Transcripts For MSNBCW MTP Daily 20200828

President trump is trying one of his new small hangar rallies in battleground new hampshire. President trump put an exclamation point on a Republican Convention that raised the boundaries on president ial power and Campaign Politicking in a state of the Union Address hyping what he believes are his accomplishments, mixed in with attacks on political rivals. And then transformed it into a jarri jarri jarring commercial for his campaign. And fact title checkers are calling it false claims with 1,500 people sandwiched together, few Wearing Masks amid a raging pandemic. But perhaps the most revealing moment of the night is when the president spoke off the cuff. We must turn the page forever on this failed political class. The fact is im here. Whats the name of that building . But ill say it differently. The fact is were here and theyre not. Were here, theyre not. Im here, youre not. Does that not say it all . This Republican Convention tried to recap and sochften the president s image as they try to retarget voters. But President Trump said he sees no softening because hes there and theyre not. Buckle up for the next seven days as republican try to portray democrats as agents of violence and chaos, which is happening on a republican president s watch and democrats try to portray trump as an existential threat to the american democracy. Good luck, america. Joining me from the white house site of the convention festivities last night, my colleague Kelly Odonnell and also someone who interviewed the president this week, peter baker, and msnbc analyst. Kelly, lets get started. Im curious how the white house feels last night went. It was teleprompter trump, state of the union trump meets rally trump. Meaning it wasnt the rally version of him that can really fire up an audience. Muted in those ways and you can see where the president seemed to settle in and when off the teleprompters, since we had the prepared text, we could see where he did that and where he had taken in a little oxygen and riffs in the way he did. The clip you showed is really so emblematic. He fused his identity of candidate, president with the real estate here. Its almost as if i ought to be able to kick balloons left over from last night on the ground here today. The usual cleanup after a convention. Here it is at the white house, and the president has fused all of these together. In talking with officials today, they say that this was a successful four days of their convention, in part because separate from the president s message, which they think was on point, they believe they showcased real americans who they believe have been benefited by the president s policies and tried to outline that. Thats something we saw in a lot of the earlier speakers of the night in the minettes that were presented. And in the message from the president , they believe he hit all of the points he needed to. And today, as you referenced, going out on the campaign trail, thats very traditional. The bounce coming out of a campaign, if there is any in polling, is at least in momentum in this unusual year with the president going to new hampshire, a state won by Hillary Clinton four years ago, a battleground to be sure, the Vice President in minnesota and michigan today. So part of what Trump Campaign advisers are saying is in their words, they smoked out joe biden and Kamala Harris, who are now doing more in terms of interviews and also the former Vice President saying he will travel to some the battleground states, some physical campaigning as a part of this final stretch. It is certainly a case where the white house believes they hit the messages they needed to. They are disregarding criticism quite vociferously of the staging, which had no staging, had 1,500 people, had very few choosing to wear masks. I had a back and forth today with peter navarro, one of the president s top economic advisers, who just would not entertain any questions about the risks there, calling those democratic talking points and not addressing the substance of the question. You saw alex azar, the secretary of health and Human Services wearing a mask. Just a couple of people down from him, another cabinet secretary, who is 82 and recently in the hospital, choosing not to wear a mask. And that is a stark difference on how they staged this and the message Going Forward because of it. Chuck . Kelly, have you heard any regret by anybody in that building about using it and the Washington Monument as a political prop . Is there im sure the president is not worried about it, but are there some in that white house that are a little uncomfortable of the pandoras box thats just been opened . None that are saying it publicly. I think its notable that, for example, the Vice President who is sometimes more traditional on these matters, he was at another kind of National Park setting with the ft. Mchenry part of our National History but not as overtly, that was political in its own way but not an official government building like the white house is. But the roadblocks and guardrails about this kind of conduct, doing political work while on the grounds of the white house, again, the president is not subject to it but every staffer is subject to those rules, and you have both campaign and white house staff working hand in hand, which again typically does not occur because theres usually a pretty bright wall between Campaign Business and governor nance. That just doesnt exist here. Thats pretty clear, thats for sure, Kelly Odonnell at the white house for us. Kelly, thanks very