Summary
RPTS: DHS warns of possible violence ahead of D.C. rally. FDA panel to vote on COVID vaccine boosters. Lawsuit challenge school vaccine mandates. National guard deployed to aid hospitals. Hospitals face shortages as COVID spikes.
Transcript
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: That is tonight`s Last Word. The 11th Hour with Brian Williams starts now.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, MSNBC HOST: Well, good evening once again. Day 240 of the Biden administration. And tonight, there is alarming new reporting about that rally plan for this coming Saturday at the U.S. Capitol in support of those original rioters and insurrectionists, who sacked the building on January 6.
While the breaking news tonight it`s a report that the gathering and potential mayhem could start early as in tomorrow. CNN reporting tonight that this warning came in the form of an unclassified intelligence briefing that was shared with state and local authorities.
Memo also reportedly warned of this potential for violence as early as tomorrow and says, "in early September social media users discuss storming the U.S. Capitol on the night before the rally, and one user commented on kidnapping unidentified member of Congress. While they might be disappointed to learn that Congress being Congress is not in session tomorrow or over the weekend.
The warning is also said they mention the potential for lone wolf attacks in the days ahead. Those were in law enforcement, of course. Capitol is now being protected with a seven-foot-high fence. Tonight, a similar barrier has been installed around the Supreme Court building nearby. The entire area as well as the city itself has been flooded with law enforcement, as you might imagine. Earlier today how Speaker Pelosi and Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger talked about security preparations at the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Everybody will be ready, more ready for them.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I`m pretty confident, we won`t see a repeat of occupying the Capitol. I`m not confident we won`t see violence. I am confident that law enforcement is more prepared. But I think it`s ironic that, you know, the rallying cry as justice for January 6 I think justice January 6 would have been impeachment and removal of Donald Trump. I think it`s time we stop as a party or any leaders accepting that somehow these ideas of Oath Keepers which is basically a militia that wants to overthrow the government, that that`s OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Now, we mentioned this last night the organizer of this Saturday rally as a former Trump campaign staffer named Matt Braynard. He claims those prosecuted for the insurrection are essentially political prisoners who are being mistreated. There is no evidence to back that up, but the former president today issued a statement on brand echoing that view and egging on the effort it reads in part, "Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6 protests concerning the rigged presidential election." Of course, that contains a lie. There was no rigged presidential election.
Saturday`s rally in D.C. may not be the only one, several others expected this weekend and next Saturday for good measure all around our country. Today, we also learned the House Committee that is investigating 1/6 has asked the Pentagon for a slew of documents related to security planning ahead of the riot. House members are also seeking any records related to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley`s actions on that day following the reports documented in this new book. That`s a Milly assured China that Trump would not authorize a strike against them.
Tonight, we`re also on the eve of what could be a major recommendation concerning vaccine booster shots. And FDA advisory panel expected to vote tomorrow on Pfizer booster shots for the fully vaccinated. Panel is meeting days ahead of the White House planned rollout of the shots, which was to begin September 20. That would be next Monday.
Pfizer says its research found boosters are needed six months after the second dose when protection from infection begins to wane. There`s been a whole lot of debate, however, among health officials about these third shots, even though many Americans have gone ahead and gotten their third shot. Today the White House said it will go along with whatever guidelines are set tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We respect a range of viewpoints, but we really rely on the people who are leading our health and medical agencies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever those advisory committees recommend, you guys will follow their recommendation, right?
PSAKI: Yeah. Yes, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Remembering the goal was to get us to 70 or 80 percent vaccinated right now just over 54 percent of all Americans are considered fully vaccinated. And there is new and sobering news out of Florida. It`s a milestone not the good guide that states pandemic deaths all reached and exceeded 50,000 souls today, 50,000 in just Florida alone after officials reported another 1554 new deaths today alone in that state.
[23:05:03]
Finally, we have an update on the President`s efforts to convince a fellow Democrat, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to get on board with his sweeping budget plan. The two men met at the White House yesterday.
