Remain worlds apart after president raised conference on 200 billion worth of chinese goods, a move that escalated trade tensions with china promising to retaliate. President trump said yesterday that he received another good letter from president xi. He has a strong relationship. We believe a deal is possible. What President Trump has made clear is we think were in a very strong position either way. While the white house has always said it would be tough during negotiations, this is a change of direction following months of optimism about a possible coming trade deal with china. The president was quick to defend his moves by tweeting, deleting, then reposting again and then yet again. Most of those tweets framed the war over tariffs as a good thing for the country. In one tweet, mr. Trump claimed they would bring in far more wealth to america than a traditional trade deal. In another he detailed a plan to use money that comes from tariffs to prop up the agriculture industry. The stock market isnt buying it, and neither are economists who say the president is taking a risk. You can see stocks just a little lower there. While trump is hoping that the trade fight plays well in states that won him the white house in the first place, they say that its already making things more expensive for consumers and making life harder for farmers and also manufacturers. So the big question were asking on this friday, is the trade war with china a winner or a loser for President Trump . Joining me to kick us off and start the conversation from the white house, nbc correspondent hans nichols, from ohio, msnbc correspondent girlet hake, speechwriter david fromme and former state departments time contributor and msnbc political analyst elise jordan. Thanks to all of you for being here for this fast paced friday. Hans at the white house, you and i have been tracking the fastpaced negotiations and they fell apart. Frankly what comes next . What comes next is they brief theileaders. Thats always the risk and danger and the prospects for dealing with the Trump Administration. Ultimately its going to be trump that makes the decision. Are you quick to spot those trade representatives going back inside the west wing after those talks broke up over across the street at the ustrs office. They were in the west wing, Steve Mnuchin as well as robert li lighthizer. We saw him leaving 30 minutes ago. He was debriefing in the west wing for about 90 minutes. We dont know if he was talking with the president , we also dont know the chinese interlocker, how he the secretary of the treasury Steve Mnuchin said they were constructive, in diplomatic speak with k mecan can mean about anything. Our friends at cnbc are talking about the top places affected by tariffs all but two, washington and oregon, voted for mr. Trump in the last election. And the white house advisers say that ckoconfronting china plays well in the rust belt states that lifted mr. Trump to victory in 2016 and that he is counting on again in the 2020 election. They say any hit to the economy caused by the tariffs will be shortlived and unlikely to disrupt the growth of states including pennsylvania, speci c michigan, and more have enjoy friday recent years. Whats the word from inside the white house . Do they see this as a political winner . Based on my conversations, they know that this is risky. The one thing President Trump doesnt like to be seen as is someone who backs down. He will always rise to the fight. He always likes the challenge. So anything that they think smacks of weakness here at the white house, thats not something they want the president to embrace. So while, yes, on a granular level, a micro level there may be counties, you take Washington State and oregon, for example, the parts of those states that voted heavily for President Trump are the ones that are so dependent on agricultural, so dependent on trade. The question really is how much longer can a lot of these farm state communities, places like louisiana, hold up, and how much longer do they want the president to hold the line. For that i have to yield my take to mr. Hake in ohio. You bring me to mr. Hake, cloudy, ohio clyde, ohio. You have been talking to people impacted by tariffs. Not these tariffs but different tariffs. Bradley speaking, though, right, they have a clear sense of what this means in terms of dollars and cents for consumers. Reporter yeah. Thats right. And hans laid it out nicely. Im in clyde, ohio. If you own a whirlpool washing machine, it was probably made here. This is a relatively small town with a big factory. As goes the factory, so goes the town. A little over a year ago when the president placed tariffs on imported washing machines, they say that as a great thing here. In the domestic market it allowed them to be more competitive, make more hires here in clyde. Some of their foreign competitors like samsung, a south korean company, actually opened up a facility in South Carolina so creating more jobs here in the United States, as well. But that comes at a cost. Consumers are paying about 100 manufacture if you bay a washing machine if you buy a washing machine or dryer, anywhere in the rest of the country. What that essentially means here is that everyone else is paying for the success of a town like this. And that includes folks like the retailers. I spoke to a man yesterday who operates an appliance shop and