that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you next weekend at 5:00 p.m. eastern. president biden visits uvalde, texas, in the wake of last week's horrifying mass shooting. at one point, the president can be seen wiping away tears. biden met with grieving families and first responders and also attended mass there. as he departed the service, a crowd outside chanted, "do something." to which the president responded, "we will." good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is monday, may 30th, memorial day. a day when so many of us are off from school and work, but we should not lose sight of what the day is truly about. to pay tribute and honor those

who lost their lives defending our nation and our freedoms. we're glad you're with us. with us today, we have my friend msnbc contributor mike barnicle. we're going to jump right into the news. the justice department is opening a review into the law enforcement response to the school shooting in uvalde, texas, after authorities there admitted to a stunning string of failures last week. this as the president and first lady jill biden visited robb elementary school yesterday and met with grieving families. nbc news correspondent sam brock has the very latest from texas. sam? >> reporter: jonathan, good morning. president biden spent most of the day on sunday in uvalde, texas, trying to provide consolation to lift up a community here that's so griff grief stricken. they want answers and accountability. all day, people have been coming to the memorial. president biden and dr. biden came out and laid flowers. all of this happening as a

critical incident review was announced by the department of justice as dr. biden and president biden were here. what that means, something that happens only a handful of times in recent memory, san bernardino and orlando being the most recent examples, the federal government stepping in and deciding it'll look at the best practices and how law enforcement responded. if you talk to people in the community, the term best practices in a holisitc sense does not seem apt. there were 19 law enforcement officers inside the building at 12:03, the same time 911 calls were coming from inside classrooms to police to come in immediately. over the course of the next 30 to 40 minutes, more calls outlining first people who were dead and then, from one room, eight to nine people still alive. the question right now remains in this community, why is it the police were standing on the sidelines, at least waiting for orders to move forward, when lives could have been saved? until we get answers to that question here, there's going to continue to be heartache. heartache certainly for years,

for decades. i spoke to a family member of a 10-year-old girl who died. they said it'll leave a scar, not just now or down the road but the rest of our lives. that represents in a nutshell how so many families are feeling as they brace for what's ahead. sam brock, nbc news, back to you. >> thank you so sam brock for the report. we're going to get to the investigation into the police response in a moment. first, more on the president's visit to texas yesterday. joining us now, washington bureau chief at the "texas tribune," abby livingston. abby, good morning. we're glad you're here with us today. this is a role the president has had to play all too often. he is one who we know speaks powerfully about grief. it wasn't two weeks prior he traveled to buffalo to pay tribute to those killed in that supermarket massacre. tell us a little bit more about what he did yesterday and the message he had for such a grieving and outraged community. >> well, i think it is a striking look at the style of the biden presidency.

especially compared to his two predecessors. when something like this happened during president trump's administration, there was usually a lot of controversy surrounding something he may have said about it. then you go back to the president, when biden was vp, barack obama, he often came into these cities and gave these inspirational speeches. in tucson, charleston. the images were public, but the remarks were private. it was somber, and it was very focused toward the victims, the survivors, the families of the survivors and the first responders. so it was a very somber, quiet occasion. >> certainly the focus was on grieving. even in buffalo, he gave a speech, an angry one, a frustrated one, questioning the nation's backbone. how could we let this happen again? we didn't hear that from the president yesterday. i suspect we will as the weeks

go on. but we did hear from him vowing to the people who were there that we will, we will do something. tell us a little bit about where this community stands right now. one suffered a loss too horrific to really even put into words or fathom. where do they go from here? we start to have a series of funerals in the coming days. what are they looking for? >> well, they're looking, number one, for answers. i have many colleagues on the ground in uvalde, and the stories coming out of there are devastating. the one-liners, the interviews of family members. this is a community of about 15,000 people. it's predominantly latino. you know, it is fairly remote. i just -- i was in high school during columbine. when you see the survivors of that shooting, they feel older than me. this is something they carry with them for the rest of their lives.

i mean, we're looking at fourth graders. it is just a stunned community, a devastated community, and, quite frankly, it is a devastated state. >> abby, mike barnicle has a question for you. >> abby, yesterday, the president's visit, obviously as you pointed out, most of it was in private, meeting with the families and those grieving the loss, a horrendous loss. do you get any sense from the community itself that his appearance and his ability to emote, his ability to connect with those grieving has made an impact that will last at least for a while in their memory, in their feeling about what happened? >> well, it's always a big deal when a president comes to a town, especially one of that size. this is a president that -- i'm sure he miss swishes he wasn't,e is uniquely qualified to talk to

parents who lost their children. he is a catholic. he went to catholic mass. i'm sure it went well. we didn't see cat calling to him or anything along those lines that was detectable. i think it's always, you know, a moment for a community to heal when the president comes in. but that is just a very short-term, you know, help, when you look at what's the scope ahead of this community. there is almost an entire grade level of fourth grade missing at an elementary school. >> abby, the president goes to mass every week. he is devout catholic. usually reporters are not allowed inside. they were yesterday. we saw images of him clearly grieving and suffering along with those who lost their loved ones. we'll set aside the investigation. just tell us a little bit of what this town will have to face this coming week. this should have been the start of the summer vacation for these children who are no longer with us. instead, something quite

different. >> well, clearly, in the next week, there are going to be a number of funerals. i mean, this is going to be devastating. but i've just been thinking about the summer. i mean, this is going to be something these children and their parents will have some time to recoup, but i can't help but think, there's also just going to be this dread hanging over the summer of when school starts. what do you do? what do you do with the school? i think there's so many questions ahead of this community that we and the media haven't even begun to think about. but, you know, how do you convince young people to go to school? on top of that, these are kids who have gone through covid. i mean, i just think the stunning realization i've had is just how hard it is to be a child these days. >> and the sad reality here is that in the days ahead after the funerals, the spotlight will move on. we saw it move from buffalo to this to whatever tragedy is next. but certainly those in the community hope that what happened there last week in that school leads to some sort of change on the national and local level.

washington bureau chief for the "texas tribune," abby livingston, thank you for being with us. texas officials is say it was the police chief of the uvalde school district who made the call for officers to wait to take down the gunman. according to the new timeline, the killer entered the school at 11:30 a.m. through a back door that had been propped up earlier in the day by a teacher. two minutes later, at least three officers followed the shooter in through the same door. 12:03, a student inside one of the classrooms made the first of several calls to 911 begging for help. at that time, as many as 19 officers were in the hallway just outside of the classroom. but officers were told not to breach the door because the commanding officer, the head of the school police, determined the active shooting situation had ended and believed that no more children were at risk.

it wasn't until 12:50 that the classroom door was breached and the gunman finally killed. the head of the texas department of public safety admitted friday that waiting was the wrong decision. >> from the benefit of hindsight, where i'm sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. it was the wrong decision, very wrong. there is no excuse for that. again, i wasn't there. but from what we know, we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. hey, when there is an active shooter, the rules change. it's no longer, okay, barricaded subject. you don't have time. you don't worry about outer perimeters. >> the timeline keeps changing. the fury in the community keeps growing. we're learning more about the chaotic scene that unfolded when agents did finally move in on the shooter. a u.s. customs and border protection official who spoke to the "washington post" described a chaotic scene, with no one really sure who was in charge.

