Transcripts For MSNBCW Way Too Early With Kasie Hunt 20201022

House for joe biden and kamala harris. Former president barack obama hits the campaign trail for joe biden and lights into donald trump. The question is, will he be able to fire up democrats to turn out . And the state of the race. New polling out this morning from just about every battleground state. The question is, will tonights debate make any difference . Plus, u. S. Officials say russia and iran have obtained u. S. Voter Registration Data and that iran used the information to intimidate democratic voters. Question is, how vulnerable are we . It is way too early for this. Good morning and welcome to way too early, show that, unlike the president ial debate, never needs a mute button. Im kasie hunt on this thursday, october 22nd. We will start with the news. U. S. Security officials last night accused iran of sending the threatening emails to florida voters first thought to come from the rightwing Extremist Group the proud boys. They added that iran and russia have acquired voter information that could be used to undermine the upcoming election. This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos, and undermine your confidence in american democracy. To that end, we have already seen iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest, and damage President Trump. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told Rachel Maddow that dni John Ratcliffe gave no private indication of iranian intent to damage President Trump. I can tell you that from the briefing, i had the strong impression it was much rather to undermine confidence in elections and not aimed at any particular figure, but rather, to undermine the very wellspring of our democracy elections. Im surprised that dni ratcliffe said that at this press conference, if he did. Fbi director Christopher Wray sought to reassure voters about Election Security and the white house. Praised the great work of our Law Enforcement agencies who stopped an attempt by americas adversaries to undermine our elections. Meanwhile, nbc news has learned that a Cybersecurity Company says it found a hacker selling the voter Registration Data of 186 million americans, underscoring how vulnerable americans are to email targeting by criminal and foreign adversaries. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent covering National Security and intelligence, ken dilanian. Ken, good morning. Thanks for getting up early with this news that broke late last night. What do we know about how this came to be . And its very rare for the fbi to call a lastminute press conference, which is what happened last night. Everyone got scrambled to figure out what was going on here. You had the dni, ratcliffe, who, frankly, has been something of a political figure in a role that is typically more apolitical. And then you had Christopher Wray, the fbi director, going second. Last night we also had a Washington Post story about questions about whether the president wants to fire Christopher Wray. Whats both the intelligence that were seeing here and whats going on behind the scenes with the Intelligence Committees, but also the political elements of this story . A Senior Intelligence official told me last night, kasie, that they only learned about this threat in the last day or so. These threatening emails were going out to voters in florida and arizona, purporting to be from that White Nationalist group, the proud boys, threatening democrats about their votes, and the Intelligence Community had good fidelity, i am told, that iran was behind that and that iran had obtained reams of Voter Registration information, as had russia. And they wanted to get that information out right away, i am told, partly as a deterrence to iran, a warning shot across the bow stop doing this stuff and also to russia. And youre right, politics is all wrapped up in this, kasie. John ratcliffe has been a man whos been carrying water for donald trump. Hes been declassifying documents to fuel rightwing conspiracy theories. But my sources on the Intelligence Committee the senate Intelligence Committee on the democratic side, said they had no problem with anything that ratcliffe said last night. Thats the intelligence as they understand it, that both iran and russia have the capacity to get involved in the election, and iran did. And you know, whether or not it was designed to attack trump, theres pretty much no doubt that some segments of the iranian government would like to see trump defeated, if only because their government is suffering dramatically under the Trump Administration and the sanctions. Of course, russia would like to elect trump, the Intelligence Community has told us. So, it was interesting that ratcliffe mentioned both of those things. Donald trump would not like to hear anything about russian interference in the election. And our reporting on, coincidentally, on the fact that a Cybersecurity Company had found that 186 million voter records are for sale on the dark web just shows how easy it is for foreign adversaries and also cyber criminals to get a hold of this information, not to tamper with voters, the vote directly, or voting machines, but to target people with this kind of misinformation at a time when were all very sensitive to it and when americans are not sure whats up and down in this election. And so, this is a pretty dramatic threat, and the fbi and the Intelligence Community responded swiftly, kasie. And it does seem like part of this is simply a pr campaign to get people who are trying to figure out how to vote