CHUCK TODD:
This Sunday: America in crisis. Another night of demonstrations and violence across the country. Protests break out in dozens of cities, sparked by the death of an African American man while in police custody in Minneapolis.
PROTESTER:
Do something about it. Clean up this police department.
PROTESTER:
That could have been my father. That could have been my brother. That could be me.
CHUCK TODD:
Minnesota authorities getting more aggressive to maintain control.
JOHN HARRINGTON:
We're changing our approach because this is intolerable and we are going to stop it.
MAYOR JACOB FREY:
We need justice. We need systemic change. But first we need to save our city.
CHUCK TODD:
President Trump weighs in.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We have our military ready, willing and able if they ever want to call our military.
CHUCK TODD:
We'll have reports from around the country. My guests this morning: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Florida Congresswoman Val Demings. Also, those protests happening in a country already on edge from a virus that has killed more than 100,000 Americans and put more than 40 million Americans out of work. Much of the country is trying to return to some form of normalcy, often ignoring social distancing --
WOMAN:
You see no masks here. You see no fear. We're all just embracing it.
CHUCK TODD:
-- prompting fears of a second wave.
DR. THOMAS DOBBS:
Every community is one wild weekend from falling off the cliff.
CHUCK TODD:
Joining me for insight and analysis are: MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson, María Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino, and former Republican Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina. Welcome to Sunday, and a special edition of Meet the Press.
ANNOUNCER:
From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history. This is a special edition of Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.
CHUCK TODD:
Good Sunday morning. America is waking today to two crises. One so new it's actually called the novel coronavirus, the second, another kind of virus -- institutional racism -- well, that has been with us for 400 years. Overnight, there were protests in dozens of cities across the country, anger erupting over police brutality towards African Americans. Most demonstrations were peaceful, with few incidents, others had moments of confrontation and yes, some violence. A look around the country: from Washington D.C, to Chicago, to New York, to where it all started, Minneapolis. This, of course comes after a black man, George Floyd, was killed in police custody when a Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck until he was dead. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All this while the country was tallying the losses from the coronavirus. We have now lost more than 104,000 American lives to the virus, and we have lost more than 40 million jobs, as well. In both of those cases, African Americans have been particularly victimized, and in both cases President Trump has failed to respond in a manner we've come to expect from previous presidents. On Minneapolis, his first reaction was not to try to glue the country together but to seek opportunities to exploit the racial divide perhaps for his own political gain. He initially tweeted "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," though he later tried to walk that back. On the virus, the president seems more interested in changing the subject than in addressing it tweeting instead about mail-in balloting, Barack Obama, Russia, China, my colleague Joe Scarborough, the media, the stock market and Twitter itself. So we are following two hugely consequential and historic stories, and we start with the nationwide protests. We have correspondents all across this country. We’re going to begin with Shaquille Brewster who's reporting from Minneapolis, where things were much quieter last night. Shaq what do you got?
SHAQUILLE BREWSTER:
Good morning, Chuck. For the first time in four days, Minneapolis residents are waking up to scenes absent of burning buildings and overnight widespread destruction. An historic activation of the national guard, insisting local and state police have allowed officers to regain control of the city even as protests continue throughout the city. By the thousands yesterday, protesters came out to demonstrate and clean up the mess from the day before while also trying to remain peaceful in the name of George Floyd, a man who we learned this week was considered a man of peace and kindness by his friends and family. But after protesters violated an 8:00 p.m. curfew officers fired teargas and rubber bullets into the crowd to clear the streets, protesters say they will continue to come out, continue to demonstrate until justice is served. Justice for them is the arrest of the three remaining fired Minneapolis Police Department officers in the death of George Floyd. Chuck?
CHUCK TODD:
Shaquille Brewster getting us started in Minneapolis. Shaq, thank you. Turning now to Blayne Alexander, she's in Atlanta where, like Minneapolis, things were also quieter last night. Blayne, what can you report?