says hes getting squeezed on this, too. He is charging his customers more money but not making more himself and wonders where the government is going to come to help him. Take a listen. So they get helped by the government and you get squeezed by them. Yeah, i dont think any of this for the for the Small Business, you know, Small Business, were not Small Business. You know, i dont see any Tax Advantages were getting. We dont sell ten washers in a week. I dont have somebody sitting there giving me a check. Reporter im old enough to remember the romney president ial campaign when republicans running against barack obama said they didnt want to see the government trying to pick winners and losers in business. A lot of folks here particularly the critics of the tariffs see this as exactly that, helping out manufacturing in a place like southern michigan, northern ohio, very important to the president , at a cost to the rest of us who the Trump Administration might hope dont remember that we paid 100 more for the washing machine when were casting the ballot next year. David, pick up on this great point that garrett makes, right, which is that during the time of the romney campaign, republicans saw this idea of picking winners and losers as really counter to republican orthodoxy. And here you have President Trump doing what some would say is exactly that, right . Well, President Trump is doing trade policy in the least considered and most destructive way. There is a real problem with china. Respect for intellectual property is probably heads it. There are a lot of frictions. The chinese are doing things that the United States has real meaningful objections to. And under president obama and under president george w. Bush before him, the United States dealt with this by trying to built a Global Trading system around china. That was called the transpacific partnership. The United States plus canada plus australia plus japan plus new comes like vietnam and malaysia entered into a 17country agreement that said we will make rules that we can live by for free trade, respective intellectual property, labor standards, environmental standards, and we will sign them together without china, and then later, china may come to our party if they want to. That would mean that the United States would not be acting like a lone bulli, and it would not be the United States versus china, it would have the clout of the trading partners, all of the aggregate wealth. And china would be more compelled to do business. President trumps first step on coming to office was to blow up the transpacific partnership. That means hes gone into this negotiations with the weakest possible hand for himself. And in the most confrontational possible way. And with the foggiest motives because if what you think youre doing in a trade dispute with china is protecting the industry like dish washers, youre not going to get anything. What the United States cares about are the industries of the future. What were concerned about are the technologies, the 5g telephone, intellectual property, making sure that american movie makers are not ripped off, tomorrows industries. President trump has no vision of tomorrows economy. Hes got in backwardlooking policy. Its only going to impose costs on america and lead to Mother Nature confrontation with poor results. And elise, as weve discussed, you do have some republicans who have expressed opposition to this policy. Expressed opposition to ripping up the tpp which, by the way, they wanted former president obama in trying to enact. So whats the upshot here . Do you think this hurts him with i dont even want to say trump voters because they are so dedicated to him, but to some voters who were maybe obama voters who came over to be trump voters who helped him win states like ohio where garrett is right now for example . Reporter politically, you see a few lone senators and congress men and women taking opposition against this planned economy. And picking winners and losers that just would have, you know, made the gop circa 2012, as david was talking about, go crazy. But now because trumps doing it, its suddenly okay. With voters, i have been very surprised, you know, i am in memphis right now, and focus groups in mississippi, i heard from Trump Supporters who they dont care, they dont mind paying a little bit more for their electronics because they like the idea of going up against china and being strong against china. Its a similarsectment that similar sentiment ive heard in the rust belt. I think the white house advisors quoted as saying they dont think there is its inially bad for the president , they might be right. But youre looking at senators like Chuck Grassley in iowa and senators in my home state of mississippi that they have to start thinking about the longterm effects of closing off particularly very lucrative agricultural markets because of Donald Trumps cavalier trade policy that is really tweet to tweet and just based on whatever his whim is in the moment. And david, that is so important to keep in mind, too. This is a president who ran on a platform of saying im going to rip the trade deals, im going to get tough against countries like china. So for his supporters, theyre saying, hey, this is exactly what he promised to do, hes willing to wait it out. But what is the not only the economic but Political Risk of having this drag out over