npr--2020-11-08--After A Tumultuous Election, Biden Prepares For The Transition Of Power

After A Tumultuous Election , Biden Prepares For The Transition Of Power Audio will be available later today .
NPR @ @ @ @ @ Lu , who lead the 2008 Obama-Biden presidential transition team , about what a transition @ @ @ @ @ Biden administration might look like .

After A Tumultuous Election, Biden Prepares For The Transition Of Power
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
All right. Next comes the transfer of power, and it will likely be one of the most complicated in U.S. history. So let's turn to someone who's done it before. Chris Lu was the executive director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project in 2008 and carried on as the deputy secretary of the Department of Labor in President Obama's Cabinet. Welcome to the program.
CHRIS LU: Thank you.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So lots of challenges here. Tell us how a transition team is normally supposed to work, briefly.
LU: Well, normally, as it - what happened in 2008, there was a quick declaration of victory and there was cooperation between the outgoing Bush administration and the incoming Obama administration. We're now, you know, five days past Election Day and their - the formal transition has not started. And frankly, you know, the Biden transition is going to face complications that we just didn't face in 2008. It's just not the economy, but it's also a public health crisis, and then it's trying to plan a transition most likely in an all-virtual environment.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, so - that's a lot there and that's interesting. I want to touch on the idea of the all-virtual environment, but I do want to talk about the president because he's refused to concede. What is the expectation here, do you think? How much cooperation will the Trump team actually give?
LU: You know, I don't know. We have a tradition of peaceful transfers of power that have spanned 200 years, even between outgoing and incoming administrations who had bitterly fought campaigns. And so I'm hoping that wiser heads prevail in the White House and the president cooperates because that's not just important for the success of the incoming Biden administration but, at a time like this, you know, we need to be considered - concerned about homeland security, national security issues, because this is a vulnerable time for our country.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So if there is no cooperation, how will that work then? I mean, you do need somebody on the other side.
LU: Exactly. But I do think, if there's somebody who can overcome these challenges, it's Joe Biden. This is a person who knows government very well, who is surrounded by people who also have served in the Obama administration. Look, it's not ideal, but I think if somebody can overcome it, it's the Biden team.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So let me ask you about this all-virtual because obviously we are in the midst of a pandemic. Normally, I suppose what would happen is that part of the team would actually go to the White House and sort of, you know, engage face to face with the other side. How do you see this playing out in this all-virtual environment?
LU: Right. Normally, you'd have face-to-face meetings between White House incoming and outgoing White House staffers as well as the agency staffs, and there are are going to be dozens of dozens of major agencies where there's going to be a turnover in leadership. I will say this. You know, the Biden campaign has essentially run a campaign for the last eight, nine months virtually. They've picked a vice presidential candidate that way. They have run a convention that way. So I think they're used to operating in this environment.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: OK. There is also this period of several months when this transition's supposed to happen. The president is a lame duck, but there are still many things he can do. He could, you know, fire the heads of certain agencies. You know, he could shake things up. What are you concerned about?
LU: Well, I am concerned about sort of the continuity of operations in government. You know, it is an odd tradition to do these presidential transfers of power where you have the entire senior leadership that walks out the door on one day and, right after that, a new group comes right in. And again, it's ensuring that our national security, our homeland security is protected along the way. And in order to do that, you really need close cooperation between the two teams just to ensure that handoff of power. As for the other things, whether it's firing people, whether it's executive orders - as Mara Liasson just said, many of those can be undone by the incoming Biden team. But I really hope that the president puts the national interest above his own political interests at this time.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's something else, though, there. You know, the Trump administration has had a pretty unorthodox approach to governing - a revolving door of staff, heavy disregard for process and protocol and, frankly, a bureaucracy that has been gutted in many areas. What will that mean for the new administration?
LU: Well, I think it's going to - this is an important opportunity for the Biden administration to replenish and revitalize the civil service. You know, it's places like the State Department, where you've had diplomats that have left, you've had climate scientists leave. There - this is going to be kind of a renaissance of the federal government.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And just briefly, what does the Biden-Harris administration have to do to give Americans reassuring signals during this tumultuous time?
LU: Well, I think they need to come up with a plan for the pandemic. I mean, this is the thing that is on everyone's mind. And as these number of COVID cases continue to go up, to have a clear plan that they will start to implement next January 20.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right. Chris Lu is the former executive director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Thank you very much.
LU: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE POLISH AMBASSADOR'S "DARK BETWEEN STARS")
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Politics Chat: Biden Calls For Hope And Healing In Speech

Politics Chat : Biden Calls For Hope And Healing In Speech Audio will be available later today .
President-elect Joe @ @ @ @ @ and healing while President Trump refuses to accept the results of the election .

Politics Chat: Biden Calls For Hope And Healing In Speech
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
The uncertainty, the wait, is over. Yes, there are still votes being counted this morning and races yet to be determined. Georgia and North Carolina, for example, are still too close to call. And there may be recounts. But the presidency has been decided, and America chose Joe Biden and his promise of unity.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOE BIDEN: It's the honor of my lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for that vision. And now the work of making that vision is real. It's a task - the task - of our time.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's the president-elect speaking from Wilmington, Del., last night. And with us this morning is NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Good morning, Mara.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi, Lulu.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Let's start with the current president. He has not conceded, though let's remember there is nothing legal or binding about declaring victory or conceding defeat. Meanwhile, former President George W. Bush has called Joe Biden to congratulate him on his win. What's Trump's rationale for not accepting these results?
LIASSON: Well, the president is continuing to contest the election in court. He's been tweeting that he won the election. He says he got 71 million legal votes, suggesting that the 75 million and counting votes that Biden got are somehow illegal. But this is a hard thing for the president and nobody likes to lose. But for President Trump, his brand is about never, ever, ever losing. And it sounds like he wants to make sure he leaves the White House not looking like a loser for himself and his supporters. He needs to start the second chapter here by saying he's the real president and it was stolen from him.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There are lawsuits. What chances do they have of succeeding?
LIASSON: Legal experts on both sides say they have very little chance because they'd have to reverse hundreds of thousands of votes - tens of thousands of votes in multiple states. That generally doesn't happen. Even recounts, which the president has threatened in the states that are close enough to allow for a recount - he'd have to pay for those recounts. And historically, recounts never change more than a couple hundred votes here and there. So the prospects are slim.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Let's turn to Biden's speech last night. What did you make of it?
LIASSON: Well, it was a unifying speech. He spoke directly to people who didn't vote for him. He said to those who voted for President Trump, I understand your disappointment. I've lost a couple of elections myself. But now let's give each other a chance. So that's his brand. He's going to try to unify. It was also a very practical speech - let's get down to work. He listed the things he believes he has a mandate for - control the virus, build prosperity, secure health care for Americans, achieve racial justice and save the climate. So he's going to get to work right away, and he's told the country what he wants to do.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And meanwhile, we're in this strange period - right? - where there's going to be several months until there's an inauguration where much could happen. Trump has hinted before the election that he would fire, for example, Anthony Fauci. Is that the kind of thing we should expect from him? What do you think the next two months will look like?
LIASSON: It's possible that the president could fire a lot of people. He could pardon a lot of people, most presidents do that on their way out. He could issue a lot of executive orders. Most of what President Trump could do between now and Inauguration Day could be reversed. But what I think will happen in the next couple of months is all of a sudden the focus of America will shift away from Donald Trump and towards the new president by definition. We've lived in a Donald Trump-centric political universe for four years, and that's what's going to happen. I think Biden has indicated he wants to hit the ground running. He has and his team have decades of experience in government. They're very organized and prepared. They know what they want to do in these agencies. And there's only so much that Donald Trump can do that would leave a permanent mark at this point.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hit the ground running - Mara, let me ask you this, as someone who's obviously been a long time watcher of Washington. Joe Biden is calling for unity. How much success do you think he'll have on that front?
LIASSON: I think legislatively it depends on Mitch McConnell. If Republicans still control the Senate - we don't know that yet, we're waiting for some races in Georgia. But what's in Mitch McConnell's political interest? Does he want to compromise or not? We know that Joe Biden is a pragmatic centrist - kind of half a loaf guy. He is - wants to compromise. He's said that. He has said that cooperating is a choice. We can choose to cooperate or choose not to cooperate. And he says the American people want us to work together. He said also that it's a constant battle between the better angels of our nature and our darkest impulses, and what presidents say in this battle matters. So he's going to try as hard as he can to reach across the aisle.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, thank you so much.
LIASSON: You're welcome.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Problem Solvers Caucus Members Discuss Compromise In The Legislative Process

Audio will be available later today .
Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Mark Amodei ( R-NV ) and Stephanie Murphy ( @ @ @ @ @ of the Problem Solvers Caucus , about how to legislate with divided government .

