walter isaacson, great to see you, we miss you here in washington.alk again soon, i hope. >>> ahead for the good of the country, how past presidents have put aside bitter campaign battles welcoming their rivals into the white house. yes, that did happen, it usually does. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. es you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. but we didn't stop there. we made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. no matter what it does, or how it changes. and we kept going. so you only pay for what you use. because at dell technologies, we stop...at nothing. ♪ >>> let's flashback to 1992, the last time an incumbent president lost re-election. back then despite a very rough campaign, the transition process was nothing like what we are seeing today. when george bush walked down to welcome bill clinton to the white house, both men were ready to focus on the future, not the pain of their bitterly fought campaign. they spent twice as much time together as had been planned, including an hour and a half alo

joining us now is one of the vaccine trial participants, walter isaacson.familiar face and name. good to see you. thank you for being here. good morning. what has been your experience for this trial so far? >> it is been great. 44,000 people around the country that have been in it trial and i think another 30,000 in the moderna trial. certainly the johnson & johnson and many ways to participate and be involved in citizen science just like doing jury duty or voting is part of our civic life. and these trials, nobody has been involved in them either on the national level or in new orleans have had any problems. otherwise the trials would have been stopped. so the cool thing is we know that these vaccinations are safe and in the case of pfizer and i suspect moderna, the new type of rna vaccines are going to be game changing. and probably more than 90% of the fact of better than flu shots. >> what was the experience with it yourself. at this point in the game do they tell you whether or not you've had the placebo or something else? >> no, and it is very importa

. - [christiane] our walter isaacson speaks to the only femalethis network news chief,

i will tell you, while i was writing the book, we have walter isaacson here, i went back to a book thatweiwise men a these friends created the world we live in, created the american sen interest i, created the post-war success that we enjoyed. we had -- truman had general george marshall, a man who organized america's victory over hiltler in world war ii. dean atchison was an architect of a u.s. foreign policy that contained and defeated the soviet union. george kennon, dramatic warned of stalin's designs on all of europe and argument that containment was the only way we could protect freedom not only at home but across europe. the ambassador who understood firsthand better than anybody else that evils of stalinism and the need for america to stand up against its former allies' aggression. walter, i want to talk to you about harimann and talk about the great contrast between who harry truman surrounded himself with and, unfortunately, i'll just say it, the idiots, cranks and former golf caddies that donald trump surrounded himself with. truman had harimann as his ambassador of the sovie

policy, but yet, david, truman started talking to arthur vandenberg and talked to republicans as walter isaacsontioned that truman administration would get into their cars late at night and drive over to the chairman of the foreign relations townhouse in washington and they could talk to vandenberg and update him with what had a -- what had been moving on in the day and vandenberg was a bridge between harry truman and the rest of the republican party. and this is a republican party that had been isolationist, had told woodrow wilson just flat out no, we're not going to be engaged in europe and the rest of the world and the league of nations after world war i. but truman, being a creature of the united states senate, like joe biden being a creature of the united states senate, knew that in the words of bismarck that politics was the art of the possible. the art of the attainable. and the art, and i love this, of next best thing. and that is something that joe biden understands as much as anybody in washington, d.c. >> joe, as you explain in your book, truman knew from the start that he had to rea

. >>> let's turn back to the morning's big news out of pfizer cnbc contributor walter isaacson joins now he was a part of the trial as well as dr. peric from nyu's infectious disease unit. welcome to both of you walter, quite a moment here. i take it you still don't know, of course, whether you have the placebo or the actual vaccine. but tell us what's exciting about this type of vaccine and where you think things head from here >> when i was first reading about this vaccine, i've been writing a book about the use of rna in order to edit genes i really lot of notion of what rna can do and this vaccine is an rna vaccine. it takes a rna and goes into the cell and tells the cells protein making section to start making this protein and that's what happens here this mrna in the pfizer-biontech vaccine and also in the moderna vaccine which will be come ago long soon is instructed to make this protein of the coronavirus. so i live in new orleans i just went down to oxnard hospital in new orleans. louisiana, there is a lot of trials going on. and i volunteered for the trial and as they said,