to be aware that there could be these kinds of nefarious things going on. Yeah, thats right, because this may only be the beginning of it. Really, the misinformation risk is the greatest risk in this election, particularly if we get into a situation where the election is contested. Thats what my sources are really worried about, because then the russians, the iranians, the chinese, even, could really sort of blanket social media with misinformation in an atmosphere where it could easily take off. You know, allegations of voter fraud or tampering where there really isnt any, but people will believe it, if you have the president claiming that the election was rigged, if you have the democrats calling for recounts. That is the nightmare scenario. My sources can only hope that we get a firm election result on Election Night itself, and a lot of analysts, as you know, because you cover this stuff, dont think thats going to happen. Bottom line, only listen to your local Election Officials about what is going on and how to get your vote counted. Nbcs ken dilanian, thank you so much, my friend. Were going to have a lot more of your reporting coming up in just a little bit on morning joe. Former president barack obama hit the campaign trail for joe biden yesterday and did not hold back, speaking at a drivein rally in philadelphia. The former president assailed donald trump over policy, his character, and his handling of the coronavirus. Look, i get that this president wants full credit for the economy he inherited and zero blame for the pandemic that he ignored, but you know what, the job doesnt work that way tweeting at the television doesnt fix things. Making stuff up doesnt make peoples lives better. Youve got to have a plan. Youve got to put in the work. And along with the experience to get things done, joe biden has concrete plans and policies that will turn our vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into a reality. We literally left this white house a pandemic playbook that would have shown them how to respond before the virus reached our shores. They probably used it to, i dont know, prop up a wobbly table somewhere. We dont know where that playbook went. Eight months into this pandemic, cases are rising again across this country. Donald trump isnt suddenly going to protect all of us. He cant even take the basic steps to protect himself and just last night, he complained up in erie that the pandemic made him go back to work. Im quoting here. He was upset that the pandemics made him go back to work. If hed actually been working the whole time, it never would have gotten this bad wow. Joining us now, reporter for the Washington Post, eugene scott. Eugene, its always great to see you at this hour. Really appreciate it. Lets start there with the former president , barack obama, getting out on the campaign trail here in the final, final days before the election. What is barack obama, former president obama, bring to the table here . These events in philadelphia very much focused on making sure black americans turn out to the polls. Well, we know that president obamas one of the most popular politicians, certainly, democrats in the country, and he has an ability to connect with various demographics. One of those demographics he really is hoping to motivate is black voters. We know in 2016 that black voters did not turn out at the same rates that they did in 2008, when president barack obama was on the ballot. So in many ways, hes trying to make the case that he is on the ballot again, and specifically, his legacy. And so, hes trying to point out what he believes he did well, what joe biden will continue to do well, and what he believes donald trump did very poorly. And of course, we know that, if you think back to the South Carolina primary that really resurrected joe bidens bid for the nomination, i know i heard from voters over and over again that, you know, joe biden had been Barack Obamas Vice President. That meant a lot to the voters there, as they were making their decision. Eugene, lets talk a little bit about the final president ial debate, which is going to be tonight in nashville. We do know there will be a mute button this time. The candidates will be allowed to speak uninterrupted for two minutes when they open each topic, although there will be subsequent backandforth, potentially. What do we know about how both sides are preparing for this . I mean, we certainly have seen more attacks on joe bidens son, hunter biden, in the last couple of days. And it seems like the Biden Campaign is really trying to make sure joe biden is ready for that. Right. We know that the Biden Campaign said theyre going to stick to highlighting where President Trump has failed the people of tennessee and the nation more broadly, by drawing attention to the hypocrisy coming from the trump campaign. Weve seen reporting this week that many of the areas that team trump is pointing to bidens son being compromised, and therefore, perhaps somehow could be somehow could have some effect on the biden presidency are actually in areas where President Trump himself has shown a lack of integrity, specifically when it relates to business dealings in china and more internationally. And so, what weve heard so far from the Biden Campaign is the desire to highlight those, to pivot it and turn things back on the president. And honestly, to respond more quickly and more directly. We already know how trumps going to behave at the debate because weve seen him do it quite a few times now, and hes pretty consistent hes going to attack and hes going