Transcripts For MSNBCW Deadline White House 20200819

Injustice, building on the case shes made when she was announced as bidens vp pick just one week ago. When we look at someone like the current occupant of the white house, again, he has not been lifting folks up. Joe and what we are about is about lifting people up, understanding that the strength of a leader is based on not who you beat down, but who you lift up. His empathy, his compassion, his sense of duty to care for others, is why i am so proud to be on this ticket. He knows, and he cares about the fact that we have, as a nation, witnessed 165,000 people who just in the last few months have died in our country. So what real leadership looks like is joe biden. To speak up, sometimes telling us the stuff that we dont necessarily want to hear, but we need to know. Harris is the candidate that the Trump Campaign viewed as the most skilled and in a clear sign of their concerns, or maybe its just how they roll at this point, the racist and sexist smears against her from trump and his buddies have been pouring in. And although its unclear that the scattershot insults have taken hold outside of trumps fringeiest followers, for her part, harris is already approving to be a skied counterpuncher, knocking back the smarmiest attacks as soon as they were launched. Theyre going to engage in lies, theyre going to engage in deception, and theyre going to engage in an attempt to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American People. And i expect that they will engage in dirty tactics, and this is going to be a knockdown, dragout. And were ready. Harris selection has added excitement and diversity, including generational diversity, to the biden effort at a time that hes Still Holding on to a steady lead in the polls. Harris, born to jamaican and indian immigrant parents is currently the only black woman in the United States senate. She served as californias attorney general before serving in the u. S. Senate. Harris own announcement speech of her president ial effort drew crowds that captured trumps attention and she will likely continue to get under his skin. Senator Kamala Harris big night is where we start with three people who understand the stakes. Political strategist, Steve Schmidt is here, plus msnbcs own alicea menendez, and brilliant pollster, cornell belcher. Cornell, i have to start with you, in our shared history of rolling out sarah palin to the country when she was selected as john mccains running mate, she had a post for senator harris that got a lot of attention. There were some kernels of wisdom in there, but wrapped in a whole lot of grievances that obviously dont apply to Kamala Harris. But what is this sort of unique moment, not just for the country to see what it says about joe biden that he selected Kamala Harris, but for Kamala Harris herself, to introduce herself to people outside of the political conversations that take place day in and day out and may not know that much about her. Well, Kamala Harris is about to become an International Household name, that started with the Vice President s selection of her as the Vice President ial nominee, and shell become nothing but more famous, starting tonight. I mean, her life from the moment she stepped into the suv and the secret service took over her protection, life will never be the same for her again. And so shes coming into this moment in what i think is the most important election in the countrys history since 1864, when fundamentally, we decided whether we were going to be a country tonight. And so, well see Kamala Harris tonight begin to communicate to the American People, to make the case for joe biden, but i think also, importantly, to prosecute the case against donald trump and mike pence and the wreckage they have wrought. And, you know, with regard, i have to say this, it deserves mentioning about the letter that sarah palin wrote to Kamala Harris and theres been some reaction to it. Like, wow, that was gracious, it was nice. But i want to talk about the first piece of advice in it thats pathological and just completely relevant to the situation and the disaster were in today. The first thing that sarah palin advises senator harris is dont trust anyone new. Dont trust anyone new. This is someone whos going to be the Vice President of the United States. And i want to make a point about how that plays out when you in 2020 and a guy comes into the room, hes 57 tall, hes a doctor, hes the leading Infectious Disease expert in the world, hes worked for six president s, but, hey, i dont know him. He didnt work in trump tower. He didnt work with me in the alaska governors office, so i dont know him, im not going to listen to him, im going to trust my gut. And that type of rejection of expertise, the desire to surround yourself with cronies, the desire to attain power, but do none of the work that is required of people who are vested responsibility and obligation, thats what i saw in that letter. And i thought it was abysmal advice for anyone to give any person whos running for National Office at the level that Kamala Harris is. The good thing we know for sure is that Kamala Harris is no sarah palin. And alicea, it is admittedly a very poor comparison, but the point being, it is a very small club of women who have stood on that stage. You and i have had a lot of conversations on tv and off about the rarer circumstance of being a woman in the political arena. I have to say, just from watching her, senator harris seems to wear some of those extra challenges with a singular grace. She seems to kind of carry them proudly, but move past them and get right to doing her thing. And i know that the view from inside the Trump Campaign is that shes simply the most skilled politician on the field. The most skilled person they could have picked. And they have some anxiety about the night in which she will face off against mike pence. Right. And thats why they cant figure out how to frame her. Theres the task that would be before anyone whos going to be joe bidens running mate, to introduce themselves to the American People, to make the case for joe biden and then to lay out the case against donald trump, but joe biden, to your point, didnt just pick anyone. He chose Kamala Harris. And who she is, what she represents, the daughter of immigrants. The first black woman. The first Southeast Asian woman to be on that stage adds a layer of complexity. And as you know and steve knows and cornell knows, there have been countless meetings at this point in which the script has been drafted and redrafted, trying to figure out how to tie her personal narrative to the larger american narrative, to this moment. Her story of self meeting the story of now. And some of that was substance. Those decisions will have been made, but so much of it, nicole, that you know, is about her actual performance tonight. And tonight she will do what women do, what women of color are asked to do all the time, which is to thread that needle between the strength we expect of a leader and the warmth we expect of a woman. And so as much as tonight is about her performance and it is her night to make or break, its also about all of us, right . And the way in which we interpret what is undeniably a highly subjective performance and our noonacknowledgement tha part of our interpretation of it is undoubtedly based on the fact that we have sneemnever seen so like her do it before. I have 7,000 followup questions, but im going to just narrow it down to one, alicea. What is our duty tonight to make sure that we dont, as the media covering her, come up short or short shrift the viewers or put this through a frame that is unfair or sexist or racist. I just think thats the elephant in the room, right . Yep, part of it, i think, is acknowledging our own bias, acknowledging the fact that we all come to this with an element of bias. That is part of it, that awareness. But its really focusing on the substance of the argument that she is going to make. And we have some glimpse of what that is going to be. She is going to tell her own personal story, focus on the personal story, focus on the way in which she frames her own record. I would sense, based on having read, you know, much of the way shes told her story in the past, that you will see her tying her parents history of actionism to her decision to go into law enforcement. The way in which that frames her notion of service. And then listen point by point as she makes the case for joe biden. Where the substantiative arguments that she is going to be making for him. What are the pieces of his record that she is going to be pulling, and what is the case that she is making about donald trump. All of that, more important than her face and her voice and the way she uses her hands. Cornell, i have 7,000 questions for you too, my friend. But let me start with this one. This is a moment where women have asserted themselves as voters and a Political Force from the day after trumps election, the women have been in the streets, literally, since the moment trump was inaugurated. They made their voices heard at the ballot box in 2018, in the midterms, really tilting a lot of individual races in the democratic column. What is the moment when you add in the reckoning going on since the murder of george floyd, the outrage over all of the sort of underreported trespasses and examples of misogyny that donald trump seems to be work into his daytoday conduct in the oval office. Well, first, nicole, let me say, im so thankful that you women finally stood up and said, and took back control, took control of things and tried to get this country pointed in the right direction. Well, we have miles to go before we sleep, my friend. Were moving in the right direction, because we men have really screwed it up, so thank you. But, yes, to your point, she is the next generation of leaders. She looks like the next generation of leaders. And by the way, sort of picking up on your next generation of leaders, a shoutout to genx, because finally, we get our chance at bat and you know genx is the greatest generation of americans ever. But it is that diversity, you know, look, senator harris looks like the future. And i think the future is diverse and the future is female. And sort of the leadership of our country. And i think a lot of those suburban women that donald trump keeps tweeting and trying to scare that