Destruction it has left behind. Plus another unsettling moment for Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell while he answered questions from reporters. How his team is responding to growing concerns about the republicans health. And also ahead Rudy Giulianis lies about the 2020 election are starting to catch up with him legally and financially. Well have much more on that just ahead. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this thursday, august 31st. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us, and we will begin this morning with Tropical Storm idalia. The storm weakened overnight but is still making its way through the carolinas and dropping a massive amount of rain, flooding streets and causing widespread Power Outages. Charleston, South Carolina, recorded its fifth highest tide ever as the storm surge there exceeded forecasts and reached over 9 feet. The city is also experiencing significant flooding as peak tides swelled over the sea wall for quite some time. The National Weather service is now warning of 2 Foot Storm Surges in South Carolina while North Carolina could see up to 4 feet in some areas. Over 300,000 people across florida, georgia, and the carolinas are without power. And while the carolinas will bear the brunt of idalia this morning, the storm is forecast to move offshore later today. A man in florida who crashed his car into a tree while he was trying to drive during extremely rainy conditions. That state was indeed inundated by rain with Clear Water Beach both seeing 9 inches of precipitation. The state says it has inspected every bridge cleared by the stormed adding rescue teams are making Good Progress in finding and helping those who became trapped by flood waters. Joining us live from charleston, South Carolina, is nbcs wendy wolford. Thanks for joining us this morning. Give us a sense how things are in charleston right now. Reporter hey, jonathan. Good morning to you. Thankfully idalias rain bands are starting to taper off here in charleston, and there is still, though, a Tropical Storm warning up in North Carolina. And as you mentioned those Power Outages are extensive. More than 355,000 people in florida, georgia, and South Carolina are waking up without power this morning. This was a Record Breaking History Making Storm when it came ashore less than 24 hours ago. And it really has impacted people in all four states up and down the south eastern coast, i should say. The storm surge in some places down at the big bend area of florida reaching 10 feet, and bill boards, trees, and countless structures no match for idalias 120plus mile per hour winds. The hurricane quickly made its way across florida wreaking havoc throughout georgia, and once in South Carolina spying many tornados flipping one car, injuring the two people inside. And while the low country here in charleston no stranger to flooding, when you mix that storm surge as well as that record high tide with the super moon, it can cause quite a mess in this area. Now, once the sun starts to come up and we get daylight, it will have a lot better perspective on the damage in this region. But thankfully as you mention, jonathan, idalia is forecast to make its way back out to sea later this afternoon. Thats the latest here in charleston. Wendy, thank you so much. Some extraordinary scenes of flooding. Lets bring in meteorologist angie lassman. Angie, give us a sense what the storm is doing now, and there are so many dire warnings as to when it approached the coast. Seems like maybe things didnt get as bad as we feared. There was a lot of flooding and a lot of cleanup to be done in places like florida. We saw plenty across the carolinas yesterday. I think well see as the sun comes up the damage and extent of it in a lot of those places like georgia and the carolinas. Especially yesterday we had so much rain we were dealing with flash flood warnings across much of that region. Now were starting to see some of the heaviest rain working through parts of North Carolina. Weve even got heavier rain through portions of of virginia as this system remains a Tropical Storm with winds at 60 miles per hour. As wendy just mentioned, yes, it will be offshore by the time we get to the afternoon hours, but were not completely done with the impacts from it just yet. Were so close, were almost there. Weve still got a Tornado Watch in effect. Keep that in mind we saw multiple tornados yesterday like i mentioned across the carolinas. Theres still a chance for Brief Spin Ups in that region, so be aware of that here as you get out the door and head to work this morning. Weve got the storm surge. Actually this has been updated as of 5 a. M. , so savannah up through myrtle beach, no longer at surge conditions, but we still have that potential for 2 to 4 feet for places North Carolina and northern portions of of the coast there, about 1 to 3 feet. So we will still be watching for that here through at least the Early Morning hours. And that heavy rainfall kind of confined to portions of of the coastal area of North Carolina. Were going to slowly but surely start to see this Thing Wrapping up. Maybe Tropical Storm force winds across that area, wilmington could see winds through the rest of the Morning Hours through today. There you have it, jonathan, well eventually see it working offshore and do a loop deloop and impacting folks down there the next couple of days. Angie lassman Working Tirelessly for us. Well have more including with the mayor of myrtle beach a little later in the show. Were now learning new details about Donald Trumps finances and how hes said to have exaggerated his assets over multiple years. Thats according to new york states Attorney General Letitia James who alleges trump inflated his net worth by billions with the largest discrepancy being more than 2. 