Cut through it youve told us what you think about the debate we have cnbc overnight polls just in. And well share. Truth is, theres never been such a thing as last night a First Official introduction of the two candidates from the committee on president ial debates follows rules. Its dignified, democratic, structured, american not last night that debate cannot be measured by traditional xs and os, regardless of how youll vote. We len defer this hour to draw distinctions between the two candidates on the issues, covid, the economy, raeshl injustice, social unrest, governance, education and so much more well do that, as best we can, based on what last nights event offered up, but lets mark this moment last night, the president called in to question the heart of our democracy, the peaceful transition of power. Is there assurance that it will happen asked to give it, the president declined, and openly sowed the seeds of distrust on the outcome. If theres no clear winner on election night, whats the process . Whats the constitution say . Well report on that and our president ial historian will offer clarity, perspective. In the debate, the president told a group of White Supremacists, some of whom stood by in charlottesville with their torches to stand back and stand by joe biden declared the duly elected president of the United States unfit to lead called him a racist, liar, a clown and told him to shut up. Weve never seen any of this, not in america but from this, we march toward the vote and tonight, well lay out the facts to the best of our ability in context and with perspective. First up, Election Integrity and where we stand every indication is there has been no widespread voter fraud not in america and theres nothing to indicate there may be a problem this time, so says the fbi director himself, but here is the president. As far as the ballots are concerned, its a disaster this is going to be a fraud like youve never seen. Did you see whats going on . Take a look at west virginia, mailmen selling the ballots. Theyre being sold theyre being dumped in rivers this is a horrible thing for our country. There is no evidence of that. This is not going to end well. Nbc news and cnbc have seen no evidence to back up the president s claims and hes offered nothing of substance. Cnbcs eamon javers looked into this and hes live with us as well. Reporter last night wasnt the first time the president has tried to sow doubts about the validity of this election. He has been doing that now for months and sometimes on a daily basis. The president has been saying mailin ballots are susceptible to fraud from mailforeign governments and that at the end of the day the results of this election may never be accurately determine determined. This is what were going to get into its going to be a disaster. Its going to be thought of very poorly its going to hurt our country itst will be a tremendous embarrassment to our country it will go on forever and youll never know who won. There will be millions of missing ballots, tremendous numbers of missing ballots you could be talking about large percentages of these ballots will be missing. Its going to be fraud its going to be a disaster. Reporter people across the country already sending in their vote business mail and its a safe way to vote because of security measures like these in new mexico, a line for your signature and a box for the last four digits of your Social Security number. A couple of hours ago, i spoke to new mexicos secretary of state. Theres no threat to mailin ballots from really any source and, in fact, mailin ballots are the safest and most secure way, in many cases, to cast your vote in light of the covid19 pandemic mailin ballots have been used, of course, in different ways in different states for decades now, as a safe, secure way for folks to vote and make their voices heard in our democracy. Reporter and shep, in new mexico they say they saw a spike in mailin balloting there was some confusion about how to execute those balltochlt s. Theyve streamlined that process now and theyre ready for election day, shep. Thats Election Fraud what about Cyber Threats how real and how worried reporter you know, that is one area where election observers say there are some concerns going into this election, particularly on the area of ransomware, a hacker reaches in and steals information and doesnt give it up until theyre paid a bribe. Another is social media hacking, stealing the accounts of highprofile people and post things that make it look like something is happening thats not really actually happening. That could sow some confusion on election day and Officials Say theyre on the lookout for both of those, shep. Eamon javers live tonight are you willing, tonight, to condemn White Supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in kenosha and as weve seen in portland sure, im willing to do that. Go ahead and say it. I would say almost everything i see is from the left wing, not the right wing. What are you saying im willing to do anything. I want to see peace. Then do it, sir. Do it say it. You want to call them what do you want to call them give me a name. White supremacists. Proud boys. Proud boys, stand back and stand by, but ill tell you what ill tell you what somebody has to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a rightwing problem. Did you hear that the proud boys, the president telling them stand back and stand by the proud boys are what the Antidefamation League calls a violent nationalistic islam phobic, antiimmigration hate group. As i mentioned some of them were in charlottesville where President Trump said there were very fine people on both sides before later backtracking. Now hes doing the same on the proud boys this afternoon, claiming ignorance. I dont know who the proud boys are youll have to give me a definition i dont really know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let Law Enforcement do their work. Mr. President , when you said stand by, what did you mean . Thats my first question. Stand by. Law enforcement will do their work they have to stand down. Everybody. They have to whatever group youre talking about. That happened after there had been calls last night and all morning and early afternoon for the president to clarify what he had said there it is. But the group was already celebrating the proud boys and living off his words from the debate a New York Times correspondent tweeted an updated logo of the proud boys look at this this is the one theyre using with the president s words embrazened like a slogan, stand back, stand by today, a reporter asked Vice President joe biden what he thought about the proud boys using the president s word as a rallying cry look. My