Tonight, Axios is reporting the president failed to convince Manchin to agree to spending the $3.5 trillion in his budget proposal and so it goes.
And with that, we bring in our starting line on this Thursday night, Shannon Pettypiece, Veteran Journalist, our Senior White House Correspondent at NBC News Digital, Clint Watts, West Point Graduate, Army Veteran, former FBI Special Agent, a distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and Dr. Irwin Redlener, back with us as well, founding Director of Columbia`s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, he advises us on public health. He`s also a professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Good evening, and welcome to you all. And Clint, given the urgency of tonight`s DHS warning, I`d like to begin with you. They try not to cry wolf, as no one needs to remind you. They are also a government agency. So, they`ve got to watch out for their backside with 1/6 in mind. What do you reckon went into a warning like this? And how worried are you about tomorrow or Saturday for that matter?
CLINT WATTS, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Brian, on the same question I`m not particularly worried because you`re seeing all the preventative measures that weren`t in place on January 6 are in place this time around. And they`re doing everything in terms of an intelligence process to forewarn people, putting up those barriers, getting law enforcement out there. There`s not going to be a January 6 on September 18. That being said, for any extremists that were to show up here, or peaceful protesters, they are firmly committed, and they want to make a show. And so, I think that`s what we`ve seen, you know, across the board with the protest movements that they`ve continued to go on. There is some intensity to that. And that really overlaps with vaccines and vaccine mandates at this point. But on the extremist end, many have not yet given up on January 6, and they see the opportunity that September 18 is a way to showcase themselves. So, there`s been spluttering amongst many of these militia groups. There`s chapters all over the country, and they`re not necessarily united.
And for anyone that does show up here, they`re trying to make a show themselves, make a name for themselves, and really trying to advance them on whatever their extremist movement is.
WILLIAMS: Doctor, it is bracing to hear a guy as experienced as Clint mentioning vaccines and vaccines mandates as one of the underpinnings of potential violence again in our country, but there we are, that`s 2021 in a nutshell, I`m curious as to where you think this booster decision will come down tomorrow, and your own opinion on boosters for those who could use them?
DR. IRWIN REDLENER, EXPERT ON PANDEMIC INFLUENZA: Yeah, Brian. So, this has actually become one of the most divisive issues they`ve had internally, in the White House and among the agencies since the pandemic began, who would have expected that. So, we have actually several different points of view about this. And some of it will get resolved when the special Advisory Council meets with the FDA. But here`s the essence of it. There are some people who say it is really important to focus on getting people their first shots before we get to boosters. And second of all, there`s the World Health Organization`s that manding, basically, that the wealthy countries pay attention to the extraordinary needs of many, many countries overseas that do not even have 2 percent of their populations vaccinated.
But in the meantime, there are very serious arguments about is there enough data to support vaccines a third shot? And I think there`s no question that for older people, and people with lots of health risks, frankly, they should be getting a third shot. On the other hand, there are people within the FDA who oppose others in the FDA, who say we`re not ready. We don`t have enough data. Others are saying, well, the Israeli data is very convincing. And so, as the data from the drug companies, drug companies, so this is not yet resolved, Brian, but at the end of the day, we`re going to end up with booster shots for everyone. I think that`s probably a good idea as long as we focus on the most vulnerable first.
WILLIAMS: OK, Shannon, that`s how, this brings you -- brings your beat into the conversation. All of this, the back and forth has brought more incoming fire on the Biden White House for their messaging on things like boosters, having long sense ago for reasons beyond their control, fallen short of the herd immunity goal.
SHANNON PETTYPIECE, NBC NEWS SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, and I think it`s important to put all of this public debate that we are seeing about boosters in a bit of context to that it was back in August that the Biden administration made a very, very unusual move in coming out ahead of the FDA, ahead of the CDC and making a recommendation based on the data that they had seen at that point that not just the elderly, not just high risk people, but that everyone, the general population start getting booster shots eight months after their second dose, beginning the week of September 20.
