Summary:
Senate is ruling scraps minimum wage hike from COVID bill. President Joe Biden looks to governors for COVID aid support. Biden is heading to Texas to survey storm damage. Biden orders strikes on Iran-backed militia sites in Syria. FDA panel considers J&J vaccine approval tomorrow. Trump expected to steal CPAC spotlight from 2024 GOP hopefuls. Manhattan`s district attorney has obtained former president Donald Trump`s tax returns after a years-long legal battle. Marjorie Taylor Greene posts anti- transgender sign across hall from lawmaker with transgender child.
Transcript:
BRIAN WILLIAMS, MSNBC HOST: Well, good evening once again, it is indeed good to be with you. Day 37 of the Biden administration and tonight the breaking news we are covering concerns President Biden`s first military action as president. He tonight ordered U.S. forces to carry out airstrikes in eastern Syria targeting infrastructure used by Iranian backed militia groups. The Pentagon says the action was in response to several recent and troubling rocket attacks against American and coalition forces in Iraq. Not long ago, the new Secretary of Defense Retired General Lloyd Austin brief reporters on the airstrikes.
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GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. ARMY (RET.) DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: We`re confident that that target was being used for the same Shia militia that conducted the strikes. We allow and encourage the Iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence and that was very helpful to us and refine it and target it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did the president authorize the strikes? Were you on the phone with him?
AUSTIN: It was today, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was today. Was it this morning?
AUSTIN: This morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: These strikes come a week after the White House signaled its willingness to renew talks on a nuclear deal that President Trump shelved. Our NBC News colleague Richard Engel, says tonight`s military response while targeted on Syrian soil was indeed intended to send a deliberate message to Iran.
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RICHARD ENGEL, NBC NEWS CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: In this case, it is a message that President Biden and the Pentagon are sending directly to Iran. Even though President Biden wants to negotiate with Iran, he is sending a message that that negotiation does not mean that it is open season for U.S. personnel in the Middle East. I see this as the -- absolutely the stick in the carrot and stick process of diplomacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Of course, amid all this, the President is also trying to convince Congress to pass his almost $2 trillion COVID relief bill, which the House is set to vote on tomorrow. Tonight, the Senate parliamentarian said Biden`s proposed $15 an hour minimum wage increase cannot be included in this bill. It`s a decision that affects millions of Americans who are working right now in minimum wage jobs.
Tonight, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House measure being voted on tomorrow will indeed include that $15 minimum wage, which just means it will need to be stripped out of the bill when it goes over to the Senate side. President Biden spent part of his day meeting with the nation`s governors virtually trying to build support for the bill. But despite public support for it, Republican Senate opposition to the measure seems to be holding together.
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SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): This isn`t a Coronavirus bill. This is a left of Lenin Neo socialist wish list. I mean, it just is, it is chock full of spending porn.
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WILLIAMS: The Senate Majority Leader offered this in response.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): To the left of Lenin, money for schools, vaccines, direct checks to struggling American families checks that nearly every member of the Senate supported just a few months ago, now it`s to the left of Lenin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: There was one more bit of surprising news tonight a breathtaking about face from Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader. In an interview on Fox News this evening, McConnell was asked about his party`s future. His response seemed in direct conflict to what he was saying just 12 days ago.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It was a lot that happened between now and 24. I`ve got at least four members that I think are planning on running for president plus some focus on governors and others. It has no income but should be a wide-open race and fun for you all to cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the President was the party`s nominee, which you support him?
MCCONNELL: The nominee of the party? Absolutely. There`s no question, done. President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president. A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him.
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WILLIAMS: What a difference 12 days makes McConnell`s continued support comes just as Trump is about to reemerge on to the political stage following his departure from the White House, and as long as we`re keeping score his second impeachment, this time for incitement to insurrection. He is still expected to give a speech Sunday at the conservative convention that`s getting underway tomorrow in Orlando. Tomorrow, the current President and First Lady are heading to Texas. The White House says President Biden will spend the day surveying storm damage in that state, part of it with the state`s governor Greg Abbott.