people who look like me are going to come invade the suburbs. By the way, i dont want to invade the suburbs. Im very happy in the city. Actually, the suburbs are invading the city. I dont know if youve been to d. C. Lately. But, look, i think shes going to come for a lot of those suburban women who are going to see her story, you know, and relate to her story. And i think the relatability piece is important. But i also want to pick up on the bias piece that yall have just talked about. I think we do know that women who are strong, assertive, the bias is that they across not likable. And ill be looking for the News Coverage tonight, especially on social media night, to see if we can filter out some of that bias, because women candidates struggle with likability, whether theyre republican or democrat, they struggle with likability in a way thats unfair, that men do not struggle with. So i think she has to come across likable, at the same time, she has to come across as a symbol of that next generation of leadership. And she also has to tell her story. I was listening to focus groups, and people know Kamala Harris, but they dont really know her story. I think he has to sort of tell her story and come across relatable or not. I want to put and gender aside for the purposes of this conversation and just show some of her sizable skill set. Here she is in her current job, as senator in some of the questioning of Brett Kavanaugh and attorney general barr. Are you willing to ask the white house to conduct such an investigation . Because as you are aware, the fbi did conduct a Background Investigation into you. Yes before we were aware of these most recent allegations, so are you willing to ask the white house to do that, and answer yes or no and we can move on. Six Background Investigations over 26 years sir, as it relates to the recent allegations, are you willing to have them do it . The witness testimony before you, no witness who was there supports that i was there. Okay, im going to take that as no. Did you watch dr. Fords testimony . I did not. Thank you i plan to, but i did not. I was preparing mine. Has the president or anyone at the white house ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone . Yes or no, please, sir. Reporter the president or anybody else. Seems you would remember Something Like that and be able to tell us. Yeah, but im trying to grapple with the word suggest. There have been discussions of matters out there that they have not asked me to open an investigation. Perhaps theyve suggested. I dont know. I wouldnt say suggest. Hinted . I dont know. Inferred . You dont know. Okay. I mean, Steve Schmidt, shes a slayer of shes just a slayer. Just her skill set is unmatched. She is a major league political talent. And lets remember something, when she debates, it will be against the incumbent Vice President , mike pence,sycophant be a spokesperson for the cigarette industry, communicating to the American People that all was good, cigarettes werent bad for you at all. As a talk radio host, he stood there and denounced adultery. As a Vice President , he embraces every vile principle of trumpism, at the expense that he at the expense of what he once looked into the camera with most sincerity and squinty eyes telling us that he believed from the bottom of his heart and soul. So Kamala Harris is a politician that has conviction, that has accomplishment. That has facedown the best, so to speak, of the trump enablers and cronies from her perch on the Senate Judiciary committee. Weve seen her perform under pressure. Shes a worldclass politician. I think mike pence is going to have his hands full to say the least. And she is imminently qualified to be president on day one. Shes a person with an easy smile. Theres an interview where she did talking about her inlaws that just made me laugh out loud, describing how much new jersey is in them, was a jersey boy. It was just so nice to see somebody with humor open up about their family in a normal way and to hear her laugh, right . How nice will it be to see laughter around the highest offices in our land . Theres seriousness of purpose ahead. There are hard days ahead. But to see the basic human qualities of decency and empathy and smiling and laughter. And just normalcy extraordinary to the white house. Thats comma Kamala Harris represents, in addition to being a worldclass political talent, which i think mike pence is going to find out about the hard way when he has to face off against her for 90 minutes. Alicea, theres some breaking news in the last half hour, some window into what former president obama who is also speaking tonight is expected to talk about. This is from my colleague, peter alexander, who reports that a democratic official tells nbc news philadelphia was chosen for former president obamas speech tonight because of bidens ties to the state and its because where two of our sacred texts, the declaration to have independence and the constitution was signed. The city is in many ways the birthplace of american democracy. A fitting reminder of whats at stake in novembers election. Let me just read a little bit more of this. Obama is set to stress bidens qualifications, his judgment as Vice President , hell make a clear, strong, and urgent case on voting, similar to what Michelle Obama did on monday. If you take just the talent that has been showcased so far this week, Michelle Obama, youve got the deeply personal speech that i think had a pretty profound message about the pain of the country that jill biden was able to tie to the pain that that family has been through, as a family and their resilience. If you take the sharpening of the National Security message that was highlighted last night and is probably expected to be repeated last night from both senator harris and from the former president , what has the story achieved so far and what do you think the result will be . You know, one of the things we know and cornell can speak to this even better than i can, is the fact that Donald Trumps numbers are pretty baked. So in inas much that we will hear the case made against donald trump, that is one piece of the puzzle, and then to your point, there needs to be the case made for joe biden. So something that stood out to me especially as we were hearing so much about National Security is, joe bidens empathy, his warmth, is something we hear about over and over again. It actually was important strategically for democrats to underline his strength, his experience in this realm, specifically. So i think what youre getting is a more completely comple pic. You have the stakes set out, you have the risks of this current presidency. And youre beginning to see the pieces come together. The case that the party is making for why joe biden is the best person to move america forward. Cornell, to pick up on aliceas point, we heard from chuck hagel, brett mcgurk, marie yovanovitch. These are known entities not in Democratic Politics or republican politics, but in National Security circles. And you and i both know, and steve, too, and alicea, to the two axis around which president ial defeats and victories turn strong leader and who understands the process like me. Joe biden has an insur moundable lead in understanding problems of people like me. But as he makes this argument around strength and decisiveness and around National Security, he could really solidify what we see in the polls now, which is a pretty solid lead. What do you think . Inlg theres an opportunity now, and an opportunity to do it in a way you typically dont see democrats do it. You know, like, you know, george bush, your guy, george bush, he had strength in spades, right . Americans thought he was a strong, strong leader. Now, you could disagree with him on a set of different issues, but for your president , especially in times of troubled times, you want a strong leader. He had that. Ill let you in on a little secret, that in 2012, on the economy, voters saw mitt romney as actually better on the econo economy, but to your point, they saw barack obama as a person who would fight for them, fight for the middle class and people like them. So when i see the Economy Numbers trump still has an advantage on, i know for democrats its really important that look, we may never get a big advantage over republicans on the economy, but we always have to drive and keep that advantage on looking out for people like you. And joe biden has that and he needs to build on that, but at this time, if he can look like the real strong leader, like the adult in the room whos going to fix our foreign policy, whos going to make us safer and more secure across the globe, hes moving into Republican Space in a way that frankly democrats dont often do. And i think sort of expanding that majority of voters who are for him, i think youre going to get a lot of soft republicans who are going to look at donald trump and look at joe biden and are going to start to say, im fine landing on joe biden. Three of the smartest people, about all things politics. Steve schmidt, alicea melendez and cornell belcher, such a pleasure to start off with all three of you. Thank you so much. When we come back, on top of the emotional testimonials about joe bidens resiliency, a strategic message coming through loud and clear, joe biden can heal the countrys pain and stem our fears. Also ahead, trump and co komprom kompromat. I dont even know if i said it with the right russian accent. It made up a considerable report of gop report on russian interference. And beto orourke joins us to discuss Donald Trumps affection, addiction, to the low road of american politics. All of those stories, coming up. All of those stories, coming up. I love this rakuten app. Look at that. I open the app, find the store i want to use, start buying and it gets me tons of cash back. I Just Got Paid to shop. My favorite thing about rakuten is just getting money back in the mail. I mean, who wouldnt want cash back. Sign up today and rack it up with rakuten. So when you do, make it count with crest prohealth. It protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth. The 1 toothpaste brand in america. Crest. We live with at t and we are well past the honeocupado tom. At t, whats this i hear about you advertising a 100 Fiber Network . Only like a fraction of my customers can get that. Thats it . . You have such a glass halfempty attitude. The glass is more