much. Let me bring in peter baker. Peter, your interview with the president this week revealed yet another issue for the president that he has not been able to figure out, which is how to articulate a second term agenda. Ive got to put up the money quote here. But so i think i think it would be i think it would be very, very i think we would have a very, very solid. We could continue what weve been doing. We would solidify what we have done and we have other things on our plate that want to get done. I know it was done over the telephone. I assume that is a correct transcript there. Ill tell you, i didnt hear much of what a second term would look like other than, hey, if you like what i did, youll like what ill do. Yes, more of the same basically. He cut taxes, increased military spending, he eliminated regulations, he put conservative judges on the court and hell do more of that. Thats basically what hes saying. Theres no new vision of what the next four years would bring other than a continuation of the last four. If youre a trump supporter, that may be fine. That may be what youre looking for. Because youre happy with his taking on the establishment, youre happy with his protectionist economic policies. The youre happy with his sort of retreating from the endless wars. But if youre one of President Trumps critics and right now there are more on the mcquarrie polls than the other side, what that tells you is youre not looking for a different kind of president. Some people speculate whether he would be a different kind of person after reelection, hes telling us no, he wouldnt. He is what he is. Dont expect him to change. If you like him, thats great. If you dont, thats your problem. You know, there is something that both i thought biden and trump had something in common in their acceptance speeches, and that is raising the rhetorical stakes of the importance of this election. I have never covered an election that wasnt the most important in my lifetime, however, it does feel as if this time there are more people who believe this phrase, but take a look at the ampedup rhetoric both men used in their acceptance speeches. Take a listen. This election will decide whether we save the American Dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny. This will determine what america is going to look like for a long, long time. It will decide whether we rapidly create millions of highpaying jobs or whether we crush our industries and send millions of these jobs overseas. It character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Your vote will decide whether we protect lawabiding americans or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists and agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens. Decency, science, democracy, theyre all on the ballot. And this election will decide whether we will defend the american way of life or whether we will allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. Who we are as a nation, what we stand for, and most importantly, who we want to be. Thats all on the ballot. Is it at no time before haves faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, who philosophies, or two agendas. The choice could not be more clear. Peter, theres an unintended consequence to raising the stakes this high, to telling your reporters if the other side wins, its over. Where do we go from here . Thats a great question. This is a great montage. This tells you what the two parties are saying its not about convention of policies, what level of Health Care Plan you favor or level of taxes, its about the very vision of america. And what liberals and a lot of conservatives, not all, have been saying during the trump era is he represents a radical change from the vision of an america, Pluralistic Society that takes internationalist views in the world and welcomes immigration and free trade and so forth. And what trump and his supporters are saying is, the other side is out of the mainstream, the main street shifted and we need to advance an americafirst agenda and the other side doesnt believe in america as we see it. Really theres not a lot of middle ground there. Theres not a lot of coming together. Its hard to say these two sides are simply articulating honest differences of opinion. Theyre articulating a very different view of what this country is meant to be. No, and in some ways very different view of what the country has been for 200plus years, and perhaps where somebody wants to take it for another four. We shall see. Peter baker, chief White House Correspondent of the new york times, thank you very much. The goal of any convention is to get more potential voters in your camp, especially those that are on the fence. Our own Vaughn Hillyard spent the morning in kent county, michigan, home of what you might call establishment republicans, moderate republicans, geri ford republicans, whatever you want to call them. And heres one undecided voter on what he heard and didnt hear last night. Talk about environmental and renewable energy, im not hearing anybody talking about getting rid of Carbon Emissions in lowincome areas, im not hearing any talk about financial inequity for people of color and caucasianing people. Im not hearing any plans to invest in minority communities and develop them up so we can bridge the gap between police and community relations. What about last night, donald trump gave his nomination acceptance speech. Did you hear any of those things from donald trump . Not really. Joining us now from grand rapids is Vaughn Hillyard. Vaughn, we just got through talking about how