a talk all the time with people because of those six subjects of the book. >> how do you know walter isaacson? professionally or personally? >> personally should my sister is an author and what about queen elizabeth. evan thomas has been here even sally. >> writing several books on the english monarchy and other topics and is well known to the booktv community dience. thank you for calling in. the prosecutor in the 1969 manson murder case in his very famous crime book was helter-skelter. he appeared on our program in 2007 a here is a little bit. >> who done it? lee harvey oswald. absolutely. >> you list at the end of the book the conspiracy all the groups that could possibly be involved and then to conspire to kill president kennedy. >> with these conspiracy theoristvery administration tries to cover up. you cannot believe this it was one contious lie. he had the correct date. the correct victimhe correct city. other than that it wasne continuous lie. and then tightly to the opposition. even kgb ncaa bitter enemies by cap together. so let me summarize for you like i did for a time magazine on

host: how do you know walter isaacson, professionally, personally? caller: personally, my sister is an author as well. host: she wrote about queen elizabeth. caller: yap and the athletic club, i do the nonfiction, sally headquarters has been there. host: sally has written several books on the english monarchy and other topics and is well known to the book tv audience as well, thank you for calling in, the prosecutor in the 1960s the nine manson murder cases in his very famous book crime book was helter-skelter, he appeared on her program in 2007 and here's a little bit. >> whodunit, lee harvey oswald did it. , absolutely. >> you listed at the end of the book the conspiracy people who think it's a conspiracy, you listed all the groups that could possibly be involved saying that the whole world would have to conspire to kill president kennedy. >> if you listen to the conspiracy theorist every presidential administration has been trying to cover up, you cannotno believe all of our for instance, he was one continuous lie, he had the correct date november

. - [christiane] our walter isaacson speaks

and i speak to the vaccine trial volunteer walter isaacson about his experience and why he did it. then -- >> change has could that will to georgia. >> the balan of power in the u.s. senate now rests with the state of georgia. i speak to democratic nominee jon ossoff about this high stakes race. plus -- >> i think it's pretty clear th

and yet he was surrounded by smart people, by the best and the brightest as walter isaacson and evanhomas say the wise men of foreign policy at the time. and it made all the difference in the world. i think joe biden surrounding himself with some pretty smart men and women as well. and so, again, i hate to be overly optimistic, but i'm very positive. i think joe biden can hit the ground running. >> well, then talk about economic peril, right, harry truman facing economic peril here and in europe. talking about post world war ii, we're in a war with this pandemic nine months in, 250,000 people dead, millions of people getting this coronavirus every single week. i mean, it is astounding. then isolationism that we faced back then after world war ii. >> right. >> and the isolationism that we're facing in this country now, it's so incredible the parallels that these two men faced and face. >> there were so many parallels. and as tough as things may be for joe biden right now, you go back to 1947 when harry truman knew that he had to actually save western civilization from joseph stalin an

slight lead there the race still too close to call we'll talk about the latest headlines with walter isaacson, everything we just heard from ian, what is happening with the election, what might happen with stimulus and how you mix it all together i feel like we're forgetting something. let me check. xfinity home gives you peace of mind from anywhere with professionally monitored home security built around you. no, i think we're good. good. so when you're away, you don't have to worry. the tent. we forgot... the tent. except about that. xfinity home. simple. easy. awesome. hey look, i found the tent! get xfinity home with no term contract required. click or call today. >>> welcome back we continue to watch the 2020 election results come into the nbc decision desk. and in the last hour, joe biden taking a slight lead in georgia, but the race still too close to call here is a list of the states that are still to be decided, including pennsylvania that is where we find frank holland this morning he joining us live from philadelphia good morning, frank. >> you know, the race for battleground penns