time. Look, when you want to get tough, you might want to before getting tough make sure that youve done your workout, that you go there with friends, and that you made sure that the other guy isnt carrying guns or knives when youve brought your fists. Thats when mitt romney in 2012 was talking about getting tough with china, he made sure to put the predicates in place, to go with friends, to go with canada, with australia, with japan. Also by the way, to make sure the chinese couldnt play off one agricultural supplier against another. The United States is not the only country in the world that grows soybeans. America is being shoved out of the global soybean market. And because the United States previously picked fights with all the people who should be its friends, in this confrontation with china, that they are the people in the United States has put steel tariffs on. When the United States says please dont take the soybean market, theyll say no. If youre going to be the global bully, youre going to find youre the global lonely guy. All right. Great conversation. Great way to kick off this hour. Appreciate it, hans, garrett, david, elise. Stick around. We have a lot more to discuss. Still ahead, the president sizes up his competition for 2020 picking one adversary above all the others. And later, a protrump super pac pours hundreds of millions into six states that it thinks will deliver a trump win next year. First, if you touched don will come after you. Hed don will come after you. The chairman of the Republicanled SenateIntel Committee is facing fire on multiple fronts for his decision to subpoena the president s namesake. On one front senator burrs subpoena of donald trump jr. Has drawn the ire of the president s allies. One of those allies told ax ios were drawing battle lines. If you touch don we will come after you, and the base will come after you. On the other side are senator burrs even colleagues, those who criticized the subpoena. Take a listen. Don jr. s lawyer, id be reluctant to jump back into this circus. Why . Its just crazy. I personally believe the democrats are just trying to keep this thing alive, and its their latest launch point to do it. Politico described the split over the president s son and his subpoena this way, quote, to many republicans the news of trump jr. s subpoena presented a painful dilemma. Stand with a respected gop chairman who has held together his committee for years during the contentious probe or with a president who takes vengeance on v fellow republicans who cross him and his family. And with us Kelly Odonnell and legal analyst barbara mcquaid. Thanks for being here. Kelly, i want to start with you on capitol hill. Talk about this split and the implications for this subpoena, frankly, being successful. Reporter well, good to be with you. And richard burr is well regarded. Hes tried to explain this behind closed doors in the weekly luncheon that senators from the republican side have together. Weather he walked through the steps leading up to this point. A subpoena is not step one. It represented back and forth conversations, trying to get witness donald trump jr. Back to the committee. I was also told by mark warner whos the democrat partner with richard burr, the vice chairman in the committee, that they told all witnesses that expect to come back if there are inconsistencies or other questions that may come up. So burr has done a quiet explanation tour if i can call it that to fellow republicans, and then publicly weve seen this divide for the very reasons you outlined. On the one hand, its the process and the proven record of richard burr. On the other hand, not wanting to draw fire from the president or his allies, if youre a republican with trump voters in your district or your home state. So thats really the divide. At the same time, mitch mcconnell, the majority leader who said case closed, lets move on, acknowledged on Television Last night that this probably wont change any outcomes, but it will end in a good way, suggested mcconnell. That basically means that whatever issues relate to donald trump jr. It doesnt affect what is believed to be the likely outcome of the Senate Investigation on the issues of collusion and so forth, of russia interference. Lets be clear about why a committee would want to have trump jr. Back. It is the discrepancies as they appear on their face from the transcript of his earlier interview and whats in the Mueller Report. So did that create this need to clarify, to find out more. Perhaps thats what its about. It doesnt mean that trump jr. s not in legal jeopardy, but his situation is a much smaller piece than the overarching issue of where do things stand in a post Mueller Report world where republicans are eager to move on. They certainly are. And barbara, pick up on that poin point if you would. Its important to notice that frank thorpe reported that this subpoena was served in april, right. That is before leader mcconnell said case closed. So talk about the implications of that and what specifically the Senate Intelligence committee can learn from bringing don jr. Back. I think that President Trump and some of his supporters are trying to characterize ongoing investigations as simply relitigating or in trumps words, redoing the mueller investigation. But what the Senate Intelligence committee is looking at is very different and has a very different mission