than halfempty you need to relax tom. Oh tom, you need a little tom time. A little tt. Stop living with at t. Xfinity delivers gig speeds to more homes than anyone. I love you. I do. Thank you. Youre like a favorite of my thank you so much. Whats your name . Jacqueline. You got a camera . Take it out and well take one. You are awesome. Oh, my god. So you might remember that moment. That was Security Guard jacqueline brittney. She was escorting former Vice President to his interview with the New York Times editorial board. He didnt get the endorsement, but got something better. She didnt realize the exchange was caught on camera, but fast forward to last night, the second night of the Democratic National vnconvention, and this time jacqueline was back, the first person to enter joe bidens name in for the Democratic National convention. In the short time i spent with joe biden, i could tell he really saw me, that he actually cared, that my life meant something to me. And i knew, even when he went into his important meeting, hed take my story in there with him. Thats because joe biden has room in his heart for more than just himself. And weve been through a lot, and we have tough days ahead. But nominating someone like that to be in the white house is a good place to start. Thats why i nominate my friend, joe biden, as the next president of the United States. Joining our conversation, democratic strategist, basel smikle, elise jordan, and Current White House reporter for the washington post, ashley parker. No doubt, there are people who are excited to meet donald trump and take selfies with him. But this is the quintessential joe biden story, right . Hes on his way to the New York Times ed board, he forges this deep bond in the elevator on the way to his meeting, and i think the point is, you go through joe bidens career and there are jacquelines around every corner. My question for you is, is the Trump Campaign trying to match that . Well, we dont know the full Convention Schedule and list of speakers of the rnc yet, but from what we know and the names that have been announced in terms of sort of quote unquote ordinary people, a lot of them are people who match the president s model of grievance. Theres the st. Louis couple, who got in a fight with a black lives matter protester who was passing by their house. Theres the covington student. And so, you have people who are not sort of emblematic of the way that President Trump has touched their lives, and its worth mentioning for jacqueline, that in some ways, she was representative in where she was of the whole joe biden story, right . This is a story of joe biden initially during the primaries being spurned by kind of the democratic elite, in this case, the New York Times editorial board, making an endorsement on the democratic side very much that elite. And then he was lifted up in the South Carolina primary by black voters, by black women voters, and sort of by working class voters like jacqueline, who felt that he had a personal connection with them and there was tremendous enthusiasm for President Trump. I dont want to misstate that. But you dont hear as frequently the sort of personal deep connection stories of the president connecting to a vulnerability the way joe biden can, because of the hardships hes gone through in his life, whether its his stuttering, whether it was the death of his wife and infant daughter in that car crash, whether it was the more recent death of his son, beau. They just approach human frailty and vulnerability and suffering in very different ways, the two men. Basel, ashley, i think, has given us a perfect framework for what joe bidens political advantage is, just because of who he is, in contrast to who hes running against. And it is that slice that she just articulated of black women, black voters, and working class voters. And what she said that gave me that jolt as a human being, because this is what everyone wants, he saw me. He got in the elevator and he saw me. A different politician might have been just really in their head, thinking about their presentation to the New York Times ed board. And as i said, biden didnt get that endorsement pb and i watched. There was a doc made about their process and its not even clear that the biden meeting went that well. But what he got was this person who vouched in their interest for him on the elevator ride up. It seems in a lot of ways more valuable. I think it is, in a lot of ways. You mentioned this, not every politician has that skill set, rig right . Not everybody is so good at retail politics can react in that moment to say, let me hear from this person. And i grew up with my parents telling me this and i certainly learned it and had it reinforced when i got into politics. You treat the janitor and ceo the same. And if you really embrace that, you will be able to hear other people. And that is the beauty of that moment and thats the beauty of that trajectory that joe biden is on with jacqueline and hopefully she becomes someone that is very active and engaged, even if just engaged in Civic Engagement going forward. I want to add another piece, something that ashley mentioned a about that couple pointing their guns at the black lives matter protesters. Thats a matchup i want all day and any democrat wants all day. Because even responsible gun owners will understand that theres something wrong with that scene and something wrong with the arrogance those folks would have to come out on their lawn and start pointing guns at people in that way. So tying that to this joe biden moment, there are people across the country that want to be heard. They want to feel like their ideas and their thoughts matter. And that theyre just not going to be pushed away or shooed away, if by just not paying attention to them in an elevator or pointing a gun at them, even as theyre protesting the death of a black man at the hands of a police officer. Theres something about this moment which joe biden is fitting perfectly. You know, elise, i want to peel the political layer off a little deeper with you. What joe biden seems to be doing, and ive listened to every speech delivered, is depriving trump of one of his great advantages from four years ago, which was to run not just against the Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Clinton, but against elitism. Joe biden is no elite. And you cannot watch the people that know him and the people that run into him and come away with any conclusion other than the fact that donald trump thought it was worth getting impeached to take him out. To smear his family. To call zelensky and say, take them out is sort of what Chris Christie and other trump allies talk about, trumps sort of survival skills. Trump is not going to get farther antielite than joe biden. Joe biden is someone who is much more comfortable with jacqueline than a New York Times editorial board. Nicole, from the past two nights, one word has been used repeatedly and its just stuck with me. Zleens decency to describe joe biden. Its been used over and over as a character word from people who know him best. You never hear that comparison when it comes to donald trump. Its one that even his most staunch supporters would balk to say that, oh, donald trump is fundamentally a decent man. You just never hear anyone with that defense. Like, not even anyone related to him. Exactly. So at this moment of the country just being starved for decency, and a moment the country is going through a Great National suffering, joe biden really hits and fulfills those two universal feelings of emotion that unfortunately are parts of life. After the break, as democrats frame themselves, were learning more about the words donald trump reportedly has said about puerto rico behind closed doors. That story, next. T puerto rico behind closed dos. Or that story, next want restaurants to open . And schools . Want the economy to get back on track . Youre not alone. And you can help make it happen. Stay 6 feet apart. Wash your hands. Wear a mask every time you leave your home. Choose to join the fight against covid19. Do your part. Slow the spread. The president s talked before about wanting to purchase greenland, but one time before we went down, he told us, not only did he want to purchase greenland, he actually said he wanted to see if we could sell puerto rico. Could we swap puerto rico for greenland, because in his words, puerto rico was dirty and the people were poor. That really happened. Its just another example of the president s racist views now coming to light, out in the public. That was miles taylor. Hes the former chief of staff at homeland security, who in recent days has publicly slammed trump for politicizing the department for his own benefit. Hes called the president dangerous for america and hes endorsed joe biden. Basel, elise, and ashley are all back with us. Ashley, you know from your beat, from the stories you write day in and day out, there are countless examples of the behavior, but very few people who come out and put a face to it. What is miles taylor kind of represent this chapter in the Trump Presidency . Well, youre exactly right. I mean, people like him, for instance, are the people who populate a lot of our stories. Who have real concerns about what the president says and does, but hes someone who actually came out and said this publicly. Its not, quote unquote, anonymous writing in the oped or a book. Its not someone griping to reporters, but refusing to take a stand about it. I will say in this administration and frankly in any administration, it is actually hard to kind of come out with something to share specifics, because of course there will be people who herald you as a hero on the democratic side. Of course, they are who are being viewed. But there are people who are going to label him a traitor and try to smear him. In this pirnadministration, the are lots of people who complain and there are not many who do so with his name and face attached. Although, it is worth noting, there are now people out of that role, in the administration. Its an understatement to say that trump is on the low road. Trump is subterranean, way down, and to that point, hes wrapping himself around, how do you say it, qanon loons, and he has congratulated a rightwing candidate i mean, he is so committed now to the dark underbelly, the fringiest aspects that i dont see how they think there are