Problem Solvers Caucus Members Discuss Compromise In The Legislative Process
Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), both members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, about how to legislate with divided government.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
The American people have spoken. But what exactly did they say? Well, they rejected an incumbent president, and that's a rare rebuke. But by and large, they did not reject his party. And that either means compromise on Capitol Hill or more gridlock. We're going to turn now to two members of the so-called Problem Solvers Caucus. That's a group of lawmakers who champion compromise. Let's remember that word - compromise. Mark Amodei is a Republican from Nevada's 2nd District, which includes Carson City.
Thank you so much for being with us.
MARK AMODEI: Thank you, Lulu.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And Stephanie Murphy is a Democrat from Florida's 7th District. That's around Orlando.
Thank you so much for being with us.
STEPHANIE MURPHY: Great to be with you, Lulu.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So first of all, congratulations to you both. You were both reelected.
MURPHY: Thank you.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: This has been a brutal election. It has left both parties - and this is for lack of a better word - radicalized in some portions. You've got progressives pushing back very hard on any claim that their policy positions were responsible for the weaker-than-expected performance by Democratic candidates. Meanwhile, you've got a lot of Republicans who fully embrace Trumpism and, in fact, want to double down on it, not to mention also embracing sort of dangerous and destructive conspiracy theories like QAnon. If calling for compromise hasn't worked over the last decade, what's a compelling argument for it now? Representative Amodei, you first.
AMODEI: Well, I think if you go back to the Problem Solvers Caucus, the compelling argument is, in our business, the bottom line is votes. And so, you know, I'm a naive guy. It's like, well, I think if you want to campaign for reelection, the strength would be on what you did as opposed to how much you hate the other side. And so having said that, you say, what's different now? It's like this group is different in terms of - it came about because of people like Stephanie and people on her side of the aisle and on my side of the aisle that said, yeah, I want to go back and say that I did something as opposed to - I just, you know, parroted the partisan talking points, which, quite frankly, on both sides have some depth problems.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Representative Murphy.
MURPHY: Well, I think across this country, you see exhausted Americans. And the fact of the matter is that we are in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis. So there is no other choice than to find a way to work together across the aisle. And what's great about Problem Solvers is that we have been doing this for a while. So I think that's a lot to build on and a really great position to be in as we go into this divided Congress with Joe Biden in the White House.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: We won't exactly know if it's a divided Congress because, of course, there are two Senate races that are going to a runoff in Georgia. But I'm curious to know what specific areas of cooperation you both are eyeing - I mean, obviously, immigration, changes to the tax code, health care. And we should remind our listeners that the Affordable Care Act is going before the Supreme Court this month. Representative Murphy and then Representative Amodei.
MURPHY: I think our first priority is to get an additional COVID relief package out the door into the pockets of the American people and American businesses. And then after that, we should look at things that can help with our economic recovery. And that means investments into our infrastructure. And then, of course, we have to address things like taxes and immigration and things that help our economy grow. All of those are key elements to help our economy grow and ensure, you know, equal opportunity at the American dream. And it allows for the hard work to result in good outcomes for the American people.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Talk to me about immigration in particular. I mean...
AMODEI: Well, you know, Problem Solvers actually were the ones who put - it was Jimmy Pineda's ag immigration bill that that we basically shipped out of the House. You know, it seems like a long time ago. It's probably eight or nine months. And there were Republicans that supported that. And so immigration is one, quite frankly, Lulu, that the answers are out there. The problem is it's been uber-politicized by both sides. And it's like, you know, it needs to be dealt with. When you talk to businesspeople, the Chamber of Commerce, you know, people (unintelligible) - well, these will be conservative or whatever - they all want immigration reform. And there are ways to do it without breaking the rules.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you think it will be easier with President Trump out of the office?
AMODEI: You know what? I think, actually, when you look at what he's really said about immigration, he wasn't the problem. I mean, he wanted the wall and stuff. But in terms of merit-based - and we've got to deal with these folks. I mean, I think, quite frankly, he felt some pressure when you talk about dealing with DREAMers and stuff. And it's like, hey, you know what? That's kind of why these offices exist. Time to show some leadership.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Representative Murphy, I mean, can Democrats be bold under these conditions? It's not just politicians on the left who want the party to be bold. It's actually the base as well.
MURPHY: I think that if Democrats who want to be bold - and by bold, meaning that - getting something done - so there's a difference between messaging and waving your arms and making it look like you're trying to do something and actually delivering law that changes people's lives. From my perspective, being bold means delivering ideas that become law that change people's lives. That's bold.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And has the Problem Solvers Caucus actually done that?
MURPHY: I think there are areas in which the Problem Solvers Caucus has demonstrated that it can bring together Republicans and Democrats. And in a closely held House, that'll be more important than ever to be the ballast to the extremes of both parties.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Stephanie Murphy is a Democrat from Florida's 7th District, and Mark Amodei is a Republican from Nevada's 2nd District.
Thank you both very much.
AMODEI: Thanks, Lulu.
MURPHY: Great to be with you.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Arizona Trump Voters React To The President's Loss

Audio will be available later today .
Trump supporters in Arizona react to news that their candidate will not win @ @ @ @ @ .

Arizona Trump Voters React To The President's Loss
Trump supporters in Arizona react to news that their candidate will not win a second term as president.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
President Trump refuses to concede defeat and insists falsely that he has won reelection. While supporters of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris celebrated in streets across the nation, many Trump supporters voiced anger, sorrow, disbelief. And some are making baseless allegations of fraud, allegations that echo the president's own groundless charges. Here's NPR's Eric Westervelt in Phoenix.
ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE: A few thousand Trump supporters gathered near the state Capitol building in downtown Phoenix Saturday, demanding a do-over, not just of the state's presidential election but of the entire national vote. Trump banners waved overhead, some depicting him as an action hero saving America from socialism. Many backers cite a string of conspiracy theories about election deception, which, in fact, have already been debunked.
ROD SUAVE: I will never accept Biden-Harris as my president - not with this kind of cloud hanging over it.
WESTERVELT: That's Trump supporter Rod Suave, who alleges the entire vote was marred by deception and manipulation.
SUAVE: It's all fraud. Audit it all. I'll guarantee you if you audit all these states, these swing states - actually went in there and audited and threw out all the dead people that voted and everything else, Trump wouldn't be losing, just like he wasn't losing on election night. This is the biggest fraud in America.
WESTERVELT: But there is no evidence of any wide-scale election fraud. And the vote already is audited by county and state election officials before it's certified. And the close vote in several states may trigger recounts. Still, many here say they are convinced that Democrats, the media and big tech have all conspired to steal the vote from President Trump. A Trump backer calling herself Madonna didn't want her full name used, saying she doesn't trust the media.
MADONNA: The media has called this election prematurely. They don't have a right to. We the people make that decision, and we the people deserve the truth - clean and fair elections.
WESTERVELT: So to you, the count isn't over; the election isn't over.
MADONNA: Absolutely not.
WESTERVELT: Many in the crowd chanted four more years and stop the steal.
(CHEERING)
WESTERVELT: Others sang hymns and walked slowly around the rally, praying.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
WESTERVELT: So-called proof of a conspiracy to many here includes the fact that political polling was once again off the mark and the expanded use of mail-in voting. To Jeff Johns from Scottsdale, this year's expansion of mail-in voting is itself fishy.
JEFF JOHNS: Simply the fact that governors sent out universal ballots to everybody for the first time shows a propensity to cheat in order to harvest more Democratic votes. So just - that alone is fraudulent.
WESTERVELT: In fact, there's no evidence of widespread mail-in voting fraud. And ballots were not sent to everybody. This year, due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic, California, Nevada, New Jersey and Vermont sent all registered voters mail-in ballots, joining Oregon, Colorado and Washington state, who've used mail-in balloting safely and effectively for years. Utah and Hawaii also went to mail-in voting more recently.
The protest was largely peaceful, though the mood grew tense when two elderly Biden supporters entered the square carrying Black Lives Matter signs. A pro-Trump demonstrator told the couple they should be, quote, "ashamed" and demanded to know who paid them to support the Democrat. Meantime, some Biden supporters trolled the rally, driving past waving Biden-Harris signs and yelling.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORNS HONKING)
WESTERVELT: There were far more guns than masks at the rally, despite the resurgent coronavirus. Many openly displayed handguns and semiautomatic rifles. Several Trump supporters urged me to remove my face mask, insisting the pandemic, like the outcome of the election, was, quote, "just another hoax."
Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Phoenix.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Culinary Workers Union Take Credit For Biden's Win In Nevada

Culinary Workers Union Take Credit For Biden 's Win In Nevada Audio will be available later today .
NPR 's @ @ @ @ @ Arguello Kline , the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas , @ @ @ @ @ to the election results .

