WEBVTT 00:04.779 --> 00:06.069 JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff. 00:06.069 --> 00:11.069 On the "NewsHour" tonight: stalemate. President Biden's agenda stalls in Congress amid disagreements 00:12.769 --> 00:17.769 among Democrats over his $3.5 trillion spending plan. 00:18.119 --> 00:23.119 Then: the end of an era. Angela Merkel's 16 years as chancellor draws to a close, with 00:25.259 --> 00:28.759 German voters uncertain about the country's future. 00:28.759 --> 00:33.759 MAN: Angela Merkel was -- I think she did a good job overall, but we need to do something 00:33.879 --> 00:34.879 different. 00:34.879 --> 00:35.879 JUDY WOODRUFF: And it's Friday. 00:35.879 --> 00:37.890 JIM LEHRER, Co-Founder and Former Anchor, "PBS NewsHour": The official debut of Shields 00:37.890 --> 00:38.890 and Brooks. 00:38.890 --> 00:43.710 JUDY WOODRUFF: We celebrate David Brooks' 20 years on the program, as he and Jonathan 00:43.710 --> 00:48.710 Capehart consider the divide among Democrats and the looming debt ceiling deadline. 00:49.839 --> 00:53.023 All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour." 00:53.023 --> 00:58.023 (BREAK) 02:39.002 --> 02:44.002 JUDY WOODRUFF: Major pieces of President Biden's ambitious domestic agenda are at risk tonight, 02:44.700 --> 02:48.340 amid infighting among members of his own Democratic Party. 02:48.340 --> 02:53.340 Hanging in the balance, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and his $3.5 trillion spending package 02:55.640 --> 03:00.640 to address health care, child care, the environment, and more. The president spoke about the status 03:01.019 --> 03:03.000 of negotiations earlier today. 03:03.000 --> 03:06.769 JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: We're at this stalemate at the moment. And 03:06.769 --> 03:11.769 we're going to have to get these two pieces of legislation passed. Both need to be passed. 03:12.760 --> 03:15.920 JUDY WOODRUFF: And Amna Nawaz joins me now. 03:15.920 --> 03:19.470 So, Amna, what -- tell us more about the stalemate the president is referring to. 03:19.470 --> 03:22.659 AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, it's a big acknowledge, but he's sort of been building his language 03:22.659 --> 03:23.659 towards this. 03:23.659 --> 03:27.120 And it is very descriptive and indicative of where they are right now. You're talking 03:27.120 --> 03:32.120 about two major bills, both central to the president's economic agenda, that $1 trillion 03:32.519 --> 03:37.130 bipartisan infrastructure bill, the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. They are 03:37.130 --> 03:40.000 locked up in an intra-Democratic Party battle right now. 03:40.000 --> 03:44.079 So, we know, of course, centrists want that bipartisan bill to move forward through, first 03:44.079 --> 03:47.520 alone. It's already passed the Senate. They have some sticker shock when it comes to the 03:47.520 --> 03:51.849 reconciliation bill. And progressives want both tracked, moving through together. They 03:51.849 --> 03:55.550 have even threatened to tank the infrastructure bill if they don't move through together. 03:55.550 --> 03:59.170 So, look, President Biden, we know this week has been working to unite both sides, figure 03:59.170 --> 04:03.230 out where the common ground is. His language today is very reflective of where they are 04:03.230 --> 04:07.360 right now. He ended with that little bit of hope and optimism. They both need to be passed. 04:07.360 --> 04:09.470 It's not clear where the common ground is moving forward. 04:09.470 --> 04:12.270 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, given all that, where does it go from here? 04:12.270 --> 04:15.390 AMNA NAWAZ: So here's where we are today. You have got the leader of the House Congressional 04:15.390 --> 04:19.940 - - the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Pramila Jayapal, basically doubling down and saying, 04:19.940 --> 04:23.520 we are not going to leave behind the things that we fought so hard for, child care and 04:23.520 --> 04:26.370 education and climate and so on, the human infrastructure bill. 04:26.370 --> 04:31.100 And she had some tough words for those moderate centrists, for Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, 04:31.100 --> 04:34.830 saying, you drafted the infrastructure bill without input from us. We have drafted the 04:34.830 --> 04:37.389 reconciliation bill. You now need to come along. 04:37.389 --> 04:40.741 Now, Senator Manchin has said this week that President Biden asked him for a number. He 04:40.741 --> 04:44.370 said, tell me what you would support. What would it take to get your support on this 04:44.370 --> 04:48.100 bill? Please just continue to work on this. That's where we could see some agreement, 04:48.100 --> 04:50.669 if they can come to some kind of compromise on the number. 04:50.669 --> 04:53.750 But the House, meanwhile, it's going to continue to work through the weekend. Speaker Pelosi's 04:53.750 --> 04:58.530 office today told us the Budget Committee is going to continue to mark up that reconciliation 04:58.530 --> 05:02.840 bill tomorrow. It then goes to the Rules Committee. A source in her office says they are very 05:02.840 --> 05:03.930 much moving forward. 05:03.930 --> 05:08.000 But in her latest letter to her Democratic colleagues, she did have some careful language. 05:08.000 --> 05:12.910 She said: "As negotiations continue, there may be changes," so maybe bracing some members 05:12.910 --> 05:16.430 of her caucus that some of the details or the contours of the bill could change. 05:16.430 --> 05:20.750 It does end with a plan, though. Speaker Pelosi announced she does plan to move forward next 05:20.750 --> 05:25.750 week with two bills, both infrastructure and reconciliation. And we should say she pledged 05:26.050 --> 05:28.860 to bring the infrastructure bill to a vote on Monday, when, by the way, Judy, the Senate 05:28.860 --> 05:32.990 is also likely voting on continuing government funding and raising the debt ceiling. 05:32.990 --> 05:34.990 So, just all of the things happening on Monday. 05:34.990 --> 05:39.280 JUDY WOODRUFF: All of it's happening all at one time. And we will see what happens. It 05:39.280 --> 05:40.440 is going to be a full weekend. 05:40.440 --> 05:41.520 AMNA NAWAZ: We will see. 05:41.520 --> 05:44.410 JUDY WOODRUFF: Amna Nawaz, thanks very much. 05:44.410 --> 05:49.410 AMNA NAWAZ: Thanks, Judy. 05:51.400 --> 05:56.400 JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: Millions of Americans who got Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine 05:59.389 --> 06:04.389 are now eligible to receive a booster shot. That's after the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle 06:05.300 --> 06:10.300 Walensky, signed off on her agency's advisory panel recommendations for extra doses for 06:11.340 --> 06:14.070 older and high-risk Americans. 06:14.070 --> 06:19.070 She also overruled her advisers to expand eligibility to include front-line workers, 06:19.860 --> 06:23.560 to side with the FDA's recommendation. 06:23.560 --> 06:28.199 President Biden praised the decision and pleaded with Americans who have yet to receive their 06:28.199 --> 06:29.199 first dose. 06:29.199 --> 06:33.850 JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Listen to the voices of the unvaccinated Americans 06:33.850 --> 06:37.560 who are lying in hospital beds, taking their final breaths, saying -- and, literally, we 06:37.560 --> 06:42.560 have seen this on television -- "If only I had gotten vaccinated." 06:42.590 --> 06:47.590 Please don't let this become your tragedy. Get vaccinated. It can save your live -- your 06:49.169 --> 06:51.720 life. It can save the lives of those around you. 06:51.720 --> 06:56.720 JUDY WOODRUFF: Vice President Harris had her own COVID scare today, just moments before 06:56.729 --> 07:01.729 an interview with ABC's "The View." Two of the show's hosts, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro, 07:03.449 --> 07:08.449 tested positive for COVID. They were pulled from the set in front of a live audience. 07:08.570 --> 07:13.110 The vice president, who was later interviewed remotely from another room, did not have any 07:13.110 --> 07:15.240 contact with them. 07:15.240 --> 07:20.240 A migrant encampment in Del Rio, Texas, where thousands of Haitian migrants had converged 07:20.530 --> 07:22.980 this week has now been cleared. 07:22.980 --> 07:27.980 Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said some 12, 400 were allowed into the U.S. 07:30.360 --> 07:35.360 to seek asylum. He also expressed outrage over scenes of Border Patrol agents whipping 07:36.330 --> 07:37.360 at migrants. 