from what Robert Mueller had. Robert mueller was looking to see whether particular crimes had been committed, statutes had been violated. The Senate Intelligence committee is looking at something entirely different. Theyre trying to understand the threat from russia. What happens in the interactions between donald trump jr. And russian intelligence is incredibly important to their understanding. To the extent there are discrepancies that appear before the report and what he told them in congress, i think its absolutely within their right to pursue further. And just very quickly on this point, barbara, i think some of the discrepancies also arose because of the president s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, and his testimony, as well, about the trump trump tower moscow project. For example, when you think about someone like Michael Cohen and the fact that hes in jail in part for lying to congress, does that create a credibility issue including in terms of bringing donald trump jr. Back . Maybe. Just because Michael Cohen lied doesnt necessarily mean donald trump jr. Lied, as well. But i think its worth if there are discrepancies pursuing those either whether to hold donald trump jr. Accountable or to learn the truth. If you take a careful lead at the Mueller Report careful read at the Mueller Report it appears that donald trump jr. Invoked his fifth amendment right not to testify before the grand jury. Thats a little bit of speculation reading between the redactions and some of the footnotes. He has every right to do that. If he is going to so invoke the fifth amendment, maybe he needs to do so publicly in front of the senate committee, as well. And i want to pivot quickly to this revelation, this story in the New York Times where reports that the president s outside attorney, rudolph giuliani, is planning a trip to ukraine, quote, mr. Giuliani wants to meet with the nations president elect to urge him to pursue inquiries from the white house that could yield information about two matters of intense interest to mr. Trump. One is the origin of the special counsels investigation into russias interference in the 2016 election. The other is the involvement of former Vice President joseph r. Bidens son in a gas Company Owned by a ukrainian oligarch. I was in communication with mayor giuliani, i said, wait a minute, this looks like it could be seen as accepting help from another foreign government. His response to me in an investigation, its perfectly legal. Barbara, is it . You know, its so unusual that its very difficult to even analyze legally. I suppose to the extent that he is promising anything of value in exchange for help he might get from a foreign country, there could potentially be some violation of the Foreign Court practices act. I think the bigger point to take from this, it really demonstrates the blurred lines that President Trump has when it comes to what is in the best interests of the country where we its in the individual best interests. Rudy giuliani represents President Trump individually. And i think if he wants to send an ambassador on behalf of the United States to find out whats in the best interests of the country, he should send someone in an official capacity, not his personal lawyer, to try to gain political points for President Trump. Kelly, quickly, you and i have tracked every twist and turn of the russia investigation. How politically speaking could the optics of a trip like this look . Reporter well, certainly this gives us a kind of short view from the trump and with Giuliani Campaign perspective. Not taking a long view here, there is value to the Trump Campaign to try to raise questions about joe bidens son and his business dealings right now. At the same time that the president is calling him Sleepycreepy Joe biden. It is clear the president is feeling some pressure from the very strong launch of candidate joe biden. And so even in this moment, theres a way to try to chip at and raise questions about biden world in a campaign environment. And so even long before there were answers and as you and barbara talked about, trying to litigate whether this is proper or not, theres a benefit in the campaign speak of trump and giuliani to have this talked about right now. And it is clear that the president is ready to go on this campaign trail even though were still in the primary. Were going to talk about that a little bit more in a minute. Kelly odonnell, barbara mcquaid, thank you so much to both of you. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, President Trump debuts a new nickname as kelly o. Was talking about for the democrat who he thinks will lead the pack in 2020. Well dig deeper. Its tough to quit smoking cold turkey. So chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. 