to keep speaking, regardless of whether theres a mute button or not. Whether biden can effectively silence trump and get his message across to voters who are listening still at this point remains to be seen. And of course, the president s campaign trying to convince him that, you know what, just let biden talk. That would be the best way for you to do welling in this debate. The Washington Posts eugene scott, thank you very much. Great to see you. Well see you soon. Still ahead, all of the highlights from game two of the world series as the Tampa Bay Rays tie things up with the los angeles dodgers. Plus, what House Speaker nancy pelosi is saying about the state of Coronavirus Relief negotiations. Weve got those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. Eck on the weate come right back. Vicks vapopatch. Easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks iphone 12 and iphone 12 pro are here on verizon 5g. Whoo this new iphone, plus verizon 5g. Game changer. announcer with the coverage of 5g nationwide, and, in more and more cities, the performance of 5g ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. Whoa. I downloaded a whole movie in under 30 seconds. How is that possible . announcer preorder today, and when you switch, get iphone 12 on us. I want this phone. announcer this is the 5g phone Everyone Wants on the 5g americas been waiting for. Only on verizon. However, there is one thing you can be certain of. The men and woman of the United States postal service. We are here to deliver your cards, packages and prescriptions. And also deliver the peace of mind knowing that whats important to youlike your ballotis on its way. Every day, all across america, we deliver for you. And we always will. Something under the porch . D yup ugh. Even when i dont know how she got the stains, i know tide hygienic clean can get them out. It gets between fibers to remove visible and invisible dirt. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Welcome back time now for sports and the Major League World series, where the rays and the dodgers are now tied after game two at globe life field in arlington, texas. Tampas brandon lowe busted out of a slump, becoming the first to hit two oppositefield home runs in a game, giving the rays an early lead with his solo shot to left in the first inning and then a tworun homer in the fifth that made it 50. Tampa ace blake snell struck out nine batters in a little more than four innings of work, not allowing a hit until Chris Taylors tworun homer in the fifth. The dodgers threatened a comeback in the eighth, but the rays relievers held firm, coming out with a 64 win last night. With the series now tied at one game apiece, the teams are going to have a day off before meeting again for game three tomorrow night. And heres something that we havent seen much of this season, a home run ball hit by the dodgers will smith in the bottom of the sixth inning is caught by a lucky fan in the coronaviruslimited crowd out in left at globe life field. The man throws his glove off in celebration, ecstatic at the opportunity afforded to fans allowed at just two series this year because of the pandemic. Congrats to him. And dont we all need some moments like that this year . Time now for the weather. Lets go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. Bill, good morning. Happy thursday. Hey, good morning to you, kasie. Yeah, its nice that were going to have a good world series. Should be fun for the rest of the ride. Lets get into the forecast. It was kind of a wild weather week. Some areas of the country, its like middle of winter. In other areas, it still feels like summer. So typical of october. But lets talk about the snowy weather. We have winter storm warnings and even some watches for the northern rockies, but the worst of it right now is once again in the Northern Plains. I mean, what a week it has been. 4 Million People are under winter storm warnings and advisories. This ones a little to the north of the minneapolis area, but squarely into areas like duluth. Weve actually had thunderstorms overnight, too, thats woken a lot of people up around chicago and some of those heavy downpours are now heading towards detroit, through southern portions of michigan and also northern illinois. The blue on this map is all snow, so numerous areas of montana, then from bismarck through northern portions of minnesota. So, how much snow are we talking . This is the additional snowfall, 2 to 4 inches from appiberdeen through duluth. Minneapolis may get a coating, but the worst of it looks like it will be north of you. And how about this warmth . Really appreciate it while you can, st. Louis, because your temperatures are going down this weekend. 84 degrees today . Are you kidding me . 