07:37.360 --> 07:41.230 ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security: The images horrified us in terms 07:41.230 --> 07:46.230 of what they suggest and what they conjure up, in terms of not only our nation's history, 07:47.160 --> 07:52.160 but, unfortunately, the fact that that page of history has not been turned entirely. And 07:52.620 --> 07:56.880 that means that there is much work to do, and we are very focused on doing it. 07:56.880 --> 08:01.880 JUDY WOODRUFF: Mayorkas said about 2,000 migrants have been flown back to Haiti since Sunday, 08:02.540 --> 08:05.990 and more could be expelled in the coming days. 08:05.990 --> 08:10.990 The U.N. now says the death toll from the Syrian civil war is far higher than it previously 08:11.960 --> 08:16.960 believed. Its human rights office has documented more than 350,000 civilian and combatant deaths 08:19.600 --> 08:22.430 during the decade-long conflict. 08:22.430 --> 08:25.650 But it acknowledged the true toll is likely much greater. 08:25.650 --> 08:30.611 MICHELLE BACHELET, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner: It is not and should be not seen as a complete 08:30.611 --> 08:35.140 number of conflict-related killings in Syria during this period. 08:35.140 --> 08:40.140 It indicates a minimum verifiable number and is certainly an undercount of the actual number 08:41.410 --> 08:46.410 of killings. Tragically, there are also many other victims who left behind no witnesses 08:46.740 --> 08:49.250 or documentation as to their death. 08:49.250 --> 08:54.250 JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.N.'s death toll numbers are still far lower than the tally from the 08:54.660 --> 08:59.660 Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which estimates more than 606,000 people have died. 09:02.050 --> 09:07.050 Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin plans to appeal his convictions and his 22.5-year 09:09.370 --> 09:14.370 sentence for the murder of George Floyd. In documents filed Thursday, he argued the judge 09:14.800 --> 09:19.800 abused his discretion and erred multiple times during the trial. Chauvin is representing 09:20.910 --> 09:25.910 himself in the appeals process after he was denied a public defender. 09:26.640 --> 09:31.460 President Biden will not invoke executive privilege to shield former President Trump's 09:31.460 --> 09:36.460 records from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. White House Press 09:37.440 --> 09:42.410 Secretary Jen Psaki said that they will cooperate with Congress to help get to the bottom of 09:42.410 --> 09:44.590 what happened that day. 09:44.590 --> 09:49.590 The GOP audit of 2020 election results in Arizona's largest county has confirmed President 09:52.280 --> 09:57.280 Biden won the state. The findings released today further discredit former President Trump's 09:57.670 --> 09:59.860 claims of election fraud. 09:59.860 --> 10:04.860 Meanwhile, Texas is launching its own election audit in four counties, under pressure from 10:05.280 --> 10:06.280 Mr. Trump. 10:06.280 --> 10:09.950 We will return to Arizona's audit after the news summary. 10:09.950 --> 10:14.660 The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to protect a woman's right to an abortion. 10:14.660 --> 10:19.500 It was in response to a highly restrictive Texas law that went into effect earlier this 10:19.500 --> 10:23.690 month that has the effect of banning most abortions. 10:23.690 --> 10:26.280 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi celebrated today's vote. 10:26.280 --> 10:31.280 REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This is about women's right to choose, yes, but it's about freedom, 10:32.090 --> 10:37.090 freedom of that choice, and freedom from the vigilantes, the bounty hunters that the Texas 10:38.790 --> 10:42.710 government has -- legislature has set in motion. 10:42.710 --> 10:47.640 JUDY WOODRUFF: The bill's passage in the House is largely symbolic, since it's not likely 10:47.640 --> 10:50.930 to get the support it needs to advance in the Senate. 10:50.930 --> 10:55.930 The Senate's oldest Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, announced today that he will run 10:56.220 --> 11:01.220 for reelection next year. The 88-year-old has held his seat for four decades. His announcement 11:02.860 --> 11:07.430 gives Senate Republicans more hope that they will be able to hold onto his seat in next 11:07.430 --> 11:10.160 year's midterm elections. 11:10.160 --> 11:15.160 The chief financial officer of Huawei has reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department 11:15.570 --> 11:20.570 to resolve criminal charges against her and allow her to return to China. Meng Wanzhou 11:21.810 --> 11:26.810 admitted to misleading a bank about the Chinese communications giant's business with Iran. 11:28.220 --> 11:33.220 She's been in Canada since her 2018 arrest on a U.S. warrant. 11:33.630 --> 11:38.310 And trading was light on Wall Street today, after a volatile week. The Dow Jones industrial 11:38.310 --> 11:43.310 average gained 33 points to close at 34798. The Nasdaq fell four points, and the S&P 500 11:47.370 --> 11:48.370 added six. 11:48.370 --> 11:53.370 Still to come on the "NewsHour": a controversial Republican-led election audit in Arizona confirms 11:54.860 --> 11:59.860 Biden won the state in 2020; German voters chart a new future, as the Angela Merkel era 12:01.920 --> 12:06.920 draws to a close; the jury begins deliberations in the trial of embattled singer R. Kelly; 12:19.150 --> 12:21.120 and much more. 12:21.120 --> 12:26.120 The widely discredited election review in Arizona 12:30.730 --> 12:32.240 is over. 12:32.240 --> 12:37.240 But more than 10 months after the 2020 election, there is growing alarm about other efforts 12:38.200 --> 12:43.200 launched with no credible justification to sow doubt about elections past, present and 12:44.570 --> 12:45.570 future. 12:45.570 --> 12:46.610 William Brangham explains. 12:46.610 --> 12:48.330 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right, Judy. 12:48.330 --> 12:53.000 It was Republicans in the Arizona state Senate who commissioned this review of ballots in 12:53.000 --> 12:57.870 Maricopa County, even though election officials in the state said there was no large-scale 12:57.870 --> 13:00.520 fraud in the 2020 election. 13:00.520 --> 13:05.520 But a partisan group called Cyber Ninjas undertook a controversial review of the vote, and they 13:06.131 --> 13:10.790 affirmed that Joe Biden in fact won Maricopa County and Arizona. 13:10.790 --> 13:15.560 And here with us to look at the larger context is Nate Persily, a scholar of election law 13:15.560 --> 13:18.510 at Stanford University Law School. 13:18.510 --> 13:21.300 Nate, great to see you back on the "NewsHour." 13:21.300 --> 13:26.300 I hesitate to call this an actual audit, what this organization did in Arizona. But they 13:28.681 --> 13:32.891 affirmed what we already knew, that Joe Biden won Maricopa County and he won Arizona. But 13:32.891 --> 13:34.970 what do you make of this when you look at this process? 13:34.970 --> 13:39.150 NATE PERSILY, Stanford Law School: Well, you're right to hesitate in calling it an audit. 13:39.150 --> 13:43.480 Audits are good things. We know how to do election audits. Every state should audit 13:43.480 --> 13:48.480 its elections. But that is not what this was. This really was part of a coordinated disinformation 13:48.760 --> 13:53.100 campaign to try to undermine the legitimacy of the election. And we should not put too 13:53.100 --> 13:58.100 fine a point on it, that the whole goal here after the fact, many months after the fact, 13:59.200 --> 14:04.200 now almost a year after the election, was to cast doubt on the basic machinery of this 14:04.400 --> 14:05.400 election. 14:05.400 --> 14:10.400 And, as we have seen, even in the sort of public reception of this draft report, the 14:10.840 --> 14:15.840 fact that Cyber Ninjas did not find that it affected the outcome hasn't sort of decreased 14:17.090 --> 14:21.220 speculation or this lack of confidence that the whole audit process has generated. 14:21.220 --> 14:25.070 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And for people who haven't been following this rather circuitous process 14:25.070 --> 14:28.411 they took, I mean, this was a very bizarre process, the way they went about this. These 14:28.411 --> 14:30.870 people had no experience in election law. 14:30.870 --> 14:35.650 They spent a period of time searching for bamboo fibers, allegedly looking for counterfeit 14:35.650 --> 14:40.650 Chinese ballots. I mean, the whole process seems -- bizarre is the official term, I think, 14:41.890 --> 14:42.890 for this. 14:42.890 --> 14:47.890 NATE PERSILY: Well, one of the problems is that we don't really know what the basic allegation 14:48.230 --> 14:50.600 was as to why there might have been fraud, whether in Arizona or elsewhere. 