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Theres no doubt that joe biden is the early frontrunner heading into the 2020 primaries. But with nine months until the first votes are cast, President Trump has decided the entire contest might as well be over. He tweeted to, looks to me like its going to be Sleepycreepy Joe over crazy bernie. Everyone else is fading foster. The president trying out a new nickname for the former v. P. Mr. Trump may have decided the primaries are all wrapped up, but biden has a long road in front of him. Joining me, usa today Washington Bureau chief susan page, director of progressive programming at sirius x. M. And political analyst,y is lina maxwell, and former aide to the Bush White House time contributor and msnbc political analyst elise jordan. Thanks to all of you. Susan, i have to start with you. First of all, i go back to the days of covering former president obama when he did not want to weigh in on the primaries. He sort of sat on the sideline for as long as he could. This could not be a more dramatically different strategy. What do you make of it . I think its a compliment to joe biden. I think it means that he is the candidate that President Trump wants to damage the most the earliest because he sees him as one who could go after the very kinds of voters who flipped in states like wisconsin and pennsylvania and ohio. And won him the presidency. I think the fact that the president s focused on him means that he sees him as a formidable candidate, but it is so early. And we know from previous contests especially in the democratic party, that you can be way ahead now and you do not necessarily get the nomination. You could be at 1 now, you could end up as a nominee. Absolutely. We havent even had the first debates yet. Talk about early. Elise, the atlantic writes donald trump is clearly spooked by joe biden. But some of the president s supporters say theres as easy solution make biden out to be hillary clinton. Just older and with a longer record of not getting things done in washington. He is of the establishment. If youre in biden world, how much are you focused on that aspect of, this and if youre in trump world, how much are you going to make that the issue . With biden, i think its just going to be the enthusiasm challenge. Are voters going to be genuinely excited and mobilized in the general election if their candidate, primarily bernie sanders, im referencing here, isnt on the ballot. And so i think that the problem that democrats could run into is that they nominate another candidate that doesnt necessarily excite elements of their base that really need to turn out if theyre going to defeat donald trump. And there are some challenges along the way for former Vice President biden. Theres no doubt about that. We were reminded of that again today when anita hill wrote this in the New York Times, quote, if the Senate JudiciaryCommittee Led then by mr. Biden, shes of course talking about the Clarence Thomas hearings, had done its job and held a hearing that showed that its members understood the seriousness of Sexual Harassment and other forms of Sexual Violence, the cultural shift we saw in 2017 after the me too might have began in 1991 with the support of the government. To what extent is this going to be an issue for biden in the primary, and more broadly, for all of these Democratic Candidates . The me too issue . I think thats an important question. You see women as a growing force in the electorate. Women of color in particular. And so theyre speaking about these issues openly. And they care about what our candidates and potential nominee for president has to say specifically on these issues. I think it is a doubleedged sword for joe biden. On the one hand, i do not thig feel in my opinion that do not feel in my opinion that hes adequately addressed his behavior during the anita hill hearings and unequivocally apologized. He couches in i wish i could have done more. You could have done more and need to apologize and say i am sorry to professor hill for not doing more which was in my power. On the other hand, though, and i think to his credit, post anita hill, he wrote and, of course, lobbied for the violence against women act which passed a few years later as a result of that hearing. And i think the changing climate and conversations around these issues. So i think actually theres an opportunity for joe biden to lean into the issue of me too and Sexual Violence and harassment because the truth the fact of the matter is that he is an advocate on these issues. He is a network of survivors that he could tap into and get their feedback and the correct messaging to actually have a robust conversation that could be led by the president. As Vice President , he led a conversation about what men can do to stop Sexual Violence and around consent. I think as a president ial candidate, he can do the same thing. Susan, pick up on that point. How vulnerable is the former Vice President on this issue and does he need to do more as shes saying . Shes making the case, look, hes got to come out, hes got to be more forceful in terms of addressing this head on. I think anita hill is a bigger problem for joe biden at the moment than any of his Democratic Alternative candidates. Shes now speaking out, something she hasnt for many years, on an issue that democratic activists care a lot about. And with the benefit of some hindsight, his actions then do not look like they set were up to the standard that democrats would expect of a president ial candidate now. It also generally reinforces the idea that hes a candidate with a long past. In some cases, a past that has carries baggage for him. Which we know having a past is challenging. Yes. In any type of a primary process as it was for hillary clinton. Absolutely. And democrats and voters generally i think want to look forward, not look back. This is forcing joe biden to look back. This is not an issue he has yet put away. But elise, when you think about a general