many times, but usually says that eastland called him "son" and not "senator" because eastland didn't young he was when he became senator and using the racially charged term "boy" for senator changes the way it lands because of the way that white people would demand black men, grown men by calling them "boy." it still happens today. aides say that he has been warned to drop the story because he could get into trouble. they seem to have sensed it won't be popular with democratic primary voters to talk about being civil with segregationists. well, presto, it's now an issue for him. it raises a question, is biden tone deaf? is he out of step with the democratic party of 2019? he's using his status as front-runner in the polls to go directly after president trump. labelling trump the divider in chief. but he is being called out by democrats, not trump. who did an interview, by the way, with fox news tonight and seemed to allude to the controversy but didn't go on to attack -- go into full attack mode over it. but as we just saw with senator booker, biden's rivals wasted no time criticizin

eastland. he never called me boy, he called me son." biden went on to say -- "a guy like herman talmadge, one of the meanest guys i ever knew, you go down the list of all these guys. well, guess what? at least there was some civility. we got things done." new jersey senator and 2020 democratic candidate cory booker responded to the remarks in a statement saying -- "vice president biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make america a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone. he is wrong for using his relationships with eastland and talmadge as examples of how to bring our country together." booker has called for biden to apologize. this is biden's response. >> apologize for what? >>. >> he called for. >> he knows better. there's not a racist bone in my body. i've been involved in civil rights my whole career, period. period, period, period. amy: senator booker has called -- senator kamala harris, also a accused biden of coddling the reputations of segregationists. worn, sand

but what does it mean to say that you to work with someone like eastland or talmadge? over the course of our history we have engaged with compromise around race. we have engaged in compromise coming out of reconstruction. we have engaged in compromise -- think about the new deal the 'the new deal, in order for it to pass they had to compromise with southern democrats. what did that mean? itment that black people got cut out for much those policies. fha laws and the like. the gi bill and the like. so as crow talk aboyou talk abo form of politics, i'm asking the question what are the payoffs and who has to bear the burden of the compromise? one way to read this controversy, craig, i'll say this really quickly, is not to tar senator biden or vice president biden with the label of being racist. one way to tackle this controversy is to tackle the idea of politics that he's presenting. this view has gotten us into trouble. it is what has gotten us into trouble up to now. we cannot terry with extremists. we cannot use them as examples of what bipartisan politics should look l

eastland. he never called me boy, he called me son."en was widely criticized by his democratic rivals including new jersey senator cory booker who said -- "vice president biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make america a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone. frankly, i'm disappointed that he hasn't issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many americans. he should." biden has refused to apologize for his remarks. >> are you going to apologize? >> apologize for what? cory booker should apologize. he knows better. there's not a racist bone in my body. i have been involved with civil rights my whole career. period. period, period, period. amy: he demanded that cory booker apologize to joe biden. while biden's recent comments made the news, far less attention has been paid to the former vice president's actual record. in the 1970's, then senator biden was a fierce critic of delaware's attempts to bus students in an effort to integrate its s

because tall mutt and eastland were democrats.emember the solid south until the civil rights bill was democrat. and then it became republican. what biden could have done is this isn't about working across the aisle, this is about working within your own party where there are people you can't work with where you need to do something in your own party. that would have been a way to explain it a little better saying i'm not going to apologize. >> the bigger problem i think is this, i won't speak for eddie but i will say this, when you hear a politician of a certain age say back in the good old days we were able to do this. it's good old days for who, sir? this is what a lot of black voters will say. good old days for who? >> black, white, young and female. >> yes. >> gar snrett? >> i think there's a tactical problem too. not apologizing worked for donald trump in part because he's donald trump but in part because he never turned the fire hydrant off. there was always another thing the next day and he was able to constantly change the