14:50.600 --> 14:55.600 Throughout the last 10, 12 months, what we have seen are allegations, again, of Chinese 14:58.560 --> 15:03.520 ballots, as you were saying, in Arizona, of Italian satellites as having manipulated voting 15:03.520 --> 15:08.520 machines, or of Dominion voting machines not being secure, of dead people voting and the 15:09.010 --> 15:10.010 like. 15:10.010 --> 15:15.010 There's this very heterogeneous set of complaints. And so what Cyber Ninjas was doing was going 15:15.760 --> 15:20.760 on a fishing expedition to find out if there was anything that implicated the outcome. 15:21.980 --> 15:24.570 Now, they didn't find that the results would have been different. In fact, they had -- from 15:24.570 --> 15:28.830 their results, they suggest that Joe Biden actually increased his vote totals through 15:28.830 --> 15:31.830 their audit than what was found on Election Day. 15:31.830 --> 15:36.830 But the fact that it may have sort of confirmed the result should not be any solace to those 15:37.110 --> 15:42.110 of us who worry about the lack of confidence that this type of process has engendered among 15:42.710 --> 15:43.710 the mass public. 15:43.710 --> 15:48.051 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And, as you say, if this were just Arizona, that might be one thing. 15:48.051 --> 15:51.870 We might be able to put this behind us, but this is going on in multiple other states 15:51.870 --> 15:52.870 now. 15:52.870 --> 15:53.870 NATE PERSILY: That's right. 15:53.870 --> 15:58.870 This is now a playbook for other states. If you are a sort of disgruntled politician or 15:59.460 --> 16:04.460 one trying to make a name for yourself, then, whether it's in Pennsylvania or Wisconsin 16:04.750 --> 16:09.750 or some other states, Georgia, now that this is a pathway that they have chosen. 16:11.500 --> 16:15.460 Now, again, recounts and audits are part of our process. We want to encourage that in 16:15.460 --> 16:18.760 the month or so after an election, because we want to know that the election machinery 16:18.760 --> 16:23.760 is working as intended. But a year after an election, right, all this is trying to do 16:23.940 --> 16:26.160 is to undermine confidence in the result. 16:26.160 --> 16:29.980 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And it sounds like, on some level, that perpetual argument that is made 16:29.980 --> 16:34.980 is having an effect, there was a Monmouth University poll out a month or two ago that 16:34.980 --> 16:39.980 showed that a third of Americans believe that President Biden was elected only because of 16:40.000 --> 16:43.430 fraud and that Donald Trump should have properly won the election. 16:43.430 --> 16:48.320 I mean, from an election administrator standpoint, if a third of the country thinks that you're 16:48.320 --> 16:53.320 engaged in a widespread fraud, what does that do to their ability to run elections safely 16:53.790 --> 16:54.790 and soundly? 16:54.790 --> 16:59.340 NATE PERSILY: Well, this is a very dangerous period, I think, for our democracy, that we 16:59.340 --> 17:04.340 have not seen this erosion of confidence in the basic infrastructure America, of the elections, 17:06.100 --> 17:08.120 in our history. 17:08.120 --> 17:12.830 We see lots of retirements among these veteran election officials. We see that many of them 17:12.830 --> 17:16.940 feel that they're taking their lives in their own hands because of death threats and the 17:16.940 --> 17:17.940 like. 17:17.940 --> 17:22.470 And so these are challenges we have not faced before, and they're a direct result of the 17:22.470 --> 17:27.180 concerted disinformation campaign that's trying to undermine the legitimacy the outcome. 17:27.180 --> 17:29.250 But these folks are heroes. 17:29.250 --> 17:32.760 WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Nate Persily of Stanford University Law School, thanks so much for 17:32.760 --> 17:34.870 being here. 17:34.870 --> 17:39.870 NATE PERSILY: Thank you. 17:41.600 --> 17:46.600 JUDY WOODRUFF: Germany is one of America's most important allies, and nearly every American 17:49.350 --> 17:54.350 president since George W. Bush has worked closely with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 17:55.020 --> 18:00.020 But for the first time since 2005, she will not be a candidate when Germans head to the 18:00.390 --> 18:03.560 polls this Sunday to vote for her successor. 18:03.560 --> 18:08.560 Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant is in Berlin with a preview of the upcoming election. 18:09.010 --> 18:12.140 MALCOLM BRABANT: Judy, this is the end of an era. 18:12.140 --> 18:16.820 Angela Merkel is slipping away from the political stage with minimal fanfare, which is entirely 18:16.820 --> 18:21.820 consistent with her modest, understated style. She's leaving behind huge shoes to fill, and 18:22.420 --> 18:25.370 there's a very tight race to replace her as chancellor. 18:25.370 --> 18:30.370 For 16 years, Angela Merkel has led Germany and been Europe's most dominant politician. 18:30.990 --> 18:35.990 They call her Mutti, or Mom. Now, as Mutti is leaving the chancellery, Germany is out 18:36.640 --> 18:37.640 of its comfort zone. 18:37.640 --> 18:41.040 PETER NEUMANN, Christian Democratic Union: I think she will be remembered as a very important 18:41.040 --> 18:42.770 statesperson who kept Europe together. 18:42.770 --> 18:47.470 MALCOLM BRABANT: Peter Neumann is a senior adviser to Merkel's center-right Christian 18:47.470 --> 18:48.470 Democrat Party. 18:48.470 --> 18:53.470 PETER NEUMANN: History will remember her as a successful chancellor, as a popular chancellor, 18:54.280 --> 18:59.280 as a chancellor that brought Germans a great deal of prosperity 18:59.520 --> 19:04.520 MALCOLM BRABANT: President Biden saluted the shy research scientist who became the first 19:04.570 --> 19:08.590 East German to assume her nation's highest office since reunification. 19:08.590 --> 19:13.590 JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: On behalf of the United States, thank you, 19:13.770 --> 19:16.540 Angela, for your career of strong, principled leadership. 19:16.540 --> 19:21.540 And I want to thank you for your continued support for the longstanding goal of Europe 19:23.130 --> 19:26.500 whole, free and at peace. 19:26.500 --> 19:31.500 MALCOLM BRABANT: In 2010, Merkel saved the euro currency by coordinating a financial 19:31.780 --> 19:36.780 bailout for Greece when it went bust. There were fears that other weak European economies 19:37.130 --> 19:39.460 would collapse and the euro would tank. 19:39.460 --> 19:44.010 ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor (through translator): Europe fails when the euro fails. 19:44.010 --> 19:45.960 Europe wins when the euro wins. 19:45.960 --> 19:50.260 MALCOLM BRABANT: Merkel's most controversial unilateral act was to throw open Germany's 19:50.260 --> 19:55.260 borders to Syrian refugees in 2015. In all, Germany granted asylum to over a million in 19:57.230 --> 20:00.250 that first year of Europe's migration crisis. 20:00.250 --> 20:04.860 ANGELA MERKEL (through translator): And I have to say quite honestly, if we now start 20:04.860 --> 20:09.860 having to apologize even for showing a friendly face in emergency situations, then this is 20:10.270 --> 20:11.570 not my country. 20:11.570 --> 20:16.570 MALCOLM BRABANT: People across the developing world saw this as an invitation to enter Europe. 20:17.300 --> 20:22.300 Only Sweden emulated Germany. Partner nations resented being pressured. Hungary erected 20:23.160 --> 20:28.160 a border fence, wrecking the E.U.'s commitment to open internal frontiers. 20:28.750 --> 20:32.900 Six years on, the flow of asylum seekers into Europe is still strong. 20:32.900 --> 20:37.680 Sonya Sceats runs a London-based pro refugee nonprofit. She thinks Merkel was right. 20:37.680 --> 20:39.920 SONYA SCEATS, Chief Executive, Freedom From Torture: Germany and Sweden tried to start 20:39.920 --> 20:43.860 a grownup conversation with other European states, and other European states weren't 20:43.860 --> 20:46.090 willing to step up to the plate. 20:46.090 --> 20:50.780 MALCOLM BRABANT: The influx caused a backlash at home, and, as Peter Neumann explains, led 20:50.780 --> 20:53.330 to a resurgence of the far right in East Germany. 20:53.330 --> 20:58.330 PETER NEUMANN: Significant parts of the electorate didn't like it at all and especially the East, 20:58.880 --> 21:03.880 where she's coming from was very aggrieved about it and still holds it against her. I 21:04.711 --> 21:07.980 think that's the point where she lost the former East Germany. 21:07.980 --> 21:12.980 MALCOLM BRABANT: Since Merkel opened Germany's borders in 2015. European right-wingers like 21:13.350 --> 21:18.350 French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen have secured a stronger footing with their 21:18.780 --> 21:19.780 anti-immigration rhetoric. 