quote, the agent saw bullet holes in the classroom door, and police told the agent that the suspect had attempted to shoot at them through the opening. the agents did not have a battering ram or breaching tools. a u.s. marshal on the scene provided the agents with a ballistic shield. the officers sent for the key to unlock the classroom. once they had the key, they were able to open the door while standing off to the side, shielded by the outer wall of the classroom. ramos, the suspect, came out of the closet firing at them. they returned fire, the official said, killing him. one of the agents was grazed on the head and took some shrapnel in the foot, but the wounds among the officers were minor. mike barnicle, as each day has gone by, the latest revelation about the shooting and the police response to it has horrified and outraged not just the community in texas but the nation as a whole. you've been covering this for a long time. sadly, you've had to cover a lot of shootings like this. have you ever seen a police

response so botched, and what do you think happens next? >> well, the answer to the first question, jonathan, is no. this is beyond outrageous, and it is something that, unfortunately for those involved, the officers involved, they're going to have to live with this level of incompetence that now the world has witnessed. you know, there were so many flaws in what happened during the ongoing assault on those children that we'd need four hours just to go through them one by one. apparently, the commander on the site was the commander of the school police. he took overall charge. apparently, from what you read, what has been reported, he didn't even have the means of communication, to communicate with others involved in the attempted assault on the shooter in the classroom. i don't know that there was a schematic that was provided,

which would provide an outline of the internal aspects of the school. were the classrooms connected without going into a corridor, things like that. but this is something that is going to haunt, obviously, that town and every member of every family who has been, you know, damaged by the loss of a child in the school. it is an incredible story. it is a sad story. it is a story that too many people are going to have to live with down there in uvalde, texas. >> it seems as if the commander officer on the scene was unaware that there were still 911 calls coming from the classroom, coming from students begging for help. did not send anyone else in. certainly, we know, mike, as we heard from law enforcement experts all of last week, that post columbine, when you have a mass shooter like this, the tactic is to rush the shooter and go in. police officers charge him, not hold back. there will be more questions raised in the days ahead on

this. before we go to break, we want to provide an update on the victims of last week's attack. university hospital in san antonio, texas, said it is treating three victims. 10-year-old girl in serious condition. a 9-year-old girl in good condition. and a 66-year-old woman who is believed to be the shooter's grandmother. she is listed as in fair condition. as for the 19 children and 2 teachers who were killed, as we heard earlier, funerals will begin this week. nbc news reports that two local funeral homes are simply overwhelmed by the number of victims. according to one obituary, the first service will be today for 10-year-old amerie garza. holding up a certificate to acknowledge she'd made the honor roll, a photo taken hours before she was killed. nbc news correspondent sam brock spoke to the family of 10-year-old eliahana torres who was killed during the shooting. they said more could have been

done to save their daughter. >> we are one nation under god. really, we ain't no more. we're under guns. see? we are under guns. see, there's a lot of guns. they don't do nothing to stop it. >> they weren't going in. you don't think that if they would have charged in and took action, maybe she would have been alive? >> our hearts break for all of these families. still ahead on "morning joe," we're going to go inside the weekend's nra convention in texas, where some attendees pushed conspiracy theories on the heels of the uvalde mass shooting. we're going to have that new reporting. plus, what democratic senator chris murphy is saying about bipartisan talks concerning new gun legislation. we're also following the latest from ukraine. president zelenskyy made a visit to a war-torn region amid increased russian shelling. we'll be right back with a lot more.

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my hope is that this time is different. i get it, every single time after one of these mass shootings, there's talks in washington and they never succeed. but there are more republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than i have ever seen since sandy hook. well, in the end, i may end up being heartbroken. i am at the table in a more significant way right now with republicans and democrats than ever before. certainly, many more republicans willing to talk right now than were willing to talk after sandy hook. >> that was democratic senator murphy, spearheading talks on new gun violence legislation. he weighed in on the ongoing efforts. here's more of what he had to say yesterday. >> these are serious

negotiations, and we are going to continue to meet through early next week to try to find some common ground. what we're talking about is not insignificant. inside this room, we're talking about red flag laws. we're talking about strengthening and expanding the background check system. if not universal, we're talking about safe storage and, we, mental health resources and more security dollars for schools. a package that really, in the end, could have a significant downward pressure on gun violence in this country and break the logjam. maybe that's the most important thing, showing the sky doesn't fall for republicans if they support some of these common sense measures. >> senator murphy, since the sandy hook shooting in his home state, a leading voice on gun control, sounding a bit of a hopeful note. despite calls to move or cancel the event, the national rifle association held its annual conference this weekend in houston, just days and about 300 miles from the school where

19 children and 2 teachers were murdered in uvalde, texas. the event drew thousands of gun owners, protesters, and politicians. while some leaders like texas governor greg abbott, who was scheduled to speak, backed out, a few did not. including senator ted cruz and former president donald trump. trump centered his message around school safety. let's take a listen to a little bit of his remarks. >> this is not about virtue cycling and signing. this is about blaming your enemies. no, we don't want to do that. this is about saving our children's lives. yes, that's what we want to do. surely we can all agree our school should not be the softest target. our school should be the single hardest target in our country. [ applause ] and that's why, as part of a comprehensive school safety plan, it is time to finally

allow highly trained teachers to safely and discreetly conceal carry. let them concealed carry. as the age old saying goes, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. have you ever heard that? no, you've never heard that. >> despite the somber timing, the former president made sure to take the opportunity to cover some of his other favorite points, like the 2020 election, the border, and president biden. he also did a little dance as he left stage at the end of his speech. senator cruz parroted a talking point he's used since the shooting, offering a revisionist history of his failed gun legislation. >> i've introduced legislation to say schools like this school behind me can get federal grants to harden their security, to put in bulletproof doors, bulletproof glass, armed police officers to protect kids. $1.3 billion in federal funds

that are available. again, the democrats blocked a vote on it. i have to say, this is frustrating here. >> however, the "washington post" explains how his amendment to a background checks bill would not have stopped the sutherland springs gunman as cruz alleges. i'll read from the paper. amendments aplenty were proposed and defeated. the one from cruz and senator chuck grassley of iowa would have removed the core of the gun bill, the expanded background checks. the grassley/cruz plan proposed more prosecutions of gun buyers who falsely stated their criminal histories during the background check process. cruz's amendment would not have prevented any of the six specific protocol failures at the air force that allowed kelley, the shooter, to slip through the cracks. the recordkeeping and changes that cruz's office referenced were already being implemented by the justice department years before the shooting. joining us now, national

political correspondent at "politico," david siders. he has more on the conspiracy theories swirling around the convention this weekend. i know you werejoining us. let's start there, what are some of the conspiracy theories you heard in houston? >> in the main, you heard people saying that this was about mental health or hardening schools. yeah, the conspiracy theories are vague and ludicrous. it's people asking, this was three days ago. it can't be a coincidence. i heard the left uses shadowy forces to take control of troubled youths, and then to help, you know -- to use them to make republicans or gun owners look bad. i mean, i think that's where the crux of this is. it is beyond the hard conspiracy theory to something softer but almost more troubling, which is