It`s a lot, with that, let`s bring in our leadoff guests on this Thursday night, Jonathan Lemire, White House Reporter for The Associated Press. We also welcome to the broadcast, Courtney Subramanian, White House Correspondent for USA Today. Also, back with us General Barry McCaffrey, decorated combat veteran of Vietnam, former Battlefield Commander in the Persian Gulf, former cabinet member, member of the National Security Council, he retired as a four star general in the U.S. Army.
And, General, that`s exactly why we`re going to begin with you tonight and your assessment of what we know about this military strike. It was a bit of a bank shot diplomatically, if not militarily for us, we decided we could not hit Iran proper or targets there by adding a crater to the already pockmarked countryside of Syria. We were able to hit Iranian targets just the same, correct?
GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): That`s a quite an example. Yeah, not only you would not hit the brand, we also didn`t carry out a strike in Iraq, in the proximate cause of our concern were three rocket attacks. First up in air go (ph), which killed a U.S. contract and wounded several others. Plus, NATO forces, another one to hit a base just north of Baghdad. And finally, they took on the embassy unfortunately missed. So, look, we got a very experienced team, Secretary Lloyd often spent half his life in the Middle East. Tony Blinken, a very experienced, sober minded diplomat, who had already started the engagement with the Iranians. And Jake Sullivan, National Security Council advisor is also a very experienced in.
So, I think it was a modulated. My understanding it was 7,500-pound bombs, and sort of a very limited target set right on the Syrian border. But a good signal the Iranians, they`re under severe economic sanctions. They got to get out of it. They need to negotiate. They`ve been playing with us. This was a good move.
WILLIAMS: And Jonathan Lemire on your beat just to right size your expectations and the tradition of what we were used to prior to the last four years, no advanced warning, no tough talk, no talk of people dying like dogs in the field. This might suppress, might it not Republican talk that Joe Biden was perhaps going to be weak on Iran?
JONATHAN LEMIRE, ASSOCIATED PRESS WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Brian. We also didn`t get a tweet comparing the size of his button, which of course Donald Trump did with Kim Jong-un when it talks about his missile arsenal. Yes, I think that`s right. This is of course, it`s a big moment for any president. This is his first time ordering a military intervention, ordering an airstrike. This first moment truly is commander-in-chief for President Biden. And it`s one of course he does not take lightly. He was vice president for eight years. He was firsthand right there feet away from President Obama when he made similar decisions. He also, of course, had decades in the Senate is fully aware of the gravity of these decisions. And of course, let`s not ever forget that his son Beau Biden, did serve as well in the military. And I`ve been there with President Biden, even just a little first week in office, talking about the sacred responsibility he has.
And I think you`re right, this will certainly allay, at least for now, Republican concerns about where Biden`s approach might be to the Middle East, his administration on the whole seemed more inclined to pivot towards China than perhaps -- than what we have seen in the Middle East. But he`s also of course, not willing to pull out troops not entirely from Afghanistan, and this is a message to Iran as the nuclear contract at that pact, its future remains in doubt. The United States is not going to tolerate what we saw acts of aggression that would injure U.S. personnel.
WILLIAMS: Courtney Subramanian, we`re delighted to have you, in the meantime, covering the White House Biden is behind on cabinet nominations. Of course, as is immediately pointed out, he did not have the luxury or benefit of a proper transition. And it looks like they may be headed for their first big defeat if the vote on near attendant goes down for OMB, what other job might they have in the works for her?
COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN, USA TODAY WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, the White House is still standing firm on Neera Tanden. I`ve talked to people in the White House and people behind her confirmation and they`re continuing press that she`s continuing to speak to senators. They`ve circulated material on her resume and, you know, including policy achievements around education and criminal justice reform, as well as budget and tax. So, they`re still marching forward with her nomination. But if she`s not able to get confirmed, they could stick her in a role where she might not need confirmation through the Senate. And she could still have an opportunity to shape some of the policy and serve the president and an advisory role.