election contest, if the former Vice President were to make it past this tough primary, hes going to be facing off against President Trump whos got his own me too issues. How does this fare in a general election . I mean, no politician in American History has a worse track record with the things that hes said and done when it comes to, frankly, donald trump. So at the same time, you have joe biden who can, you know, he will be able to have somewhat of a contrast, but not as strong of a contrast simply because of the anita hill baggage. And there let me press you on that. Ive been thinking about this throughout the day. We saw this new nickname, the Sleepycreepy Joe. Can he get away with that in a general . Right now bidens not focused on those nicknames. If its just the two of them, can he use that nickname when he has the record that you just laid out . It is absolutely baked in with Donald Trumps voters that he is sleazy and that he talks this way and he behaves this way. He won no matter all that came out right before the election, and he still won. So no, it doesnt dip into Donald Trumps support at all just because the country knows thats donald trump. And you hear constantly from his supporters that they appreciate that he doesnt try to be something that he isnt. And that hes not a canned politician. And that he just lets his nastiness out there. And with joe biden its just a more complicated he has to navigate his past that doesnt, you know, actions with anita hill and with that hearing, that isnt what the Democratic Base certainly expects right now. Well, one thing is certain President Trump is ready to get into this fight. All right. Great conversation, everyone. Thank you. Susan, zerlina, and elise, thank you so much. Coming up, the states that a protrump super pac thinks will deliver the president a 2020 victory. 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The pac not officially with the Trump Campaign will power races into states like ohio, michigan, north carolina, and georgia, some of the key states that President Trump won. He in fact won all six of them in order to win the white house. Winning them again would all be guarantee his reelection. So joining me now, msnbc National CorrespondentSteve Kornacki and White House Correspondent for the hill jordan fabian. Thanks for being here. Jordan, i have to start with you. Your reporting this says, im going to read you back to yourself, America First will focus this year on Voter Registration and collecting data that can be use to target messages for narrowly tailored demographic groups it believes will propel the president to victory. Talk about specifically which voters theyre targeting and this is a pretty high benchmark theyre trying to reach. Oh, absolutely. And the voters theyre targeting are going to be different depending on the state. They think, for example, they can target even, you know, womens groups in florida, theyve calculated exactly how many votes they think they need to win certain states. And theyre going to try to get as many people as possible from those certain groups and really build a coalition they think they can get using the Republican Data trust which is this massive data base of voter information that the Republican Party has had for many years. Break this down, what do you think of the strategy well, its interesting when you start looking at targeting specific states, specific areas of states, specific demographic groups. There was some data that came out this week, this was the democracy fund, thrive been doing sort of polling throughout the Trump Presidency looking at where salt lake his support has where exactly his support has drop off. Hes been in the stable range, but theres been a little bit of a drop. They pinpointed it. I think it was interesting. If you look back, you can see on the screen three types of voters there in the 2016 election, that romney trump group, folks who voted for in 2012 voted for trump in 2016. Hardcore republicans, not much of a change. They had a favorable view of trump coming into his presidency, still have a favorable view of him. Underneath that the regime clinton voters, republicans who couldnt stomach trump, again very negative view, thats been consistent. There at the bottom, you see the dropoff. Almost 20 points, the obama trump voters. One out of every 11 voters thats out there voted for obama, turned around voted for trump in 2016. Theyre tightly concentrated. You can see in a state like pennsylvania, a state like michigan, a state like ohio, thats where you saw the most Significant Movement on that front. Tend to be the White Working Class voters, thats where trump has suffered to the extent he suffered losses as president , according to the data. Its with those voters, with those groups, and could be key in those states. Steve, just to follow up with you very quickly, thats pretty stunning. Thats a pretty big dropoff. What do you make of it, and do we know why . Yeah. I mean, thats the question. And its, again, there is theyve been tracking this, you know, since he was elected in 2016, now twoplus years later you see a 19point drop. The score on the screen, thats his favorable score. When they ask that question, do you have a Favorable Unfavorable view of somebody. I think the wild card there with trump and you saw evidence i should add this, you saw evidence in the 2018 midterms that that type of