brownstein. there is deep concern about the coming weeks, and what happens after those images of all that travel and people ignoring the advice, and that's the real problem. no matter how many times dr. fauci says this, no matter how many times people like dr. brownstein say this, people aren't following the rules. they aren't, in many places, following the rules. there are places there are not wearing masks, not social distancing. that affects everyone. dr. anthony fauci, i'm sure, will tell us he's a bit worried about the next holidays, the christmas holidays. we certainly want to know what he thinks should be done during those holidays. >> we'll be watching. martha, thank you for coming on. a reminder, check out this canning this later this morning. as we mentioned, martha is going to go one-on-one with dr. anthony fauci to discuss the surging pandemic. plus, she's speaking with dr. william mccraven about national security challenges facing the incoming biden administration. that's on "this we

i am with charlie cook and ron brownstein. leah askarinam, the editor of the hotline. excuse for me to ask some questions, and hopefully we will all leave this discussion with a better understanding

we just heard from ron brownstein about this ominous feeling people have. you know the president very well. we're told he's not traveling to places like mar-a-lago for thanksgiving because he says he wants to get things done. you heard about ron talking about him being awol. what do you think he is planning to accomplish or get done over the next 57 days? >> listen, i more or less agree with everything ron and john were saying. just remember from the president's lens looking through his prism, he's far from awol. he's going to be diligently focused on his self-interests over the next 55 days and basically what will that mean? it will mean pardons, it will mean lining himself up for speaking events, media activity. a whole host of things he will be doing. what he won't be doing is caring about the american people. i think what's astonishing to republicans is he is probably not spending a lot of time on those two senate races in georgia. so, laura, it is really about him and while he might be awol doing the interests of the american people or serving the amer

as ron brownstein was saying, he has now become a personality cult. and he will continue to feed this conspiracy theory, which warps the republican party. it shreds american democracy. but, you know what? it's good for donald trump. it's good for his ratings and that appears to be all he cares about. >> i mean, you say the number of people who believe it in the republican party. it's just -- it's mind boggling. so if -- if -- if there is a real fear that there could be huge consequences or a large amount of people believing the lie that 2020 was stolen. every -- everything that you just said. fareed, what's the solution here then? and -- and go on. i'm going to ask you another question. what's the solution? >> the only solution we can really hope for is that the fever breaks, at some point. something has happened to the republican party. over the last 20 years. i think it began with newt gingrich. the idea that your political opposition are enemies. that is culminated in trump. where, you know, you have people who basically don't care if american demo

ron brownstein let me go to you. you know republicans are admitting behind the scenes that it's over but publicly many won't acknowledge that biden is the president-elect. we've actually heard nothing from the likes of mitch mcconnell, marco rubio, cruz, or graham. how long can this sort of thing last? >> it has lasted far longer than by any rational explanation it should. everybody is kind of assuming that republicans, so many republicans are refusing to acknowledge the obvious that biden won, you know, the sky is blue. gravity exists. they're doing that because they're afraid of trump. that's the argument. they're afraid of a tweet. they're afraid of a primary challenge if they step out against him. you have to allow the possibility that a fair number of them would have been perfectly okay with him finding a way to subvert the will of the voters if he could have pushed enough, found a judge or state legislators who were willing to do so. mitch mcconnell's behavior in this month is kind of ominous about how he views

ron brownstein, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. happy thanksgiving. >>> we'll play more of the president's outrageous claims later this hour. >>> health experts warned americans not to travel for the thanksgiving holiday, and now they are warning about a post holiday virus surge. we'll discuss that after the break. did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins? prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. take the prilosec otc two-week challenge. and see the difference for yourself. prilosec otc, 1 pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. >>> the u.s. confirmed 110,000 covid infections thursday, and more than 1,200 americans lost their lives. the u.s. has confirmed 13 million infections and more than 263,000 deaths since the pandemic began. the u.s. now on thursday set a new hospitalization record for the 17th straight day. the covid tracking project reports more than

