one, this is not a new dynamic in atlanta. atlanta is the home of the late hank aaron who we lost in january who if this track record is any indication would have had something to say about this voting law and it's not only the process it went through in the legislature but also the passage. he would have spoken out against that. so baseball is the sport where jackie robinson broke the color barrier. baseball is proud of that. atlanta is proud of being the city too busy to hate and there is a real question here as to whether or not the city is going to live up to that moniker now. companies like delta and coca-cola have long been part of what has made -- given atlanta that reputation, that made atlanta and georgia a place that's been able to point to southern neighbors and say we are not south carolina, we are not alabama. we are not mississippi. and now i think the confluence of atlanta and baseball given their kind of -- what they hold -- both of them holding themselves out to be markers of racial progress that confluence ha

mayor bottom says her directive which aims to help atlanta residents navigate new gop deciding voting rules and registration deadlines is, quote, designed to do what those in the majority of the state legislature did not. expand access to our right to vote. joining our conversation, msnbc contributor and "washington post" contributing columnist, former congresswoman. charlie sykes back with us as well with claire mccaskill. donna, is this where we are? frankly, turnout was incredible in the 2020 election to kind of try to help people navigate calling on her chief equity officer, to help people navigate how they can do what they've already done which is vote and not have trouble doing it? >> well, sadly, this is called using every tool that you have in the tool box and i think that mayor lance bottoms is doing that for the citizens of atlanta and unfortunately, there are dozens of these, i think over 360 of these type bills that are moving forward at various stages all across the country. in a couple of dozen legislatures, they've actually moved through either the house or the senate a

let's bring in to our conversationry sill la thompson in atlanta. what's on the minds of voters there today? >> reporter: i have to tell you, nicole, most of the voters that i've spoken to here today and i've spoken to more than a dozen didn't watch joe biden's address last night. so the fact that he is going to be here hosting that car -- that drive-in rally is really an opportunity for him to speak directly to the voters in the state who, as you mentioned, were crucial in his win in november but, of course, this does come on the heels of the new more restrictive voting laws that have been passed here and within days of those laws passing we saw businesses and large events pulling out of the state, prominent businesses speaking out in opposition to the laws, but i had an opportunity to speak to small business owners who are very worried about whether that type of behavior will continue and what it means for owners who were worried about whether that type of behavior will continue and what it will mean for businesses that aren't just headquartered h

there's powerful moments from individual players but this is the league saying, sorry, atlanta. >> the league also said in the statement that they've been in conversations with the players' association and some of the players including former players and i think they began to understand that a lot of people in baseball including the players did not want to see them stand on the sidelines here. i salute the commissioner for his decision but i also salute those that were pushing him this way as those that pushed the businesses in texas that stood up i think it was american airlines and at&t and others because i think without that kind of pressure they would have never dealt with this as we saw what happened in georgia. let's not for the as you just said they have lobbyists that do nothing but work these state capitols day and night so they know what legislation is coming. they could have used their lobbyists in advance to say you can't do this. we'll have to come out. we cannot in the light of what happened with george floyd last year just have corporations think they can throw money at

attempting to avoid a scenario, like when the mlb pulled its all-star game out of atlanta. "washington post" writes this. on wednesday, republican state representative cain proposed financial penalties against entities that publicly threaten any adverse action against the state in protest against election legislation. "the post" continues, to many of the companies and voting rights advocates, the message is clear. some republicans have no plans to back down and businesses that continue to speak out could face retribution. we can't discuss these measures without reiterating that the motivation behind them is not real. it's fake. even bill barr said so. there was no widespread voter fraud, he said. even chris krebs, who was in charge of election security, said so. even though mitch mcconnell and many, many others, republicans, denounced trump's lies after the insurrection, there are still gop lawmakers in state legislatures all across the country advancing these bills, advancing these voter restriction bills, using the big lie, and the pretense of ensuring election security,