[23:10:29]
So actually, having the administration put a timeline and a timeframe on when these boosters should go out. That is not the way things are done in the drug approval process in the scientific community. The White House has tried to in a way distanced themselves from that in recent weeks, saying this was not a White House recommendation that this was a recommendation by the country`s top public health officials. But it is worth noting that those top public health officials are political appointees, the head of the FDA, the Surgeon General, these are not the career scientists that typically make these decisions. So, by going about this in such an unusual way, it has just added to the controversy and public debate around an issue that, of course, was going to have some controversy about it. But that`s really spilled into the public domain. And, you know, whether or not the FDA Advisory Committee recommends this, and the FDA staff ends up giving the clearance and the CDC Advisory Committee Several days later goes along with it. You know, we may see boosters come next week as administration and plan, but we may not. And if we don`t, or if we don`t see it recommended for the general population, like the administration officials recommended last month, it is going to be one more instance where this White House essentially set an artificial deadline for themselves like, you know, July 4, having 70 percent of the population vaccinated, or even in foreign policy, Afghanistan, having troops out by September 11, and then August 30, another deadline they have placed on themselves, that they won`t really be meeting.
WILLIAMS: And Clint back over to your expertise as we bounce around among these topics, part of the warning from DHS that got the attention of a lot of people, something you`ve spoken about, and what was in part of your first answer is this splintering, the possibility of state and local groups attracting every and any kind of grievance. We saw what happened without warning at the Michigan State House. And I presume everyone`s going to have eyes on major targets across this country. But again, what a burden on state and local police forces across the country this weekend.
WATTS: And that`s exactly right, Brian, and it extends beyond just this weekend in the state capitals. What you`re seeing is a lot of these militia groups, and that are French splinters, the ones that are more mobilized, more agitated, and oftentimes more violent, are picking their local, state and local officials. They`re picking those buildings. And that really is a tough egg to crack because think of the intelligence you have to gather across the country to do a good assessment of that, state and locals don`t have it. I would also add a couple additional things, if you just look around the country, the school board and clashes that have gone on just in the last month, over both vaccine mandates, mask mandates add into that Afghan refugees and Afghan refugee centers, when we`re looking at the white supremacist space today, that`s what`s been coming up and there was patches essentially, are allegedly handed out in Michigan, that were called for hunting badges, essentially for Afghan refugees.
So, this is going to be a toxic mix as we enter the fall. I think we`re, you know, in a very dangerous point for kind of a forest fire effect, where one attack by any sort of extremists of one type big kickoff, other attacks down the road. And that`s what we`ve seen with the capital, where I think we`ve had now three incidents since January 6 were just lone wolf attackers, people that are even mentally disturbed go there because that is a magnet now for extremism.
WILLIAMS: Shannon, from that sobering note, right quick back to you on politics and the man jokingly called every Democrats favorite Republican in the Senate. This is about Joe Manchin, "Defying a president from his own party face-to-face is the strongest,` This is the Axios reporting, `the strongest indication yet, Manchin is serious about cutting specific programs, limiting the price tag of any potential bill to 1.5 trillion. His insistence could blow up the deal for progressives and others. And Shannon I have to believe Manchin is perfectly fine with the position he`s in.
[23:15:10]
PETTYPIECE: Yes and, you know, I will say I talked to an administration official about this meeting. They said there was not an expectation the President was going to change Senator Manchin`s mind with one meeting. He comes to the position he is at with a lot of years of policy positions and politics and his own personal views behind them.
Senator Manchin has been a running theme since really the very early days of this presidency and trying to navigate how to get him on board with various pieces of legislation. There is no shortage of phone calls and attention placed on Joe Manchin. This White House, they are very aware of the position he is in. One thing I have consistently heard from administration officials, though, is that, well, the president engages with Senator Manchin has come to the White House like we saw this week. They rely heavily on his relationship with Senator Schumer too, as the majority leader in the Senate. And a lot of the extent, a lot of the times the White House will say, you know, this is an issue for Schumer to sort out with the Senate and his members and president will play a role while he can, but that this is really a family matter and the Senate and they put a lot of faith in Schumer and being able to work out something and likely seen with other bills, it might not look exactly like the White House wants this might not be 3.5 trillion, but there is still some optimism that something is going to get through and that the family will be able to come together and hammer something out that in the coming weeks or months.