WILLIAMS: Jonathan Lemire, back over to your big blow to a lot of Democrats across the country tonight to learn of the nonpartisan parliamentarian in the Senate, kicking out the minimum wage part of this huge bill. How big a blow is it to the Biden White House when they got that news?
LEMIRE: The word parliamentarian is not one we use enough, Brian. Here in this country, it comes as a disappointment to the Biden White House, we got a statement from press secretary, Jen Psaki`s, a short time ago suggesting that yes, the White House was dismayed about this decision, but would not choose to fight it. That fact President Biden foreshadowed this just a few days ago, where he was asked about it and suggests that he wasn`t sure that the parliamentarian would allow the minimum wage portion to be part of this bill. And of course, very few know the Senate like he does being there for more than three decades. It`s a blow to the debts of the White House, for sure. Also, progressives across the party who we`re counting on this and want this to be part of this package. It does alleviate concerns from some Republicans who felt like that minimum wage shouldn`t be a part of this deal whether that changes any of their minds whether they now want to vote for perhaps this bill, if it does not end up including the minimum wages finished product, we know that Speaker Pelosi still is going to include it in the House, when they vote on it tomorrow. That remains to be seen. The Democrats in the White House are clearly willing to go it alone, as much as they`d like bipartisan support, they know they can do this through reconciliation, they can pass it. This is something that they want to get done as soon as possible and the clock is ticking. The deadline they`ve given themselves is the middle of March. That`s when a lot of these unemployment benefits expire. And they want -- they ideally want this minimum wage portion to be end, even if not, they`re going to forge forward. They know the country needs this as soon as possible.
WILLIAMS: And Courtney help us to do some of these additional cabinet housekeeping details. They got Granholm for energy still outstanding the votes correct me if I`m wrong for Garland, HHS Secretary Designate, Becerra and Haaland at Interior. Are there any -- are you getting any whiffs that any of those votes may go down? Garland appears to have the kind of cushion to pass with quite a margin.
SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, you know, Becerra and Haaland, you know, seem to be in the hot seat this week. There was some pushback among Democrats who thought that, you know, Republicans and Senator Joe Manchin, who is the one Democrat who`s come out against Neera Tanden, and had initially said he wasn`t sure how he was going to vote on Holland, or Becerra. There was some criticism that they were targeting the president`s cabinet picks who are women and people of color. Obviously, Becerra would be the first Latino to run HHS, and Congresswoman Haaland would be the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet. But those two, Becerra and Haaland seem to be back on a smooth track to confirmation this week after their hearings.
Senator Manchin has said that he is willing to vote for Congresswoman Haaland, you know, despite their differences, and so really the person that the White House seems to be most worried about, most vulnerable is Neera Tanden. And has actually reached out to 28 Senate offices since Friday, since Senator Manchin said he wouldn`t vote for her in part of that effort to try and push through her nomination.
WILLIAMS: General McCaffrey, I saved one for you based on something I saw on social media tonight that I`d like to read for you, 30 years ago today by the end of the day to have desert storm ground war. The end was near, U.S. forces captured 20,000 Iraqi prisoners and destroyed 270 tanks. Kuwaiti resistance leaders were in control of Kuwait City. Saddam order his troops to withdraw from Kuwait, 30 years ago tonight General, any idea where you were?
MCCAFFREY: I`d be sure remember it very clearly, we had a 30 day air campaign followed by essentially a four day ground campaign that utterly took apart the Iraqi armed forces and the Iraqi Air Force and ended up with peace and regain Kuwait. And we did it not withstanding several 100 killed and wounded with minimal casualties. I thought my division did have a couple of 1000 killed and wounded. We had 8 killed and 36 wounded. So it was an incredible display of professionalism and diplomatic endeavor backing us up that brought a very quick end to a dreadful situation in the Middle East.