ron brownstein. big day tomorrow.ow you'll be watching. >>> next, a nation on edge as we approach this historical election. some businesses deciding to board up in case there is unrest as the results come in. the time to choose your coverage... begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so call unitedhealthcare... and take advantage of a wide choice of plans... including an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. it can combine your hospital and doctor coverage... with part d prescription drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan... for a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. take advantage of $0 copays on all primary care doctor visits, all virtual visits, and all lab tests. also get $0 copays for preventive dental care, $0 copays for routine hearing exams, and $0 copays for eye exams. plus, free designer frames and prescription lenses. now's the time to look at unitedhealthcare's variety of plans, and let us help find the one that works best for you. ask about ppo plans, too

want to bring in cnn white house correspondent john harwood and certain political analyst john brownstein. good to have you here on a night like this. john, let me begin with you, trump surprise surprise is trying to take credit for the gsa's decision, but he's also saying he's going to prevail, i think is the word he used. is this as close as we're going to get to a concession, so to speak, john? >> probably. but we can't predict what donald trump is going to do because we don't know. he's not a psychologically healthy person, he has poor impulse control, and he lurches from moment to moment on the needs of his ego and what he thinks is in his self-interest. those calculations change. he has been kicking up dust about the election to cover the embarrassment of having lost to joe biden, to create a cause for a future campaign, to raise money for his followers. but as time has gone on, his cause has looked increasingly ridiculous. the cases are getting thrown out by judges. the legal team is embarrassing itself and fighting. republicans are starting to complain. the business community is s

he is gone. >> ron brownstein, carl cameron, thanks for being with us on this sunday night. have a good one. >> thank you. >>> as the pandemic rages across the country, the number of hospitalizations from the virus hitting a new record today. states are imposing new restrictions to control the spread. will that be enough? the governor of colorado is joining me live. that's next. two medical societies have strongly recommended to doctors to treat acute, non-low back muscle and joint pain with topical nsaids first. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. a formulation they recommend can be found in salonpas. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu. or psoriatic arthritis, little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requiremen

i'd like to bring in ron bro brownstein. good evening to you.being with us. >> yes. >> the democrats, we just heard from ryan talking about the gop. the democrats don't have anything to relax about, either. jon ossoff had about a hundred thousand fewer votes than joe biden. he underperformed joe biden in the general election. his rival, senator purdue, running about even. is it possible that he could deliver a win that saves the senate for republicans? >> look. georgia is an embodiment of the problem democrats face in georgia. they haven't had a democrat since 2014. the fact is that even though democrats have won in seven ought of eight elections. it's become harder and harder for either side to elect senators in states that usually vote the other way for president. in the 25 states that voted for trump both times, republicans now 47 of the 57 seats. democrats have 39 out of the ho. this of course is neither fish nor fowl. it moved away from him this time. there's no doubt he would be valuable in stabilizing the base but there's the risk of pola

. >> and cnn's senior political analyst ron brownstein joins me now from los angeles. good to have you with us. >> hi, rosemary. >> let's start with a tweet you posted monday night when you said this. the post-election temperature changed radically today from trump's personal peak to a party wide effort, blessed by senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, of course, to find any pretext to try to overturn the results with the help of barr's weaponized justice department. however implausible, are democrats ready for this fight? so ron, that is a truly alarming tweet, i have to say. how likely is it that these various efforts by republicans could come anywhere near overturning the result of this election given they have offered absolutely no evidence to support their claims of voter fraud. >> no evidence to support the claims as you point out. look what happened in the past 24 hours. we have gone from an image of president trump alone, stewing in the white house yelling at pictures on the wall, to republicans attorney general trying to intervene, republican senators in ge