enough of those people that theyre willing to roll the dice and repel the kinds of independent or sort of centerright voters that they assembled four years ago. Donald trump is far more wellsuited to be an infowars host with alex jones than to sit in that oval office. And we see this constantly and it is so maddening that he has absolutely no respect for facts and truth. And instead, would rather embrace conspirator loons, that reinforce whatever quack idea goes best with his personal inner narrative and political advantage at any given time. It is distressing to see the gop embrace candidates who are qanon followers, and lets just hope that theyre in districts that are so red that there wont be any risk of them actually gaining political power. But its petrifying that the megaphone of the oval office, the president , where harry s. Truman, like eisenhower and harry s. Truman and Abraham Lincoln sat, is being used to propagate these this absolute nonsense that is harmful and dangerous to society. Yeah, i mean, basel, i think its the danger of what hes associated with thats reflected in i imagine i dont know this and i dont have any reporting to support it, but i imagine one of the biggest strategic challenges for the republicans this week is balancing all the republicans who want to talk with all of the rising stars and progressive icons that are entitled to a space on that stage. And i think to elise point, the consequence of hugging all of these loons, which qanon, whatever that is, thats what they are. They are so loony, i cant believe were even talking about them. But the result, the reaction is youve got all of these republicans, squljohn kasich, s molinari, meg whitman was i think the chairwoman of the Mccain Campaign in 08, john casekasich ran to be the republ nominee just four years ago. The reason that joe biden is able to juggle this diverse number of speakers is because so many are repelled this attraction he has to the fringe. Thats exactly right. And if you think of donald trump as the conspiracy theorist in chief, and add birtherism into this mix, of course, then, yes, youre going to have a lot of republicans that are saying, theres no room in this party for me. And quite frankly, if donald trump has reshaped and reformed the party, maybe theyre not even sure that theres a future for them in this Democratic Party. So i understand the feed and the desire for democrats and joe biden to want to include them on the Convention Stage, but i would tell you, i think, you know, one of the things that we have to be careful about is that we dont ignore our base and the future of the party in the process pip understand his interest in being bipartisan. I understand his interest in showing empathy, as we often talk about, and being able to bring in other voices. That is very important, but, you know, owing to something that you said in an earlier segment, c what strikes me about the obama speech coming from philadelphia is that where he smamade the sph in 08, which was one of the first times he talked about speech. And it shows as democrats were willing to have these really hard conversations. And i welcome any republican whos willing to have that conversation with us. But theres still a lot that has to happen within the party itself, including an intergenerational transfer of power and influence, which played out last night. So yes, theres absolutely room for this kind of bipartisan governance and conversation, but i also think that joe biden is going to have to, you know, engage other aspects, other parts of the democratic fold in the meantime. Its tricky, no doubt. Its a conversation, im sure, we will continue to have. Basel, elise, and ashley, thank you so much for spending some time with us. After the break, buried deep in the republican led Senate Intelligence committees latest report on russian interference, rumors and allegations about romantic relationships between donald trump and miss moscow back in 2013. How and why they were in there, next. How and why they were in there, next it was one of the words we all had to learn out of necessity in the early days kompromat, or compromising material, information that could be weaponized in order to blackmail or embarrass a public figure. Questions about what the russians had on donald trump, if anything, have spanned his entire first term, and again today, theres a new angle to consider, courtesy of the Republicanled Senate intel committee. Theres a heavily redacted section of their brandnew report called threat posed by Russian Intelligence Services collection of kompromat. At the center of their investigation, questions about trump and miss moscow, at the Miss Universe pageant in 2013. Joining us now, former assistant director for counterintelligence with the fbi, frank figliuzzi, also joining us, Michael Schmidt author of the upcoming book, donald trump versus the u. S. You wrote about this section on komprom kompromat. What is it and why is it in there . Yesterday when the report came out, we divided it up in big traum big tranches and i was shocked by what i saw. I had to call my editor and say, hey, theres some really surprising stuff in here about trumps personal life. That outlines sk s accusations potential relationship when he went to russia on one of his trips to scout a trump tower. There was questions about whether he had gone to strip club. And it was not only astounding and surprising to see these things being written about a sitting president and about whether a foreign adversary had these things. And i should point out that the report said that theres no indication that the russian government actually had kompromat on trump or used it against him, but nonetheless, this republicanled committee was putting these accusations in an official document. And this document, being the most thorough, bipartisan document to come out of congress about russias meddling in the election. And its just really unusual and surprising and it made me wonder why it was included. And when we went to the vice chairman, mark warner to ask him about this, he said, im going to let the report and what it says here, speak for itself. So, frank figliuzzi, this is from mikes story. Collectively, the allegations raised a collective counterintelligence concern that russia might be compromising information to influence the then president ial candidates positions with relation to russia. The committee sought in a limited way to understand the russians government alleged collection of such information, not only because of the threat of a potential foreign influence operation, but also to explore the possibility of a misinformation operation, targeting the integrity of the u. S. Political process. It feels like all of those things are underway, to influence thenpresident ial candidates positions on relations with russia, hes more prorussia than some russians, more proputin. I mean, what does that say to you, that this section is in there . So, first, its been playing out for four years. Weve felt this way for four years now. One of the initial thoughts i have, nicole is this is further validation that the fbi knew what it was doing, had valid concerns, and while for many people this may sound like a tom clancy novel, this is not new to anybody whos ever worked counterintelligence. In fact, its not new to any Global Corporate executive in a targeted industry, who travels regularly. This is what happens. And there is published, Credible Research regarding trump that even dates back earlier than this. Earlier than 1996, when trump first came on the radar screen of the Russian Intelligence Services. And thats allegedly back when he married ivana, and she had a relative that was reportedly an asset of the east german intelligence service, reporting to the russian intelligence service. So when a wealthy individual who might some day go into politics and has a lot of money to invest in real estate travels to russia, or for that matter to china, they are on the radar screen. The next step is how you compromise them. And let me say this, two thoughts. One, if he did anything like is reported in the report, its on video. Number one. Number two, the bigger question for all of us, nicole is, whats the context . Does it matter. Can you be compromised if you have no shame . In other words, if its true that he may have been intimate with a former miss moscow, right . To him, or he may have he had multiple women in a hotel in russia, as is alleged here, does he care . Can he be compromised in a man has no shame . I think the larger context is, what else is it that they have on him that we dont know, that he would not want to get out . Thats what im focused on. And lastly, look, were getting more counterintelligence detail out of this Senate Report, bipartisan, than we ever saw in the Mueller Report, because, remember, mueller was limited to criminality. What youre seeing here is straightup counterintel. Is someone working for another government and are they compromised . Mike schmidt, this is my question for you. What more broadly did we learn yesterday and i asked Andrew Weismann this yesterday. Were there things in the Senate Report that you didnt know . Is it fair to put the Mueller Report in a much more sort of narrow category than we thought it was if a republicanled committee is churning out this salacious and sordid information that we didnt learn in the Mueller Report . Certainly, this was a more thorough story than what the Mueller Report told. And it gave us a greater understanding of what was going on. And if you took all the facts from it, you could make a criminal narrative out of it, that dates back to the oooh 90s that comes through today and tells this story. And two important things. One is basically that manaforts righthand man was a russian Intelligence Officer and thats a grave National Security threat as the report says. And secondly, what should not be lost on anyone is that the report says that basically, its difficult to take Donald Trumps answers to mueller, his written answers to mueller, that he did not know what the campaign knew about what may be coming from wikileaks at face value. Essentially, that the president may have provided an inaccurate answer to the special counsels office, that the president may have lied. And look, that accusation has been out there. It was a bit more talked about when mueller testified. But just to hear that about a