WILLIAMS: There`s a picture on your Twitter feed at the very top the header above your name that shows a remarkably young two-star general can`t possibly be you and the sands of the desert, could it?
MCCAFFREY: Well, and that captain next to me in the turret Captain Steph Twitty just retired as a lieutenant general, an incredible soldier. So, a lot of these victory division soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guard, army involved in that operation pulled together by this magnificent genius Schwarzkopf produced a classic military victory that saved lives to include Iraqis.
WILLIAMS: Number of us got to meet and got to know now, General Twitty. I can`t thank our big three enough for tonight. General McCaffrey, thank you for taking a walk back through the sandbox and memory lane as it were, Jonathan Lemire, and again, welcome to Courtney Subramanian for joining us tonight.
Coming up for us, one shot does it but can we get the newest vaccine out there fast enough to beat the oncoming variants? One of our top doctors standing by to talk with us, and later the big signs are in place. But how much will this weekend be a super spreading event for the big lie? All the big-name Republicans who tried to overturn the election are on the day us heading to Florida for the weekend for the rest of us. The 11th hour is just getting underway on a Thursday night.
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JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: My goal was to get 100 million COVID vaccine shots in people`s arms in my first 100 days as president. Today I`m here to report we`re halfway there, 50 million shots and just 37 days since I`ve become president.
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WILLIAMS: Million, millions of additional doses are on the way as companies ramp up that supply chain and tonight the FDA announced Pfizer`s vaccine can now be stored at standard freezer temperatures. That`s a big deal instead of those ultra-cold conditions. But coronavirus variants remain an urgent threat right about now despite a drop in cases and a drop in hospitalizations and deaths.
The President had an urgent warning today, this is not a time to relax, that nicely matches the message. Our next guest has been putting out four months.
Back with us again tonight is our friend Dr. Vin Gupta, Critical Care Doctor specializing in exactly these types of illnesses, also an Affiliate Assistant Professor out at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
So Doctor, J&J looks real. It has the benefit of being one shot. Sadly, just 24 doses put it at a number below these other companies, though were quick to point out that would normally mean half of 48 million people`s doses. So that`s 24 million Americans who will get it right off the bat. Do you like it versus the other vaccines? Do you like all of them in light of these approaching variants? And I know something about your answer, because I saw what you tweeted out today, the infected lung versus the clear lung, all the evidence people should need to go get the vaccine regardless of brand?
DR. VIN GUPTA, MSNBC MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, good evening, Brian, it`s good to see you. And secondly, you just answered my question by showing me that image. For all your -- all the viewers out there, and for all your viewers, please share this image with your loved ones and those around you. This is what you need to know. There`s a lot of confusion out there. I get told all the time. Why are we talking percentages when this is the image we need to focus on?
The image -- that lung on the left, that`s the healthy lung. envision that that`s your long if you get the vaccine, despite what`s going on with the pandemic, that`s going to be your lung, you will be clear of any pneumonia, anything that`s happened on the right side, what`s happening on the right side, we don`t want any -- we don`t want that for anybody. But that`s severe pneumonia from COVID-19. That`s pus filling the air sacs of the lungs. And you know what, Brian, all of the vaccines right now that are approved or near approval, J&J included, will protect all of us very well, from that ever happening. So that`s critical that everybody understands that regardless of the variant. So the quicker you get your vaccine, the first one available, the sooner you will be protected from the intensive care unit and from that image on the right.
WILLIAMS: I have to follow up, though, with the scary news of this New York City variant. People are hearing these reports not knowing what to think, though, as you point out, the bottom line remains get the vaccine when it`s your turn, don`t ever turn it down, but what about these individual variants that are popping up?
