#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 2.27 NUL: Stay away from Trump crime conf; NYers warn voters about Bloomberg; Pence coronavirus czar

Episode Date: February 28, 2020

2.27.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered | EXCLUSIVE: NUL orders local branches to stay away from Trump crime conference; New Yorkers warn voters about Bloomberg; House passed legislation that would make lynching a federal hate crime; Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has been sentenced to 3 years in prison; Trump makes Pence coronavirus czar. #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Are you looking to enhance your leadership or that of your team in 2020? Join Dr. Jacquie Hood Martin as she engages others to think like a leader. Register and start the online course today! www.live2lead.com/Leesburg #RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

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Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, folks. Today is Thursday, February 27, 2020. Roland Mark Unfield to broadcasting from Buffalo, New York. This is a little bit different. I'll tell you all about that in just a moment. Well, coming up on today's show, National Urban League, after questions from me,

are ordering their Florida affiliates not to be involved in a criminal justice conference taking place at Donald Trump's Doral Resort in Florida. I will give you all of the details in just a moment in this exclusive report. Also, folks, on today's show, we'll talk about South Carolina. All the focus is on South Carolina. And also, in a few moments, Black Women's Roundtable will be holding their Sister Vote Town Hall, the power of Sister Vote Town Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. And so we, of course, will have some of that. A group of African Sister Vote Town Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. And so we,

of course, will have some of that. A group of African-Americans and Latinos in New York are saying do not vote for Mike Bloomberg. We'll talk to Jemani Williams, who's a New York City public advocate. Also on today's show, we'll talk to the sister who is running for the United States Senate in Texas. Also on the show, former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is head to federal prison for the next three years as a result of the scandal, the book, the children's book scandal in that particular city. And also on today's show, Donald Trump has appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the effort when it comes to the coronavirus. Well, God doesn't even believe in science.

Really? That's the best you got? That's the best you got, Donald Trump? Mike Pence? Really? It's time to bring the funk. I'm rolling Mark on the filter. Let's go.

He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks.

He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's Rolling Roro, y'all. Yeah, yeah. It's Rollin' Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rollin' with Rollin' now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Rollin' Martin now. Yeah, yeah.

Martin! All right, folks, I am here in Buffalo, New York, where I'll be speaking at an Erie Community College event tomorrow. Normally, our show looks a little bit different. I'm actually having to do the show by my iPhone because I flew from Charleston to Charlotte, Buffalo, and American Airlines. Left all of my bags, including all of my TV equipment, in Charlotte. So I just wanted to let y'all know that we need to make this happen. I apologize for us being late with today's show. That's why we are some 39 minutes late because of that. And so those things happen, but we'll still hear with the show.

All right, folks, it's time for this exclusive. The National Urban League, they are demanding that Florida Attorney General move a crime conference, a criminal justice conference, that the Florida Urban League affiliates were gonna participate in, away from Donald Trump's Doral Resort in Miami. This took place after I received an email

from a concerned viewer about this conference. I then reached out to Mark Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League. He was not aware of this particular conference and the involvement of the Miami Area Urban League. As a result, Mark Morial has released this statement exclusively to Roland Martin Unfiltered. It says the Florida office of the Attorney General's National Conference on Preventing Crime, organized in partnership with the Florida Consortium of Urban League Affiliates, must be moved from Trump National Doral and Resort in Miami to avoid the appearance of partisanship in an election year. The summit, which is focused on curbing youth violence, is scheduled for May 27 to May 29 at the resort on President Trump's company. In the statement, Morial says, quote,

Our Florida affiliates devote tremendous time and energy to crime conference each year and have enjoyed a valued relationship with the office of the Attorney General, Morial said. The event cannot be seen as a tool of political influence or used as a vehicle to funnel money to the President of the United States while he is running for re-election. Morial noted that the appearance of political partisanship could threaten the 501c3 status of the Florida affiliates. The National Urban League and its affiliates are nonpartisan advocacy and social services organizations that have proudly worked with elected officials from every point along the political spectrum. Morial said, we cannot allow a political controversy to distract us from our mission of economic justice and civil rights. The leaders of the Florida affiliates stand ready to work with the Office of Attorney General to find a new location for the crime summit

and move forward with the important, important work of helping young people find alternatives to violence. That is according to Mark Morial. Now, again, folks, I was made aware of this particular conference. I reached out to Mark Morial about this to get an understanding of what was the involvement of the Florida chapters in this whole deal and in fact if you actually go to the control room you can pull the website up if you actually go to the the home page it is called florida office of the attorney general national conference of preventing crime and it lays out the conference where it's taking place of the various uh sponsors uh the platinum level sponsors uh includerick Brooks Charities, former NFL player, Florida Consortium of Urban League Affiliates, Florida Department of Corrections,

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, gold level sponsors, the Florida Commission on Offender Review, Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Health, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, Tampa International Airport, and the silver level Department of Health, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority,

Tampa International Airport, and the civil level sponsors of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Broward County Sheriff's Office, Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. And again, if you look at all conference sessions were supposed to take place at Trump's National Doral and Resort. And so they have a fees on here as well. And payment information was supposed to be made to the Urban League of Broward County. The Urban League of Broward County. Well, Montmoreal has now made it clear to all of the Florida affiliates that they cannot participate in this conference, cannot take place if it is going to be held at Trump's Doral Resort. And so, again, this is something that we remain

aware of and reach out to Mark Morial. I want to bring in my panel here. We have Erica Savage Wilson. She's the host of Savage Politics Podcast. Also, Recy Colbert, Black Women Views, of course. And so I want to start with you, Erica. This is obviously a big deal here in terms of the Florida Urban League chapters in partnership, the Florida Attorney General. I don't understand how in the world the Florida folks did not see that this could be a problem holding this at Trump's Doral Resort. The PGA Tour canceled their tour stop at that particular resort. Many other people have canceled their events taking place there. In fact, Trump initially wanted to hold the economic summit, the G7 economic summit at his Doral resort, overruling his own people. But when he got so much blowback, even Republicans, he announced it was not going to be held there.