sitting president is obviously a huge deal. Its where he benefits from the pace and the volume, that he lied to the special counsel, that theres a section about kompromat, and that were still asking questions about what putin has on him should surprise no one. Frank figliuzzi and mike schmidt, thank you both for spending some time with us. Still ahead, former president barack obama will be the keynote speaker tonight, returning to the Convention Stage, if you will. Hell make the case that democracy is on the line if trump gets another term. Well talk about that when deadline white house returns after a quick break. Deadline white house returns after a quick break. We may no longer have to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar in order to cast a ballot. But even as we sit here, there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive i. D. Laws and attacking our Voting Rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the runup to an election. Thats going to be dependent on mailin ballots, so people dont get sick. Hi, again, everyone. Its 5 00 in new york. That electricity in the church when former president barack obama delivered a searing indictment of Donald Trumps presidency, at the funeral of congressman john lewis is preciselys hoping to recreate tonight, when the former president addresses the Democratic Convention live from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia, a location selected specifically to underscore his central message. Democracy is on the line. President obama will address the convention at the same moment that trump seems to be gleefully yielding the high road that Michelle Obama talked about on monday night to his opposition. The current president doubling down on his campaign to create chaos and sew doubt over the legitimacy of the november election and under fire once again for his ties to russia. This time from a republicanled committee. As the need to break through to a scandalfatigued nation and crystallize the threat of a second trump term amid the blur of trumps misdeeds grows more urgent, obama steps on to center stage. An adviser to president obama, telling nbc news today, hes set to penetrate trumps most egregious abuses that have left democracy itself on the line and showcase a pathway out, which runs straight through electing joe biden. The countrys first black president will share the stage tonight with the countrys first black president ial candidate. Tonight, senator Kamala Harris will accept the democratic nomination for Vice President , showcasing her considerable skill as a defender of joe bidens record and a prosecutor of Donald Trumps. Together, a harris obama onetwo punch, two of the most popular political figures on the National Scene at this moment, thats based on a recent nbc news wall street journal poll. Theyll be flanked by a slate of democratic powerhouses, including elizabeth warren, speaker nancy pelosi, Hillary Clinton just to name a few. Night three of the Democratic National convention is where we start with some of our most famous reporters and friends. With us from the washington post, White House Bureau chief, phil rucker, plus jason johnson, and a contributor for the grio. Hes back. Associate editor for realclearpolitics, our friend a. B. Stoddard is here. Let me start with you, phil rucker. This contrast, it seems to be widening. The democrats building on that searing indictment of donald trump monday night from Michelle Obama, one of the countrys most i think one of the most respected public figures in the world. President obama really campaigning like our lives depend on it and making clear thats his view of this election. The introduction of Kamala Harris, and donald trump gett g getting, to be blunt, weirder by the day, endorsing the fringeiest elements and smallest aspects of his coalition. I think thats right, nicole. And were going to be seeing tonight president obama lay out that case against donald trump, but really underscore that he thinks the very democracy of this country is at stake. Theres a belief that the president that the former president shares, but also that a lot of the people who work for him, including Vice President biden, that a lot of these profound changes over the last four years in the country and the erosion of our institutions can be reversed after four years. But a second trump term after eight years would make it very difficult to go back and this could become a different kind of country. And thats the case that we expect barack obama to be making tonight, some excerpts just came out from that speech. And he actually talks about how he sat facetoface with donald trump and president elect trump in the oval office a couple of days after the 2016 election, and he didnt believe obama says he didnt believe that trump was going to continue his policies or share his vision for the country, but that he did believe that trump would grow into the job and take the responsibilities of the office seriously and that he would work to protect the democracy that elected him into that position. And obama says hes concluded that trump cannot grow into the job and is incapable of it. Let me read some more of those excerpts. They were handed to me at the same time that phil rucker started telling us about them. So theres that section that you just described perfectly. President obama also expected to explain why he hasnt grown into the job. Trum quote, donald trump hasnt grown into the job because he cant and the consequences of that are severe. Hundreds of thousands of americans dead, millions of jobs gone, our worst impulses unleashed, our reputation around the world badly diminished and our Democratic Institutions threatened like never before. Obama goes on to say tonight, quote, im well aware that in times as polarized as these, most ofs you have already made up your mind. But maybe youre still not sure which candidate youll vote for or whether youll vote at all. Maybe youre tired of the direction were headed or cant see a better path or just dont know enough about the person who wants to lead us there, so let me tell you about my friend, joe biden. And then goes on to really detail a stirring and personal endorsement of joe bidens strength, something were seeing more and more of around this National Security argument and his character. Jason johnson, the obamas really coming out forcefully, delivering messages that really are designed to cut through this calcified Political Climate were living through. Yeah, nicole. Well, first off, Michelle Obama was amazing and her language and her speech and her passion were fantastic. And now we have barack, whos going to follow up with this theme of trump isnt man enough for the job. Thats essentially what theyre arguing both from a sort of insulting the president , but also from a practical level. But i have to say, one of the things thats really, really amazing about tonight is you look at this list, nancy pelosi, elizabeth warren, senator har s harris, barack obama, Hillary Clinton. This isnt just a contrast in how we want the country to run, this is a contrast in how we want the country to look. This almost feels like the day before the end of the festival. Like, is tomorrow really the undercard, because everybody tonight is fantastic. So i think the biggest challenge might be, can harris top what barack obama has to say . And if she does, democrats can pretty much shut it down. This will have been a completely successful convention. Let me pick up with something that cornell just said, that joe biden has an insurmountable lead around one of the two metrics in which elections are typically decided. Thats understanding the problems of the people in this country. But around this question of strong leadership, it really is a sign that the biden team feels that theyre on offense, that theyre going after strong leadership. That its not just his character and his decency and his empathy, but its that donald trump has failed. And let me show you the messages on National Security, because these seem to be the messages designed to pull over maybe those republican or independentleaning women in lake county, ohio, in erie, parks, in eau claire, wisconsin, women that may have women and men who may have sort of voted for the mystery basket, not that trump was a mystery in my view, but thought, lets roll the dice. And by saying that hes not just not decent, hes not just uncaring, hes weak. Let me show you colin powell and the other National Security figures that made that argument last night. With joe biden in the white house, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries, never the other way around. He will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots. Our troops cant get out of harms way by hiding in the white house bunker. They need a president who will stand up for them and President Biden will. Hes trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our justice department, to attack his enemies and protect his friends. Put simply, he treats our country like its his family business. This time bankrupting our nations moral authority, at home and abroad. But our country doesnt belong to him. It belongs to all of us. Joe biden embraces that. A. B. , so these are just meant to go right at the heart of who donald trump clearly isnt, but thinks he is. Hes weak. Hes puny, hes small and nothing more than a failed leader of a family office. Well, first of all, nicole, congratulations on your second hour. Thank you. Im very excited for you and its so well deserved. Thank you, my friend. I think that all of these republicans coming out for joe biden, even when the videos or awkward or dorky like casey in the middle of the fork in the road are shrewd because theyre telling people who might have voted last time for the big gamble or the protest vote or they didnt like hillary, and maybe this time theyre feeling sheepish and are going to sit it out. And these are voices that come to that broad part of the coalition out on the right, who might have voted in a Democratic House in the midterms. This Broad Coalition of former republicans, independents, centerright voters and these suburban collegeeducated white women, to tell them, look, you know its not just the pandemic that hes messed up and the peril hes put us in from that. Its that hes destroyed our standing across the world, and this is not something that we can, you know, take for