BLAYNE ALEXANDER:
Yeah, Chuck, good morning to you. Last night what we saw play out on the streets of Atlanta was a much different, much calmer scene than what we've watched unfold on Friday night. And that's due, in large part, to two things: more rules and more resources. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom ordered everyone off the streets of Atlanta by 9:00 p.m. A citywide curfew. And we also saw national guard troops come in, in addition to local law enforcement to help try and contain the crowds. Still, Atlanta police tell us that they made 70 arrests overnight, Chuck. And this morning, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has authorized even more national guard troops. As many as 3,000 to fan out across the state of Georgia as officials here prepare for another night of protest. Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, Blayne Alexander in Atlanta. Thank you, Blayne. Garrett Haake is here in Washington where he's been following the night long protest in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. Garrett, it was a rough night Friday night. How was it last night?
GARRETT HAAKE:
Another rough night out here, Chuck. Look, large scale public protests are nothing new in Washington D.C. There's nothing more American than coming to the nation's capital and yelling at your government. But we saw, I think, unprecedented levels of anger out here last night. And frankly, from the protesters I talked to, just exhaustion as they are back in the streets again protesting another police killing of another black male. A lot of the protesters say they were out here for Freddie Gray. They're out here for Michael Brown. They've been having these arguments, they've been having this anger for so long. And they don't feel like it's being addressed. And speaking of those presidential tweets of the government response, I asked a number of protesters what they thought about the way that the president was handling this. The reaction I got the most was just brushing him off. This is a president who a lot of these folks believe no longer meaningfully speaks for them or to them. They are having this conversation without him, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
Garrett Haake at Lafayette Park. Garrett thank you. And finally let me bring in Priscilla Thompson. She is in Houston, George Floyd's hometown. Priscilla, how were things last night?
PRISCILLA THOMPSON:
Well, a lot of grief here in Houston, Chuck. You know, last night or over the course of the past couple days since Friday when demonstrations began more than 200 people have been arrested. But these protests have been by and large peaceful and non-violent. Instead, what we have been seeing is a number of vigils popping up to honor the life of George Floyd. His classmates from Jack Yates high school gathered and released balloons and retold stories of what it was like growing up with him in the third ward and playing basketball and football with him. And while there certainly is a lot of anger here and a desire to see justice, there's also an interest in remembering who George Floyd was as a person and celebrating that. And this comes as the governor has signaled that George Floyd's body will return to Houston for funeral services, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
Priscilla Thompson in Houston there where, again, they are mourning the death of their hometown resident, George Floyd. Thank you and thank you to all. Joining me now from Minneapolis is Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Mr. Ellison, welcome back to Meet the Press. And I want to start with the issue of --
KEITH ELLISON:
Thank you.
CHUCK TODD:
-- this outside instigators, I guess. We're trying to understand who are the people responsible for this violence. Yourself, the governor, Minnesota has indicated that there is some domestic terrorist out there, perhaps some white supremacists. Bill Barr, the attorney general, characterized the outside instigators this way. Let me play that bite for you and get you to respond. Take a listen.
[BEGIN TAPE]
AG WILLIAM BARR:
Many places it appears the violence is planned, organized and driven by anarchic and left-extremist groups, far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travel from outside the state to promote the violence.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
Now it's our understanding, Mr. attorney general, that according to the Justice Department they got that intelligence from state and local authorities. What do you know about who's behind this?
KEITH ELLISON:
Well, here's what I know, there's been a lot of videotape taken by demonstrators of people who are very suspicious, who really did start breaking windows, particularly at the AutoZone. And there have been other, you know, photographs and cars with no license plates. Very suspicious behavior. But the real point is we do need to investigate it because the truth is nobody really knows. I've talked to people who are demonstrating, some of them say they think some of those folks are from Minnesota. And they also say some people have come from out of town. What the exact political motivation is is unclear at this point. We need to investigate it. But what I would say though, particularly as it relates to Bill Barr and the president, is that they have not brought a single pattern-or-practice lawsuit against a major municipality where there's systemic police abuses in America. They have actually tried to walk back their involvement in key states where they existed under the Obama Administration. They have not moved forward when it comes to 21st century policing which the Obama Administration started. So I think the federal government does have a role, but it needs to be constructing a better relationship between cities and the police departments that serve them. And making incendiary comments about who's to blame here as opposed to actually investigating it isn't helpful. We need their help to be more constructive and less assigning, you know, blame on matters that actually we don't know the truth of yet.
CHUCK TODD:
Do you want to see federal charges brought against these four police officers? And do you think that that will happen under this attorney general?