Your thoughts on this? Well, I think that it's more of what we've been accustomed to seeing from the grifter in chief. So my mind automatically goes to I wonder how much the costs were. The other piece around this is thinking about the attorney's general position. I'm thinking about Pam Bondi. Pam Bondi was the attorney general of Florida back in 2016, had a reelection campaign, and right around the time that she was going to be possibly suing Trump University, a $25,000 donation was made to her campaign.

And here we are two years later with her being on Trump's team. So I think that breaking up the nexus between doing favors and appearing favorable towards this regime and this occupant of the White House is definitely something that's very much so necessary. And then the other thing is shining a light on him as well. So really glad that this definitely provided some sort of, that some sort of notice was provided and that it seems like the steps and measures

to not only be out of this conference, but he also disregard, so to speak, or renege so much on where the conference is going to be held is really important in having some sorts of checks and balances that happens with this regime. Recy, your thoughts on this? I think that holding the conference at Trump's resort definitely makes it seem like almost an endorsement of the Trump's agenda. And the National Urban League certainly wouldn't want to give that impression. Trump has a very problematic criminal justice record, even though he did help or he signed in the first step back. So I think it's very important to distance themselves from this. I don't know if this was incompetence or, you know, what else was

afoot here. But obviously, the Florida attorney general, who's a Republican, has an incentive to kind of kiss up and enrich President Trump. But the Urban League should have absolutely no parts of this. And again, so what happened was someone reached out to me regarding this particular conference. I then immediately sent an email and text message to Mark Morial, who was not aware of this. He said, let me do some checking. And then, of course, this was earlier this week, and they sent the statement to us. We got the statement first before it goes out to the public. And so, again, this is Urban League CEO Mark Morial saying that the Florida chapters of the National Urban League,

that they cannot participate in this conference if it's going to be held at Doral, and he is asking them to move this conference away from Doral as a result, saying that they do not want in an election year to be perceived as partisan and certainly for monies going to the coffers of Donald Trump. And so that's what's going on. So I'm quite sure the Trump organization, Donald Trump, might be commenting on this once they see our report. And so those things will happen. All right, folks, let's now turn to the race for president on the Democratic side. The polls in South Carolina are going to the polls. Mike Bloomberg is not on the ballot in South Carolina. He is on the ballot on Super Tuesday. It's taking place again next Tuesday, where the group of African-Americans and Latinos in New York City, they say they do not support the candidacy of Mike Bloomberg and calling on Americans not to do so as well.

And so they sent a letter out to a variety of media outlets calling for folks not to support him. And joining us right now is Jumaane Williams. He is the public advocate, the public advocate for the city of New York. Jumaane, glad to have you back on Roller Martin Unfiltered. The letter that was released, y'all stay in here. Quote, in recent days, Michael Bloomberg has attempted to rewrite his legacy. We haven't forgotten the extent of harm, humiliation and terror that the Bloomberg administration's daily racial profiling and police violence caused in black, Latinx and other communities of color cannot be overstated. The debate took place on Tuesday. He said he apologized for that debate,

but that's not good enough for you and others, correct? Absolutely not. Thanks for having me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. On the debate on Tuesday, he apologized for stopping Frisk after the debate, but go ahead. I'm sorry. No problem. We had a press conference again this morning, actually, some of the same signers and other people, including Kevin Richardson, who spoke on behalf of the exonerated five, formerly the Central Park Five, just reminding folks that Bloomberg is not the person he is paying those ads to make him out to be. I wish it was only stop and frisk. That was the only policy we had to deal with. And I remind folks that he was defending that practice up until a week before he announced for the presidency. That's 2019 that he was defending this practice,

a practice that stopped more young Black men than actually live in the city of New York. But we have to remind people his housing policies and homelessness policies were atrocious. Homelessness rose about 71 percent in his tenure, in a direct result to his terrible policies. Education, we became one of the most segregated educational systems in the entire country under Mike Bloomberg. If you look at how he left every municipal employee and he lied about his relationship with the teachers union and the debate, he left everybody without a contract. That was his way of trying to balance the budget.

If we talk about how he dealt with protesters from the protests of the Republican National Convention, where I remind people he endorsed George W. Bush, to how he violently removed the protests in Occupy Wall Street. I just settled a lawsuit because his administration did not allow any elected officials or any media to oversee that. In fact, my colleague, Adonis Rodriguez, was bleeding from the forehead trying to observe what was going on, and he was thrown to the ground. That's the Michael Bloomberg that we all know. And it is embarrassing and shameful to see so many people flock to him across this country. And so we want to make sure we get the real information out.