ron brownstein, thank you very much. happy turkey day. >>> the supreme court siding with religious groups that were fighting against coronavirus restriction in new york. why andrew cuomo, new york governor, says it is irrelevant next. research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. wow! what'd you get, ryan? it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual! what does it do bud? it customizes our home insurance so we only pay for what we need! and what did you get, mike? i got a bike. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ working, parenting, problem solving. at new chapter vitamins we've been busy too... innovating, sourcing organic ingredients, testing them and fermenting. fermenting? yeah like kombucha or yogurt. and we formulate everything so your body can really truly absorb the natural goodness. that's what we do, so you can do you. new chapter wellness, well

ron brownstein in los angeles. i appreciate you sticking around. >> thank you, michael. >>> turning our attention to the pandemic now. the u.s. in dangerous territory. coronavirus cases spreading like wildfire, and it isn't even winter yet. one medical expert points out it's not an issue of hot spots anymore. the entire country is a hot spot. the u.s. just topped 100,000 new daily cases for the 12th day in a row. hospitalizations hit a new high for the fourth straight day. overwhelming medical facilities and health care workers across the can't. and the daily death toll topped 1300 at least three times this week. california reported nearly 10,000 new cases of coronavirus on saturday. take a lock at the massive line of car, look at them there they're lined up for coronavirus testing at the l.a. dodgers baseball stadium car park. the state's health department says they're seeing the fastest rate of increasing new cases since the start of the pandemic. 81 californians died from the virus on saturday. cnn's paul vercam

i am with charlie cook and ron brownstein. leah askarinam, the editor of the hotline. excuse for me to ask some questions, and hopefully we will all leave this discussion with a better of what may be a chaotic four years. before we get started, if you would like to submit a question during the session, please do so in the q and a section on the right-hand side of your screen. we will try to get to as many of your questions as possible during the hour. let's start off with what everybody has been thinking of for the past two weeks. there has been a lot of handwringing among democrats about the direction of their party and a lot of republicans taking a victory lap. republicans may pick up close to 10 seats in the house, but they will not flip it. they will likely lose one senate seat and are still at risk of losing the majority, and they lost the white house. on the other hand, democrats lost the expectations game. they did not flinch the senate majority, leaving a slim window to do so if they win both runoffs in georgia in january. not ae president was definitive win or

let's take the state of play to the professor, ron brownstein, and the one and only anthony scaramucci. so, anthony, you're hearing the same thing i am, that trump was being told, hey, what you're doing here is starting to be bad for the brand. how do you square that he's worried about being bad for his brand -- i would argue this is his brand -- but with what they did today, coming out of the shadows, saying everything is terrible, having proof of none of it? >> yeah, he doesn't think it's bad for his brand. he thinks he's got 25 million to 75 million people that are going to follow him around the country after he leaves the white house, and that's why he's doubling and tripling down on this. they like it. it's a duraflame log for these conspiracies, and it's a duraflame log. >> that's the best you've got? he's a duraflame log? >> no, i got more. >> that's the best you've got? trump is a duraflame log? >> i was waiting before i spoke again before i said happy thanksgiving. i got more in my powder keg. >> i'll give you a chance to save it, but let me just go to ron for a second so you

joining us now, cnn senior political analyst, ron brownstein.s a senior editor for "the atlantic." and natasha allford, senior correspondent for the grio. ron, he was yelling at jeff mason, who is the most mild-mannered reporter in america, who was asking one of the most obvious questions in america, which is, will you concede the race that you lost. i think it gave a window into where the president is this morning and how untethered to reality he may be. >> yeah, frustrated, astonished, angry. and you know, doing real damage in the process. i you know, john, you've seen the polling. three quarters of republicans now believe the election was stolen. we've never seen anything like this, an effort by a president to systemically undermine the results of the election. and i was listening to that performance. i came back to the same thought i always had. where is mitch mcconnell, where is kevin mccarthy? why are they abetting what the president is doing. i think it is too facile to say, they are silent only because they fear him. they fear a tweet. t