Culinary Workers Union Take Credit For Biden's Win In Nevada NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Geoconda Arguello Kline, the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, about the union's reaction to the election results.
Elections Culinary Workers Union Take Credit For Biden's Win In Nevada Culinary Workers Union Take Credit For Biden's Win In Nevada Audio will be available later today. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Geoconda Arguello Kline, the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, about the union's reaction to the election results. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor


npr--2020-11-08--Pennsylvanians React To Biden's Presidential Win

A batch of votes from Pennsylvania proved the tipping point , convincing experts President Trump would not be able to @ @ @

Pennsylvanians React To Biden's Presidential Win
A batch of votes from Pennsylvania proved the tipping point, convincing experts President Trump would not be able to win reelection.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Joe Biden won the most votes ever in a presidential election and almost 5 million more than Donald Trump. He also won the Electoral College by a large margin. And in cities across America, his supporters have taken to the streets to celebrate.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORNS HONKING, CHEERING)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The call came after the announcement of another batch of votes from Pennsylvania. There had been days of such announcements, but Saturday's just before noon was the one to put the state out of President Trump's reach, shutting off his path to reelection. In Philadelphia, Shayne Rasay said it felt like she had been waiting four years for this moment. Now she's hoping President-elect Joe Biden and his future VP, Kamala Harris, do what they've promised and unite the country.
SHAYNE RASAY: That's a tall order, I think, for any incoming president. But I feel that, with their leadership, we can unite as a party and move on.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And in that same city, on that same day, a supporter of the president who gave her name as Andi just couldn't believe it.
ANDI: They told us that Biden was going to win in a landslide. They're just trying to demoralize us. I'm watching for progress and updates. I'm watching for the recounts.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--How The GOP Will Move Forward Under A Biden Presidency

How The GOP Will Move Forward Under A Biden Presidency What does the future of the GOP look like and @ @ @ @ @ possible with Democrats ?
NPR 's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asks Republican strategist Michael Steel .

How The GOP Will Move Forward Under A Biden Presidency
What does the future of the GOP look like and what areas of cooperation are possible with Democrats? NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro asks Republican strategist Michael Steel.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
So we're going to move on now. What do Republicans, from their seats in office to their offices in political consulting agencies, make of this election? Donald Trump, who created his own brand of politics, a man larger than his party, lost to Joe Biden, a traditional Democrat. And yet, other GOP candidates did better than expected. Does Donald Trump defeated remain the most powerful force in the Republican Party? We have many questions, and we will put them now to Michael Steel. He is a veteran of Capitol Hill and presidential campaigns.
Thank you so much for being with us.
MICHAEL STEEL: Good to be with you.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So it is hard to unseat incumbent presidents. American voters don't do it often. And campaigning from the White House comes with all sorts of advantages, particularly this year when Donald Trump went way further than any recent president in exploiting the office for his reelection. What did he do wrong, in your view?
STEEL: He never worked to expand beyond his base. He never reached out to Democrats, let - or even some of the Trump-skeptical Republicans. I think that he had every ability, every tool in the toolbox to have created a sweeping electoral majority and really change the face of American politics in a much more permanent and enduring way. And he chose not to right from the very start, right from his inauguration.
And then, of course, the second thing - which he had less control over but still a lot more than he exercised - is the pandemic and the economic response to it. And I think that talking about the things that your previous guest spoke of - if he had taken it seriously in the spring and summer, we would be in a much better place, both in terms of public health and the economy going into Election Day. And I think that made a big difference, particularly for older voters.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There seems to have been this split, though. The vote was a rejection of Trump. But the GOP does have a good shot at holding the Senate majority, and Republican candidates did eat into the Democratic House majority. How do you explain it?
STEEL: It was a great Election Day for every Republican - virtually every Republican not named Donald Trump. And that's why I think his weaknesses, his excesses, his tone, his demeanor, that's all very particular to him. You saw Republican senators like Thom Tillis, certainly Susan Collins running ahead of the president's total in their respective states because they have the advantages of offering a solid conservative, successful record of governance without the excesses of Trump himself.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do you think that that is the takeaway that the GOP will take from this election? - because so far, we have seen Republicans remain very quiet about some of the tactics being employed by President Trump and his administration in not really conceding the race.
STEEL: Yeah, I think the party's in for a period of introspection, and I think that facts will determine a lot of what happens next. I think that there is no doubt that the president remains enormously popular with the grassroots of the party. There is no doubt that he helped a lot of Republican candidates with better turnout, et cetera, in this recent election.
At the same time, both among elected officials and I think increasingly in the conservative media, you're seeing some Trump fatigue. You're seeing some solid recognition that the party's fortunes very likely will be better off if someone else's name is on the ballot next time around since we just saw people with different names on the ballot doing better than the president. So there's no question he will retain vast influence. I think how he handles these next few weeks is going to be critical to determining how seriously he's taken by leaders and the media after the inauguration.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Let me ask you this. We're speaking with two members of the Problem Solvers Caucus elsewhere in the program. That's a bipartisan collection of politicians who stress consensus and compromise. Do you think their membership will increase under President Biden? - because when we've seen Republicans in opposition - I'm thinking of the Tea Party here - they haven't tended to compromise. They've managed to expand their base and their majority by acting in opposition.
STEEL: Yeah, I don't think that's going to be the case this time. I do expect the problem solvers to increase their numbers, I think in part because the folks that were most chastened on election night were the progressives expecting a blue wave that didn't materialize and the most ardent Trump supporters who expected him to win despite the odds. And so I think that there's going to be, with Vice President Biden in the White House, some opportunity for bipartisan compromise to find common ground.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right. That's veteran Republican strategist Michael Steel.
Thank you so much.
STEEL: Good to be with you.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Be One Of Biden's Biggest Obstacles

The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Be One Of Biden 's Biggest Obstacles One of the most difficult tasks facing the incoming @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus .
NPR 's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to Dr. Nicole Lurie , an advisor @ @ @ @ @

The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Be One Of Biden's Biggest Obstacles
One of the most difficult tasks facing the incoming Biden administration will be tackling the coronavirus. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to Dr. Nicole Lurie, an advisor to the Biden campaign.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
In his speech last night, President-elect Biden put one issue front and center.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOE BIDEN: I will spare no effort - none - or any commitment to turn around this pandemic.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: With a record number of infections, the death toll rising and the country exhausted from COVID-19 restrictions, it will be one of his most difficult tasks. Biden has been getting regular briefings from his team of COVID advisers. Dr. Nicole Lurie is one of them. She was the top official in the Obama administration working on preparing for pandemics. And she joins us now.
Welcome.
NICOLE LURIE: Good morning.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Good morning. The U.S. is really in crisis right now when it comes to the pandemic. The Trump administration has taken, frankly, to mocking efforts to control it. So it seems like the situation will only be worse come Inauguration Day. What should Joe Biden's first order of business be?
LURIE: Well, the first order of business is leadership, and I think you heard that last night. He's not waiting till the inauguration to get going. As he said, he's naming a transition task force on Monday. But in truth, that's been weeks in the making because he's already been preparing for this moment.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: You have been, you know, helping to brief the president-elect. What has his team been telling him?
LURIE: Well, I think, first of all, that everybody is clear that we need to unite around a common goal. There needs to be a single source of truth, and it needs to be communicated clearly. And he needs to be modeling and is modeling the kind of behavior that we want to see. A clear message from him last night and I think a clear message from his team all along - the virus is the enemy, not one another. It's not public health versus the economy. It's all of us together versus the virus. And everybody in this country needs to do their part.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: More specifically, though, are we looking at a universal sort of mask mandate? Will Anthony Fauci stay in his position? I mean, specifically, what's going to happen?
LURIE: All great questions - and understand that I can't speak for the president-elect...
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Sure.
LURIE: ...Or the task force. But what I expect to see is the task force develop a really clear set of objectives and be very clear about how to meet them. And they're going to have to include doing everything we can do to suppress transmission, leaving sort of no options and no stones unturned. And we know that that's going to involve masks and social distancing and testing and reaching out to governors and mayors and business community and unions and faith leaders around the country to have them all on board.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: One of the most difficult things, of course, has been what to do with the economy. President Trump claimed during the campaign that Biden will shut down the country in order to get the pandemic under control. Biden has said he will not. Can you talk a little bit about Biden's plans? - because we've seen European nations have to grapple with this very issue. I mean, the United Kingdom is shutting down now and other places in Europe.
LURIE: They have. And one of the very challenging things I think the team is going to have to deal with is that over the past couple of months and even between now and January, the pandemic is getting more and more out of control. And so the sooner we wrap our arms around putting these measures to suppress in place, the better.
The president-elect has also been really, really clear about - this is not a choice between public health and the economy. And so we need to get a stimulus bill passed. We need to get the resources into communities to fight this pandemic, to do the testing and tracing, to be ready for a vaccination campaign, to support people financially if they're sick so that they actually do stay home from work - all of those other pieces that are going to be essential to reopening the economy. And then I think you can expect to see the development of some common national standards for what you do in different communities when the pandemic is at different levels.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And that means what exactly? Just looking at different places...
LURIE: Well, it means that I think you're going to want to avoid trying to shut down the whole country but to the extent that you can tailor the interventions, depending on the severity of the pandemic in any given location. And so in some places, that may mean really rolling back to phase one - staying at home, doing those things for a short time. And those are - I think are going to be local and state-level decisions but guided by national standards, which we haven't had at all.
In other places where the pandemic is more under control or transmission isn't that bad, you look for other evidence-based ways to keep things as normal as possible. But all of that is really going to depend on the basics of people willing to wear masks, people willing to social distance, people willing to do those things.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: OK.
LURIE: And uniting around those common public health measures while we get ourselves ready for a vaccine is going to be critical.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Dr. Nicole Lurie is an adviser to President-elect Biden.
Thank you very much.
LURIE: Sure.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Trump Goes Through With Lawsuits, Insists He Won Election

