>>> A SCRATCHY RECORDING OF FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG HAS BEEN
CIRCULATING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
SINCE TUESDAY, APPEARING TO SHOW
THE BILLIONAIRE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE DEFENDING THE CITY’S
STOP AND FRISK POLICY IN STARKLY
RACIAL TERMS.
RACIAL TERMS. HERE’S AN EXCERPT FROM THAT
RECORDING.
RECORDING. >> 95% OF YOUR MURDERS, AND
MURDERERS AND MURDER VICTIMS FIT
ONE M.O.
ONE M.O. YOU CAN JUST TAKE THE
DESCRIPTION, XEROX IT AND PASS
IT ON TO ALL OF THE COPS.
THEY ARE MALE, MINORITY.
>> THE AUDIO CLIP WAS POSTED BY
PODCASTER AND SANDERS SUPPORTER
BENJAMIN DIXON ON TWITTER AND
WAS TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG’S
COMMENTS AT THE ASPEN INSTITUTE
IN 2015.
IN 2015. BLOOMBERG WENT ON TO SAY, QUOTE,
WE PUT ALL THE COPS IN MINORITY
NEIGHBORHOODS, YES, THAT’S TRUE.
WHY DO WE DO IT, BECAUSE THAT’S
WHERE ALL THE CRIME IS.
BLOOMBERG ISSUED A STATEMENT
APOLOGIZING SAYING IN PART I
INHERITED THE POLICE PRACTICE OF
STOP AND FRISK, AS PART OF OUR
EFFORT TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE, IT
WAS OVERUSED.
WAS OVERUSED. I REGRET THAT AND I HAVE
APOLOGIZED AND I HAVE TAKEN
RESPONSIBILITY FOR TAKING TOO
LONG TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT IT
HAD ON BLACK AND LATINO
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. NBC NEWS HAS LEARNED THAT THE
BLOOMBERG CAMPAIGN WAS AWARE OF
THE 2015 RECORDING AND HAD
PREPARED A PLAN FOR RESPONDING
WHEN IT CAME OUT.
JOINING US NOW, THE HOST OF
MSNBC’S "POLITICS NATION" AND
PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ACTION
NETWORK, REVEREND AL SHARPTON,
AND IN CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE,
WHERE BLOOMBERG IS CAMPAIGNING
TODAY, NATIONAL POLITICAL
REPORTER FOR NBC NEWS, JOSH
LETTERMAN.
LETTERMAN. >> REV, THIS IS VERY SURPRISING
FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE -- AND I
THINK WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS
BEFORE, YOU AND I -- FOR THOSE
WHO HAVE FOLLOWED BLOOMBERG’S
CAREER, HE ACTUALLY GAVE AN
INTERVIEW IN NEW YORK MAGAZINE
WHERE HE SAID THE SAME EXACT
THING.
THING. IT ALL COMES DOWN TODAY THAT.
THERE ARE -- TODAY DATA.
BROOKLYN AND THE BRONX, THIS IS
WHERE THE MURDERS OCCUR, YOU CAN
PUT CIRCLES AROUND IT, THE
DEMOGRAPHICS AND DATA, AND HE
SAID IN THE NEW YORK MAGAZINE
INTERVIEW EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID
THERE DEFENDING STOP AND FRISK,
WE’RE PUTTING POLICE WHERE THE
CRIME IS.
CRIME IS. >> THE DIFFERENCE ABOUT THIS
TAPE IS WHERE HE SAYS MINORITY
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. IT’S DIRECTLY RACIAL AND THOSE
OF US THAT HAVE PROTESTED STOP
AND FRISK HAD SAID ALL ALONG IT
WAS RACE-BASED.
WAS RACE-BASED. WE WILL CALL ALL KINDS OF NAMES
SAYING WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE
SOMETHING RACIAL THAT WAS IN
FACT A CRIME FIGHTING THING.
HE SAYS YOU CAN DO A XEROX COPY,
THESE ARE THE ONES DOING THE
CRIME, WHICH IS RACIAL
PROFILING.
PROFILING. NOW, HE HAS SINCE APOLOGIZED,
SINCE WALKED IT BACK, BUT THE
POLICY WAS RACE BASED AND FOR
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES TO PUT OUT THAT MICHAEL
BLOOMBERG WAS A RACIST, WHEN HE
SUPPORTED THIS POLICY AND WENT
TO CHICAGO LAST YEAR AND SAID WE
OUGHT TO HAVE STOP AND FRISK
NATIONALLY IS LAUGHABLE.
THE REAL DOWNSIDE FOR BLOOMBERG
HERE POLITICALLY IS THIS IS
RACIAL LANGUAGE COMING OUT OF
HIS MOUTH.
HIS MOUTH. THESIDE
THESIDE THE UP UPSIDE IS EVERY CANDIDATE
HAS A RACE PROBLEM.
KLOBUCHAR IS ACCUSED OF RACE
WHEN SHE WAS A PROSECUTOR IN HER
HOME STATE OF MINNESOTA THAT SHE
HAS TO EXPLAIN WHEN SHE’S IN THE
TOP THREE.