WILLIAMS: Irwin, as we remind the audience, your training specifically is as a pediatrician, I read this, that you put out on social media today about vaccines, "enough with challenges, legal and otherwise to mandating vaccines for all school staff. Failure to demand vaccines for all eligible people in school is a major threat to the health of kids and all of us. Testing religious exemption, not OK options." Irwin, your frustration came through today.
REDLENER: Yeah, Brian. You know, really and I said it, you know, enough is enough already. We have a very serious situation with putting, you know, 50 plus million children back in their schools, with lots of people who are not vaccinated. That is a formula for disaster, and a disaster that`s going to directly impact many of our children. And don`t forget, it`s not just children. It`s the children who get infected and bring that home to their communities, their families, their grandparents, and so on. I think we have to get on with the business of mandating vaccines for every human adult who walks into a school. And there`s no ifs, ands and buts about it, Brian, this is something we must do as the highest possible priority.
WILLIAMS: With great thanks to Shannon Pettypiece, Clint Watts, Irwin Redlener, our starting line on this Thursday night, thank you all for starting off our broadcast.
Coming up for us, this weekend`s pro-rioter rally in D.C. is actually forcing Republicans in one way to take sides and some are decidedly pro rioter. James Carville, Mark McKinnon standing by to talk about it and more.
And later, the COVID surge has one state declaring a hospital crisis. We get vital perspective tonight from the medical frontlines. All of it as the 11th Hour is just getting underway on this Thursday night.
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[23:22:13]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE WILL, THE WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: Most America, Republican officeholders are terrified of a good portion of their voters. They`re afraid that any sulfuric belt from Mar-a-Lago by tweet consent them into private life. If you`re frightened of your voters, you don`t much like your voters and if you don`t like them, you don`t respect them. And sooner or later this gets communicated between the leaders and the voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: George Will bringing it on this network earlier today describing the fight for control right now between Republican leadership and the far- right wing of the party.
Back with us tonight, two friends of this broadcast James Carville, Veteran Democratic Strategist who rose to fame with the Clinton presidential effort, and co-host of the Politics War Room podcast and Mark McKinnon, former adviser to both George W. Bush and John McCain. He is also among the co-hosts of the Circus on Showtime Sunday night, which we may mention later in this segment with these two gentlemen.
Hey, Mark, I`d like to begin with you with something out of Politico. We have heard shades of this before, but here it is. Then-Attorney General Bill Barr had a "come to Jesus" meeting with former President Donald Trump April 2020, in which Barr dished out political advice to him because he was worried Trump was slated to lose the election. He told him the election was about the suburbs, where he had to do a charm offensive, and that he had to do some repair work among Republicans,` imagine that `and independent voters who liked his policies, but not his personality. They just think you`re an f***ing asshole, Barr told Trump."
So, Mark, what`s the chance that Barr having worked so diligently to sully his reputation in the law? Maybe looking for work as a political analyst.
MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISER TO JOHN MCCAIN & GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, it`s pretty straight talk advice there and, of course, the President didn`t take it. You know, I think about when you lose a presidential election, you usually do an autopsy to figure out how to do things differently the next time around. And this president was one of the only incumbent presidents, three of them in the last century in the first one since 1903s (ph) and 1930s, to lose the presidency and the Senate and the House. And so, what Republicans do is say, hey, let`s double down on that guy. So that`s where the strategy is. And you can see it today in the news like we are today about the Republican congressman from Ohio, Anthony Gonzalez has said last time out he voted for impeachment and Trump`s come after him and it`s very clear that there`s no room for anybody that doesn`t believe in the big lie and believe in Donald Trump.
WILLIAMS: James Carville, Pennsylvania`s Republican state lawmakers approved subpoenas this week for data that includes personal information on voters for an investigation into the 2020 election. And pause to think about this, some of these Republicans, of course, were victorious down ballot on the same ballot they alleged was crooked and robbed Donald Trump of the presidency. Democratic governor is saying they`re trying to undermine democracy. But James, where are the Democrats on this?