Trump Goes Through With Lawsuits , Insists He Won Election President Trump is denying he has lost reelection and is @ @ @

Trump Goes Through With Lawsuits, Insists He Won Election
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
For his part, President Trump has yet to speak publicly since his loss in the presidential race was declared, and he's shown no signs of conceding. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith is with us now.
Good morning.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So usually - right? - there's a concession speech before an acceptance speech.
KEITH: Usually, but it isn't required. And President Trump had made it clear that he had no intentions of conceding. He also hasn't spoken publicly since Thursday evening. There have been a few tweets in all caps complaining about the election. And there was a statement yesterday where he said that Biden was rushing to falsely pose as the winner, that the election is far from over, that legal votes decide who is president, not the media. The two times that we have seen him since late or very early on election night, he was - he came to the briefing room in the White House, and he was very angry. And then yesterday, we saw him out golfing.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. I mean, to be clear, the media doesn't declare the winner. They just...
KEITH: That's true.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: ...You know, talk about the counts that they get from the local authorities and then make their calculations. So where does...
KEITH: The counts are against him, to be clear.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: To be clear. So where does his campaign go from here?
KEITH: You know, they have a hotline set up for people to dial in with claims of voting irregularities. And they are fundraising. There have been so many texts and emails asking for donations to fund this fight. But the fine print says that much of that money will go to retiring Trump campaign debt. They are filing a flurry of legal challenges. President Trump in a statement yesterday said that beginning Monday, the campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld, and the rightful winner is seated.
That said, they've already been filing many challenges, and many of them - most of them - have already been thrown out by judges. But there will be more to come.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And what are the president's allies saying? - because Republican leadership has been notably silent on Joe Biden's victory.
KEITH: You know, I think that they have settled in on the idea that the president should go through the motions with all of these legal challenges and really let it play out, take it all the way to its logical conclusion. But also, there is a sense that it is sinking in, at least on some level.
I spoke with Stephen Moore, who is an economic adviser to the president. He said the fight continues; it isn't over - but that if the president does lose Arizona, which is a state that AP has already called but where the numbers are shifting as more ballots are counted - if he does, then the writing is on the wall, and his legacy will depend on finding a way to acknowledge that it's over. Laura Ingraham, the conservative talk show host who - and Fox News host who is close to the White House on her show on Friday went with the same idea - that once the challenges play out, for the sake of the movement that he created, President Trump needs to go gracefully.
I've also spoken to a number of grassroots supporters, people who, you know, volunteered for his campaign. And they want him to try every legal avenue. They don't want him to give up yet. They see him as a fighter, and he's their fighter. But they also do sense that the numbers are not in his favor. And one woman told me that she is praying and not giving up hope.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, there's this sort of message from Republicans that people should allow the president to process this loss. You've covered the president for a long time now. How does he respond to defeat?
KEITH: He tends not to accept it. I'm thinking about the Affordable Care Act repeal and replace. He - that was a huge part of his early fight, his early effort as president. And that failed. But by now, he is saying, no, I didn't fail after all. You know, we eventually repealed the individual mandate. He finds a way to declare victory even when other people see defeat.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, thank you very much.
KEITH: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO'S "CIRRUS")
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--Joe Biden's Long Journey To The Presidency

Joe Biden has been campaigning for much of the past year but he has been eying the White House for @ @ @

Joe Biden's Long Journey To The Presidency
Joe Biden has been campaigning for much of the past year but he has been eying the White House for three decades.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
But last night in Wilmington, Del., Joe Biden delivered his victory speech.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOE BIDEN: Tonight, we're seeing all over this nation, all cities in all parts of the country - indeed, across the world - an outpouring of joy, of hope, renewed faith in tomorrow bring a better day.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: As NPR's Scott Detrow reports, Biden has been waiting to win the White House for decades.
SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE: Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States. He thought about trying to be the 45th. He tried and failed to be the 44th. And two decades before that, he ran to be the 41st. Biden kicked off his very first run in 1987 at the Wilmington train station that now bears his name.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: So it's your help that I seek first, as today I announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.
DETROW: Biden was just 44 years old. He had been in the Senate since age 30, the youngest possible age to serve. But tragedy struck weeks after he was elected. His wife and daughter were killed in a car crash, and his two sons were seriously injured. Last year, he told the NPR Politics Podcast about the moment he learned the news. He was in the U.S. Capitol.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
BIDEN: And I had to walk out, and I walked through the rotunda. And I remember looking up the rotunda, saying, God, God, why - you know, I got really angry. I shouted out.
DETROW: Biden thought about quitting. He didn't. Instead, he began a career-defining habit of shuttling back and forth between Washington and Wilmington on Amtrak every single night to see his sons each morning. Earlier this fall, at the end of a whistle stop train tour in Johnstown, Pa., a freight train rumbled by behind Biden as he recalled those long commutes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: That train brought me back to my home base every single night, to my family. It kept me grounded. It kept me connected. It meant I always remembered what and who really mattered in my life.
DETROW: Biden ran for the White House in 1988, but it ended quickly in disgrace after a plagiarism scandal. Biden's reputation rebounded quickly, though, as he chaired high-profile Supreme Court confirmations on the Judiciary Committee and became a top Democratic voice in foreign policy. The longtime senator ran again for president 20 years later. Once again, the bid sputtered out, this time in Iowa. But Barack Obama tapped Biden as his vice president. Biden became Obama's emissary, both to Capitol Hill and to foreign capitals. Biden and Obama grew close.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARACK OBAMA: There has not been a single moment since that time that I've doubted the wisdom of that decision. He was the best possible choice not just for me, but for the American people.
DETROW: Despite that close relationship, Obama and his circle made it clear they preferred Hillary Clinton to Biden as the party's 2016 nominee. Biden still weighed a run but ultimately passed, in large part because of another personal tragedy - the death of his son Beau from brain cancer in 2015. As he ran this year, five years later, Biden referenced Beau all the time. He told NPR this last year.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
BIDEN: I get up in the morning, and I hope my son Beau is proud of me because - one of the reasons I wrote the book "Promise Me, Dad" - he knew my instinct would be to withdraw.
DETROW: Any withdrawal ended in summer 2017 when white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent and President Trump responded by saying there were very fine people on both sides of the conflict. Biden recalled the moment during his acceptance speech at this summer's mostly virtual Democratic convention.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: At that moment, I knew I'd have to run. My father taught us that silence was complicity, and I can never remain silent or complicit. At the time, I said we're in the battle for the soul of this nation, and we are.
DETROW: That theme - a fight for the soul of the nation - was the centerpiece of Biden's campaign. Throughout the primary and after, Biden was criticized by many on the left for being too out of touch. Biden promised a progressive agenda but kept his focus on defeating Trump and Trumpism. Biden repeatedly vowed to be a different, more unifying type of leader. Declaring victory last night, he made his pitch one more time.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again and to make progress. We have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They're Americans.
DETROW: The country and the world are very different than when Joe Biden first ran for president. America's place in the world is far less certain. It's in the midst of a serious economic slump. The pandemic is getting worse. In the final hours before the polls closed Tuesday, I asked Biden what he knows now that he didn't during those first two runs for the White House. He said he hopes with age comes more wisdom but said one view that's never changed is belief in the American people. It's a belief he echoed again last night.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: Well, folks, we stand at an inflection point. We have an opportunity to defeat despair, to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can.
DETROW: Biden will finally make it to the Oval Office in a moment where that sort of optimism will be tested.
Scott Detrow, NPR News.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-08--The Next 2020 Election Fight? Convincing Trump's Supporters That He Lost