this idea that the left is responsible for this because of leftist education. it's just turning something -- you know, the graves are being dug, and it's already turned into a culture war. you have this set of people in houston who think they are victims, too. part of this kind of grievance politics. >> david, give us the overall sense of the mood of the attendees at the convention in houston. in particular, their reaction to former president trump's speech. >> hugely supportive of former president trump's speech. i think that that's exactly his audience and his crowd. the mood was undeterred. everybody says what happened in uvalde was a tragedy, but i didn't get a sense that there was any, you know -- there was some grumbling about musicians who pulled out, for example, about republicans who might not come. that was looked at as people being soft or rhinos. that's why i think i'm so

skeptical of this legislation. we're just not in a place in politics right now where compromise is rewarded, right? you look at what the base reaction is, and it's always how hard are you on our side? >> mike barnicle, we talked about this the end of last week. the nra is not quite the police dahl force it used to be. they had a major financial scandal. some leaders stepped down in disgrace. they don't spend the money nearly they used to in political campaigns. yet, they seem to have such extraordinary influence over the party. do you see that waning at all, you know, in the wake of these two horrible mass shootings in a fortnight? >> jonathan, we should play that clip again of former president trump. in the brief clip we just played, this is madness. madness. this is memorial day. for years, for decades, memorial

day, people would gather at the town common. there would be a parade to memorialize those dead in wars fought by this country. we have another war going on in this country. it's a were against common sense. it's a war against the incompetence and the cowardice of politicians, many in the senate. we have sloganeering going on. trump used one of the most ludicrous ever. it takes a good guy with a gun to take a bad guy out. that's ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous. i mean, you could employ that slogan in a different way today. guns don't kill people, senators do. senators who don't do their jobs. senators who don't recognize the common sense scenarios that could maybe alleviate the slaughter of children.

in scene after scene. the most offensive thing is to hear people get on tv, some of them very well-meaning, and saying, "we have to do this in order to make sure that these things end. ensure that this doesn't happen again." but you know what? it does happen again and it will happen again, and it will go on and on and on because the united states senate will not pass a common sense solution, partial solution, to what's going on. mental health is surely annish an issue, but the idea that universal background checks won't help, the idea of raising the age to purchase an assault rifle, an ar-15 until you're 21, not 18, wouldn't help? that is ridiculous. of course it would help. david, i'm sorry to involve you in basically, you know, a wearying and emotional argument about what we saw, but, again, back to your point about the

potential legislation that senator chris murphy -- god love him -- is talking about, is there any shot at all, in your view, that anything, anything specific, anything concrete, anything helpful would ever pass? >> well, i mean, we should take senator murphy at his word. you know, he is more optimistic than he has been in the past. but, i mean, here's the limitation. you see majoriies of americans supporting stricter laws. even republicans in texas are for some measures. but what is very effective for republicans to do is use this slippery slope argument. that turns out to be a very effective argument in politics. so i do think that is the limitation and kind of the reason that these republicans are not taking action. there just isn't an incentive to have compromise in today's

politicians. look for the infrastructure bill for goodness sakes. we were talking about brin brid and roads, and republicans are getting dragged for it. i do think it is two teams and culture wars that republican view this as, and gun owners of the nra. i don't think there is a huge incentive to compromise. >> we'll certainly find out in the days ahead. the senate didn't vote on a gun control measure last week. senator schumer bowing to senator murphy's hopes, to buy him time to work out some deal. we'll be tracking that all week. "politico's" david siders, thank you for getting up with us this morning. appreciate your reporting. coming up, it's been just over two weeks since the race-inspired attack that killed ten people at a supermarket in buffalo. the last victim, an 86-year-old woman, was laid to rest over the weekend. reverend al sharpton was there, and he joins us next on "morning joe." beach defense® from neutrogena® the suncare brand used most by dermatologists

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president biden and the first lady are back in delaware this morning after visiting uvalde, texas, yesterday. the uvalde shooting came less than two weeks after a gunman killed ten people at a supermarket in buffalo, new york. over the weekend, the reverend al sharpton spoke to a congregation of mourners in that city. the reverend will join us in just a minute, but first, let's play a part of his emotional remarks. >> we went from the back of the bus to the front of the white house. she did not die in vain. in her name, we put on the armor of righteousness. we going to build a new buffalo in the name of these ten. we want economic development right here in buffalo. [ applause ]

let the blood that was spilled be the water to seed a new buffalo. reason this man could come is because he did his work, he did his research. he figured out buffalo had a large concentration of blacks. then he said, oh, wait a minute, they only got one black supermarket in the black community. so i'll wait until saturday afternoon, because a lot of them will be shopping. he figured out the demographics of exclusion. we've got to break that down. i told the governor and others about keeping the bills here. if you build a new stadium, you

can build a new supermarket. [ applause ] and it's not either/or. it is both/and. we must fight to make a new buffalo! so when they know they shoot us whether we are black or latino or jewish or asian or lgbtq or disabled, that you only make us come together. because we are the ones that put on the breastplate and the helmet of righteousness. and you can't fight us when we stand up. because the god i serve has more power than you've got. >> joining us now, the host of msnbc's "politics nation" and the president of the national action network, our friend, the

reverend al sharpton. thanks for being here. we played some of your powerful words this weekend in buffalo. the nation was already reeling from that shooting, a racist shooting carried out by a white supremacist with a weapon of war, when not even two weeks later, we have this massacre at a texas school. give us a sense as to how the people there are doing in western new york. what is the status of that community now that the final funerals have been held? >> well, they are still in mourning. they are still angry. to think that their community was targeted by a white supremacist who wrote it out. i mean, you're talking about a 180-page manifesto. came in the middle of an afternoon and shot just any black in sight at tops supermarket, from a young person to this 86-year-old grandmother who was the last funeral that we did. i did three of the funerals. i did a eulogy at two, and i, therefore, talked to a lot of the families.

they're hurt, but they're angry. they want to see something done. they want to see hate crimes dealt with. not only against buffalo or even not only against blacks, but it has happened to jews, asians, lgbtq, and native americans and disabled. we need to really have a comprehensive plan with laws that would intensify this country's commitment to deal with people that engage in violence based on hate. >> reverend, i know you and other civil rights leaders have started those conversations with the white house, with federal officials, with lawmakers on capitol hill, about toughening those laws. where do things stand? what do you hope to achieve? >> we are in conversations with white house officials about having a summit among all the leadership of those that fight hate crimes and all of the groups that i just named. this must be a one-way fight.

i talked to the president about it on wednesday when he signed the executive order on -- in terms of police accountability on the anniversary of george floyd's second anniversary. he is aware of our quest to have a white house summit. vice president kamala harris came on this weekend to the last funeral on saturday, attended. i even was able to convince her to speak. i called her up to speak. she said she didn't want to speak. her words was a commitment toward fighting this hate. so i think we will get there in terms of a white house kind of conference, how that will look and what it will be, we will see. but i think the white house's commitment is there. i think that the times demand it. when you look at the fact, jonathan, that not even two weeks after the massacre by hate in buffalo, you have this

massacre of 19 school children and 3 teachers in texas. we have a problem of guns. we have a problem of hate. both are fueled by lax gun laws. we are living at a time that if you're 18 years old, you cannot buy a beer in texas but you can go and buy an assault rifle. we're living in precarious times. >> mike barnicle, go to the rev in a second. first, i'm just struck by how depressingly familiar this all is. we saw images there of the vice president in buffalo, repeating what president biden did two weeks prior. i was on that trip with him to western new york. then, again, what he had to do yesterday in texas. it's laying flowers at a shooting scene, saying a solemn prayer, meeting with families and first responders to pay respects and to feel their anguish, to talk about losses that he or she have suffered on their own.