2 billion in 2014. The estimates came in newly unsealed Court Filings ahead of the October Civil Fraud Trial against him, his adult sons and the trump organization. The Attorney Generals Office alleges trump falsely boosted his assets each year to attract favorable loan agreements. In one instance they allege trump tripled the Square Footage of his manhattan apartment inflating its value by 100 to 200 million between 2012 and 2016. Prosecutors also allege that trumps leased property at 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan was at times valued at more than twice the appraised value. And during his first year in Office Prosecutors claim trump overstated his personal wealth by over 1. 1 billion. Trumps lawyers argue the case should be dismissed, asserting that the trump organizations Financial Statements were not misleading. In testimony that was made public yesterday trump said it was a, quote, terrible thing that Attorney General james was suing him over claims he made on annual Financial Statements about his net worth and the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses, and various other assets. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, another health scare for Mitch Mcconnell as the Senate Minority leader once again appears to freezeup while speaking in front of reporters. Plus 2024 Vivek Ramaswamy promises to give russia all the territory it succeeds from ukraine. Those stories and much more had when we come right back. More h when we come right back. And were done. Hm, what about these . Looks right. [sfx spilling sound] nooo. Nooo. Nooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. And bounty is 2x more absorbent so you can use less and get the job done with one. This works. Kind of. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Businesses need 5g solutions today. Thats why they choose tmobile for business. Mlb partners with tmobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. Aaa relies on tmobiles network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. And were helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. Nows the time to see what americas largest 5g network can do for your business. My names dan and i live here in san antonio, texas. My wife magda and i have been married for 39 years. About three or four years ago, i wasnt feeling as if i was as sharp as i used to be. I wanted to try something that was overthecounter. I saw the prevagen commercials. After a short amount of time taking prevagen, i started noticing a difference that im remembering this, im remembering that. I stopped taking prevagen and i found myself slacking back so i jumped right back on it. I feel as if its brought me back to the good ol days. Prevagen. At stores everywhere without a prescription. Nice footwork. Man, youre lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. Now you can stream all your games like its nothing. Yes [ cheers ] yeah woho running up and down that field looks tough. Its a pitch. Get way more into what youre into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. Welcome back. Theres renewed concern today about the health of Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell after the republican appeared to suffer another. The longest serving Senate Leader in history froze up while fielding questions from reporters this time in his home state. Take a look. What are your thoughts for running for reelection in 2026 . Did you hear the question, senator . Running for reelection in 2026. All right, im sorry, yall, were going to need a minute. Its difficult to watch. Yesterdays incident came on the heels of a similar one in late july where mcconnell froze for nearly 20 seconds during a Press Conference on capitol hill. In both instances a spokesperson for the senator chalked up the freezing to a lightheadedness or dehydration. An aid later added yesterday that mcconnell now, quote, felt fine but would be consulting a physician before his next event as a prudent measure. Remember back in march the 81yearold mcconnell suffered a concussion and broken rib after falling at a hotel in washington, d. C. Theres been widespread speculation about his political future about whether hed run again but now republicans and democrats alike wondering if hell be able to finish his his term. Lets turn now to republican president ial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy offering insight into his foreign approach. Ramaswamy once again suggested hed be able to strong arm russia in exchange for Giving Moscow