down. in fact, the nominee left his trump tower fortress for a few minutes saturday to glad hand supporters gathered outside the building, but as elected republican supporters continue to defect, trump still has a debate to prepare for tonight. trump will square off against hillary clinton here in st. louis at 9:00 p.m. tonight. that creepy conversation on the bus with billy bush will surely come up, and trump will undoubtedly also have to address the fact that so many in his party are fleeing from him. let's bring in msnbc contributor e.j. dionne and a supporter of hillary for america and hugh hewitt. i'm coming right to you, my friend. you are among the republicans who have defected from donald trump's support base. is there anything that he could say tonight during this debate that would change your mind? >> no. i believe he should leave the race for the benefit of the country, the party, his family and himself. tom cotton, the senator whose clip you opened with, is perhaps