The Next 2020 Election Fight ?
Convincing Trump 's Supporters That He Lost Even though all the major news networks , including Fox News , called the race for former Vice President Joe Biden , Saturday was the only the beginning of a long road to convincing a sizable portion of the American public who won the presidency .
President Trump has spent much of his four years in power amplifying false claims about election fraud , which has eaten into the confidence many Republicans have in the voting process .
Now those Republicans are having to decide whom to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in charge of voting or Trump , who continues to falsely say he is the rightful winner .
It 's the latest step in a game plan he has laid the groundwork on for years .
Before this election , about two-thirds of people who said they had little to no confidence in the vote-counting process were supporters of the president , according to AP VoteCast data .
And now Trump has seized on those doubts .
He and his campaign have shared conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory about why votes were still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though the tallying process was going roughly according to plan .
`` I am disturbed that this is being intentionally mischaracterized to undermine the election process , '' Tina Barton , the Republican city clerk of Rochester Hills , Mich. , said Friday in a video debunking one of the Trump campaign 's many claims .
While these sorts of assertions largely have not found a receptive home in the courts , they have found one online .
Social media groups have quickly sprung up in the days since voting stopped , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of election officials , and in some cases organize in-person protests .
`` This is the most intense online disinformation event in U.S. history and the pace of what we have found has only accelerated since [ Election Day ] , '' said Alex Stamos , director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and Facebook 's former chief security officer .
The social media groups are reusing channels that have previously been aimed at sharing other conspiracy theories that cater mostly to Republicans , says Melissa Ryan , who runs the firm Card @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These 'Stop The Steal ' protests are clearly building off the infrastructure from the reopen protests that we saw earlier in the year during the pandemic , '' Ryan said .
`` And frankly , they 're using the same strategy and infrastructure as the Tea Party back in 2009 , 2010 . ''
Trump has been the driving force of that misinformation online , however .
Three of the four most popular posts on Facebook in the past 24 hours were posts by the president in which he falsely claimed victory or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fairness .
`` I WON THIS ELECTION , BY A LOT ! ''
Trump said on Saturday .
Experts say as long as that language continues , it 's hard to imagine the U.S. uniting behind a Biden administration in the way the former vice president says he wants it to .
A concession from Trump has no legal effect , and Biden will become the 46th president with or without one .
But Alberto Gonzales , who served as U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush , says an acknowledgment from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long way to cool the current political climate .
`` That would send a tremendous signal , '' Gonzales told NPR .
`` It would boost the reputation of President Trump .
I think that would certainly lower the [ country 's ] temperature if he would do what is the right thing to do . ''
NPR 's Hannah Allam and Shannon Bond contributed to this report .

The Next 2020 Election Fight? Convincing Trump's Supporters That He Lost
Enlarge this image toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Even though all the major news networks, including Fox News, called the race for former Vice President Joe Biden, Saturday was the only the beginning of a long road to convincing a sizable portion of the American public who won the presidency.
President Trump has spent much of his four years in power amplifying false claims about election fraud, which has eaten into the confidence many Republicans have in the voting process.
Now those Republicans are having to decide whom to believe: election officials from both parties in charge of voting or Trump, who continues to falsely say he is the rightful winner. It's the latest step in a game plan he has laid the groundwork on for years.
Before this election, about two-thirds of people who said they had little to no confidence in the vote-counting process were supporters of the president, according to AP VoteCast data.
And now Trump has seized on those doubts. He and his campaign have shared conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory about why votes were still being counted after Election Day, even though the tallying process was going roughly according to plan.
"I am disturbed that this is being intentionally mischaracterized to undermine the election process," Tina Barton, the Republican city clerk of Rochester Hills, Mich., said Friday in a video debunking one of the Trump campaign's many claims.
While these sorts of assertions largely have not found a receptive home in the courts, they have found one online.
Social media groups have quickly sprung up in the days since voting stopped to spread disinformation about supposed cheating on the part of election officials, and in some cases organize in-person protests.
"This is the most intense online disinformation event in U.S. history and the pace of what we have found has only accelerated since [Election Day]," said Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and Facebook's former chief security officer.
The social media groups are reusing channels that have previously been aimed at sharing other conspiracy theories that cater mostly to Republicans, says Melissa Ryan, who runs the firm Card Strategies, which researches disinformation.
"These 'Stop The Steal' protests are clearly building off the infrastructure from the reopen protests that we saw earlier in the year during the pandemic," Ryan said. "And frankly, they're using the same strategy and infrastructure as the Tea Party back in 2009, 2010."
Trump has been the driving force of that misinformation online, however. Three of the four most popular posts on Facebook in the past 24 hours were posts by the president in which he falsely claimed victory or alluded to doubts about the election's fairness.
"I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!" Trump said on Saturday.
Experts say as long as that language continues, it's hard to imagine the U.S. uniting behind a Biden administration in the way the former vice president says he wants it to.
A concession from Trump has no legal effect, and Biden will become the 46th president with or without one. But Alberto Gonzales, who served as U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush, says an acknowledgment from Trump that he lost would go a long way to cool the current political climate.
"That would send a tremendous signal," Gonzales told NPR. "It would boost the reputation of President Trump. I think that would certainly lower the [country's] temperature if he would do what is the right thing to do."
NPR's Hannah Allam and Shannon Bond contributed to this report.


npr--2020-11-08--ICU Doctor On The Impact Of COVID-19 On Communities Of Color

ICU Doctor On The Impact Of COVID-19 On Communities Of Color Dr. Taison Bell , the director of the medical intensive care unit at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville , was doing rounds in the COVID-19 ICU , caring for about 20 patients , when he noticed that his unit was full almost entirely of Black and Latinx people , despite the fact that Charlottesville is 70 % white .
Bell , who grew up just an hour away from the hospital , says he `` just could n't escape the thought of this virus disproportionately killing people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NPR 's Michel Martin on All Things Considered , he had to pause rounds and `` acknowledge how tough emotionally it was for me just to see what we were seeing . ''
`` I did n't know what to do about it , '' he says .
`` I did n't know how to deal with that emotion , but I had to get it out there because if I was feeling that way , I knew that several other of my team members were feeling the same way , too .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a massive surge of COVID-19 cases .
Last week the new record was more than 120,000 confirmed cases a day , three days in a row , according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center .
Bell , who is also an assistant professor of medicine at UVA , notes that those numbers represent real people .
`` At the end of the day , we 're tracking a lot of numbers because the metrics are important , '' Bell says .
`` But we have to remember that behind that number is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life that either may not make it .
And even if they do make it , their life may be completely different from now . ''
It 's a pandemic that has infected nearly 10 million people in the country and killed more than 230,000 , and it disproportionately affects Black and Latinx people in the U.S. Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a rate of nearly twice their share of the population .
Latinx people made up a greater share of confirmed cases and deaths than their share of the population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by NPR .
Bell says the Trump administration did n't adequately emphasize the virus 's disproportionate impact on minority communities .
`` There was an opportunity lost there to communicate the urgency , the necessity and the basic public health measures that we could take and the fact that even if it 's not in your community now , it 's likely to be in your community later , '' Bell says , `` so we all need to take the same sort of safety measures . ''
Bell says one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump White House , which he says led `` large segments of the country '' to not take the virus seriously .
`` You have to connect it to the top where in the White House , they may have been holding events outside , but very tight , '' he said .
`` No mask , no social distancing , not setting an example of how we should be proceeding in society to control the spread of COVID-19 . ''
Bell says the virus has changed the nation dramatically , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fathom .
`` In the minority community , it 's exposed a lot of issues in our society , '' he says .
`` But just to think about the individuals that we 're losing and the weddings that are being missed , the barbecues , the hugs , the reunions and all of these opportunities and moments that are going to be lost because of this virus .
It 's just really hard to think about . ''
Jeffrey Pierre and William Troop produced and edited the audio version of this @ @