the territory it illegally annexed in ukraine during its war. He also promised deny ukraine entry into nato and suggested the United States was responsible for attacking the nord stream Natural Gas Pipelines nearly a year ago. Take a look. I would freeze the current lines of control. I would further make a hard commitment that nato will not admit ukraine to nato. Thats enough to get putin to do the deal, but i would require something even greater in return. Russia has to exit its Military Alliance with china. Right now were pushing russia further into chinas hands. The russian China Military alliance is the single greatest threat. He sits down the table from vlad and says you are going to give up your. Im going to say well reopen economic relations with russia and make sure nato never admits ukraine. Even though the economic relationship with china is much more valuable to russia . The reason its more valuable is weve wrongfully cut off russia from the west by bombing the nord stream 1 and 2 pipelines and also sanctioning russia. If we can reopen the relations with russia, russia has less of a reason to be in partnership with china. Jesse waters expresses skepticism for the policy approach. Another story now theres a horrific scene unfolding in south africa where dozens of people were killed overnight when a fire ripped through a fivestory building in johannesburg. Officials right now have put the death toll as high as 73 and warn that number could very well climb. Witnesses say as many as 200 people may have been inside the Broken Down Building which was used by Homeless People who were desperate to get off the streets. No word yet on what sparked the inferno. Well bring you developments as they occur. Elsewhere the u. S. Marine corp has ordered all units to reveal safety procedures. The active head of the marines said a thorough review is needed to insure the culture of safety is still strong. Three marines were killed and 20 others injured in the osprey crash in the northern territory. The crash remains under investigation. The service wide review is expected to be completed by the middle of next month. Still ahead well turn to sports and have a look at yesterdays most important games around Major League Baseball and bring you updates from the u. S. Open and a look at a Record Setting Night in lincoln, nebraska. Thats all straight ahead. Say goodbye gush fears thanks to always ultra thins. With rapiddry technology. That absorbs two times faster. Hellooo clean and comfortable. Always. Fear no gush. ella fashion moves fast. Setting trends is our business. Hellooo clean and comfortable. We need to scale with customer demand. In real time. jen so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. marquis with a custom private 5g network. ella with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. marquis so our customers get what they want, when they want it. jen its not just a network. Its enterprise intelligence. vo learn more. Its your vision, its your verizon. I used to wait to run my dishwasher til it was super full. Now i run it daily. Weekdays weekends you might think thats wasteful, but its not. Even half loads use 80 less water than handwashing. Saving 130 on utilities. Cascade. Dare to dish differently. And its a high fly ball, right center field. Renfroe is back. Hes at the wall, and its gone. Thats bryce harper hit his 300th Career Home Run yesterday and two run shot to put the Philadelphia Phillies ahead the Los Angeles Angels in the eighth inning one day after he made a home run. They beat the phillies 108. To denver now. The Major League Baseball best Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 73 and set a Franchise Record for home runs in a season. The two run shot in the eighth marked the teams 250th of the year. Mind you the braves still have 30 games left to play including a big test against the National League west leading dodgers this weekend in los angeles where the dodgers, well they racked up their 24th win of the month last night defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 70 and will have a chaps to match the record in a single month tonight. They open up a massive four game series with the Atlanta Braves. It feels like an nlcs preview. Meanwhile in seattle the mariners closed out the winningest month in their team. They went 216 august and now first place in the American League west. But the mariners were a mere percentage point ahead of the Houston Astros which completed a three game sweep of the Boston Red Sox yesterday. Red sox seem their Playoff Chances are on life support while the Texas Rangers drop to third place. Now lets go to squeenz for second round action at the u. S. Tennis tournament. There are two big upsets among the mens top ten. First he fell after 4 hours, five sets against a 128th ranked swiss qualifier. Thats a big one. And then later the number five who was last years u. S. Open runnerup was eliminated by the now First Chinese man to beat a player in the top five of the rankings. Meanwhile, the favorite the tenth seated francis advanced in straight sets and will be joined by three other american men in the third round and includes the ninth seeded. On the womens side caroline beating two time wimbledon champion to advance to round 3. The 33yearold from den mark and former world number one returned to competition this month and playing in her first grand slam since the 2020 australian open. And finally we go to lincoln, nebraska, where they set a world record for attendance in oo womens sporting event yesterday as 92,003 fans gathered at Memorial Stadium to watch the five time ncaa Champion Volleyball Team crush omaha volleyball. What a great sight there. