Coronavirus Relief Talks Continue

Republicans and Democrats remain deeply divided on the scope of the next COVID-19 relief package as the election approaches; White House works to distance President Trump from white supremacy comments. NBC's Alice Barr reports.

(NBC News) — The White House remains in clean-up mode from Tuesday’s debate, insisting President Trump does condemn white supremacy, despite his failure to do so on the debate stage.

“The President has denounced white supremacy, the KKK and hate groups in all forms,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a Thursday press briefing.

Overnight the president returned to divisive language, saying “Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp” during a rally in Minnesota, a state with a large Somali-American population.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue to negotiate another coronavirus relief bill. Weekly jobs numbers show more than 800,000 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week.

“We not only have a dollars debate, we have a values debate. Still, I’m optimistic,” Pelosi said.

Both are parties scrambling to steady the economy, knowing it’s a critical issue to voters already casting their ballots.

The two parties remain deeply divided over the size and scope of the next relief bill. Democrats are pushing a $2.2 trillion proposal; Republicans have repeatedly signaled they don’t want to spend nearly that much.

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