ron brownstein and politico laura boroz.oint that a lot of these republicans seem to be make sthag the lawsuits and false accusations of fraud won't work, not that there is anything morally wrong with it. >> right. >> how do you see it? >> right. it is a continuation of what we've seen throughout his presidency. every time he breaks a window, congre congressional republicans immediately sweep up the glass. and more are coming to kind of -- in the vain of acknowledging that gravity exists, to acknowledge he lost the three key states, michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin by roughly triple the margin he won them in 2016 when the democrats had conceded. i would only add this is not only indulging the president in a snowflake kind of way of not hurting his feelings. the fact that he is focusing on these conspiracy theories and his own grievances at a moment when the pandemic is at the height it has ever been and is almost abdicated the responsibility to protect the american people and doing damage in the trust of the democratic syst

ron brownstein, thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. happy thanksgiving. >> so, the coronavirus pandemic in the united states could, soon, go from bad to worse. hospitalizations are at an all-time high. and health experts fear thanksgiving gatherings could, of course, fuel another, big surge. stay with us for more. some hot cocoa? mom, look! are you okay? head home this holiday with the one you love. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedes-benz winter event. you power through chronic migraine-15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. so, if you haven't tried botox® for your chronic migraine check with your doctor if botox® is right for you and, if samples are available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening

well said, ron brownstein.hear president trump -- and they're kayleigh mcenany, you know, doing a little dance to ymca. the idea of the most benign reading of this song's lyrics about inner city needs and desperate people doing whatever they can and believing in themselves and working in a situation where he says systematic inequality doesn't even exist. help me with the irony here, astead. >> listen, i did a story last year about the different campaign playlists between the candidates, and one of the most, like, provocative parts of that was the president's. i mean you talk about the village people. you talk about pavarotti. you talk about the kind of -- the voices you hear. i mean you'll hear fortunate son by credence there. that's a song specifically about -- >> he won't even let him use it. he won't even let him use it anymore because he says, you're the guy i was writing it about. >> exactly. but i'm saying that is still something that you would for a while hear at the president's rallies, and i think that

brownstein, , it's the colorf the jersey, the nam on the jersey. >> i like that. if i can onl get to the blue wall, get my little nkel every time somebody uses that. >> think about south carolina and iowa. the other states where biden may spend a little and i would but he didn't spend any money in iowa, certainly didn't spend any money in south carolina. democratic candidas anddn between them 330 $350 million $50 million in those states? in south carolina biden got 43.5% and harrison got 44.2. 44. in iowa he got 44.9. the number of candidates on either se of ran withi two points ahead or behind is pretty small. even kelly ended up being about two points ahead of biden. that's it. obviously collins, bullock, you know, ran four points at but that was fro 40-44. it is really hard now to win senate races andtates they go the other way forresident. it's not impossible. '08 we have six of those, six senate candidates in states that voted the oth way. in 12 it was five or four and zeron 16. it was one in 2020. any off there's more opportunity, to kind of separate, but ce

anita kumar, ron brownstein, thanks to both of you. >>> right now the supreme court is hearing argumentsver the fate of the affordable care act, known as obamacare, this impacts millions of americans whether or not rely on it for -- who rely on it for their health care in the midst of a pandemic. we're on the story. if you have risk factors like heart disease, diabetes and raised triglycerides,... ...vascepa can give you something to celebrate. ♪ vascepa, when added to your statin,... ...is clinically proven to provide 25% lower risk from heart attack and stroke. vascepa is clearly different. first and only fda approved. celebrate less risk. even for those with family history. ♪ don't take vascepa if you are... ...or become allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. serious side effects may occur like heart rhythm problems and bleeding. heart rhythm problems may occur in more people... ...with persistent cardiovascular risk or who have had them in the past. tell your doctor if you experience an irregular heartbeat or other heart rhythm problems. possible side effe