GUPTA: Well, the New York City variant versus the variant first identified in South Africa, all these variants are certainly worrisome. But you know what, Brian, they just force us to be extra vigilant for the next eight to 12 weeks while we`re awaiting the vaccine. If you`re awaiting the vaccine, all these variants mean is just please avoid unnecessary travel, continue to wear a high-quality mask distance. Don`t do things that you haven`t already been -- that you`ve been avoiding for the last 12 months. Just be vigilant until the mid-summer, or until you get your vaccine and then roll be out of this. That`s all that we`re saying here. These vaccines will prevent you from ending up the intensive care unit. These variants while worrisome, just caught, will force us to be more vigilant and more on top, more keeping all these infection control measures top of mind.
WILLIAMS: Now let`s talk about treatment. Just for the moment, let`s set aside the vaccines for this next question, if I came into your E.R., today, presenting with symptoms, difficulty breathing, low blood oxygen -- you know what I mean? Low blood levels, low oxygen levels in my blood? What would my chances be as an otherwise healthy male versus same thing presenting with the same symptoms a year ago?
GUPTA: Well, let me say this, Brian, and in the case of the individual you just presented, we know how to care for that patient well, if they end up in the ICU, they very well may. We know how to care for that individual, we may put them on their belly, for example were really good at supportive care.
Let me say also to all of you out there that are watching right now, if you`re not that sick, as Brian just pointed out, that individual that Brian described is sick enough to come into the emergency room. If you have mild symptoms, you don`t have a low oxygen level, but you`re coughing, you have some shortness of breath, but you`re safe enough to be at home. If you`ve developed those symptoms within the last 10 days, if you`re older than 65 or you have a pre-existing condition, go to combatCOVID.hhs.gov because you might get access and you might be eligible for a monoclonal antibody therapy.
Brian, you and I talked about this therapy at length back in October when President -- former President Trump received that therapy. The NIH just a few days ago recommended this for just the exact individual I described. There`s great anecdotal data as well, that these therapies might keep you out of the hospital. So for all of you out there, please go to combatCOVID.HHS.gov. We have 3000 deaths right now 70,000 new cases every single day right now, you can see potentially have a whole progression of illness if you get access to this therapy if you meet those criteria.
WILLIAMS: Well, thank you for that. Thank you for all of it. We are so close to a brighter day. It`s just going to take a little more work to get there by all of us, especially people in your line of work. Dr. Vin Gupta, our thanks for taking our questions.
Coming up for us, one of our next guests predicts the former president is about to put an exclamation point on his domination of the party.
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MARK MEADOWS, FMR. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: What we will see on Sunday is we will see the start of planning for the next administration. And I say the people that are at the top of that list all of them have Trump is their last name.
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WILLIAMS: At least eight possible GOP presidential hopefuls are due to speak at the CPAC convention. But as Politico puts it tonight, quote, Trump is the party`s undisputed leader at the moment and for the foreseeable future. His grip on the Republican base and his effect on the minds of White House hopefuls is so total that the path to the GOP nomination is best defined by the degree of loyalty to Trump.
Back with us again tonight, Mark McKinnon, former adviser to both George W. Bush and John McCain. He is now one of the co-host of the Circus on Showtime and we welcome back at long last Jeremy Peters, political reporter for The New York Times he`s recently been hard at work on his forthcoming book "Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party And Got Everything They Ever Wanted."
Fantastic title. Congrats Jeremy when they when the time comes, we`ll have you back on and sell some books.
Mark, first off to you. I understand you are already at CPAC, though not against your will. If we are wrong, blink your eyes in Morse code. We have a rapid intervention team that can come and get you tell us what you are expecting to see. And does this just mean the coronation forgetting for the moment the norm we`re breaking here when ex-presidents used to disappear and be silent for at least six months to give the new president chance to get their footing? Forget that for a minute. Is this the coronation of the former president?
MARK MCKINNON, FMR. ADVISER TO JOHN MCCAIN AND GEORGE W. BUSH: It certainly is Brian and you know, as somebody who walked the bridge to embrace the idea of compassionate conservatism with George W. Bush for whom I work and then John McCain, I was really interested coming down to hear about the ideas for the what is the next edition of the Republican Party. What is the next chapter going to be post Donald Trump? Was not going to post on Trump, we know that it`s going to be with Donald Trump, as the ringleader of the Republican Party fully three quarters of people polled say that they would support a run for presidency in 2024.
