Drawing yet another stark contrast with President Trump with just 60 days until the election. By the way, some ballots getting mailed out today. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell is at the white house for us. I also want to bring in Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post investigative report Carol Leonnig who is also an msnbc contributor. Carol, fantastic reporting. I want to read about the president s comments. A former Senior Administration official who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly confirmed to the Washington Post that the president frequently made disparaging comments about veterans and soldiers missing in action referring to them at times as losers. In one account the president told senior advisers that he didnt understand why the u. S. Government placed such value on finding soldiers missing in action because they had performed poorly and gotten caught and deserved what they got, according to a person familiar with the discussion. What more, carol, can you tell us about what you and your colleagues at the post have learned about these comments . Well, unfortunately i have to say that, what weve learned is that the president s disparagement of veterans, both living and dead and those who enlisted and those who got brought into various wars was pretty consistent. He often told his generals and his senior aids that these people obviously werent very smart or talented if they couldnt get themselves out of a draft or get themselves out of service. They werent very successful in business if they chose a life of the military because it didnt really, quote, unquote, make any money, and that he often said to people that he didnt understand the rev vance for john mccain, why all this pomp and circumstance for a man who was basically captured behind enemy lines and why all this search for people who are missing in action, why reverence for that group of people, because they obviously hadnt done their job very well. The president has said this publicly, chris. Its not a shock. He literally have said i really prefer people that dont get caught or dont get captured. What he said about john mccain, and i want to make sure, even though you said it very clearly, this is not an instance where you spoke with just one person who told you about just one instance, perhaps something that could be misconstrued or misunderstood. This is multiple sources, multiple times the president with basically the same message, carol . Our reporting at the Washington Post is its multiple times, multiple instances and it is not to be dismissed as a oneoff or a misunderstanding. Zblt so kelly, i cant remember im sure its happened, i cant remember when the president and the white house responded to critical reporting so quickly, so forcefully, even former staffers getting involved in the pushback. Tell me about what youre hearing, whats going on at the white house . Whats the thought there . Chris, youre right. I think this event does stand alone, and by that i mean this is a white house that attacks any critical report, but this has really been a notable change in how theyve responded including, just a few minutes ago, where the president has again tweeted, first he attacks the atlantic magazine. Then he goes on to say the story has been refuted. This is what were up against, going back to the fake dossier, you fight and fight and people realize it was a total fraud. The president in this tweet casting himself as a victim of this. What really resonates about carols reporting and others is that public face private face of the president where in his public acts he awards many medals of honor, salutes the generals, talks about the members of the military. He does go to walter reid to visit with Service Members. He frequently talks publicly about rebuilding the military and raising salaries, and yet in some of his Public Comments and these things described in private, the president using this sort of language of not understanding the sense of sacrifice and service for the military. That can be very relevant in this campaign because the president wants to retain his historical advantage with members of the military and veterans Communities Just 60 days out from the election. People take this kind of information so personally because they may have a loved one who served or just as americans and their sense of patriotism. This was so important for the president to try to push back that after a long day, a rally where he spoke for a couple of hours, where he had taken questions. He got off the plane at joint base andrews last night and again spoke to the travel pool. It was a dark and rainy night, both literally and figuratively as the president tried to refute this story that originated from the atlantic and has been reported more broadly by carol and others. Here is how the president responded. To think that i would make statements negative to our military and our Fallen Heroes when nobody has done what ive done with the budgets, with the military budgets, with getting pay raises for our military, it is a disgraceful situation by a magazine thats a terrible magazine. I dont read it, but i just heard about it. They made it up. Probably its a couple of people that have been failures in the administration that i got rid of. Reporter so the president there defending his actions toward members of the military and the veterans community, denying these allegation, some both current and former senior staff who were part of the original trip, the trip to paris commemorating the anniversary related to warld war i have denied he said these