walter isaacson, author of leonardo da vinci writes, he treats us to some of the most momentous in our history. he reveals the lesser-known leaders and highlights t.r., trueman and lyndon johnson. we learn why america is a brilliant nation and a living document. lessons very powerful for today. now, please welcome me in joining jared cohen. >> thank you all very much for having me. i can't think of a better place to give a talk about this book, i haven't been here in some time. i love the backdrop of all these books here tonight. i think the place that i want to talk about an important context for somebody who spent the last eight years every single day as a technology ceo. before that four years working in foreign policy. some people tell me when i'm writing a book for the past 5.5 years, is it a book about cyber war? no, is it a book about cyber policy? >> no. they say, what is it about? i say, it's about dead presidents. it's confusing to them, it's confusing to anybody unless you grew up with me. so when i was 8-years-old my parents bought me a children's book called, the buck stop

walter isaacson writes this out, jared cohen treats to us colorful and momentous episodes of our history. he reveals the historic importance of some lesser known leaders and highlights the greatness of t.r., truman and lyndon johnson. we learn why america is a resilient nation and our constitution a living document. lessons very powerful for today. now please join me in walking -- welcoming jared cohen. >> thank you all very much for having me. i can't think of a better place to give a talk about this book than this incredible bookstore. when i lived in d.c., it was my absolute favorite miss to be some i love the backdrop of all these books here tonight. the place i want to start is why i wrote this book. because think it's important context for somebody who spent the last eight years every single day as a technology ceo and before that four years working in foreign policy. so people ask me why, when when i tell people i'm writing a book they say is it's book but cyber war? no, foreign policy? no. what's it about? i say, it's about dead presidents. and it's confusing to them. it's confus

walter isaacson, author of leonardo da vinci, among other books, writes jarrett cohen treats us to some of the most colorful and momentous episodes in our history. he reveals the historic importance of some lesser known leaders and highlights the greatness of t.r., truman and lyndon johnson. we learn why america is a resilient nation and our constitution a living document. lessons very powerful for today. please join me in welcoming jared cohen. [applause] >> thank you all very much for having me. i can't think of a better place to talk about this book than this incredible bookstore. when i lived in d.c. it was my absolute favorite place to be and i have not been here in sometime. i just love the backdrop of all of these books here tonight. i think the place that i want to start is why i wrote this book. i think it's really important context for somebody who spent the last eight years every single day as a technology ceo. before that, for years working in foreign policy. so people ask me, when i tell people i'm writing a book, they ask if it's a book about cyber war. no. is it a book ab

yesterday walter isaacson was explaining to us the history behind how his staff members would leave theome. the michigan -- he's the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, and they would update him every night over drinks about what was happening in the white house and then get his input. it was bipartisanship because harry truman knew he had to confront the soviets, and he couldn't do it without an equal partnership with republicans. >> fascinating to me the role that arthur vandenberg played. as you state very, very well in your book, you have got a robert taft republican party for the most part, an isolationist one, skeptical of american engagement in the world that opposed america's entry into world war ii right up until pearl harbor. you have this key relationship between truman and vandenberg that creates this bipartisan support for the truman doctrine, as you state very, very well in your book followed by the marshall plan followed by the creation of nato and in each case getting more bipartisan support as it goes on. here's my question to you. it's a bit of a variation on ri

peter baker and walter isaacson, thank you both. walter, thanks for taking part in the vaccine trials. >>> still ahead on "morning joe," the president takes to twitter to announce the firing of defense secretary mark esper. admiral james will join us. >>> plus, adam smith will join us. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. orning joe." we'll be right back. how about no no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. ithe first full prescriptionis pstrengthn-n-n-no-no non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel... available over the counter. voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement. are you managing ...using fingersticks? with the new freestyle libre 2 system, a continuous glucose monitor, you can check your glucose with a painless, one-second scan. and now with optional alarms, you can choose to be notified if you go too high or too low. and for those who qualify, the freestyle libre 2 system is now covered by medicare. ask your doctor for a pres

