President trump is trying one of his new small hangar rallies in battleground new hampshire. President trump put an exclamation point on a Republican Convention that raised the boundaries on president ial power and Campaign Politicking in a state of the Union Address hyping what he believes are his accomplishments, mixed in with attacks on political rivals. And then transformed it into a jarri jarri jarring commercial for his campaign. And fact title checkers are calling it false claims with 1,500 people sandwiched together, few Wearing Masks amid a raging pandemic. But perhaps the most revealing moment of the night is when the president spoke off the cuff. We must turn the page forever on this failed political class. The fact is im here. Whats the name of that building . But ill say it differently. The fact is were here and theyre not. Were here, theyre not. Im here, youre not. Does that not say it all . This Republican Convention tried to recap and sochften the president s image as they try to retarget voters. But President Trump said he sees no softening because hes there and theyre not. Buckle up for the next seven days as republican try to portray democrats as agents of violence and chaos, which is happening on a republican president s watch and democrats try to portray trump as an existential threat to the american democracy. Good luck, america. Joining me from the white house site of the convention festivities last night, my colleague Kelly Odonnell and also someone who interviewed the president this week, peter baker, and msnbc analyst. Kelly, lets get started. Im curious how the white house feels last night went. It was teleprompter trump, state of the union trump meets rally trump. Meaning it wasnt the rally version of him that can really fire up an audience. Muted in those ways and you can see where the president seemed to settle in and when off the teleprompters, since we had the prepared text, we could see where he did that and where he had taken in a little oxygen and riffs in the way he did. The clip you showed is really so emblematic. He fused his identity of candidate, president with the real estate here. Its almost as if i ought to be able to kick balloons left over from last night on the ground here today. The usual cleanup after a convention. Here it is at the white house, and the president has fused all of these together. In talking with officials today, they say that this was a successful four days of their convention, in part because separate from the president s message, which they think was on point, they believe they showcased real americans who they believe have been benefited by the president s policies and tried to outline that. Thats something we saw in a lot of the earlier speakers of the night in the minettes that were presented. And in the message from the president , they believe he hit all of the points he needed to. And today, as you referenced, going out on the campaign trail, thats very traditional. The bounce coming out of a campaign, if there is any in polling, is at least in momentum in this unusual year with the president going to new hampshire, a state won by Hillary Clinton four years ago, a battleground to be sure, the Vice President in minnesota and michigan today. So part of what Trump Campaign advisers are saying is in their words, they smoked out joe biden and Kamala Harris, who are now doing more in terms of interviews and also the former Vice President saying he will travel to some the battleground states, some physical campaigning as a part of this final stretch. It is certainly a case where the white house believes they hit the messages they needed to. They are disregarding criticism quite vociferously of the staging, which had no staging, had 1,500 people, had very few choosing to wear masks. I had a back and forth today with peter navarro, one of the president s top economic advisers, who just would not entertain any questions about the risks there, calling those democratic talking points and not addressing the substance of the question. You saw alex azar, the secretary of health and Human Services wearing a mask. Just a couple of people down from him, another cabinet secretary, who is 82 and recently in the hospital, choosing not to wear a mask. And that is a stark difference on how they staged this and the message Going Forward because of it. Chuck . Kelly, have you heard any regret by anybody in that building about using it and the Washington Monument as a political prop . Is there im sure the president is not worried about it, but are there some in that white house that are a little uncomfortable of the pandoras box thats just been opened . None that are saying it publicly. I think its notable that, for example, the Vice President who is sometimes more traditional on these matters, he was at another kind of National Park setting with the ft. Mchenry part of our National History but not as overtly, that was political in its own way but not an official government building like the white house is. But the roadblocks and guardrails about this kind of conduct, doing political work while on the grounds of the white house, again, the president is not subject to it but every staffer is subject to those rules, and you have both campaign and white house staff working hand in hand, which again typically does not occur because theres usually a pretty bright wall between Campaign Business and governor nance. That just doesnt exist here. Thats pretty clear, thats for sure, Kelly Odonnell at the white house for us. Kelly, thanks very much. Let me bring in peter baker. Peter, your interview with the president this week revealed yet another issue for the president that he has not been able to figure out, which is how to articulate a second term agenda. Ive got to put up the money quote here. But so i think i think it would be i think it would be very, very i think we would have a very, very solid. We