eastland thought my multi-racial family should be illegal. anne-marie? >> laura podesta in new york. thank you, laura. >>> lawmakers are looking at setting up a commission who would study reparations for descendants of family members who were enslaved. the issue drew sharp criticism from some lawmakers. >> why should the federal government bear responsibility for economic and social damages to the descendants of the enslaved? >> because the federal government is complicit in it. >> some studies estimate paying reparations could cost up to $6 > thshooting of former slugger david ortiz was mistak the real target was his friend who was wearing similar clothing at the time of the shooting earlier this month. chris martinez reports. >> reporter: the shooting of former boston red sox baseball star david ortiz at point blank range was never supposed to happen, according to prosecutors and the dominican republic. the object was not david ortiz, the attorney general said. it was another man who was seated with ortiz and wearing a similar outfit. prosecutors say t

typified by james eastland.tland thought my multiracial family should be illegal and that whites were entitled to, quote, the pursuit of dead n-word. it's passed time for apologizes. he is out of step. joining me now is 2020 democratic presidential candidate bill de blasio, mr. mayor. those are some rough words. you took it very personal and understandably so. >> there are some that are going to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, aren't you overreacting? he didn't support the segregationists. >> chuck, it is entirely personal for me. i think it's personal for millions and millions of americans when they hear this. my wife is african-american. we have two beautiful children. james eastland literally thought my wife and i should not have the legal right to marry, that those children should not exist, and our children should not be on this earth. that's how personal it is for me. that's how personal it is for my wife cherlain. when you hear that from someone who wants to be the standard barrier of our party, it

i worked with james eastland, in fact the two of us became friends. would work with anyone whose philosophies differed from mine as long as the issue at hand promoted the welfare of the people, and i would continue to await those better angels and to remain confident in ultimate justice. teddy had to do it, he did it. he got along with the guy to get the civil rights bill through. >> let's cut through all this. i think this race, the biden race and biden/trump, it's about do you think donald trump broke washington or do you think washington existing created donald trump? what came first, the chicken or the egg? >> what do you think? >> i think washington was broken by mitch mcconnell and it allowed donald trump -- >> let's come back and have a fight about that case. >>> up next, what i call the baskin robbins phrase of this 2020 process. you're watching "hardball." i wanted more from my copd medicine... ...that's why i've got the power of 1 2 3 medicines with trelegy. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment . ♪trelegy. ♪the power of 1-2-3. ♪treleg

. >> could not have disagreed with jim eastland more.you don't have to agree. you don't have to like the people in terms of their views but you just simply make the case and beat them. >> biden later lamenting the harsh start to the 2020 race saying in a fund-raiser late last night it's going to be pretty ugly. here's the deal, i'm not going to participate. cnn's arlette sianz has more. >> reporter: joe biden is defending his recent comments about working with segregationists in an era that he says held more siville lit at this than current times. there is not a racist bone in his body. >> he's engaging with his democratic opponents with the 2020 race. last night cory booker also weighed in saying that he's not backing down, that he is not going to apologize. take a listen to that. >> somebody running to be the leader of our party should know that using the word boy in the way that he did can cause hurt and pain and we need a presidential nominee and the leader of our party to be sensitive to that. i know that i was raised to speak truth

eastland, mr. biden said, briefly channelling the late mississippi senator's southern drawl. he always call mead son. mr. biden brought up a deceased georgia senator and one of the meanest guys i ever knew. you go down the list of all these guys. guess what. at least there was civility and got things done. we got things done. cory booker issued a statement saying you don't joke about calling black men boys. he used words like that and the racist policies that accompanied them and strip black americans of humanity.

eastland. he never called me boy, he only called me son.least there was some civility, we got things done. we didn't agree on much of anything, we got things done. biden made comments despite his aides saying don't discuss relationships with segregationist senators. >> trevor: joe biden, what are you doing? you can't come out in 2019 and say these two senators from back in the day were super racist but at least they were civil. yeah, civil to you, maybe. of course, they never called you boy, you're white. biden's running around saying i worked with these senators, senator eastland many times, and not once did he call me the n word. ( laughter ) there was the one time, but i had a tan, so i understand. ( laughter ) now the reason joe biden told the story, even though his advisors told him not to, is because he's trying to set himself up as the guy who can work with adversaries in congress even though he disagrees with their views. by saying this, he may have created created new adversaries within his own parties. >> those comments -- >> so c