21:19.780 --> 21:23.370 MARINE LE PEN, President, National Rally Party (through translator): All of the migrants 21:23.370 --> 21:28.300 who didn't stay in Germany went off amusing themselves in other European countries without 21:28.300 --> 21:33.300 asking for our permission. Those who didn't remain in Germany went to Sweden, Italy, France, 21:34.550 --> 21:38.650 weighing heavily on our finances, and creating conditions for conflict. 21:38.650 --> 21:43.650 MALCOLM BRABANT: Unlike last time, when immigration dominated, climate change is this election's 21:44.820 --> 21:49.550 hot issue. Polls suggest that Germany is steering to the left. 21:49.550 --> 21:54.550 Most Germans expect Social Democrat Olaf Scholz to replace Merkel. As finance minister in 21:55.310 --> 22:00.310 Merkel's coalition government, Scholz is a known quantity, if a little dull. His main 22:01.420 --> 22:06.420 rival, Armin Laschet, who replaced Merkel as head of the center-right Christian Democrats, 22:06.550 --> 22:08.720 is also charisma-challenged. 22:08.720 --> 22:13.720 But that's not a disadvantage in Germany. The main outsider, Annalena Baerbock of the 22:14.131 --> 22:19.131 environmentalist Greens, is predicted to be kingmaker in the next inevitable coalition. 22:19.670 --> 22:22.770 OLAF SCHOLZ, Social Democratic Party (through translator): Many citizens can see me as the 22:22.770 --> 22:27.770 next head of government, the next chancellor. And I make no secret that, above all, I would 22:27.910 --> 22:30.260 like to create a government in alliance with the Greens. 22:30.260 --> 22:34.000 MALCOLM BRABANT: Laschet is promising Merkel-like stability. 22:34.000 --> 22:36.520 ARMIN LASCHET, Christian Democratic Union (through translator): I stand for the cohesion 22:36.520 --> 22:41.520 of Europe in these difficult times, a climate-neutral industry and strong economy, and a clear course 22:42.370 --> 22:43.960 for national security. 22:43.960 --> 22:47.870 MALCOLM BRABANT: Baerbock wants to force the Christian Democrats into opposition. 22:47.870 --> 22:50.430 ANNALENA BAERBOCK, Leader, German Green Party (through translator): I stand for no longer 22:50.430 --> 22:55.430 using half-measures to protect the climate, a policy that finally brings children and 22:55.600 --> 23:00.600 families to its core and a human rights-led foreign policy in the heart of Europe. 23:00.860 --> 23:05.690 MALCOLM BRABANT: Devastating floods caused by unnaturally heavy summer rain pushed climate 23:05.690 --> 23:10.690 change onto the election agenda. The death toll is still unclear, but could be as high 23:11.510 --> 23:16.310 as 300. Restoration could cost $30 billion. 23:16.310 --> 23:20.880 Activist Jacob Heinze has gone without food for three weeks to highlight climate change. 23:20.880 --> 23:25.870 At the hunger striker'S camp, spokeswoman Helen Luebbert had harsh words for the greens. 23:25.870 --> 23:29.230 HELEN LUEBBERT, Climate Change Activist: They are not the solution. Even their program is 23:29.230 --> 23:32.940 not enough. And, therefore, I think it's important that they are part of the coalition, they 23:32.940 --> 23:36.900 do everything they can within the political spectrum, within the Parliament, and then 23:36.900 --> 23:40.250 we definitely need opposition from without the Parliament. 23:40.250 --> 23:45.250 MALCOLM BRABANT: Facing possible defeat, center-right parliamentary candidate Klaus-Dieter Grohler 23:45.440 --> 23:48.290 was trying to woo votes with bratwurst and beer. 23:48.290 --> 23:51.240 KLAUS-DIETER GROHLER, Christian Democratic Union (through translator): People are asking 23:51.240 --> 23:55.121 critical questions, but I'm not getting the sense that they are really interested in a 23:55.121 --> 23:56.121 change of government. 23:56.121 --> 24:01.070 MALCOLM BRABANT: That's not what the polls say. This voter won't be swayed by a sausage. 24:01.070 --> 24:05.390 MAN: Angela Merkel was -- I think she did a good job overall, but we need to do something 24:05.390 --> 24:06.390 different. 24:06.390 --> 24:10.470 MALCOLM BRABANT: As Election Day approaches, the party of Angela Merkel is hoping Germans 24:10.470 --> 24:15.470 will avoid change, and play safe, as they have done so often in the past. 24:15.550 --> 24:20.550 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Berlin. 24:21.670 --> 24:26.670 JUDY WOODRUFF: A jury began deliberations today in the of federal trial of singer R. 24:35.470 --> 24:40.470 Kelly. The R&B artist is accused of kidnapping, bribery, sex trafficking, and racketeering, 24:42.400 --> 24:43.620 among other charges. 24:43.620 --> 24:46.680 Amna Nawaz is back with our look at the case. 24:46.680 --> 24:51.680 And a warning for some viewers: This story deals with explicit references to sexual assault. 24:52.520 --> 24:57.520 AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, R. Kelly has faced allegations of sexual abuse for more than two decades 24:58.110 --> 25:00.110 and has settled multiple cases. 25:00.110 --> 25:04.020 But this is the first criminal trial he's faced since being acquitted of child pornography 25:04.020 --> 25:09.020 charges back in 2008. Over this trial, prosecutors brought 45 witnesses to prove racketeering 25:10.240 --> 25:15.240 charges. They argue that Kelly oversaw a criminal enterprise, with associates helping to lure 25:15.300 --> 25:20.300 underage girls, boys, and young women, whom he sexually assaulted and imprisoned. 25:20.440 --> 25:21.720 Kelly pled not guilty. 25:21.720 --> 25:25.540 Emily Palmer is covering this for The New York Times. And she joins me now. 25:25.540 --> 25:27.260 Emily, welcome to the "NewsHour." 25:27.260 --> 25:31.620 You have been listening to those witnesses as they're shared their testimony, horrifying 25:31.620 --> 25:35.160 details. Tell us a little bit about who we have heard from and what they have said. 25:35.160 --> 25:40.160 EMILY PALMER, The New York Times: This case is built on the stories of six women. Five 25:41.100 --> 25:42.600 of them testified. 25:42.600 --> 25:47.540 And the first woman to take the stand, the first woman to ever actually take the stand 25:47.540 --> 25:52.410 and testify against R. Kelly was a woman named Jerhonda Pace. She was nine months' pregnant 25:52.410 --> 25:54.910 at the time. And she took the stand. 25:54.910 --> 25:59.910 And, over the course of two days, she delineated what she says was a system of abuse that began 26:01.190 --> 26:05.040 upon her first meeting with R. Kelly when she was just 14 years old and attended his 26:05.040 --> 26:10.040 child pornography trial in Chicago. Two years later, she met up with the singer again, and 26:11.520 --> 26:14.440 he began having sex with her almost from the get-go. 26:14.440 --> 26:19.440 She outlined horrific details of sexual, as well as physical abuse. And from there, the 26:23.350 --> 26:28.350 trial just sort of pushed forward. We heard also from a woman named Stephanie, Sonya, 26:29.110 --> 26:31.950 a woman who testified under the name of Jane, and another Faith. 26:31.950 --> 26:36.950 They all came forward, and they talked about the same thing. They had testimony that actually 26:37.200 --> 26:41.950 stretched all the way back into the 1990s, all the way into just a few years ago. And 26:41.950 --> 26:44.790 they were saying the same story over and over again. 26:44.790 --> 26:47.850 AMNA NAWAZ: And, Emily, as prosecutors say, it wasn't just about the predatory actions 26:47.850 --> 26:51.590 of one man, that there was an entire network of enablers around him. Tell me a little bit 26:51.590 --> 26:52.930 about how they made that case. 26:52.930 --> 26:53.930 EMILY PALMER: Absolutely. 26:53.930 --> 26:58.400 And that network of enablers is actually the whole reason that we're in federal court right 26:58.400 --> 27:03.400 now. The racketeering charge that they have put against R. Kelly allows them to go stretch 27:04.550 --> 27:09.550 all the way back into the 1990s and bring these stories of horrible things that happen 27:10.640 --> 27:15.640 to women like the R&B singer Aaliyah that would normally be too old to actually prosecute. 27:17.380 --> 27:21.730 But by charging him with racketeering, something that's usually used against mobsters, they 27:21.730 --> 27:26.130 have been able to establish that we're not talking about a successful music company, 27:26.130 --> 27:28.490 prosecutors say. We're talking about an enterprise designed specifically to allow R. Kelly to 27:28.490 --> 27:29.490 switch up his -- sorry. 27:29.490 --> 27:32.510 We are talking about an enterprise that allows R. Kelly to cash in his fame and stardom to 27:32.510 --> 27:35.920 have sex with underage women, girls, and even boys. 27:35.920 --> 27:40.760 AMNA NAWAZ: So, Emily, R. Kelly has pled not guilty. He's denied all the accusations against 27:40.760 --> 27:42.390 him. Tell me about his defense team. 27:42.390 --> 27:45.330 How do they answer some of these allegations and handle the witnesses? 