little issue debate there had been in the conventions. Looks like voters are also hearing the same thing. Chuck, deandre wrote in Bernie Sanders during the general election back in 2016, and thats where donald trump not only needs to gain support but hes got to hold on to those various supporters in a place like kent county, went by just 11,000 votes. And just last week our colleague dasha burns talked with somebody who believes instead of voting for trump like last time would be inclined to vote for joe biden because of the pandemic response. But after last night, heres what he says now i think the american people, whoevers president , is not going to put up with this. Law and order does need we do need to have some sort of civility. You cant really wontonly go and break into somebodys business, burn it down, maybe generational businesses. I think whoevers president is going to calm this whole thing down. The question, why not joe biden . What has he done in 47 years . Why now . Thats i guess thats i know its probably a pretty standard answer. Then why still consider joe biden . Because i want to see what may happen over the next 60 days. Theres a lot of things happening. Chuck, you heard jerry use that line, what has he done in 47 years, which came right out of the script of donald trump last night. Theres a great many voters, trump voters from 2016 who we talked to over the years who want to have that reason to vote for donald trump, have been looking for the reassurance. And what jerry essentially outlined were those talking points of what has joe done in 47 years. He pointed to the 1949 crime bill. He also pointed to the fact he has hope as donald trump outlined in a vaccine being produced. Of course, he listened to the speech last night trying to find a reason to vote for donald trump and heard what you heard from him, he seemed to walk away with one. Perhaps, but the fact he still wouldnt close the sale back with trump also is fascinating too. Its a reminder how fickle the whole thing is for him in particular anyway. Vaughn hillyard with voters in grand rapids, always interesting. It is two people, but it is interesting. Thanks very much. Coming up youre looking live at the National Mall in washington, d. C. , where the commitment march is under way. The new urgency behind the message of justice and equality in the wake of the most recent Police Shooting in kenosha, wisconsin. Wisconsin. Come on in, were open. All we do is hand you the bag. Simple. Done. We adapt and we change. You know, you just figure it out. Weve just been finding a way to keep on pushing. Go go go go go go go on a real vacation. Visit go rving. Com or your nearest rv dealer. An army family who is always at the ready. So when they got a little surprise. Two . They didnt panic. They got a bigger car for their soontobebigger family. After shopping around for insurance, they called usaa who helped find the right coverage for them and even some muchneeded savings. That was the easy part. Usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it easy. Welcome back. The conventions are over. President trump blurred the line between the power of his presidency and Political Campaign. As we begin the final sprint to novembers election, lets bring in michael steele, former rnc chairman, and a Senior Writer from politico, whos done extensive reporting on mr. Trump throughout the decades. Michael steele, let me start with you. In many ways while i know youre not flipping youre not vacillating between who youre voting for, but in many ways, this convention was designed to win over people like you, disaffected republican, somebody who had been skeptical of him and his behavior but theyre trying to remind you why youre a republican. How did they do on that score . And the people you talked with on that fence, does trump still have a chance with them . Uhoh yes, im here. There we go. There we go. Go ahead. I was just about to cut you off there, buddy. No, no, no. The quick answer is yes, they do, because of the first part of the question, which is the narrative that trump puts out there. Look, you saw in the piece by Vaughn Hillyard, the linchpin that trump is hanging this election on. In 2016 it was theyre coming across the border, right . In 2020 its theyre coming into suburbia. It doesnt matter who they are. You layer on top of that given what weve seen over the last six weeks, eight weeks with the protests, the lawandorder piece, yeah, youre going to get those folks who are on the fence, those sort of center right folks who were with trump before are suddenly not so much now thinking just as that gentlemen did, yeah, you know, someones got to bring law and order back because we just cant burn down businesses and thats the hook right there. Now the question for the Biden Campaign is whats your counterplay . Michael cruz, you know, its interesting, donald trump and the case hes making, i feel like in some ways its the most repetitive case hes made about any time he has dabbled in american politics going back to the 80s. Its the same note, and even last night, that speech to me felt extraordinarily familiar of donald trump through the decades. We struck what struck me last night and throughout the convention was both the mendacity, the except of it, and audacity, what he said last night went well beyond the 6,000plus words he actually spoke. What he actually said was youre telling me i cant use the white house for my Political Campaign . Youre telling me i cant have a crowd, mostly maskless, in the middle of a pandemic . Watch me. Im currently doing it. What