message to the proud boys and every other White Supremacist Group is cease and desist thats not who we are. This is not who we are as americans. Cnbcs Frank Holland is with us now tell us more about the proud boys, what they espouse, what they advocate, where they come from. Its an allmale hate group formed during the 2016 president ial campaign. Today experts say they were given a big win by the winner of that election, president donald trump. Violence involving the proud boys and leftist antifa in portland, oregon, in recent weeks represent groups who are convinced they are battling for the future of america. Last night the proud boys gaining what experts say is a powerful weapon, recognition from the president. Getting a shout out on this global forum is really going to help the proud boys grow their numbers and mobilize them further. Reporter tracking hate groups and sees the current polarized government a breeding ground for the proud boys and antifa. They are violent and do stupid stuff they view themselves as fighting back against this. Reporter founded in 2016, the proud boys bring in new members with a fourstep initiation according to nbc news, the process includes being assaulted by fellow members while getting breakfast cereals, getting a tattoo and limiting masturbation. Step forward is to go commit an act for the cause. Theyre rooted in violence. Theyre rooted in hatred. Reporter chief of police in charlottesville, virginia, the site of a deadly confrontation between left and right wing groups several years ago the president s refusal to denounce White Supremacy could have dlid consequences. It emboldens people to say we will be immune to a system of accountability because we have the backing at the highest level. Shep, the proud boys are selling tshirts with the president s words, stand back and stand by they get the majority of their funding by selling merchandise, adding manpower and money to their cause. Frank holland live in the cnbc newsroom. Who won . Both campaigns say their candidate had the better night both sides claiming a win. This happens after most debates. Only one opinion matters and thats yours two reporters are getting reactions, dasha burns in grand rapids, michigan, but first shaq brewster, that city still hurting after the death of george floyd how did this conversation of race play there . Reporter thats right, shep. Since last nights debate one conversation that stuck out to me was one with mr. Jamar nelson, antiviolence activist here in minneapolis, who has been critical of the City Councils push to dismantle the Minneapolis Police department saying its contributed to an uptick in violence he said President Trump missed out on a golden opportunity when he refused to condemn White Supremacy unequivocally. He said it was a gut punch to him. Minneapolis is a city still reeling from the death of george flo floyd, tributes around the violence and destruction, protests afterwards are still apparent they wanted to hear more from the president. Shaq brewster live in minneapolis. Thanks the president won michigan by fewer than 30 votes so how Michigan Reacts matters to both candidates in a big way. Both of the people you talked to went for President Trump in 2016 where are they now reporter shep, i first met both of these voters last November Katie morris, mom of two, told me she regretted voting for donald trump but wasnt sure she could vote for a democrat, thought the party had gotten too far left now she is all in on joe biden she said at last nights debate he was trying to speak to moderate voters like her, whereas trump was trying to rile up his base. On the other hand, our other voter is still undecided he was a truch supporter now hes more of a skeptic, but is still not sure what to do he was hoping last nights debate would help clarify things he said it did the opposite. He told me he thought it was two kids in a sand box fighting over a shovel thats what he saw last night. Shep dasha burns live in grand rapids. Sometimes history helps us makes sense of whats happening right now, and historians can help us see the forest for the trees now and then Michael Beschloss is nbc news president ial historian hes here to give us context michael, good evening and thanks. Glad to be with you. Context is there any historical reference that gives us insight on what happened last night, anything like that ever before i wish i could give you one, shep, but you go through all of history, youll never find a fall president ial debate that got this far out of control. President trump obviously went into this, thinking that, you know, he would try to dominate and speak through joe biden and the result was that a lot of what biden said was drowned out. You and i both know Chris Wallace was put in a very difficult position because the rule ds not allow him to turn off anyones microphone. Around the world, is there an analogy, is there a comparison to another world leader acting in this way . Well, i think it resembles the kind of countries that americans usually lecture to and say your political system should be more like ours. We usually point to our president ial debates saying were so democratic that an incumbent president goes in, speaking with his rival, and the rival criticizes him to his face where else but america would that happen . Michael beschloss live tonight. Appreciate it. Sorry for the audio. Working from home. Everyone understands that. In the end, what you think, what you decide is what matters. Thats it. You told us whats most important. Well drill down on those issues in our scientific poll results did anything change after last night for you . You gave us answers, but first we asked, was the debate useful . Should there be more 55 said yes, bring it on. But we also asked, did watching the president ial debate make you feel proud to be an american 77 said no. The rest of the polls, as the first the news rolls on in 60 seconds. So much so that the Nonprofit Group that runs deceit baits announce this had afternoon it will be changing the rules Going Forward to ensure more orderly discussios,s as it put it the next debate is scheduled to have a town hall format in two weeks. Despite it all, the candidates did get to the issues, and were going to focus on the ones you told us matter the most in our c cnbc change research poll. First up, covid19 well hear from both candidates and then from you. Elderly people with heart problems, diabetes and other problems have very, very vulnerable Young Children arent. Even younger people arent we learned a lot one of the reasons theyre shut down is they want to keep it shut down until after the election. Covid19 not exactly laying out a plan but did lay blame for where we are now joe biden put the blame on the president himself. He waited and waited and waited. Wrong. He still doesnt have a plan. Sir i laid out back in march exactly what we should be doing and i laid out again in july what we should be doing. We should be providing all the protective gear possible we should be providing the money the house has passed in order to be able to go out and get people the help they need, to keep their businesses open, open schools that cost a lot of money. You should get out of your bunker and get out of the sand trap in your golf course and go in the oval office and bring together the democrats and republicans and fund what needs to be done now to save lives. It was a bit of a dog fight we did hear some scientific polling of likely voters nationwide on this subject we asked if the debate or after the debate, who do you believe would do a better job of keeping us all safe from covid19 . 