another four years. Not more damage we can sustain. And thats why i think the message in the first couple of nights centered, anchored by Michelle Obama, telling the base, you cannot sit this out, you cant be disenchanted, you must be on fire and vote like your life depends on it. These other voices were basically designed to tell people joe biden is safe, hes competent, hes calm, hes a grownup, hes decent, and empathetic, and hes informed by science. And i just think that messaging at this point, like you said, when he has a lead, the party is united around defeating donald trump and picking up and persuading more voters is very, very smart. There will be many days and ways to excite people. I think the people that were tuning into this convention are those people, somewhere out on the center right and not necessarily the young and nonwhite voters of the base. And i think in the campaign to come, they can reach everybody. But i think that message on National Security will go further than the republicans are afraid that it will. Phil rucker, let me read you a little more of what former president obama is expected to say tonight, picking occu ining a. B. s theme. President obama will say this. Quote, tonight im asking you to believe in joe and kamalas ability to lead this country out of dark times and build it back better. But heres the thing. No single american can fix this country alone. Democracy was never meant to be transactional. You give me your vote, i make everything better. So i am asking you to believe in your own ability, to embrace your own responsibility as citizens, to make sure that the basic tenants of our democracy endure. Because thats whats at stake right now. Our democracy. I dont think we have heard any campaign of either party put the democracy on the line in a president ial vote, the way they are doing so overtly, so directly, and as a. B. Said, directly to people who may be on the fence, who may not be available in the daily churn of what we do here every day or following everything on twitter, but they are likely to see at least the highlights from these big speeches this week. Thats exactly right. And weve seen that in speech after speech this week, at the Democratic Convention. These political conventions, as you know better than anybody, nicole, are usually about the ideological divisions, between the two main political parties. You know, what are you going to do about taxes, how do your Health Care Plans defer. What would you do about the war in iraq . I mean, this is so much more profound. This is about, do we want a democracy in america. This is about what kind of country is america going to look like going forward. Thats the argument were hearing so many of these democratic speakers make and more than anyone, were going to hear it from president obama tonight and part of what theyre trying to do is inoculate biden and harris against whats expected to come off the stage or at least through the zoom video next week at the republican convention, when there are going to be all sorts of attacks on biden and on harris, representing the liberal mob as trump has called them. The radical left, as he has called them. And this is an effort, you saw it from Michelle Obama, you saw it in that personal introduction that jill biden gave to her husband, joe, last night, an effort to make joe biden and Kamala Harris seem accessible and normal and not nearly as scary as the republicans are portraying. Jason johnson, my friend, John Heilemann reminded me that part of the reason all of those republican are there is inoculation for what phil is talking about. What is to come next week. And that inoculation seems to have been thought through by Stephanie Cutter and everyone involved in this Democratic Program in a way meant to maybe push the progressive base, the really important vibrancy, the future of the party, almost outside of their comfort zone, but i think by the time what phils talking about comes to pass mexico wenext week, maybe will feel better about sort of showing joe biden with this slice of the biggest tent weve ever seen showcased as one Partys National convention. Well, yes, nicole. And also, youve also got to remember, the republicans were rolled out on monday. So that part was moved out of the way and increasingly youre getting you had john mccain and colin powell last night. Youre going soft on me, jason. Yeah, i just i know. But i but someone, like kasich, theres a lot of complaints about john kasich. That was kind of monday. Kind of got that out of the way. But i think that is a smart thing that the democrats have done. I dont agree with inoculation. Donald trump is going to sane anybody who disagrees with him is crazy communist who wants to destroy america. I dont think it works for that reason, but i do think it gives democrats an opportunity saying, this is what we can do for you and this is how it all makes sense. I think the other part to remember is that this coalition isnt just signaling what the democrats are going to be able to do. This is one thing thats really key about what sweechb. Your coverage has been fantastic. You and rachel and joy. The fact that this whole convention has been in twohour blocks means that people are actually watching, right . Were home during the pandemic. Conventions usually go all day, nobody pays any attention. But now, people are like, i can give two hours. That strengths the message of unity that the democrats are putting forward. A. B. , ill just show some of our work. Rachel has been the reaeeal advocate for watching them the way he just described, the way that the conventions created them for us. Its not like a normal convention, while were sitting there talking, why they move one set out from a musical production, another one in. Weve only looked at this as to whether or not, you know, what is lost. I want to ask you, what do you think is gained by doing them this way . Ting theres a chance that maybe theyre more intimate. Maybe its harder to look away. I think people are watching what in a live production is sort of filler and as jason says gets talked over, i think theyre taking in a more oliholistic, a as someone who works on convention program, your hope is that people takes in the whole thing, because every moment is there for a strategic purpose. I think people are getting more of what is being programmed to them this way. I think we all know after watching roll call last night, theres no way to ever do it again. Everyone looking the same and trying to be in funny hats so they stand out, so their cousin sees them on tv. The only one you ever get excited by is state that the candidate comes from when they say, we nominate our future son and in the future, our native daughter. But it was an amazing ride. I dont know that you ever do that in any other way again. To go around this country like that, it was pretty seamless, except for the delaware thing, which people didnt understand, but turns out was intentional, so delaware, his home state, could have him pass the nomination line, but anyway, it was simply such an incredible celebration of this country. And so many wonderful, thoughtful surprises and i think that despite the awkwardness of a virtual convention, you get bonuses like that that really make it compelling and make people want to stick around for the next thing. And i just, i think that again, people want to be together in person again when life is normal again, we all pray. But theres many things you can do, jumping around the nation that way, collaboratively, that were just absolutely so compelling, theres no reason to go back. The virtual roll call and me curling my own hair, two things that are here to stay. Joe rucker, jason johnson, a. B. Stoddard, thank you so much for starting us all off. That was a joke. When we return, Hillary Clintons big moment on the Convention Stage is tonight as she once again hopes to demonstrate her strategic and unique ability to get right under Donald Trumps skin. James carville and jen pal momi will be with us. And coming up, Donald Trumps attack over the topic of immigration. Annen core of some of his best hits of 2016. Who better to respond than beto orourke. Deadline white house continues after a quick break. F. Find the world is new, again. At chevy wed like to take you there. Now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15 of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. Thats over fiftyseven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. Its time to find new roads, again. Donald trumps not offering real change, hes offering empty promises. And you know that sales pitch hes making to be president . Put your faith in him and youll win big . Thats the same sales pitch he made to all of those small businesses. Then trump walked away and left working People Holding the bag. Imagine him in the oval office, facing a real crisis. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons. But heres the sad truth. There is no other donald trump. This is it. She was right. Fours years ago, Hillary Clinton using her acceptance speech at the Democratic National convention in philadelphia to warn us all about what a donald Trump Presidency would look like. Four years later, Hillary Clinton makes a return to the Convention Stage, this time to make the case for removing trump from office. In her speech, she will say, quote, for four years, people have said to me, i didnt realize how dangerous he was. I wish i could go back and do it over. Or worst, i should have voted. Well, this cant be another wouldve, couldve, shouldve election. If you vote by mail, request your ballot now and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are. Joining our conversation, democratic strategist, James Carville and former Communications Director for Hillary Clintons 2016 president ial campaign, jen palmieri. James, i just read of some of president obamas excerpts. We heard Michelle Obama monday night. Thats the excerpt from Hillary Clinton. I mean, the message that is coming through from all of these powerhouse figures in the Democratic Party and american politics is vote like your life depends on it. Um, is that where we are . Well, first of all, im not curling any hair for the convention. You know, if you watch this. And ill say, theres just an enormous amount of talent in a Democratic Party. And its really coming together. At every level, all of these speeches, by any number of people across the whole spectrum, let me tell you something about mrs. Clinton. Which is one of the most compelling political figures of our lifetime. She was a groundbreaking first lady. Started the childrens defense fund. She was a groundbreaking, highly effective senator in new york, highly effective secretary of state. She was the first female to lead a major party ticket. And you know, and im sure the times will have a column tomorrow about the emails. But this is time to reflect on a remarkable career by a remarkable woman and i think shes going to do just great tonight and im really proud of her. I really wish her the best. Jen palmieri, Hillary Clinton will speak on the same night as, able theyre friends, senator Kamala Harris. What do you think she thinks and wishes for her as she takes her turn under the klieg lights. And something they have in common is maya harris, who worked on hillarys campaign and they became very close, kamalas younger sister. And i think that she hopes that hillary was sort of first through the Looking Glass in terms of how the country reacts to a woman seeking the highest office and how trump interacts with that woman. And what we learned is do not take the bait when he comes after you personally, but always defend him when he attacks somebody else. And kamala has already experienced some of this from trump. One is, the country has been through this before and the public and the press know better how to handle it. And two, Kamala Harris is someone who as the daughter of immigrants, a black woman growing up in merks has always known how to defend herself and how to define herself, but i just wish, it was wonderful to hear what james had to say about hillary, and this is the one moment i wish could be in person, because i know if hillary walked out on the stage in milwaukee, she would have been greeted by an overwhelming response. Having seen what she went through, and we understand better now in 2020 america, than we did in 2016 america, quite what was happening to her as the first woman and while she will go down as one of the big figures, certainly in american women, pioneering women in our history. And i am so proud to have been on that campaign. Im listening to both of you now. I follow both of you around wherever you speak and i follow you, jen on social media. I think that the pain and the emotion with which you both speak about hillary Hillary Clinton is kind of the tip of a really big iceberg. I think all of her supporters feel some version and i have mostly benefited from learning from you. But james, just talk about whats underneath, what ive just described in terms of her maybe avenging her loss or her power with the Democratic Base or women in this election. Well, you got a year . You got all the time you need, my friend. You know, obviously, all of us have a lot of resentments and a lot of complaints and, you know, its an idiotic email story and no one will take responsibility for it. But right now during this convention, were all excited about Vice President biden. Everybodys excited about senator harris. And i think the party, for 95 is really, really rallying together. And its really gratifying to see how much talent we have, and its multigenerational. And some of these youngsters that we have, just coming up with like enormous political skill. So im going to, you know, dwell on all of my resentments after this election, but right now, ive just got one mission in life, and that is to help extract this giant infected wisdom tooth that is hurting the body politic of this country. And weve just got to come together and get it done. And ive got to put off all of my resentments and all of my complaints and everything until this job is done. I honestly believe that. Last word goes to you, jen. Well, i think we can see what the iceberg is about, nicole, is that all of us know hillary is a woman whos compassionate, warm, brilliant, funny. And when you see someone like that get caricatured the way she did, you know that can happen to any woman with that kind of ambition. And i think thats the sort of protective reaction you see, of us wanting to defend our friend, and hope that doesnt happen to Kamala Harris, that shes better positioned and going forward, thats not what we are going to face. Lots more to discuss with james and jen, who arent going anywhere. But when we come back, is the democrat show off of their big tent . Donald trump is reaching back into his 2016 bag of tricks. We all know its there. Fearmongering at the border with mexico. When we return, well be joined by former president ial candidate, beto orourke, and get his prescription for what democrats need to do to end trumpism and all thats ushered in once and for all. Hes next. D in once and for all. Hes next. Let me tell you something, i wouldnt be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. 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Were halfway through this weeks Democratic Convention and the message of unity front and center, thanks to soaring speeches about the soul of the country, a virtual roll call, showing National Unity literally from coast to coast, from progressives to republicans, teaming up all to take the high road in their support of joe biden. Meanwhile, a clearly triggered donald trump using this moment to firmly plant his flag on the low road, where its always been, to reprise the darkest, most offensive language of his 2016 campaign and presidency. His latest fearmongering just yesterday at the border in yuma, arizona, was nearly word for word from his message four years ago. Now that we have more than half of the wall built, and you notice, they dont talk about the wall anymore joe biden has pledged to abolish immigration enforcement, suspend all removals, provide free Government Health care and, you know, they want to give it to illegal aliens. We will have people coming into our country that never even thought of it before. Joining our conversation, former 2020 democratic president ial candidate, beto orourke. Thank you for joining us. Its always great to talk to you. Let me ask you, i mean, your reaction on the ground, holding the community of el paso, literally and figuratively, after that shooting, and putting together what trump has legitimatized, what trump has given voice to, the racism, and the hatred, it seems like an example that everyone can point to and understand how dangerous his rhetoric is. What how do you take that message to the country, to the whole country, in the final 70 days . Nicole, i think its so important that you connect the dots, as you really just did. Its not just the rhetoric of resentment and racism, founded on lies and extraordinary cruelty, but its the actual practices and policies of the trump administration. I mean, he didnt just call Asylum Seekers and immigrants animals, he attempted to treat them like animals. Literally taking kids away from their parents and putting them in cages. Six children have died in the custody and care of the Border Patrol in the last year and a half of this administration. But when hes at an inaugural rally in florida and says, what do we do about this invasion of immigrants, and someone in the crowd yelled out shoot them and the crowd laughs, and the president , donald trump, smiles his assent, that signal was unambiguously picked up by a gunman in allen, texas, who a year and ten days ago, drove to el paso, texas, and shot and killed 23 people. He was trying to repel that invasion that the president had warned him about. And took to heart the president s description of these immigrants as raipszs and kil r killers who were coming to get him and his family. So this is the consequence of donald trump. And you have communities like mine, 85 Mexican American, living in fear that there will be another mass attack with a weapon of war, because this president incites that kind of violence and hatred in this country. Weve got to make sure we tell that story and connect the dots. I want to ask you also about your state and about the Latino Community and about the communities along the border, which are disproportionately suffering from this pandemic. It would seem that those are more dots to connect, that donald trump is stirring up and giving voice to all of this xenophobia and racism, but also his complete ambivalence and disregard for the suffering from the disease and the suffering from the economic consequence that have ensued. Thats right. Youve got the most trumpist republican in texas, our lieutenant governor, dan patrick, which happens to be arguably the most powerful position in the state of texas arguing that there are more important things than living, in trying to compel the state to reopen prematurely. But as you know, nicole, it is not affecting everybody equally. And who hes asking to do the dying is disproportionately latinos in this state. You go to the rio grand valley counties of heaarlingen and web and cameron and star, and you have these are 90, 95 Mexican American communities. You have bodies stacked up in refrigerated trucks, because theyve run out of room in the morgues and the funeral homes. This is decimating the Mexican American community in texas. Were almost at 11,000 deaths so far with no end in sight. And thats owing to Donald Trumps historic mismanagement of this pandemic, followed closely by dan patrick and greg abbott, our governor. And so its no accident who its affecting, whos dying and bearing the brunt of this right now. Tell, what is the real state of this race in texas . I worked for the bush family and the idea that texas we followed your race very closely, and i know you came very close to defeati ining ted cruz, but does it feel like on the ground and is it too soon to tell . Tell me what it really feels like in a general election test in texas right now . The most accurate way kicked describe this is to call it possible. There are polls that show biden up by a little bit, there are polls that show donald trump up by a little bit. As you know, we lost by only twoandahalf points to ted cruz, and that was in a midtemer, which as cmidtemerm, which typically favors republican turnout over democratic turnout. In a president ial cycle, with this incredible failure at leadership, at all republican levels of government in the state and nationally, and in this Super Charged Energy at the statehouse candidate level, we are contesting everywhere