TOP THREE. YOU HAVE BUTTIGIEG WITH POLICE
PROBLEMS.
PROBLEMS. I THINK, IF ANYTHING, IT’S TIME
FOR EVERYBODY TO COME TO THE
ALTER AND REPENT OF THEIR RACIAL
SINS AND TRY AND CONVINCE THE
PUBLIC AND BLACK VOTERS IN
PARTICULAR, THAT THEY ARE REALLY
SEEING THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS,
BUT THEY CAN’T ACT LIKE THEY DID
NOT DO WHAT THEY DID, AND SAY
WHAT THEY SAID.
>> SO FOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG I
FEEL HE’S GOT TO REALLY TALK
ABOUT THIS.
ABOUT THIS. HE CAN’T JUST PROFESS I’M SORRY.
I THINK IT’S GOT TO BE A
CONVERSATION OUTSIDE OF HIS
COMFORT ZONE.
COMFORT ZONE. THIS IS A POLICY, REV, THAT HE
OVERSAW FOR YEARS.
>> HE WAS MAYOR 12 YEARS.
>> HE COULD HAVE LEARNED THAT
THIS WAS A PROBLEM DURING THE
TIME.
TIME. WHAT AM I MISSING BECAUSE NOT
ONLY WAS IT RACE-BASED BUT IT
IMPACTED THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS
OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS. >> MILLIONS.
>> MILLIONS. >> MILLIONS OF MINORITIES THREW
THEM OFF COURSE.
THEY’RE IN LINES IN COURTHOUSES
BECAUSE OF LITTLE TICKETS THEY
GOT RIGHT AND LEFT.
I MEAN, THIS IS -- A LOT OF
PEOPLE IN REALTIME SAW A
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. >> I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND THIS AT HOME, YOUR
MOTHER, CAN YOU IMAGINE THE
ANXIETY FAMILIES HAD EVERY DAY
THAT HAD KIDS 18 TO 25 GOING
OUTSIDE SAYING I HOPE MY CHILD
IS NOT THROWN UP AGAINST A WALL.
>> STOP AND FRISK.
>> THAT’S THE LANGUAGE USED,
THEY’RE NOT THROWN UP AGAINST A
WALL, I MEAN, THE WHOLE
COMMUNITY WAS LIVING UNDER
SIEGE.
SIEGE. THAT’S WHY WE WERE HOSTILE.
>> THE WHITE COMMUNITY, AND YOU
DID THAT TO KIDS, YOU WOULD FIND
POT IN THEIR POCKETS AND PUT
THEM IN JAIL TOO, BUT IT ONLY
HAPPENED TO BLACK KIDS.
>> AND THAT’S WHAT’S IDENTIFIED
THERE, AND THAT’S ALL WE WERE
SAYING.
SAYING. I REMEMBER THE NAACP AND
NATIONAL ACTION NETWORKS, WE
MARCHED TENS OF THOUSANDS, IT IT
WASN’T LIKE WE WERE NOT RAISING
THESE ISSUES.
THESE ISSUES. >> HOW DOES HE DEAL WITH THIS?
THIS IS MUCH DEEPER --
>> HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO COME
OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE AND HAVE
A REAL CONVERSATION WITH REAL
PEOPLE, THE IS THAT THE FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND THE
NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES, ALL
THE PEOPLE THAT WERE DEALING
WITH IT.
WITH IT. YOU CAN’T JUST, I KNOW HE HAD A
MEETING YESTERDAY WITH BLACK
MINISTERS AND OTHERS, WHICH ARE
VERY GOOD, BUT HE CAN’T TALK TO
PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT THE
ADVOCATES.
ADVOCATES. >> SPEAKING TO REPORTERS AND
INTERVIEWS.
INTERVIEWS. >> AND YOU HAVE TO BE HONEST HOW
YOU JUMP INTO THE DEBATE.
HE’S RIGHT FACTUALLY IN THE
STATEMENT HE RELEASED IN
RESPONSE TO THE VIDEO.
BUT HE DIDN’T JUST SIMPLY
INHERIT THE PRACTICE.
BETWEEN 2002 AND 2011, STOP AND
FRISK INCREASED SEVEN FOLD UNDER
MAYOR BLOOMBERG’S MAYORSHIP, AND
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" FACT
CHECKED THIS, SO YOU CAN’T JUST
SIMPLY TRY TO FUDGE IT.
HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS
THE ISSUE HEAD ON AND DIRECTLY.
IF THERE’S AN ISSUE HERE,
PARTICULARLY IN THE CONTEXT OF
BLACK LIVES MATTER, HE HAS TO
ANSWER IT.
ANSWER IT. >> COMING UP, ANDREW YANG IS
LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE RACE BUT
ISN’T RULING OUT A RETURN TO
POLITICS.
POLITICS. THE FORMER PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE JOINS US NEXT ON
"MORNING JOE."
"MORNING JOE."L CANDIDATE JOINS US NEXT ON