I'm most distraught and disappointed by Black leaders in New York City, some of whom I look up to, who know who he was, who was here, but are proving one of two things or both. One is, people can be bought if the price is right. Uh, and the last part is that unfortunately, many people who came in to change

who was representing communities simply want to replicate a system that doesn't work for most communities. And so anybody that's gonna shake up that apple cart, they don't want. They want someone like Mike Bloomberg who's going to continue a system that harms all of us. When you talk about that particular issue,

I mean, obviously, all the attention in these last two debates that he participated in were solely about stopping frisk, but you were expanding uh you know on these issues uh there's others who also said that he didn't do enough to desegregate new york city schools absolutely if you look at especially the gifted and talented uh programs uh that we had that's now 80 90 percent uh white New Yorkers. That happened under Mike Bloomberg. If you look at the schools that he closed and his own policy was simply to open up charter

schools, as many as humanly possible. And what that basically said is, if you can get into a charter school, great for you. If you want another public school system, we're not going to fund you the way we should fund you. And that has had a huge effect on education in the same communities. And it's not, I have to repeat, it is not just about policing. Again, his housing policies have caused a reverse migration in a way we haven't seen in a very long time for black and brown people, but especially black people who are moving back down South because what the dollar can pay for here in New York City has never been more expensive.

Homelessness literally rose 71% because he cut housing programs. That was Mike Bloomberg. We know who he is. And we're really hoping that people across the nation won't be fooled by those ads because I admit that they're pretty good ads. They're just full of misrepresentation and they're full of lies. Again, he was not a friend of unions. He fought us on everything. He fought minimum wage. The reason Kevin Richardson was there is because Mike Bloomberg spent $6 million fighting the exonerated five, saying that the city did not have to settle for them, settle their case, and saying that at the time, the DAs had enough information to put those five young men in jail.

He was asked about this a few months ago, do you have an opinion of the Central Park Five, now the Exxon 5? He says, no, I don't, and repeated some of the things he said before. This is who this man is. And this thing about only Bloomberg can beat Donald Trump, I've heard that before, four years ago, and now I have four years of Donald Trump. And I will say also, I want to make it clear that he is not the person to beat Donald Trump. He may actually suppress the vote. Yes, people are better than Donald Trump by degree. George W. Bush is better than Donald Trump by degree. But we should not support him and we should not support Michael Bloomberg.

All right. Jumaane Williams, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right. I want to go to you first, Recy. Again, Mike Bloomberg has spent more than $500 million. He's being attacked on stage by other Democratic presidential candidates saying he is trying to buy the race. Now you have folks who know him best in New York City who are saying that he should not be getting support. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight saying that Bloomberg is in trouble, that his numbers are dropping across the country as a result of these two debate performances. Just your thoughts on this call out of New York. And what do you make of, again,

of the withering attack that Bloomberg has been under from various quarters? Well, I mean, first of all, his debate performance was it sucked really bad. His first debate was awful. His answer on stop and frisk on both debates were inadequate and unconvincing. I think that the withering attacks, though, on his record are convenient timing because he has been in this race since November. And I'm not defending Mike Bloomberg, to be clear. But he has been in the race since November. And a lot of people who are, you know, howling about stop and frisk now, which is a legitimate issue, were kind of going the

whole anti-billionaire route first. And then once he started to grow into the polls, then they kind of switched course. I'm all for accountability for Michael Bloomberg. But I do think that we're having a very one-sided accountability conversation because we are not having an honest conversation about mass incarceration that was caused by the crime bill. You want to talk about segregation in New York, we did not have an honest conversation about segregation measures that were taken when Joe Biden was a senator.

And so I would like to see this accountability for everybody. I don't think that it's fair to speak for Black people and only hold one particular candidate accountable. Let's hold them all accountable. In 10 debates, and I looked at the transcripts to confirm this, Bernie Sanders was not asked even one time about his support for the crime bill. And he's gotten away with this line about, oh, well, he only voted for it because of Violence Against Women Act, while he's on tape at a press conference talking about how we need more prisons and how we need some harsher penalties for some things.

So I would like to see accountability and an honest conversation for Bernie Sanders. The same with Joe Biden. I don't think that Joe Biden has had to account for his crime bill, you know, championing of it. And when he does talk about it, he says that the crime bill was great and all these black people supported it and it did not lead to mass incarceration. So I am 100 percent for accountability. I'm 100 percent for talking about the records of all

of these candidates. But let's talk about all of them and then let people make their decision. And I think it's a little reductive to just say that, oh, well, people are fooled or people are being foolish for for supporting Michael Bloomberg. I think people are a little reductive to just say that, oh, well, people are fooled or people are being foolish for for supporting Michael Bloomberg. I think people are weighing the records. People are weighing the proposals. And Michael Bloomberg does have some compelling things that he's speaking to. And he's going to black people specifically via black the radio market and the black TV market. And so I don't think that that message of everybody who's supporting Michael Bloomberg is stupid is going to resonate with people. And you have to make an affirmative case for each of these people that have to make affirmative cases for their candidates. And I think that a lot of

people have a kind of cynical view that, well, they all have baggage, they all have issues, and it's who's speaking to what I think we need going forward. Look, I mean, Erica, she's right. I said I was very frustrated in Tuesday night's debate to see the CBS moderators ask Michael Bloomberg about stopping the frisk. Then when he said that he cut it by 95 percent, not correct him because considering the federal judge has done interviews saying that he fought it, they fought to get her removed, and it was her calling it unconstitutional is what led to that. It was also bothersome to me to watch the moderators then toss to Amy Klobuchar and ask her about stopping Frist, but nothing about her own record as DA and not prosecuting any cases involved in police shooting or black men who say they were wrongfully

incarcerated. And then not ask Joe Biden about the 1994 crime bill, not ask Bernie Sanders about his vote for the 1994 crime bill, not ask Pete Buttigieg problems in his police department. And so, look, I absolutely understand Jumaane and others, their point regarding what took place in New York City. But yes, if we're going to have a discussion about past records and criminal justice reform, Mike Bloomberg cannot be the only person who's being questioned. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, everyone on that stage really has a profile to show to America. And I think the other thing, too, is that if we're going to say to not support one candidate, well, then who are you supporting? Where are you pointing people? Because what we don't want to see is a revamp of what happened in 2016, because I don't necessarily

like the top of the ticket. There's this early voter apathy that's happening. Now we have a full-throated disinformation campaign led by the White House occupant and all of his agents. And so when we have that amount of confusion and not a lot of clarity, for people that are very much so sold on getting someone out of the race, my question is always, well, who are you pointing people towards? So I think that, as you both have said, that honestly what needs to happen is for everyone's profile to be dug into. And this is something that I really do have a serious issue with the Democratic Party on going back to 2017. Listen, for those folks who were going to run again and just being honest, it was Bernie Sanders. For those same people that had full intentions on continuing to run again.