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, Rudy Giuliani suffers a major legal loss as a federal judge finds him liable for defaming two Georgia Election workers. Well have those new details when Way Too Early comes right back. Htig back i may be known for my legendary football career, but truth is, i love a bunch of sports. The only trouble is knowing where to find them. Thats why i got xfinity. So, i can easily find and watch whatever sport im into all in one place without missing a thing. Even if its football, australian football, or football football. In a word its fitzcredible. I got to trademark that one. This season, eligible Xfinity Rewards Members can get up to 100 off Nfl Sunday Ticket from youtube. Sign up for Xfinity Rewards now. Welcome back to Way Too Early. Its a few minutes ahead of 5 30 a. M. On the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. We move now to what could be a costly legal loss for Rudy Giuliani. A federal judge ruled yesterday that giuliani defamed two Election Workers in georgia following the 2020 election. The ruling means the former New York City mayor is liable for damages, which will be determined at a civil trial. Former poll workers ruby freeman and shaye moss sued giuliani over his baseless claims they committed election fraud. Youll recall both testified to the January 6th Committee that their lives were turned upsidedown by the false claims. Giuliani conceded in a court filing last month he indeed made false statements about freeman and moss. He also failed to produce any evidence in discovery in his case leading to the judges defamation ruling. In a Statement Freeman and moss said the rulings bring them, quote, One Step Closer to rebuilding their lives. A spokesperson for giuliani said hes been wrongly accused. Joining us now Greg Bluestein. What do you think, could there be a linkage here between this Defamation Suit and what he faces in the criminal case being brought by Fulton County d. A. Fani willis . Its a good question because anything that happens in open court in that trial, in that Defamation Phase could also be used ostensibly used by fani willis and Prauts Curators in the other trial. This is an extraordinary ruling and it was a blistering 57page ruling that says essentially that Rudy Giuliani and his attorneys had deliberately shirked their obligation to hand over essential Discovery Documents that also could have been used against him in this trial. And right now we dont know how much hes going to have to pay, but this now goes now could be significant and goes into a significant phase where they do assess those damages that would go to ruby freeman and shaye moss. Greg, there are two codefendants in that Georgia Election interference case who have been pushing to separate themselves from the pack by moving up their court dates. That got a response from the d. A. Saying perhaps everyones date should be moved up. Where do things stand right now in terms of is that realistic for such a Massive Sprawling investigation . Yeah, you need an advanced Logistics Degree to track everything thats going on. There are some who want to slow the trial down, some who want to speed it up. What weve seen from fani willis is an aggressive trial schedule. Her initial schedule was to have all 19 defendants be tried in march, and when several of those defendants including chesebro and powell asked for a speedy trial she indicated, yeah, shes ready to go in october if need be because remember she spent more than two years building this case. Shes got all the discovery, got all the documents ready to go. Her prosecutors seem like theyre ready go, so shes willing to call the bluff if these defendants want to go earlier. Greg, i want to turn to your new reporting first. Do we have any further guidance whether the arraignments next week bill be personal for trump and his accomplices . Yeah, at least three of the codefendants have already signaled theyre waiving their arraignment. In georgia you can waive the arraignment, so they put in a not guilty plea meaning theyll not show up. We havent heard about the other 16. We expect many of them to waive arraignment as is typical in georgia, but we dont have word from Donald Trumps team yet. Well be watching that. And now lets turn to your new story about an attempt by a Trump Loyalist in the Georgia State legislature to derail that Fulton County case. Greg, tell us about it. Yeah, theres calls right now by trumps allies to take a number of steps to hurt fani willis investigation, to undercut it. Some arent going to happen like a trial in the Georgia Legislature to impeach fani willis. Theres not the votes for support. And democrats