[23:25:27]
JAMES CARVILLE, VETERAN DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, they don`t have a majority in the legislature. We don`t have a majority in the Senate and the House. Look at that nonsense is going on in Arizona. And these Republican legislators are doing exactly what Republican voters in Pennsylvania want them to do. That is why they`re doing it. And that is why George Will said what he said that they`re petrified. And if you don`t tow the party line, I mean, this is Stalinism, or something like that. But they`re all mortified because they`re doing exactly what Republican primaries wanted to do, primary voters want them to do. And it`s got them in a terrible vise. And I suspect that if the Democrats would build a strong Senate candidate, we could do pretty well in Pennsylvania in 2022.
WILLIAMS: I should point out to our audience, George Will will be among our guests on this broadcast tomorrow night as we close out the week.
Hey, Mark, we had Stuart Stevens on last night, and I`ll paraphrase him, but he became the latest guest of ours to say, we shouldn`t talk about any more than one wing of the Republican Party. We shouldn`t pretend that the Republican Party is anything but all about this personal vehicle and in thrall to Donald Trump, do you agree or disagree?
MCKINNON: I agree. I mean, I think the party has clawed its way to the bottom, kissing the boot heels of Donald Trump. And I think the only opportunity for it to win the presidency anytime in the near future was abandoned. In mid-January, I mean, we saw Mitch McConnell begin to take a shot and quickly reel that in, as did Nikki Haley and anybody else that tried to separate themselves from Donald Trump. So, like I said, I think the only opportunity to rehabilitate was to disavow Trump and kind of build from that. But it`s obvious that Donald Trump will be around for at least the midterms and maybe into the next presidential election as a candidate himself.
WILLIAMS: James, you issued that very tough report card on your own party and you were widely applauded by the majority of the folks who were in touch with you afterwards for doing it as part of that now famous interview you gave, how do you grade the National Democrats as we like to call them and all the things you were critical of, from policy to vocabulary and wokeness on a daily basis?
CARVILLE: Yeah, my problem was much more what language than it was with policy, but I think since that has happened, if you look at California, if you look at the primaries in Virginia, if you look at the New York mayoral race, if you look at the special election in Louisiana second congressional district, I think the party has sort of stepped out of bullish language or to start engaging and defund the policing you see. And I`m glad I did it. I think it`s produced a favorable result. And make one more point here, we`re forgetting about this January the sixth commission and we`re forgetting about the Manhattan DA. I don`t know what`s going to happen, but these could be two very explosive events between now and the midterms.
WILLIAMS: Both good points, points taken. Both of these gentlemen have agreed to stand by, we`re going to fit in a short break. Coming up when we resume our conversation, James just mentioned the California recall election now that it`s been decided where do we turn our attention to next? That photo right there may include a hint.
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[23:32:45]
WILLIAMS: Virginia`s gubernatorial election is the next race being closely watched, as we like to say, to be honest, because we love declaring our race as the next bellwether for the next election and there`s always a next election. Tonight, the former governor was running again the Democrat Terry McAuliffe, faced off against his Trump endorsed Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin, in the first of two debates ahead of the November 2 election.
Still with us are our friends James Carville and Mark McKinnon. James, you know, the political situation in Virginia very well. I will ask you where you put this race and ask you further. What are, if any, the National lessons for Democrats from California?
CARVILLE: Well, the real implications is I don`t think as of now, we`re not looking at a 2010, 2014 kind of year, I mean the turnout, the analysts are going to it but that`s what both of Democrats are really scared of, is that we have a distorted turnout model. There`s not much evidence that that`s happening so far. We will find out a lot in Virginia come November in, you know, it`s critical because it`s very rare that the President just won the White House and wins to blue Virginia governorship has always won years later. So, it`s going to be an important tale, if the poker players say it. But Terry`s been there before and, you know, Youngkin got a lot of money in it, you know, pretty good test of going into 2022. If the Democrats lose that, it will be a horrible night for the Democratic Party. That`s the short term, total something but not a lot.