things. What stands out is it fits a pattern the president has said publicly which makes these attributed comments comments attributed to him by these sources as ringing more true. So the president will be dogged by this because were in a campaign season, you already have democrats coming out calling on him to apologize, challenging his account and certainly the Biden Campaign will likely use this and democrats will more broadly as well. This is one of the controversies that isnt just noise for the president. It could be a much more potent political problem. Chris. Carol, as the president pushed back quickly on this reporting, democratic president ial nominee joe biden as i mentioned put out a statement. Among the things it said was, quote, if the revelations in todays atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and i disagree about the role of the president of the United States. And if i have the honor of serving as the next commanderinchief, i will ensure our american heroes know i will have their back and honor their sacrifice always. I think its worth noting that there have been people that have come out and been more pointed in their criticism. Its clear what joe biden is saying here. I guess my question as a longtime observer of all that is political in washington, how much does this issue for voters, carol, illustrate the stark differences in these two campaigns and these two candidates . You know, chris, its a great question. I feel like this particular moment is very important. If this story had come out, say, a year ago, im not sure the president and the white house would be pushing back in the same way. It comes during the home stretch. The president is trying to win every possible wiggle voter he can. He knows that biden has the advantage at the moment, and what is the crux, what is the Central Group of people who are potentially movable, the suburban voters and also the military. I want to sort of emphasize a really smart point kelly just made which is about how it doesnt really ring so false, these claims that people have made to us because its part of a pattern. Remember mary trump in her book and also in audio tapes she took of family members has Donald Trumps brother describing to her that donald trump and his wife wife ivanka are about to disown donald trump jr. If he enlists in the army as hes planning to. What a fascinating picture. The president threatening the inheritance of his son if he agrees to join the military and serve as a public servant. What in the world is that about . To kellys point what in the world . Many previous comments by the president basically saying that john mccain is a loser. So i dont think it really makes sense to hear him deny it now. Carol leonnig, carol odonnell, two of the great deeply sourced reporters in washington, d. C. , its terrific to have you on on this critical day. This is an important conversation. Let me also bring in rick tyler, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. Good to see you. We remember when in 2015 donald trump is attacked senator john mccain who was wounded in vietnam, held as a p. O. W. I want to play that moment, a reminder of what carol was just pointing out. I supported him. He lost. He let us down. He lost. I never liked him as much after that, because i dont like losers. Let me get to it. Hes a war hero. Hes not a war hero. Hes a war hero because he was captured. I like people that werent captured, i hate to tell you. He even made a point to retweet a story about the comments he made about senator mccain. Then in the summer of 2016 we saw him lash out at gold star parents, kaiser kahn and his wife, their son was killed serving in iraq in 2004. Both instances as you well know, rick, a lot of people thought he couldnt survive those attacks but he won. Let me ask you to take a look at the republicans who still support him, maybe some people in the middle who support him. Will this time be any different . Chris, i think it will be different in the sense that the followers of donald trump, ive been arguing with them on twitter this morning, shown them videos, done the quote, shown the audios, on and on and on and they still denied it happened. Those people will never move away from donald trump. Rank and file military normally support republican candidates for president very strongly are really going to have to reconcile what trump has said here. The sad fact is, for debating whether this is all believable, Jeffrey Goldberg would not have gotten as far as he has gotten in the journalistic world if he made things up. I also know him personally. I dont believe he made it up. Second, i comports with who donald trump is and everything hes actually said out loud, arguing with gold star families, saying in front of general kelly, his chief of staff, whose son was killed in iraq, in front of his grave saying i dont know whats in it for them. He doesnt understand the idea of honor. So i think when you start to look at the military and start to look at donald trump and how he feels about them, and the fact he would want to engage the military against its own civilians, his own citizens in the United States in these protests which he classifies as riots, the military is going to have a second look. Weve already been through an administration with joe biden, and i can say that theres a lot more support on that side than there ever will be with dronald trump. Rick tyler, thank you for that. I also want to point out the group vote vets very quickly came out with a new ad from gold star parents responding to the president s alleged comments calling dead Service