86 in dallas. Even d. C. Will be at 78. Beautiful from boston to new york city, in the low 70s. This upcoming weekend, we track the chilly air into the Northern Plains on friday. Then it comes to the eastern seaboard saturday and sunday. Thats when the temperatures will plummet. And another snowstorm behind this one on saturday. And then by sunday, some of that snowy weather will be in colorado, nebraska, and all the way through wisconsin. And if you look closely there, kasie, at montana and areas of wyoming, thats 14 degrees. Thats going to be the high temperature. So, yeah, appreciate the warmth in the eastern half of the country while you can. I dont know if weve talked about this, bill, but i hate the cold weather. It is like, i just am terrible at it. So i feel for those folks and im glad that were still having a little bit of a warm fall here on the east coast. Its very early. Bill karins, thank you, as always, my friend. Well see you tomorrow. Still ahead here, with 12 days left until the election, were breaking down new polling from battleground states across the country. Well be back here in just a moment. Try. Well be back here in just a moment beautiful. But support the leg when i started cobra kai, the lack of control over my business made me a little intense. But now i practice a different philosophy. Quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. And now im back on top. With koala kai. Hey more mercy. Save over 30 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. The easy way to a happier business. Welcome back to way too early. Lets take a look at whats driving the day in washington and out on the campaign trail. We are looking at the latest on the Coronavirus Relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin continue to work toward a stimulus deal as time is running out to get there before election day. Yesterday, pelosis deputy chief of staff, drew hamill, tweeted that the pair spoke for 48 minutes and that they are closer to putting pen to paper to write legislation. He noted that the differences continue to be addressed on health priorities, including language providing a National Strategic testing and Contact Tracing plan, but adds that more work needs to be done to ensure that schools are the safest places in america for children to learn. Shortly before negotiations with secretary mnuchin, pelosi appeared here on msnbc to discuss the state of the negotiations. I think we have a prospect for an agreement. I do not believe that our timetable has come and gone. Im optimistic that there will be a bill. Its a question of is it in time to pay the november rent, which is my goal, or is it going to be shortly thereafter and retroactive . Pelosi and mnuchin plan to speak again today, and the House Speaker is going to join us on morning joe later on this morning. Ahead of the final debate tonight, a whole host of new battleground state polling is giving us a clearer picture of where the country stands before election day. In pennsylvania, the latest cnn ssrs poll shows biden with a tenpoint lead. Quinnipiac university poll, an eightpoint lead. The Usa Today Suffolk University poll, a sevenpoint lead. And the fox news poll a fivepoint lead. Out in iowa, the latest monmouth poll puts biden up by three, which falls within the margin of error. In the New York Times Sienna College poll, a threepoint lead, also within the margin of error. The Emerson College poll, trump holds a twopoint lead, also within the margin of error. And in florida, both the latest cnn ssrs, and the Reuters Ipsos poll, both show biden leading by four, within the margin of error, 50 46 . In michigan, the latest fox news poll has biden up by 12, 52 40 . In wisconsin, the same poll gives biden a fivepoint lead, 49 44 . And in arizona, the latest Reuters Ipsos poll gives biden a threepoint lead within the margin of error, 49 46 . Meanwhile, in ohio, the latest fox new poll shows trump ahead by three, also within the margin of error, 48 45 . And in texas, the latest q poll shows the two candidates tied at 47 apiece. This all continuing this narrative that the midwest and the rust belt possibly stronger for joe biden, pennsylvania and the sun belt the biggest questions as we hurdle toward election day. Still ahead here, were going to go live to nashville for a preview of the final president ial debate. Mike memoli is live from Belmont University where President Trump and joe biden will face off tonight. And before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake on this thursday morning . Email us your reasons at way o waytooearly msnbc. Com or drop me a tweet kasie using waytooearly, and we will read the best answers coming up later on in the show. L read the stbe answers coming up later on in the show did you know that 70 of the soils on your clothes are invisible . Under u. V. Light, you see the invisible dirt trapped deep down. Try new tide pods hygienic clean heavy duty. For a deep clean, just toss in a pac. Formulated with 10 concentrated cleaning actives, that clean deep down into the fabric to remove invisible dirt. See the difference, after being washed with tide hygienic clean. For a deep clean, try tide hygienic clean with a 100 money back guarantee if its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Expectand action. 16 people died did he catch our bad guy . Were know as the charmed ones. You got one day to show me what you got. I want to fight. You need us harry. What a goal bockey ball, hockey ball, you name it ball. Im gonna be ready. Just say show me peacock into your xfinity voice remote or download the app today. There were tsunamis fourtin the world. And once they happened, we were in a major hurry to get to those regions to provide aid and support. It was very humbling to be able to help out all those people. Its my dream now to go into clean energy and whatever the next new fuel source is, thats where i want to be. I want to be on the front lines of implementation. Welcome back to way too early. Its 5 30 on the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im kasie hunt. President trump and joe biden will square off tonight in the final debate ahead of the november election, now just 12 days away. In an effort to curtail the frequent interruptions we saw in the last debate, trump and biden will each have their microphones cut off while the other delivers an opening twominute