WILLIAMS: Mark McKinnon, I am never above promoting a good book or television show and the Circus on Showtime is among the latter category. On Sunday night`s edition it is my understanding, you have an interview with the Republican governor of the state of Arkansas, we have a clip for our audience. This is about leadership in his office. But more than that, during a pandemic in a ruby red state. We`ll discuss on the other side.
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GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): You`ve got to have 15 percent that is just hardcore, not going to listen angry, but you`ve got a large number of others that when you talk common sense to them, they understand it and they get it. And to me, that`s leadership and you just can`t give in to just because somebody is loud and angry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:35:21]
WILLIAMS: OK, Mark, so we didn`t see you in the room there, two minutes to pick number, one as a frequent and loyal viewer of the show, you guys eat and drink way too much, and it`s generally way too fancy. That`s point number one. Point number two, about that man, about Governor Hutchinson, I think a review of the record will show he`s been pretty much all over the place on this pandemic, which has been a tricky business for him. We all know politically about the state of Arkansas, what say you?
MCKINNON: Well, that was my colleague, Jennifer Palmieri, one of our co- hosts who does a great job for us. The complete clip you`ll see, Brian, really gets to a larger point, we`re really talking about the vaccine mandates as the theme for this week. And Hutchinson has like some a couple other Republican governors like Ivey as well in Mississippi, where they felt like they were starting to do a persuasive job and then they feel like the vax mandate from Biden as only heightened the partisanship and rejection of the of the mandate. But so that`s the point of that scene. But it`s clear that I talked to people of business leaders from across Canada came to the White House, that I think it`s going to work. I mean, I think I had some initial skepticism about it. But for example, Tyson Foods in Arkansas, you know, put in a mandate, they went from something like, you know, 30 percent vaccinated to like 70 percent vaccinated so they know what works. And the business leaders are saying, listen, I wanted to do a vaccine mandate but because of competitive reasons, they were afraid of losing workers to other competitive businesses. So, I listen I think it was a, you know, Biden was kind of a break glass mold for Brian, they knew that they were to get strong pushback from Republicans, they have Hutchinson, and those others are kind of stiff in their spines. But I think we`re going to see ultimately over time is, A, something they had to do, and B is something that`s going to work.
WILLIAMS: Well put. We will look for the interview and Jen Palmieri on Sunday night`s broadcast, our audience joins me I know in thinking these two friends of our broadcast, James Carville, aka owner of perhaps the best kitchen ceiling in the American South, and Mark McKinnon, joining us tonight from Raymour & Flanigan showroom. Gentlemen, thanks, we`ll do it again.
Coming up for us, six months ago, protests in Idaho were burning masks. Tonight, the hospitals in Idaho are in crisis, as the entire state is running out of available hospital beds. We have our doctor standing by to talk with us, next.
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[23:41:21]
WILLIAMS: The rationing of healthcare is now a stark reality in the state of Idaho. Hospital resources are now stretched so thin, beds are so hard to find. The Idaho Department of Health and Wellness today declared a statewide crisis. According to the CEO of the Idaho Hospital Association, Brian Whitlock, "It really is a minute-by-minute assessment of where beds are open and hospitals saying we don`t know where we`re going to put the next one." Since Idaho is not alone, National Guard and Reserve units are being deployed to help restore basic health care in some places.
Back with us tonight with that in mind is one of those members and our friend Dr. Vin Gupta, Critical Care Pulmonologist in Seattle who specializes in illnesses like COVID. He`s also on the faculty at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Importantly, tonight, he`s on assignment for the Air Force Reserve in southern Ohio as part of the Air Force Critical Care Air Transport team. Doc, thank you for being with us on first tell us about your mission.