This flesh out of record should have been happening even then, because the place that we're at now on the media side, there seems to be a tiptoeing and then another selection of winners. And we saw how that happened, what that did for us in 2016. And so at this point, I think what needs to happen is that everybody's records need to be laid to bear. And that if, based on those records, when you're looking at people

who have served in politics 30, 40 years, and even not as long as that, but actually having an idea of the game, to be at a place where that level of honesty and then really engaging people around the vote will help kind of the lack of inspiration that all of us are feeling right now. Because to be quite honest with you, for black folks and Latino and people of color, there is no plan B. So I don't fault anyone, particularly a voter,

who's saying at this moment, listen, I was just listening to some coverage around the White House occupant and the things that he's saying specific to coronavirus are very much so around the market. It's not about public health service. It's not about getting information out to the public. And so if people

are seeing pound for pound, dollar for dollar, that there is someone that could get in the ring and actually match him, I totally understand that. But to also back it up, I think that, you know, informing people, informing people across the board definitely goes a long way with empowering that voter as well. All right, then. So we'll certainly be watching this. We'll see what happens when it comes to Super Tuesday. I do want to talk to you about this here again. Nate Silver made this point in a number of tweets

that Bloomberg is having issues in the polling. When you also look at what's going on, Joe Biden has to win South Carolina. And look, according to what I saw, several polls, he is down to Bernie Sanders anywhere from six to nine points in North Carolina. He's actually leading in one poll. They're tied in Texas as well. And according to this one poll in Texas, they're saying that really bloomberg is actually hurting joe biden against sanders so now the question is you know after super tuesday depending upon once you sort out does bloomberg drop out to help biden beat sanders but if he

stays in in essence he could be splitting the same number of voters who would normally be going for Joe Biden. You look at Elizabeth Warren. I mean, she's number two behind Bernie supporters, but he's number one. So the one reason she hasn't been able to gain traction is because of Bernie Sanders' presence in the race. So just again, just your thoughts on how this thing may very well shake out. Well, for Joe Biden south carolina is incredibly critical um i've seen some polling today where he was up major like massive to the point where he was the only person who was even viable meaning hitting over the 15 points right yeah for the clinton university their poll they have joe biden at 38 38 percent tom Tom Steyer at 17. Bernie Sanders at 13 percent. And the other candidate is a far back. Right. And so if he can get a very decisive win, certainly with the help of Representative Jim Clyburn, that goes a long way for Joe Biden.

Unfortunately, though, I think the problem that Joe Biden has is that the black support is a little bit more spread out outside of South Carolina because Michael Bloomberg is picking up a good chunk of that. And Bernie Sanders is doing much better with the black vote outside of South Carolina. And Bernie Sanders in some polls I've even seen is actually leading very, very by very small margin, but leading in the black vote. And so I do think that Joe Biden is going to potentially have some issues. But if he can get some momentum out of South Carolina, that can change. I'm not of the mindset of saying, well, Michael Bloomberg is hurting Joe Biden or vice versa. I think that everybody has to win their race outright and everybody's making their case. And if Michael Bloomberg's case is persuasive to people, that's not about hurting Joe Biden.

That's about maybe Joe Biden didn't make his good his case well enough. He's certainly been in the race much longer than Michael Bloomberg. But I mean, yeah, if you just do the math, then Michael Bloomberg is certainly taking away margin from Joe Biden more so than Bernie Sanders. So I think that the Super Tuesday picture is all over the place. And I'm really curious to see who is even going to be viable outside of Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and and Michael Bloomberg, you know, because it's very few polls that I've seen have actually had anybody other than those three viable in most of the Super Tuesday states. And so I I believe from what I've heard or what Michael Bloomberg has telegraphed that he would drop out after Super Tuesday if it doesn't look like he has a realistic path.

And so but I think that the calculus changes a little bit if he's very close to Joe Biden. So at this point, I think the race is wide open between those three. In particular, if Joe Biden can pull off a decisive win, then he certainly moves up a little bit more. Look, Erica, bottom line is it's simple. When you look at the number of candidates, frankly, you have people who are taking from one another. The field has to narrow. Otherwise, if you're Senator Bernie Sanders, you want everything to stay exactly as it is because your solid 20, 30 percent does the same thing for him they did for Trump in 2016. And that is you win. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And he doesn't even have to compete, so to speak,

at the same level that the other folks do. You know, it was interesting because this morning, Bernie Sanders was at Wake Forest, was in Wake Forest, North Carolina at an HBCU there. They split their time there and then I believe came to South Carolina later on this evening. And so when I'm thinking about for these contests that will happen, not only for Super Tuesday, but looking at the 25 contests that will take place during our political March Madness, thinking about that some of the states that are in those 25 contests have the highest population of black folks. When I think about Virginia with 99 Delicates and thinking about North Carolina, where Bernie Sanders' team was, when we think about those states and think about Georgia, I'm thinking about what do their on-the-ground operations look like for Bernie Sanders,