Members losers and suckers. My son matthew is not a loser. My stepson was not a sucker. Lance Corporal Alexander scott arradondo died in iraq in 2004. My son Sergeant James anthony gave his life in kandahar, afghanistan in 2010. Honorably serving his country. Thats something donald trump will never know. Wow. I want to turn now to retired u. S. Army colonel jack jacobs, hes a war hero, receiving a medal of honor during the vietnam war. Also an msnbc military analyst. Always good to see you, jack. Good morning. For people that dont know your story, you were awarded the medal of honor for saving 14 lives on the battlefield in vietnam. I was honored to travel back with you in vietnam. You were typically modest about what you did that day. You said, when you think of vietnam, you think of your friends that didnt come home and those who were wounded. In that context, jack, how do the president s alleged remarks strike you personally . Well, it cuts deeply. Let me just say at the outset that the president has said so many things that are fallacious, outrageous, hyperbolic, that they now fail to shock anymore. Maybe rick tyler is correct and this will resonate and maybe it will resonate not just with military people but with the large majority of americans who support the military, who understand what the military does and what the military has been doing since the inception of the country for our freedom. But the president has said so many things that are outrageous that now it almost fails to shock, and it would be interesting to see what is the fallout, if any, from this. Ive spoken to a lot of people who work directly from the president who reiterate exactly what Jeffrey Goldberg said in that article who said the president has no respect for people in uniform, no respect for people who have served. And most significantly, does not understand the notion of being part of something thats larger than yourself. This all may have a deleterious impact on his campaign, but at the end of the day, its important to recognize the place of people who do something for others. Youve met some of the other medal of honor recipients. And one of them in particular once said when asked, why did you do what you did on the battlefield . He said because they would do it for me. Individuals can make big fortunes. I dont even believe that. I think you need a lot of help, a lot of other people to work with you to make a big fortune. Lets say individuals can make a big fortune, but it takes a community to make a nation state, to make a country, and it takes a community, especially those people in uniform to achieve and to preserve freedom, chris. I know you dont like it when i talk about you. How many surgeries have you had as a result of the injuries you sustained saving 14 lives that day . Dozens . 20, 20ish perhaps. 20. Still suffering the effects. Ten fingers and toes, so 20. Youre in Constant Contact with members of the military, including some from youre rah, the vietnam era. Polls show, jack, the president s favorability rates has been trending down among active duty members during his time in office. 41 in the recent poll say they would vote for biden, 37 for President Trump. This flies in the face of a long history of the military supporting republican candidates. This is important for many reasons, but also because in the 2016 exit polls, veterans voted at a 21 ratio for president over hillary clinton. I wonder if these new numbers surprise you at all, what kinds of conversations youve had with your friends who are military and former military. No, it doesnt surprise me at all. Im no pollster, but my guess is that the gap is even wider than that. It depends on who you talk to and where you are. Theres a very big difference between the legislative impact of increasing having a cost of living allowance in your pay on one hand and a perception of genuine support for the value of people in uniform who are doing something for the other 325 million of us. I was talking to somebody not that long ago who worked in the white house who said that he thought that the president seemed like somebody who was dropped here from an alien planet. He did not understand the notion of doing something for somebody other than yourself, that his entire focus is on self aggrandizement. We all need to be selfaggrandizing a little bit otherwise we wouldnt surprise. But the notion of doing something for somebody other than yourself, completely alien to him. When this person tried to explain it to him, he waved him off and told him to shut up. I want to say one thing before we conclude. Everybody who is of my generation, indeed the succeeding generations of the kids fighting, serving today all feel most of them feel the same way. A lot of people didnt like to get draw gooned into the army and nobody likes to get shot at. When you get older and more mature, you look back and say i did the right thing. Those people didnt serve regret having not served and not being part of something larger than themselves. One other thing, i want to talk just for a second about an english philosopher whose opinions donald trump would probably agree with most of his economic opinions, jon stewart mill. As a matter of fact, hed probably agree with almost everything except this, and ill add dunn braet it. War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man for whom nothing is more important than his own safety, than himself is a miserable creature who is made free and kept free by better men than he. Chris. Its an honor to know you colonel jack jacobs. Thank you. Have a Great Holiday weekend to you and sue and your whole family. Were calling it the kamala effect. Joe bidens veep announcement puts dnc donors into overdrive. Is it enough to get more millennials on board with the biden harris ticket. Well talk about that and coronavirus on campus. Ahead of what is expected to be a very atypical labor day weekend, students nationwide will be ditching the tail gates this year. Will they . For total isolation . Well talk about that, too. Because the decisions you make have far reaching implications. And a relationship with a Corporate Bank like pnc can provide just what you need. As one of the nations largest banks, pnc brings customized insights and a local approach. To make informed choices now and in the future. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Its totally not the asame without you. M. We miss your lets do this look, the sound of your laugh cry screams, and how you make every day here the best day ever. We cant wait to get you back so weve added temp checks, face coverings, social distancing and extra sanitizing to get the good times going again. Were finally back. And cant wait until you are too. Buy now and get two days free at the parks. Restrictions apply. Now to the latest on the coronavirus crisis, here is what we know this hour, today is expected to be the biggest traveling day since the pandemic hit. Get this. 900,000 people expected to hop on planes nationwide. Thats just planes, not other modes of travel. Its underscoring concerns raised by federal officials of another possible spike in coronavirus cases after labor day holiday. Production on the highly anticipated film the batman has been halted after the films star, Robert Pattinson tested positive for the coronavirus. Thats according to the production team. This morning, the chief advisor for the white house Vaccine Program is attempting to squash rumors that politics is influencing the race for a vaccine. He says theres been no political process and if there is, he would resign over it. He said theres, quote, a very, very low chance that a vaccine could be ready by election day. Also a huge warning from dr. Anthony fauci for College Students this labor day weekend. Do not go home. It seems like every day more campuses are reporting huge covid outbreaks. Ellison barber is on campus at the university of alabama, one of the schools with the biggest outbreaks in this country. Ellison, tell us about the latest on campuses there and all across the country. Were seeing some colleges and universities stay the course with inperson learning. Others are shifting gears. Temple University Said they will move the majority of their Classes Online for the rest of the fall semester, and they plan to refund students who leave campus by september 13th for room and board. All of this is, of course, as you said, as dr. Anthony fauci is warning and speaking to colleges and College Students, he has warned colleges it could be risky and is not a good idea in his view to send thousands of students home all at once. The president at the university of South Carolina has said that is something they are considering as they continue with inperson classes, saying he doesnt want to send their problem out to the rest of the state. The university of alabama released a statement this week emphasizes that as well, quoting a professor of medicine in the university of alabama at birminghams division of Infectious Diseases as saying, quote, the risk in closing a College Campus and forcing thousands of students home at once is that the virus then has the opportunity to spread more widely to other geographic locations and possibly more vulnerable populations. That being said, the university of alabama is not necessarily keeping infected students on campus right now. I spoke with an administrator on wednesday and asked him how many students who have tested positive for covid19 are going home versus staying on campus. He said that about 75 of students who have contracted covid19 and tested positive at the university of alabama have gone home. We cannot legally retain them detain them and make them stay here. What we tried to do is provide them with enough education and information to think about how to safely travel home. Obviously the thing that we tell them consistently while theyre here is to maintain their mask, wear their mask, socially distance and certainly engage in proper hygiene strategies. Certainly, as they move reporter to be clear, the people who are saying that schools should close, theyre not necessarily saying close the doors and send everyone home all at once. Theyre advocating for a stall gerd approach, sending students home in waves and keeping students on campuses if they contracted covid19. Chris. The number of decisions still to be made boggled the mind. Ellison barber, thank you for that reporting. Dont blame the messenger if youre one of the millions of americans who are frankly tired from working at home. All signs suggest this could become the new normal at least for quite a while. What sort of a person should become a celebrity accountant . And, i tell them, nobody should. Hey, buddy. Whats the damage . [ on the phone ] i bought it the waterfall . Nope my new volkswagen. A volkswagen . i think were having a breakthrough here. Welcome to caesars palace. Thank you. Im a verizon engineer, and im part of the Team Building the most powerful 5g experience for america. Its 5g ultra wideband, and its already available in parts of select cities. Like los angeles and in new york city. And its rolling out in cities around the country. With massive capacity, its like an eight lane highway compared to a two lane dirt road. 25x faster than todays 4g networks. In fact, its the fastest 5g in the world. From the network more people rely on. This is 5g built right. Only on verizon. I appreciate what makes each person unique. Thats why i like liberty mutual. They get that no two people are alike and customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Almost done. What do you think . I dont see it. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. Get used to it. Working from home may well be a way of life well into next year. For some it may be permanent. In a new survey, 35 of top executives say they have no idea when their employees will woretn to the workplace. Jacob ward spoke with one Business Owner who has made a tough choice. Packing up is emotional. You start looking in drawers and taking things out and putting things in boxes. It becomes have nostalgic. Weve been here for 25 years. This has been our life. To go from having a 4,500 Square Foot Office with all these employees running around and the excitement thats created to going remote is very, very scary. John gumas 15person staff had to work from home during the pandemic. Even he was surprised when he and his whole staff turned out to like going remote. Now hes putting the office up for rent. What will you save by not having to run this place . Its probably about 30 to 35 of our operating budget is because of a physical building. Youll cut that out. Well cut that out. The savings come at a cost to others in the neighborhood. This is our lunch spot, where we come every day and have lunch, have coffee, have them deliver sandwiches to the office. So its going to be kind of sad. The flying pig bistro has been reduced to doing only takeout since mid march. A lot of the locals were people that worked close by rather than lived close by. Those people are all gone. What does it mean when Companies Like that decide, were going to give up from a neighborhood and work from home from now on. They have to decide whats right for them. Of course were going to miss them. Reporter imagine how many dominos will fall in an entire Downtown Office building empties out. Twitter was the first to say some employees can work remotely forever, now slack, the messaging platform says its people will work from home from now on. Do you feel sort of guilty about punching a little hole in the urban fabric here . Not only do i feel guilty, im scared. Once we leave, its hard to come back. Reporter chris, as weve seen in the research that you mentioned by the conference board, a think tank, only 5 of Companies Say a vaccine will in any way change their plan. So another indication that were not going to see much change any time soon. Also slack, the company you see behind me whose building has been empty for months, they commissioned new research that finds of knowledge workers, people who do things like computer programs, the mainstay of the downtown you see me standing in here in san francisco, only about 12 of them say they have any intention of ever coming back to a fulltime commutingin kind of job. The effects on a city like this are going to be incredible, chris. Jacob ward, thank you so much. Fascinating stuff. For some people pretty scary. Coming up, were going to talk about the trump economy, digging in to what we can learn from this mornings new unemployment report. Check out the poll numbers on the economy as well that should catch democrats attention. Your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. Thats the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. On day one well implement the National Strategy ive been laying out since march. Well develop and deploy rapid tests with results available immediately. Well make the medical supplies and protective equipment that our country needs. Well make them here in america. Well have a National Mandate to wear a mask, not as a burden, but as a patriotic duty to protect one another. In short, well do what we should have done from the very beginning. Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation. Hes failed to protect america. And my fellow americans, that is unforgivable. As president , ill make you a promise. Ill protect america. I will defend us from every attack seen and unseen, always without exception, every time. Im joe biden and i approve this message. The open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. Were following the breaking news this morning of a sharp drop in the Unemployment Rate. It was just out a few hours ago. The u. S. Added 1. 4 million jobs in august putting the Unemployment Rate at 8. 4 . Its the first time that rate fell below double digits since the pandemic ge began, but still higher than its been in roughly nine years. Nbc news Senior Business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle joins us. You see 8. 4, big drop. That sounds great. Put it into context for us. Chris, its a positive. As you said, the unemployment number is dropping, but its still 8. 4 which is among the highest weve seen in modern history. When the president and larry kudlow talk about the economy and covid being behind us, its not behind us. What this recovery is fragile and fragmented. What were seeing more is this k, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. While the number is getting lower, we have tens of millions of americans out of work. These arent jobs that were created, theyre jobs that are back. Still less than 50 of the jobs lost during the pandemic have come back online. Its a difficult time and its a time when a lot of people who can work from home, who are invested in the markets are frankly doing well, and the rest of the country is really suffering. Stephanie ruhle, as always, my friend, thank you. Have a great weekend. I want to bring in rick tyler, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst as well as author of the new book still right, an immigrant loving, hybrid loving composting american makes the case for conservatism. Great to see you, rick. President trump staring down reelection in this economic reality, Unemployment Rate sitting at its highest level since 2011, 8. 