are you going to do about it . And in a way one of the throughlines of his entire life, prepolitical and otherwise, is this the more i get away with, the more i can get away with. He asks people to put up stop signs, to create guardrails, to say you cant do this and heres what were going to do about it. And hes gotten away with it to this point, and he got away with it last night. Michael steele, you know, that means and you saw it last night, the president will do whatever, he will use whatever lever and nobody does in this town know how to say no to him. I guess nancy pelosi has said no to him, and thats why he refuses to speak to her anymore. But not no one else around him tells him you cant do that. They might say you shouldnt do that but no one tells him you cant do that, whether its messing around at the cdc, fda or monument or whatever. Yeah, the point is made, and mike just put it out there, that is exactly it, stop me. You cant stop me. Theres nothing you can say or do to stop me. You tried it with mueller. You tried it with impeachment. Whatever. Doesnt matter. Im going to do what i want to do. If you can stop me, you can try. Youre right, nancy pelosi is the one who seems to have been able to get in his craw because in some ways she plays an asymmetrical game like he does. She does come back with the unexpected from time to time. Everyone else, the men in this town tend to be more conventional in in their thinking and theres still this these two things, one fear theyll get tweeted out by trump or Something Like that. Two, thinking theres going to be a point where he does confirm just a little bit, just enough to get some things done. The and thats how trump punks them every time. You know, michael kruse, what is it about donald trump, and maybe this is a question nobody is capable of answering, is but any other human being under the situation hes in where you might lose your job, this case approval ratings, and youre making the case to keep your job. Dont fire me. I want to make the case. Ill change doing this. I will be better at this. Theres none of that. Hes receiving a c, cminus from the american public. When your job rating is below, underwater, this is basically a teacher saying, cminus, i dont know, its passing but i dont know. What is it about him that he cant even bring himself to pretend he might change something for a second term . It what is the lesson he should have learned . What should have taught him to change his behavior to this point . If you think back to this moment four years ago, he was just a cminus with the public as he is now. And things were about to get worse, principally with the access hollywood tape. Did he back down . Not really. He became the president. So what has put him in the white house is either whats going to keep him in the white house or hes going to get voted out. That is an open question. Anybody who thinks he cant win is delusional. We thought he couldnt win the first time. Of course he could win. Its going to be decided almost certainly in very small margins, small numbers of people and small numbers of places. This is what this is going to be. I dont want to bust out the crystal ball because it is such a volatile political environment. Who knows how people even commit the act of voting this fall, and how thats going to play out. Whos going to be there, who not going to be. I think its a fair prediction to say donald trump is going to be donald trump because hes always been donald trump. Right. And i think the best phrase to use is, hes going to do whatever it takes because hes gotten away with it before, so why not now . Thats it. Michael steele, michael kruse, thank you both. Appreciate it. Good to talk to you both. Up next heres another look at the nations capitol. Any minute now were expecting this crowd of people to begin marching from the Lincoln Memorial to the mlk memorial on this anniversary of i have a dream speech. What getting fueled with one protein feels like. What getting fueled with three energy packed proteins feels like. Meat cheese and nuts p3. Because 3 is better than 1 thousands have gathered in washington, d. C. On this 57th anniversary of the original march on washington to march again. Lets dip in here a second. This is George Floyds brother speaking right now. And anybody else who lost their lives, or to evil George Floyd George floyd George Floyd George floyd i got you. [ crowd chanting george floyd ] its never been clear change right now is happening right now because we demand it. Everyone here has made a commitment because they wouldnt be here for no other reason right now. Its hot, and i know its hot, but as of now, were here, because we are being fried right now, man. Man. The. Youre good. Is im trying. Im trying. I got it. I got it. I got it. I cant breathe i cant breathe i cant breathe as of now, everybody out here right now, our leaders, they need to follow us while were marching to enact laws to protect us. Man, its hard, man. Its really hard. Im so sorry, man. My brother george, hes looking down right now, hes thankful for everything that everybody is doing right now. You all are showing a lot of empathy and passion, and im enjoying every last bit of it right now. If it werent for yall, i dont know where i would be right now, because yall are keeping me running. I have to advocate for everybody, man, because right now jacob blake, its hard just to talk right now, shot seven times, man with his kids. Thats painful. Im done, im done. Im bridget floyd, George Floyds sister. I want you guys to ask yourself right now, how will the history