But here`s the interesting thing. I expected there was going to be a debate about ideas and a discussion about a republican agenda here. Matt Schlapp was quoted as saying, the idea that we`re going to come up with some kind of conservative platform and CPAC, it brings kind of hollow he said, right now half the country feels cheated by the media coverage of the election. So we`re going to go back and cover the facts.
The most people in the media cancelled. They have seven panels that are going to be discussing the notion of, quote, election fraud. And believe me, I`ve looked at this issue a lot over the years. And the biggest fraud in American politics right now is the notion that there was any widespread or any election fraud really, I mean, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick offered a million dollar award for anybody that could come up with any election fraud and for all I know he hasn`t let go of a penny yet.
WILLIAMS: Mr. Peters, I have this for you a reading from Matt Lewis and he writes, when a political party loses the presidency, it normally casts its eyes toward the future. Make sense? Not so this year. Donald Trump`s speech this coming weekend sends the message that he is the presumptive 2024 nominee. What is weird is that he is being allowed to do it. After all, Mr. Lewis goes on to say, vampires can only enter your house if you invite them in.
So, Jeremy, what does this mean that they`re just not going to, to go with prevailing math and trends and demographics? Does it mean perhaps that. Indeed, they have no other game.
JEREMY PETERS, THE NEW YORK TIMES POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, to continue the metaphor there, Brian, it`s Trump`s house. It wasn`t the Republican Party`s to let him in. In this case, it wasn`t CPAC to let him in. He is the presumptive, actual leader of the Republican Party at this moment and for the foreseeable future.
And, you know, as Mark was saying, his attitude, his presence has so consumed everything that Republicans and conservatives used to stand for, that instead of having a debate over ideas or sessions about various issues at CPAC, like you would ordinarily see, what they`ve done is they`ve turned this into a grievance fest, and are going to relitigate the 2020 election and propagate more false notions of election fraud, and the idea that the election was somehow stolen from President Trump.
And this is not just what`s going to happen at CPAC, Brian. This is what`s going to happen in Republican politics for the next few years. I mean, what I`m hearing from people who are running some of the biggest and best funded conservative organizations out there is that the way they`re raising money, and the way that they are going to pitch themselves to voters, is that they are going to continue this idea that elections are unsafe, and that President Trump was wronged in 2020.
And I think that, in essence, is this Republican Party where the words conservative and Republican no longer mean, what they`ve meant for a generation. They mean, have you pledged your loyalty to Donald Trump?
WILLIAMS: Mr. McKinnon, I`m told we have video from a Bloomberg reporter of the arrival of the Trump dear leader statue in the convention center tonight, appropriately in gold with red, white and blue. We love America shorts.
Mark, if you were worried that Mitch McConnell suffered a blow to the head prior to his criticism of Donald Trump on the Senate floor 12 days ago, just seems like it was 12 years ago. I bet you were reassured when tonight on fox news all of 12 days later, he said if Trump`s the nominee he`s all in.
MCKINNON: Yes, I mean, that`s happened to almost every Republican who stuck their neck out or got or stiffen their spine to have any sort of criticism about the president. Most of them reeled it back in. I mean, Nikki Haley, who was seen as a very perspective, a challenger for 2024 came out with some, you know, fairly, you know, pretty simple criticism of the President. And she is, you know, she`s been castigated and disinvited from seeing Trump or even to CPAC. So that`s happening to everybody.
And I just saw a great quote from an earlier republican Dwight Eisenhower, Brian, and he said, if a political party doesn`t have the determination to advance a cause that is right, and that is moral, then it`s not a political party. It`s a conspiracy to seize power.