then a fiery call for change. yet, nothing ever seems to do so. >> absolutely. >> jonathan, you know, the culture -- >> go ahead, mike. >> go ahead, rev. >> no, go ahead, mike. i was just going to say, i don't want to see these scenes become normalized. i hope they become wake-up calls, not just here we go through checking the box kind of procedure. >> yeah. you know, the culture moves incredibly quickly. we all know that, with all the tools we have. the phones and texting and it's things are ending in a second, then something else is starting up the next second. we don't have time to pause as a nation and collectively think about this. we're aware of it when these shocking, headline-grabbing events occur, whether it's in buffalo or uvalde, texas. but day by day, hour by hour,

there are these shocking things that people are forced to live with in neighborhoods all across this country due to gun violence. los angeles, chicago, boston, new york. you name the city, big city, small town, it happens on a regular, daily basis. it doesn't make the headlines that the large and shocking school shootings do, but it is out there each and every day. reverend, you referenced being with the president last week. he is a friend of yours. yesterday, once again, the president of the united states in uvalde, texas, it was like witnessing the wounded visiting the wounded. he knows what it's like to suffer loss. loss that is just tragic and lasting and deep. loss that never goes away, never disappears, never, never, never leaves your memory. so my question to you is because of your friendship with him, he is in delaware today.

today is the seventh anniversary of the death of beau biden, his son. he will be going to mass again today to sit and pray and think about his son and about the nation that he's governing. do you worry at all about him? the presidency is an enormously, enormously difficult job. nobody has any idea of how difficult and all-encompassing that job is until you sit behind that desk in the oval office. do you worry about him? >> you know, i'm not worried about him. from what i've gotten to know of joe biden, i think he's been able to take his pain and make it the reason that he will use power to deal with others' pain. i sensed in talking to him last wednesday at the white house a real anger at those that cheapen the lives of people when he thinks about beau, when he thinks about the losses he's

had. he can't do anything about his son, but he can do something about other sons and daughters. i sense a determination by him, that he is going to do that. i really do believe that. he and i have not always believed in the '90s, but i've gotten to know him and there is a real sense of purpose and decency. we may disagree on some ways of getting there, but i clearly believe he wants to get there. and i think that he will, today, as he remembers his loss and remembers his pain, say that there is nothing many do do to help me, but i can certainly help the parents in texas and the parents in buffalo. i'm going to do what i can. that's the joe biden that i have come to believe exists. >> to that point, it is a day of some before remembrance for the president. he will return to washington this morning after remembering the loss of his son beau. he will hold events at the white house about memorial day.

of course, he'll travel to arlington national cemetery where he will participate in a wreath laying at the tomb of the unknown soldier. reverend al sharpton, thank you for being with us today. ahead, we'll go to uvalde, texas, live, with more on the police chief who made the call for officers to wait to confront the gunman. that official was elected to the uvalde city council three weeks ago after running on a platform of community outreach and communication. more ahead on "morning joe." and walmart always keeps prices low on our fresh ingredients. so you can save money and live better. ♪ better hearing leads to a better life. so you can save money and live better. and that better life... ...starts at miracle-ear. it all begins with the most innovative technology... ...like the new miracle-earmini™. available exclusively at miracle-ear. so small, no one will see it. but you'll notice the difference. and now, miracle-ear

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infrastructure. he also said russian troops, quote, don't care how many lives it'll take to try to raise their flag. the city is one of the last ukrainian strongholds in the donbas and has emerged as a place of epic fighting. still ukrainian resistance slowed down the russians, but the red army is now inching closer to encircling key cities in the east. meanwhile, president zelenskyy made a rare visit to the front lines yesterday, touring the city of kharkiv in the northeast. zelenskyy met ukrainian troops and assessed the damage in the country's second largest city. parts of which were recently liberated by ukrainian forces. he also handed out awards to army personnel and thanked them for their service, saying, quote, you risk your life for all of us and our state. this was zelenskyy's first official trip outside of the capital region, kyiv, since the war started in february.

according to a regional official, 31% of kharkiv is still occupied by russian troops. we focus on the war overseas, and we're remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice here at home. on this memorial day, the editorial board of the "tulsa world" writes this. honor our war dead, and remember our veterans and active duty personnel. for the first time in more than two decades, the nation will observe memorial day when the united states is not at war. it is difficult to encapsulate all the sacrifices that have been made by members of our armed forces. but we can honor their memory. we can explain to our children why they see people put out the flag on memorial day and why so many flags adorn our cemeteries. we can take time to honor our war dead in community commemorations. the winds of war are still blowing, and the possibility of the u.s. being embroiled in combat looms. the time may come again when

americans will be called to defend our country, its interests, and its allies. for now, we can use peace skbrn time to reflect. put out flags at your homes, pay respect to the fallen, honor those who have defended and will defend our country. mike barnicle, we, of course, want to focus on what memorial day is truly about, and that captured it well. what is this day? what does memorial day mean to you particularly right now, at this moment in america 2022? >> well, one of the lines in that editorial that you just read, jonathan, i have mixed feelings about. that america is at peace. we are not at peace. we are at war with one another. we don't know our neighbors. we've fallen victim to, you know, thinking our telephone is going to provide us with every answer we can think. we can google anything on our phone. our attention span is

extraordinarily limited now compared to what it was 10, 15 years ago. certainly not 30, 40 years ago. we don't reflect on memorial day the way we used to when i was a kid, and that was a long time ago. we don't reflect on much of anything. as you eluded to just a few moments ago, you know, the pace of our culture is such that we move quickly from one hideous event to the next. we stop and we pause and we grieve and we think how terrible it is, and then we go to a ball game and forget about it. we are just a nation, i think, at war with one another culturally sometimes, politically a lot of the times, and i worry about it. i worry about it not for myself. i mean, i'm walking up the 18th fairway. i can see the clubhouse. but i worry about it for my grandchildren and my older children. i worry that what i had as a

young man, as a young boy growing up on this day and days like it, that they will not have. they'll see pictures of the flags in the papers, and they might live in a town where there is a parade about memorial day, but they won't know the history of memorial day and what this country is all about and what it ought to be all about. and i think about that and i linger on it today, and i hope it changes. i pray that it does. >> mike barnicle, i will share those prayers with you. thank you so much for that. coming up on "morning joe," we'll go live to uvalde, texas, for the latest on last week's school shooting and what took police so long to confront the gunman. representative castro of texas is also our guest. "morning joe" will be right back.