arent going to vote for that. We do have other facets were closely watching. Now we have one of the Top Republicans in the Georgia Senate saying hes open to hearings in the Georgia Legislature how fani willis is using public funds. Another thing were watching in georgia at least is a new effort under law to file complaints against fani willis that could lead to sanctions or even an ouster, so well be watching that closely as that new law takes effect later this year. Greg, lets talk about the politics in the state. I was talking to some senior biden officials in recent days who sort of concede of all the states that the president now won in 2020, georgia might be the toughest to keep this time around, that it maybe became a swing state ahead of schedule which is testament to the Biden Campaign last time around but also the weaknesses of donald trump there. Its going to be such an important state this time around to analysts and strategist who talk to in the state. Where do they think this is going . Its going to be a hard fought battle here in georgia because republicans see georgia as a mustwin. Theres still a path to win in georgia and candidates themselves. Chris christie was down in georgia saying it was indispensable. In order for a republican to win the white house, and they put out a poll earlier this week that showed donald trump with 57 of the vote in a poll of likely republican primary voters. 42 points ahead of his nearest rival, ron desantis of florida whos at 15 points. So that just shows you Donald Trumps strength. Its going to be a closely fought race here in georgia. Well also have to see what role brian kemp, popular governor there will take in this election. Hes stood up to trumps effort to overturn the election but has said hell support the gop nominee. Political reporter for the Atlanta Journal constitution Greg Bluestein thank you. And coming up cnbc will join us live with the mornings business headlines and an early look at the markets on this, the final trading day of august. Well be right back with that. A. Well be right back with that. Power e trades easytouse tools, like dynamic charting and riskreward analysis help make trading feel effortless. And its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. E trade from morgan stanley. Listen, your deodorant just has to work. I use secret aluminum free. Just swipe and it lasts all day. Secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. And hours later, i still smell fresh. Secret works ohhh yesss. Time now for business and for that lets bring in cnbcs Julianna Tatelbaum who joins us live from london. Great to see you. Investors are looking ahead to more earnings and key Inflation Data due out this morning, the last day of august if you can believe it. What can we expect later on . Its hard to believe, it sure is, john. Well, u. S. Futures point to a mixed open for wall street, this as investors turn their attention to weekly initial jobless claims data due out this afternoon. Were also going to get the pc Inflation Report for july which measures changes in the cost for living for households. Were also going to get earnings from lululemon and Dollar General and all of this before tomorrows nonpharm payroll reports. Toy companies is not an industry we talk about a lot here, but theyre struggling with profits per data, but there is one Company Building positive results wait for it brick by brick. Julianna, who could that be . Who could it be . Well, if you guessed lego, you are correct. Lego is a privately held danish company. I didnt know that until today. Lego has done a pretty good job on capitalizing on the increase in demand for toys we saw during the pandemic. Not just kids but adults were playing with toys to combat the boredom we all im sure have tried to forget from the last few years. Lego has been outperforming the industry. Theyve also been expanding in terms of their store footprint opening in new markets. This year alone the Company Opened 89 neurshops worldwide and 54 of those were in china. Its not all easygoing, but by and large theyre doing quite well. One more for you here. Theres an iconic spanish city that tops the list for anyone looking to take a workation. Tell us about it. Well, firstly i love this term workation, combining work with travel. Theres a new list cnbc has just published an article on that combines a bunch of factors, climate, accommodation, transport, and broadband speeds to be realistic. Number one on the list barcelona. Number two, toronto, beijing, milan got the top, and then New York City you are familiar with, new york. Apparently its the number five destination for workations despite it being pretty expensive. Number five not bad, but im still petitioning this show to be done from barcelona next week. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, President Joe Biden promises continued federal aid to the states impacted by hurricane idalia. Well take a look at the Recovery Efforts that are now under way when we come right back. Thats why they choose tmobile for business. Mlb partners with tmobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. Aaa relies on tmobiles network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. And were helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. Nows the time to see what americas largest 5g network can do for your business. Rsv is in for a surprise. Meet arexvy. the first fdaapproved rsv vaccine. Arexvy is used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. Arexvy is proven to be over 82 effective in preventing lower Respiratory Disease from rsv and over 94 effective in those with these health conditions. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. Rsv can be serious. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. Rsv . Make it arexvy. Every business talk to your doctor or p thats why comcast business. De is launching theal. Mobile made free event. With our business internet, new and existing customers can get one year of unlimited mobile for free. Its our best internet. Powered by The Next Generation 10g network and with 99. 9 reliability. Plus one line of free mobile for an entire year. Its the mobile made free eventhappening now. Get started for just 49. 99 a month. Plus, ask how to get one free line of unlimited mobile. Comcast business, powering possibilities. Welcome back. President biden says the federal government will play a key role in helping states recover from hurricane idalia. The president made those comments yesterday just hours after the hurricane made landfall in floridas big bend region. Biden says hes spoken with the governors of all the affected states including Florida Governor ron desantis. He added that responding to this hurricane is not about politics saying he can work with desantis who of course is also running for president and has been at times very critical of biden, but yesterday desantis echoed that bipartisan sentiment. Believe it or not, i know it sounds strange especially given the nature of politics today, but, you know, i was down there during the last major storm. I spent a lot of time with him walking from community to community, making sure he had what he needs to get it done. I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help, and i trust him to be able to suggest this is not about politics, this is about taking care of the people of the state. We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harms way or have difficulties, and that has got to triumph over any type of shortterm political calculation or any type of positions. This is the real deal. You have peoples lives that have been at risk. We dont necessarily have any confirmed fatalities yet, but that very well may change, and then you have people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down, so they need support. So were going to Work Together from local, state, federal regardless of party to be able to deliver results for the people in their time of need. Good to hear from both men. Some of the federal aid for florida, georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina includes Search And Rescue personnel as well as over a million meals and liters of water. The fema administrator also traveled to florida yesterday afternoon to aid with Recovery Efforts. Were going to hear directly from her a little later this morning on morning joe. Joining us now Corporate Communications manager for duke energy in florida, anna gibbs. I know its been an exhausting few days for you. Can you give us an update on the current stage of Power Outages across florida, and what is the estimated time line for how long itll take to restore power everywhere. So right now duke energy has been able to restore approximately 135,000 customers across our coverage area. We still have approximately 30,000 customers who are still without power. We, of course, are working throughout every day and evening trying to get those customers back on. And i think its important to understand that while the customers that originally went to Pinellas County or the western central part of our state, those types of outages are a lot easier to restore because the type of damage or the outages that were happening in that particular territory are just easier to restore because they were not as serious as those that had been where we received a direct hit from the storm. As Everybody Knows it turned into a category 4, and the type of damage that happened closer to the area we call the big bend area was more than just a typical restoration. So think of poles that have come completely down, really wires on the ground now. So instead of whattee call a restoration, were looking at a rebuild. So thats obviously going to take longer. In many ways good news the Storm Hit A Area less densely populated than other parts of florida, but of course that creates challenges to what youre talking about restoring that power. So for those who dont have power and may be listening this morning on their radio, whats the best advice you can give for them as to how to navigate which obviously still raining, still a lot of heat. Its florida, its the end of august. What can they be doing to navigate this safely until the power is restored . So one of the top things we think of is safety first. We understand the frustration. As you said its hot in florida, so we completely understand the