Disgraced usa. Still testifying before the committee. In a few minutes we expect to hear from senators who participated and joined by the gymnasts who are survivors of nassars abuse. When that Press Conference happens, well take you there live. Also this hour the president is scheduled to meet with leaders in the Business Community about the Pandemic Response as cases are rising nationally, again. Vaccine soft mandates for u. S. Businesses, if you will. Todays top story is a reminder of the potency of the pandemic politically after a Recall Defeat in california. Despite some serious concerns about voter enthusiasm, could governor Newsoms Strategy be a model for democrats around the country in elections this year and perhaps next year, though i would hold off on the next year given the uncertainty of covid. He did handily defeAt The recall vote. Republicans did not put any dent in his level of support. He may emerge from this ordeal even stronger politically. Wait until you see the numbers. For democrats nationally its not that newsom won in california, its how he won. By focusing almost singularly on the pandemic as his Closing Message. He got an assist from President Biden who rallied supporters saying newson was a critical part of his plan to beAt The Delta Variant and how important the issue was in turning out democrats. A sizable Result View the Covid Vaccine as a public Health Responsibility and not a choice. The margin on this question is virtually identical to the overall margin in the recall vote. Take note to any republicans in bluish or purplish states running on the idea that it is a choice. Democrats also had success in the suburbs and the suburbs of california, particularly Orange County, look like Swing States and Swing Districts across america. There is something to learn here outside of california. Joining me now out west is my Pal And Colleague Conan Nolan and Politico California Carla and also with the view of national politics in Mind House Editor david wasserman. Conan, let me start with you. Is it as simple as saying, give you the door to choose. Is this a statement about california being as blue as ever or was it that good of a Closing Message . I think both could be said. Remember as your friend Mike Murphy said a box of blue hammers could win in this state. Democrats Have A 21 majority or 21 advantage, i should say, over republicans. I have to tell you, youre right. A Recall Election cuts both ways. This was a gamble for the state and republican party. I think if they kept his margins down to single digits even high single digits, they could say this was a victory of sorts. But to your point, Gavin Newsom won this gubernatorial election in 2018 with a historic number. No democrat had ever won with 61 . What ive seen most recently hes beating that margin and hes better than hes, hes stronger than hes ever been and reelect in a year. Pretty odds on favorite to win that and then who knows what happens after that. A gamble by the gop and they lost. You know, carla, there was a lot of talk thAt The republicans didnt want to endorse a candidate. They were afraid if a candidate became a Focal Point it would undermine making this a referendum on newsom. Well, whoever was thinking that was right because the Minute Larry Elder became the top candidate, he became the foil Gavin Newsom needed here. Could a Kevin Faulcner in the came role . Said from the start he is going to accept the results of this election. Going forward, look, it is going to be a contest between Larry Elder and Kevin Faulcner. Election 2022 begins today. Well see elder has said he is not leaving the stage here in california. He feels that hes a force in the California Republican Party and some are already calling him sort of the Bleeding Voice in the California Republican Party but Kevin Faulcner was always seen as maybe having the best chance of putting up a fight against Gavin Newsom. Both of these will go forward and for newsom, he has delivered a blue wave, as conan said. The side of which california has not seen yet. Beating his last 2018 blow out. So any republican whether its Elder Or Faulcner will Have A challenge going up against him next year. David wasserman trying to extrapulate is a tricky thing particularly for 2022. I do want to look attar Onge County and have you look at it in terms of the Virginia Governor which is in about six weeks. Orange county shifts from 2004 to now it looks like Virginias Shift from 2004. It was an easy Bush Victory in 04 in virginia and even a bigger one for bush in Orange County now. Look At These numbers here. These are just newsom numbers in Orange County. Basically won it by a couple votes in 18. The novote outperformed him more so in Orange County. If republicans had seen improvement in Orange County that would have been the flashing yellow sign for democrats nationally. How would you extrapulate . We still Have A lot of votes to count. The margin is 28 points and five points in Orange County. I expect the margins to narrow somewhat and by the time all is said and done i believe the Yes Vote will carry a few competitive congressional districts and everything is going to be redrawn before 2022. But, look, was it an absolute thrashing . Yes. But what im watching is the difference in the biden Trump Margin and the margins that we see in the offyear election. If newsom ends up winning by 24, 25 points, thats actually five points closer than the biden Trump Margin from 