ICU Doctor Stresses COVID-19 Severity In Communities Of Color, Faults White House
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dr. Taison Bell, the director of the medical intensive care unit at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, was doing rounds in the COVID-19 ICU, caring for about 20 patients, when he noticed that his unit was full almost entirely of Black and Latinx people, despite the fact that Charlottesville is 70% white.
Bell, who grew up just an hour away from the hospital, says he "just couldn't escape the thought of this virus disproportionately killing people in my community."
As he tells NPR's Michel Martin on All Things Considered, he had to pause rounds and "acknowledge how tough emotionally it was for me just to see what we were seeing."
"I didn't know what to do about it," he says. "I didn't know how to deal with that emotion, but I had to get it out there because if I was feeling that way, I knew that several other of my team members were feeling the same way, too."
The United States has been experiencing a massive surge of COVID-19 cases. Last week the new record was more than 120,000 confirmed cases a day, three days in a row, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
Bell, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at UVA, notes that those numbers represent real people.
"At the end of the day, we're tracking a lot of numbers because the metrics are important," Bell says. "But we have to remember that behind that number is a story, a story of a life that either may not make it. And even if they do make it, their life may be completely different from now."
It's a pandemic that has infected nearly 10 million people in the country and killed more than 230,000, and it disproportionately affects Black and Latinx people in the U.S. Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a rate of nearly twice their share of the population. Latinx people made up a greater share of confirmed cases and deaths than their share of the population as well, according to data analyzed by NPR.
Bell says the Trump administration didn't adequately emphasize the virus's disproportionate impact on minority communities.
"There was an opportunity lost there to communicate the urgency, the necessity and the basic public health measures that we could take and the fact that even if it's not in your community now, it's likely to be in your community later," Bell says, "so we all need to take the same sort of safety measures."
Bell says one of the problems at play was the messaging from the Trump White House, which he says led "large segments of the country" to not take the virus seriously.
"You have to connect it to the top where in the White House, they may have been holding events outside, but very tight," he said. "No mask, no social distancing, not setting an example of how we should be proceeding in society to control the spread of COVID-19."
Bell says the virus has changed the nation dramatically, and that the death toll is almost impossible to fathom.
"In the minority community, it's exposed a lot of issues in our society," he says. "But just to think about the individuals that we're losing and the weddings that are being missed, the barbecues, the hugs, the reunions and all of these opportunities and moments that are going to be lost because of this virus. It's just really hard to think about."
Jeffrey Pierre and William Troop produced and edited the audio version of this story.


npr--2020-11-08--Astronauts Arrive In Florida To Ready For SpaceX Launch To Space Station

Astronauts Arrive In Florida To Ready For SpaceX Launch To Space Station Four astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday to bring the U.S. one step closer to regularly ferrying travelers to and from the International Space Station .
The NASA and SpaceX Crew-1 mission is scheduled to launch Saturday evening .
NASA sees the mission as a major step for its commercial crew program , which aims to routinely rotate crews on and off the International Space Station , while also laying the groundwork for future missions to the moon and Mars .
`` Today we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in how we do human spaceflight , '' NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said .
`` What we 're talking about here is the commercialization of space .
NASA is one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit . ''
The crew includes commander Michael Hopkins , pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Shannon Walker , all Americans .
Mission specialist Soichi Noguchi , the first Japanese astronaut to perform a spacewalk outside the space station , rounds out the four .
Upon docking with the ISS , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current crew — including astronaut Kate Rubins , who recently voted from space — bringing the space station 's complement to seven for the first time in its history .
Over the next several months , the crew will conduct science research on such topics as botany and cancer .
Their return is scheduled for the spring .
NASA has been working with the private company SpaceX to deliver cargo to and from the station for years .
This summer , two NASA astronauts flew to the ISS on a SpaceX capsule , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coast of Pensacola .
It was the first planned splashdown since 1975 .
After that successful test , NASA certified the SpaceX crew system as `` operational '' for future astronaut missions .
Since NASA retired the Space Shuttle fleet in 2011 , the agency has had to buy seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for its flights to the ISS .
`` I ca n't tell you how great it is to welcome a crew here to go to space again , '' Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana told the group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ envy each and everyone of you .
This whole effort to commercialize low Earth orbit , this is just a gigantic step in making that happen . ''
Glover , the only crew member without previous spaceflight , was enthusiastic : `` It 's really special today , because we flew an airplane in here , but the plan is to leave on top of a rocket , '' he said .
`` So that 's pretty neat . ''

Astronauts Arrive In Florida To Ready For SpaceX Launch To Space Station
Enlarge this image toggle caption Terry Renna/AP Terry Renna/AP
Four astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday to bring the U.S. one step closer to regularly ferrying travelers to and from the International Space Station.
The NASA and SpaceX Crew-1 mission is scheduled to launch Saturday evening. NASA sees the mission as a major step for its commercial crew program, which aims to routinely rotate crews on and off the International Space Station, while also laying the groundwork for future missions to the moon and Mars.
"Today we are taking another big leap in this transformation in how we do human spaceflight," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. "What we're talking about here is the commercialization of space. NASA is one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit."
The crew includes commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Shannon Walker, all Americans. Mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, the first Japanese astronaut to perform a spacewalk outside the space station, rounds out the four.
Upon docking with the ISS, the four will be welcomed by the current crew — including astronaut Kate Rubins, who recently voted from space — bringing the space station's complement to seven for the first time in its history. Over the next several months, the crew will conduct science research on such topics as botany and cancer. Their return is scheduled for the spring.
NASA has been working with the private company SpaceX to deliver cargo to and from the station for years. This summer, two NASA astronauts flew to the ISS on a SpaceX capsule, and later successfully splashed down off the coast of Pensacola. It was the first planned splashdown since 1975. After that successful test, NASA certified the SpaceX crew system as "operational" for future astronaut missions.
Since NASA retired the Space Shuttle fleet in 2011, the agency has had to buy seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for its flights to the ISS.
"I can't tell you how great it is to welcome a crew here to go to space again," Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana told the group upon their arrival Sunday. "I envy each and everyone of you. This whole effort to commercialize low Earth orbit, this is just a gigantic step in making that happen."
Glover, the only crew member without previous spaceflight, was enthusiastic: "It's really special today, because we flew an airplane in here, but the plan is to leave on top of a rocket," he said. "So that's pretty neat."


npr--2020-11-08--COVID-19 Cases Top 50 Million Globally, U.S. Nears 10 Million

More than 50 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded around the world as of Sunday , according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center .
The U.S. , India and Brazil are three countries with the most cases and account for nearly half of the world count .
The U.S. alone is poised to hit 10 million cases as cases and hospitalizations continue to climb .
This week the U.S. hit another grim milestone as it surpassed 120,000 new confirmed cases reported each day for Thursday through Saturday .
More than 237,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of new cases is now more than 110,000 , more than double what it was a month ago .
Dr. Albert Ko , professor and department chair of epidemiology of microbial diseases at the Yale School of Public Health , told NPR last week that those numbers could double again before the end of the year .
Experts are also concerned about potential spikes as many Americans consider traveling and gathering with family and large groups for Thanksgiving and other holidays .
While he said testing can help , former FDA Commissioner Scott @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of high quality masks during an interview on Face the Nation on Sunday .
`` A test can help .
It 's prudent to try to get tested if you 're going to bring together a group of people , '' Gottlieb said .
`` But if you have individuals who are vulnerable in that setting , I think you still need to be very careful if you 're going to be exposing younger people in a broader group to older individuals who are vulnerable . ''
As the U.S. continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden said he would announce a coronavirus taskforce that will prepare to implement the Biden-Harris plan laid out by the campaign .
Many countries in Europe are also experiencing a second wave , with France , Spain and the United Kingdom each breaking the 1 million cumulative case mark in late October .
All three countries have implemented new lockdown measures as they try to combat the latest outbreaks .
Meanwhile , cases and infection rates in Asia have remained relatively low , with China taking aggressive testing measures in response to @ @

COVID-19 Cases Top 50 Million Globally, U.S. Nears 10 Million
Enlarge this image toggle caption Cengiz Yar/Getty Images Cengiz Yar/Getty Images
More than 50 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded around the world as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
The U.S., India and Brazil are three countries with the most cases and account for nearly half of the world count. The U.S. alone is poised to hit 10 million cases as cases and hospitalizations continue to climb.
This week the U.S. hit another grim milestone as it surpassed 120,000 new confirmed cases reported each day for Thursday through Saturday. More than 237,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and the 7-day moving average of new cases is now more than 110,000, more than double what it was a month ago.
Dr. Albert Ko, professor and department chair of epidemiology of microbial diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, told NPR last week that those numbers could double again before the end of the year.
Experts are also concerned about potential spikes as many Americans consider traveling and gathering with family and large groups for Thanksgiving and other holidays.
While he said testing can help, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb cautioned against holiday gatherings and encouraged the use of high quality masks during an interview on Face the Nation on Sunday.
"A test can help. It's prudent to try to get tested if you're going to bring together a group of people," Gottlieb said. "But if you have individuals who are vulnerable in that setting, I think you still need to be very careful if you're going to be exposing younger people in a broader group to older individuals who are vulnerable."
As the U.S. continues to grapple with the crisis, President-elect Joe Biden said he would announce a coronavirus taskforce that will prepare to implement the Biden-Harris plan laid out by the campaign.
Many countries in Europe are also experiencing a second wave, with France, Spain and the United Kingdom each breaking the 1 million cumulative case mark in late October. All three countries have implemented new lockdown measures as they try to combat the latest outbreaks.
Meanwhile, cases and infection rates in Asia have remained relatively low, with China taking aggressive testing measures in response to outbreaks.