ron brownstein, a former colleague of mine, who writes or the atlantic and cnn, writes to say that the name on the jersey does not matter anymore, just the color, and i think that is exactly right. question, i first think a lot of this -- i mean, yes, president trump has a pollster. yes, he has political advisors. some are good, some are ok, whatever, but i think he operates off his instincts more than any politician i have ever seen. this is just sort of his gut feeling. you have to say, whether you like him or not, it is pretty remarkable for somebody that a real estate billionaire, lives on the 67th floor of a tower was able to see, understand, and tap into this sort of fear, anger, and frustration of working-class people and people that live out in small town, rural america. i think that is off his gut. i think that was before he ever had a pollster. his instincts were to do this. i think he uses consultants just to sort of implement or fine-tune things a little bit, but he works off his own instinct or than anybody else i have ever seen, but i think his statement that he could sho

john harwood and ron brownstein. good evening to both of you. good to see you. >> john, senator lankford says he's going to step in in biden isn't briefed on the intel, carl rode make it clear there's no evidence th evidence. is the dam breaking here? >> you know, it is beginning to crack a little bit. these are signals from republicans. they're still pretty weak signals. the vast majority of the party remains allowing itself to be held hostage by president trump and his base. they lack the guts to come forward and tell the truth. you do see some people like the further they are from elected office, former house members, you see some governors, larry hogan in maryland, charlie baker in massachusetts, who are more moderate and not in debt to the maga-verse like others are. over time that's going to -- the resistance is going to wear down. the business community is moving on, foreign leaders are moving on, benjamin netanyahu, others are dealing with joe biden as the president-elect. most republican members, while they're playing along with the cha

nathan gonzalez, ron brownstein, thank you so much for that.one step closer to sailing out of american ports for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. we'll take a closer look at the plan to keep passenger and crew members safe. >>> plus, a sign of voter enthusiasm? a pro-trump caravan on the move in colorado, more live coverage in a moment. priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60%. these are all great. and when you get a big deal... ♪ ...you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. when being a fan on a budget gets tough... ...our agents do the legwork,... ...so saving on auto insurance is... easy usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. we're all finding ways to keep moving. but how do we make sure the direction we're headed is forward? at fidelity, you'll get the planning and advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. we'll help you plan for healthcare costs, taxes and any other uncertainties along the way. because with fidelity, you can f

. >>> and joining me now, ron brownstein, cnn political analyst. senior political analyst. want to talk about the bewildering rant on fox news. before we do, what do you make of the appointments made by the incoming biden administration. >> he's beginning to get his to his promise of the campaign to be the next generation of leaders. his next appointments are well-respected and familiar. but familiar. the sort of people you would expect in any democratic administration. i think today when you get these announcement of so many female nominees, people of color, he begins to turn the page toward the next generation of democratic officials and leaders, which is something the party needs, given how many septuagenarians right now are unaring things, nancy pelosi, schumer, biden and so forth. >> that's a very good point. okay. to the stunning nonsense from the president on fox news, ranting, rambling, lying. it's pointless of course. the election is decided. but the thing is there are still millions of supporters who believe what he says. what are the damagers in this? >> this is

john brownstein, an epidemiologist with boston's children's hospital says if you plan on seeing youroved ones, start preparing today. >> you need to be implementing those now. 14-day quarantine and that is starting right now that someone needs to be putting themselves in isolation from others and then testing. >> reporter: the cdc recommends wearing masks, staying six feet apart and eating outdoors if possible. but if you do plan to be indoors, experts say leave the winds open. make sure the home's air are clean and air purifiers. >> things that are hepa filtration. they are very efficient removing particles of the size we care about and ready available on the market. >> reporter: also, check on any travel restrictions as places including chicago and new york enforce testing and quarantine requirements for visitors. glenda flowers who lost her mother to covid-19 earlier this year says she knows the horrific consequences of this virus firsthand and urges people to simply cancel their holiday pl d'tan>> have holiday gatherings. you'd rather lose one thanksgiving than lose the rest with