frustration of not having power, but during these times one of the biggest things is remembering the safety aspect of these types of conditions. So we ask our customers avoid those downed power lines, the equipment that may be on the ground and also the flooding. We still have standing water thats happening across our service territory, so obviously avoid that standing water. If you still have standing water in your home, we ask you turn off electricity at the breaker where thats because electricity and water dont mix. Thats going to protect your property, going to reduce that fire hazard, but more importantly its going to help eliminate that Health Hazard by having that electricity still on in your home. And most importantly, you know, during those dark hours overnight, thats not a time to explore the debris or whats happening outside your home, so we would ask that when youre doing whether it be Damage Assessment or cleanup, please do that during light hours because there are hazards out there that you may not be able to see in the dark. Really right now its a time to remember safety is a top priority. We want to keep our customers safe and we are working as quickly and safely as possible to get the lights back on. Important words there. Ana gibbs, thank you so much and good luck with the work ahead. Thank you. Up next here on Way Too Early, a new warning from a prominent donald trump pollster to pollster to prominent donors following last weeks gop debate. Well get into that. Coming up on morning joe, Tropical Storm idalia is threatening the carolinas with treacherous rains and strong winds and flooding. Well get a look at the areas expected to be hit the hardest. Plus, well hear from the mayors of myrtle beach and charleston, as well as savannah, georgia, about how those cities are preparing for the storm. Morning joe moments away. Hi. You dont have to keep tabs on rotating categories. This is the only rotating i care about. Or activate anything to earn. Your cash back automatically adjusts for you. Can i get a Cucumber Water . Earn 5 cash back that automatically adjusts to your top eligible spend category, up to 500 spent each Billing Cycle with the citi custom cash® card. I love it. ella fashion moves fast. Setting trends is our business. Cash® card. We need to scale with customer demand. In real time. jen so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. marquis with a custom private 5g network. ella with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. marquis so our customers get what they want, when they want it. jen its not just a network. Its enterprise intelligence. vo learn more. Its your vision, its your verizon. To 50 years with my best friend and my soulmate. [sfx spilling sound] [sfx family gasp] nooo. Aya. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. And bounty is 2x more absorbent so you can use less and get the job done with one. Youve got a bit of your face on your face. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Dad, whats with your toenail . Oh, that. . Im not sure. Its a nail fungus infection. Thats gross its nothing, really. Its contagious. You can even spread it to other people. Mom, come here dont worry about it. Itll go away on its own no, it wont go away on its own. Its an infection. You need a prescription. Nail fungus is a contagious infection. At the first signs, show it to your doctor. And ask if jublia is right for you. Jublia is a Prescription Medicine used to treat toenail fungus. Its most common side effects include ingrown toenail, application site redness. Itching, swelling, burning or stinging, blisters and pain. Jublia is recognized by the apma. Most commercially insured patients may pay as little as 0 copay. Go to jubliarx. Com now to get started. Power e trades easytouse tools, like dynamic charting and riskreward analysis help make trading feel effortless. And its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. E trade from morgan stanley. Welcome back. To turn to politics now and a donald trump pollster is reportedly telling republican donors that former South Carolina governor nikki haley has surged in iowa following the first gop primary debate. The polling memo obtained by axios noted haley and ramaswamy are virtually tied with ron desantis in new hampshire. The memo reflects that trumps teams emphasis on desantis early struggles and how the campaign is trying to shift the narrative from Trump Versus Desantis to trump versus everyone else. Joining us now, the cofounder of axios, mike allen. Great to see you this morning. Great to see you, jonathan. Lets talk about the memos and the reasons behind it. We can agree some of this motivation is the trump team putting desantis is his place, but nikki haley did impress people that night. Republicans youre speaking to, what about what she did has caused the surge . Yeah, jonathan, i think thats a very smart point, that there is a lot of nikki haley reality thats behind this memo. Im hearing it from both coasts and both parties. Whats behind it is she had an answer on abortion that a lot of republicans said, thats a practical answer that is better than what the party has been saying a lot of times on