16. If Terry Mcauliffe wins by five points. Thats five points from the Trump Biden in virginia. Overcoming that margin by five points everywhere that is more than enough to take back the house and senate. We have to be careful to put all these races in context. I think thats a fair point. Conan, entertain me on the Gavin Newsom question here. If you dont go at The King, you know, you try to shoot The King and you miss, The King becomes more powerful. Is Gavin Newsom more powerful in california than ever . Is he going to be able to Dick Dickitate the terms more or the fact that he had to go through this and the exhaustion going to take him down a notch . I think he comes out frankly stronger. He raised more money in this recall than he did in his gubernatorial campaign and some of the progressive wing of the democratic party in this state is they helped out quite a bit. So, of course, did organized labor. A massive Teachers Union here. I have to tell you if he wins reelection as we can expect him to in just 2022, you have to remind yourself thAt This is a guy who has ambitions. If youre the governor of california, one out of every eight americans lives in this state. Youre already in the conversation for president ial run. And dont want to put too much ahead here, but there is a possibility, remote perhaps, but after he wins reelection if the president does not seek a second term, you could see him at manchester at some point. I think he sees this as a reset for his governorship, a validation of covid and, you know, hes the conversation now. He likes it that way. Carla, do we expect the Recall Process to actually successfully get reformed . Or not after all this . The calls are in this morning. Were going to be hearing from some State Legislators who are saying its time to reform this. When the state spent 300 Million in Taxpayer Money on this. Governor Gray Davis says this is a matter of Russian Roulette this Recall Process. Sooner or later if it is not reformed somebody who gets 18 of the vote will become governor under this Recall Process. Yes, the calls begin today for reform and well see how that goes. I think the strong move is there for thAt To happen soon. David wasserman the most important issue in the california numbers. Coronavirus was at 32 . Homelessness was second at 22 which i want to delve in to in a second with my two california reporters. I go to this Coronavirus Number and i think about the democrats that are having a fight right now about whAt To spend on their priorities going forward. Is it a full for the democrats right now and particularly President Biden to be focusing on any other issue other than getting covid behind us . It seems like the voters, if the whole idea is you have to meet voters where they are, theyre not interested in talking about a child tax credit, they may be in favor of the ideas. But dont tell me about them until you get rid ofcovid. Do you think theyll get that lesson out of these numbers . When you look at his numbers all year whether its april or august in the midst of afghanistan. His numbers have been strongest on handling of covid and the vaccine rollout. If republicans are badly divided over vaccines heading into 2022, i think the median voter, you know, its a good message for democrats. The median voter wants to get back to normal. And, you know, they are not antivax. Theyre also not woke on the left, right. But they want their lives to get back to place of normalcy and if democrats are able to box republicans into a corner, they can still carry suburbs that, you know, ordinarily might otherwise swing against them next fall. I want to single out the Homelessness Number here. Conan, you keep bringing this up with me. And, you know, we see it look Tent Cities in d. C. And i know its a big issue in San Francisco and in l. A. , frankly, every city is seeing this. Its bigger than the economy. I mean, the fact that homelessness was, thAt The economy was third and homelessness was second. I feel like the democratic politicians dont quite know how to deal with this yet and they havent found a solution. How lethal could this issue be to democrats in 22 . I completely agree. And a wing of the democratic party of the constituents of this state who identify as democrats or declined to state who want something done just as i should point out the blue city of austin, texas. Voted to enforce Sidewalk Restrictions on the homeless. And theres some democrats and some republicans i should say Kevin Faulconer the former mayor of San Diego that believes that message resonates with much of Gavin Newsoms support. But theres no way you can get traction on homelessness or any of these other issues with a candidate like Larry Elder. And thats why so many people within the democratic party within this state believe thAt They dont Have A place to go. On that Issue And Plenty of others. Yeah, carla, you know, it does feel like this does divide sort of the progressives are in one place on how Toened Haal Homelessness and you have the center left or centrist democrats are in a little more of the, i guess, tough Love Space might be what you describe it here. Is that a divide that newsom knows how to bridge yet . This is a divide that newsom has been trying to bridge since he was mayor of San Francisco. He took some tough moves then and he took criticism from progressives then and look for thAt To happen again. Homelessness, he is throwing 12 Billion at in his current budget