27:45.330 --> 27:50.330 EMILY PALMER: His defense, from opening arguments through cross-examination of 45 witnesses, 27:52.610 --> 27:56.770 through their own five witnesses that came and testified earlier this week, through closing 27:56.770 --> 28:00.530 statements, have kept to a very specific story. 28:00.530 --> 28:05.530 They say this is a complete conspiracy to undermine a successful R&B artist who enjoyed 28:10.830 --> 28:15.830 younger women, but there was nothing illegal about it, they say. They say that these sexual 28:15.920 --> 28:20.920 acts were completely -- they say that the women were happy to indulge R. Kelly, were 28:25.790 --> 28:30.790 fans, even super stalkers at times, that they wanted into the relationships, and then they 28:30.980 --> 28:34.400 became jealous and hurt and upset, and they were coming after his money. 28:34.400 --> 28:38.179 AMNA NAWAZ: Emily, I think a lot of people will listen to this and wonder, how? How did 28:38.179 --> 28:42.240 this go on for so long without charges of this kind being brought? 28:42.240 --> 28:47.240 EMILY PALMER: It's really important to look at the people who are accusing R. Kelly. 28:48.040 --> 28:51.940 And most of the people who have taken -- a majority of the people who have taken the 28:51.940 --> 28:56.940 stand are Black women who have historically not been heard, especially in cases like this. 28:59.790 --> 29:03.770 And this is really a huge moment in the MeToo movement. 29:03.770 --> 29:08.170 We have had other trials. We have had Bill Cosby. We have had Harvey Weinstein. But this 29:08.170 --> 29:13.170 is the first big high-profile case where a majority of the accusers are Black women. 29:14.530 --> 29:19.530 And it's really going to be interesting as the jury continues to deliberate, because, 29:21.150 --> 29:26.150 for many years, people knew what was going on. His employees knew. Even, to a certain 29:28.340 --> 29:31.400 extent, the public knew, and yet nobody did anything. 29:31.400 --> 29:34.100 AMNA NAWAZ: And we will be waiting and watching for that verdict. 29:34.100 --> 29:38.010 That is Emily Palmer of The New York Times covering the trial of R. Kelly and joining 29:38.010 --> 29:39.960 us tonight. 29:39.960 --> 29:44.270 Thank you, Emily. 29:44.270 --> 29:49.270 EMILY PALMER: Thank you. 29:50.010 --> 29:55.010 JUDY WOODRUFF: As President Biden's legislative agenda stalls in Congress, he has run into 29:57.310 --> 30:02.310 yet another issue, or, we should say, continues to run into the issue of turmoil on the Southern 30:03.710 --> 30:04.710 border. 30:04.710 --> 30:09.420 For a look at this busy week and what it all means, we're joined by Brooks and Capehart. 30:09.420 --> 30:14.420 That is New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, columnist for The Washington 30:14.470 --> 30:15.470 Post. 30:15.470 --> 30:16.470 Hello to both of you. 30:16.470 --> 30:17.470 JONATHAN CAPEHART: You too, Judy. 30:17.470 --> 30:18.470 JUDY WOODRUFF: Very good to see you... 30:18.470 --> 30:19.470 JONATHAN CAPEHART: You too. 30:19.470 --> 30:20.470 JUDY WOODRUFF: ... on this Friday. 30:20.470 --> 30:21.470 And there is so much to talk about. 30:21.470 --> 30:26.470 So, David, it does look like there's real trouble for President Biden's domestic agenda. 30:26.800 --> 30:31.800 And it's not the Republicans this time, at least on the part that he's run into, headwinds 30:32.880 --> 30:37.160 this week. It's his own Democratic colleagues. What is behind this? 30:37.160 --> 30:39.270 DAVID BROOKS: Yes, it's just an intellectual difference. 30:39.270 --> 30:44.010 The -- and what strikes me is how so many people are drawing red lines. The progressives 30:44.010 --> 30:49.010 are saying, we want $3.5 trillion. We're not going under. Manchin and others say $1.5 trillion, 30:49.470 --> 30:50.830 we're not going over. 30:50.830 --> 30:55.210 And so that's a gigantic gap. They can't even agree on when to vote on what. And so I think 30:55.210 --> 30:59.929 what they need to do is look at, what is the key insight of each side? The progressives 30:59.929 --> 31:04.540 are right that we need something big. We're a nation in decline. We're a nation -- because 31:04.540 --> 31:08.799 of disunity. Lots of people have been left behind by this economy. And they're right 31:08.799 --> 31:11.929 to do something big to try to jolt us back to unity. 31:11.929 --> 31:16.010 The moderates, in my view, are right that we're not going to have a European-style welfare 31:16.010 --> 31:19.790 state. We're just not that kind of country. We're an individualistic country. We like 31:19.790 --> 31:24.679 to tie benefits to work and have a work obligation. We're never going to give away as much money 31:24.679 --> 31:29.679 in taxes as the Europeans do. The Norwegians give away about 46 percent of their GDP to 31:29.680 --> 31:32.360 taxes. If this passed, it would get us up to 19. 31:32.360 --> 31:36.920 We're just not that kind of country. So, if you take the scope of the progressives and 31:36.920 --> 31:41.720 the values of the moderates, I think you can get a deal, but they're pretty far away from 31:41.720 --> 31:42.720 it right now. 31:42.720 --> 31:47.010 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, they both may have a point, Jonathan, but the president's -- the 31:47.010 --> 31:50.600 future of his of his term in office could be in the balance here. 31:50.600 --> 31:53.440 JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, sure, it could be in the balance, but we don't know. 31:53.440 --> 31:58.440 And I look at this as being the storm before the calm. David's right. A lot of red lines 31:58.630 --> 32:03.630 are being drawn. And they seem to be being drawn since Wednesday, since they all went 32:04.990 --> 32:08.670 to the White House and had their respective meetings with the president. And then they 32:08.670 --> 32:11.040 come out and then they state their positions again. 32:11.040 --> 32:15.010 But I have been paying close attention to the language that they're using. They're being 32:15.010 --> 32:20.010 very firm about what they're for and what they're not for. But they're not attacking 32:20.240 --> 32:23.960 each other, the way they were during the summer. 32:23.960 --> 32:28.960 And so I wonder if this is the usual Washington theatrics of just doing all of this performance, 32:33.340 --> 32:38.140 and then, at some point, when we're -- when we least expect it, breaking news announcement, 32:38.140 --> 32:39.559 here's the deal. 32:39.559 --> 32:44.559 Now, this is a different Washington. Who knows if that moment is going to come? I pray that 32:44.620 --> 32:49.440 it does, one, because what they're arguing over is very important for the American people. 32:49.440 --> 32:54.440 Two, if they don't come to some sort of deal, the president's agenda goes from being stalled 32:54.460 --> 32:59.460 to dead. And then, three, it means finally that Washington is completely broken if they 33:01.540 --> 33:03.340 can't come to some agreement here. 33:03.340 --> 33:08.340 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, it's a different -- and then, meantime, there's another massive headache 33:08.700 --> 33:12.810 the president has. And I don't know whether it's another Washington performance, but it's 33:12.810 --> 33:14.460 over the debt limit, David. 33:14.460 --> 33:17.880 And this one is between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republicans are saying 33:17.880 --> 33:18.880 no way. 33:18.880 --> 33:19.880 DAVID BROOKS: Yes. 33:19.880 --> 33:23.140 And when the shoe was on the other foot, they wanted the Republicans, when they were controlling 33:23.140 --> 33:27.490 things, to take it. It's -- what's changed is that, 10 years ago, people really used 33:27.490 --> 33:32.049 to care about debts and deficits. It was ranked as a major issue by a lot of Americans. Now, 33:32.049 --> 33:36.820 for whatever reason, some maybe dubious reasons, nobody cares, maybe just low interest rates. 33:36.820 --> 33:41.480 So now there's much greater tolerance among both Republicans and Democrats to run up the 33:41.480 --> 33:46.290 debt. And so voting to raise the limit is not as politically costly as it used to be. 33:46.290 --> 33:49.360 I wish they would just get away with -- do away with the whole thing. 33:49.360 --> 33:50.360 We have committed to spend. 33:50.360 --> 33:51.360 JUDY WOODRUFF: The debt limit, yes. Yes. 33:51.360 --> 33:52.360 DAVID BROOKS: Yes. 33:52.360 --> 33:54.250 We have committed to spend the money. The debt limit just says, yes, we're going to 33:54.250 --> 33:57.429 borrow the money to spend the money we already committed to. So they should raise it to a 33:57.429 --> 34:00.910 gazillion dollars. And then we never approach the limit, hopefully. 