KEITH ELLISON:
Yes I do. And I don't know. I hope so. I can tell you that our local U.S. attorney is a very constructive partner. Erica MacDonald is a Minnesotan. She's a serious prosecutor and law enforcement person. And I do trust her. The folks she works for I hope just leave her alone and let her do her job.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you what your understanding of, of whether the three other police officers -- we heard the county attorney in Hennepin County said that he expected charges to be brought. Where are we on that? And what do you expect those charges to be if they are brought?
KEITH ELLISON:
Well you know, I know that we're early in the process, Chuck. I mean, at this point there is the two charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. That complaint could well be amended to include other additional charges or even higher charges. And the other individuals are not out of the woods. The investigation is ongoing. In answer to your question of what charges, I don't know. I'd be speculating. It's not my case at this -- it’s not my case. But, you know, certainly aiding and abetting is a possibility. And there are others as well. So I think that that is something that the county attorney, Mike Freeman, is looking into now. And we expect to hear something in the, you know, fairly recent -- near future.
CHUCK TODD:
Big picture, Mr. attorney general. A lot of Americans there’s -- you know Minnesota has the “Minnesota Nice” image. Minnesota has an image, you know, you're an African American man that got elected statewide in Minnesota as attorney general ---
KEITH ELLISON:
Right.
CHUCK TODD:
-- as the state’s chief law enforcement officer. For some people, they look at this and they're surprised. Tell us the story of Minneapolis and of Minnesota, of why this shouldn't surprise people in your mind.
KEITH ELLISON:
Well, Minnesota is a kind of a tale of two cities. It really is a beautiful, wonderful place. I love it here. I've raised all four of my kids here. There's so many great things about it. So many great people. And yet we have very stark disparities when it comes to African-Americans. Health disparities in health care, health disparities in housing, health disparities when it comes to employment. And disparities all around. I'll give you a quick example, about 70 some percent of Minnesotans own their own homes. But only about 27% of African Americans do. African Americans are in a fragile economic position in this state. And we need massive investment. And what I say to people is, "Look, if we can have some of the highest SAT scores in the country, if we can have some of the highest voting participation in the country, highest voter -- home-ownership in the country for whites, we can do it for everyone. We just have to have the will to do it for everybody. And I think that this sad, tragic situation might give us the energy to really, really make those kind of commitments because they are absolutely needed.
CHUCK TODD:
Keith Ellison, the Democratic-elected attorney general of the state of Minnesota, appreciate you coming on this morning. I know it's been a long week, long few months for everybody, frankly, in this country. But thanks for coming on and sharing your perspective with us.
KEITH ELLISON:
Thank you.
CHUCK TODD:
And joining me now is the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser and the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Welcome to both of you. I know it's been a long few days for both of you. Probably very little time to sleep. Mayor Bowser, let me just begin with you. Report about last night. How was it compared to Friday night? And do you feel as if -- that we're going to see some calm going forward or not?
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER:
Well, we're certainly going to work for that, Chuck. And we're sending a very clear message to people that they have a right to exercise their first amendment rights but not to destroy our city. So we saw a level of just destruction and mayhem amongst some that was maddening. Our crews are out right now cleaning up our city. And we are working with all of our law enforcement partners to ensure calm in our city.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Lance Bottoms, you were very passionate on Friday night. You said at one point, "You're not protesting anything, running out with brown liquor in your hands and breaking windows in this city. Go home." You've invoked your own 18-year-old son, your own concerns, fears that you have about him and your kids. How were things last night in compared to Friday night?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
Things were a bit more calm last night. But they weren't perfect. People were still out protesting, by and large peacefully. We had a curfew last night, a 9:00 curfew. We ended up arresting around 157 people last night. So we know the frustration is still there. And all of the issues and all of the concerns and anger that were there on Friday haven't gone away. But this is more of a systematic issue that we're facing that's going to take time for us to address. But certainly acknowledging the deaths of so many innocent people in America. And there are no easy answers. But as Mayor Bowser said, the solution is not to destroy our cities.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Lance Bottoms, do you believe there were outside forces at work? We heard from the attorney general, he seemed to think that there was some Antifa-like -- and he said very radical left groups. We heard in Minnesota, the governor thought there was some very radical far-right groups also involved. Have you seen any evidence of any of these outside instigators?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
What I know in Atlanta is that this protest, even just from a physical standpoint, didn't look like our normal protests. We, obviously, have a large African American population in Atlanta. This crowd was a very diverse crowd. And that was noticeable on Friday even before the problems began. We also noticed that many of the protesters even got lost when there was a detour. And many of our organizers in this city, who often don't agree with me, have shared that these were people from the outside. They did not know them. And had no idea where they came from.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Bowser, you have a unique issue. You have one resident in Washington D.C. who, I think, was backseat driving you on Friday night. I'm referring to the president. What -- I know you believe he hasn't played a helpful role. You made that very clear on Twitter yesterday. Can he play a helpful role still or is it too late?