answer to each topic. According to the associated press, some of the president s advisers, who are worried about losing the white house cant imagine why are urging trump to trade his aggressive demeanor from the first debate for a lowerkey style that puts biden more squarely in the spotlight. But its unclear whether the president will actually listen. Doesnt have the best track record of listening. On the debate stage yesterday, two large plexiglass shields were seen. Masks will be required for everyone inside the hall, and audience members must also prove a negative coronavirus test. The debate kicks off at 9 00 p. M. Eastern tonight at Belmont University in nashville and will be moderated by nbc News White House correspondent Kristen Welker. Joining us now from nashville is nbc news correspondent mike memoli, who has covered the Biden Campaign from the very first day. Mike, good morning. Its great to have you here on whats going to be a very long day there in nashville. Reporter good morning. What is the Vice President s team doing to prepare here . How do they feel about that mute button . I mean, yes, it is going to prevent a lot of the disruptions that we saw from the president last time, but on the other hand, it will allow him to speak uninterrupted for two minutes. How are they thinking about how its going to go . Reporter well, from the biden teams perspective, i mean, we all know what joe biden is going to show up. Weve seen it now. This will be his 13th debate in the last two years, and you know, theyve been the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as joe bidens debates have been concerned, but they feel, obviously, the one president ial debate against President Trump, the polls reflected what they thought was a very clear win, even with all the interruptions and the fact that, perhaps joe biden got a little bit, sometimes, in the mud along with President Trump when they prefer for him to stay away from it. The real question for the biden team is which donald trump is going to show up . It also sounds like the real question for the trump team is which donald trump shows up . You know, the Biden Campaign in that first debate, i remember asking his, you know, advisers afterwards, did you, in all of your mock debates, expect a debate quite that combative, quite that full of interruptions . And they said, yes, they did. But now it seems that they are gerding against a different donald trump showing up tonight. They remember four years ago that in the last couple weeks as he was facing off against hillary clinton, he was more disciplined in the stretch run. He laid off twitter a little bit. He stuck to the script a little bit more. So they are gaming out a scenario tonight where a more reserved donald trump, perhaps even, dare we say can a more president ial donald trump, shows up tonight. And so, that makes it a little tough for the preparation, but they think bidens ready for this. I do feel as though we have had this conversation about whether a president ial donald trump will show up to x or y or z event. It hasnt happened, but youre right to point out that it did last time around in this final stretch, so i guess we will see. Mike, can i ask you we obviously have been or i should say, rightwing media has been focused on hunter biden, this laptop that intelligence officials have warned is likely russian disinformation. It seems like were primed for a lot of attacks on joe bidens son, hunter, and that, obviously, is something that touches a nerve with him. He had to handle it a little bit last time. How concerned are they that its going to be a major issue tonight . Reporter well, certainly, theyre prepared for donald trump to bring it up. And the plan and we got a little bit of a glimpse of it in a local interview that joe biden did this week with a wisconsin station, where he really just brushed this all off as the work of, as he put it, the president s henchman, rudy giuliani. He called it a distraction and said, you know, if the president wants to focus on my family, im going to keep my focus on American Families. But we have seen throughout the course of the primaries and into the general election that, you know, joe biden is very defensive of his family, very proud of his family, and sometimes he can react very viscerally to tough questions about it. There are legitimate questions about Hunter Bidens business relationships and questions about whether he has, in fact, benefited over his fathers name. What weve seen in the past week, though, these new charges raised by what some see as a russian disinformation campaign, that he will much more quickly and easily, i think, brush aside. Speaking of American Families and rudy giuliani, this is a family program, so were not going to talk about what rudy was in the news for yesterday. Yall can check it out on the internet, if you so desire. I recommend against it, but hey very nice. Nbcs mike memoli, thank you very much, my friend. I appreciate you getting up early for us. Good luck today. Still ahead, in a major departure from vatican doctrine, what the leader of the Catholic Church is saying about maximum civil unions. Way too early back in just a moment. Ions way too early back in just a moment frustrated that clothes come out of the dryer wrinkled . Next time try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. The worlds first mega sheet with 3x more wrinkle relaxers. Look at the difference of these two shirts. The wrinkle guard shirt has less wrinkles and static, and more softness and freshness. To tame wrinkles on the go use bounce 3in1 rapid touch up spray. Bounce out wrinkles with bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets and touch up spray both, with a money back guarantee. Time now to gather around the water cooler for some of the things that are going to have people talking today. A restaurant in california is getting in the halloween spirit while embracing covid19 rules in a little bit of a fun way. Louises place in San Luis Obispo is using skeletons to enforce social distancing rules by having them sit in places where people could not. Before the pandemic, the restaurant fit 60 people at capacity and under the covid restrictions, they can only have 25 capacity for indoor dining, or roughly 12 diners at a time. Owner audrey pyle said, everyone seems to love it and its fun for halloween. Weve got to have fun right now. Amen. We do need a little bit of these light moments. And now to something really pretty incredible. Pope francis is making waves in the catholic faith after he shared his support for samesex civil unions. In a new documentary, he said, what we have to create is a civil union law. That way, they are legally covered. The remarks, which came in the documentary francesco, are a departure from traditional catholic teachings about samesex unions. Some conservative Church Members around the globe say the pope is diluting catholic doctrine, which explicitly states that marriage is between a man and a woman, but many lgbtq catholics and their allies welcomed his remarks, signaling a muchneeded change to the religion. The pope had previously stated that homosexuals are children of god and deserve to remain in families. Wow. Still ahead, Lincoln Project cofounder reid galen joins us with a new op ed that poses a big choice for republicans on election day. And as we go to break, lets look back at this date in history. In 1962, during a nationally broadcast address, president john f. Kennedy revealed the presence of sovietbuilt missile bases under construction in cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the communist island nation. The communist island nation. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a Nuclear Strike capability against the western hemisphere. Agnsait the western hemisphere de how special it would be for me to discover all of these things that i found through ancestry. I discovered my great aunt ruth signed up as a nursing cadet for world war ii. You see this scannedin, handwritten document. The most striking detail is her age. She was only 17. Knowing that she saw this thing happening and was brave enough to get involved and do something that was eye opening. Bring your Family History to life like never before. Get started for free at ancestry. Com to life like never before. Did you know that 70 of the on your clothes are invisible . Under u. V. Light, you see the invisible dirt trapped deep down. Try new tide pods hygienic clean heavy duty. For a deep clean, just toss in a pac. Formulated with 10 concentrated cleaning actives, that clean deep down into the fabric to remove invisible dirt. See the difference, after being washed with tide hygienic clean. For a deep clean, try tide hygienic clean with a 100 money back guarantee if its got to be clean, its got to be tide. We cannot leave any doubt in this election, because you know, the president s already said, if this is even close, im going to just make stuff up. Hes already started to do it. So, we cant have any doubt. We cant be complacent. I dont care about the polls. There are a whole bunch of polls last time. Didnt work out. Because a whole bunch of folks stayed at home and got lazy and complacent. Not this time. Not in this election. Not this time. Welcome back. That was president obama yesterday, warning bidens supporters in philadelphia not to get complacent ahead of the election. Joining us now, political strategist and cofounder of the Lincoln Project, reid galen. Good morning its great to see you. You are coauthor of the new op ed for the Washington Post titled republicans, its time to choose between autocracy and a republic. And i want to share with our viewers a little bit of this op ed. You wrote, as republicans, will you stand with President Trump or will you stand with and stand up for america . Will you protect democracy or protect a Single Person and his family . This is a pretty devastating op ed you guys have written. What do you think where do you think republicans, traditional republicans, people who, like yourself i mean, you worked for george w. Bush. There are Many Americans who are republicans who voted for him. Where do you think those people are right now, two weeks before this, as they try to decide whether theyre going to vote for donald trump . Well, i would say that, you know, most of the folks who consider themselves republicans are probably still voting for donald trump, and they will, but i think that there are enough of them, like us, who have decided that the president is just too many bridges too far or hes burned so many bridges, whatever bridge metaphor you want to use. But my point is, is that right now, i think the first debate for the president was devastating. I think for a lot of those soft republicans and conservative independents who had just decided, you know, maybe i like him on judges and taxes, but its just enough. The lack of response to covid, his behavior is just not something i can do again. And i think were going to see that in the next 10, 12 days, that folks who might otherwise have voted for him, especially after what is likely to be another erratic performance tonight, just decide they cant do it. Were obviously still waiting on the results of the election, but the jockeying to find, step into the vacuum that would be created if President Trump were to lose has already started happening among Congressional Republicans and others. What do you think is the future of the Republican Party . What do people like you and others who, as you say, care about these policy issues, feel they have been conservative most of their lives but simply cant abide, the populist, nationalist, often ugly racebaiting thats been going on under President Trump i mean, where do you guys go . What is the future of the Republican Party, in your view . Well, i think that the future of the Republican Party and mine are two different paths. I think as my colleague and frequent guest on your network, steve schmidt, says right now were sort of in the red giant phase of the Republican Party. And what were likely to see is that its going to really shrink into a white dwarf. Its going to be ugly. Its going to be more toxic. Its going to be more concentrated, as more and more people who want to be involved are more and more dedicated to what will be, ultimately, i think a dying ideology you know, White Nationalist, rescissir rescissionist when it comes to democracy. So i think there needs to be a lot of work in this country, not only on the parties, but also on the foundational pieces of our democracy. I think were going to need a new civil rights act. I think were going to need a new Voting Rights act. I think were going to need Ethics Reform and other things that protect us from russian and now iranian interference. So, i think theres a lot of work to be done. I know the Lincoln Project will be doing that. Weve got a big vampire we invited into the house that weve got to get taken care of here in the next 12 days, but theres a whole bunch of little vampires that i think you mentioned who, you know, really think now that they can take what trump has built or deconstruct it, if you think about it that way, and make it their own in the next two to four years. So, very quickly, does that mean that you all are democrats, as you try to help govern the country, get it back on track . No, i dont think so. I think that what weve found is that we have now millions of folks who follow us republicans, democrats, independents. I think that when joe biden takes the oath of office on january 20th, that i think, you know, we can and should play a role as a Coalition Partner for him, bringing to the fore a lot of folks who maybe felt homeless politically, were not a party. But we do, i think, have the ability to communicate effectively when we need to. And i think that this country is going to effectively when we need to and i think this country is going to next probably 18 to 24 months to get people back to work and to work on the foundational pieces of the democracy and whatever we can do for the president you know, then President Biden well be willing to do. All right. Reed galen, thank you very much for getting us early with us. We really appreciate your perspective especially with a few days left to go in this election. Earlier on in the show here, we asked why are you awake . Tammy tweeted this photo, posting mercedes and mildred wake us up too early to watch kasie. Hi, guys. Peggy said im volunteering as a poll worker for early voting in henderson, north carolina. Its a privilege to participate in the process. Very enthusiastic voting here. For michelle, i cant fall back asleep because im revved up for the debate tonight and my kitty needed some love. Hi, sicily. From bill, im up because my neighbors have an obnoxious wind chime. They should be illegal. Ps, when do you sleep . Sorry about the wind chime and not too much. I dont sleep too much. I was amused by a note i got on twitter. Someone who woke up because my cat just walked across my face. Doesnt sound like the best way to wake up but were glad youre here with us. Coming up next here, we have a look at the axios 1 big thing and coming up on morning joe, countdown to debate night. What to expect when President Trump and joe biden go head to head one last time before election day. Plus, we have a look at where things stand with Coronavirus Relief negotiations when House Speaker nancy pelosi joins the conversation. Morning joe just moments away. burke deepsea driving, i see. customer Something Like that. burke well, heres Something Else with your farmers policy perk, new car replacement, you can get a new one. customer that is Something Else. burke get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum i feel good i knew that i would, now i feel good get a dozen double crunch shrimp for one dollar with any steak entree. Only at applebees. Witvisibly fades thee. Dark spots away. New neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. A serum so powerful dark spots dont stand a chance. See what i mean . Neutrogena® honey honey . New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. Diabetes and raised triglycerides,. Vascepa can give you something to celebrate. Vascepa, when added to your statin,. Is clinically proven to provide 25 lower risk from heart attack and stroke. Vascepa is clearly different. First and only fda approved. Celebrate less risk. Even for those with Family History. Dont take vascepa if you are. Or become allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. Serious side effects may occur like heart rhythm problems and bleeding. Heart rhythm problems may occur in more people. With persistent cardiovascular risk or who have had them in the past. Tell your doctor if you experience an irregular heartbeat or other heart rhythm problems. Possible side effects include muscle and joint pain. Celebrate less risk. Added cardio protection. Talk to your doctor about adding protection with vascepa. Talk to your doctor about adding protection iphone 12 and iphone 12 pro are here on verizon 5g. Whoo this new iphone, plus verizon 5g. Game changer. announcer with the coverage of 5g nationwide, and, in more and more cities, the performance of 5g ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. Whoa. I downloaded a whole movie in under 30 seconds. How is that possible . announcer preorder today, and when you switch, get iphone 12 on us. I want this phone. announcer this is the 5g phone Everyone Wants on the 5g americas been waiting for. Only on verizon. Joining me with a look at axios a. M. , nicholas johnston. Good morning to you. What is axios 1 big thing . The gops massive youth crisis. New survey out today has donald trump leading joe biden among young voters under 35 in just five states. So the reddest of red states like wyoming, west virginia, like arkansas. This is part of a new survey conducted by Axios Surveymonkey and tableau, which has done over 600 voter interviews digging into the underlying trends and data behind the top line numbers. It should give alarm bells to republicans, how overwhelming they support joe biden over trump and in some states the lead is 28 points. This could be part of a generational change if the voters hold on to the believes as they move through the system and it could trickle downballot races, and even the election coming up in november. However, theres one caveat in all of the conversations about young voters. They can tend not to actually vote. A big category for sort of donald trump in how to win the election, to make sure they dont vote. If they come out at the same level of older voters we could see a landslide for joe biden. Things begin to trend a lot more in President Trumps direction right around age 35, a lot of the trend lines reset to the mean and you see President Trump much more stronger in a lot of the red states and the battleground states as well. Then a final data point, around 65 years old, that trend begins to swing back to joe biden. That can be even more important in this election than the young voters because remember, President Trump did very well with the older voters in 2016 and the fact hes running behind among those over 65s, very worrisome for him. People over 65 go to the polls. Well, you know, that that over 65, those senior numbers are the thing that really stick out to me as something thats different this time than its been in past cycles because one thing i want to ask you about looking at these numbers just because young people now are not supporting republicans, i mean, do you think that means its going to remain the case . I mean, you mentioned 35, right, those are older millennials. I remember being people talking about how im a millennial, how millennials will always vote for the democrats, its the age of obama and we havent seen that hold. So do we think it will hold for young voters now . What is true. Im old enough to talk about the rise of the youth vote and they dont vote as much as a lot of the older parents and their grandparents so this remains an open question because were seeing in a lot of different surveys a huge enthusiasm boost this year. A lot of voters in all sorts of the demographics, theyre looking forward to heading to the polls so is this the year that we see the youth vote come through and if they do it might not matter. Because as you mentioned earlier the swing among seniors is a big thing for President Trump since he was ahead of them in 2016. They helped to carry him over the finish line four years ago but doesnt look like it will happen this time around. I also want to talk to you about coronavirus, which may be influencing the senior voters. You have done great work keeping the metrics together, putting them together in ways that makes sense. What do we know now about the caseloads, the rates, that we should be concerned about . We have the new map up on axios. Com and its grim and most of the states are trending in the wrong direction. The cases are outpacing theres no place in the country its either steady. The number of cases coming back positive is increasing its far too high than a lot of experts say and the hospitalization rate is also picking up. The mortality rate isnt as high as it was. I mean, doctors have gotten better at figuring out how to treat the disease but its still serious and still spreading across the United States. Kasie . All right, nicholas johnston, thank you very much. Well be reading axios a. M. In a little bit. You can sign up at signup. Axios. Com. On this thursday morning im rooting for Kristen Welker who going to moderate the debate on thursday night. She represents the absolute best in fairness and accuracy in journalism and i know shes going to do a fantastic job with a very unpredictable situation in the debate tonight. So go, kristen. Thank you guys for getting up way too early on this thursday morning. Morning joe starters right now. Look, i get that this president wants full credit for the economy he inherited. And zero blame for the pandemic that he ignored. But you know what, the job doesnt work that way. Tweeting at the television doesnt fix things. Making stuff up doesnt make peoples lives better. Youve got to have a plan, youve got to put in the work. That pandemic is rounding the corner. They hate it when i say it. You know, you