npr--2020-11-08--Tropical Storm Eta Could Become A Hurricane, Dousing Florida With A Foot Of Rain

Tropical Storm Eta Could Become A Hurricane , Dousing Florida With A Foot Of Rain Florida faces a potential one-two punch from Tropical Storm Eta , which could strengthen into a hurricane and drop up to a foot of rain on the southern part of the state on Sunday , before retreating to the Gulf of Mexico to gather strength for round two .
Having made landfall in Cuba early Sunday , Eta now has Florida in its cross-hairs .
In addition to rain — with some isolated areas possibly seeing 18 inches — Eta could bring with it storm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning , and a storm surge for much of the Florida Keys .
It would be the first named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida , according to the Weather Channel .
Gov .
Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday in eight southern counties ahead of the storm : Broward , Collier , Hendry , Lee , Martin , Miami-Dade , Monroe and Palm Beach .
School is canceled Monday in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties , both in person and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurricane as soon as today , depending on what happens to the winds in the center of the system .
`` It is certainly possible that if dry air does not penetrate into Eta 's inner core later today , then the cyclone could become a hurricane before it reaches the Florida Keys tonight , '' NHC senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart forecasted Sunday morning .
But regardless of when exactly Eta becomes a hurricane , forecasters expect heavy rainfall to continue to drench portions of Cuba , Jamaica , the Bahamas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the Florida Keys , damaging tropical storm force winds should begin by late afternoon Sunday .
The winds could extend 125 miles from the center .
`` A tornado or two '' are possible tonight or tomorrow , Stewart said .
By early Monday morning , the Florida Keys can expect hurricane conditions .
Swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions .
Perhaps befitting a year known for bruising surprises , after Eta 's first pass at Florida , there may be a second .
The storm is expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where it could shift northward and head back toward the state 's western coast .
`` You 're going to be dealing with this all week , '' said NHC Director Ken Graham .
`` It 's going to take a while to get this thing out of here . ''

Tropical Storm Eta Could Become A Hurricane, Dousing Florida With A Foot Of Rain
Enlarge this image toggle caption National Hurricane Center National Hurricane Center
Updated at 1:34 a.m. ET Monday
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall late Sunday in the Florida Keys. The southern part of the state faces a potential one-two punch from Eta, which could strengthen into a hurricane and drop up to a foot of rain before retreating to the Gulf of Mexico to gather strength for round two.
The National Hurricane Center says Eta had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph on Sunday night and was centered about 30 miles east-northeast of Marathon, Fla., and 70 miles east-northeast of Key West. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
After making landfall in Cuba early Sunday, Florida now faces storm surges of up to four feet. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning, and a storm surge warning for much of the Florida Keys.
Eta would be the first named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida, according to the Weather Channel. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday in eight southern counties ahead of the storm: Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach. School is canceled Monday in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, both in person and online.
Regardless of when exactly Eta becomes a hurricane, forecasters expect heavy rainfall to continue to drench portions of Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas, and as far north as central Florida.
Perhaps befitting a year known for bruising surprises, after Eta's first pass at Florida, there may be a second. The storm is expected to regroup in the Gulf of Mexico, where it could shift northward and head back toward the state's western coast.
"You're going to be dealing with this all week," said NHC Director Ken Graham. "It's going to take a while to get this thing out of here."


npr--2020-11-08--Earthquake Hits Off Massachusetts Coast, Felt Widely Throughout New England

Earthquake Hits Off Massachusetts Coast , Felt Widely Throughout New England A rare earthquake occurred off the coast of Massachusetts @ @ @ @ @ to the U.S. Geological Survey , but no serious injuries or damage haas been reported @ @ @ @ @ hit around 9:10 a.m. local time , a few miles off the coast of New @ @ @ @ @ Buzzards Bay .
Residents across parts of Connecticut , Massachusetts and Rhode Island reported feeling @ @ @ @ @ , a geophysicist with the Geological Survey , told The New York Times that the @ @ @ @ @ from the earthquake .
`` Earthquakes in this area are commonly felt very far away @ @ @ @ @ area are very contiguous , very old , so they transmit the energy very well @ @ @ @ @ said .

Earthquake Hits Off Massachusetts Coast, Felt Widely Throughout New England
A rare earthquake occurred off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but no serious injuries or damage haas been reported.
The magnitude 3.6 earthquake hit around 9:10 a.m. local time, a few miles off the coast of New Bedford, Mass., in Buzzards Bay.
Residents across parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island reported feeling the quake.
Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the Geological Survey, told The New York Times that the agency does not expect significant damage from the earthquake.
"Earthquakes in this area are commonly felt very far away because the rocks in this area are very contiguous, very old, so they transmit the energy very well from earthquakes," Caruso said.


npr--2020-11-08--Meet Doug Emhoff: America's 1st 'Second Gentleman'

As California Sen. Kamala Harris shatters one of the highest glass ceilings with her historic election as vice president , her husband is breaking barriers of his own .
Doug Emhoff will not only become the first `` second gentleman '' but will also be the first Jewish person married to a president or vice president .
Emhoff , 56 , was often seen on the campaign trail with his wife , and just as her supporters proudly declared themselves part of the # KHive , Emhoff has his own # DougHive fans on social media .
Emhoff was born @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a women 's shoe designer who moved the family from New Jersey to Los Angeles when Emhoff was in high school .
Emhoff went on to attend law school at the University of Southern California and worked as an entertainment lawyer for roughly 30 years .
Most recently , he was a partner with the firm DLA Piper but took a leave of absence to focus on the campaign .
Emhoff was previously married to Kerstin Emhoff , and the two have two children .
Years after their divorce , Emhoff was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filmmaker Reginald Hudlin , a client , with then-California Attorney General Harris .
`` We went on a blind date , and we 've been together ever since , '' Emhoff said during a conversation with Chasten Buttigieg this summer .
With the marriage , Harris gained two stepchildren , Cole and Ella , who call her Momala .
`` I was already hooked on Doug , but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in , '' Harris wrote in Elle in 2019 .
`` One of the keys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is their mom .
We are friends , '' Harris told CNN 's Dana Bash this summer .
`` We have a very modern family . ''
It 's not clear yet what role Emhoff will carve out for himself once Harris assumes office .

Meet Doug Emhoff: America's 1st 'Second Gentleman'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mark Makela/Getty Images Mark Makela/Getty Images
As California Sen. Kamala Harris shatters one of the highest glass ceilings with her historic election as vice president, her husband is breaking barriers of his own.
Doug Emhoff will not only become the first "second gentleman" but will also be the first Jewish person married to a president or vice president.
Emhoff, 56, was often seen on the campaign trail with his wife, and just as her supporters proudly declared themselves part of the #KHive, Emhoff has his own #DougHive fans on social media.
Emhoff was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.; his father was a women's shoe designer who moved the family from New Jersey to Los Angeles when Emhoff was in high school.
Emhoff went on to attend law school at the University of Southern California and worked as an entertainment lawyer for roughly 30 years. Most recently, he was a partner with the firm DLA Piper but took a leave of absence to focus on the campaign.
Emhoff was previously married to Kerstin Emhoff, and the two have two children.
Years after their divorce, Emhoff was set up on a blind date by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, a client, with then-California Attorney General Harris.
"We went on a blind date, and we've been together ever since," Emhoff said during a conversation with Chasten Buttigieg this summer.
Harris and Emhoff married in 2014.
With the marriage, Harris gained two stepchildren, Cole and Ella, who call her Momala.
"I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in," Harris wrote in Elle in 2019.
"One of the keys to my relationship with Cole and Ella is their mom. We are friends," Harris told CNN's Dana Bash this summer. "We have a very modern family."
It's not clear yet what role Emhoff will carve out for himself once Harris assumes office.


npr--2020-11-08--After Biden Victory, 'SNL' Returns To Form Thanks To Dave Chappelle

