Bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And with donald trump strapped for cash, the New York Times is reporting he met with the worlds richest man, elon musk. Did the man behind the book Think Like A Billionaire convince this billionaire to help him out . Plus, what this epic rematch means for Down Ballot Races including control of congress as Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell endorses the former president. Weve got all of that coming up. But we begin with the next critical 31 hours for president joe biden, now putting the finishing touches on a speech hell likely have the biggest audience between now and november. The State Of The Union is tomorrow night, and its right on the heels of donald trump becoming the Presumptive Republican nominee. The president is expected to contrast his vision for america with trumps apocalyptic view. They want open borders, and open borders are going to destroy our country. We need borders and free and fair elections. Our cities are being overrun with migrant crime and its biden migrant crime, and its a new category of crime. The world is laughing at us. The world is taking advantage of us. The last State Of The Union pulled in more viewers, and importantly now, nikki haley supporters who may be looking for somewhere to go after her exit from the race. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell reports from the white house. I also want to bring in former Ohio Governor john kasich who Ran Against Trump in 2016. And alencia johnson, political strategist and former Senior Adviser for President Biden in 2020. Good to have all of you here. Kelly, a biden aide told the New York Times, quote, the key to success in a High Pressure setting, speaking of the State Of The Union is let joe biden be joe biden. What can you tell us about his preps that are sure going on today, and how hell use that massive stage, that big audience . Thats right on point, chris. We dont see the president publicly today because theres a lot of home work being done behind the scenes. This is the political super bowl or world series or oscar night, big big audience where theres Great Potential for a president to demonstrate, especially a Candidate Running again, and given all the scrutiny, all the questions about age, fitness and this rematch of a race, an opportunity for President Biden to try to set the contrast, talk about his policies, sell his vision to the American Public and to demonstrate a certain versatility, quick on his feet kind of approach, which the white house believes he was able to do last year successfully in a moment that dealt with Social Security and kind of a Realtime Negotiation with republicans on the floor there. Will there be that kind of moment this time around . Can they anticipate things including the potential for protests or calling out from either members of congress or those in the gallery watching. And so for the president , who wants to prepare very personally working on the drafts of the speech himself, marking the script of the speech to help him with his own breathing and cadence, remember, people often forget that hes had a lifelong stutter and so when he is speaking publicly, using a teleprompter, hes trying to find ways to power through that stutter. Thats a greater challenge that he faces when he delivers to an audience of this profile. Hell also have a different speaker of the house behind his shoulder in mike johnson. They have had at times a tense relationship. And one of the Big Questions will be how much will he address maga republicans which we expect he will do, and how much will he talk about the former president and how directly will he do that. So the affirmative goals for the president , talking about voting rights, Reproductive Rights, his vision for an economy that can work for the middle class and trying to bring costs down, and then setting the big contrast on what he believes are really existential differences between him and his predecessor, now his rival. It will be a Big Night With High Stakes and potential before the president takes it on the road, visiting parts of the country Battle Grounds primarily to sell his plans over the next month. Chris. Kelly odonnell, thank you for that. Some analysts say Speaker Mike Johnson made a miscalculation in scheduling State Of The Union because it allows President Biden to continue momentum from super tuesday, now reset now that the race is set. I dont know whether or not you think thats true, but how does he maximize this moment . Reason, i think republicans, like democrats, we obviously welcomed it. President biden didnt have to address the American People on tuesday night as donald trump did or any of the other candidates like nikki haley. He has the world stage, and i say that specifically because the world is watching the united states. So he has the world stage to talk about not only his record achievements that a lot of people have talked about. He has been able to do a lot more than other president s in two terms. Hes going to talk about his vision to make sure that the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share and the middle and lower class stop feeling the brunt of it. And most importantly, i think, for a lot of people hes going to talk about Reproductive Rights and agency and in the framework of not Just Health Care but more likely in the