34:00.910 --> 34:01.910 (LAUGHTER) 34:01.910 --> 34:05.370 DAVID BROOKS: And then they should move forward. It's a bit of ballet that we don't need. 34:05.370 --> 34:07.679 JUDY WOODRUFF: Gazillion? What do you think? 34:07.679 --> 34:08.679 (LAUGHTER) 34:08.679 --> 34:11.040 JONATHAN CAPEHART: Sure. Gazillion is a great numerator. 34:11.040 --> 34:16.040 But this is sort of a wonky thing, but it's super important for the American people to 34:17.660 --> 34:22.660 understand that raising the debt ceiling is not giving Washington a blank check. It is 34:23.919 --> 34:28.919 allowing Washington to pay for the things that they have already bought. 34:29.490 --> 34:34.290 If the government does not raise the debt ceiling, the Bipartisan Policy Center this 34:34.290 --> 34:39.290 morning put out their charts, and they have turned me into a huge debt ceiling nerd. Started 34:39.391 --> 34:44.391 back in 2011, when Jay Powell, who was with Bipartisan Policy Center then, put this together. 34:45.840 --> 34:47.090 He is now the Fed chairman. 34:47.090 --> 34:52.090 I just want the American people to understand this. If the debt ceiling is not raised and 34:52.679 --> 34:57.679 the government can't borrow any money, it has to use the cash it has on hand. And I 34:58.280 --> 35:01.470 have this chart here. I don't know if the camera can get it, but I will just talk it 35:01.470 --> 35:06.470 through, that, on October 15, which they think might be the first day that we reach that 35:06.890 --> 35:11.890 X-date, the government will bring in $27 billion in revenues, but will have $43 billion in 35:13.840 --> 35:14.840 expenses. 35:14.840 --> 35:19.490 And that's just on that first day. All that debt that -- all those things that aren't 35:19.490 --> 35:24.140 paid carries over to the next day. I can't - - we don't -- I don't even have enough time 35:24.140 --> 35:29.140 to tell you the avalanche of harm that would come to the American people, to the federal 35:29.860 --> 35:33.060 government and to the global economy if that debt ceiling isn't raised. 35:33.060 --> 35:37.670 JUDY WOODRUFF: And not to mention that, government shutdown and all the all the consequences 35:37.670 --> 35:38.670 of that, David. 35:38.670 --> 35:39.670 DAVID BROOKS: Yes. 35:39.670 --> 35:42.859 And both the topics we have talked about so far that, the consequences of failure are 35:42.859 --> 35:47.070 cataclysmic. And so I presume, in a normal, functioning democracy, that we don't walk 35:47.070 --> 35:50.110 over those cliffs, but who knows? 35:50.110 --> 35:53.820 JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm just taking a deep breath here. 35:53.820 --> 35:54.820 (LAUGHTER) 35:54.820 --> 35:59.330 JUDY WOODRUFF: Another, of course, major issue the president had to deal with this week, 35:59.330 --> 36:02.540 again, Jonathan, was the Southern border. 36:02.540 --> 36:07.500 In addition to what's already been happening there, and the Haitian migrants were starting 36:07.500 --> 36:12.500 to gather, in the past week, these images of Border Patrol using reins or other -- whatever, 36:16.230 --> 36:19.740 belts to go after the migrants. 36:19.740 --> 36:24.670 President Biden has come in from enormous criticism from fellow Democrats over this. 36:24.670 --> 36:28.410 And here's how he commented this morning on what happened. 36:28.410 --> 36:32.069 JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Of course I take responsibility. I'm President. 36:32.069 --> 36:36.990 But it was horrible what -- to see, as you saw -- to see people treated like they did, 36:36.990 --> 36:40.850 horses nearly running them over and people being strapped. It's outrageous. 36:40.850 --> 36:45.850 I promise you, those people will pay. They will be -- an investigation under way now, 36:46.230 --> 36:47.400 and there will be consequences. 36:47.400 --> 36:52.400 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, today, we reported there are no Haitian migrants at that particular 36:53.530 --> 36:55.830 place. We don't know whether more will be coming. 36:55.830 --> 37:00.830 But, Jonathan, how is the president handling this? And how much of a of a political hit 37:02.359 --> 37:03.359 is it for him? 37:03.359 --> 37:07.170 JONATHAN CAPEHART: I will take the political hit first. It's a huge hit. 37:07.170 --> 37:12.170 And it's a huge hit. One, with immigration, the president was already on squishy ground 37:13.270 --> 37:18.270 with the American people. But those images that came out of the men on horseback and 37:20.060 --> 37:25.060 Black people running, it was just -- is a little too close to home for a lot of us. 37:28.100 --> 37:33.100 And for a president who campaigned on a more humane immigration policy, for a president 37:33.422 --> 37:38.422 who, on election night, said to African Americans, you brought me here and I will not forget 37:39.590 --> 37:44.590 it, that's why you had a lot of Democrats, particularly African American Democrats, saying 37:45.650 --> 37:50.650 to the president, what is going on here? You must -- you must do something about this. 37:51.630 --> 37:56.630 And then, on top of it, what made it even more inhumane is that the president or the 37:57.800 --> 38:02.800 administration deported Haitians who had not lived in Haiti for more than 10 years to a 38:03.921 --> 38:08.921 country that is still dealing with an earthquake that happened and a presidential assassination. 38:11.390 --> 38:16.390 JUDY WOODRUFF: How can -- immigration, every president counting back as far as we can count, 38:18.930 --> 38:21.800 this has been a tough issue. Where do you see this going? 38:21.800 --> 38:22.800 DAVID BROOKS: Yes. 38:22.800 --> 38:27.010 Well, we had our last successful immigration bill, comprehensive one, under Ronald Reagan. 38:27.010 --> 38:32.010 That was a long time ago. And, so, he's inherited a gigantic mess that nobody has had the solution 38:32.780 --> 38:35.270 for. I think Biden did make it worse. 38:35.270 --> 38:39.680 And part of the problem was, they promised, on day one, they would reverse all the Trump 38:39.680 --> 38:44.680 rules. Reversing the Trump rules was a good idea. But doing it all at once, on day one, 38:45.210 --> 38:48.420 people in the transition, in the White House were warning about that. They were saying, 38:48.420 --> 38:53.420 we will be overwhelmed. It'll be a big open door signal. And we don't have the facilities 38:53.460 --> 38:55.240 to handle what's about to hit us. 38:55.240 --> 38:59.180 And that turned out to be true. And I think what bothers me, aside from what Jonathan 38:59.180 --> 39:04.180 was just expressing, was, it seems to be arbitrary, like who gets sent where. It seems like it's 39:04.869 --> 39:09.500 just like, who knows who's being decided? There's no methodology. There's no procedure 39:09.500 --> 39:11.040 for a lot of people. 39:11.040 --> 39:15.650 And so we're just overwhelmed right now. And it's disturbing that we're overwhelmed after 39:15.650 --> 39:18.450 basically 40 years of this mess. 39:18.450 --> 39:23.450 JUDY WOODRUFF: It's hard to see how this is an issue that gets resolved any time in the 39:25.240 --> 39:26.330 near term. 39:26.330 --> 39:31.330 So, the last thing we want to bring up is, it was September 21, 2001, just a week-and-a-half 39:34.680 --> 39:39.680 after the 9/11 attacks, and here was the beginning of the "NewsHour" that night with Jim Lehrer. 39:40.140 --> 39:43.850 JIM LEHRER, Co-Founder and Former Anchor, "PBS NewsHour": And that brings us to Shields 39:43.850 --> 39:48.850 and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, joined tonight by his new regular partner, 39:49.010 --> 39:50.550 David Brooks of The Weekly Standard. 39:50.550 --> 39:51.550 Welcome, David. 39:51.550 --> 39:52.550 DAVID BROOKS: Thank you. 39:52.550 --> 39:55.430 JIM LEHRER: Formally, welcome. You have been here many, many times before. 39:55.430 --> 39:59.630 JUDY WOODRUFF: And that man has not changed one iota since September... 39:59.630 --> 40:00.630 (LAUGHTER) 40:00.630 --> 40:03.240 DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I wanted to point out I was 12 at that time. 40:03.240 --> 40:04.240 (LAUGHTER) 40:04.240 --> 40:06.510 DAVID BROOKS: So, I'm -- I don't know how old I am now. 40:06.510 --> 40:09.100 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, David, you joined -- I mean, you had been on the "NewsHour," but 40:09.100 --> 40:14.100 you joined this program at a very sobering, difficult moment for this country. 40:15.109 --> 40:20.109 It was, what, 10 days after 9/11. And you have been through a lot of ups and downs with 40:21.170 --> 40:22.840 the country ever since. 40:22.840 --> 40:27.840 But just talk a little bit about what it's meant to you to be here at this table every 40:28.170 --> 40:29.170 Friday night. 40:29.170 --> 40:30.170 DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I will tell you what it's been like. 40:30.170 --> 40:33.530 Like, it's the end of the week. And, often, I'm tired. Sometimes, I'm under the weather. 