and that gives republicans the ammunition to say democrats go spending without really addressing the issue. Well see this to be central, i think, as we go to 2022 along with high housing costs along with high taxes and the spike in crime here in california. It wont be just covid on the agenda. David wasserman, weve seen this Pop Up in some mayors races. I know some republicans would like to try to get this, see if they could get out of, you know, get back into the suburban vote by having this conversation about what do you think how the cities are being run, but they havent gotten traction on it yet and i think thats because of covid. Your thoughts . I think thats right. Look, republicans are trying a couple different ways to reach these voters this fall. Were seeing the Grocery Tax in virginia as a way of trying to, you know, move beyond the traditional constituency. And that, well see if that resonates with any lower Income Voters who are middle Income Voters who are feeling the pinch from the increasing cost of goods. I think youll see kind of a Split Screen of democrats talking about republicans obstructing ways to get back to normalcy and republicans talking about Inflation And Pocketbook pinches for voters. Conan nolan, its good to reverse things here and let me interview you for once. Carla and david wasserman, all three just a terrific way to start off our california coverage. Thank you, all. We turn now to Capitol Hill as we told you up top. It has been an extremely emotional day of testimony as four top u. S. Gymnasts, people we all know by sometimes just their first name simone biles, aly raisman, Maggie Nichols Mckayla maroney. Remember, all these u. S. Teams get Taxpayer Money. They also testified to the complete lack of action from the Fbi And Usa gymnastics after they reported nassars heinous crimes. I blame Larry Nassar and i also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. Nassar is where he belongs but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. We have been gas lit and made to feel that we dont matter by these organizations and i never want another child to feel that way again. I was so shocked At The Agents Silence and disregard for my trauma after that moment of silence he asked, is that all . Those words in itself was one of the worst moments of this entire process for me. To have my abuse be minimized and disregarded by the people who were supposed to protect me just to feel like my abuse was not enough. But the truth is, my abuse was enough. And they wanted to cover it up. An important question remains. Perhaps the most important question. Why . Why would the fbi agents lie to oig investigators . Why would the fbi not properly document evidence that was received . The survivors of Larry Nassar Have A right to know why their Well Being was placed in jeopardy by these individuals who chose not to do their jobs. This hearing comes only a day after the fbi fired the agent accused of failing to properly investigate nassar. The fbi failed to properly investigate nassars actions. The department of Justice Inspector general Michael Horowitz and Christopher Wray are still testifying. They are trying to answer for the failures. He said he was deeply sorry on behalf of the whole fbi. Ann thompson is on Capitol Hill for todays testimony. Ann, youve also been on the catholic Abuse Beat for quite some time. I Cant Help but in the early days of that investigators seemed to look the other way. Is this the point of this hearing . A systemic issue within the fbi thAt They dont know how to investigate abuse claims like this . That is certainly one of the questions being asked here today because i think what was particularly disturbing, chuck, is Mckayla Maroney she in 2015 told the Indianapolis Field office what Larry Nassar did to her. She described sitting on her Bedroom Floor and telling the agent Things Tha she had not told her mom and describing in great detail the abuse that she endured. And then nothing happened. Nothing happened for 14 months. As she said, they put her report in a drawer and walked away. And then when they did report it, there were falsifications, she said, in that report. They lied about what she had said. Thats just building on the pain. Aly raisman made the point when she went to the fbi or when the fbi finally came to her and asked her questions between thAt Time and when nassar was actually stopped, there were as many as 100 young gymnasts who were abused. And it makes her sick to her stomach to think that nassar used his association with the u. S. Olympic gymnastic team as a way to groom more victims. Im curious, anne, do you believe, you know, sometimes these congressional hearings theyre there to surface problems and maybe there will be something thats fixed here. What is the fix thats being asked for . Well, the women want accountability. They want those fbi agents who ignore their claims initially and then lied to the office of the inspector general about it. They want them prosecuted. And so far the Justice Department has declined to do that. They also want independent investigations of usa gymnastics, the u. S. Olympic and paralympic committee and the fbi because they want to know what happened. Until you Have A problem, until you understand how that problem came to be, you Cant Fix it. Everything is a Band Aid until you get to the root of the problem. Thats whAt They are looking for. The one thing i think that was really interesting is that all four girls or all four young women thanked the Senate Judiciary Committee saying thAt The senators were some of the few adults who actually listened to them. And are trying to do something and hold the fbi accountable and thats the purpose of todays hearing. Anne thompson covering this case for us on Capitol Hill. Anne, always a pleasure to have you reporting on. So thank you. As we said, we do expect to hear from some of the gymnasts and some of the Judiciary Committee senators in a Press Conference as this hearing wraps up. When that Press Conference happens whether its this hour or the next, youll see it right here. Coming up, President Biden makes a Big Push for his 3. 