let's take the state of play to the professor, ron brownstein and anthony scaramucci. you are hearing the same thing i am, that trump was being told, hey, what you are doing here is starting to be bad for the brand. how do you square that he's worried about being bad for his brand? i would argue this is his brand but with what they did today coming out of the shadows saying what they said today having proof of none of it. >> he's pushing back on all those people. it's bad for their brand, but for president trump it's not bad in his mind for his brand because he thinks he's got 25 to 75 million people that will follow him around the country after he leaves the white house. and that's why he's doubling and tripling down on this nonsense, chris. they like it. it's a dura frame lock for conspiracies and he's a dura flame lock. >> that's the best you got, he's a duraflame lock? >> i got more. i was waiting until i spoke again before i said happy thanksgiving to you. i got more in my powder keg. let me just go to ron for a second so you can gather your thoughts. a ball of wa

ron brownstein and jackie, thank you so much. >>> cdc schedules an emergency meeting on vaccines while warning tens of thousands more americans could die before those shots are even available. >>> plus, the big question when is the vaccine coming and which americans are first in line? a top member of president-elect joe biden's task force joins us up next. ♪ yeah i feel free ♪ to bare my skin, yeah that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin that's my new plan. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything. woman: keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪ i see nothing in a different way ♪ ♪ and it's my moment so i just gotta say ♪ ♪ nothing is everything. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills

ron brownstein observed before, that he's picked people who have experience, competence, relationships with him, but so far, not as much of the bridge to the future, which is something that he explicitly campaigned on. so how much of a challenge do you think that will be? >> well, i think absolutely, when i look at this cabinet so far in the making, you see people who are biden loyalists, not only veterans of the obama administration, but even that subset within it, who worked very closely with the vice president, as he was at the time. i also think, politically, he seems to be emphasizing picks that will essentially bridge any divide within the democratic party. he definitely seems to be wanting to avoid intramural disputes at a time when trump is insisting on prolonging the election itself and the rift in the country, biden continues to talk about unity in his messages to the country. and also, i think, he's aiming at unity within the democratic party, right? you know, the janet yellen pick is a very interesting example. she had been, of course, the first woman head of the federal re

ron brownstein our political analyst who tracks these demographic trends says this is more what you wouldver thrown. have you seen anything like this? >> no. i think there sort of was a pent up tension the first few days of the week after a campaign that's been emotionally exhausting and seemed endless and people have seen the dark sides of america they never expected to see. i think all of this is exploding now in this rapturous, joyful response to the biden victory and i do think it is also, the kamala harris part of this is extremely important, too. they're in the heart of the old confederacy of georgia, march to georgia, gone with the wind. here we have stacey abrams who has played such a pivotal role in that state now played a pivotal role. it is a new america in many ways. we thought that when obama came in, president obama, but i think there is that same sense again with joe biden and kamala harris ticket. >> doug, you know, there is i think there was a pent up sigh in this country of relief for the winners and joy that they have won, exuberance and what we're seeing on the streets

ron brownstein, thank you for the expertise. >> thanks, wolf. >>> when donald trump exits the white housest two years the two had high-profile roles in the trump white house and administration, but it is though positions that could cause a bit of a barrier to the couple resuming their former lives as part of new york city's party scene. in recent weeks jared and ivanka were featured in a rather unflattering times square display, paid for by the anti-trump group the lincoln project. i want to bring in our white house reporter who has been doing some excellent reporting on all of this, kate bennet. kate, you have been speaking with new yorkers. update viewers on what you are learning, what might happen in coming weeks. >> reporter: well, wolf, it is going to be a different new york city that ivanka and jared return to in terms of a welcome. i mean this was the city that sort of built donald trump, that gave him his celebrity, and now certainly he's bashed it enough times it is going to have repercussions for ivanka and jared. where they move is a question. they could easily go back to their

i want to bring in now political correspondent arlette saenz and ron brownstein. arlette, joe biden, what's his message in michigan these final few days is the. >> reporter: well, don, joe biden brought his closing pitch right here in michigan. across the country, really honing in on the coronavirus pandemic. criticizing the president's response and laying out how he would respond to the crisis if he's elected. he also talked about the character of the nation being at stake in this election. take a listen to a bit of what he told voters here in detroit, michigan. >> three days. three days to put an end to a presidency that has divided this nation. three days. we can put an end to a presidency that's failed to protect this nation. three days. we can put an end to a presidency that's fanned the flames of hate. when americans are heard i believe the message is going to be loud and clear, it's time for president trump to pack his bags and go home. >> so much of the focus today for biden was the issue of turning out voters in these final days before the election. biden

