MSNBC "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell - Transcript Interview with Collin Allred

Interview

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Joining our discussions now Texas`s Democratic Congressman, Colin Allred

who represents part of Dallas. Also with us is, Dr. Vin Gupta Global Health

Policy Expert and Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of

Washington at Medical Center. He`s also an MSNBC Medical Contributor.

Congressman Allred, your reaction to Mike Pence coming to Texas yesterday,

finally wearing a mask but doing it in a room where you have this huge

choir doing exactly what they shouldn`t be doing.

REP. COLIN ALLRED (D-TX): Yes. Well, thank you, Lawrence, for having me on.

You know anybody from this administration who is willing to help us with

this crisis that we`re going through in Dallas and in Texas is the welcome

to come. I just wish they would do it in a way that was safe and that

didn`t endanger North Texas and didn`t put our front line health care

workers who are trying so hard and they`re making so many sacrifices at

risk. You know, this gathering indoors with folks singing as he said that

with only about a half of people in the crowd who are wearing masks they

are extremely dangerous and the kind of setting we have been encouraging

folks not to engage in and it wasn`t helpful.

O`DONNELL: And, Congressman, do you believe that Texas has to go in reverse

on some of the ways it has re-opened?

ALLRED: Well, it`s clear that we have re-opened too soon, and that`s not my

opinion. That`s the opinion of the public health experts both here in Texas

and the advice given across the country for what you need to see before you

re-open. And so now we are seeing the predictable outcome of those

decisions with record cases, record hospitalizations and, yes, we are to

have to take steps to protect our people. And I am glad that the Governor

has closed the bars and some other settings that were leading to some of

these spikes. But we are going to have to take probably more drastic steps

because we have widespread community spread of this virus right now. It is

uncontrolled in North Texas and across our state.

O`DONNELL: Dr. Gupta, I hope I did not misstate the case when I described

the dangers of a choir singing, groups together like that in that enclosed

space. What was your reaction to what you saw there?

DR. VIN GUPTA, PULMONOLOGIST: The Vice President and the White House more

broadly just they`re just not taking this seriously. And enough is enough.

I mean how many times do we need to have this mixed messaging while people

are dying, while ICU`s and the Congressman`s Home State are filling up.

People can`t get test. And here we are, the Vice President proceeding over

the worst type of event, people singing where we know the droplets - if you

are infected with COVID-19 will get expect to rated at a higher rate - in a

larger rate. He`s presiding over that, giving a tentative approval. It`s

irresponsible.

McCain (inaudible) he`s saying it`s an ember. You know what these surges

are embers of the phase 1. This is a wild fire. Lawrence, I get asked all

the time from family members of patients, friends, family, what do we do

here? Since we`re not hearing it from our elected leaders, our coronavirus

task force unfortunate doesn`t get air time, this is what we should do.

Indoor dining is just not safe. I hate to say it for somebody that loves go

out and have a meal indoors. We have seen studies just published this week,

19 times the rate of transmission in an indoor setting when you`re within

six feet of somebody else versus outdoors.

So indoors versus outdoors the Jury is already - the Jury is back in. The

verdict is already released. We have to walk back indoor dining. We also

just need to mandate masks. I feel for the Congressman, why Governor do see

what Governor Abbott his home saying Texas, whether just not mandating

masks at this point in the presence of evolving data is public malpractice.

There is great data now that didn`t even exist two weeks ago would that

suggests this eliminates transmission. There are things that can be done. I

wish we had the right leadership.

O`DONNELL: Allred before you go, I need to ask you about this breaking news

story tonight here on the House of Foreign Affairs Committee. And "The New

York Times" is reporting tonight that, yes, indeed, there was a written

daily brief to the president probably on February 27th telling the

president exactly what the intelligence sources believe was happening in

Afghanistan with Russia putting a bounty on the - on the killing of

American troops in Afghanistan. What is your reaction to the latest round

of reporting on this?

ALLRED: Well, Lawrence, I was in Afghanistan visiting our troops over

Thanksgiving, just a few months ago now. And I can tell you that, you know,

these are young people who are putting their lives on the line to help

rebuild a country and doing their very best to serve our country, and they

deserve to have leadership throughout, especially in the White House, that

is going to do everything, everything it can to protect them and to bring

them home safely.

And I don`t know why anybody in the White House thought it was an excuse to

say the president didn`t know about this. That, to me, if that had been

true, certainly is not something that you want to hear. The president

doesn`t know about credible intelligence that the Russians are offering

bounties for the killing of American troops. But now some confirmation that

he did know about it and took no action is just completely beyond the pale

and unacceptable particularly when you see some of the other steps he has

taken like encouraging the readmission of Russia to the G-7. I just - I

can`t explain it. It doesn`t make any practical sense and it certainly is

not serving our young men and women in uniform who are serving us so all.

O`DONNELL: Congressman Allred, Dr. Vin Gupta, thank you both very much for

joining us tonight. I really appreciate it. Thank you. And when we come

back, Cecile Richards will join us with her take on a surprising support

Supreme Court decision today upholding women`s reproductive rights.

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