framework of democracy and rights and freedom. One thing im going to say about Reproductive Rights and Abortion Access, since the Dobbs Decision, one in three women of reproductive age live in a place with no access to abortion. And thats probably going to come up quite a bit as he talks about not only his plans to make sure people have those rights but also contrast between the extremists on the Republican Side. Governor, if he wants to bring over the nikki haley voters, and i dont know if you think thats possible, but what does he need to say. What does he need to do . Does he even say the names donald trump or nikki haley . I dont think i would, but let me start by saying that ive watched this chaos increasingly envelope the state of the Union Address where we see people yell and scream and shouting, you know, that is another example, chris, i hate to say it, but it is another example of the erosion of some of our basic institutions. So let me ask you about that specifically. Marjorie taylor green did that in the last State Of The Union. Do you keep going on or do you call it out . Thats whats wrong right now with politics. What i would say if i were there is, listen, you know, were not talking about joe biden. Were talking about the presidency. Do we respect the office of the president. Do you respect the place where you work. You work here in the house of representatives. Do you respect that. So inherent in that is we need to have some regard for these institutions, not to demean the president , not to demean the house, but now lets let me continue. Thats what i would do if that was happening to me. Secondly, look, i think he needs to make a case on the economy. He needs to point out that peoples 401 ks are up the markets are matter. He needs to talk about the fact hes from scranton. How does somebody feel when they go in the grocery store. Its not what you tell me. Its how i feel when im around you or how do i feel when im in the store. So he can take some credit. We have to acknowledge, we have a ways to go. I think when it gets to the border, i think he should chide the republicans and say, look, for the First Time Since ronald reagan, we have a bipartisan bill. Whats in the bill, to provide border security, did i get to this later than i should have . Perhaps, nothing wrong with saying that, and lay out the fact that this was a strong piece of legislation and call on the republicans to bring it up and consider it, that nothing is perfect, but walking away from this continues to exacerbate the problem at the border. And i think, though, that its not so much that he should i mean, i think he needs to explain to people what hes established. When we say look at all of these things hes accomplished, frankly, look at the polls. People are not feeling that. So i think at the end of the day, this issue of economic security, which also is connected to the border, and his ability to deliver this with, you know, with some strength is what i would be searching if i were in there trying to help him and guide him as to what he should say tomorrow evening. Alencia, facts these days are particularly squishy things, right . If donald trump and his followers have done one thing, it is that they have repeated misrepresentations, outright lies over and over and over again, to the point where they become very very true to them, right. So is this speech more about correcting those mistruths, more about putting the facts out there, for example, john cassidy wrote in the new yorker, you know, the first three years of his presidency,s inflation adjusted gdp averaged 3. 4 . In other words, the widely predicted recession didnt happen. Right. Do you do that . Or is there maybe even a bigger part of it, how he makes you feel when he gives the speech, how he looks, how he sounds, how he presents, where do you find that balance . Yeah, you know, its a tricky balance, but it is something that great president s figured out how to do. They talk about the facts. President biden has been known as the comforter in chief. Let people know he understands the plight theyre going through. Its interesting, you brought up the fact that the republican base, the maga base disputes facts even when there will be polls and research that shows what theyre thinking might be wrong. I think that the president , as he is laying out the facts around the economy. Around the state of the country, around health care and all of these things, hes not speaking to the maga republicans, which he will never persuade to vote for him and support him. Hes talking to those independents. Those moderates, hes talking to even the progressive left, the people who dont know what this white house is doing, and the white house has said, they want to continue to make sure that they are making the case and talking about record achievements. The facts are for people who may not have gone to the web site, white house. Gov or heard the president speak or Vice President speak, as they were out on the road talking about the policies. You will hear him speaking to that base, and unfortunately, no matter what happens on the maga Republican Side, theyre not going to agree with truth at all. Alencia johnson, governor kasich. Stick around. We have a lot more to talk about. Tomorrow, Rachel Maddow and the whole team will have special coverage of President Bidens state of the Union Address and the republican response. That is tomorrow beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern right here on msnbc. In 60 seconds, the Campaign Money wars and the new reporting that donald trump turned to one of the richest men in the world for help. Hear what elon musk is saying about that nec. Next. T. [thinkin why always the couch . Does he need to go to puppy school . Get his little Puppy Diploma . How much have i been spending on this little guy . When your questions about life turn into questions about money. Theres erica. The virtual financial assistant to help you spend, save, and plan smarter. Only from bank of america. 