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER:
Well, I think that the president has a responsibility to help calm the nation. And he can start by not sending divisive tweets that are meant to harken to the segregationist past of our country. And he can start by doing that right now. We certainly urge him to do that. We, as Mayor Bottoms has just said, we have systematic issues in our country to address. And it's going to take us, at every level, federal and local. It's going to take community and government to heal the hurt that people are feeling. So what you see in cities across our nations, what we saw last night, there are people who are angry and people who are hurting. And some not doing it in ways that are helpful to our cause. But we still have to acknowledge that hurt and that anger.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Bowser, this is happening during a pandemic. You just started a phase one reopening in D.C. on Friday. I'm curious, are you concerned that, that the police won't be respected when they try to enforce social distancing rules right now?
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER:
I'm concerned that we have mass gatherings in our streets when we just lifted a stay at home or and what that could mean for spikes in our Coronavirus cases later. In fact, I'm so concerned about it that I'm urging everybody to consider their exposure. If they need to isolate from their family members when they go home and if they need to be tested because we have worked very hard to blunt the curve. And while I saw some people with masks last night, others didn't. Where I saw some people social distancing, others were right on top of each other. So we don't wanna compound this deadly virus and the impact that it's had in our community.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Lance Bottoms, I want to go back to the president. There's some talk that he might give an Oval Office address maybe in the next few days or at least there's some consideration for it. What would you like to hear from him and do you think any of his words could be helpful here?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
What I'd like to hear from the president is leadership. And I would like to hear a genuine care and concern for our communities and where we are with race relations in America. We know that when he spoke on Charlottesville, he made the matter worse. And we're already -- we’re well-beyond the tipping point in America. And it's as my grandmother used to say, "If you don't have anything good to say, sometimes you just shouldn't say anything at all."
CHUCK TODD:
So your preference would be maybe he shouldn't bother with a televised address like this?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
I don't have an issue with the president of the United States addressing our nation. But I am concerned that this president has a history of making matters worse.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Bowser, before I go, there's some talk about the 4th of July celebration. The president wants to try to have one on the mall. Where are you on this?
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER:
Chuck, well, even before the events of the last several days we've been very concerned about large gatherings. We will not be in a position to allow parades in our city while we're still in phase one of our reopening from the Coronavirus.
CHUCK TODD:
Mayor Muriel Bowser, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you both. I know it's been a rough week and then some, rough few months and then some. Good luck to you out there and stay safe and stay healthy.
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS:
Thank you.
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER:
Thank you.
CHUCK TODD:
When we come back, is it possible to change how mostly white police departments treat African Americans? I'm going to talk to former police chief, and current Democratic congresswoman, and possible future Joe Biden running mate Val Demings next. Stay with us.
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. You may have heard the name Val Demings a lot lately. She's a Democratic congresswoman from Orlando, Florida. Demings began her career as a social worker, became a cop and then rose to become chief of the Orlando Police Department, the first woman to do so. She's also on the sort list of women Joe Biden is reportedly considering as his running mate. In a column in Friday's Washington Post Demings wrote, "As a former woman in blue let me begin with my brothers and sisters in blue. What in the hell are you doing?" And Val Demings joins me now from Orlando. Congresswoman Demings, welcome to Meet the Press. And let me start with simply this, we've been through this cycle before in America, a lot this last decade. An incident like the one with George Floyd happens. There's outrage. The country has some sort of collective conversation about race and inequality. And then what happens? Not much changes. Why do you think that is the case? And is there -- what do you think is the possibility of making this time different?