presidential candidate not apologizing for invoking the name james eastland.iden saying during a tuesday fund-raiser, quote, he never called me boy, he always called me son. at least there was some civility. we got things done. we didn't agree on much of anything. we got things done. 2020 democrats quickly seizing on the former vice president's comments, some calling on him to apologize. >> i think to be sipping inging praises of people who were vicious segregationists is not something that anybody should be doing. >> the democrats, it's never okay to celebrate segregationists, never. >> to coddle the reputations of segregationists, of people who if they had their way i would literally not be standing here as a member of the united states senate is, i think -- it's just misinformed and it's wrong. >> biden pushing back saying he was not praising eastman. >> could not disagree with jim eastland more in the fact that he was a segregationist. i ran for the united states senate because i disagreed with the views of the segregationists. the point i am making is you

bigot which jim eastland was. joe biden came into the senate as part of a wave of moderate right democrats replacing older border state and southern segregationist democrats and in some cases some republicans who were pro civil rights, but also had a limit to what they wanted to do to use the government to force integration. so there were places where joe biden was in agreement in policy with eastland. for instance on school bussing which we've heard a fair amount about already in this campaign. and that was not a small place of agreement. joe biden was not somebody who voted with eastland on bussing. he was somebody who led the anti-bussing movement. he talked about bussing being a bankrupt concept and didn't want the federal government to get so deep into forcing integration in schools as to be able to bus students from one district to another. and that was a debate that went on for years and years. that's not just like one vote. that is the 70s and even into the early 80s. this is something joe biden is probabl

but james eastland came the summer before pearl harbor. so he worked with the senate before a huge majority of americans were born. but if you cite bipartisan and civilit it is a legitimate claim and sign a piece of legislation with a republican co-sponsor and i work with bob dole on the americans with disabilities act or the voting rights act. but just vaguely citing segregationists is weird. >> and from something you said, also if you think about who it is democrats are up against and what the last two and a half years have been like. we've seen an increase in anti-semitism and an increase in acts of violence by right-wing crazies, we have seen -- we had charlottesville and we've seen a rise in hate and a rise in that sort of divisiveness so to try to use the example of a segregationist as civility, it also just -- it is shocking. but it also belies the moment that we're in and the person that we are trying to say we are differentiating ourself from. >> stick around. president trump probably hoping that one of his closest confidants stay

eastland, he never called me boy, he always called me son. at least there was some civility.ng, we got things done. senator cory booker had a pretty rare fiery response to this what did he say? >> extremely rare, brooke. i've been following senator booker on the campaign trail, i cannot think of any occasion when he's rebuked any other candidate in the way he's rebuking former vice president joe biden today. i'll read you part of his statement. you don't joke about calling black men boys, he went on, vice president biden's relationships with proud segregationists are not how we make america a safer and more welcome place for everyone. a campaign aide went ono

eastland. he never called me boy. he always called me son. well, guess what?didn't agree on much of anything. we got things done. we got itin

eastland. he said he never called me "boy." he always called me "son."ed to herman talmadge and said we didn't agree on anything but we got things done. that aroused the wrath of cory booker who accused biden giving cover to racism and white supremacy and demanded an immediate apology. biden refused to apologize and said booker should apologize to him. watch. >> how does it feel like the democratic rivals see you as racist? >> they know better. >> are you going to apologize? >> apologize for what? >> cory booker is calling for it. >> cory should apologize. he knows better. there is not a racist bone in my body. i was been involved in civil rights my whole career. period. >> tucker: i'm not a racist, says joe biden. the second he said that, cory booker already won. biden is the democratic front-runner. booker, to put it mildly, is not. you need a powerful microscope to find cory booker's support. it's beneficial to booker for fighting with biden. >> for him to say you should apologize, i'm not a racist is so insulting and missing the larger point that he

he's touted his relationship with people like senator eastland. to the newer side of the part, to the diverse, more progressive and liberal side of the democrats right now, those folks are unacceptable. even if the senate used to work in a wray those relationships people prized, that's going to be something that folks want joe biden to answer for. but i also think it leads to the question of has -- is this a candidate that's been in the party for too long? is this a time for a new voice for democrats? is this a time for them to break out of that shadow? because some of this is just a vestige of the past. and these candidates, his rivals, want to make a break from that and that's why they're trying to hit him. >> arlette, i got to bring you in. as i understand it, you've been in touch with the biden campaign. how worried are they about this backlash? >> well, i think you've seen throughout the day some of their concern. just the fact that they have been out there trying to explain what the former vice president meant by those comments last night. w