for Joe Biden and for Michael Bloomberg. And so you've said it and you just said it again that Bernie just only has to keep what's happening happening. If we don't either see Pete or Elizabeth Warren, but definitely Pete or Amy Klobuchar kind of drop out of the race, then things are definitely going to be a little bit more desperate for the Biden campaign because what they would have to do in those states, particularly if he's talking about his relationship with African-Americans, specifically in South Carolina. But when I'm thinking he'll continue to pass that message as he goes through these very African-American states with large populations of African-Americans, if he does not make any significant gains there, then it's really Bernie Sanders for the win. All right, folks, we'll see what happens. Of course, South Carolina votes on Saturday. But coming up next, we talk with a sister who was running for

the United States Senate out of Texas. That's next. The roller Martin unfiltered. To me, there are no greater patriots in America's long history than the black citizens who are willing to die for a nation that was denying them their rights. Mike Bloomberg is the only Democratic presidential candidate that has a real plan to fight for those sacrifices that have been taken for granted for far too long. And I've got to think it was in hopes that their service and sacrifice might redeem those rights for their children and grandchildren. Introducing the Greenwood Initiative, a bold new plan to help Black Americans create generational wealth. One, we will help a million more Black families buy a house. Two, we will double the number of Black-owned businesses. Three, we will help Black families triple their wealth over the next 10 years to an all-time high.

Mike will get it done. Visit MikeForBlackAmerica.com to learn more. There are concrete proposals that we can afford and that we can get done, and we will. I'm Mike Bloomberg, and I approve this message. Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020. You want to check out Roland Martin on Filter? YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. 2020. All right, folks. forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. All righty, folks.

Super Tuesday takes place on this coming Tuesday. 16 states and territories are going to be going to the polls. And if you are a Democrat or Republican candidate, you want to win that primary to advance the general election. One of the folks who wants to run against Texas incumbent Senator Republican John Cornyn is Amanda Edwards. She's a councilwoman in the city of Houston. She joins us right now.

Amanda, how are you doing? I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me on today. All right, then. So there are a number of candidates running on the Democratic side, including Texas State Senator Royce West. You have others who are running. You have people who are white, who are Latino, who are African American, who are running. And so what is it looking like from your perspective when it comes

to on the Democratic side to face John Cornyn? I think what we have to remember when you're looking at a primary field that is as crowded as ours is what is the end goal? And I think for us, the end goal has to be unseating John Cornyn. And then, of course, selecting the person who will be most best positioned to actually deliver the results that Texans and all of the folks across this nation deserve. One of the things that is really, really important is that we focus on people who can galvanize the coalitions that will be necessary to win. And that includes when you look back at the 18 cycle when Beto ran for office, that included folks that he brought in, which were persuadable voters. Those are people in the middle, independent voters, et cetera.

He did very good at getting are people in the middle, independent voters, etc. He did very good at getting those voters in the fold. But when you looked at communities of color, when you looked at communities under the age of 35, we saw that there were high registrant levels, but they didn't come out to vote in those high levels. They were under 50 percent of their registered numbers. So you've got to pick a candidate who can galvanize persuadable voters, but also galvanize more of the base, meaning communities of color, as well as people under the age of 35. The electorate in Texas is changing drastically. And in fact, so much so that you'll see that we have over 2.6 million newly registered voters since 2016. Of that amount, 1.6 million of them are people of color and or

under the age of 25. And we've got to take advantage of this changing electorate. When you speak of that changing electorate, of course, Republicans have been losing big time in the suburbs all across the country, but especially there in Texas. We saw the gains made in 2018. Of course, many people talk about the role that Beto O'Rourke played in his campaign against Senator Ted Cruz. Do you see that also happening or being repeated again in 2020? Yes, I think what's happened here is that we actually have a U.S. senator by the name of John Cornyn, who is the incumbent, who is actually more vulnerable than was Ted Cruz. In other words, his polling, his base is softer.

And so although Ted Cruz was not very well liked nationwide, it was easier to raise money against someone like that when they're a polarizing figure in that way. It doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have a base. In this instance, we have John Cornyn, who hasn't even broken 40 percent since we've been in this race. And so he actually is very vulnerable. At some points, he's been as low as 27 percent, but he's hovering in the mid-30s. And that's where he's remained, because he's aligned himself with Donald Trump.

The thing about his alignment with Donald Trump, he's about 95% aligned with him. His base of supporters would otherwise be what we call a moderate Republican base, which now, of course, he's eroded because of his support and alignment with Trump. And so folks like him oftentimes find themselves on an island. And if you recall the rash of early retirements or announcements of retirements for a number of Republicans across the state of Texas, that's a lot of what's driving this is the Trump era of politics. What is so, like I say, a crowded field. And so exactly what is your plan to get Texans, Democrats to vote for you and make you the nominee to face John Cornyn? Absolutely. So my why is this. I'm running because

I believe Texans and people all over this country deserve real results in their lives. I think we have had enough of people making campaign promises, campaign stops, all of those things, and not delivering on the things that you talk about on the campaign trail. We have got to understand the urgency of these issues, the life and death nature of the issues. For example, when you're thinking about health care access, we have a U.S. senator named John Cornyn who has voted more than half a dozen times to overturn the Affordable Care Act simply because he doesn't like the name of the president who was in office when it was passed. That's called playing politics with people's lives. We've got to get people who are serious, but not just that they're serious. You've got to be able to be effective, particularly in this polarized environment.