could continue what weve been doing. We would solidify what we have done and we have other things on our plate that want to get done. I know it was done over the telephone. I assume that is a correct transcript there. Ill tell you, i didnt hear much of what a second term would look like other than, hey, if you like what i did, youll like what ill do. Yes, more of the same basically. He cut taxes, increased military spending, he eliminated regulations, he put conservative judges on the court and hell do more of that. Thats basically what hes saying. Theres no new vision of what the next four years would bring other than a continuation of the last four. If youre a trump supporter, that may be fine. That may be what youre looking for. Because youre happy with his taking on the establishment, youre happy with his protectionist economic policies. The youre happy with his sort of retreating from the endless wars. But if youre one of President Trumps critics and right now there are more on the mcquarrie polls than the other side, what that tells you is youre not looking for a different kind of president. Some people speculate whether he would be a different kind of person after reelection, hes telling us no, he wouldnt. He is what he is. Dont expect him to change. If you like him, thats great. If you dont, thats your problem. You know, there is something that both i thought biden and trump had something in common in their acceptance speeches, and that is raising the rhetorical stakes of the importance of this election. I have never covered an election that wasnt the most important in my lifetime, however, it does feel as if this time there are more people who believe this phrase, but take a look at the ampedup rhetoric both men used in their acceptance speeches. Take a listen. This election will decide whether we save the American Dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny. This will determine what america is going to look like for a long, long time. It will decide whether we rapidly create millions of highpaying jobs or whether we crush our industries and send millions of these jobs overseas. It character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Your vote will decide whether we protect lawabiding americans or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists and agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens. Decency, science, democracy, theyre all on the ballot. And this election will decide whether we will defend the american way of life or whether we will allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. Who we are as a nation, what we stand for, and most importantly, who we want to be. Thats all on the ballot. Is it at no time before haves faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, who philosophies, or two agendas. The choice could not be more clear. Peter, theres an unintended consequence to raising the stakes this high, to telling your reporters if the other side wins, its over. Where do we go from here . Thats a great question. This is a great montage. This tells you what the two parties are saying its not about convention of policies, what level of Health Care Plan you favor or level of taxes, its about the very vision of america. And what liberals and a lot of conservatives, not all, have been saying during the trump era is he represents a radical change from the vision of an america, Pluralistic Society that takes internationalist views in the world and welcomes immigration and free trade and so forth. And what trump and his supporters are saying is, the other side is out of the mainstream, the main street shifted and we need to advance an americafirst agenda and the other side doesnt believe in america as we see it. Really theres not a lot of middle ground there. Theres not a lot of coming together. Its hard to say these two sides are simply articulating honest differences of opinion. Theyre articulating a very different view of what this country is meant to be. No, and in some ways very different view of what the country has been for 200plus years, and perhaps where somebody wants to take it for another four. We shall see. Peter baker, chief White House Correspondent of the new york times, thank you very much. The goal of any convention is to get more potential voters in your camp, especially those that are on the fence. Our own Vaughn Hillyard spent the morning in kent county, michigan, home of what you might call establishment republicans, moderate republicans, geri ford republicans, whatever you want to call them. And heres one undecided voter on what he heard and didnt hear last night. Talk about environmental and renewable energy, im not hearing anybody talking about getting rid of Carbon Emissions in lowincome areas, im not hearing any talk about financial inequity for people of color and caucasianing people. Im not hearing any plans to invest in minority communities and develop them up so we can bridge the gap between police and community relations. What about last night, donald trump gave his nomination acceptance speech. Did you hear any of those things from donald trump . Not really. Joining us now from grand rapids is Vaughn Hillyard. Vaughn, we just got through talking about how little issue debate there had been in the conventions. Looks like voters are also hearing the same thing. Chuck, deandre wrote in Bernie Sanders during the general election back in 2016, and thats where donald trump not only needs to gain support but hes got to hold on to those various supporters in a place like kent county, went by just 11,000 votes. And just last week our colleague dasha burns talked with somebody who believes instead of voting for trump like last time would be inclined to vote for joe biden because of the pandemic response. But after last night, heres what he says now i think the american people, whoevers president , is not going to put up with this. Law and