REP. VAL DEMINGS:
Chuck, I really do believe that we can. When I think about the extraordinary work that Dr. King did, for example, in the Civil Rights movement and those who were with him, look at where we are. It is a ever-changing, ever, you know, commitment that we always have to make to deal with systemic racism in our country. I think before as we've dealt with misconduct involving police officers that we've always tried to deal with it as an individual department or an individual city or an individual state. But I do believe the time has certainly come, we are overdue, for us to look at the problem as a nation. I think we all need to pause and every law enforcement agency in this nation, whether they are ten persons or 35,000 persons, need to review their hiring standards, their training standards, look at their deescalation training that they're doing within the department, look at those officers who train other officers. Because we know our training officers are the ones who set the standard for what's acceptable and unacceptable on the street. And we have to continue to work with our community leaders to build relationships, to foster trust. And we don't wait to do that, you know, when we're in the middle of a crisis. We have to continue to do that every day. And I do believe we are long overdue for every law enforcement agency in our nation to review itself and come out better than before.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask this though. It does seem -- look at Minneapolis, a lot of people have praised the police chief in Minneapolis. He’s put in, he was brought in after they've had some issues in the past. He was brought in to institute these reforms. But you've dealt with this as a chief, it's very hard if you've got a police officer that you think isn't, isn’t on the, isn’t good in certain situations, it's very hard for you to get rid of one of those police officers. Is it not?
REP. VAL DEMINGS:
Let me say this, Chuck, as you know, I spent 27 years at the Orlando Police Department, had the honor of serving as the chief of police. I've worked with some of the brightest, the best and most courageous men and women that America has to offer. Certainly they were not all that way, but the overwhelming majority were. And so I commend the chief in Minnesota because he did one thing that I certainly think helped to bring charges against one officer -- we're waiting to see others -- but that was to immediately fire that officer which allowed the chief to do some things that otherwise they would not have been able to do. And so while, you know, I know that it seemed like the days that passed before the officer was arrested, if you look historically, that was a pretty swift arrest that was made. And so I do believe working collectively, every sheriff, every police chief throughout the nation working together and facing racism and other issues head on to make sure what are they dealing with? Is it a bad mind? A person who should have never been a law enforcement officer in the beginning? Is it a bad heart? Because you certainly have to have the heart for this job. Or is it bad policy? And while I know the federal government does not have direct jurisdiction, I certainly believe that we do have a major role to play in terms of helping law enforcement agencies throughout the nation maybe come up with some standards for hiring and training, especially use of force training.
CHUCK TODD:
I want to go a little bigger picture here. In some ways, the last three months have been particularly hard on communities of color, but particularly the African American community. You look at the impact of the coronavirus on health outcomes, impact of the virus on the economic picture. Now throw in three more just brutal examples of, of racial injustice on the law enforcement front. I'm referring to Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota, in particular. What does that mean if, for governing going forward? Congressman Anthony Brown said to me that one of the things that has to change is you no more -- you can't have race neutral policy right now. There actually has to be direct help, direct aid to African American communities to sort of fix these injustices. Where are you on this?
REP. VAL DEMINGS:
Well, you know, let's think about it. President Johnson looked at policing, for example, in America over 50 years ago. And what he said basically is what I just said, hire the brightest and the best, make sure they’re well-trained and they have the tools to do an effective job and work closely with the citizens. But he also said, "But we have to address those social ills that cause decay in African American communities in the first place. We have to look at economic development. We have to look at jobs. We have to look at wages. We have to look at education." And you know, some believe that, you know, in order to be fair, if you will, that you treat communities the same. Well, it's not that simple, unless communities all start in the same place and we know that's not true. Look at corona, the coronavirus. It's something that we've never seen before that requires us to do some things we have never done before. But racism in America and the injustices that comes with it is nothing new. And so we have to get serious about, number one, admitting there is an issue. And number two, working together. And, Chuck, it certainly would help if we had leadership at the top. If there was ever a time we need leadership in the White House it is now to help heal our nation. But I don't know why I would expect this president to do something that he has never done before. And we have never seen--
CHUCK TODD:
All right. But let me ask the question this way about President Trump, if he called you up tonight after watching you here and said, "Look, help me say something to fix this," what would you tell him to say?