that. So im hearing that theres a lot of republican donors who are offering to hold events for her. When youre a candidate in a crowded field this far out, theres no call youd rather get than someone from a donor, someone with a lot of money and or a lot of friends. Funny stuff, a lot of people with a lot of money have a lot of friends who want to do an event for you. From democrats im hearing, i know youre hearing the same thing, too, that they say if somehow nikki haley, the former South Carolina governor, former ambassador to the u. N. , if she can get past trump, if she somehow became the republican nominee, and theres no numerical way to see how that happens now, but if that happens, she could be a very strong opponent for biden. There are democrats who say, i would not want President Biden to have to face Ambassador Haley in a general. Again, Buzz Conversation that youd love to hear when youre trying to break out. The fact that these trump aides, this trump poster, fabrizio, saying shes rising in iowa. New hampshire, kicking the Florida Governor a little bit. Heres the reality, theyre seeing on the ground, also, about nikki haley. Yeah, and it is a good point, that haley profiles as someone who would be a good general election candidate. But lets be real, as you noted, haley is 40 plus points behind donald trump. They all are. So lets talk about that right now. I mean, we saw poll numbers move a little bit after that first debate. Trump, in some states, even lost a couple of points, but hes still so far ahead. What is the trump teams thinking right now . Is that going to change the strategy of the next couple week, including the next debates . The trump team has been aggressive from day zero. Long before some of these candidates were any numerical threat, before they were showing up on polls, you saw the trump team hitting them. All of these candidates, jonathan, theyre running to be the person standing, for whatever reason, if donald trump is hit by lightning. Something weve talked about for months. Still true. Something dramatic would have to change for donald trump to not be the nominee. But what has been true about every single year you and i have been covering is something dramatic happening. Thats what youre counting on if youre the Florida Governor, nikki haley, tim scott. You want to be there, be ready, be strong, have an organization if there is suddenly an open. Certainly, there are big events on the horizon, including court dates for trump. He is maintaining Aggressive Campaign schedule. He noted a rally in south dakota coming up. Ill note, the governor of south dakota, someone who would be on his Vice President ial short list. Lets talk about one of the other candidates that you just mentioned. Axios has some exclusive reporting about gop donors expressing concerns about one candidate, tim scotts, Personal Life and how that may impact his electoral chances. Tell us. Jonathan, this is fascinating. Behind the scenes, republican conversation about senator tim scott, republican of South Carolina, who is one of those strong candidates vying to be a trump alternative. Axios Alex Thompson picking up on the fact that donors are concerned that senator scott is 57 and single. Theyre saying, is there something we should know . The fact he is a bachelor, and america hasnt had a Bachelor President in more than a century, theyre concerned that if they go all in on him, then in a very conservative party, that could suddenly be an issue. Interestingly enough, something that alex picked up on in his very extensive conversations with Top Republican officials, is that because the answers so far about this from senator scott and from the campaign have been vague, what has that done . Its been just like in real life, its made everyone just more curious about it. Axios is able to report this morning that the Scott Campaign now saying that senator scott will address this issue in the next couple weeks. All right. Well certainly look for that. Its also, scott, another one considered on a potential trump vp short list. It is notable hes not trained any fire on the frontrunner, perhaps to that effect. Also, Governor Desantis of florida stepped away from the Campaign Trail for a few days to focus on his states recovery from the storm and, at least for the time being, Disaster Relief is one place where, temporarily, partisan politics set aside. Thats good to see. Mike allen, thank you for being with us. Thanks for getting up Way Too Early with us on this thursday morning. Morning joe starts now. Why did you evacuate . This surge, man. If we had been in your property, we would have been flooded in, wouldnt have been able to leave. Didnt know what to do until these guys showed up. I was going to stay in swim in my house. My heart dropped when they said the house is on fire. We prepared for a flood, not a fire. Those are some of the firsthand accounts from people impacted by hurricane idalia. The first major hurricane to hit floridas big bend in more than a century. Well have the latest on the storms path, the destruction it has left behind, and where the storm is this morning, up into South Carolina and North Carolina. Plus, another unsettling