. >>> when we come back, the decision to move the mlb all-star game out of atlanta continues to reverberate across sports and politics today. the finger pointing is just beginning of who's responsible for any harm it could do to georgia's economy, but democrats say the issue is even bigger than that. >>> plus, with the pandemic striking country on an ice edge with the threat of a potential fourth wave, republicans seem once again intent ongoing after anthony fauci. yep, all that when "deadline white house" continues after a quick break. don't go anywhere. nues after a quick break. don't go anywhere. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer. ♪ ♪ i feel free to bare my skin yeah, that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand nothing on my skin, ♪ ♪ that's my new plan. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything. ♪ achieve clearer skin with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. ♪ i see nothing in a different way it's my moment ♪ ♪ so

legislative process and georgia earlier this year thinking that they could kind of deal with this in the atlanta way of business to kind of working with republicans under the gold dome. that didn't work. so now, you've got, and this is moving into other states. you're already seeing in texas, corporations that are being kind of more publicly proactive in condemning these kinds of laws and really just kind of rallying around the idea that if america is a democracy, this country was built on a democracy, why should the idea of voting and voting rights be partisan? if corporations of people that those people should seek out in favor of voting rights. and so i think the, it was a failed strategy to kind of get this resolved behind closed doors and so now, advocates are putting the pressure on these companies to really take up an old fight in a new day by pressuring these people before these lawmakers had a chance to pass these laws to try to really shame them into doing what can be the right thing economically, if not morally. >> errin hains, you sound like a poet, doing the wrong thing in a new way

that sporting events may leave the state because of it like we saw the mlb move the all-star game from atlanta to denver? yeah. that's possible. i think these companies should be very aware of that and the state legislature and the governor should be very aware of that. >> you know, i want to ask you to stay with us. i want to bring donna into this conversation. you know, donna, it strikes me and everyone that watches this show knows i still watch republicans to try to understand what they think they're doing. and it's clear that they don't even think of what they're doing is what they're doing. they don't think that there is an election security crisis in this country. and you know that because the smart ones go on tv and they lie about what is in the bills. and what's in the georgia law, i mention this to the secretary, is this really frightening measure that would disempower a person who happens to be a republican. the secretary of state. i wonder if you can sort of break down what's in this bill, the texas version, that gives you the most pause. >> well, i mean, i think one of the things i

it's clear punishment for baseball's decision to move the summer's all-star game out of atlanta. joining our conversation is marketing and branding expert donny deutsch. michael steele, still here. donny deutsch, you proved to be right. i was skeptical that the business community had sort of the steel in the spine for a fight with republicans, but it appears as of today that they do. >> hey, guys. great to see you, nicole. professor steele. always great to be here. if you're looking at a five-year business plan, here's what they're looking at in their businesses. they're looking by the year 2021, do i look foggy? something wrong or is it just my -- >> a little bit. do you want to wipe your -- you look a little foggy. give a little wipe. >> all right, just a little wipe here, okay? >> live tv in the time of zoom. >> okay, yeah. >> all right. >> you know, they're looking at five-year business plan. >> it's better. >> nicole, i'm sorry. you have such a great show and i always come on and it goes off the rails a little bit, you know? you got serious people like professor steele on, a

come down on decisions like the recent one from major league baseball to move the all-star game out of atlanta in response to the georgia law? >> i think it was a courageous act for the league to take a bold stand. i think it's important for other entertainment outlets such as major league baseball to really consider how they want to be seen when they look back in history in this moment. how -- would any corporation want to be measured in terms of where are they going to stand? are they going to stand toward furthering our democracy, being a more inclusive society and allowing for all individuals to have equal protection under the law, or are they going to repeat history to try to force down our throat a reality that is inconsistent with the constitution and immoral. >> there was a lot of blowback, especially on the right, for president biden in calling these laws jim crow on steroids. is that a fair description? >> it is absolutely fair description. you know, i live in mississippi. i understand what voter suppression looks like. and what it looks like is what we're witnessing in georgia. it i