REP. VAL DEMINGS:
I would tell him to begin with showing some compassion for the persons who the families that have lost their loved ones. Let's start there. And then continue to talk about America is great and wonderful because of the beautiful diversity that we have in this country, that we are a nation of immigrants. We are a nation of laws, but we are a nation of immigrants. And we have to work together. And let's look at our history. This country has already solved some of the toughest issues because we have been able to come together and work together. We can do that now. And maybe if he ends, and look, Chuck, if he called me today I would welcome the opportunity to help this president get it right. And maybe we begin today by acknowledging the sins of the past and even said things that he has said and done that caused harm and brought pain to the American people.
CHUCK TODD:
All right, Congresswoman Val Demings, I've got to leave it there. And thanks for sharing your perspective with us.
REP. VAL DEMINGS:
Thanks, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
When we come back, as protests erupt from coast to coast, how do we heal the wounds of a country in crisis? The panel is next.
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. Panel is here. And joining us from their remote locations, MSNBC Anchor Joshua Johnson, María Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino and former Republican Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina. Alright, I want to start by hearing from both President Trump and President Obama. Here's President Trump from Friday discussing the George Floyd death.
[START TAPE]
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I think that police brutality certainly is something that we've been hearing about, reading about, studying. I have for many years. And we all have to say, and I think most people would admit, that most of the policemen and women that I've seen have been outstanding. When you have something like this happen you really -- you look at it and you just say, "How does a thing like that happen?" Because it just seems so bad to watch.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
And here's President Obama's statement, also Friday where he said, "It's natural to wish for life to, quote, ‘get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly normal -- whether it's while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park." Joshua Johnson, I felt like both of those statements indicated these are two presidents who had two very different life experiences.
JOSHUA JOHNSON:
Indeed, and one statement asks a question, which is “How could this happen?” and the other statement answers it, is that, “This is normal. This is just what happens.” If anything, the protests that we saw this weekend proved the point that people have been making about law enforcement, which is that without some systemic changes, heavy-handedness seems to be kind of the order of the day. I didn't see any law enforcement really working to protect the protesters in exercising their constitutional First Amendment right to protest. That is also part of the responsibility of law enforcement, to uphold the Constitution. To ascribe this to anarchists or Antifa is, I think, to kind of give them a little too much power. “Organized anarchists” is a redundant term. It's a contradiction. And then the idea that you could have a few people, who break a few windows and burn a few cars, and then militarize the whole nation's law enforcement infrastructure, it just shows how very tenuous things are right now. I don't know that the protesters are the problem, I don't even know that the law enforcement officers are the problem, necessarily. But the expectation we set on them on what “normal” should be, that may be the issue, whether normal is keeping quiet in the streets or whether normal is upholding the Constitution and giving people the right to speak their mind, even if speaking their mind means cussing you out.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, Pat McCrory, you've been a governor and a mayor. I know you've dealt with demonstrations that can get out of hand at times. A) how did you deal with it and B) would you do -- seeing what we're seeing now, would you be doing things the same way or differently?
PAT MCCRORY:
Well, one lesson I learned in 2016, the anarchists that we had in Charlotte, when I had to call the National Guard actually over the mayor's objections, don't care what the mayor or governor or, at that time, President Obama said. They don't even care what the protesters are protesting about. Their cause is destruction of capitalism, destruction of our governmental units and destruction of our police. And they use incredible art of war tactics. Do not underestimate them And I'm so proud the governor of Minnesota doesn't. They will use art of war tactics, which they'll maneuver around using their iPhones, so once the police move they'll be elsewhere. They are very dangerous, they burned down the City Hall in Nashville, Tennessee. That is their goal, and they'll play the media also. And I encourage the media to draw them out and identify them to protect our neighborhoods, our cities and to protect the right of these protesters over a very justifiable reason while they're protesting.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, María Teresa Kumar, to, sort of, bring it back to the larger issue, and in some ways I think both Joshua and Pat are indicating, “Let's not let the actions of a few violent, perhaps, ‘instigators’ get in the way of the bigger picture here.” I heard plenty of commentators over the last few days say, “Between the pandemic, the health outcomes, the unemployment picture and now throw more examples of this racial injustice -- in some ways, this eruption should have been expected in some form.”