4 . The National Debt to exceed the size of the entire National Economy next year. Thats a first since world war ii. You tweeted today, millions of jobs have not come back. So tell me how overall would you define the trump economy heading into november and do you think hes still doing a good job of painting a rosy picture . Unfortunately, chris, hes doing a good job of painting a rosy picture. A quinnipiac poll just came out in florida and pennsylvania and trump leads on leadership in the economy in florida by 10 and in pennsylvania by 7 . The economy is the number one issue among republicans among all voters in both states. Democrats in pennsylvania and florida are more concerned about coronavirus than the economy, but not by much. So he is painting this picture. What you have to remember is we needed a jobs report of six or seven million in august, and again in september and october, to get us anywhere near where we were before. Thats not happening. But trump will tout this as jobs created. Theyre not jobs created as stephanie just pointed out. These are people returning to work. Thats great news for 1. 4 million people. But a lot of this economy including the stock market has been propped up. You mentioned the deficit. This administration has overspent by 6. 8 trillion. These are hard numbers to get a hold of. In 2020 alone Donald Trumps administration will overspend by 3. 3 trillion. Thats 105,000 per second for every second of 2020. I know those are astounding numbers. Thats what were overspending to prop up the economy. The point is, it didnt have to be. If this coronavirus were dealt with head on and managed and we used the best practices to defeat the virus, control the virus, contain the virus and treat the virus, we wouldnt be in this economic problem. Now weve lost 22 million i understand what youre saying, but when i go out and talk to republicans who still support the president , they dont think whats happened with coronavirus is his fault, and so, for example, when i was in suburban charlotte, one woman who lost her job was still a supporter because she doesnt think its his fault. She thinks the coronavirus is chinas fault. She think its the democratic governors faults. Joe biden is about to give a big speech on the economy a little later on today. What should his message be . How does he get through to people like that . Joe biden has to go back to his own economic record. Remember he was Vice President under obama, and i think they inherited a terrible economy. I cant remember what the unemployment was, upward toward 11 and went down to under 5 . Now under trump its gone back up to 8. 4 by is historically okay, but its not great. His gdp growth had been on the same trajectory as obama since 2008. And now its in the tank. Its actually under water. Joe biden has to put up his economic bona fides and put up how trump has mismanaged the coronavirus and cost us literally trillions of dollars and compare that, for instance, if you look at all the Asian Countries which are 4. 63 billion people, theyve had 120,000 deaths. Were. 3 billion people and weve had 185,000 deaths. By any metric, were doing something drastically wrong. While the rest of the world including japan, has returned mostly to normal. We have not returned mostly to normal and wont be normal before election day. Rick tyler, its always good to see you. Have a good weekend my friend. Thank you. Coming up, what do you do when your state is handling requests for 17 times more absentee ballots than they had at this time in 2016 . Ballots are out to voters starting today in North Carolina, and we are there live. E for a strategy gut check . Whats that . You run it by an expert, you talk about the risk and potential profit and loss. Couldve used that before i hired my interior decorator. Voila maybe a couple throw pillows would help. Get a strategy gut check from our trade desk. A lot goes through your mind. With fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. Thats the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. And tailored recommendations. For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. And whether we connect pnc kover the phone, online,ing. Or face to face, were here to help utilizing our resources as one of the nations largest banks and a local approach with a focus on customized insights. So youre ready for today. Expectations of election day. Voting in america, it starts right now, today. The 2020 race is on. This morning North Carolina is the first state to start sending out general election absentee ballots, and the requests are smashing records. More than 600,000 people have already applied for the absentee ballots, 17 times the number of requests at this time in 2016. Nbcs Josh Lederman is in raleigh for us. Josh, how are they getting ready for this huge shift in the way people vote this year . Reporter it really is an enormous shift. This is not a state that has a real tradition of voting by mail. Typically in an election in North Carolina, around 5 votes by mail. This year Election Officials tell me they expect that number to go as high as 40 . How do you do . Youve got to prepare and start early. Thats why Election Officials here at wake county have spent the last days and weeks getting that first batch of 600,000 ballots ready to go, stuffed into envelopes, loaded on to trucks and headed to voters today. Listen to what elections director gary simms had to tell me about whether North Carolina is ready. Can North Carolina handle this volume of absentee ballots . The answer is we have to. Thats what were working on right now. Were working on scaling up our operations. I would also tell people go ahead and request your absentee ballot now. Request your absentee ballot now as a safety net. In case something should happen, unforeseen, some unforeseen circumstance that you need a safety net to make sure you can still cast your vote. Reporter thats because here in North Carolina and a lot of other states, chris, just because you request an absentee ballot doesnt mean youre locked into it. You can put the ballot aside, not use it and vote in person on election day if thats what you decide to do. The only thing you cant do is send in a mailin ballot and then vote twice. All right. Again, voting twice is not legal. Josh lederman, thank you so much. Meantime senator Kamala Harris just gave us a hint about what to expect in her big debate with Vice President fundraiser, quote, i intend fully to treat him with the respect and the respect his office deserves, but im also not going to stand by quietly if he, in whatever tone of voice, delivers lies. Her role in this campaign is really a fascinating one, hosting Kitchen Table conversations, appearing at pop culture phenomenon moments like veries and raking in gobs of fundraiser money. Founder of she the people, amy, senator harris is running in a way weve never seen before. She has ties to hbcu, member of a black sorority, the march on washington. Generally Vice President s dont have a big upside in a race. What you want to do is do no harm. Could this year be different, do you think . Yes, absolutely. Senator harris is running in a way weve never seen a Vice President run before. Look how shes been deployed by the campaign to deepen enthusiasm amongst powerhouse black voters who could flip the states that trump won in 2016, states like michigan and georgia. The fact that she has already deep ties with networks of black communities and voters and she can go and speak to those folks, on top of the fact that she comes from california, a multiracial state and is speaking to people across the spectrum, unifying people, defining common ground, all of those things just show how important she is in terms of unifying a multiracial democratic coalition. Its very powerful and it bodes well for the democrats. When you hear Something Like deep ties, you think fundraising. This week the dnc and the Biden Campaign announced an incredible recordbreaking fundraising haul, more than 364 million just in august. Three weeks earlier the Campaign Announced it raised 48 million in the 48 hours after announcing harris as bidens vp pick. What makes her so valuable in these Fundraising Efforts . When the choice was announced a couple weeks ago, it was his stork but its also very strategic. If you know anything about politics, you know that california is a place where politicians and candidates who are running for federal office all over the country come to fundraise. Its a very, very powerful area of the country to bring into the national campaign. Frankly, there was a lot of pentup demand to see what the ticket is going to be. When we think about the upcoming Vice President ial debate, im really looking forward to it. For the reasons, Kamala Harris is a very exciting Vice President on the top of the ticket. Think about her as a history of a prosecutor who, some of her brightest shining moments in the last three or some years has been in her fierce grilling as part of the Senate Judiciary committee as republicans. I was thinking the other day about the way she was making bill barr and Brett Kavanaugh shake in their boots by calling out and the intense questioning and calling out lies and inconsistencies. This is the kind of candidate at the top of the ticket that democrats want to see. They can get behind. It kpieds them. Its not just the money. Its the enthusiasm well need a lot of enthusiasm to make sure turnout is at the high, historic numbers it needs to be for the democrats to win. For a long time vp debates werent exactly mustsee tv. I have a feeling this year might be very different. Aimee ellison, thank you so much for being on the program. Have a great weekend. Thats going to wrap up this hour for me. Im chris jansing. We are just minutes away from joe bidens big speech on the economy, but will he also Say Something about the president s comments on the military. My colleague Andrea Mitchell picks up things right after a short break. Have a great weekend everybody. Ill see you back here the open road is open again. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Book direct at choicehotels. Com. And wherever youre headed, Choice Hotels is there. Im a verizon engineer, and im part of the Team Building the most powerful 5g experience for america. Its 5g ultra wideband, and its already available in parts of select cities. Like los angeles and in new york city. And its rolling out in cities around the country. With massive capacity, its like an eight lane highway compared to a two lane dirt road. 25x faster than todays 4g networks. In fact, its the fastest 5g in the world. From the network more people rely on. This is 5g built right. 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