but invoking eastland, he ends up owning and rhesesuscitating t rhetoric.nd of the day, i'll take jim clyburn on this. he said i've worked with strom thurmon my whole life. but the argument is right. it's not going to wash with a lot of folk who is say why are you invoking james eastland as civility in american politics? >> abby, these things do have a tendency to pull over. with joe biden it was the personal space issue and whether or not he owed an apology for whatever it was. these things do blow over because they're not what any voter lists at the top of what they're looking for in terms of solving issues. it's just at what point do these things sort of pile up for joe biden where i guess younger voters start to think that he can't represent them? >> yeah, i think you're right. i mean, there is a sense in which some of these issues are so resonant where we are and resonant on twitter. paem are talking about them all the time. then you wonder how much they're discussing these minute developments. but at the same time what we're building at the moment is

eastland, thurmond, helms, had he was close to because it was the democratic party.ocratic party was diverse ideologically and politically at that time. and we understand he had to work with them. of course. of course. i've had to work with people i disagree with all the time, believe me you. you know what i mean? good god almighty. but at the same time you've got to draw the line. of course, none of us are pure. i've got some evil in me. you've got some evil in you. everybody's got some evil in them. but it's a matter of whether we act on it, do we conquer it every day. and do we learn how to die every day. that's the crucial thing. >> and do we acknowledge it and do we face it and try to overcome it. >> absolutely. in fact, when brother biden says, i don't have a racist bone in my body, let me tell you something, i've got white supremacy inside of me. i grew up in america. i have to conquer it every day. there is white supremacy inside of me a free black man 66 years, my hunch is there's a little racism inside of him and other americans. it's a matter of conquering

eastland. he never called me boy, he always called me son. well guess what? at least there was some civilitiy. we got things done. today, you look at the other side you're the opposition, not the enemy. >> you don't joke about calling black men boys. vice president biden's relations with proud segregationists are not the way we work. biden reacted and called on booker to apologize. >> i could not disagree with eastland more. he was a segregationists. i ran because i disagreed with that at the time. what i was talking about is the voting rights act. we voted against them and beat them in the voting rights act. the point i'm making it, you don't have to agree or like the people in terms of the views but you simply make the case and you beat them, without changing the system. >> reporter: how does it feel that your democratic rivals are saying you have issues talking about race? >> they know better? >> are you going to apologize? >> cory should apologize. he knows better. there's not a racial bone in my body, period, period, period. >> last night, senator booker

segregationists like eastland were really the paragons of violent era of segregation and jim crow. civility even if it felt like civility in the halls of congress. so biden has to address that. i think that this combative nature is going to be something that he's going to have to answer for because it might seem like a good idea to be trumpian in that way, but part of me believes the democrats are going to view that very differently. democrats actually don't necessarily want a trumpian type person to go up against trump. so i think figuring out that balance is not something he's going to be able to dodge for much longer. >> you're absolutely right. the question is being raised about his instincts, his judgment, his tongue getting out ahead of his brain are questions that have come up before. >>> when we come back, the president decides not to bomb iran. some democrats say yes. some republicans are worried. od thing they discovered gain flings with oxi boost and febreze odor remover. smelling is believing and gain flings can hiya karate stink too. gain flings. seriously good scent.