And so having someone with a track record like myself, who's been effective in government, and it's not always easy to do, I think is exactly what we need to refocus our attention on people rather than the politics and on results as far as community impact is concerned. That's what they're sending you to Washington to do. They want you to focus on your job, not on Twitter, but on the real work

that you need to complete in terms of bringing home some deliverables that impact people's lives, economic opportunity, healthcare access, immigration reform, you name it. There are so many big pressing issues that have yet to be addressed because we have not put the people in the office that can actually be effective. Also, Texas is one of those states that can flip in 2020. A lot of people thought that was something that was much later down the road. And the politics in Texas are changing. A lot of that has been driven by Donald Trump. And people are not feeling comfortable aligning with

him in a number of respects. Lots more independent voters. And they're willing now to consider other votes, meaning Democrats and others that they think can get this country back on the right track. So we've got to talk to our base. We've got to talk to those folks in the middle. And it's got to be about them in terms of what changes do you want to see? But then having a confidence in the leadership will act that the leadership can actually bring about that change. And that's what I represent. And that that message is resonating and connecting extremely well. It's a breath of fresh air at a time that is not focused on people. All right, then. Amanda Edwards, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

All right, folks, we come back and roll the mark unfiltered. Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is headed to prison. We'll explain up next. Mike Bloomberg is the only Democratic presidential candidate that has a real plan for Black youth in education. It's called the Greenwood Initiative. We'll make public college tuition free for all low-income students. We'll forgive college loans for students who were exploited by failed for-profit colleges. Mike knows investing in our teachers is investing in our children. We'll also recruit more black and Latino teachers as we did in New York City

because studies show they can make all the difference. And we'll also invest much more in heavily historically black colleges and universities because many of the HBCUs are struggling. And the first step to achieving generational wealth is taken in the classroom. We'll incentivize state and localities to create financial literacy classes. Mike will get it done.

Visit mikeforblackamerica.com to learn more. There are concrete proposals that we can afford and that we can get done, and we will. I'm Mike Bloomberg, and I approve this message. Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our

Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered support the Roland Martin Unfiltered

daily digital show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. All right, so a lot of y'all always asking me about some of the pocket squares that I wear. Now, I don't know. Robby don't have one on. Now, I don't particularly like the white pocket squares that I wear. Now, I don't know, Rob, I don't have one on. Now, I don't particularly like the white pocket squares. I don't like even the silk ones. And so I was reading GQ magazine a number of years ago, and I saw this guy who had this pocket square here, and it looks like a flower. This is called a shibori pocket square. This is how the Japanese manipulate the fabric to create

this sort of flower effect. So I'm going to take it out and then place it in my hand so you see what it looks like. And I said, man, this is pretty cool. And so I tracked down, it took me a year to find a company that did it. And so they make these about 47 different colors. And so I love them because, again, as men, we don't have many accessories to wear. So we don't have many options. And so this is really a pretty cool pocket square. What I love about this here is you saw when it's in the pocket, you know, it gives you that flower effect like that. But if I wanted to also unlike other because if I flip it and turn it over, it actually gives me a different type of texture. So therefore it gives me a different look. So

there you go. So if you actually want to get one of these Shibori pocket squares, we have them in 47 different colors, all you got to do is go to rollinglessmartin.com forward slash pocket squares. So it's rollinglessmartin.com forward slash pocket squares. All you got to do is go to my website and you can actually get this. Now, for those of you who are members of our Bring the Funk fan club, there's a discount for you to get our pocket squares That's why you also got to be a part of our bring the funk fan club

And so that's what we want you to do and so it's pretty cool So if you want to jazz your look up you can do that in addition Y'all see me with some of the feather pocket squares. My sister was a designer. She actually makes these they're all custom-made So when you also go to the website, you can also order one of the feather pocket squares. My sister who is a designer, she actually makes these. They're all custom made. So when you also go to the website, you can also order one of the customized feather pocket squares right there at rollingnessmartin.com forward slash pocket squares. So please do so. And of course, it goes to support the show.

And again, if you're a Bring the Funk fan club member, you get a discount. This is why you should join the fan club. Let's join Reverend Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin as she engages others to think like a leader. Are you looking to enhance your leadership or that of your team in 2020? You can join her online course and mastermind group,

How Successful People Think. She'll be your guide as you learn timeless leadership principles to apply to daily living. The offer expires on February 28th. To register or start the online course, go to www.livetolead.com forward slash Leesburg. Livetolead.com forward slash Leesburg. Again, it is the online leadership course that you want, and it's called How Successful People Think. And so the deadline

is February 28th. And so live2lead.com forward slash Leesburg. Man, oh man, talk about a quick fall. Former mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, sentenced today to three years in federal prison as a result of a children's book scam. In addition, she had this book called Healthy Holly that was a series of children's books that was supposed to be delivered to children. Well, guess what? She was convicted on federal tax evasion and conspiracy charges because these books were used to help fund a political career. She was ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution to the University of Maryland medical system and nearly $12,000 to the Maryland Auto Insurance Fund, which also purchased copies of her books. And many of those books were not even delivered. She also must forfeit nearly $670,000 in her campaign account.

Now, all copies of this healthy Holly book in government custody will be destroyed. This is Catherine Pugh after she was sentenced today in Baltimore. So as one who's gone through this, I don't wish this on anybody. Again, I'm apologetic to the citizens of Baltimore. So as one who's gone through this, you know, I don't wish this on anybody. Again, I'm apologetic to the citizens of Baltimore. Nobody loves Baltimore more than I do. You know, and I think many of you followed me over the years. You know, at four o'clock in the morning, I think some folks met me at four a.m. in the morning until 10 or 11 o'clock at night because I believe in the city. And I know that Baltimore will move forward. We've got some great people out there.