that was averill harriman. >> how do you know walter isaacson and evan tom marks professionally, personally? >> permanently because my sister is an author as well. >> britain about queen elizabeth. >> yep. and i've belong the new york athletic club do their nonfiction book events, sally has been there, as has evan thomas. >> that's right. sally individualle smith was written sever books on the english monarch okay and is well northern to the booktv audience. r.b., thank you for calling in. vince boogaloo osi was the prosecutor in the not 169 manson murder cases and his very famous book, crime book, was helter skelter. well, he appeared on our program in 2007 and here is a little built from his interview. >> who done it? >> who done it. >> lee harvey oswald did it. >> perilled. >> absolutely. >> you listed the end of this book, all the conspiracy people who think it's a conspiracy. you list all the groups that could possibly be involved basically saying that the whole world would have had to conspire to kill president kennedy. >> yeah. you listen to conspiracy theorists every presidential ad

favorite nonfiction book, invisibly into the two authors, is the wise men by evan thomas and walter isaacson. now we'll get to the two authors. both these gentlemen and i know each of them a little bit have written a eclectic and interesting books over the years since they wrote the wise men. the wise men i talk about all the time with people because the six subjects of the book had a a huge influence on american foreign policy and only one of them was ever elected to office, and that was harriman. >> host: how do you know walter isaacson and evan thomas professionally, personally? >> caller: personally because my sister is an author as well. >> host: she has written about queen elizabeth. >> caller: yes. i belong to the athletic club. i do the nonfiction book events. south the course has been there as has evan thomas, that's right. sally magill smith has written several books on english monarchy and other topics, and is well known to the booktv audience as well. thank you for calling in. vince was the prosecutor in the 1969 manson murder cases and is very famous book, crime book was helter-

host: how do you know walter isaacson professionally or personally? >> personally because my sister is an author as well. >> he has written about queen elizabeth. >> and at the athletic club i do nonfiction book events sally is there as well as evan thomas teeseventeen that's right written several books on the monarchy and other topics and is well known to the booktv audience as well. thank you for calling in. the prosecutor the 1969 manson murder and the crime book was helter-skelter. >> lee harvey oswald did it. absolutely. host: you list all the conspiracy all caps that could be going on saying the whole world would conspire to kill kennedy. >> i do have these conspiracy theory every administration tries to cover up you cannot believe oliver stone for instance that was one continuous live. he had the correct date, the correct victim in the correct city other than that one continuous live. he came up with ten groups that he thought was involved bitter enemies but they got together on this one and asked me who did it time magazine gave me a page on o

my favorite nonfiction book and this leads into two author us the wise men by evan thomas and walter isaacsone two authors. both -- i know each of them a little bit. has written a eclectic and interesting books over the years since they wrote the wise men. the wise men i talk about all the time with people because the six subjects of the back had a huge influence on american foreign policy and only one of them was ever elected to office, that was averill hairman. >> host: how do you know walter ice sang 6:and evan thomas, professionally, personally. >> caller: personal because because my sayre is smith. >> host: she has written put queen elizabeth. >> caller: yep. and i belong to athletic club do their nonfiction book events, sally has been there as has event thomas. >> host: sally bedell smith has written several books on the english monarchy and other topics and well-moan to the booktv audience as well. rb, thank you for calling in. vince bugliosi was the prosecutor in the 1969 manson murder cases. and his very famous book, crime book, was helter skelter. well, he appeared on our program in

. >>> joining us right now with a personal stake in this fight to find a vaccine walter isaacson. trial and also a professor at tulane university and a cnbc contributor. walter, i had no idea you were in this trial. what happened? when did you get it? what kind of side effects did you get, if anything >> i feel great and i feel great for the country and the world and for pfizer i've been writing a book about molecular biology and i was particularly interested in the rna type vaccines. at the end of july when pfizer was looking for volunteers to be part of the clinical trial, i just went online and signed up and i was in louisiana, which is a place they were signing people up and the next day i got a phone call and went to oxford hospital and it was an interesting process. two doctors and their two female doctors and one looked me right in the eyes and just as the other one was about to jab me with a needle and the doctor said, no, keep looking me in the eyes and i said, why we don't want you to know whether you've gotten the placebo or the real vaccine. we don't want it to affect