dig a hole for myself here but here goes biden's comments on being able to get things done with eastland who has to stop segregationist he never called me boy he always called me son that's what biden said i found that shocking clearly that was because eastland was a racist and biden is white biden's ability to reach across the aisle had nothing to do with not being called boy why was this not clear and biden's mine it's a mystery to me i don't believe that biden is anything close to a racist himself he has a strong track record in favor of civil rights but it's remark was ill considered and betrayed a thoughtless ignorance of those terms so i could hear you trying to get in there can you see where this is something that's ripe for people to jump on and say you're out of touch. i muchly not sure because i think one of the things the democratic party has to deal with is political correctness i think a large majority of voters have simply had enough with being told that this although that it can't use this kind of language and while joe biden's language may have been in correct and perhaps

talking about eastland in the past. the vice president said he never called me "boy."n." at least there was some civility. we got things done. we didn't agree on much. we got things done. what did that mean? >> the entire point of the story is that senator eastland used repugnant language like that. there is an attempt to show biden was praising segregati segregationis segregationists, nothing could be further than the truth. the one who has praised them is in the oval office right now. and joe biden is trying to bring us back to a police station of dignity and compassion. and you have a president in the oval office who does nothing but try to pit group against group to blame the other. >> yes. >> and the vice president believes that that kind of leadership is taking this country to a very dark place. and he is hopeful and optimistic and you're going to hear him. he's going to south carolina today -- >> yes, the friish fry. but when joe biden says things like this to people that get him tripped up, it confuses people. those senators wouldn't have called him "boy." it s

eastland was chairman, whether you liked him or not. doesn't look good from the prism of 2019.they say in politics, to the degree you're explaining in politics, you're losing. he's got a lot of explaining to do. >> shepard: what did you think of buttigieg and the way he handled the terrible racial strife going on in his town? >> i -- first of all, in terms of his general demeanor, one of the things that strikes me about pete buttigieg is how calm he is. you know, a lot of the other people get strident, the men and the women. he always speaks in a calm way. he didn't have a particularly good answer because there is no good answer. 6% of your police force is african american and 20% of your population is. he had two things that went to his favor. one is he didn't try to say mistakes were made. political speak. he said i haven't been able to get it done. he basically owned the problem there. the second was that because of the fact that in short order kamala harris went after joe biden and that moment and that controversy gets forgotten or lost in the shuffle. >> shepard: marianne

there's not one person today who knows who jim eastland is.ey just don't. >> i guess everything you're saying makes perfect sense. why doesn't the former vice president know that? >> well, today, you know, we'll see -- >> i guess to john's point, why does he stumble into the thicket? >> that's a good question. i understand i say i know what he was trying to do. but you just can't site a segregationist and racist as an example of how we come and work together. and it's a good lesson. you need to be very careful what you say and how you say it. and people are yearning today to have leadership out there that's going to help people in their everyday life. what do they want? you know it. they want quality health care. they want prescription drug prices to come down. they want their roads to work. education. stay focused on these things. >> you wrote a really interesting op-ed on cnn.com about what you think the democrats should be doing. and there are a lot of themes in there. one you talk about, they need to talk about issues that matter to the vo

it's 2019 and joe biden is longing for the long old days tip tpaoeued by eastland.y multiracial family should be illegal. he then added, it's about time for apologies by joe biden. however, i all noticed this. a tweet, that we had this new information. jim clyburn who is in house democratic leadership, leapt to biden's offense, saying biden didn't say anything different than what describes his work with strom thurmond. clyburn said working with thurmond is similar to biden working with talmadge. little dust up today on the campaign trail. leslie, what do you think about this one? >> he did say talmadge is one of the meanest people he ever knew. not good to pick those guys necessarily. i think the point he was trying to make, although not picking the best people, something a former congress woman told me years ago. do you remember pat schroeder from colorado? we were both speaking at a progressive event. i asked her why she got out of politics. she said we used to debate like crazy and then go out for a drink together. things changed. things have changed. we have see

biden saw it and received support from mississippi senator james eastland.ary committee and a leading southern resistance to desegregation. spoke of blacks as, quote, an inferior race. biden reflected on that era earlier this year. >> they're a bunch of racists. james o. east, strom thurman, so on. nine guys who were in the caucus that were, i ran against in the civil rights movement. >> reporter: he did not say e t eastland and others were partners on anti-bussing bills. in june, he wrote, dear mr. chairman, i appreciate your help during this week's committee meeting in attempting to bring my anti-bussing legislation to a vote. then in 1978, biden again asked eastland to put anti-bussing bill before the full senate, your participation in floor debate would be welcome. four decades later after building a strong civil rights record, biden stands by his opposition to bussing, argue it did not address institutional racism. most bussing programs in america were later abandoned. after bringing more hardship than equal opportunity to all students. >> so the bottom