voter, that white, working class voter also just did not show up in the numbers that those other groups did in the midterms last year. They werent excited to vote last year in the same way a lot of other people were. The wild card, the question is, get donald trump back out in the campaign trail, get a democratic opponent he can play off of. You see how hes starting to do that with joe biden, with nicknames and everything. Will that enthusiasm return for him in the context of a campaign, or has that enthusiasm dropped permanently . I think thats potentially the key question for trumps reelection. Those numbers are just fascinating. As this pac is going after all of those voters and trying to gin up the enthusiasm that steve was talking about, whos behind this pac . Well, theres a lot of, you know, major donors, they want to try to get into the ring. Right now, linda mcmahon, the former Small Business administrator, was brought on to lead the pac last month. And theyre hoping that her ties to the Donor Community are going to help bring in large contributions. Thats something that President Trump really struggled with in 2016. The large onus went to the candidates. The trump camp is more confident with trump locking down the republican nomination that these big donors are not only going to donate to the campaign but the super pac come claims its going to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the major states. A fascinating look at one of the evolving story lines so far. Thank you, jordan, steve. Really appreciate it. Coming up, in a sea of democratic contenders, how candidates who arent frontrunners are trying to break through. Limu emu doug look limu. A civilian buying a new car. Lets go. Limus right. Liberty mutual can save you money by customizing your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. Oh. Yeah, ive been a customer for years. Huh. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Shaving has been difficult for me. I have very sensitive skin, and i get ingrowing hairs. So its a daunting task. Oh i love it. Its a great razor. It has that fence in the middle. It gives a nice smooth shave. Just stopping that irritation. That burn that i get is really life changing. Whats going on . Its the 3pm slump. Should have had a p3. Oh yeah. Should have had a p3. Need energy . Get p3. With a mix of meat, cheese and nuts. Lets see, aleve is than tylenol extra strength. And last longer with fewer pills. So why am i still thinking about this . Ill take aleve. Aleve. Proven better on pain. [kno king] memories. What we deliver by delivering. Democratic president ial candidates are heading into another weekend on the roads. Among them, two senators who havent quite gained traction. Theyd like to see in the polls. What are they going to do to change that . Joining me now, two of our fearless road warriors from ohio, ali vitaly and from New Hampshire shaquille brewster. Thanks for being here. Really appreciate it. Allie, i want to start with you, youre with senator Elizabeth Warren. Tell me why shes out there in West Virginia. Reporter yeah. Were actually on a swing through West Virginia, and wev now landed in ohio. This is all part of a swing meant to highlight warrens plan to combat the Opioid Epidemic and i want to bring you in a little bit to where we were this morning which was a small town that has been hard hit by this Opioid Epidemic and one of the women that we talked to there said that, yes, Elizabeth Warren showing up in a red state is rare but it also makes a big difference. Listen to what she had to say about how voters might receive her. Were always going to have our trump people here. Thats normal for us. But i think that if she will help us get something here done, she brought it to us. For her to come to can he remember the, West Virginia, she brought it to us. Im here today because of that. She brought it to kermit. Reporter and its the fact, really, kristen, that she showed up in West Virginia that making a difference in the mind of people like that voter that we spoke to, and i want to say, while we were in kermit, Elizabeth Warren led off her town hall with a really stunning moment where she asked everybody there who had been impacted by somebody with an addiction problem or with the Opioid Epidemic and dozens of hands just shot up immediately and so when she comes here to talk about her opioid plan, shes not just talking about the hundred billion over ten years that she wants to put into local communities and states that have been hard hit by this crisis, but shes also talking about Holding People accountable, those pharmaceutical executives and Drug Companies who she says are to blame for this and now have to play a part in solving this crisis that they have helped create. And ali, it was such a critical issue on the 2016 campaign trail and one that still impacts so many americans, so Elizabeth Warren unveiling that really robust policy there. All right, thank you. Shaq, let me turn to you now in New Hampshire. Youre with senator gillibrand. Theres a lot of buzz around a gi gillibrand candidacy and now shes struggling to make some polls. Whats her strategy . Reporter its really hard to separate yourself in a field of at least 20 candidates and one thats continuing to grow, but for senator gillibrand, its not for a lack of trying. This is senator gillibrands sixth visit to the state of New Hampshire