5 trillion economic plan as he meets with two of the moderate senate democrats. But first new fallout at The Pentagon as the president faces questions about whether Mark Milley the nations top Military Commander should resign. Did he go outside the Chain Of Command when he was dealing with Donald Trump . Youre watching meet the press daily. To learn more about him. I discovered some very interesting documents on ancestry. This is the uh Registration Card for the draft for World War two. And this is his signature which blew me away. Being able to. Make my grandfather real. Not just a memory. Is priceless. His legacy. Lives on. This may look like a regular Movie Night. Is priceless. But if youre a kid with diabetes, its more. Its the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. Its another day. And anything could happen. It could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. 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Sweet, but mine has 5g included. Relax people, my wireless is crushing it. Thats because you all have Xfinity Mobile with your internet. Its wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. Switch to Xfinity Mobile and save hundreds on your wireless bill. Plus, save up to 400 when you purchase a new Samsung Phone or upgrade your existing phone. Learn more at your local xfinity store today. Welcome back. Just gotten the first white House Response to the revelation surrounding general Mark Milley. President biden has full confidence in the nations top military At The top Military Commander. Facing scrutiny for some Phone Calls that he now admits that he made to his chinese counterpart in the final days of the trump presidency. According to Bob Woodrough and acosta new book he made the secret calls in an effort to overt a potential conflict. Milley assured the chinese general if we are going to attack, ill call you ahead of time. Milleys spokesperson just released a statement that did not deny anything in the book and notes the calls took place. Heres how the statement reads. The chairman of the joint chiefs regularly communicates with the defense across the world, including with china and russia. These conversations remain vital in understanding of the national security interest, reducing tensions and avoiding unintentioned conflict. His calls were conveying reassurance to maintain strategic stability. This is very important, folks. All calls from the chairman to his counterparts are staffed, communicated and coordinated with the Department Of Defense and if there were any questions about what was said on this call there are receipts. Courtney kube joins me from The Pentagon. Two thing about general Milleys Statement that i would like you to address. It did not come from General Milley but his spokesperson. Number two, not a denial of anything in the woodward book, so why put out the statement . Take them both. Yeah, thats right. Theyre not denying the and there were two parts. In addition to the acknowledgment thAt This Phone Call did occur with his chinese counterpart. In fact, they acknowledge several Phone Calls over the course of time with his chinese counterpart. Theyre not denying that and not denying the overall Tone Or Tenor of the call that General Milley called his chinese counterpart with the intent of trying to convince him thAt The u. S. Was stable despite the political turmoil At The time and despite the fact thAt There were some concerns thAt The u. S. Might strike out at china. General milley wanted to assure him thAt That was not the case. Look, we havent seen, youre not seeing a Military Build up or anything else that would indicate thAt The u. S. Is going to act provocatively. Defense officials are saying thAt There was, in fact, a real concern At The time. China did believe thAt The u. S. Might act out in some way because of the political turmoil here. General milley was trying to tamp that down. The othern he was after the last book that came out with allegations over the summer about him. Or is he going to continue to say he will not talk about the specifics. Courtney to give some Evidence Reinforcement that his calls are going well. Seems notable to me thAt Tom cotton, who is a leading sort of, i would argue, pro. Certainly is a pro military, Pro Pentagon Voice in the senate. He is not calling for milley to be fired or resigned. Yes. And i, that was one of the, he was one of the people who General Milley has spoken to today already with Senator Cotton. Well, given where Senator Cotton is, looks like that conversation went fairly well. Courtney kube on this story in The Pentagon for us, as always, courtney, thank you. Up next just when we thought the pace of infections might be leveling off. The latest data suggests thAt Things are moving in the wrong direction, again. We have the details next. Youre watching meet the press daily. 