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. With nurtec odt i can treat and prevent my Migraine Attacks all in one. Dont take if allergic to nurtec. Allergic reactions can occur even days after using. Most common side effects were nausea, indigestion and stomach pain. Talk to your doctor about nurtec today. Get ready for a major escalation in the money wars to fund what will be by far the most expensive president ial race ever. According to the New York Times, Donald Trumps cash stash ravaged by legal bills, was behind a meeting with Billionaire Elon Musk in florida over the weekend. The times cites three people who were briefed on the meeting and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Now, whatever was said, it didnt move musk because today he said he wont be donating to any president ial campaign. President bidens campaign, which is winning right now those money wars is planning what they say will be the most lucrative fundraiser in Democratic Party history, expected to bring in more than 10 million. President s biden, obama, and clinton, together in a room with donors who can get tickets for as little as 250, 100 grand and up if you want a photo with all three. Nbcs Vaughn Hillyard is reporting from west palm beach, florida. Back with us, former governor john kasich, and alencia johnson. What do we know about Trumps Campaign funds and frankly, something we have talked about, and where does it stand with all of these legal bills now weighing him down . Reporter right. Its absolutely cutting into the funds that have been available to the trump allies. Just like at the super pac alone. Already 80 million over the last two years spent by Trump Affiliated Super Pacs to go toward the legalrelated expenses. Thats more than 80 million, and when youre talking about a president ial campaign and the plans ahead, look, you just got 34 weeks until the general election, and of course money is going to be at the forefront of this. I want to let you listen to part of a conversation that trumps cocampaign manager had with my partner on trump, garrett haake. Take a listen. The biggest challenge we have probably is on the money side. I mean, were very confident in our ability to put together the resources with e need to wage an effective, successful campaign. Up to this point, the amount of money ron desantis spent is 150 million. Nikki haley spent in iowa alone, nearly 40 million. We spent 3. So, you know, while money matters, its not going to be a determining factor. Reporter they relatively had to spend very little money in the primary, and it had huge returns. When you look back at 2020, youve got to take into account that bidens campaign and the Affiliated Super Pacs spent more than 1. 6 billion. Compare that to trump and the Affiliated Super Pacs for him, it was just over a billion. In 2020, joe biden out spent him by 600 million, and narrowly beat him in several of the key crucial states. As to elon musk, an Open Question that is not just for him but also mega donors who may have interest in financially helping out donald trump, is whether they not so much support the Actual Campaign apparatus but the likes of elon musk could contribute through Dark Money Super Pac groups without having to reveal he is the one behind those donations. There is that. Okay, governor, look, first of all, you hear elon musk and donald trump in a sentence, and you know, its interesting. But do you see any universe where a trump supporter says, wow, i thought trump was a billionaire, but he doesnt have enough money to pay his legal bills or is it just one more sign for trump voters or maybe even the undecideds, that hes a victim in all of this. Heres the challenge for the campaign. The Republican National committee has now said theyre going to spend money on his legal bills. Think about that. You give money to the Trump Campaign and they use it to pay these lawyers. Its really remarkable and siphons off money that theyre going to need to be able to describe the things that they want to, not just what trumps for but also what joe biden is against. On the biden side of this thing, i think theyre going to remind people of a number of things donald trump said, go back to covid and move forward, and remind people. People have a tendency to forget. Theyre looking at trump in terms of everything was perfect then. I think theyre going to go back and start saying, hey, you thought it was perfect. It wasnt perfect, lets take you back. But then lets move forward. Theyre going to have money to do that. The question is there enough money in the trump coffers. Hes in a little different situation. His people, they are wedded to him. He may not need at much money, but the fact that theyre paying