MARÍA TERESA KUMAR:
Well, I think that country is tired of seeing police brutality square face in the social inequities that we're facing, especially among COVID. But the challenge is that President Obama saw what happened in Ferguson, and he created the 21st Century task force, Chuck. And it was an attempt to bring community, business, government and policing and modernize it so that we can start addressing the culture that needs to change in many of the police departments around the country. One of the first things that this -- President Trump did was, when he took office, is that he basically scraped it. He gutted it. So a lot of communities, a lot of police departments who said, "Yes, we want to modernize. We want to see how we make culture change," don't have it anymore. And so when we see the president wringing his hands saying, "What can I do?" Lead. Just like he took away the playbook on how to actually deal with the pandemic, let's dust off that playbook and figure out, “How do we actually modernize and talk about the importance of police reform?” We need it.
CHUCK TODD:
Pat McCrory, Mark Meadows, who you know well, a former North Carolina congressman, now the president's chief of staff, apparently he's the one that thinks, perhaps, this is a time for the president to do an Oval Office address. We would expect this from any previous president. I think he, we know, this is not always a comfortable thing for him to do on this front. How would you advise the White House or President Trump to talk right now?
PAT MCCRORY:
Well, I would show empathy. I would also show strength, especially toward these Antifa-type of individuals, whether the left-wing or right-wing, I don't know. And I'd also talk about solutions. But we also have to recognize the police, the progress that we've made in the past 25 years from police just riding around in cars and responding to crime to extensive community policing over the last 25 years. We still need more training. But we also have to recognize the progress and the progress that still needs to be made.
CHUCK TODD:
Joshua Johnson, I'm going to ask you a question I asked Val Demings. If the president called you up and said, "What should I say in an Oval Office address," what would you tell him to say? And is it -- can his words still matter?
JOSHUA JOHNSON:
Presidents’ words always matter, for sure. I think -- as an anchor, I can't really tell the president what to say. But I would ask the president if there are ways in which his existing political philosophy can dovetail with the call for police reform. I mean if the goal is to make America great again then there are certain ways, if we harken back to that idea of what the great America once was, that I think are perfectly in line with what these protesters are asking for. When streets are safer, when communities feel cared for, there are more jobs, there is more prosperity on the streets. It's exactly what the president has wanted. He and the protesters might agree on more than they think.
CHUCK TODD:
Joshua Johnson, Pat McCrory, María Teresa Kumar, thank you all for that segment. Let's pause it there. When we come back -- the coronavirus, where it's been and where it's going.
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back, data download time. With the death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. now passed 100,000, we wanted to see if the virus is on the decline and where it is on the decline. And it turns out it's complicated. There were fewer new cases of COVID-19 this past week than the week before. Almost 22,000 fewer, according to an NBC News tally. And the number of newly reported deaths was also down by about 1,900. And when you break it down by state, some have seen especially big declines in new cases, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey all saw their number of new cases decline by more than 1,000 over the last week. Number of deaths dropped sharply in many of those same states -- in all cases, declining by 130 or more. So even with so many people still dying on a daily basis, there are some positive signs. But not all states are moving in a positive direction, some even seeing a steep increase. In these states, the number of new cases last week climbed by more than 450. And the number of newly reported deaths was up in this small set of states as well. So while the overall picture is improving, thanks mostly to the northeast, there are still many trouble spots around the country, even as governors try to slowly reopen their states. When we come back, did Joe Biden's calculus for picking a running mate just change?
CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back, let’s talk a little veepstakes here to the panel. I want to read to you what my colleagues, Mike Memoli and Kristen Welker, wrote over the weekend. "The death of a 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has thrust issues of criminal justice to the forefront and revived one of the biggest questions surrounding Biden's choice: will he choose not just a woman but a woman of color?" And I want to add a comment that Jim Clyburn, perhaps the person credited most with getting Biden this nomination, María Teresa Kumar, he said this, he goes, "We've got to have someone on the ticket who can complement the candidacy rather than complicate the candidacy." He was referring specifically to Amy Klobuchar. María Teresa Kumar, is it -- could Joe Biden get away with picking, say, a white running mate in Elizabeth Warren or Amy Klobuchar? Would this lead to some problems in the Democratic Party?