DR. VIN GUPTA, MSNBC MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Brian, good evening, good to see you. Critical Care Air Transport CCAT, for short, Brian, is in my view, I`m biased, but I think it`s the tip of the spear for Military Medical capabilities. Think of it as us being able to do mobile medical ICU at 30,000 feet and SC-130, I think we actually have for your viewers a picture of what that looks like if we can show that, it is incredible what the modern military can do in terms of transporting critically ill patients COVID or otherwise, from point A to point B.
And, Brian, quickly say the mission has changed. Previously, this was trying to send, take back soldiers from downrange onto Landstuhl in Germany or to Walter Reed or BAMC in San Antonio. Now we`re talking about respiratory pandemics. So that`s why we`re here, we`re trying to adapt to a changing mission threat environment and making sure we can deploy these resources effectively.
WILLIAMS: So, is part of what you`re saying that when a state like Idaho, when a state like Florida or Mississippi runs out of beds, when critically ill patients have to go to an open ICU bed, that we may use the lift capacity of the U.S. Air Force to do that?
GUPTA: Absolutely. And here`s the idea here in the Pacific Northwest, I`m back in Ohio right now, but in the Pacific Northwest that there are five states connected across and trying to share really scarce resources. So, it`s important to be able to transport patients from point A to point B. From Boise to Seattle or from Boise to Spokane, to get them on advanced lifesaving therapy. So, transport is important. Military can do that better than any other organization, C-130, C-17. However, I`m -- we also have advanced military capabilities guard reserve ICU providers that can actually help staff a field ICU so we can be deployed in multiple different ways, Brian.
WILLIAMS: Let`s talk about boosters. We had our mutual friend and your fellow Airmen Dr. Stephen Sample on last night from Indiana, if you can swing by and get him, he`s quarantined in his basement and climbing the walls because he tested positive for COVID. He assumes from an unvaccinated patient in his hospital. All of you guys and by that, I mean medical professionals got the shot early, which means your six-month window has come to an end in some cases long ago, and I assume you`re an advocate of boosters, whatever they do to sort out the federal policy?
[23:45:14]
GUPTA: Well, of course, Brian, but I mean more than anything, I want to see this pandemic end in the quickest way possible, which is why I think the data is incontrovertible from the FDA and the leading vaccine scientists that looked at over 25 different studies across countries. And basically, the end result was that if you`re high risk 65 and older, or with a high- risk medical condition, Brian, you should get a booster shot. That`s not controversial. We all are aligned on that. But if you`re like me in my late 30s, otherwise, I feel pretty darn healthy. Got two shots of Pfizer back in December. I don`t think there`s data to justify necessarily giving me a shot right away. Well, I need a shot down the road. Sure. But let`s wait and see.
WILLIAMS: This may be an impossible task but give us 60 seconds on what we should all know about monoclonal antibodies.
GUPTA: Monoclonal antibodies, Brian, are not a substitute for vaccination. But for individuals, any of your viewers out there that are watching that our high risk, 65 and older, immunocompromised medical condition, if you`re fully vaccinated and still get exposed, you can talk to your medical provider potentially get access to monoclonal antibodies, subcutaneous formulations. Now we can just inject them like insulin, you don`t need an IV and they`re used for post exposure prophylaxis, meaning you just get exposed in your high risk. You can qualify for therapy. We need state and local governments to message on this to make access easier. Frankly, I don`t think we need a prescription for it. We shouldn`t allow individuals to self-select, so barriers go away.
WILLIAMS: Dr. Vin Gupta, we wish you safe flying and when we say thank you for your service, especially in this quadrant of your life away from your home ER we truly mean it. Dr. Vin Gupta has been our guest again tonight from Ohio, where he`s on assignment with the Air National Guard.
Coming up, tonight there are a record number of people not currently on our planet. Luckily, we know where they all are.
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WILLIAMS: Last night, just after eight o`clock Eastern Time, we set a new record for the first time in human history, 14 earthlings are not with us here on Earth. They are instead in space, seven of them on the International Space Station, three of them on China`s new space station, and the newest four are aboard that SpaceX mission. They`ve now been orbiting Earth for nearly 28 hours. That`s at least 18 round trips so far. Tonight, we have a look at day one for the SpaceX crew and how they have likely launched a new era. Our report from Correspondent Kerry Sanders at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
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KERRY SANDERS, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 357 miles above Planet Earth tonight for everyday Americans in process of proving that space travel for the rest of us is possible.
The Wednesday liftoff was flawless. The Falcon 9 rockets separated at two minutes 40 seconds. The booster then kicked in propelling the Dragon capsule into orbit. Watching it all from Florida, eight-year-old Slater Bushman, a pediatric cancer patient at St. Jude just as St. Jude physician assistant, and now astronaut Haley Arceneaux was when she was 10.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In going through we needed some folks to cling on to and seeing Haley shoot out into space like that. Oh, my God, that`s not a symbol of hope.
SANDERS: In mankind`s history, only about 600 people have gone to space but never in all civilian crew.
RON GARAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I think those guys last night kick the door open to orbital commercial spaceflight.
SANDERS: There may be a commercial space race with Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin who both recently went suborbital. But the achievement here celebrated by all. Tonight, the crew in weightlessness has already started to gather scientific data that it`s hoped will aid future space travelers, unlikely extraordinary human specimens that are NASA astronauts, the inspiration for are average Americans. How does space travel affect their hearts? How is their blood impacted by radiation? Are their cognitive abilities impaired? Their laundry list of work will occupy a significant portion of their three-day mission.
(On camera): SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that he`s spoken to the crew and they`re all OK, splashdown is scheduled for Saturday.
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WILLIAMS: And our thanks to Kerry Sanders for that report from Florida tonight. Coming up for us, we watch Newsmax so you won`t have to, and after the break indeed we will play for you some of the treasures they`ve had to offer recently.
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WILLIAMS: Last thing before we go tonight, a day in the life of Newsmax, the cable channel for those who think Fox News is too leftist. First, there was this guest appearance by Madison root in`-toot in` Cawthorn, the North Carolina congressman last seen beating up on a tree. He shared a curious opinion on Newsmax that promptly went unchallenged.
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REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): This is a medical apartheid, plain and simple. There`s over 100 million Americans who are not vaccinated. I think it`s even more than that. And when they want to start shutting down for air travel for these people to get around the country, I think is actually a constitutional violation because you actually have a constitutionally protected right to free unrestricted travel within the United States of America.
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WILLIAMS: Perhaps you`re wondering, as we did, who`s going to tell them, we checked the constitution no mention that we could find of airlines increased leg room tray tables, carryon bags, peanuts, none of it. Retired General Michael Hayden reacted this way, "I don`t think so. He`s in Congress? We have to go to school. 10th grade maybe."
But wait, as they say there`s more. Same anchor guys, same network, this time, the guest was an Afghanistan veteran who was talking about the huge effort to airlift friendlies out of Afghanistan. But the segment ended faster than our withdrawal from Kabul.
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GRANT STINCHFIELD, NEWSMAX HOST: I can tell you, this didn`t happen under President Trump. And I know there`s a lot of people on the left that want to try to blame President Trump. He wanted out of Afghanistan real bad. He was real frustrated not being able to get out. But he didn`t pull out because he knew this would happen. In fact, we all did. I called it on this program. My 12-year-old son knew about it. And so, I`ve got Americans there that are stuck. To me, that`s a hostage situation. But, Joe, I appreciate working to get them out. I really do and I wish you all --
JOE SABOE, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: With due respect Grant, I mean like veterans - - you know, I being one, right? And our friends are over there, we follow this closely for multiple administrations and we know the Trump administration`s efforts here were fairly weak. They were trying to limit the number of people that would get out and so there were coordination problems for a long time.
STINCHFIELD: Joe, I`m already weak, I`m already low on time, Joe. Cut him off please, cut him off now, cut him off now. You`re not going to blame this on President Trump on my show.
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WILLIAMS: That escalated quickly. So that`s Newsmax and please seriously spare a thought for the challenge they face every business day having to program an entire network for just one single viewer. That is our broadcast for this Thursday night, with our thanks for being here with us. On behalf of all our colleagues at the networks of NBC News, good night.