After Biden Victory , 'SNL ' Returns To Form Thanks To Dave Chappelle Finally , after weeks of new episodes that felt like awkward dress rehearsals for a funnier show we never got to see , Saturday Night Live delivered a performance that met the moment .
But it did n't come from the place you might expect .
True enough , news that media organizations officially projected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as America 's next president and vice president lent a giddy energy to a show that , this season , often seemed unsure of what to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the show 's first `` cold open '' sketch , guest star Jim Carrey finally figured out how to balance his vaguely accurate Biden impression — really , he 's the only SNL performer in a while to even try sounding like the former vice president — with one of his most distinctive movie characters .
Holding his hand in a `` L '' shape while channeling Ace Ventura 's drawn out insult , `` loooooser ! ''
Carrey gave Biden followers a bit of gloating that the actual president-elect never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wondered if Carrey took the SNL gig just to have that moment .
But as fun as it was to see Maya Rudolph 's triumphant Kamala Harris , somehow decked out in a spot-on copy of what the real vice president-elect wore hours earlier , it did n't really compare with the fire that was coming next from host Dave Chappelle .
Admitting he was nervous and puffing on a cigarette — they allow indoor smoking in New York these days ?
— Chappelle kicked off his monologue talking about his great-grandfather .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ former slave , might feel in seeing his descendant 's old series , Chappelle 's Show , airing on Netflix and HBO Max with no compensation for the comic .
`` He 'd probably be like , 'This n***a got bought and sold more than I did , ' `` Chappelle said , striking an oddly bitter tone .
It was personal and not : on the surface a barb about getting cheated by a media conglomerate , but also a swing at a white-dominated system that somehow found a way to victimize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the case that America was a safer place because of the coronavirus pandemic .
`` Remember what life was like before COVID ? ''
he asked .
`` I do .
It was mass shooting every week .
Thank God for COVID .
Something had to lock these murderous whites up and keep them in the house . ''
He groused about his neighbors in Yellow Springs , Ohio — farmers who instigated a public meeting to shut down outdoor comedy performances he was doing over the summer .
`` They were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to put my children to bed .
And I keep hearing this guy screaming all night .
My kids are trying to sleep , and all they hear is the N-word , ' `` Chappelle noted .
`` I said , 'Was I saying it , or were you ? '
`` He talked about Ronald Reagan , criticized for stump speeches implying that Black `` welfare queens '' were fleecing the government .
`` Remember what Ronald Reagan used to say about Black people , that we were welfare people , drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Who does that sound like now ?
Stimulus checks .
The heroin .
The rest of this country is trying to move forward and these white n***as keep holding us back . ''
It was an interesting turn .
Four years ago , Chappelle hosted the first episode after Donald Trump was elected .
And while liberals the world over mourned that turn of events — Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton at a piano singing the melancholy classic `` Hallelujah , '' no humor in sight — Chappelle 's monologue back then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm going to give him a chance , '' he said back then .
`` And we , the historically disenfranchised , demand that he give us one too . ''
Well , given how President Trump has called some white supremacists `` very fine people '' and has failed to curb a pandemic that disproportionally harms nonwhite people , we can see how that went .
So it was striking how , as TV news broadcast images of people in cities across the globe celebrating Trump 's defeat — gathered in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fireworks , COVID-19 be damned — Chappelle delivered a set laced with suppressed anger .
Forget celebrations ; he was still seriously upset about what the U.S. has endured .
Minutes after saying he 's allowed to speak truth only when there 's a joke at the end , Chappelle let his roguish take on Trump and COVID-19 slip into real anger .
`` What kind of man makes sure he 's OK while his friends fight for their lives and die ? ''
he asked , before delivering a blunt answer .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ also loves being a provocateur , especially in recent years .
So he dropped material designed to keep his Biden-loving audience off base too .
The worst was a joke comparing Trump 's contracting COVID-19 to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury contracting AIDS .
It was all peak Chappelle : contradictory , fiery and thought provoking , filled with brilliant jokes and salted with moments when he went too far on purpose .
It was like watching Evel Knievel jump over Snake River Canyon on a motorcycle , backward .
In the end , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory that half the country still feels angry , anguished and marginalized — the way they felt four years ago .
He encouraged viewers in that place now to hate the feeling and not people who disagree with them .
`` You got to find a way to forgive each other , '' he said .
`` You got to find a way to find joy in your existence in spite of that feeling . ''
There were other great sketches , especially the one featuring stereotypical Black mascots like Aunt Jemima and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executives .
But by the time Chappelle dropped the mic at the end of his monologue , viewers knew we had seen the moment that took everything we 'd been feeling over the past four years and pointed a way forward , while making us laugh .
Bravo Saturday Night Live for launching your first really trenchant episode of the season .
Now all you have to do is keep them coming .

After Biden Victory, 'SNL' Returns To Form Thanks To Dave Chappelle
Enlarge this image toggle caption Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Finally, after weeks of new episodes that felt like awkward dress rehearsals for a funnier show we never got to see, Saturday Night Live delivered a performance that met the moment.
But it didn't come from the place you might expect.
True enough, news that media organizations officially projected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as America's next president and vice president lent a giddy energy to a show that, this season, often seemed unsure of what to say about all the real-life absurdity at hand.
In the show's first "cold open" sketch, guest star Jim Carrey finally figured out how to balance his vaguely accurate Biden impression — really, he's the only SNL performer in a while to even try sounding like the former vice president — with one of his most distinctive movie characters.
Saturday Night Live via YouTube
Holding his hand in a "L" shape while channeling Ace Ventura's drawn out insult, "loooooser!" Carrey gave Biden followers a bit of gloating that the actual president-elect never could provide in real life. You wondered if Carrey took the SNL gig just to have that moment.
But as fun as it was to see Maya Rudolph's triumphant Kamala Harris, somehow decked out in a spot-on copy of what the real vice president-elect wore hours earlier, it didn't really compare with the fire that was coming next from host Dave Chappelle.
Saturday Night Live via YouTube
Admitting he was nervous and puffing on a cigarette — they allow indoor smoking in New York these days? — Chappelle kicked off his monologue talking about his great-grandfather. He wondered what his ancestor, a former slave, might feel in seeing his descendant's old series, Chappelle's Show, airing on Netflix and HBO Max with no compensation for the comic.
"He'd probably be like, 'This n***a got bought and sold more than I did,' " Chappelle said, striking an oddly bitter tone. It was personal and not: on the surface a barb about getting cheated by a media conglomerate, but also a swing at a white-dominated system that somehow found a way to victimize a Black millionaire comedy star.
He made the case that America was a safer place because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Remember what life was like before COVID?" he asked. "I do. It was mass shooting every week. Thank God for COVID. Something had to lock these murderous whites up and keep them in the house."
He groused about his neighbors in Yellow Springs, Ohio — farmers who instigated a public meeting to shut down outdoor comedy performances he was doing over the summer. "They were saying, 'Man, I'm trying to put my children to bed. And I keep hearing this guy screaming all night. My kids are trying to sleep, and all they hear is the N-word,' " Chappelle noted. "I said, 'Was I saying it, or were you?' "
He talked about Ronald Reagan, criticized for stump speeches implying that Black "welfare queens" were fleecing the government. "Remember what Ronald Reagan used to say about Black people, that we were welfare people, drug addicts?" the comic said. "Who does that sound like now? Stimulus checks. The heroin. The rest of this country is trying to move forward and these white n***as keep holding us back."
It was an interesting turn. Four years ago, Chappelle hosted the first episode after Donald Trump was elected. And while liberals the world over mourned that turn of events — Kate McKinnon played Hillary Clinton at a piano singing the melancholy classic "Hallelujah," no humor in sight — Chappelle's monologue back then was impishly cynical and hopeful. "I'm going to give him a chance," he said back then. "And we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one too."
Well, given how President Trump has called some white supremacists "very fine people" and has failed to curb a pandemic that disproportionally harms nonwhite people, we can see how that went.
So it was striking how, as TV news broadcast images of people in cities across the globe celebrating Trump's defeat — gathered in crowds to sing, dance and shoot fireworks, COVID-19 be damned — Chappelle delivered a set laced with suppressed anger. Forget celebrations; he was still seriously upset about what the U.S. has endured.
Minutes after saying he's allowed to speak truth only when there's a joke at the end, Chappelle let his roguish take on Trump and COVID-19 slip into real anger. "What kind of man makes sure he's OK while his friends fight for their lives and die?" he asked, before delivering a blunt answer. "A white man."
Chappelle also loves being a provocateur, especially in recent years. So he dropped material designed to keep his Biden-loving audience off base too. The worst was a joke comparing Trump's contracting COVID-19 to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury contracting AIDS.
(Dave, I know you don't think you have a problem with gay and trans people, but after watching your jokes about them over the past couple of years, I think you're fooling yourself.)
It was all peak Chappelle: contradictory, fiery and thought provoking, filled with brilliant jokes and salted with moments when he went too far on purpose. It was like watching Evel Knievel jump over Snake River Canyon on a motorcycle, backward.
In the end, he reminded all those celebrating Biden's victory that half the country still feels angry, anguished and marginalized — the way they felt four years ago. He encouraged viewers in that place now to hate the feeling and not people who disagree with them.
"You got to find a way to forgive each other," he said. "You got to find a way to find joy in your existence in spite of that feeling."
There were other great sketches, especially the one featuring stereotypical Black mascots like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben getting fired by guilty white executives.
Saturday Night Live via YouTube
But by the time Chappelle dropped the mic at the end of his monologue, viewers knew we had seen the moment that took everything we'd been feeling over the past four years and pointed a way forward, while making us laugh.
Bravo Saturday Night Live for launching your first really trenchant episode of the season. Now all you have to do is keep them coming.