I hope that we'll take over the realm of the mayor. But, you know, what I want the citizens of Baltimore to do is to continue to believe in the future of our city. And again, I apologize to the city, the state, and I had folks who flew in from across the country today. And so I apologize to them as well. Got to say, Erica, I mean, it is so unfortunate to hear somebody who was a very successful state senator, led the National Caucus of Black State Legislators,

then, of course, beat a wide field of people to become mayor of that city. You had a previous and she actually beat a woman who was a previous mayor who herself was forced out of office for using for improperly using gift cards. And so, I mean, you talk about hundreds of thousands of dollars for books that, frankly, never even got printed. Right. And then what is the price that you put on public trust? Baltimore has been through the wringer for years and years and years, and so to have a leader that looks like you, that looks like the demographic of the city to do this, I'm glad that she was very apologetic

because I do believe in grace. So definitely my heart goes out to her family that has had to endure during this time as well and close friends. However, I think for the city of Baltimore and all of the different ails that they are facing, and when you have folks that are really out in front leading the charge, like your Marilyn Mosby's, that I don't think that people need to look at this as an example of leadership by black people. This is a person who has definitely fallen in a very, very public way, has paid restitution, still has more money to fork over and most importantly, did apologize for that. So not minimizing it. I'm in Baltimore at least once a month and definitely always very aware of the

condition of the city and the active gentrification that's happening. But I really hope that people will continue to trust and believe and then also hold into account black leaders and not make this a blanket way to say, well, that's why I don't support folks that are black and in leadership. Well, first of all, anybody who says that is stupid. Bottom line is you have white politicians, Latino politicians, male, female politicians who have used their office for personal gain. It's just it's just sad. Again, somebody who's had a very successful political career, this is how you're going to be remembered, resigning in disgrace and then having to go to federal prison

for the next three years. Recy? Yeah, I mean, you can't put a price on integrity. And I mean, she's 69 years old. That's a pretty advanced age to have to be facing three years of prison. The prosecutors asked for five years. She wanted one year, and they landed in—the judge landed in the middle. It's awful that she's going to be defined by something when she does have so many accomplishments under her belt. And it's not lost on us, I'm sure, that you have Donald Trump pardoning people like Rod Blahoyevich and other people who have kind of been caught up in these kind of corruption scandals. And here you have a black woman that's going to prison for three years. She's facing another charge as well for perjury.

So her legal troubles are not coming to an end here. But she did do something incredibly seriously, serious in terms of the scale of what she's been accused of, the dollar amount, and she breached public trust. So I appreciate, like Erica said, that she's very apologetic about her actions because I think you have to take accountability for, you know, she has to take accountability for what she did do wrong in this instance. Yeah, absolutely. And so, again, for Baltimore, just another piece of bad news.

All right, folks. Mike Bloomberg is the only Democratic presidential candidate who understands that wealth creation and the current racial wealth gap is linked to past racism and has a plan to address the impact on Black America. The crimes against black americans still echo across the centuries and no single law can wipe out that slate clean the time has come i think to fully commit ourselves to acknowledging our history and righting our country's wrongs and that's exactly what i will do as president it's called the greenwood Initiative. One, we will help a million more black families buy a house. Two, we will double the number of black-owned businesses. Three, we will help black families triple their wealth over the next 10 years to an all-time high.

Mike will get it done. Visit mikeforblackamerica.com to learn more. There are concrete proposals that we can afford and that we can get done and we will. I'm Mike Bloomberg and I approve this message. Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020. Let's talk about this here. Bill to make lynching a hate crime passed yesterday in the U.S. House. It's the first attempt since 1900 that could outlaw lynching in this country. Now, it was called the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act in honor of the 14-year-old African-American boy who was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi. The vote was 410 to 4. Here's Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who was in the speaker's chair when it passed.

On this vote, the yeas are 410. The nays are four. Two-thirds being in the affirmative. The rules are suspended. The bill is passed. And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. So it's really interesting here. You have four people who voted against it. One of them was Justin Amash, who, of course, in the Republican, actually now independent out of Michigan.

Of course, you also have, I think, one of the craziest members, Louie Gohmert. But you also have Louie Gohmert of Texas. So you're Justin Amash, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas Massey of Kentucky, Ted Yoho of Florida. And Amash took to Twitter to explain, Erica, exactly why he voted against the particular bill, saying that it actually could have an impact on prosecutions on the state level.

But I would say on this one, if 410 people voted for it, I'm just saying, you know, first of all, there are 435 members in the House, 14 people didn't vote. I'm just saying, you might want to go ahead and just vote for it and stop trying to explain everything away didn't vote. I'm just saying, you might want to go ahead and just vote for it and stop trying to explain everything away later.

Right. I'm glad you said that because I was going to point out the folks that didn't vote. We do the math. It's like, well, what happened with those people? But this, again, is remember the media hype around Justin Amash and having this profiling courage and a call of conscience. You know, once a Republican, always a Republican. And even if they distinguish themselves as being independent, those principles, because they are definitely ingrained in so early, those are not things that are easily sold away.