let me bring in right now ron brownstein, senior editor of the atlantic and cnn political analyst. >> hi kate. >> ron -- hi ron. so, donald trump is going to be hitting up a bunch of states again today like yesterday, north carolina, pennsylvania. >> yeah. >> michigan and wisconsin. joe biden and everybody that joe biden knows apparently is -- they're posting up in pennsylvania today. >> yeah. >> where they're going on this final day of campaigning, what does it tell you? >> not only the states, but there's something really interesting in the counties. first of all the fact that biden and harris are converging on pennsylvania. she kind of spent the last week on a sun belt tour. she did nevada, arizona, texas, georgia, florida, north carolina and georgia again. kind of states that democrats want to have, don't need to have, in many ways reflects the future of the party. look where joe biden has been most of the week. it is what he was hired to do, win back some of the rust belt states, the three blue wall states in particular that tipped to trump. he's been places like iowa, minnesota,

john brownstein, an epidemiologist at boston's children's hospital says he's playing it safe doing alebration this year. >> we have rapid uncontrolled, you know, disease transmission for covid happening across this entire country and the more interactions we have, the more this will fuel transmission. >> reporter: but if you do plan on seeing your loved ones -- >> many public health experts say it's not the best idea but if that is something you need to do you need to implement it now. 14-day quarantine, and that is starting right now, that someone needs to be putting themselves in isolation from others, and then testing. >> reporter: the cdc also recommends added layers to stay safe like yes, wearing a mask, staying six feet apart and eating outdoors if possible. for some the risk of gathering is not worth it. the flowers family just lost their mother to covid-19 and they're urging people to skip thanksgiving this year. >> don't have big gatherings because you better lose one thanksgiving and share the rest of them with your family. >> reporter: and while weighing the risks, you als

ron brownstein, lauren barron lopez and david gregory. thank you, each and all.e for the overnight hours? >> well, we're just in an unsettled place, right? we don't know where we're going top so much of this was expected. that we were in a tight race, that it would take a while for the votes to actually come in and be counted, particularly in the battleground of the upper midwest. and this is where we are. what feels surprising is there was a lot of money, a lot of energy, and a lot of expectation on the democratic side, and i would say even in the media, that there was going to be a surge for biden. that there was going to be a rebuke of trump, particularly over the virus. and what we're seeing so far is that has not been the case. it's a really tight race. we're even seeing some evidence out of exit polling that a lot of voters out there are saying, hey, it's really important we get this economy open, even if the virus spreads a little bit more. we're also seeing key constituencies for republicans who stayed steady for the president. and yet, with all of that,

joining me right now is cnn political analyst ron brownstein with much more on all this and also the senior editor at the atlantic. talk to me about pennsylvania, how critical it is. when you see the numbers that harry henton was just laying out with the polling, what are you seeing right now, ron? >> look, after 2016 everyone is chasing polling, and in fact joe biden doesn't have an insurmountable lead enenough states to feel this thing is totally in the bank. but having said that, biden has restored enough strength across the rust belt to lead the president on a very, very narrow ledge. if biden holds all the states hillary clinton won in 2016 he is in a very strong position in michigan and wisconsin. we're talking about a catastrophic polling failure in much bigger margins than last time. he still needs one more state if that is the case. even if he adds a michigan or wisconsin to all the clinton states. and pennsylvania looks like the best bet although arizona is also in that mix. what we've seen from biden, i think, kate, is a lot of discipline in the map. yes, they are competin