order does need we do need to have some sort of civility. You cant really wontonly go and break into somebodys business, burn it down, maybe generational businesses. I think whoevers president is going to calm this whole thing down. The question, why not joe biden . What has he done in 47 years . Why now . Thats i guess thats i know its probably a pretty standard answer. Then why still consider joe biden . Because i want to see what may happen over the next 60 days. Theres a lot of things happening. Chuck, you heard jerry use that line, what has he done in 47 years, which came right out of the script of donald trump last night. Theres a great many voters, trump voters from 2016 who we talked to over the years who want to have that reason to vote for donald trump, have been looking for the reassurance. And what jerry essentially outlined were those talking points of what has joe done in 47 years. He pointed to the 1949 crime bill. He also pointed to the fact he has hope as donald trump outlined in a vaccine being produced. Of course, he listened to the speech last night trying to find a reason to vote for donald trump and heard what you heard from him, he seemed to walk away with one. Perhaps, but the fact he still wouldnt close the sale back with trump also is fascinating too. Its a reminder how fickle the whole thing is for him in particular anyway. Vaughn hillyard with voters in grand rapids, always interesting. It is two people, but it is interesting. Thanks very much. Coming up youre looking live at the National Mall in washington, d. C. , where the commitment march is under way. The new urgency behind the message of justice and equality in the wake of the most recent Police Shooting in kenosha, wisconsin. Wisconsin. Come on in, were open. All we do is hand you the bag. Simple. Done. We adapt and we change. You know, you just figure it out. Weve just been finding a way to keep on pushing. Go go go go go go go on a real vacation. Visit go rving. Com or your nearest rv dealer. An army family who is always at the ready. So when they got a little surprise. Two . They didnt panic. They got a bigger car for their soontobebigger family. After shopping around for insurance, they called usaa who helped find the right coverage for them and even some muchneeded savings. That was the easy part. Usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it easy. Welcome back. The conventions are over. President trump blurred the line between the power of his presidency and Political Campaign. As we begin the final sprint to novembers election, lets bring in michael steele, former rnc chairman, and a Senior Writer from politico, whos done extensive reporting on mr. Trump throughout the decades. Michael steele, let me start with you. In many ways while i know youre not flipping youre not vacillating between who youre voting for, but in many ways, this convention was designed to win over people like you, disaffected republican, somebody who had been skeptical of him and his behavior but theyre trying to remind you why youre a republican. How did they do on that score . And the people you talked with on that fence, does trump still have a chance with them . Uhoh yes, im here. There we go. There we go. Go ahead. I was just about to cut you off there, buddy. No, no, no. The quick answer is yes, they do, because of the first part of the question, which is the narrative that trump puts out there. Look, you saw in the piece by Vaughn Hillyard, the linchpin that trump is hanging this election on. In 2016 it was theyre coming across the border, right . In 2020 its theyre coming into suburbia. It doesnt matter who they are. You layer on top of that given what weve seen over the last six weeks, eight weeks with the protests, the lawandorder piece, yeah, youre going to get those folks who are on the fence, those sort of center right folks who were with trump before are suddenly not so much now thinking just as that gentlemen did, yeah, you know, someones got to bring law and order back because we just cant burn down businesses and thats the hook right there. Now the question for the Biden Campaign is whats your counterplay . Michael cruz, you know, its interesting, donald trump and the case hes making, i feel like in some ways its the most repetitive case hes made about any time he has dabbled in american politics going back to the 80s. Its the same note, and even last night, that speech to me felt extraordinarily familiar of donald trump through the decades. We struck what struck me last night and throughout the convention was both the mendacity, the except of it, and audacity, what he said last night went well beyond the 6,000plus words he actually spoke. What he actually said was youre telling me i cant use the white house for my Political Campaign . Youre telling me i cant have a crowd, mostly maskless, in the middle of a pandemic . Watch me. Im currently doing it. What are you going to do about it . And in a way one of the throughlines of his entire life, prepolitical and otherwise, is this the more i get away with, the more i can get away with. He asks people to put up stop signs, to create guardrails, to say you cant do this and heres what were going to do about it. And hes gotten away with it to this point, and he got away with it last night. Michael steele, you know, that means and you saw it last night, the president will do whatever, he will use whatever lever and nobody does in this town know how to say no to him. I guess nancy pelosi has said no to him, and thats why he refuses to speak to her anymore. But not no one else around him tells him you cant do that. They might say you shouldnt do that but no one tells him you cant do that, whether its messing around at the cdc, fda or monument or whatever. Yeah, the point is made, and mike just put it out there, that is exactly it, stop me. You cant stop me. Theres nothing you can say or do to stop me. You tri