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welcome back to "morning joe." it is 7:00 a.m. on the east coast on memorial day, monday. the federal government will investigate the response at the school shooting in uvalde, texas. there was a string of failures, including the decision by the police chief to wait at least an hour to confront the killing. i'm jonathan lemire. mike barnicle, happy to say, is still with us. the president and first lady visited uvalde, texas, over the weekend to mourn with the grieving community. less than two weeks after traveling to buffalo following a mass shooting in that city, the president was back in an all-too-familiar role yesterday. in uvalde, the president visited a memorial outside of robb elementary school, where he could be seen wiping away a tear. he and the first lady spent much of the afternoon behind closed doors meeting with the families of the 21 victims.

in addition to speaking separately with first responders and law enforcement. they also joined members of the community for sunday mass at the city's only catholic church. while leaving that service, the president gave his only public comments on the trip, responding to a crowd of spectators demanding legislative action. >> do something! >> do something! >> we will. we will. >> he said, "we will. we will." we'll go live no uvalde in a moment. first, more on this critical moment for the president. to join us to talk about that is white house reporter at the "washington post," tyler pager. thanks for being with us this morning. this is now the second time in two weeks that the president has had to make a trip like this, first to buffalo, now to texas. i was part of the buffalo trip, and on that day, he gave a fiery speech demanding change,

demanding action. less than two weeks later, we had another mass shooting. the president didn't say much yesterday, but, certainly, we know that the administration is trying to get something done on guns. give us the very latest. >> look, i think there's two paths here as we've talked about. since the buffalo shooting, there's one, the legislative path through congress where there is a lot of energy and activism from democrats, in particular, wanting to get something done. that path is complicated, given the political dynamics in the senate where there are only 50 democrats and 60 votes are needed to pass something substantive when it comes to gun reform. senator chris murphy of connecticut is leading those talks for the democrats and expressed optimism over the weekend that they could find some compromise. but it is likely to fall short of how expansive democrats want to go on gun reform. the other path, there is the executive branch, where we know from speaking with sources in the white house that the president and his team are looking at what sort of actions they might be able to take to

limit these types of shootings. but the fact of the matter is, the most substantive action on this issue requires legislative action. i think there is some hope that after this latest mass shooting, republicans and democrats can find a compromise and a path forward. that remains to be seen, whether or not they can get the votes. they need 60 votes, and that includes ten republicans who largely have not been willing to do anything on this issue. >> tyler, stay with us. we're going to go now live to the ground in uvalde, where msnbc anchor yasmin vossoughian is. thanks so much for being here. give us the latest. tell us where you are, what is happening there, and what's the mood of the city the day after president biden's really somber appearance? >> reporter: let me tell you, jonathan. as i was listening to your conversation there, this community needs more than hope. this is a community that is mourning.

they have been reeling since this mass shooting last tuesday. if you think about it now, monday morning, right? last week at this time, those babies, those 19 kids, those 2 teachers, were just getting up right around now, preparing to go to school for their last week of school before the memorial weekend holiday and the end of the school year. instead, we're here mourning the loss of their lives and talking about what needs to be done. in a community that needs more than hope. as the president was visiting robb elementary behind me yesterday, i stood outside and heard a crowd say, "something needs to change. something needs to be done." as governor abbott arrived here, as well, they booed him. they booed him because they said, "our kids need to go to school safely. our kids need to feel safe, and they don't feel safe right now." you showed the images of the president coming out of sacred heart, where he spent an hour or

so there after visiting with the families of the victims. they said, "something needs to be done. something needs to change." he mouthed, "we will. i will." the question is how they'll get it done. you think about the complete and utter police breakdown here. i was looking at the police budget in uvalde. 40% of the budget in uvalde is made up for the police. that's about $4 million to $4.5 million. this is a really small town, jonathan. you have 16,000 residents in this town. we're talking aboutissues, as t says it is a mental health problem, he cut mental health treatment in the state. you have one place to seek out treatment. $4 million going to the police department in places that are supposed to serve and protect. you had the police department. you had the chief of the public schooling system here, the chief of police of the public schooling system here standing outside this school for an hour and 20 minutes or so. the first 911 call came in at 11:30 in the morning.

it wasn't until 1 hour and 20 minutes later, jonathan, in which that shooter was neutralized. and so folks here want answers. they want change. they want real change. no matter what we're talking about in washington, outside of this town, we're all going to leave one day, and these folks are going to have to deal with this. they want to see change on the ground here in this community so it never happens again. >> a small town but one forever changed. mike barnicle, as yasmin was speaking, we were showing footage of the white crosses that bear the names of all 21 killed. it is so difficult. it is so gut-wrenching to look at. >> yeah. you know, yasmin pointed out a reality here. this is a very small town. i would assume that a lot of people know everyone involved in this tragedy. there are 19 families, 19 children lost. there's no child to wake up this

morning. that child is gone. that hole never is filled. that void is never filled. that pain never leaves. yasmin, you're there. we're not, obviously. you're there. and this is the week when funerals will begin. is there any sense of trepidation about the funerals beginning, in terms of the emotional impact it'll have on a town that's already been shattered once? >> reporter: i think, you know, as a parent, mike, you and i are both parents. i have young kids. i think there's always going to be trepidation for having to bury your child. you bring up, of course, the president visiting here today. and as i watched him visiting the memorial here and i thought to myself, we talk about this a lot with this president, the consoler-in-chief. this is a man who knows this all too well and knows the void that it leaves when you lose your

child and really your future. that is what these parents are grappling with today as they face their future without these children. and you bring up a really good point, barnicle, and that's the fact this is a small town. everyone knows one another. when we talk about what went on, you know, we broke the news yesterday about the department of justice saying they're going to basically file an after-action report. what went wrong? teachable moments. restoring the integrity of the department here. whatever it is they intend to do. i want to be clear, this is not an investigation. this is not looking into criminal liability here whatsoever, which some folks think is a problem. but we can talk about that later on. as they look into culpability here, the community, it is difficult because these folks are neighbors. these police officers are neighbors. one police officer had a child inside that school who lost their life. they live across the street.

they have dinner with one another. their kids play with one another. and so while on the one hand, they are angry for the lack of action that they have seen so far and the miscommunication that we have gotten, the press has gotten and the community has gotten over the past five to six days, on the other hand, these people are their friends, people they have trusted for a very long time. so it is a really complicated moment for this community that is continuing to mourn as they look ahead to these funerals, which is just going to be utterly heartbreaking. i heard a man anecdotally say, we cannot continue to make children's caskets in bulk. that's what we feel like we're doing right now. >> it is going to be a gut-wrenching week for that small town in texas and the whole country as we watch alongside. yasmin, thank you. we're going to see you again at the top of the hour. tyler pager, thanks for sticking by. we know today will be a day of

somber remembrance for president biden. he returns to washington. today is, of course, the anniversary of his son beau's death. he'll also head to arlington national cemetery to pay tribute on this memorial day to those who laid down their lives for our nation. there is certainly a call to action. the news over the weekend that yasmin mentioned, that the justice department is going to look into what happened here, give us a sense as to how rare an investigation like this is and where it could take us. >> yeah, look, i think this is something that a lot of people were pushing for. yasmin just outlined there, there were multiple failures from the police in responding to this incident. i think the justice department will fill in the gaps and holes as to why it happened. unfortunately, incidents like this have become more likely in recent years, as we've seen police breakdowns and more mass shootings. since sandy hook, there's been more than 3,500 mass shootings. this is something where the justice department is trying to

step up its enforcement on this issue, but also its investigative powers on this, as well. the biden administration, the white house, and the justice department have been in lock step on trying to crack down on guns, violence, particularly around ghost guns. this is an expected step to see from the justice department, given the litany of failures and the misinformation or the lack of truth that we've gotten from the police department as this incident unfolded. a lot of news organizations have compiled the timeline of events that unfolded in uvalde and really show the delay, as yasmin brought up, for the police entering the school and what happened. i think from the justice department, we're expected to get a lot of detail about why these failures happened and what can be done in the future to ensure that they don't. again, as we talked about at the top here, this isn't just about figuring out what went wrong here. it's trying to prevent the next one from happening. i think that's where a lot of the conversation is going to be headed in the next few weeks.