And that`s just -- I mean, as Jeremy was saying that that`s it`s all about grievance down. It`s all about this was taken from us, and it`s all about conspiracy to seize power because they they`re promoting that conspiracy. The power was taken away from them.
WILLIAMS: Well put by Mark McKinnon. We`re going to take a break. Both of these gentlemen have agreed to stay with us. We`ll give Jeremy time to get a hat on.
Coming up the urgent reason behind why Capitol Hill remains fenced off tonight looking for all the world like an armed encampment short story get used to it.
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YOGANANDA PITTMAN, ACTING CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF: We know that members of the militia groups that were present on January 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the Capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the State of the Union, which we know that date has not been identified.
So, based on that information, we think that it`s prudent that Capitol Police maintain its enhanced and robust security posture until we address those vulnerabilities going forward.
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WILLIAMS: A clear signal from the Acting Chief of Police in the Capitol that tensions remain high there, that fence around the Capitol is going to remain high as well. They have not put out the date of the State of the Union address.
Let`s just wrap our heads around that for one second because of the active threat by our fellow Americans to blow up the Capitol with the president, vice president and both chambers of Congress, most of the cabinet and Supreme Court inside so we have that going for us.
Still remaining with us are Mark McKinnon and Jeremy Peters and Jeremy, this just puts more attention on your forthcoming book on insurrection.
Let me ask you about legal Jeopardy for the former president. New York just took possession of what`s being described as millions of pages of Trump`s financial documents, his tax returns, and all the attendant documents. Are Republicans betting that he beats the legal rap again, and this is one of several raps he`s looking at post presidency.
PETERS: Well, I think that they know that whatever is in those taxes, which a lot of that has already come out. Thanks for the very diligent reporting of my colleagues. However, what Republicans can`t know is exactly how a grand jury will respond to that. What they can do and what they`ve already been doing, which taking cues from the President, the former president himself is to portray him as a victim.
And anytime he`s ever put up on trial or put subject to investigation, bill murder him, and basically I think that`s what they`re hoping for here is to have his name in the headlines again, where, frankly, it`s reminiscent as one Republican described to me earlier today of the impeachment trial earlier and it overshadows the Biden presidency and instead of talking about Joe Biden and what his administration is doing and accomplishing in your four years as president, we are once again talking about Donald Trump, I think that would very much delight Republicans and the former president himself.
WILLIAMS: Hey, Mark McKinnon. Here`s another friend of this broadcast upstate New York congressman Sean Patrick Maloney on this afternoon with our mutual friend Nicole Wallace, he was talking about his role in what ultimately passed the House today, the Equality Act.
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REP. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (D-NY): I was thinking about my family when I spoke on the floor today when I presided for the second time over the passage of the Equality Act. Two years ago, when we did these eight Republicans supported it. Today, it was three. They`re going the wrong way.
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WILLIAMS: Mark, I`ve said this a million times on this broadcast of the issue of gay marriage was the fastest moving public issue I have witnessed in my lifetime. If the civil rights struggle have moved with that same striking speed, we would be so much better a society today.
Here is the other side of this, since we`re talking about the Equality Act. Marjorie Taylor Greene, putting up a piece of artwork outside her office, in response to her neighbor in Congress, who has a transgender child. So now we have that in the hallway.
So Mark, when we talk about being on the right side of history, when we talk about a Republican Party, perhaps knowingly bucking the math and demographic trends, what do you make of this?
MCKINNON: Well, first of all, you`re right on the gay rights movement and legislation to move Brian. It`s just a phenomenal piece of history and how that hockey sticks so quickly and it`s just it`s amazing to think about the progress that was made so quickly on that issue and progress today with his legislation.
This comes along with news it was reported today Brian that one in six American youth identifies LGBQT. So, identify as gay or lesbian and certainly demand those rights and people recognize that those are their fellow citizens and support them as the Democrats in Congress.
So, I mean, the Republican Party is just it`s just getting into a demographic hole here, because they are they`re pushing away the people who are going to be an increasing majority in this country.