56 of those surveyed said joe biden. 44 said President Trump lets dig into those numbers who cares the most and where are they Nbc News National Political correspondent steve corps knako with us. What did you feend voters over 65, seniors, when you ask them that question, who do you think would keep us safe better, look at that almost twothirds say biden and not trump. One of the stories of this election, trump won Senior Citizens big in 2016 he trails with them this year. This might be one of the big reasons why. Steve, next issue, candidates debated the Supreme Court. Who should get to choose the next nominee listen here. I will tell you very simply, we won the election. Elections have consequences. We have the senate we have the white house. And we have a phenomenal nominee, respected by all. The president is elected for four years were not elected for three years. Im not elected for three years. We have the senate we have a president. To the next election. During that period of time, we have an opening im not elected for three years. Im elected for four years. Were in the middle of an election already the election has already started. Tens of thousands of people have already voted. And so the thing that should happen is we should wait we should wait and see what the outcome of this election is. Thats the only way the American People get to express their view, is by who they elect as president and who they elect as Vice President. Those have been the positions since Justice Ginsburg died. Back to the poll. After the debate we asked who do you believe would do a better job selecting a Supreme Court justice . 54 said joe biden 46 said President Trump back to steve deep in the data who is focused on this issue, the Supreme Court, and where might it change some minds if anywhere this is where the poll tells us something a little complicated. How about voters who say they might change their minds its a small group but important group. Among voters who say they could still change their minds on this issue by more than 21 margin they favor trump he may get some people to hold their nose and vote for him perhaps. They have the same internals, do they not . The president being so immediate there in his reaction when the ginsburg vacancy occurred to say we are going to fill this and republicans following them, i think they see some opportunity there as well. Candidates also debated Race Relations and keeping americans safe, those two things joe biden focused on what we have in common. Were all americans the only way were going to bring this country together is to bring everybody together. There is nothing we cannot do if we do it together. We can take this on and defeat racism in america. Mr. President , sir . During the obama biden administration, there was tremendous division. There was hatred you look at ferguson you go to many places like at oakland. Look what happened in oakland. Look what happened in baltimore. Frankly, it was more violent than what im even seeing now. Oh, my lord this is ridiculous. Is that the democrats that run these cities dont want to talk like you about law and order. Violent crime you still havent mentioned are you in favor of law and order . Im in favor of law you follow it. Are you in favor of law and order . Yes. Let him finish. Law and order. Let him law and order with justice where people get treated fairly. Race relations and Community Safety after the debate we asked who do you believe would do a better job combating racism, discrimination 57 said joe biden, 43 said the president. Now on law and order, one of the president s focuses remember, he said it over and over we asked who would do a better job keeping our neighborhoods safe on that question, 54 said biden, 46 said mr. Trump. Steve, we saw issues around protests and safety reshape some polling back over the summer what about the latest on where those issues matter most and to whom right now yeah. Here is something were seeing you get to the topic of race, you have combating racism and discrimination problem break this down demographically. Overwhelmingly, black voters preferring biden, hispanic voters preferring biden. White numbers, trump has the bigger number but only barely. Thats the most significant thing here white voters as a group in 2016, trump won them in the election in 2016 by nearly 20 points. On this topic of racism, Race Relations he barely edges out bi biden here white voters in particular, some who voted for trump in 16, they get uneasy when the topic turns to race and trump starts talking. We got these poll results late in the day. As you went through, is there anything that Steve Kornacki said ooh, that was surprising. That Supreme Court number, to be honest with you theres been a lot of discussion around that. One thing youve definitely been seeing, the Democratic Base is much more animated around the issue of the court now than, really, weve ever seen before i think that partly explains why overall biden has the edge on that issue i think what that showed me on that topic is there are some voters out there who dont seem inclined to say theyre with trump right now, could fall into that with issues like the Supreme Court, you see their tendency might be more to the right there could be a little bit of an opportunity around the edges there for the president. Battleground states matter the most, obviously, steve look at michigan, from an aggregation of all the polls it looked like joe biden is inching up. Look at the electoral map here this is where it was in 2016 if biden were to get michigan, puts him at 248. If he were to get pennsylvania as well, where the polls look similar, just those two states, he would be on the cusp of victory. Trump has a lot of slippage in the polls in the midwest he has got to shore that up somehow or the electoral math gets very difficult for him. Steve