eastland. he never called me boy.s called me son and brought up a deceased georgia senator, a guy like herman talmadge, you go down the list of these guy, guess what, at least there was some civility. we got things done. those were two racist members of the united states senate. why? >> joe biden is trying to make the argument that, you know, people can work with those they disagree with but i'm told by a couple of advisers to the former vice president that he's been urged and asked and cautioned and warned to not use these segregationist senators as examples. it adds to the already sort of high burden he's trying to make to modernize himself and using the word boy. i normally doesn't use that word. he said i wasn't given the respect -- he was a white united states senator. he, you know, the fact that james eastland, a noted racist called him a boy, okay, that's insensiti insensitive. >> if you remember that -- get in real trouble trying to go back and reference older -- that's what lost trent lott his senate majority

name's eastland.n't believe someone like chirlane and i should be married, didn't believe our children should be exist. what he said speaks to a status quo in this country that has still not been broken down. that's why it's so painful. no, i'm not satisfied, rev. i haven't heard anything even approximating an apology because when you apologize, you really acknowledge that you did something wrong. and the vice president hasn't done that. i don't know why he's been stubborn in this case. he chose to speak about a segregationist and talked about civility. how can you have civility with someone who wanted violence against a huge portion of the american population? how can you talk about civility when you talk about someone who literally wanted to freeze america in place, all that institutional racism, we're still fighting to this day, james eastland is one of the founding fathers of that institutionalist racist system that we're trying to take apart brick by brick. so, no, i think real leadership is when

dig a hole for myself here but here goes biden's comments on being able to get things done with eastland who has to start segregationist he never called me boy he always called me son that's what biden said i found that shocking clearly that was because eastland was a racist and biden is white biden's ability to reach across the aisle had nothing to do with not being called boy why was this not clear and biden's mine it's a mystery to me i don't believe that biden is anything close to a racist himself he has a strong track record in favor of civil rights but his remark was ill considered and betrayed a thoughtless ignorance of those terms so i can hear you trying to get in there can you see where this is something that's ripe for people to kind of jump on and say you're out of touch are muchly not sure because one of the things the democratic party has to do with this political correctness i think a march majority approach is of simply not enough of being told this or. so that it can't use this kind of language and while joe biden's language may have been in correct and perhaps he was ri

biden sought and received support from mississippi senator eastland and a leading symbol of southern resistance to desegregation. he frequently smoke of blacks as a quote inferior race. >> there are a bunchests, james oeast of mississippi, thurman and so on. there were nine guys who were on the caucus that i ran against in the civil rights movement. >> reporter: but he did not say eastland and others were partners on several of biden's anti-busing bills. on june 30th, 1977, biden wrote dear mr. chairman, i want you to know i very much appreciate your help in this week's committee meeting in attempting to bring my anti-busing legislation to a vote. and again in 1978 biden again asked eastland to put the bill before the senate writing your participation in the bill would be welcomed. four decades later biden stands by his opposition to busing arguing it did not address institutional racism. most busing programs in america were later abandoned after bringing more hardship than equal opportunity to all students. >> so the bottom line here is, look, everything i've done in my career, i ra

eastland. he never called me boy. he always called me son. well guess what? at least there was some civility. we got things done. we didn't agree on much of anything. we got things doesn't. won't talk to each other anymore. you don't joke about calling black men "boys." men like james o. eastland used word like that and the to strip black americans of our very humanity. and calling on biden to apologize. biden reacted like this -- >> are you going to apologize? >> thanks, guys. >> like cory booker has called for. >> apologize for? >> cory booker's called for it. >> cory should apologize. he knows better. there's not a racist bone in my body. i've been involved in civil rights my whole career. >> well, here in studio with me last night, booker responded this way -- >> i was raised to speak truth to power. and that i will never apologize for doing that. and vice president biden shouldn't need this lesson. >> mmm-hmm. so that phone call, by the way, came after that interview here last night. i have to ask, and we're going to get some answers to these questions t