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[norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. We do consulting, but we also write. [szasz] we take care of ourselves constantly; its important. We walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. Weve both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. After about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didnt notice before. Its still helping me. I still notice a difference. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Welcome back. As we first reported yesterday, the latest pandemic numbers show the Summer Coronavirus Surge sadly is far from over. Daily new cases were decreasing nationwide for a week straight. But now theyve ticked back up to roughly 160,000 new cases a day. You can see the, you can see it looks like the peak that we had in the winter where it looked like we were going to come town and then went back up. The most in a single Sevenday Period since those spikes in the winter before vaccines were widely available. Just keep that in mind. For context, that means more americans died in the first two weeks of september alone than they did for an entire two months in june and july. Its a stunning statistic that ahead, especially when you look At The recent dropoff in vax vaxinations. The daily number of people receiving their first dose decreased by a third during the two weeks ending September 9th that is after we had seen it Tick Up. With hospitals dealing with a lack of beds the push to get more americans vaccinated is as urgent as ever. Joining me dr. Jha. Lets talk about our Case Curve here first. What looks like maybe the beginning of a plateau, were seeing a Tick Up and then, of course, the canary in the Coal Mine for us appears to be israel. Israel is seeing whAt They thought they were headed for a downturn and it spiked back up. Is there any hope thAt The fall is going to be better than expected because it sure doesnt look like it. Yeah, chuck. Thanks for having me back. I think its really up to us. I mean, At This point we Have All the tools we need. So, this is not something where there is fate involved. I mean, obviously, seasonality is beyond our control. But, yeah, if we do better on vaccinations. Im hoping president difference. Im hoping that President Bidens rules around expanding testing makes a difference. If states are smart about masking policy, yeah, i think we can turn this around. The question is, will we. Thats a different question and a harder one for me to answer. Im not going to ask you to play political pundit on that one. Obviously, if we would get more masking and more vaccines, we would be in a better spot. So given where it looks like were headed, what are the next trouble spots that youre worried about . Yeah, so, as i look across the country, again, i do think that parts of the south that saw the worst summer surges, i do think they Have And predictions are always hard on this stuff. Im worried about where some of the great plain states are, midwest and here in the northeast, numbers are still going up slowly. Im hoping to hit a wall with all the vaccinations weve done. But there are a lot of opportunities here. There are good, 100 Million americans who are eligible but have not gotten vaccinated yet. And they represent a real risk for this virus. So, im worried about kind of where the spread could go next. Well, lets talk about if this, we cant get the spread under control, then weve got an Efficacy Issue with particularly for some of our older residents here, older citizens. This debate over the Booster Shot or the third shot, i mean, it looks like its almost a standoff between sort of the fda of bureaucracy and i say that, the bureaucracy is a good thing when it comes to something like vaccines versus i think another folks on thecovid task force, thinking we should be a step ahead. Lets not be a step behind. Israel is showing us we need to do these boosters now. How do we settle this debate, dr. Jha . Open transparent data and analysis. At The End of the day we value the fda and in the middle of a pandemic and in the middle of a horrible crisis, process has to accommodate the realities on the ground. The science on this, forget the process, forget the politics. The science on this is really becoming increasingly clear to me that vulnerable americans, immuno compromised they need a third shot. Six months after their second one. If thats where the science is heading and we largely all agree on that, then lets figure out a process that meets the science and get that done for the american people. So, what youre saying, you wouldnt be delaying anything. Its time. We started the 60 plus with shots back in february, its now september. I mean, it sounds like you think, hey, its fall. We better do this sooner rather than later. I do. I do. I think six months after the second month would be a reasonable way to do it. Seven, five, i dont think we need to worry about that. Theres a window here. But were in that window now. We absolutely should be gearing up. Me, its been really greAt To see the White House as soon as we get authorization were going to move. Were not going to wait for planning. I expect frail elders in nursing homes, i want them getting their third shot in the weeks ahead and not waiting for the late fall and winter. And other people also in the weeks