They're definitely much so in line with leadership and what they believe to be the rule of law. So to see Justin Amash amongst that four people, to me, it looked like four Republicans, along with those that did not vote, voted against a law that when we think about it, here we are in 2020. And I think that this is very important, specifically in this time, in this era, for people to see how justice does not move at the speed of technology. So Justin Amash is not a surprise because he is still a Republican. Recy. Yeah, and I would like to point out that a bill to make animal cruelty a federal felony passed with unanimous consent in the House. The Emmett Till anti-lynching

bill did not pass with unanimous consent. That is disgraceful. Even in the Senate, in the bill which Senator Kamala Harris has led on, along with Senator Cory Booker and Tim Scott, that bill has passed in the last two sessions with unanimous consent. So Justin Amash, shame on you and shame on Louie Gohmert, shame on Thomas Massey and shame on, I think it was Kevin, you, Ted, you, y'all who. You guys are, I'm not even gonna curse right now, but you guys are a disgrace. And you ought to be a damn shame to yourself that you care more or you have less objection to an animal cruelty bill passing than you do a goddamn anti-lynching bill. It is, it's appalling. And you shouldn't even be able to show your face.

There's no excuse for the fact that 400 and however many people managed to... Whatever little reservations they had, put it aside and do the right damn thing

and you did it. Right. All right, folks. Let's talk about coronavirus. Stock market tumbled in a huge way today. Like, real big. And, of course,

Donald Trump is trying to fight himself out of the hole because remember he said, ah, no big deal. It is under control. Don't worry about it. Then, of course, all of a sudden the consensual disease control goes,

uh, no, this thing is happening. He also was telling his people not to play this thing up because he did not want it to hurt the economy. Well, dude, when you have a global pandemic on to take place in Indiana when he was governor, as the point person on this here? I don't understand. That's why you have a surgeon general. Well, for an incapable regime, this is quite capable of them. It does not. It made sense for me, to me, that he would pass the football to Mike Pence. And, you know, Recy and I were talking earlier and I said, you know, it's interesting to me that you're talking about the stock market, stock market,

as of today, plunged almost about 3,000 points in a three-day span. We saw the market dip below what was called a correction, right? And this is what brings this clown to talk to the American public about, as you said, what is possibly a global pandemic. When you look at all of the different countries and just look at the continents and you look at the different countries that have been impacted and to think that the United States is in some way not going to be affected at the same rate that these other countries, mind you, developed countries, have experienced it is very much so incompetent. And so this wall around who press has dubbed as Teflon Don, not necessarily from this side of the house, they um called him teflon don where you're going

to start to see appealing away of that because people are thinking twice about trips people are thinking twice about what do i need to go to that restaurant or can i just go to the market and buy something um cook something at home all of these difference and that's not even on the larger scale but when you're thinking about people to people, and because there has been such an erosion of trust by this regime intentionally for their own favor, when you think about parts of government that have been gutted and you only have acting people that are in places where secretaries and decisive directors should be, and then when you think about the propping up of mediocre white boys into these positions or not capable or having not proved themselves, when he himself has gone against

intelligence and anybody that's spoken out against what he's said to be truth, which are largely spun out of conspiracy theory and info wars, that those people are removed from their positions. Now, how is it that anyone, no matter what side of the political spectrum that they're on, how is anyone to believe anything that comes out of your mouth? Liar, liar. Like, this is what you have majored in. And so what I'm most interested in right now at this moment

is just seeing how the politicals who have been really spinning Donald Trump for the past three, four years now are going to really be very honest with the American public in that there is an active regime with a person at his head that the only person that can be trusted is that very same person that looks at the mirror. He only trusts himself. He is a one voice, one person audience. And so I'm really looking to see how the media is going to step up, even with what we have going on coming up to Tuesday, coming up to South Carolina, to be able to parse and to be able to offer the public some real accuracy around

what's actually happening. All right, folks. We are out of time for today's show. First of all, I appreciate all of you being here. Tomorrow we've got a special show for you guys focusing totally on the South Carolina primaries. We'll hear from Vice President Joe Biden. We'll hear from Tom Steyer. We'll hear from Elizabeth Warren.

Also, the Black Women Roundtable. They're holding their The Power of the Sister Vote town hall as we speak. We're going to have that for you as well. So we're going to have that live stream. It's actually streaming right now while we've been on the show for the last hour. We'll also, of course, hear from the folks with Black Voters Matter about what they are seeing and hearing on the ground. And so you don't want to miss our special tomorrow from South Carolina leading up to Saturday's debate. Don't forget, folks, on

Monday, I'll be broadcasting live from Dallas, one of the Super Tuesday states. I'll be talking with Texas State Senator Royce West, who is trying to become United States Senator from that state as well. So it's a busy, busy weekend. And also, folks, if you're in Richmond, Virginia, if you're in Virginia, on Saturday I will be participating in a criminal justice summit with Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. It's going to be taking place from 4 to 6 p.m. We'll be live streaming that event as well. So we've got a really packed weekend.

I'll also be joining Ali Velshi Saturday on MSNBC. So it's an absolutely crazy packed weekend, but we like it no other way. Okay? All right, folks. I will see you guys tomorrow. Don't forget to support Roland Martin Unfiltered by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com, joining our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show, allowing us to travel all across the country

and to be involved in all of these different issues, bringing you the kind of news no one else is bringing, such as Marc Morial and National Urban League saying there will not be Urban League affiliates participating in a crime conference if it's going to take place at Trump's Doral Resort in Mayo, a story that we broke right here. All right, folks, I got to go. Erie Community College, I will see you guys tomorrow

right here in Buffalo. All day, looking forward to joining you at this all-day conference. And so don't forget, folks, it's called Embracing Excellence, Promoting the Success and Retention of Men of Color in Higher Education.

So I look forward to being your keynote tomorrow as well. All right, folks. Holla! I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's the deal.

We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things.

Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an iHeart podcast.