 11th hour. it's very hard to negotiate with her. >> joe manchin at least tells you something. >> right. and whenever we say where is senator sinema on this, they always say, your guess is as good as ours. >> senator sinema would love to see you on the show. that is all we have for today. thank you for watching. i wish i were saying go, packers, but now it's time to say go, bills. we're back next week, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press."
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press. the possibility of u.s. troops in eastern europe, new orders from the u.s. state department, and a warning that russia may be trying to install a puppet government in ukraine. several fast-moving developments today as concerns over a possible invasion ramp up. the question is, what are president biden's options? plus, new information on some of the documents that donald trump tried to keep hidden from the january 6th committee. the question is, how close did the former president come to seizing voting machines after losing the 2020 election? and perhaps the nfl's best weekend ever.
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