ahead. Thats what we should be doing for highrisk individuals. I hope we dont look back in three months and wonder, why did we wait three weeks. I know weve been these threeweek increments dont seem like a lot of time until we see the world can change with Co Vid in three weeks. Thank you. Despite the rising case numbers some republican governors that are resisting Vaccine And Mask mandates. And as he has at every turn of this pandemic, the Florida Governor Ron Desantis has decided to take his defiance to another level. Youre watching meet the press daily. G meet the press daily. [music stops] and release. [deep exhale] [fast upbeat music resumes] [music stops] new customers get our best deals on all smartphones. Thats right. But what if im already a customer . Oh, no problem. Hey, cam. . Ah, same deal yeah, its kind of our thing. Huh, thats a great deal. What if im new to At T . Cam, can you. . Hey. But what about for existing customers . Same deal. Its the same deal. Is he ok . Its not complicated. With At T, everyone gets our best deals on every smartphone. Welcome back. In his latest act of defiance i guess against the federal government or other governments and dealing with Covid Florida Governor Ron Desantis imposing heavy fines on counties and cities that require their employees to be vaccinated. Take a listen. If a Government Agency in the state of florida forces a vaccine as a condition to employment, that violates florida law. Wed make it available for all but mandatory for none. Thats been the policy that weve had from the beginning. The governor went on to say thAt The state will fine local governments, the big State Government will fine the smaller local government. 5,000 for each employees that is required to show proof of vaccination. So a very hands on top down Government Type of decision. The announcement comes less than a week after President Biden announced sweeping Vaccine Mandates and another arguably top down for private sector employees. Interesting sort of battle of strong government wills, if you will. Joining me now from one of the three florida counties that do plan to require workers to be vaccinated or tested. So, mora, thats the key there. Vaccinated or tested. Governor desantis attack on this said it should be mandatory. Technically, it isnt mandatory that you get the virus in these counties, vaccine, if you dont get the vaccine, you get tested more frequently. Is that correct . That is correct. Thats what is going to be happening here in Orange County where i am in orlando along with two other counties in this state. Theyre actually up against a deadline here in Orange County At The end of the month. But governor desantis as you said threatening 5,000 per Employee And Point a picture for you here. 62 of the countys employees, about 7,000 workers, have been vaccinated. When you think about 2,000 or so people who havent even gotten their first dose yet and add in 5,000 per employee that really adds up. The governor saying this is going to rake in millions of dollars across the state. Hes saying that hes looking to make sure that governments dont have to have this oversight over people. They dont want people to have to succumb to requirements like that. But like you said, its really the State Government pushing back against local and federal governments. The mayor here in Orange County holding firm on his decision to issue these requirements saying hes not going to go put these Safety Precautions into effect because he wants to keep his community safe. He says the governor, though, is making purely political decisions and, chuck, this comes as icu beds here in florida are dwindling. Theyre also disappeared at a rate of 95 or more or over 100 in many hospitals here in florida thAt Those icu beds are full largely of unvaccinated patients. And maura, just to clarify, Orange County is not violating the law if theyre not making the vaccine, if theyre not making employment based on any vaccine. You can opt out of not getting vaccinated and stay employed. This is sort of, its a circular argument here. The governors accusing Orange County of doing something its not doing, correct . Right. So, hes basically saying he wants to protect florida jobs. The bigger argument here is that he doesnt want employees to have to succumb to anything mandatory whether its testing or whether its the vaccine. Its about giving people the choice and thats what a lot of City Employees are arguing against, as well. Gotcha. Maura on the ground for us in florida. Maura, thank you. Up next, a major standoff on The Hill right now as the senate Republican Leader Mitch Mcconnell continues to pledge that republicans will not support raising the Debt Limit with the deadline just weeks away. Youre watching meet the press daily. Ive spent centuries evolving with the world. Some changes made me stronger. Others, weaker. Thats the nature of being the economy. Ive observed investors navigating the unexpected, choosing assets to balance risk and reward. And ive seen how one element has secured their portfolios, time after time. Gold. An element so agile and liquid. A proven protector. 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President Biden Met with Krysten Sinema today, and plans to sit down with Senator Manchin today, and the focus is the same, the 3. 