the problem here is that there's not a lot of time. as senate majority leader chuck schumer said, he wants to bring a vote on some sort of bill in the next two weeks. whether that is a compromise bill fashioned out by democrats and republicans where they think they can get the 60 votes, or it's a straight-up vote on the bil the house already passed that would be more restrictive of gun reform, i think that's the question, about what the bill will look like in the coming days and weeks. >> senator murphy sounded some hopeful notes that something could get done but, of course, we have been here before and nothing has. white house reporter at the "washington post," tyler pager, thank you so much for being with us today. tyler just mentioned the timeline. let's go through it now. texas officials say it was a police chief of the uvalde school district who made the call for officers to wait to take down the gunman. according to this new timeline which has shifted a number of acatio occasions, the killer entered the school at 11.33 through a

door propped by a teacher earlier. two minutes later, three officers followed him in through the same door. 12:03, a student inside one of the classrooms made the first of several calls to 911 begging for help. at that time, as many as 19 officers were in the hallway just outside of the classroom. officers were told not to breach the door because the commanding officer, the head of the school police, determined the acting shooting situation had ended and believed no more children were at risk. this was not the case. it wasn't until 12:50 that the classroom door was breached and the gunman was finally killed. the head of the texas department of public safety admitted friday that waiting was the wrong decision. >> for the benefit of hindsight, where i'm sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. it was the wrong decision, very wrong. there is no excuse for that.

again, i wasn't there, but i'm just telling you, from what we know, we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. hey, when there is an active shooter, the rules change. it's no longer, okay, a barricaded subject. you don't have time. you don't worry about outer perimeters. >> texas governor greg abbott is defending himself amid criticism about his response to the shooting and his praise of police efforts. during his visit to uvalde friday, the republican governor said he was misled by law enforcement officials and was restating what he'd heard when corroborating their version of events. >> i was misled. i am livid about what happened. and as everybody has learned, the information that i was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate. and i'm absolutely livid about that. here's my expectation.

my expectation is that the law enforcement leaders that are leading the investigations, which includes the texas rangers and the fbi, they get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty. >> the governor said the cost of the funerals for the victims was being taken care of by an anonymous donor who gave $175,000 to ensure that every funeral was paid for. abbott also made a pledge to help provide mental health care services for the community. tweeting out this number and saying anyone do call and receive help for free. mike barnicle, before we go to break, we saw that from the governor. we saw the president in texas yesterday having a mournful visit with the families. talk to us about the importance of leadership in a moment like this, in the moment of a community wounded and trying to take those first steps toward

healing, but also leadership in a moment to try to prevent something like this from ever happening again. >> greg abbott is livid. wow. he is livid. he is also a hypocrite. i mean, he was cheering within the past two to three weeks the fact that texas now has an open carry law that allows people of any age practically to walk around strapped with their guns, not needing a license to carry a gun because it is open season now in texas for somebody who wants to carry a gun. so the difference, the compare and contrast between governor abbott and president biden yesterday, jonathan, i don't think we have to go there. greg abbott is a hit hypocrite. he is a conniver with dreams of

being a political figure, which he won't be. president biden doesn't give a big speech in texas. he goes to the confines of the school and meets with the mourners, the victims' families. he doesn't come out and grab the microphone. he doesn't need the attention because he knows the feeling of pain and loss, and he knows the damage that's been done to this country. not just by buffalo and not just by uvalde, texas, but the damage done every day by violence. violence from handguns. no one is coming to take away anyone's gun. president biden has said this repeatedly, and it's the truth. no one is coming to take away people's guns, but there is a way -- and to drop the phrase gun control, go to gun safety. there is a way to negotiate some sort of legislation to improve things for people who are victims and potential victims, and that's all of us, of gunfire. there is a big difference

between president joseph r. biden and governor greg abbott, and it's more than night and day. it is conscience, courage, and direction. >> much was made of the governor's decision to skip the nra convention in houston on friday, a few days after the shooting. not even 300 miles away from uvalde. he still sent a video message to those in adaens. ahead, we'll go to ukraine as russian forces target a key city in the eastern part of the country. plus, president zelenskyy visits soldiers on the front line. we'll have more on his rare trip out of the capital when we come back. right now, we're all feelin' the squeeze. we're having to get creative. find a new way. but birthdays still happen. fridays still call for s'mores. you have to make magic, and you're figuring out how to do that.

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forces yesterday stormed sever donetsk, a key city in lieu hans luhansk, and are moving to the center. russian shelling of the city is, quote, constant and has destroyed around 90% of its critical infrastructure. meanwhile, the president made a rare visit to the front lines yesterday, touring the city of kharkiv in the northeast. zelenskyy met ukrainian troops and assessed the damage in the country's second largest city. parts of which were recently liberated by ukrainian forces. joining me now for the latest is nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter, who is in bucha. of course, a town whose name will always be linked now to the russian atrocities committed there. molly, thanks so much for being with us today. the fighting has centered there in the east, and, you know, after months of the russian advance mostly being stalled, it does seem like they are making

incremental progress. president zelenskyy sounding the alarm. what's the latest today? >> reporter: hey, jonathan. good morning. nice to be with you. yeah, you're absolutely right. bucha, of course, is symbolic of what we've come to understand the atrocities russian forces are capable of. it is weird to be back after five weeks. it is an entirely different city. it is really coming back to life. but the fighting is focused, as you say, in the east, in luhansk and donetsk. the last week or so, troops have moved in. updates over the weekend were russian troops were actually in the outskirts of this city. the ukraiian military say they still control the city and main parts, where there are still civilians. important to say, not all the civilians are out. parts of the donbas were really

depopulated in 70% to 80% of the villages. not so in sever donetsk. russians forces not only continued their assault today, but actually, once they get into the city, this intense urban combat may be closer than what the russians are hoping. what is happening, they're attacking some of the strategic villages on the outside of the horseshoe. i've been calling that horseshoe, the pocket. severdonestk right there. they're taking village by village to incrementally close the gap. what that means, jonathan, is a lot of the russian artillery forces are focused there. in the south, kherson, ukrainian troops have taken advantage of that and started to launch counteroffensives, meaning the russian troops there around kherson, around one of the first places they got to in the country months ago, they're digging into slightly more defensive positions. really, the southern axis is not