books remember you . What will be your legacy . Will your future generations remember you for your complacency, your inaction, or will they remember you for your empanely, your leadership, your passion for weeding out the injustices and evil in our world. You know, Martin Luther king stood here 57 years ago, and he told the world his dream. But i dont think you all know that were here right now and have the power to make it happen i dont think you all hear me but we have to do it together we have to do it together. For our generations to come, our children. My brother cannot be a voice today. We have to be that voice. We have to be the change, and we have to be his legacy. Thank you from the floyd family. Let me check in with morgan radford. She is reporting within the march there. And, morgan, what have you been hearing . What have you been seeing . And ill be honest, its been quite the split screen from last night and fireworks on the mall in trumps name. Today, a march that im guessing is not very friendly to the president. The. Wildly different story, in fact. Im glad you got to hear from the floyd family directly because its those families, the families that have been affected directly by brutality and seeing their sons and their daughters killed, theyre the heart and soul of this march. While we heard things about black lives matter and this march is calling for reform and criminal justice reform, at the bottom of all of this, chuck, its about pain. Its about collective pain from this community and theyre saying enough is enough and no more. Every single perp wson who has e to that podium and every person i spoke to here among the tens of thousands of people who have come out here in this 90degree heat sweating have come because they dont want to see this happen to anyone else. We dont want to see this happen to our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers. And thats why were here. And this is happening and we know november is months away. So what do you expect to see happen from this march . They said this is about pain but this is also about policy. They want to see a policy change happen in november. As you and i talked about all week, of course, i was covering the rnc, they said they want to see specific policies that deal with the plaqblack community an protect the black community. They effectively told me were always being called upon to show our resilience as a people but why is it incumbent on us to be resilient . We should be protected. And thats what this march is about today, chuck. Morgan radford on the mall for us. Morgan, thank you so much. Joshua johnson is also with us, fellow msnbc anchor. Joshua, i was thinking today, what would you like to see joe biden be doing with this moment right now in kenosha . I think what joe biden could learn from history is the lesson that came out of the 1963 march on washington. Part of the point of the march was to mobilize people to demand political change. Legislation has been a big theme of this event. You heard the president of the National Urban league earlier today, among those people who called for a number of reforms including the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act, which was passed to help people through coronavirus, which disproportionately affects plaque and broblack and brown people, Voting Rights act named after john lewis to fill the gaping hole left in the Voting Rights act preventing the federal government from making municipalities enforce Voting Rights laws, the George Floyd Justice in policing act which would ban choke holds and remove qualified immunity for police officers. So theyre calling for policy. Probably the strongest thing if joe biden and Kamala Harris wanted to win this entire crowd over right now is to say yes, yes, yes. If i was the president right now and hes bills hit my desk, i would sign them into law. That is exactly what folks at this march on washington and the 1963 march on washington advocates. We had a lot to say about the life of john lewis lately. One of the things john lewis said when he spoke 57 years ago today was about part of the civil rights act. Title 3, which allows the attorney general to prosecute cases of discrimination in public accommodations, including people who are protesting in public. John lewis said, unless title 3 and im quoting unless title 3 is put in this bill, theres nothing to protect the Young Children and hold women who must face police dogs and fire hoses in the south while they engage in peaceful demonstrations, unquote. So even in the original march, and now legislation is the goal. Its not just a matter of saying we need to get people to get their knees off our necks, theyre also saying we need to get voters to get their butts in polling places and we need lawmakers to get their butts into Conference Rooms so they can put legislation together. That was the goal of the original march. That is in many ways the goal of this march. So if joe biden were to go to kenosha, how does he talk to the entire community in kenosha . Thats a bit of a challenge. Tonight in kenosha the common council, like the kenosha city council, is going to have a closeddoor session to talk about Law Enforcement responses to some of the violence that has marred the protests. The kenosha news put out an editorial just today calling for the curfew being enforced, not necessarily to crackdown on protesters, but to deal with violence thats coming in from out of town. Even in minneapolis, where george floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police officers, theyre dealing