5 trillion reconciliation working through, and neither senator is fully supportive of, and the senate will need the support of every senator to get the package through. And they will need the support of every senator to keep the senate from defaulting on the debt. And the reason is that Mitch Mcconnell is insisting that his caucus is not going to help the democrats at all with any votes to raise the Debt Limit. Let me be crystal clear about this. Republicans are united in opposition to raising the Debt Ceiling not because it doesnt need to be done. So if they want to do all of this on a partisan basis, they have the ability and the responsibility to ensure thAt The federal government not default, and they will have to take care of that. I am joined by Punch Bowl John Bresnahan and they spoke at length about that presser, and i have to this about Mitch Mcconnell and he did not pretend it is a rationale that we should stop spending money, but it is simple, it is it has to stop, and we dont have the fish extinguisher, and you have it, so it is your responsibility. And it needs to be done, but i dont have the responsibility anymore, so i am out. And there is an element of that, and look, the democrats will attack him for being a hypocrite and all republicans are saying, well, during the trump era, and you ran up 7 Trillion of debt, and we voted to raise the Debt Ceiling, and it is the right thing to do, and mcconnell doesnt care. He does not care. This is how he was on the Supreme Court nomination, and this is who he is. Bare knuckles and you know him, he is going to try to punch the democrats in the nose, and if you want to punch him back, that is what you will do, but the issue is that we first did this story frankly in july. I did an interview in july, July 20th with mcconnell saying that if the democrats want to raise the Debt Ceiling, they have to do it on their own, and they need to put it in a reconciliation bill, and do it on a partisan vote, and he was warning two months ago what his mission was, and he has not moved one inch, and the democrats were like, well, mcconnell will fold somehow, and it is a mystery to him. What is the incentive to fold here . I mean, i get yeah. I get the game of chicken, but i dont see the insensitive to fold for mcconnell. No, the conference is not there. And the other thing is thAt They have, and what he told them today is what i have found fascinating is that we have seen Henry Paulson who we have seen under george w. Bush coming out of mcconnells office, and the democrats have sent other intermediaries to him, to be like, well, i wont talk to schumer and i may not talk to President Biden, but he is not, and he is saying the same thing in private as he is in public. So like at some point, they have to give up on plana, and come up with planb, because again, i am not saying that mcconnell is, is, you know, he is right here, because i am not taking a side in this, but this is where mcconnell of course not. And he is not moving. And you know him, and Mitch Mcconnell is not going to change. Look, and the democrats whether they like it or not, they Have A path to do it without him. And theres, and i know thAt They like to create political pain for mcconnell and the republicans on this, but brett, you tell me how they can find pain here. There is no, the Incentive Structure on the right is so much different, and there would be more pain for democrats not being the responsible party here than the republicans not being responsible. Yeah, i think that you are right. I mean, look, they are in Charge And Biden is in the White House, and with the democrats thinking that wall street, and you know, the rich donors and the corporate leaders will come to Mitch Mcconnell and Susan Collins and Mitch Mcconnell and Lisa Murkowski and they are, and the rob portmans, and they have just been reelected and we will get ten votes, but it is not happening. One other point here, and this is going to remind me of the Merrick Garland Situation of 2015. Do it. And i remember sitting in the White House and talking to denis mcdonough, the then white House Chief of staff, and he is going to fold on Garlands Nomination for the Supreme Court, and said, respectfully, you are wrong, this is Mitch Mcconnell. And democrats hypnotize themselves, and he is exactly who he is. And that is why people need to spend more time reading the Punch Bowl and bresnahan and your pals there, and not believing the left wing twitter. Thank you, and we will be back tomorrow with more meet the press daily. And check the chuck toddcast, and we will unpack california and how it applies nationally. We will have much more Msnbc News daily with Geoff Bennett. N to apply with sofi loans, just based on the Interest Rate and how much i would be saving. There was only one that stood out and one that actually made sense and that was sofi personal loans. It felt so freeing. I felt like i was finally out of this neverending trap of interest and payments and debt. Tech every customer has their own safelite story. Interest Anthis Couple was ont. A camping trip. When their windshield got a chip. They drove to safelite for a sameday repair. And with their insurance, it was no cost to them. Woman really . 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Join for free on the Xfinity App and watch all the rewards float in. Our thanks. Your rewards. It is good to be with you. Im Geoff Bennett in washington, and we will take you straight away to the White House where President Biden is meeting with the ceos and Business Leaders on the Covid19 Response and he made some remarks to the