40:33.530 --> 40:37.240 Sometimes, I'm stressed. I come in here a little low. I walk out of here an hour later 40:37.240 --> 40:42.240 super charged up and super happy, because I get to work with the people I have worked 40:42.330 --> 40:46.590 with, and not only the people on set, but Leah (ph) in the makeup room. Charlie's back 40:46.590 --> 40:47.670 there, our lighting guy. 40:47.670 --> 40:48.670 (LAUGHTER) 40:48.670 --> 40:51.080 DAVID BROOKS: And so it's just -- you feel uplifted when you walk out. 40:51.080 --> 40:55.641 And then, when you think about 20 years, I think about the time and about '04, '05. Mark 40:55.641 --> 41:00.641 and I were on with Jim. And we showed a Marine funeral just before our segment. And Jim started 41:01.360 --> 41:06.360 crying. And Mark and I gave like 10 minute answers, so Jim could compose itself. 41:06.380 --> 41:11.020 And so that -- that was just like -- that's something we're going through together. 41:11.020 --> 41:16.020 I think about sitting with Mark and Jim when Barack Obama gave his 2004 speech, that first 41:16.450 --> 41:21.210 big speech, which was watching a star appear, but it was also about a version of America 41:21.210 --> 41:22.730 that he was describing. 41:22.730 --> 41:27.290 I think about the day Gwen died. And I go through all the e-mails that she sent me over 41:27.290 --> 41:31.510 the years, and some were just about our friendship. But a lot were tough. Like, Gwen demanded 41:31.510 --> 41:32.510 excellence. 41:32.510 --> 41:33.510 (LAUGHTER) 41:33.510 --> 41:36.410 DAVID BROOKS: And if you didn't show up, Gwen was like, show up. 41:36.410 --> 41:37.410 (LAUGHTER) 41:37.410 --> 41:41.000 DAVID BROOKS: And then with you, I mean, you're the hardest-working woman in show business. 41:41.000 --> 41:45.890 Like, I -- you have not had a day where you don't completely show up for this thing. 41:45.890 --> 41:50.890 And so you get a sense of people who respect their job and mostly respect the audience. 41:51.610 --> 41:54.960 And out of that derives a kind of patriotism. 41:54.960 --> 41:59.960 And other networks talk a lot about patriotism, but I think we -- we try to serve a certain 42:00.150 --> 42:05.150 kind of America. And we try to exemplify that service in a way we do things, in the culture 42:05.710 --> 42:06.710 around here. 42:06.710 --> 42:11.680 And it's just been an honor to be part of that for 20 years. And my next 60 years will 42:11.680 --> 42:13.000 be just as good. 42:13.000 --> 42:14.000 (LAUGHTER) 42:14.000 --> 42:15.000 JUDY WOODRUFF: Next 60. 42:15.000 --> 42:20.000 I mean, the "NewsHour" has been just incredibly fortunate and honored to have you with us 42:20.240 --> 42:24.410 and, of course, Mark for all those years. And then Jonathan joined us almost a year 42:24.410 --> 42:25.410 ago. 42:25.410 --> 42:29.330 And, Jonathan, you get to sit next to David on Friday nights. It's not exactly like every 42:29.330 --> 42:30.390 other television show. 42:30.390 --> 42:33.200 JONATHAN CAPEHART: No, it's not like every other television show. 42:33.200 --> 42:38.200 And I knew that this was an important job to get, succeeding Mark Shields, the e-mails 42:40.349 --> 42:45.349 that came in from people saying: Oh, my God, Mark Shields is gone. I'm so upset. I'm so 42:46.000 --> 42:48.180 sad. We miss him. But I'm glad you're there. 42:48.180 --> 42:53.180 It was then that I realized how important this job is, how important it is, what we 42:54.609 --> 42:55.609 do. 42:55.609 --> 43:00.530 But what makes this so much fun and why it's so wonderful to celebrate David is, we have 43:00.530 --> 43:05.530 been doing this in other venues for a few years now. And I always look forward to being 43:06.460 --> 43:11.460 with David, because you're to the right of me. I'm to the left of you, completely different 43:13.369 --> 43:14.369 backgrounds. 43:14.369 --> 43:19.369 And yet, when I sit with David and talk with David, I feel like I have learned something. 43:21.010 --> 43:22.420 I'm smarter. 43:22.420 --> 43:27.420 The way David speaks about all the issues, it's inviting. And that's what makes Brooks 43:29.190 --> 43:34.190 and Capehart, Shields and Brooks and all the other iterations of this so wonderful. We 43:35.610 --> 43:40.610 come to the table to bring news, educate the audience on the inside, but then to do it 43:41.430 --> 43:43.760 in a way that invites the audience in. 43:43.760 --> 43:46.380 JUDY WOODRUFF: There's clearly some magic that happens here. 43:46.380 --> 43:47.380 DAVID BROOKS: Thank you, Jonathan. Thank you. 43:47.380 --> 43:50.720 JUDY WOODRUFF: And we are grateful to both of you, to Jonathan Capehart and to David 43:50.720 --> 43:51.720 Brooks. 43:51.720 --> 43:52.720 Congratulations on 20 years. 43:52.720 --> 43:56.520 Twenty years more, 40 years more coming up. 43:56.520 --> 44:01.520 DAVID BROOKS: Shoot me. 44:05.650 --> 44:07.930 (LAUGHTER) 44:07.930 --> 44:12.930 JUDY WOODRUFF: Whether teaching NYU marketing students or co-hosting the podcast "Pivot," 44:18.040 --> 44:22.500 Scott Galloway rarely misses an opportunity to share his insight on the effects of big 44:22.500 --> 44:23.500 tech. 44:23.500 --> 44:28.500 Tonight, he shares his Brief But Spectacular take on this country's response to the pandemic. 44:28.700 --> 44:33.619 It is also the subject of his latest book, "Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity." 44:33.619 --> 44:36.220 SCOTT GALLOWAY, Author, "Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity": Within seven days 44:36.220 --> 44:41.220 of Pearl Harbor, Chrysler converted its largest factory to a factory punching out M1 Bradley 44:41.850 --> 44:43.050 tanks. 44:43.050 --> 44:48.050 What company has totally pivoted to fighting this virus? If Walmart stock had been down 44:49.630 --> 44:54.630 30 percent and if Amazon stock had been down 60 percent, instead of up 30 percent and up 44:54.830 --> 44:59.830 60 percent, that van with a smile rolling into my driveway delivering my espresso pods 45:00.030 --> 45:05.030 would have had someone jump out and jab me and my family. This virus has not seen what 45:05.200 --> 45:10.200 America is capable of when it has a full-throated capitalist response. 45:10.440 --> 45:15.380 The bottom line is, if you're in the top 1 percent, you are living your best life. That 45:15.380 --> 45:19.150 is the dirty secret of this pandemic. This pandemic for the shareholder class has meant 45:19.150 --> 45:23.270 more time with Netflix, more time with family, and your wealth has skyrocketed. 45:23.270 --> 45:28.270 And so, for the wealthy, this has been stop, stop, it hurts so good. 45:33.170 --> 45:37.490 This has disproportionately impacted people of color who live in food deserts. This has 45:37.490 --> 45:42.490 been an enormous tragedy across senior citizens in nursing homes. What we have is the worst 45:43.190 --> 45:48.190 of both worlds, capitalism on the way up, socialism on the way down. That's not capitalism. 45:48.760 --> 45:50.130 That's cronyism. 45:50.130 --> 45:55.130 We need to be more heavy-handed with corporations and more empathetic and loving with individuals. 45:55.630 --> 46:00.030 The biggest mistake we made in this pandemic was, we should have been protecting people, 46:00.030 --> 46:02.080 not American airlines. 46:02.080 --> 46:06.540 There is a danger here, and that is the dispersion of headquarters to our homes. The ugly stepchild 46:06.540 --> 46:10.540 of dispersion is segregation. When you don't see the homeless veteran on the on-ramp or 46:10.540 --> 46:14.730 the off-ramp to work, when you don't see people of different ethnic groups and different income 46:14.730 --> 46:16.910 classes, you begin to resent them. 46:16.910 --> 46:21.910 So, the enduring feature of COVID-19, it will be seen as an accelerant more than a change 46:22.510 --> 46:27.510 agent. Online grocery delivery accelerated eight years. Work from home accelerated six 46:29.270 --> 46:33.750 years. Income inequality took an economy that was dysfunctional and turned it dystopic. 46:33.750 --> 46:38.660 So, take any trend in your life personally or professionally, take it out 10 years, and 46:38.660 --> 46:42.190 there's a decent chance that we're here, there, now. 46:42.190 --> 46:46.200 I worry that today's youth doesn't have the connective tissue that some of our leaders 46:46.200 --> 46:49.810 had in the past. They were Americans first before they were red or blue. And a way to 46:49.810 --> 46:54.810 get that back might be some sort of mandatory national service. It might be building housing 46:54.849 --> 46:59.240 or a corona corps that helps people, where kids get a chance to meet other kids from 46:59.240 --> 47:03.590 different backgrounds and feel like they have a shared experience, such that maybe there's 47:03.590 --> 47:06.840 more cooperation as they get into positions of power. 