WILLIAMS: Mark McKinnon, we wish you luck over the next couple of days and we`ll be watching the Circus on Showtime. Loved your interview, by the way with the CEO of Ford Motors, as advertised during your last appearance, Jeremy Peters, we so look forward to the release of near your new book. Gentlemen, it`s great to see you great to have you both together.
Coming up for us. By the end of the weekend, Americans could have one more COVID vaccine to choose from the pressures now on, get those shots into arms as quickly as possible. Out run the new variants. We`ll have that report when we come back.
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WILLIAMS: Over 6 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a rise in inoculations and more vaccine supply as we said, Now in the chain. A lot of Americans are still wary. NBC News correspondent Tom Costello has more for us tonight on a campaign to sway those still undecided.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TOM COSTELLO, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a countdown to a third vaccine now down to a matter of hours and all our urgent push to reach underserved communities. Vice President Harris at a pharmacy in southeast DC today.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: And you`re also going out to community administering vaccines there as well.
COSTELLO: While in Massachusetts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Initially I was obviously -- I was apprehensive I mean being African American I was apprehensive.
COSTELLO: National Guard troops are on the COVID front lines.
DR. CHARLES ANDERSON, THE DIMOCK CENTER PRESIDENT AND CEO: It makes so much sense for all of us to make sure that we`re vaccinating people in places where the virus is most active
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the COVID-19 vaccines become available, you might be asking yourself, should I get it?
COSTELLO: Tonight, one of the biggest public education efforts in history is underway in collaboration with the CDC.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The vaccines are safe and effective. They`re going to save lives.
COSTELLO: Tomorrow the FDA is outside advisory panel. We`ll review Johnson & Johnson`s vaccine. Emergency authorization could come by the weekend with 4 million doses shipping almost immediately, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are somewhat more effective at preventing illness. The J&J shot is 100 percent effective at keeping people alive and out of the hospital.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHIET HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER: When you have a company like J&J, that has a very good track record with pharmaceuticals, to have them come in and be in the mix with the other two is nothing but good news.
COSTELLO: J&J`s vaccine requires just one shot can be kept in a normal fridge and appears to be effective against new virus variants. But vaccine executives say Americans should not be choosy.
DR. STEPHEN HOGE, MODERNA PRESIDENT: Take what you can get, we can get it. Any vaccine is better than no vaccine, particularly if it`s been reviewed by the FDA and recommended by the CDC.
COSTELLO (on camera): And you as the president of Moderna are making that very clear.
HOGE: Absolutely without hesitation.
COSTELLO: Also, health officials say there has been an overreaction to the normal lab discussions and in fact, it`s premature they say to suggest that that variant discovered in New York poses any greater risk at all to people. Tom Costello, NBC News at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIAMS: And coming up for us something that didn`t age well from exactly one year ago today.
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WILLIAMS: There she is. Last thing before we go tonight is something that didn`t age well. Here now future White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who promised on day one of her job that she would never lie to the Press Corps, a promise she broke early and often. This is Kayleigh McEnany from exactly one year ago today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This president will always put America First he will always protect American citizens. We will not see diseases like the Coronavirus come here. We will not see terrorism come here and isn`t that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful Presidency of President Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: A couple of notes here first the coronavirus did arrive and thanks only to denialism, mismanagement, malpractice, it has killed well over half a million Americans. Oh and about terrorism coming here. They took the Capitol building on the sixth of January rioters, white supremacist, militia members, cop killers.
And we learned just today as we said the next big concern is thwarting any plans. They may have to blow up the State of the Union address. That`s the next time our entire leadership of our government is due to be in the same place inside that building.
And about her last point there the awful Presidency of Barack Obama, we can all agree to that. What a national embarrassment it was that after two terms in office, there was not one decent, juicy scandal for us to talk about.
On that note that is our broadcast on this Thursday night with our thanks for being here with us. On behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of NBC News, good night.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. END