you didn't get a damn thing done unless you kissed up to these awful people like eastland. what do you think? they both had experiences that are different. your thoughts, joy, my friend. >> very interesting. chris, my friend, it is interesting that you put it way that you can back to fdr who adjusted the new deal in ways that african americans didn't benefit as much as whites in order the get it through. and you look at lbj who had to go after his own region. he had to go after white democrats. that history is real. but i have to tell you, kamala harris is only a little older than my sister. my sister was bussed. she was one of the first classes that was bussed in denver, colorado. and there was such an antipathy having little black kids come into town in white parts of denver, they built us a middle and high school to keep us in montebello. they didn't want us bussed out there. i even remember growing up the antipathy, and colorado is not mississippi. it's not like this far right. they've had the klan, but the bottom line being that the problem that you're describing, chri

eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal and that whites were entitled to the pursuitdead -- and he uses the n-word. it's past time for apologizes or evolution from joe biden. he repeatedly demonstrates he is out of step. senator cory booker also weighed in saying i can tell vice president biden that he is wrong for using his relationships with eastland and tammadge. but on capitol hill today, the house of representatives held the first hearing on reparations for slavery in more than a decade. and it's happening on a very significant day for our nation. juneteenth which commemorates the united states 154 years ago abolition of slavery. between 1619 and 1865, about 4 million people were brought to what became the united states in the transatlantic slave trade. they and their descendants feel fuelled the nation's economy, particularly with free labor, in the south. when slavery was abolished in the south, the newly freed people were promised 40 acres and a mule. andrew johnson overturned the agreement. instead compensating former slaveholders. reconstruction that period

you know, james eastland of mississippi, strom thurmon and so on.s who were in the caucus that were, you know, i ran against them in the civil rights movement zb. >> reporter: but he didn't say they were partners on antibusing bills. i want you to know i appreciate your help during this week's meeting in order to bring my antibusing legislation to a vote. then again asked eastland to put his anti-busing bill before the senate writing, your participation in floor debate will be welcomed. four decades later after building a strong civil rights record, biden stands by his opposition to busing. arguing it did not address institutional racism. most busing programs in america were later abandoned. after bringing more hardship than equal opportunity to all students. >> so the bottom line here is, look. everything i have done in my career, i ran because of civil rights. i continue to think we have to make fundamental changes in civil rights. >> reporter: jeff zeleny, cnn, miami. >> our thanks to jeff for that. >>> so team usa soccer star megan rapinoe not b

eastland, took the committee from mr. eastland, the josÉ diaz-balart judiciary committee.had to work with jessie helms, i had to work with helms. i had to work with his staff. i had to deal directly with senator helms and i knew who he was but i still had to get it done for my boss, mr. durbin. i'm not excusing joe biden. joe biden needs to clean this up and i think he should clean this up, but in the end we can't hold people to a higher level than we hold all the other people out there in the democrat i can it party. i think that's a mistake but he does need to clean it up. >> i consider you the dean of south carolina politics, i always come to talk to you when we're here. there is a thing about commity in these senate and house back rooms where people work with one another and have a chumminess that may people like inappropriate in public but it's what they do to get it done. you had joe biden eulogize strom thurman. this is the kind of thing that the chummy back room people do, right, but it used to be the case that all the chummy back room people were white and male. >

specifically, segregationists like mississippi senator james eastland. eastland wasn't just some folksy uncle who occasionally made a racist remarks at thanksgiving. he was a staunch opponent of desegregation. he degraded black soldiers who fought in world war ii as physically and morally incompetent, was called "the voice of the white south," and said the mississippi civil rights workers murdered in 1964 were just staging a "publicity stunt." ( audience reacts ) listen, i get joe biden being proud of his ability to work with people he doesn't agree with. but he didn't have to pick this guy. "i do a lot of volunteer work. once, i painted a school with jeffrey dahmer. we fundamentally disagree about cannibalism, but the guy did bring his own lunch." ( laughter ) here's a campaign throwback from thursday. we got disappointing news about roy moore. if you don't remember moore, lucky you. he famously lost his senate race in 2017 after it came out he faced charges of sexually abused underaged girls. he was banned from the local mall. so i look forward to his