a sure bet for them anymore. >> tell us more about bucha, where you are now. this, of course, was so many war crimes committed there and scenes of just terrible atrocities. give us a little more as to how that town, a suburb of kyiv, is bouncing back, and how are the scars beginning to heal? >> reporter: yeah, jonathan, this is basically my second day back in the country in five weeks. the difference in five weeks is massive. so at the end of the road, i think actually it is probably over my shoulder here, that's a church, jonathan, we spent a lot of time at. behind that church is one of the biggest mass graves that investigators found. when i was last here, they were and exhuming that mass grave. there were family members, body bags. they were identifying those. the scene now is the mass grave is completely covered up, and there is grass growing. of course, it is now springtime, almost summertime. there is green grass growing

everywhere, which hits you. it is covering up so many areas where we saw tank trucks or tire tracks. this city is literally coming back to life. you see there are people out. there are kids out. a lot of people going to the grocery stores, going to shops that were completely trashed last time i was here. it is extraordinary to be back. the contrast is jarring. not a lot of smiles. jonathan, we went to church yesterday, sunday morning at the church right down the street. a lot of people there, but depleted, beleaguered faces. people are moving slowly. cars are driving slowly. bicycles are cycling slowly. it is going to take so much to bring this city back. we're actually in the middle of an interview with a military psychologist, i should say, which is interesting, jonathan. i asked her how you can heal a place like this. she says it is going to take generations. >> no question of that. we are seeing some pedestrian traffic right there in your shot. small signs but signs all the same of life beginning to return to normal.

of course, the healing process will, as you say, take generations. foreign correspondent molly hunter, thank you so very much. we'll talk to you again soon. coming up, joe biden's presidency has been shaped by crises. our next guest wrote the book on leadership in turbulent times. pulitzer prize winning author and presidential historian doris kearns goodwin joins our conversation here on "morning joe." we'll be right back. this is the sound of nature breathing.

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everything he could to be ready for that moment. >> from the executive producer leonardo dicaprio. >> his father encourages him to be a force of nature. >> and doris kearns goodwin. >> he was the youngest president. >> roosevelt the rough rider. >> two-part event. >> roosevelt was going to run for a third term and make himself a tyrant. >> he was challenging the power structure. >> there is no good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why we should face it. ♪♪ >> "theodore roosevelt," memorial day at 8:00. >> that was the new documentary on the life and legacy of america's 26th president. the two-part documentary event, "theodore roosevelt," begins tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. joining us now, the executive producer of that documentary,

pulitzer prize winning author and presidential historian, our friend, doris kearns goodwin. the documentary is based on her best seller "leadership in turbulent times." doris, certainly we're in turbulent times right now. president biden just returned from a visit to texas yesterday after the second mass shooting this country has suffered in the last two or so weeks. talk to us about the importance of leadership and what lessons this president perhaps could draw from the experiences of the president in the documentary, theodore roosevelt. >> i'm glad to be with you this morning. thank you. doi think there are lessons to be drawn from theodore roosevelt. also drawn for us as a people, to remind us that we've been through really difficult times before. it feels like such a cascading series of crises right now, but think of what it was like the turn of the century. industrial resolution has shaken

up the energy like globalization and tech today. you had a gap between the rich and poor. you had people suspicious of people in the city. people were afraid of the change of pace in life. there were bombings in the streets. democracy was seen to be in peril. what theodore roosevelt was able to do was to cut through the fact that people in different parts of the country, he said, were feeling that people in the other parts of the country or other sections, other parties were the other rather than as common american citizens. the same thing we're feeling today. so he cut through with fundamental fairness, a square deal for the rich and the poor, the capitalist and the wage worker. he went around the country on a train for nine weeks in the spring and the fall. that same message. somehow, it cut into the center of the country, and he was able to knit that country back together, which was a really important thing to do and what we need to do today. >> teddy roosevelt, one of the more famous presidents. we know the national parks and he's one of the four faces up on

mount rushmore. tell us a little more about what you learned about him, what the documentary will show about teddy roosevelt the man. some things that americans don't know about the 26th commander in chief. >> the most important thing is that he suffered terrific adversity in hisways, it parall president biden. his father died when he was young, then his wife died at 23 in childbirth. his mother had come to take care of her in new york. she contracted typhoid fever and died the same day in the same house. he'd come from a privileged background, and he'd seen the state legislature. after the deaths, he went to the badlands, a different part of the country, and became a cowboy, a rancher. then he was police commissioner. then he goes into the army and develops a rough riders, made up of woodsmen and leaguers. he absorbs different parts of the country, and these different sections, they were dividing the

country. by the time we got to the presidency, the winding path took him to an understanding of how to bring the country together. i think sadness can do that. everyone is broken by life. afterwards, some are stronger in the broken places. i think that was true for theodore roosevelt the man. >> mike barnicle, doris points out the parallels on loss and sadness between teddy roosevelt and joe biden. it airs today, memorial day, which should be a somber day to pay tribute no those who gave their all to preserve our freedom. >> that's true. that's absolutely true. i wish more people would take more time to think about exactly that. doris, you know, in your writings about various presidents, franklin roosevelt, john f. kennedy, the "leadership" book which has teddy roosevelt in it and others, as well.

you know more than most that the weight of the presidency, the weight of the presidency can only be felt by one person at a time. the president, the president of the united states. so my question to you has to do with differences in time. lyndon johnson, you spent an enormous amount of time with lyndon johnson and wrote a marvelous book about him and his presidency. lyndon johnson only had to endure really one mass shooting, and it occurred in august 1966 when a fellow named charles whitman climbed up to the texas tower on the campus of the university of texas austin and shot and killed, i believe, 11 or 14 people. this president, joseph r. biden, has had two massive shootings back-to-back, one in buffalo, one in uvalde, texas, and that's not even mentioning the daily mass shootings that occur in

this country that the president doesn't go to, doesn't go to help people mourn at those shootings. so the weight of the presidency, what does it do, do you think, to a human being? there is that famous picture of lyndon johnson with his head in his hands during the course of the vietnam war at his desk in the oval office. talk about the true weight of the presidency. minute by minute, hour by hour, every day, it never ceases. >> oh, mike, you're so right. i mean, even we look at the pictures of presidents from the time they enter office and the time they leave. abraham lincoln looked like an entirely different person in 1965 from '61. president obama got gray hair. the weight particularly today, i think it is true. in the old days, presidents weren't expected to be consolers in chief. lyndon johnson was the first president who went to a scene of

a natural tragedy, hurricane betsy in new orleans. before that, when there was a great chicago fire, ulysses grant didn't go there, though there were so many homeless. harrison didn't go after the flood. there was a sense teddy roosevelt didn't go to the san francisco devastating earthquake. it was only in the 1960s and onward that we've expected presidents to be consolers in chief. you can only imagine, and i think you were talking about this earlier, mike, today, how much doubling painful that is for president biden, experiencing his own and memories of his own sad losses. that's what's made him able to be empathetic in a true, authentic way, and touch those pictures of the kids at the memorial. to be able to talk to the parents, to listen. that's what they need, is just to know their president is experiencing and wants the country to experience and hear and feel what they are feeling. the one time that president bush did it very well, i think, was