with curfews right now. Not even because of the george floyd homicide, but because of another policeinvolved death that happened this week in Downtown Minneapolis where they have curfews in place right now and mayor jacob fry has asked for help from the National Guard. There are different factions. One saying we want the violence to stop in our community. These people showed up just to cause trouble. Get them out of here. Worth noting you might say that about some folks looting buildings and about the young man who decided to bring an Assault Rifle to guard a boardedup business. But lets set that aside. Youve got that group of people. Then youve got the group of people who are saying no justice, no peace. You want us to leave, you got to deal with this issue. So for a candidate like joe biden, who says that he gets this issue to really effectively solve the problem, hes got to find a way to walk that line and speak to both groups, which is a political act of leisure domain that has rarely been pulled off to the satisfaction of both sides, especially in a heated environment like this. Not impossible but very difficult. Well, youre running for the big job, youre trying to be a president , not many people get there. So maybe the expectation is somebody who gets there should be able to do a couple of those things. Exactly. Were going to go back and listen in. This is the sister of jacob blake speaking right now, and we believe jacob blakes father is also going to speak. Take a look. Black women, you are your brothers keeper. I know its heavy, but forgive him and him, his manner was taken from him a long time ago, build him up. Black children, breathe, learn, grow, and live and question everything. Black men, stand up stand up, black men educate yourselves and protect the black family unit period all right, sister great job. Great job, sweetheart. No justice no peace no justice no peace no justice no peace Jacob Blake Jacob Blake Jacob Blake Jacob Blake Jacob Blake Jacob Blake there are two systems of justice in the United States. Theres a white system and theres a plaque system. The plaque system ainblack syst well. But were going to stand up. Every black person in the United States is going to stand up. Were tired im tired of looking at cameras and seeing these young black and brown people suffer. Were going to hold court today. Were going to hold court on systematic racism. Were going to have court right now. Guilty guilty yes guilty guilty racism against all of us. Guilty it guilty it guilty racism against Trayvon Martin we find them guilty guilty racism against george floyd. We find them guilty guilty racism against jacob blake, abdul due walla. If i said the name wrong, a lll, forgive me. Guilty and were not taking it anymore i ask everyone to stand up, no justice no peace no justice no peace i met this man when i was 7 years old. How did i know i was going to meet this man again in these circumstances . I truly did not want to come and see you all today for these reasons. My father was in town for the first march on d. C. I have a duty. I have a duty to support and understand each one. I love everybody in this crowd. I love you if nobody told you today, big jake loves you but were going to stand up, baby. Were going to stand up together. I need your strength. Big daddys legs aint that good anymore. I need your strength no justice no peace no justice no peace i love yall. I want to bring attorney ba v ivory la mon the who represents these families joshua, i have to tell you, there was something that got me earlier this week and i feel it there in hearing from jacobs father. It was hearing from i think it was Michael Wilbon said this, he says, im tired. As a black man, im tired. Joshua, how do you feel in this moment that youre just sort of tired of this . You know, i totally feel where mike wilbon was talking from. You also heard from his sister that spoke and said i dont want pity, i want change. The statement the family made, the the First Press Conference with Benjamin Crump you heard various forms of the crowd. Big jake, jacob blakes father indict the entire criminal Justice System that has left africanamericans not just in an unequal system of justice but visserably and inescapably aware of the system of injustice. You heard jacob blakes mother say america is great when we behave greatly. You heard doc rivers, one of the coaches for the l. A. Clippers say, weve been loving this country and the country hasnt loved us back. In a way were hearing the same things we heard 57 years ago. But we also heard something important from reverend sharpton. And you have heard it throughout all of these protests, which is no justice, no peace. Ive said this before, that is not a bumper sticker, it is a warning. It is an if then statement. Youre seeing it now and youre seeing this continual push for justice. And in a way, its kind of remarkable that the push keeps moving forward. I dont think weve ever had an era in American History where you had this many white people saying, yeah, black lives do matter. Where you have this many white people saying, yeah, no justice, shouldnt be no peace. Lets get some justice. So that is rapidly becoming a defining issue, not just of this next generation, but in connection with the previous generations like you heard jacob blakes father say, i met you when i was 7. The i didnt expect to be meeting you right now. If anything may give us hope for the propulsion of this movement, its that. You have these generations who pushed, and now they lived long enough to see that push yield progress. That might