across the state with Extraordinary People primarily women and women of color, who are running right now to claim a majority for the first time in 20 years, i actually think, nicole, youre going to see these reverse coattails, where instead of biden drawing pushing votes down the ballot, youll have these state house candidates surging votes up to the president ial level, and it could be for the First Time Since 1976 that texas awards our Electoral College votes to the democratic nominee. And i think that more than anything else could stop trump and trumpism in america, because any close call, he will exploit to cause confusion and chaos in an attempt to steal the election. The best defense against that is texas. Texas is the offense that we need to be running right now. All three of these things we have talked about are things that i want to keep talking about, if youll keep coming back. I mean, this idea that what happens in texas says something really important about trumpism is something they absolutely and i know that the Trump Campaign, for their part, is very worried about arizona. Not that theres some overlap with the kind of voters theyre losing in arizona and the suffering around the pandemic and the kinds of things that animate some voters in texas. Lets stay on this, put a pin in this, and to be continued. Brou beto orourke, thank you so much. When we come back, James Carville and jen palmieri will join us again with much more from former president Barack Obamas speech tonight at the Democratic Convention. Obamas speech tonight at the Democratic Convention. There is not a liberal america and a conservative america. There is the United States of america. There is not a black america and a White America and Latino America and asian america. Theres the United States of america. That was then senator obama at the 2004 Democratic National convention. We have more excerpts that were getting in from president obamas speech tonight. Hes going to talk about Vice President joe biden and say this. Quote, over eight years, joe was the last one in the room wherever i faced a big wherever i faced a big test, joe was the last one in the room, when i faced a big decision. He made me a better president. Hes got the character and the experience to make us a better country. That was my typo, not any lack of elegance expected from the former president tonight. So heres my question for both of you. I have been thinking in the last couple of days about the obamas so much, and about what launched his career and his presidency was, i thought, that speech. Speaking to our desire not to be divided up into White America and red america. And for Michelle Obama to sort of take that stage that we all know she doesnt like, most first ladies dont like, being thrust into the dirty business of campaigns. And for her to deliver the speech she delivered monday night, for former president obama to say the stuff hes going to say tonight, this is an excerpt, james, from his speech. President obama will say tonight, quote, im asking you to believe in joe and kamalas ability to lead this country out of dark times and build it back better. But heres the thing, no single american can fix this country alone. Democracy was never meant to be transactional. You give me your vote, i make everything better. Im asking you to believe in your own ability, embrace your own responsibility as citizens, make sure the basic tenants of our democracy endure. Thats whats at stake, our democracy. What do you think, and i keep focusing on that, because it seems like as a campaign message, its lofty. You know, you had its the economy, stupid on your door so i copied it and put it on my door in 04. This is a much bigger than what we usually take to voters. Is it going to work, james. First of all, my friend, eugene robinson, i was on with him last night, and he interviewed Michelle Obama, and she really detests politics, but she understands this is a time where we have to put our uncomfortable nature together and come forward and she did a brilliant job. I think at president obamas speech, and from what i saw, is exactly what he needs. He needs to give personal testimony that Vice President biden is valuable partner in this administration. There are a lot of democrats and a lot of independents. And since hes left office, obamacare has exploded in popularity. And i think his message is going to be an important component of our convention. I do want to take 30 seconds to address something beto said. Ive done a lot of zoom events in texas. I was at the Dallas County democrats a couple of weeks ago and two nights ago i was with the houston area democrats. They have 700 lawyers in the houston area that have come forward to volunteer to help with any election law problems that they have. I used to be a lawyer. I wouldnt think you could get 700 lawyers in an entire country to volunteer for anything. And you have 700 of them in one metropolitan area. That tells me that theres something going on out there, and president obama and miss obama have played a big part of. People are activated. We should not despair. We should hopeful i think he is speaking on hope and despair. Part of the reason is that donald trump has sown so much distrust and chaos and question about the legitimacy of the actual vote in november that people are prepared for not just florida which we all lived through but multiple floridas. This is what i worry about. Nicole, im with you. Im a communications person. Youre thinking why is president obama not talking about the economy. It is what people really want. Im just worried. I think the obamas are always pitch perfect. Its just big. Right. And heres something really scary. You had an nbc poll the other day. It had trump up 10 points on the economy. 10 points. And were in the middle of the greatest economic downturn since the great recession. I dont think theres any, i dont know what joe biden can say to people to make them think, if theyre willing to look at whats happening right now and still think that donald trump is better on the economy than joe biden, what joe biden could say to upend that. When people talk about the economy, it must be code about Something Else about how they feel about their own standing or how they feel about america. What it tells me is this is about something much bigger. And i know president obama, i know what he worries about. I know when hes asking people to believe in the power of themselves and in the power of joe biden and Kamala Harris to lead us out of this, hes worried about, do people still have, think that there can be a credible response . And assuring people that it matters what each of us does. Not just what our leaders do. The moment is that big. You see it. Hillary has the same message, Michelle Obama had the same message, colin powell had the same message. Thats what it takes. Thank you for spending some time with us tonight. Always a pleasure to talk to both of you. When we return, remembering lives well lived. Lives well lived from chicken of the sea, comes new wild catch. Premium, readytoeat fillet pieces of albacore tuna, or alaskan salmon, or ahi yellowfin with just water and sea salt. New wild catch from chicken of the sea. Enjoy the catch of the day any day. New wild catch from chicken of the sea. You cant always stop for a fingerstick. 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[ doorbell rings ] paper and packaging. How life unfolds. Yolandas loved ones say it is hard to talk about her in the past tense. She was devoted, she was a presence. All of it is true, of course, but then theres the heart breaking reality. She is no longer with us. A 40yearold mother of two, a nurse from augusta, georgia. She was working her masters degree in nursing when she died of coronavirus earlier this month. She had been on the front lines of the pandemic taking care of dozens of patients every single day just like so many of her colleagues in such an honorable profession. Helping those in need was her passion. So yes, now we have to talk about yolanda in the past tense but it is with both eyes forward. Our collective responsibility is to honor her memory and it is just beginning. We also want to remember another bright light. Jeff curtisman, a man with a supremely caring name who was always thinking about others, even when he got sick. A friends said he kept apologizing for it saying im sorry, im sorry. I know you must be scared, he would say. Jeff started showing symptoms after an inperson training event about two months ago. He was a Flight Attendant and had within Hawaiian Airlines since 1986. It was a great job. Especially for him. He got to talk to people which he loved and it allowed him to travel and take photographs. After he died, friends described him as the time of person we need more of in this world. Especially now. He was gentle, loving and kind. Our thoughts are with his husband, his family and his friends. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Were grateful. The beat with my friend and colleague ari begins after a quick break. Ari begins after a quick break. vo through our love promise, subaru and our retailers are proud to be replanting 500,000 trees. In areas devastated by wildfires. Subaru. More than a car company. Who knows where that button is . I dont have silent. Everyone does right up here. It happens to all of us. We buy a new home, and we turn into our parents. What i do is help new homeowners overcome this. What is that, an adjustable spanner . Good choice, steve. Okay, dont forget youre not assisting him. You hired him. If you have nowhere to sit, you have too many. Who else reads books about submarines . My dad. Yeah. Oh, those are progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. Look at that. Welcome to the beat. Im ari melber. It is an historic and Ground Breaking night by any measure. Kamala harris will be formally accepting the nomination for Vice President by the democrats at their convention tonight. Everyone knows biden picked her but this is the actual way that the first black president in history and the first Vice President ial candidate will be presented to the nation tonight. Obama will be closing the night. Im sure you heard that. Democrats very excited about this. It will be a live speech in philadelphia making the case for biden. We are just in our newsroom. You know how this works. Were just getting new excerpts from obam