alone and her Campaign Continues to highlight the fact that shes out there talking to votes, having those interactions and touting her agenda. Earlier today, for example, she toured a velcro facility and met with some High School Students that are brought into the facility so they can learn about manufacturing, so gillibrand was focused on manufacturing and talking about how she wants to protect those jobs from being outsourced, but despite this focus on policy that she is having, shes still struggling in the polls there. There was a monmouth poll yesterday that showed her at 1 . I think it was just below 1 of support from democrats here in New Hampshire. She was asked about that at that velcro facility. Listen to her response. Is joe bidens 20point lead about his name recognition right now . Yes. Its not and how do you overcome that . Through building up my own name recognition which means coming to New Hampshire over and over, talking to voters about the issues they care about, working hard, not giving up and just earning their support over time. Reporter and polling is not the only concern for senator gillibrand. She also needs to get enough individual donors so that she can guarantee herself a spot on the debate stage. She told us reporters earlier today that she has not hit that 65,000 voter individual excuse me, individual donor threshold and says that shes continuing to ask people for those 1 donations so she can put her ideas up against the other candidates. And ali, let me get your reaction to what we heard from senator gillibrand. Shes very candid. She was asked is the fact that former Vice President joe biden has such a strong lead right now because of his name recognition. She said yes. I know youve been out with a number of different candidates, frankly, so whats the sort of thinking inside some of these campaigns about how to get their names out there in such a crowded field . Reporter i mean, shaq makes a great point and its one that weve heard over and over again, that in a field of 20plus, its always going to be hard to stand out when you have a former Vice President on the ticket, potentially trying to get on the ticket, its of course going to make it more difficult. Bernie sanders just came off of running for president not but a few years ago so he still very much has that National Infrastructure in place but when you look at someone like Elizabeth Warren, she is consistently in the top three of these polls and so i know that were talking about her not getting a ton of traction, shes not at biden or bernie levels but shes consistently in this and theyre just kind of playing their own game trying to make that message consistently throughout. She has been rising. Ali shaquille on the road, thanks to the two of you, appreciate it. And coming up, lock them up . Well have one more thing next. . 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Before starting mavyret your doctor will test if youve had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv1, or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take including herbal supplements. Dont take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if youve had certain liver problems. Common side effects include headache and tiredness. With hep c behind me, i feel free. Fearless. And theres no looking back, because i am cured. Talk to your doctor about mavyret. And we have one more thing before we go this friday. Take a look. We do have a little jail down in the basement of the capitol but if we were arresting all of the people in the administration, we would have overcrowded jail situation and im not for that. That was House Speaker nancy pelosi joking about a jail in the u. S. Capitol, so that begs the question. Is there actually a jail . Well, the fact, there is a gated and locked enclosure in the basement. Alas, it doesnt hold any prisoners. The truth is a bit more morbid. It currently houses the wooden platform built for abraham lincolns coffin and was originally a tomb meant to hold the body of george washington, so there you go. There is no jail in the u. S. Capitol but as a senior democratic aide told nbc news, there is certainly the ability to use existing spaces in the capitol to hold someone as has been done in the past. So, a little bit of a History Lesson to wrap up things for this hour. Chris picks things up right now. The things you learn watching this network. All the times ive taken tours of the capitol, worked in the capitol, did not know any of that. Kristen welker, thank you. At this hour, stocks headed for their worst week of the year after President Trump sent out a series of tweets suggesting the trade dispute with china may not end any time soon and thats in spite of the fact that stocks bounced back, actually, after treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said trade talks between the two countries had been, quote, constructive. The president s tweet storm came after u. S. Tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese goods soared today from 10 to 25 . China says it will respond with necessary countermeasures, but the president may not even be done with escalating this trade war with china. Hours after that increase went into effect, the president tweeted that plans are in the works to put a 25 tariff on the other 325 billion in goods the u. S. Imports from china, so critics pounced, including senator Elizabeth Warren