also include affecting what happens at the polls this november and what happens at the beginning of 2021. But that remains to be seen. I think in some way the sports world showing we had a handful of activists in the 60s, handful of activists in the 70s and now its entire leagues banding together these days, sending in some ways the same message, no justice, no sports, no peace. And anything like that. Joshua johnson, as always, sir, thank you. Glad to help. Well be right back. Woman my reputation was trashed online. I felt completely helpless. My entire career and business were in jeopardy. I called reputation defender. Vo take control of your online reputation. Get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender. Com. Find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. Woman they were able to restore my good name. Vo visit reputationdefender. Com or call 18778668555. Its a lot different than it was 48 hours ago. This event has really dealt us a pretty heavy blow. I expected to see some flooding, some trees in the road. We saw that. We saw power lines. What i didnt expect to see was there were literal entire buildings that had been blown apart. There were fusades of brick buildings that had been around for 100 years blown down. I mean, i was really blown away by the devastation to some of these buildings. Welcome back. That was the mayor of lake charles, louisiana, one of the communities hardest hit by hurricane laura, the most powerful hurricane to hit the state in more than a century, believe it or not. Our own sam brock is with National Guardsmen in lake charles as they help residents stranded by the storm, and sam, youre in the back of National Guard truck there. Tell me what you have seen. Im in a high water vehicle right now, chuck. The National Guard has been going out all day today, they did this yesterday as well. On aid and in some cases rescue missions, trying to help the people of lake charles. As you look outside the back of this truck right now, these power poles are still standing. A lot of lines youll see are down. Everywhere you go in lake charles right now, power is down. Theres no water out here, chuck, as well. So people are absolutely strapped for resources. When they see the National Guardsmen come in, i cannot tell you the level of gratitude that they express on their face, certainly with their words. What theyre receiving are little packages like these that have food in them, chicken, noodles, meat, that are nonperishable. You have canisters that are filled with water as well, even fuel if they need that to get out. And theyre going around block to block after the National Guard has received phone calls from folks, either a Family Member is in distress or someone they believe could be there that they cant locate, and these guys have missions. And go out there and try to check on all of them. Heres one woman we saw earlier today who had walked a mile just to get back to her house. Heres how she described what she experienced. It was demons. There was like demons outside of our house. Its devastation. Its sad. Theres going to be people hurt. Theres going to be people dead if they can find them, if they stayed. You know, if our house is even going to be here, we walked, and it was like when we came out of it, there was nobody. Just gratitude there from clara, that was the woman, to be alive and so happy to see those National Guardsmen. She gave them a big hug and was crying the entire time. Chuck, theres Something Like 110 missions they did yesterday. Their goal is to do about the same today. Chuck. Sam brock, in lake charles, louisiana, its pretty devastating. Its always rough. Always rough to see there. Stay safe. How quickly do they think they can get water back . Power, you know, people can in some ways not having Drinking Water can be a lot worse than not having power. 100 . The problem that were hearing from local officials, chuck, is could be at least a week, but the power plant is very, very badly damaged. Can they get that back up and fixed in one week . Theres some skepticism about that, but theyre saying at least a week before people have clean water around here. Ouch. Sam brock, on the ground there in lake charles. Sam, thank you. Thank you all for being with us this hour. Well be back monday with more meet the press daily and if its sunday, its meet the press on nbc. Please set your dvr. Msnbc coverage continues with katy tur right now after this break. K. And however we connect, whether its over the phone, online, or in your office, were here to listen and provide solutions that help you run your business better. 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. Its made for this guy a veteran who honorably served and its made for her shes serving now we made it for all branches and all ranks whether they served one tour or made a career of it. We also made usaa for military spouses and their kids usaa is easy to work with and can save you money on auto, home and renters insurance. Become a member today. Get an insurance quote at usaa. Com quote usaa. What youre made of were made for good afternoon. I am katy tur. Its 11 00 a. M. Out west and 2 00 p. M. In the east. Were watching two stories unfold at this hour. In our nations capital, 57 years after the first march on washington, thousands have gathered again at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We just heard from the families of both george floyd and jacob blake. Were going to have their powerful comments in just a few minutes. Were also awaiting a press conference from authorities in kenosha, sc