after 9/11, when he was able to mix empathy with defiance in the famous moment when somebody yelled, i can't hear you. he said, "i can hear you. the whole world can hear you. the people who pulled the buildings down, they will hear from all of us. "president biden was right yesterday to just talk about empathy and give that feeling to the people there that he was listening. at some point, the defiance and the need to pull us together, to get some action out of this will have to come forward. >> on the idea of the president's personal loss, moments ago, he left mass in his hometown of wilmington, delaware. memorial day. the anniversary of his son beau's death. also today is the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the lincoln memorial, which is certainly a -- it is my favorite place in washington. it is a tribute to the man whether kept this union together. it is also, of course, where martin luther king jr. delivered his famous "i have a dream" speech. i like to visit it during hard

times. we're in a hard time now. tell us a little more about why this memorial, in particular, it has such resonance for the american people, and what we could draw from those two men, lincoln and king, associated with it during such a hard time. >> yeah. there's something so spiritual about that memorial. you go in there, and it says on it, "enshrined in this temple, in the memory of the people, is the memory of abraham lincoln." then you see the words from the second inaugural, the words from the gettysburg address, and the incredible figure of him sitting there. i think what's mattered so much, it was 100 years ago today dedicated by president harding. former president taft was there, has he was involved in the designing. it is an extraordinarily beautiful place. more importantly, it's become a place where, as you mentioned, things have happened that have a lot to do with civil rights, a lot to do with lincoln's legacy. that march on washington, i am old enough that that's the first big march i ever took part in.

i was there in 1963 as a college student. it was an extraordinary moment in my life when people held hands together and sang "we shall overcome." of course, heard the words of martin luther king. then before that, marian anderson denied the chance to speak at constitution hall because the dar wouldn't allow her. it was a segregated institution. she sang "my country tis of thee" at the memorial. abraham lincoln saved the uni union and stopped the war. if we could bring a lot of presidents back today just to give advice to president biden, that's what i would dream of. i dream of it in my mind. it'd be grand if it could really happen in reality. >> pulitzer prize winning author and presidential historian doris kearns goodwin, we appreciate you being with us today. we're excited to watch the two-night series, "theodore

roosevelt," beginning this evening at 8:00 p.m. on the history channel. ahead, one major league baseball manager is taking a stand off the field in the wake of the uvalde shooting. plus, we saw a number of other mass shooting over the weekend, including in chatanooga and eastern illinois. we'll be back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish] discover is accepted at 99% of places in the u.s. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish]

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we're looking at arlington national cemetery, the tomb of the unknown soldier, where in a few hours, president biden will be there to lay a wreath. that cemetery, one of the most sacred places in our nation. i highly encourage everyone to pay a visit. it is, of course, memorial day here in the united states. been an editorial entitled "a heartbroken nation," "the new york times" editorial board writes this, it is entirely reasonable to ask how much more of this a nation can be expected to bear. the answer is infuriating.

there have been 213 mass shootings in the united states in the first 21 weeks of 2022. an average of 321 americans are shot every single day. and every day, there are roughly more than 50,000 gun sales recorded. properly guns will fire like new for decades. we americans all share this vast country and need to figure out how to make it better and keep one another alive and thriving. right now, we're failing at that primary responsibility. there are glimmers of hope, especially at the state level, that things are changing. but even there, progress is agonizingly slow and won't be enough for the hundreds of americans who will be shot today and tomorrow and everyday until action is taken. to that point, the holiday weekend saw more victims of mass shootings across this country. in chattanooga, tennessee, six people were shot late saturday night in a popular downtown

district. two of the victims are in critical condition, the other four, thankfully, have non-life threatening injuries. the police chief there said two groups of teenagers got into a fight and shots were then fired. the chief also said one group appeared to be targeting a single person in the other. meaning, most of the victims hit were innocent bystanders. meanwhile, in eastern oklahoma, a woman was killed and seven people hurt in a shooting at a music festival there early sunday morning. victim's ages range from 9 years old to 56 years old. witnesses told the associated press the scene was chaotic with bullets flying everywhere and people trying to hide from the gunfire. authorities say a 26-year-old man turned himself in to police yesterday afternoon. san francisco giants' manager gabe capler has been avoiding the field sounding of the star-spangled banning.

he also protested during the national anthem in 2020 following the murder of george floyd, the black man killed by white minneapolis police officer wrote about his feelings in a lengthy blog post before explaining his decision to reporters on friday. >> i don't plan oncoming out for the anthem going forward until i feel like there's -- i feel better about the direction of our country. so, that will be the step. i don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. it's just something that i feel strongly enough about to take that step. >> but kapler signaled yesterday he might end his protest today and return to the field during the anthem in recognition of memorial day. mike barnicle, you know gabe kapler, was in the front office for a time, as a player, now a manager. really thoughtful guy. tell us about what you think of

his stance and also what role the world of professional sports, which is one of the few still unifying things we have in this country, major league baseball season in full swing, the nba finals about to happen. stanley cup playoffs going on too. what more can these athletes, who have this spotlight, what could they be doing to draw attention to these mass shootings? >> well, i think that they obviously have an impact on people. gabe kapler, is a very smart, thoughtful guy. very aware of his surroundings of the culture around us and a baseball manager. happens to be a baseball manager. his neighbor and coach in the bay area, steve kerr gave an emotional response to the uvalde shooting last week. i think got millions of views on youtube. gregg popovich, the basketball coach from texas, same deal. he's aware of everything. he's aware of everything culturally and politically. and he participates in it because he has a voice that

people listen to. i think the more that athletes talk about things that everyone else talks about, i think it's helpful to the nation because they are unfortunately -- and i don't mean that malevolently, they're role models for a lot of people. what they say has more impact than any commercial we show or any political speech given by a politician. >> yeah, steve kerr, as you mentioned, the golden state warrior's head coach spoke to passionate. he'll command a significant spotlight in the days ahead as his golden state warriors face the boston celtics in the nba finals to start on thursday. mike barnicle, thank you so much for being with us today. still ahead on "morning joe," president biden and the first lady departed mass a short time ago. they attended st. joseph on the brandy wine in greenville, delaware, a short drive from his home. today, memorial day, also marks seven years since his son, beau,

died from cancer. beau is buried at the cemetery on those church grounds. we saw the first lady with the bouquet of flowers to be placed at the grave site. it's part of a somber weekend for this president. today he visits the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery, after yesterday mourning with the families in uvalde, texas. we'll go live to that shattered south texas city just ahead on "morning joe." my asthma felt anything but normal.

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♪♪ welcome to msnbc's live coverage on this monday, may 30th, memorial day.

i'm yasmin vossoughian live from uvalde, texas. the president visiting this shattered community yesterday to grieve with those who lost loved ones in this horrific school shooting that took place behind me. the first lady, you see her there as well. adding the bouquet of flowers to the memorial of 21 white crosses outside of robb elementary. the president attending mass here yesterday. and as he left, he made a vow to the people that live here. the president responding, we will to those chants from the crowd, do something. hearing that all throughout town as he made his way meeting with both the family of those that lost loved ones and first