47:06.840 --> 47:11.510 Some of the greatest periods of prosperity have come out of crisis. And that's the opportunity 47:11.510 --> 47:16.510 here. So, ask yourself three questions. One, is this an opportunity for you to become a 47:16.660 --> 47:21.120 caretaker for someone? Do you have the relationship with your siblings that you want, if you were 47:21.120 --> 47:24.420 forced to say goodbye to someone over FaceTime? 47:24.420 --> 47:28.460 Have you made the requisite investments in friendships to ensure that you maintain those 47:28.460 --> 47:33.460 relationships? Are you willing to show the type of grace, and courage, and forgiveness, 47:33.690 --> 47:38.380 such that you can cement and repair the most important thing in respect to our happiness? 47:38.380 --> 47:40.109 And that is your relationships. 47:40.109 --> 47:44.030 This is either going to be the best year in the history of America, or it could be the 47:44.030 --> 47:45.349 worst. It's up to us. 47:45.349 --> 47:50.349 My name is Scott Galloway, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on post-corona, 47:51.339 --> 47:56.339 from crisis to opportunity. 47:57.810 --> 48:02.810 JUDY WOODRUFF: Now an artist straddling worlds and using her art to examine how we see the 48:14.240 --> 48:17.910 past and present, East and West. 48:17.910 --> 48:22.320 Jeffrey Brown has the story from New York for our arts and culture series, Canvas. 48:22.320 --> 48:27.320 JEFFREY BROWN: Dancing women from a South Asian painting tradition, a headless Western-style 48:28.910 --> 48:33.480 Venus, and what's a fighter jet doing there? 48:33.480 --> 48:37.750 Ask the woman with the ornate ram's horns, the artist herself, 48:37.750 --> 48:38.750 Shahzia Sikander. 48:38.750 --> 48:43.240 SHAHZIA SIKANDER, Artist: I see myself as somebody who's interested, like a detective, 48:43.240 --> 48:48.240 to look at the -- how to connect the dots, how to find where the material is, and to 48:50.990 --> 48:55.990 also examine my own relationship with it, but also how some of the stories. What are 48:57.330 --> 49:00.740 the archetypal stories within the medium itself? 49:00.740 --> 49:05.740 JEFFREY BROWN: Sikander, born in Pakistan and living in the U.S. since 1993, is known 49:06.930 --> 49:11.930 for examining and breaking down familiar archetypes and stereotypes of art history, and questioning 49:13.220 --> 49:18.220 the assigned roles of women and simplistic notions of an East-West divide. 49:18.830 --> 49:23.830 She began in art school in Lahore, studying the refined tradition of Persian and Indian 49:24.330 --> 49:29.330 manuscript, or miniature, painting, dating to the 16th century, and then began to play 49:30.370 --> 49:34.080 with it and make it her own, adding the image of a friend, for example. 49:34.080 --> 49:36.290 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: This took me almost two years. 49:36.290 --> 49:37.290 JEFFREY BROWN: Oh, really? 49:37.290 --> 49:38.290 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: Yes. 49:38.290 --> 49:41.690 JEFFREY BROWN: In her most renowned early work, called The Scroll, she captured her 49:41.690 --> 49:46.690 own life within this history. That's her, a ghostlike presence throughout the scene, 49:47.020 --> 49:48.850 which can be read left to right. 49:48.850 --> 49:53.830 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: At the end you also see her. She's painting herself, but you never 49:53.830 --> 49:58.080 really get to see her face. So there's always this level of mystery. 49:58.080 --> 50:03.080 JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, the entire exhibition, titled Extraordinary Realities and starting 50:03.540 --> 50:08.540 at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, is a kind of portrait of the young artist, 50:08.710 --> 50:13.710 mostly paintings from Sikander's first two decades of work in the 1990s and early 2000s, 50:14.470 --> 50:19.470 a chance for us and her, now 52, to look back, but also see continuing connections. 50:20.859 --> 50:25.859 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: I was interested in examining some of those projections. Like, what is tradition? 50:27.290 --> 50:32.290 How do we define tradition? How is tradition performed? And those ideas captured my imagination 50:35.200 --> 50:40.200 as a young artist that who dictated when and what in time is old, and what is avant garde? 50:45.770 --> 50:50.770 And the more I examined it, the more I felt like there was room to reexamine, to reimagine. 50:51.369 --> 50:56.369 JEFFREY BROWN: She began to layer image upon image, sometimes adding fantastical creatures 50:57.839 --> 51:02.839 and abstraction over refined details. She packed different kinds of information into 51:03.359 --> 51:08.359 small paintings, often using humor and wit angels, American flags for wings, in a reference 51:10.221 --> 51:14.270 to U.S. military interventions in the Muslim world. 51:14.270 --> 51:19.270 In 1999, she did a painting titled The Faces of Islam for "The New York Times Magazine." 51:20.400 --> 51:25.400 What is the role of art that you see for addressing or responding to those kind of stereotypes? 51:27.120 --> 51:32.120 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: The work was always resisting that type of fetishization, especially about 51:33.190 --> 51:38.190 the Muslim woman as needing to be saved, especially in how it gets played up in Hollywood, in 51:41.660 --> 51:43.720 media, in TV, in this. 51:43.720 --> 51:48.720 And it has a deeper history of the representation of the veil in European colonial imperial 51:50.810 --> 51:55.810 history. And it counters it with other types of narratives, where the joyousness of the 51:56.480 --> 52:01.480 feminine, the inherent female agency, autonomy, ability to be creative, where its inner beauty, 52:05.150 --> 52:06.770 its inner strength is very present. 52:06.770 --> 52:11.770 JEFFREY BROWN: That shows itself especially in Sikander's first sculpture, two women intertwined, 52:12.780 --> 52:17.780 a classical Venus and Hindu devata, both, she says, in a position of power. 52:19.440 --> 52:24.440 In recent years, Sikander has worked in new forms and larger formats, including massive 52:24.599 --> 52:29.599 billboard projections in Times Square and a 66-foot glass and ceramic scroll for Princeton 52:31.119 --> 52:32.119 University. 52:32.119 --> 52:36.500 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: So, I made this here. I basically took elements from some of the paintings. 52:36.500 --> 52:41.210 JEFFREY BROWN: She created a new installation for this exhibition, long strips of paper 52:41.210 --> 52:46.210 that bring her small painting and imagery to three-dimensional life and draw in the 52:46.480 --> 52:48.080 viewer. 52:48.080 --> 52:53.080 Regularly defined herself as South Asian, Pakistani, Muslim, and more, she's been determined 52:54.530 --> 52:55.910 to break out of the boxes. 52:55.910 --> 53:00.910 SHAHZIA SIKANDER: The more categories, the merrier. If the work can speak to Asian American-ness, 53:01.790 --> 53:06.790 fine, Muslim American-ness, fine, female artist, fine, artist, great. 53:07.300 --> 53:12.300 All those categories and boxes are fine, as long as one is not restricted to operate within 53:16.730 --> 53:21.730 one or two. And I think, when we talk about that, we are talking about the agency of imagination, 53:23.290 --> 53:27.670 and that's the best part of being an artist, is that you can really soar. 53:27.670 --> 53:32.670 JEFFREY BROWN: Shahzia Sikander's exhibition, Extraordinary Realities, moves next to the 53:33.380 --> 53:38.380 Rhode Island School of Design Museum in providence, and then to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 53:39.220 --> 53:44.220 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. 53:44.280 --> 53:47.869 JUDY WOODRUFF: Some soaring art there. 53:47.869 --> 53:52.869 And a new app to help people overcome fear of spiders, the plan to train to cows to protect 53:54.099 --> 53:59.099 the environment and an invasive bug threatening America's trees, those are among the five 53:59.510 --> 54:04.280 stories you may have missed this week we are highlighting online. You can find all that 54:04.280 --> 54:07.390 and more on our Web site at PBS.org/NewsHour. 54:07.390 --> 54:12.390 And be sure to join my colleague moderator Yamiche Alcindor tonight on "Washington Week." 54:13.840 --> 54:18.840 She will get insight and analysis of the week's big stories from an all-star panel including 54:19.180 --> 54:24.180 Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, authors of the bestselling book "Peril." 54:24.589 --> 54:27.240 And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm Judy Woodruff. 54:27.240 --> 54:30.160 Join us online and again here on Monday evening. 54:30.160 --> 54:35.160 For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend.