it s how they write their memoirs. those are some of the new excuses from republicans about why donald trump took classified documents home with him to mar-a-lago. there was, though, one of the old ones about hillary clinton. the former president now is previewing his legal plans as he pushes more dangerous rhetoric. also this morning, new polling from nbc news shows americans no longer believe the economy is the most pressing issue facing our country. steve kornacki joins us to break down the numbers and to tell us what is on the minds of americans. good morning. welcome to morning joe. it is monday, august 22nd. with us this morning, u.s. special correspondent for bbc news, the great katty kay. katty, taking broadside shots a moment ago at your home country and the technology there. i was deeply concerned by that. i know. i was just hoping no one was listening back home. i think you re okay. we ll redeem ourselves here. okay. let s start with the new nbc news
something. the researcher, ryan burj, said white evangelicalism is republican, and republican is evangelicalism. there is an element distinct from religion. there is also research that says white evangelicals, people who call themselves white evangelicals, now go to church, on average, less than once a month. in other words, a majority of white evangelicals are going to church less than once a month. what that indicates is they re not talking as much about a religious lifestyle even anymore, even though they label themselves as intensely religious. we re talking of a social, cultural, and political lifestyle. if you are going to identify yourself and put yourself forward as evangelical, as one of your primary identities in your life, then there is a basic expectation that there are standards of contact, some