eastland oncecalled african-americans an inferior race, and sa tshi >> separation of the races -- >>rter: biden explaining he worked to combat his segregationist iews. pushing to extend the voting rights act. >> you don't have to like theeo pe in terms of their views, but you just sply make the case and you beat them. >> peter alexander reporting. next week is tr democratic presidential debate of the campaign. our aaron gilchrest is going to cover the two-night event from miami. his reports begin on wednesday. >>> happening today, a u.s. house committee plans to question top officials about the problem plagued d.c. va medical centcr. scott mrland reports, today's hearing is all because of a multiyear investigation. >> the hearing gets underway at. 2:0 today, right here in the hearing room in the raburn building on capitol hill. several local members of heongress will be on dias. the subcommittee is chaired by jerry connelley. they'll be asking thequ stions. who's answering? the medical center director will be here,nd a the inspector general of the va who helped lead the investigation

eastland used words like that to strip black americans from our humanity. joe biden and... john delaney: that's just a sampling. we will get more. our panel. "washington post" columnist mark, and tom. >> well, the democrats are tearing their hair out because so many of them are hoping that joe biden would be the person that seemed the most electable against donald trump. trying to make a point that is widely supported, there should be more civility, he made himself look like a relic. that's the problem here. there has been a lot of questions whether joe biden could perform on the campaign trail. he ran twice before badly. this is an example of why. undisciplined and just talks about the past, distant, distant past. there are a lot of other examples he could have used. maybe one from the 1990s. >> bret: and the 2 senators he referenced were democrats. >> yes. >> the issues are what we is talking about. >> nobody has heard of talmidge in washington. >> that's the whole point. he had to go back to the stone age. >> bret: why not say i work with dick luger from

the guy he's talking about, eastland from mississippi was born in 1904.gets in there in the early 70s and he has to work with these people. their positions on segregation, they ended up changing and growing and evolving. >> juan: eastland? >> jesse: yes. a lot of these people in the democrat party saw the light at the end of their careers and what is the right thing to do with segregation. and joe was there for that. he's a civil rights pioneer for that people are trying to impose like a 2019 morality on the reality of a 1972 america. you can't do that. i don't doubt the sincerity of kamala or cory but looks opportunitistic and looks like a cheap shot. as you said, a fight for black voters in the democrat party. they make up 25% of democrat primary voters. it's no surprise that those two people are trying to peel away the black support. i don't it will hurt him. he just got a shrewd of endorsements in south carolina today. i think people trust joe. he was the v.p. for the first black president. second black president if you include bill clinton. >> greg:

he tauted his experience working with james eastland. deblasio, he has an interracial family. >>> today hope hicks, her name appears 184 times in robert mueller's report. she testifies before the house judiciary committee at the request of committee chair, jerry nadler. >> hicks served as the trump's campaign spokesperson. although the meeting was behind closed door. a full transcript is expected to be made public in about four hours or so. here is hicks refusing to answer questions from nbc about her testimony a moment ago. >> she obviously there and if we can continue the tape did not answer any questions. >> joining us now our kenne dilanian. let's be honest, why did democrats think it is a huge break? why did they think that hope hicks was going to sing like a bird? before that she worked for ivanka trump. she traveled with president trump and she's currently employed by 21st century fox where she works for rupert murdoch's son who oversees fox news, president trump's choice media organization whose podcast hosted by laura ingraham i

what joe biden said about james eastland and tal mj, who were segregationist democrats. bipartisanship. he wasn't talking about bipartisanship because they were also democrats. at the time right-wing conservative democrats. but what he said resonated so differently with older people we spoke with here, white or black. and when you think about it six in ten democratic prime voters were black. and older black voters view those through a different lens. i just had a guy come up and explain why he likes joe biden and probably in his early 40s, midsgifrts. he said this is the way it is. if you want to get something done, you have to work with people like eastland and that's the way it work withes. and biden is from that generation soy you have a lot of older black voters saying it shouldn't be something you judge biden by. when you talk with younger voters what we found, what i found is they're for kamala harris or cory booker or elizabeth warren. there's a few yang gang people here. but someone other than biden. so heavily generational. and biden is benefitting from the fact