MARÍA TERESA KUMAR:
Well, the vice president has already said that he's not going to decide until August 1st. And I think between them he's going to continue vetting every single individual that he believes is qualified. What I encourage the vice president to look for is who can bring the young protesters that are out in the street into the Democratic Party? The majority of Democrats right now, they recognize that the house is on fire, they recognize that we need to change the people in leadership in order to actually address the issues that the pandemic has so eloquently revealed in the last 40 days. And what we're going to need is to increase that electoral base. And the only place to do it, Chuck, is among young people. For the very first time, we're going to have 12 million more young voters, potentially than baby boomers. So who is that candidate that speaks to their truth, to their experience and to the economic and social injustices that they have basically grown up their whole life with?
CHUCK TODD:
Pat McCrory, is there a running mate on the list there of the dozen women we've put up there that reportedly the former vice president is consulting about, is there one on that list who you think, "Boy, boy, she would help -- she could help him in North Carolina?"
PAT McCRORY:
I thought the congresswoman she spoke to from Florida was, has a pretty strong background that would worry me as a Republican. But you’ve also -- you know, a week ago we were having debates on whether to arrest people on beaches or Michigan lakes or getting haircuts. This week, we're talking about arresting people in looting stores. By August, you know, who knows what the new criteria will be for a presidential election? Because things are changing so dramatically at this point in time. But I'll tell you who it has to be is someone who can be ready to step into the presidency. And I think that's going to be looked at because of Vice President Biden's age.
CHUCK TODD:
You know, Joshua Johnson, I've had a lot of people say what, what Pat McCrory said right there which is that is going to matter to them or at least the perception of that's going to matter. And then I've had an old friend of mine remind me, "Yeah, running mates mattered a lot in 1988 with Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bentsen too," meaning it didn't matter at all on that front. But Joshua Johnson, what's your take on this as far as Biden's concerned?
JOSHUA JOHNSON:
I'll just say very briefly I think that it's going to be after what we saw this weekend, it's what the running mate represents, particularly with African American voters. We know health care, the economy and law enforcement are huge issues. After this weekend, law enforcement, if not law enforcement reform, is going to matter a great deal. I wouldn't be surprised if you started hearing Bernie Sanders talking about the convention and saying, "You know, these delegates that I have, if we're going to have a unified platform, I think we need to talk more about law enforcement." Some of these people on the list may have a little more credibility than others to talk about reforming law enforcement instead of just improving it. I think that's going to matter a lot.
CHUCK TODD:
Well, I'm curious, Val Demings, you're a Floridian, you followed her a little bit. The knock on her is going to be you know, we haven't had a member of Congress go directly to the presidency or the vice presidency in over 100 years, I think, even on the vice presidency directly. But is the other life experiences executive experience enough?
JOSHUA JOHNSON:
We haven't had a real estate developer go directly to the presidency ever.
CHUCK TODD:
It's a fair point. María Teresa Kumar, does Val Demings have that-- does she meet the ready on day one bar, whatever that bar is in the minds of some voters?
MARÍA TERESA KUMAR:
I think that she has incredible experience. I've had the opportunity to work with her when she was working with Emily's List as a candidate and before. And she brings in not only the cultural experience but the law enforcement that perhaps is going to be on the ballot. But I do believe that what we're going to need is someone who can be ready on day one, not just on the national stage but on the international stage.
CHUCK TODD:
Right. Quickly, Pat McCrory, the RNC convention, is it going to be in your home state or not?
PAT McCRORY:
We're in a political tussle.
CHUCK TODD:
Very quick.
PAT McCRORY:
The question is who makes the rules for the virus for a convention? Does the governor make the rules or the RNC make the rules? The governor wants the RNC to make the rules. Who knows? It's a political battle right now.
CHUCK TODD:
That's a fair way to put it. All right, before we leave you this morning, I'd like to mention our new Meet the Press college roundtable series. We're excited about it here. Each week, I'll be joined by journalism students across the country who will get their chance to interview newsmakers that we help connect with them. New episodes of the college roundtable will be available every Friday streaming on NBC News Now and other NBC News digital platforms. Episode one's already there. That is all for today. Thank you for watching. Thank you for trusting us. We'll be back next week. Because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.