ron brownstein, a former colleague of mine, who writes or the atlantic and cnn, writes to say that thesey does not matter anymore, just the color, and i think that is exactly right. question, i first think a lot of this -- i mean, yes, president trump has a pollster. yes, he has political advisors. some are good, some are ok, whatever, but i think he operates off his instincts more than any politician i have ever seen. this is just sort of his gut feeling. you have to say, whether you like him or not, it is pretty remarkable for somebody that a real estate billionaire, lives on the 67th floor of a tower was able to see, understand, and tap into this sort of fear, anger, and frustration of working-class people and people that live out in small town, rural america. i think that is off his gut. i think that was before he ever had a pollster. his instincts were to do this. i think he uses consultants just to sort of implement or fine-tune things a little bit, but he works off his own instinct or than anybody else i have ever seen, but i think his statement that he could shoot somebody on 5

the most important thing over the last six or seven months, we saw what some analysts maybe ron brownsteinrperforming with the seniors. they usually underperform with the seniors and the biden's strength with seniors as the starting point if he does win the presidency, that's going to be an important -- that's going to be a key element of this demographically. that demographic inversion is now it looks like holding hands with a geographic inversion. so you know, i'm in georgia right now. i spent part of the weekend on saturday in texas and i think it is not impossible that what we're looking at potentially tonight is if not the crumbling, the beginning of the crumbling of the republican red wall across the southwest. so i think very much on the basis of everything i know right now, texas could very well go blue tonight. i'm not saying it will, but i'm saying it is well within reach. i think georgia right now is not just within reach but i think on the basis of everything i have seen on the ground and all of the data i think right now joe biden is the favorite to win georgia. and joe biden

let's bring in laura lopez, toluse olorunnipa, and professor ron brownstein.s the right line for joe biden to walk, in terms of messaging, right now? >> well, i think that what he said tonight is the option that he thinks he has, which is not declaring victory. again, telling people to be patient. but also, showing that he -- or articulating that he thinks he has a mandate, which is to, you know, work with democrats and potentially -- we don't know the makeup of the senate, yet. and we may not know for a few months. but he thinks that he has a mandate to get the country on a different track. one that focuses, clearly, more on science-based steps to address coronavirus, which was a big part of his campaign, and address other policy issues that he spoke about. now, how he handles dealing with democrats in this moment, especially as there is a lot of introspection in this party given the way the election turned out because a lot of democrats, on the one hand, are clearly very happy he is about to win the presidency. they are also very frustrated by losses in the

there's two americas, we have another piece by ron brownstein -- acknowledges the old civil war, that is split down the middle and one side is not understanding the other side. both sides don't understand each other and that we live in a social media environment in which differences are exasperated. and, you know, it's -- there are a lot of people who simultaneously recognize that there's a high likelihood that joe biden is going to win, and then this uniquely from their perspective uniquely terrible president is going to go and yet they're feeling awful about the current conditions of the country. i think that's kind of the dominant mood, sort of relief and also disgust. >> yeah. and george packer actually will be joining us tomorrow on "morning joe." >> yeah. mike barnicle, this wouldn't be the first time that americans have had this reaction. of course, it's -- you can go back obviously to the founding of the republic. go back to the election in 1800 which as jon meacham who wrote an extraordinary book on thomas jefferson, long called that one of the ugliest presidential campaigns.

jennifer granholm, scott jennings and ron brownstein. hello to all of you.hink you'll agree, it doesn't get any closer than 665 votes. well, unless it's like one vote apart. but you know what i'm saying. >> yeah, no, it is striking. and it is reflective of the changes we are seeing everywhere across the country in this election, the lines that are being more deeply engraved. donald trump's hold on trump country is formidable and looks impregnable and perhaps deeper than 2016. but look what happened in the atlanta metro to make this happen. and only a margin of 240,000 votes in atlanta itself, but the two giant suburban counties outside of atlanta, gwinnett and dekalb. obama lost them by 60,000 votes. hillary clinton won them by 26,000 votes. right now joe biden is up by 129,000 votes in places that as the republican pollster told me we used to build the republican majorities in the state. and you are seeing the same story in pennsylvania. the four big suburban counties outside of philadelphia, montgomerie, delaware, chester, and bucks. right now joe biden is